Chapter Fifteen: Slaying the Demonic Beast

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  "Alright, I've got it." Without any hesitation, Leidong accepted the forty spirit stones. He put them away in his storage belt, his expression serious and solemn, without saying anything else.

  As a result, Chen Ge and Wei Hua appreciated him even more. They were both children of wealthy families, and they had seen and heard a lot, so they had some insight into people's characters. They vaguely felt that Lei Dong was not ordinary, which is why they were willing to invest heavily in him. Moreover, whether it was Chen Ge or Wei Hua, they knew that when investing in someone, one needs to have a long-term vision and invest heavily before the person gains power. Otherwise, if Lei Dong really became famous one day, 40 spirit stones would be nothing but a small change. Of course, they would rather invest in Ding Yuanyan, but unfortunately, they couldn't afford it and didn't have the qualifications.

  Three people exchanged their experiences and insights on cultivation for a day or two, which passed quickly.

  The terrain in front was rugged and overgrown, the road had long since disappeared, so they sent the carriage back to the city. After walking for a while, they were attacked by several ferocious beasts, although they responded awkwardly at first. But it made them realize that there was danger ahead, so they formed a formation and slowly moved forward to explore.

  Leidong's ghostly soldiers floated at the front, holding knives and shields as they scouted out the path to the left and right. Leidong himself walked in the middle with Chen Ge, each of them warily holding their own magical weapons. Bringing up the rear was Wei Hua, after all he had the Xuan Yin shield, so his ability to survive and stay alive was stronger than everyone else's.

  With the ghostly scouts leading the way, some ordinary beasts were discovered ahead of time and either driven away or killed. As a result, nothing was encountered that would lead to an attack.

  After walking for half a day, the terrain became increasingly difficult. The weeds grew taller than a person, and every now and then, there was a ditch several meters wide underfoot. Fortunately, all three of them were first-level cultivators in the Refining Qi stage, so it wasn't too hard to pass through. Chen Ge occasionally took out the map to confirm their location, his face covered with dust, but he smiled: "We're only about seven or eight miles away from our target, let's put in a bit more effort."

  Suddenly, the ghost soldier about ten or so yards ahead let out a sharp and low-pitched howl. The thunder movement that was connected to the ghost soldier's soul immediately discerned that it had discovered an enemy. Unlike before when it encountered ordinary beasts, this time the howl was both swift and deep, clearly indicating that it had discovered an enemy whose strength was at least no weaker than its own.

  "Beware, a strong enemy is coming." As soon as Lei Dong's voice fell, a giant snake as thick as a water bucket emerged from the pile of weeds and earth in front of him. Its tail swept around, and its upper body soared into the air for three or four zhang. A head as big as a millstone with sharp teeth wide open, it bit towards the ghost soldier floating in mid-air.

  However, the strength of the ghost soldier is equivalent to that of a first-level cultivator in the Refining Qi period. Moreover, with his innate talent for flight, he is agile and elusive. He had been prepared for the giant snake's attack, and with a flash of his body, he dodged the snake's bite and counterattacked with a knife aimed at the snake's head. The giant snake missed its first strike and was still in a state of pause when it received a slash from the ghost soldier.

  Unfortunately, the ghost's knife was not a physical entity, but rather a condensation of soul energy. If it were to reach a higher level, its power would naturally be considerable. However, at this point, it had only broken through one layer of skin and shaved off a few scales.

  "Good fellow, this is a demon beast!" Chen Ge exclaimed in surprise, but he didn't show any fear. Judging from the giant snake's intimidating aura and momentum, it was only slightly stronger than the crowd. It should be a second-layer Qi-refining demon snake. One-on-one, it would be difficult to take it down. But with four against one, they had a significant advantage.

  "Wei Hua, go ahead and help the ghost soldiers bind the demon snake. Leidong and I will attack together." As soon as Chen Ge's words fell, Wei Hua suddenly rushed forward, and at the same time, the dark green small sword slashed towards the giant snake's neck.

  Without waiting for Chen Ge's instructions, Lei Dong had already prepared the dark green short sword. With a flick of his wrist, the sword shot out. Meanwhile, Chen Ge rushed forward a few steps before beginning to chant and cast the Nether Fireball.

  Whoosh, whoosh, the small sword of Lei Dong Wei Hua shot out in all directions. Under their control, although not very agile, it was spinning in mid-air and slashing towards the giant snake. The giant snake did not expect this move and carelessly took two swords. Unfortunately, the dark green small sword sent by this sect was only for new disciples to practice their control, its power was very weak. It could deal with ordinary fierce beasts, but facing this second-level Qi-refining giant snake, it was slightly ineffective, only able to cut into its skin an inch or two.

  But even so, the giant snake's eyes emitted a fierce and sinister glow under the pain. With a flick of its tail, it charged towards Wei Hua. But it forgot that the ghost soldier was not to be trifled with either. With a shrill cry, its body turned blood red, and it hacked at the snake's neck with a vicious slash. This one slash from the enhanced ghost soldier already rivaled the power of a second-layer Qi Refining cultivator, cutting deep into the snake's flesh by several inches.

  Hissing~ The giant snake let out a painful hiss, no longer caring about Weihua, and instead began to bite the ghost soldiers again. Chen Ge's soul fireball was apparently much more refined than before, ready in just two or three breaths.

  A fist-sized dark fireball with a long, pale green flame tail struck the giant snake at high speed.

  "Ah~ The power of the Netherfire Bomb is not something that can be compared to the Ink Green Sword and the Ghost Soldier's knife! The explosive force blew a huge hole in its body, splashing Netherfire onto the snake scales, which ignited with a faint flame. Poor demonic beast, it wasn't until now that it realized it had kicked an iron plate, rolling around on the ground in agony trying to put out the flames. But this Netherfire is something that burns the soul's power, even jumping into water can't extinguish it, let alone just rolling around?"

  Lei Dong and the others would not let it go free. One by one, they wielded their dark green swords, fiercely attacking the giant snake, each sword strike building momentum as they went. The ghost soldiers who had activated their bloodthirsty state were no weaklings either, seizing every opportunity to slash with their knives, cutting deep into bone.

  After a brief entanglement, the giant snake, realizing it was in trouble, began to flee rapidly. However, the crowd would not let it have its way. After all, killing a second-layer Qi-refining demonic beast was also a small fortune for them at present. Many ants can kill an elephant, and what's more, the three men and one ghost were only slightly weaker than the giant snake. They had only chased and killed for two miles when the giant snake began to convulse on the ground. Its body was covered in knife wounds and sword scars, especially the large hole blown open by the dark fireball, which was the most fatal. The intense burning of the dark fire also gradually dissipated and extinguished with the death of the giant snake.

  Including Lei Dong, the three of them were extremely excited. This was still their first time killing a demon beast in their lives, and it was even a second-layer cultivator. The only thing they didn't know was whether this giant snake was the one mentioned in the mission or not. However, even if it wasn't, they weren't afraid; all three of them felt that this battle had been very easy, and another demon beast would also be destroyed just the same.

  The power of the ghost soldier also made Weihua praise him endlessly. Although Weihua could also dodge the snake's attacks for a moment with his Xuan Yin shield, he was still in danger of losing his life. The ghost soldier, on the other hand, was fearless and extremely agile, making him the best choice to be a meat shield.

  Without saying another word, the three of them began to gather their spoils from this battle. As for the demonic beast, the most valuable part was naturally its internal elixir. Of course, this internal elixir was different from the golden elixir in the Golden Elixir Grand Dao. Like a human's dantian, this internal elixir was where the demonic beast absorbed and exhaled the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, condensing its power, making it an excellent material for refining elixirs. This internal elixir from a second-level demonic beast, although lower in rank, was worth at least two spirit stones.

  In addition to skin and tail bones, snake gallbladders can also be used as refining materials, but they are not very valuable. Scattered and miscellaneous, the total value should be around three spirit stones.

  Everyone is preparing to pack these things back, sell them and then divide the money. Although each person can only get one spirit stone at most, for cultivators of their level, one spirit stone is already a very valuable thing. Chen Ge and Wei Hua had brought some from home, but it was also difficult to come by.

  As for the snake meat and blood, apart from everyone bringing some as food, the remaining snake meat and blood were all given to the ghost soldiers. With human cultivation methods being a thousand miles different, ghosts like them can only advance by relying on the nourishment of the Soul Tower and constantly absorbing blood food. The flesh and blood of a second-layer Refining Qi period demon beast was a great tonic for it. Soon, the giant snake had disappeared without a trace under everyone's division.

  After the ghostly soldier absorbed the blood food, his spirit, which had been weakened by the Blood Technique, not only fully recovered but also seemed to have condensed a bit more, making him look even more majestic.

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