Chapter 317: What Spirit Beast Do You Want?

"My lord, you're joking. Our melons are all grown in sandy soil. Unripe? If they're unripe, would I bring them out to sell?"

This great demon, disguised as a melon vendor, reacted swiftly. His eyes darted around as he nodded and bowed in response.

"So, you're guaranteeing that this melon is ripe?"

Li Changshou chuckled coldly, gently tossing the large melon in his hand, and said with a smile:

"If it's not ripe, what then?"

"This... this... My lord... I'm just an honest melon seller; I wouldn't sell you an unripe one!"

The demon melon vendor broke out in a slight sweat on his forehead, his hands and feet trembling slightly.

The great demon himself didn't know why he feared this Wu person so much; they had come here precisely to eliminate the Sea God Cult's Wu envoys...

But now, just over a single melon and a few casual questions from the other side, it felt as if he had fallen under some sort of curse, nearly losing control of his mind!

The demon melon vendor whispered, "My lord, could I... could I just not sell this melon?"

"Hmm? Not sell? Are you implying I'm engaging in bullying and monopolizing?"

Li Changshou's paper effigy widened its large eyes, and with his left hand moving like a phantom, he grabbed the demon melon vendor's collar and lifted him up with force.

The demon melon vendor reacted a beat too late. By the time he tried to dodge, his vision blurred, and he completely lost his Yao power!

Yao soul sealed!

Li Changshou released the demon's collar with his left hand and swiftly pushed out a palm;

The palm seemed effortless as it pressed against the vendor's chest, but a faint green ripple spread from the chest, and a black shadow burst out from behind the vendor, crashing into the pile of melons.

The vendor's body instantly withered, his breath gone, his soul destroyed—it was now a cold corpse.

And that black shadow was now immobilized by Li Changshou's immortal power on the pile of melons, revealing its true form: a Yao beast resembling a badger...

"Yao? Seize it!"

Li Changshou shouted, and the envoys behind him rushed forward. Several arms, thicker than a normal person's thighs, extended and grabbed, nearly tearing the great demon apart!

—Over the years, the Xiongzhai envoys might have overindulged in nutrition, as their divine power had improved somewhat;

Of course, their strength still lagged far behind the little clever one who got "beaten by Dad in the middle of the night."

In that instant, the great demon, who had reverted to its original form and had its Yao soul sealed, suddenly understood!

Whether the melon was ripe or not seemed like a simple "farming issue for mortals," or perhaps a more complex "vendor credibility issue."

It could even be a philosophical question, or maybe a local human clan's secret code for contact...

Either way, he had fallen for it!

His attention had been diverted, and he hadn't gotten a single chance to counterattack!

Humans, how cunning they are!

Li Changshou flicked his finger, and the great demon's cultivation was instantly crippled. The surrounding mortals reacted a beat late, now screaming in panic.

The scene felt a bit off...

"The Sea God has shown his power!"

"The envoy has caught a Yao monster!"

"Wow, such a big Yao beast—grilled, it could feed us for days!"

Li Changshou's mouth twitched.

How had the mortals in Anshui City become so unreliable?

This was a Tianxian realm great demon!

If there weren't a few capable human Qi Refiners here, this great demon could wipe out a town in moments!

Though doing so would entangle it in karmic obstacles, leading to its inevitable death by heavenly tribulation...

Oh, well.

How could he blame the believers for reacting wrongly? It was his protection that had gone overboard.

Just then, the other great demons hiding nearby and mingling in the city took advantage of the chaos to flee to various corners.

Since Li Changshou had already made the first move, how could he let them escape?

He shouted loudly:

"Stop the new teachings lessons! Everyone, come out and search the city! There are Yao in the city—there must be more!"

An envoy nearby asked, "My lord! What about this Zha spirit?"

"Take it outside the city and grill it! Don't forget the scallions, ginger, and garlic!"

Upon hearing this, the other great demons shuddered.

One great demon couldn't hold back and tore apart its disguised body, revealing its silver eagle true form. It let out a shrill cry and spread its wings to flee toward the city outskirts!

This stirred up a massive wave!

The doors of the Sea God Temple burst open, and hundreds of strong, sturdy Sea God Cult envoys charged out, wielding iron hammers, broadswords, and clappers—various Xian treasures—yelling wildly as they shouted in all directions.

Some yelled for the mortals to squat down on the spot and hurry home afterward.

Others yelled not to let the Yao escape—that silver eagle was at least a few thousand years old; eating it would be a great tonic!

The remaining three great demons panicked completely.

Especially among these Sea God Cult envoys, dozens emitted an unmistakable aura of fierce killing intent, like the natural enemies of their Yao clan, making these demons' hearts tremble with fear!

"Run!"

The great demons tore open their disguises one by one, reverting to their true forms and frantically fleeing toward the city outskirts.

A small area of Anshui City descended into chaos.

The great demons fled desperately ahead, while hundreds of the strongest Sea God Cult envoys chased from behind, weapons in hand, running like the wind.

The Xiongzhai men and women, to avoid trampling mortals, leaped onto rooftops and sprinted at full speed.

As for the mortals in the city... they were a bit excited, a bit thrilled.

They spread the word, called their friends, and strangely overcame their instinctive fear. Under Li Changshou's watchful gaze, with black lines on his forehead, they followed the envoys on the rooftops, laughing and making a racket.

This...

It seemed a large-scale safety education campaign was needed in the Sea God Cult's territory!

A moment later, hundreds of envoys charged out of Anshui City.

Those great demons, however, flew at a leisurely pace, like bait luring the Sea God Cult envoys toward a dense forest outside the city.

Naturally, a Yao trap awaited ahead, but with the Sea God continuously transmitting voices, these envoys felt no fear at all!

Dozens of pure-blood Wu with bodies closer to innate dao forms quietly moved to the front lines, using their Wu aura to conceal their presence.

In the dense forest, Yao energy gathered;

Outside the city, Wu were fierce.

Li Changshou calmly followed his plan, having quietly buried several paper effigies underground in the forest;

A bit of miyao, a touch of miqing powder.

The group from the Western Cult had set up a simple encirclement in the forest, with the strongest great demons hiding at the back, having already discussed their attack timing.

They planned to wait for the Sea God Cult envoys to rush into the center of the ambush, then surround and strike from all sides, ending the fight quickly to claim victory and retreat for their rewards.

Seeing the Wu charge so foolishly, these Yao couldn't help but feel contempt.

Wu, the ancient iron fools!

However, these great demons soon looked baffled...

The turn of events came too quickly for the Yao to react!

As soon as the hundreds of Sea God Cult envoys entered the forest and reached the outskirts of the Yao encirclement, a black bear spirit suddenly darted out from behind a large tree and roared:

"The little ones obey! I'll charge first!"

With that, it sprinted forward, charging at the hundreds of envoys!

From dozens of zhang away, a white-clothed Yao man leaped from the treetops and shouted:

"Kill!"

Over twenty Yao hidden in various spots immediately rushed out, chasing the black bear spirit.

Seeing their comrades charge, most of the Yao didn't stop to think and revealed themselves, quickly forming a "legion" of over three hundred Yao!

They soared through the air, dashed on the ground, and engaged the Sea God Cult envoys!

The remaining Yao either sensed something was wrong and hesitated, or were sound asleep and completely knocked out.

The encirclement the Yao had set up dissolved inexplicably, leaving their leaders stomping in frustration and cursing...

Li Changshou, who had just arrived at the forest edge, couldn't help but laugh lightly.

This ragtag group was full of flaws, as expected.

That black bear spirit and white-clothed Yao man were just paper effigies wrapped in Yao energy extracted from the Zha spirit, slipped into the enemy ranks using evasion techniques...

Basic maneuvers, nothing fancy.

From his sleeve, Li Changshou sent out paper figures, each carrying array bases and using evasion techniques to circle around.

His Golden Immortal realm paper effigy didn't join the fight, continuing to monitor everything without a moment's relaxation.

As the front lines were about to clash;

The dozens of Sea God Cult envoys at the forefront suddenly leaped to the left and right!

Niu Tou and Ma Mian, who had removed their headgear and were unrecognizable, led forty-six battle Wu in a sudden acceleration. Their forms blurred like phantoms, pounding craters into the ground and unleashing the true Wu aura!

Forty-eight surges of blood energy shot up like smoke, dyeing the setting sun's glow blood-red!

The Yao were greatly shocked, their formation in disarray!

At that moment, pillars of light rose from various points in the forest, converging at the center and instantly forming a great array that sealed off dozens of li around!

At each of the twelve array bases, three paper effigies at the late Tianxian stage sat cross-legged, ready to channel their immortal power into the bases to reinforce the array and ensure not a single Yao escaped!

In Anshui City, hundreds of Xiongzhai Wu were already scurrying around, searching for any overlooked Yao...

As the sun set, blood flowed like rivers in the forest, with great demons being torn apart by the battle Wu, and various corpses scattered everywhere.

Those dozens of blood-soaked battle Wu exuded fierce light, their blood energy even thicker, evoking the glory of ancient battles!

Not just the Yao, who knew the Wu's ferocity, but even the Xiongzhai envoys with half Wu blood trembled, their faces pale as they huddled in corners forming defensive arrays...

Shivering, at a loss.

Half a shichen later.

The forty-eight Wu each dragged two or three Yao beast corpses that they remembered tasting good, escorted by the Xiongzhai envoys, and headed to a beach by the sea.

They took a sea bath, skillfully set up grills, and the aroma of meat wafted for a hundred li around...

Niu Tou and Ma Mian put their headgear back on and sat in a corner of the beach, contentedly watching their kin sing and dance.

The sea breeze rustled that tuft of silky hair as Ma Mian said deeply:

"Niu, do you remember?

Those years, we chased Yao beasts, happily running under the setting sun."

"Ah, Ma!"

Niu Tou sighed deeply, "Such days have finally returned."

"How did the joy disappear? Neigh."

"More than that, I want to know what benefits these Yao get from defecting to that cult, Moo."

From behind came a voice:

"Most of them were probably forcibly converted by that cult."

Hearing that familiar voice, Niu Tou and Ma Mian shuddered and quickly stood up.

Li Changshou emerged from the trunk of a large tree nearby and bowed to Niu Tou and Ma Mian, saying, "Thank you both for coming to assist."

"Sea God, you're too kind," Niu Tou chuckled, rubbing his hands, "This is nothing... Cough, as for rewards, let's skip them.

Earlier, that young friend Changshou from Duxian Men mentioned you might have some seasonings..."

Ma Mian rolled his eyes and muttered, "Your face is getting thicker, Niu!"

"What? Want some spirit beasts? Want the ones raised by that young friend Changshou from Duxian Men!"

Niu Tou widened his eyes, "How ungrateful you are, Ma Mian!

Nonsense!

Today, we're here to help, and those Wu are still our kin, no matter how distant!

How could you say that? Have you no conscience? Still wanting those fluffy spirit beasts raised by that young friend Changshou from Duxian Men!?"

Ma Mian was left speechless, nearly fuming with anger.

"Don't worry, don't worry, you two," Li Changshou smiled and produced two pouches, handing over several jars of seasonings, adding, "To be honest, I've already sent people to Duxian Men and various markets to purchase a batch of spirit beasts.

Please stay here with the Wu brothers for a while longer; the spirit beasts will arrive soon.

We can also keep an eye out for any follow-up attacks from the other side."

Niu Tou nodded and swayed, laughing, "Then, we'll follow the Sea God's orders! Heh heh... Oh, wait, Moo, Moo."

"Get lost! You've ruined the reputation of the underworld's Yin Division!"

Ma Mian couldn't hold back and cursed, kicking out with his long leg at Niu Tou; Niu Tou laughed and dodged, and the two envoys of the underworld quickly wrestled together.

In an instant, headgear and shoes flew everywhere, stars filled the night sky, and the sea blended with the darkness.

Li Changshou was amused and left a hearty laugh on the beach.

After chatting idly with Niu Tou and Ma Mian for a while, a battle Wu brought over a large piece of prime grilled meat. Niu Tou and Ma Mian didn't hold back, sharing about zero point zero one percent of the spicy seasonings with the Wu.

The fragrant and spicy flavor quickly ignited the beach, making many Wu howl with excitement.

Niu Tou picked the fattiest piece of meat and offered it, but Li Changshou awkwardly shook his head and declined.

No help for it; he had some inner reservations.

They ate until the moon hung high in the sky. Li Changshou called over a hundred envoys waiting nearby to carry these battle Wu, now too full to move, back to the Sea God Temple...

Li Changshou estimated that the Western Cult likely wouldn't make another move, as they had already exposed their intentions and lost a small force.

When the risks far outweighed the rewards, anyone with sense wouldn't continue...

Still, Li Changshou played it safe, maintaining a surveillance network around the Sea God Temple for thousands of li, never letting his guard down.

Half his mind watched over the Sea God Cult, half checked the waterways of Nanzhou.

Naturally, part of his mind stayed on Xiaoqiong Peak.

His roots were there, so he couldn't neglect it.

Over the next two months, these Wu lingered in Anshui City, indulging in food and drink, sampling all sorts of human delicacies.

Perhaps feeling it was improper to eat for free, these Wu found themselves some work—they began training the Wu envoys.

After just a few days of training, the envoys were all bedridden and unable to walk, crying out in agony as if their muscular bodies were for nothing...

Li Changshou didn't interfere; boosting the envoys' combat strength was all benefit and no harm.

After careful thought, Li Changshou specially brought Longji to Anshui City, letting her "accidentally" discover the existence of the Wu and Wu people;

In secret, Li Changshou handed thirty Pan Tao to the paper effigies here and covertly transported them back to Duxian Men.

How to let everyone enjoy the peaches happily became a problem Li Changshou had to consider.

The current plans were mainly three...

A: Pretend they were ordinary immortal peaches;

B: Tip off Kong Xu Palm Master and say they were a gift from him.

C: Knock out Master and junior sister one by one and feed them the peaches.

For safety, Li Changshou decided on the fourth plan.

Turn part of the peaches into wine and say he accidentally created an unreproducible immortal wine, to share with the uncles, elders, and ancestors.

Junior sister and Master could be told the truth directly and enjoy the whole peaches.

"Would these Pan Tao help Elder Wanlin Jun?"

He had also refined several insight-type elixirs earlier, which he could send to the elder along with them.

A Golden Immortal realm great poison immortal...

Tsk, just thinking about it was thrilling.