Tang Dynasty Demon Suppression Division

Seeing this, Canglang's eyes turned bloodshot: "This evil snake has taken over my cave and destroyed my temple; it is truly hateful!"

"That vicious snake usually hides in the cave," Canglang said in a low voice, "but the cave is full of interconnected passages, making it easy for it to escape."

Upon hearing this, Chen Shuo observed the surrounding environment, discussed the matter in hushed tones with Xu Sheng and the others for a moment, and devised a plan.

"Canglang, you and Li Yuan go to the Water God Temple and challenge them. Just do as I told you to do, and lure out the Xuan Snake."

"Li Yuan, you will fight it later. You are only allowed to lose, not win. Lure it into the formation."

Chen Shuo instructed, "Xu Sheng, Fang Yan, follow me to set up the Thunderfire Exorcising Array over there. Shi Yong, you take two people to guard the perimeter to prevent any accidents."

"yes!"

The group split up and Chen Shuo and the other two quickly set up an array in an open area about a hundred feet away from the pool, using spirit stones and runes to outline the array patterns and conceal their presence.

After they had finished setting things up, Li Yuan and Canglang went to the open space in front of the Water God Temple.

Canglang took a deep breath, mustered his remaining demonic power, and roared towards the direction of the water cave.

"Black Mudfish! Get out here! Your Grandpa Canglang is back! This time I've invited a master, and we're determined to avenge that day and reclaim my cave!"

It acted arrogantly, like a fox borrowing the tiger's power, saying, "Come out if you dare, don't cower in your hole like a dead snake!"

The valley was empty, and the sound echoed for a long time, carrying far. Li Yuan also released a trace of the power fluctuations of the early stage of the Breaking Illusion Realm at the right time.

The pool remained still for a moment, then the water began to churn violently, and a violent aura slowly rose from the depths of the pool.

"Splash!"

A huge splash erupted, and a massive black shadow burst forth from the water, sending spray flying everywhere.

It was that Blackwater Serpent.

Its massive body was perched on the rocks by the pool, its black scales gleaming with a metallic sheen, its fleshy horns on its head particularly ferocious, and its vertical pupils coldly swept across the vast expanse before finally settling on Li Yuan.

When he discovered that Li Yuan was only at the early stage of the Breaking Illusion Realm, a glint of greed flashed in his vertical pupils.

"Tch... You little flea, your defeated foe, are you tired of living, or did you come here specifically to bring me some snacks?"

The Blackwater Serpent spoke in human language, its massive head lowering slightly as it approached Li Yuan: "A human brat at the early stage of the Breaking Illusion Realm, his blood and energy are quite vigorous. Perfect for nourishing my body."

Li Yuan had already switched to an ordinary longsword and shouted sternly, "Demon! You wreak havoc here, harming living beings. Today is your death day! Take this!"

With that, he swung his sword and unleashed a sharp blade of energy, slashing straight at the head of the black serpent.

The Blackwater Serpent's mockery deepened. With a casual toss of its head, it deflected the sword energy with its hard scales and spat out a foul-smelling black water arrow: "Overestimating yourself!"

Li Yuan hurriedly dodged, his swordsmanship becoming somewhat chaotic. After exchanging several fierce blows with the black snake, he gradually became overwhelmed. He exposed an opening and was struck on the shoulder by the snake's tail. With a muffled groan, blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, and he turned and fled in panic.

"Trying to run? You think you can just walk away when you're already this piece of meat in my mouth?"

The Blackwater Serpent was not about to let go of the easy prey that had come to it. It hissed and its massive body slithered away, chasing after Li Yuan in the direction he had fled.

The distance of a hundred feet was covered in an instant. Li Yuan staggered into a rocky beach, his face full of panic. The Black Water Serpent followed without hesitation, its huge body crushing the gravel and kicking up dust.

Just as its entire body entered the rocky beach.

"Buzz—!"

Several crisscrossing array patterns suddenly lit up on the ground, and a huge semi-circular light shield instantly rose up, firmly covering the entire rocky beach.

Lightning crackled and flames flickered above the protective barrier, emanating a powerful aura of confinement.

Thunder and Fire Exorcising Formation, activated!

"Oh no! We've fallen for their trap!"

The Blackwater Serpent was terrified, its vertical pupils revealing panic for the first time. It roared and stood upright with immense force, crashing into the light barrier.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The light shield trembled violently, and the lightning retaliated, exploding into bursts of electric arcs and sparks on its hard scales, but it did not break.

"Let's do it!"

At Chen Shuo's command, Xu Sheng and Fang Yan emerged from their hiding places, each wielding a weapon, and occupied three positions in the formation. They continuously poured their magical power into the formation, urging lightning and fire to bombard the Xuan Snake within.

The Blackwater Serpent charged left and right, crashing into the light barrier and causing it to flicker, but it was unable to break free of the formation. Before long, its body was charred black by the lightning and fire, emitting a strong smell of burning, and it looked utterly wretched.

Only then did it see clearly the person in charge of the formation outside the array. Especially when it saw Xu Sheng's face, its huge body suddenly stiffened, its vertical pupils suddenly contracted, and it revealed an expression of extreme shock.

"It's you?!" the Blackwater Serpent hissed shrilly. "What are you doing here? How did you know I wasn't dead, and how did you track me here?!"

These words were tantamount to an admission of guilt, and the last trace of doubt in their hearts vanished.

That's it, the Blackwater Serpent that should have died in Poyang Lake. It didn't die after all, and it even escaped here.

Xu Sheng was equally shocked, but a cold smile appeared on his face as he deliberately spoke vaguely: "You monster, do you really think that what happened back then was flawless? Someone can kill you, and someone can let us know that you are not dead."

He glanced sideways at the black serpent, his tone mocking, "I just didn't expect you to actually hide in this bitterly cold northwest. What, didn't your master... arrange a better place for you? Or have you already been discarded as a pawn?"

"Hahaha……"

After Xu Sheng finished speaking, he looked up at the sky and laughed loudly, his tone full of disdain.

His words were half true and half false, which made the Blackwater Serpent's vision go black.

Especially when he heard him say the word "abandoned pawn," his huge body trembled noticeably, and his expression changed constantly, clearly indicating that it had struck a nerve.

It stared intently at Xu Sheng: "Just how much do you know?"

There's hope! This Blackwater Serpent doesn't seem very bright; we can get information out of it. Chen Shuo and Xu Sheng exchanged a glance, secretly delighted.

"Never mind how much we know." Chen Shuo stepped forward, his voice icy. "I only ask you, where is Li Chongwen, whom you took away from Poyang Lake back then?"

The Blackwater Serpent's expression was uncertain as it watched the group remain silent, clearly weighing its options.

"You don't have to say anything, anyway, someone has already given instructions to use thunder and fire to refine your soul, so that your soul will be scattered and you will never be reincarnated!" Chen Shuo added fuel to the fire with his harsh words.

The Blackwater Serpent remained silent, and Chen Shuo didn't force it, letting it figure things out on its own.

The black water serpent's face grew increasingly grim, its eyes blazing with fury, and it suddenly began to curse loudly.

"Damn it! Those damned humans! They're all treacherous bastards who kick you when you've served your purpose!"

The Blackwater Serpent was both shocked and enraged. Frenzied flames ignited in its vertical pupils, and its massive body struggled and twisted violently within the formation, causing the light barrier to hum.

"I should have known long ago that cooperating with you cunning scoundrels is like asking a tiger for its skin! All this talk of sharing humanity's destiny, of conspiring together on great things, is a complete deception! You're just using me and then discarding me!"