Chapter 287 - 274: Mountain Bandits?

The Star Continent was vast, incredibly vast.

Beyond the Five Wildernesses—the East, South, West, North, and Central—lay endless, mysterious, and expansive Barbaric territories. Within them were all manner of Secret Realms, ancient kingdoms, and ruins...

Countless factions and the Ten Thousand Races vied for dominance here.

Among the Five Wildernesses, besides the known Human Race and Demon Race, there were many other mysterious races and tribes.

They possessed terrifying innate talents from birth, making them incredibly powerful—hardly inferior to the Human and Demon Races, who currently claimed to be the strongest.

This land held infinite secrets and resources, where great dangers and endless opportunities coexisted.

Here in the Western Wilderness, Primitive Forests were a common sight. Countless massive mountain ranges stretched on and on, with ancient trees reaching for the sky and resources in abundance.

But it was also a region fraught with peril. The web of Sects and influences was intricate and complex, all adhering to the law of the jungle where the strong preyed on the weak. Slaughter was constant, and a bloody reign of terror was the norm.

On this particular morning, the Cloud Canyon, about ten miles outside Illusion Mist City, once again burst with life.

Thin wisps of mist coiled around the peaks, and green vines clung to the verdant trees.

The drone of cicadas only made the forest seem quieter; the calls of birds only deepened the mountain’s seclusion.

A head poked out from an inconspicuous corner of a jumble of rocks. Cold eyes scanned the surroundings before quickly retracting, leaving no further sign of movement.

The Cloud Canyon was formed by two unclimbable peaks, and it was the only way to reach Illusion Mist City.

To enter or pass through the Chuyun Mountain Range, one had to go through Illusion Mist City. And to get to Illusion Mist City, one had to pass through the Cloud Canyon.

Thus, the Cloud Canyon had become a fiercely contested territory for bandits and robbers from all over.

The terrain was perilous, easy to defend and hard to attack, turning it into a veritable tollbooth for the few factions operating here.

The White Rainbow Sect, the Profound Iron Level Influence that controlled Illusion Mist City, received annual tribute from these groups. As long as there weren’t too many vicious deaths, the Sect was happy to turn a blind eye.

A short while after that head had disappeared, the faint sound of human voices suddenly emerged from the pile of rocks.

"Liu Erniang gave birth to a big, healthy boy," a gruff voice said. "But I’m mighty puzzled. She only came up to the stronghold and married the Second Boss last December, and it’s barely June... Something’s fishy..."

"Wang Dazhu, you son of a bitch, shut your damn mouth! If you don’t want to live, that’s fine, but I’d like to stick around for a couple more years..." A thin, reedy voice interrupted, sounding flustered and exasperated.

The gruff voice seemed to mumble a couple of words, then fell silent for a moment before speaking again. "This meeting of the three factions in Illusion Mist City is a real pain in the ass. I didn’t want to go, but the bandit community is only so big. You can’t avoid seeing the same faces..."

"Stop fucking bragging," a woman’s voice cut in. "Weren’t you just going as the Second Boss’s lackey? You really think you’re the Second Boss, calling the shots on whether you go or not?"

"Bullshit! I’m a minor leader, at least. A man of some renown in the bandit world! It would look bad if I didn’t go, but if I go, I have to give a gift. Damn it, we haven’t made many scores lately, so I’m broke this month... A while back, Zhang Cheng of the White Rainbow Sect got married, and I had to give thirty Low Grade Spirit Stones. Not two days later, his wife’s little brother gets married, another thirty! Then a few days after that, his niece gets married—another fifty, for fuck’s sake! Son of a bitch, I bust my ass robbing people all year just to hand it all over to the Zhang Family!"

The man with the reedy voice chimed in, "Fuck, can you keep your goddamn voice down? If word of this gets back to that bastard Zhang, our whole stronghold will be screwed because of you! But then again, that son of a bitch Zhang Cheng is so damn shameless, making such a huge deal out of his second marriage. I curse him to have a son born without an asshole."

"Pfft!" The woman spat.

The gruff voice continued, "I went to Zhang Cheng’s wedding with a few of the bosses. At the ceremony, that bastard was grinning like a blooming chrysanthemum. It was disgusting. How did Yue Qinglan end up marrying him? He’s got no looks, no substance, and I hear his ’thing’ is only the size of a finger... Sigh. Pearls before swine."

"You don’t know shit," the woman retorted coldly. "Don’t you know he has a well-connected father? Zhang Cheng’s old man is an Outer Sect Steward on Jade Appreciation Peak of the White Rainbow Sect! Otherwise, how do you think Zhang Cheng could secretly control these factions in Illusion Mist City?"

Suddenly, the man with the reedy voice shushed them. "Shh! Sounds like someone’s coming. Hope it’s a fat sheep!"

The gruff man said impatiently, "It had better be a fat sheep, or I’ll just slaughter him! Damn it, I lost my ass at the casino last night, barely got any sleep, and then got sent out to work first thing in the morning. I’m still full of pent-up anger!"

"Fat sheep or not, we’ll see. I’m more concerned about the task the Chieftain gave us. She took out Lianyun Stronghold just for this, which is why we get the Cloud Canyon all to ourselves for a month. If we get lucky and find him, we’ll be set for life!" said the reedy voice.

The woman’s voice rose. "It really is strange. Our new Chieftain is so formidable, but her orders are bizarre. She wants us to intercept a youth in black and trap him in the Cloud Canyon. For this, she even had the Second Boss bribe an expert from the White Rainbow Sect to set up a Maze Array and a ton of traps in the canyon. Who do you think this youth is? Is it really necessary to go to such great lengths?"

"Who knows? But trying to identify someone based on just ’wears black’ and ’carries an ancient-looking long saber’... it’s not much to go on, is it? How many kids like that have we caught this month? We catch ’em, eagerly haul ’em up the mountain, and then she just lets them go. All for nothing," the gruff voice said, sounding frustrated.

"Both of you, shut up. By the sound of it, he’s almost here... Holy shit, he’s pretty carefree. He’s even singing!" the woman’s voice exclaimed.

Three heads poked out from the jumble of rocks. Behind them, a group of underlings all grabbed their weapons, waiting for the order to leap out and begin the slaughter.

Their hiding spot was in the shadows by a cliff’s edge—an excellent place to lie in wait. It would be hard to notice them without looking closely.

The three of them narrowed their eyes, staring at the bend in the canyon ahead.

The sounds of footsteps and singing drew closer.

"Let me... tear open this world of dusk and dawn, let three feet of azure light wash away the dust. Drink the strongest wine, love the most beautiful person, and watch the waves rise under vast seas and high clouds!"

"’Drink the strongest wine, love the most beautiful person?’ The song’s nice, but he’s clearly another one of those conceited brats who wants to play at being a wandering hero..." the woman said with a snort.

The trio had distinctive appearances. The man on the right had a thick beard, round eyes, a wide nose, and a fierce glint in his eyes that was intimidating to behold.

The one in the middle was rat-faced and shifty-eyed, barely three feet tall, with a monkey-like posture as he tilted his head to listen.

The woman on the left had some charm, but her face was caked in so much powder that it flaked off with the slightest movement. And despite the sweltering heat, she was dressed in a sable fur coat.

Hearing the approaching footsteps, all three of them showed looks of displeasure.

The pointy-chinned, monkey-faced man snorted. "Fuck, it’s just one wet-behind-the-ears kid. And he’s not even riding a Spirit Beast. Probably doesn’t have anything valuable on him."

"Oh, come on. Even a mosquito leg has meat on it. How will we know if he’s a fat sheep if we don’t bleed him a little... He’s here!" the woman said chidingly.

The trio’s spirits lifted slightly as they fixed their gazes on the bend up ahead.

The next moment, their expressions changed...

On the rugged path, a youth in black with an ancient-looking long saber on his back was strolling toward them, still humming his song.

"They say the martial world’s tides bring the most fearless souls. Come, buy my heart with three coins of hot wine. Let mountains be overturned, let the Earth Split and heavens collapse. I will support this world and live a life without regret..."

The pointy-chinned man said in annoyance, "Damn it, if this kid is the one the Chieftain is looking for, we’ve hit the jackpot. If not... Hmph, then this is definitely a loss. This kid has absolutely nothing valuable on him!"

At the very least, a bandit needed to have a discerning eye.

You had to be able to spot a fat sheep.

Wang Dazhu and the other two had been in this business for over a decade; they were seasoned veterans.

One look at the approaching youth in black, and they immediately lamented their bad luck.

The Cloud Canyon was controlled by several bandit factions who took turns running the place, switching every seven days.

If you were lucky, you’d run into someone rich. A couple of scores could set you up for a few months of easy living.

If you were unlucky, you’d get nothing for seven days straight and have to eat into your own rations.

And if you were really out of luck, you’d run into a powerhouse you failed to recognize and get your entire crew wiped out.

This youth in black walking toward them was obviously broke... Look at his clothes—the material was cheap, the craftsmanship shoddy. And he’d come from far away without even a horse, let alone a Spirit Beast.

You had to understand, the mountain range outside the Cloud Canyon stretched for a thousand *li* with only a few small towns. To have walked all that way on foot showed just how destitute he was.

A wine gourd hung at his waist, and a battered-looking saber was slung across his back... They couldn’t see the blade clearly from behind, but a glance at the hilt told them enough. Any random saber from a weapon shop in Illusion Mist City would be more exquisite than that!

"His Cultivation is only at the Qi Martial Realm Fourth Heaven. Dazhu, he’s all yours. I’m going to go lie down for a bit." The woman rolled her eyes and ducked back behind the rocks.

Wang Dazhu’s anger flared, and he leaped out. "Halt! This mountain is mine to command..."

"These trees are mine to plant!" the youth in black casually finished for him.

Wang Dazhu froze. ’Damn it, this is the first time anyone’s stolen my line!’

’Can’t lose my momentum! I have to at least intimidate this little bastard!’ Wang Dazhu thought.

"The eagle flies at midnight!"

"And a rolling stone gathers no moss."

Wang Dazhu was dumbfounded. It took him a moment before he blurted out, "So, you’re one of us... Ptooey! I mean, listen kid, stop being a smart-ass with me! Hand over your money and that saber on your back, and I’ll let you pass. Otherwise, I’ll chop you into eight pieces and feed you to the fish!"

As he spoke, he pulled a huge Wolf Fang Club from his Storage Pouch and gave it a menacing swing.

The youth in black was, of course, Shen Lang.

It had taken him over two full months to walk here from Celestial Phoenix City.

According to his map, he knew that Illusion Mist City was just past this Cloud Canyon.

He’d rest for a day in Illusion Mist City, then enter the Chuyun Mountain Range. On the other side of the Chuyun Mountain Range lay the territory of the Profound Dao Sect: the Celestial Profound Mountain Range...

As he hummed to himself, wondering if he should add a few more pieces of Blue Cobalt Copper, a ferocious-looking brute suddenly leaped out in front of him!

"So even bandits care about technical skill these days? To think you’d actually set up a Maze Array in a canyon... though this array is so crude, I doubt it could even trap a child," Shen Lang said with a faint smile.

Wang Dazhu and the others froze, their eyes narrowing.

’He’s an expert!’

’Damn it, he could tell what it was before we even activated it?’

’This kid is clearly way more skilled than the bastard who set up the array!’

The woman who had just ducked back down popped up again, tossing her fur coat aside. "The Chieftain said the boy is an expert in arrays! It has to be him! Everyone, attack together! The Chieftain will reward us handsomely if we catch him!"

WHOOSH! More than a dozen men instantly scrambled out from the rocks, brandishing sabers and clubs, blocking the ancient path through the canyon.

"The Chieftain?"

Shen Lang couldn’t help but freeze. ’From the looks of it, this so-called ’Chieftain’ seems to know me?’

’This can’t be a coincidence, can it?’