"Fu Qiuzi, we at Zha Jiang Stronghold urgently need a strategist. Would you be interested in joining us?" Li Qianluo asked.
Fu Qiuzi was flabbergasted. Come on! Couldn't you have thought about the name for just a couple more seconds? Zha Jiang Stronghold sounds incredibly crude! Just imagine having to introduce myself: I am "Fu Qiuzi, the strategist of Zha Jiang Stronghold"…
At first listen, everyone might think I'm a chef at a fried sauce shop, how embarrassing!
Fu Qiuzi touched his forehead, truly feeling a headache coming on.
But now, the real question before him was whether to trust Xiang Beifei and Li Qianluo, and join their so-called Zha Jiang Stronghold?
Fu Qiuzi had never been able to fully assess their strength; he had secretly used his Heavenly Connection to probe the two but could never gauge their depth. However, he knew very well that their display of power back in Giant Spirit Village was definitely superior to his, and now that the two dared to challenge three factions, maybe they were truly capable?
He decided to take a gamble.
After hesitating for a long time, Fu Qiuzi finally said, "I could, but could we change the name... Zha Jiang Stronghold, I just can't bring myself to say it."
"You don't like the name? How about we call it Fried Sauce Gang?" Li Qianluo asked.
Come on! Is the difference between 'Stronghold' and 'Gang' really the point? Isn't the real issue with the words 'Fried Sauce'?
Fu Qiuzi almost spat blood.
He brushed his chest to calm himself down and said, "Forget it, the name doesn't matter. The key thing right now is, Daoist Xiang, are you sure you can defeat Elder Zhen?"
"Let's just try and see," Xiang Beifei didn't explain in detail.
Fu Qiuzi wanted to say more but ultimately held back, saying nothing more. Since he had chosen to join Zha Jiang Stronghold as a strategist, he decided to trust them once.
"Cough cough... Be careful, if he was able to demolish our painstakingly built Unrestrained Base all by himself, it shows that he is no ordinary foe," the High Priest said in a rather weak voice.
"Don't worry, High Priest, I'll be careful," the man with the split head said, having appeared very irritable earlier, wanting to break the rules and start a fight. But that was just a pretense in coordination with the woman with the split lip. As a Heavenly Connection realm expert, he wouldn't underestimate a human who had repeatedly disrupted their plans.
Li Qianluo was right; Ghost Mustache of Remnant Visage's visit wasn't to invite Xiang Beifei to join them, but to provoke him. They were simply looking for an excuse to attack Xiang Beifei, then have the split head man kill him, allowing the High Priest to parasitize Xiang Beifei's body.
Xiang Beifei was well aware of this fact. He and Ghost Mustache of Remnant Visage were in a life-and-death struggle anyway, but since Ghost Mustache had established the Dawn Alliance, they had to abide by their own rules and act accordingly, therefore they sought such a pretext.
"However, when killing him, try to keep his body intact... cough cough... completely intact," the High Priest said.
"Understood, I will ensure his body is delivered to the High Priest unharmed, providing a perfect vessel," the man with the split head said.
The Demon Tentacle Race has always primarily used parasitism, choosing human bodies as vessels because the human race is naturally endowed with a Dao embryo, making it ideal for hosting. Before reaching the heavenly Connection realm, any human body could serve as their vessel, but in the Heavenly Connection realm, ordinary human Dao embryos cannot last long; a perfect fit is necessary.
Every body he found could not last long; they would all break down under his power.
However, he was unable to kill a Jiuzhou Heavenly Connection realm human because Jiuzhou was well-guarded, making infiltration impossible, and those Heavenly Connection realm humans generally lived a life of luxury, almost never leaving Jiuzhou territory, let alone giving him a chance to strike.
This forced him to frequently change vessels.
But the moment he saw Xiang Beifei, the High Priest knew his opportunity had arrived — Xiang Beifei was his most perfect vessel!
So he must kill Xiang Beifei!
The High Priest stretched out his hand, a slit opened in his finger, and a red tendril extended, entering the wound on the split head man's head.
The split head man's spirit revived, he rubbed his fists, causing a cracking sound, and then he let out a cold laugh.
By the banks of the Black Water River.
The three factions had already used their powerful means to set aside an area, specifically for settling personal grievances.
By this time, the place was already teeming with people, all eagerly awaiting the battle. After all, who doesn't love a good show? Who wins or loses didn't matter to them; they just wanted to watch how real experts fought.
"Come on, come on, place your bets! Place your bets! Demon Tentacle Race's split head disabled man versus the young genius from Congji Abyss decide their battle at Black Water River, the inaugural battle of the Land of Inheritance, foolish money, quick bets!"
Li Qianluo really was a girl who loved chaos; feeling too bored, she set up a betting pool, continuously calling out, quickly attracting a large crowd of cultivators to watch.
The method of the bet was also very simple, just wager the treasures one possessed.
Those who could come to the Land of Inheritance were at least at the God Refining stage, and every Yi Trib cultivator had plenty of treasures like Beast Pills, the most commonly used currency among them, as well as Spirit Energy ore with special abilities, all of which could be used for transactions.
"I bet on Xiang Beifei to win! Anyone who dares to bet against me, come on over, it's one to one; whatever you bet, I'll wager an item of the same quality," Li Qianluo said magnanimously.
"Do you have enough chips to cover that?" asked a Yi Trib cultivator.
With a wave of her hand, Li Qianluo made a pile of items appear in mid-air, comprising Beast Pills full of strong Spiritual Power and Spirit Energy ores, along with some special desolate beast horns or bones— all extremely precious treasures.
So wealthy and imposing!
From early God Refining to late orifice transforming stages, there were all sorts of items, densely packed and numbering over a thousand, immediately attracting many greedy glances.
Though it's said that wealth should not be flaunted, Li Qianluo seemed not to care at all as she slightly vibrated her Heavenly Connection realm aura and intimidated the other cultivators.
Those God Refining and orifice transforming cultivators who had ideas could only retract their gazes, as they dared not target anyone in Heavenly Connection realm. As for the masters in Heavenly Connection realm, they pondered quietly without revealing their stance.
"All my treasures are here. If you see an item you like, just bring an item of the same quality to bet against me. If the Demon Tentacle Elder Zhen wins, you can take the item you like for free. If Xiang Beifei wins, then the item you put up will belong to me. Each Daoist can only bet once," Li Qianluo said, laying out simple rules.
"Isn't this a huge win?"
Many Yi Trib cultivators were rooting for the Demon Tentacle Tribe's Mohawk man, whose strength was witnessed by all, deterring most cultivators, yet Li Qianluo dared to stake all her possessions on Xiang Beifei winning? Was she out of her mind?
Many who believed the Mohawk man would win were itching to take part. In their eyes, Li Qianluo was practically handing them warmth.
"I'll use a mid-God Refining Black Iron Beast Horn to bet against this Beast Pill of the Turtle Snake Eagle, betting on the Demon Tentacle Elder Zhen to win!"
"An early orifice transforming ghost pearl against this Beast Pill of the Red Sun Vermilion Bird, betting on the Demon Tentacle Elder Zhen to win!"
"I'll put up a mid-orifice transforming Condensed Crane Beast Pill to bet against the single horn of the Furious Steed, betting on the Demon Tentacle Elder Zhen to win!"
As there was nothing else to do, many Yi Trib cultivators joined the betting against Li Qianluo; upon liking one of Li Qianluo's displayed treasures, they would bring out their own treasure of the same quality.
Li Qianluo, laughing and joking, tagged each cultivator's treasure with their aura imprint and then linked them to her displayed items.
For instance, combining the Condensed Crane's Beast Pill with the single horn of the Furious Steed, tagging them with each other's mark. Thus, if the Mohawk man won, both items would belong to the opposition; if Xiang Beifei won, both would belong to Li Qianluo!
While she was betting against others, there were also several masters in Heavenly Connection realm observing from a distance. For these masters, participating in such bets was beneath their dignity; they merely watched.
This included the leader of the Heavenly Demon Assembly, Night Demon.
Night Demon was not only keeping an eye on Xiang Beifei, but he also had his reservations about Li Qianluo. Although he was unaware of Li Qianluo's capabilities, she was a Heavenly Connection realm master and deserved attention.
His gaze drifted over the array of Beast Pill treasures, treating orifice transforming treasures as insignificant. These items only appealed to orifice transforming cultivators; his caliber of strength found them unworthy.
But soon, his gaze suddenly sharpened!
Among these diverse, Spirit Energy-rich items, there was an inconspicuous stone that looked like a brick that had been broken. One side of the stone was square and neat, but the other side had jagged gaps.
This half-brick had no Spiritual Power fluctuations and looked dusty and ordinary on the surface, something any uninformed cultivator would dismiss as just half of a broken brick.
However, upon seeing this half-brick, Night Demon's expression momentarily stiffened!
A flash of excitement appeared in Night Demon's eyes!
A black light flickered briefly in his hand, and Demonic Qi gathered. Soon, another half of a gray brick appeared in his hand.
But one side of this half-brick was square and neat, while the other seemed to have a gap as if broken.
Upon careful comparison, Night Demon was surprised to find that the crack in the half-brick he held matched exactly with the one Li Qianluo had.
This meant the two stones could be combined into one complete brick!
"Holy stone! It's actually a holy stone! Such a precious item, and she has half of it!"
Night Demon carefully held the half-brick in his hand as if it were an incomparable treasure, fearing that it might break further.
This holy stone also had another name, called Five Pieces of Stone!