"Hey, friend, what are you doing?"

By noon, Luo Zhou hurried home.

As expected, someone was waiting at the entrance to the residential compound.

A burly, strong man from the mountains, clad in animal skins and adorned with tattoos of fierce beasts.

The village chief watched him warily, afraid he might lash out and hurt someone.

Luo Zhou approached with a smile.

He had experience impersonating natives of Great Xuan Mountain; he knew the drill and had even fooled Gu Shanhe.

The man's name was Akula, a native of Great Xuan Mountain.

With his experience dealing with the Six Woodworm Devils, Luo Zhou knew how to talk to anyone.

He immediately took Akula to a tavern. Mountain folk could eat, so he ordered eight dishes and plenty of drinks.

After a few drinks, he got the full story.

Despite his appearance, Akula had spent years in the city and was a seasoned veteran. He deliberately dressed like this to intimidate Luo Zhou, so he wouldn't default on payment.

But at his core, he was still a mountain native. A few drinks later, they were friends.

With Cheng Wanli as guarantor, the deal was done: ten Purple Crickets and three hundred Broken Spirits.

If Luo Zhou needed more, Akula could continue delivering, but each delivery had to be at least ten Purple Crickets.

In reality, Luo Zhou was particularly interested in Great Xuan Mountain.

Great Xuan Mountain, located between Ningze Prefecture, Guixi Commandery, and Tanli Commandery, stretched for thousands of miles and was shrouded in mystery.

Akula was talkative. His kind were called "tamed barbarians," essentially no different from ordinary people in the Liang Kingdom.

Deep in the mountains lived "wild barbarians," the true savages who killed and ate people, committing all sorts of atrocities.

Legend had it that the tattoos on these wild barbarians could detach from their bodies and transform into vengeful spirits to kill people.

But that was just barbarian boasting; Luo Zhou took it with a grain of salt.

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

Each Purple Cricket was fist-sized, with a hard shell, and securely bound, unable to move.

Luo Zhou took one out and gently stroked it.

He activated the Insect Control ability he got from his classmate Yuan Feifei. The Purple Cricket's eyes began to glow faintly, and with a sudden tremor, it was completely under Luo Zhou's control.

Luo Zhou smiled, released the Purple Cricket from its bonds, and began controlling the next one with Insect Control.

With all ten Purple Crickets under his command, Luo Zhou, carrying the bamboo cage, moved stealthily.

He was heading to the City Lord's mansion!

The City Lord's mansion was located in the center of Green Ridge City and occupied a vast area.

Behind the mansion lay a garden, two miles in circumference.

The garden was a paradise of green pines and lush bamboos, vibrant flowers, flowing springs, clear ponds, blooming peach trees, red maple leaves, and elegant orchids, like a scene from fairyland. White walls, green trees, red tiles, vermilion gates, pavilions, towers, flower terraces, and exotic trees were scattered harmoniously, creating a breathtaking landscape.

Such beauty, naturally, was guarded by formidable forces. At least two Foundation Establishment true cultivators watched from the shadows, overseeing the City Lord's mansion.

Don't even think about sneaking in here!

Even Li Haitian of the 13th of the Month Devil had studied it for years without success.

He had always wanted to pull off a major heist, to wipe out the City Lord's family.

However, he had discovered a defensive loophole. This area was outside the senses of the Foundation Establishment true cultivators. As long as one didn't climb over the wall into the back garden, they were safe outside the walls.

Luo Zhou arrived and repeatedly scanned the surroundings with his Listening ability. No issues.

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

According to Li Haitian's memories, the Blood Parrot wasn't kept in a cage but roamed freely in the garden.

Parrots liked to eat crickets, and the Blood Parrot was no exception. So, he would feed it.

Beasts are just beasts!

Even demons have weaknesses.

He would feed it, lure it to the wall, and then, with a Dragon-Slaying Thrust, pin it directly. Simple and brutal, and then it would be dead.

The Purple Cricket infiltrated the back garden. Although Luo Zhou had Insect Control, he couldn't sense the Purple Cricket's surroundings.

He could only issue commands from afar...

"Seek, danger..."

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

Servants and maids in the City Lord's mansion kept a wide berth from it.

Those who couldn't avoid it met a grim fate.

So it was the biggest danger in the backyard. Find it and that's it.

Luo Zhou controlled the Purple Cricket, searching everywhere. Suddenly, the Purple Cricket vanished. It was dead.

Luo Zhou let out a breath of energy and took out another Purple Cricket, placing it in the backyard.

If it died, it died. He'd just continue.

This Purple Cricket scurried around, wandering in the backyard, and soon vanished again.

Dead again!

But Luo Zhou smiled.

It took the bait!

Only the Blood Parrot could eat the Purple Cricket like this.

Let it eat then.

Luo Zhou sent one Purple Cricket after another into the backyard, letting them run around freely.

One sent in, one dead!

Before long, all ten Purple Crickets were dead.

Luo Zhou stood up with a smile and left.

He contacted Akula, asking for another ten Purple Crickets.

By evening, Luo Zhou was free. He took out the Heavy Mix Profound Bead and felt it silently.

He should refine it!

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

He bit his finger, dripping blood onto it. Following the method taught by his teacher, he began refining it silently.

The Heavy Mix Profound Bead gradually turned into light, then into streams of true energy, injecting into Luo Zhou's Dantian.

Feeling it silently, Luo Zhou's Dantian now contained twelve streams of Heavy Water Energy!

Not only did he gain Heavy Water Energy, but with one path mastered, all paths followed. Vaguely, Luo Zhou seemed to have grasped the conversion method for true energy within his Dantian.

He tried to convert it. As expected, Icy Qi, Water Ripple Qi, and Ethereal Qi merged into one, forming a spiritual energy.

Heavenly Water Qi!

The three energies merged, but the quantity of true energy did not decrease, totaling forty-five streams.

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

Their essence was incredibly powerful. Their presence in Luo Zhou's Dantian actually dispersed the Geomagnetic Qi, Heavy Dust Qi, and Three Eyes Qi.

Actually, this was Luo Zhou's own intention.

His teacher's guidance had made him realize that keeping the Geomagnetic Qi, Heavy Dust Qi, and Three Eyes Qi held little meaning.

With a thought, his Dantian automatically converted.

He knew how to cultivate them, so it was fine if they were dispersed!

Unexpectedly, under this stimulus, the Water Tide Energy absorbed the decomposed Geomagnetic Qi, Heavy Dust Qi, and Three Eyes Qi, and quietly changed.

As if shaken, its essence changed. It was no longer Water Tide Energy, but Tidal Qi.

Otherwise, it couldn't face the Heavy Water Energy and Heavenly Water Qi in his Dantian.

Thus, he had twelve streams of Heavy Water Energy, forty-five streams of Heavenly Water Qi, and twelve streams of Tidal Qi!

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

With this transformation, all the true energy in Luo Zhou's body was water energy, and all of it was Jellyfish Heavenly Palace characteristic water energy.

The Dragon-Slaying Thrust refined with this true energy would have its power increased by at least twenty percent!

In a sense, this was a subtle adjustment to himself. It was different before; he kept all kinds of true energy. But after his teacher's explanation, he suddenly understood. He should refine ordinary true energy and keep the excellent true energy.

June 21st, Sunny. Twelve days left!

He had the intent to slay dragons, but it just wouldn't rain. If the dragons didn't come, it would all be in vain!

Luo Zhou went over and fed another ten Purple Crickets.

On this day, the Broken Spirit on Luo Zhou was completely gone.

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

One spirit stone for one thousand and forty Broken Spirit. The spirit stone shop was arrogant and only gave him one thousand and forty Broken Spirit.

June 22nd, Sunny. Eleven days left.

He continued to feed ten Purple Crickets.

It had been sunny for days, with not a drop of rain. The old Crocodile Dragon wouldn't come into the city to buy delicacies, so Luo Zhou had no opportunity.

When Akula came to deliver goods, Luo Zhou casually asked about the price of the best Spirit Birch Wood directly from the mountain, in terms of Broken Spirit.

Akula gestured with his hands as he explained:

"Spirit Birch Wood, we have plenty, good for firewood..."

Then Luo Zhou received a shocking answer.

The best Spirit Birch Wood he bought from the spiritual shop cost one Broken Spirit each in the mountains, but the shop charged ten times that price.

What a rip-off!

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

June 23rd, Sunny, continued feeding.

The Spirit Birch Wood was delivered, no different from the spiritual shop's.

Luo Zhou realized that Great Xuan Mountain was full of treasures; he should look into the local trade.

One day, Luo Zhou intentionally and unintentionally guided the Purple Cricket towards the wall, luring the Blood Parrot over.

After feeding them, he went home that night.

Unexpectedly, Cheng Wanli showed up.

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

"Guild Leader, why are you still thinking about hunting dragons when you're a guild leader?"

"You don't know the cost of firewood until you run a household; it's hard to manage a gang. Remember when the Monster Sanjiang Gang robbed us?

We need to open more revenue streams. Broken Spirits are not enough; we still need to hunt dragons.

However, I won't be going. I'll assemble a team for you, they'll listen to you completely, and everything will be as usual, safer and more convenient."

As guild leader, he didn't participate in dragon hunting anymore; he just sent his subordinates, saving trouble and making money. This was the benefit of being an official.

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

"But I must be the one to command, and I get to choose whether to hunt or not!"

One Dragon-Slaying Thrust requires nine strands of true energy. Without the Dead Spirit, the Crocodile Dragon is harmless and killing it is meaningless!

"Good, it's a deal!"

This time, Cheng Wanli also brought a young man.

"This is Yu Bo's brother, Uncle Cheng Yu. He's no different from Yu Bo, and he'll serve you wholeheartedly."

Uncle Cheng Yu was extremely tall, imposing, and stood straight like a sword or spear, like a towering mountain.

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

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

His words were polite and sensible, showing great respect for Luo Zhou.

Luo Zhou nodded. Having such a contact person would be convenient for everyone.

While Uncle Cheng Yu sent people to search for Crocodile Dragons, Luo Zhou continued to fish for Blood Parrots.

However, the Blood Parrots were already close to the wall. Luo Zhou had a vague feeling.

In another day or two, he could cast his net and lure them within a range of two zhang and five chi, then kill them.

After Luo Zhou advanced to Force User, the range of his Dragon-Slaying Thrust expanded to two zhang and five chi.

He continued feeding, with only the last Purple Cricket remaining.

"Hey, friend, what are you doing?"

Luo Zhou jumped in fright!

The question itself was harmless.

But just over ten days ago, he had asked Liu Jinpeng the same question, and then smashed his head, killing him outright!

Had Liu Jinpeng become a vengeful spirit, come back for revenge?