The Golden Snake Gang

Just as Zhou Cheng and his companions were tucking into their meal, the sound of footsteps approached from the distance—judging by the noise, there were six or seven people.

Qin Meng and the others immediately grew alert.

As the footsteps drew closer, six people appeared in their line of sight, dressed in rags, disheveled, and looking every bit like beggars.

Judging by their attire, they appeared to be a family.

Upon arriving, the group hung back timidly, not daring to approach. Eventually, a middle-aged man gathered his courage and cupped his hands toward Zhou Cheng. "Young Master, we have come from Central Province, hoping to make a living in the Capital City. However, our travel funds have run dry, and my mother hasn't eaten a thing all day."

He then pleaded with a look of desperation, "I beg you, Young Master, please spare us some food."

They were truly starving; it was only the scent of the roasting meat that had drawn them over.

Zhou Cheng's gaze fell upon the elderly woman in her sixties. She was extremely frail and had to lean on a cane just to walk.

Two teenagers stood nearby, staring at the roasting meat over the campfire with hungry eyes. Clearly, it wasn't just the grandmother who hadn't eaten all day; the children were just as famished.

"Sit down," Zhou Cheng said. He then instructed Qin Meng to carve up the meat on the fire and distribute it among them.

As they received the meat, the group showered Zhou Cheng with tearful gratitude and bows.

Once they had settled, Zhou Cheng asked out of curiosity, "The journey from Central Province to the Capital is long. Why leave to seek a living? I heard Central Province was quite prosperous."

The middle-aged man took a bite of the meat and paused, his face clouding with sorrow. "It was prosperous once, but a year ago, a large gang of bandits from Heng Mountain arrived. They constantly pillage and commit every evil imaginable, often colluding with many of the great clans in Central Province."

Zhou Cheng frowned. "What is this gang called? Are they powerful?"

"They are called the Golden Snake Gang. They have many members. When they first arrived, there were only one or two thousand, but after recruiting and expanding, they likely have five or six thousand now," the man replied. "They occupy Vicious Tiger Mountain in Central Province, a place with treacherous terrain. The provincial government has sent troops several times, but they couldn't do anything about them."

"Now, in the seven cities surrounding Vicious Tiger Mountain—including Salt City, Qingling, and Ye'an—no one dares to open their doors once night falls."

"Furthermore, the Golden Snake Gang mandates that every merchant in those seven cities must pay them protection money. This fee is higher than the imperial taxes; how could we merchants possibly afford it?"

"With no other choice, I had to flee Salt City."

"In truth, most of the thirty-six provinces are not peaceful right now. I hear the Demonic Cult in Dongsheng Province is causing chaos everywhere, making things even worse. As for You Province, with Heng Mountain there, it goes without saying."

"In the North, the Mongol Kingdom frequently breaches the borders."

The man shook his head. "Only the Capital City remains relatively stable, which is why we thought to seek a path to survival there."

Zhou Cheng continued to inquire about the Golden Snake Gang for a while longer.

The night passed without incident.

The next day, as they prepared to leave, Zhou Cheng gave the man ten taels of silver.

As long as they didn't squander it on the road, ten taels would be enough to sustain them until they reached the Capital.

The man took the silver, his eyes brimming with tears, and he and his children bowed in thanks to Zhou Cheng once more.

"Young Master, your kindness is immense. If I, Qian Zhenduo, ever see you again, I will surely repay this debt," he said with deep gratitude.

Hearing the name Qian Zhenduo, Zhou Cheng smiled; it was certainly an interesting name.

The group parted ways.

Zhou Cheng continued his journey toward the Ten Thousand Stars Sect.

On the road, Zhou Cheng checked his system character panel and found that his Northern Dark Divine Technique had reached 94 in the third stage of Qi Refining.

Three days ago, after devouring one year's worth of internal energy from the Demon Face Left Envoy, the Northern Dark Divine Technique had broken through to the third stage.

Over the past few days, he had persisted in consuming one Nine-Orifice Golden Pill daily, and combined with the technique's automatic absorption of heaven and earth spiritual energy, he had pushed it to the peak of the third stage.

Seeing this, Zhou Cheng took out another Nine-Orifice Golden Pill and swallowed it.

Suddenly, his body shuddered.

The barrier of his fourth meridian, the Belt Meridian, was shattered in one fell swoop.

Surging internal energy roared through his Ren, Du, Chong, and Belt meridians.

On the morning of his twentieth day in the Immortal Martial World, he finally broke through to the fourth stage of Qi Refining.

Even after his breakthrough, the potency of the Nine-Orifice Golden Pill had not been exhausted, and the Northern Dark Divine Technique continued to refine his energy, eventually settling at 21 in the fourth stage.

Seeing he had reached the fourth stage, Zhou Cheng wondered if his elder brother, Zhou Li, had managed the same.

When they were in the Capital a few days ago, Zhou Li had still been at the peak of the third stage.

If his brother hadn't broken through yet, he had now surpassed him.

"Congratulations to the host for breaking through to the fourth stage of Qi Refining. You have received a breakthrough gift pack."

"Does the host wish to open the breakthrough gift pack now?"

The system's voice caught Zhou Cheng off guard.

Since he began his cultivation, he hadn't received any gift packs for the first, second, or third stages, so he had assumed they were a thing of the past.

Zhou Cheng opened the gift pack.

"You have obtained four Marrow-Cleansing Pills."

Then, the system fell silent.

Zhou Cheng swallowed the four Marrow-Cleansing Pills.

Instantly, the cultivation progress of his Northern Dark Divine Technique surged once more, finally reaching 45% at the fourth level of Qi Refining.

Meanwhile, his aptitude increased by 10, bringing his centennial genius aptitude to 20.

As Zhou Cheng rode his warhorse, he pondered the matter of the cultivation realm gift packs. During the Body Tempering stage, every minor breakthrough had yielded a gift pack, but after breaking into the Qi Refining stage, he hadn't received one until reaching the fourth level. It seemed that beyond the Qi Refining stage, gift packs were only awarded upon reaching significant milestones, such as the fourth and seventh levels.

Furthermore, he feared the rewards would only diminish over time.

In the future, he would have to rely on his own efforts.

For the next two days, Zhou Cheng and his companions remained on the road.

Whenever they passed through a city, they would rest for the night at an inn. In his spare time, Zhou Cheng would spar with Qin Meng and Lin Ru, practicing saber techniques, fist techniques, and footwork.

As a result, Zhou Cheng's Demon-Subduing Saber Technique, Roaming Dragon White Tiger Fist, and Wind-Facing Willow Steps improved steadily every day. By the time they reached the Ten Thousand Stars Sect, all three martial arts should be able to break through to the realm of perfection.

After breaking through to the fourth level of Qi Refining, a single Nine-Orifice Golden Pill could increase his progress by 24%. Over two days, that amounted to 48%. Combined with the heaven and earth spiritual energy he absorbed daily through the Northern Dark Divine Technique, Zhou Cheng successfully opened his fifth meridian, the Yin Wei Meridian, two days later, breaking through to the fifth level of Qi Refining.

"Young Master, that is Vicious Tiger Mountain." Qin Meng pointed toward the mountain peak ahead.

Zhou Cheng was traveling to the Ten Thousand Stars Sect by way of the Central Province, and he intended to deal with the Golden Snake Gang tonight before continuing his journey.

Upon arriving at the foot of Vicious Tiger Mountain, Zhou Cheng and his group tethered their horses and, under the cover of night, made their way to the cliff at the summit.

Across the chasm lay the lair of the Golden Snake Gang. However, the gang had retracted the iron bridge, making it impossible even for a tenth-level Xiantian grandmaster to leap across from this side.

Moreover, a large number of Golden Snake Gang archers were stationed on the opposite side.