Gamers Are Fierce

The Transcendent, Qi Yu, continued to listen in the room for a while.

Among the three people's narratives, Daoist Xi Menzi was described with a celestial aura, possessing vast supernatural powers, superior skills, a stern sense of righteousness, and a deep hatred of evil.

His deeds included slaying demons and evil spirits that haunted the mountains all by himself; single-handedly wiping out city gangs involved in human trafficking; scattering seeds that instantly sprouted crops on dry and cracked land, saving villages from famine; and using magic to split mountains and earth, rescuing more than a dozen miners who were trapped underground for days.

Later on, even more bizarre tales emerged, like Daoist Xi Menzi playing tricks on the White Bone Spirit, angrily subduing a charming fox demon with his steel staff, and battling the Mother Yaksha through the night.

The Transcendent couldn't help but shake his head. He swept his palm to collect the Dragon's Beard that lay on the table, pushed the door open, left the tavern, and disappeared into the crowd.

Many unfamiliar faces had arrived in Lvzhou City. That soon-to-be-arriving Annam Diplomatic Corps seemed to possess some mysterious magic power, drawing the attention of various Cultivators.

Hopefully, they won't affect my quest for the Auspicious Beast...

"Brother Li sure seems to be quite active lately."

In another tavern at the other end of Lvzhou City, Xing Hechou, who was sitting by the window, glanced at the storyteller's stall below and chuckled, saying to his two companions, "Even the storytellers in the city have begun to recite his legendary tales to attract an audience."

Wanli Fengdao rolled his eyes, continuously poking at the vegetables on his plate with chopsticks. "Picking a codename like Xi Menzi and still acting so ostentatiously, isn't that just telling potential rivals that I'm a player from the real world?"

"Hmm... If it were someone else, it might be reckless arrogance. But when it comes to Brother Li, such behavior must have some deeper meaning."

Xing Hechou thought for a moment and did not say the rest aloud.

Of course, it could also simply be that he's bored, his mischief flaring up, causing trouble everywhere with showy moves...

CLACK.

Xing Hechou set down his wine glass and said solemnly, "Comrade Scholar Zhu mentioned in the documents that Lvzhou City will be one of the key locations for the ultimate anomaly in the second layer of the Shengnan King's Dream, just like the Fushen Pingyuan Residence we passed through. As long as we resolve the anomalies in Lvzhou, we will not be far from entering the final layer of the Shengnan King's Dream."

Wanli Fengdao nodded. "The imminent arrival of the Annam Diplomatic Corps is the only major event in Lvzhou City recently. If there really is to be any special situation, it will definitely revolve around the Annam Diplomatic Corps, or rather, around the 'Auspicious Beast' they are bringing."

Xing Hechou shook his head. "Besides the pious men and women who came to worship, there are many with strange behaviors in Lvzhou City. From the intelligence we've gathered so far, it seems someone is secretly spreading claims that the Auspicious Beast brought by the Annam Diplomatic Corps possesses dozens of incredible abilities. It can perform Divination, communicate with the Underworld, predict fortune and misfortune, turn stones into gold, raise the dead, flesh out bones, concoct elixirs of immortality, and even understand military strategy. It's pretty much like an All-Purpose Wishing Machine."

"Only a fool would believe such rumors."

Wanli Fengdao said with a hint of ridicule, "The people who believe these stories don't think—if that Auspicious Beast were really that powerful, it wouldn't have been captured by the people of Annam and presented to the Central Plains Emperor. I suspect that whoever is spreading these rumors is trying to conceal the real function of the Auspicious Beast."

It's like in martial arts novels where people are bewitched by slogans such as, "Supreme in the Martial World, the Dragon Slaying Treasure Sword commands all under heaven, and nobody dares to disobey!" They all fight over the Dragon Slaying Treasure Sword. However, if one doesn't uncover the secret that it houses Wu Mu's Will, the Dragon Slaying Treasure Sword is just a particularly sharp broadsword. All that 'commanding the world' stuff is utterly useless nonsense.

Thinking for a moment, Xing Hechou spoke, "Comrade Scholar Zhu's divination results indicated that the event elements will occur in Lvzhou. However, we'd better start preparing in advance. We should lay in wait at the outpost outside the city before the Annam Diplomatic Corps enters Lvzhou City—to prevent others from striking first."

"I'll go and keep watch."

Wanli Fengdao stood up and stretched. "In all the days I've spent in this world, I've only killed a few demons on the road and haven't had a chance to cross hands with a local Transcendent."

All of a sudden, Liu Wu Dai, who had been silent until then, looked up towards the roof and said indifferently, "They're here."

BUZZ—

The imperceptible sound of high-speed wing vibrations came from above the ceiling.

A bizarre insect, the size of a palm and resembling a combination of a dragonfly and a bee, crawled in through the open window of the private room and landed in the middle of the round dining table.

This insect was naturally a model of a Scout Soldier Bee.

It lay on the table, first stretching out its forelegs to rub its round, pale-yellow, fuzzy head. Then, it leisurely dipped into the sauce on a plate and used the sauce to scribble a few crooked, sloppy characters on the wooden table.

"I've arrived in Lvzhou."

"Brother Li has arrived?"

Xing Hechou nodded, feeling quite surprised inside.

When they parted, Li Ang had mentioned that these insects were his summoned creatures with scouting capabilities. Over the past few days, Soldier Bees had indeed flown overhead, scouting, warning them, and assisting in long-distance communication with Li Ang.

At first, the Soldier Bees could only physically transfer letters between two locations or convey simple messages like "enemy ahead" by vibrating their wings. But later on, the Soldier Bees' intelligence seemed to take a leap forward, becoming more sophisticated. They were even capable of understanding human speech and using writing to convey complex information.

When we meet later, I should ask Brother Li if it's possible to purchase these insects, or the method of making them.

Xing Hechou thought to himself, In script worlds where electronic devices are inoperable, these strange insects might be more efficient than the communication devices currently under development at the agency.

Wanli Fengdao asked the Soldier Bee, "Where is he?"

The Soldier Bee turned to look at him, dipped in the sauce again, and wrote, "Look downstairs."

The three went to the window and peered down. They saw Li Ang, dressed like a scholar, casually standing in the middle of the road, waving at Xing Hechou and the others.

He walked into the tavern, went up to the second floor, pushed the door open, and reunited with his teammates.

Wanli Fengdao looked him over and couldn't help asking, "Why the change in appearance? Your face also looks a bit different from before."

"Hmm,"

Li Ang nodded, "the Vest of Daoist Xi Menzi was a bit too conspicuous recently. It's better to disguise my identity when coming to Lvzhou. After all, my original face had long eyelashes, big eyes, and a small mouth. Two sword-like eyebrows, three fingers wide, rested on a fair complexion. These features further set off my mischievously smiling pink lips and amber eyes that seemed to speak. I looked like an aristocrat with a Halo, stepping right out of a Picasso painting."

Wanli Fengdao instinctively glanced sideways and commented, "That tone, are you the fabled 'man-mother'? And even when describing someone who looks like they walked out of a painting, don't use Picasso as an example. Is that even human?"