Chapter 152: Entangling Waterweed
Crimson Coral Archipelago , town Island.
The elders of the Crimson Coral Archipelago Alliance had once again gathered. However, this time, the meeting wasn't about sacrificial offerings—those were already a thing of the past. Today, they were discussing how to distribute the pills.
Everyone had traded spiritual herbs with Gu Mo in exchange for a sizable amount of Tier 1 and Tier 2 pills. The Tier 2 pills, in particular, were especially enticing to the Foundation Establishment elders present.
Normally, their cultivation progressed without the aid of any pills. Now that they had access to high-quality Tier 2 ones, every elder was eager and scheming in silence, thinking of what tragic excuse they might come up with to secure a bigger share.
"This time, the pills will be distributed based on the quantity and quality of offerings each faction contributed previously," Shi Yunjie said, sweeping his gaze over the crowd.
The years of tributes had caused significant losses to all parties, so Shi Yunjie prioritized compensating those who had suffered the most.
No one objected to his proposal. After all, it was nearly impossible to come up with a plan that everyone would agree on completely.
"Oh? What sort of pills? Allow this True Person to have a look." Just as they were deep in discussion, a voice rang out unexpectedly.
Startled, everyone turned—then a figure appeared before them. The newcomer was nearly eight feet tall, with a pale, clean face. However, that face was covered in scales, making it clear that this was no human cultivator.
Yet for a demonic beast to assume human form, it would have to be at least a Tier 4 Demon King. But this one's aura was clearly different. That left only one possibility—he was a half-demon.
A half-demon at the Golden Core level.
"Greetings, Xuan Shui Zhenren !"
Shi Yunjie immediately stood and bowed. This was the very expert they had paid dearly years ago to subdue the giant lizard. In the end, he and the lizard reached an agreement: in exchange for yearly tributes from the archipelago, the lizard would cease its attacks.
"Has that giant lizard ever violated the contract in these years?" Xuan Shui Zhenren 's gaze swept over Shi Yunjie's storage pouch. With a wave of his hand, the pouch flew into his grasp, and he scanned its contents with his divine sense—quickly spotting the large quantity of pills inside.
Xuanshui's expression darkened in his heart. Where had the Crimson Coral Archipelago gotten so many pills? Luckily, he had shown up. If he had delayed a little longer, the cultivators here might have collectively advanced a whole level due to these pills.
This archipelago was his pigpen—he couldn't allow the pigs to grow too strong. That would only mean more trouble down the road.
As a half-demon, Xuanshui was keenly aware of how terrifying the human race could be. Though individuals were often weak, from time to time, one or two prodigies would rise and become powerful at frightening speed.
To prevent such occurrences, he had established the tribute system to cut off any rising talents before they matured. But never had he expected that instead of a genius cultivator, a pill refiner would appear.
A pill refiner was even more dangerous than a single prodigy. While a genius only made himself stronger, a skilled pill refiner could elevate the strength of the entire archipelago.
At that moment, Xuanshui's heart filled with killing intent. That pill refiner had to be eliminated.
"Reporting to Xuan Shui Zhenren —the beast has already been slain by a roaming Golden Core cultivator. The pills are a reward from that expert," Shi Yunjie answered with a bow, suppressing his anger at having his storage pouch inspected without permission.
"What did you say?!"
Xuanshui's eyes widened in disbelief. That giant lizard had been his most reliable subordinate. It was just playing a role in their charade—yet now it had played itself to death.
"I see… Then I must pay this friend a visit." Suppressing his emotions, Xuanshui spoke with a calm tone. As he finished speaking, his figure vanished.
---
Black Mist Space
Gu Mo stood before the vending machine, staring at the blind box interface and silently praying. Then, he inserted 300 units of Solar Essence and pressed the open button.
Three icons appeared on the screen.
Gu Mo's expression darkened—the results were another set of three repeats.
Ever since the vending machine fully revealed itself and unlocked the ability to obtain new plants via blind boxes, Gu Mo had frequently tried his luck.
And he had fallen into a trap. The blind boxes didn't just yield new plants—they could even give duplicates. Once, he'd even drawn three of the same plant and almost thought he'd unlocked an upgraded version.
"I don't believe this… After so many failures, there's got to be a pity mechanic or something," he muttered, feeding in another 300 units of Solar Essence. Fortunately, this was all Tier 1 Solar Essence and didn't interfere with his cultivation.
By now, Gu Mo had increased his stock of Tier 1 Sunflowers to 300, meaning he could technically open a blind box every day. Of course, reality wasn't quite so simple—he still needed Solar Essence to purchase new plants.
And he hadn't yet filled the lake formed by the Tier 3 water vein. More plants were still needed.
"…Oh? I got something!"
As Gu Mo's thoughts drifted, the new blind box opened. Three icons appeared—two familiar, but one completely new.
His spirits lifted.
Name: Entangling Waterweed
Grade: Tier 1 – Lower
Effect: Entangles nearby enemies
Planting Conditions: Aquatic environments
"Nice, very nice!"
Gu Mo looked at the new plant. A water-type plant—previously, this wouldn't have been very useful to him. But now that he was based on an island, water plants were clearly valuable.
And this was his first plant with enemy-control effects. It cost the same as the Potato Mine: 25 units of Solar Essence.
The brief description hardly revealed the plant's true potential. There was only one way to find out—test it himself.
He spent 100 units of Solar Essence to buy four Entangling Waterweed seeds. Then he exited the Black Mist Space and headed straight to the edge of the island.
He didn't test it in the lake created by the Tier 3 water vein for a reason—there were no beasts to serve as test subjects there. The giant lizard that had once occupied the water vein had driven all others away, and now that the lizard was gone, some weaker sea monsters had started to creep in, only to be slain without exception by Shi Yuwei.
It had become a good combat training ground for the little girl. If she ever faced something too strong, she could simply retreat to the lakeside hut and enter the defense range of the Plant Front. The Peashooters stationed there would automatically open fire and eliminate any sea monsters that got too close.
Standing on the sandy shore, Gu Mo tossed one Entangling Waterweed seed into the sea. As soon as it hit the water, it began to root and sprout, quickly growing into a messy tangle of aquatic vegetation.
Gu Mo examined it closely with his divine sense. If he hadn't placed it himself, he probably wouldn't have noticed it at all. Its stealth was on par with the Potato Mine—virtually undetectable by divine sense.
If hidden among rocks or seaweed, its concealment would be even more effective.
Having verified its camouflage, it was time to test its actual combat ability.
Gu Mo scanned the distant waters and soon locked onto a Tier 1 aquatic demon beast.
He lured the beast toward the waterweed with bait. As soon as it got close, the tangled mass suddenly unfurled—vines lashed out like a massive net and trapped the sea beast.
Caught off guard, the creature struggled madly—but it couldn't break free.
Pleased with the result, Gu Mo decided to test the plant's limits. With a thought, the Entangling Waterweed loosened its grip, withdrew its vines, and returned to its original tangled form.
"Oh, it's reusable."
Gu Mo nodded in satisfaction. Unlike the Potato Mine, which could only be used once, the Waterweed didn't kill—it merely trapped. But the fact that it could be used multiple times made up for that.
Of course, it needed to absorb enough spiritual energy before it could be used again, meaning it had a cooldown.
In areas rich in spiritual energy, like the lake fed by the water vein, this cooldown would be short. In poorer environments, it would take longer.
With that in mind, Gu Mo tossed out another Waterweed seed to begin a new experiment. The previous one would stay put, recovering its energy from the sea.
"You'll do nicely!"
He scanned the ocean again and quickly found a Tier 1 peak aquatic demon beast. This would be the real test to see what Entangling Waterweed was truly capable of.
"Bang bang bang!"
Gu Mo stared at the waterweed vines that were continuously breaking apart, and he formed a rough idea of their limits. These Grade 1, low-tier Entangling Waterweeds could restrain a peak Grade 1 sea demon for a brief moment—already a remarkably powerful feat.
If he upgraded the Entangling Waterweeds, restraining a peak Grade 1 sea demon wouldn't be a problem at all.
Just then, Gu Mo sensed that the first Entangling Waterweed had recovered its spiritual energy and was ready to strike again. With a thought, he issued a command, and the vine extended swiftly, latching onto the sea demon that was about to break free.
Working together, the two Entangling Waterweeds managed to restrain the struggling peak Grade 1 sea demon once more. Gu Mo's eyes lit up. This meant that the shortcomings in power could be offset by numbers.
If he could cultivate a few Grade 3 Entangling Waterweeds, could he perhaps trap a cultivator at the peak of the Core Formation realm? Although Entangling Waterweeds couldn't kill—they could only restrain—as long as the target was caught, there'd always be ways to deal with them.
The only drawback was that Entangling Waterweeds could only be deployed underwater. If the enemy didn't enter the water or stayed near the surface, they'd be much harder to use effectively.
Still, they'd be quite effective against sea demons that lived in the ocean.
Grabbing the restrained peak Grade 1 sea demon, Gu Mo prepared to take it back and turn it into seafood. But then, his steps suddenly paused, and he turned his gaze toward the distance.
Just now, Gu Mo had sensed a fleeting, unusual aura of third-grade demonic energy.
"Has a third-grade sea demon set its sights on this water vein?" Gu Mo raised his eyebrows. He had been mentally prepared for this possibility—this third-grade water vein might attract some landless third-grade sea demons.
Just as human cultivators needed spiritual veins and cultivation grounds, so too did demon beasts. Any spiritually rich land would inevitably draw attention, unless the cultivator or beast that occupied it was strong enough to intimidate all challengers.
Gu Mo, having only just arrived, obviously didn't possess that kind of deterrent power yet.
But Gu Mo was actually hoping a third-grade sea demon would show up so he could test his strength. Right now, Gu Mo possessed a top-tier offensive artifact, a top-tier defensive artifact, Wind Escape,and the two powerful sword techniques—Heaven-Slashing and Sword Rebound. Combined with a Core Formation-level physique, soul, and the core energy within him, his overall combat power was not at all inferior to someone in the early Core Formation stage.
To put it bluntly, aside from his actual realm being Foundation Establishment, everything else about Gu Mo was at the level of a high-spec Core Formation cultivator.
With this kind of strength, if an early third-grade sea demon came at him, Gu Mo wouldn't even need to rely on his plants—he could slay it with his own power.
And if he coordinated with the plants of the lake, even a mid-third-grade sea demon wouldn't pose a threat. Unless it was a late-third-grade sea demon, in which case Gu Mo could always retreat into the plant-based battlefront. Against such a solid plant-based defense, even a late-third-grade sea demon would be helpless.
Especially now that he had Entangling Waterweeds, he could potentially trap even a peak third-grade sea demon. Even if he couldn't kill one, it would be enough to buy time for his escape.
Now that he had mastered Wind Escape, Gu Mo was extremely confident in his ability to flee.
Unfortunately, that third-grade sea demon's aura vanished quickly and didn't come charging in. Still, since it had noticed this place, it likely wouldn't let it go so easily.
He waited quietly. That sea demon would definitely show itself again. Gu Mo wasn't in a rush—the more time passed, the stronger he would become.
If that third-grade sea demon took a few years to act, Gu Mo might very well have become a true Core Formation cultivator by then.
Far away on a desolate island, a figure named Xuan Shui Zhenren furrowed his brow. Moments ago, he had probed from a distance at the area where the third-grade water vein had appeared.
He could no longer sense the aura of the giant lizard. Instead, he saw a human cultivator—but he couldn't discern the man's true cultivation level.
This made him immediately abandon his original plan of charging in to avenge his subordinate. Xuan Shui Zhenren had always prided himself on not being as brainless as ordinary beasts. Acting with strategy and eliminating enemies at the lowest cost—that was true wisdom.
As a half-demon who had survived this long and even become a Core Formation Zhenren, he relied not only on ruthlessness and decisiveness, but also on his intelligence. That's why he wouldn't recklessly attack a foe whose strength he couldn't gauge—it was too easy to miscalculate.
And besides, anyone daring to roam alone clearly wasn't weak. If you were weak, that wasn't called roaming—that was called offering yourself up.
Still, this human cultivator had to be dealt with. He had disrupted Xuan Shui Zhenren's grand plan. The humans on the Crimson Coral Islands were carefully raised to be the birthday tribute for Lord Chisha's millennial celebration—a critical opportunity for Xuan Shui to ascend to the next level.
"Got it. That Golden-Clawed General in the south—doesn't he have a son looking for a place to break through to third grade? I could leak this news to him," Xuan Shui Zhenren thought, a plan forming in his mind.
Even though this newly-formed third-grade water vein was something he coveted, he understood the order of priorities. Lord Chisha's millennium birthday was the most important matter right now.
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