The Overlord of Puluo

Chu Shaoqiang had brought five helpers with him, but in the blink of an eye, the Spycraft Cultivator and the Mud Cultivator were both dead, while the Poison Cultivator had vanished without a trace.

Chu Shaoqiang was still locked in fight with He Jiaqing. Fighting a Thievery Cultivator meant he had to be extremely cautious whenever he used an enchanted artifact, yet despite everything that had happened, he remained very calm.

Greenwater Beggar found that strange. Why was Chu Shaoqiang still so calm? Perhaps it was because the Fire Cultivator and the Devotion Cultivator were still alive. With those two backing him up, Chu Shaoqiang still had reason to feel confident.

A Devotion Cultivator's abilities were difficult to predict, and with the Fire Cultivator covering him, he could easily catch an opponent off guard with an unexpected move.

The Fire Cultivator, meanwhile, could use his flames to suppress the pathogens in Greenwater Beggar's body. Otherwise, as long as the pathogens remained active, the others would have virtually no chance of getting close to him.

However, anyone who thought Greenwater Beggar could only kill with his pathogens was seriously underestimating the founding cultivator of Disease Cultivation.

Greenwater Beggar had not earned such a fearsome reputation in Puluo Province, nor taken control of its largest city, by relying on just one trick. He was capable of so much more.

As the flames came rushing toward him, Greenwater Beggar gave a sharp sniff and sneezed twice.

The sneezes brought a sudden gale with them, scattering most of the flames created by the Fire Cultivator.

The Fire Cultivator was not surprised by Greenwater Beggar's way of defending himself. He kept the flames coming, using them to create an opening for the Devotion Cultivator to strike.

Suddenly, smoke began rising from Greenwater Beggar's body. His temperature soared, drying every trace of pus, sweat, and tears from him.

His skin flushed red, glowing like heated iron. The filthy rags hanging from his body caught fire and, within moments, burned away to ash.

Burning with fever, Greenwater Beggar charged straight at the Fire Cultivator.

The Fire Cultivator hurriedly raised a wall of flames to stop Greenwater Beggar, but he could not understand what Greenwater Beggar was trying to do. If he meant to force his way through the fire and close the distance, he should have lowered his body temperature. Better yet, he should have covered himself in a layer of ice.

So why had he heated himself up like this?

Greenwater Beggar charged straight through the flames without blocking, dodging, or even slowing his pace.

By the time he reached the Fire Cultivator, the answer became clear.

Greenwater Beggar had deliberately altered the condition of his own body. By harming himself and driving his temperature into a raging fever, he forced his body to adapt to extreme heat from the inside out, allowing him to fight calmly even in the middle of the flames.

What kind of lunatic fighting style was this? the Fire Cultivator thought. He concentrated his power on Greenwater Beggar's weak points, choosing his eyes first.

Yet under the scorching heat, Greenwater Beggar's pupils gleamed like polished porcelain. His vision was completely unaffected.

Greenwater Beggar reached for the Fire Cultivator's throat and gave a sharp tug, ripping away a clump of flame.

Oh no! The Fire Seeds!

The Fire Cultivator's expression changed drastically, and he retreated again and again.

Every ability a Fire Cultivator possessed came from the Fire Seeds within their body. Each increase in cultivation level would add another Fire Seed, so a level-ten Fire Cultivator had exactly ten.

Those Fire Seeds were the foundation of a Fire Cultivator's power. Once one was extinguished, it could take anywhere from several days to several months to rekindle.

Destroying the Fire Seeds was therefore the most effective way to deal with a Fire Cultivator. The problem was getting close enough to do it. The usual approach was to keep them occupied with ranged attacks while looking for an opportunity to strike at their Fire Seeds.

Who would have thought that Greenwater Beggar would risk his own life and actually force his way close to the Fire Cultivator?

The Fire Seed in his throat had already been extinguished. Before the Fire Cultivator could react, Greenwater Beggar reached for his forehead and tore out another clump of flame.

A second Fire Seed was extinguished.

The Fire Cultivator fell into a panic, unable to decide whether to attack or defend.

The Devotion Cultivator scooped up a handful of wet mud from the ground and hurled it at Greenwater Beggar.

The mud would help cool Greenwater Beggar down. It did not matter how much good it actually did. As long as it counted as assistance, the Devotion Cultivator would be entitled to demand payment from him.

However, the flames were simply too hot. Halfway through the air, the wet mud dried into ash, and Greenwater Beggar easily dodged it.

The Devotion Cultivator cupped a lump of wet mud in his palm and prepared to rush in and smear it onto Greenwater Beggar. It was very dangerous, but he decided to take the risk.

Greenwater Beggar was still engulfed in flames, so the pathogens on his body had surely been burned away. There should no longer be any risk of infection from approaching him.

And if the Devotion Cultivator could successfully smear the mud onto him, the payoff was obvious. If he could seize control of Greenwater Beggar in a situation like this and join forces with the Fire Cultivator, they might have a chance to kill him.

Unlike Greenwater Beggar, however, the Devotion Cultivator had no special means of enduring the flames. Forcing his way in at close range cost him dearly, and burns soon covered him from head to toe.

Just as he was about to smear the mud onto Greenwater Beggar, He Jiaqing suddenly appeared beside him and splashed him with water.

How did He Jiaqing get over here? Wasn't he fighting Chu Shaoqiang?

Chu Shaoqiang was already hurrying after him. He Jiaqing had suddenly broken away from the fight, and he was simply too fast for Chu Shaoqiang to keep up.

But where had that water come from? He Jiaqing had used a Water Cultivator ability.

For a Thievery Cultivator, knowing a Water Cultivator ability was nothing unusual. What the Devotion Cultivator could not understand was why He Jiaqing had splashed the water on him.

What happened next was something the Devotion Cultivator never could have imagined.

He Jiaqing said, "You accepted my water, so now you have to listen to me. Stay right where you are."

The Devotion Cultivator froze. He could not move. He Jiaqing knew Devotion Cultivator abilities too!

Greenwater Beggar suddenly spun around, grabbed the Devotion Cultivator by the crown of his head, and twisted hard. With a brutal wrench, he tore the man's head clean off, then ripped the headless body into several clumps.

The Fire Cultivator tried to rush over and help, but He Jiaqing used Stonepiercing Water Droplets to extinguish six of his Fire Seeds in rapid succession.

The Fire Cultivator did not dare move again.

He had ten fire seeds in his body to begin with. Greenwater Beggar had extinguished two of them, and He Jiaqing had extinguished another six, leaving him with only two. Most of his abilities were now unusable, and he could no longer even unleash flame

By the time Chu Shaoqiang caught up, Greenwater Beggar's body temperature had already gone back to normal, allowing the pathogens to multiply again. He covered the Fire Cultivator's entire body in festering sores.

There was no saving the Fire Cultivator. In mere moments, his body rotted away into chunks of flesh scattered across the ground.

All five of Chu Shaoqiang's helpers had been wiped out.

Chu Shaoqiang remained remarkably calm, with no apparent intention of fleeing.

Greenwater Beggar looked at him. "We have known each other for a while, after all. Go. I will let you leave here alive."

Cedric grew anxious the moment he heard this. Why is founding cultivator going soft on him? Why is he suddenly bringing up their past relationship? Didn't Greenwater Beggar always want Chu Shaoqiang dead?

Cedric's thoughts raced as he tried to make sense of it, and soon the pieces began to fall into place.

Greenwater Beggar did indeed want Chu Shaoqiang dead, but he wanted the Ink Fragrance Shop more.

After burning himself into such a state just now, Greenwater Beggar had lost a considerable amount of combat strength. And beyond the physical damage he had suffered, there was no way his pathogens could fully recover in a short period of time.

He wanted to preserve his fighting strength for Murong Gui and Ge Junma, so he decided to let Chu Shaoqiang go for now.

Cedric greatly admired the founder's wisdom, but he could not understand why the founder wanted Ink Fragrance Shop.

Ink Fragrance Shop was nowhere near Greenwater Bay, and when it came to human presence, it could not compare to Greenwater Bay at all.

Is he really trying to leave He Jiaqing something to build on? Is the founding cultivator really that generous?

Cedric could not guess the reason, nor did he particularly care. What really concerned him was the fight before them. If the two sides stopped fighting now, it would be much harder to send the founding cultivator on his way, and Cedric would lose his chance to fish in troubled waters.

Cedric was just beginning to feel disappointed, but Chu Shaoqiang had no intention of leaving.

He looked at He Jiaqing and smiled. "You can perform Water Cultivator abilities and Devotion Cultivator abilities. You even dared to fight a Fire Cultivator at close range just now, so I would guess you know some Fire Cultivator abilities as well."

He Jiaqing nodded. "Sharp eyes, Uncle Shaoqiang. But there is no need to pay so much attention to it. By tomorrow, there is no telling which cultivation path's abilities I might know."

"No need to wait until tomorrow. We will settle this today."

As soon as Chu Shaoqiang finished speaking, the character "Hide" appeared behind him.

The character vanished, and a middle-aged man slowly emerged from the darkness. He wore a dark blue changshan and held a folding fan in one hand.

Greenwater Beggar's cheek twitched. He recognized the man.

He Jiaqing knew the man even better. His name was He Caiyuan, He Haiqin's father, He Jiaqing's grandfather, and the founder of the He family's fortunes.

He Caiyuan had been dead for ten years. As far as He Jiaqing remembered, he had still been a level-eight Literary Cultivator when he died. Yet now, completely unexpectedly, he had appeared before He Jiaqing.

"Grandpa, what are you..." He Jiaqing did not even know what to say.

He Caiyuan smiled. "Jiaqing, you have got some impressive skills. Knowing the family has a capable young man like you puts my mind at ease."

"Thank you for the praise." That was all He Jiaqing could think to say.

He Caiyuan waved a hand. "That wasn't flattery. I was only telling the truth. When I was your age, my cultivation was nowhere near yours.

"I have been watching from the side this whole time, and I have memorized quite a few of your tricks. I don't feel particularly good about scheming against one of my own juniors like this. However, the new generation always rises to overtake the old. Plenty of old fellows like me have been brought down by their own juniors, so there are some things you simply have to guard against."

No wonder Chu Shaoqiang had been so calm. He still had someone so powerful backing him up.

The five level-ten cultivators Chu Shaoqiang had brought with him were all meant to be sacrificed. Their first purpose was to weaken Greenwater Beggar and He Jiaqing, and their second was to let He Caiyuan study their opponents and plan his strategy.

Greenwater Beggar gritted his teeth. "You old bastard. You are still as shameless as ever."

He Caiyuan frowned slightly. "Greenwater Beggar, we will deal with our business later. Let me finish handling this family matter first.

"Jiaqing, you were the one who sent Haiqin to the Holy Land, weren't you?"

The Holy Land was what some people called the Inner Provinces.

He Jiaqing did not answer.

He Caiyuan smiled. "You don't need to worry. You didn't do anything wrong. Once your cultivation reaches that level, going to the Holy Land to continue cultivating is the proper path.

"Haiqin has been through some hardships, and they have done him some good. He's become much more steady. I used what little influence this old face of mine still carries to secure him a decent position. It won't be long before Haiqin reaches the Cloudborne Layer. As for whether he comes back to serve as a land deity or stays in the Holy Land and continues working there, we can decide that later."

From the way He Caiyuan spoke, it was not difficult to tell that he was somebody important in the Inner Provinces. Quite possibly, his ranking was even higher than Chu Shaoqiang.

He Caiyuan opened his folding fan and gave it a few slow flicks. Then the smile slipped from his face. "However, there are some things you truly did get wrong. You had no business sticking your foot into this muddy mess today. You are young, your cultivation is excellent, and you should put that talent to work on family matters. Yuxiu simply isn't made to lead the family. Heed your grandfather's advice and go home now."

He Jiaqing stayed exactly where he was. He Caiyuan snapped his folding fan shut.

"When an elder gives you advice, you listen!"

The character "Listen" appeared in the night sky and shot straight at He Jiaqing.

He Jiaqing dodged with everything he had. The character "Listen" burst apart beside him, triggering his Spycraft Cultivator ability and causing a sharp, relentless ringing to fill his one good ear.

Festering sores swelled all over Greenwater Beggar's body as he braced himself for a fight to the death.

He Caiyuan's expression darkened as he looked at Greenwater Beggar. "As for you, I will give you one way to stay alive. If you want to keep breathing, get back to Greenwater City, hand over the deed as soon as possible, and go to the Holy Land to beg for your forgiveness."

Author's Note:

PS: The water is getting muddier, but this fish is getting more difficult to catch.