Chapter 411: Beggar Cultivator

The Mobile Dwelling selected its location within a forest in the Autumn Leaf Lands.

The station was built underground; the Mobile Dwelling was confident it could avoid detection by the Autumn Leaves and other strange beings, but it needed Li Banfeng's cover.

The Autumn Leaves had no time to care about anything else—he had to manage land reclamation and inspections, while guarding against intruders from Inner State, leaving him constantly frazzled.

Li Banfeng covered the Mobile Dwelling's construction while contacting Luo Zhengnan to notify Ma Wu to continue recruiting people for land reclamation.

Ma Wu was curious—what would it look like to have over a thousand people reclaiming new land?

Still recruiting people, Seventh Brother?

Ma Wu checked the ledger—this period, money had been spent faster than flowing water.

What kind of grand scheme was he planning?

…

A beggar, covered in pus-filled sores, stood silently before the Xiaoyao Wu, watching the crowd signing up for land reclamation.

Li Qi paid well, so anyone in Green Water City struggling to survive wanted to try their luck.

Those who had been to the new land didn't hesitate—they set off the same day.

Some had never even been to the new land, but still gathered courage and followed along.

Green Beggar shook his bowl, pondering Li Qi's intentions.

Does he want to turn the Autumn Elephant's territory into proper land?

If he succeeded, he'd become the earliest landowner of proper land—if the entire territory became his, the benefits would be immense.

But reclamation alone isn't enough—where would he get ten thousand people to settle permanently?

Who would live in the Autumn Elephant's wasteland, no matter how much money was offered?

And how would he manage it?

With just his and Ma Wu's meager foundations, how hard would it be to establish a proper territory?

Even the Four Great Families couldn't pull this off.

If Li Qi isn't insane, he shouldn't be doing this.

Yet he's doing it—proving someone is helping him behind the scenes.

Who is helping him?

Why is he recruiting so openly in Green Water City?

The Green Water Beggar picked up his bowl and left Xiaoyao Wu.

Li Qi—a fascinating man.

Fascinating men are dangerous.

Who is the person behind you targeting?

If it's targeting me, I should kill you as soon as possible.

If it's not targeting me…

Killing you still wouldn't hurt.

…

The station was completed, built at the center of the forest.

The entrance was invisible during normal times, indistinguishable from the surrounding ground.

Seven ancient trees surrounded it; all had been infested by insects, but to varying depths—when struck, each emitted a different tone.

Only by playing the melody "False Seriousness" by striking these seven ancient trees could the entrance be opened.

With sufficient security ensured, Li Banfeng prepared to return to Green Water City personally to continue recruiting for land reclamation.

He had walked this path countless times—he could return blindfolded. Passing through Gourd Gully, he was nearly at Blue Willow Village when a man sat on the ground, holding out a bowl: "Kind sir, have mercy on me—I haven't eaten all day."

Because of its proximity to Green Water Bay, Li Banfeng was extremely cautious around beggars.

This beggar's face was relatively clean, without pus or sores; his clothes were tattered, stitched together from scraps of various fabrics.

Judging by his age, he was at least seventy, his lips sunken, likely with few teeth left—Li Banfeng pulled out a piece of dried rations and asked, "Can you eat this?"

"Yes!" The old beggar nodded vigorously.

Li Banfeng handed over the ration; the old beggar caught it with his bowl.

As Li Banfeng let go, the ration was about to drop into the bowl—suddenly, the beggar spoke at lightning speed: "Since you've given it, then…"

The words came too fast, too suddenly—Li Banfeng didn't react in time.

Tang Dao suddenly unsheathed and slashed the beggar's bowl over.

The ration missed the bowl and fell to the ground.

The beggar reached to pick it up—Tang Dao stabbed the ration and flicked its blade, flinging the ration aside.

"Lord, be careful! He's a Beggar Cultivator!"

Beggar Cultivator?

Li Banfeng had never encountered this sect.

He'd only heard Yuan Shoulu was a practitioner of this sect—the local deity of Flower Child Bay.

Yuan Shoulu was later defeated by Green Beggar, his territory seized, and Flower Child Bay became today's Green Water Bay.

Could this beggar be Yuan Shoulu?

Li Banfeng activated Golden Eyes and Autumn Hairs—this man carried ghostfire.

He was a local deity—likely Yuan Shoulu himself!

He'd been living right beside Green Beggar's territory all this time.

Tang Dao stabbed toward the beggar's third eye.

The beggar didn't dodge—he reached out with his hand to catch it, muttering rapidly: "Have mercy on me!"

Tang Dao instantly retracted, refusing to press forward.

This wasn't Tang Dao showing fear—it was technique.

Wine Gourd shouted: "Begging for pity, young master—don't give him anything, or you'll lose combat power!"

If the beggar seized Tang Dao, even if Li Banfeng gave him the sword, Li Banfeng would lose some combat power—not much, but it would trigger other techniques.

The beggar failed to grab Tang Dao and reached for Li Banfeng instead.

Li Banfeng didn't dare block—he dodged with all his strength.

He was too unfamiliar with Beggar Cultivators—he feared blocking might cause more trouble.

His instinct proved correct—if he'd blocked or countered, the beggar might have taken something from him.

Perhaps an ordinary item, or a shred of his clothing.

Once taken, the beggar's technique would activate.

Seeing Li Banfeng dodge, the beggar reached for his collar—Li Banfeng moved faster, always evading first.

Unable to grab Li Banfeng, the beggar suddenly pulled a bamboo tube from his sleeve.

Li Banfeng thought it was a weapon or magic treasure—instead, the beggar placed it to his lips and began to play a tune.

It was a musical instrument called a chi.

To his surprise, the beggar played beautifully—Li Banfeng genuinely found it pleasing.

Wine Gourd shouted: "Young master, don't listen! This is Chi-Begging for Alms!"

As he spoke, Tang Dao stabbed toward the bamboo tube.

What if he listened?

If Li Banfeng heard the entire melody, he'd be compelled to give the beggar something—refusing would torment his conscience.

Food, money—anything given would trigger the technique, costing him part of his combat power.

Li Banfeng didn't understand the reason, only that the bamboo tube was dangerous.

Tang Dao hesitated, unwilling to fight the beggar—Li Banfeng picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at the bamboo tube.

Within five meters, he never missed.

The stone struck the bamboo tube precisely, snapping it in two.

The Beggar Cultivator's bamboo tube was specially made, requiring unique maintenance—he could carry only one at a time. Now broken, he had no immediate replacement, rendering Chi-Begging useless.

But the beggar tossed aside the broken tube, bent down to pick up the stone at his feet, muttering: "Since you've given it…"

Tang Dao slashed toward the beggar's hand—the beggar grabbed for the blade, Tang Dao swiftly withdrew, and the beggar reached again for the stone.

Wine Gourd shouted: "Insatiable greed—don't let him pick up that stone!"

Li Banfeng never imagined a stone counted as alms.

With ordinary Beggar Cultivators, you had to give something useful—but this one's cultivation was too high; even spitting on him, he'd accept it.

Begging for Pity and Chi-Begging were techniques to steal combat power—minor losses, not devastating.

The truly terrifying part was that triggering these techniques activated the follow-up: "Insatiable Greed."

This was the ninth tier of Beggar Cultivator techniques—once receiving alms, the beggar would demand more—limbs, organs, magic treasures. If the cultivation gap was wide enough, he might demand a life—and refusing wouldn't matter; you'd have to give.

The beggar bent low searching for the stone—Li Banfeng saw his chance.

His body vanished instantly.

The beggar raised an eyebrow: "Horse-Viewing Flowers?"

He didn't rush to search—just stood still, waiting.

The technique had succeeded; Li Banfeng, fearing he might survive, prepared to follow up with Treading Through Ten Thousand Rivers—but Tang Dao blocked him.

Why are you stopping me…

Li Banfeng froze—he saw the beggar still standing, unchanged.

Snap!

A crack split the beggar's face.

How big was the cut?

More than an inch long, a little blood oozed out, clearly shallow.

Li Banfeng froze. He knew Cloudwalkers could endure the Horse-Gazing Technique; he never expected to kill with one strike, but he hadn't imagined the Horse-Gazing Technique would cause only this minor wound.

"Hehe~" The beggar grinned, touching his face. "That hurt."

The gourd whispered: "Thick face, thick skin."

The Beggar Art "Thick Face, Thick Skin" transforms fatal injuries on the body into mere facial scars, for the skin on the face is so thick that the damage from such a scar is extremely limited.

This technique's defensive power rivals that of "Caring Heart, Benevolent Nature," but unlike "Caring Heart, Benevolent Nature," it has no limit on usage; as long as the Beggar has stamina, he can use "Thick Face, Thick Skin" indefinitely. The only flaw is the long preparation time required.

The beggar had far more combat experience than Li Banfeng. When he bent down to pick up the stone, he was luring Li Banfeng into attacking—he had already prepared "Thick Face, Thick Skin."

He assumed Li Banfeng, relying on the ferocity of the Horse-Gazing Technique, would press the advantage—but he hadn't anticipated Tang Dao would intervene.

The gourd hurriedly whispered in Li Banfeng's ear: "Young Master, don't run. That stone is still on the ground."

Several seconds had passed since he threw the stone—was the beggar's technique still active?

Logically, it should have expired, but the gourd dared not gamble.

"I'm not very familiar with Beggar Cultivators. His cultivation base is too high—I can't say how long the technique lasts. Young Master, stall a bit longer. Try to stretch it past one minute."

Stall for one minute?

Facing a master like this, delaying even one more second could be fatal.

As Li Banfeng pondered, Tang Dao suddenly snapped back into his pocket—he turned and ran.

The beggar didn't go for the stone—he chased after Li Banfeng from behind.

Li Banfeng had guessed right.

Why was he so bold to gamble?

The reason came from when he threw the food.

Before the food even landed in the bowl, the beggar shouted: "You came all this way..."

He only needed to wait a moment longer—wait until the food dropped into the bowl before speaking—and Li Banfeng would have fallen for it.

So why did he shout so urgently?

Then, when Tang Dao knocked the food away, why didn't the beggar go to pick it up?

Li Banfeng deduced that the Beggar Art had a strict time limit: from the moment of offering alms to activating the technique, it must be completed in an extremely short window. If the thrown stone hadn't been retrieved within seconds, it was likely already expired.

It was too risky. What if he guessed wrong?

If he guessed wrong, the beggar would definitely pick up the stone. Before the beggar could retrieve it, Li Banfeng would turn back and fight to the death—he was faster, and he still had a chance.

He ran for less than a minute—the beggar stopped chasing. He couldn't catch up.

"Not bad, kid. You ran that fast even after using the Horse-Gazing Technique."

The beggar glanced around. Letting Li Banfeng escape made him uneasy.

It's fine. He won't tell anyone, so he won't know.

The beggar returned to his original spot, preparing to resume his watch, when he saw another beggar, his face covered in pus-filled sores, walking toward him from afar.

Green Flower!

The beggar quickly stood up and smiled at Green Flower.

Green Flower studied the beggar's face: "You're injured?"

The beggar shook his head: "No, my face itched—I scratched it myself."

Green Flower's eyelid twitched: "Thick Face, Thick Skin. You used the technique. He came here, didn't he?" Green Flower smiled.

The beggar pressed his lips together: "Someone came... maybe him. I'm not sure..."

Green Flower touched the beggar's cheek—bumps immediately sprouted across the beggar's face.

The beggar trembled: "I really don't know if it was him!"

Green Flower laughed: "Let him escape one more time, and I'll take your life!"

PS: Green Flower is too ruthless—he doesn't even investigate the cause before trying to kill!

(End of Chapter)