"You are a disciple of Jade Bird Peak, so you surely understand the importance of the Dragon Whisker Polygonum. Since we’ve come all this way, how could we give up on harvesting it? Even if it costs me my life, I must give it a try!"
"Junior Brother, with your lower cultivation, all you need to do is wait here to support me,"
Xu Lianyu said and was about to dive deeper into Dragon Pond again, ready to risk it all.
"Elder Sister, I only said that your method won’t work, not that we won’t harvest the Dragon Whisker Polygonum. I understand its importance and naturally will obtain it at all costs. We just need some strategy; otherwise, even if we were to harvest the Dragon Whisker Polygonum, the Big Snake would surely go mad and viciously hunt us down."
Lin Chen said with a helpless wry smile as he earnestly spoke to Xu Lianyu.
Upon hearing this, Xu Lianyu stopped in her tracks, her eyes suddenly lighting up. Check latest chapters at novel·fire.net
"Junior Brother, do you have a way?"
Xu Lianyu asked joyfully. Since Lin Chen had spoken thus, he must have a method to harvest Dragon Whisker Polygonum.
Wang Yilin was also curious, looking at Lin Chen with interest, eager to see what method he had up his sleeve.
"There is one way, but it requires everyone’s cooperation,"
Lin Chen scanned the crowd, noting that many were wounded to some degree, and the escape had greatly drained their spiritual power. Furthermore, many martial artists had ended up disabled.
There were still several hundred people present, but only about twenty of them had a cultivation above the Spirit Gathering Realm’s Ninth Layer and were still capable of fighting.
To acquire Dragon Whisker Polygonum, it wasn’t simply a matter of numbers. No matter how many they were, when faced with the colossal and deadly Big Snake, they were nothing but fodder.
Lin Chen had no intention of piling his Sect mates’ corpses to harvest Dragon Whisker Polygonum.
"Junior Brother, just say what you need; you can command everyone here. I will ensure they cooperate,"
Xu Lianyu confidently said after looking around at everyone.
Hearing this, Lin Chen glanced over at Leng Dong and others before pointing at them and the disciples at the Ninth Layer of Spirit Gathering Realm. Those below the Eighth Layer of Spirit Gathering Realm were ignored by Lin Chen.
Being pointed out by Lin Chen, Leng Dong and the others were naturally reluctant, their hearts filled with resentment towards him.
Wang Kailong, Zhang Kaisheng, and others were even more fearful, as they had not expected the Little Witch Xu Lianyu to be in Dragon Pond. Wasn’t she at Melding Earth Realm cultivation level? How did she get in?
With the Little Witch’s way of doing things, if she started causing trouble, they wouldn’t stand a chance at survival.
If they had known Xu Lianyu would enter the Mire Dragon Marsh Secret Realm, they would never have come to Dragon Pond to harvest Dragon Whisker Polygonum, no matter the chance of soaring to the skies, one must first live to seize it.
Fortunately, they were not among the people Lin Chen had pointed out.
At that moment, they were actually grateful for their lower cultivation levels, happy to be overlooked by Lin Chen. Those chosen were to do battle with the terrifying Big Snake they had faced earlier, and the chances of surviving were incredibly slim; out of the more than a thousand present before, only about half were alive now.
"Junior Brother Lin Chen, feel free to make any request. As long as it helps the Sect harvest Dragon Whisker Polygonum, we will fully cooperate," they said.
Li Caixia approached the team and actively indicated her willingness to help Lin Chen.
This moment was an excellent opportunity to make connections with Xu Lianyu and Lin Chen, which would greatly aid her future prospects of becoming a disciple of Jade Bird Peak. As long as she could win the favor of Lin Chen and Xu Lianyu, a few kind words from them in front of Yang Yuemin could catch his attention.
Hearing Li Caixia declare her position, Xu Lianyu indeed took a few more glances at her, silently noting her appearance and feeling very satisfied with her.
However, Leng Dong and the others looked troubled. They had already had a close encounter with the Big Snake, and now they didn’t dare to provoke it, their hearts beating a retreat.
Shang Wenle and a few other Martial Artists of the Ninth Level of the Spirit Gathering Realm exchanged glances, showing an intent to confront Xu Lianyu.
Xu Lianyu had Melding Earth Realm Cultivation and was known as the Little Witch. Most crucially, she was the Sect Leader’s granddaughter. In the Sect, everyone was afraid and in awe of her, whether because of her strength or her status.
But this place was the Mire Dragon Marsh Secret Realm. Regardless of how Xu Lianyu got in here, the restrictions made it absolutely impossible for her to unleash the full force of her Melding Earth Realm Cultivation. Leng Dong and the others didn’t want to be cannon fodder in the depths of Dragon Pond and thought about fighting it out with Xu Lianyu instead.
However, a man dressed in grey clothes stopped them, and upon seeing this, Leng Dong could only hold back.
That man was a good friend of Leng Dong and was slightly stronger than him. Heeding his friend’s advice, Leng Dong gradually calmed down.
According to the grey-clothed man’s analysis, Lin Chen must have some confidence to stay behind and target the Big Snake, especially calling out these powerful disciples to stay. Perhaps he really had a way to deal with the Big Snake, and at worst, they could flee when the fight broke out.
"Alright, apart from those Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters who were named, the rest of you quickly leave Dragon Pond, the farther the better," Lin Chen advised the less powerful disciples kindly.
Once they started picking the Dragon Whisker Polygonum, the Big Snake would surely go into a frenzy and start killing wildly.
By then, these lower-cultivation disciples would surely be unable to escape the Big Snake’s talons, so the farther they fled now, the greater their chances of survival later.
However, what Lin Chen intended as a kind gesture was misinterpreted by the other disciples, who thought he didn’t want them to share in the spoils and steal his credit.
"Hmph, just a waste at the Third Layer of Spirit Gathering Realm, nothing but a pretty boy who’s cozied up to Elder Sister Xu. I don’t know why he’s acting so arrogant, as if he owns Dragon Pond."
"Yes, he doesn’t want us near, surely because he’s afraid we’ll snatch away their credit later."
"Why should we listen to him? Let’s pretend to leave for now, and once they start their move, we’ll circle back."
"That makes sense. If they really can handle the Big Snake, then the more people the better. There will be a greater chance of picking the Dragon Whisker Polygonum. What a selfish guy."
Those disciples not named by Lin Chen muttered their resentments under their breath and slowly moved away from Dragon Pond. However, they weren’t actually leaving.
The quiet complaints of the crowd mostly came from the mouths of Martial Artists at the Seventh and Eighth Layer of the Spirit Gathering Realm.
The lower-cultivation Martial Artists were actually relieved not to be chosen by Lin Chen. After all, the terrifying scene of the demonified Big Snake was etched deeply in their minds, and they didn’t have the courage to face it again.
Yet, those whose strength was neither too low nor too high, roughly around the Eighth Layer of the Spirit Gathering Realm, felt differently. They believed they too could fight the Big Snake. Lin Chen’s neglect was seen as an underestimation and fear that they would steal the credit for harvesting the Dragon Whisker Polygonum.
Watching everyone’s retreating backs, Lin Chen finally slowly drew out a disk, ready to implement his plan.