Midnight Noodle Soup

If it's not Ink Bamboo Mountain, if it's not Luo Sect, then who else could it be?

Anyway, there are Three Great Sects.

Although Li Fan didn't yet understand how this conspiracy was planned, executed, or how it would develop, if someone had indeed orchestrated this massive conspiracy, its ultimate purpose was quite obvious.

It's nothing more than the methods used by the three traditional major forces to suppress the Ink Bamboo Mountain faction, which is currently showing a clear upward trend.

It may not have been orchestrated by the Three Great Sects, but they certainly welcomed it and actively cooperated.

The Nangong Family of the Immortal Palace had the strongest motive, but considering the three events—the sword duel at Tiantai Mountain, Nangong Wushuang whipping the Guangling Heir Prince to death, and the Immortal Army turning into lambs at the Fei Mountain Mine—they seem more like they were plotted against by someone behind the scenes. Ironically, because their motives were so strong, they were easily suspected and thus used as pawns to attract the attention of Ink Bamboo Mountain.

Of course, it's also possible that they were indeed involved in the initial conspiracy against Ink Bamboo Mountain, but they lost too many of their cards in the Tiantai Mountain sword duel, which is why they were forced to withdraw due to lack of staying power.

The Nine Great Xuan Sects may have minor motives, but their power has always been present in this game of chess.

They did indeed recently lead a large group on a long training journey to the South China Sea. Even if it was for the opportunity to seize the flying sword, wouldn't bringing so many elites just to wipe out the Lü Family seem like overkill?

Moreover, judging by the timeline, the Xuanmen should have already wiped out the Lü Family and suppressed the South China Sea region, and begun their return north, right? For cultivators, a thousand miles is a short distance. So, wouldn't they stop by Ink Bamboo Mountain Li Country to raid it along the way?

Or perhaps they had foreseen something else, or maybe they didn't mind the Immortal Palace's invitation and were taking the opportunity to suppress Ink Bamboo Mountain to prevent the emergence of a second Luo Sect?

So the Xuanmen sect might just be an accomplice, trying to steal a chicken or something, but they can't ignore the masters who are right next to them.

As for the religion, it cannot be ruled out that it will be excluded.

After all, Li Fan had previously met someone who seemed to be a candidate for Saintess. She herself had said, "It's not good to scheme Li Country." If she didn't have any ulterior motives, why would she bother traveling all the way across the Kunlun Mountain just to say something like that? Was she on vacation?

Or is it possible that the Divine Cult has also become involved in this conspiracy involving all Three Great Sects, hoping to get a share of the spoils, or perhaps they are trying to probe and analyze the true strength of the newly emerging power, Ink Bamboo Mountain?

On the Ink Bamboo Mountain side, the only signs of a divergence in strategic direction between the north and south have already been detected by the Three Great Sects, who have gathered like sharks.

They really didn't give us any chance at all; experience really pays off...

Looking at the shimmering Rubik's Cube in his hand and the interconnected squares, Li Fan found it hard to believe that so many seemingly trivial matters were actually connected.

And how come Li Fan keeps running into these things? Is this some kind of legendary protagonist's destiny?

"Is that all? I'm leaving then." A Guang interrupted Li Fan's thoughts, after all, it was really smelly for him to be standing next to him.

"Wait a minute, this is all the money I have on me. Oh, and here's a lot of rice. I'm too lazy to sort out some other odds and ends. Here, take this Storage Jade." Li Fan rummaged through his pockets and took out two Storage Jade he had obtained from the monster, giving them to A Guang.

A Guang accepted it without any hesitation, "You're quite wealthy, aren't you? How about some more magic Cultivation Method? Those of us selected for the beginner's program all have a tiny bit of cultivation aptitude."

"Didn't Yuan the Monkey teach you any basic Cultivation Method? Then how did you manage to reach the Foundation Establishment stage?" Li Fan asked curiously.

A Guang shook his head, "I didn't know. He used to lead us in reading scriptures, and our cultivation levels naturally increased. It wasn't something I practiced on my own. We all worshipped the Old Mother together, and our cultivation levels increased together."

Yuan Houzi said that was enough. Although he didn't have any real skills, at least he could scare people and prevent those bullies from bullying us. However, he was timid and without his mother's protection, he was still unsure of himself.

Li Fan thought for a moment, "There are some weapons used by monsters here. Even though they're junk, they're better than ordinary ones. Take them for self-defense. As for Cultivation Method, I'm not qualified to teach the skills from the mountains. All I have here is a <Gui Xu Profound Darkness Inner Breath Circulation> that I traded for. At most, I can only cultivate it to the Golden Core Stage."

However, this method allows one to travel underwater. The Jingji region has a dense network of rivers and complex waterways. Once you learn this technique, you can control the water yourself and escape directly from the riverbed when being chased. This will give you an extra means of survival, and you won't need to wear the sand pear blossoms when entering the water.

Also, there might be a drought in the next two years, so stock up on rice.

A Guang solemnly accepted the Cultivation Method, bowed deeply, and said, "I am very grateful for your help this time. It turns out you are not a member of my Luo Sect. However, you did not kill me, a demonic cultivator, right away, and you were willing to listen to my mad ramblings. You are truly a good person. If there were more people like you in the world, that would be wonderful."

In short, I hope you can leave the city soon and escape the impending calamity."

Before Li Fan could ask any more questions, A Guang turned and left like a disheveled, mad beggar, muttering to himself, "The blossoms of the pear tree are so splendid, among all people today, none are like brothers. In the face of death, brothers are deeply missed, the plains and marshes are filled with sorrow, brothers are sought after..."

Li Fan opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't say anything more, and just watched A Guang disappear into the shadows of the street.

I wonder how much longer that Vacuum Home can shelter these unfortunate people...

Forget it, the urgent matter comes first. We need to find out the background of Lu Chai's men and find the lambs. If there's enough time, we should immediately ask the abbot and the disciples of Ink Bamboo Mountain to take action and stop the Three Great Sects' scheme before the mastermind's plot succeeds. That would be the best option.

Now we need to find a way to produce solid evidence. Ideally, we should catch the noodle shop workers in the act and see where they got the lamb from. Or we could catch them red-handed while they were emptying the swill and present both the lamb and the person to the abbot. Only then would we have solid evidence.

With this plan in mind, Li Fan, taking advantage of his current dirty beggar attire, walked straight to the stall and lined up to eat noodles. And you know what? He sneaked in so brazenly that no one suspected him. Li Fan took a bowl of scallion noodles, squatted down at the stall entrance to eat, and openly observed the noodle shop's staff.

However, these people all looked like ordinary people, or at most, strong and healthy ordinary people who had learned a little martial arts—no more than gangsters. And there was nothing unusual about any of the slop buckets in the noodle shop... Hmm... could it be that A Guang tricked him?

Oh, this noodle soup is so delicious! Slurp, slurp, slurp...

Li Fan's mood improved slightly.

"Bang!" "Clang!"

Li Fan glanced to his side and saw a beggar lying on the ground in the alley. He had been hit on the head with a brick, and was bleeding profusely from his head.

It seems that each beggar in the shop was only given one bowl of food, but some malicious people were not satisfied with one bowl and dared not ask for another. So they squatted outside the shop and snatched other people's bowls. In order to snatch the bowl of noodles from the beggar's hand to eat and drink, they actually killed him.

Li Fan was now somewhat numb to such things, showing no emotional fluctuations. Without needing to say a word, before the wicked beggar who had launched the sneak attack could even enjoy the noodle soup he had snatched, he had already flicked a pebble, hitting the villain squarely on the back of the head, instantly denting his skull and killing him on the spot.

Before anyone could react, the bowl of soup was spilled on the ground, and most of it spilled out. Only then did the surrounding beggars swarm forward, frantically grabbing the bowl and the noodles that had fallen to the muddy ground, almost starting a fight.

"Hey! Scatter! No fighting! Scatter!"

The shop assistants noticed the commotion outside. They were clearly used to this kind of fight over food. They rolled up their sleeves, shouted to drive away the fighting beggars, took a straw mat, wrapped the bodies of the two beggars who had been beaten to death under their arms, and casually tossed them onto the flatbed cart behind the shop.

In the slums, such things happen everywhere, and the poor people around them don't care about the death around them. They just stare blankly, drooling like zombies in a movie, and keep their heads down eating their noodles.

No one around them would even glance at the faces of these lowly people, their feet stomped in mud and almost stuck to their shoes. It was only when Li Fan squatted down to eat noodles with them that he noticed that the beggars, who were eating with their heads down, had bloodshot eyes and were acting like madmen, with expressions that were completely unlike those of normal people.

Of course, Li Fan wasn't entirely sure what a normal beggar's expression should be, but surely it wouldn't look like a cannibalistic zombie staring at a bowl of clear soup noodles?

Could this noodle be poisonous? But that can't be; these beggars have been eating it for so long...

Li Fan took a sniff and couldn't help but inhale again. Although the bowls and chopsticks were dirty, scallion noodles were still scallion noodles. Compared to the stench from the bottom of the ditch, this steaming hot food warmed his stomach and made him feel refreshed all over...

Li Fan's mood improved slightly.

Hmm, not bad, my mood has improved... wait!

Li Fan's neck stiffened, and he secretly spat the noodle soup he hadn't swallowed back into the bowl, puffing out his cheeks.

No, he's already at the Golden Core stage. He's past the novice stage where eating and drinking his fill would improve his mood. Now he needs to eat celestial food to improve his mood, and the only thing Golden Core Stage can afford right now is fried rice! So these noodles are definitely problematic!

Li Fan thought for a moment, then suddenly understood something, changed his position, and secretly watched the kitchen.

The problem isn't the slop bucket, it's the pot used to cook the noodles...

The pot was pitch black, and although the outer wall was obscured, it was at most some kind of low-level Magic Treasure. It was unlikely that someone would bring out a magical treasure for medicinal cuisine in a slum; that would be too conspicuous. Either there was something else in the pot besides noodles...

Li Fan thought for a moment, looked up at the roof of the noodle shop, stomped his foot, and released a sword aura that severed the roof beams. Instantly, the roof tiles collapsed with a crash, causing the shop assistants inside to run away in panic. Of course, many bricks and stones also crashed into the noodle pot, overturning it.

"What happened?!" "Is there a mouse?" "Maybe it's ants."

Li Fan cast an invisibility spell and, taking advantage of the fact that the staff weren't paying attention, mingled with the crowd and peeked at the overturned soup pot.

Sure enough, there were inscribed scriptures inside the pot, but it was impossible to make out what they said. At the bottom of the pot, there was a thick slice of meat, its white surface tinged with pink, resembling fatty pork belly or a mushroom cap. In any case, it was sliced and skewered in the middle with a cone-shaped King Kong, which was then nailed to the bottom of the pot. The oil in the noodle soup was all made from this piece of meat.

Then, as if sensing Li Fan's gaze, the piece of meat squeezed out a bunch of maggot-egg-like eyeballs from its fat mass and glared at Li Fan.

Ugh, so disgusting...

Li Fan's mood dropped a little.

"Oh no! The meat has spilled out!" "Quick! Cover it with a pot so no one can see!" "Grab it, it's trying to run away!"

This thing can really run! Even though most of the meat slices were stuck to the pot, it actually took the opportunity to grow many tentacles and roots from the meat slices, like a snail dragging the pot and rattling around, as if trying to escape!

The noodle shop worker rushed over to hold down the soup pot, but was scalded by the charred bottom of the pot and screamed in agony. Someone even slipped on the soup noodles on the ground and fell. The scene was chaotic, and for a moment no one could grab the piece of meat!

The surrounding beggars were terrified by the bizarre scene and screamed, scattering in panic. The piece of meat, dragging the pot and cauldron, clattered and rattled as it crawled back and forth. Surprisingly, it still seemed to have some sense, knowing to flee in the opposite direction from Li Fan.

Vision flesh? What's that?

'The fleshy substance resembles meat. It often attaches to large rocks, possessing both a head and a tail; it is a living organism. It is also called meat-shaped lingzhi or Tai Sui.'

Oh, wow! This is good stuff! But wait a minute, why is it Tai Sui? Isn't it lamb or lamblet meat?

Li Fan was puzzled, but then he noticed that in the chaos, a minor leader squeezed into the noodle shop, brought out a wooden puppet wrapped in a cloak, but judging from the exposed arms, it was clearly a wooden puppet. He then slapped a talisman on the wooden puppet's head to cover its face.

The wooden puppet immediately came to life, leaping up as if its limbs were being manipulated by strings, and pounced straight at the snail-like Tai Sui. It spread its ten fingers, grabbed the pot on its back, and pulled Tai Sui back as it tried to escape into the alley.

Judging from the puppet's speed and strength, this mechanical puppet's power is at least equivalent to Foundation Establishment cultivator who has mastered the Body Domination Technique. Moreover, the puppet's limbs all have hidden spring blades, and the blades seem to be coated with poison. However, the yellow talisman on its face is burning up rapidly without any flame, which clearly indicates that it was only temporarily borrowed to deal with ordinary martial arts practitioners causing trouble.

However, this delay was enough. Da'an Fang was Lu Chai's lair, and the commotion caused by it was sure enough, four people wearing black robes with Unknown Face immediately appeared from four directions of the slums, surrounding Tai Sui who was trying to escape.

The tall, black-robed man at the front slapped the pot over, punched the Tai Sui, and slammed it back to the bottom before sealing it with the lid.

The second man in black robes reached out and blew away the yellow talisman on the puppet's face, causing the puppet to stop functioning and lie down on the ground.

"What's going on? Why are you using puppet soldiers?!" Another man in black robes rushed in front of the leader and demanded.

"Yes, just now when we were putting out the meal, it seems the rats gnawed through the roof beams, the house collapsed, and the evil spirit escaped. Luckily, it's dark now and there's not much of a crowd..."

The leader gave a hesitant explanation, while Li Fan observed from the shadows.

This is impressive. These four aren't living people; they're clearly Mechanical Puppet. But their craftsmanship is significantly more sophisticated, agile, and realistic than that puppet soldier who could only move with talismans stuck to his face. Speaking like this while masked, even the other Ketu wouldn't realize they're not real people.

"Useless! You can't even handle such a small matter!" The man in black robes flung his hand and stabbed into the leader's eye socket, gouging out one of his eyeballs and throwing it on the ground.

The group of men immediately knelt on the ground, too frightened to even breathe.

The leader, enduring the excruciating pain on his face, pleaded, "Please, please give me another chance, sir! I'll capture and kill every beggar I see who's alive!"

"No need, they won't live much longer anyway. Clean this place up! Don't cause any more trouble!"

After speaking, the four black-robed puppets, holding the cauldron of the Tai Sui, turned around, abandoned the crowd, and leaped away.

Li Fan confirmed the Si Nan's direction and immediately flew after it.

There weren't many people on the streets late at night, and with such a huge pot flying ahead, surely they wouldn't lose track of it?

Before they had even chased each other for two blocks, Si Nan suddenly swayed, and Li Fan narrowed his eyes, realizing something was wrong.

How come his skills are so bad?

It's one thing to lose track of people, but how come the four black-robed figures in front of me suddenly turned into five?

So he subconsciously looked at each foot one by one.

Oh, four of them are wearing official boots, and one is wearing straw sandals issued to disciples of Ink Bamboo Mountain.

That must be Lu Xing.

After all, although the terrain in this area was complex, carrying a pot while flying in the sky would still make her too conspicuous, and she finally managed to find her.

So, under the night sky of Changsi City, the five puppets inherited from the Lu Family shuttled and flew between the shacks and buildings of Da'an Fang, chasing each other.

Perhaps this is what is called a coincidence, a meeting of the winds and clouds, destiny, an unexpected encounter.

Many things might have an answer if Lu Chai were found.

And tonight, the Lu Family's children will surely have to settle their score.

Let's see who the true heir of the Lu Family is.