Lü Zhong stood over the Poisonous Swamp, lost in thought.

Through the Gray Mist Space, he could tell that many Iron Claw Shrimp were hidden in the mud below. A considerable number of them were ranked Demon Shrimp, and all of them lay dormant under the Shrimp King’s command, refusing to surface.

A few days ago, the Liu Family had hired an Insect Tamer.

This man raised a pair of massive and ferocious Water Spirit Scorpions. In a demonstration, even a Tier One Demon Beast was no match for them. The Insect Tamer claimed he could easily deal with the Iron Claw Shrimp, and initially, he did manage to kill over a dozen of them. But once the Shrimp King gave an order, the two Water Spirit Scorpions were immediately trapped and killed, never to emerge from the Poisonous Swamp again.

At that point, everyone saw things clearly.

To deal with the colony of Iron Claw Shrimp in the Poisonous Swamp, they first had to eliminate the Tier Two Shrimp King.

For this reason, the Liu Family raised the reward for it repeatedly, hoping a hero would emerge for the hefty prize.

However, after numerous failures, the Honored Guest Elders gradually lost their confidence. They started focusing on other things. After all, there were plenty of other missions for earning contribution points; there was no need to keep bashing their heads against the wall that was the Iron Claw Shrimp colony.

And so, the area around the Poisonous Swamp gradually became deserted.

As he was thinking, Lü Zhong noticed another figure over the Poisonous Swamp. It was the same man he had seen before, the one who claimed to have a family-heirloom Demon-Luring Fragrance. Judging by his last performance, however, it didn’t seem very reliable.

The man was walking and scattering a red powder into the Poisonous Swamp.

"Fellow Daoist, what are you doing?" Lü Zhong asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Ah, it’s Fellow Daoist Lü. I’m scattering my improved Demon-Luring Fragrance!" the cultivator said earnestly. His skin was tanned bronze, and his face resembled that of an old farmer. He gestured with the red spice in his hand, which gave off a strange odor.

Lü Zhong watched closely and saw that the Iron Claw Shrimp below didn’t move at all.

’Looks like the Demon-Luring Fragrance failed again.’

"Huh?" Lü Zhong suddenly noticed a massive Iron Claw Shrimp below. In the replay of the scene, its Demon Qi was as dense as an ocean—it was clearly the Tier Two Iron Claw Shrimp King. It was currently agitated, repeatedly rising toward the surface only to dive back down.

Struggling.

That word suddenly surfaced in his mind.

’Could it be that the Demon-Luring Fragrance isn’t actually ineffective, but that the Shrimp King is suppressing the colony, creating the illusion of failure?’ This thought occurred to Lü Zhong, and he decided to run an experiment.

But first, he had to buy the Demon-Luring Fragrance.

When Lü Zhong proposed it, the farmer-like cultivator didn’t refuse. After all, the string of failures had already shattered his faith in his ancestral Demon-Luring Fragrance. Now that someone was willing to play the fool, what reason did he have not to sell?

After some haggling, he bought the recipe for the Demon-Luring Fragrance for three hundred Spirit Stones.

With the recipe for the Demon-Luring Fragrance in hand, Lü Zhong immediately started preparing the mixture.

Since he wasn’t an expert in pharmacology, he made a special trip back to Lingyue Immortal City to have Xia Lan prepare it. He had her mix a batch worth nearly a thousand Spirit Stones—a hundred times the amount the old cultivator had used. From what he had observed, a smaller dose would allow the Iron Claw Shrimp King to resist the effects, creating the illusion of failure.

For ease of use, he also had Xia Lan form it into a pill.

"From now on, I’ll call you the Demon-Luring Pill!" Lü Zhong said as he gazed at the watermelon-sized pill.

Next, it was time to test the effectiveness of the Demon-Luring Pill.

He sped back to Iron Wall Mountain. Not a soul was in sight at the Poisonous Swamp. He figured everyone else had given up, deciding to leave the mess for the Liu Family to clean up themselves. ’This is a perfect opportunity,’ Lü Zhong thought. He quickly located the Iron Claw Shrimp King and dropped the hundred-dose Demon-Luring Pill. At the same time, he used his scene-replay ability to observe its reaction.

Just as he had predicted.

The old farmer-cultivator’s Demon-Luring Fragrance hadn’t been ineffective; the dosage was simply too small to properly lure the Demon Beast. Now, with the dose suddenly increased a hundredfold, the Iron Claw Shrimp King couldn’t resist. It was only a matter of time before it surfaced.

’Something’s not right. Why are the other Iron Claw Shrimp completely unaffected?’

Lü Zhong discovered another problem.

He had originally thought the shrimp colony remained still because the Shrimp King was suppressing them, but judging by the results, that clearly wasn’t the case.

’Don’t tell me the Demon-Luring Fragrance only affects the Shrimp King?’

After careful consideration, he realized it seemed to be the only possible answer.

Before he could think any further, the surface of the Poisonous Swamp churned violently. A giant shrimp, thirty feet long and ten feet tall with crimson eyes, suddenly burst forth from the water.

The moment it appeared, it shot straight toward the Demon-Luring Pill, as if drawn by an irresistible force.

’It’s finally out!’

Lü Zhong had been waiting for this moment. He formed a Sword Mantra, and two sword flashes—one gold, one red—shot out from behind him. They slashed directly toward the shrimp’s many legs to prevent the Iron Claw Shrimp King from escaping back into the water.

Though driven into a frenzy by the Demon-Luring Pill, the Shrimp King still retained a shred of its Spiritual Wisdom.

Its pair of iron claws moved in an impenetrable flurry, even managing to parry both swords.

Seeing that neither Shuo Jin nor Golden Devourer could get past its defenses, Lü Zhong grit his teeth and began casting a Magic Skill.

In just a few moments, streams of Fireball Bullets began to form.

This time, he didn’t conserve his Magical Power and unleashed his full firepower.

Thanks to his Jade Vein Technique, the strength of his meridians had greatly increased. They could now handle a much greater load of True Essence. This manifested as a storm of Fireball Bullets, raining down relentlessly.

The tremendous noise immediately alerted the Honored Guest Elders in the temporary camp.

Immediately, several streaks of light shot toward the Poisonous Swamp.

"It’s Fellow Daoist Lü, and the Iron Claw Shrimp King!"