A Simple, Unpretentious Folk

In truth, as long as Li Fan revealed his identity as 'Li Datang,' he could travel freely throughout the land, ensuring that no one of sound mind would dare offend Penglai Mountain. However, he didn't want to expose his whereabouts so soon after arriving in Hebei, so he cupped his hands in greeting and said...

"Li Er cultivator from the mountains, passing by your esteemed place. I'm just stopping by for a rest and then leaving. I have no intention of causing any trouble."

Li Fan's secretive attire and refusal to reveal his identity were not surprising, so Shen Lianzi didn't press him further.

Then the man stepped forward and said, "In that case, please allow us to take away the person with you. This person is a wanted criminal personally selected by the Lord of the Heng Hai Army and wanted by various towns."

Li Fan glanced sideways at the man in yellow who was still lying there pretending to be dead, and too lazy to bother with him. He simply nodded, "When you're out in the world, helping others is helping yourself. Don't get involved in trouble that isn't yours. You can handle it yourselves. I just wonder what important thing this friend has done that requires the military commander to personally order his arrest?"

"That's none of your business," the man said impatiently, bowing slightly. "Please go ahead."

Li Fan glanced at the guy, who was still pretending, and thought, "Fine, let's go."

As a result, Li Fan had just made a hand seal and soared into the sky to cover his tracks when the couple opposite him attacked him, and... they attacked him suddenly!

The woman pointed with her orchid-like fingers, and a burst of sparks and poisonous clouds erupted from the embroidered ball beside her, hurtling towards Li Fan! At the same time, a sweet cry rang out, seemingly a demonic melody, directly attacking Li Fan's primordial spirit and wiping away a portion of his composure. She also spewed out pinkish-purple poisonous clouds from her mouth and nose! She unleashed three moves in the first move! Her methods were ruthless and extremely swift!

The man was no less formidable! Crouching low, he charged forward after the embroidered ball, flicking his pouch and magically transforming it into a massive, sky-covering bag that descended from the sky to envelop Li Fan! At the same time, he spat out a handful of eerie green poison needles, aiming straight for Li Fan's eyes! Moreover, the short stick in his hand glowed with blood and gleamed with ferocity as it smashed towards Li Fan's calf!

Li Fan truly amazed. "Holy crap, are all the rogue cultivators in the Central Plains this good...?"

You might say their cultivation level is low, and their raw strength is truly lacking, but their insidious and harmful methods are surprisingly swift and decisive. If it were an ordinary person, careless and unprepared, they would have barely formed a hand seal to fly into the sky before their Dao Breath returned, and two people would already be unleashing a barrage of six deadly attacks! Would those people still be alive?

Li Fan sighed, then casually flicked the embroidered ball away. With a flick of his finger, he pierced the large bag, opened his mouth, and spat out a cloud of Deng Hua Sword mist, clearing away the poison needles and poisonous fog coming his way. Then, with a grab of his right hand and a lift of his left, he tore off the right arm and staff of the white-clad man who rushed at him, grabbed him by the waist, and raised him in the air with one hand.

"I have no grudge against either of you, why would you want to harm me!"

The man was easily captured by Li Fan, but he showed no anger or pleading. Suddenly, he let out a shrill scream, probably some kind of primordial spirit technique, which dampened Li Fan's spirits. He also pulled out bottles and jars of poison powder and other concoctions from his pocket, intending to throw them at Li Fan.

Seeing that she had met her match, the woman pulled out three talismans, activated thunderclouds, black winds, and mist, and then turned and ran without saying a word.

Seeing their reaction—they acted swiftly and decisively, seizing any opportunity and retreating if they couldn't win— Li Fan secretly admired them. Without further hesitation, he unleashed a palm strike, shattering the person in his hand. Simultaneously, he flicked his wrist, sending a sword aura sweeping across, severing the woman in half at the waist, sending her plummeting from the clouds.

After Li Fan clapped his hands to brush away the bits of flesh and blood on his body, he turned around and saw that, in the short time it had been, the middle-aged man who had been pretending to be dead had already scurried away like an opossum, tail between his legs.

Wow... So this is how peacefully independent cultivators in the Central Plains get along... I've learned something new...

Li Fan was a bit speechless at this sudden turn of events. He had wanted to exchange a few polite words to get some information, but he hadn't expected the people of Hebei to be so simple and honest, leaving him completely bewildered.

Well, maybe open-world PvP is more popular. I'd better just go into the city and ask around.

So Li Fan scanned the area with his Divine Sense, searching for a large town in the distance with inhabitants, which was probably the Heng Hai Army Dizhou mentioned earlier, and flew there.

From afar, Dizhou City resembled a fortress, its walls high and its moats deep, teeming with swords and spears, powerful bows and crossbows, and an aura of killing intent permeating the air. However, the local cultivators weren't particularly strong; there were four or five Immortal Palace -Fake Nascent Soul, likely garrison commanders of the Heng Hai Army. But there were a considerable number of Golden Core cultivators, and even more Foundation Establishment. Almost everyone had cultivated some Qi, and most were martial artists, often in groups of three or five, swords at their sides, frequently drawing their blades and killing in the streets, engaging in chaotic battles. If three or four people died, it was considered a minor incident; the soldiers didn't care, waiting for the dead to be collected by the street sweepers.

If the disturbance escalates into a gang fight involving hundreds of people, threatening to become a popular uprising, a whistle and a gong will sound from the watchtower. Then, a fully armored cavalry unit from the Heng Hai Army will arrive on horseback to drive away the rioters. The crowd will quickly disperse, hiding in alleys and shops, leaving behind a mess, and order will be restored.

This process repeats itself, with both large and small occurrences happening seven or eight times a day.

Li Fan, concealing his aura, sat atop the drum tower, observing the surroundings. While observing the qi, he secretly calculated in his mind that the population of Dizhou City was only around 100,000. According to the proportions of Changsi City, 100,000 people would only produce a hundred or so Golden Core cultivators and a couple thousand Foundation Establishment cultivators. However, from what Li Fan observed, most people in this city were Qi Refining cultivators, with at least tens of thousands of Foundation Establishment cultivators and at least four or five hundred Golden Core cultivators.

It seems the situation in Gen Country is indeed quite different from that in Li Country. Constant warfare and endless conflict have resulted in a smaller overall population, but the number of cultivators hasn't decreased at all. After all, in this climate, there's no shortage of basic Foundation Establishment and Core Formation materials. Ironically, Gen Country has even more opportunities to trigger calamities, which might actually be beneficial for cultivation...

Li Fan also noticed that the average military garrison of the Gen Country was at this level. As long as they had equipment and supplies, they could easily muster thousands or even tens of thousands of immortal soldiers. Moreover, many of their populations had been taken away by other local forces, so their actual strength might be even greater.

After Li Fan had looked around enough, he chose a restaurant in the city to inquire about information. The place was called Quemei Tower. There had been no disturbance here during the fighting nearby, so it seemed quite safe.

He had barely taken off his hat and entered the room, and before he could even ask the shopkeeper for directions, he was stopped by three or five men carrying knives.

"Hey! Redhead! Who are you from? What's the price? Show me your plate!"

Tsk, Gonggong's red hair is a bit too eye-catching...

Li Fan had Unknown Face to remove his mask and put his hat back on. "I'm here for a drink, please make way for me."

The lead swordsman glanced at Li Fan. Although he couldn't discern Li Fan's cultivation level, he could tell from his physique that Li Fan was a martial artist. While keeping his eyes fixed on Li Fan, he smirked and said, "Side by side, let's get short! Eagle Claw Sun is coming!"

The martial arts practitioners in the hall immediately fell silent, brandishing their sword hilts and staring at Li Fan.

Li Fan was having a terrible headache. Damn it, is it really that hard to find someone who can speak like a human being...?

Although he could easily defeat all these Foundation Establishment cultivators with a few punches and kicks, he'd probably have to kill a bunch of people before leaving the city if he actually fought. Honestly, he's not some kind of bloodthirsty maniac, and besides, his potential isn't even increasing, so what's the point?

So Li Fan reached into his sleeve, intending to grab some money to get rid of these idiots.

Upon seeing this, the other side suddenly erupted in commotion, shouting, "That grandson is going to release Dark Green!"

Then a group of people shouted and drew their swords, attacking!

Li Fan nearly coughed up blood, and had no choice but to turn back and run away, hiding for three blocks before finally shaking off this group of lunatics...

Holy crap, this place is unsafe my foot... It's practically uninhabitable...

Li Fan was also helpless. At this moment, he saw a noodle shop next door with few customers. There were two or three people, whether they were from the Beggars' Sect or just genuine beggars, squatting at the door drinking soup.

Li Fan cautiously glanced around, and seeing that the beggars didn't question him, he went inside. He immediately took out a string of coins and placed it on the table, saying, "Boss, a bowl of beef noodles, please."

Upon seeing the Divine Astral Coin, the noodle shop owner immediately greeted them with a smile, offering tea and water.

Li Fan finally breathed a sigh of relief, took a sip of tea, and prepared to try and build a relationship with the boss to ask for some information...

'Warning: Host poisoned. Do you wish to use the Qiongqi Hundred Bone Fan's effect to cure the poison?'

WTF!

Li Fan's expression changed, and he dodged in a flash. Behind him, the boss was already wielding a boning knife, which slashed down and smashed the table to pieces!

"Damn it! What's wrong with you all?!" Li Fan grabbed the boss and yelled at him.

The shop owner screamed, "Help! This is robbery! Murder! Utterly depraved!"

"I'll give you a piece of my mind..."

Before Li Fan could even get angry, he heard a whoosh behind him and immediately dodged. It was those beggars who threw a pile of bricks and lime at him, smashing the boss's head open and killing him instantly.

Li Fan, still shaken, dodged, but the group of beggars pounced on him, fighting over the string of coins he had placed on the table. They started fighting amongst themselves, gouging each other's eyes and biting each other's hands, creating a chaotic scene.

"Holy crap..." Although he had been observing from the shadows and was somewhat prepared, Li Fan truly hadn't expected these people to have gone to such a frenzy...

"Hey! Are you looking to die?! What are you making a scene for?! Get out! All of you, get out of here!"

At this moment, two armored infantrymen walked over, one with his sword at his side and the other with his halberd. They cursed loudly for a while, and when the beggars saw the soldiers coming, they didn't dare to linger. They picked up the copper coins on the ground and ran away, even taking the shopkeeper's boning knife with them...

"Hey, are you dead yet! Hey! Damn it, you're dead." Two soldiers kicked the shopkeeper for a while, and when he didn't react, they went to the counter, rummaged around, took out a few copper coins, divided them, and came out to see Li Fan still standing outside, so they came up to him.

"Hey! You out-of-towner! You're just loitering around the streets without a knife? Looking for trouble!"

"Look at you, throwing things away like that. Are you in business? Why don't you give some of your money to the brothers?"

Li Fan glanced at them silently, then took out two strings of cash from his sleeve and gave them to them.

"Hey, this big oaf is actually quite rich." "Hehe, hehehe!" The two soldiers laughed heartily.

Li Fan looked at them and said, "Gentlemen, I am new here. May I ask if there is a place to stay in the city?"

The two soldiers stared at him, one looking at the other.

"From elsewhere? From Gen Province? Oh, I see, a cultivator, no wonder."

"A celestial being flew by from the sky! What's he doing in the city? Don't cause us any trouble!"

"There's a Shen Family in the southern suburbs. If you want to make offerings, go ask them for an introduction. I'm off."

The two thugs didn't bother talking to Li Fan much. After taking the money, they happily discussed whether to go drinking or have some fun.

Li Fan also shook his head. He had been careless. To outsiders, the chaos had only just begun, but to the people of Gen Province, life was as fragile as an ant's, and living and dying in the morning was already a part of their lives.

Given the situation, it's unlikely anyone in the city will talk to us properly, and we're even less likely to get anything out of them. We'll have to go directly to the cultivators on the Dao. Shen Family sounds like a local Cultivation Family; could that Shen Lianzi be related?

Li Fan thought about it and, although he had just killed the other party's people and there might be risks, he still decided to try his luck.

The situation in Gen Country is too chaotic. No matter where you go, it's all about killing each other. Whether there's a real grudge or not is no longer important. But he at least needs a map, to roughly know whose territory is which, right? Even if he ignores all the messy things that the manifestation gave him, he at least needs to find a safe place to hide and cultivate, to stabilize his cultivation.

Given the current situation in the Gen Country, hiding is certainly enough, but settling down is another matter entirely...

So Li Fan flew south of the city for a while, observing the weather and using Si Nan to confirm, and then determined that a village with billowing smoke and burning flames was probably Shen Family.

... He hasn't even arrived yet, and this plot about his family being destroyed has already triggered...

Before Li Fan could even sigh, he sensed a group of cultivators chasing someone towards him from afar.

Oh, wrong, it's one person who's chasing a group of people...

Li Fan glanced at them from afar, not surprised. It was just a dozen or so Golden Core cultivators fleeing, probably heading towards Dizhou City seeking reinforcements, but they'd been caught halfway and chased away like flies. Their pursuers were a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator who unleashed a vast and incomparably domineering palm strike, blasting them one by one into dust from a distance, like crimson flowers blooming in the sky. Truly a common sight indeed...

"Fellow Daoist, save me! A demon is indiscriminately slaughtering innocent people!!"

One of the cultivators, seemingly panicked and disoriented, spotted Li Fan and immediately flew over to ask for help.

Li Fan observed that although this person was also a lowly cultivator at the peak of the Golden Core stage, he had white hair and a youthful face, dressed in brocade robes and jade belts, and ate very well. He guessed that this person was some kind of patriarch or ancestor of the Shen Family.

Li Fan didn't rush to speak. He first cautiously used his Divine Sense to observe the pursuer. Unexpectedly, the pursuer immediately sensed him and flew over to confront him. Upon seeing the opponent's appearance, Li Fan's heart skipped a beat, and he almost blurted out, "Qin Nanxin!"

Okay, actually, upon closer inspection, it's not the same person.

This was also a female Daoist priest who cultivated with her hair Nascent Soul Realm Qin Nanxin's. Her black hair cascaded down to her waist like flowing water. She had no hair ornaments or jewelry on her head, only a white veil covering her hair, with a crescent-shaped fringe falling in front of her left eyebrow.

She carried a gold-handled, copper-ringed monk's knife under her left arm and a silver-threaded, iron-edged whisk under her right. She wore a close-fitting white robe over a plain-colored Daoist robe, her attire impeccable and without any superfluous adornments. Her bright eyes and white teeth, fair skin, phoenix eyes sparkling, and furrowed brows, if not for the hint of fierceness and ruthlessness in the corners of her eyes, making her seem unapproachable, would make her a peerless beauty whose looks were no less than Qin Nanxin's.

In reality, the two were different in appearance, attire, and hair color. Li Fan almost mistook her for Qin Nanxin's icy demeanor when they first met. Moreover, both seemed skilled in palm techniques and ruthless in killing. For a moment, the two figures seemed to overlap before his eyes, making Li Fan somewhat dazed.

Upon seeing this, the female Daoist priest raised her eyebrows, parted her pearly teeth, and let her voice, clear and melodious like pearls striking jade or silver bells tinkling in the rain, ring out.

"What are you looking at! Haven't you ever seen a beautiful woman before?! Look again and I'll gouge your eyes out!"

Li Fan, "..."