Zhou Yang’s Proposal

And thus, the event of Zhou Xuanyu's adoption of Zhou Yang as her godson had ended, finally giving way to the true reason the Zhou clan's Advanced-Stage Qi Refinement cultivators had gathered at the ancestral hall: to discuss the development of the red flame iron vein.

Two years had passed since the discovery of the red flame iron vein. During that time, Zhou Minghan had been there several times to investigate the size and quantity of the Venomous Fire Scorpions. After his last visit, he had finally understood the situation.

According to Zhou Minghan's investigations, the number of Venomous Fire Scorpions in the red flame iron vein should be between five and seven hundred, including a Grade 3 Venomous Fire Scorpion King and thirty to forty Grade 2 Venomous Fire Scorpions. The rest were all Grade 1 Venomous Fire Scorpions.

Grade 1 Venomous Fire Scorpions were nothing to be afraid of. Among the cultivators gathered in the ancestral hall today, only Zhou Yang had recently entered Qi Refinement Level 7. The others had already been in the Advanced Stage of Qi Refinement for many years and were equipped with Grade 2 magical armor refined by Zhou Minghan. No matter how many Grade 1 Venomous Fire Scorpions there were, the demon beasts shouldn't pose too much of a threat as long as they were not given the opportunity to fully utilize their stings.

What the cultivators needed to discuss was how they were going to deal with the Grade 2 Venomous Fire Scorpions and Grade 3 Venomous Fire Scorpion King. Unlike the Grade 1 versions, these demon beasts could pose a fatal threat to the cultivators. As such, they needed to plan well before taking action.

After a series of discussions, everyone finally came to a unanimous decision. Zhou Minghan would first hold down the Grade 3 Venomous Fire Scorpion King while the rest would do their best to kill the Grade 1 and Grade 2 Venomous Fire Scorpions. After destroying its minions, the cultivators would then form an array around the Venomous Fire Scorpion King to kill it.

With that plan in mind, the eighteen Advanced-Stage Qi Refinement Cultivators of the Zhou clan, including Zhou Yang, quietly left Yuquan Lake Oasis on Camel Beasts with Zhou Minghan leading the charge on his flying sword toward the red flame iron vein.

With the strength of the Camel Beast's legs, it only took a few days for them to carry the Zhou clan's group to their destination.

In order to avoid alerting the enemy, the group stopped more than ten kilometers away from their destination. Then, Zhou Xuantai, an Advanced Grade 1 array formation master, set up a Grade 1 Illusory Array to hide the Camel Beasts. The group abandoned their mounts and journeyed the rest of the way on foot with the Breath Concealing Technique to conceal their aura as they charged towards the enemies' lair.

The Venomous Fire Scorpion's nest was located on a sand slope of the red flame iron vein that looked no different from other sand slopes in the desert, covered with dense and lush desert plants due to the stream flowing just beneath it.

Its seemingly ordinary appearance masked the huge underground network of tunnels and caves, according to Zhou Minghan. One of the tunnels was connected to an underground spiritual vein with a spiritual Qi density equivalent to that of an Advanced Grade 3 spiritual vein.

Since the growth of desert plants was the hunting grounds of the Venomous Fire Scorpion, the drop in temperatures due to the arrival of dusk meant that it was about the time for the demon beasts to crawl out.

There were many kinds of desert animals that would take refuge in a growth of desert plants in the Boundless Sand Sea - desert chickens, sand swallows, vultures, ostriches, and other birds of various sizes; desert wolves, sand rabbits, camels, sand foxes, gerbils, and various sizes of land mammals; and many kinds of reptiles and arthropods, such as snakes, scorpions, centipedes, lizards, and spiders. Insects, of course, topped the list with the highest quantities of various species.

Each day, various types of animals revealed themselves and explored the surrounding vegetation for food and shelter.

Sand rabbits, gerbils, and insects fed on plant stems and leaves; sand finches and lizards fed on insects; snakes and sand foxes fed on gerbils, sand rabbits, lizards, and desert chickens; and desert wolves were the predators that fed on all the animals in the desert.

However, the apex predator was not the desert wolves. It was the Venomous Fire Scorpion.

Venomous Fire Scorpions had heads as big as buckets and could forage over a range of more than ten square kilometers of land around the sand slope.

Every time a prey passed by, these hunters would bury their bodies under the sand and ambush their prey by clamping them down with their pincers. If their prey was larger than them, they would use their stingers instead.

A Grade 1 Venomous Fire Scorpion was as big as a human head and needed to eat about five hundred grams of fresh meat each time. Once it was full, it would not eat for up to ten days. However, a Grade 2 Venomous Fire Scorpion was as big as a bucket and needed to eat more than five kilograms of fresh meat each time. Once it was full, it would not eat for seven days.

As for the Grade 3 Venomous Fire Scorpion King, it no longer ate the meat of ordinary beasts. Instead, it would eat the old, weak, and sick scorpions. And every half a month, it would eat a Grade 1 Venomous Fire Scorpion regardless of its health condition.

Because the Venomous Fire Scorpion King would eat one of its own kind, the desert's food chain did not collapse. Otherwise, the Venomous Fire Scorpion population would continue to grow and simply eradicate their own food source. Eventually, they would either starve to death or end up killing each other.

But only Zhou Yang knew what a food chain was due to his previous memories. And though he knew about the terrible consequences of a collapsed food chain, he was also an immortal cultivator that had the ability to find a solution to any problem thanks to the existence of spells and techniques. With such resources, he wasn't worried about the clan's plans to get rid of the Venomous Fire Scorpions.

It was not until he had followed the elders of the clan to the destination and observed the Venomous Fire Scorpion hunting strategy from afar through the Heavenly Eye Technique and noticed how fragile the desert food chain on the sand slope was that he came to a realization: there was another method besides having to charge into their nest and exterminate the Venomous Fire Scorpions.

"I'm so stupid! Why didn't I think of this beforehand? If I had thought of this earlier, why would I have the clan leader summon the elders back? We just need to set a few fires to burn the desert plants on the sand slopes to starve the Venomous Fire Scorpions to death!"

Zhou Yang slapped his head in frustration and quickly found Zhou Minghan to inform him of his solution.

Of course, he wouldn't mention anything to do with food chains or ecology. He just kept things simple for immortal cultivators to understand.

"Wonderful! This is a great plan!"

Zhou Minghan was a Foundation Establishment cultivator and a clan leader who had lived for more than a hundred years. Of course, he would be able to get Zhou Yang's plan from the get-go. He did not hesitate to praise Zhou Yang for his suggestion.

"Zhou Yang, you are indeed the lucky star that the heavens have bestowed upon the Zhou clan. How could you have thought of such a brilliant plan? How could I have not thought of anything remotely similar to it?!"

Zhou Minghan immediately informed the other elders of the change in the plan through voice transmission. "Listen up, Quan, Xuanhao, and everyone else. Here's Zhou Yang's brilliant plan. Do you think it's feasible?"

"It is indeed a brilliant plan. It will create an effortless domino effect. Even us immortal cultivators will not realize that we have fallen under such a trap if it happens to us. Excellent job, Zhou Yang!" Zhou Quan was also able to quickly understand Zhou Yang's plan and immediately voiced his support.

"This plan is very good and easy to implement. It can not only be used here but it can also be used to deal with other demon beasts that live in groups in the Boundless Sand Sea in the future. However, this plan will harm the harmony of heaven and earth. It is better not to use it unless there is no other way!" Zhou Yun was also feeling optimistic about Zhou Yang's plan, but as a Grade 2 spiritual herb farmer, he was still instinctively repelled by and vigilant against acts that interfered with nature.

However, the person who really hit the nail on the head was Zhou Yang's father, Zhou Xuanhao. "Let me add one more thing. This plan should never be implemented in an oasis. It must be kept strictly confidential. Otherwise, we will definitely be viewed with hostility by other cultivators in the Boundless Sand Sea and bring disaster to our clan!"

Oases were the most strategic and precious resource in the Boundless Sand Sea. With the existence of an oasis, mortals could live. More mortals meant more immortal cultivators with spiritual roots could be produced.

Therefore, anyone who dared to destroy an oasis in the Boundless Sand Sea would definitely be viewed with hostility and hunted down by other immortal cultivators. Even a large sect like Yellow Sand School would not dare to do such a thing that would offend the public.

The cultivators of the Zhou clan grew up in the desert and knew the importance of the oasis. And Zhou Yang was no exception. He suddenly realized the potentially devastating consequences of his plan and felt a chill in his heart. The excitement on his face disappeared and he immediately restrained himself.

Zhou Minghan nodded solemnly and said, "Well said, Xuanhao. This kind of strategy indeed needs to be used carefully. It's best if it was not used. And if we must, it must be kept a secret. Do not let the news leak out and have outsiders know!"

After saying this, he narrowed his eyes and looked at the sand slope to the west of the setting sun. "Retreat to Qingping Mountain first. Leave this place to me. We will soon find out whether Zhou Yang's strategy will work or not!"