Because This Is Our Home

Chu Huaiyuan threw herself into fighting Chu Shaoqiang with reckless abandon, pinning him down. The Martial Cultivator Tian Dasong was tied down by He Yuxiu. The Literary Cultivator Guo Jinshi was in dire straits. Li Banfeng had bitten clean through his throat, and the technique A Word Worth a Thousand Gold was on the verge of collapsing. Seeing Guo Jinshi lying motionless, the Tang dao was just about to take his head when an invisible force suddenly pushed Li Banfeng and Guo Jinshi apart. Guo Jinshi was drawn toward Chu Shaoqiang, while Li Banfeng was forced back tens of meters. What technique was this? Had Guo Jinshi used A Farewell of Ten Thousand Li? At the same time, He Yuxiu and the others were separated from Tian Dasong. What had been a chaotic melee suddenly turned into two opposing sides standing apart. Now Li Banfeng knew what technique had been cast. It hadn't been used by Guo Jinshi; it was Chu Shaoqiang. The wife had told Li Banfeng that Craft Cultivators possessed an above-the-clouds technique called Cease War and Part in Two, which could swiftly separate friend from foe amidst a chaotic battle—provided that the enemy's cultivation was far lower than the caster's. What was the use of such a move? To an ordinary cultivator, it was of little consequence, but to a Craft Cultivator, it was invaluable. Craft Cultivators feared ambushes. Caught unprepared, they could easily employ the wrong tactics, or even capsize before lower-level cultivators. The Cease War and Part in Two technique bought a Craft Cultivator time to prepare. Furthermore, some of a Craft Cultivator's magical treasures and spiritual artifacts might cause indiscriminate damage on the battlefield, harming ally and enemy alike; Cease War and Part in Two could prevent friendly forces from being caught in the crossfire. His wife had said that successfully executing this technique proved an opponent was at least at the third level above the clouds. However, as long as they had not surpassed the realm above the clouds, the technique could only be used once in a short span. His mouth dripping with blood, Li Banfeng looked toward Guo Jinshi. Seeing him lying on the ground, drawing feeble breaths, Li Banfeng reckoned he wouldn't recover anytime soon. He was mistaken. Guo Jinshi wrote four characters on his own body: Withered Wood Meets Spring. His body slowly began to mend. Although the speed wasn't fast, visible progress was being made. Both of his eyes had been gouged out by Li Banfeng. Guo Jinshi wrote the character "Eye" above his left eye socket. A slit split open from his eyebrow, and within the crack, an eyeball emerged. If this dragged on, Guo Jinshi would soon regain his fighting capacity, and their earlier efforts might all go down the drain. Li Banfeng wanted to charge forward, but the power of Cease War and Part in Two remained in effect. With his cultivation, he couldn't break through for the moment. Chu Shaoqiang swept his gaze over the crowd and said, "Why bother with this? I came for the local spirit here, Qiu Luoye. What does this have to do with any of you?" Li Banfeng said, "Today you come for Qiu Luoye, and it has nothing to do with me. Tomorrow you come for my head, and it has nothing to do with anyone else. In the end, after you've hunted down every last one of us, no one had anything to do with it, and we all end up dead by your hand anyway. I heard you came from the Inner States—did the Inner States teach you this cheap trick?" Chu Shaoqiang remained silent, but Chu Huaiyuan asked, "Dad, you went to the Inner States?" He Yuxiu glanced at Chu Huaiyuan, then turned her eyes back to Chu Shaoqiang. "It really is you, Chu Shaoqiang. You bastard didn't die after all?" Chu Shaoqiang smiled and adjusted his overcoat. "Yuxiu, after all these years, you're still as pretty as ever." "Don't try to get all friendly with me. Who gave you the right to call me Yuxiu?" He Yuxiu sneered. "Doesn't make sense. I've always looked down on you, but back in the day you still had some spine. How did you end up running off to the Inner States to become a dog? And you snuck off like a coward, telling nobody." Chu Shaoqiang sighed. "What's wrong with going to the Inner States? Does that make you look down on me? I even saw He Haiqin in the Inner States. Do you think he went there to be a dog too?" "You really saw Haiqin?" He Yuxiu followed along with Chu Shaoqiang's words, wanting to divert his attention. Li Banfeng watched Guo Jinshi's recovery closely, striving to finish the man off the instant Cease War and Part in Two dissipated. Chu Shaoqiang saw through Li Banfeng's intention. "You must be Li the Seventh. Wipe the blood from your mouth—it looks gruesome. You're a calculating fellow, straying completely from standard form. You really did startle me. But expecting a flurry of wild punches to beat an old master? Pure wishful thinking. I can undo the technique right now and let you all try again. Let's see if you even get a chance to close the distance." As he spoke, Guo Jinshi had already risen to his feet. Opening his single newly formed eye, he swayed slightly, staring at Li Banfeng. "Madman! Brute!" Guo Jinshi was able to speak now. Pointing at Li Banfeng, he barked, "If you have the guts, fight me again!" His face covered in blood, Li Banfeng smiled with terrifying savagery. "You wretched bird, you only dare flap your mouth because you know I can't cross over right now." Chu Shaoqiang scanned the crowd and said to Li Banfeng, "These are your friends and your subordinates. Let me tell you clearly: if this fight continues, not a single one of them will live." Li Banfeng said, "Do you think the two subordinates beside you will survive either?" Chu Shaoqiang glanced at Guo Jinshi and Tian Dasong. "Them? They don't yet have a recognized standing in the Inner States. To attain cultivation above the clouds, they need to rack up more merits. For that, they are willingly prepared to die here. Ask the people beside you—do they want to die?" These two weren't above the clouds? They were the so-called tenth-level cultivators? The two were indeed tenth-level cultivators—tenth-level cultivators who had attained flesh and blood, the closest tenth-level cultivators could get to being above the clouds. To say they willingly sought death was an exaggeration, but this battle was indeed crucial for their ascension above the clouds. Li Banfeng took a step forward, only to be shoved back by an invisible force. The technique hadn't dissipated yet; Li Banfeng couldn't push through. Chu Shaoqiang frowned. "Have you even been listening to a word I said?" "No," Li Banfeng answered truthfully. He really hadn't. From the moment he decided to fight this battle, anything said to him was pointless. Chu Shaoqiang sighed. "Take your people and leave. There are many old acquaintances of mine here, and I don't want to make a move against them. My daughter is here too; she ran all the way here to risk her life against me for your sake. You're lucky enough. Even if you fight to the death here today, you can't save Qiu Luoye. The only person who can save him is me. As long as he agrees to my conditions, he can live. He has no other choice." Li Banfeng was about to force his way forward again when he heard someone shout from behind: "Old Seventh, get out of here!" Qiu Luoye had arrived. "Old Seventh, didn't we agree? Leave the fighting to me. Go, quickly!" He shielded Li Banfeng behind him and charged toward Chu Shaoqiang. Chu Shaoqiang wasn't wrong: as long as the covenant deed remained in the hands of the Inner States, no one could save Qiu Luoye. Rather than implicating others, Qiu Luoye would rather stake his own life in a fight against Chu Shaoqiang. Though heavily wounded, Qiu Luoye still smashed through Chu Shaoqiang's technique. Chu Shaoqiang dared not treat him lightly and hurried to prepare for the clash, when suddenly a tremendous boom echoed from afar. Dong! The sound of a drum. Everyone, including Li Banfeng, felt their chests shudder. What drum could make such a colossal sound? In Puluo Province, there was only one place where a drum would sound so deafening. Three people present had heard this drumbeat before: Qiu Luoye, He Yuxiu, and Chu Shaoqiang. They all knew what it signified. Dong! Another boom of the drum. Deep in the forest, a crowd of towering silhouettes vaguely came into view. Not only were they tall, but their physiques were distinctive: their shoulders were exceptionally broad, bearing three human heads. This was the drumbeat unique to Sinner City. He Yuxiu smiled, Qiu Luoye halted in his tracks, and Chu Shaoqiang's nerves pulled taut. Juanzi walked over. Behind her, four three-headed people carried a newly made great drum, while another held a drumstick, striking it once every ten paces. The drum was crudely made, but its sound was remarkably resonant. In Sinner City, such a great drum would only be sounded under two circumstances. First, on New Year's Day, symbolizing Sinner City's hopes for life. Second, when survival was no longer possible, symbolizing Sinner City's fight for their lives. Juanzi said to Li Banfeng, "Seventh Master, we just finished readying our weapons. We're late." Li Banfeng had prepared around a hundred weapons for them, but he never expected that out of the more than three thousand three-headed people, every single one of them except the children had come. With not enough weapons to go around, some held kitchen knives, some carried hoes, and some had sharpened tree trunks to use as spears. Juanzi turned around, looked at Chu Shaoqiang, and said no more. When it came time to fight, the one who spoke was usually Mengzi. Mengzi asked, "Seventh Master, is it just the three of them?" Li Banfeng nodded. Chu Shaoqiang was visibly wary of these three-headed people. "I know you've endured great hardship. I know you still want a place to take shelter here. I promise that you will still be allowed to live here in the future. There is no need for conflict between us." Mengzi looked at Chu Shaoqiang and said, "No need for all this talk. We came here to kill you." Chu Shaoqiang still wanted to dissuade them, and the best way to dissuade was to divide: "I am a man of the Inner States. Do you truly wish to make an enemy of the entire Inner States?" Mengzi shook his head. "We have never been to the Inner States, nor do we know anyone from there. We're only killing you." Chu Shaoqiang chuckled. "Kill me? I'm afraid it won't be that easy. At least half of your people will die. Is it worth it?" "Half?" Mengzi glanced back at the people behind him. "You underestimate us. Since we came, not one of us intends to return alive." Chu Shaoqiang was baffled. "Why go this far?" Mengzi gave only a single answer: "Because this is our home." Dong! Dong! Dong! The drumbeats suddenly turned rapid and dense. Tian Dasong grew fearful. Guo Jinshi muttered under his breath, "My... my injuries aren't healed yet..." When the beats became too dense to count, the three-headed people charged. Over three thousand three-headed people charged simultaneously at the three. Guo Jinshi drew as close to Tian Dasong as he could. Tian Dasong waited for Chu Shaoqiang's tactical order. Chu Shaoqiang roared, "Retreat!" And then he ran first. Tian Dasong fled right after him, and He Yuxiu gave chase. "Of the thirty-six stratagems, fleeing is best!" Guo Jinshi tried to run as well, but being more crafty, he ran using a technique. Though heavily wounded and unable to use higher-level techniques, he could still execute the technique Words Become Truth smoothly. Guo Jinshi traversed over a hundred meters at incredible speed, then activated his technique once more: "A single leaf can blind the eyes!" He hid within the woods, momentarily escaping everyone's sight. He had just exhaled in relief when a clear, operatic chant drifted to his ears. "Hu yayaya~" That sound was Guo Jinshi's nightmare. With a mouthful of blood and a chilling grin, Li Banfeng appeared right beside Guo Jinshi. Guo Jinshi had recovered roughly twenty percent of his fighting strength. He still had a life-saving magical treasure—the folding fan in his hand. With this fan, he could still contend with Li Banfeng for a while. Snap! Guo Jinshi shifted his fingers, preparing to snap the folding fan open, only to find the fan was gone. Where was the fan? Guo Jinshi tried to shout. Li Banfeng clamped a hand over his mouth and dragged him straight into the Portable Abode. ... Tian Dasong sprinted wildly after Chu Shaoqiang, but Chu Shaoqiang had prepared a journey cultivator magical treasure in advance and ran far faster than Tian Dasong. He Yuxiu kicked Tian Dasong from behind, sending him stumbling. Mengzi raised a firewood chopper and slashed straight down at Tian Dasong's skull. Just watching the way he swung, Tian Dasong stopped feeling afraid. This three-headed person had no martial training; the slash was far too amateurish. Tian Dasong whipped his hand around, wrenched the chopper away, and effortlessly struck Mengzi in the chest. The three-headed people had tough skin and thick flesh, but a Martial Cultivator possessed the skill to cut straight through it. In Tian Dasong's grasp, the crude chopper became a top-grade weapon. Yet Tian Dasong never expected that Mengzi paid no heed whatsoever to the wound on his chest, seizing Tian Dasong's right arm in an iron grip. Tian Dasong tried to tear free, only to discover that the three-headed person possessed terrifying strength. His arm felt as if it had been welded into place, impossible to pull out. Another three-headed person grabbed Tian Dasong's left arm. The two pulled in opposite directions, intending to rip Tian Dasong in half. The fighting style of the three-headed people was that simple and raw. Could such a tactic work? Could a tenth-level Martial Cultivator really be torn apart like this? Two people certainly couldn't manage it; Tian Dasong could break free using his footwork alone. However, when a mob of three-headed people swarmed to tear at Tian Dasong all at once, breaking free was no longer simple. Tian Dasong spun rapidly in place, hurling a cluster of three-headed people away. Yet as soon as he shook one group off, another swarmed in. No matter how viciously Tian Dasong struck, the three-headed people relied on sheer physique and raw strength, seizing hold of Tian Dasong together and refusing to let go. As Tian Dasong struggled desperately, He Yuxiu stepped forward with a smile and planted a kick right into his chest. With that single kick, Tian Dasong had the breath knocked right out of him. And it would be his very last breath. With his breath broken, his strength gave way. He was torn into over a dozen pieces by the three-headed people, scattered all across the ground. "Where's Chu Shaoqiang?" Li Banfeng came up to He Yuxiu's side. He Yuxiu looked into the distance. "The guy's an expert at burrowing. He probably dug a tunnel and fled." Xiu'er had guessed correctly. Covered in wounds, Chu Shaoqiang dug a tunnel and reached the foot of the mountain. He swiftly left Qiqiu City. Unless absolutely necessary, he never wanted to set foot in this place again. What he needed to do now was report to the Inner States as soon as possible and let the Inner States deal with Qiu Luoye. Since Qiu Luoye refused to submit to the Inner States, he would in all likelihood be executed. But how was he supposed to explain the outcome of this battle...? Guo Jinshi and Tian Dasong had both been lost, while he himself had fled wounded. Chu Shaoqiang couldn't easily justify it. Best to stall for a few days first. ... Li Banfeng found Qiu Luoye. "Eldest Brother, don't pursue him. Go home and rest." "You stubborn brat, you just won't listen to me!" Qiu Luoye gave a chuckle, bloody liquid seeping through his clothes.