408: It's better not to steal than to steal

Whoosh~

The wind whistled, and Xu Sanyan stood in the wilderness, squinting his eyes slightly, stretching his arms to feel the breeze on his face, an indescribable sense of comfort and ease.

This reminded him of his days as a bandit,

those days of eating meat in large bites, beheading with large sabers, and committing all sorts of evil deeds like burning, killing, and plundering.

It had been a long time since he felt so free. Ever since he came to Central State, it was as if someone was chasing him from behind. He had been constantly on the move without rest. Now, it could be considered a blessing in disguise, as he escaped the whirlpool cage by virtue of the Blood-Flesh Giant disaster.

He wondered how the Wang family was doing, and if his two wives, several maids, and Yang Shuang'er had escaped with their lives.

Lin Fan, on the other hand, was in low spirits, his mind still replaying the scene of his first encounter with Zuoqiu Yi, unable to let go for a long time.

Li Hai, who was following behind, straightened his expression and slowly said,

"Fellow Daoists, I am old and have no desire to meddle in worldly affairs. I only wish to find a quiet place to live out my remaining years. Let us part ways here."

"Heh…"

Xu Sanyan didn't even turn his head, merely a slight smile playing on his lips, "Live out my remaining years… Alright, then let's part ways here."

Li Hai's heart tightened, and a sense of caution immediately arose. She always felt that this person's words had a hidden meaning.

As expected, Xu Sanyan's next words made her soul tremble with fear,

"It's just—farewell forever!"

Before her words finished, a large hand slapped down. The surging Qi blew her robes, and Li Hai's face was filled with astonishment. She cried out in horror, "Why are you killing me?!"

“Bang!!”

The ground caved in, a puddle of flesh and blood deeply imprinted on the ground. Li Hai couldn't even block a single move and died tragically on the spot.

Xu Sanyan waved his hand, and Li Hai's Storage Pouch fell into his grasp. He opened it and saw that it was mostly Spirit Stones, tens of thousands of them, showing that she was skilled at accumulating wealth.

There were also many other miscellaneous items. Xu Sanyan looked through them and found nothing worth noting, so he collected them all.

Lin Fan finally recovered at this moment, looking at the blood and flesh on the ground, and asked strangely, "Saint, why did you kill him?"

Xu Sanyan turned his head indifferently, "What, do you want to stay and warm the bed?"

"Uh…"

"Let's go."

"Oh."

...

To the southeast of Gan Country lies a small city named "Zhangzhi". The city has a population of only seventy to eighty thousand, is quite poor, and its people barely make a living.

On this day, two people entered the city: one with an elegant demeanor and a relaxed expression, the other dull and honest, carrying a black sword. They were none other than Xu Sanyan and Lin Fan.

This city was one of the five cities Xu Sanyan had chosen as a formation base, located in the west, belonging to the Metal element, and presiding over 肅殺.

"Saint, why are we here?" Lin Fan asked, puzzled.

Xu Sanyan pondered for a moment and did not answer his question, but instead said, "I have a task for you. Can you do it well?"

"Saint, please speak. This Disciple will certainly give his all!" Lin Fan said seriously.

"Go into the Secret Realm and help me collect as many Soul Crystals as possible. The more, the better."

“Uh…” Lin Fan hesitated. It wasn't that he was unwilling to do this, but rather that he didn't want to return to the Jade Clan and be ravaged by that woman again.

But he couldn't refuse, so he could only nod with difficulty, "This Disciple obeys the command."

"Good!"

Xu Sanyan patted his shoulder and then pulled out two sticks of soul-urging incense. "This item is called soul-urging incense. It has quite a miraculous effect and can assist you."

Xu Sanyan then informed him of the properties of the soul-urging incense and found a secluded place to send Lin Fan into the Secret Realm.

Now, only Xu Sanyan was left. He first circled the city to familiarize himself with the terrain and the various forces within the city. Finally, he took out a mother-child stone and sent a message,

"I'm here. Where are you?"

A moment later, a message came from the mother-child stone, "Thirty li south of Zhangzhi City, Zhangzhi Mountain."

Xu Sanyan put away the mother-child stone and strode out of the city, looking at the Mortal vendors along the way, which gave him a feeling as if he had returned to another era.

He seemed to have returned to his days in Qi Country.

There were also cultivators on the streets, but most of them were only in the Heavenly Human Realm. Those in Foundation Establishment were few and far between, and not a single one in the Mystic Path Realm could be seen.

The city gate was also unguarded, the large doors casually open, allowing people to enter and exit freely, as there was truly nothing to guard against.

Following the main road south, a low mountain appeared in the distance, which should be Zhangzhi Mountain.

The person Xu Sanyan had contacted was Chang Yulian, who had been sent earlier to collect fresh blood for his formation.

A figure was waiting at the foot of the mountain. Upon seeing Xu Sanyan, she immediately flew forward, nestled obediently into his arms, and whined, "Master, you've finally arrived. I've been so lonely these past few days."

Xu Sanyan frowned slightly. As Chang Yulian approached, a strong, foul, bloody smell assailed him.

"Heh, you little slut, you can still endure loneliness? You probably have countless boy toys."

"No, I've kept myself pure."

Chang Yulian was slightly lacking in confidence, then immediately changed the subject, "Master, please follow me. These past few days, I have been diligent and have not been negligent in any of Master's instructions."

As she spoke, the two of them crossed the low mountain, only to see an artificial cave appearing behind the mountain. Chang Yulian went in first. Xu Sanyan stood at the entrance, sniffing, and the foul, bloody smell grew stronger.

Entering the cave, the entrance sloped downwards, and it was pitch black inside, but it had no effect on Xu Sanyan.

After walking about a hundred paces, a fork in the road appeared ahead. Chang Yulian pointed to the left and said, "This is my living quarters."

Then she pointed to the right, "There's a blood pool over there."

Xu Sanyan had no interest in her living quarters and strode to the right. As he went deeper, the smell of blood grew stronger. After another ten paces, his vision suddenly opened up.

In the center of the wide mountain cave, a deep pit had been dug. The blood in the pit was already thick, some even solidified into clumps.

"How many people's is this?" Xu Sanyan covered his nose. This smell was truly unpleasant.

Chang Yulian, who was beside him, seemed to have gotten used to it. She counted on her fingers, "About a few hundred people, I guess. I didn't dare to be too ostentatious, so I only killed some from merchant caravans, and also some passersby and vagrants."

Chang Yulian's relaxed tone was as if she had casually crushed some ants, very nonchalant.

Xu Sanyan nodded slightly. This should be enough for a while.

In the mouths of the two, so-called Mortals were no different from pigs and dogs, completely disregarded.

Xu Sanyan cleared out a Storage Pouch specifically for storing fresh blood, then, despite Chang Yulian's attempts to keep him, returned to Zhangzhi City.

In that atmosphere, Xu Sanyan had no interest in doing anything with her,

Moreover, Xu Sanyan was intimately familiar with Chang Yulian from inside to out, from top to bottom, from deep to shallow, leaving no fun in exploration.

The old saying still holds true: a wife is not as good as a concubine, a concubine is not as good as a prostitute, a prostitute is not as good as a stolen affair, and a stolen affair is not as good as one that cannot be stolen. In the final analysis, it is all just a process of liking the new and disliking the old.

...

In Zhangzhi City, within the County Magistrate's office, County Magistrate Magistrate Yu Huaisheng sat in the public hall, his brows furrowed in worry, a few more white hairs appearing among his dark ones.

His mood had been very poor recently. Every two days, someone would come to report a missing person, with over a hundred people gone, and still no clues.

If all the missing were just common folk, it would be one thing, but among them was also his brother-in-law.