Chapter 96: Gathering!

Surprise flashed in Ding Xie’s eyes.

He recognized this pagoda.

In the memory of the Swordsman, this pagoda had appeared countless times.

Giant Wild Goose Pagoda!

But it was different from the one in his memory.

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The top of this pagoda was red.

Amidst the black and white, a splash of vermillion stood out.

There’s something on the top of the pagoda!

Ding Xie thought subconsciously.

He then carefully examined the entire painting again, and after confirming there were no omissions, he took the painting closer to the incense and candles, and then dipped it in water.

But when neither action yielded any change,

Ding Xie’s right hand, holding the scroll, suddenly shook.

Snap!

The scroll turned into fragments, fluttering like dancing butterflies.

There was nothing hidden inside.

Including the scroll’s spindle.

The top of the pagoda?

What could be there?”

While Ding Xie was guessing, the Leng Wa’s voice rang out from outside the secret room.

“Ge? Ge?”

Seeing Ding Xie walk out of the secret room, the Leng Wa immediately shouted.

“Are you my Ge?

Or that fox demon?”

Ding Xie raised his hand and ripped the rope apart.

Watching the hemp rope, which had bound him and which he couldn’t break free from no matter what, being ripped apart by Ding Xie, the Leng Wa nodded.

“You are my Ge.”

As the Leng Wa spoke, he peeked into the secret room.

He immediately saw the Wenxiang Cult Missionary Envoy, whose head was separated from his body, inside the secret room.

The Leng Wa turned his head and gave Ding Xie a thumbs up.

“Ge, you’re really awesome.

That fox spirit was too evil, and you killed it.

When we get back to the Region, you must take a trip into the Qinling Mountains. The old folks say there are Dragons inside.

If you drink Dragon blood, you can live forever!”

The Leng Wa walked toward the secret room as he spoke.

His vision had blurred just now, and in his confusion, there were some things he hadn’t seen clearly.

This time, he wanted to see clearly.

But as soon as he saw clearly,

the Leng Wa regretted it.

He looked at the stitched-up child, his eyes red, and blinked hard twice.

“Do you know him?”

Ding Xie asked.

“Yeah.

He’s the son of Sister-in-law Li, he often smiled at me.

A couple of days ago, I didn’t see him, and Sister-in-law Li said he got lost.”

The Leng Wa turned his head and looked at Ding Xie.

“Ge, you say—”

“He got lost.”

Ding Xie stated with certainty.

The Leng Wa opened his mouth, then nodded fiercely.

“Right, he just got lost.

This poor kid—

had bad luck.”

Saying this, the Leng Wa carried the child out of the secret room.

He dug a separate hole outside for the child.

After pulling a mat out of the Li family house and wrapping the child in it, he filled the grave with dirt.

Then, the Leng Wa dug holes one by one and buried the remaining children nearby.

Next, he used fire to burn the secret room completely clean.

The firelight shone brightly, dispelling the darkness.

Fierce flames rose, incinerating the chilling wind.

In the center of the Ten Mile Slope fortress, beneath the flagpole.

A bonfire was lit.

A clay pot was placed over the bonfire.

Inside the clay pot were dried meat and dried radish.

The Leng Wa was putting broken pieces of flatbread into it.

The pale meat broth immediately gained a different kind of fragrance.

He hadn’t brought these; they were spoils Ding Xie found on the saddles of the Ghostly Elusive Sand Bandits—dried meat, salt, and flatbread.

The aroma of meat assailed the nostrils.

But the Leng Wa was distracted.

He couldn’t help but look again at Ding Xie, who had been sitting there motionless since the afternoon.

Ding Xie hadn’t moved.

But the sand around Ding Xie kept moving.

At first, it was just wisps.

By sunset, it was in large patches.

By now, the Leng Wa felt like the ground was about to flip over.

The sand below seemed to have some massive creature about to rush out, constantly surging.

My Ge, he wouldn’t be a demon, would he?

Or some kind of ghost?

The Leng Wa couldn’t help but wonder.

Born in the Region, the Leng Wa had experienced quite a few strange occurrences there.

Not to mention the Blood Face Red Hair and two-foot long fingernails, the Qinling Mountains alone were full of strange events.

Great White Serpents wrapping around coffins, stones growing human faces.

Mountain Rushers, Long Ghosts.

And Yin Soldiers Passing By.

He hadn’t encountered some other evil thing, had he?

“No.”

Ding Xie suddenly spoke.

The Leng Wa was startled.

“Ge, how did you know what I was thinking?”

“Because I saw it.”

Ding Xie’s words scared the Leng Wa into jumping up.

The Leng Wa thought of what his father had told him: those who could use their eyes to peer into people’s hearts were—

Demons!

And those who could peer into hearts while appearing no different from ordinary people were “Heavenly Demons!”

The Leng Wa retreated several steps, but seeing Ding Xie still sitting there motionless, he immediately realized.

“Ge, you scared me.”

The Leng Wa walked back and squatted down by the bonfire again.

Then, he suddenly said—

“Ge, if you were really a Heavenly Demon, that would be great.”

“Why?”

Ding Xie’s accent was unconsciously influenced.

“This rotten world—

might as well be completely shattered by a Heavenly Demon.”

As the Leng Wa spoke, he stood up.

“Ge, I don’t want to be called Dong the Second anymore.

I want to be called Dong Heavenly Demon.”

Smack!

Sand rose from the Void Realm, striking the back of his head.

It didn’t hurt him, but it stung, making him yelp.

“I won’t call myself that, I won’t call myself that.

I dare not call myself Heavenly Demon.

Demon is taboo.

I know this is to avoid bad luck.

My father taught me.”

The Leng Wa rubbed the back of his head, looking cautiously at Ding Xie sitting there, mumbling.

“But I really don’t have a proper name.

Demon, no.

Treasure (Bao), that works, right?

Heavenly Treasure (Tianbao), Tianbao! From now on, I’ll be called Dong Tianbao!”

The Leng Wa’s voice grew louder as he spoke.

Ding Xie looked at the Leng Wa standing by the bonfire and did nothing more, only adding one sentence.

“Remember, my fate is up to me, not Heaven!”

The Leng Wa froze.

Then, his eyes lit up.

“My fate is up to me, not Heaven!

That’s right!

If I should die, let the world turn upside down! If I don’t die, I’ll live for ten thousand years!”

The Leng Wa yelled, straightening his back.

“Mutton soup.”

Ding Xie said softly.

The Leng Wa immediately bent down to ladle the soup.

“Coming, Ge.”

The mutton was scalding hot, dispelling the desert chill.

The dried meat and flatbread soaked up the broth, becoming soft and tender. With one bite, his mouth was fragrant, his stomach warm, and his spirits lifted.

It was at this moment that Ding Xie’s repair of Ten Thousand Miles of Quicksand reached the limit of his Physique.

【Ten Thousand Miles of Quicksand Level 5: Developed from a half-complete remnant of the Quicksand River ultimate technique, the Thirteen Styles of Flying Sand and Moving Stones. Repaired by your Super Intelligence, and based on your extraordinary Physique, it has surpassed the original power of the Thirteen Styles of Flying Sand and Moving Stones. Effect: Raises sand, dirt, and stones within a 10-meter radius out of thin air, which can not only blind opponents but also injure them. When using breathing to mobilize movement and dive into the sand, you can move at half the speed of your own Physique, and you can form a quicksand area with a radius of no more than 100 meters to swallow creatures, or raise a 10-meter high sand wave to strike enemies】

(Note: Has reached the Physique limit)

Unlike fundamental Cultivation Techniques that nourish Qi and blood and increase Physique,

for this kind of skill-based Cultivation Technique relying entirely on Physique, Ding Xie’s talent 【Martial Star. Innate Gift】 made the repair and excavation truly effortless.

Moreover, he just had a new idea.

His gaze shifted back to the Six Paths Preliminary Body.

The night deepened.

The Leng Wa lay by the fire and fell asleep.

Thirty li outside the Ten Mile Slope fortress, groups upon groups of mounted bandits were gathering.

They were either in large groups, or just two people, or adorned themselves with human bones.

Excluding the already deceased Ghostly Elusive, the four major bandit groups—Leaving Not Even Chickens or Dogs, Bloody Storm, and Paralyzed Dog Devouring Man—had all gathered!