Chapter 451: The Pact of Lush Celebration

Lush Water Beggar was a beggar.

Given, it's given—this is the first move of a Beggar Cultivator's technique to gain more.

A famous beggar suddenly says "given, it's given"—any rational person would assume he used a Beggar Cultivator technique.

But Chu Shaotiang knew perfectly well: Lush Water Beggar was not a Beggar Cultivator.

Wang Wang Fuqi had been fooled; anything touched by Lush Water Beggar, he must never touch again.

His right hand was already rotting; Wang Wang Fuqi acted decisively, drew a dagger, and chopped off his right arm at the elbow.

Lush Water Beggar laughed: "Too little."

Indeed, too little—the forearm was severed, but the rot continued spreading up the upper arm; Wang Wang Fuqi turned pale, swung his blade again, and cut straight through the shoulder.

Lush Water Beggar laughed again: "Too late."

The upper arm was severed; Wang Wang Fuqi's body began to rot, the affliction spreading rapidly across him.

Chu Shaotiang lowered his gaze and said: "Lush Beggar, you're early."

Lush Water Beggar smiled, but said nothing.

Cui Tik added from the side: "We didn't want to come this early, but your friend is this stupid—he offered his life up willingly. Such a cheap deal we couldn't pass up."

Chu Shaotiang frowned slightly: "Foreign devil, this isn't your territory. If you die here, no one will see it. Do you still have the nerve to talk about deals?"

Cui Tik shrugged and fell silent.

Deal.

The key to this whole speech was those two words—they weren't meant for Chu Shaotiang's ears. He wasn't sure if he was here, but this was the hint he could give.

The deal has begun.

Lush Water Beggar chuckled: "My disciple didn't misjudge you—your partner really is a bit dim."

Wang Wang Fuqi shouted at Chu Shaotiang: "Master Chu, save me, hrrrrr—"

Thud!

Before he could finish, his vocal cords rotted away, leaving only a guttural bubbling sound.

He was beyond saving—Chu Shaotiang knew this perfectly well.

In an instant, Wang Wang Fuqi's body completely rotted through and collapsed, splattering pus all over Chu Shaotiang.

If that pus seeped into Chu Shaotiang's skin, it would be enough to kill him.

Lush Water Beggar sighed: "You and he are well matched—not very bright."

Chu Shaotiang sneered at Lush Water Beggar: "You haven't changed much since then—back then, if not for the Waizhou Society stepping in, I wouldn't have suffered so badly at your hands!"

A shower of lime fell from Chu Shaotiang's body, mingling with Wang Wang Fuqi's pus, all landing on the ground—Chu Shaotiang himself remained unharmed.

Lush Water Beggar wasn't surprised; Chu Shaotiang had always been cautious, and staying prepared was only natural.

Seeing this, Cui Tik immediately popped the pustules on his face; green fluid shot toward Chu Shaotiang.

Chu Shaotiang waved his hand—fine lime particles precisely blocked the pustule fluid.

"Your disciple is as arrogant as you are. You still have some substance—he's pure overreach." Chu Shaotiang didn't even spare Cui Tik a second glance.

Lush Beggar smiled: "He's young, inexperienced. Seeing a big shot like you, he naturally gets flustered."

Cui Tik kept popping pustules, spraying fluid nonstop at Chu Shaotiang.

His panic was real—but it was part of his plan. He only wanted to quickly provoke a fight between Lush Water Beggar and Chu Shaotiang.

Muddy waters, fish to catch—both water and fish were here. As for Neizhou people and local gods, he didn't care.

Faced with Cui Tik's repeated provocation, Chu Shaotiang wouldn't just defend—he turned his lime into thick fog, sending it flying toward Lush Water Beggar and Cui Tik.

Lush Water Beggar warned Cui Tik: "If you don't want to die, get out of the way."

Cui Tik dodged swiftly; Lush Water Beggar rubbed his nose, sneezed, and a powerful gust scattered the lime.

Meanwhile, Lush Water Beggar's boils swelled, split open one after another—and from each crack emerged a round, plump little head, with two enormous eyes scanning around.

These were dragonfly heads; afflictions resembling dragonflies crawled out of the boils one by one, flapping their wings and taking flight.

Lime couldn't stop afflictions this large—even if some were killed, it wouldn't matter. One single dragonfly afflicting his body would be a grave threat to Chu Shaotiang.

Chu Shaotiang calmly unfastened his scarf and tossed it into the air.

The scarf rapidly expanded, its surface coated in sticky glue like flypaper, trapping every single affliction.

While capturing the dragonflies, Chu Shaotiang secretly guided the lime toward Lush Water Beggar.

Lush Water Beggar burped—he was nauseous.

A surge of acidic fluid rose from his stomach; he spat out part of it, coating his entire body, then held the rest in his mouth, sealing his nose and mouth.

This was a specific defense against Chu Shaotiang's lime—under the acid's protection, Lush Water Beggar withstood the lime and closed the distance rapidly.

He had a Wu Xiu foundation, and since his opponent dared not touch him, close combat was nearly guaranteed victory.

Less than five meters from Chu Shaotiang, a burst of flame suddenly engulfed Lush Water Beggar.

Fire Cultivator?

Rolling flames melted the hardened pus shell; layers of poison began seeping into Lush Water Beggar's body.

Also a Poison Cultivator!

Lush Water Beggar's body oozed thick fluid—he was about to extinguish the flames when a bucket of cold water rained down from above, dousing the fire first.

Who helped Lush Water Beggar?

That help was completely unnecessary.

As Lush Water Beggar wondered, an old voice whispered in his ear: "You took my water—stand still!"

Water Cultivator!

Whoever takes a Water Cultivator's thing must repay him. The Water Cultivator didn't try to kill Lush Water Beggar outright—he knew his strength, and instead used technique to forcibly lock his knees.

Lush Water Beggar's knee joints stiffened, as if petrified—his legs could no longer bend or move.

The Fire Cultivator swiftly wrapped Lush Water Beggar in flame; relying on his formidable cultivation base, Lush Water Beggar forcibly snapped his own knee joints, then regrew the bones and healed them instantly, breaking free of the Water Cultivator's control.

As soon as his feet touched ground, Lush Water Beggar sank straight into a mud pit—from his ankles, he was swallowed up to his waist in an instant.

Also a Mud Cultivator?

Counting Wang Wang Fuqi, who had just been killed by Lush Water Beggar, Chu Shaotiang had brought five helpers.

All five were hidden, their qi masked by Chu Shaotiang's magic treasure—Lush Water Beggar hadn't sensed a single one.

As he sank into the mud, Chu Shaotiang approached with a small bag of cement.

This bag of cement was custom-made for Lush Water Beggar—once it touched his skin, it would harden instantly, turning him into solid stone, leaving no chance to melt into pus and flee.

The cement bag was about to drop over his head—Lush Water Beggar had nowhere to dodge.

Suddenly, Chu Shaotiang felt a chill in his palm—his grip had closed on nothing.

Where was the cement?

How did it suddenly vanish?!

Li Li Banfeng hid behind a tree, faintly hearing his glove murmur: "Fine craftsmanship."

"He He Jiaqing?" Chu Shaotiang immediately thought of He He Jiaqing—he'd just been tricked by him in Wuqinxiang.

"He Jiaqing, come out! I've seen you all along." Chu Shaotiang bluffed—he didn't know where He He Jiaqing was.

He He Jiaqing didn't fall for it. While everyone was still attacking Lush Water Beggar, he dumped the entire bag of cement onto the Mud Cultivator.

The Mud Cultivator thrashed wildly, trying to break free—the cement was too lethal, directly destroying his body's structure.

He He Jiaqing splashed cement everywhere; Chu Shaotiang's helpers scattered to avoid it.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Lush Water Beggar spat two strands of snot that stuck to Chu Shaotiang.

Chu Shaotiang had lime protection—he wasn't afraid of these two strands.

Lush Water Beggar never intended to harm Chu Shaotiang with them—he meant to use them as leverage to escape.

Two pairs of tongs flew from Chu Shaotiang's chest, yanking the snot clean off his back.

But he was a fraction too slow—Lush Water Beggar seized the moment, used the leverage, and pulled himself free from the mud.

Lush Water Beggar roared, spraying pus in all directions.

Chu Shaotiang had ways to resist; his other helpers had ways to dodge.

Only the Mud Cultivator was in trouble—he was coated in cement, his movements sluggish, and couldn't avoid the pus. A single drop touched his forehead—and his head exploded with pain.

Not "about to explode"—it actually exploded!

Lush Beggar's moves looked casual, but each strike was lethal—the Mud Cultivator's skull cracked under the agony, his brain matter boiling and spraying out.

Without brain matter, the Mud Cultivator stood frozen, gradually falling silent.

But his body hadn't fully died—chunks of flesh peeled off, joining Wang Wang Fuqi's remains, transforming into hundreds of "snot worms" that wriggled across the ground, leaving sticky trails everywhere. Touch any of it, and you'd catch Lush Water Beggar's affliction.

Even Chu Shaotiang couldn't easily guard against this—he scattered lime in a circle around himself, creating a safe zone.

The Fire Cultivator wasn't afraid—he just burned anything that came near.

The Water Cultivator was smart—he hid beside the Fire Cultivator.

The Poison Cultivator and Fire Cultivator usually didn't get along; he avoided the Fire Cultivator's side, and to escape the snot worms, he took cover under a willow tree.

Strange—there wasn't a willow tree here just now.

He sensed something was wrong—this willow tree might be an ambush. Lush Beggar might have brought more than one helper.

The Poison Cultivator's response to ambushes was simple: no verification—just release poison. If he guessed right, he gained big; if wrong, he lost nothing.

Layers of poison mist surged from him, rising toward the treetop—when two snot worms, carrying Lush Water Beggar's affliction, slid across the snow to his feet.

The Poison Cultivator dodged swiftly—he was agile, easily leaping over a halo of light, avoiding the snot worms on the ground.

Wait—why did he leap over a halo of light?

Where did the halo come from?

When avoiding danger and encountering something strange, always steer clear—it may trigger a trap. This is combat experience, and also instinct.

But the poison cultivator couldn't understand why, after leaping over the halo, he felt as if a layer of his skin had been stripped away.

He hadn't yet realized who had attacked him when Li Li Banfeng suddenly appeared, his form flashing past.

Such incredible speed—this is the traveling cultivator Green Flower Child brought!

The poison cultivator's thoughts raced, and he instantly made his judgment.

The many wounds on his body were caused by the traveling cultivator's technique, Treading Through Ten Thousand Rivers.

The opponent is now using Walking Through Flowers at a Gallop; he must not vanish from sight.

Despite his injuries, the poison cultivator, relying on his vast combat experience, locked his gaze on Li Li Banfeng. His right hand swelled, all his toxins concentrated in his palm, ready to deliver a fatal strike.

He was a Tenth-Level cultivator, like Guo the Metropolitan Graduate and Tian Tian Dasong, waiting to earn a great merit to ascend to Yunshang.

He had self-awareness—he knew he could never kill Green Water Beggar, and the credit for saving Ge Ge Junma would not be counted toward him.

But if he could kill one of Green Water Beggar's allies, it would be enough to ascend to Yunshang, seize the next promotion opportunity, and then pass through the halo once more…

Again, the halo…

This halo seemed to drag the poison cultivator into a nightmare.

He had locked his gaze on Li Li Banfeng, waiting for an opening to counterattack while also guarding against Green Water Beggar—when suddenly, the halo swept beneath his feet once more.

The poison cultivator hadn't even figured out the origin of this halo before another layer of flesh was stripped away.

This wound was severe; as his body staggered, the halo suddenly circled beneath his feet several times.

One circuit meant two strikes.

Several circuits equaled being slashed over a dozen times by a thousand blades—his body was riddled with wounds, and he could hardly move.

Li Li Banfeng used the technique Return Heart Like an Arrow, hooking the poison cultivator's skull with his sickle and dragging him back to his Personal Dwelling.

"Wife, this is a poison cultivator—spicy. Eat slowly."

The singing machine couldn't possibly eat: "Husband, the battlefield is perilous—please, be extremely careful."

PS: Green Flower Child allied with He He Jiaqing; Chu Shaoqiang brought five allies, three of whom are now dead. Cui Ti was right—this battle was indeed better prepared by Green Flower Child.

Thank you, Alliance Master Dengdeng Shengsha Xingsu, my old friend, for your unwavering trust and support.

(End of Chapter)