Mounted on a black steed far taller than any mortal horse, the ghost-masked rider walked slowly into the center of Quliu Town. Along the way, a few obstinate cultivators had tried their luck, but all had been crushed into cylindrical mounds of mashed flesh. Such a bizarre manner of death chilled even veteran outlaws to the bone; they stood in silence along the streets, not daring to twitch a muscle.
One by one, the riders began advancing toward the town's key positions. Each carried a profound, bottomless aura that inspired dread in all who looked upon them.
The lead ghost-masked rider arrived in the center of town. He glanced at the four large characters of the Lie-Flat Inn sign, then turned his gaze toward the innkeeper standing in the doorway.
The fat on the innkeeper's face quivered as he forced a smile uglier than weeping. He wished he could slap himself across the face several times. What possessed him to come outside and watch the commotion? Now he was pinned under the glare of this jinx from who knew where.
Although the innkeeper had never heard of the Heaven-Battling Gang, his sharp eye had long since discerned that this ghost-masked rider possessed unfathomable cultivation and Dao power that seemed virtually limitless. Among those unlucky souls from earlier, several had been fierce powerhouses—otherwise, they never would have dared step out and issue a challenge in the first place.
Yet every single person who stepped forward had been crushed silently into a pillar of flesh without even a chance to flee. Such brutal methods had scared the innkeeper out of his wits. Now pinned beneath this peerless fiend's gaze, he felt almost certain that in the next instant he too would become a meat pillar. His legs turned to jelly, and he nearly collapsed where he stood.
Only now did the innkeeper realize that his lifelong pride—his smooth, diplomatic skills, his ability to speak human to humans and ghost to ghosts—was utterly useless. At this moment, cultivation and Dao power were the only things one could rely on.
The ghost-masked rider stared at him for a moment before saying, "Li Zhi mentioned you to me."
"Li... Li Zhi?" The innkeeper finally recalled the name. So that pauper was connected to the exalted figure before him?! Why hadn't he said so earlier!
The ghost-masked rider said, "I'll give you the time it takes an incense stick to burn to pack all your valuables. Then take all your workers and come with us. Oh, Brother Li also instructed that you must bring all the storybooks."
The innkeeper nodded repeatedly. Realizing his life was spared, he broke out in a drenching sweat.
The ghost-masked rider added, "Also, don't leave the inn for a while."
With that, the rider turned and rode toward the southwest. The next moment, heaven and earth within Quliu Town suddenly transformed—the clear domain descended!
Countless wisps of dark green qi rose, and many people instantly collapsed to the ground, writhing and howling in agony. It looked as though boiling oil had been poured over them, with black smoke constantly churning from their bodies. From time to time, green qi flared up, screaming as it burned away into white smoke.
The masked riders rode silently through Quliu Town, thrusting their spears to finish off everyone emitting green qi on the ground. Some struggled before death, their cloaks falling away to reveal their true forms as Shamans.
Screams were particularly dense in the western district. Several Shaman powerhouses with profound auras soared into the air, roaring in fury. They unleashed the terrifying cultivation of the late Dao Foundation without holding back, making a show of force against the ghost-masked rider.
The strength of these Shaman powerhouses was enough to strut unchecked in Quliu Town. Their simultaneous appearance stunned countless residents. This was the Shamans' might in Quliu Town; this was the confidence behind their foothold!
Yet before they could make a move, the shadowy silhouette of a treasure pagoda flashed across the sky. At the same time, a thin, brilliant thread of light coiled past their bodies, flashing and disappearing just as swiftly.
The Shaman powerhouses stiffened instantly. In that split second, the ghost-masked rider arrived on horseback, a green sprout emerging atop his head.
He pointed his spear toward the sky. The Shaman powerhouses screamed in unison and, before the countless eyes of the entire town, were crushed midair into pillars of flesh!
The whole of Quliu Town fell dead silent.
No one knew which cultivator was the first to toss his weapon to the ground. Soon, more and more people placed their weapons and even dharma treasures on the dirt, letting the riders of the Heaven-Battling Gang collect them.
Though a few profound cultivators saw that the Shaman experts had actually fallen to the pagoda and the blade light, that only deepened the despair. The ghost-masked rider alone had already felt insurmountable, and now there were two more like him.
The Heaven-Battling riders proceeded to execute every Shaman hidden among the townsfolk. Then the ghost-masked rider flew into the air and declared in a heavy voice, "Listen up, everyone! You belong to me now! Anyone who doesn't want to die has a quarter of an hour to pack your belongings and valuables. We set out in fifteen minutes."
Pausing, he raised his voice. "To tell you the plain truth, I have already sold you all to the exalted immortals of the Northwest Domain! Once there, how the immortals treat you will depend on yourselves! There are only two paths before you: either haul yourselves to the domain to live, or die right here!"
The townsfolk exchanged glances, sensing that something felt off, though they couldn't put their finger on it. Go to the domain? Wasn't that going to enjoy good fortune?
Aside from a tiny handful of wealthy caravan bosses and shopkeepers, pleasant surprise gradually dawned in the eyes of the rest.
The ghost-masked rider continued, "Even thieves have honor. Our Heaven-Battling Gang is only in the flesh trade this time; what we collect is a head tax. Your belongings and valuables remain yours. We will not take a single copper."
With that, all the wealthy townsfolk abandoned any thought of resistance.
Many of the Heaven-Battling bandits dismounted, stacking firewood and splashing lamp oil throughout the town. They also scattered a strange black powder over rooftops and inside rooms. Another group searched every Shaman dwelling, unearthing all their wealth and loading it onto carts.
A quarter of an hour later, groups of humans carrying bundles and driving carts began trickling out of Quliu Town. Only a very few attempted to resist or flee.
Yet whether skilled at stealth or adept at escape, none lasted more than a single exchange against the riders. Furthermore, every rider used different methods—no two were alike. Several immortal swords appeared, each possessing unique wonders. The riders were merciless, leaving no survivors once they acted. After killing several dozen people, no one dared to resist any longer.
The Xu family's grand mansion remained tightly shut from start to finish. Even the watchtowers were empty, without a single figure in sight.
An hour later, the last group filed out of Quliu Town, embarking on the road toward the Northwest Domain. Flames then erupted across Quliu Town, and in the blink of an eye, the great city that had once held a hundred thousand people was engulfed in a sea of fire.
The most intact building in town was the Lie-Flat Inn, and it burned the fiercest, its flames leaping several zhang higher than those around it. One could tell from afar that it was the Lie-Flat Inn ablaze.
The innkeeper walked among the ranks, looking back every three steps, his eyes full of reluctance and the fat on his face quivering. Fortunately, the inn's wealth was packed onto several workers and cooks, so most of his fortunes had been hauled away. The innkeeper himself carried a massive backpack, square and visibly heavy.
Yet no matter what, he refused to let anyone share the burden, refusing even to let others touch it. Inside were all the latest storybooks, weighing over a hundred jin!
Li Zhi, the 'Double Paragon of Cauldron and Sword,' had specifically requested storybooks by name, and this ghost-masked lord had personally delivered the message. It showed just how much weight Immortal Li carried in the lord's heart.
The innkeeper had an intuition: whether he could reopen the Lie-Flat Inn in the domain might well depend on these books.
Wei Yuan rode at the rear of the procession, watching the more than eighty thousand people journeying north, feeling immense satisfaction.
Just then, Bao Yun's voice suddenly rang in his ear: "Junior Brother, your maneuvers are getting grander and grander!"
Wei Yuan turned his head to look. In the air beside him, Bao Yun's petite face faintly materialized, wearing a half-smile, less than a foot away! Such proximity instantly placed enormous pressure on him.
Bao Yun's exquisite face vanished immediately, so completely that even Wei Yuan could not sense her presence. This only ratcheted up his pressure further.
Wei Yuan tried calling out, "Senior Sister?"
"I'm not here."
Wei Yuan scratched his head and asked carefully, "Senior Sister... are you angry?"
"Of course not!"
That meant she was... Though Wei Yuan had no idea why she was upset, he still said, "I was wrong. I'll definitely do better next time."
Bao Yun huffed. "Then tell me, what did you do wrong?"
"I don't know yet, but there must be something lacking."
"Smooth talker! I'm not telling you anyway!"
Wei Yuan said, "Then once your anger subsides, Senior Sister, I'll come ask for your guidance."
"My anger isn't going away!"
Hearing this, Wei Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. That meant she was mostly coaxed. As for the remaining bit, he might as well save it to coax her again next time.
None of this could be found in the history books; it had all come from storybooks.
The ancient sages said: *Read ten thousand books; travel ten thousand li.* There were only a few hundred classical texts, so the vast majority of the 'ten thousand books' had to be miscellaneous works, including storybooks.
The sages truly did not lie.
Of course, Wei Yuan only dared entertain such thoughts in his heart. If Zhang Sheng found out, a harsh punishment would be unavoidable. Wei Yuan had even worked out the justification for him: *Distorting the words of the sages.*
For some reason, Wei Yuan felt that ever since arriving in the Western Regions, he had been drifting ever closer to having his sect clean house on him. In his agitation, he felt an urge to go yank branches off the tree. But Wei Yuan did not yet know that immortal items possessed spirit, and anything with a spirit possessed a temper.
Two days later, a detachment of Western Jin border troops halted outside Quliu Town.
The vanguard officer rode up beside the carriage in the center army. "Lord Yuan, something is amiss ahead."
The carriage door opened, and an upright scholar with a refined countenance and a short beard stepped out, appearing in his early thirties. He walked forward at a leisurely pace, yet each stride covered several zhang, bringing him outside Quliu Town in the blink of an eye.
Looking at the vast town before him reduced to scorched earth, with only a few blackened wooden pillars still standing, Yuan Qingyan's face turned livid. His hands trembled slightly, and his voice was icy: "Good, very good! Trying to give this official an intimidating display right off the bat! A town of a hundred thousand people burned to ashes in one stroke—what a grand maneuver!"
In the entire town, only several large manors in the north remained intact, standing out conspicuously.
"Whose residences are those?" Yuan Qingyan asked.
"Reporting to Your Honor, those belong to the Ningxi Xu family."
Yuan Qingyan cast a glance over the ruins. "The houses were burned, but there are few corpses. Remnants of fire still smolder in places; this blaze was set no more than three days ago. A migration of tens of thousands cannot move quickly. Send out scout cavalry in all directions immediately, sweeping eight hundred li ahead. I want to know who is bold enough to plunder the people under my governance!"
The vice general commanding the troops asked, "Lord Yuan, should we rest at the Xu estate today?"
Yuan Qingyan said, "No. Camp where we stand. Tonight, this official sleeps in the carriage."
Chapter 178