Cultivation: Starting from a Fighting Cock

Chapter 61 The Serpent Demon in Danger

The blind Taoist priest was disturbed during his seclusion, and naturally he harbored resentment.

But now that he's living under someone else's roof and has just arrived in Wuzhen, and his soul has suffered repeated blows, he doesn't dare to turn against Zhou Mu.

Upon entering the main hall, the blind Taoist bowed to Zhou Mu and several leaders of the Xiangshe Gang.

He still leaned on a bamboo cane in one hand and held a broken bowl in the other.

Zhou Mu inquired about his injuries and found that he had recovered to the seventh level of Qi Refining. He then asked him to join the operation to tame the python demon.

The blind Taoist agreed, but was puzzled and asked, "Young Master Zhou, why don't you just attack the Green Bamboo Gang directly? I'll deal with that little girl from the Su family. Two of you at the Opening Meridian Realm, can't you take down the Green Bamboo Gang leader?"

He believed that Zhou Mu acted too timidly and conservatively.

The head of the Kaishan Martial Arts School had already been killed. Two people at the Qi Opening Realm had a huge advantage over one person at the Qi Opening Realm. It's unclear what they were afraid of.

Zhou Mu glanced at him and said indifferently, "Some time ago, Kong Shen broke through to the late stage of the Meridian Opening Realm."

It's an extremely concise sentence, requiring no further explanation.

For martial artists, reaching the Meridian Opening Realm means that each minor realm is like entering a whole new world.

Chief Wang and Master Wang are both at the mid-stage of the Meridian Opening Realm. They used to be evenly matched with Kong Shen, but now that Kong Shen has broken through to the late stage of the Meridian Opening Realm, even if the two of them attacked together, they would not be enough to defeat him.

It is said that Su Qing provided a considerable amount of elixirs, which helped Kong Shen break through to the late stage of the Meridian Opening Realm.

Thus, in Wuzhen, Su Qing's side was actually stronger than Zhou Mu's side. In addition, before the blind Taoist joined, Zhou Mu's side had no cultivators, so how could they dare to start a fight?

"Late stage of the Meridian Opening Realm?" The blind Taoist frowned.

Even as a cultivator, he found it extremely difficult to deal with a martial artist in the late stage of the Meridian Opening Realm. No wonder Zhou Mu thought of taming a second-tier python demon first.

At that moment, the blind Taoist said nothing more and indicated that he would obey Zhou Mu's orders.

Zhou Mu asked, "Blind Worshipper, we are all very curious as to why a cultivator of your high level would come to such a small place as Wuzhen. What is your purpose?"

As soon as he said this, all the martial artists present stared intently at the blind Taoist.

Zhou Mu had always been wary of the blind Taoist, but now he was simply being more explicit to see if the other party could come up with a convincing reason.

The blind Taoist priest suddenly felt the pressure increase and forced a dry laugh:

"Young Master Zhou, you are wise. I was injured and ended up here. I am grateful to Young Master Zhou and the Xiangshe Gang for taking me in. It is a kind of fate. I am grateful and just wanted to do my part for Young Master Zhou and the Xiangshe Gang. I really have no other intentions."

Chief Wang remained expressionless. He didn't even believe these words, so how could they possibly fool Zhou Mu?
However, Zhou Mu did not press the matter further. He simply waved his hand, signaling everyone to prepare their equipment.

Before long, the head of the Wang Family Martial Arts School arrived with a group of highly skilled disciples.

Everyone grabbed ropes, nets, bows and arrows, spears and other weapons, and followed Zhou Mu toward Python Mountain.

……

Zhao Mansion, backyard.

Ji Cheng did not go out for cockfighting today.

While Master Zhao was out drinking with a few cronies, Zhao Yan was busy helping Zhao Kun prepare all sorts of items needed for the wedding.

Ji Cheng and Da Huang stayed in the backyard, cultivating on their own since they had nothing to do, completely unaware that Zhou Mu had led people to Python Mountain.

The Azure Flame Rabbit was aware of this, as it had been brought along by Su Qing and had witnessed Zhou Mu's capture of the python demon throughout the entire process.

It was so anxious that it kept pacing around, but it couldn't get away to tell Ji Cheng.

In reality, it was no use telling Ji Cheng. Ji Cheng and the big yellow dog could only move around at night; during the day, they couldn't leave the Zhao residence.

"Squeak! Squeak!"

It wasn't until nightfall that the Azure Flame Rabbit appeared on the wall of the Zhao residence's backyard, its cries short and urgent, showing how anxious it was. Ji Cheng and Da Huang exchanged a glance and quickly took the little rabbit to another place to talk.

The little rabbit squeaked and gestured with its hands and feet, describing how Zhou Mu had led people to capture the python demon that afternoon.

"How's Lao Bai? Is he still alive?"

Ji Cheng was slightly excited and asked the question he was most concerned about.

On the one hand, during this period, he had a really good relationship with the python demon and several other demon beasts. Although they had never sworn brotherhood, their relationship was even better than that of sworn brothers.

On the other hand, the python demon has now become his biggest source of demonic energy, since compared to the bull demon playing in the water, the python demon's eating action occurs most frequently.

In other words, he can reliably draw a wisp of demonic energy from the python demon every month.

Now that the python demon is in trouble, he naturally has to do everything he can to save it.

According to the Azure Flame Rabbit, Zhou Mu led a group of powerful warriors to Python Mountain in the afternoon. He first arranged for the warriors to disperse around the mountain forest and surround the python demon.

Then, Zhou Mu stepped forward to negotiate, hoping that the python demon would submit to him and avoid conflict.

Upon seeing this, the python demon remembered Ji Cheng's words and decisively fled, abandoning even the spirit fruit.

Some martial artists had already blocked the python demon's retreat and threw out a net that immediately captured it. Other martial artists rushed forward and attacked the python demon with various weapons, and the fierce battle began.

The python demon was extremely powerful. With a heavy swipe of its tail, it flung more than a dozen martial artists away. Then, it fought against two experts at the Opening Meridian Realm, Master Wang and Chief Wang, without being at a disadvantage.

However, Zhou Mu had also prepared a magical artifact—the Demon-Binding Rope—which he entrusted to the Blind Taoist to control.

The demon-binding rope bound the python demon, sealing its demonic power, leaving it only able to struggle desperately with its brute strength.

Fortunately, the python demon was large enough and had incredible strength. Despite its severe injuries, it managed to fight its way out and escape into the depths of the mountains and forests.

However, Zhou Mu and his group have not given up and are still searching for the python demon in Python Mountain. Several fierce battles have taken place during this time, and the python demon's blood is everywhere. There have also been casualties on Zhou Mu's side.

The Azure Flame Rabbit followed Su Qing and witnessed Zhou Mu and the others' actions throughout.

Su Qing had no intention of saving the python demon; what she cared about was the spiritual fruit. Since the fruit was still a while away from ripening, Zhou Mu and Su Qing each sent people to watch over it, and no one was allowed to pick it before it was ripe.

The little rabbit squeaked, urging Ji Cheng and Da Huang to hurry and save the python demon, saying that if they acted quickly, they might still be able to save it.

"Big Yellow, you can remember Old White's scent, right? Come with me. Little Rabbit, you wait here for Little Black and Little Flower. Tell them what happened. I'll take Big Yellow to rescue Old White first!"

Without a moment's delay, Ji Cheng finished making the arrangements, grabbed Big Yellow, and flew towards Python Mountain.

Even while holding onto Dahuang, Ji Cheng's flying speed was still extremely fast, and he arrived at Mangshan in just three minutes.

During this process, Ji Cheng also used transformation magic to transform into an eagle, while Da Huang turned into a wolfhound.

As they approached Python Mountain, the two demons landed on the ground, concealed their presence, and silently slipped inside.

Soon, they saw the spiritual fruit next to the boulder, which was being guarded by several internal energy martial artists from the Snake Gang and the Green Bamboo Gang.

The two sides drew a line, and neither side was allowed to approach within ten feet of the spiritual fruit.

Ji Cheng gave Da Huang a look, signaling it to track the python demon's aura.

The chicken and the dog quickly disappeared into the forest.

Along the way, one could see rubble mixed with the blood and qi of martial artists and the stench of demonic beasts. Dark red bloodstains still clung to the cracked bark of many ancient trees. The ground was turned upside down, and the sand and soil half-buried the corpses of several martial artists, as well as many damaged weapons, which were covered with the flesh and blood and scales of python demons.

The air in the mountains and forests was filled with the aura of the python demon's blood essence, indicating that it was seriously injured and had gone through several fierce battles during its escape. Just by looking at the extent of the damage the battles caused to the mountains and forests, one could guess how intense the battles were.

Soon, Ji Cheng and Da Huang saw a huge snake molt.

This was the python demon's Golden Cicada Shedding its Shell technique, which must have bought them a lot of time to escape. Seeing this, Ji Cheng and Da Huang quickened their pace.

(End of this chapter)