Chapter 701: Great Demon 64

"Only by excavating a Blighted Beast’s Sha Crystal will it dissipate completely, rather than just reverting to Evil Qi. While it’s a competition, the All-Clan Grand Competition is also tasked with clearing out this Evil Qi."

Tan You looked at Jin Yao. "How many Sha Crystals did you get back then?"

Jin Yao instantly understood her meaning. "From my own hunts, less than a thousand. But as spoils, I gained over twenty thousand more."

Tan You mused, "Just how hated were you?"

Jin Yao gloated, "Don’t worry, you’ll only be more hated than I was. We Golden Ring Snakes have always relied on our own combat prowess, but the Immortal Monarchs from the sects are different. They lean on Spiritual Artifacts, talismans, and other such tricks, and the use of those isn’t forbidden inside the ancient battlefield."

"But I have to warn you, there’s a Spirit-Nullifying Zone on the ancient battlefield. Your Arrays... if you end up there, you must be extremely careful." Jin Yao spoke cryptically, but Tan You understood.

’If someone wanted to kill her, they would most likely try it in the Spirit-Nullifying Zone. After all, rumor had it that she relied on ambient Spiritual Power to lay her Arrays. If she went there, her trump card would be useless.’

At this thought, Tan You nodded. "I know. Don’t worry, I have it under control."

Watching Tan You step into the ancient battlefield, Jin Yao finally wiped the smile from his face. His eyes were filled with worry as he gazed at the now-closed portal. "I wonder what she’ll encounter in there."

Jin Zhen’s expression was grave. "The dangers are foreseeable. Let’s just hope she’s careful."

While the five Snake Emperors of the Golden Ring Snake Clan were worrying about her, Tan You had just stepped onto the ancient battlefield when she felt a fierce gust of wind assail her. Her reactions were lightning-fast. She instantly shifted into her true form, her massive serpentine tail whipping out in a counterattack.

Her attacker hadn’t expected such a quick reaction and was struck by her tail completely off guard. Even though he was a Fifth Grade Immortal Monarch, the blow still made his blood roil.

A quick scan of her surroundings revealed at least eight Immortal Monarchs lying in ambush. Judging by their cultivation levels, every single one was at least Fifth Grade. ’How flattering,’ Tan You thought, flicking her forked tongue.

’Are they planning to take me out right at the start?’ ’Too bad they’re destined for disappointment.’ Just as the eight Immortal Monarchs launched their group assault, Tan You made her move.

Even after arriving in the Ninth Heaven and achieving her current cultivation, Tan You had never neglected her Body Refining. Back on the Immortal-Demon Battlefield, she had steamrolled her way through almost exclusively with close-quarters combat.

’Now, facing these Immortal Monarchs, Tan You was curious to see if their bones were any tougher than those of the Demon Clan from the Immortal-Demon Battlefield.’

At this thought, Tan You’s massive body twisted through the clouds. A flick of her tail sent two men flying, then she smoothly coiled around the one wielding a longsword. With a single constricting twist, he was instantly torn to bloody pieces.

By that point, the Immortal Monarchs’ attacks hadn’t even reached her yet. ’It just goes to show,’ she thought, ’while ranged attacks might keep you safe, when it comes to efficiency, nothing is more direct than getting up close and personal.’

’Getting splattered with blood right after entering the battlefield,’ Tan You thought with disdain. ’What a mess!’

In a single exchange, one of their own was dead and three were injured. Fear instantly gripped the remaining four. They exchanged a glance. "Retreat!"

’We have to retreat now and regroup with the main force. This Golden Ring Snake is just too terrifying.’

Since the Immortal Monarchs wanted to leave, Tan You wasn’t about to stop them. ’What’s the fun in killing them now?’ she thought. ’I’ll just wait for them to hunt plenty of Sha Crystals and deliver them to me as a nice little tribute.’

Letting out a triumphant cry that echoed to the heavens, Tan You shifted back to her human form, picked a random direction, and vanished into the depths of the ancient battlefield.

The elites from the various clans who had been watching from the shadows only dared to breathe a sigh of relief after Tan You disappeared. They exchanged glances before scattering in their own directions. But one thought was shared by all: stay far, far away from that Golden Ring Snake.

’She’s only Third Grade, yet she could overwhelm eight Fifth Grade opponents, beating them into submission. No wonder the elders spoke of the Golden Ring Snake Emperors with such a complicated mix of hatred and jealousy.’

Tan You began hunting for Sha Crystals as she traveled. Even though she planned to let others do the hard work for her, she couldn’t just sit around and do nothing, could she? Besides, she made a point of targeting only the most powerful Blighted Beasts. After all, these beasts lacked physical bodies, being formed purely from condensed Evil Qi.

Dealing with them really took some effort.

As she continued to hunt, Tan You also kept an eye out for the Spirit-Nullifying Zone Jin Yao had mentioned. She needed to know where it was so she could turn the tables on her enemies.

Her efforts paid off. In her sixth month on the ancient battlefield, Tan You finally found the Spirit-Nullifying Zone. The moment she stepped inside, her body felt incredibly heavy. Here, both Spiritual Power and Spells were completely suppressed.

’The only thing I can rely on here is my powerful physical body.’ ’And that’s my specialty! Even if those Immortal Monarchs practice Body Refining, can their hides possibly be as thick as mine?’

Tan You narrowed her eyes in satisfaction. This Spirit-Nullifying Zone had just become her greatest ally.

’This Spirit-Nullifying Zone has to end somewhere... so why don’t I stir up some trouble right here? Come to think of it, my God Trapping Array has never covered an area this large before...’

Pondering these things, Tan You traveled until her footprints had covered nearly the entire Spirit-Nullifying Zone. Then one day, at the very center of the zone, she saw something that looked like a small child lying on its back.

Countless wisps of Evil Qi swirled around the child, vying to envelop it, yet they were utterly unable to encroach upon it in the slightest.

"What’s this? A Child of the Earth?" After staring at the child-like figure for a long moment, Tan You stroked her chin and looked away, turning her thoughts back to her grand, troublemaking enterprise. Expanding an Array’s coverage wasn’t a matter of simple geometric scaling; it required an immense volume of calculations.

Tan You could no longer be bothered with hunting. Instead, she devoted herself to studying Arrays, intending to enclose the entire Spirit-Nullifying Zone within one.

「Two months later.」

An Array silently flared to life around the Spirit-Nullifying Zone before vanishing just as quietly. But above where the Array had been, that small, silver mark reappeared.

"How rare. A blessing from the Heavenly Dao. I thought you always had it in for me," Tan You muttered, scratching her head. Now, she wasn’t the least bit anxious.

She had managed to create an Array large enough to cover the entire Spirit-Nullifying Zone. Of course she wasn’t anxious. Now, she just had to wait for the fish to take the bait.

"Speaking of which, I should probably get back to hunting. I wonder what my ranking is now," Tan You said, standing up and stretching languidly, all pretense of grace forgotten.

Before arriving at the Spirit-Nullifying Zone, she had hunted a total of three hundred and ninety-six Sha Crystals in the span of half a year. On the leaderboards, that number would likely put her at the very bottom.

After all, she hadn’t made a single kill in two months, while everyone else was pulling ahead. But Tan You wasn’t worried in the slightest. Now, she would go out to hunt—and to fish.

As for the fish... A smile touched Tan You’s lips, and she left the Spirit-Nullifying Zone without a backward glance.

While Tan You was out hunting, quite a few Immortal Monarchs on the ancient battlefield were also searching for her. In addition to the Taiyi Sect, Buddhist cultivators from the Buddha Sect were on her trail as well.

Jing Yue was also participating in the All-Clan Grand Competition this time around. For the last one, he had only just advanced to the Immortal Monarch realm and felt his strength was lacking, so he hadn’t joined. This time, however, he had made it.