Chapter 22: Hey, friend, what are you doing?

By noon, Luo Zhou hurried home.

As expected, someone was already waiting at the entrance of the residential ward.

The barbarians from the mountains were burly, robust men clad in animal skins, their bodies covered in tattoos of various ferocious beasts.

The ward leader watched him warily, fearing he might go berserk and harm people.

Luo Zhou approached with a smile to greet him.

He had experience posing as a native of the Great Xuan Mountains; he was well-versed in this, having even deceived Gu Shanhe before.

The man was named Akula, a native of the Great Xuan Mountains.

With his experience as a Six-Great Dross Demon, Luo Zhou knew how to speak to men and how to speak to ghosts.

He took him directly to a tavern; barbarians were good eaters, so he started with eight dishes and some small wine.

After a few cups of wine went down, he pried the man's secrets loose.

Despite Akula's appearance as a mountain native, he had spent a few years in the city and was quite a shrewd old fox. He had intentionally dressed this way to make Luo Zhou fear him, preventing any potential trouble like unpaid debts or shady dealings.

However, no matter how slippery, his essence was still that of a mountain native, and after a few drinks, they became friends.

With Cheng Wanli acting as a guarantor, the transaction was completed: ten Purple Crickets for three hundred broken spirit stones.

If Luo Zhou required it, Akula could continue to deliver goods, though there was a minimum order of ten Purple Crickets per delivery.

In truth, Luo Zhou was particularly interested in the Great Xuan Mountains.

The Great Xuan Mountains, spanning ten thousand miles across the Ningze, Guixi, and Tanli prefectures, were incredibly mysterious.

Akula was also quite talkative. This type of person, known as a "cultured barbarian," was essentially no different from the common folk of the Liang Kingdom.

Deep within the great mountains lived the "wild barbarians"—those were the true savages, capable of murder, cannibalism, and every conceivable evil.

It was said that the tattoos on those wild barbarians could detach from their bodies, transforming into vengeful ghosts to claim lives.

It was likely just barbarian boasting; one should take it with a grain of salt.

After seeing Akula off, Luo Zhou inspected the Purple Crickets.

Each Purple Cricket was the size of a fist, with a hard body, tightly bound and unable to move.

Luo Zhou picked one up casually and stroked it gently.

Activating the insect-control ability he had obtained from his classmate Yuan Feifei, the Purple Cricket's eyes gradually emitted a faint, eerie light. With a sudden tremor, it fell completely under Luo Zhou's control.

Luo Zhou smiled, released the cricket's bindings, and moved on to the next using his insect control.

Once all ten Purple Crickets were mastered, Luo Zhou carried the bamboo cage and moved quietly.

He was heading for the City Lord's Manor!

The City Lord's Manor was located in the center of Cuiling City and covered a massive area.

Behind the manor lay a garden spanning nearly two miles in circumference.

Within the garden, green pines and emerald bamboos grew alongside lush flowers, mountain springs flowed into clear, deep pools, and peach blossoms, red leaves, and blooming orchids created a scene resembling a celestial realm, filled with beautiful scenery.

White walls, green trees, red tiles, vermilion gates, pavilions, terraces, flower beds, and exotic trees were arranged at varying heights, creating a picturesque landscape.

Such beauty naturally came with powerful guards; at least two Foundation Establishment cultivators were stationed in the shadows to watch over the manor.

One should not even dream of sneaking in!

Even Li Haitian, a Third-Stage Demon who had studied the place for years, was unable to infiltrate.

He had always wanted to pull off a major job: exterminating the City Lord's entire family.

However, he had discovered a defensive loophole: a spot that fell outside the divine sense of the Foundation Establishment cultivators. As long as one didn't climb the walls into the back garden, one was completely safe outside the walls.

When Luo Zhou arrived, he used Diting to repeatedly scan the surroundings; there were no issues.

He quietly took out a Purple Cricket and controlled it silently; the cricket immediately flew into the garden.

According to Li Haitian's memory, the Blood Parrot was not kept in a cage but was allowed to roam freely in the garden.

Parrots eventually grew fond of eating crickets, and the Blood Parrot was no exception; so, he would feed it.

Animals are just animals!

Even a demon has its weaknesses.

Feed it, and as it eats, lead it toward the wall.

When the time comes, a Dragon-Slaying Thorn will pin it dead—simple, crude, and efficient.

As the Purple Cricket infiltrated the back garden, Luo Zhou, despite his insect-control ability, could not sense the environment surrounding the cricket.

He could only issue commands from the shadows...

"Search... danger..."

According to Li Haitian's memory, the Blood Parrot was three feet tall and never ate vegetarian food.

The servants and maids in the City Lord's Manor kept a wide berth from it.

Those who couldn't avoid it met no good end.

Thus, it was the greatest danger in the back garden; he just had to find it.

Luo Zhou controlled the Purple Cricket to search everywhere. Suddenly, the cricket vanished—it was dead.

Luo Zhou let out a long breath and took out another Purple Cricket, sending it into the back garden.

If one died, so be it; he would continue.

This Purple Cricket scurried about quietly, wandering through the garden, only to vanish after a short while.

Dead again!

But Luo Zhou smiled.

It had taken the bait!

The only thing capable of eating a Purple Cricket like that was the Blood Parrot.

Then he would feed it.

Luo Zhou sent the Purple Crickets into the back garden one by one, letting them wander aimlessly.

One sent in, one died!

Before long, all ten Purple Crickets were dead.

Luo Zhou stood up with a smile and left the area.

He contacted Akula to order ten more Purple Crickets.

When night fell, having nothing else to do, Luo Zhou took out the Heavily Mixed Profound Bead to sense it silently.

Perhaps it was better to refine it!

He felt it might be a waste to sell it; he could earn spirit stones himself, but this bead might be gone forever.

He bit his finger, dripped blood onto it, and began the silent refinement process according to the methods taught by his teacher.

The Heavily Mixed Profound Bead gradually turned into light, transforming into strands of true qi that flowed into Luo Zhou's dantian.

Sensing it, Luo Zhou realized that twelve strands of Heavy Water Qi had been added to his dantian!

It wasn't just the addition of Heavy Water Qi; with one method mastered, all methods follow. Vaguely, Luo Zhou felt he had grasped the method of converting true qi within his dantian.

He attempted a conversion, and indeed, the Frost Qi, Water-Surge Qi, and Misty Qi merged into one, becoming a single strand of spiritual qi.

Heavenly Water Qi!

The three had merged, but the total amount of true qi did not decrease; it became forty-five strands.

Heavy Water Qi and Heavenly Water Qi were both characteristics of the Water Mother Heavenly Palace's Qi Refining.

They were inherently powerful; their presence in Luo Zhou's dantian actually drove away the Earth Magnetic Qi, Heavy Dust Qi, and Three-Eyes Qi.

Actually, this was what Luo Zhou had been thinking.

His teacher's guidance had taught him that there was little point in keeping the Earth Magnetic, Heavy Dust, and Three-Eyes Qi.

With a thought, the dantian within his body automatically converted.

Since he possessed their cultivation methods, there was no harm in dispersing them!

Unexpectedly, under this stimulation, the Water Tide Qi absorbed the decomposed Earth Magnetic, Heavy Dust, and Three-Eyes Qi, undergoing a quiet transformation.

With a sudden tremor, its essence changed; it was no longer Water Tide Qi, but Surge Qi.

Otherwise, it would have been unable to face the Heavy Water Qi and Heavenly Water Qi within his dantian.

Thus, he had twelve strands of Heavy Water Qi, forty-five strands of Heavenly Water Qi, and twelve strands of Surge Qi!

The nature of the true qi had changed, but the quantity remained the same!

With this transformation, all the true qi in Luo Zhou's body was now water-based, and all of it possessed the characteristics of the Water Mother Heavenly Palace.

A Dragon-Slaying Thorn forged with this true qi would have its power increased by at least twenty percent!

In a sense, this was a form of self-adjustment. Previously, he had kept all types of true qi, but after his teacher's explanation, he understood: refine ordinary true qi and retain only the superior types.

June 21st, Sunny. Twelve days left!

He had the intent to slay a dragon, but if it didn't rain, the dragon wouldn't come, and everything would be in vain!

Luo Zhou went back and fed another ten Purple Crickets.

By this day, Luo Zhou's supply of broken spirit stones was completely exhausted.

He had no choice but to use the spirit stones from Li Haitian's inheritance.

One spirit stone could be exchanged for one thousand and forty broken spirit stones; the Spirit Market shop was predatory, offering only one thousand and forty.

June 22nd, Sunny. Eleven days left.

He continued to feed ten Purple Crickets.

With continuous sunny weather and not a drop of rain, the Old Crocodile Dragon would not enter the city to purchase delicacies, so Luo Zhou had no opportunity.

When Akula came to deliver goods, Luo Zhou casually asked how many broken spirit stones the best Spirit Birch wood cost if bought directly from the mountains.

Akula explained with gestures

"Spirit Birch? Plenty of it. Use it as firewood..."

Then, Luo Zhou received a shocking answer.

The best Spirit Birch he bought at the Spirit Market shop cost only one broken spirit stone per piece in the mountains; the shop had marked it up tenfold.

A black market shop!

Luo Zhou immediately ordered one hundred pieces of the best Spirit Birch from Akula.

June 23rd, Sunny. Continued feeding.

The Spirit Birch arrived as well, and it was not inferior to what was in the Spirit Market shop in the slightest.

Luo Zhou realized that the Great Xuan Mountains were full of treasures; he could research the trade within them.

On this day, Luo Zhou intentionally and unintentionally controlled a Purple Cricket to crawl toward the wall, luring the Blood Parrot over.

After feeding it, he went home for the night.

Unexpectedly, Cheng Wanli came knocking on his door.

"Little Zhou, have you rested enough lately? Are we still hunting dragons?"

"Captain, why are you neglecting your duties as gang leader to think about hunting dragons?"

"If you don't manage the household, you won't know how expensive firewood and rice are. It's hard to survive in a gang; no wonder the Sanjiang Gang robbed us back then. We must open more sources of income; broken spirit stones aren't enough to live on, so we have to hunt dragons. However, I won't be going personally. I'll organize a team for you. Everything will be up to you, following the old ways—it's safer and more convenient."

By becoming the leader and not participating in the hunts himself, he could simply send his subordinates; it was easy and profitable. That was the benefit of being an official.

Luo Zhou thought for a moment and said, "Alright, no problem!"

"But I must personally command the hunt, and I reserve the right to choose whether or not to hunt!"

A Dragon-Slaying Thorn required nine strands of true qi. Killing a crocodile dragon that wasn't a Dead Nether Spirit was meaningless!

"Fine, it's a deal!"

This time, Cheng Wanli brought a young man with him.

"This is Uncle Yu's younger brother, Uncle Cheng Yu. He is no different from Uncle Yu; he will serve you wholeheartedly."

Uncle Cheng Yu was extremely tall and imposing, with a back as straight as a sword or a spear, looking like a towering mountain.

"Greetings, Brother Luo. My brother has mentioned you."

Even though he was seven or eight years older than Luo Zhou, he still addressed him as "Brother."

His words were polite and he was very sensible, showing great respect to Luo Zhou.

Luo Zhou nodded; having such a contact made things easier for everyone.

While Cheng Yu sent men to search for crocodile dragons, Luo Zhou continued to bait the Blood Parrot.

However, he had a vague feeling that the Blood Parrot was already approaching the wall.

In another day or two, he could cast his net, lure it within a range of twenty-five feet, and kill it.

After Luo Zhou promoted to the rank of Strength, the range of his Dragon-Slaying Thorn had expanded to twenty-five feet.

He continued to feed it; soon, only one Purple Cricket remained.

"Hey, friend, what are you doing?"

The voice startled Luo Zhou!

The words themselves weren't problematic.

It was just that ten days ago, he had asked Liu Jinpeng the exact same thing, and immediately after, he had smashed the man's head and killed him!

Had Liu Jinpeng turned into a vengeful ghost to seek revenge?

(End of Chapter)