Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 90 A Life Full of Twists and Turns

The three of them, Fu Lu Shou, crouched low and carefully crawled out of the hidden tunnel exit.

Looking up, they saw a bright moon in the sky, casting a silvery glow over the three of them.

As the three of them gazed at the moonlight, they all felt as if they were in another world.

A few days ago, they were ambushed by a red-banded snake in their cave.

The moment the venom entered their bodies, the three fell into a coma. In their hazy state, they seemed to see a large, red-striped snake flicking its scarlet tongue at them.

They thought they were going to die, but when they woke up from their coma, they were simply taken underground.

Fu Lu Shou and his companions met the leader of the Crimson Serpent Sect.

They thought they would suffer inhuman torture such as being skinned and having their bones broken, but the other party seemed to have no intention of harming them. They were simply assigned to the hatching pool to feed the red-banded snakes.

This was already baffling enough for the three of them, but what was even more incomprehensible was that the Crimson Serpent Demon Sect actually paid wages, and was extremely generous with them.

Cangzhu was distributed like money was free; he received money for every day he worked.

Fu Lu Shou and his companions initially felt that the guards were not very tight and were only thinking about finding an opportunity to escape.

But when they received their wages on the first day, they stared blankly at the several thousand pieces of Azure Pearl.

I don't know where the Crimson Serpent Demon Sect got so many Azure Pearls from, and why they are paying these prisoners so much money.
There must be a conspiracy, there must be a problem, there must be someone trying to harm people... but they gave too much.

Fu Lu Shou and the other two had never seen so many Azure Pearls before, and coincidentally, Chang Shou needed a large number of Azure Pearls to buy Vajra Powder, which was his hope for survival.

So, whatever the conspiracy, let's just keep working. Changshou also comforted his two brothers, saying, "Let's gather more information here so we can send word when we leave."

Many things just need an excuse. Lu Fusheng and Hou Lu knew exactly what their brother was thinking, but they couldn't very well say to Chang Shou, "Brother, just accept your fate."

There is great terror between life and death; no one can escape this calamity.

Changshou, now with hope of survival, worked with extra diligence.

He no longer thought about the harm his hatched red-banded snakes would cause, or how many people would be captured and forced into hard labor underground like him.

Chang Shou only wanted to earn Azure Pearls, buy Vajra Powder, and then survive.

Only when his storage bag was almost full of Azure Pearls did Chang Shou begin to think about how to leave. After all, no matter how much money he earned, his lifespan was gradually fading away, and having money without the life to enjoy it was meaningless.

Just then, the Lord approached the three of them and let them leave.

This order was so unusual, it was as if they had been captured just to find an excuse to give them the Azure Pearl.

Could it be that there are good people among the villains?
The three men, Fu Lu Shou, couldn't understand it, but they had no reason to refuse.

They walked uphill with trepidation, fearing that halfway up the mountain the Lord would jump out and say, "You're just kidding, leave your lives behind."

However, the three of them encountered no obstacles on their way to the ground, and even the red-banded snakes they encountered along the way seemed uninterested in them.

They saw the light of day again, were reborn, and returned home laden with rewards.

Fu Lu Shou felt as if this experience was a dream. Now, relieved, the three of them couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Hou Lu laughed and said, "I knew it! Changing our names would be useful. From this day forward, the three of us brothers will be blessed with great fortune."

Chang Shou nodded repeatedly, saying, "You really shouldn't disbelieve in matters of luck."

If I hadn't changed my original name, I wouldn't have had the chance to live to this day, and I wouldn't have had this extraordinary encounter.

Although Lü Fusheng was happy for his brother, he still felt uneasy. He asked Changshou, "Brother Chang, now that we're out of trouble, what should we do next? The Lord gave us the task of reporting to the five major sects."

Upon hearing this, both Changshou and Houlu stopped smiling.

Although he now possesses a large sum of money and has the hope of extending his lifespan, he has ultimately fallen into this conspiracy.

As the mastermind behind it all, it was impossible for the Venerable Lord to be truly compassionate and help these poor, wandering cultivators. But the three of them racked their brains and still couldn't figure out what he was up to.

If you go to report to the five major sects without knowing anything, what if you really help the Lord harm someone?

Before, I could comfort myself by saying that I had no choice, but now that I have regained my freedom, I can't continue to do things according to the Lord's orders.

After thinking for a moment, Lü Fusheng suggested, "Why don't we go find Brother Chen? Didn't he say he was staying temporarily at the Qinghe Sword Sect's headquarters? The Qinghe Sword Sect is one of the five major sects, so we can't go wrong by going to them."

The Qinghe Sword Sect has an excellent reputation; if we ask them to uphold justice, there shouldn't be any problems.

Chang Shou agreed without hesitation: "Good idea, Brother Chen is trustworthy."

When they parted, Chen Ye left them over a thousand Azure Pearls. They were all just strangers who had met by chance, so this gift was quite precious.

In the eyes of Fu Lu Shou, if Chen Ye had changed his name to something similar to theirs, they would have been half-brothers.

After the three of them made a plan, they each took out their magical treasures and flew towards the Qinghe Sword Sect's headquarters.

After flying only halfway, Lü Fusheng sensed something was wrong and said to his two brothers, "Don't you guys think Baihai Valley is a bit too quiet tonight?"

Chang Shou looked around and frowned, saying, "Indeed, we haven't encountered many people along the way. We passed Qingyunfang just now, and it didn't seem like we saw much light there either."

Logically speaking, regardless of day or night, one would inevitably encounter other cultivators while traversing the Hundred Seas Valley.

However, the three of them, Fu Lu Shou, rode their magical treasures and flew swiftly through the air for quite a distance without encountering any other cultivators. Looking into the distance, the mountains rose and fell, the dense forests were deep and secluded, just as they always had, only now they were much darker.

No magical artifacts flew across the night sky, and no one was practicing spells; the entire Hundred Seas Valley was eerily quiet.

Just as they were wondering, several beams of light appeared in the distance.

The three breathed a sigh of relief; at least they had encountered someone. Otherwise, they would have really thought that something had happened to Hundred Seas Valley, turning it into a desolate wasteland.

But before the three could rejoice for long, the distant light took a sharp turn and flew towards them.

Fu Lu Shou and his companions sensed something was wrong; they seemed to be coming on strong.

The three hurriedly activated their magical artifacts, trying to get far away, but they couldn't escape at all; the opponent was coming straight for them.

"Oh no, we're being caught!"

Chang Shou, with the highest cultivation level, could tell at a glance that the opponent's magic weapon was powerful and its flight speed far surpassed that of the three of them.

The three had just returned from underground, carrying a large sum of money. Seeing the strange situation in Baihai Valley and encountering people blocking their way, they were all filled with unease.

"Brothers, prepare to meet the enemy!"

The three, Fu, Lu, and Shou, formed the Three Powers Formation, circulating their spiritual energy, ready to engage in combat at any moment.

When the light came closer, the three of them, Fu Lu Shou, saw the appearance of the person and their expressions changed drastically.

The one in the lead was none other than Wei Changsheng, a disciple of the Incense Burning Sect.

Behind Wei Changsheng were seven or eight other cultivators, all disciples of righteous sects. Apart from the Qinghe Sword Sect, the other four sects were all present.

Wei Changsheng narrowed his eyes, feeling that one of them looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn't immediately recall where he had seen him before.

Since he didn't remember, he probably wasn't an important person. Wei Changsheng then asked in an interrogative tone, "What are you three doing here?"

Lu Fusheng quickly said, "The three of us brothers originally intended to visit friends at the Qinghe Sword Sect's headquarters, but we were just passing through."

"Qinghe Sword Sect? Visiting friends?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Changsheng immediately remembered.

Upon entering Baihai Valley, I saw this rogue cultivator chatting and drinking tea with Chen Ye in the pavilion, suggesting that he had some connection with Chen Ye.

The thought of Chen Ye filled Wei Changsheng with rage.

He went to so much trouble to obtain the secret techniques of the Heavenly Book, only to have it handed over to Mo Suixin in the end. His immense achievement went to someone else; he not only destroyed his natal magic weapon and suffered severe humiliation, but in the end, he gained nothing at all.

Not only that, the head of the Changsheng Hall also gave him a severe scolding, and he probably will never have another chance to compete for the position of chief of the Changsheng Hall.

It's all Chen Ye's fault!
Since they are Chen Ye's friends, they can only blame their bad luck.

"You three, don't you know the rules of the valley? You're not allowed to wander around after nightfall. I see you're acting suspiciously; have you already been bitten by the red-banded snake?"

Wei Changsheng originally intended to scare Fu Lu Shou and the other two and teach them a lesson.

Unexpectedly, after hearing his words, all three of them became flustered.

Upon seeing this, Wei Changsheng immediately ordered, "You three, don't move!" Then he made a gesture to the people behind him.

A disciple of the Incense Burning Sect released several glowing insects. The insects circled in mid-air a few times before flying towards the three of them.

The three were puzzled and dared not make any rash moves until the insect landed on them, at which point their expressions changed drastically.

Because the insects were located at the exact spot where they had been bitten by the red-banded snake.

Wei Changsheng laughed heartily and said smugly, "I was right! Arrest them all!"

Lu Fusheng quickly said, "Wait, we were just about to report this to the Qinghe Sword Sect..."

However, Wei Changsheng and the righteous disciples behind him did not give them a chance to explain. Dozens of talismans flew out and surrounded the three of them.

Chains formed from spiritual energy flew out of the talisman and bound the three of them tightly.

Fu Lu Shou and the other two did try to fight back, but Wei Changsheng's side had more people, higher cultivation levels, and better magic weapons, so they easily subdued the three of them.

To prevent them from struggling, they also took away their storage bags and magical artifacts.

Chang Shou roared, "Give it back to me! Are you the Incense Burning Sect or bandits?!"

Wei Changsheng sneered, "Stubbornly resisting, I think you have something to hide. There must be something shady in this storage bag, right?"

When Wei Changsheng opened the storage bags, he was stunned to see tens of thousands of Azure Pearls inside.

Even Wei Changsheng was a little envious of this quantity.

A faint, foul odor wafted over, and Wei Changsheng immediately recognized it as the smell of a red-banded snake.

He had been taking turns patrolling these past few days and was already familiar with the smell of the red-banded snakes. These three must have had contact with a large number of red-banded snakes, otherwise there wouldn't be such a strong smell.

Unexpectedly, I caught a big fish.

(End of this chapter)