Panshui Town

"Backed by an oasis and fronted by a lake, safe from wind and sand—a fine place indeed."

Wu Dao strode forward with the grace of a dragon and the vigor of a tiger, meeting the setting sun. He felt the cool moisture in the air and used the fading light to size up Panshui Town.

Crescent Isle was vast.

With Canyun Mountain's peaks piercing the clouds and deep, boundless forests stretching for unknown miles, Panshui Town sat nestled at the foot of the mountain, embraced by the clear, expansive Crescent Lake.

It was like an emerald in the middle of a vast, yellow Sea of Sand, possessing the charm of a Shangri-La. In times of peace, it would be enough to make one linger and forget to return home.

However, these were not peaceful times.

And he was not here to enjoy the scenery.

Gurgle~

The hunger in his gut burned like fire.

After a desperate, high-speed dash of seventy or eighty miles, the energy in Wu Dao's body had been completely drained.

He was exhausted, famished, and covered in dust.

At this moment, he only wanted to find a place to feast, wash up, and recover his strength before inquiring about the Strange Treasure.

Spurred on by hunger.

Wu Dao marched with long, steady strides. Even though he had been at the end of the road, in just a few blinks of an eye, his imposing figure arrived at the city gate tower.

Seeing two trembling wretches holding wooden spears to guard the entrance, he subconsciously frowned, expecting to be questioned about his identity.

Who would have thought that this simple frown would cause Li San's legs to go weak? He felt as if he were being stared down by a bear in the deep woods, and he nearly fell to his knees.

"Master, you've traveled a long way, your arrival is, uh, a great honor, it makes our humble abode shine... Please, right this way."

Li San's body shivered as he spat out every welcoming phrase he had ever learned, nodding and bowing like a traitor inviting an enemy into his home.

"Master, you must be tired and hungry. The Fragrant Pavilion in town has top-tier food and lodging; we guarantee you'll feel right at home. All the heroes who arrived recently are staying there—the reviews are glowing."

Zhao Si didn't fall behind either. He accompanied him with a flattering smile, carefully guiding Wu Dao. Afraid he might get lost, he even detailed the route to the Fragrant Pavilion.

Am I that terrifying?

Wu Dao was somewhat surprised by the sycophantic behavior of these two, but Zhao Si's subsequent words made his expression shift.

The heroes who arrived recently...

Are all staying there...

Is the news about the Strange Treasure known to everyone?

Could it be that someone has already beaten me to it?

"Shut up! Tell me everything that has happened in Panshui Town recently."

Feeling slightly annoyed, Wu Dao's voice boomed like thunder as he unceremoniously scolded the two who were still busy buttering him up.

"Yes, yes, yes, this lowly one will tell you everything."

The two were startled, and like schoolboys being lectured, they hurriedly explained everything that had happened in Panshui Town of late.

The Bone-Melting incident at Canyun Mountain... the treasure hunters from all directions... the strange entities haunting the town...

Every single detail was laid out clearly.

Among them, the "Strange Treasure" that Wu Dao cared most about had yet to be seen by anyone in Canyun Mountain, and no one could even say for sure if it was a living thing or an inanimate object!

Over the past few days, one martial artist after another had practically turned Canyun Mountain upside down, yet all their efforts were in vain. With nothing to show for it, many had already dismissed it as a baseless rumor and left while cursing.

Canyun Mountain, huh?

Wu Dao glanced at the mountain deep within the oasis and made a mental note. He didn't have much doubt, planning to go to Canyun Mountain himself to investigate after he had rested and recovered.

As for the strange entities that might exist within the town...

To be honest, he wasn't very interested, nor did he ask much about them.

He had dealt with that sort of thing at the Red Fire Mine before—intangible and formless, brute force was useless against them, and they could only be killed with mental attacks. Unless they actively possessed him, he couldn't get a bite of them.

Having obtained the intelligence he wanted.

Wu Dao did not linger at the city gate any longer. Carrying his pack, he strode into Panshui Town under the relieved gazes of Li San and his companion.

The daylight had faded.

Panshui Town was dim and shadowy, and the depths were no longer clearly visible. The sound of running water echoed in his ears, coming from the channels diverted from Crescent Lake.

Wu Dao marched forward.

The doors and windows of the houses along the long street were mostly shut tight. The residents he saw looked listless, their faces filled with terror, hurrying along in haste. The entire town was shrouded in a stifling, deathly atmosphere.

It was to be expected.

Not to mention the horrors inside Canyun Mountain that made people turn pale at the mention of them, just looking at Panshui Town itself, people from all walks of life had gathered here, and in the shadows, strange entities were lurking, taking human lives.

Under these circumstances.

Few ordinary people can truly remain calm and composed; not abandoning their families to flee is already a testament to their deep attachment to their homeland.

Such is the humbleness of an ordinary life.

Whether facing the oppression of power, the threat of violence, or the fear of the unknown, beyond remaining silent and resigning oneself to fate, there is no other way.

"My life is decided by me, not by the heavens" may be a cliché, but the path of self-improvement it describes is never out of date. Regardless of the world, only by mastering one's own power can one master one's own life.

Wu Dao retracted his gaze with an indifferent expression, no longer paying attention to the bleak and miserable scenes around him. The hunger in his belly made him quicken his pace toward the Fragrant Pavilion.

The joys and sorrows, the kindness and hatred of the world—he had seen far too much of it during his sixty years in his previous life. He had been a bystander and a participant, yet he had never been moved enough to pause.

This was simply because he had understood one truth long ago—

Without eternity, all is vanity.

Things destined for nothingness, whether they leave one unsatisfied or joyful, whether they are stirring or humble and nameless, are ultimately just reflections in a mirror or flowers in the water.

If one were to harbor compassion and linger in attachment, facing the cruel laws of nature and the vast torrent of time, one would surely be shattered at the first impact.

Only by swimming against the current, constantly transcending oneself until reaching a state of immutability and indestructibility, is the true meaning of survival!

He smelled the aroma of wine and meat in the air.

After turning several corners, he finally heard the clamor of voices and saw signs of activity.

Wu Dao looked up.

Along both sides of the deep street stood inns and taverns with flags fluttering; martial artists with swords at their waists and noble auras wandered in and out, sparse but present.

Small vendors were scattered along the street, hawking their wares in the twilight. Most of what they sold was related to cultivation, though it was hard to tell if it was genuine.

Listening closely.

He could hear the clattering of pans in the kitchens of the inns, the fawning greetings of the waiters, and the hearty shouts of people drinking and gambling, all intertwined. It was a completely different world from the dead silence and oppression outside.

A strong sense of dissonance and fragmentation.

For a moment, Wu Dao felt a sense of vertigo, as if time and space had shifted.

Looking at the vivid, martial figures on the street, he felt the worldly smoke and fire of this strange world.

His soul finally detached from the mundane, cold Steel Jungle, gradually blending into this magnificent and vast new world.

Freshness, curiosity, anticipation...

After three months of repression.

They surged into his heart like a fountain, and he felt a desperate urge to look up and let out a hearty roar.

But Wu Dao's mental fortitude was immense; he quickly adjusted his stirred emotions, kept his eyes straight ahead, and walked directly toward the bustling Fragrant Pavilion.

"Whoa, what a mighty warrior. He's not from the Southern Frontier, is he?"

"Look at those arms—good heavens, they're thicker than my waist. How many kids does he eat for a meal?"

"Keep your voice down, unless you want him to slap your head into your stomach."

"Probably another hotshot fooled by the rumors. There's no Strange Treasure here at all."

Gasps, wary murmurs, and discussions...

As he passed, whispers followed.

Wu Dao heard them, but he remained stoic, treating them as if they were nothing.

He knew that his savage appearance was too striking; he was destined to be the center of attention wherever he went.

If he cared about idle gossip or reacted to every provocation with violence, he would be annoyed to death every single day unless he hid in the deep mountains.

Therefore.

It was best to treat it like wind passing by his ears and ignore it.

At the entrance of the three-story Fragrant Pavilion.

The waiter greeting guests felt the sky darken, and when he looked up, he saw the savage, beast-like Wu Dao, turning pale with fright.

"Master, are you... here to eat... or stay the night?"

His professional instincts, however, made him force a smile and greet the guest, even as his legs trembled.

"Eat, drink, and sleep."

Wu Dao uttered these four words indifferently, and under the bowing guidance of the waiter, he entered the spacious and bright lobby of the Fragrant Pavilion.

"One distinguished guest~"

The waiter called out to the inner hall with a trembling voice, then quickly backed away.

The tall shadow cast into the hall by the setting sun carried a fierce, masculine aura that roared like a tidal wave, as if the King of Ten Thousand Beasts had barged into a pack of wild dogs.

The originally noisy and lively lobby suddenly fell silent. Men and women alike were startled, all turning to cast probing gazes at Wu Dao.

Upon seeing his primordial, beast-like physique, their eyes trembled and their legs went weak. Some who overreacted had already tightened their grips on the swords on their tables.

Facing the flickering gazes of fear, Wu Dao scanned the room openly. Finding no empty seats, he frowned.

But immediately after.

He caught sight of a group of "acquaintances," and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

In the corner.

Sat four rugged men with wild appearances, bare-chested and armed, with curved blades hanging from their waists and gauze wrapped around their heads, possessing a somewhat exotic flair.

Ever since Wu Dao had entered the Fragrant Pavilion, the four of them had kept their heads bowed and trembled, looking as if they were terrified of being discovered by him.

These four men.

Were exactly the four fish that had slipped through the net from the previous group of Sand Bandits.

"That... heh, waiter, check please."

Perhaps Wu Dao's gaze was too bone-chilling.

The four Sand Bandits finally couldn't take it anymore; they swallowed hard, let out an awkward laugh, and hurriedly stood up to vacate the table.

After rushing to settle the bill, they left the Fragrant Pavilion in such a hurry that it could only be described as a flight.

The psychological trauma Wu Dao had inflicted upon them was too immense; whenever they recalled those severed limbs and arms flying through the air, they felt a bone-deep cold.

They had thought they were far away from that nightmare.

They never expected that this god of death would "chase" after them; the moment they saw him, they were scared almost to the point of wetting themselves, wishing only to flee as far as possible, with no thoughts of revenge whatsoever.

Wu Dao glanced at the backs of the four Sand Bandits as they fled in terror, making no move to stop them, nor having any intention to pursue.

When it came down to it.

These four were simply too weak.

They were beneath his notice, not even on the same rung of the food chain as him.

In the natural world, powerful predators never need to claim the lives of the weak outside their diet to demonstrate their own strength.

Unless there was a benefit, or the four of them actively sought death, they couldn't affect Wu Dao's mood in the slightest; killing them would be a waste of energy and provide absolutely no sense of accomplishment.

The waiter moved with great speed.

The leftovers on the table were cleared away in a flash.

After wiping the table clean and pouring a cup of clear tea.

The waiter presented two pages of the menu and asked cautiously, "Sir, what would you like to eat? I wouldn't dare boast about anything else, but here at the Fragrant Pavilion, we have more than enough fish and meat."

Wu Dao cast a casual glance at the thin two-page menu and discovered that, as expected, most of the dishes were fish, which he assumed was due to their proximity to Crescent Lake.

The hunger in his belly burned like fire.

Having no interest in selecting, he tossed the menu aside and said in a deep voice, "Bring one of every meat dish on there, but skip the wine."

"Uh..."

The waiter was taken aback; there were at least twenty different meat dishes on the menu, large and small—could he really finish all that?

But then he calmed himself, realizing that martial artists naturally had massive appetites, especially someone with Wu Dao's build.

"Sir, please wait a moment."

Refilling the tea, the waiter quickly gathered the menu and trotted off to alert the kitchen.

Taking advantage of the gap while waiting for the food.

Wu Dao began to formally size up the various diners in the main hall.

With his Beast King Limit Physique, his perception had improved significantly, allowing him to easily judge a person's strength based on their vitality and spirit.

After a quick scan, he felt a slight disappointment.

Because although most of the diners appeared robust and high-spirited, he estimated they were only at the Nurturing Strength stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

The few who possessed a unique temperament did not exceed the Inner Strengthening Realm either.

However, upon reflection, it made sense.

When all was said and done, Guangqing Prefecture was only a small place. Since martial arts were a rich man's pursuit and were restricted by innate factors, cultivation had always been a luxury.

Most people, even after exhausting their wealth and spending their entire lives, would only ever struggle within the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Under such circumstances.

Reaching the Divine Strength Realm was already enough to be considered a local leader, someone who would naturally possess a sense of pride and reserve, and would never be found laughing and joking with this group of "commoners" in the main hall.

Don't forget to tap the little red heart for the protagonist!