Qiu Luoye and the burly man were not hitting it off, and with a sudden kick, he sent the burly man flying.
The burly man soared from his spot, crashed through the front door of the house, flew out of the back door, skimmed along the Earth Skin, and carved a deep ditch a hundred-odd meters long.
The burly man, with his thick skin and flesh, wasn’t badly hurt. Before he could even get up, Qiu Luoye was already upon him, stomping down with a heavy foot.
If Qiu Daxiang had really landed this stomp, no matter how tough the burly man was, it would have been difficult for him to stand up again.
Unexpectedly, the burly man was quite agile. He flipped over on the spot, dodging Qiu Luoye’s kick, then looked up and spat a mouthful of sticky phlegm at him.
When his cultivation level was still at Earth Skin, Qiu Luoye had wandered the Jianghu. During a scuffle with ruffians, spitting in someone’s face was a pretty effective technique.
Those with sufficient skills could spit directly, while those less adept could first spit into their palm and then smear it on the opponent’s face. This could obstruct the opponent’s vision and dampen their fighting spirit.
Qiu Luoye wouldn’t usually fall for this trick, but the burly man’s phlegm was truly sticky. It clung to Qiu Luoye’s face, gluing his eyes shut.
Seeing his chance, the burly man jumped up and stuck to Qiu Luoye, pummeling him.
Qiu Luoye hated this way of fighting the most.
He tried several times to push the burly man away, using quite a bit of strength, but he failed to push the burly man off; instead, they became stuck even tighter.
Shui Yongquan saw what was happening and realized his misjudgment about the burly man’s Taoist Sect.
Such a robust man, who even had a pair of sharp fangs, looked like a Body Cultivator or even a Martial Cultivator. If he were older, he could also be a Strength Cultivator.
But looking at his Technique, he was actually a Glue Cultivator, a Taoist Sect whose specialty was sticking to opponents.
The sweat, saliva, and tears of a Glue Cultivator were all sticky. Once they stuck to someone, it was hard to get free.
Qiu Luoye, fed up with being stuck to him, exerted brute strength and flung the burly man off.
He managed to throw him off, but the burly man tore a large piece of skin and flesh from Qiu Luoye’s arm in the process.
Qiu Luoye wasn’t afraid of this; he hardly felt any pain.
The burly man got up from the ground and spat towards Qiu Luoye again. Qiu Luoye dodged, but the man stuck to him once more.
Qiu Luoye wanted to throw him off again, but Shui Yongquan couldn’t bear to watch.
A Glue Cultivator shouldn’t be able to act so quickly; making their adhesive took time.
But this burly man was incredibly swift, able to stick to someone instantly, proof that his cultivation level was Above the Clouds. It was hard to say whether he or Qiu Luoye was stronger.
Taoist Sects like Body Cultivation, Martial Cultivation, and Strength Cultivation were at a clear disadvantage against Glue Cultivation.
If Qiu Luoye continued to fight this way, the burly man wouldn’t even need to exert any effort; Qiu Luoye himself would end up tearing off all his own skin.
WHOOSH!
A stream of water rushed over, and the stickiness on the burly man lessened.
Qiu Luoye seized the opportunity to break free. He swung his fists, delivering a flurry of heavy blows. It wasn’t long before the burly man admitted defeat.
"I give up! Two against one, you guys are too shameless!"
Qiu Luoye looked at Shui Yongquan and said, "I didn’t need your help!"
The burly man bellowed, "If you’ve got guts, wait until I’m dry, and we’ll go one-on-one again."
As the two were about to start fighting again, Shui Yongquan stepped forward to mediate. "My friend, you were too aggressive with your words earlier, and my brother here also has a bit of a temper. Words led to more words, and feelings got hurt. Actually, we just came to ask for directions, nothing more. We’ll all be neighbors from now on, so we should try to get along."
The burly man challenged, "Since you claim to be neighbors, then why are you asking for directions?"
Shui Yongquan smiled and said, "We have just moved here."
"Just moved?" The burly man was startled, then looked at Qiu Luoye. "Have you become the Local Deity of the north?"
That statement wasn’t wrong, either.
Qiu Luoye, while wiping his eyes, replied, "So what if I have?"
The burly man’s face lit up with delight. "Is that old woman from the north side dead, or has she run away?"
"Which old woman?"
"That old woman! The kind nobody would bury!" the burly man laughed. "You’ve become the Local Deity, so you must have snatched her territory. I won’t have to live next to her anymore! That old woman is truly detestable."
There was a misunderstanding here, but it couldn’t be easily clarified.
The burly man thought that Qiu Luoye had taken over the northern territory and had become the Local Deity.
But if Qiu Luoye said he had brought his own Territory with him, the burly man probably wouldn’t understand any time soon.
So, they decided not to explain for the time being. Shui Yongquan asked, "The old woman you mentioned, how exactly is she detestable?"
The burly man was taken aback. "Don’t you find her detestable? If she needed you for something, she’d call you brother, claim to be related, and bring up friendships that were a million miles removed, just to get her way. But if you went to her for help, she’d dismiss you with a curt ’no relatives, no friends, no connections.’ That old woman was shameless, and her servants were no better! The kind of trash nobody would bury when they die—just looking at them is sickening."
Hearing the burly man’s description, Shui Yongquan came to a sudden realization. "My friend, the place you’re talking about, is it Wuqin Village?"
"Yes!" the burly man nodded. "You’re the Local Deity now and you don’t even know the name of this place?"
Qiu Luoye shook his head. "My place is different from hers."
The burly man sneered, "One’s environment shapes their character. You’ve become the Local Deity here; sooner or later, you’ll turn into the same kind of person, you’ll all end up as the kind of scum no one would bury!"
Qiu Luoye stood up. "Still want to fight, is it?"
The burly man was unyielding. "Fine, let’s fight! But if you have any guts, don’t bring your helper."
Shui Yongquan urged, "Alright, you two, there’s a misunderstanding here. Let’s discuss this later." He turned to Qiu Luoye. "Big Elephant, now that things are clear, we should be going." Then, addressing the burly man, he asked, "Mighty warrior, may I ask your esteemed name?"
The burly man said, "My surname is Wan. My name is Wan Nianlao."
Qiu Luoye’s right eye still hadn’t opened. "Is this also Wan Nianlao?" he quipped, referring to his still-stuck eyelid.
With a wave of his hand, the burly man dispelled the Technique, and Qiu Luoye’s eye opened.
Qiu Luoye thought.
Wan Nianlao said to Qiu Luoye, "Today we fought, you gave me a beating, and I tore off a layer of your skin, so we’re even. I don’t care about your grudge with that old woman. From now on, let’s mind our own business and not provoke each other!"
Qiu Luoye laughed. "That’s hard to say. If I’m in a bad mood someday, I might still come over and beat you up for fun."
Wan Nianlao retorted without hesitation, "If you dare come, I’ll take you on!"
Shui Yongquan asked, "Mr. Wan, you must be the Local Deity of this place, right?"
Wan Nianlao nodded. "So what if I am?"
"May I ask if this Territory is New Land or Old Land?"
"New Land, of course! What kind of place is Old Land? Look how much Spiritual Energy my place has!"
Shui Yongquan smiled. "To be frank, on my journey here, I really haven’t seen many living beings."
Wan Nianlao snorted coldly. "Isn’t that to avoid those scumbags that nobody would bury? Some things are impossible to guard against. You’ll understand eventually."
Shui Yongquan cupped his fists and took his leave. As they walked along the road, Qiu Luoye was still fuming. "Old Shui, tell me, when encountering these disgusting Taoist Sect practitioners, what is the proper way to fight them?"
"No way is proper," Shui Yongquan shook his head. "Big Elephant, take my advice: maintain a good relationship with this Wan Nianlao. He’s not a bad sort. Glue Cultivation counters close combat. As far as I know, among close-combat Taoist Sects, only one can counter Glue Cultivators. All other close-combat Taoist Sects are at a disadvantage against them."
Qiu Luoye thought for a moment. "You’re referring to Oil Cultivators, right?"
Shui Yongquan nodded. "Unfortunately, this Taoist Sect is nearly extinct."
Qiu Luoye said, "I’ll have Old Qi go to Greenwater City another day to ask around if there are any Oil Cultivators left. If there are no Oil Cultivators, that’s fine too. I’ll get Old Qi to bring some good oil, smear it on myself, and then I’ll go thrash Wan Nianlao again."
"Greenwater City?" Shui Yongquan gave a cold laugh. "Do you think Greenwater City is that easy to visit?"
Qiu Luoye said, "Now that we’ve figured out that this is the original Territory of Wuqin Village, and we know the location, won’t the way be easy to find?"
"How will you find it? All sides are sealed by Boundaries, and you’ve even offended the Border Defense Envoy. How do you plan to leave now? Wait for the Border Defense Envoy to open the checkpoint for you? Or build a railway for you?"
Qiu Luoye also realized the situation was quite grave. "The only way out is through Wan Nianlao’s New Land. It seems I’ll have to interact with him frequently in the future."
"That’s why you can’t afford to completely fall out with him!" Shui Yongquan sighed. "But even if he’s willing to help, the path through New Land isn’t easy. Qiu Daxiang, I really shouldn’t have come to your Territory to watch the fun. Now, even I don’t know how to get back."
Qiu Luoye was also anxious. He wanted to go back and discuss countermeasures with Li Qi.
But he couldn’t find Li Qi.
Li Qi was in his Portable Residence, listening to the Old Man recount his research findings.
"When Qiu Luoye’s Territory merged, it reminded me of something. When I followed Old Train, it seems I also experienced similar scenes. But if I think hard about it, those events are somewhat fuzzy. Ah Qi, find an opportunity to cross the Boundary, so I can take a closer look at the changes here."
Li Qi thought. He had long wanted to check out the adjacent area. He needed to find out who their neighbors were and also figure out a way to open a path out of this Territory.
「Late that night」
While everyone was asleep, Li Banfeng took his device and went to the western Boundary.
There had been villagers looking across when Qiu Luoye’s Territory had just merged. As long as there was a village, Li Banfeng could quickly gather information.
He pulled the lever on his device, first sending Sweet Melon Hong Ying across the Boundary.
Sweet Melon Hong Ying crossed unharmed, and Li Banfeng followed suit.
The device could only be used once a day; the Old Man in the Portable Residence would have to wait until tomorrow even if he hadn’t gotten a clear look.
He walked along the village road for a while and saw an old man pulling a cart of coal up a long slope, struggling to ascend.
The slope was long, and the old man had not reached halfway when he ran out of strength and was already sliding back step by step.
"Young man, give me a hand!" the old man waved at Li Banfeng. "Help me out, I really can’t drag it anymore. I have some money on me. When we get to the top of the slope, I’ll give it all to you. I also have some dry rations, I’ll give those to you too!"
Li Banfeng gently pushed from behind the cart, and the old man instantly felt lighter, and pulled the cart all the way to the top of the slope.
The old man put down the cart, sat down at the side of the road, wiped his sweat, lit his pipe bowl, and didn’t give Li Banfeng another glance.
Li Banfeng asked, "What place is this?"
The old man didn’t speak.
Thinking he hadn’t heard clearly, Li Banfeng asked again, "Old sir, may I ask for directions, what place is this?"
The old man spoke with an expressionless face, "We’re not related, nor are we friends. I don’t know where you’ve come from, and it’s the middle of the night, so I don’t know what your intentions are. You should ask someone else."
Li Banfeng thought, nodding. He lifted the cart’s shafts and, with a casual shove, sent the cart clattering all the way from the top of the slope to the bottom.
The old man was stupefied. "You... how can a young man like you do such a thing...?"
"We’re not related nor friends. How did you expect me to act?" Li Banfeng lowered his hat brim and turned and walked away.
PS: Wuqin Village, where He Jiaqing has a strong foundation, see Chapter 238 for details.
Lord of Puluo achieves Glory One Star. Shala lacks operational skills, relying entirely on the full support of the readers, who have pushed Shala to One Star. Shala is deeply grateful for the readers’ kindness.