“Geez, so many people?” Judge exclaimed as he looked at the crowd in front of him.
“They aren’t afraid of being swallowed by the python snake when entering the territory of an Eighth-rank Demonic Beast!”
“People never miss a chance to watch a commotion!” Soul Chaser retorted.
“Everyone, be careful!” Casey warned. “If it’s really an eighth-rank Demonic Beast, its attack power shouldn’t be underestimated!”
“Understood!” the crowd responded.
As they spoke, the group arrived at the edge of a water pool. The pool wasn’t too big or too small, covering an area of about two hundred thousand square meters. The water in the pool was black, hence the name Ink Pool. Although they were in a freezing outdoor environment, the water in the pool hadn’t frozen. Faint traces of hot steam still rose from the surface, indicating that it was a place similar to a hot spring.
“Casey, do you think those people on the opposite bank are from Glavale?” Felicia asked, pointing towards a group of people on the other side.
“Most likely,” Casey replied after taking a look.
Hearing their conversation, Azure Dragon and the others also turned their gaze towards the opposite bank. Indeed, among the crowd on the opposite bank, there was a group of people with Eastern features, numbering around forty to fifty. At the forefront was a beautiful woman in her late twenties, dressed in black. With her stunning appearance and voluptuous figure, she stood out among the group of men. While the group observed them, the woman on the other side seemed to be sizing them up as well. It was only natural for people with similar Eastern features to be curious about each other.
“Hello, may I ask if the eighth-rank Demonic Beast is in this water pool?” Night Orchid asked the woman on the right after a while.
“Yes!” the woman nodded in response.
“Has anyone entered the water pool?” Night Orchid continued to inquire.
“Yes!” the woman nodded again. “Today, more than twenty people have gone down, some of them even at the late-stage Sovereign realm of cultivation. But until now, not a single person has come up!”
“Oh?” Night Orchid was slightly taken aback. “Has the Demonic Beast surfaced?”
“No,” the woman shook her head. “At least not today. When someone goes into the water, there will be a commotion, but the beast has never shown itself.”
“What are they waiting for now? Are they just waiting for it to surface like this?” Stout asked.
“The Demonic Beast is too powerful. Nobody dares to go into the water again,” the woman replied. “Some suggested luring it out with other animals. They are waiting for some small animals to be transported from Nordhaven City. It should be arriving soon.”
“I see,” Stout clicked his tongue.
“They’re here!” Just then, someone pointed to a snow carriage not far away.
Soon, several men got off the carriage and carried two large boxes towards the water pool. The boxes were filled with various types of animals. After reaching the edge of the water pool, the men first threw all the animals from one of the boxes into the water. Among those animals, there were some that resembled small goats, some that looked like wild boars, and even a small polar seal. The thirty or so animals splashed around in the lake, causing quite a commotion. At the same time, the people on the shore tensed up, their eyes fixed on the water surface.
“These people are really fearless, risking their lives for a beast core!” Azure Dragon scanned the people on the shore.
“Do they even understand the concept of an eighth-rank Demonic Beast? If it does get lured out, aren’t they worried about being swallowed?”
“People die for wealth, and birds die for food. It’s human nature!” Casey replied.
“Stay alert, something’s happening!” Billy spoke up after a while.
Just as Billy’s words fell, the center of the water pool erupted with a loud splash. Immediately, the entire water surface churned, creating massive waves as if the river was reversing its flow. The small animals sensed the danger and desperately swam towards the shore. However, these animals were not adept swimmers and couldn’t swim more than a few meters even after struggling for half a day.
“Look, the Demonic Beast is there!” someone exclaimed.
Everyone turned their gaze and saw the head of a giant python emerge from the vortex in the center of the water pool. It scanned the crowd on the shore. Although the python had poor eyesight and couldn’t clearly see the people on the shore, it could sense the situation through its unique sensory organs on its head.
“Damn! Such a massive snake!” Judge couldn’t help but shout.
Just from the size of its head, they could tell this python was no ordinary creature, at least twice as large as the one they encountered in the Ice Cave.
“Truly extraordinary!” Azure Dragon couldn’t help but remark.
“Everyone, move back!” Billy narrowed his eyes and spoke.
The group responded and retreated several dozen meters. At this moment, in the water pool, the python casually swallowed a polar seal. Then, without any pause, it swallowed a mountain goat-like creature.
“Attack!” Just then, a man’s voice rang out.
“Alright!” many people responded at once.
Whoosh!
Countless blades and palm strikes shot towards the python from the shore. Most of the attackers were mid to late-stage Sovereign realm experts. The attacks rained down like thunder, but to everyone’s shock, not a single one managed to break through the python’s scales, let alone cause it any harm. Although the distance played a part in this, it also revealed the creature’s strength.
“So powerful!” Vermilion Bird couldn’t help but exclaim.
“This python is probably already a ninth-rank Demonic Beast, just one step away from becoming a Spiritual Beast!” Ivy responded with a serious expression.
Just as the two were speaking, a more intense splash erupted from the water pool. Following that, the entire python shot out from the pool, a hundred meters long, and incredibly fast.
“The beast is out! Run!” someone near the shore shouted, quickly fleeing backwards.
However, due to the python’s speed, many people were swept away before they could react. Some of them lost their breath in midair, while others crashed heavily to the ground, twitched a few times, and then lay still.
“Don’t panic, it’ll be easier to deal with once it leaves the water! Attack together!” an Eighth-rank Sovereign old man shouted loudly. As he spoke, he unleashed his full strength and struck at the python with a palm.
Boom!
The palm strike landed on the python with a loud noise, but it only pushed the python back several meters. Apart from that, there was no damage at all.
“How is this possible?” The old man gasped for breath, no longer caring about anything else, and quickly fled to the side.
However, just as he ran a hundred meters away, the python’s tail had already swept past, lifting him into the air. And to his despair, as he fell from the air, he saw the python’s crimson mouth wide open, waiting for him.