Xuantian 1: Ancient Xuandongtian

Chapter 263 Seven Serpent Killing Formation!
Since the other party had done a good job of putting on a show, Mu Hanchan naturally couldn't be rude either.

So he cupped his hands in greeting.

He said, "I am Mu Hanchan, a disciple of the Demon Life Sect, and the seventh disciple under Mo Qian. I greet you all."

"Oh, the seventh disciple? That means there are six senior brothers and sisters ahead of me."

A male cultivator with a frosty face and wearing sharp armor spoke.

"Yes."

"Then why were you sent to this godforsaken place? Is it because you're the most useless one?"

Another short, shifty-eyed man asked, his body covered in hair and wearing short-haired leather armor.
Even his cheeks had two inches of fine hair.

“You’re right. I am indeed a useless person, which is why I’ve come to this useless place to manage these useless matters and to deal with the useless people here.”

Mu Hanchan said.

"Oh, so you want to govern us?"

"I wonder if the envoy from the upper sect has the capability?"

A monk dressed in a patterned leather robe continued to ask.

Mu Hanchan glanced around and saw that, apart from the first male cultivator who spoke, most of the others were wearing leather magical artifacts.

"..."

What brings you all here?

Mu Hanchan did not continue this meaningless conversation, but went straight to the point.

The leader of the Mountain Leopard Gang said, "Over the years, our local gang has always maintained a friendly relationship with the envoys from the upper sect."

"This is a good thing, why?"

Mu Hanchan took the initiative to ask, speeding up the pace of the conversation.

"hey-hey!"

The short, stout male cultivator with shifty eyes standing to the side, the leader of the Poison Rat Gang, gave a sinister smile.
He said, "Friendly relations have prerequisites. As for what those prerequisites are, you can ask the managers next to you how they were doing before you arrived."

And what the previous and the envoys did before you arrived.

Mu Hanchan frowned slightly and looked at Song Zhong.

"Ahem! This..."

So he needed to speak with Mu Hanchan privately.

Mu Hanchan refused, saying, "No need, just tell me."

Song Zhong said somewhat awkwardly, "Before you came, several gangs would help clear out the monsters around the mine, so we would pay them some first-grade spirit stones regularly."

In exchange for peace and quiet around the mine.

At this moment, a skinny rat next to the "fat rat" gang leader suddenly shouted, "Did you hear that? Sect brat!"

"No rudeness!"

The "fat rat" scolded the "skinny rat," but its eyes were full of admiration.

"Is it to pay them protection money?"

Mu Hanchan didn't care about these things and asked Song Zhong directly.

Song Zhong forced a smile and said, "I guess so..."

"So, how much is it?"

Mu Hanchan asked, raising her voice slightly so that most of the people present could hear her.

“Give each member of each gang fifty Grade 1 spirit stones, except for the Spirit Serpent Gang, which receives eighty Grade 1 spirit stones.”

At this moment, a woman with a slender and alluring figure, and captivating yet cold eyes, spoke from the far left.

The woman's waist was extremely slender, but... her hips were particularly full...
Her walk is incredibly alluring.

Every step caused those male cultivators with weak willpower to feel their hearts flutter.

"Oh, and who are you?"

In fact, Mu Hanchan had already determined the woman's identity, but she still asked to confirm it.

"Snake Queen, leader of the Spirit Serpent Gang, greets the envoy from the Upper Sect..."

The woman bowed again.

"A beautiful gang leader? Nice to meet you..."

"Giggle...!"

The Snake Princess covered her mouth with her delicate hand and chuckled, "Whether it's beautiful or not, you'll only know after you've tasted it..."

Mu Hanchan did not continue the conversation.
Seeing that all the leaders had come out, he said, "I may not be able to agree to the agreement between the various gangs and the former envoy."

"Kid, don't think you can act recklessly just because you're from an upper sect. This place is vast and far-reaching; even if you die here..."

Your sect doesn't know either.

"Don't let your body end up in a state of disarray, so that even your mother wouldn't recognize it when she comes to collect the remains."

"Skinny Rat" then made a timely threat, pushing the situation toward violence.

Mu Hanchan was a little annoyed by this enemy wingman.

He said unhappily, "Fat Rat Gang Leader, your subordinates are so ill-mannered."

"Fat Rat" also frowned slightly, because he didn't want to really anger the envoy from the upper sect.
He said, "Stop talking, we need to talk about serious matters."

He bowed again and said, "Although the envoy comes from our superior clan, I think it's best to follow local customs when in Rome, do as the Romans do."
Furthermore,
We have indeed helped the mines solve a lot of problems.
Otherwise, these managers wouldn't have agreed.

"Cough cough!"

Song Zhong coughed again and took a step back.

Mu Hanchan noticed it too.

"Due to the previous lack of inter-agency communication, perhaps the administrators had no choice but to sign such an agreement with your gangs."
But things are different now.

When I arrived, the world naturally changed.

The mine doesn't need your help to solve its problems.

He added, "Of course, if you're willing to help resolve some of the monsters affecting the mines free of charge,"

Then I, Mu, would naturally be more than happy to oblige.

When Mu returns to his clan to report on his duties,
I will definitely apply to the sect for a Blazing Sun and White Cloud Medal for each of your esteemed gangs.

"I'll curse your mother!"

"Boss, stop wasting time talking to him, just kill him!"

"Skinny Rat" suddenly flew into a rage. This time, "Fat Rat" did not stop him.

Upon hearing this, Song Zhong and the others tensed up and gripped their magical artifacts tightly.

"So, does that mean we can't reach an agreement?"

"That's what the fat rat said."

“Of course we can talk,” Mu Hanchan replied.

He then spoke calmly and gently: "We were fortunate to receive protection from several esteemed gangs earlier, so it is only right that we give them some spirit stones."

"Hmm... not bad. At least you have some awareness."

The Blue Scorpion Gang leader, clad in sharp armor, thought to himself.

But the next moment, his expression changed.

His smug expression turned into an unbelievable dark brownish-liver color.

Because he heard a sentence.

"Now that I, Mu, have arrived, how about I, Mu, protect your esteemed gangs? As for the spirit stones..."
Based on the previous,
Just double it.

The Poison Rat, Frost Centipede, Blue Scorpion, and Mountain Leopard gangs will have their fees doubled from the original fifty; they simply need to pay the mine 100 first-grade spirit stones per month.
If it were the Spirit Snake Gang,
For the sake of the beautiful gang leader,
No need for double.

Let's round it up to 100 spirit stones a month.

What do you all think?

I, Mu, guarantee that your gang's use of these spirit stones will absolutely not be a waste.

Mu Hanchan opened her arms wide and solemnly promised.

"what?"

"what!"

"What...? Did I hear that right? Rebel against the Heavenly Gang? Make the local gangs pay him protection money?"

"Good, good, good! That's really something...! Hehe..."

Even the leader of the Fat Rat gang was so angry that he laughed, but it was just a cold laugh.

The Snake Princess also looked surprised, clearly the plot was not what she had expected.

Their original plan was:

Several gangs first tried to appease the enemy, then resorted to force, forcing them to comply. Song Zhong and his group then used persuasion to save face, ultimately achieving their goal of gaining benefits.

But I never would have imagined it.
They actually encountered a reverse harvest, and it was double the amount.

Their worst expectation was to return empty-handed.

Even Song Zhong and his group were quite frightened. There were about fifty Spirit Origin Realm cultivators on the other side, while they only had seven or eight.

Although they witnessed Mu Hanchan's strength in eliminating demonic beasts,
However, humans are humans after all, and the combat wisdom and proficiency of cultivators are far superior to those of demonic beasts.

Faced with such apparent strength, which is five or six times greater...

They were all on tenterhooks.

The leader of the Fat Rat Gang said, "It seems we have no choice but to fight today. I want to see if you, the envoy of the upper sect, really have the strength to boast so arrogantly!"

Having said that, he stepped forward, as if he was about to make a move at any moment.

"Wait a minute!"

Snake Princess suddenly stopped her.

"how?"

"If we fight amongst ourselves, it might damage our harmony. Why not let the envoy from the upper sect try out our Spirit Serpent Gang's Seven Serpent Killing Formation first?"
If the messenger can break this formation,
My Spirit Serpent Gang has no objection; we will not only cease demanding spirit stones from the mine, but we will also...

They will do as they say.

Pay one hundred spirit stones every month on time.

If the messenger cannot break this formation!
Then I suggest we revert to the old rules.

Fat Rat and the others thought for a moment: "The strength of this envoy from the upper sect is unknown. Let's send that woman to test the waters first, so we can also see the path of his cultivation techniques and spiritual arts."

"it is good!"

Mu Hanchan thought for a moment and readily agreed.

"Seven Serpents Killing Formation, prepare!"

In an instant, several people behind the Snake Princess appeared like ghosts.

There were three men and three women, and one person whose gender was unknown.

Mu Hanchan instantly sensed that the last person, neither male nor female, might be the Achilles' heel of this snake formation.

However, that person's aura was clearly stronger than the others, second only to the gang leader, Snake Princess.

The group quickly surrounded Mu Hanchan, forming three concentric rings.

The first ring consists of two men and one woman.

The second ring consists of two women and one man.

The third ring is that of the neither-male-nor-female person.

The first ring consisted of two men and three women, each carrying a snake whip. The three whips were seven feet, nine feet, and twelve feet long, respectively.

The whip head was hidden in the sleeve, and the whip's pattern was extremely realistic, as if it were wrapped in snakeskin.

Mu Hanchan glanced at it, her pupils contracted slightly, and she immediately made a judgment on the possibility.

"The two men with short whips are likely the main attackers, while the woman with long whips is probably the secondary attacker. Facing this combination..."
I need to pay attention to three points;
First, get as close to the female whip as possible to prevent her from using the long whip's ranged support attack effect.

Secondly, keep a distance from the shortest whip and only use the middle whip. Although the power is greatest at the end of the whip, it is still better to be attacked from both sides.

Thirdly, be wary of any hidden weapons that the woman may launch at very close range from her right hand (not holding the whip) or her mouth.

The second ring consists of two long line hooks and a pair of two-foot short line hooks.
The short hook is key; it's my weapon for close-quarters combat.

But the core purpose should still be restriction.
Because the Golden Serpent Scale Sword in the third ring is the real main weapon.

The dual-long-range hooks are used to harass and restrict me.

The second step only requires attention to one thing: avoid the suicidal close-range double hook attack. If he recklessly entangles me,

The two long lines are hooked 180° apart and stand in a straight line.
With me and him at the center, we twist clockwise and counterclockwise.

Then I'm afraid I'll have no way to avoid it.

Once I am hooked by the second ring of long hooks, regardless of whether the short hook user is killed by me, he has already fulfilled his role in this formation.

The Golden Serpent Scale Sword in the third ring could pierce straight into my heart.