In fact, this Serpent Maiden was not just an ordinary Snake Demon; she was a First Level Spirit Beast named Thousand Illusion Snake, which means capable of a myriad of transformations.

Spirit Beasts and Cultivators alike understand the Method of Cultivation, which allows them to enhance their Spiritual Power Cultivation by practicing it.

The Thousand Illusion Snake also knew how to cultivate, and as its Cultivation Base improved, it could transform into various human forms. For instance, it could become a beauty, or an old lady, a child, or even a burly man.

However, this particular Thousand Illusion Snake's Cultivation Base was not high; it could only become a beauty and was unable to fully transform its entire body, only the upper half. Hence, it could only present itself in the form of a woman with the tail of a snake.

To bewitch the group of people entering the mountains, the Thousand Illusion Snake hid its tail in a small cave, only exposing its upper body. Its seductive upper body and a semi-successful Bewitching Technique completely charmed the entire group, and it even successfully devoured a Cultivator at the Fifth Transformation of the Immortal.

Cultivators regard the Spirit Marrow in the body of Spirit Beasts as valuable material for their cultivation, while Spirit Beasts consider the flesh and Dantian of Cultivators as beneficial for theirs. Cultivators seek to kill beasts for their marrow, and Spirit Beasts seek to kill humans to capture their Dantian.

From a perspective of interests, Cultivators and Spirit Beasts are natural enemies.

The Spiritual Power of the Thousand Illusion Snake was not strong; it was their Bewitching Technique that was potent, which had even managed to confuse Wang Xiaoqiang.

Today was a special case; for fear of arousing suspicion, Wang Xiaoqiang had been controlling his Patterned Beast with Willpower to keep it from revealing itself. Otherwise, the Patterned Beast would have flown out and sounded the alarm much earlier, and the tragedy that just occurred would not have happened.

After swallowing the bearded burly man, the Thousand Illusion Snake needed time to digest its meal. During this period, it would not hunt again but rather rest for a while. Hence at this moment, it did not pounce on the people but instead, shrank its body and attempted to flee.

"It's a Spirit Beast, kill it!" Wang Xiaoqiang was the first to react and bellowed loudly.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!" The others also snapped out of their trance, holding Immortal Sword Treasures as they charged at the Thousand Illusion Snake.

Wang Xiaoqiang, taking his ease, pulled out the Sun-Shooting Bow and aimed an arrow at the Thousand Illusion Snake!

Whoosh!

The Gang Qi Arrow whistled forth, hitting the Thousand Illusion Snake the size of a water barrel.

"Ah!" The Thousand Illusion Snake let out a scream like that of a woman and, in an instant, reverted to the monstrous form with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a snake.

It had not expected a Ninth Transformation of the Immortal youth to shoot out an immensely powerful Gang Qi Arrow.

It should be noted that only after reaching the True Immortal Realm could a Cultivator condense Qi into Gang Qi and use Gang Qi to harm others. Wang Xiaoqiang was merely at Nine Turns before the True Immortal Realm; how could he possibly emit a Gang Qi Arrow?

What it didn't know was that Wang Xiaoqiang had already achieved Qi Condensation into Gang Qi. It's just that his Cultivation Base existed in the form of the Five Elements Spiritual Spring, which now had most of its Spiritual Power exhibited externally, making it look like he only had a Nine Turns cultivation. In actuality, he was already a powerhouse at the Fourth Stage of the True Immortal Realm.

Seeing everyone charging at it, the Thousand Illusion Snake did not dare to ponder further. In a whoosh, it reversed back into the same vine-covered cave from earlier, only showing its face, glaring tightly at Wang Xiaoqiang and venomously said, "You little punk, such a vicious move, I'll remember this arrow and pay you back double some day..."

Wang Xiaoqiang stood firm and undaunted, strutting towards the Thousand Illusion Snake with a lewd smile, "Next time I see you, I'll make you howl. That small, curvy tongue of yours is pretty nice, hehe, I really want to try it out..."

"Pah! You know nothing about how big the world is, to dare talk big even on Yan Mountain. If you have the guts, don't leave... wait for me..."

"Haha, you're telling me not to leave? What do you mean? Are you eager to taste my sausage?" Wang Xiaoqiang, with a cheeky grin, strutted towards the Thousand Illusion Snake again, playing the rogue once more, trying to lure it out.

The Thousand Illusion Snake was so infuriated that its pale, beautiful face turned purple, but seeing that the others were numerous and strong, and that it was considerably wounded, it didn't dare to contend with Wang Xiaoqiang. Instead, it cursed resentfully, "Just you wait, little punk!"

Having said that, it whooshed back into the mountain.

A Fourth Transformation of the Immortal Cultivator, feeling dissatisfied, clenched his teeth and, with his Axe Magic Treasure in hand, struck at the cave entrance, causing a large portion of the entrance to collapse with a loud bang.

Wang Xiaoqiang said, "Don't waste your strength in vain; with a mountain this big, even if you leveled it, it would still take half a year..."

That Cultivator sulkily withdrew the Axe Magic Treasure.

Everyone stared blankly at the mouth of the cave.

Wang Xiaoqiang declared, "Alright, let's not waste time here. Let's set out."

Saying this, he took the lead and walked forward.

Everyone else followed close behind.

As they set off again, the group had lost one more person, now down to 83.

After this incident, everyone's opinion of Wang Xiaoqiang's strength had grown increasingly incredulous; their trust in him deepened, and despite his recent bout of rogue behavior causing amusement, they also secretly admired his wit.

At such a young age, he was so astute!

Yan Mountain stretched for thousands of miles, vast in its expanse, with just the fringe of the mountain range covering hundreds of miles.

The team, on foot, searching the mountains for Armor was endowed with powerful Divine Sense, but the vast mountain ranges were like an ocean of peaks.

Finding a small piece of Armor in this "sea of mountains" was incredibly difficult, not quite a needle in a haystack but close enough.

If the 83 divided and searched separately, they might find it quicker, but having witnessed the formidable strength and tactics of the Spirit Beast, who would dare to split up now?

Especially the weaker cultivators, who clung especially close to Wang Xiaoqiang, were regretting their participation in the competition.

However, there is no potion for regret in this world, and by this point, it was too late to drop out.

A Third Transformation of the Immortal apprentice, deliberately getting closer to Wang Xiaoqiang, tried to curry favor, saying, "Elder Brother Wang, I truly admire your courage and insight. In this first contest, you will undoubtedly be the one to take the Armor..."

Wang Xiaoqiang ignored him.

The man paused briefly, then continued, "Elder Brother Wang, I'm sticking with you on this trip. Once we find the Armor, I will definitely be on your side to help you claim it..."

Wang Xiaoqiang glanced at him and yet again remained silent, just continuing to walk on.

Persisting, the man added, "I'm not asking for much, just to return alive. I hope Elder Brother Wang will look out for me..."

Wang Xiaoqiang slightly hesitated in his step, then continued moving forward.

The man let out a long breath of relief, a smile of resignation crossing his face, as he tightly followed behind Wang Xiaoqiang, fearing he would be left behind.

Then, 32 more people showed goodwill towards Wang Xiaoqiang, expressing that they would stand by his side if they found the Armor and clarifying that they sought nothing more than survival.

Wang Xiaoqiang responded with only a slight nod or a brief pause in his steps, his signals subtle, but all 33 people could understand them.

While these 33 individuals were successively showing their goodwill, that Fifth Stage True Immortal Realm strong man was also busy gathering followers, offering simple terms: protection to those who sided with him once they found the Armor, and a share of the Spirit Marrow after he claimed the Armor and received his reward.

After his persuasion, 27 people were successfully won over to become his "underlings," agreeing to help him secure the Armor.

Gradually, the group of 83 divided into three factions: one led by Wang Xiaoqiang, one led by the Fifth Stage powerhouse of the True Immortal Realm, and the last, the neutrals.

The faction loyal to Wang Xiaoqiang and the one influenced by the True Immortal Realm strong man consisted mainly of those with weaker cultivation bases, all below the True Immortal Realm,

While those who were neutral were at or above the True Immortal Realm. Proud of their higher cultivation levels and harboring ambitions, they understood the difficulty of claiming the Armor, yet they found it impossible to give up and become subordinates, making wedding dresses for others, so to speak.

To say there were three factions was not quite right, as the neutral group couldn't be counted as a single faction; for the sake of the Armor, they would still battle among themselves.

The 27 people swayed by the Fifth Stage True Immortal Realm strong man were not entirely committed; when push came to shove, they might not truly aid him,

Even Wang Xiaoqiang's own group wasn't wholly loyal; they might turn with the wind when the time came. Thus, Wang Xiaoqiang was not too enthusiastic about these new followers.

Wang Xiaoqiang thought to himself that when the moment came, he would see how things unfolded. Once the Armor was found, he would eliminate anyone who stood in his way! (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to vote for it at Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)

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