264: Team victory

"Rise!"

Buzz—

A vast white mist exploded out of thin air, instantly filling the entire passage.

This mist was not ordinary water vapor, but Su Ming's specially made "Heavy Water Mist".

Each droplet of mist contained viscous spiritual power. As the Earth Fire Scorpions rushed in, their swift movements visibly slowed down, as if they had fallen into a quagmire.

Immediately after, an ear-piercing "sizzle" sound rang out.

That was the reaction caused by the clash of water and fire. The fire toxin Qi on the Earth Fire Scorpions was suppressed by the water mist, the red light on their carapaces quickly dimmed, and their previously iron-hard defense was greatly reduced.

"Ice Condensation!"

Su Ming changed his hand seals again.

Countless tiny ice crystals suddenly formed in the mist, attaching themselves to the joints of the Earth Fire Scorpions.

This drastic alternation of hot and cold caused the dozens of Earth Fire Scorpions at the forefront to let out painful screeches, some even having their carapaces crack directly.

"Now! Kill!"

Without Su Ming's reminder, Lei Hu and the Chen Brothers, who had long been ready, moved.

Lei Hu's heavy sword swept out with a powerful gust of wind. Under the Formation's suppression, the scorpion shells, which were originally difficult to break through, were now as brittle as pancakes. "Crack" sounds were incessant, and broken limbs flew everywhere.

The Chen Brothers were even more in their element. Their sword techniques focused on agility, and with the Earth Fire Scorpions' movements slowed, they were practically living targets. Two sword lights, like swimming Dragons, weaved through the mist, each sword precisely piercing into the cracks of the Earth Fire Scorpions' broken carapaces, aiming directly for their vital points.

Su Ming stood at the back of the team, his hands behind his back, but his fingers continuously fine-tuned the spiritual power output of the Formation Plate in his sleeves.

He was like a precise puppeteer: where the scorpion swarm was dense, the mist would be thicker; where someone was struggling to defend, the ice crystals would be thicker.

Liu Qing stood beside Su Ming, holding a medicine basket, not a single detoxification pill prepared was used.

She looked at the almost one-sided slaughter ahead, then at Senior Brother Su beside her, whose clothes weren't even ruffled. Her small mouth was slightly agape, and her eyes were dull.

This is... the fighting style of a Formation Master?

This is too... too comfortable!

"Be careful!"

Just as everyone was killing with gusto, a sharp shriek suddenly came from deep within the mist.

An elite Earth Fire Scorpion, as large as a millstone and dark red, almost black, violently burst through the mist.

It was clearly more resistant than ordinary scorpions. The firelight on its body actually forced back the surrounding ice crystals, and its thick tail hook, like a child's arm, carried a foul wind directly towards Lei Hu's face.

Lei Hu had just swung a sword, his old strength exhausted and new strength not yet generated. He was about to be hit.

The Chen Brothers wanted to provide support but were entangled by several ordinary scorpions.

At this critical moment.

Su Ming's expression remained unchanged; he merely hooked his right index finger lightly.

"Bind."

The accumulated water beneath the elite scorpion suddenly came alive.

Several ghostly blue water ropes shot up without warning, tightly binding its six legs and the base of its tail.

Although these water ropes only lasted for a breath before being broken by the scorpion's terrifying brute force, this one-breath pause was enough for a veteran like Lei Hu.

"Die, you bastard!"

Lei Hu roared, taking advantage of this brief opening. He lowered his body, dodged the poisonous hook, and swung his heavy sword upwards from below, striking the scorpion's softest abdomen with immense force capable of splitting mountains and cracking stones.

Pfft!

Dark green fluid splattered out.

The arrogant elite Earth Fire Scorpion didn't even have time to shriek before it was disemboweled by this sword and crashed to the ground.

The battle ended faster than expected.

When the last Earth Fire Scorpion fell, the narrow mine tunnel was piled with corpses.

Lei Hu gasped for breath, kicked away the scorpion corpse in front of him, wiped the blood (which was the scorpion's) from his face, turned to Su Ming, and gave him a thumbs up.

"Brother Su, exhilarating! Truly exhilarating!"

Lei Hu grinned from ear to ear. "In the past, when teaming up with others to kill these things, which time wasn't I covered in fire toxin smoke and ashes, and constantly on guard against being stung by their poisonous hooks? Today's battle was like cutting melons and vegetables!"

The Chen Brothers sheathed their swords and exchanged glances, all traces of their previous disdain gone.

Chen Feng walked up to Su Ming, cupped his hands in a salute, and said solemnly, "Junior Brother Su, that control you showed earlier, I'm impressed. Without your Formation suppression and that final Water Binding Technique, Brother Lei would likely have been injured."

"Senior Brother overpraises me."

Su Ming then "opportunely" revealed a hint of fatigue, wiping non-existent sweat from his forehead. "My cultivation is low, so I can only do auxiliary work. The true killing of enemies still relies on the bravery of you Senior Brothers."

"Tsk tsk, he's acting again," Lin Yu commented in the Sea of Consciousness. "But I give this performance full marks. It showcased his value without stealing the thunder from the main attackers. This is workplace survival wisdom."

The subsequent cleanup of the battlefield became exceptionally easy.

The Sect reward of one hundred Spirit Stones was fixed, but these scorpion corpses were also a windfall.

According to their previous agreement, although Su Ming didn't directly kill monsters, his control was a major contribution, so he received 30% of the spoils.

He didn't take the bulky scorpion shells, but specifically chose all the venom sacs and the tail hook of the elite scorpion.

"Junior Brother Su, you only want these?" Liu Qing felt a bit embarrassed, as she had only shouted a few words of "Go for it!" from the back the entire time, and felt a blush when it came to dividing the spoils.

"My Repair Hall happens to be short of some auxiliary Materials for refining special items," Su Ming said with a smile, putting the venom sacs into a specially made jade box. "Each takes what they need."

When everyone walked out of the mine, the sky outside was already nearing dusk.

This mission took less than two hours, with each person earning forty Spirit Stones, and no one was injured, with minimal consumption.

When handing in the mission at the Deacon Hall, the deacon responsible for inspection looked at the five unharmed individuals and then at the mountain of scorpion shells, his eyes full of surprise.

"Good! Very good!" The deacon stamped an 'Excellent' seal on the mission scroll. "Among the Outer Sect Disciples, it's rare to see such teamwork. Su Ming, is it? Your Formation usage is good, you're a clever one."

Exiting the Deacon Hall, Lei Hu slung an arm around Su Ming's shoulder and whispered, "Brother Su, if there's ever another good thing like this, I'll come to you first! You're what I call professional! Teaming up with you is truly worry-free!"

Su Ming smiled and agreed, watching them leave.

Returning to Qingxi Valley, Su Ming closed the Immortal Cave door, and the smile on his face gradually faded.

He placed the elite Earth Fire Scorpion's tail hook on the stone table. Under the lamplight, the tip of the hook gleamed with a chilling, ghostly blue light.

"Master, the Materials are complete."

Su Ming said softly, "With the fire toxin crystal from this, plus the previous 'thunder fire sand', 'harvest no. 1' should be able to upgrade to 'harvest no. 2'."

"Mm, not bad." Lin Yu floated out and circled the poisonous hook. "But before that, use those three bottles of Qi Gathering Pills."

Su Ming took a deep breath and sat back down on the meditation cushion.

This time, no one came to disturb him.