"Hey, buddy, what are you doing?"

By noon, Luo Zhou hurried home.

Sure enough, someone was already waiting by the entrance to the ward.

He was a burly mountain savage, a strapping man clad in animal hides and covered in tattoos of all kinds of snarling beasts.

The ward chief watched him with his guard up, afraid the savage might fly into a rage and hurt someone.

Luo Zhou went over with a smile to greet him.

He had once disguised himself as a native of Great Xuan Mountain. He knew the act well enough to fool even Gu Shanhe.

The man was called Akula, a native of Great Xuan Mountain.

With six Woodworm Devil experiences under his belt, Luo Zhou knew how to talk to people in their own language—and to ghosts in theirs.

He took Akula straight to a tavern. Savages could put away a lot of food, so they had to start with eight dishes and a little wine.

After three or five cups, Akula spilled his secrets.

Despite his mountain-savage appearance, Akula had spent years in the city and was a seasoned old hand. He had deliberately dressed like this to scare Luo Zhou, so Luo Zhou wouldn't try to skip out on payment and cause trouble.

But however slick he was, he was still a mountain native at heart. A few cups of wine were all it took for them to become friends.

With Cheng Wanli vouching for him, the deal was done: ten Purple Crickets for three hundred Broken Spirits.

If Luo Zhou needed more, Akula could keep bringing them to him. But every delivery had to be at least ten Purple Crickets.

Luo Zhou was especially interested in Great Xuan Mountain.

Great Xuan Mountain lay between Ningze Prefecture, Guixi Prefecture, and Tanli Prefecture. It stretched for ten thousand li and was shrouded in mystery.

Akula was a talkative sort. People like him were called civilized savages; they were basically no different from ordinary citizens of Liang Kingdom.

Deep in the mountains, there were also wild savages. They were the real deal—murderers and cannibals who committed every manner of evil.

Supposedly, the tattoos on those wild savages could leave their bodies and transform into vengeful ghosts, killing people and stealing their lives.

Just savage bragging. It was best to take it with a grain of salt.

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

Each one was about the size of a fist. Their bodies were hard, and they had been tied up so securely they couldn't move.

Luo Zhou took one out and gently stroked it.

The Insect Control ability he had obtained from his classmate Yuan Feifei activated. The Purple Cricket's eyes gradually glowed with an eerie light. It shuddered, and Luo Zhou took complete control of it.

Luo Zhou smiled, untied the Purple Cricket, then used Insect Control on the next one.

Once he had control of all ten, he slung the bamboo cage over his back and set off quietly.

He headed for the City Lord's Mansion!

The City Lord's Mansion stood in the heart of Green Ridge City and covered an enormous area.

Behind it was a garden that stretched for two li.

The garden was a veritable fairyland, with green pines and emerald bamboo, flowers in full bloom, mountain springs and streams, clear pools, peach blossoms, scarlet leaves, and flourishing orchids. Beautiful scenery was everywhere.

White walls, green trees, red tiles, vermilion gates, towers and pavilions, flower terraces and unusual trees—all arranged in layers to create a lovely scene.

Such a beautiful place naturally had powerful guards. At least two Foundation Establishment cultivators hid nearby, keeping watch over the City Lord's Mansion.

There was no point dreaming of sneaking in here!

Even the 13th of the Month Devil, Li Haitian, had studied the place for years and still couldn't get inside.

He had always wanted to pull off a major score and wipe out the entire City Lord's family.

But he had discovered a gap in the defenses. This spot was outside the Foundation Establishment cultivators' spiritual sense. As long as he didn't climb over the wall into the back garden, he would be perfectly safe outside it.

Luo Zhou arrived and used Listening to Heaven to check the surroundings again and again. There was no problem.

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

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

Parrots loved eating crickets, and the Blood Parrot was no different. So he would feed it crickets.

A beast was still a beast!

Even a demon had weaknesses.

He'd feed it, and keep feeding it, until he lured it to the wall.

Then he'd use a Dragon-Slaying Thrust to pin it dead. Simple and brutal—just kill it and be done.

The Purple Cricket slipped into the back garden. Though Luo Zhou had the Insect Control ability, he couldn't sense the insect's surroundings.

He could only issue commands from afar...

"Search. Danger..."

According to Li Haitian's memories, the Blood Parrot stood a full three feet tall and never ate vegetables.

The servants and maids in the City Lord's Mansion kept well away from it.

Those who couldn't avoid it never ended up well.

So it was the greatest danger in the back garden. All he had to do was find it.

Luo Zhou controlled the Purple Cricket as it searched everywhere. Suddenly, it vanished. It was dead.

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

If it died, then it died. He'd just keep going.

This Purple Cricket wandered quietly through the back garden. Before long, it vanished again.

Dead again!

But Luo Zhou smiled.

It had taken the bait!

Only the Blood Parrot could eat a Purple Cricket like that.

So he'd keep feeding it.

Luo Zhou sent one Purple Cricket after another into the back garden, letting each roam wherever it pleased.

One went in, one died!

Before long, all ten Purple Crickets were dead.

Luo Zhou rose with a smile and left.

He contacted Akula and ordered another ten Purple Crickets.

That evening, with nothing else to do, Luo Zhou took out the Heavy Mix Profound Bead and quietly examined it.

I might as well refine it!

He felt it would be a shame to sell it. He could earn more Spirit Stones, but he might never get another bead like this.

He bit his finger, let a drop of blood fall onto the bead, and quietly refined it according to the method his teacher had taught him.

The Heavy Mix Profound Bead gradually dissolved into light, transforming into streams of true qi that flowed into Luo Zhou's dantian.

As he examined it, he discovered twelve strands of Heavy Water Qi in his dantian.

Not only had he gained Heavy Water Qi; when one method was understood, all methods became clear. Luo Zhou seemed to have grasped how to transform the true qi in his dantian.

He tried it. Sure enough, Icy Qi, Water Ripple Qi, and Ethereal Qi merged into a single spiritual energy.

Heavenly Water Qi!

The three kinds of qi merged, but the total amount of true qi didn't decrease. There were now forty-five strands.

Heavy Water Qi and Heavenly Water Qi were both types of qi cultivated through the Jellyfish Celestial Palace's unique methods.

Their essence was immensely powerful. Once they entered Luo Zhou's dantian, they immediately drove out Geomagnetic Qi, Heavy Dust Qi, and Three Eyes Qi.

Actually, this was what Luo Zhou himself had wanted.

His teacher's lessons had made him realize that Geomagnetic Qi, Heavy Dust Qi, and Three Eyes Qi weren't worth keeping.

With a single thought, the qi in his dantian transformed on its own.

He had mastered the methods for cultivating them. If they were driven out, so be it!

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

It seemed to shudder. Its very nature changed; it was no longer Water Tide Energy, but Tidal Qi.

Otherwise, it wouldn't have been able to coexist with Heavy Water Qi and Heavenly Water Qi in his dantian.

He now had twelve strands of Heavy Water Qi, forty-five strands of Heavenly Water Qi, and twelve strands of Tidal Qi!

The nature of his true qi had changed, but the amount had not!

After this transformation, all the true qi in Luo Zhou's body was water qi—and all of it was water qi with the Jellyfish Celestial Palace's special properties.

A Dragon-Slaying Thrust forged from this true qi would be at least twenty percent more powerful!

In a sense, this was a minor adjustment to his own cultivation. Before, he had kept all kinds of true qi. But after his teacher's lesson, he understood: refine the ordinary qi and keep the excellent qi.

June 21, sunny. Twelve days left!

He had the will to slay a dragon, but there was no rain. If the dragon didn't come, all his preparations would be for nothing!

Luo Zhou went back and fed the Blood Parrot another ten Purple Crickets.

That day, he ran out of Broken Spirits.

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

One Spirit Stone could be exchanged for one thousand and forty Broken Spirits. The Spirit Market shops were big enough to bully their customers, and that was all they would give him.

June 22, sunny. Eleven days left.

He kept feeding it ten Purple Crickets at a time.

The clear weather continued. There wasn't a drop of rain. The old Crocodile Dragon wouldn't come into the city to buy delicacies, so Luo Zhou had no chance.

When Akula came to deliver the next batch, Luo Zhou casually asked him how much the best Spirit Birch Wood sold for in the mountains.

Akula gestured as he explained:

"Spirit Birch Wood? There's plenty of it. We burn it for firewood..."

Then Luo Zhou heard an answer that left him stunned.

The finest Spirit Birch Wood he bought at the Spirit Market cost only one Broken Spirit per stick in the mountains. The Spirit Market shops charged ten times as much.

What a racket!

Luo Zhou immediately ordered a hundred sticks of the finest Spirit Birch Wood from Akula.

June 23, sunny. He kept feeding the Blood Parrot.

The Spirit Birch Wood arrived too, and it was just as good as the stuff from the Spirit Market.

Luo Zhou realized that Great Xuan Mountain was full of treasures. It might be worth exploring the trade there.

That day, Luo Zhou subtly guided a Purple Cricket toward the wall, luring the Blood Parrot closer.

After feeding it, he went home for the night.

But then Cheng Wanli came to see him.

"Xiao Zhou, you've had a decent rest lately, right? Are we going dragon hunting again?"

"Captain, why are you thinking about hunting dragons when you could just focus on running the gang?"

"You don't know the price of firewood until you're the one running the household. It's hard to keep a gang going. No wonder the Sanjiang Gang used to rob us.

"We need to open up more sources of income. Broken Spirits aren't nearly enough, so we'll have to hunt dragons again.

"But I won't be going. I'll put a team together for you, and they'll follow your lead. We'll do things just like before, only safer and more convenient."

Now that he was gang leader, he didn't need to join the hunt himself. He could just send his men out. It was easier and more profitable—that was the beauty of being in charge.

Luo Zhou thought it over and said, "All right, no problem!"

"But I have to lead them myself, and I get to choose whether we hunt or not!"

A Dragon-Slaying Thrust required nine strands of true qi. If the Crocodile Dragon didn't have a Dead Spirit, there was no point in hurting or killing it!

"Good. It's a deal!"

This time, Cheng Wanli had also brought along a young man.

"This is Yu Bo's younger brother, Uncle Cheng Yu.

"He's just like Yu Bo, and he'll serve you wholeheartedly."

Uncle Cheng Yu was exceptionally tall, broad-shouldered and imposing, with a straight back like a sword or spear. He looked like a towering mountain.

"Greetings, Brother Luo. My brother has told me about you."

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

He was polite and considerate, and showed Luo Zhou great respect.

Luo Zhou nodded. Having a contact like this would make things convenient for everyone.

Uncle Cheng Yu sent people to look for Crocodile Dragons, while Luo Zhou continued fishing for the Blood Parrot.

But the Blood Parrot had already come close to the wall, and Luo Zhou could vaguely sense it.

One or two more days, and he could close the net. Once it was within two and a half zhang, he could kill it.

After advancing to the Strength Warrior realm, Luo Zhou's Dragon-Slaying Thrust had a range of two and a half zhang.

He kept feeding it. There was only one Purple Cricket left.

"Hey, buddy, what are you doing?"

Luo Zhou nearly jumped out of his skin!

There was nothing wrong with those words.

It was just that a little over ten days ago, he had asked Liu Jinpeng the same thing. Then he had smashed Liu Jinpeng's head and beaten him to death!

Had Liu Jinpeng turned into a vengeful ghost and come back for revenge?