Chapter 450: Green Celebration Alliance

Lüshuigai was a beggar.

"Giving" was merely the first step of the Beggar Cultivation Technique, which invariably led to increasingly bold demands.

When a renowned beggar suddenly appeared and seemed to "give" something, any sensible person would assume he was using his Beggar Cultivation Technique.

However, Chu Shaoqiang knew very well that Lüshuigai was not a beggar cultivator.

Wang Fuqi had been tricked; he should never have touched anything Lüshuigai had personally touched again.

His right hand was already festering, so Wang Fuqi decisively took out a dagger and cut off his right hand at the elbow.

Lüshuigai smiled and said, "You cut too little."

Indeed, he had cut too little. With his forearm severed, the rot continued to spread up his upper arm. Wang Fuqi turned pale with alarm, swinging his blade to cut again, this time from the shoulder.

Lüshuigai chuckled again, "You cut too late."

With his upper arm severed, Wang Fuqi's body began to rot, the lesions spreading rapidly across him.

Chu Shaoqiang, with eyes lowered, said, "Green Beggar, you've arrived quite early."

Lüshuigai smiled but said nothing.

Cui Tike, standing nearby, remarked, "We didn't intend to come so early either, but your friend is so foolish; he willingly offered his life. We couldn't possibly pass up such an easy deal."

Chu Shaoqiang frowned slightly. "Foreigner, this isn't your territory. No one would see if you died here. How can you still talk about business with me?"

Cui Tike shrugged and said nothing more.

"Business."

The core of that statement lay in those two words. They weren't meant for Chu Shaoqiang, but they were the only hint he could offer, though he wasn't sure if it was relevant to the current location.

The business had begun.

Lüshuigai chuckled, "My disciple was right; your accomplice is indeed a bit foolish."

Wang Fuqi cried out to Chu Shaoqiang, "Lord Chu, save me, gur-gur-gur..."

Before he could finish, Wang Fuqi's vocal cords rotted, leaving only a low, gurgling sound.

He was beyond saving; Chu Shaoqiang knew this very well.

In the blink of an eye, Wang Fuqi's body completely rotted through and then collapsed, splattering Chu Shaoqiang with pus.

If this pus were to penetrate Chu Shaoqiang's skin, it would be enough to kill him.

Lüshuigai sighed, "You two are quite a match, neither of you particularly clever."

Chu Shaoqiang looked at Lüshuigai with a mocking expression. "You haven't changed much from back then. If it hadn't been for outsiders intervening, I wouldn't have suffered such a terrible loss because of you!"

A layer of lime dust fluttered down from Chu Shaoqiang's body, falling to the ground along with Wang Fuqi's pus. Chu Shaoqiang himself was unharmed.

Lüshuigai wasn't surprised; Chu Shaoqiang was always cautious, and it was entirely reasonable for him to constantly be on guard.

Seeing this, Cui Tike immediately squeezed the pustules on his face, sending green fluid flying towards Chu Shaoqiang.

Chu Shaoqiang waved his hand, and fine lime dust precisely blocked the fluid from the pustules.

"Your disciple is as arrogant as you," Chu Shaoqiang said, barely glancing at Cui Tike. "But you at least have some substance; he's simply overestimating himself."

Green Beggar chuckled, "He's young and inexperienced. It's understandable that he'd be a bit flustered seeing a prominent figure like yourself."

Cui Tike continued to squeeze his pustules, spraying fluid at Chu Shaoqiang.

He did appear somewhat flustered, but this was part of his plan. He merely wanted to quickly incite a battle between Lüshuigai and Chu Shaoqiang.

His goal was to fish in troubled waters. With the "water" and "fish" both present, he couldn't care less about the people from the inner states or the local deities.

Faced with Cui Tike's repeated provocations, Chu Shaoqiang naturally wouldn't just play defense. The lime on his body transformed into a thick mist and flew towards Lüshuigai and Cui Tike.

Lüshuigai warned Cui Tike, "Dodge if you don't want to die."

Cui Tike quickly dodged. Lüshuigai rubbed his nose, then sneezed, and the powerful gust of air scattered the lime.

At the same time, the pustules on Lüshuigai's body swelled layer upon layer and continuously burst open. Instead of pus, a small, round head with large eyes emerged from the cracks, looking around.

It was a dragonfly's head. Lesions resembling dragonflies crawled one by one out of the pustules, flapping their wings as they flew forth.

The lime would have difficulty stopping lesions as large as dragonflies. Even if some were killed, it would be futile; even a single dragonfly attaching itself to him would pose a significant threat to Chu Shaoqiang.

Chu Shaoqiang calmly untied his scarf and tossed it into the air.

The scarf quickly expanded, its surface coated with an adhesive layer, like flypaper, trapping all the lesions.

While trapping the dragonflies, Chu Shaoqiang secretly manipulated the lime to move towards Lüshuigai.

Lüshuigai burped, feeling nauseous.

A gush of acidic fluid surged up from his stomach. He spat out some, which enveloped his entire body, then held some in his mouth, sealing his nose and mouth.

This was a defense specifically against Chu Shaoqiang's lime. Protected by the acidic fluid, Lüshuigai withstood the lime and quickly approached Chu Shaoqiang.

With his foundation in martial cultivation and his opponent's reluctance to touch him, close-quarters combat would almost guarantee his victory.

Less than five meters from Chu Shaoqiang, a ball of flame suddenly engulfed Lüshuigai.

A Fire Cultivator?

The rolling flames melted the pus-encrusted outer shell, and layers of toxins began to penetrate Lüshuigai's body.

A Poison Cultivator too!

Lüshuigai's body began to seep a viscous liquid, and it seemed he could extinguish the flames himself, but a basin of cold water suddenly poured down from above, putting out the fire a moment too soon.

Who helped Lüshuigai?

That help was completely unnecessary.

As Lüshuigai felt surprised, an old voice whispered in his ear, "If you've received my water, then stand still!"

A Tribute Cultivator!

If one accepted something from a Tribute Cultivator, compensation was due. The Tribute Cultivator didn't forcibly take Lüshuigai's life; he knew Lüshuigai's strength, so he merely used a technique to forcefully control his knees.

Lüshuigai's knee joints stiffened, as if petrified. His legs could neither bend nor move.

The Fire Cultivator quickly enveloped Lüshuigai in flames. Relying on his formidable cultivation, Lüshuigai forcibly twisted off his own knee joints, then made the bones regrow and heal rapidly, thus leaping out of the Tribute Cultivator's range of control.

The moment his feet touched the ground, Lüshuigai plunged directly into a mud pit, instantly sinking from his ankles to his waist.

A Mud Cultivator too?

Including Wang Fuqi, who had just been killed by Lüshuigai, Chu Shaoqiang had brought five helpers.

These five helpers were all hidden in the shadows, their presence concealed by Chu Shaoqiang's magic treasure, so Lüshuigai had not detected any of them.

The moment Lüshuigai sank into the mud pit, Chu Shaoqiang approached, carrying a small bag of cement.

This bag of cement had been specially prepared for Lüshuigai. If sprinkled on him, the cement would rapidly solidify, completely hardening him and leaving him no chance to escape by liquefying into pus.

The bag of cement was about to be dumped on his head, and Lüshuigai had no way to avoid it.

Chu Shaoqiang suddenly felt a chill in his palm, and his hand closed on empty air.

"Where's the cement?"

"How did it suddenly disappear!"

Li Banfeng, hiding behind a tree, vaguely heard his glove exclaim in admiration, "Good work."

"He Jiaqing?" Chu Shaoqiang's first thought was He Jiaqing, because he had just suffered a loss from him in Wuqin Township.

"Jiaqing, come out! I've seen you all along," Chu Shaoqiang bluffed, though he didn't know He Jiaqing's current location.

He Jiaqing didn't fall for the bluff. While everyone was still attacking Lüshuigai, he directly poured a bag of cement onto the Mud Cultivator.

The Mud Cultivator desperately shook his body, trying to break free from the cement, which was too damaging to him and directly destroyed his physical structure.

He Jiaqing sprinkled cement everywhere, and Chu Shaoqiang's helpers scattered to dodge.

Seizing this opportunity, Lüshuigai sprayed two streams of snot from his nostrils, which stuck to Chu Shaoqiang.

Chu Shaoqiang had lime protecting him, so he wasn't afraid of the snot.

Lüshuigai didn't intend to harm Chu Shaoqiang with the snot; he merely wanted to use it to gain leverage off Chu Shaoqiang's body and escape.

Two pliers flew from Chu Shaoqiang's arms, pulling the snot completely off his back.

But he was still a fraction too slow. Lüshuigai had already taken the opportunity, successfully leveraging himself free from the mud pit.

Lüshuigai roared, spraying pus everywhere from his body.

Chu Shaoqiang had means to withstand it, and his other helpers also had means to dodge.

Only the Mud Cultivator was in a precarious situation. Covered in cement, his movements were extremely sluggish, and he couldn't dodge the pus. Just a tiny bit splattered on his forehead, and he immediately felt his head splitting with pain.

Not "about to split"—it genuinely split!

Green Beggar's attacks seemed casual, but every move was lethal. The Mud Cultivator's skull cracked open under the intense pain, and his brain matter immediately boiled and gushed out everywhere.

Having lost his brain matter, the Mud Cultivator stood in place, gradually losing all signs of life.

But his body wasn't completely dead yet. Chunks of flesh fell from him, and along with the remains of Wang Fuqi, the Spy Cultivator, they transformed into hundreds of "slugs" crawling everywhere. The slime they dragged on the ground spread far and wide, and anyone who touched it would contract Lüshuigai's lesions.

This time, even Chu Shaoqiang found it difficult to defend. He sprinkled lime in a circle, creating a safe zone for himself.

The Fire Cultivator was fearless; if they came, he would burn them.

The Tribute Cultivator was smart, hiding beside the Fire Cultivator.

The Poison Cultivator and Fire Cultivator were usually not on good terms, so he didn't go near the Fire Cultivator. To avoid the slugs, he moved to the base of a willow tree.

Odd, there didn't seem to be a willow tree here a moment ago.

He sensed something was amiss. The willow tree might be an ambush, and Green Beggar might have brought more than one helper.

The Poison Cultivator's method for dealing with ambushes was simple: no verification, just unleash poison. If he guessed right, he'd profit greatly; if not, he wouldn't suffer any loss.

Layers of poisonous mist rapidly rose from the Poison Cultivator's body. Just as it was about to fly towards the treetop, two slugs, carrying Lüshuigai's lesions, slid across the snow to the Poison Cultivator's feet.

The Poison Cultivator quickly dodged. He was very agile, easily leaping over a halo of light, thus avoiding the slugs on the ground.

"Wait, why did he leap over a halo?"

"Where did the halo come from?"

When avoiding danger, if one encounters something strange, it's crucial to dodge it, as it might trigger a trap. This was both combat experience and instinct.

But the Poison Cultivator couldn't understand why, after leaping over the halo, he felt as if a layer of his skin had been peeled off.

He hadn't realized who had attacked him yet when Li Banfeng suddenly appeared, his figure flashing past.

"What incredible speed! This must be the Travel Cultivator Green Beggar brought!"

The Poison Cultivator's thoughts raced, and he immediately made a judgment.

The numerous wounds on his body were from the Travel Cultivator's "Treading Through Ten Thousand Rivers" technique.

The opponent was now using the "Viewing Flowers on Horseback" technique; he couldn't let him disappear from sight.

Enduring his injuries, the Poison Cultivator, relying on his extensive combat experience, locked his gaze on Li Banfeng. His right hand immediately swelled, all his poisonous fluid gathering in his palm, ready to deliver a fatal blow to Li Banfeng.

He was a ten-level cultivator, like Jinshi Guo and Tian Dasong, awaiting a great achievement to be promoted to the Cloud Level.

He had self-awareness. He knew he couldn't kill Lüshuigai, nor would the merit of saving Ge Junma be attributed to him.

But if he could kill one of Lüshuigai's helpers, that would be enough to be promoted to the Cloud Level, allowing him to seize the opportunity for the next conferment, and then pass through a halo again...

Another halo...

This halo seemed to drag the Poison Cultivator into a nightmare.

He locked his gaze on Li Banfeng, looking for an opportunity to counterattack while also guarding against Lüshuigai. Unexpectedly, a halo swept past his feet again.

The Poison Cultivator hadn't even figured out where this halo came from when another layer of flesh was peeled off him.

This injury was not light. As his body swayed, the halo suddenly swept back and forth several times under his feet.

One round trip meant two strikes.

Several round trips meant he was repeatedly cut by countless blades over a dozen times. The Poison Cultivator was covered in wounds and temporarily unable to move.

Li Banfeng used the "Heart Like an Arrow Returning Home" technique, hooking the Poison Cultivator's skull with a sickle and dragging him back to his Portable Dwelling.

"Wife, this is a Poison Cultivator," he said. "It's a bit spicy, so eat slowly."

The Phonograph, too worried to eat, replied, "Husband, the battlefield is dangerous. You must be extremely careful."