Butang Earthen Stockade is located on the border between the Jiunan Kingdom and Mangye Tribe. It is a remote area with a complex mix of travelers and is considered a no-man's-land. Because the surrounding area is sparsely populated, it is considered a relatively lively place.
A torrential downpour ensued, and the gravel roads of Butang Earthen Stockade were deserted of pedestrians and merchants as darkness fell. The village was dotted with inns of all sizes, and the Foundation Establishment constructed of logs. The village walls were also made of extremely thick logs, having little to do with soil; in fact, it would be more accurate to call it a "wooden village."
Most of these wooden houses have sturdy frames, with the ground floor empty and people living on the upper floors. It's dinner time now, and the largest inn in Butang Earthen Stockade — Duji Inn —is bustling with activity. The innkeeper is very happy; a dozen or so guests have just arrived and booked the entire back wooden building. They all seem to be wealthy patrons, dressed in extravagant and unusual clothes, and very generous with their money. The young man leading them, in particular, has an extraordinary air about him. The innkeeper has seen countless people running this inn, but this is the first time he has encountered such outstanding individuals.
The main hall of the wooden building facing the street is where people eat. There are more than twenty large hexagonal wooden tables, each with a large square hole in the middle, and a charcoal brazier on top. The hall is almost full of customers, except for two wooden tables on the west side, which are empty, but the charcoal braziers on them are already burning brightly, and the owner is directing the staff to tidy up and set up.
A bald, one-eyed man emerged from inside, accompanied by three burly men. The one-eyed man said, "Hey! Boss, are you ready?"
The owner came running over eagerly, smiling, "Sir, everything is ready, please take a seat!"
The one-eyed giant turned his head and said, "Go and invite the boss and the others over." He then asked the shopkeeper, "Where should we sit?"
The owner quickly bowed and pointed to an empty table on the west side, saying, "Please come in, sir. The seats have all been arranged."
The one-eyed giant walked to the table, but instead of sitting down, he said, "Boss, you go ahead and get busy. I'll wait here for the boss."
The shopkeeper was puzzled, thinking to himself, "The 'boss' he's talking about must be that young man who was leading the way when he came in. It seems that young man has a lot of prestige. This one-eyed giant won't sit down first; he insists on waiting for his boss to come out. Wow, impressive!" He hurried towards the kitchen, thinking, "I need to give the orders again: the meat must be fresh, and the staff must be attentive and attentive. This kind of customer is someone I absolutely cannot afford to offend."
Soon, about ten people came out. The young man in the lead laughed and said, " Nashan, did you find anything you like to eat?" It was Li Qiang and his group.
Nashan said with a grin, "Hehe, boss, I still have a muddy taste in my mouth. I hope I can find something to eat, otherwise I'll feel awful. Boss, sit here."
This group of people was truly eye-catching. Their clothing and accessories were completely different from those of the Western Continent. Everyone in the hall stared at them, whispering among themselves.
Li Qiang's outfit was the most luxurious, made of Silver Perilla silk, with embroidered patterns unlike anything seen before by people from the Western Continent. The entire outfit radiated a faint silver light. His belt was specially made from the hide of a monster from the Sea of Wronged Souls, with rings of pale gold scales that were naturally formed and very exquisite. His boots were also made of dark blue-black scaled animal hide.
Li Qiang's attire wasn't particularly conspicuous in Heavenly Melody City and Blackwater Island, but it stood out starkly in this impoverished village.
After telling everyone to sit down, Li Qiang asked, " Paben, do you know the road to the Ladu Kingdom from here?"
Paben said with a bitter face, "Master, I'm afraid we'll have to hire a guide. When I was doing business before, I heard from others that to do business here, you need someone to protect you. This isn't a place ordinary merchants can come to." He looked at Nashan and then laughed, "Back then, I was timid. If I had an expert like Old Na by my side, hehe, I would have come here to make a quick buck too."
Nashan was delighted by the sudden compliment and beamed with joy. "Haha, of course! With me Nashan, around, who would dare to touch you! Wouldn't that be courting death?"
Li Qiang slapped him across the face and laughed, "Your cultivation level is far inferior to Paben's. If you don't work harder, hmph, Paben could take you down with one hand."
Nashan immediately lost his temper, shrinking his neck and muttering, "Who has his strength, training like crazy day and night? I couldn't take that kind of hardship..."
Hong Qian said, "Let's see if we can get some Black-Tipped Mount. These brothers can't fly, and walking is too slow. I didn't expect our grandmaster to send us here, and now they've disappeared. The journey to the Ladu Kingdom is long, and the road might be difficult."
The innkeeper directed his staff to carry two large basins of fresh meat to the table, while the innkeeper himself carried a large tray. Li Qiang noticed several sharp knives for cutting meat, a pile of forks, and two small bowls containing what appeared to be salt. After setting everything down, the innkeeper respectfully said, " Elder Da, please enjoy!"
Li Qiang asked in confusion, "That's all? There's nothing else?"
Paben said, "Master, the food here is mainly meat-based; there's very little else."
Nashan, however, exclaimed with delight, swung his sharp knife, cut off a large piece of fresh meat, stuck it on the knife, and placed it on the charcoal brazier to roast. With a sizzling sound, a strong aroma of meat filled the air, and the brothers could no longer resist, grabbing knives and meat one after another. Nashan's Baldy stretched out, and his Adam's apple moved rapidly up and down, clearly showing that he was swallowing his saliva frantically.
Li Qiang couldn't help but chuckle. He might not like eating meat, but others might. Of everyone present, only Li Qiang and Hong Qian remained untouched; the rest were all expert meat eaters.
The shopkeeper smiled ingratiatingly, "Sir, this is a poor, remote place; we don't have anything good here. This is fresh Hairy Earth Beast, just delivered by the hunters..."
Li Qiang asked, "Do you have any fruit or anything like that?"
The shopkeeper bowed and scraped, saying, "Sir, we don't have any fruit right now. The timing isn't right. Fresh fruit will be available a while later."
Hong Qian laughed and said, "Never mind, boss, you go ahead and get busy... Uncle-Master, we don't really care whether we eat or not, let's just see."
Li Qiang stood up and said with a smile, "You guys eat, I'll go take a look."
With his mouth full of roasted meat, Nashan grumbled, "Boss... this stuff is delicious... so tender and fragrant..."
Li Qiang ignored him, turned around and walked to the street-facing gate of the wooden building. The fresh air that rushed in carried a hint of moisture, making him feel refreshed.
Watching the raindrops, sometimes heavy and sometimes light, Li Qiang was filled with worries. Qi Junsha had made a huge blunder; with the teleportation being done in three batches, he might end up in three different places. The joke had really gone too far. In this case, everyone would have to get to the Ladu Kingdom first before they could meet; haste makes waste.
Then Nashan shouted, "Boss! Boss! Come here quickly..."
Li Qiang turned his head and saw Nashan holding a child and shouting at him. Li Qiang asked, " Nashan, why are you holding that child instead of eating?" He walked over as he spoke.
Nashan held the child tightly with one hand and a piece of roasted meat in the other. The child looked to be only ten years old, dressed in very tattered clothes, the original color of which was no longer discernible. He was barefoot, carrying a small wooden bucket in his arm, and looked extremely panicked, struggling to break free from Nashan's grasp.
Li Qiang's face darkened, and Nashan was startled. He hurriedly said, "Boss, I wasn't bullying him... This kid sells fruit." He quickly let go of Na Shan's hand.
Li Qiang said irritably, "Do you look like you're buying something? You're scaring me half to death! Go! I'm punishing you by making you grill a piece of meat..." He squatted down and said with a smile, "Little brother, what kind of fruit are you selling? Let your older brother take a look, okay?"
Some of the diners couldn't stand it any longer and stood up, about to speak, but sat back down when Li Qiang spoke. The child didn't say anything, but silently handed over the wooden bucket and lifted the tattered cloth covering it. It was a bucket of white nuts about the size of a thumb. Li Qiang had never seen this kind of fruit before. He grabbed one, squeezed it slightly with his fingers, and with a soft "crack," the nut split in two, revealing bright red flesh with a faint, refreshing fragrance.
Li Qiang laughed and said, "Hmm, it's quite delicious. I'll take all of these. Come on..." He took the child's hand and led him to the table of his group.
Nashan, holding a piece of roasted meat, said, "Boss, it's done."
Li Qiang took the roasted meat and handed it to the child, saying, "Little brother, eat up." The child took the meat, held it in his hands but didn't eat it; his eyes were fixed on the wooden bucket. Paben, being observant, quickly emptied the nuts from the bucket onto the table and handed them back to him.
Li Qiang took out a black banknote card, Paben hurriedly said, "Master, he doesn't recognize this kind of card, let me give it to him."
The child placed the roasted meat into the wooden barrel, carefully covered it with a tattered cloth, and tucked the coins that Paben had given him, which were in circulation in the Western Continent, into his pocket. He said timidly, "Thank you, sir!" and turned to run out the door.
The shopkeeper chuckled, "Sir, you're such a kind man. This child's father was a hunter who had his leg broken last year. Now, he relies entirely on this child to pick and gather fruit to exchange for food; otherwise, his father would have starved to death long ago."
Li Qiang asked in surprise, "Your leg was broken? Who did it?"
The innkeeper said, "Sigh, things are chaotic here... Never mind, I'd better not say anything, or I'll get beaten to death... These gentlemen are probably from out of town and don't know the situation here. When you set off, it's best to travel with other caravans. Seeing that you gentlemen aren't short of money, it would be much safer to spend a few coins to talk to the caravan and travel with them..."
Hong Qian suddenly said, "A large contingent of Black-Tipped Mount is approaching..."
Li Qiang heard this too and laughed, "Yes, a lot indeed. Boss, your business is booming again."
The shop owner said with some skepticism, "There are rarely any customers at this time; it's already dark."
Soon, the faint rumble of hooves could be heard, and the entire hall fell silent, save for the sizzling sound of grease dripping onto the charcoal fire. The innkeeper, with a hint of surprise, whispered, "Strange... how come there are so many Black-Tipped Mount?"
The sound of the Black-Tipped Mount's hooves grew louder and louder. Li Qiang had heard this sound once before and was already familiar with it. He estimated that there were at least fifty riders and thought to himself: This is probably a large merchant caravan.
The boss called a few of his employees to stand under the awning outside the door and wait.
Soon, the dull thud of hooves, mixed with the splashing of water, grew closer, and the strange cries of the Black-Tipped Mount echoed through the hall. The people in the hall were whispering among themselves. It was completely dark now, and seven or eight oil torches were lit in the hall. Li Qiang and Hong Qian sat at the table, peeling white nuts and savoring their fragrance. Nashan and his brothers were also silent, each engrossed in eating roasted meat, seemingly waiting for something.
The hoofbeats stopped outside the door, followed by a cacophony of clanging metal, the impatient neighing of the Black-Tipped Mount, laughter, curses, and coughs—a chaotic mix of sounds. Then someone shouted, "Hey, shopkeeper, prepare our meat right now!"
"Gentlemen, gentlemen! My humble shop..." came the owner's troubled voice from outside. Everyone in the hall knew that the inn was almost full, and there was limited space available.
The group seemed completely unfazed. One of them said, "Hey buddy, take Black-Tipped Mount to the backyard and give him plenty of good food! Damn it! If you starve my precious darling, I'll skin you alive! Go now!"
The innkeeper finally spoke, "Sir, our inn is full. I'm sorry, sirs, but there seem to be a few other inns ahead that have vacancies... Please..." Before he could finish speaking, there were two sharp "slap" sounds—the sound of someone being slapped.
A hoarse voice said, "Full? What the hell do you mean full... You're tired of living, you want to die? Get everyone out of here, we've got this place to ourselves... Get in and talk!"
The innkeeper was kicked into the hall. He scrambled and rolled on the floor, unable to regain his balance, and crashed headfirst into a table near the door. Several merchants who looked like traveling merchants were sitting at the table. Seeing this, they hurriedly stood up, and a plate of fresh meat on the table overturned on the floor.
Nashan glared with his one eye and was about to get up when Li Qiang grabbed his shoulder and whispered, "Let's wait and see."
A group of burly men rushed in from outside the door, and someone in the hall exclaimed softly, "They're from Poison Mountain..." The boss scrambled to his feet, sobbing.
The group of burly men were all clad in armor and armed with weapons. Leading them was a middle-aged man with long, flowing hair, wearing a blue raincoat. His face was covered in pockmarked scars, making him look extremely menacing. His gloomy gaze swept around the room as he slowly said, "Listen up, all of you! This place is mine. Anyone who knows what's good for them, get out of here!" His hoarse voice sent chills down everyone's spine.
Chaos erupted in the hall. Many diners, startled, hurriedly got up and ran to the back to retrieve their luggage. In just a moment, most of them had left. The innkeeper was on the verge of tears, as none of them had paid their bills. Only one table on the east side and Li Qiang's two tables on the west side remained untouched; everyone else had fled, leaving the hall in a complete mess.
Four people sat at the table on the east side, eating their barbecue as if nothing had happened, ignoring what the man had said. Li Qiang and his group did the same, continuing to eat their meat without saying a word.
The middle-aged man, not expecting anyone to dare ignore him, grew even more gloomy. One of his henchmen shouted, "Are you all fucking crazy?!"
Someone at the table on the east side said, "There's this annoying noise everywhere I go, it's so irritating!"
Another person said, "Ignore those things, let's eat meat."
Li Qiang turned his head and looked at the four people. Two of them were old and two were young. He knew in his heart that these four people must be skilled, otherwise they wouldn't be speaking so casually.
The middle-aged man chuckled hoarsely and said coldly, "So it's four of the Eight Heroes of Mangye, huh? Too bad this isn't Mangye Tribe territory..."
Suddenly, an impatient voice came from outside the door. " Tang Badong! You good-for-nothing, why aren't you carrying your ancestors inside? Do you want them to freeze to death? You ungrateful wretch!"
The middle-aged man seemed startled, his hoarse voice snoring as he cursed, "Are you all dead? Didn't you hear our ancestors calling? Quickly bring our ancestors in!" He then kicked one of his men beside him.
Two burly men carried a wooden chair, on which sat a person whose head and face were covered by a large animal hide. The man shouted, "Take that hide off!"
A burly man stepped forward and removed the animal skin.
Li Qiang was slightly taken aback. This person looked rather pitiful. All that was left of his bones was a layer of old skin, and his skin was covered with wrinkles. He didn't have a single hair. He was holding a strange-looking, large-headed cane, with a fist-sized black bead embedded at the top of the cane.
The four people sitting on the east side began to feel uneasy. The middle-aged man named Tang Badong bowed and said, "Ancestor, it's ready. Please wait a moment."
He chuckled sinisterly, "Since you didn't leave earlier, you can't leave now. Hehe, from now on, there will only be four of the Eight Heroes of Mangye."
The Four Heroes of Mangye drew their swords and stood up. One of them said, "Brother, you go first! Tell the people that the Spirit Master who has harmed thousands of people has reappeared..." The Spirit Master, who was sitting on a wooden chair, slowly floated away from his seat.
Li Qiang used his Divine Sense to look and saw several dark, shadowy souls swirling beneath his body. He thought to himself, "Who is this person? He doesn't look like a cultivator. How can he control souls? Strange!"
The spirit medium muttered something under his breath, and wisps of black smoke rose from the black beads on his cane. Two of the Four Heroes of Mangye suddenly leaped up and pounced on the spirit medium, shouting, "You two run! The old ghost is blocking our escape route..."
Tang Badong laughed triumphantly, "Haha, too late!" Then, with two thuds, two old men fell to the ground, their bodies covered in black smoke. The other two young men were no exception, falling to the ground and struggling almost simultaneously.
Li Qiang had already noticed dozens of plumes of black smoke shooting towards him. He was furious and quietly released the little Sea Demon. The little Sea Demon silently devoured the souls and immediately swept away the black smoke that was shooting towards him.
Li Qiang stood up and laughed loudly, "Very good, very good. To be able to see such a bastard in such a remote place, making it impossible for me to even eat a meal in peace, this pretentious ghost..." His Star-Absorbing Sword suddenly flashed, and the few wisps of soul beneath the Spirit Ghost Master instantly turned to ashes.
The Spirit Master let out a strange cry and "thump!" was thrown down from the air. Nashan and the others quickly stepped forward to seal off the entrance and exit. Li Qiang's Star-Absorbing Sword flashed again, like a bolt of lightning in the sky, and the black smoke wrapped around the Four Heroes of Mangye instantly vanished.
The souls of spirit masters are different from the Nascent Soul souls refined by cultivators. They are ordinary people's undead spirits condensed using special methods. They are not very powerful, but their large numbers make them quite formidable in the mortal world. However, they pose no threat to a cultivation master like Li Qiang.
Tang Badong yelled and drew his weapon, which looked somewhat like an axe, and swung it down at Tangba Dong's head. These worldly martial artists were child's play for Li Qiang. He casually stretched out one hand, grabbed the weapon that was coming down, and laughed, "Get lost!" Tang Badong grunted and was thrown to the ground by a huge force.
Li Qiang, intent on showing off, grabbed the strange axe from Tang Badong and Heavenly Fire. The axe instantly vanished in his hand. He clapped his hands, squatted down in front of the spirit master, and said, "How many souls have you collected? How did you collect them? Tell me." The group was completely dumbfounded, including the Four Heroes of Mangye; no one dared to speak.
The spirit master chuckled eerily, "Don't think you're so great just because you can destroy your ancestor's soul! Heh heh, kid! If you've got the guts, go to the Wild Plains... Heh heh! Our true ancestor will avenge our ancestors... Heh heh!"
This was the first time Li Qiang had encountered such a person, and he couldn't help but laugh, "Ancestor? This is a huge bargain..."
He snatched the cane from the spirit master's hand, and saw that the black bead seemed to contain countless souls. He couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, "You've truly committed a sin. I'm sorry, but something like you can no longer be considered human... Keeping you alive would only bring more harm." For the first time, Li Qiang had the urge to kill.
One of the Four Heroes of Mangye, an old man, said, "My benefactor, the Spirit Masters are unkillable... They have killed countless people, specializing in collecting other people's souls, so... they have countless lives to die in their place..."
The spirit medium chuckled smugly, "Heh heh... What can you do about it? Heh heh..."
Li Qiang smiled slightly, "I have a way to deal with this." He released the little Sea Demon and added, "No matter how many souls there are, it won't work!"
The spirit master spotted the little Sea Demon at a glance and was instantly terrified, screaming, " Soul-Devouring Demon! Soul-Devouring Demon!"
Li Qiang said, "That's right! So you're finished."
A beam of silver light poured down from the Spirit Master's head, instantly accompanied by howling winds and countless plumes of black smoke emanating from the Spirit Master's body, filling the hall with a chilling atmosphere.
The little Sea Demon emitted a sapphire blue light, and the Blue Light on its forehead spread out in concentric circles. It nimbly tumbled in the air, and any black smoke that was touched by the Blue Light was rapidly sucked into the little Sea Demon's mouth.
Tang Badong and his men were all so frightened that they collapsed to the ground, their previous domineering and tyrannical demeanor completely gone.
With a "thud," everyone realized that the spirit master's body had turned into a pile of bones.
Tang Badong cried out, "Don't kill me! I have news to tell you, sir!" His hoarse voice was irritating.