Chapter 7: Destroying the Crocodilian Dragon in the Great Marsh

Quietly, I felt the newly acquired spiritual ability, Vortex Guard.

It draws in moisture to condense into a spherical vortex of water that wraps around the body, serving to block enemy attacks. Simultaneously, when the vortex explodes, it transforms into sharp blades to counterattack the opponent.

At the Body Tempering stage, this is merely an ability. Luo Zhou sensed his own stamina; he could use it three times a day.

If he were to advance to the Qi Refining stage, this ability could transform into the Qi Refining characteristic: Water Vortex Qi.

It is one of the nine great abilities of the divine ability "Overturning Rivers and Seas."

Luo Zhou immediately tested it. As he channeled the ability, water vapor from the surroundings truly rose up, circling him and forming a vortex water shield.

It was somewhat similar to the "Qi Condensation Shield" of Qi Refining cultivators, but much weaker and easily shattered.

However, upon shattering, the vortex water shield would explode, turning into sharp blades to counterattack the opponent.

Luo Zhou experimented repeatedly, nodding continuously, quite satisfied. Vortex Guard could be considered his first defensive ability.

During the trial, Luo Zhou felt his soul stir.

The Spirit-Avoiding Technique and Water-Control Technique he had obtained from his classmates quietly changed.

The Spirit-Avoiding Technique transformed into the ability "Float-Avoid," and the Water-Control Technique became the ability "Flow-Control."

Suddenly, he had gathered three: Vortex Guard, Float-Avoid, and Flow-Control—all of which were among the nine abilities of "Overturning Rivers and Seas."

This filled Luo Zhou with immense surprise!

After sleeping for the night, he woke up the next morning with a primary sensation, as if someone were reminding him: thirty-one days left!

And four more Bookworms...

After washing up and finishing breakfast, he strapped two eyebrow-height staves to his back, hung a short blade at his waist, and held a cold-iron long spear in his hand, arriving at the city's north gate before the hour of the Dragon (7:00 AM).

Following the official road from the north gate leads straight to Fengtian City, the provincial capital of Ningze Prefecture. However, along the way, many areas are vast marshes, making travel inconvenient.

In the Dao Academy, the Immortal Sprout Hall is different from other majors; except for the mandatory attendance on the first day of every month for the transmission of techniques, one manages their own time otherwise.

Cheng Wanli, the leader of the Dragon Fang Group, was already waiting there.

Seeing Luo Zhou arrive, Cheng Wanli nodded slightly, lacking the aggressive, commanding air he had displayed in front of others the previous night.

Besides Cheng Wanli, there were two others. One was slightly plump with a face full of smiles.

His name was Cheng Yubo, at the eighth level of Body Tempering. He was Cheng Wanli’s nephew, responsible for the Dragon Fang Group’s logistics and trade.

Beside him, he held the reins of ten yellow-maned horses, which let out occasional neighs.

"You're here, Little Luo!"

"Greetings, Brother Cheng!"

The other man was very thin and sallow-faced.

Lu Yue!

Seeing him, one felt almost nothing, and his presence was quickly ignored.

He was the scout responsible for reconnaissance and exploration for the Dragon Fang Group, at the Great Perfection of Body Tempering.

Seeing Luo Zhou, he nodded slightly, and Luo Zhou responded with a smile.

After waiting a moment longer, a burly man arrived, carrying an iron hammer, a battle blade, a long spear, a giant shield, and a hard bow—several types of weapons.

Zhang Chuan!

The Dragon Fang Group’s primary warrior, at the Great Perfection of Body Tempering. He was the most capable fighter among the Body Tempering cultivators, possessing extraordinary strength.

With this, the five were gathered.

Cheng Wanli said slowly: "Lu Yue discovered a Crocodile Dragon about eighty miles away in Baiyang Marsh.

It fits your rules perfectly, Little Zhou.

Little Zhou, is it possible?"

In public, Luo Zhou was just a reserve member, ordered around by others.

But when only the five of them were together, he was treated with extreme respect, the absolute core of the group.

Luo Zhou nodded: "My divine sense is full, no problem. I can curse-kill the Crocodile Dragon."

Everyone nodded one by one and said: "Eighty miles, let's go. It will take an hour or two!"

The group mounted their horses. Cheng Yubo had prepared ten horses, two for each person, and they set off quickly.

With the horsemanship skills obtained from Qiu Jun, Luo Zhou was adept at riding, far surpassing the others.

After traveling ten miles, Lu Yue quietly disappeared, and his horses were led by Cheng Yubo.

Another ten miles later, Lu Yue returned

"Leader, no one is following us!"

His legs were actually fast enough to keep up with the galloping yellow-maned horses; his speed was astonishing.

The group nodded and continued on.

Along the way, they encountered waves of passersby, all of whom they passed in silence.

They followed the official road for seventy miles before turning off.

After leaving the official road, there were small paths, but the ground became muddy and difficult to traverse, relying entirely on Lu Yue to lead the way.

Soon, a vast marsh appeared ahead, filled with reed beds.

This was Baiyang Marsh, a vast wetland spanning a full hundred miles.

The group stopped, and Cheng Wanli took out five pills, one for each person.

This was the Spirit Yang Pill; one pill was equivalent to ten bowls of spirit grain porridge, an excellent medicine for Body Tempering.

The group consumed the pills and silently refined them, replenishing the energy and spirit consumed during the journey.

Lu Yue said: "We've arrived. Three or five miles more, and we'll be in that beast's hunting ground."

Luo Zhou nodded and said: "Brother Lu, lead the way. Leader, you all wait for our signal."

Cheng Wanli nodded and stopped moving forward. He, Cheng Yubo, and Zhang Chuan began cutting trees to build a simple trailer.

If they had brought a trailer on the road, they would have been hindered, unable to arrive so quickly, and might have attracted others to track or spy on them.

Cheng Wanli was skilled at manufacturing; he carried wheels, shafts, and nails with him, and building a trailer was as simple as play for him.

Luo Zhou followed Lu Yue, and the two entered the swamp.

There were no more paths to follow; the ground underfoot was muddy and treacherous, with many hidden pits and traps.

As a scout, Lu Yue moved with ease.

Luo Zhou followed right behind him, not lagging by a single step.

He had to use the Spirit-Avoiding Technique and Chain-Dash ability he had obtained from his classmates to keep up.

After another five miles, dense patches of reed beds appeared ahead.

"This is it. That beast uses this ten-mile area as its hunting ground and has harmed many poor treasure hunters.

Little Zhou, it's up to you!"

"Don't worry, Brother Lu! I will definitely curse-kill it!"

"Good, I'm leaving. Once the curse-killing is done, blow the whistle to summon us."

With that, Lu Yue returned.

Luo Zhou smiled and channeled his ability to recover quickly, restoring the stamina he had spent on the journey.

Then, he used the ability "Listen" to listen to his surroundings.

Lu Yue had already returned and was no longer within his perception.

A Curse Master is mysterious and unpredictable; he dared not spy on him.

The Crocodile Dragon was in a water pit three miles away. It had already sensed him and was approaching silently and stealthily.

At least eleven people had been eaten by this Crocodile Dragon. They had turned into Dead Nether Spirits, pouring out their misfortunes to Luo Zhou.

All eleven were poor treasure hunters who, for the sake of their families and survival, had come to Baiyang Marsh to search for lotus roots, bird eggs, and anything else they could trade for money.

If they could find spirit materials, even the lowest quality, it would be enough for a family to live on for three to five years.

That was why they came in an endless stream, knowing the danger, to search for treasure in Baiyang Marsh.

In the end, they were all attacked and killed by this Crocodile Dragon.

The Crocodile Dragon is one of the three dragons around Cuiling City, a sub-dragon similar to a crocodile, and extremely terrifying.

They live in the marshes on land, establish their own hunting grounds, lurk in the swamps, and come and go without a trace.

Once an adult, a Crocodile Dragon is equivalent to a Qi Refining cultivator and naturally generates Water Tide Qi.

Except for Qi Refining cultivators who can shatter their water-qi shields, weapons without true essence are completely useless against them.

The Rain-Night Demon was a fully matured Crocodile Dragon that had already left the swamp to live in the sea.

Crocodile Dragons are fierce, but their bodies are full of treasure!

Dragon scales for forging, dragon skin for clothing, dragon meat for delicacies, dragon blood for vitality, dragon bone for soaking wine...

Almost every Crocodile Dragon is a walking treasury!

Luo Zhou smiled. What parental inheritance? He didn't have a damn inheritance.

The so-called inheritance was all the spirit fragments he had earned by hunting dragons after mastering the Dragon-Slaying Spike and joining the Dragon Fang Group.

It was all thanks to the physiognomy and character-reading methods he got from Qiu Jun, as well as the memories and experiences of the Bookworm cultivators.

He had found Cheng Wanli, who was in despair after the group's Qi Refining cultivator left, and rebuilt the Dragon Fang Group.

The reason he established the Dragon Fang Group was, in the end, because Luo Zhou was just a boy.

How to find a Crocodile Dragon, how to transport it after killing it, how to sell it, how to protect the wealth from selling it, how to keep the secret of killing it...

He couldn't do all these things alone; he had to use the strength of others!

The other four were not at the Qi Refining stage and could not kill a Crocodile Dragon at all; they had to rely on Luo Zhou to slay the dragon.

Over there, the Crocodile Dragon had already quietly approached within a one-mile radius.

During this time, Luo Zhou had finished communicating with the eleven Dead Nether Spirits.

How big the man-eating Crocodile Dragon was, how much Qi it controlled, how many teeth it had, its habits and tendencies—Luo Zhou knew them all clearly.

He smiled and took out an eyebrow-height staff, undid the disguise, took out the Dragon-Slaying Spike directly, and stood there, waiting silently.

A moment later, the Crocodile Dragon was ten yards away from Luo Zhou, but it didn't move!

A fierce beast, yet very cunning; it was observing Luo Zhou.

Luo Zhou smiled and waited silently, pretending to be a treasure hunter, feigning a search for spirit materials.

The Crocodile Dragon observed for a full quarter of an hour before it felt reassured: this human was edible!

It swam over quietly. Even though it was just a human juvenile, it attacked silently, like a lion pouncing on a rabbit.

Luo Zhou waited silently. His Dragon-Slaying Spike would only be effective if the target entered within a range of one yard.

This was actually a game for the brave!

Ten feet of distance—the Crocodile Dragon would be there in the blink of an eye!

The enemy approaches, a split second, a fatal strike, life or death!

There was no second chance, no possibility of escape. He hadn't even activated Vortex Guard; in this life-or-death struggle, that bit of defense was meaningless.

Suddenly, the boy smiled!

The Crocodile Dragon had entered within a one-yard range. It didn't choose to pounce and bite immediately!

In an instant, life and death were decided!

Luo Zhou raised the Dragon-Slaying Spike and made a spear-throwing motion.

Four-oxen strength erupted, the throw, the Sharp-Insight Eye, locked onto the opponent's right eye!

The Dragon-Slaying Spike was thrown. The one-yard distance seemed not to exist; it could not be dodged, could not be blocked.

In an instant, the Dragon-Slaying Spike shot into the Crocodile Dragon's right eye.

The Water Tide Shield appeared, shattered, pierced the eye, entered the brain, shattered...

Luo Zhou turned, used the ability "Fly-Pounce," and leaped three yards away, dodging the Crocodile Dragon's death throes.

Watching the Crocodile Dragon's final rolling and twisting, its brain had been completely shattered, but unlike a human body, the Crocodile Dragon's head did not break.

Luo Zhou waited silently. A quarter of an hour later, the Crocodile Dragon stopped moving completely—it was dead!

Luo Zhou didn't rush forward; he threw his waist blade over to confirm the Crocodile Dragon was truly dead.

Only then did he walk over, pick up the cold-iron spear, and repeatedly pierced its eyes, mouth, nose, and ears...

Destroying the traces of the Dragon-Slaying Spike!

Bleeding from the seven orifices, brain shattered—this was death by his curse!

When the Dragon Fang Group was formed, Luo Zhou lied that he was a Curse Master, and every time, the Crocodile Dragon died from the curse, bleeding from the seven orifices.

Curse Masters had existed since ancient times, and everyone was accustomed to them.

Even if someone saw something amiss, they played dumb, because they couldn't advance to the Qi Refining stage, couldn't kill a Crocodile Dragon, and could only rely on Luo Zhou.

After finishing the cleanup, Luo Zhou took out a bone whistle and blew it. The whistle sound traveled out, and there was an immediate response from the other side.

The other four members of the Dragon Fang Group were ecstatic. Another successful kill of a Crocodile Dragon—they were rich!