No one knew when it started.
But within the Jianghu of Lancang County City,
a rumor began to circulate in certain circles.
Enter the Joyful Forest, and find bliss like an Immortal.
Fair maidens add fragrance to your study, their smiles can topple cities.
The greatest beauties of the mortal world, all gathered in this forest.
Fueled by such rumors,
the "ambitious n" of the Jianghu flocked to it like moths to a fla.
One man would bring another, and he in turn would bring another, and in a short ti, they had forged a den of indulgence renowned throughout high society, unmatched in all of Guangqing Prefecture.
However,
few people knew
that the Joyful Forest wanted more than just money.
Because those who did were already enjoying their eternal bliss.
...
The great sun sank in the west, and the Star River of night unfurled.
In Yulan Mountain, fifty li outside Lancang County City and forty li from Tan County.
It was the end of sumr.
Yulan trees blood all over the mountains. When the night wind blew, their petals drifted down, blanketing the ground in a vast expanse of white.
In a valley deep within this sea of Yulan trees,
a hazy white mist shrouded pavilions and terraces. The sound of songbirds and graceful dancers mingled with the glow of red lanterns and green wine. Set against the backdrop of Yulan petals drifting like snow, the scene was dreamlike and intoxicating—a true paradise on earth.
But tonight,
this realm of bliss was brutally shattered.
RUMBLE—
The thunderous sound of hooves rolled from far to near, drowning out the decadent music of the Joyful Forest.
The riders galloped onward, trampling everything in their path.
They crushed the snow-like Yulan petals—so admired by scholars and aesthetes—into mud and filth.
From a distance,
a wild and tyrannical evil aura washed over them like a wave, jolting the patrons from their reverie and sparking panicked whispers.
"What’s happening?"
"I don’t know. Sounds like a large group of n on horseback is approaching."
"Isn’t that just asking for death? The power behind the Joyful Forest is incredibly mysterious. Anyone who’s ever caused trouble here has vanished without a trace."
"It couldn’t be so brainless bandits who’ve set their sights on this place, could it?"
Before the people inside the Joyful Forest could discuss it for long,
"WHOA!!"
the sound of reins being pulled and horses coming to a halt rose from all around.
Beneath the red lanterns of the gatehouse, shrouded in the hazy mist,
a group of nearly a hundred n appeared. They stood in deep shadow, exuding a fierce and sinister air. Not a single one of them looked friendly; they looked for all the world like bandits descending from Black Wind Stronghold.
Especially their leader...
He was dressed all in black, stood nine feet tall, and had a towering physique. His arms were thicker than an ordinary man’s waist, and the tyrannical aura he unconsciously exuded was so intense that no one dared to look him in the eye.
Standing there beneath the gatehouse,
he seed like a Demon Lord descended upon the mortal realm, looking down upon a world where all things were as insignificant as ants.
"Hiss... The Overlord Whale King, Wu Dao!"
Among the curious patrons gathered before the gatehouse, soone quickly recognized Wu Dao, their expression a mixture of shock and terror.
A man’s reputation precedes him, just as a tree casts a shadow.
After Wu Dao killed the Yellow Dragon Daoist, his fearso reputation spread throughout Guangqing Prefecture, and his portrait had been copied countless tis.
Not to ntion,
a physique that imnse, if not entirely unique, was like a beacon in the night—impossible to miss wherever he went.
"The Overlord Whale King is no kind-hearted soul. And bringing so many n... he does not co in peace, he does not co in peace at all."
"Indeed. I’ve never heard that the Overlord Whale King was fond of won."
"Heh heh, you never know. Appetite and lust are part of human nature. He’s not a true Immortal God, how could he... urk."
The last lewd voice was cut short. Blood stread from the man’s seven orifices, the light faded from his eyes, and he fell to the ground, stiff as a board.
"Clear the area."
Wu Dao’s expression didn’t change as he retracted his gaze. The crimson-gold flas in his pupils vanished. He gave the order to Zhao Jianji and then strode toward the depths of the Joyful Forest.
"A... a man is dead!"
Only then did the crowd before the gatehouse react. The more timid ones cried out in alarm, a bone-chilling cold seeping into them.
’This is too tyrannical.’
’He kills at the slightest disagreent.’
’No, that’s not right. He didn’t even lift a finger. He killed him with just a look.’
Rumor in the outside world had it that the Overlord Whale King was cruel and vicious.
It seed those rumors weren’t baseless after all.
"Shut your damn mouths and scram! The Tan County Branch is taking over this place for the night!"
Zhao Jianji had also been startled by Wu Dao’s ruthlessness.
But he had seen enough to be used to it. He recovered quickly and, borrowing the tiger’s might, let out a roar.
"Yes, yes, this lowly one will scram imdiately."
Most of the crowd, intimidated by the might of the Tan County Branch, imdiately nodded like chickens pecking at grain and scrambled inside, practically pissing themselves in terror.
"You’re being too tyrannical! We paid our money too! By what right do you tell us to scram?"
"That’s right! Besides, we’re all from the White Whale Martial Arts Hall."
"Master Zhao, heh heh, have you forgotten? I just toasted you a few days ago."
However,
a few troublemakers, who considered themselves a cut above the rest, failed to read the situation.
And then...
"Fuck you! I gave you a chance and you spat on it!"
Zhao Jianji kicked over the young master who had stepped forward to claim a connection, all trace of their previous drinking-buddy camaraderie gone.
SHING! SHING! SHING!
The mont Zhao Jianji moved,
Chen Ergou and Lv Tiezhu also shot forward, leading several grim-faced Divine Power Realm experts into the crowd.
Blades flashed.
They cut down the troublemakers on the spot, and the thick stench of blood instantly filled the air.
"Stop fighting! We’re leaving, we’re leaving now!"
"Just let put on my pants!"
"My father is... Aah! I won’t do it again!"
In no ti at all,
the n from the Tan County Branch stord through every area of the Joyful Forest like a pack of hungry wolves.
It didn’t matter if you were chatting over tea or in the middle of "business"; with kicks and blows, they drove out everyone who wasn’t part of the Joyful Forest staff.
The whole scene
looked just like an anti-vice squad raid.
"That’s about everyone. Ti to get to business."
After driving out all the irrelevant people,
Zhao Jianji and the other two exchanged a look.
With a large group of Divine Power and Inner Strength Realm experts, they took the Grand Array Plate looted from the Yellow Dragon Temple and used it to seal every exit from the valley.
anwhile,
inside the Joyful Forest’s Heaven-tier Room Number One,
fragrant silks and pink curtains hung, bathed in the soft, enchanting lamplight.
"M-Master Wu... why go to such lengths? I don’t know how the Joyful Forest has offended you."
Ji Chang, the person in charge of the Joyful Forest,
was a middle-aged man with a common face, at the Inner Strength Realm.
He was currently bowing low with his head down, his forehead covered in cold sweat, as he cautiously questioned Wu Dao, who sat at the table toying with a wine cup.
It had all happened so suddenly.
He never expected that the Overlord Whale King, whose fa had been shaking Guangqing Prefecture recently, would storm the Joyful Forest without any warning.
Moreover,
the mont he arrived, he had started tyrannically and unreasonably trashing the place!
Although the Joyful Forest had its own security forces,
their strongest were only a few at the Cocoon-Breaking Realm. If they were to step forward, it would only escalate the conflict; they couldn’t possibly stop Wu Dao.
So, Ji Chang had chosen to submit directly.
But ten thousand questions swirled in his mind.
He had no idea how they had offended this Evil God.
"I’ll ask, you’ll answer."
Wu Dao didn’t respond to Ji Chang’s question. His Stinging Dragon Pupil flared with a Red Gold Flowing Fla, and his imnse Spiritual Will instantly hypnotized and controlled the man.
"Yes."
Ji Chang’s expression imdiately went slack as he replied chanically.
"Who is behind the Joyful Forest?"
"I... I don’t know. A strange fox-headed person approached , gave a great sum of money, and had this lowly one find people to build and manage the Joyful Forest."
’Fox-headed people?’
’They’re all cut from the sa cloth, just as I thought!’
Wu Dao’s eyes narrowed as he continued his questioning:
"Did the fox-headed person ever reveal their identity?"
"Never."
"How many demons are in the Joyful Forest?"
"I don’t know. This lowly one has never seen any."
...
One question, one answer.
Ji Chang answered smoothly, without the slightest hesitation.
But it seed he was rely a puppet propped up by the person behind the scenes.
He knew nothing of the Joyful Forest’s inner workings.
Wu Dao wasn’t disappointed. If he couldn’t get answers from a human’s mouth, he would get them from a demon’s.
"Bring all the girls of the Joyful Forest here."
The Stinging Dragon Pupil faded.
Wu Dao’s expression remained unchanged as he gave the order to the dazed Ji Chang.
’Huh...?’
’What just happened?’
Ji Chang’s eyes were still a bit vacant, but upon hearing Wu Dao’s unquestionable tone, he nodded quickly. "Yes, yes, this lowly one will inform them at once."
CREAK—
Just as Ji Chang left,
Zhao Jianji pushed the door open and whispered in Wu Dao’s ear:
"Hall Master, everything is in place. Once the array is activated, I guarantee not even a fly below the Innate Realm will be able to escape!"
"Good. Go and keep a close watch. Don’t alert the prey. The mont sothing happens here, activate the array imdiately!"
Wu Dao set down his wine cup and nodded lightly.
Among the inheritance from the Yellow Dragon Temple,
most of the treasures were unusable for his Martial Dao and could only be sold to the Black Dragon Comrce Association.
But Wu Dao had kept one item: a Grand Array called the Chain Fire Wall Array.
This Grand Array
could be powered by the Qi and Blood Power of the Martial Dao.
It just required a large number of people to activate—at least fifty—and even the lowest-level array plate controllers needed to be at the Inner Strength Realm.
Otherwise, they would be squeezed into dried-up corpses.
Once the ring was ford and the array was active,
its power was similar to the Supre Yang Blood Fla produced by the Horizontal Refining Third Gate: Qi Blood Smoke.
It could form a wall to seal off an area, making it impossible for any evil spirit below the Innate Realm to escape.
"Yes, sir!"
Zhao Jianji replied respectfully and hurried out of the private room.
At the sa ti,
in the main hall of one of the Joyful Forest’s red buildings,
a hundred flowers blood, a flock of chattering orioles and swallows.
Over a hundred won, each with her own unique charm, were gathered in the hall. Their faces were etched with anxiety as they whispered among themselves.
"Sisters, what do you think that Overlord Whale King wants? Don’t tell the manager offended him?"
"Don’t overthink it. Maybe he really is just here for so fun. Big shots love to make a scene."
"Well... I’d rather believe he’s here to cause trouble. With the Overlord Whale King’s physique... heh heh."
As soon as she said this,
many of the "swallows" turned a little pale. They had seen Wu Dao from a distance when the incident at the gatehouse occurred.
To put it bluntly,
he was a humanoid Fierce Beast.
With their slender, willow-like bodies...
they didn’t dare to imagine it any further.
However,
among the crowd were a few won who outshone all the others. They didn’t join the discussion, their bewitching, beautiful eyes filled with nothing but greed and hunger.
According to outside rumors,
although the Overlord Whale King Wu Dao’s strength was comparable to the Innate Realm,
they possessed treasures bestowed upon them by their Mountain Master.
These treasures not only concealed their Demon Qi, but were also exceptionally adept at Absorbing Yang. Even a Grandmaster at the Innate Second Step would find it difficult to notice anything unusual, so they had no fear of being exposed.
Unlike the girls who were afraid of being chosen,
they were actually hoping to be selected.
It was true that their usual clients were "high-quality goods" starting at the Divine Power Realm,
but a Body Refiner whose strength was comparable to an Innate Martial Artist...
they had never tasted anything like that before.
Right now,
they were already calculating how much of the "soup" they would get to drink after giving the Mountain Master his tribute.
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