“Dear fellow cultivators, it’s about time. Those who haven’t arrived on time will be considered as having given up on this mission. I would like to thank everyone for coming as promised,” Huan Shi politely said some pleasantries.

“No need for pleasantries. We’re not here for sightseeing. Old man, please quickly explain the details of this mission,” a rough-looking man sitting cross-legged on a giant rock impatiently shouted.

“Leave those formalities to the disciples of the sects. We, as independent cultivators, don’t have time for such nonsense! We’re here for the spirit stones, so let’s get to the point!” another person immediately added.

“Yes! The activities of the Independent Alliance are so secretive. We’re about to set off, and we still don’t know what we’re going to do!”

As soon as the rough-looking man spoke, others also chimed in.

“Alright, alright. I’m glad to see that you all are straightforward and decisive. My friends, the reason why our Independent Alliance has gathered everyone here is to pass through the Ghost Cry Gorge behind you and enter the Snake King Valley to hunt down the Snake King, a venomous python,” Huan Shi said, and most people had a confused look on their faces, seemingly unaware of what the Snake King was.

Yuan Ming had already known their objective and had done some research after returning to the Bi Luo Cave.

Ordinary Golden Flower Poison Pythons were only mid-level Tier 1 demonic beasts, equivalent to the fourth to sixth levels of the Foundation Establishment stage.

However, one should not be deceived by their seemingly unimpressive strength. These snakes usually reproduced rapidly, liked to live in groups, and had a violent temperament. When hunting, they would often attack in groups relentlessly.

So once encountered, they would be quite troublesome.

This was probably the reason why the Independent Alliance recruited a large number of temporary members.

“May I ask, Alliance Leader, what exactly is the Snake King of the Golden Flower Poison Python, and what special attack methods does it have?” Yuan Ming took the initiative to ask.

“The Snake King of the Golden Flower Poison Python is a mid-level Tier 2 demonic beast, equivalent to the early to mid-stage of the Foundation Establishment stage. This beast has a strong physique, immense strength, and is accompanied by potent venom,” Huan Shi looked at Yuan Ming and then explained to everyone.

Yuan Ming nodded inwardly upon hearing this. It was consistent with the information he had found in his research.

When the others heard that the Snake King of the Golden Flower Poison Python was a mid-level Tier 2 demonic beast, their expressions, gazes, or movements all changed in unison.

Some even showed a hint of retreat.

“Lord Alliance Leader, killing a mid-level Tier 2 demonic beast… is really overestimating us. We can’t handle this task,” a tall and thin middle-aged man said first.

“A Foundation Establishment cultivator hunting a mid-level Tier 2 demonic beast would inevitably result in heavy casualties, no matter how many people there are. We’re just here to earn some spirit stones. There’s no need to risk our lives,” another person immediately added.

“What a joke…”

…

For a while, voices of doubt kept ringing out.

“Fellow cultivators, please calm down. I haven’t finished speaking yet. Your main task is to kill the obstructing demonic beasts and poisonous creatures along the way, and search for the traces of the Snake King. If someone can find the trace of the Snake King, we will reward them with an additional three hundred spirit stones. Those who participate in killing the Snake King of the Golden Flower Poison Python will be rewarded based on their contributions, with no less than one hundred spirit stones and up to five hundred spirit stones,” Huan Shi pressed his hand in front of him twice, suppressing the voices of doubt.

Under heavy rewards, the voices of doubt and opposition diminished.

“Why did you hesitate to explain this before? Why did you have to wait until we gathered here?” someone still questioned.

In fact, most people had already figured out the answer. It was to deceive them into coming here first.

“This is a secret operation of our Independent Alliance. It shouldn’t be revealed in advance. However, if any of you want to withdraw now, it’s still possible, and we will compensate you accordingly,” Huan Shi said.

Upon hearing about compensation, the faces of those people eased, and they immediately asked about the compensation.

Huan Shi held up two fingers and said, “Those who choose to give up now can receive two spirit stones and leave.”

“Two spirit stones?”

For ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators, two spirit stones were not considered few. But compared to the maximum of five hundred spirit stones they could receive for participating in the mission, it seemed insignificant.

The comparison of the limited number of spirit stones made it difficult for them to be satisfied.

Yuan Ming couldn’t help but admire the cleverness of the Independent Alliance. They accurately grasped the mentality of these people, whether it was the idea of the Independent Alliance or Huan Shi’s idea.

The atmosphere suddenly became cold, and all the temporary members were caught in a dilemma, contemplating whether or not to take the risk and give it a try.

Regardless of the high risk involved in killing the Snake King, just finding its trace alone was worth three hundred spirit stones!

“I have another question. If the situation inside the Snake King Valley is more severe than we imagined, can we withdraw halfway?” the tall and thin middle-aged man asked again.

“Once you enter the Snake King Valley, it’s a matter of life and death. Your fate will be in the hands of your comrades. Anyone’s retreat could potentially cause the death or injury of others, so in principle, you cannot withdraw,” Huan Shi said.

In principle, it was not allowed, but in practice?

As expected, Huan Shi added, “However, considering the complexity of the situation, before finding the trace of the Snake King, each of you will have one opportunity to withdraw, and we will reward you with ten spirit stones.”

Upon hearing this, the people present once again fell into a dilemma.”Having money is certainly good, but one must also have a life to spend it.” However, voices of doubt still lingered.

“At least there’s an extra chance to withdraw, and there’s also a compensation of ten spirit stones, which is not a small amount…” A lone cultivator pondered.

“I’ll give it a try.” Someone made a decision.

“Sorry, I’m out of this mission.” Some chose to withdraw.

Once one person withdrew, seven or eight more followed suit, though the number was much less than at the beginning.

After the few who withdrew left the crowd, the members of the White Night Alliance indeed did not make things difficult for them.

“Everyone has their own ambitions. Since some of you have chosen to withdraw, we won’t force you. We will give each of you two spirit stones as compensation for your wasted trip.” Huan Shi spoke.

After saying this, he glanced at the young man in white standing beside him and called out, “Tuo Zhe.”

The young man in white understood and immediately stepped forward to distribute the spirit stones to the seven or eight temporary members who had withdrawn.

Seeing the fair and square actions of the White Night Alliance, those temporary members who were originally skeptical and worried about being deceived, instantly had all their anger and worries dispelled.

Among them, two even changed their minds on the spot, admiring the straightforwardness of the White Night Alliance, and decided to continue participating in the beast hunting mission.

The rest who decided to leave, after receiving the spirit stones, also bid their farewells with a fist salute.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the White Night Alliance has no other requests for you, only that you do not spread the word about what happened here after you leave. At least not for the next few days, otherwise, if you bring unnecessary trouble to us, you may also find yourselves in trouble.” Huan Shi warned them after soothing them with sweet dates.

Those who had just received the spirit stones understood that this was a combination of carrot and stick, and they all promised not to spread the word.

After they all left, Huan Shi then continued to speak to the remaining people:

“All of you are of strong will, and I believe our cooperation will be very smooth. Inside the Snake King Valley, poisonous miasma is everywhere, and ordinary antidote pills are useless. We have already prepared miasma-avoiding beads in advance to dispel the poisonous miasma.”

After saying this, he let several official members of the White Night Alliance step forward and distribute the miasma-avoiding beads to everyone.

The one Yuan Ming received was a fist-sized glass bead, with flowing light flickering on it, looking like a precious pearl.

“This is the miasma-avoiding bead. You don’t need to refine it. You just need to infuse some of your mana into it, and the clear light emitted by it will form a safe zone within a hundred feet around you.” Huan Shi explained.

After saying this, he let Tuo Zhe and a few others distribute a green jade talisman to everyone.

“This is a sensing jade talisman. Keep it safe. Once you get lost in the miasma, you can crush this item, and the people nearby will sense it and find your location. If any of you find the location of the Golden Flower Poisonous Python King, you can also crush this item to send a signal.” Huan Shi continued.

Upon hearing this, everyone lowered their heads to examine the jade talisman in their hands.

Yuan Ming rubbed the jade talisman, feeling the rune patterns on it. After looking at it for a moment, he put it away.

“For the sake of orderly exploration and mutual support, we will divide you into seven small teams to explore different areas.” Huan Shi said.

After he finished speaking, he directed the remaining twenty-seven temporary members to form seven teams, each with four people.

The first person assigned to the same team as Yuan Ming was a burly iron giant. He was tightly wrapped in a cloth robe, with little skin exposed except for his face.

The second person was one of the few women in the team. She was dressed in a tight black outfit that perfectly outlined her slender figure. A thin black veil covered half of her face, but one could still vaguely see her delicate and perfect features underneath.

Especially at the corner of her eye, there was a rose-red teardrop mole, giving her a naturally pitiful charm.

The last person was also dressed in black, with a neat and short outfit. Around his waist hung seven or eight small and exquisite bottles and jars, as well as a dark gourd.

This made Yuan Ming couldn’t help but guess that he might be from the Hundred Poison Cave.

(End of Chapter)