Chapter 10

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The hungry villagers were about to rush into the threshing ground. The old Taoist sneered and said, "A bunch of ants, daring to ruin my good deed."

The old Taoist slapped the disk in his hand again.

Whoosh!

A milky white light suddenly rose around the edge of the threshing ground. This light quickly circled the threshing ground, and in the blink of an eye, formed a cylindrical barrier, blocking all the hungry villagers outside the threshing ground.

The hungry villagers pounded on the milky white light pillar with their hands, but no matter how hard they tried, the light pillar remained immovable, as steady as a mountain.

"Ha ha." The old Taoist laughed triumphantly, "Heaven helps me. After years of hard preparation, as long as I can complete this array, I can steal the lifespans of these young boys and girls, gathering them into my body. I can extend my life by at least sixty-three years. With these additional years, I have a chance to reach the middle stage of the Qi Cultivation realm."

The old Taoist seemed to remember something. He glanced at Cao Yu, who had an uncertain expression, seemingly about to run away. He shot a binding talisman, pinning Cao Yu to his original position, and laughed triumphantly, "Good disciple, help your master complete this Seven Stars and Nine Palaces Lifespan-Stealing Array. You won't be left out after it's done."

In just a moment, the threads of vitality condensed from the young boys and girls had already passed through the Tian Shu, Tian Xuan, Tian Ji, and Tian Quan stars, and were about to reach the fifth star, Yu Heng.

The threads of blood had now grown to the thickness of a cucumber.

The old Taoist widened his eyes, greedily watching the thread of blood. Soon, he would only need to swallow this thread of eternal youth, and his lifespan would increase by sixty-three years. He would no longer have to worry about his lifespan running out in three to five years, and he would have a chance to reach the middle stage of the Qi Cultivation realm.

At this moment, Li Wenjun, with great effort, finally pulled out the half-dagger. He barely grabbed the dagger and aimed the blade at the silver-inlaid rope, cutting it. A small notch appeared on the silver-inlaid rope, which, in the old Taoist's eyes, could only be cut by a magical artifact.

This silver-inlaid rope was not a magical artifact connected to the old Taoist's mind. He was now focused on waiting to swallow the thread of eternal youth. Moreover, he never expected that a mere mortal like Li Wenjun would have such a valuable half-dagger, leading to a huge mistake that he would deeply regret.

The parents and friends of the young boys and girls, as well as the villagers of the military fortress, were all focused on the threshing ground. The young boys and girls were in dire straits and had no time to pay attention to anything else. The old Taoist, fearing any mistakes in his carefully prepared Seven Stars and Nine Palaces Array, did not dare to shift his gaze. As a result, the several hundred people gathered around the threshing ground did not look any further.

The threshing ground was built next to the Juncheng River embankment. Beyond the embankment was the wide Juncheng River. Although the water level had dropped due to drought, the riverbed still contained water about ten feet wide and more than a person's height deep.

Just as the old Taoist invoked the moon's yin energy to activate the Seven Stars and Nine Palaces Array, the Juncheng River's water suddenly rippled, and a large triangular head emerged from the water.

This head was much larger than a basin, but its eyes were not very big, emitting a cold, indifferent light. Behind this head was a slender body about ten feet long. If the laborer from the village head's family had seen it, he would have recognized it as the so-called snake spirit he had seen in the grass by the Juncheng River a few days ago.

However, this snake was not a snake spirit but a type of demonic beast, the black-striped giant python. It had come to the Juncheng River by chance and then swam along the river to the vicinity of the military fortress.

Like the old Taoist, demonic beasts were creatures that could cultivate using the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. The Seven Stars and Nine Palaces Array, which the old Taoist had set up to extract the essence and blood of the young boys and girls to create the thread of eternal youth, was also highly attractive to it.

The black-striped giant python, which was not of a high rank, was basically at the bottom of the demonic beast hierarchy despite its large size. It had little intelligence and mostly acted on instinct. It instinctively felt that if it could swallow the thread of eternal youth, it would greatly benefit.

When the old Taoist activated the protective barrier around the threshing ground, the black-striped giant python could no longer hold back. It swung its tail, and its large, slender body moved silently. Its head rose out of the water, leaped out, and landed on the shore.

The black-striped giant python slithered up the Juncheng River embankment, and about ten feet in front of it were the agitated hungry villagers who were smashing the protective barrier of the threshing ground.

The thread of eternal youth was moving in the Seven Stars and Nine Palaces Array, already circling the fifth star. The faces of the nine young boys and girls on the fifth star rapidly aged, and threads of blood floated from their bodies, making the thread of eternal youth even thicker.

The black-striped giant python suddenly lifted its triangular head, and its abdominal muscles and long tail exerted force. Its massive body seemed to leap into the air, dashing forward in an instant.

There was still about ten feet between the black-striped giant python and the cylindrical protective barrier, but this distance was nothing to the black-striped giant python.

Besides this distance, there were also some people.

The black-striped giant python's sudden dash was a disaster for these people. Its heavy body and fast speed instantly sent several people flying, and a few more unfortunate ones suffered broken bones and fatal injuries from the impact.

Even so, the black-striped giant python's momentum did not diminish, and it heavily collided with the cylindrical protective barrier.

With a loud bang, the milky white cylindrical protective barrier shook violently, almost collapsing.

The villagers and hungry villagers outside the threshing ground were terrified by the sudden appearance of the black-striped giant python. They shouted in panic, "Snake spirit!"

The village head, who had received some prior information, never expected to encounter a snake spirit in such a situation. His head buzzed, his blood rushed to his face, and he was frightened into a stupor, standing there in shock.

The villagers and hungry villagers, as long as they had two legs, were all in a panic, running away as fast as they could. At this moment, who cared about the village head? Who cared about the young boys and girls in the Seven Stars and Nine Palaces Array? They all wished their parents had given them two more legs and dared not stay.

The black-striped giant python swung its tail, colliding with the protective barrier the old Taoist had set up.

"Save me, quick, save..."

The village head had just shouted for help when he was hit by the black-striped giant python's tail, which sent him crashing into the protective barrier. His body was flattened into a meat patty, and blood splattered everywhere. The villagers and hungry villagers ran even faster.

The milky white cylindrical protective barrier shook violently again, more so than before.

The old Taoist, who was in the threshing ground, almost jumped three feet high when the black-striped giant python appeared. He was not happy but extremely anxious.

The old Taoist's lifespan was nearly over, and he had given up most of his wealth to obtain the Seven Stars and Nine Palaces Lifespan-Stealing Array, which could extend his life.

To minimize the risk of attracting the attention of those who liked to proclaim themselves as demon slayers and meddlers, he had immersed himself in the mortal world, traveling a thousand miles to the desolate military fortress. He had taken advantage of the impending drought to cleverly persuade the village head to help him gather the sixty-three young boys and girls needed for the Seven Stars and Nine Palaces Array.

Seeing that everything was going smoothly and was about to be completed, he never expected an unexpected obstacle to appear, a demonic beast.

"First-rank demonic beast, black-striped giant python." The old Taoist glared at the black-striped giant python, which was colliding with the protective barrier.

The black-striped giant python seemed to hear the old Taoist's voice. It raised its head, and its cold, indifferent eyes stared at the old Taoist through the semi-transparent protective barrier.

Suddenly, the black-striped giant python opened its mouth and spewed a mouthful of black water. This black water landed on the protective barrier, emitting a puff of white smoke and a hissing sound. In an instant, the protective barrier, which the old Taoist had painstakingly set up, was corroded, forming a large hole.

The black-striped giant python lowered its head, ready to enter the threshing ground through the large hole.

The old Taoist would not let the black-striped giant python have its way. At this critical moment, he bit his tongue and spat a mouthful of essence blood onto the disk in his hand. Instantly, more milky white light radiated from the disk, and the large hole corroded by the black-striped giant python's venom rapidly closed.

The old Taoist looked up and saw that the thread of eternal youth, which had already absorbed the essence and blood of the nine young boys and girls on the fifth star, Yu Heng, was almost complete. He breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that if he could just hold on for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea (about five minutes), the essence and blood of the eighteen young boys and girls on the last two stars of the Seven Stars would all be gathered into the thread of eternal youth.

When the thread of eternal youth was fully formed, he would swallow it, and all the losses would be compensated.

Just as the thread of eternal youth was about to reach the sixth star, Kaiyang, a light "snap" came from Li Wenjun's body. After his relentless efforts, he finally used the half-dagger to cut the silver-inlaid rope. He quickly freed himself from the rope and, as the thread of eternal youth flew over the nine palaces of Kaiyang, rolled out of the Kan Palace.

The old Taoist's vision blurred, and he saw a black shadow roll out of Kaiyang. He focused and recognized the most troublesome Li Wenjun.

"How is this possible? Weren't you tied up by my silver-inlaid rope?" The old Taoist was almost enraged.

Li Wenjun did not answer the old Taoist's question but held the half-dagger, crouched low, and with a mix of fear, stubbornness, and resentment, stared at the old Taoist.

Before the old Taoist could think of a way to deal with Li Wenjun, the black-striped giant python outside the protective barrier made a new move. It opened its mouth again and spewed a new stream of snake venom.

This mouthful of black water was clearly less in quantity than the previous one. It landed on the milky white protective barrier, and with a hiss, white smoke rose again.

However, this time, the black-striped giant python's venom did not penetrate the protective barrier, which the old Taoist had activated with his essence blood.