Caught up in the fight, none of them had expected Zhang Laosan to grab a stool and bring it crashing down hard on Li Sanshun.
That blow from the stool.
It had killed Li Sanshun.
Though the three of them were thugs and hoodlums, none had ever killed anyone before.
Now they had killed someone for half a bag of money, and they were thoroughly panicked.
Just as they stood there at a loss, Chen Laowu said he didn't want to go to prison and pay with his life, then suggested they make the body disappear.
They didn't want to go to prison either, so they made up their minds and tossed Li Sanshun into the sewer in the stinking ditch.
Then, to avoid further trouble, they took out some of the broken jade from the cloth bag and gave it to Old Rascal, the man at the temple who had raised Li Sanshun.
They claimed that some Daoist priest had taken a liking to Li Sanshun, and he had gone beyond the village to wander the world and cultivate immortality.
When Old Rascal heard this, he fell silent for a moment and asked no questions.
The three of them left, each still shaken to the core.
This should have been the end of it.
But after Wang Laoliu had divided up the money, he felt uneasy and feared something might go wrong. So, groping through the darkness, he somehow found himself back by the stinking ditch.
Who could have known that as soon as he got there, he would see Li Sanshun, filthy with wastewater and wild-haired, climbing out of the sewer beneath the moonlight, his face deathly pale?
He was so terrified that his soul nearly fled his body.
"Help! A ghost! A ghost!"
Wang Laoliu wailed as he scrambled away, rolling and crawling in his haste.
When Li Sanshun saw him leave, his heart gave a lurch.
This was bad!
Wang Laoliu would surely tell Zhang Laosan and Chen Laowu what had happened.
Wang Laoliu was timid and afraid of trouble, but Zhang Laosan and Chen Laowu were different.
If the others found out, they would probably come straight over to investigate.
And if they discovered he was still alive, a vicious fight would be unavoidable!
What should he do?
Li Sanshun furrowed his brows.
The stinking ditch was only three li from the village. They would be there in ten minutes at most, and that wasn't nearly enough time for him to recover!
Besides, even if he could use the Breathing Recovery Method to get better, who could guarantee he could take on all three and survive those vicious criminals?
Then should he run?
Hmm...
As long as the green mountains remained, there would be no shortage of firewood. He should flee for now!
Li Sanshun made up his mind and prepared to get out of there.
He turned to leave, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a sliver of blue-green jade that should have been gleaming in the moonlight.
"What's that?"
Li Sanshun hurried toward the jade.
Soon, he found the Fragmented Jade Bag lying beside it, with several pieces of broken jade inside!
Wang Laoliu must have dropped it in his haste to flee.
With this money, at least he wouldn't need to worry about food or lodging.
As Li Sanshun was thinking this, his nose twitched. He seemed to catch a peculiar scent.
"This Fragmented Jade Bag... smells amazing!"
His eyes lit up. He held the bag and drew a deep breath.
In an instant, a mechanical voice sounded in his mind.
[You have taken one deep breath and gained a wisp of ethereal immortal energy.]
[Air quality: Excellent]
[You have acquired 10 life energy.]
[--Current Status--]
[Status: Lightly injured]
[Life Energy: 25.35/100]
Damn!
Li Sanshun's eyes widened as he stared at the Fragmented Jade Bag like it was a priceless treasure!
Could this unremarkable bag actually be some kind of immortal artifact?
He held the bag up to his nose and breathed in again and again.
The fragrant scent, laced with a trace of immortal energy, was so intoxicating that he could hardly bear to stop!
Thankfully, nobody else was around. Otherwise, they might have thought he was some kind of pervert.
He took more than ten breaths in a row.
Li Sanshun's face grew much rosier, and he felt strength surging through his entire body.
The exhaustion from his earlier grievous injuries had all but vanished!
He opened the status panel again to take a look.
[--Current Status--] [Status: Good] [Life Energy: 125.35/100]
His life energy had actually broken past its limit and reached 125 points!
What kind of treasure was this Fragmented Jade Bag?
How could it be so powerful?
Li Sanshun emptied all the broken jade from the bag and examined its inside. To his surprise, there was a picture of an immortal crane riding on clouds painted within.
When he tore the bag completely open, he saw annotations written around the picture.
"Primordial Origin Art: Gather the essence of Heaven and Earth, relinquish your own life force, and refine your qi channels and dantian. With this as your foundation, you may embark on the path to immortality!"
This was actually a cultivation manual?
Li Sanshun silently recited the formula once and felt a warm sensation rise in his abdomen.
"Relinquish your own life force... Could it mean using life energy as a foundation to form a dantian?"
After thinking it over, Li Sanshun looked at the cultivation manual in his hand, walked over to a nearby tree, and began gathering and refining his qi.
He had barely sat down cross-legged when all the excess life energy in his body rushed toward his dantian.
In an instant, a mysterious, profound wisp of qi appeared in the once-empty space in his lower abdomen.
This must be the immortal energy of a cultivator. It also meant Li Sanshun had officially left the ranks of ordinary people, entered the Qi Refining Stage, and become a cultivator!
An ordinary person who wanted to cultivate immortality would need a year or two of dedicated practice to reach the Qi Refining Stage, even with a famous master's guidance.
Yet Li Sanshun had cultivated on his own and become a cultivator in just a few breaths.
There was no need to think twice. This had to be another benefit his cheat had brought him.
He opened the status panel once more, and his attributes had changed slightly.
[--Current Status--] [Name: Li Sanshun] [Status: Good] [Lifespan: 22/85] [Realm: Qi Refining Stage, First Layer (0/200)] [Cultivation Method: Primordial Origin Art, Beginner (1/100)] [Skill: Hunyuan Heaven and Earth (Elementary: 1/100)] [Life Energy: 200/200] [Immortal Energy: 10/10]
Two hundred points of life energy gave Li Sanshun far more stamina than an ordinary person.
He stood up and clenched his fist, feeling power surge through his entire body.
Even if he faced ten burly men, he could still put up a fight!
And by cultivating the Primordial Origin Art, he had learned Hunyuan Heaven and Earth, which gave him the ability to wield the Five Spirits Immortal Art.
That meant...
He wouldn't need to run if he faced those three criminals again.
Li Sanshun's lips curled into a smile. He had already made a plan.
A little over ten minutes later.
Just as he had expected, Zhang Laosan and Chen Laowu heard about the haunting from Wang Laoliu and immediately came rushing over with clubs and other weapons.
As soon as they arrived at the stinking ditch, they saw Li Sanshun standing wild-haired at the mouth of the cave.
Even Zhang Laosan, who prided himself on being braver than most, shuddered at the sight.
"Holy shit, it really is a ghost!"
"Good heavens!"
Wang Laoliu cried and wailed at the sight. If Chen Laowu hadn't held him back, he would have fled already.
Chen Laowu gave a cold snort and held his sharp axe sideways, a trace of viciousness in his eyes.
"I don't care if he's man or ghost. If I killed him once, I can kill him again! Li Gouza, give up your life!"
"Li Gouza, give up your life!"
Chen Laowu gripped the axe and swung it hard at Li Sanshun.
But just as he reached Li Sanshun and brought the axe down, the wild-haired figure turned into a wisp of black smoke beneath the moonlight, cleaved in two by the blow.
Chen Laowu's eyes narrowed. A chill ran through him, and he couldn't help sucking in a sharp breath.
How had he disappeared all of a sudden?
Could he really be... some kind of vengeful ghost?
As he was still thinking, a volley of stones struck him square in the forehead.
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