The Heavenly Court is gone, I don't want to be a True Lord.

The reeds were very lush, with each reed reaching over two meters in height, swaying constantly in the wind.

The man with the triangular eyes suddenly realized that Zuo Qi had disappeared without a trace.

While I was wondering...

Suddenly, the sound of wind breaking came from behind.

He turned around abruptly and saw a boy, about half a teenager, suddenly leap out of the reeds on his left, wielding a wooden stick and a short knife, and slashing at his face.

Having roamed the martial world for many years, he was experienced and instinctively ducked and dodged the short knife. At the same time, he reached behind his back, pulled out a long knife, and slashed at He Xiao's legs.

He Xiao avoided it in an extremely awkward manner.

The man with the triangular eyes dodged the short sword and continued his pursuit.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another person rush out from the reeds on the right, and this person was empty-handed.

"How dare you!"

With a roar, he didn't dodge or flinch, but instead threw a straight punch. He was tall and had long arms, and he was confident that his strength and speed were superior to Zuo Qi's. He was sure that his punch would land on Zuo Qi first.

Zuo Qi's arm twitched slightly, and the punch that was originally aimed at the triangular-eyed man's face suddenly sank down.

It struck the arm of the man with triangular eyes like a heavy hammer.

With a bang.

Accompanied by a slight cracking sound.

The man with the triangular eyes' expression changed drastically. He felt unbearable pain in his arm, and at the same time, an extremely cold chill spread from his arm through his blood and qi throughout his body.

Zuo Qi spread his palm, grabbed his arm, and pulled hard.

An unparalleled force pulled the triangular-eyed figure away, and in his haste, he raised his hand and slashed to the left with his sword.

Zuo Qi turned to the side, raised his hand, grabbed the other arm, and looked at the triangular-eyed man with a smile.

A sudden headbutt.

So weak, yet you try to rob people?

When he finished doing everything, he turned around and saw Liu Zi, whose calf was being bitten by Da Hong, teetering on the verge of collapse under the combined force of He Xiao and Ni Heng.

"Don't kill me! I have treasure on me!"

Seeing the triangular-eyed man fall to the ground, unsure whether he was dead or alive, Liu Zi quickly called out.

"We have water-repelling beads on our bodies, which allow us to walk in water like fish."

Zuo Qi stopped in his tracks, intrigued.

Tell me in detail.

"There is a kind of demon in Fengzhou called Baiming, which is very rare. This time, there were demon merchants from Fengzhou on the black market, and we bought two from them."

Demons and monsters roam freely, harming people and taking lives, but for martial artists, they are treasures.

Zuo Qi took the water-repelling bead, which was somewhat similar to the ice bead he had used to kill the water ghost, but it did not feel cold.

Liu Zi added, "If you put it in your mouth, you can walk on water as if it were flat ground."

Instead of probing, Zuo Qi asked, "Who are you people?"

Liu Zi's eyes darted around, and Ni Heng was about to tell Da Hong to eat something heavy when he quickly spoke up.

"We are from Guannan Province. Our leader has been invited to Fukuyama City..."

Zuo Qi suddenly took a step forward and punched Liu Zi in the throat.

Liu Zi's eyes were filled with disbelief; he never expected Zuo Qi to suddenly start killing people.

Zuo Qi ignored him and said to He Xiao, "Search them and let's go."

……

Not long after they left, three figures rushed over and quickly found the bodies that Zuo Qi and the other two had not yet disposed of.

The three men's expressions changed drastically at the same time. They squatted down and began searching through the bodies of the two men with triangular eyes.

But nothing was gained.

"Something is missing."

The three men looked at each other in bewilderment, and one of them angrily kicked the corpse of the man with the triangular eyes.

"They're hopeless. They gave them so much money, and they still have to do these shady things. They're really asking for trouble."

"Stop yelling. The things are gone. Should we continue this whole thing?"

"What a load of rubbish! Without the water-repelling pearl, do you think you can swim all the way to the prison?"

"This...isn't that a bad idea?"

"Then swim there yourself."

……

"Brother Qi, those two are not simple people."

He Xiao said with a solemn expression.

Zuo Qi nodded. The two men were clearly from the martial arts world. They didn't have any household registration documents, and judging from their behavior, they seemed more like bandits.

He ran away because he realized that Liu Zi was stalling for time.

There's also the water-repelling bead. He's certain he didn't see it on the ship in the black market; the other party is lying.

Why lie?

He didn't know, and he didn't want to know.

He will not mention it again after this incident.

They retrieved the items they had previously bought on the black market and from the two corpses.

The two men were not poor; they carried three bottles of wound medicine and a map of the waterways near Fushan City, with some markings along the river.

He put it away and then looked at the strange vase he had found earlier. It had a hidden compartment, and after searching for a long time, he could only break the porcelain vase.

Only then were the contents removed.

It was actually... a pill formula!

Qi Condensation Pill!

The process requires many materials, and the alchemist must cultivate a fire- or wood-attribute Xuan-level technique and master some alchemy skills.

The effect is very simple and direct: after taking it, one can increase one's basic Qi and blood by fifty. Most importantly, one can take two pills every day.

Zuo Qi was surprised.

The pills are very effective, but all medicines have side effects, and it is rare for a pill to remain effective even after long-term use.

Just like the Black Yuan Powder he bought, after refining one dose every six days, it needs to be used again after two months, otherwise the poison will accumulate and corrode the foundation, and the effect will be worse if taken again in a short period of time.

No wonder this Qi Condensation Pill was hidden so deep; it turns out it's so precious. No wonder the refining conditions are so demanding.

The next day, Zuo Qi dried the meat of the precious beasts he had bought into jerky, and distributed the Black Yuan Powder to Ni Heng and He Xiao.

It did not rain for the next few days.

Zuo Qi and the others also focused on their cultivation at home, and Ni Heng, with his unreserved investment of resources, finally reached the threshold of the second stage of cultivation.

……

Fukuyama Castle.

The Liang River flows through Fushan City, and many restaurants have been built along its banks. Every night, the boats are brightly lit and decorated with red lanterns, creating a scene of extravagance and debauchery.

This is Fushan City Red Street.

On a pleasure boat, a man dressed in black sat at the bow, his expression not pleasant.

Sitting opposite him was a courtesan with a friendly face, but there was no ambiguous atmosphere between the two.

"Miss, something has gone wrong."

The flower seller frowned. "What do you mean?"

The man hesitated to look up and said softly, "I obtained water-repelling beads in Fengzhou and also found several bandits in Guannan Road, intending to rescue you by water, but those bandits... escaped."

His voice grew softer and softer.

Hua Niang squinted, as if looking at a dead person.

"What about the water-repelling beads?"

"It's...lost."

The flower girl snorted coldly.

The man trembled and became even more speechless.

"How many years have you been with the Xu family?"

Hua Niang spoke again, her voice calm, but the coldness in it sent chills down one's spine.

"It has been 38 years since I was six years old."

"You have disgraced the Xu family for eighteen generations."

"Miss, spare me!"

The man shivered and hurriedly knelt down.

This can be considered as him acting on his own initiative. The Xu family has been making frequent moves recently, indicating that something big is about to happen. He thought of rescuing several Xu family experts from prison, but he didn't expect it to backfire.

"Have those江湖 (jianghu) figures been dealt with properly?"

"They were all killed, but the Water-Repelling Pearl ended up in someone else's hands. The location was at that small dock in the east of the city."

"check."

……

Five days later.

night.

The Liang River flowed slowly, then suddenly the surface churned as a mastiff leaped out of the water, carrying a large fish in its mouth.

Immediately afterwards, Zuo Qi excitedly emerged from the water carrying a crab that was at least half a meter long.

He opened his mouth and spat out the water-repelling pearl.

This thing is truly extraordinary; it moves effortlessly in water, making it a veritable treasure.

Zuo Qi was curious: was this really a spiritual object dropped by a demon after it died?

Demons of Fengzhou?

After testing the effects of the water-repelling beads, Zuo Qi's plan to hunt down the water ghosts became more complete.

The terrain on both sides of the Liang River is very different. The opposite bank is more than ten meters below the river surface, almost like a cliff. He found a platform there that was not submerged, which was a perfect place to hunt water ghosts.

Taking advantage of the recent lack of rain, we'll prepare some supplies and use that place as a base for hunting water ghosts.