Chapter 297: Dragging Others Down

“Cheng Bao!”
Lin Dong couldn’t help but grit his teeth.
“Who?” Yun Lan asked, puzzled.
“That bandit who almost killed me last time,” Lin Dong explained. “The one who knows the Deathless Art!”
Yun Lan’s gaze sharpened, and the Blue Chen Sword appeared silently in her palm.
“You won’t see him again from now on.”
“Let’s get the Golden Armored Snake first. As for Cheng Bao…” Lin Dong shook his head slowly and said seriously, “If he survives, I’ll go after him.”
“You’ll go after him?” Yun Lan frowned.
Lin Dong nodded firmly, his eyes gleaming with determination. “If I suffer a loss, I must retrieve it myself.”
“But you…” Yun Lan hesitated slightly.
“It’s fine. Don’t forget—I now have a new weapon. It might only reach level three at most, but it should be enough to block a single strike. Besides…” Lin Dong chuckled, “If I suffer a loss, how can I let my wife save face? What if people find out? How can I face them then?”
Yun Lan pretended not to hear, as if nothing had been said. She had realized that the more she argued, the more Lin Dong would push further. If she ignored him, he would likely lose interest after a while.
Boom…
Just then, the Golden Armored Snake finally stopped rising. Unable to reach the sun in the sky, its massive body crashed down onto the water’s surface. With a loud noise, the pond, which had calmed slightly, was once again filled with turbulent waves.
“This spiritual snake must be skilled in water. Force it onto land!” shouted a middle-aged man in a blue robe, wielding a green spiritual sword, from not far away.
There were few responses. In fact, many people rolled their eyes at the middle-aged man.
Although most people intended to observe the situation and act when the time came, there were also quite a few who wanted to be the first to strike. A total of three or four hundred people had gone into the pond, so how many had come up with the Golden Armored Snake? Thirty or fifty. Though the spiritual snake was severely injured with many of its scales and flesh torn apart, no one knew how many more lives would be lost to fill the gap.
Forcing it onto land sounded easy—everyone could say that. But aside from those who had planned to wait for the right moment, even those who had gone in and come back earlier were all highly skilled, yet none of them followed the Golden Armored Snake back into the pond.
The entire valley fell silent for a moment.
“What should we do?” Lin Dong asked Yun Lan softly. “If no one dares to act, the longer we wait, the more likely we are to attract even stronger enemies. Besides, we don’t have much time to waste here.”

“Wait a bit longer,” Yun Lan said softly. “If nothing else works, I’ll go down alone—it’ll be easier for me to get out then.”
Lin Dong shook his head, firmly rejecting Yun Lan’s suggestion. “We should go together. If you go down alone and a battle breaks out with the Golden Armored Snake, others might follow once they see the situation. Then you could be attacked from both sides. If that happens, it’s better not to go at all.”
Yun Lan fell silent. That was exactly what she was worried about. Whether going alone or together, it would be impossible to kill the mutated Golden Armored Snake in a short time. If it dragged on too long, someone might take the chance to enter the pool.
Lin Dong glanced around the valley, where there was only whispering and no other signs of disturbance, then asked quietly, “Is the Golden Armored Snake well-known?”
Yun Lan hesitated for a moment before answering, “The sect has various ancient texts on spiritual beasts and materials. Although the Golden Armored Snake isn’t common, it should be recorded in them. But because it’s extremely rare and a mutated variant, no one thought of it right away.”
Lin Dong smiled leisurely. That made things easier.
Sighing, Lin Dong suddenly exclaimed, “Oh, I remember! It’s the Golden Armored Snake. I’ve seen it in ancient texts—it’s definitely the Golden Armored Snake.”
In an instant, nearly a hundred pairs of eyes turned toward Lin Dong.
Lin Dong pretended to be startled, then looked around as if searching for the person who had spoken. “What Golden Armored Snake?”
“The Golden Armored Snake… This spiritual snake does indeed resemble it.”
Among a group clearly dressed as sect disciples, an old man in his fifties muttered suddenly.
“The Golden Armored Snake? The kind whose inner core can be taken alone to enhance strength?” a disciple asked.
“Yes, and the snake skin from its seven-inch section is the best material for spiritual armor,” the old man replied hesitantly. “Its appearance is correct, but I remember it doesn’t have a fleshy crown on its head.”
“Could it be a mutant?” a disciple asked.
“A mutant? Yes, it must be a mutated Golden Armored Snake.” The old man shuddered and quickly turned to a disciple beside him, staring intently. “Xiao Feng, return to the sect immediately and inform the sect master about the situation here. Say we might have found a Golden Armored Snake, a mutated one. Go now—don’t delay a moment!”
“Understood!” The disciple’s heart sank as he turned and rushed off at full speed.
In moments, every small group scattered, sending someone rushing toward the valley entrance, as if the Golden Armored Snake wasn’t in the cold pool but had already fled the valley.
“That’s a good approach,” Yun Lan said slowly, watching the sect disciples retreat one after another.

Lin Dong smiled indifferently. In this way, it would accelerate the arrival of more sect disciples, but at the same time, it would also make those lone warriors unable to hold back. As expected, although Lin Dong’s words only caused a stir in a small area, many warriors who came alone to try their luck were within that small range. Seeing that some sect disciples had already gone back to fetch reinforcements, these people quickly grew impatient. One burly man was the first to lose control and stand up. “Everyone, the spiritual snakes in this cold pond are Golden Armored Snakes. If I’m not mistaken, they’re even mutated Golden Armored Snakes. The inner cores of Golden Armored Snakes can enhance one’s strength. I believe there’s no need for me to explain further—everyone should already be aware of this. Some sects have already sent disciples back to report, and once all the sects send their forces here, those of us who don’t belong to any sect will likely not even get a chance to watch—their presence will surely be cleared from the valley.” The entire valley was immediately in an uproar. With this reminder from the burly man, the disciples of various sects quickly recalled information about Golden Armored Snakes from their memories. Soon, more sects sent disciples back to report. This situation quickly dispelled the doubts of those warriors who, unlike sect disciples, couldn’t access numerous ancient texts regarding the claim that the inner cores of Golden Armored Snakes could enhance strength. Otherwise, why would these sect disciples be so anxious? Even among spiritual beasts of the same rank, their values vary. If the spiritual beasts in the cold pond were of ordinary value, even high-tier ones wouldn’t warrant the effort of sending back reinforcements. At the edge of the cold pond, Cheng Bao swung his golden sword and plunged headfirst into the pond. Without anyone needing to take the lead, Cheng Bao’s action served as a silent declaration. Many people quickly stepped forward from the crowd and, without any prior agreement, jumped into the pond together. “Damn it! Don’t let them get ahead!” The leaders of the various sects promptly made changes. After leaving some people behind to handle follow-up, they all led their teams to follow. “We should go down too,” Lin Dong said gravely. Yun Lan nodded. Although mutated Golden Armored Snakes were extremely powerful, no amount of power could withstand an attack from hundreds or thousands of warriors at the Mental State stage. Since the main force was going down, they naturally had to follow. Otherwise, if someone else retrieved the inner core first and put it in their storage ring, although it might be easier to steal it, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t destroy the inner core in the process. There was no such concern when stealing the inner core from a Golden Armored Snake—except for a very few spiritual beasts, over 99% of them wouldn’t destroy their own inner cores even if they died.

Lin Dong followed Yun Lan to the edge of the cold pond. Spiritual energy surged from his dantian and spread across his skin. With each breath, a faint glow formed around him. Taking a deep breath, Lin Dong plunged into the cold pond. Despite the protective spiritual barrier, the extreme cold seeped into his body the moment he entered the water, causing him to shiver uncontrollably. Looking at Yun Lan, who remained calm, it was clear her spiritual barrier was far stronger than his, preventing the cold from penetrating. Suppressing his envy, Lin Dong scanned the area quickly. Apart from Yun Lan, all he saw was the blue water. By channeling spiritual energy into his eyes, he could see a little further, faintly detecting a soft golden light. Determining the direction, the two swam over. Beneath the surface, the pond was much larger than it appeared from above. They swam diagonally for two or three hundred meters before stopping. Not far away, dark waves churned as six or seven hundred people surrounded the Golden Armored Snake. Most of them watched from the periphery, while nearly two hundred warriors fought desperately to attack it. Their identities were obvious. A faint scent of blood spread across the pond bottom. Although the Golden Armored Snake had thick skin and tough flesh, the weapons in the hands of its attackers were no ordinary swords or knives. Its hissing roars and rapid movements showed that it was in dire straits. Similarly, the two hundred warriors who were not disciples of any sect were not faring any better. Lacking coordination, they could not mount effective attacks or defenses. Whether it was the snake’s massive body or its sharp fangs as sharp as spiritual weapons, any encounter meant death or serious injury. Of course, this wasn’t absolute—three of them dared to confront the Golden Armored Snake head-on. Two of them were clearly strong; each time they clashed with the snake, they would retreat only five or six meters before regaining their footing. The third was Cheng Bao. Compared to the other two, Cheng Bao seemed weaker. Whenever the snake swatted with its tail or charged at him, he would be flung away like a cannonball. This outcome was the same as many others, but the difference was that, after a short while, people would see this burly man with the golden sword returning again and again, seemingly invincible.

What’s even more peculiar is that every time the Golden Armored Snake collided with this strong man wielding a golden sword, it would hiss a few times and convulse several times. Although no one knew exactly how Cheng Bao did it, the sounds made it clear that the Golden Armored Snake must have suffered severe injuries. Even those who doubted it stopped doubting after seeing the snake start avoiding Cheng Bao after a dozen or so encounters.

The entire bottom of the cold pond was filled with murderous intent and bloodstains.

Lin Dong kept his mouth tightly closed and began gesturing wildly, seemingly asking Yun Lan how long it would take to finish this at this pace.

Yun Lan and Lin Dong had an excellent understanding of each other; she understood what Lin Dong wanted to know without him even needing to gesture. After a brief pause, she drew circles in the water with her fingers and then raised two slender fingers.

If the disciples from the surrounding sects didn’t interfere, it would take two hours!

Lin Dong frowned—this was quite a long time. Enough time for the nearby sects to send everyone they had to help.

After some calculation, Lin Dong smirked. He needed to drag these sect disciples into this as well. He raised his eyebrows slightly toward Yun Lan, then also began drawing circles in the water with his fingers.

Yun Lan smiled, her Blue Chen Sword quietly in hand. Then, she silently moved away from the crowd and headed toward the Golden Armored Snake.

Hiss…

Although no one noticed, a blue ninth-tier spiritual sword appeared beneath the Golden Armored Snake, continuously stabbing at its lower abdomen. But everyone saw that the snake, seemingly affected by something, began hissing more urgently. Its chaotic attempts to escape changed to moving in one direction.

The disciples from the sects in that direction quickly grew impatient and retreated.

The warriors surrounding the Golden Armored Snake suddenly realized something. Instead of forcing it to stop escaping, they changed tactics in perfect coordination. Abandoning the effort to stop its escape, they focused on attacking from the other three sides.

With no choice, as the Golden Armored Snake got closer and closer, the sect disciples were forced to scatter.

Guided by the Blue Chen Sword, the Golden Armored Snake twisted its body and moved toward the sect disciples.

The warriors also noticed that the snake seemed interested in the sect disciples watching from afar. This was a great opportunity to drag them into the fight, so they didn’t miss it. Taking advantage of the disciples scattering, led by Cheng Bao and three experts capable of fighting the Golden Armored Snake head-on, many others followed suit. They targeted a group of sect disciples, waited for them to scatter, and then rushed at them, deliberately pushing them toward the snake.

On one side were dozens of warriors, and on the other, the Golden Armored Snake. The disciples of various sects trapped in between were stunned and had no choice but to attack the Golden Armored Snake. Some of them, unwilling to submit, tried to turn against their own allies and attack those warriors instead. However, this move clearly failed to win the Golden Armored Snake’s favor. These disciples found themselves under attack from all sides and could not escape the onslaught of their temporary ally. In contrast, those who were forced to join the attack on the Golden Armored Snake had only the warriors behind them to watch over them, meaning they faced only one enemy—so long as they were careful, they might survive.

Soon, the disciples of various sects realized something was wrong. At the orders of the elders accompanying their sects, they began to retreat outward. In the blink of an eye, they had moved hundreds of meters away.

The warriors who did not belong to any sect stepped in to take action once again. After just half an hour, the disciples of various sects, who could only see faint glimmers from afar and could not discern the actual situation, grew anxious. If the Golden Armored Snake was killed suddenly, by the time they rushed over, there would likely be little left to take.

An impatient elder waved his hand, and the disciples of his sect stepped forward together. There was no need for the warriors to force them; they voluntarily joined the siege of the Golden Armored Snake.

A hundred meters away, looking at the pond shimmering with occasional flashes of light, Lin Dong, despite having a warrior with unparalleled vision by his side, could hardly hold back any longer. He gestured to Yun Lan beside him.

Yun Lan smiled calmly, pressed her palm down, and extended her fair index finger.

Lin Dong nodded helplessly and had no choice but to wait patiently.