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Chapter 579 The Smiling Peddler

In the Mountain Lord's plan, three waves were sent in succession.

The first wave was the Big-bellied Monster Snake, the second wave was the Left Sword King, and the third wave was the Ghost Snake King.

Unless Lord Shanjun personally intervenes, these subordinates are at best fourth-rate. What is it if they break into Lord Longwang's village? Isn't that just suicide?
It was precisely because the Mountain Lord didn't come in that the Dragon King couldn't unleash his full power, thus giving the Demon Serpent King the opportunity.

Unleashing full power will rapidly deplete the incense offerings.

The Dragon King had painstakingly accumulated this wealth for a hundred years, and he couldn't bear to part with it.

Stork Green also stood to the side, staring intently at the light screen.

The four demon soldiers fell into a dark void where there was no sense of direction.

Upon arriving here, not only the four demon soldiers, but also everyone watching through the light screen, understood: this was the Dragon King's sacred ground!

The four demon soldiers' bodies rapidly expanded and recovered.

One of the demon soldiers turned its enormous head and looked around a few times. Then, it seemed to lower its head and roar, and its body, which was more than ten feet tall, shattered and fell like quicksand.

But each grain of sand has grown its own hands and feet!
It quickly disappeared into the surrounding darkness.

Upon closer inspection, you'll discover that those "grains of sand" are actually countless tiny crabs!
The Demon Serpent King said smugly, "Let's first find out what mysteries lie within this Wild Dragon King's magic land!"

As soon as these thousands upon thousands of fanged crabs were released, the demon soldiers immediately felt their vision expand!
Although all that could be seen was endless blackness, thick like ink mixed with pine oil.

But the feeling of "expansion" is still very real.

The Whiskers expanded wildly in all directions, and soon their numbers were insufficient, so these Whiskers tore themselves in half!
One became two!

The number doubled and expansion continued.

The Ghost Serpent King was extremely satisfied and couldn't help but glance at the Stork Green beside him, saying, "You are loyal and resourceful. If Lord Mountain Lord hadn't already decided on the four of them, I would have actually wanted to give you this earth-shattering achievement."

Xu Yuan cursed inwardly upon hearing this!

Are you trying to give credit to your subordinates? You're clearly trying to ruin them!

These four demon soldiers are doomed!
So, you're saying that whichever subordinate you fancy, you'd send them to their death?

Then... please don't think too highly of me!

The mind of most evil spirits is somewhat abnormal; when the Demon Serpent King said this, he genuinely believed it...

After the horned crabs expanded to an area roughly half the size of Champa, one of them suddenly disappeared without a trace.

Of the three demon soldiers that were standing in the same spot, one immediately disappeared and reappeared—then it appeared where the Whisker Crab had vanished.

This demon soldier is actually a walking demon flower.

Each enormous leaf resembles a special wing or a sharp serrated blade, capable of cleaving through the void and flashing through it.

After it arrived, it did nothing else but open its "head," that is, the huge blood-red flower bud.

The blood-red flower immediately burst forth with a dazzling scarlet light.

This light also has a special ability: it can instantly illuminate the darkness here!
But the Dragon King's magic was extraordinary; after only a brief moment of light, the demonic flower and its radiance were completely extinguished!
The demonic flower vanished without a sound or trace.

Along with them disappeared the countless, ubiquitous whisker-like monsters.

But in that instant when the demonic flower illuminated the area, the Demon Serpent King and the others were able to see some things clearly.

In the land of France, there are ruins of an ancient temple, buried in a patch of sea sand.

In the main hall of the ancient temple, which was half collapsed, the mottled dragon god statue had been broken into several pieces.

That dragon god statue is completely different from the two-headed dragon god statue in the village's Dragon King Temple; it should be a real "dragon"!
Right outside this dilapidated Dragon God Temple stood a ferocious statue, its body shrouded in a thick, viscous black cloud that even the blood-red light of the demonic flower could not completely illuminate or penetrate.

All I could see was half of the thing's head.

It opened its terrifying maw, seemingly sucking and devouring something from the ruined Dragon King Temple.

After the demonic flower and the monstrous crab were annihilated at the same time, the darkness in that magical land seemed to have a life of its own, sweeping towards the remaining two demonic soldiers.

The darkness was menacing, and everyone felt that the two demon soldiers had no chance of resisting it.

I fear that in the next moment, they will both be shattered and vanished like bubbles.

But one of the demon soldiers suddenly lay down.

It turned into a strange stone bull.

With one leg and four horns, it somewhat resembles the legendary Kui Niu.

An unbreakable aura erupted.

They protected the last demon soldier.

The demon soldier swayed, his form transforming into a wisp of smoke.

Formless and without appearance, it merges into the Dharma realm!

Xu Yuan also secretly clicked his tongue; it seemed that Lord Mountain Lord really knew the Dragon King of Luo River.

These four demon soldiers were specifically trained to target the Dragon King's magic field!
His skill level wasn't particularly high, but he was an expert in a particular trick.

Despite the stone bull's "unbreakable" ability, the surrounding darkness attacked it more than ten times before finally shattering and annihilating the stone bull demon soldier.

It bought itself a brief moment, but allowed that wisp of smoke to disappear into this sacred ground!

Finding it and completely eradicating it is already incredibly difficult.

But the darkness that followed completely severed the connection between the green smoke and the Demon Serpent King.

The demon soldiers could no longer see anything within the light barrier.

The Demon Serpent King was already laughing heartily.

When it laughed, the ghost heads on its back laughed along with it. The laughter was strange and mixed, making people dizzy and causing intense madness to rise in their hearts.

At that very moment, the two commanders under his command also captured Granny Liu and Chen Wu respectively.

The two men, bound like rice dumplings, were thrown to the ground: "Sir, we've caught them!"

The Demon Serpent King waved his hand: "Keep a close watch on them; these two are still very useful."

"Yes!"

Granny Liu gritted her teeth and said in a sinister tone, "You mountain devils, do you really not know how to spell the word 'death'!"

With a sweep of its tail, the Demon Serpent King unleashed several massive shadows that lashed out at Granny Liu in turn.

Granny Liu was terrified and screamed in agony!
"Hmph!" The Demon Serpent King chuckled smugly.

The Bat Commander, his shadow rising like a tide from the earth, stepped forward and shouted, "My lord, I am willing to be the vanguard and storm the Dragon King's Temple!"

The demon soldiers were immediately filled with fervor and roared in a chaotic chorus: "Break down the Dragon King Temple!"

"Chop that snake and make soup for the mountain lord!"

The Demon Serpent King's eyes darted around, and he said, "Alright! Send troops—surround the Dragon King Temple first!"

Just as the demon soldiers were about to cheer, the Ghost Serpent King said again, "But we must surround them without attacking. You must not act rashly and ruin Lord Mountain's grand plan!"

Xu Yuan thought to himself: As expected, Lord Mountain Lord's plan for the Dragon King of Luo River is not so simple.

But what is the origin of this Mountain Lord?
How could someone know so much about the Dragon King of Luohe from a hundred years ago?
Xu Yuan stood to the side and slightly behind the massive body of the Ghost Serpent King, glancing up at it discreetly, and then thought to himself:
This serpent king has a soul.

Moreover, it is clearly more valued by Lord Shanjun than Zuo Jianwang, and is very likely to know all of Lord Shanjun's plans.

Should we... just kill them and come to judge their souls?
With a thought, Xu Yuan summoned the puppeteer from within the Myriad Souls Handkerchief. The puppeteer took the order, pulled out a piece of wood, and began carving the Ghost Serpent King.

Its lips parted into a smile like a puppet's, radiating ease: "Things are so easy now. With my master and I working together, we're invincible!"

The righteous three-headed demon vented his anger by fiercely whipping his subordinates on his own territory.

Why didn't you send me, sir?
It sat there by itself, its three heads propped up by two paws, deep in thought...

It had one head that wasn't supporting it, which made it yell angrily. Then it produced a paw, but it only had two knees...

It was only after it grew another leg that it finally regained its balance and was able to "think calmly".

But this whole ordeal gave the three-headed demon a sudden inspiration: Could it be... that the master thinks it has seven heads and I only have three, so he's worried that I'm no match for it?

This is outrageous!

The three-headed demons had sinister eyes. These kinds of strange creatures could naturally conjure up several heads at will, but those were not real "heads".

Each additional skill signifies an increase in power, or the acquisition of an extra innate, unorthodox technique.

We must not be outdone by that puppet! The three-headed demon was filled with an unprecedented drive to fight.

A fourth-rate villain is now in his prime!
……

"Guan Qing!" the Ghost Serpent King suddenly shouted, and a shadowy serpent tail coiled around Xu Yuan and moved in front of him.

"I will give you a demon army; go and kill all the living people in this village!"

"If you want blood offerings, so be it!"

In the eyes of the Demon Serpent King, this was a "reward" for the Stork Green.

Guan Qing's eyes darted around, and he immediately said, "My lord has worked hard for the Mountain Lord and has not yet received any food. He must be starving and thirsty."

How can the little ones eat first?

"Sir, you only need to attack the Dragon King Temple. I will lead my men to capture those villagers and then take them to the Dragon King Temple to offer sacrifices to the troops!"

"Hahaha!" The seven heads of the Demon Serpent King roared with laughter once more, even more pleased with the little demon soldier: "Not bad, not bad, it's good that you have such filial piety, go!"

"Once that wild dragon king is killed, I will certainly petition the Mountain Lord for a reward on your behalf!"

"Thank you so much for your guidance, sir. I will never forget it!"

The filthy bat and another commander looked grim.

What a sycophant!

We followed Lord Ghost Serpent King in life-and-death battles, but in the end, we might not even be as respected as this treacherous little demon in his eyes!
The filthy bat had an idea and said to the stork, "Come with me, and I will select a squad of elite demon soldiers for you."

The Bat-Taming Commander did indeed take Guan Qing to select demon soldiers, and the soldiers he gave him were indeed among the strongest of the five hundred demon soldiers.

But these fifty demon soldiers were actually evil spirits transformed from a nest of tiger-headed hornets in the mountains.

They are short-tempered and have simple, straightforward minds.
They only submit to those stronger than themselves.

Having just transformed into an evil spirit, it devoured all the other hornets of its kind in one go.

The filthy bat knew that the stork's squad was only a third-rate team, and these tiger-headed hornets were also third-rate.

He could have served as the team leader.

However, they are too unruly. If they were to lead troops, their demon soldiers would probably be devoured by them in less than a day!
The filthy bat's intentions were extremely sinister.

You sycophant, you want to capture the villagers and offer them as food to Lord Demon Serpent King?

You take these hornets to catch the villagers, but before you can catch them, the hornets will eat them first!

You made a boastful promise to Lord Oni-Serpent King, let's see how you explain yourself later!

Even if Guan Qingzhen had some other means to suppress these tiger-headed hornets, he was not afraid. When the filthy bat pulled out these demon soldiers, his body swayed slightly, and from the shadows behind him, which were like a tide, fifty black threads quietly separated and merged into the bodies of these tiger-headed hornets.

Even if they don't rebel, the filthy bats will control them to rebel.

Within the "Ten Thousand Souls Patch," the three-headed demon, determined to strive for self-improvement, became excited upon witnessing the filthy bat's abilities.

It howled and screamed, trying its best to show the master: I want this skill!
This little bat is mine now.

Master, you mustn't show favoritism to that piece of wood anymore.

Xu Yuan received fifty tiger-headed bee demon soldiers, but instead of setting off immediately, he stood aside and bowed as he saw off the Ghost Serpent King. His respectful demeanor infuriated the Filthy Bat inwardly.

After the Ghost Serpent King led the rest of his demon soldiers straight to the Dragon King Temple, Xu Yuan led fifty tiger-headed hornets into the village.

Our first stop was the village chief's house.

Granny Liu and Chen Wu are the Dragon King's men, and Xu Yuan doesn't believe the village chief isn't either.

However, Xu Yuan did not "expose" the village chief to the Ghost Snake King, which was to guard against the current situation.

The villagers were also trapped in the village and had no choice but to offer their faith to the Dragon King.

They have committed no sins, so why should they be eaten by that evil spirit for no reason?
But they hadn't gone far when they heard the sound of a baby crying coming from a courtyard by the roadside.

"Wow wow wow..."

Upon hearing the loud cry, the evil hornets immediately turned and rushed into the courtyard.

They completely disregarded the "Guanqing" team.

Guan Qing then shouted angrily, "Get back here!"

The hornets ignored them. With a jolt, their huge wings sprang up from their backs, and they leaped into the air over the courtyard wall. Dark blue saliva dripped from their massive, serrated mouthparts, hissing and burning white smoke on the ground.

"You damned thing, how dare you disregard my orders!" Guan Qing, as irritable as any evil spirit, roared furiously.

A hornet turned its head disdainfully and buzzed, "You think you're so capable that you dare to make our brothers obey your orders?"

Several others also shouted, "What trash dares to call himself a general?"

Guan Qing seemed to be in a state of impotent rage, and said in a sinister tone, "Aren't you afraid that I will report to Lord Ghost Serpent King and punish you for the serious crime of disobeying military orders?"

A hornet landed on the wall.

It was exceptionally majestic, with sharp, bristly black hairs all over its body, and seemed to be the leader of these hornets.

It waved its hand and said to its companions, "Surround this yard, don't let that tender meat escape!"

The hornets landed, and the courtyard, which wasn't very big, was completely filled with fifty hornets.

The poor family in the courtyard screamed and cried in despair.

The couple searched futilely throughout their home for a hidden spot to conceal their child...

The hornet beckoned to the stork and sneered, "Come on, if you can knock me off this wall, we'll obey your orders."

The hornets on the wall burst into laughter.

"If you can't do it, then you'd better get out of here and watch us try to use your blood!"

"If you serve us well, we might even reward you with a piece of flesh and blood!"

"We can't give it that little piece of tender meat; we can only get a small bite."

"Just thinking about the smooth, tender texture of a baby makes my mouth water..."

Guan Qing stood in front of the door, trembling with anger: "This is truly... outrageous!"

Xu Yuan secretly observed that the Ghost Serpent King's large force had arrived at the Dragon King Temple, so he twisted his body and revealed his true form!
Although those hornets were not large in their physical form, after transforming into evil spirits, each one was as tall as a black bear, reaching over ten feet in height.

They stood on the courtyard wall, almost two zhang tall.

But this stork revealed its true form, which was actually five zhang tall!
He looked down and pecked at the hornet—

With a whoosh, the enormous beak, over two zhang long, pierced right through the hornet!
The hornet died without uttering a sound.

Then, the giant stork opened its mouth wide, revealing a huge fleshy sac below its beak, and swept across the wall, stuffing all the hornets inside.

At this point, the hornets cried out in panic, "General Stork, if you kill us, how will you explain it to Lord Ghost Serpent King..."

The stork closed its beak, and all sound disappeared.

"I still prefer your arrogant and unruly demeanor from just now!"

After swallowing the hornets, the stork shrank back to its original size.

That enormous beak was, of course, a sword pellet.

What collected these hornets was not the mouth pouch of the evil bird, but the Ten Thousand Souls Cloth.

Such minor evil spirits are beneath the notice of the Three-Headed Demon and the Puppet Company.

The three great demons then opened the "Bridge to the Underworld" and released their lesser demons.

Within the Ten Thousand Souls Garland, a chewing sound suddenly rang out as hundreds and thousands of little devils devoured the tiger-headed hornets.

But the small courtyard fell silent in an instant, with only the loud cries of the infant still resolutely piercing the sky.

The rest of the family members fainted from fright...

Those hornets were scary enough, but this one was even more ferocious, chewing up all of them!

Our few pounds of meat and those tiny, crunchy bones wouldn't even be enough for that bird to eat...

Xu Yuan still used the "Dragon Spitting a Clam" to disguise himself as Guan Qing.

As long as he doesn't use this spell near the Dragon King Temple, Xu Yuan doesn't need to worry too much.

After killing these hornets, Xu Yuan never considered giving any "explanation" to the Ghost Serpent King.

The puppets at the puppet shop have been carved.

Xu Yuan planned to find an opportunity to rush up to Lord Ghost Serpent King and complain about the village chief's cruelty, saying that all the tiger-headed hornets had been killed by Qi Da.

Then, taking advantage of the Ghost Serpent King's sudden rage and agitation, he killed it and captured its soul to investigate the Mountain Lord's background.

But now is not the time; the Demon Serpent King needs to weaken the Dragon King first.

Xu Yuan secretly hid in the village, reaching into his robes and gently groping for "Dreams Come True".

Xiao Meng was coaxed by the master and released the yellow oriole.

The little yellow bird took flight and kept watch over the Dragon King Temple from high above.

This sight immediately displeased Lord Xu, who stroked his chin with displeasure.

The Demon Serpent King, along with 450 demon soldiers and two commanders, completely surrounded the Dragon King Temple.

The demon soldiers roared and shouted, but each stood in its own position, surrounding them without attacking.

"This won't do," Lord Xu said, exasperated. "Lord Ghost Serpent King, you have to try harder!"

As Xu Yuan was pondering this, he suddenly heard a jingling sound coming from outside the village.

The moment the business was announced, the village was in an uproar.

"The peddler is here!"

There was no road outside the village, but it appeared when the peddler came.

From its high vantage point, the yellow-bodied oriole saw a person effortlessly pushing a wheelbarrow through the waist-high weeds and thorns.

A bamboo pole, about the thickness of a thumb, was stuck in the front of the car; it was smooth and worn smooth.

A cloth banner hangs on a bamboo pole, embroidered with a large character for "goods".

A bronze bell hung beside the banner, its clear and melodious sound ringing out as the cart was pushed along.

The peddler, whose age was impossible to discern, wore a cheerful smile and began to hawk his wares in a distinctive, sing-song style as he approached the village:
"What I'm selling is... Southern Capital Silk and Northern Capital Shuttle."
Pearl and agate rouge box
One sells flower needles.

Second, sell flower-patterned handkerchiefs.

The rouge box was sold three times.
Fourthly, sell peach powder.
Five green handkerchiefs were sold.
Six large handkerchiefs were sold.
Seven hair ties sold, one bundle grabbed.

Eight sells three in a row,
Nine rings were sold for twenty coins each.

Ten flowers and red thread,
Everything is provided; I asked everyone, "Which one do you want?" (Note)
The villagers flocked to the peddler, as if they would not survive without buying his goods.

Even the baby and his family, who had just been surrounded by hornets, instantly forgot the danger and rushed out with excitement and anticipation.

Xu Yuanteng jumped onto the roof next to him and looked towards the peddler.

But I felt that the peddler's smile was too formulaic, as if... he was wearing a smiling human skin mask!

Xu Yuan blinked and activated "Looking at Fate." This time, he truly saw that the peddler's life was just a thread, far away connected to the Dragon King Temple!
It's just like those ghostly soldiers, whose lives are all tied to the divine cultivator.

"I see." Xu Yuan nodded to himself. "No wonder only peddlers could travel between twenty-four villages."

But Xu Yuan's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly searched the Ten Thousand Souls Handkerchief: "Stop eating, stop eating... You're eating so fast? Is there anything left?"

"Did you eat it all? Is it all digested? If not, you might have vomited some out..."

The little devils were a bit confused. What did the king mean by this?
You did eat it all, and it certainly wasn't digested that quickly, but vomiting it up... isn't that a bit disgusting?
However, a ghost child carefully presented a piece of evil flesh no bigger than a fist, and timidly said, "Master, this is what I've been protecting, intending to take back to my mother. If you want to eat it, then... then..."

It took it several tries before it finally said, "Here, you can have it first."

Xu Yuan paused for a moment, then subconsciously touched the two rosy-cheeked ghost children: "You are a filial child, take them back, the master won't eat them."

Turning his head, Master Xu put on a ferocious expression towards the other ghosts: "You... all of you, spit it out!"

……

The peddler, with a smile on his face, pushed his wheelbarrow to the village entrance, where the villagers swarmed around him.

The peddler set up his cart, still smiling, and said, "Don't rush, take your time and line up one by one."

Those who have experienced a death in their family, please come to the front of the line.

His words seemed to possess some kind of power; the villagers listened to the peddler as if he were the Dragon King, and soon they automatically lined up.

The peddler pulled on one side of the wheelbarrow, and with a clang, the side panel fell down, revealing all the goods inside...

Wow!

Countless pieces of evil flesh, half melted by the yin energy and covered in sticky, foul-smelling liquid, were poured down like a torrential rain!

The peddler was soaked to the bone!
The various goods on the wheelbarrow were also contaminated.

The peddler's "smile" remained unchanged, but his eyes were filled with icy killing intent!
"who!?"

A sinister shadow suddenly darted towards the Dragon King Temple.

The peddler picked up his wheelbarrow and gave chase!

As Xu Yuan ran, he cried out in despair, "Lord Ghost Serpent King, save me—"

That peddler with the long serpent body came and killed all the tiger-headed bee demon soldiers you assigned to me..."

When the Demon Serpent King turned around, he saw his new pet, the Stork Green, fleeing for its life.

Behind it, a unicycle with a person on it came chasing aggressively!
Upon closer inspection, the wheelbarrow and the man were covered with bits and pieces from the tiger-headed bee demon soldiers!

The Demon Serpent King roared, and all seven of its heads roared simultaneously.

"How dare you! You even kill my soldiers!"

It coiled its massive body and rammed into the peddler.

The commander of the Filthy Bats was dumbfounded: the fifty unruly, rebellious, and powerful tiger-headed bee demon soldiers I assigned to him were just gone like that?
They were gone before they could even cause this sycophant any trouble?
"Stork Green" glided past the Ghost Serpent King, then with a silky turn, stopped a few feet away. Watching the Ghost Serpent King about to collide with the peddler, it cried out in anguish, "Lord Ghost Serpent King, you must avenge the loyal and valiant Tiger-Headed Bee Demon Soldiers—"

"They died such a horrible death—"

The Demon Serpent King has only surrounded the Dragon King Temple; how can this be allowed?

If you strictly follow the orders of the Mountain Lord, and act as his scout and make arrangements, the Mountain Lord will be able to successfully capture the Dragon King of Luohe.

How can I then take advantage of the chaos, lure the Dragon King of Luo River, and advance to the third rank of the "Dragon Transformation Technique"?
(Note: Adapted from the lyrics of "Selling Groceries" in the Dongfu Wanwanqiang opera of Shaanxi.)
(End of this chapter)