Captain Qian’s expression was slightly grim. Serving as bait carried a degree of danger, but it promised an extra hundred thousand spirit stones. As the captain, it felt improper for him to snatch that high-risk earning from his team members, so he grudgingly allowed Qing Niangzi to take the role. Qing Niangzi then summoned a streak of red cloud and floated down above the sea surface, raising a protective barrier to fend off the occasional surging tidal waves.

She wove her hands into a complex series of intricate hand seals. After a full few breaths, a sphere of condensed lightning erupted and shot into the sea. Zizz, three or four breaths later, the spherical lightning exploded with a boom. Zizz-zizz, streaks of lightning, like silver snakes, danced wildly in the water, kicking up pillars of spray. Fish darted to the surface, exposing their pale bellies. The larger fish managed a few frantic kicks, but they too ultimately succumbed to the stunning electricity.

Lei Dong’s expression shifted to one of surprise; Qing Niangzi’s strength was indeed considerable. That maneuver just now was clearly a potent, high-level spell. It was just that the preparation time was a bit long—she needed more practice. It was hardly surprising, he mused, that Qing Niangzi’s status in the team was second only to Captain Qian; there was likely a good reason for that. In this world, people didn’t fear a woman simply because she was sharp-tongued. Only strength commanded respect, or fear.

Qing Niangzi’s heavy thunderclap struck incredibly deep. Sure enough, the surface of the sea began to churn and roil from a powerful surge rising from below. Seeing this, everyone’s expressions tightened; they knew Qing Niangzi had agitated the Golden Core stage demon beast beneath them. The surging tide seemed to intensify, causing violent agitation across several li of water—it had to be a massive creature down there. It wasn't that all Golden Core demon beasts were gargantuan, but it was true that many demon beasts in this world grew in size as their power increased.

Qing Niangzi dared not show any carelessness. With one hand, she condensed small orbs of lightning, continuously bombarding the water surface.

Waves towering several dozen feet high, the stirring caused by the Golden Core demon beast, and the explosions of lightning combined to make the water in this area constantly churn and break, intermittently spraying high into the air. Now, even those within the array’s perimeter could feel the presence of the great beast below through their divine senses.

“It’s a Blade-Eel Dragon!” Captain Qian shouted, a mixture of excitement and tension in his voice. “This thing is notoriously ill-tempered and ferocious. Everyone be extra cautious! But if we manage to kill it, this beast is worth two million or more!” Captain Qian, being at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage, naturally possessed a stronger divine sense than the others, allowing him to identify the creature below first.

In fact, Lei Dong had also sensed the beast with his divine sense—a creature spanning over ten zhang in length, nearly a zhang thick, resembling neither a snake nor a true dragon, rapidly thrashing its body as it ascended. He just didn’t know what it was. Knowing its name contained the character for ‘dragon,’ even if it likely had no true relation to dragons, suggested it wasn't some weak, dough-like beast. He became markedly more vigilant.

Just a few breaths after Captain Qian finished speaking, a massive, sharp head breached the water and let out a furious, piercing shriek, revealing two rows of razor-sharp teeth. It clearly displayed intense hostility toward Qing Niangzi. It then leaped into the air, revealing its enormous and agile serpentine body, lunging toward her with menacing teeth snapping. When its mouth opened, the gap was easily over two zhang wide—a small figure like Qing Niangzi likely wouldn’t even make a decent mouthful.

Qing Niangzi was prepared. At this moment, she let out a few soft, charming giggles. The red cloud beneath her feet transformed into a swirling, ethereal mist of reddish vapor that enveloped her as she rapidly retreated backward. Simultaneously, she condensed a small bolt of lightning and tossed it toward the creature’s mouth.

As a powerful Golden Core stage demon beast, it naturally was not struck by her toss. It merely twisted slightly aside, and the lightning bolt missed, exploding near its flank. As the electric current spread, it resembled a complex tree branch, its tips stinging the Blade-Eel Dragon.

Although that small burst of power was entirely incapable of inflicting any actual harm on the Blade-Eel Dragon, the sharp sting of the numbness and pain stoked its fury even further.

It stopped submerging into the water. A faint sheen of light flowed around its body, directly propelling it gliding toward Qing Niangzi. Demon beasts are not like mundane beasts; no matter how powerful or large a mundane beast is, it lacks demonic qi. The reason demon beasts are called such is that, like cultivators, they possess a mysterious and potent energy within their bodies. This is the fundamental distinction between a demon beast and a wild beast.

Its burst of speed was incredible; if it had a pursuit distance of several li, it certainly could have caught Qing Niangzi. Regrettably for the beast, in the blink of an eye, Qing Niangzi slipped into the array that had been set up across the sky. Not forgetting her role, she continued to launch small bolts of lightning to lure the Blade-Eel Dragon.

The Blade-Eel Dragon hesitated momentarily before the array. Given its strength, its intelligence wouldn't be low. Although enraged, it could sense the presence of hidden humans here. However, those humans didn't seem particularly strong. The Blade-Eel Dragon weighed its options and concluded that a group of small fry could likely be dealt with if it fought desperately.

Perhaps holding this thought, the Blade-Eel Dragon abruptly plunged into the array, its surrounding light coalescing, and it spat out a silver-white torrent, stabbing directly at Qing Niangzi. Qing Niangzi’s expression hardened, and she hurriedly summoned a respectable spirit shield. At the same time, her figure almost dissolved into a red streak of spiritual mist, flickering unpredictably as she darted away.

Hiss—the edge of the torrent grazed Qing Niangzi’s spirit shield. The immense impact force sent her spinning violently like a top, flinging her outward. She cried out, “Old Zhao, can’t you hurry the hell up?”

The cultivator named Zhao immediately began chanting hand seals, furiously pouring his true qi into a crystal sphere. The crystal sphere burst forth with a flash of light, striking a rhombic crystal. The rhombic crystal then emitted thin beams of light that shot out in all directions, naturally targeting various banners. The entire process took only two or three breaths.

Once the array was activated, the banners, which had already transformed into figures several zhang tall, began to exhale a dense black fog that instantly blanketed the entire array area, filling it with shadowy figures and mournful howls. The Blade-Eel Dragon seemed to sense something was wrong and attempted to flee, but it was too late. When it turned back, it smashed hard into the thick black fog. The power condensed by the array was immense, blocking its path, holding it fast like a clump of cotton.

The Blade-Eel Dragon roared, a sound full of terror and panic, then began battering the array’s protective wall, concentrating its power into bolts of white light to assault the formation. Finding impact useless, it moved with serpent-like speed to another side. This Blade-Eel Dragon was truly formidable; both its speed and strength were terrifying.

“Brothers, attack!” Captain Qian roared, drawing his prized spiritual artifact first. It was a gourd-shaped spiritual tool. Seeing him execute a hand seal, the gourd grew in the wind, becoming over ten zhang long in a flash. The gourd’s spiritual light flickered, hovering several zhang above his head. Its mouth automatically aimed at the Blade-Eel Dragon, shooting out streaks of cyan light, sharp as blades and swords. When they struck the Blade-Eel Dragon, they visibly cut through its hide, carving visible gashes. Simultaneously, he summoned a flying sword flashing with cold light to attack the beast as well.

The others naturally were not willing to be left behind. They all summoned their most potent spiritual artifacts and desperately hurled them at the Blade-Eel Dragon.

Lei Dong moved his thoughts, deciding first to summon his peak Foundation Establishment level golden puppet. The puppet incessantly stabbed forward with its long spear, emitting streams of golden light, whose power even slightly surpassed Captain Qian’s treasured spiritual artifact. Only then did he summon the Scarlet Refining Flying Sword from his soul, flames blazing forth, the intense heat distorting the very air.

Everyone present had already witnessed Lei Dong’s Scarlet Refining Flying Sword, but the appearance of the golden puppet made all their expressions freeze. Not to mention the exorbitant value of a peak Foundation Establishment puppet, just controlling such a puppet required how profound Lei Dong’s divine sense must be?

Captain Qian’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. A peak Foundation Establishment puppet—a puppet! Who exactly was this young man? How could he possess such a thing? Didn't he know that Captain Qian himself had coveted a peak Foundation Establishment puppet for a long time? For a moment, Captain Qian was truly overcome with envy, jealousy, and resentment. However, despite his envy, if he truly had the spirit stones to buy a puppet, he wouldn't purchase one like this. After all, with that money, it would be better spent acquiring precious spirit herbs to attempt breaking through to the Golden Core stage.

This young man was too wealthy; the others felt a pang of jealousy too. Qing Niangzi, after circling once, floated over to Lei Dong’s side and couldn't resist giving him a flirtatious look, “Little Lei, why don’t you take me in?”

Lei Dong nearly stumbled and fell over, coughing repeatedly. Damn it, it was just one peak Foundation Establishment puppet. While it was indeed valuable, did it warrant such an exaggerated reaction? Lei Dong didn't know that puppets and flying boats were items originally developed by the Mechanism Sect in Kang Prefecture before slowly spreading elsewhere. In Zhao Prefecture, the development of these items, much like flying boats, lagged behind Kang Prefecture.

A peak Foundation Establishment puppet was already an extremely valuable item in Kang Prefecture. To display one in Zhao Prefecture—how could it not incite envy and jealousy among cultivators of the same rank?

“Faster, faster! Lei Dong, I’ll give you an extra half share later,” Captain Qian shouted excitedly. Inviting Lei Dong to join the team had been the wisest decision of his life. Having an additional peak Foundation Establishment puppet was far more satisfying than gaining an extra teammate. Captain Qian’s words didn’t stir a single objection from anyone, because everyone knew the value such a puppet brought to the team.

……(To be continued. For the rest of the story, please log into Qidian, where more chapters are available to support the author and legitimate reading!)