Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 123 Re-entering Puyin Mountain

Four days passed in a flash.

Li Xiangming waited at the hunting lodge camp for Li Xianghua, who had arrived as promised.

Meanwhile, Li Xiangru, Nie Rong, and Tang Xueyan were all ready to go.

Five late-stage Qi Refining cultivators entered Puyin Mountain together.

Having learned from his previous experience, Li Xiangming became more cautious, avoiding powerful demonic beasts along the way, and once again arrived at the territory of the Blackwater Serpent.

The Blackwater Serpent's territory was vast, so the five of them split up. Nie Rong and Tang Xueyan formed one group, while the other three each formed their own group, respectively guarding the Blackwater Serpent's three caves and the newly discovered nameless deep pool.

Just two days later, Tang Xueyan and Nie Rong made a discovery.

"Is this the Blackwater Serpent?"

The other three gathered and saw the full appearance of the Black Water Serpent in front of one of the caves.

The Blackwater Serpent is about the size of an arm, of moderate length, and looks no different from an ordinary snake.

Only its black body and white belly, with a triangular head, match the records of previous cultivators.

But Li Xiangming knew he hadn't chosen the wrong target, because he sensed the demonic energy fluctuations of the Black Water Serpent.

Generally speaking, monsters have undergone significant changes compared to wild beasts, either in terms of size or in the evolution of a certain organ.

It may also become smaller.

In short, very few things remain unchanged.

The snake demon before them exuded the aura of the late stage of the Spirit Awakening realm, yet its size was similar to that of an ordinary snake.

This means that it is far from entering its period of transformation.

Legend has it that when the Blackwater Serpent reaches adulthood, it grows to be over a hundred feet long, and wherever it passes, the earth shakes and mountains tremble.

What level of cultivation would the Blackwater Serpent have possessed back then?
Li Xiangming felt excited just thinking about it.

"Let's keep watch for a few more days."

Li Xiangming instructed, "The more you desire it, the more patient you must be."

More haste less speed.

To be honest, he was somewhat surprised that the Blackwater Serpent was still in the same place.

It seems the previous Minor Five Elements Maze Formation had some effect.

If they act rashly but fail to achieve anything and let the Blackwater Serpent escape, then all their efforts will be in vain.

When the Blackwater Serpent burrows deeper into Puyin Mountain, everyone will be helpless.

Li Xiangming, as the leader of this trip, said so.

No one objected. The distribution was adjusted, and Li Xiangming was put in charge of slowly hanging behind the Blackwater Serpent.

The other four continued to use the strategy of waiting for the rabbit to run into their trap.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, it's always best to stick to the rules.

Ten more days passed, and Li Xiangming finally figured out the habits of the Blackwater Serpent.

For some reason, this fellow goes to the nameless deep pool every three days.

Each time, they enter the pool for half a day, and then randomly return to one of the caves to rest.

They set off again three days later.

Upon witnessing the Blackwater Serpent return to its cave, Li Xiangming immediately arranged for Li Xiangru and Nie Rong to come and keep an eye on it.

At the same time, Li Xianghua was recalled.

"Thirteenth Brother, could you set up a formation here?"

Li Xiangming took out a simple map and pointed to the only way from this cave to the nameless deep pool.

"Yes, what kind of formation do you need?"

"Killing Formation!"

Li Xiangming replied that although he came to capture the demon, the Blackwater Serpent was not a docile child, and it was also important to make it lose its ability to resist.

After discussing it for a while, the two decided to set up the quicksand soul-burying formation.

This formation is a typical high-grade first-tier earth-element formation. Once activated, the quicksand becomes like a sea, constantly devouring targets within the formation, effectively countering cultivators and monsters skilled in water magic.

Of course, it is also very difficult and requires a lot of materials.

Li Xiangming naturally wouldn't let Li Xianghua suffer a loss, and said that he would bear all the expenses, including labor costs.

In fact, the biggest cost of setting up a formation is manpower.

Because formations are the most difficult of the four traditional arts of cultivation to learn, the Li family has never lacked weapon refiners, alchemists, and talisman makers over the years. Only formation masters are rare, often appearing only once every ten years or so, and most of them are mediocre.

But Li Xianghua was clearly no ordinary man. Under his meticulous planning, the Quicksand Burial Soul Formation was completed as scheduled.

Now all that's left is to wait for the Blackwater Serpent to fall into the trap.
-
three days later.

The Blackwater Serpent did indeed emerge from the cave, lingering in place for a while, its tongue flicking.

Li Xiangming knew that it was observing whether there was any danger around, but no matter how hard it tried, it would never have imagined that five humans were watching it from afar.

Of the five people, only Li Xiangming, who wore an evil green robe and acted without restraint, wore invisibility talismans.

As the name suggests, the Concealment Talisman can hide one's magical power and aura. It is a second-tier talisman, and each one is worth 1000 merit points.

Just to be on the safe side, Li Xiangming exchanged four tickets and distributed them to everyone.

Not only did he use the invisibility talisman, but Li Xiangming also spent nearly 20,000 merit points to ensure the success of this trip.

If it weren't for the fact that he had been in charge for several years, receiving regular income from achievements and decent political performance, and had received a lot of extra rewards, he simply couldn't afford such spending.

But for the sake of the Blackwater Serpent, Li Xiangming was willing to go all out.

The Blackwater Serpent hadn't discovered Li Xiangming and the others for so many days, so naturally it hadn't either, and continued swimming towards the nameless deep pool as planned.

Soon, the Blackwater Serpent arrived at the trap.

After waiting for a long time, Li Xianghua decisively activated the Quicksand Burial Soul Array.

In an instant, the quicksand began to shift and stones began to fly wildly.

The Blackwater Serpent, which was in the very center, was completely unprepared for this situation and instinctively curled up to protect itself.

But soon, the Blackwater Serpent discovered that the quicksand and flying rocks showed no sign of stopping, and in just a few breaths, they were almost buried.

Only then did the Blackwater Serpent react, its powerful tail slapping against the sand, leaping up to avoid the grave below.

At the same time, the snake opened its mouth, and a swift stream of water struck the quicksand, causing it to collapse.

However, all this is in vain.

More quicksand surged together, swallowing up the water at a visible speed.

The shifting sands covering the mountains and plains seemed to have a life of their own, relentlessly advancing towards the Blackwater Serpent once again.

Seeing that things were not going well, the Black Water Serpent spewed out several more streams of water.

But no matter how hard it tries, it can only slow down the flow of quicksand.

In desperation, the Blackwater Serpent frantically fled, trying to get away from the formation.

"Quite smart."

Li Xianghua said in a low voice.

Confused, Li Xiangming examined the formation closely and his expression changed slightly.

After circling around a few times, the Blackwater Serpent actually began to approach the core of the formation.

"rest assured."

Whether the Blackwater Serpent is truly intelligent or just stumbled upon it by sheer luck, it doesn't matter.

Because the formation master himself is here.

As Li Xianghua manipulated the formation, the chaotic stones dancing in the sky received the command and intercepted the Black Water Serpent.

The Blackwater Serpent naturally dodged, and after a period of chaos, although it was not injured, it could no longer see the location of the array's core.

Seeing this, Li Xiangming breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Li Xiangru: "Fourth Brother, are you ready?"

"I'm OK."

Li Xiangru nodded and had already summoned his magical artifact—the Ten Flame Mirror.

"Xueyan, you'll be in charge and adapt to the situation."

Li Xiangming gave a brief instruction, and then joined Li Xiangru and Nie Rong in battle.

The saying goes, "Strike while the sick is ill."

The Blackwater Serpent is currently trapped in the formation and is in a great panic. If Li Xiangming and the others make a sudden move, they will surely catch it off guard.

As expected, Nie Rong made the first move, and a sword light flashed. The Black Water Serpent immediately turned into a frightened bird, twisting its body and running away.

But where can it run to within the formation?
They were quickly driven back by the quicksand and were attacked from both sides by Li Xiangru and Li Xiangming.

Li Xiangming took the initiative, the Water Element Flag fluttered, and countless water bullets hit the Black Water Serpent.

(End of this chapter)