Starting from his vigorous old age, he began to conquer Liaozhai.

In less than half an incense stick's time, the area near the gate of Erlong Mountain stronghold was covered in blood, and seventy or eighty bandits were reduced to corpses.

Cao Xiong was puzzled. With such loud shouts of killing, the chief of Erlong Mountain should have heard the commotion long ago, but he had not appeared yet.

"Could they have run away?"

"search!"

Cao Xiong took the lead and entered the depths of Erlongshan Village. Cao Man held up a round log obtained from the village gate, with a brazier for lighting placed on top.

He followed closely behind Cao Xiong, looking around as he walked.

The structure of Erlongshan stronghold is completely different from that of ordinary bandit dens. Entering the stronghold is a valley, where a large amount of farmland has been cultivated.

Passing through the farmland, the deepest part of the valley connects to a relatively flat mountain peak, which seems insignificant compared to the towering mountains on both sides.

The journey was extremely quiet, as if all the bandits had already gathered at the entrance of the stronghold.

"Waaah..."

Just as Cao Xiong led his soldiers to the foot of the low mountain peak, Cao Man suddenly grabbed Cao Xiong, pointed to the mountain in front of him, and made strange noises.

Cao Xiong stopped and looked in the direction Cao Man was pointing, but he didn't see anything unusual. It was too dark, and the shadows of the trees were heavy.

"You mean there's someone there?"

After taking the iron bow off his back, Cao Xiong asked Cao Man.

Cao Man nodded quickly.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~"

Cao Xiong fired three arrows at that spot in succession.

"Hmph~"

A muffled groan was heard, and then silence returned.

"An ambush? Interesting."

"Everyone be careful."

Cao Xiong, wielding an iron bow, led his men forward once more.

"Whoosh~"

Suddenly, a stray arrow shot from the side and struck a soldier in the neck.

Almost simultaneously, Cao Xiong reacted swiftly, returning an arrow in the direction from which it had been shot.

"Cao Man, after him!"

"Waaah~"

Cao Man forcefully shoved the log in his hand, and it landed firmly on the ground with a clang.

He then strode after the attacker, sweeping aside all obstacles. The surrounding trees fell like weeds at his touch.

In just a few breaths, Cao Man caught the man and returned as if he were a chick.

The captured bandit was probably in his early thirties, with a sleazy appearance and a mustache.

"What about the others from Erlong Mountain?"

Cao Xiong only needed to glance at the man to determine that he wasn't even a martial artist at the Skin Tempering Realm, let alone the leader of Erlong Mountain.

"Sir, spare my life! My name is Hu Da, I'm just a small fry. Our boss is up on the mountain—no, I mean the bandit leader."

"I'm so anxious," said the bandit Hu Da, his face flushed red, feeling as if the giant grabbing him could crush him to death at any moment.

"Are there any more ambushes ahead?"

Hu Da quickly shook his head, "No, no, sir, the bandit leader is guarding the master's alchemy, that's why he hasn't come down the mountain."

Cao Xiong was somewhat surprised by this answer, "Alchemy?"

"What kind of pills are you refining?"

"Well, sir, I don't know either. I only know that if an ordinary person takes that pill, they can capture a tiger alive, and if a martial artist takes it, they can break through their cultivation level."

Cao Xiong's eyes flashed, and he took out a small wooden box from his pocket. He had found this small wooden box under the bed of the chief of Liwang Village.

Cao Xiong opened the wooden box, took out a red pill, and asked, "Is this the kind?"

Hu Da quickly shook his head. "Sir, this is it. I used to be an ordinary hunter. Later, I was given a pill by the leader of Erlong Mountain. After eating this pill, I gained strength comparable to a martial artist."

Cao Xiong felt he was close to uncovering the truth.

"Continue."

Cao Xiong stopped asking questions and turned to walk upstairs.

"Sir, sir, can you release them now...?"

Before Hu Da could finish speaking, Cao Man crushed his neck, killing him instantly.

Cao Man disgustedly tossed Hu Da's corpse aside, pulled out the log he had stuck in the ground, and caught up with Cao Xiong.

Soon, Cao Xiong saw some thatched houses starting to appear on the mountain.

The officers and soldiers also dispersed and ran into these wooden houses to search.

A short while later, they brought out sixty or seventy people, including men, women, and children.

Upon questioning, it was discovered that those who were dressed relatively cleanly were relatives of the bandits.

The other civilians were all captured. Originally, there were more than a hundred people captured, but in the past few days, people have been taken out of the prison by bandits every day and then disappeared.

"Li Cheng, send a few men to escort these people to the entrance of Erlong Mountain stronghold."

"Yes, sir!"

At this moment, Cao Xiong felt a surge of anger. The bandits robbed the people, either of them rich young men and women, or women they used to satisfy their lust.

The people imprisoned at Erlong Mountain were all ordinary people; the elderly and children were not spared.

In addition, based on the information he had received from Liwang Village, he could guess that these bandits were probably robbing people to make evil pills or to offer to monsters.

Cao Xiong crushed the pill in his hand, which still reeked of blood, into powder.

Then we continued walking up the mountain.

Li Cheng stayed behind to deal with the civilians. "Xiao Qi, what should we do with the families of these bandits?"

Li Cheng didn't speak, but instead stabbed the woman closest to him to death. He saw hatred in her eyes.

Li Cheng's men took action, slaughtering all those who were relatives of the bandits, whether women or children.

……

Cao Xiong quickly led his men to the main camp of Erlong Mountain, located in the middle of the small hill.

A small courtyard with a plaque that reads "Erlong Mountain" in illegible handwriting.

Three martial artists, along with forty or fifty bandit henchmen, stood in front of the courtyard, ready for battle.

"I am Tu Wanli, the chief of Erlong Mountain. I greet you, sir."

Cao Xiong already knew the name of the leader of Erlong Mountain.

Cao Xiong had assumed that this man would be a fierce-looking, uncouth fellow. However, Tu Wanli was dressed in a blue robe, was thin, and had a fair complexion. Anyone who didn't know him would have mistaken him for a scholar.

He had no time for pretense with Tu Wanli. His fingers lightly traced the blade of the Evil-Sniffing Blade, a murderous glint in his eyes. "Tu Wanli, do you know the consequences of colluding with demons and monsters?"

Tu Wanli's voice remained gentle. "I don't understand what you mean, sir. There are dozens of mountain strongholds of all sizes around the Hundred Thousand Mountains. My Erlong Mountain has always been law-abiding. Even when we plunder people, we never take their lives. It's just that we have a lot of fields on the mountain and need people to help manage them."

Cao Xiong sneered, "Stubborn to the end!"

Sensing the murderous intent emanating from Cao Xiong, Cao Man bared his teeth at Tu Wanli, waiting for Cao Xiong's command to rush forward and smash the man's head in.

"kill!"

Cao Xiong didn't want to waste time. Since communication was impossible, he decided to fight first.

"Roar~"

Cao Man couldn't wait any longer, and with his fists clenched, he was the first to rush out.