Stepping on the demon door, the witch becomes the strongest

Chapter 802: Ning Ning Returns
Snowstorm raged, an endless winter.

The serpentine behemoth crawled across the ice plains, its enormous form as majestic as a mountain. An extremely powerful blizzard swirled and howled around it, freezing everything in its path into ice, which then shattered into countless tiny particles.

Near the giant serpent, the temperature had already dropped to below minus one hundred degrees Celsius. Without special protective gear to keep warm, most extraordinary individuals would have collapsed on their way to the serpent, let alone attempted to attack it.

The Amur witches were helpless against it.

Currently, only three members of the witch coven have been promoted. However, in terms of true combat strength, the other two are no match for the Witch Queen Anna.

Anna personally approached the giant serpent to investigate and concluded that she couldn't defeat it.

Because there's no way to get close.

Extreme low temperatures, similar to high gravity, can block the vast majority of attacks. Material-based methods become exceptionally fragile at low temperatures, easily shattering in the wind and snow, posing no threat to the giant serpent.

Of course, the Northern Territory is fundamentally different from the Land Kingdom. Not only is it sparsely populated, but its economic activities were also largely destroyed after the collapse of its original social order. Along the giant serpent's path, both spiritualists and mortals chose to flee, thus avoiding significant losses.

So why fight? As long as the giant serpent doesn't head towards Amur City, let it roam freely. When the Eight-Headed Serpent Technique spread, demons roamed the North, but it didn't cause much damage.

Many of the Amur witches held this view, causing Anna to hesitate slightly, but Sullivan offered a different opinion:

"The serpentine behemoth is not inherently frightening if it does not actively attack people. What is frightening is that its existence can permanently destroy the surrounding environment. Wherever the low temperatures and severe cold pass, not only trees and moss, but even bacteria and viruses cannot survive. Even if it does not come to Amur City, after a few months of living around it, farming, animal husbandry, fishing and hunting will all become impossible."

Rakshasa psychics don't practice fasting. Werewolf witches need to consume large amounts of flesh and blood; male and female witches are somewhat better off, but a large number of mortals certainly couldn't sustain that.

Influenced by the Lu Kingdom, Anna didn't believe that mortals were entirely useless against psychics. Putting aside other issues, she had to call Yan Yu every so often. If all the mortals skilled in communication technology died out, who would maintain the base stations? Did they expect her to rely on tamed owls to deliver messages?

So we still have to deal with the giant snake.

Sullivan then offered two more strategies: one was to "block" and the other was to "draw".

The serpentine behemoth roamed freely, making no attempt to avoid any threats. The demons Anna summoned were frozen solid before they even got close, and then the behemoth simply ignored them and left.

But Sullivan soon discovered that the giant snake seemed to have a particular fondness for crowded places. Even if everyone had already fled, it would still make a point of passing through the town center.

“Towns, compared to the wild, have the advantage of providing abundant food and a lack of natural predators for rodents and insects,” Sullivan analyzed. “Even if people disperse beforehand, rodents and insects will not leave the town. The buildings themselves provide a certain degree of cold resistance and insulation, but once the concrete can no longer withstand the heat, they are forced to leave the building and have already lost their ability to migrate.”

"Therefore, I believe that what truly attracts the giant serpent is not the town, but the lives that can be plundered."

“Life?” Anna pondered quickly. “That is to say…”

"The method of 'luring' involves tying livestock to pillars to lure the giant serpent along this route. The method of 'blocking' involves cutting down trees and driving away wild animals in other directions around the giant serpent, so that its blizzard has no life to devour. In this way, we can control its direction of movement."

Anna neither confirmed nor denied this, but instead asked:

Where should we lead them?

“We can head west,” Sullivan said with a smile.

What a clever move to divert trouble westward! Once the giant serpent reaches Western Siberia, Russia and Europe will probably be jumping up and down.

Of course, upon closer examination, there aren't many options available.

The giant serpent cannot be allowed to roam and wreak havoc around the area; it must be lured elsewhere. The Land Kingdom is definitely out of the question—the Witch Queen's old flame is there! But if it is lured to Central Asia, away from the northern territory, what if it changes direction and heads back to the Land Kingdom's border? The Amur Witches will be powerless to stop it.

Therefore, the only option is to head west, leading it directly to Eastern Europe. This way, it won't threaten the witches or harm the land kingdom. Sullivan's choice is the only solution.

Anna wasn't one to hesitate or fuss. Even facing the most powerful general in the land, she dared to directly attempt to capture him; what was there to worry about if he were to wreak havoc on Europe? Therefore, she immediately made the decision:
"Alright, let's lead the way westward!"

Sullivan left satisfied, secretly making plans in his mind.

He initially joined Peter the Great's eastern expedition, but after being captured, he defected to the Russian Empire, essentially betraying it.

Despite cultural differences, surrendered generals often feel some guilt when facing their former masters—this is part of human nature. If they can bring about the downfall of their former masters, it proves their defection was not a mistake—this, too, is part of human nature.

To assist the Witch King in replacing the Rakshasa was Sullivan's lifelong dream!
The North can divert trouble to the West because it is located in a cold region and its biosphere is inherently more fragile, while the South is the opposite.

The serpentine behemoth they encountered landed at Golden Ranch and then ravaged the surrounding area. Its crimson scales constantly spewed out white-hot steam, melting or igniting anything that touched it, as if it had encountered extremely high temperatures and heat, completely the opposite extreme from the Northern Serpent.

With the collapse of the mortal world, the area of ​​human activity in the Southern Territory shrank rapidly, becoming teeming with birds, beasts, and vast forests. The scorched-earth policy employed by the Northern Territory was unusable in the South, so the sorcerers collectively appealed to the Land Kingdom for aid.

Lu Guo hadn't even dealt with the Bohai Giant Serpent yet, so how could he have the mind to help the Southern Border? However, considering that lessons from other places could be used to improve one's own situation, perhaps the two giant serpents shared some commonalities that could help find a way to overcome them, Lu Guo mobilized its troops and planned to send several Golden Core cultivators there, ostensibly to assist in the battle, but in reality to observe the situation.

After much deliberation, they chose two people: Tang Xiaolian and Zhao Yuanzhen.

Tang Xiaolian needs no introduction; the Hundred Poison Golden Silkworm Gu is renowned for its immunity to water and fire, as clearly recorded. Zhao Yuanzhen, during his tribulation, once used a fire-controlling technique, which might also be effective against this high-temperature snake monster.

The two joined forces to fight Yan Yu last night, but suffered a crushing defeat. The next morning, they received orders from their superiors and immediately set off.

When Yan Yu woke up, it was already the third watch of the night. There was rice noodles made by Tang Xiaolian for breakfast on the table, along with a note saying that she had gone on a mission with Sister Zhao and that he and Ling Yun should take care of their own lunch.

Tsk, this girl, no wonder her family runs a bed and breakfast. You should learn from her, you vixen.
Yan Yu left the room, supporting his back, and staggered down the stairs. He wondered why his physical condition was so good, so why was he so listless?

Wine and women have harmed me terribly!
From today on, quit drinking!
Chen Lingyun glanced at him, said nothing, and just smiled.

Although she didn't say a word, Yan Yu could tell from her expression that she was being sarcastic and sarcastic towards him, which made him even more dissatisfied.

Don't think I don't know what you're thinking!

"Now that Tang Xiaolian is gone, what are we having for lunch?" he asked as he casually lay down on the sofa.

"Since no one's cooking, let's order food," Chen Lingyun said with a smile.

Miss Chen's so-called "ordering" was certainly not some cobbled-together meal, but rather having a professional hotel kitchen prepare a gourmet meal and send it over. The taste would undoubtedly be impeccable, with the flavors completely tailored to Chen Lingyun's preferences.

Yan Yu had eaten so much sugar in his previous life that he was about to throw up, so he was unwilling to eat anything with excessive sugar. He quickly waved his hand and said, "Never mind, you eat yours, I'll order mine."

"If you want to order, I'll eat with you." Chen Lingyun's smile remained unchanged. "It's been a long time since I ordered takeout, and I'm starting to miss the food from ordinary people."

"Stop being so arrogant," Yan Yu sighed. "Takeout is almost always loaded with oil and salt to cater to most people's tastes. Anyone who can cook even a little can easily outcook it. It's a shame Ningning isn't here..."

He tossed and turned on the sofa, then suddenly sat up abruptly, grabbed his phone, and shouted:

"Ningning is back after her tribulation!"

--------

Lin Ning's tribulation was not much of a surprise.

The team's cultivators were selected from tens of millions of college entrance examination candidates, with only a few hundred people having outstanding cultivation aptitude. Then, 40 people were selected from the best of the best, each one a prodigy.

Even if Lin Ning's cultivation aptitude is "not outstanding," it is only not outstanding among these 40 people. Compared with ordinary team cultivators, it is already quite superior, not to mention compared with military and civilian cultivators.

With such abundant cultivation resources, it would be strange if she failed to transcend the tribulation. If even she couldn't, then no cultivator in the mortal realm could even dream of forming their core.

"Hey," the Mirror Fairy said, "What kind of ability is this...?"

“Industrial production capacity,” Lin Ning added.

"Yes, industrial production capacity," the Mirror Immortal exclaimed. "Mass production of flying swords and magical treasures—it's simply heaven-defying. With resources poured in regardless of cost, could even Golden Core cultivators be mass-produced?"

“That doesn’t mean everyone can undergo tribulation,” Lin Ning said calmly. “In your cultivation world, if an elder has a Nascent Soul cultivator, wouldn’t it be easy for them to bestow powerful magic treasures upon a junior undergoing Golden Core tribulation?”

"Powerful magical artifacts aren't something everyone possesses. Your industrial production capacity is equivalent to generating a powerful magical artifact every so often; that's truly impressive!"

The Mirror Fairy, who was originally incredibly arrogant and looked down on everything, suddenly praised the industrial level of the Lu Kingdom, sparing no words of praise, which made Lin Ning feel honored as well.

But thinking that most people had already completed their tribulations, and that he was only forming his core so late, he felt a little disappointed.

"Don't underestimate yourself," the Mirror Immortal comforted her. "The order in which you transcended the tribulations was clearly arranged according to your cultivation aptitude. The simplest way to transcend the Core Formation tribulation is to bombard it with Dao techniques, and just rely on your true essence to consume it."

"The methods of sword immortals are relatively more skillful, and since you don't have any senior experience to learn from, it's normal for sword immortals to undergo their tribulations later. It doesn't mean that your strength is really inferior to theirs."

Lin Ning felt a little better after hearing this, but having spent so much time with the Mirror Fairy, she had long seen that the other party was all bark and no bite. Perhaps those words she just said were just to comfort her because she saw that she was upset, so she hadn't fully recovered her composure.

Then, thinking about seeing the captain and boyfriend when I got back, I felt a surge of joy and happiness.

As Lin Ning landed in front of the villa, she wondered whether she should just walk through the wall and give her boyfriend a little surprise, or knock on the door properly.
I feel like something's missing if I don't knock, oh well.

Lin Ning knocked on the door first, then called out "I'm back," and went straight through the wall.

Then I saw Yan Yu and Chen Lingyun sprawled out on the sofa.

"Captain! Captain, what's wrong?" Lin Ning didn't even care about Chen Lingyun and rushed to Yan Yu's side to help him up.

"It's nothing," Yan Yu waved his hand and said, "I'm just hungry."

Hunger was out of the question. After abstaining from grains, cultivators no longer depend on them for food and are not bothered by hunger. It's just that both of them thought Lin Ning would return at noon, and they waited until four in the afternoon, which was just too boring.

Lin Ning, unaware of this, thought she had truly arrived late and had left the team leader and Sister Lingyun hungry. She hurriedly rushed into the kitchen, shouting:
"I'll make it for you right away! What would you like to eat?"

"Fried noodles!" "Fried pork chop!" the two people on the sofa shouted at the same time, their voices no longer weak as before.

Half an hour later, the two of them finished off all the dishes Lin Ning had made, and were finally fully recharged.

Chen Lingyun slowly covered her mouth while flossing, and then she heard Yan Yu say with a wry smile:

“Ningning, you’re finally back. You have no idea how we got through the time without you…”

"First Yun Jin will cook for you, and then Tang Xiaolian will cook for you," Lin Ning said.

"How did you know?" Yan Yu asked in surprise.

"Hmph, if you didn't eat properly, I wouldn't have been kept in the dark." Lin Ning raised her chin smugly.

Her arrogant and cocky little expression aroused Yan Yu's impulse to bully her; he must have been infected by Chen Lingyun's wicked personality.

That night, Lin Ning indeed cried. Yan Yu showed her no mercy and instead gave her a good beating.

After she fell into a deep sleep, Yan Yu pulled the blanket up for her. Suddenly, he saw that Chen Lingyun had somehow walked through the wall and was standing by the bed.

"What are you doing?" Yan Yu asked, frowning. "You're appearing and disappearing like a ghost."

“I am a ghost cultivator,” Chen Lingyun said with a smile, “of course I must be as secretive as a ghost.”

"You haven't answered my question yet," Yan Yu asked lazily. "What are you doing here?"

"To finish what Ningning didn't finish," Chen Lingyun said.

"Ha!" Yan Yu laughed. "Want to come? Beg me!"

"You're not already impotent, are you?" Chen Lingyun had already anticipated that if she really begged him, she would only get a "But I refuse," or "I just want to see your expression, this humiliated expression of begging me." Therefore, she didn't fall for it at all and instead used reverse psychology.

"I can't? What a joke!" Yan Yu said, going along with it. "Bring it on! I'll show you what's what!"

Lin Ning, lying next to them, opened her eyes with her back to them and silently clutched the blanket tightly.

(End of this chapter)