Volume 2: Entering Wu with Force Chapter 99 Establishing Prestige

  Gong Yang was, as he himself said, a local snake in Qingzhou, extremely familiar with the area around Qingzhou. Together with Ye Xu and others, they entered the city, talking fluently: "The current Liang Wangfu has already declined, but the old Liang Wang who founded it is truly a hero! He followed Qin Shi Huang on his southern and northern campaigns, achieving great merits! After his success, he was granted Qingzhou as his fiefdom, and his cultivation reached the level of Yuantai. He's simply a legendary figure! Although today's Liang Wangfu has declined, it still can't be underestimated. With its vast wealth and power, it controls an area of 800 miles around!"

  He glanced around and said in a low voice, "However, just a few months ago, I heard a rumor that someone broke into the Liang King's mansion at midnight and had a fierce battle with the Liang King, snatching away the Liang King's treasured Tianxiu Life-Extending Elixir. It is said that this elixir was a treasure given by the master of the Hundred Flowers Palace to the Liang King, capable of reviving the dead and healing even the most severe injuries. The elixir seems to have life, as if one can see a white-clad woman dancing inside it; after taking it, even the most serious wounds can be cured. The Liang King was extremely enraged by this and ordered a thorough search, but unfortunately, no one knows who did it..."

  Ye Xiu smiled and said, "Although the Liang Wang Fu has declined, it is still a giant with a hundred legs that will not die easily. This person actually dares to break into the Liang Wang Fu and steal treasures, what a huge audacity!"

  This group of people attracted countless attention, and most eyes fell on Gan Chai Jiao. This horse was like a four-legged evil python, with red scales all over its body, hooves transformed into dragon claws, head transformed into a python's head, ferocious and terrifying, emitting a fierce aura that only a wild beast could have.

  "Yeh Lao Di, this dragon horse of yours is a troublemaker. Walking with it like this is really too showy." Gong Yangyan shook his head and said.

  Ye Xuan also noticed that there were many malicious glances around, and said: "In a few days, it will be King Liang's birthday. Is anyone still daring to make a move on King Liang's turf?"

  "Nowadays, the Liang Wang Fu is no longer as prosperous as it was in the past. Although there are not many people who dare to make a move on the land of Qingzhou, but there will definitely be some!"

  The old ram said, "Not far away, there is the Hundred Flowers Palace hidden in the Hundred Flowers Valley, the Ghost King Sect to the southwest, and those demons from the East Sea. These forces do not take the Liang Wang Fu seriously. There are also some small families that, although they appear to submit to the Liang Wang Fu on the surface, all regard Qingzhou as a piece of fat meat, each wanting to take a bite. Of course, there is also your Five Poisons Sect, Ye brothers."

  Zhou Shiwen had already caught his breath and smiled: "It turns out that our Five Poison Sect's reputation is so great, it can be said to be renowned far and wide!"

  The white-eyed ram lambasted, muttering to himself: "That's the kind of notorious reputation you should have! Your Five Poison Sect has a big name, but it's not because you have many skilled fighters, it's because your methods are despicable. You kill one person from my side, I'll wipe out your entire clan!"

  Although that's what he said, the Five Poisons Sect was notorious after all, and Gong Yangying had no foundation in Qingzhou, his cultivation wasn't high either, with no power or influence, often bullied by others. At this moment, he made up his mind to befriend Ye Xuan and the other two, clinging tightly to the leg of the Five Poisons Sect.

  Ye Xue thought for a moment, then raised the Jade Building and brought the dry firewood into it. He thought to himself: "Qingzhou is full of dragons and snakes, at this time there isn't Mr. Ying's great demon guarding by my side, so I should be more careful."

  The goat led them to find an inn, booked a room, and immediately went out for a stroll, watching the customs of the Central Plains.

  Qingzhou is located in the Central Plains, and its commerce is far more prosperous than that of Liu Zhou and Yue Zhou. There are many types of businesses here, including some shops that specialize in serving practitioners of magic. In addition to jade and stone materials, some even sell elixirs, magical weapons, spells, and mental disciplines directly, but the prices are so high they make one's jaw drop.

  "The largest store in Qingzhou is the Treasure Gathering Hall operated by the Hundred Flowers Palace, which has a wide variety of items and very reasonable prices."

  The goat walked up to a magnificent tall building and laughed, saying: "This is the Treasure Gathering Hall, where even witch treasures are sold, but no one can afford them."

  Ye Xue's eyes flashed with amazement, his heart filled with incredulity: "Even Wu Bao is being sold as a commodity? This Central Plains is indeed vastly different from our Jiuli, and even more prosperous!"

  "Shao Bao, you have a gift for Prince Liang, but we don't. Why not go in and pick out one or two things?" suggested Zhou Shiwen.

  Fang Chen nodded and said: "Let's go together and take a look, maybe we can find what we need."

  Ye Xuzheng was about to enter the Treasure Pavilion when a sudden commotion broke out, and more than a dozen Taoist priests came from the corner of the street. One of them, with a sly and cunning look in his eyes, pointed at Ye Xuzheng from afar and shouted: "It's this little thief who stole my horse! Director Ding, you must take charge of this matter for me!"

  An old man in a white robe walked out of the crowd and came to Ye Xu's side, saying with an air of authority: "Ding Hao, don't wrongly accuse good people. You said this young man stole your horse, but do you have any witnesses or evidence?"

  "We can all testify!"

  A dozen or so sorcerers stood up behind Ding Hao, sneering: "It's this little thief, who colluded with three others to steal Ding Hao's Jiaolong horse. Chief Steward, although they did it secretly, we've seen everything. They must return the horse to us and be severely punished!"

  "How dare you steal the horse from the Ding family, what a brazen and unscrupulous thing to do!"

  Ding Haoyi was filled with indignation and shouted: "My dragon horse has grown up with me since childhood, living together for over a decade, like brothers. Ding General Manager, you must take charge, severely punish these villains, and retrieve my horse!"

  Ye Xue's face suddenly turned gloomy, and the surrounding witches who heard the commotion stopped watching, with more and more people gathering around, but not a single person was willing to take their side. They all stood by with their arms crossed, sneering coldly, looking like they were enjoying the show.

  Ye Xiu turned his head to look at Gongzi You, and said in a low voice: "Gongzi brother, what's the background of these people?"

  The old ram huddled up, shivering with a cold sweat, and said in a low voice: "They are the Dings from Luocheng in the east, a family of witches who have been in power for generations. Although they are not as powerful as the Liang royal family, they are not to be underestimated either. Ye, I told you that your dragon horse is too showy, and now it's finally caused trouble. They're clearly bullying you because you're an outsider, wanting to rob you of..."

  "Ah, it's you, Kōyō!"

  At this time, Director Ding finally noticed him and sneered: "Old goat, I heard from Ding Hao that you also saw these little thieves stealing horses. Come tell everyone, whose horse is this?"

  The sheep's head shrank again, and its eyes dodged back and forth.

  Director Ding took another step forward and shouted: "Don't you dare say it quickly?"

  "I'm done for!"

  Gong Yang clenched his fists, determined to cling to the thigh of the Five Poisons Sect. Suddenly, he gritted his teeth and shouted loudly: "Ding Rui, you're motivated by greed, aren't you? You see that these few young men are outsiders, so you plan to rob them of their horses by force. Why bother making up so many excuses?"

  Ding's face sank, and he felt a slight sense of surprise in his heart. This Gongyang was a notorious softie from Qingzhou, who usually only pretended to be tough, cheating some outsiders and fooling them out of their money. When encountering these young masters, they would fawn on them like dogs, allowing themselves to be bullied. Now, having eaten the heart of a bear and the gall of a leopard, he actually dared to confront him head-on?

  "Old goat, don't you want to live anymore?" The young men of the Ding family glared with gloomy eyes, cursing and shouting as they closed in.

  The goat suddenly felt a chill, and hastily hid behind Ye Xu's back, saying in a low voice: "Brother Ye, the diviners of the Ding family are notorious for their ruthlessness, and Ding Lian is even more so as the general manager of the Ding family's inner court. Not long ago, his cultivation reached the Rongyuan realm, with an aura that shines brightly all around him, making him very formidable. Why don't we hide in the Jewelry Pavilion first? The Jewelry Pavilion belongs to the Hundred Flowers Palace, they wouldn't dare cause trouble..."

  Ye Xue carefully sized up Director Ding, and indeed only felt that his vital energy was flourishing, like a large, bright sun, enveloping his entire body, illuminating every inch of him, with an aura that was extremely terrifying. He smiled slightly and said: "Others are blocking the entrance to the Jewelry Store, can we really hide inside for our whole lives?"

  The old goat was stunned and muttered: "It's better than dying on the spot..."

  Ye Xue let out a cold snort, his anger rising to the surface. He thought to himself: "Now that Gan Chai has become a dragon, he's indeed too showy and has attracted the attention of many people, all of whom are itching to make a move. Now with the Ding family stirring up trouble, who knows when the Tian or Lu families will jump out next? We must use extraordinary measures to establish our authority in Qingzhou and intimidate these people's crooked thoughts, so they won't dare come provoke us again!"

  Yexu smiled slightly and raised the jade building, releasing Gan Chaijiao. He said with a smile: "Ding's family, since you say this is your horse, then take it away."

  "You'd better know your place! If you don't return it to me, I'll kill every single one of you!"

  Ding Hao was overjoyed and hastily walked forward, stretching out his hand to grab the dry firewood python's head. The dry firewood python stared at his hand, suddenly let out a furious hiss, opened its huge mouth like lightning, chomped down with a loud "chomp", and swallowed Ding Hao whole, tossing its head back and swallowing him into its belly, extremely ferocious!

  The Ding family was stunned on the spot, and no one spoke for a long time. Zhou Shiwen sneered: "Indeed, they grew up together since childhood, and are very close!"

  Fang Chen coldly sneered and said: "Intimacy that's swallowed into the belly, the Ding family's horse-keeping skills are indeed impressive!"

  The onlookers shook their heads secretly, one of them chuckled and said: "This young man is arrogant and has offended the Ding family to the point of death. Now he's not far from death either. What a pity that this fine horse will fall into the hands of the Ding family. If I had known earlier, I would have made my move first..."

  Ding Yu's face turned iron-green, he looked up at the sky and laughed loudly, saying: "Good, good, you are looking for your own death..." Before his words fell, suddenly it seemed like something appeared in his mouth, quickly drilling into his esophagus towards his intestines!

  Ding Wei's face changed slightly, and he hastily mobilized his yuanqi to suppress it, but how could he possibly suppress it!

  Suddenly, his chest burst open and a blood-red insect emerged from it. As the wind blew, it grew to the size of a water bucket and flew up with a buzzing sound. Its large mouth covered his head, and in just three or two bites, this high-ranking Fusion Period cultivator was swallowed into its belly!

  This was also his own seeking death, only paying attention to speaking fiercely, without raising the Jade Building and releasing the Yuanqi mask, so he was pierced by the four-winged blood silkworms, and his old life was taken away!

  Ye Xuheng's mind stirred, and the four-foot-long Blood Silkworm shot towards the other members of the DIng family like lightning, its four wings slicing through the air like knives. After flying around them in a flash, it landed on his shoulder!

  Ye Xue's eyes were cold and menacing as he scanned the surroundings, his smile was frosty: "This is what happens to those who can't keep their mouths shut! If you dare to provoke me, the Five Poison Sect again, I will annihilate your entire family!"

  As soon as the words fell, the heads of the more than ten disciples of the Ding family slowly slid down from their necks, and their bodies fell to the ground.

  All around, not a crow or sparrow can be heard.

  "Don't waste it!" Fang Chen smiled gloomily, and behind him, the Blood Demon's heart appeared, with eight tentacles writhing and screaming. Taking advantage of the corpses' lingering vital energy, he desecrated them once more, sucking them dry.

  Ye Xue turned around, smiled at Gong Yang with a hint of mischief, revealing his pearly white teeth, and said: "Brother Gong Yang, it's much quieter now. Shall we go take a stroll in the Treasure Pavilion?" With that, he strode inside.

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  99 chapters done! WMW! One step closer to 1000 chapters! WMW! Righteously asking for points, recommendations, collections and milk powder! WMW!