After scattering enough Spirit-Confusing Medicine to make a person burst, Yu Ziqing hurried out of the cave and went straight to find the Village Chief.
Someone had snuck into the village and scattered huge handfuls of Spirit-Confusing Medicine. If he didn't tell the Village Chief, the entire village would be brought down tomorrow.
Of course, more importantly, Yu Ziqing knew he definitely couldn't beat the intruder. Right now, he couldn't even beat the aunties in the kitchen. Don't be fooled by the fact that those aunties didn't need to go down the wells to mine—their strength absolutely ranked among the best in the village. With one hand, they could press him to the ground and rub him into the dirt.
With a normal expression, Yu Ziqing found an excuse and had Er Han take him to the Village Chief.
When they reached the Village Chief's Earthen Kiln, Yu Ziqing gave him a meaningful look and let his expression turn slightly solemn. The Village Chief immediately said to Er Han,
"Go guard the entrance."
Afterward, the Village Chief led Yu Ziqing into the depths of the Earthen Kiln. A strange power seeped out from within.
"Speak."
"Village Chief, an outsider snuck into the village and even went to the Mushroom Forest to steal and eat some Jinlan Mushrooms."
The Village Chief leaned on his cane, and his eyes instantly sharpened. He was silent for a moment before saying,
"Three months ago, I had Er Han tested. His strength was probably comparable to that of an outside Body Refining cultivator at the Third Tier. But the cultivators outside have overly complicated classifications, and their abilities differ in every aspect, so I could only make a rough judgment.
"When An Yue came last time, a year ago, he said that if Er Han could get out, he would be able to enter the Fourth Tier directly within three months."
Yu Ziqing thought for a moment. Old Yang had said before that the Shepherds were actually subordinates of the Black Goat. The Black Whips in their hands had Black Goat wool mixed into them, and the Shepherds' Livestock Transformation abilities were directly related to their artifacts.
Working backward from that, Old Yang had concluded that the Black Goat, the superior of those Shepherds, was at most a Third-Tier monster. If it crossed the Third Tier, the Shepherds' Livestock Transformation would rise another level.
Moreover, the Black Goat had never existed as a combat unit on the Seventh Floor. Its battle prowess was ordinary. Its greater value lay in the intelligence network formed by the Shepherds under its command spreading everywhere.
To sneak in so stealthily and even make it as far as stealing Jinlan Mushrooms, the person accompanying the Black Goat was most likely an intelligence operative who wasn't good at fighting but excelled at hiding and escaping.
Even if they hadn't been affected by the Spirit-Confusing Medicine, with Er Han's strength, he might not have been able to hammer them to death head-on, but he should have been able to force them back. Add in the other villagers who were weaker than Er Han...
Their chances of avoiding defeat started at ninety percent.
"That should be enough." Yu Ziqing nodded and said to the Village Chief, "Village Chief, you'd better not come out. We don't know when that person snuck in, and no one has discovered him until now. He must be skilled at hiding."
"It's fine. You go."
The Village Chief said no more, nor did he intend to direct things at the scene.
Yu Ziqing didn't rush to do anything. He simply remained vigilant at all times. Old Yang hadn't come out today either.
It wasn't until nightfall, after everyone had finished eating and gone back to rest, that Yu Ziqing quietly left the Earth Den in the latter half of the night. He followed Er Han, who was already crouching at the entrance, and brought the others to the cave entrance.
Two fierce-looking aunties each carried an iron rod thicker than Yu Ziqing's thigh and guarded the cave entrance.
"How is it?"
"Something definitely went in, but I guarantee that nothing came out." The two aunties struck imposing stances and blocked the entrance. The iron rods weighed at least a hundred pounds, and when they swept them through the air, they wailed like ghosts. Even a mosquito trying to fly out would probably have to take a blow first.
"Er Han, let's go down. It's about time. Be careful once we're down there."
"Old Black, did you notice that the one we ate today contained stronger medicinal properties? Bigger really is better."
The Black Goat hadn't gnawed on the one it had eaten previously. Instead, it found a new Jinlan Mushroom, and a larger one at that.
As it spoke, it stuck out its tongue and licked all the powder off the surface of the Jinlan Mushroom, afraid that it would fall off and go to waste while it ate.
It had heard before that this was the essence of the Jinlan Mushroom, and that its value was even higher than the mushroom itself. How could it let any of it go now?
Seeing how sloppily the Black Goat was behaving, drooling all over the place, the black-robed man immediately moved elsewhere and continued gnawing at his mushroom raw. Like the Black Goat, he first licked the spore powder clean before continuing to chew the Jinlan Mushroom.
His knowledge could not possibly be inferior to that of a monster. How could he not know which parts were valuable?
After the time it took to burn a stick of incense, the black-robed man muttered to himself,
"Old Black, have you noticed that this Jinlan Mushroom seems to taste different? It's getting sweeter and sweeter. Oh, no, that's not right. It tastes both sweet and sour, like Great Qian's Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs. The texture and flavor are exactly the same..."
The Black Goat's eyes were unfocused. What it heard sounded like incoherent muttering, yet it itself ate with increasing delight. It felt as if this Jinlan Mushroom had come alive. Holding it in its hooves, it let the precious spore powder feed itself, making it bleat happily without pause.
By the time Yu Ziqing brought the others all the way to the Mushroom Forest, they could see the scene from afar.
A pale young man dressed entirely in black robes, with tattoos on his face, was hugging the stem of a Jinlan Mushroom and gnawing at it like an idiot. After biting off a chunk, he chewed it while shouting his praises.
"These steamed ribs are getting chewier and chewier. That's how it should be. Old Black, hurry and try some..."
On the other side, a gigantic Black Goat as tall as a person lay sprawled on the ground. It hummed and grunted as it stuck out its tongue and continuously licked the dirt on the ground. It ate so happily that its tail kept wagging, while its eyes narrowed into slits.
"Old Black, I've decided not to leave. When next year comes, I'll go back and kick our boss's head clean off..."
Yu Ziqing hurriedly stopped the others and watched the scene from a distance, every hair on his body standing on end. The Spirit-Confusing Medicine's effects were far better than he had expected.
He hurriedly took a small pouch from his robes. Inside were freshly cut slices of Jinlan Mushroom stems. Holding one beneath the tongue could resist the effects of the Spirit-Confusing Medicine.
As for an antidote, Yu Ziqing had never refined one in the first place.
Who would refine a poison and then specially refine an antidote to keep beside it? If he got captured, wouldn't that let the enemy detoxify themselves immediately? Then what was the point of refining poison?
If he could knock an enemy flat with one punch head-on, who would bother using poison? Why waste the effort?
When it actually came time to use it, it was enough to ensure that he himself didn't get poisoned. If he could avoid making an antidote, he would. If he really couldn't win and got beaten to death, then if the other side had been poisoned, he could at least drag them to the grave with him.
Everyone in the group placed a slice of Jinlan Mushroom stem beneath their tongue and slowly approached the Mushroom Forest, guarding against those two playing tricks and suddenly attacking.
However, to the man and goat whose five senses had been thrown into chaos and whose perceptions had been severely distorted, what they saw was an entirely different scene.
Their muddled consciousness suddenly became clear. The endless thoughts of eating, eating, eating vanished in an instant, and an indescribable terror began to surge through their hearts.
The entire world seemed to be covered in a layer of mist. Only the space directly ahead was clearing.
It was as if something unimaginably vicious had slowly spread over. Wherever it passed, even the light dimmed.
That contradictory sensation—twisted yet clear—made them feel like vomiting. Yet the clarity grew ever clearer, while the distortion became ever more distorted.
They saw something indescribable walking toward them step by step. Its entire body seemed to be condensed from black flames, yet also made from black oil. It was vaguely humanoid, with only a faint bloody-red gleam shining where its eyes should have been.
With every step it took, the world on their side was eroded and twisted. Everything around them seemed to be afraid, retreating and fleeing.
A terrifying aura mixed with pressure that made it impossible to breathe bore down on them step by step. It was something they had never felt before.
Behind this existence followed demon ghosts with red faces and fangs, their bodies burning with flames as they followed in its footsteps and guarded its rear.
Among them were two demon ghosts, each dragging a black Evil Dragon. They dragged the two battered Evil Dragons along like dead dogs.
Facing the ever-strengthening pressure and terrifying aura, the Black Goat was frightened into shitting out a pile of pellets on the spot. Its body stiffened as it collapsed onto the ground, motionless, as if it had been scared to death.
The black-robed man's entire body went limp. With a thump, he knelt on the ground and prostrated himself, not daring to raise his head. Trembling and stammering, he chanted,
"Black Five respectfully... respectfully welcomes the immortal... Demon King... Your... Your arrival."
"Spare me, spare me! This humble one is willing to serve you like a dog or horse. Even in death, I shall have no regrets..."
The Black Goat, its limbs stiff as if it had been scared to death, came back to life at that moment as well. It lay on the ground and copied the black-robed man's words, chanting them over and over.
"Black Eight respectfully welcomes... welcomes... Your arrival."
Yu Ziqing and the others looked at the two idiots and remained silent for a long time.
Everyone looked at each other, unsure for a moment whether they should beat them to death on the spot.
In truth, no one had ever considered keeping them alive. Sneaking into the village and stealing Jinlan Mushrooms—beating them to death on the spot after catching them was perfectly normal.
But now, they had just met, and the other side had already lost control of their bowels, sprawled on the ground, and babbled like lunatics, looking as if they had been scared witless. Even Er Han found himself unable to bring down his fist.
"Young Master Yu, what do we do?" Er Han scratched his head. He truly had never seen anything like this.
In the past, when people in the village committed capital offenses and were executed, even the most wretched one at the moment of death couldn't compare to these two cultivators who clearly possessed some strength.
"Take them back first and let the Village Chief decide."
After saying that, Yu Ziqing specifically pointed toward the rear of the Mushroom Forest.
"Everything behind there is poisonous. Don't eat any of it for the time being. It would be best not to eat the ones in front either. Didn't the village store quite a lot of provisions? Eat the stored food first. We'll talk after I deal with these poisonous ones."
Looking at the state those two idiots were in, Yu Ziqing felt shaken as well.
He felt that he had underestimated the effects of the Spirit-Confusing Medicine. Or rather, the standard he had imagined and the standard Old Yang had told him about were entirely different things.
On top of that, judging by how much Spirit-Confusing Medicine those two had eaten, they could probably have treated it as a meal.
They would definitely be crippled for a short period of time. If things went badly, it might even damage their minds and leave them ruined for good.
Ha, thanks to Gegewu for the ten thousand points.
Before you continue