The Black Viper

Translator: Cinder Translations

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The next day, at dawn.

The underground cave in the ancient battlefield was pitch black.

Having calculated the time, Song Wen and Xuan Ye were ready to go.

As usual, Xuan Ye led the way. The tunnel they were traversing had many branches, and only Xuan Ye knew which path to take.

After walking for about two hours.

Song Wen suddenly stopped and asked Xuan Ye.

"Daoist Xuan Ye, is the snake pit not far ahead?"

Xuan Ye asked in confusion.

"Brother Guo Tao, why do you ask? Have you been here before and know the way to the snake pit? It is indeed not far ahead, only a few hundred meters."

Song Wen shook his head and said.

"I have never been to the ancient battlefield, but about three hundred meters ahead, there is a group of snakes dragging six zombies, crawling forward."

Previously, Song Wen had already demonstrated his superior spiritual power. Xuan Ye did not doubt the truth of Song Wen's words about being able to perceive scenes three hundred meters away.

He continued to ask, "What do the snakes look like?"

"They are completely black and vary in size. The smallest are as thick as a thumb, and the largest are as thick as an arm," Song Wen replied.

Xuan Ye nodded, "That should be correct; those are the black vipers from the snake pit. They are hunting."

"Hunting!" Song Wen was somewhat surprised.

It was the first time Song Wen had heard of such peculiar creatures that fed on zombies.

Xuan Ye nodded and said, "Food is scarce in the cave. It is not unusual for beasts and zombies to hunt each other."

"So, what should we do now?" Song Wen asked.

"We should not disturb the black vipers hunting ahead. Let them carry their prey back to the snake pit."

Xuan Ye paused and then continued.

"For the next step in harvesting the snake scale fruit, we will need to rely on Brother Guo Tao."

Song Wen nodded and said, "No problem, this is what we agreed upon earlier. Shouldn't you explain the plan for harvesting the snake scale fruit now?"

Xuan Ye had mentioned before that his plan required the help of a body cultivator, which was why he invited Song Wen and Niu Ding to join him, but he had not disclosed the detailed plan.

Xuan Ye said, "The black vipers have been living in the underground of the ancient battlefield for a long time and feed on zombies, making them naturally fond of darkness and yin energy; they fear fire and the yang energy of heaven and earth."

"To successfully acquire the snake scale fruit, I have prepared for a long time. I spent a large amount of money to commission a set of the 'Raging Inferno Array.' This array consists of eight array flags. As long as the eight flags are placed in the correct positions and I activate the array disc, the area within the array will turn into a sea of fire."

"The temperature within this array is extremely high and contains a trace of the yang energy of heaven and earth. If this array is set up on the ground of the snake pit, the black vipers, due to their nature, will be forced deep into the snake hole."

"Then, it will be much easier for us to retrieve the snake scale fruit."

Upon hearing this, Song Wen frowned deeply.

Xuan Ye's plan sounded feasible, but its implementation would definitely not be as smooth as he described.

For example, how to successfully place the eight array flags was a significant problem.

The black vipers would not just stand by and watch a human cultivator move around their territory without reacting.

However, Song Wen did not immediately voice any doubts but instead nodded in agreement.

"Let's first take a look at the situation in the snake pit and then decide how to proceed."

Xuan Ye nodded, "That sounds good."

The two of them waited while the black vipers ahead slowly dragged the zombies. It took them a full two quarters of an hour to cover a distance of several miles.

Xuan Ye and Song Wen hid in the shadows at a bend in the cave, about three hundred meters from the snake pit.

To avoid alerting the black vipers, Xuan Ye had already put away the luminous stone he used for light, leaving the surroundings in darkness.

Through his beetle Gu, Song Wen observed the general situation of the snake pit.

The cave housing the snake pit was several tens of meters high, with a sloping rock ledge extending from the ground all the way to the ceiling.

The rock slope was dotted with numerous small holes, some as large as two inches in diameter, others as small as a thumb.

Hundreds of black vipers slithered and crawled over the rock slope, with many more lying half-hidden in the snake holes, their tails sticking out.

These black vipers varied greatly in size, some as thick as a bowl, others as slender as chopsticks.

Midway up the slope, a solitary small tree, about two meters high, grew there.

Perhaps due to never having been exposed to sunlight, the tree was entirely grayish-white, including its leaves.

At the top of the small tree hung three fist-sized, fiery red fruits, brimming with spiritual energy and emitting a pleasant fragrance.

Many small snakes slithered around the base of the tree, their eyes fixed greedily on the three snake scale fruits, but none dared to climb the tree and bite into the fruits.

Looking around at the pitch-black surroundings, Song Wen asked.

"Daoist Xuan Ye, what do we do next?"

Xuan Ye replied, "When we make our move, I will send a fierce ghost to draw the attention of the snakes and simultaneously cast a fireball spell."

"Brother Guo Tao, your task is to use the firelight to quickly throw the eight array flags into their corresponding positions."

As he spoke, Xuan Ye produced an array flag.

The array flag was about two feet long, with a fiery red banner and a black pole. The tip of the pole was very sharp, evidently designed to be easily driven into the rock. Mysterious cloud patterns were drawn on both the banner and the pole, with flames seeming to flow among the patterns, making it look extraordinary.

Xuan Ye said, "This array flag weighs about a hundred pounds. You will need to use your brute strength to accurately throw it to the array positions. Can you do that?"

With his seventh-level Qi refining strength, Xuan Ye's spiritual power could only cover a range of just over a hundred meters. Beyond this range, his control over magical tools would be lost, leaving the tools to move only by inertia, making precise control impossible. Naturally, he couldn't accurately place the array flags into the array positions.

Therefore, Xuan Ye had to seek another method.

He thought of finding a body cultivator to assist in retrieving the snake scale fruits.

Body cultivators possess great physical strength, enabling them to throw the array flags accurately into position from a distance.

Song Wen took the array flag, hefted it, and said, "That should be no problem, but relying on brute strength to throw each flag one by one is too cumbersome and time-consuming. It's easy to be detected by the black vipers, causing the array setup to fail."

Xuan Ye raised an eyebrow and said, "Oh? Do you have a better method?"

Song Wen replied, "My spiritual power can barely cover the area of the snake pit. If I can initially refine the array flags, I can use my spiritual power to control all eight flags simultaneously and place them into their positions."

After more than two months of nurturing, Song Wen had slowly discovered new uses for his beetle Gu. Besides extending his spiritual power, the beetle Gu could also simply control magical tools within this extended range.

Although he couldn't use the magical tools to attack enemies within this range, he could still manage to control eight array flags and place them into the array positions.

(End of the Chapter)