Chongming Xianzong

Chapter 151 Purple Fire Jackal

Master Kang naturally would not bring only a team of monks to the mine. Compared to them, the hard laborers in Pingrong County who had been there for nearly half a year were undoubtedly more familiar with the terrain of the mine.

Old man Xia, who was the leader of the hard labor, was not able to escape, and he and his most beloved little disciple were left behind by Kang Dabao to lead the way.

Master Kang is a cautious man. This old man is already in his 80s and is a local tyrant in the outside world. He was captured here and served hard labor for half a year. He suffered so much humiliation. It is hard to say whether he has any resentment in his heart.

He himself would not live for many days, and if he risked his life and relied on his familiarity with the terrain to cause some trouble to Kang Dabao and his group, that would not be a good thing.

The attack of the gold-eating rats not only caused casualties, but also destroyed most of the formations and restrictions that the Huo family and Tanggu County had spent a lot of manpower and resources to build for the entire mine.

The one thousand spirit stones that the mine pays to the Huo family every month will not all be pocketed by Huo Bin. A considerable portion of it must be used to maintain the normal operation of these formations. Objectively speaking, this is actually a considerable expense.

If you count carefully, the amount that Huo Bin actually gets may not be much more than what Kang Dabao and Huo Chun get.

Before the gold-eating rats appeared again, most of the mine tunnels in this spirit stone vein were equipped with fluorescent lamps in order to improve the efficiency of mining for the laborers. However, since the formation in the mine tunnels had been damaged at this time, the fluorescent lamps were all extinguished.

It didn't matter much for the monks who used their magic eyes and released their spiritual awareness, but the two mortals had to hold the obsidian stone to see clearly.

So, Old Man Xia searched in the mine for a long time before he trotted back and stood beside Kang Dabao, pointing to a dark mine in front of him and said.

"Master, the place ahead is where Li Yijian and his companions saw the jackal-like monster last time. Li Yijian's ancestral martial arts skills were quite impressive. He only lost half an arm when he encountered the monster and returned. The others were bitten to death. It was only thanks to Master that the beast was scared away."

Kang Dabao nodded slightly. He had some impression of what Old Man Xia said. Li Yijian's lightness skill was really impressive.

After hearing what Old Man Xia said, Sect Leader Kang turned around and held out his hand, holding up a monk with a pockmarked face and said, "Fellow Daoist Jing, please."

The monk named Jing took orders and stood out from the crowd. He pinched his fingers and a three-foot-long wolfhound puppet beast jumped out of his storage bag. Under the command of the pockmarked monk, it jumped into the mine in a few steps.

After a while, the wolfhound puppet beast returned to the monk surnamed Jing without any change. The latter shook his head at Kang Dabao and said, "Master Kang, my dog ​​didn't find anything unusual."

"Well, let's go and check it out ourselves." Kang Dabao's expression did not relax.

The puppetry practiced by this cultivator named Jing was obviously not the authentic one. The wolfhound puppet had a dim aura and its movements were sluggish, as if it were a dead object. It had none of the agility that a normal puppet beast should have.

This is the disadvantage of Kang Dabao's selection of people. Honest monks are often useless.

They are easy to manage, but among these nearly twenty people, almost no one has any skills worthy of praise.

If Niu Gui'er and Gu Lao Liu were present, although they were evil cultivators, they did have a good ability to detect. Back then, the four ghosts of the Liu family were ten miles away from everyone, but they were able to be discovered by them. It was really amazing.

By the way, the four heads of the Liu family's four ghosts are still pickled and placed in the storage bag of Master Kang. He has to find a time to pay another visit to Tie Liuyun to exchange the spirit stones back.

Unfortunately, good fighters like these two are often a bit rebellious. The situation is critical now. If they are not careful in the mine, they will die.

Master Kang did not have enough prestige, nor did he have time to find ways to subdue those capable monks. In order to be safe, he had to choose honest people.

If you don't have the ability, then you have no ability. It is better to catch a group of obedient people and keep them in your hands than to engage in intrigue and chaos.

After hearing what Kang Dabao said, the cultivator named Jing obediently placed the wolfhound puppet in front to scout the way.

After the swarm of gold-eating rats wreaked havoc, the spiritual power of the entire mine seemed to be thrown into chaos. Master Kang released his spiritual sense and carefully explored it for a long time. Apart from finding some pickaxes left behind by the hard laborers, he did not find anything else.

The air in the mine tunnel without the formation was turbid and smelly. Even cultivators like Kang Dabao felt extremely suffocated, not to mention Old Man Xia and his grandson.

I saw that his little disciple's lips had turned purple and his breathing had become heavy. It was obvious that he was on the verge of collapse.

Although Old Man Xia was in a slightly better condition, his spirit was visibly weakened. He walked weakly, without his usual gait. He was hunched over and breathing heavily, just like an old farmer in the fields.

If he continues to follow the monks like this, this Wu Zong will probably suffocate to death here.

Kang Dabao couldn't find a suitable pill for a while. After asking around, all the cultivators remained silent. Instead, Kuai En listened and poured out two black pills from the medicine gourd.

Seeing how reluctant he was, Kang Dabao thought it was some miraculous panacea.

Unexpectedly, after the grandfather and grandson shared the food, there was no improvement in their condition. Their complexions became increasingly uglier. If they continued like this, they might really die here.

"Go back, go back. Be careful of monsters on the road." Master Kang frowned and scanned the grandfather and grandson with his magic eyes. After confirming that they were not faking illness, he ordered them to go back on their own. He did not forget to give them a reminder when saying goodbye.

As soon as he finished speaking, Kang Dabao felt that something was wrong. His confused spiritual sense couldn't detect it clearly, but there seemed to be a slight foul smell in the air.

At this time, Xiao Qi, who was hiding in his sleeve, suddenly woke up from his sleep. He opened his mouth and gently bit Kang Dabao's finger, which made him alert immediately: "Be careful! Get the magic weapon ready!"

Immediately afterwards, a nimble purple fire jackal jumped out, and without any unnecessary movements, it opened its mouth and spewed a ball of purple flame towards everyone.

"Oh no, it's a top-grade beast of the first rank!" Kang Dabao saw a cluster of red hair growing on the back of the neck of the Purple Fire Jackal. According to "A Preliminary Explanation of the Spiritual Creatures of Jackdaw Mountain", this was a sign that the Purple Fire Jackal had advanced to the top-grade first rank or above.

So Kang Dabao immediately raised the alarm and used the Shutu Qingyuan Shield to block. This earth-colored shield did not need to fight the enemy with its body, but only used the spiritual light emanating from the periphery to isolate the purple flames in front of Master Kang.

It can be seen that the strength of this Purple Fire Jackal is not overbearing, but the solemn expression on Kang Dabao's face has not faded. The purple flame spewed out by this Purple Fire Jackal has indeed reached the power of the first-grade superior grade, which confirms the inference of Master Kang.

Monster beasts such as the Purple Fire Jackal are widely distributed on the outskirts of the Jackdaw Mountains, so Master Kang is very familiar with their habits.

The individual strength of this kind of monster beast is not outstanding among the same level, and is similar to that of ordinary casual cultivators. However, once a first-level upper-grade purple fire jackal appears, according to their habits, it often means that a pack of jackals will appear nearby.

Kang Dabao had encountered only one or two low-level purple fire jackals in the past six months, which he could easily kill or scare away. But if a pack of jackals appeared, there would be ten to forty adult purple fire jackals.

It needs to be emphasized again that even a first-level monster is never a brainless stupid creature.

Their intelligence may be lower than that of ordinary humans and monks, but they also know how to assess the situation and weigh the pros and cons.

They may not understand what "besiege Wei to save Zhao" and "fake passage to attack Guo" mean, and they may not be able to explain clearly what "when the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy stays, we harass; when the enemy is tired, we attack; when the enemy retreats, we pursue" means, but this does not mean that they don't know how to do it.

Many mountain travelers who often make a living in the Jackdaw Mountains have said that they are not afraid of lone monsters such as the Green Mane Lion and the Six-toed Fire Leopard after entering the mountains. This is because even though these powerful monsters are generally in the late first stage when they grow up, they have stepped on the threshold of breaking through the second stage monster. But as long as the mountain travelers are not afraid and show a posture of fighting with them, these monsters will often be scared away.

It is not easy to survive in the Jackdaw Mountains, and they are more afraid of getting hurt than the mountain travelers.

If they get injured and cannot find a suitable elixir to heal their wounds, they can only watch their injuries worsen. Sooner or later, they will lose the ability to protect themselves and become a piece of fresh meat in the mouths of other monsters.

What the mountain travelers fear most are actually the herds of monsters consisting of various kinds of evil wolves and jackals.

When they encounter these beasts, unless the difference in numbers is too great, the latter are rarely frightened away immediately.

The demon wolves and jackals, who have their own tribes to rely on, dare to risk their lives, fight, and even sacrifice themselves. They cooperate with each other tacitly, and have the rudiments of tactics when hunting.

It is difficult for the mountain travelers to get rid of them, let alone become enemies.

These beasts can even spontaneously divide into several groups, bite the monks' butts tightly, and then take turns harassing them day and night, and will not give up even if they chase them for hundreds of miles.

After tasting the flesh and blood of monks, some wolf packs and jackal packs would even include monks in their menus. They would actively look for small groups of monks in the mountains and forests, follow them secretly, and finally eat them up as prey.

This is why the mountain visitors are afraid of them.

The purple flame spewed out by the purple fire jackal that appeared first was blocked by the Shutu Qingyuan Shield. The splashing flames fell to the ground, and sparks bounced up in the dark mine.

Taking advantage of the light, Old Man Xia and his young disciple were able to see the number of purple fire jackals. There were twenty or thirty small beasts, each two or three feet long, sparsely distributed in the mine. They all stared with green eyes, grinned with saliva, growled, and walked towards the monks with their short legs.

Under normal circumstances, with the strength of this group of purple fire jackals, they should not take the initiative to hunt down the same number of cultivators. Even if they win, it will be a pyrrhic victory, and the clan may even gradually die out.

Although the flesh and blood of monks are delicious and can enhance their spiritual practice, they are not enough to make them pay such a painful price.

Master Kang had no time to think about the strangeness of this. The purple fire jackal in the lead seemed to have recognized him as the leader among the cultivators. It opened its big mouth with a mouth full of sharp teeth and leaped towards Kang Dabao.

This seemed to be a signal. Following its movement, the entire pack of purple fire jackals began to attack the prey they had set their eyes on in groups of two or three.

The mine tunnel began to become lively, with voices of people and the barking of jackals rising and falling.

The jackals formed themselves into small teams, each led by a more experienced member of the tribe. They rushed left and right, cutting off the monks and specifically looking for lone monks to circle around and kill.

Compared to the jackals who act in unison and have clear division of labor, the monks who cannot even call each other's names appear much more clumsy.

Scenes like each fighting on his own, fleeing in panic, relying on cowardice, and fighting a tiger crossing a river all appeared, and they soon fell into a disadvantage.

Unlike other members of the jackal pack who were going smoothly, the Purple Fire Jackal leader who was targeting Kang Dabao ran into trouble.

As soon as it pounced, it felt something was wrong. Seeing the fat monk's pupils gradually turning golden, it smelled a hint of danger.

This sharpness honed through life and death saved its life.

The leader of the purple fire jackals paused without thinking, and forcibly changed direction in the air in an extremely twisted posture. As soon as he landed, he jumped with all his strength on all fours and was almost hit by the two golden lights that followed.

One of the companions behind the Purple Fire Jackal leader was unlucky. After being hit by the Golden Eye of Delusion, his entire body was blown apart.

This scene frightened the Purple Fire Jackal leader so much that he let out a terrified scream, and immediately hid among the crowd and the jackals, never facing Kang Dabao again.

However, this only frightened the leader of the jackal pack and made him afraid to confront Master Kang head-on, but it did not mean that the jackal pack's hunting was over.

The leader of the Purple Fire Jackals was seen running around in the chaotic battle. His thin body contained a power that could not be underestimated, destroying the fragile balance of small battlefields everywhere.

At this moment, it clawed down and smashed the puppet beast that was a treasure of the monk surnamed Jing into pieces. A purple fire jackal that was entangled with the puppet beast was instantly freed, and a ball of purple flame from its mouth suddenly hit the companion of the monk surnamed Jing.

The incident happened suddenly. The monk was in danger under siege by two purple fire jackals. He had no way to deal with it. His robes were immediately burned by the purple flames and he died with a wailing sound.

The leader of the Purple Fire Jackals was not complacent. He ignored the distressed expression on the monk named Jing's face, and with his sharp teeth wrapped in flames, he bit down hard on his neck.

Kang Dabao saw that the situation was not right, and two more golden rays of light shone out.

Seeing that the situation was unpredictable, the leader of the Purple Fire Jackals did not stop attacking the cultivator named Jing, but only let out an unpleasant cry from his larynx.

Then another purple fire jackal heard the sound and rose up, picked up a silver-scale shield beside the monk's corpse and held it horizontally in front of its body, blocking the fatal blow from Master Kang for the purple fire jackal leader.

Even though this unrefined shield was of good quality, it did not provide much protection for this loyal purple fire jackal.

Two beams of golden light easily pierced through the shield and hit the purple fire jackal directly. The latter felt its fur, flesh and blood being turned up, and a sharp pain and burning sensation came from its internal organs. It cried out a few times miserably and then died.

However, its efforts were not in vain. The ball of fire spit out by the purple fire jackal leader quickly burned through several defensive talismans released by the monk named Jing, and it bit his neck accurately with its sharp teeth.

The flames attached to the sharp teeth burned the monk's skin and formed large blisters. He struggled desperately in pain, but was pinned to the ground by the Purple Fire Jackal leader.

The wound on the neck of the monk named Jing was too big, and the Purple Fire Jackal leader couldn't cover his mouth, so blood spurted out. The thick and mellow smell of blood made the Purple Fire Jackal leader's eyes even more ferocious.

I saw it clamping the throat tightly with its mouth full of sharp teeth, then suddenly raised its head and pulled it out.

This all sounds like a long story, but it actually happened very quickly.

Only after the golden light went out did Master Kang see the purple fire jackal leader looking back with a bloody throat in his mouth, looking at him with a very cruel look.

It seems to be saying: "Don't be complacent. This battle has just begun."

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(End of this chapter)