Yang Xiangjun sprinkled a small vial of liquid medicine across a dirt mound. The insects swarmed into a feeding frenzy, but any worm touched by the liquid stiffened and dropped dead on the spot. In less than a few minutes, not a single Xuyuan silkworm remained alive on the mound.
The two of them made a circuit through eight silkworm-rearing sites in succession, wiping out every last Xuyuan silkworm.
At last, they arrived at the final breeding site. This one was not perched on a cliff, but nestled in a mountain ravine. The Xuyuan silkworms here were visibly larger than those on the cliffs; they were likely nearing full maturity, primed for delivery.
Yet no matter how large the Xuyuan silkworms grew, they could not withstand Wuwang Cinder. After a single vial of liquid, nothing remained but a field of carcasses.
Li Banfeng wanted to know where the silkworms originated. "Let's go destroy their nest completely and pull them up by the roots."
Yang Xiangjun shook his head. "You can't eradicate them at the root. This is a place of void essence, and the Xuyuan silkworms are born of heaven and earth. You'll never wipe them out completely. I'll leave behind more poisoned bait to ensure they can't breed Xuyuan silkworms here again. But if they move somewhere else to rear them, no one can stop that."
Li Banfeng picked up the carcass of one of the silkworms. "How long does it take for a Xuyuan silkworm to grow this large?"
Yang Xiangjun eyed its size. The silkworm was over a foot long. "Out in the wild, a Xuyuan silkworm would never reach this length. Cultivated through the special methods of Gu Cultivators, I'd say it takes at least a year."
A year was neither long nor short. Leaving the matter unattended would definitely weigh on Li Banfeng's mind.
The two left the tower where the silkworms had been reared. Beside it, Li Banfeng found several corner towers. These were larger than ordinary corner towers, but their construction and materials were far cruder, and the sanitation was appalling. Judging by his experience in Xiaodu, this was where the thralls lived.
Li Banfeng paced near the corner towers, murmuring under his breath, "Gu and poison are of one family..."
Yang Xiangjun stepped closer, listened carefully for a moment, and asked, "What did you just say was of one family?"
"I said Gu and poison are of one family," Li Banfeng replied. "Don't you think that makes sense?"
Yang Xiangjun paused, baffled. "What kind of sense does that make? I already told you: Medicine Cultivators and Poison Cultivators count as one family, but Gu Cultivators and Poison Cultivators have nothing to do with each other."
"You're too narrow-minded!" Li Banfeng had his own understanding of the relationships between pathways. "Medicine Cultivators and Poison Cultivators have diverged onto completely opposite paths, while Gu Cultivators and Poison Cultivators share more and more similarities."
Yang Xiangjun waved his round fan, shaking his head repeatedly. "There is no similarity whatsoever between Gu Cultivators and Poison Cultivators. Gu poisons and proper venom arts are entirely different matters! The essence of Gu arts lies in manipulation, whereas venom arts focus on lethality. These two pathways have never been alike—"
He explained with utmost earnestness, yet Li Banfeng did not listen to a single word. He kept muttering as he circled the corner towers: "Gu and poison share one home, united we slay every foe!"
Yang Xiangjun stepped in front of him to block his path. "What nonsense are you blathering on about? What does that have to do with our pathway? Now that the job is done, let's get out of here!"
Li Banfeng had no intention of leaving just yet. "What's the rush? I still need to check whether the worms are thoroughly exterminated."
He retraced his steps through each of the silkworm-rearing towers, confirming that every worm was dead, and then made another couple of rounds around the thralls' corner towers.
As he walked in circles, he continued to murmur endlessly. Yang Xiangjun did not pay it much mind.
The thralls were all fast asleep; none of them could hear what Li Qi was saying anyway.
Yet Yang Xiangjun had no idea that the sleeping thralls could hear every single word, because Li Banfeng had been clutching Mengde in his hand all along.
Having followed Li Banfeng for so many years, Mengde had feasted on the finest treats and never suffered any mistreatment. When Meng Qian was present, Mengde had no room to display her skills, but in Meng Qian's absence, Mengde had plenty of tricks up her sleeve.
She channeled Li Banfeng's words through the thralls' dreams. But in the dreamscape, the speaker was not Li Banfeng—it was Poison Cultivator Patriarch Yang Xiangjun.
In everyone's dreams, Yang Xiangjun repeatedly declared: "Gu and poison share one home, united we slay every foe!"
Beside him stood eight figures, four men and four women, each holding a banner, waving them and shouting, "Follow the Poison Cultivator Patriarch to slay the enemy!"
The purpose of these eight figures was to help the dreamers remember the patriarch's appearance and attire. Within their dreams, some Gu Cultivators clenched their fists, some shrank away into the distance, and others looked entirely numb, as if the words were not meant for them at all.
Li Banfeng had no time to persuade them individually. Leaving the dream behind, he took Mengde to the next dwelling of thralls.
By the time he completed a full circuit around all the corner towers, it was already four-thirty in the morning. It was time for the thralls to wake up for work.
Yang Xiangjun urged, "We should get going. You've chanted that so many times—if they dare fight, it's their fortune; if they don't, they deserve whatever they get."
Li Banfeng shook his head. "We can't leave right now. The path out of the Zhougu Ruins hasn't opened yet."
Yang Xiangjun froze. "Is that a thing? The path depends on the time?"
"If you don't believe me, go ahead and leave on your own," Li Banfeng countered.
Yang Xiangjun had no way of leaving by himself; he had no idea how to navigate out of the Zhougu Ruins.
Li Banfeng said, "We'll wait until five o'clock. When they report for work, we'll check if any worms slipped through the cracks. As long as none did, we leave immediately."
Yang Xiangjun looked toward the ravine ahead, then glanced at the woods behind them. "Let's hide in the woods. At least the trees offer some cover."
Li Banfeng felt that was unnecessary. "You're a pathway patriarch. Don't you know any concealment arts? Why would you need cover in front of these cultivators?"
Yang Xiangjun dared not be reckless. "This is a nest of Curse Cultivators. If I get struck by a calamity, I'll suffer terrible consequences down the line."
"Didn't you drink Wuwang Cinder? Can't it protect against calamities?"
Yang Xiangjun shook his head. "Only high-level curses are cast using Xuyuan silkworms. Lower-level curses might use other insects. Wuwang Cinder is useless against other bugs, so I'd need to switch to different remedies."
"Then switch! You're the Poison Cultivator Patriarch—could you really be short on medicine?"
"I dare not take that risk! This is the Curse Cultivators' home territory. If hundreds or thousands of Curse Cultivators strike together and rain hundreds or thousands of calamities down on me, I'll truly lose my life if my medicines run out!" Yang Xiangjun glanced at the magazine in Li Banfeng's hands. "I'd better slip back into this book and stay there."
Li Banfeng opened to the third page of the magazine and drew Yang Xiangjun inside. Rather than heading into the woods, he remained by the ravine, watching in silence.
At five o'clock, several female Curse Cultivators rose first. Carrying whips, they stormed into the corner towers and lashed the sleeping thralls awake.
"How long do you think you can sleep? Pigs don't sleep as much as you! Get up, all of you!"
"I'm giving you two minutes! Anyone who isn't up will be fed to the worms!"
"You won't budge unless you feel the lash—you're truly born beasts!"
The thralls were still immersed in the dreamscape Mengde had conjured. They had seen the Poison Cultivator Patriarch pumping his fists and shouting at them. At first, most had hesitated or even backed away, but the instant they were whipped awake, some felt their fists harden with rage.
Several Gu Cultivators exchanged glances. The dream had felt so real that they longed to tell one another about it.
Yet their morning schedule was so tight that there was no chance for idle chatter.
In a daze, the crowd filed out of the corner towers to begin work. Li Banfeng summoned the projector to cast a projection.
Poison Cultivator Patriarch Yang Xiangjun stood outside the corner towers, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Gu and poison share one home, united we slay every foe!"
Behind him, eight figures—four men and four women—waved their banners.
In front of Yang Xiangjun, over a hundred Curse Cultivators immediately cast their curses toward the projected illusion.
The Curse Cultivators reacted swiftly. With a patriarch suddenly appearing out of nowhere, regardless of his origin, they attacked first and asked questions later.
Seizing the window when their strikes were unleashed, Li Banfeng and Zhao Xiaowan flanked them from left and right, charging straight into their ranks.
Most of the Curse Cultivators failed to react in time, catching only glimpses of two dark figures darting through their midst.
A veteran Curse Cultivator with combat experience shouted, "Cast curses around yourselves! Guard your—"
Before she could finish, the Tang dao slipped from its sheath, lopping off her head in a single stroke.
Beside her stood two others of mature age and elevated status. As they attempted to reorder the formation, the Tang dao claimed their heads one by one.
With their leaders dead, the Curse Cultivators momentarily lost their direction. Li Banfeng capitalized on the chaos with a stomp of Treading Ten Thousand Rivers, sending a large swathe of them crashing to the ground.
Zhao Xiaowan's voice chanted through the crowd: "Gu and poison share one home, united we slay every foe! Follow the Poison Cultivator Patriarch, charge!"
The sound reverberated with soul-shattering force. Several who stood too close to Zhao Xiaowan were jolted to death on the spot.
One Curse Cultivator looked at the patriarch's appearance, then listened to his voice, noticing that the sound and the image were not coming from the same source.
It was an illusion!
The Curse Cultivator shouted, "Do not attack! Take defensive positions!"
Her reasoning was sound. With the enemy's true nature concealed, holding a defensive stance, buying time, and awaiting reinforcements was the best course of action.
"Don't just stand there!" she turned and barked at the Gu Cultivators. "Prepare your Gu worms! I'm talking to you—are you deaf?"
The Gu Cultivators behind her seemed genuinely not to hear, staring at her with blank eyes.
The Curse Cultivator raised her whip to strike, but while the whip was still midair, she suddenly clutched her chest. With a retch, she vomited all over the ground, her spew writhing with countless insects resembling grains of rice.
Someone had already unleashed Gu arts upon her—and more than one person at that.
Shackled Gu Cultivators relentlessly cast their Gu arts against the Curse Cultivators. They were going to fight alongside the Poison Cultivator Patriarch.
Did they know the Poison Cultivator Patriarch?
No, but that did not matter.
They had been living lives unfit for human beings. In the past, Curse Cultivators and Gu Cultivators called each other sisters, yet who could have imagined that once the sisters gained power, their cruelty would know no bounds?
Now, under the torment of the Curse Cultivators, the Gu Cultivators lived worse than beasts.
So long as someone was willing to lead them in carving out a path to survival, whether they knew him or not was irrelevant, and reasons mattered little. Besides, the Poison Cultivator Patriarch had offered a splendid reason: Gu and poison were of one family!
Many Gu Cultivators, still in chains, wrestled violently with the Curse Cultivators. Li Banfeng swung his sickle, slicing through their shackles one after another. After a brief clash, the Curse Cultivators suffered grievous casualties and promptly retreated. Zhao Xiaowan called out in a low, husky voice, "Do not pursue broken foes! Follow me!"
The projector adjusted its angle, directing the patriarch's projection to lead the throng toward the next silkworm tower.
The Gu Cultivators there had just discovered that all the Xuyuan silkworms in their care were dead. They had no idea how they were going to explain it; according to the rules set by the Curse Cultivators, losing an entire brood meant forfeiting their own lives.
Amid their panic, a commotion erupted outside. A throng of Gu Cultivators rushed beneath the tower, chanting fiercely:
"Gu and poison share one home! United we slay every foe!"
The dream had been real!
The Gu Cultivators looked at the dead insects before them, then at the frantic Curse Cultivators scrambling to fight, and then down at the desperate melee below.
At this point, they knew exactly who their targets ought to be.
"Sisters, follow the Poison Cultivator Patriarch and fight!"
The Gu Cultivators stormed out of the rooms, clashing with the Curse Cultivators along the corridors.
The entire village descended into chaos. Every Gu Cultivator sought to follow the Poison Cultivator Patriarch, but the patriarch had a glaring flaw.
He was merely an illusion cast by the projector. He could shout and swing his arms, but he could not release poison.
What kind of Poison Cultivator Patriarch could not cast poison? If this continued, someone was bound to notice the flaw.
Li Banfeng retrieved the magazine and released the real Poison Cultivator Patriarch, Yang Xiangjun.
The projector immediately shut off its projection. Yang Xiangjun took in the swirling melee and heard the shouts echoing around him.
He looked back at Li Banfeng. "You madman, what on earth are you trying to do?"
Li Banfeng pointed at the crowd. "They're all following you into battle!"
"Go be mad by yourself!" Yang Xiangjun bolted. Zhao Xiaowan switched to a woman's voice and cried out, "Follow the patriarch! Keep charging!"
Yang Xiangjun conjured a veil of toxic mist to obscure his form from the Curse Cultivators behind him.
Li Banfeng invoked Holding Torches in the Night, lighting Yang Xiangjun up like a brilliant beacon!
Now shining brightly, Yang Xiangjun had no choice but to fight, or else the Curse Cultivators would surround and overwhelm him.
Seeing Yang Xiangjun battling the Curse Cultivators with all his might, the Gu Cultivators felt their blood boil. The dazzling radiance emanating from the patriarch doubled their morale.
With Zhao Xiaowan directing the engagement and both Li Banfeng and Yang Xiangjun aiding the fight, the Gu Cultivators—despite their disadvantage in weaponry—battled for a full day and managed to wrest away half the village.
By nightfall, the Gu Cultivators found rice wine in the village and poured a bowl each to present to the Poison Cultivator Patriarch.
Having drunk his belly full of rice wine, Yang Xiangjun said to Li Banfeng, "What good does dragging me into this mess do you?"
Li Banfeng explained, "This isn't dragging you into a mess. I'm building an illustrious legacy for you."
Yang Xiangjun sneered. "Brother, who do you think you're talking to? What use do I have for a legacy? I only believe in working for pay. Even if Qiao Yi offered to make me a prince or a marquess, I wouldn't care!"
Li Banfeng said, "A legacy bestowed by others is naturally meaningless. But uniting Gu Cultivators and Poison Cultivators under one family—that's an achievement you earned with your own two hands."
Yang Xiangjun glanced around and lowered his voice. "Stop talking nonsense! Gu Cultivators and Poison Cultivators run on completely different principles; they can't be merged!"
Li Banfeng sighed. "The pathways under heaven all operate on different principles. Some pathways have principles that are polar opposites, yet haven't people forced them together anyway?"
"How can you merge opposing principles?" Yang Xiangjun had no patience for Li Banfeng's drivel. "I know you have no intention of letting me leave. But let me tell you, I won't wade into this muddy water either. Tomorrow I'll find a place to hide, and we'll see if any of you can find me."
Li Banfeng rubbed his chin, looking at Yang Xiangjun. "Brother Yang, I've placed a mark on you. If you insist on pushing things to the limit, don't blame me for being ruthless."
Yang Xiangjun wore a look of disdain. "What kind of mark could a Travel Cultivator make? Do you think scaring me with a casual bluff will work?"
Li Banfeng gave him a thumbs-up. "You've got guts. Want to make a bet?"
Yang Xiangjun chuckled contemptuously, but then felt a twinge of grievance. "Why do you have to make life so hard for me? You just want to stir up trouble in the Zhougu Ruins—couldn't you find anyone else for the job?"
Li Banfeng stood up, looking at the sentries forcing themselves to stay alert and the many Gu Cultivators already fast asleep. "I looked, but there's truly no one better suited than you. You counter Hen Wuyou, you know her inside and out, and you have an old grudge against her. No one else is fit to lead this rebellion."
Yang Xiangjun brushed back a strand of hair with his middle and ring fingers, arched his brows, and looked at Li Banfeng. "Li Qi, I'll tell you the honest truth: I don't hold grudges. Whoever pays the most gets my service. If tomorrow Hen Wuyou is willing to hire me, I'll surrender on the spot and help her raise worms!"
Li Banfeng paused, surprised. "Wasn't it Hen Wuyou who hired you to ambush Boss Lu this time?"
"Why would she hire me?" Yang Xiangjun gave a bitter smile. "She avoids me like the plague; she's hated me most her entire life. I was hired by Qiao Yi."
Qiao Yi?
That move made little sense.
Li Banfeng asked, "Did Qiao Yi know you had Wuwang Cinder?"
Yang Xiangjun considered it. "He probably did. A man as meticulous as him would definitely look into such things beforehand."
"He knew you had Wuwang Cinder, yet he dared deliver you into my hands?" That was the most baffling part of the puzzle.
Xuyuan silkworms were notoriously hard to kill, but Yang Xiangjun possessed the means to exterminate them. For Qiao Yi to send Yang Xiangjun to Moxiang Shop at this exact moment was tantamount to handing Li Banfeng a blade.
Even though Li Banfeng shared deep ties with Qiao Yi, Qiao Yi had no reason to be so considerate.
Li Banfeng asked Yang Xiangjun, "Do you know where Hen Wuyou is?"
"Of course I do." Pouting slightly, Yang Xiangjun gave Li Banfeng a coquettish glance. "Hen Wuyou is in Moxiang Shop. The Blood Tooth Monster is Hen Wuyou. Seventh Master, did you really think I took a job in Moxiang Shop without knowing a thing?"
Li Banfeng grew even more perplexed. "If you knew everything, Qiao Yi had even less reason to send you there. Once you fell into my hands, think of how great a loss that would inflict on him."
Yang Xiangjun curled his lip. "Those words are rather insulting. Who could have predicted I'd fall into your hands? Li Qi, tell me with a clear conscience: in a one-on-one fight, could you definitely beat me?"
Li Banfeng pulled an iron rod from the book. Yang Xiangjun waved his hands frantically. "I was only speaking hypothetically! Qiao Yi certainly never expected you would capture me alive. He sent me to Moxiang Shop mainly to keep Hen Wuyou in check."
"Is Hen Wuyou disobedient?"
"Hen Wuyou's temperament is just like Shan Chengjun's. Who under heaven could possibly keep her under control?"
The explanation sounded reasonable on the surface, but Li Banfeng still sensed something was off.
If Qiao Yi wanted to keep Hen Wuyou in check, did he have to choose Yang Xiangjun?
Hen Wuyou was at least an unruly subordinate, whereas Yang Xiangjun was purely a mercenary. Li Banfeng could hardly believe Yang Xiangjun was more trustworthy than Hen Wuyou.
"Li Qi, can you let me off?"
Li Banfeng shook his head. "I really don't mean to harm you; I genuinely want to help. As the patriarch of a pathway, at your age, to still be working as a mercenary—doesn't it feel shameful to you?"
Yang Xiangjun rolled his eyes at him. "I don't find it shameful at all. Isn't surviving all that matters?"
Li Banfeng pointed toward the resting Gu Cultivators. "Right now, their patriarch is gone, and their backing has collapsed. If you lead them to carve out a territory of their own, wouldn't that become a glorious tale?"
"What glorious tale? Once their lives improve, whether they'll even recognize me is anyone's guess!"
Yang Xiangjun stood up and brushed off the snow clinging to his clothes. Looking out at the vast gathering of Gu Cultivators, his gaze turned contemplative. "Since business has reached this point, backing out wouldn't look right. I'll agree to lead these Gu Cultivators in making a fuss, but you must agree to three conditions."
"Name them."
"First, I'm fighting this war on your behalf, so you must provide all food, drink, and supplies. Furthermore, I won't work for free; I'll calculate my fee shortly and draft an invoice. Not a single coin of cold, hard silver can be missing."
Li Banfeng nodded. "Agreed."
"Second, waging war depends on resources, and the Inner States have deep pockets. If I can't hold out, you must guarantee my safe retreat."
Li Banfeng nodded again. "Agreed."
"Third, let these Gu Cultivators sleep for another two hours, then evacuate the village in batches."
Li Banfeng did not understand. "We went through all the trouble of taking half the village. Why evacuate?"
"If I truly wanted to fight, I could take the entire village, but we can't hold it," Yang Xiangjun picked up a twig and sketched a rough map of the village on the ground. "Look at the terrain first, then the food distribution, then the roads inside and outside the village. All of these make it terrible for defense..."
When Yang Xiangjun spoke of military strategy, his thoughts were remarkably sharp. "If you don't believe me, go ask that woman who knows how to wage war."
Li Banfeng played dumb. "Which woman do you mean?"
"Which woman could it be?" Yang Xiangjun huffed. "The one whose voice and figure would make anyone in the world green with envy! If I had her voice and figure, even if my face were slightly inferior to hers, I'd gladly accept it."
As he spoke, Yang Xiangjun produced two vials of powder. "One is Wuwang Cinder, specifically for clearing high-level calamities. The other is called Wuwang Ash. Ingest both together, and the calamities on a person will certainly be swept clean."
Li Banfeng shook his head. "I put up my defenses earlier. No one should have planted a calamity on me."
"What good are defenses? Curse Cultivators aren't good at straight combat; their strikes rely entirely on stealth. A mere ground-level cultivator glaring at you might plant a calamity without you even knowing. Could your defenses stop that?"
Li Banfeng looked at the Wuwang Cinder. He definitely could not ingest this.
Then he looked at the Wuwang Ash. "Taking this one won't cause feelings of remorse, will it?"
"It's the same. Both will make you regret being born a man."
"So neither can be taken?"
"You can't take them, but can't she?" Yang Xiangjun rolled his eyes at Li Banfeng again, tidied his makeup slightly, and wandered off to find a place to rest.
Li Banfeng returned to the companion dwelling and handed both Wuwang Cinder and Wuwang Ash to his wife. "Dearest wife, this is medicine from the Poison Cultivator Patriarch. It can purge calamities."
Zhao Xiaowan activated her Piercing Sight and swept her gaze over her own body. The calamities visible to her alone numbered more than twenty. Because these Curse Cultivators were far less skilled than Hen Wuyou, their calamities could not evade her eyes.
"Let me count carefully so none are missed." After a thorough tally, she found twenty-six calamities in total. Seven had been cast using Xuyuan silkworms, while the rest utilized ordinary insects.
Gauging the amounts, she consumed a small measure of Wuwang Cinder followed by some Wuwang Ash. In less than five minutes, every calamity on her surfaced on the skin, rendered completely motionless.
The calamities had been struck with deadly poison. They had tried to flee the source of toxicity, but had failed to pierce through her flesh.
Li Banfeng plucked the calamities from her skin one by one. "Here's a grasshopper, here's a cabbage worm, and this is a wild herb... Can wild herbs be used to cast curses too?"
Having initially spotted twenty-six calamities, Li Banfeng removed twenty-seven in total—there was an extra calamity from a Xuyuan silkworm.
Zhao Xiaowan said with delight, "Husband, that was the calamity Hen Wuyou planted on me; it's been poisoned to death as well!"
"Wonderful." Li Banfeng nodded repeatedly.
Holding the Wuwang Cinder, Zhao Xiaowan said to Hong Ying, "Yingying, this medicine really works! The calamities on you can definitely be removed too!"
Hong Ying was overjoyed, but Li Banfeng appeared lost in thought.
Zhao Xiaowan asked, "Husband, aren't you happy?"
"Happy! Terribly happy!"
Li Banfeng truly was glad.
Yet he still could not decipher Qiao Yi's intentions.
Why had Qiao Yi dispatched Yang Xiangjun to tear down Hen Wuyou's foundation so completely?
Was it merely because Hen Wuyou had been unruly?
***
Nian Shangyou presented a letter to Qiao Yi. "My Lord, the Blood Tooth Monster is furious with Yang Xiangjun and demands an explanation from us."
The letter made no mention of why the Blood Tooth Monster was enraged; its wording was crude and vulgar, written purely as a vent for her spleen.
Through another secret dispatch, Qiao Yi already knew what had transpired at the Zhougu Ruins. The Blood Tooth Monster's base had been attacked; her fury was only natural.
Setting the letter aside, Qiao Yi noticed Nian Shangyou hesitating, and asked with a smile, "Something on your mind?"
Nian Shangyou asked tentatively, "The Blood Tooth Monster is your subordinate, my Lord, and counts as one of our own. Yang Xiangjun is merely a mercenary who sells his life to the highest bidder. A man like that is a blade—using him to stab one of our own in the chest doesn't seem appropriate, does it?"
Qiao Yi shook his head slightly. "Shangyou, it isn't I who wanted to stab her. It was Li Qi who wanted to stab her. There were two blades available. If I hadn't handed him this one, he would have reached for the other. And that other blade must never be placed in his hands."
These words left Nian Shangyou completely in the dark, utterly unable to comprehend.
Qiao Yi gestured for Nian Shangyou to come closer. "Take a squad of men to Haozhou and await my orders."
At the mention of Haozhou, Nian Shangyou tensed with anxiety. "My Lord, are you planning to move against the Imperial Envoy—"
Qiao Yi nodded. "The time has come."
Chapter 821