Chapter 230: Chapter 173: A New Big Brother Appears (Part 2)

After expelling the poison, Zou Feng immediately checked the List of Gods.

The three new names that had appeared on the list were Ji Zhixian, Xiao Fan, and Du Changjin.

Among them, Du Changjin’s name had disappeared.

So, this person named Du Changjin was clearly the Filial Piety Girl he had just killed.

As for the other two, Ji Zhixian’s name was slightly dimmer, which meant he wasn’t in good condition.

This matched up with the muscular kid who had sustained minor injuries.

The remaining old man selling flatbreads was, of course, Xiao Fan.

Zou Feng was quite satisfied with this. The patrons on his list were almost used up, so these two were a much-needed lifeline.

The best part was that although these two wanted to kill him, after their previous failure, they most likely wouldn’t try anything again for a long time.

Besides, he would soon be back in Yuan Guang County, and then he could fleece his two new patrons without a worry.

Of course, the most valuable patron on the list right now had to be Wang Wenjing.

The problem was, according to Zou Feng’s judgment, Wang Wenjing would most likely lose to Teng County in this struggle for the position of True Inheritor.

And it wouldn’t be long before Teng County, after winning the struggle, would surely not let Wang Wenjing live.

So, it wasn’t realistic to hope he could keep fleecing Wang Wenjing.

This three-month trip to the Southern Border had been incredibly profitable for Zou Feng.

First, he had successfully broken through to the Fifth Grade.

After absorbing various Exotic Poisons, the progress of his Five Poison Fire Lotus Skill had increased greatly.

With the help of the Wangchuan Road, his Drunken Immortal Moon Gazing Step had successfully evolved into the Drunken Immortal Moon Chasing Step.

His Great Universal Hand had successfully reached the Peak Realm, giving rise to a Divine Skill like the “Wise Triple.”

What’s more, the Corpse Luo Heart Scripture and the Bone-Softening Palm, two High Grade Skills, were now part of his arsenal…

Zou Feng figured that once he returned to Yuan Guang County, he would immediately use the “Wise Triple” to evolve his entire Iron Blood Gu Poison Group.

Then, he would refine the toxins from the Gu Poison Group, combining them with the White Jade Spider Poison and Blood Begonia he carried.

At that time, it probably wouldn’t be a problem to have his Five Poison Fire Lotus Skill break through to the Realm of Transcendence and Sanctity.

And once one of his Cultivation Skills truly reached Transcendence and Sanctity, his own promotion to the Fourth Grade would be a sure thing.

Actually, Zou Feng wasn’t too worried about advancing to the Fourth Grade. After all, with his cultivation resources now enhanced by the spoils from the Southern Border, he could basically keep up with the requirements.

The real trouble would start after the Fourth Grade.

Starting from the Third Grade, that was the Domain of High Grade Martial Artists.

Although he didn’t know much about the High Grade, Zou Feng was certain that once a practitioner’s Martial Dao entered that level, many of their abilities would seem comparable to those of Immortals in the eyes of ordinary people…

A Martial Artist’s original Gang Qi would also transform into True Qi. Thus, the High Grade was also known as the True Qi Realm.

’This whole True Qi business…’ Zou Feng thought, ’I seriously suspect this is the beginning of the path to Immortal Cultivation.’

「Five days later.」

In a desolate, mountainous wilderness with a Chaotic Burial Mound, Zou Feng sat cross-legged atop a large rock, silently Cultivating.

Below the rock stood more than ten men with dazed expressions, like puppets.

A moment later, Zou Feng waved his hand, and the men went berserk, attacking one another.

Once the fighting started, they were fearless of death and felt no pain. Even if an arm was severed, they would charge forward and tear at their opponent with their teeth.

Corpse Luo Heart Scripture (Integration and Mastery), Progress: 25%

During the past few days of travel, Zou Feng had mainly been cultivating the Bone-Softening Palm and the Corpse Luo Heart Scripture.

Among them, the progress with the Corpse Luo Heart Scripture was the most gratifying.

The reason was simple: along the way, he had encountered too many “fresh” Chaotic Burial Mounds.

It couldn’t be helped. After the Southern Prince’s rebellion, chaos was everywhere, and battles raged across the land.

The number of bandits and thugs taking advantage of the chaos naturally grew.

This led to frequent attacks on villages and towns, or two factions clashing in some area, resulting in heavy casualties.

Additionally, Evil Cultivators, whose cruel and unnatural skills had forced them to keep a low profile, now began to pop up like mushrooms after a spring rain.

For these Evil Cultivators, such a chaotic era was the perfect breeding ground for their practices.

They no longer had to worry about being targeted by the local Government Office or hunted down by nearby Sects for capturing too many civilians to fuel their Evil Skills.

And while Zou Feng would never commit such atrocities himself, when he came across a ready-made Chaotic Burial Mound, he would naturally make use of it to cultivate the Corpse Luo Heart Scripture.

As for the men before him, they were, of course, undiscerning bandits.

They were too weak, and having just pulled off a few successful jobs, they had gotten cocky. They failed to recognize how formidable Zou Feng and Tian Yun were, thinking they had found some easy prey.

Zou Feng certainly wasn’t going to be merciful to these bandits who already had so much blood on their hands. He immediately used the Corpse Luo Heart Scripture, turning them all into poisoned, zombie-like puppets.

The Corpse Luo Heart Scripture was only at the Integration and Mastery Realm, yet it already possessed such power. Zou Feng was quite satisfied.

It was just a pity that the Corpse Luo Heart Scripture wasn’t Necromancer Magic, after all. It could only transform the living into something like a Zombie; it couldn’t reanimate the dead.

’However,’ he thought, ’once I break through to the High Grade and possess “True Qi,” perhaps this Skill will bring a pleasant surprise…’

Although the Corpse Luo Heart Scripture’s power would be extremely limited against Martial Artists of the same or a higher rank, making it unlikely he could instantly poison them into a “Zombie,” the Corpse Poison it produced was still a special type of Exotic Poison. Expelling it with Gang Qi would not be easy.

Not to mention, Zou Feng also had his “Five Poison Creatures,” the mental corruption from the Great Universal Hand, and the bone-devouring poison of the Bone-Softening Palm. The amount of trouble all these things combined could cause an enemy went without saying.

This was the source of his confidence for returning to Yuan Guang County. If Yuwen Boxi really tried to start something, he truly wouldn’t be afraid.

After that, once all the bandits had killed each other, Xiaolv took advantage of the fresh corpses and took a few bites from each one.

This Gu Insect was evolving to be more and more sinister.

If Zou Feng wasn’t a walking embodiment of poison himself, he would genuinely worry about not being able to control Xiaolv.

Still, letting Xiaolv continue to roam free like this wasn’t a stable solution.

Despite the wondrous connection he currently shared with Xiaolv, and the fact that it had acknowledged him as its master, he still lacked a truly binding form of control.

It wasn’t a problem for now, but once Xiaolv evolved to become even more powerful, it might just ignore him, slip away, and go completely wild.

’So, I’m afraid I’ll have to study the Gu Cultivation Skill some more and find a more reliable method to ensure Xiaolv can never defy me…’

After cultivating the Corpse Luo Heart Scripture for a while longer, Zou Feng went to a nearby stream to wash up before going to meet Tian Yun.

The reason Tian Yun hadn’t come with him was, of course, her dislike for environments filled with corpses.

“Zou Lang, I just saw an inn not far from here. We don’t have to sleep outside tonight.”

Seeing Zou Feng return, Tian Yun immediately rushed over to greet him.

“An inn in a godforsaken place like this?” Zou Feng glanced around again. “It’s probably a trap.”

“Are you afraid of a trap?”

“Not really… Let’s go. It’s been a couple of days since we’ve had a hot meal.”

They soon arrived at the Deserted Mountain Inn. After just a few glances, Zou Feng was certain it was a crooked establishment.

But it didn’t matter. Crooked inns like this were selective about their victims. Once they realized they were dealing with people they couldn’t afford to offend, they would immediately transform into a normal, incredibly hospitable inn.

Zou Feng couldn’t be bothered to expose them. He simply ate and took a room like a normal guest, planning to get a good night’s rest.

Of course, while eating, he made a point to check and make sure the innkeeper wasn’t serving any… questionable meat.

After eating and drinking his fill, he returned to their room for a session of his customary dual cultivation with Tian Yun. Just when he should have been feeling quite content, Zou Feng was suddenly struck by an inexplicable feeling of emptiness.

He knew this empty feeling couldn’t have come from nowhere, so he immediately checked the List of Gods.

Sure enough, the name of his number one patron—Wang Wenjing, the most valuable Fourth Grade Expert on the List of Gods—had disappeared.

Although it wasn’t unexpected—he had long since predicted that Teng County would win—the loss of such a powerful top patron still filled Zou Feng with considerable regret.

However, now that Teng County had become the Cave Master of Biyou Palace’s Silk Cave and owed him a favor, he would surely be able to fleece more resources in the future.

Now, he could only hope that his remaining patrons would last long enough for him to advance to the Fourth Grade, or at least until his Five Poison Fire Lotus Skill broke through to the Realm of Transcendence and Sanctity.

After sighing with regret for a moment, Zou Feng was about to go to sleep when he noticed another change on the List of Gods.

Yuwen Boxi’s name was slowly materializing on the list!

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