The Overlord of Puluo

After reaching an agreement with Qiu Zhiheng, Luo Zhengnan returned to the Medicine King Hall and immediately issued an order for all of them to devote themselves fully to capturing Mourning Cultivators. However, encountering Mourning Cultivators meant getting bad luck, so many people were reluctant to get involved in capturing them.

Nevertheless, that did not bother Luo Zhengnan. He had his methods to work around that.

If a Bleater in the Medicine King Hall discovered a Mourning Cultivator’s whereabouts, and the information was proved to be accurate, they would receive fifty silver dollars. If they reported it promptly and participated in the capture, they would also be rewarded with pills that could accumulate Dao affinity.

Gang members who were cultivators would be rewarded with Speckled-Snake Pills if they captured a Mourning Cultivator alive. The primary captor would receive no fewer than twenty pills, while assisting captors would receive at least ten.

Luo Zhengnan was not Xiao Zhenggong. The rewards he promised would be paid out on the spot!

Great rewards inspired brave men. By the following afternoon, the Jiangxiang Gang had captured another Mourning Cultivator.

Like all cultivators, Mourning Cultivators had to work on their daily cultivation. No matter how well they hid, they eventually had to find opportunities to disgust and inconvenience others. After gaining experience from the first two captures, the Jiangxiang Gang became increasingly efficient and captured another Mourning Cultivator that very evening.

Once the Jiangxiang Gang moved, the Three Heroes Sect moved as well. Zhang Liuze, who had just advanced to Copper Seal, captured a Mourning Cultivator in the Inner Gully, while two other Copper Seals joined forces to capture two more in the Outer Gully.

The Azure Cloud Society captured two. The Hundred Flowers Sect captured one. The Fry Gang lacked influence, and most of its members were not cultivators. They managed to discover the whereabouts of two Mourning Cultivators, and using their leads, Li Banfeng captured both. Using clues provided by Shopkeeper Feng and Yu Nan, Qiu Zhiheng also captured two.

Aside from Yu Heshun, fifteen Mourning Cultivators had come to Medicine King Gully. Now, with Yu Heshun dead, one of the fifteen also dead, and thirteen captured, only one Mourning Cultivator was still on the run.

Qiu Zhiheng worried that more Mourning Cultivators might be sneaking into Medicine King Gully. On this matter, the major gangs made a promise: gang members would guard the train station, the docks, and the regional borders. Anyone acting suspiciously or displaying a fondness for seeking misfortune would be arrested first and questioned later.

Ignoring concerns about bad luck, Qiu Zhiheng kept all the Mourning Cultivators in his medicinal trading house and interrogated them one by one.

Yu Heshun had come to Medicine King Gully because he had disgusted everyone around him to the point that he could no longer cultivate where he was. The circumstances of the other Mourning Cultivators, however, varied greatly. Some had offended dangerous individuals and fled their homelands to avoid retaliation. Some felt their cultivation was progressing too slowly and wanted a new place to cultivate. Others were simply impoverished and hoped to make a living elsewhere.

However, why had all of them chosen Medicine King Gully?

Qiu Zhiheng employed an ability, and the Mourning Cultivators finally told the truth. They had all experienced a dream—a dream sent by their founding cultivator. The founding cultivator had told them that if they came to Medicine King Gully, they would find a way forward.

Could something from a dream really be believed so easily? And even if it truly was a summons from their founding cultivator, followers of a Daoist path were not obligated to obey. Cultivation was, in the end, a matter of personal choice.

At first, they had ignored it. But in the dream, the founding cultivator had warned them that anyone who refused his instructions would meet with misfortune. Within two days, every one of them encountered misfortune. Some fell ill, some were beaten up, and some nearly lost their lives. Afraid to defy the Patriarch any longer, they all came to Medicine King Gully.

Li Banfeng was astonished. It turned out that even Mourning Cultivators feared bad luck. But how did bad luck from a dream become part of reality?

Qiu Zhiheng felt they were still missing something, so he and Li Banfeng went to visit Old Mister Yao. Old Mister Yao was covered in injuries and stood in the courtyard. He was drinking wine with a three-pointed, double-edged spear in hand.

The day before, his hand had slipped, and he had failed to keep hold of the weapon’s shaft, cutting himself twice. The day before that, his wine cellar had caught fire, and Old Mister Yao had suffered burns.

The day before that had been the worst. To guard against the Star of Misfortune, Old Mister Yao had filled his house with hidden mechanisms and traps. Then, at dawn, a ceiling beam collapsed and triggered every trap in the house, nearly leaving him with severe injuries.

They sounded like accidents, but Old Mister Yao knew full well that they were attacks that the Star of Misfortune had orchestrated.

Though Old Mister Yao had suffered losses, he remained unbowed. Standing proudly in the courtyard, he declared, ”I’m not afraid of him. If he dares show himself even once, I’ll take his life!”

Qiu Zhiheng asked, ”Is the Star of Misfortune the founding cultivator of the Mourning Cultivators?”

”Founding cultivator, my ass! When the true founding cultivator of the Mourning Cultivators was alive, that bastard hadn’t even entered the Daoist path yet!”

”Does the Star of Misfortune possess Dream Cultivator abilities?”

”No! It’s already a miracle for the old dog that he managed to cultivate a single path to the Cloudborne Layer. How could he possibly have the ability to cultivate a second path as well?”

If he’s neither their founding cultivator nor a Dream Cultivator, where did those nightmares come from? Those nightmares are capable of bringing genuine misfortune.

Qiu Zhiheng could not make sense of it, but Old Mister Yao thought of another possibility.

”Could this have something to do with the Inner Provinces?”

Li Banfeng recalled something. The Entomic Luminary responsible for the plague at the Ridges of Bottomless Stomachs had also possessed power connected to the Inner Provinces.

Old Mister Yao did not dare to conclude that it was the case. Because if the Inner Provinces’ power were truly involved, then defending Medicine King Gully would become an exceedingly difficult feat. If the Star of Misfortune had been transformed by the Inner Provinces, then he would likely no longer be on the same level as Old Mister Yao.

Returning to Qiu’s Medicinal Trading House, Qiu Zhiheng continued interrogating the Mourning Cultivators. ”Since you’ve already come to Medicine King Gully, why did you all hide yourselves instead of showing your faces?”

The Mourning Cultivators exchanged glances.

In the end, one of them spoke up—an elderly man named Ge Tugen. He said, ”I’ve been on this Dao path for a long time. After Yu Heshun died, I felt something wasn’t right. Later, I saw a bloodstain near Jade Fragrance Village. Even after a heavy rain, they wouldn’t wash away. I figured it was probably a Formation of Misfortune. That formation is fueled by the lives of fellow followers, so I told everyone to run for their lives.”

”But you didn’t.”

Ge Tugen replied, ”Sir, we wanted to flee, but travel permits aren’t easy to come by. The permits we used to get here had been given to us by the founding cultivator in our dreams. We’re strangers in Medicine King Gully. How were we supposed to obtain travel permits to leave?”

He can even hand over things in dreams. If the Star of Misfortune truly possesses Dream Cultivator abilities, what level has he reached?!

The interrogations were nearly complete, and Qiu Zhiheng waited for news of the final Mourning Cultivator’s capture.

The next day, news arrived. The last Mourning Cultivator had not been captured. Someone had discovered clues in Pricklebamboo Village in the Outer Gully, and when some Jiangxiang Gang members went to apprehend him, they found only his corpse.

Li Banfeng had been to Pricklebamboo Village before. It was Nectarine’s home village, located on the border between Medicine King Gully and Greenwater City.

Qiu Zhiheng asked, ”When did this happen?”

Luo Zhengnan answered, ”The body was discovered this morning.”

”Pricklebamboo Village isn’t exactly close to the Inner Gully,” Qiu Zhiheng remarked, feeling skeptical about it. Judging by the timing, Luo Zhengnan should not have received the news so quickly.

”I have my own methods. You don’t need to concern yourself with them.”

”Did he die while trying to cross the border illegally?”

Luo Zhengnan shook his head. ”He had a travel permit on him. We don’t know where it came from, but there should’ve been no need for him to cross illegally.”

Li Banfeng heard every word clearly from the back hall and thought about it.

The Mourning Cultivator reached the regional border, possessed a travel permit, and had no need to cross illegally. Yet, he still died suddenly. And the first two Mourning Cultivators... they died at the train station.

Aside from the possibility that the Star of Misfortune sent someone to kill them, there is another possible explanation. The Formation of Misfortune in Medicine King Gully is a variation of the formation. It could be that these Mourning Cultivators simply can’t leave the Inner Gully. The moment they try, they will drop dead.

Could such a variation of the formation really exist? If it does, then there is no way to send the Mourning Cultivators away. No matter what happens, they will die within Medicine King Gully.

Luo Zhengnan and Qiu Zhiheng also fell silent, coming to a similar conclusion.

After thinking for a long while, Luo Zhengnan decided to take a gamble. ”A freight train is headed to Yellowclay Bridge tomorrow. I’ll find a way to get one of the Mourning Cultivators aboard. If he dies at the station, that’ll prove they can’t leave, and we’ll think of another solution. If we can get him to Yellowclay Bridge successfully, then our plan is sound. I’ll arrange another freight train and send all of them back!”

The logic was sound, but the cost could be severe. Qiu Zhiheng had dealt with the Border Controllers frequently in the past and knew exactly what kind of people they were.

”Hall Master Luo, suppose we take him there tomorrow, and he dies at the station. Do you think the Border Controllers will let you off? At a time like this, they’ll probably turn against you completely.”

Luo Zhengnan sighed. He had the same concern. Furthermore, that was not the only potential cost.

As the two sat drinking tea, a fierce wind suddenly swept through, followed by loud banging from the roof tiles. Stepping to the doorway, they saw countless white pellets the size of thumb tips falling from the sky.

Hail?

With Medicine King Gully’s stable climate, hail had not been seen there in decades.

Qiu Zhiheng had used top-quality roofing tiles, which barely held up. Ordinary tiles elsewhere shattered in large numbers within mere minutes.

Whoosh~

A fragrance of wine drifted in on the wind. As the scent spread, the temperature rose sharply. The hailstones melted rapidly before reaching the ground, turning into a torrential downpour within the wine-laden mist.

The rain continued for a full three hours. Had it been hail instead, there was no telling what state Medicine King Gully would be in.

And this was only the beginning. At midnight, the hail returned.

Holding a wine jug in one hand and his three-pointed, double-edged spear in the other, Old Mister Yao stood in the courtyard and roared, ”If you’ve got tricks, use them on me! How can you call yourself capable if you’re just bullying the common folk?!”

He spewed out a spray of wine mist, and the hail once again melted into rain.

Old Mister Yao battled the Formation of Misfortune head-on from morning until night for an entire day. This was the Third Layer Formation that Hong Ying had spoken of.

Li Banfeng did not dare imagine what kind of disaster would follow if Luo Zhengnan tested another theory and failed.

But what are we supposed to do now? Keep watch over the Mourning Cultivators and make sure none of them die?

Leaving aside how inauspicious that would be, it wasn’t even practical. What if the Star of Misfortune decided to act and came to kill them in person? Even if everyone present were to join forces, they would be unable to stop a cultivator at the third level of the Cloudborne Layer.

Old Mister Yao might be able to ambush and kill the Star of Misfortune in retaliation, but while the idea was good in theory, it would be extremely difficult to put it into motion. A thief could steal for a thousand days, but who could guard against a thief for a thousand days? Were they supposed to have the local land deity and all of Medicine King Gully watch the Mourning Cultivators day and night? The only viable solution seemed to be destroying the Formation of Misfortune itself.

Li Banfeng and Qiu Zhiheng brought the elderly Mourning Cultivator Ge Tugen to Jade Fragrance Village and found the bloodstain he had mentioned. It was a dark-red stain no larger than a palm. Considering its size, it was remarkable that the old man’s eyesight was good enough to spot it.

Li Banfeng asked, ”If we dig out this bloodstain, can we break the Formation of Misfortune?”

Ge Tugen shook his head. ”Removing one bloodstain definitely won’t work. As for how much needs to be dug up, I’m not sure either.”

Qiu Zhiheng’s brows furrowed tightly. Ge Tugen was not lying. Old Mister Yao had said the same thing. The real problem was locating the other bloodstains.

Li Banfeng took out a shovel and began digging up the bloodstained earth.

Qiu Zhiheng stepped forward to stop him. ”Brother, don’t touch it. Be careful of the bad luck. Let me do it.”

Li Banfeng waved him off. He had already started digging. After dealing with Mourning Cultivators for so many days, he no longer had the luxury of worrying about bad luck.

The blood ran deep into the ground. They dug more than 1.6 meters into the ground and removed half a sack of earth before finally clearing it away.

After returning to the Qiu’s Medicinal Trading House, Li Banfeng brought some of the dirt into the Pocket Dwelling.

Hong Ying immediately detected something off about the smell and shouted, ”Did you bring a Mourning Cultivator back? Why does it reek of bad luck?”

Li Banfeng brightened. ”Your nose is that sensitive? Why don’t you come with me to Medicine King Gully? I’ll lead you around, and you can sniff out all the bloodstains so we can destroy the Formation of Misfortune.”

Hong Ying snapped, ”I’m not doing something that inauspicious. Besides, it wouldn’t work anyway.”

”Why wouldn’t it?”

”I don’t know how large this Medicine King Gully of yours is, but it’s got to cover at least fifty kilometers in every direction, right? If it’s over an area that large, then a small barrel of blood must have been scattered about. You’d need to dig up at least more than half of it before you could break the Formation of Misfortune.”

Li Banfeng genuinely thought this sounded workable. ”What shape does the Formation of Misfortune take? How many blood points are there? I’ll find them one by one!”

Hong Ying scoffed. ”You really don’t know when to give up. Back when I was still in the army, I vaguely remember there being over sixty variations of the Formation of Misfortune. Each has a different layout, with anywhere from one hundred to three hundred blood points. Do you honestly think you can find them all?”

The numbers Hong Ying mentioned left Li Banfeng speechless for quite a while.

The Gramophone chided at Hong Ying. ”That’s enough!”

Hong Ying retorted angrily, ”Why can’t I say it? I’m trying to stop him from wasting his effort!”

”Bitch, you just won’t shut up. Go give yourself twenty strokes of the military cane!”

”I’ll say it even if I get beaten! The Formation of Misfortune can’t be broken! Since that drunkard let a formation this large be set up in his territory, then he deserves whatever happens to him. Why are you still trying to help him?”

Before she finished speaking, the dwelling suddenly emitted a low hum.

Buzzzzz~

Hong Ying immediately donned her armor and took her place beside the Gramophone.

To the Gramophone and Hong Ying, it sounded like nothing more than the soft mechanical noises, the clanging and grinding of metal and gears.

Only Li Banfeng heard the Pocket Dwelling speak. ”I can help you, but I need at least two more rails.”

”How can you help me?”

”Traverse all of Medicine King Gully and leave not a single inch of land untouched!”