CHAPTER 79: CHAPTER 79: SNATCH

Rustling pines in the wilderness, swept by a gentle breeze.

An unhurried figure approached from afar.

It was a scholar, riding on a donkey. The scholar wore a bamboo hat, a blue shirt, cloth boots, and carried a bulging bookbag on his back. The donkey’s coat was dark, its ears stood tall, its steps steady. Dappled sunlight filtered through the leaves overhead. In hand, the scholar held a scroll, his head bowed in thought upon the donkey’s back. The donkey ambled contentedly, occasionally cropping tender green leaves at the roadside, emitting a low and pleasing snort.

"Good donkey, don’t be so greedy, or you might delay us and find yourself roasted in a bun," Qi Xiu said. Noticing the slackening pace, he set aside his scroll and tapped the gluttonous donkey lightly.

"BRAY!"

With a bray, the donkey ducked its head, seemingly understanding Qi Xiu’s words, and quickened its stride.

We should be close by now.

Pulling out a map from his bookbag, Qi Xiu calculated. He had left Baoho County yesterday and travelled for a day and a night; Tiger Roar Pass should not be far off now.

Just as Qi Xiu was turning the map over, surveying his surroundings to ascertain his position, a noise suddenly erupted from up ahead. With a shift of gaze, Qi Xiu formed a hand seal, swiftly recited a complex incantation, and the Flood Dragon Pool Ring glowed faintly. A cold mist spread out abruptly. It transformed into a twisting, unnatural fog that enshrouded the figures of man and donkey from sight.

Secret Skill of the Azure Pond and Ghostly Scales—Shadow Barrier.

"Can you stop eating? The King already told us to cut down. If you eat them all, how are we going to lure others here?"

Two figures ambled along a mountain path. Each had a head as large as a bucket, was bloated and obese, with dark green skin—half-human, half-toad.

"Eh, I’ve only eaten three people in the past few days. No big deal," one toad-man said unconcernedly, chewing on a human arm, blood splattering, bones crunching. "Honestly, the King... Why keep these people alive? We might as well eat them all. Wouldn’t that be delightful?"

"You dimwit!" the other toad-man retorted. "If we eat them all, what will we use to lure others here? These ordinary people don’t pack much of a punch when eaten. It’s the warriors and sorcerers that are tasty—both tough and flavorful. I’ve heard that just one piece of an Initiate Realm cultivator’s flesh is worth years of hard cultivation for us. TSK, TSK, TSK. In a few days, when the King holds his birthday feast, I wonder if we’ll even get a bite," he fantasized, wiping drool from his mouth.

"Dream on. With so many under the King, it won’t be our turn. If you ask me, we should eat more while we have the chance these few days, don’t you think?" the first toad-man said. After spitting out a bone, he extended his bright red tongue and licked his lips. Barely a few steps on, however, he noticed his companion wasn’t making any sound.

"Why aren’t you..."

Turning its head in confusion, the toad-man’s bulbous eyes suddenly shrank. It saw a man clad in blue, dressed like a scholar, smiling faintly at it. At his feet, its companion who had just been speaking lay torn apart, now a pile of flesh and blood.

"Hel—"

Before he could shout, a bright red bamboo staff was already touching the toad-man’s forehead.

"If you want to live, keep quiet."

The bone-chilling killing intent was like a needle prick, and the toad-man quickly clamped his mouth shut.

"I ask, you answer. If you dare to lie, that will be your fate," Qi Xiu spoke softly, pointing to the pile of twitching flesh beside them.

The toad-man nodded frantically.

"Where is the Golden Flower Maternal Sect Rebel Army that was here?"

According to intelligence from Song Tingye, the grain convoy had been blocked at Tiger Roar Pass because the Golden Flower Maternal Sect Rebel Army was entrenched there. But from the conversation between these two Half-Demons, it was clear this was no longer the case.

"Part of them were eaten... and the King took another part away to save for the birthday feast," the toad-man replied in a daze, swallowing hard.

"Who is your king, and what Realm is he in?"

"Our king is called King Jincai, an Initiate Realm Demon. He has three hundred Half-Demons and eight hundred Demonic Cultivators under his command, leading a vanguard of sixteen hundred! You... you’d better release me quickly, otherwise, my king will not—OUCH!"

A staff strike made the toad-man howl in pain. Qi Xiu rolled his eyes.

Three hundred Half-Demons and eight hundred Demonic Cultivators? Why not just say an army of one hundred thousand?

"Where is your king now?" Qi Xiu continued to ask.

If there really was an Initiate Realm Demon at Tiger Roar Pass, I would have to abandon this mission. Although I possess Hunyuan Power and have the means to kill those at the Initiate Realm level, fighting an Initiate Realm Demon to the death for no good reason is not something I can do.

"Right at Tiger Roar Pass," the toad-man said, his eyes shifting slightly.

Noticing the subtle change in the Half-Demon’s expression, Qi Xiu smiled faintly. "Still not being completely honest. You’re forcing me to use some... measures on you."

Qi Xiu took out a brush from his satchel and with a casual stroke, a Medicine Talisman landed on the toad-man’s face.

Bewildering Mind and Soul Talisman.

As its medicinal power dispersed and merged into the toad-man’s body, his once-darting, bulbous eyes suddenly became hazy and turbid.

Bewildering Mind and Soul Powder.

An extraordinary medicine that causes confusion in the user’s mind and makes them obedient to the one who administers it. However, this medicine has significant side effects; its medicinal power is unstable and can easily turn a person into an idiot.

"Where is your king now, and how many of your people are at Tiger Roar Pass?"

"I... My king returned to Dongli County five days ago to prepare for the birthday feast. He left three leaders and fifty Half-Demons here to guard this place and ambush any rescue teams."

The toad-man, his head lolling, spilled all his side’s information.

Dongli County? Isn’t that where those refugees outside the city came from?

Qi Xiu relentlessly questioned the toad-man for a full half hour. One Bewildering Mind and Soul Talisman was used after another. By the time the toad-man uttered his last word, his eyes were bloodshot, veins bulged all over his body, and he curled up like a shrimp, convulsed, and died.

This King Jincai really has some abilities. Escaping all the way from Xiangchu Province, not only did he survive, but he also used the Magic Artifact in his possession to level up along the way and become an Initiate Realm Demon.

His eyes flashed with keen interest as Qi Xiu gently caressed the autumn bamboo staff in his hand. He learned from the toad-man that King Jincai possessed a Magic Artifact called the Gathering Yuan Treasure Bag. This artifact had no significant offensive or defensive capabilities, but it could refine an extraordinary medicine called the Gathering Yuan Pill. This Gathering Yuan Pill had a potent nourishing effect on those below the Dao-Entering Realm. The fact that King Jincai had ascended to the Dao-Entering Realm so swiftly was primarily due to this Magic Artifact. It was also thanks to these Gathering Yuan Pills that King Jincai had managed to gather such a large group of Half-Demons, allowing him to dominate Dongli County and become a local tyrant.

If I could seize this Gathering Yuan Treasure Bag and use the Gathering Yuan Pills to aid my cultivation, I could quickly master the True Cultivation Power methods and forge the Hunyuan Dragon Tiger Scripture Mystery. With my current Realm and the general outline of the Hunyuan Dragon and Tiger Scripture, I can quickly cultivate any True Cultivation Power method to the Condensation Realm. But after reaching the Condensation Realm, cultivation speed slows considerably. Accumulating Internal Qi and Magic Power is a grind. Without a sufficient quantity of high-quality nourishing elixirs, rapid progress is very difficult. At my current pace, I estimate it would take at least five years to fully forge the Hunyuan Dragon Tiger Scripture Mystery—and that’s the minimum. But if I could get my hands on this Gathering Yuan Treasure Bag...