The Sage Reviews His Troops

When Li Banfeng mentioned the price, Chu Shaoqiang felt a little uncomfortable.

He used five Heaven Heart Stones to lead Knife Ghost Ridge towards Sage Peak, but just as they were about to reach their destination, the Heaven Heart Stone were stolen.

Those were the Heaven Heart Stone given to him by a sage, priceless Heaven Heart Stone. He lost five of them, and only two were returned to him. He even had to pay to redeem them. No matter how he thought about it, he felt wronged.

But there was nothing he could do about it; it was his fault for losing the item. Chu Shaoqiang said to Li Qi, "The item is in your hands. Why don't you name a price?"

Li Qi shook his head. "First of all, this thing isn't in my possession. With my abilities, it's impossible for me to steal it from your Heaven Heart Stone. I don't have that kind of power."

Let alone me, even the Local Earth God of this area doesn't have the power to steal the Heaven Heart Stone.

He's clearly a highly skilled person.

Every word Li Banfeng said was true; there was not a single lie in his words.

Definite Statement, one must first tell the truth.

Chu Shaoqiang firmly believed this. "I really want to know who the master who stole the Heaven Heart Stone was? Just how skilled is this master?"

Li Banfeng said, "I certainly can't tell you his identity. As for his methods, I think they're about as sophisticated as Peddler's."

Chu Shaoqiang shook his head and said, "That's an exaggeration. As far as I know, whether it's the Inner State, the Outer State, or the Pro State, no one who walks on the ground dares to say they are as tall as Peddler."

Li Banfeng shrugged, glanced at Chu Shaoqiang, and said nothing.

Chu Shaoqiang paused for a moment, seemingly understanding Li Banfeng's deeper meaning.

People on earth wouldn't dare call him Peddler, so could he be from heaven?

But there's been no news of that person in heaven for so many years. How many people in the world have seen him? What would he do with the Heaven Heart Stone if he were in that position?

Or perhaps the person who stole the Heaven Heart Stone was actually Peddler?

Whether it was the one in the sky or the Peddler, these were both people Chu Shaoqiang couldn't afford to offend. He had initially felt a bit aggrieved, but now he felt a bit scared.

But is what Li Qi said true?

Why would someone of such high status need to steal a few Heaven Heart Stone?

Li Qi continued, "We've been at Knife Ghost Ridge for so many days now, and the Local Earth God here have only ordered the Strange Monsters to intensify their patrols..."

"You dare not do anything else, yet you can't see the identity of this master?"

Chu Shaoqiang lowered his head and remained silent. He still had doubts in his heart, but those doubts were no longer important. What was really important was what price had to be paid to make this deal happen.

Li Qi said, "I dare not set that price. I lack the knowledge and expertise. I don't know what kind of good thing could impress that important person."

This has happened to you. You can't offend a saint, and you can't make this public. It's a matter of life and death for you. Think about it carefully.

,

Chu Shaoqiang lit a cigarette and paced back and forth, carefully considering how much he should offer.

Let's not talk about money; this business deal can't be measured in monetary terms.

How about exchanging a few magical treasures?

This is definitely not acceptable. The price of the magic weapon and the Heaven Heart Stone are not commensurate, nor is it worthy of that master's status.

Thinking about it carefully, everything about Chu Shaoqiang is inconsistent with this expert. Can this business still be done?

Yes, it can be done.

The first essential element in doing business is to figure out who you are doing business with. Regardless of the status of the important figure Li Qi mentioned, Chu Shaoqiang had never met him, and his business partner was not this important figure.

He was doing business with Li Qi, and all the bargaining chips he could offer were enough to entice Li Qi.

After finishing his cigarette, Chu Shaoqiang took out a brownish-yellow scroll and handed it to Li Qi.

Li Banfeng unfolded the scroll and looked at it, but he couldn't tell what the scroll was made of.

It's definitely not paper, nor does it look like cloth, nor does it look like fur or anything like that.

The material can be ignored for now. The key is that this scroll is completely empty, with no words or pictures. What is it used for?

Chu Shaoqiang explained, "This is a map of Inner State."

"Did you pick up the wrong one?" Li Banfeng picked up the scroll and waved it in front of Chu Shaoqiang, indicating that there was nothing on the scroll.

Chu Shaoqiang said, "The map of the Inner State can only be displayed within the Inner State. You can take the map first and show it to that expert. If that expert is knowledgeable, he should be able to distinguish the real from the fake."

"I believe that expert knows the price of a map of Inner State; it's definitely worth two Heaven Heart Stones."

Upon hearing this, Li Qi accepted the map, looked up, and saw that it was already dawn.

"Let's meet here at noon. I'll give you an answer whether it works out or not. If it doesn't work out, I'll return the map to you."

Chu Shaoqiang nodded and said, "I believe you, I'll wait for you here."

Li Banfeng returned to his Portable Abode and handed the scroll to the record player. "My dear Wife, do you recognize this?"

The record player moved the stylus along the scroll for a moment, then said in a daze, "This is from Inner State; it contains Inner State's Work Method."

"Chu Shaoqiang said this is a map of Inner State. My Wife, do you think it's genuine?"

"I can only tell that this thing comes from the Inner State, but I can't tell if it's a map. Construction is something I've only recently learned, so I'll have to ask the old man about this."

Li Banfeng was about to head to the third room with the scroll when his Wife reminded him, "Husband, the old man isn't in a good mood, so please be careful what you say."

Why am I in a bad mood?

Was it because you were exhausted from repairing the station?

Upon entering the third room, Li Banfeng greeted him, "Old Master, busy at work?"

After waiting for a long time, the old man suddenly sobbed, "You came to get the stone from me?"

"What's wrong, old man?" Li Banfeng asked. "Didn't we agree that out of the five stones, three would be used to repair the station, and the remaining two would be used to send Knife Ghost Ridge away?"

Portable Abode sobbed again. "That's my stone."

That's a good point.

How did it become his?

"We found the stones; we picked up five and kept three, so we've already made a huge profit."

The old man sobbed uncontrollably, saying, "Those were all originally mine—."

The gloves popped out of Li Banfeng's pocket, and he sighed, "Honey, you don't know how difficult it is here. For those of us in this line of work, it's incredibly painful to give away what we've already got."

"We're not in the same line of work!" Portable Abode cried uncontrollably, but still managed to curse Gloves.

Li Banfeng took out a scroll and placed it on the ground. "These two stones aren't given away for free; people traded them for something."

"I won't trade. Why should I? What could possibly be exchanged for such a fine Heaven Heart Stone? What gives you the right to—..."

The crying stopped abruptly. Portable Abode took the scroll away, his tone returning to normal. "Seventh Brother, where did you get this?"

Li Banfeng said, "The person who lost the Heaven Heart Stone wants to exchange this scroll for two more Heaven Heart Stone."

Knife Ghost Ridge with you.

"Just two pieces?"

"It's settled, just two pieces."

"Hehehe!" Portable Abode suddenly laughed. "Seventh Brother, it's not a loss. Even if you gave him five yuan, it wouldn't be a loss!"

The man with the gloves said, "Grandpa, you were the one who said that once the Heaven Heart Stone was repaired at the station, it would be impossible to retrieve it."

Now they're saying they'll give him all five dollars, that doesn't make sense.

Snap!

A broom slapped the glove onto the ground.

Portable Abode said, "Tell that man that he can find two Heaven Heart Stone tonight at the place where he lost his things."

Li Banfeng asked, "Is this scroll truly a map of Inner State?"

Portable Abode replied, "It's true, absolutely no mistake. This thing is extremely rare."

Li Banfeng understood. "Old man, please be extra careful when you deliver the stones."

We mustn't leave any traces so that the other side can find us.

"Seventh Brother, you still don't trust me to get things done? Hehehe—"

Hong Ying was doing her makeup outside when she couldn't help but complain, "It's a good thing I'm brave. This old man was crying one minute and laughing the next. Look how scary he is! If it were anyone else, they would have been terrified."

The record player stared at Hong Ying for a moment. "How many times have I told you not to wear such thick lipstick? It looks inelegant."

"Then tell me what you mean by elegant? I didn't use this kind of thing back then!" Hong Ying washed off the lipstick from the tip of the gun and repainted her lips.

Upon receiving Li Qi's message, Chu Shaoqiang went to the place where the Heaven Heart Stone was lost that very night and set up his magical artifacts.

Wait quietly.

Chu Shaoqiang waited until midnight before his magical artifact responded.

He pulled a shovel from the hem of his trench coat, stuck it into the soil, and the shovel dug downwards on its own, digging more than seventy feet before emerging from the ground.

The two Heaven Heart Stones were right below, and Chu Shaoqiang smiled.

With these two Heaven Heart Stones, and using his Work Method, he could deliver Knife Ghost Ridge to Sage Peak.

Portable Abode said two pieces would be enough, so why is it two pieces at Chu Shaoqiang's place too? What a coincidence!

This is not a coincidence. The principle is very simple: the two Heaven Heart Stone can form a straight line, which can serve as a guide for Knife Ghost Ridge.

Why did we use five dollars in the first place?

This is because Chu Shaoqiang doesn't want to expose himself.

Of the five Heaven Heart Stones, two are used to lock the direction and three are used for fine adjustments. Chu Shaoqiang can simply leave it at that and let Knife Ghost Ridge automatically walk to Sage Peak.

In this situation, even if Inner State discovers that Knife Ghost Ridge has reached Sage Peak, it will have no connection with Chu Shaoqiang.

But that's not possible now. The two Heaven Heart Stone can only lock the direction; Chu Shaoqiang has to make the fine adjustments himself.

Although there were risks, Chu Shaoqiang couldn't worry about them too much; he had to finish what the sage had instructed him to do as soon as possible.

They had to proceed with extreme caution. If Knife Ghost Ridge were discovered by the spies of the Inner State, Chu Shaoqiang would be in big trouble.

He believed his Work Method were sound, but the situation at Knife Ghost Ridge was somewhat unique.

As we traveled, there were faint roars coming from Knife Ghost Ridge, which sounded very similar to DaoLao Ghost's voice, but it wasn't raining in the mountains, which didn't fit DaoLao Ghost's habits.

Perhaps due to the changing environment along the way, DaoLao Ghost was not quite used to it.

When they arrived at Bastard Slope, the commotion on the mountain gradually subsided, and Chu Shaoqiang felt a little more at ease. After the Heaven Heart Stone settled, Knife Ghost Ridge was located next to Sage Peak. Chu Shaoqiang went to the Sage's Residence to report to the Sage in person.

The sage was fairly satisfied with Chu Shaoqiang's attitude. "Although there were some setbacks along the way, the matter was ultimately accomplished."

Shaoqiang, I've noted your contribution. I'll find someone to handle Ge Jun's matter myself; you don't need to worry about it anymore.

Chu Shaoqiang thanked him and added a word of advice before leaving, "DaoLao Ghost has a strange temperament, Your Majesty must be careful."

The sage smiled and nodded slightly.

Chu Shaoqiang added, "The climate has changed along the way, and the habits of the DaoLao Ghost may have changed as well."

The sage should pay close attention.

The sage did not speak, nor did he show any other expression.

Chu Shaoqiang added, "DaoLao Ghost are ferocious and ruthless, almost impossible to tame. If the Sage wants to turn DaoLao Ghost into an army, he must think twice before acting."

He meant well; he felt that DaoLao Ghost's condition was abnormal.

But the sage was not pleased.

"Aren't you overthinking it?"

Chu Shaoqiang remained silent, but the Sage reminded him instead, "Ge Jun's matter has nothing to do with you, and the matter of Knife Ghost Ridge has nothing to do with you either. You must remember that clearly."

Why are Knife Ghost Ridge and Chu Shaoqiang no longer related?

This matter concerns the reputation of the saint.

Chu Shaoqiang descended the mountain and walked along Bastard Slope, quickly learning the reason behind it.

A mountain peak suddenly appeared next to Sage Peak, which the people of Bastard Slope could not possibly miss.

How did this mountain come about? There must be a reasonable explanation for Sage Peak, and the explanation given by the sage is that he moved it there.

The root of heaven and earth begins with the heart of the sage; the changes of heaven and earth begin with the thoughts of the sage.

The Sage Disciple in Jingde Village said, "The world can be turned upside down in the sage's blink of an eye. What's moving a mountain? The sage can move the mountain with a mere blink of an eye."

The people firmly believed in this, and every day they would first burn incense and kowtow in the direction of Sage Peak, and then kowtow again in the direction of Knife Ghost Ridge.

Knife Ghost Ridge must have nothing to do with Chu Shaoqiang; this is all due to the power of a saint.

Cui Tike was furious to discover that Knife Ghost Ridge was gone. "Li Qi, we agreed on a three-day investigation period, and only two days have passed. Knife Ghost Ridge has vanished just like that! You're clearly trampling on our friendship!"

Li Banfeng explained, "Knife Ghost Ridge disappeared inexplicably, just as it came inexplicably. I really don't know the reason for this, and you can't blame me."

Cui Tike didn't believe it. "I think you're lying to me!"

Li Banfeng said, "Think carefully, do I have the ability to control Knife Ghost Ridge?"

Cui Tike for a moment and said, "Judging from your personal abilities, you probably don't have it."

"If I can't do it, then I definitely didn't do it. Isn't that a perfectly clear principle?"

Yes.

Not only is it crystal clear, but it also seems flawless.

Cui Tike sighed and said, "Wherever Knife Ghost Ridge goes, it will cause a disaster. I hope to witness this disaster with my own eyes, but now I can only wait for news from others."

Li Banfeng said, "As long as we don't go up Knife Ghost Ridge, we won't encounter DaoLao Ghost, and this disaster should be controllable."

Cui Tike shook his head. "I thought about it all night yesterday, and the situation may have changed."

Li Banfeng frowned. "What changes have occurred this time?"

"This change stems from their inherent nature," Cui Tike said, sketching on the ground with a twig. "The DaoLao Ghost rarely leaves Knife Ghost Ridge, and this habit likely has two origins."

The first source is that DaoLao Ghost) likes the environment of Knife Ghost Ridge), which, in the parlance of Pro State, is characterized by its dense Yin energy. I haven't yet figured out exactly what Yin energy is.

The second source is that the DaoLao Ghost suffer from severe cognitive difficulties due to visual impairment, which causes them to live only in familiar geographical areas. However, thanks to our joint efforts...

"Stop!" Li Banfeng had a bad feeling. "This is all your hard work. I have no intention of taking advantage of you."

Cui Tike insisted, "You contributed to this achievement, and I will definitely mention you when I write my autobiography in the future."

Because of the drug we developed, the DaoLao Ghost have experienced a visual mutation, which may expand their range of movement.

Li Banfeng took a deep breath. "How much has it expanded?"

Cui Tike couldn't give a precise answer, "This requires a lot of biological knowledge, as well as a lot of observation and experimentation."

However, the DaoLao Ghost still rely on the Yin energy of Knife Ghost Ridge, so they won't stray too far from it. Previously, they could move within a two- or three-mile radius of the foot of the mountain, but now they might appear twenty or thirty miles away, at most no more than a hundred miles.

Li Banfeng lowered the brim of his hat.

Something big is about to happen at that Bastard Slope.

Two days later, at nine o'clock in the morning, the weather at Bastard Slope was clear.

On Sage Peak, the sage bathed and burned incense, changed into Yellow Cloud-Patterned Robe, and stepped onto the path.

The Bu Pan a very special mode of transportation, which can be understood as a very luxurious sedan chair.

The sage's posture, from its appearance, easily leads one to mistake it for a house with a front hall.

It has a bedroom, a roof ridge, and doors and windows.

Twenty-eight disciples carried the sage down Sage Peak. Along both sides of the road, students knelt, their foreheads pressed to the ground, not daring to look at him for long.

Behind Bu Pan, there were eighteen disciples carrying a bronze cauldron down the mountain; the remaining disciples were dressed neatly.

We'll stay by your side all the way.

Upon arriving at the foot of Knife Ghost Ridge, ten disciples went up the mountain to investigate first.

In fact, they had already explored the area several times before, with three groups of disciples going up the mountain, but none of them found DaoLao Ghost. If it weren't for the fact that some of them had been to Knife Ghost Ridge before, they might have even doubted that Knife Ghost Ridge was a fake.

Where have all the DaoLao Ghost gone?

Chu Shaoqiang's previous prediction was correct. The change in environment did indeed make DaoLao Ghost uncomfortable. At first, they were somewhat fearful, then somewhat anxious, and finally they all burrowed underground and fell into a deep sleep.

Once they confirmed there was no danger on the ridge, the disciples carried the bronze cauldron up the mountain and set up the magic array at the pre-selected location.

Once everything was ready, the other disciples carried the sage up the Bu Pan.

Upon reaching the halfway point of the hillside, the sage stood atop the chariot, looked at the clear sky, and then surveyed his disciples.

All the disciples knelt on the ground and bowed to the sage.

The sage issued the order, "All of you, rise! Convenient the troops!"

This was a command of extraordinary significance for all the Sage Disciple.

From the time he left the Inner State until today, the sage finally has troops in his hands.

This is the first step for the sage to regain control of the land!

The eighteen disciples each performed their duties: first, they added water to the cauldron; then, they placed offerings into the cauldron; and finally, they lit a fire under the cauldron. As the soup in the cauldron boiled and steamed, dark clouds gradually gathered in the sky.

This cauldron is a magical artifact, a powerful artifact capable of altering the weather within a certain range. It can bring a thunderstorm to the entire Knife Ghost Ridge within twenty minutes.

Thunder rumbled, and torrential rain poured down. The once silent Knife Ghost Ridge was now filled with roars.

"Oops!"

Several DaoLao Ghost came to the vicinity, appearing and disappearing among the weeds and bushes.

The sage and his disciples all swallowed the pills.

The pills they ingested were for holding their breath, and the poisonous mist spewed by the DaoLao Ghost could also poison people, so they had to be on high alert.

Ten disciples who practiced mental cultivation took the lead; their task was to control the actions of the DaoLao Ghost through their thoughts.

If they succeed, the plan to tame the DaoLao Ghost will be more than halfway complete.

Five minutes later, DaoLao Ghost, who had been observing, began to attack the group. Nian Xiu failed to control DaoLao Ghost and instead enraged them.

This is what Cui Tike calls the difference in cognition.

Nianxiu was able to sense and penetrate DaoLao Ghost's thoughts, causing a serious distortion in DaoLao Ghost's cognition. In their minds, Nianxiu had already taken real action against them.

When the mental cultivation proved ineffective, the Insect Cultivator immediately took action.

Is Insect Cultivator useful against the DaoLao Ghost?

This isn't some saint joking around; it stems from research findings from back then.

When the Sage was in power, he also sent people to investigate Knife Ghost Ridge, and obtained many findings at that time.

One of the findings was once recognized by a sage: the people on Knife Ghost Ridge were infected with some kind of parasite.

Thus, he became DaoLao Ghost.

If the Insect Cultivator can control the parasites, he may be able to control the DaoLao Ghost. This is a plan meticulously arranged by the sage.

After waiting for another five minutes, the Insect Cultivator also failed. The number of DaoLao Ghost) increased and they became more and more excited. Many disciples were covered in the venom of DaoLao Ghost.

They wore waterproof soft armor, and the saints also carried waterproof magic treasures, which could prevent poisoning to some extent. However, the number of DaoLao Ghost was too large, and some disciples had already suffered fatal injuries.

The sage remained unperturbed and ordered the third group of disciples to take action.

The third batch of disciples were demonic cultivators, and they made preparations based on the previous investigation results.

One investigation suggests that DaoLao Ghost, as the name suggests, is the ghost of someone who died from poisoning. Since demonic cultivators can control the souls of the dead, dealing with ghosts is naturally a piece of cake for them.

Seven or eight minutes later, the demonic cultivator also failed.

The mountainside was filled with DaoLao Ghost, who gathered in three layers, completely surrounding the group.

The sage was not worried at all; this outcome was within his expectations.

Turning the DaoLao Ghost into an army seems like a pipe dream to ordinary people. It's an extremely difficult task, and the first failure is to be expected.

Although this attempt failed, at least three lessons were learned: mind cultivation, Insect Cultivator, and cultivation are ineffective against the DaoLao Ghost.

The advance and retreat of the DaoLao Ghost are still in the hands of the Sage. Once the thunderstorm stops, according to the DaoLao Ghost's habits, they will immediately return to their lair, and the Sage can leave at his leisure.

As for the injured disciples, those who could be healed were naturally healed; those who could not be healed became DaoLao Ghost.

They will serve in the military in the future, so this way, it's a good use of their talents.

Twenty minutes passed quickly; the heavy rain stopped, and the thunder ceased.

Everyone prepared to retreat, but DaoLao Ghost didn't; they seemed even more excited.

The sage was somewhat surprised by this and ordered his disciples to remain calm and not panic, and to delay for as long as possible, DaoLao Ghost would surely leave.

Twenty minutes later, the number of DaoLao Ghost) increased significantly.

The Sage Disciple lost about ten men. They were not poisoned, but torn apart and killed by the DaoLao Ghost.

The surrounding area was shrouded in black mist, to the point where one could not see their own hand in front of their face. The pills the disciples had taken were about to give out.

The sage ordered a retreat, but the disciples still tried to Bu Pan.

The sage himself abandoned the Bu Pan. He used the Joy Cultivation Technique to suppress the excitement of the DaoLao Ghost, weaken their fighting spirit, and thus look for an opportunity to escape.

However, the DaoLao Ghost's perception was different. After taking the potion from Cui Tike, their perception underwent a greater change.

Their fighting spirit did not diminish; on the contrary, another thought rapidly expanded and took over their consciousness.

In the midst of the battle, one disciple after another was dealt with by DaoLao Ghost. Those who were alive were dealt with until they died, and those who were dead were dealt with in turn.

DaoLao Ghost was particularly interested in the saint who had used the Joy Cultivation Technique.

At dusk, the sage, dressed in tattered clothes, led a dozen disciples down Knife Ghost Ridge.

Given his cultivation level and the strength of his subordinates, if he had immediately descended the mountain after discovering DaoLao Ghost, the outcome would not have been like this.

But his goal was to control DaoLao Ghost. Even after being surrounded, he refused to retreat and suffered heavy losses. He himself almost lost his life.

Back at his residence, the Sage was still shaken. Today, he finally experienced firsthand the terror of Knife Ghost Ridge.

A previous plague had cost him most of his disciples, and the remaining disciples had almost all perished at Knife Ghost Ridge. Sage Peak was severely weakened, and the Sage couldn't help but feel a surge of anger.

Disciple Song Deke advised, "Master, the way to lead troops is to prioritize strictness. If you want to tame such ferocious monsters, you should lure them down the mountain and kill more than half of them. Only then will they be subdued!"

The sage nodded. "This matter is entrusted to you."

Song Deke quickly explained, "This disciple is not skilled in warfare—"

The sage looked at Song Deke, Song Deke lowered his head and remained silent.

Du Xiangwen intervened, saying, "DaoLao Ghost won't leave Knife Ghost Ridge easily. It's probably not a good idea to lure him down the mountain. We should reconsider this matter."

"Oops!"

A roar came from outside the mansion.

The sage was greatly alarmed and asked Du Xiangwen, "Is that the voice of the DaoLao Ghost?"

PS: If DaoLao Ghost were to break into the mansion, what the saint would probably tear wouldn't just be his clothes.

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