"My lord, we have fulfilled our mission without disgrace!"
After finishing their task, several men from Three Fiends Ridge reappeared behind Li Yan.
"You have worked hard."
"My lord, we found quite a bit of gold, silver, and banknotes on the mountain." One man handed a thick stack of banknotes to Li Yan.
Glancing at the stack of banknotes three fingers thick, Li Yan waved his hand. "No need. Keep them for yourselves... Other than these, was there anything else?"
The men all shook their heads, indicating there was nothing else.
"Fine. Go make preparations according to the plan I told you before."
"Yes."
After they left, a vicious glint flashed through Li Yan's eyes.
Sure enough, bandits were bandits—an ungrateful pack of white-eyed wolves that could never be raised properly!
That stack of banknotes was worth at least tens of thousands of taels. Back at Three Fiends Ridge, they might not have earned that much even after years of robbery.
Yet now, he had handed such a stack of banknotes directly to them, and not a trace of joy had appeared on their faces. That alone was enough to reveal the problem.
They had most likely tampered with that stack of banknotes.
However, he still had use for the Three Fiends Ridge gang. It was not yet time to tear down the bridge after crossing the river.
Within Dongjiang City, the remaining members of Three Fiends Ridge were gathered in a small courtyard residence.
"Elder Brother, do you think the plan our younger brothers and sisters came up with can work?"
Seated in the place of honor, Zhao Xincheng sighed. His expression was grim as he looked toward his second brother, Zhao Chijiu.
Zhao Chijiu's expression was no better. Mainly because he did not think much of their younger siblings' plan either.
As bandits of Three Fiends Ridge, their eighteen brothers and sisters had gathered in the mountains, cutting a dashing figure and living in grand style.
Yet with one careless move, they had been swept up by Li Yan in one net and controlled by that damned Three Corpses Brain God Pill.
Without question, this was simply the greatest humiliation imaginable for them brothers and sisters!
The older ones like Zhao Xincheng were somewhat better off. They still wished to deliberate carefully before acting, but their younger brothers and sisters were all proud and arrogant. How could they possibly endure such indignity?
They had come up with a plan: find an opportunity to poison Li Yan too, then force the bastard to exchange antidotes with them.
If one had to put it bluntly, that plan was complete nonsense!
Wan Sanhuo was ruthless and black-hearted, far beyond an ordinary man. Furthermore, whether in strength or numbers, they held an overwhelming advantage over him. Once both sides were cured of their poison, Wan Sanhuo's fate would speak for itself.
Under such circumstances, even if Wan Sanhuo were poisoned, he would absolutely never agree to exchange antidotes. In the end, both sides would only end up wounded.
Unfortunately, those few simply would not listen. They insisted on giving it a try.
Just then, sounds came from outside the courtyard. When they looked up, they saw Li Yan striding in with great steps, and everyone hurriedly rose to their feet.
"Lord Wan!"
Everyone present clasped their fists and bowed in greeting, yet Li Yan ignored them. He directly sat down in Zhao Xincheng's seat, then took out a porcelain bottle and placed it on the tea table beside him.
The moment they saw that porcelain bottle, everyone's heart clenched.
What the hell kind of poison was this now?
"Lord Wan, may I ask what brings you here at this hour?" Seeing that the atmosphere was off, Zhao Xincheng hurriedly asked.
"I won't waste words with you. If you want your younger brothers and sisters to come to no harm, split this medicine among every one of you."
"This!"
Everyone's hearts jolted at those words.
"Heh. Though I, Wan Sanhuo, am ruthless and black-hearted, I consider myself fairly good to my brothers."
"The Fierce Wind Bandits of Feng Hui Mountain had tens of thousands of taels in their hands. I said I would give it to you, and I gave it to you. Who would have thought that your younger brothers and sisters would turn around and try to poison me!"
Boom!
Utterly horrified, only one thought remained in their minds.
They had been exposed!
"M-My lord, is there perhaps some misunder—"
Zhao Chijiu still wanted to say something, but Wan Sanhuo directly tossed the porcelain bottle in his hand over.
"When I poisoned you with the Three Corpses Brain God Pill, I also suppressed its toxicity for you."
"It seems I treated you too well and made you think I was some kind of good man..."
"One pill each. Swallow them, and let yourselves experience what the Three Corpses Brain God Pill truly is."
"Th-This... Lord Wan..."
"You may choose not to take them. But whether your younger brothers and sisters can return alive will depend on their own fate."
Hearing that it concerned their younger siblings, Zhao Chijiu and Zhao Xincheng exchanged a look. They said no more, opened the porcelain bottle, poured out the pills, and swallowed one each.
Seeing this, the others also poured out a pill each and swallowed them.
At first, there was no change in them. But soon, the medicine took effect. Veins suddenly bulged across their bodies, turning an eerie black. Those black patterns raced along their meridians straight toward their foreheads.
Every one of them felt as though countless ants were crawling all over their bodies, gnawing at their flesh and blood, slicing through their meridians. The pain was worse than death!
As the medicine took effect, everyone collapsed to the ground and howled without cease, begging Wan Sanhuo for the antidote.
Watching the miserable sight before him, Li Yan finally felt relieved.
Li Fucai had given him this stuff the last time they met, saying it was for self-defense. He had never expected to use it on these people.
These eighteen had not originally been poisoned. Because of the bond between them, Li Yan had intended to cut ties with them cleanly after settling matters here.
Now it seemed he had been mistaken after all. Bandits were bandits, yet he had actually taken pity on these people.
Since they refused to give up, then he might as well poison them for real.
"L-Lord Wan, spare us..."
Zhao Xincheng, whose cultivation was deepest, struggled to sit cross-legged and circulate his cultivation to suppress the poison's eruption. Yet hearing the wails of his younger brothers and sisters beside him, he could only struggle to beg for mercy.
"Hmph. This is merely a small punishment to serve as a warning. If there is a next time, I will wait and watch corpse worms burrow into your brains."
With that, he ignored the howls filling the ground and left the residence on his own.
The wailing within the courtyard continued for a full hour.
After weaving through the city and avoiding Huang Lingyan's many eyes and ears, Li Yan arrived at the inn where Mo Cheng was staying.
Mo Cheng was not at the inn. Li Yan found the message he had left behind on the roof eaves.
Learning that Mo Cheng was preparing to transfer troops into the city, Li Yan sneered repeatedly.
Although Mo Cheng was the great general's son, he had no authority to mobilize troops. Yet he spoke with utter certainty about being able to bring soldiers here. Clearly, this was not the first time he had done such a thing.
If just anyone could casually mobilize the army, then this damned Great Wu was not far from death.
After wiping away all traces of the message, he waited at the inn until the moonlight deepened before heading to the Shangguan residence.
When Shangguan Liuyun saw Li Yan, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
This brat had broken through again?!
It had been only two days at most since they last met. In just two short days, he had broken through the Flower Cultivation and Leaf Nurturing Art?
Was this still that time-consuming Cultivation Method renowned for accumulating strength over time and forging the most solid foundation?
"You... how did you do it?"
After stammering for a long while, Shangguan Liuyun could only manage that one sentence.
Li Yan scratched his head and smiled bitterly. He could only say that he had once consumed heavenly treasures, and the residual medicinal power within his body had been far greater than expected.
The words made Shangguan Liuyun's eyes shine as though he were looking at a human-shaped great medicine, wanting to swallow Li Yan whole.
Only after a long while did Shangguan Liuyun calm down. Then he said, "Tomorrow is the day they are supposed to hand over Xiyun. On your side..."
"Rest assured. The Fierce Wind Bandits are gone already. I will bring Xiyun back unharmed."
"Mm, that is good... Once you bring Xiyun back, do not return to Dongjiang."
Suddenly, Shangguan Liuyun said, "I received word that Huang Lingyan may be about to break through. If he enters the Energy Gathering Realm, I will not be his match. When that time comes..."
Hearing this, Li Yan's expression changed as well.
The Qi Condensation Realm gathered true qi, while the Meridian Opening Realm cleared the meridians. Yet all that those two realms did was prepare one for the Energy Gathering Realm.
Once one entered the Energy Gathering Realm, the increase in strength would be earth-shattering. By then, let alone Shangguan Liuyun, even ten Shangguan Liuyuns would not be able to leave Dongjiang City alive.
No. He could not sit and wait for death!
"Brother Liuyun, it is useless. Huang Lingyan is also eyeing the Third Miss. Even if we flee, he will cling to us like a dog refusing to let go."
"Then what do you suggest?"
"Strike first!"
Before you continue