May I seek good fortune and avoid misfortune, and live a long and prosperous life.

And so it went, day after day, year after year, and two years passed quickly.

Li Heng's cultivation has finally advanced to the fourth level of Qi Refining. Once all the spiritual energy in his body has been refined into solidified spiritual energy, he can break through to the fifth level of Qi Refining.

Over the past two years, thanks to Li Heng's caution, his life has remained relatively stable, consisting of a daily routine of shuttling between Baicao Pavilion and his own cave dwelling.

Every now and then, neighbor Su Changsheng would come over to catch up with Li Heng. However, since Li Heng always came back relatively late, Su Changsheng usually chose to visit Li Heng after 9 PM.

Su Changsheng's cultivation speed was not as fast as Li Heng's. In the past two years, he was still at the late stage of the second level of Qi Refining. His aptitude was four spiritual roots, and he did not have resources to assist his cultivation, so it was foreseeable that his cultivation speed would be extremely slow.

One day, Baicao Pavilion needed to be renovated, so Li Heng did not go to Baicao Pavilion and instead cultivated in his own cave.

Suddenly, he heard a pleading voice coming from the next cave.

"Su Changsheng, this year's protection fee is fifty spirit stones. If you can't pay, don't blame the Black Fiend Gang for being ruthless!"

"Sir, could you please grant me a month's grace? The few acres of spirit fields I rented will not be ready for harvest for another month. When that time comes, I will sell the spirit rice and exchange it for spirit stones, then I will have money to give to you, sir."

"Hmph, then I'll give you another month. If you still can't pay the protection fee by then, you'll have to work for the Black Fiend Gang as unpaid errand boys for three years!"

Then, the Black Fiend Gang member arrived at Li Heng's cave and shouted, "Is Li Heng the owner of this cave? Is he here?"

Li Heng then stepped out of the cave and said:

"I am Li Heng."

This member of the Black Fiend Gang was named Yan Bao, and he was at the fourth level of Qi Refining. He looked Li Heng up and down and found that he was only a second-level Qi Refining cultivator. His expression instantly turned disdainful.

Yan Bao was a master at judging people by their appearance. Seeing that Li Heng's cultivation level was low, he spoke in an unfriendly tone:

"You settled here two years ago, and the free period has now ended. This year's protection fee is fifty spirit stones, which you should pay! Otherwise, our Black Fiend Gang will have no obligation to protect you, and if anything happens to you, it will not be our responsibility."

After a moment's consideration, Li Heng decided to pay him protection money for the time being. Fifty spirit stones was something he could easily come up with.

Moreover, he already had free discarded pills, so he needed fewer spirit stones and was quite well-off.

He's not very powerful yet, so let's pay him off for a few years first to avoid all sorts of trouble coming our way. Once he's stronger, we'll eliminate this Black Fiend Gang.

Yan Bao was unaware that his Black Fiend Gang had been added to Li Heng's list of targets to be eliminated.

The destruction of the Black Fiend Gang is only a matter of time.

"Fifty spirit stones, right? Here you go. I hope your Black Fiend Gang will really do something for us rogue cultivators after taking the money and protect our lives!"

After saying that, Li Heng took out fifty spirit stones and handed them to Yan Bao.

Yan Bao accepted the spirit stones and readily agreed, "Of course! Our Black Fiend Gang is one of the three major gangs in the outer region of Crimson Cloud Mountain. Who would dare to disrespect us?"

"However, if you go out and offend people, courting death, then it's none of our Black Fiend Gang's business. I advise you not to go out this year, or you might bring disaster upon yourself. The outer area of ​​Crimson Cloud Mountain is not safe now, hehe."

After saying that, Yan Bao transformed into a streak of black light and disappeared across the sky.

After Yan Bao left, Li Heng arrived outside Su Changsheng's cave and said, "Fellow Daoist Su, may I have a meeting?"

Inside the cave, Su Changsheng recognized Li Heng's voice and felt instantly relieved. He immediately replied, "Fellow Daoist Li, please wait a moment, I'll be right out."

After a short while, Su Changsheng emerged from the cave. He looked extremely haggard, and his long hair was disheveled, indicating that he had not washed or groomed himself for several days.

"Fellow Daoist Su, are you facing any difficulties? Is there anything I can do to help you?" Li Heng asked tentatively.

He knew that Su Changsheng was troubled by spirit stones, and he felt that as a neighbor, he should lend him a hand. Fortunately, he still had plenty of spirit stones, so helping him out wouldn't be a problem.

After all, Su Changsheng had explained many important things to him after he arrived here, giving him a general understanding of the outer area of ​​Chixia Mountain.

Being grateful and repaying kindness is Li Heng's consistent principle in life.

Su Changsheng then sighed and said:

"A few days ago, when I was farming at the Evil Tiger Gate, a short, fat spirit farmer bullied others and accused a lame spirit farmer of stealing his spirit rice seeds. I knew that the lame spirit farmer hadn't stolen them, so I spoke up for him."

As a result, I offended the short, stout spirit farmer named Wang Quan, who was a relative of an outer sect manager from the Evil Tiger Sect—a clear case of connections. Wang Quan then went to his relative, and the outer sect manager deliberately found an excuse to fine me one hundred spirit stones.

"Sigh, I've spent a lot of spirit stones on cultivation lately, and now I'm penniless. To make matters worse, it's time to pay the protection fee for the year. Right now, I can only wait until the spirit fields are harvested and I sell the harvested spirit stones to pay the Black Fiend Gang. In this world, survival is just too difficult."

After listening to Su Changsheng's complaints, Li Heng felt a mix of emotions. He could completely understand Su Changsheng's situation. The living conditions of rogue cultivators at the bottom were really harsh. They were exploited by those above and could easily lose everything and become slaves to those gangs.

"Fellow Daoist Su, I have fifty spirit stones here. Take them to pay the protection fee first, and pay me back when you have more money later."

After saying that, Li Heng took out fifty spirit stones from his pocket and handed them to Su Changsheng.

Su Changsheng was stunned. He never expected that Li Heng would lend him spirit stones without any conditions. He only needed to repay Li Heng when he had enough money in the future.

"Fellow Daoist Li, you yourself need spirit stones, right? You don't need to pity me. I will handle my own affairs. We are both low-level rogue cultivators and know each other well. These spirit stones are also earned by you through hard work. I cannot use your spirit stones. I appreciate your kindness."

Li Heng wanted to persuade him again, but Su Changsheng's mind was made up. No matter what, he refused to accept Li Heng's spirit stones.

Li Heng could only offer a few words of encouragement before leaving.

"Su Changsheng may be poor, but he still has his pride. However, this pride will ultimately ruin him. A true man should be able to bend and stretch in order to achieve great things. If Su Changsheng is so hesitant and indecisive, his life will only end like this," Li Heng sighed.

……

half a month later.

Li Heng was cultivating in his cave when suddenly a loud noise came from nearby.

Li Heng hurriedly went out of the cave to investigate.

Su Changsheng was lying in front of his cave, his clothes torn and his body covered in wounds.

Blood kept spilling from his mouth, his expression was blank, and he was on the verge of death.

Two burly men dressed in black stood a few feet away from Su Changsheng, their expressions indifferent. Each of them had a tiger embroidered on the upper left corner of their clothes.