Diligence System: From Servant to Martial King-Chapter 422 - 293: From Rags to Riches, Astonishing Means, Fish Herding Book, Mysterious Woman!!_3
Meanwhile, a strand of hair from the Cyan Ox Residence withered and curled up, turning into ash. "Rooting Hair" can only maintain three strands. Li Xian focused his energy and sensed the perception of the hair strands. Once the hair strands root, they have auditory, visual, and tactile senses..., but the visual sense is blurry, as if covered in dense fog. Difficult to discern the number of attackers. He thought to wait until nightfall, when the patrol would definitely carry torches. The bright firelight would make the hair strands sense more clearly, enabling him to understand the layout of the hideout and identify patrol positions. Then, by using Heavy Pupil Eye Power, he could come and go freely.
Waiting quietly until night.
Sure enough, the hideout lit up with firelight. Li Xian sensed through the hair strands, through the firelight, vaguely discerning the divisions within the hideout. Combined with "Heavy Pupils" vision, before even entering the hideout, he understood it inside and out.
Li Xian’s eyes flashed with a sharp light, and with a splash, he jumped into the lake. His body sank suddenly, yet he grabbed onto the tree root system, enabling free movement. Li Xian submerged at a weaker point in the hideout, listening to the movements above.
Two water bandits stepped on the tree roots, coming nearby to relieve themselves. Their mouths full of water bandit slang, Li Xian stealthily reached out, grabbing the ankles of the pair, dragging them suddenly into the water. This move was so skillful that it didn’t even splash!
Both bandits struggled fiercely. Li Xian shuddered all over. His Pure Gang Qi Clothing smashed toward the bandits’ chests, immediately shattering their lungs and killing them on the spot. Li Xian wedged the bodies into the tree roots, ensuring they wouldn’t float to the surface. Then he swam to another spot.
Having tested his skills, he sought satisfaction. To catch thieves, first catch the leader; he must first take down the bandit chief. Using his eye power and Rooting Hair, he gradually figured out the location of the bandit chief, stealthily advanced, and suddenly saw a large tree cage.
It was formed by intertwined tree roots creating a circular prison. Inside were dozens of people, soaking in water, only their nostrils barely able to reach the surface. Li Xian thought: "These people must have been captured by the water bandits."
No rush to rescue, he quietly bypassed them. Gradually saw several tree cages, holding over a hundred people in total. Men, women, children, and elders were all present. The water here was so foul that one could see white maggots and wriggling larvae. Soaking in this, even if they did not die, they would suffer serious illnesses. Li Xian exhaled clear air, enveloping himself with Pure Gang Qi Clothing, surrounding himself with clear air that resisted the filth.
Recently, he had acquired many skills, all of which complemented each other. Nothing could impede him. Whatever dire situations he faced, he remained composed and poised. Some in the tree cages saw Li Xian, but merely thought it an illusion. Besides, the stinking water made it difficult to concentrate.
A merchant ship had been wrecked, and four Second Realm Martial Artists were captured by the water bandits alive. They were in a wretched state, limbs tangled in tree roots, soaked over ten fathoms deep. These tree roots were sturdy and reliable, plus underwater, obstructing Qi Power. These Second Realm Martial Artists were not weak, yet had no solution to their predicament.
Li Xian took heed, thinking: "Even Second Realm Martial Artists are helpless, captured by a band of water bandits. I’m in the Martial Arts Second Realm, displaying several distinct traits, but must continually hone my martial skills and increase my methods to avoid such fate." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
Martial Arts methods depend entirely on martial studies. These Second Realm Martial Artists, being entangled and bound by tree roots. If they had learned the Luo Family’s ancestral martial arts from the Qiong Heavenly Mansion’s Brocade City, they could shake their bodies, loosening the tree roots and escaping the predicament.
Further diving into the depths, he saw the wreckage of a merchant ship. Li Xian looked up and observed, the tree roots interwoven, extended out of the water. He had found the bandit chief and secretly followed him. The bandit chief was tall, with a full beard, incredibly fierce, carrying an iron mace on his back, its end a head-sized sphere, seemingly a vacuum within.
Li Xian waited for him to be alone, then suddenly sprang from the water to attack. His moves were swift and neat, and with one spear thrust, he pierced out. The bandit chief was shocked, just about to call out, when he realized Li Xian’s spear was heading toward his throat with fierce momentum, enveloped in ’Pure Gang Qi Clothing,’ making the Qi wave feel tangible, with a ’whooshing’ sound, it pressed his shout back into his throat.
It was as if a fierce wind hit his face. The moment he opened his mouth, the wind rushed into his nose and mouth, rendering him unable to speak. The bandit chief’s call turned into an angry roar, as he stomped his foot, drawing out the iron mace to block. He deliberately used the sphere as a block, hollow inside, so the spear’s tip would resonate against the sphere, creating a strange sound.
Little did he know, Li Xian’s spear technique was exceptionally exquisite. Though the force was fierce, it was concealed with strategy. Suddenly withdrawing power, stopping just in time. The bandit chief raised an eyebrow, thinking: "Could it be external strength with internal dryness?" Although he could speak, focusing entirely on the battle, speaking or shouting would divert his attention. He immediately swung the iron mace to strike.
Yet felt Li Xian’s spear tip had a stickiness, making his iron mace bond to it, unable to retract or strike out. Turns out... when Li Xian deployed the spear, Pure Gang Qi Clothing was infused with Inner Qi, adhering to the spear shaft. Although he withdrew the spear force, Pure Gang Qi Clothing rushed out, tightly covering the iron mace, like being entangled by ropes.
Li Xian gave a shake of the spear shaft. Pure Gang Qi Clothing trembled, mixed with Inner Qi, striking forward. The bandit chief had never seen such a tactic before, completely unaware of what happened, was sent flying several zhang. Li Xian withdrew, drew a bow, and shot a wooden arrow, neatly and swiftly piercing through the bandit chief’s throat.
An ordinary mundane clay embryo would be dead by now. But the bandit chief possessed Food Essence Cultivation, immediately Blood Solidification and Aperture Closure, slowing the injury. As the Martial Arts Realm rises, the possibilities increase. Nangong Liuli once said... among the nine types of turbid clothing, the Gold Chamber Jade Clothing preserves a corpse from decay, even potentially being resurrected.
Li Xian flicked his spear tip, splashing water, then performed Jade Palm upon the water droplets. ’With a ’splash,’ sprinkled away, every drop hit the bandit chief’s acupoints, vividly dissolving blood clots in the pathways, infused with strong Inner Qi.
The bandit chief’s throat ’gurgled’ again, unable to suppress blood flow. Couldn’t utter a word, collapsing and passing away like this. Li Xian remained vigilant, shot several arrows to confirm the bandit chief was utterly dead, then beheaded him, storing it in a place.
