All the gods began by cultivating the Iron Shirt technique.

"In this desolate wilderness, we were caught in a downpour and sought shelter at this local temple. We never expected to find so many fellow martial artists here. Brothers, we apologize for the intrusion." Sensing the unusual atmosphere inside the temple, Old He clasped his hands in greeting and addressed the group. As he spoke, Old He and the others at the entrance stepped into the temple.

Inside the temple, Yang Pan glanced at the group but didn't respond. He simply looked away and closed his eyes, seemingly falling back asleep.

The group opposite them all looked at Wei Hong, who seemed to have no ill intentions. They had even sat down in the middle of the earth god temple. Wei Hong thought to himself that the temple wasn't his, and regardless of who these people were or what their purpose was, as long as they got through the night peacefully, he would leave at dawn the next day.

Having made up his mind, Wei Hong gestured to the others to put away their weapons. However, at this moment, none of them were sleepy anymore. They added more firewood to the fire to make the flames burn brighter, and sat around the fire to warm themselves and ward off the dampness. Only when they glanced at Lao He and the others from time to time did their eyes show a wary look.

Old He and his companions sat down in the temple. Although they were wearing raincoats, they were still somewhat wet from the heavy rain. In addition, the grass and trees outside the temple were soaked, making it impossible to gather dry firewood to start a fire.

Therefore, after the group cleared a space, a relatively thin man in the crowd got up and walked towards Wei Hong and the others at Lao He's signal.

Seeing that one of the newly arrived martial artists was walking towards him, Wei Hong's eyes narrowed, and his hand subconsciously pressed down on the hilt of the knife at his side.

"Brothers, please forgive us, but there's really nothing to start a fire inside or outside the temple. Would you brothers be willing to lend us some firewood so we can warm ourselves?"

Seeing the other person's smiling and sincere attitude, Wei Hong did not lower his guard. He simply said in a distant tone, "Please make yourself at home."

Seeing that Wei Hong did not refuse, the lean man pulled a burning log from the fire and returned to his group. Using this log, the group added some scraps of wood they had collected, and soon a small fire was lit.

The rain continued to fall outside, but the temple seemed much warmer because of the extra fire inside.

Time continued to pass, and after an unknown amount of time, Lao He and the others seemed to get hungry. They rummaged through their clothes and pulled out something that looked like food wrapped in cloth, and heated it over the fire.

Hearing the noise, Wei Hong and the others instinctively looked over. Because the group was so close together and almost all of them had their backs to them, Wei Hong could only see through the gaps that they seemed to be taking out food to grill, so he didn't pay much attention.

The aroma of the food gradually wafting through the air stirred a sense of curiosity within them. They wondered what the other person was eating, given its incredibly strong fragrance. Even though they had already eaten their dry rations, the aroma was still somewhat intoxicating, making them feel slightly dizzy.

Feeling disoriented? Oh no! I've been hit!

"Get up, all of you!" Suddenly, Wei Hong's eyes widened as he roared, gripping his long sword in his right hand as he stood up.

However, while he was alert enough, his companions were not. They were all still mesmerized by the aroma, seemingly oblivious to Wei Hong's shouts.

"Damn it, Xiao Wu, Lu Zhao, wake up!" Wei Hong squatted down and slapped the faces of the people around him several times. In an instant, their cheeks swelled up and they fainted.

"Hahaha! I have to say, Lao He, you're really cunning. This trick never fails!" Hearing the commotion, Lao He and the others finally stopped hiding their true intentions and stood up laughing, looking at the only remaining Wei Hong. At this moment, Wei Hong was also struggling to hold on. He had also smelled the strange fragrance, but his skill was stronger than his companions, so he could hold on for a little longer.

He just couldn't understand why the other person was alright.

However, when he saw the group of people facing him after he got up, he instantly understood. It turned out that Old He and the others had somehow stuffed cloths into their nostrils, so the strange fragrance was naturally ineffective against them.

Old He looked at Wei Hong with a mocking expression, then laughed and cursed at his companion, "You don't know anything. This is called being prepared. Who knows if there are any tough guys among these people? Taking them all down will make it safer when the fight starts."

Watching the group brazenly discussing their intention to attack them, Wei Hong felt a bitter pang in his heart. He wanted to rush forward and fight them to the death, but his head was spinning, and he couldn't hold on for more than a few breaths before collapsing to the ground unconscious.

Just before losing consciousness, his gaze fell on the back of the group of people. The Yang brothers, who had entered around the same time as them, had their eyes open, which had been closed the whole time.

"That old bastard is quite vigilant. He observes our every move. He's a seasoned veteran." Seeing that Wei Hong had finally fallen asleep, Old He was completely relieved. He walked over and kicked Wei Hong, saying this.

"Alright, even the most seasoned veteran has fallen for our tricks! How about the usual routine?" someone urged Old He from behind.

"Same as always, leave three brothers to search inside, and the rest of you go outside and see what good stuff is on the carriage."

Hearing Lao He begin distributing the loot, the group quickly formed two teams, leaving only three people in the temple to search for Wei Hong and his companions.

These people talked and searched as if no one else was around, completely ignoring Yang Pan on the other side. Perhaps in their eyes, this clueless young man who had been sleeping when they entered was now drugged and unconscious, just like Wei Hong and the others.

Yang Pan leaned against the wall, pretending to doze off, feeling somewhat speechless.

These bandits seem to have a penchant for using sleeping potions; they did it at the inn in Jingu County before, and now they're doing it again at this local temple. He felt a sense of relief; thankfully, the Longevity Fruit granted him immunity to all poisons, otherwise even he would probably have fallen victim.

Yang Pan had not let his guard down since entering the Earth God Temple. Even when he stopped practicing his hard qigong, he remained clear-headed. His previous sleep was just a false sleep.

However, Yang Pan did not rush to make a move. He was waiting, wanting to see what kind of person the beggar on the altar, who had been completely still except when sleeping, was.

Even when a person is sound asleep, they will still react to changes in their surroundings. But that beggar, whether it was Yang Pan entering or the arrival of Lao He and the others, did not react at all, not even turning over.

Not to mention, after being drugged, a person's breathing becomes even heavier when they are unconscious, but that beggar wasn't breathing at all...

Okay, now the other person's breathing has changed; it's become heavy.

But...you're putting on such a deliberate act! You only increased your breathing because you realized I noticed you, didn't you? Yang Pan's eyelids twitched. He was certain that the person dressed as a beggar was definitely not ordinary.

Inside the temple, Wei Hong and his companions had been thoroughly looted. The three of them turned and walked toward the beggar and Yang Pan.

"Damn it! This beggar certainly knows how to enjoy himself, lying on the altar as an offering! But he stinks so badly, even the local earth god probably wouldn't dare to eat him." Someone came to the altar and said with a look of disgust.

"Hey, Fourth Brother, if you don't like it, why don't I take your place? These days, not all beggars are poor. What if he's a member of the Beggars' Sect? Maybe we can even get some money out of him," a companion teased.

"What a load of rubbish! You'd be lucky to get a few copper coins." The fourth brother muttered to himself, but his hands were quick as he began to search the beggar's body.

Of the remaining two, one stood still while the other continued walking towards Yang Pan. Just as the man reached Yang Pan and was about to begin looting him, a voice, like a murmur from a dream, suddenly rang out.

"Hmm~ a little higher, old beggar, my back is itchy." The fourth brother, who was scavenging, paused when he heard this, looking at the beggar unsure if he was talking in his sleep.

The beggar's companion, who also overheard his words, muttered, "Is he talking in his sleep?"

The fourth brother shook his head, indicating he didn't know, clearly also the first time he had encountered someone who could talk in their sleep after being drugged.

Just as everyone fell silent, the beggar spoke again: "Why did you stop? Scratch me some more."

There seemed to be some dissatisfaction in his words. The fourth brother was still in a daze for a moment when he was horrified to find that his hand had been grabbed by a dirty and rough hand.

"Oh no, the beggar isn't unconscious!" With a shout, the fourth brother almost instinctively raised the long knife in his other hand and slashed at the lying beggar.

The blade flashed coldly, without the slightest pause or hesitation; the fierce wind of the blade seemed poised to sever the beggar's head in the next instant.

At the same time, upon hearing the fourth brother's words, the other two people in the temple also turned around and looked warily toward the altar. However, just as the long knife was only half an inch away from the beggar, the beggar's head suddenly turned, as if he felt an itch on his head in his sleep and rubbed his head against his shoulder.

In that instant, he narrowly avoided the descending sword.

When the fourth brother saw his attack miss, he realized they had encountered a master. He immediately tried to pull his gripped hand away and retreat. However, he found the old beggar's hand as solid as cast iron, impossible to budge.

"This is a tough one, come help!" the fourth brother shouted urgently. The two men behind him, who had been waiting for the right moment, heard the shout and immediately raised their long knives to slash at the beggar.

They simply didn't believe that with three men and three knives, the beggar could possibly escape while lying down!

As the three men had expected, the beggar did not dodge again, but just as the three long knives were about to strike, a thin, withered hand suddenly rose up. Everyone saw that this hand simply waved its hand, and instantly a whistling gust of wind arose out of thin air, swatting the three men away as if swatting flies.

Bang!

The three were slammed against the broken door of the temple by the strong wind, making a uniform sound of impact.

At the same time, a disgruntled voice, as if disturbed from sleep, rang out: "The old beggar almost ate a chicken leg in his dream, but you guys woke him up."