Chapter 654: Inner State Boundary

Deep in the night, Zhao Xiaowan pursed her lips, suppressing a smile, listening to the argument in the second room.

Ban Feng Yi was sobbing softly in the second room: "Brother, you have to help me with this; I'm truly too wronged."

"Brother, what trouble have you gotten into this time?"

"What do you mean I got into trouble? I went to help him fight. At a critical moment, I used 'A Farewell of Ten Thousand Miles.' Was that wrong? After the battle, he turned against me and even beat me up again. How wronged I am!"

"Brother, the 'A Farewell of Ten Thousand Miles' technique shouldn't be used lightly. If used improperly, it can harm people. Did you warn him beforehand when you used it?"

"Warn him? How can you think about all that during a battle? Besides, when I used 'A Farewell of Ten Thousand Miles,' he fainted on his side. Who could have foreseen that? In no way should this be blamed on me!"

"This time, it really is your fault, brother. Let bygones be bygones; don't dwell on it. Get some rest."

"I can't rest; there's still a ton of stuff to do outside."

"Then go get busy."

"I'm not helping him. Brother, teach me another technique; I'll go fight him to the death!"

"My dear brother, you're putting me in an unjust position!"

"Brother, if you don't teach me a technique, I'm not leaving today! I'll turn this house upside down!"

"My dear brother, don't be hasty. Everything can be discussed..."

It seemed Ban Feng Yi was about to get his way again.

Zhao Xiaowan wasn't sure if Ban Feng Yi truly resented Li Banfeng or if he was just at the second room to trick them into teaching him more techniques.

But there was one thing Ban Feng Yi wasn't lying about: there really was a lot of work to do outside the Portable Residence.

Tan Jinxiao was severely injured. The gourd contained medicinal wine, which Li Banfeng poured down his throat. Tan Jinxiao was currently still in a deep sleep.

All the sailors on the ship had run off, even the cook. Li Banfeng and his companions didn't know the sea routes and weren't sure where to go next.

The most critical issue was that Li Banfeng had spent half a day researching in the engine room but couldn't figure out how to operate the ship. The vessel was stuck there.

Liang Wucai came up with an idea: "There are still several small boats on this ship. Let's row one back."

Xiao Yeci looked around: "Where would we row? We can't even tell north from south."

Li Banfeng checked the galley; food and drink were not a concern, as there was plenty of food onboard.

"You all stay here for now. Once Old Tan wakes up, we'll see if he knows the way. I'll go check the surroundings for a place to dock."

Using his 'Riding the Wind and Clouds' ability, Li Banfeng flew a circuit over the sea and indeed found a few small islands.

He drew a map, roughly marking the positions of the islands. By the time he returned to the ship, Old Tan had also woken up.

"Master Seven, this is the deep sea. I know many places, but I'm not good with directions. From your map, this island should be Yu Xiang Island. If we can go there, it would be ideal."

"We can go!" Li Banfeng nodded. "I recognize this place."

The group packed enough food and drink, then rowed two small boats all the way to the island.

Although Li Banfeng's map was poorly drawn, his talent as a travel cultivator ensured the locations were marked accurately. The small island they arrived at was indeed Yu Xiang Island.

The island's main specialty was fish. Various edible fish from the surrounding waters were farmed there. Yu Xiang Island also had many famous chefs, each with unique culinary skills for preparing fish. Eating on the island meant fish every day, every meal, and one never grew tired of it.

Xiao Yeci, Liang Wucai, Juanzi, and Tan Jinxiao all loved fish, so this place was perfect for them.

However, this place wasn't quite suitable for Li Banfeng, as he didn't eat fish.

Li Banfeng arranged for the others to stay on the island. He bought dozens of nautical charts from a merchant and began studying them. In the evening, he flew back to the passenger ship, opened his Portable Residence, and brought his wife out.

The phonograph walked around the ship, paying particular attention to the engine room.

"My dear husband, the machinery on this ship isn't complicated. Your humble servant can get the ship running; it just requires a few more people to help."

Li Banfeng waved his hand, summoning over a dozen shadows, and assigned each a role.

Li Banfeng became the captain, his wife the first mate, Ban Feng Bing the second mate, Ban Feng Ding the chief engineer, Ban Feng Wu the stoker, the others became crew members, and Ban Feng Yi became the general hand.

After carefully studying the nautical charts, Li Banfeng personally took the helm. Under his wife's command, he piloted the passenger ship towards the border line.

His wife had also finished calibrating the Shadow Bridge Cannon: "My dear husband, we agreed that this trip is just for scouting. We mustn't venture too deep."

"Don't worry, my dear wife. Your husband is not a reckless man!"

The passenger ship sailed for three full days. Li Banfeng ordered a halt, and a group of shadows stood on the deck, gazing into the distance. The sea remained calm and uneventful; nothing appeared different.

Ban Feng Yi swam a circle in the sea, then came ashore, shaking his head: "There are no fish underwater."

Li Banfeng didn't believe him: "Not a single one?"

Ban Feng Yi shook his head: "I've swum several circles, and I haven't seen a single one."

Ban Feng Bing also went for a swim; there were indeed no fish underwater. The phonograph said, "My dear husband, there have always been plenty of fish in this sea, but they suddenly disappeared here. Your humble servant estimates the boundary is just ahead."

The exact location of the boundary here was difficult to determine. Li Banfeng flew into the air, cautiously probing forward.

His wife was somewhat worried: "My dear husband, please don't go. Let your humble servant think of another way."

There were other methods, but all of them carried some risk. Li Banfeng threw a kitchen chopping block towards the boundary. The chopping block flew dozens of meters before landing on the sea surface, proving the boundary was still far away.

Ban Feng Yi snorted, "Such a waste! He threw away the chopping block. What will we use to chop vegetables now?"

Ban Feng Bing looked at Ban Feng Yi: "Don't we not need to eat vegetables anyway?"

Ban Feng Yi retorted angrily, "Is that all your cultivation amounts to? Only thinking about yourself?"

Li Banfeng picked up the chopping block and continued probing forward, with his wife following behind, piloting the ship.

After advancing over three hundred meters and probing about a dozen times, the chopping block disintegrated into a cloud of dust in mid-air.

The boundary was right ahead, but when Li Banfeng looked across it, he still saw a cave and the ocean, indistinguishable from before.

The shadows had the Shadow Bridge Cannon ready. His wife entered the puppet body, transforming into Zhao Xiaowan.

Calibrating the Shadow Bridge Cannon with Zhao Xiaowan's hands was much more precise. His wife adjusted all the parameters and fired the first shot, casting a shadow onto the sea.

A difficult problem then arose: Did the shadow cover the boundary or not?

The boundary on the sea was invisible, and there was no way to compare if the Shadow Bridge Cannon's shadow was long enough.

Li Banfeng looked at Ban Feng Yi: "I trust you; go give it a try!"

Ban Feng Yi protested, "Why don't you try it?"

His wife was thinking of a solution when she suddenly saw the shadow on the bridge surface disappear.

Li Banfeng checked his pocket watch. From firing the cannon until now, only about twenty seconds had passed. The shadow bridge had only lasted for this short while before disappearing. Under such circumstances, Li Banfeng dared not walk onto the bridge.

His wife was also puzzled. She readjusted the parameters and fired another shot, lengthening the shadow slightly.

This time, the shadow bridge lasted a little longer, over thirty seconds.

Without any further action from Zhao Xiaowan, the shadow bridge disappeared again.

"My dear husband, this sea boundary is too strange. Your humble servant truly hasn't figured it out. Please, absolutely do not walk onto the bridge."

Li Banfeng nodded: "I'll do as my wife says."

The phonograph tried several times back and forth and finally stabilized the shadow bridge. The boundary on the sea indeed had peculiar characteristics: if the shadow bridge was too long, it wouldn't stabilize; if it was too short, it would be even less stable. Only when it perfectly covered the boundary could it remain steady.

Li Banfeng estimated by eye that the shadow cast on the sea was sixteen to seventeen meters long. This was the length of the shadow bridge, and also the width of the boundary.

"My dear wife, please stay on the ship and keep watch. I'll go over and take a look."

Zhao Xiaowan held Li Banfeng's hand, reluctant to let go: "My dear husband, your humble servant would prefer you didn't go. This waterway, your humble servant has never traversed."

Li Banfeng said, "My dear wife, have you ever been to Neizhou?"

"I should have been to Neizhou, but your humble servant truly cannot recall. Just thinking about it used to drive me mad, and even now, I only remember that Neizhou holds endless dangers. Husband, can you not go? Let your humble servant think of a safer path. Or, if you truly wish to go to Neizhou, you could discuss it with the Luo sisters and have them take you, so you'll have someone to look out for you on the way."

Li Banfeng shook his head: "If I go with them, everything I see will be what Neizhou wants me to see. If I get a travel permit from the Customs and Defense Office, everything I see will be what Waizhou wants me to see. This trip, I must go alone; otherwise, I won't see anything useful."

"Husband!" Zhao Xiaowan embraced Li Banfeng. She was genuinely reluctant to let him go.

Li Banfeng left a simple phone for Zhao Xiaowan and turned to enter the shadow bridge. Zhao Xiaowan meticulously controlled the Shadow Bridge Cannon's parameters until Li Banfeng emerged from the shadow bridge and appeared on the other side of the boundary. Only then did Zhao Xiaowan feel some relief.

There was no solid ground on the other side of the boundary, so Li Banfeng could only hover in mid-air. He planned to fly a circle around the area first. If he couldn't find an island quickly, he would have to walk back across the shadow bridge.

He was waving his hand, about to bid farewell to his wife, when he suddenly saw a wisp of blue smoke rise from the Shadow Bridge Cannon.

His wife glanced over and trembled with fright, quickly adjusting the parameters.

After a round of adjustments, the Shadow Bridge Cannon caught fire directly.

"Husband, come back quickly!" Zhao Xiaowan cried out.

Li Banfeng was about to step onto the shadow bridge when a chill surged up his spine, making him shiver involuntarily.

Guided by his instincts to seek fortune and avoid disaster, Li Banfeng could not step onto the shadow bridge.

The shadow on the boundary fluctuated in length, and the shadow bridge indeed began to change.

"Husband, don't go on the bridge!" Zhao Xiaowan also saw that something was wrong and told Li Banfeng to stay put.

The Shadow Bridge Cannon burst into flames, and the shadow on the boundary disappeared.

The shadow bridge was gone.

Li Banfeng wiped away cold sweat. If he had stepped onto the bridge just now, he would have been trapped in the wormhole.

His wife couldn't reset the parameters on her end, so she had no choice but to turn off the Shadow Bridge Cannon.

After turning it off, she tried to restart it several times, but the Shadow Bridge Cannon wouldn't power on.

His wife opened the casing: "Husband, don't be afraid. Your humble servant can fix this. Your humble servant can definitely... fix it."

His wife's voice was weak.

Inside the casing, everything was severely burnt.

The phonograph had known beforehand that Li Banfeng was going to Neizhou, so many parts on the Shadow Bridge Cannon had been replaced with new ones and thoroughly debugged. It was unclear whether it was due to the unique environment here or some other reason, but such a situation had occurred at a critical moment.

What was to be done now?

Ban Feng Bing and Ban Feng Ding brought over a box of spare parts. Zhao Xiaowan grabbed her tools and quickly began repairing the equipment.

Li Banfeng wasn't idle either, searching all around for islands on the other side of the boundary.

An hour later, Li Banfeng returned to the boundary and shook his head at Zhao Xiaowan.

He hadn't found any islands.

Until he found an island, Li Banfeng would have to keep floating on the sea.

Zhao Xiaowan grew even more anxious, but anxiety was useless; many parts were completely burnt out.

"Husband, don't be afraid, don't be afraid," Zhao Xiaowan tried to force herself to remain calm, but she couldn't.

Although they were quite far apart, Li Banfeng could clearly see the beads of sweat on his wife's face.

Those individual beads of sweat proved that the Shadow Bridge Cannon would not be repaired anytime soon.

Li Banfeng took out the simple phone and connected to his wife's phone through Luo Zhengnan.

Old Luo saw it was a new number and listened carefully after answering.

Li Banfeng's first words startled Old Luo.

"My dear wife, don't worry."

My dear wife?

Luo Zhengnan was stunned. Master Seven had a wife?

A woman's voice came from the other end of the line: "My dear husband, please wait a little longer. I can definitely fix this, it's just that the parts aren't quite complete."

"If parts are missing, have Luo Zhengnan buy them and get them delivered to the ship. I'll go find a place to land. I'll let you know once I find one, so don't worry."

Li Banfeng waved to his wife and disappeared into the night.

Zhao Xiaowan stood at the bow of the ship, gazing for a long time in the direction Li Banfeng had vanished.

Ban Feng Ding offered a word of comfort: "Madam, don't worry. Even if Master Jia can't return, we'll still take care of you."

Ban Feng Wu made a quick calculation: "Madam, I think Master Jia probably won't be able to return. You should think a step further."

Zhao Xiaowan glared darkly at the two shadows.

Ban Feng Ding and Ban Feng Wu each found an excuse and quickly left the deck.

Inside the engine room, the two whispered:

"The madam is even fiercer than Old Jia."

"What a thing to say! Can two different people come from the same bed?"

"But seriously, the puppet Hong Lian made is really good; it can even sweat."

Luo Zhengnan pondered for two whole days, wondering who Master Seven's wife could be.

By the sound of her voice, she certainly wasn't anyone he knew. Her voice was simply too beautiful; even A-Hui from the radio station couldn't compare.

The voice sounded somewhat familiar, as if he'd heard it on a record. Could she be a singing queen?

While Luo Zhengnan was still savoring the thought, Zhao Xiaowan called him the next day.

"Brother Luo, I have a few items I need you to buy for me."

Brother Luo?

Luo Zhengnan's heart did a somersault.

What age of wife had Master Seven found?

On second thought, it didn't matter much. Master Five spent his days with Feng Daiku, and Luo Zhengnan wasn't even sure what generation he counted as in front of Feng Daiku. If this madam called him "Brother Luo," she probably wasn't too old herself.

Zhao Xiaowan recited a list. Anyone else wouldn't have understood the names of these parts, but Luo Zhengnan did; he was an expert.

"Madam, once I've bought the items, where should I deliver them to you?"

"Deliver them to Three-Headed Fork Underground City. We'll get in touch once you reach Seaside Market."

Underground City?

This task wouldn't be easy.

Luo Zhengnan worked efficiently. He already had many parts stored in his warehouse, and for the few missing items, he traveled to Waizhou and bought them.

With everything gathered, Luo Zhengnan obtained a travel permit, leashed a dog, and set off for Three-Headed Fork.

On the train, Zhao Xiaowan called: "Brother Luo, don't go to the underground city alone, or you won't reach Seaside Market. Go to Radish Mountain, find Qiu Zhiheng, and have him make arrangements. You must be careful."

Luo Zhengnan quickly contacted Qiu Zhiheng and briefly explained the situation. Qiu Zhiheng summoned Peach, Qin Xiaopang, Lightbulb, Tangyuan, Zuo Wugang, and Kui Bafang, and personally led these six people to meet Luo Zhengnan on the road.

Before leaving, Chi Liuhe was somewhat concerned about Qin Tianjiu's condition. She packed a few lumps of coal and placed them in Xiaopang's luggage: "Brother, will you be alright?"

Qin Xiaopang himself wasn't sure. He couldn't go a day without eating coal now: "Sister, I'll be fine. You absolutely must not tell anyone about this."

Chi Liuhe further advised, "If you encounter any coal piles on the way, try to eat some. Keep these few lumps for now, and only eat them if there's no other choice."

Luo Zhengnan, holding his travel permit and leading the dog, got off the train and left Sinner's City. He hadn't gone far before he realized he was being followed.

What was happening? Was Waizhou getting involved?

Luo Zhengnan was an old hand and had traveled very discreetly, but there was one thing he couldn't avoid: the travel permit.

To take the train to Three-Headed Fork, one had to disembark at Sinner's City, and to leave Sinner's City, another travel permit was required.

Sinner's City was surrounded by a boundary. Without an exit permit, people couldn't leave the city.

When leaving Sinner's City, a roll call was conducted on the spot, just like the procedure for walking across the boundary in Puro Province.

If Old Luo had used a false name in Sinner's City, he wouldn't have been able to evade the Customs and Defense Office's Virtue Cultivation artifacts.

There was no other option, so Luo Zhengnan had to leave the city using his real name. Now, having just left, he was being followed, which surely had something to do with the Customs and Defense Office.

After circling twice on a small path, Luo Zhengnan shook off his tail, but he knew perfectly well that the person would catch up again soon.

A scouting cultivator's hook was latched onto Luo Zhengnan's back.

The hook had been placed on him in Sinner's City. Luo Zhengnan hadn't been in a hurry to remove it, but now that he had shaken off his pursuer, he took out a tin frog from his satchel, wound it up completely, removed his outer coat, crumpled it into a ball, tied it to the tin frog with a rope, and placed the frog on the ground.

As soon as the tin frog touched the ground, it leaped remarkably high, dragging Luo Zhengnan's coat behind it. With a few bounds and jumps, it disappeared into the woods.

Luo Zhengnan quickly left the small path, switched to the main road, and sped towards Radish Mountain. After traveling for most of the day, as dusk approached, Luo Zhengnan found an abandoned farmhouse and settled in for the night.

It wasn't because he was tired, but because the Heaven's Light outside was gradually increasing. The conditions here were somewhat similar to Hei Huang Beach: less light during the day, more light at night.

Luo Zhengnan fumbled twice on the dog's belly, and the once lively dog stood motionless.

This dog was a mechanical dog made by a mechanical cultivator from Waizhou for Luo Zhengnan. It couldn't scout, fight, or carry luggage.

The dog's only purpose was to attract Heaven's Light within a small range.

Carrying a dog that could attract Heaven's Light in Three-Headed Fork—wasn't that asking for death?

This dog's ability to attract Heaven's Light was very limited. If you drew a sphere with a five-meter radius around it, it could attract all the Heaven's Light within that sphere to itself.

This meant that the Heaven's Light that would have fallen on Luo Zhengnan would instead fall on the dog. Its function was quite similar to a lightning rod.

After a night's sleep, Luo Zhengnan touched the dog's belly again, and the previously motionless dog became lively once more.

Luo Zhengnan led the dog out of the farmhouse. Instantly, over twenty people on horseback surrounded him.

Leading them were two women. One wore a blue top, blue skirt, and a blue cloak. The other woman wore the same attire, but her clothes were red.

The two women not only dressed similarly but also looked alike; without careful discernment, it was hard to tell them apart.

"Brother, may I know your name?" the red-clad woman asked, cupping her fist towards Luo Zhengnan.

Luo Zhengnan returned the gesture: "Ao Kouzi."

"Ao Kouzi" meant 'surname Tang'. Someone named Luo should be called 'Weizi Man'. Luo Zhengnan wasn't telling the truth.

The blue-clad woman said, "Coming to our sisters' territory, what business are you here for?"

Luo Zhengnan smiled: "I'm visiting relatives in Smoked Land."

"Brother, you jest. Who lives in Smoked Land?"

"Someone does. My relative is a Smoke Cultivator, and they just love that smoky air."

"Which Smoke Cultivator practices in Smoked Land? Tell us, and let our sisters gain some knowledge!"

Luo Zhengnan pulled a bag of silver dollars from his pocket: "I'm new here and didn't bring much travel money. Please accept this small token of my regard, and don't ask too many irrelevant questions."

The red-clad woman took the money bag and looked inside. It contained over a hundred silver dollars, which was a considerable sum.

She put the money bag away and shook her head at Luo Zhengnan: "Brother, this isn't enough."

Luo Zhengnan smiled: "Amassing gold and jewels doesn't come from a day's work, and attracting wealth isn't a family business. This gift is merely a token of my goodwill. Are you perhaps hoping to strike it rich from my small gesture?"

The blue-clad woman rode her horse closer to Luo Zhengnan, raised her riding crop, and lightly brushed its tip across his face twice.

"Our sisters don't care for your money. We're interested in you as a person. We two sisters want to be your wives. Do you want us?"

Luo Zhengnan's fingertips rubbed together, electric sparks flowing. He smiled at the blue-clad woman: "I'm just passing through; please make things convenient!"

The red-clad woman came up behind him and softly said, "Brother, we won't let you leave. We insist on keeping you. What do you say?"

Luo Zhengnan's face flushed: "You make it sound like I actually have such good fortune."

"If I say you do, then you do." The blue-clad woman reached out, seemingly intending to pull Luo Zhengnan onto her horse.

Luo Zhengnan actually offered his hand.

The blue-clad woman smiled, grabbed Luo Zhengnan's hand, and prepared to unleash poison.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she gripped Luo Zhengnan's hand, she suddenly felt a tingling numbness in her arm. She tried to throw Luo Zhengnan but couldn't exert any strength and was pulled off her horse by him.

The blue-clad woman fell from her horse. Luo Zhengnan vaulted onto a horse and spurred it to gallop away.

The red-clad woman shouted, "Chase him!"

The blue-clad woman climbed up from the ground, snatched a horse from one of her subordinates, and joined the chase.

Luo Zhengnan glanced back at the blue-clad woman, momentarily unable to determine the identity of this group.

From their behavior, they resembled a group of bandits, but their cultivation seemed off; the blue-clad woman's cultivation was too high.

Having followed Li Banfeng, Luo Zhengnan had consumed many good elixirs. His cultivation had surged in recent days, already nearing the eighth level.

Luo Zhengnan had used a powerful electrical strike on the blue-clad woman just now, yet she had gotten right back up, indicating her high cultivation and robust physique.

After running for a short while, Luo Zhengnan, less familiar with the roads than they were, saw himself about to be surrounded. He pulled out a pair of iron needles, over a foot long, from his pocket.

He usually carried these items, which looked like knitting needles. Luo Zhengnan flicked his wrist, and a bolt of electricity struck a burly man.

The burly man shuddered, fell from his horse, recovered briefly, then remounted and chased after him again.

This physique was also impressive!

These bandits were formidable; were all of them so highly cultivated?

If he continued fighting like this, he'd have no chance to escape. Luo Zhengnan observed the surrounding terrain, planning to find a suitable spot to unleash his most potent technique, when a man suddenly accelerated and caught up to him from behind.

Their horses galloped neck and neck. Luo Zhengnan was about to electrocute the man when he preemptively extended his right hand. With a crunch, he clamped off the head of Luo Zhengnan's horse.

What a huge pincer! This person was a scorpion!

If that pincer had been aimed at Luo Zhengnan, he would certainly have found a way to dodge it, but the horse didn't know how to dodge. Its head was severed, and it collapsed to the ground on the spot.

Luo Zhengnan didn't fall. An electro-cultivator nearing the eighth level wasn't easily dealt with. Riding the horse was for convenience, but he could still escape without it!

Another man caught up to Luo Zhengnan. He didn't use a pincer but suddenly swung his tail.

Luo Zhengnan leaped, narrowly dodging the tail, which left a pit in the ground.

This one was also a scorpion!

A whoosh of wind behind his ear made Luo Zhengnan quickly dodge, narrowly avoiding being hooked by the blue-clad woman. She was also a scorpion.

All these people were scorpions? All body cultivators from the same lineage?

After running for a few minutes, Luo Zhengnan dodged left and right, his stamina almost depleted.

This was bad. He wanted to unleash a powerful technique, but he couldn't.

A man dismounted his horse, rushed ahead, and blocked Luo Zhengnan's path, preparing to end the battle.

Luo Zhengnan was maneuvering around the others and truly hadn't noticed this man. Seeing the distance was right, the man immediately raised his pincer, swung it forcefully, and then lightly brushed it against Luo Zhengnan.

Luo Zhengnan was greatly alarmed; he hadn't managed to dodge that strike.

While fending off the others, he checked his body for any wounds.

No wounds...

No injury, no poison.

What was the meaning of that just now? What kind of technique was that?

Luo Zhengnan had never seen it before!

The name of this technique was 'Flirting and Teasing'.

This wasn't a body cultivation technique; it was a Joy Cultivation technique. The man had just been hit by Qiu Zhiheng's Joy Cultivation technique.

He wasn't the only one affected by the technique; all the bandits' movements became gentle.

It lasted less than ten seconds before the bandits returned to normal.

But it was precisely those ten seconds that allowed Luo Zhengnan to break out of the encirclement.

The red-clad woman shouted, "Chase him!"

A male and a female bandit, mounted on horses, chased after Luo Zhengnan.

Qin Xiaopang suddenly appeared, leaped onto the female bandit's horse, and exhaled a puff of steam towards her from behind.

The female bandit turned and fought with Qin Xiaopang. After a short struggle, she convulsed from the scalding steam, her body shrinking by several sizes as if it had shriveled.

Qin Xiaopang opened his large mouth, crumpled the female bandit into a ball, and swallowed her.

After a burp, Qin Xiaopang extended his right hand, and it transformed into a scorpion pincer.

With a swift swing of the scorpion pincer, so fast that the male bandit had no time to react, Qin Xiaopang clamped off his head.

Qin Xiaopang looked back: "Master Luo, are you alright?"

Luo Zhengnan cupped his fists: "Thanks to Master Qiu and Master Nine, I'm still alive."

Qin Xiaopang looked at the number of bandits, then at Qiu Zhiheng beside him.

Qiu Zhiheng looked at Qin Xiaopang's scorpion pincer and felt something was off.

He had seen this technique before: Hundredfold Devour, Hundredfold Transform, a cornerstone technique of Food Cultivation.

But this technique shouldn't be used so quickly. Whether Qin Tianjiu could even learn this technique with his current cultivation was debatable, and he certainly shouldn't be able to digest things this fast.

Qin Xiaopang extended his hand, manifesting another pincer. Using both pincers, Qin Xiaopang fought with the group of bandits.

Qiu Zhiheng and Luo Zhengnan joined the fight. Peach, Lightbulb, Tangyuan, Zuo Wugang, and Kui Bafang quickly arrived, and the tide of the battle quickly turned.

During the fight, Qin Tianjiu scratched a horse with his scorpion pincer. The horse, startled by the severe pain, bolted. After a couple of steps, its body went numb and weak, and it collapsed.

Was the horse poisoned?

Scorpion pincers weren't poisonous. Why did Qin Tianjiu's scorpion pincer have poison on it?

He ate a scorpion, transformed into a scorpion, and even modified the scorpion's characteristics?

The more Qiu Zhiheng observed, the more perplexed he became.