After Zou Feng finished his Cultivation, people frequently came asking to see him.
These people were clearly panicked by Yuwen Shuo’s forced conscription.
Even though they knew Zou Feng, Tian Yun, and the others wouldn’t just sit back and wait for disaster and must have already come up with a plan, they couldn’t help but feel terrified. They came seeking some reassurance.
After all, who knew if Zou Feng and Tian Yun’s plan included rescuing them as well.
Unfortunately, Zou Feng couldn’t just tell his and Tian Yun’s plan to everyone who asked.
Not even his trusted subordinates within the gang could be told.
Only the few Seventh Grade experts who were personally involved were qualified to know the detailed plan.
Otherwise, if the news leaked, it would mean immediate and utter catastrophe.
So, when faced with these urgent inquiries, Zou Feng just skirted around the issue. He claimed they were just taking it one step at a time, and if things got truly desperate, they would have no choice but to form a Rebel Army and join the campaign to exterminate the Roving Bandits...
That’s right—the preparations for forming a Rebel Army had to be made, at least for show.
Even when Wang Xingjian came to ask, Zou Feng didn’t give him a straight answer, just told him to wait for news and not to worry.
In the time that followed, Zou Feng sent someone to inform Tian Yun while focusing all his efforts on preparing for the Snake Catching.
He had also questioned the original members of the Fishing Team in detail. They said they had never seen any snake-like Demon Beast in the waters more than twenty *li* out.
This made Zou Feng even more certain that the snake had only recently wandered into this area.
It was just like how Demon Beasts were once rare on Qifeng Mountain but had recently begun to appear frequently. Something felt unusual about it all.
But that wasn’t his concern. As long as he could seize this opportunity to profit, it was fine.
That evening, they set out in grand fashion. The party boarded the Fishing Team’s specially made Redwood Ironwood Canoes, bringing along Seventh Grade Experts like Shi Yangming, Chen An of Yidao Martial Arts Hall, and Zhang Zhengze of Celestial Roc Martial Arts Hall. They were also accompanied by more than a dozen members of the original Fishing Team who could provide support.
He didn’t bring all the Seventh Grade Martial Artists currently in the Hongxing Gang.
After all, the remaining Seventh Grade members weren’t that strong, and with Tian Yun joining them, there was little point in just stacking up numbers.
Because they had arranged it beforehand, the fishing boat had only traveled five *li* down the river when Tian Yun’s figure appeared on the bank.
Looking from afar, he could see she had only brought one person with her and hadn’t made a big show of bringing all the Seventh Grade experts from the Heart Meeting Martial Arts Hall.
This was perfectly normal. The more people there were, the smaller each person’s share would be after their success.
Tian Yun certainly hadn’t given up on ascending to the Gang Qi Realm, so she couldn’t afford to be completely selfless every time an opportunity arose.
And the person with Tian Yun—perhaps intentionally—happened to be Zhuang Sixuan.
The next moment, Zou Feng beckoned, and Tian Yun and Zhuang Sixuan walked across the river’s surface to quickly board the boat.
"Master Tian, Miss Zhuang!" Zou Feng went to greet them.
Tian Yun smiled. "I brought Sixuan along to get some experience. The General Leader doesn’t mind, I hope?"
She clearly knew that Zou Feng and Zhuang Sixuan already knew each other.
"Not at all, not at all. Miss Zhuang and I are old acquaintances..."
As soon as he said this, Zhuang Sixuan, who had been acting very reserved around him, blushed and lowered her head.
Zou Feng didn’t waste any more words and loudly explained the procedure for the Snake Catching.
The whole process was actually quite simple.
The fishing boat would first hide far away and remain stationary.
Zou Feng would be responsible for luring the Demon Beast nearby. When the time was right, the fishing boat would move in at full force, and the Seventh Grade Martial Artists would each display their unique abilities.
The most crucial step of the entire process was, of course, that Zou Feng had to use himself as bait.
When they first encountered the Demon Snake, the beast had clearly wanted a taste of a Seventh Grade Martial Artist. Of course, it was also possible that it wanted to devour Xiaolv.
Seeing that Zou Feng was taking on the most dangerous part, Tian Yun naturally had no objections.
After reaching the target area and mooring the fishing boat, Zou Feng said, "Don’t worry too much. If this beast’s strength exceeds our expectations, I’ll be the first to tell everyone to run."
With that, Zou Feng dove directly into the water.
Beneath the river’s surface, Xiaolv, which had been following nearby the whole time, was there to meet him.
Zou Feng had said he would use himself as bait, but in reality, the first one to act as the lure would definitely be the Gu Insect, Xiaolv.
To that Demon Snake, Xiaolv was undoubtedly one of the best possible baits.
Powerful venomous creatures always attract each other, each eager to devour the other.
After all, this was the most direct way for them to evolve and strengthen their own poison.
This was also why Xiaolv, despite fearing the Demon Beast, was still willing to act as bait.
Next, Zou Feng swam stealthily underwater, pretending to search for Spirit Fish.
Although it was just an act, after searching for a while, Zou Feng realized he hadn’t seen a single Spirit Fish today.
Usually, he would have found at least a few in this area.
Even Xiaolv, which could sense the location of Spirit Fish, swam around for a good while with no success.
’It was probably eaten by that Demon Snake...’
’That’s good, too. With the nearby Spirit Fish mostly eaten, the Demon Beast will be even more desperate for high-quality food.’
’The probability of it taking the bait will naturally be higher.’
Thinking this, Zou Feng gestured for Xiaolv to swim a bit further away.
’Judging by the time, that Demon Snake should be appearing soon...’
Sure enough, just as Xiaolv swam forward another hundred meters or so, a familiar oppressive aura suddenly descended.
Zou Feng was startled. The pressure had appeared so abruptly, which meant the creature hadn’t swum over from a distance. Instead...
He turned his head and saw a sinister blue light burst forth from a crevice in a pile of rocks on the riverbed not far away.
’Shit!’
The hairs on Zou Feng’s body stood on end; he was thoroughly spooked.
’I’m fishing for the snake, but it turns out the snake is fishing for me!’
’This creature’s Spiritual Wisdom is much higher than I expected.’
It must have remembered the combination of him and Xiaolv from their last encounter.
That was why it hadn’t attacked when Xiaolv swam past the rocks just now. Instead, it wanted to see if the more nourishing meal—him—was following behind...
That was right. Although the unique Gu Insect Xiaolv was a great supplement, Zou Feng himself was an even more tempting prize.
The snake could sense through instinct alone that devouring Zou Feng would greatly increase its chances of evolving into a Poison Flood Dragon in the future.
Although Zou Feng was startled, he didn’t forget that he had to get away, and fast.
He had no chance of winning a fight against this Demon Snake underwater.
But just as he was about to push off toward the surface, a wave of dizziness hit him, and he nearly ended up doing the backstroke right there in the water.
’I’m poisoned!?’
Realizing this, Zou Feng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
’To think that I, a master of Poison Skills, would one day get poisoned myself...’
But luckily, his poison resistance was maxed out. Otherwise, he would have been suffering from much more than just dizziness.
It turned out the Demon Snake had secretly released its poison before even revealing itself, using the current to poison him without him noticing.
For the poison to be so potent that even Zou Feng couldn’t detect it beforehand, its deadliness was easy to imagine.
Unfortunately for the Demon Snake, no matter how high its Spiritual Wisdom, it could never have predicted that Zou Feng’s method of dispelling poison was comparable to an Immortal Technique.
Getting poisoned was no problem; he could just use it for his Cultivation. That way, the effects of the poison could be borne by his ’top patron.’
This was one of the reasons Zou Feng dared to act as bait himself. He wasn’t afraid of poison and could nullify the Demon Snake’s greatest advantage.
And since he was underwater, it was most convenient to cultivate the Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Force.
The next moment, Zou Feng immediately entered a state of Cultivation, unleashing his Inner Qi to churn the water.
A massive waterspout instantly formed at the bottom of the river, preventing the Demon Snake from approaching him.
Zou Feng, meanwhile, used the reactive force from churning the water to rapidly swim toward the surface.
The Demon Snake truly hadn’t expected its poison to have so little effect on this person, and its sure-kill lunge was hindered by the waterspout.
Seeing its prey about to escape to the surface, the Demon Snake grew anxious. The green light erupting from its pupils intensified, and it shot after him like an arrow.
Sensing the immense commotion behind him, Zou Feng didn’t panic. Instead, he locked onto the fishing boat’s position and continued swimming with all his might.
He needed to enter the fishing boat’s attack range the very moment he breached the surface.
There was only one chance. With the beast’s high Spiritual Wisdom, if they failed to take it down this time, they would likely never get another opportunity.
BOOM—
The river’s surface exploded. After breaking through the water, Zou Feng continued to rise, leaping high into the air.
The Demon Snake also burst from the water, moving even faster, and was about to clamp its jaws on Zou Feng’s leg.
"Now!"
Zou Feng roared, then stomped his right foot hard on the empty air.
With the current density of his Inner Qi, stepping on empty air to change direction using "Moon Step" was not difficult.
And unlike ordinary Seventh Grade experts, who would be temporarily exhausted after two or three steps in the air due to needing to recover their breath, Zou Feng could take seven or eight steps without issue.
That’s right, he could now briefly reposition himself in mid-air.
Following Zou Feng’s shout, dozens of hooked chains were fired from specially made crossbows on the fishing boat.
The Demon Snake’s ten-meter-plus-long body was suspended in the air, making it impossible to dodge. It was hooked securely.
Zou Feng had coated the barbs of these hooked chains with poison beforehand; they didn’t just deal physical damage.
After the hooks hit their mark, Seventh Grade experts like Chen An from Yidao Martial Arts Hall grabbed the ends of the chains and began to pull with all their might.
Meanwhile, Shi Yangming and Tian Yun both leaped up, each unleashing their unique skills in a frenzied assault on the Demon Snake.
Although Shi Yangming was no match for Zou Feng, his Thunderbolt Saber Skill happened to be a perfect counter to the Demon Snake.
While he couldn’t break through the Demon Snake’s Scale Armor for the time being, his Thunderbolt Force could still penetrate its body, bypassing the scales to strike its internal organs.
As for Tian Yun, she was even more direct. She landed precisely on the Demon Snake’s vital spot, seven inches from its head, placed her palms on its body, and activated "Inch Kill," causing the surrounding space to distort.
The blow sent the Demon Snake into excruciating agony, its mouth gaping wide.
At that moment, Zou Feng had dropped back into the water. After briefly catching his breath, he leaped high into the air again and, aiming for the snake’s mouth which was open in pain, struck with the Poison Fury Fire Lotus Seal.
In truth, even while being besieged by several experts, the Demon Snake still had enough strength to dive back into the river and escape.
Unfortunately, the poison on the hooked chains eliminated that possibility.
It was a concoction personally prepared by Zou Feng, enhanced with the toxin from Xiaolv’s Tri-Colored Poison. Even if the Demon Snake also had maxed-out poison resistance, it couldn’t neutralize it in a short time.
Unable to break free from the hooked chains, the Demon Snake couldn’t quickly dive to the river bottom. It could only watch in despair as the assault continued.
Before long, the Demon Snake finally stopped moving.
Zou Feng and the others stood on the river’s surface, all of them panting and utterly exhausted.
But everyone was thrilled. The Demon Snake was enormous; the Snake Meat alone was a huge prize.
Zou Feng, however, looked at the Demon Snake’s glistening green Poison Fangs and thought to himself, ’Now Brother Yuwen is really in for it...’