I meet all the requirements for becoming a god in this world!

Xu Jiayin clicked her tongue:

"Just to be on the safe side, I suggest you avoid getting into fights with others in the future."

Cheng Laiyun nodded in deep agreement: "I certainly won't summon the colossus unless it's a critical moment."

At this point, he frowned:

"I actually have a question. Logically speaking, as the driving energy source of the colossus, the Mystic Pearl should eventually run out of energy. Why didn't I feel any energy consumption from the colossus in these two battles?"

It can't be a perpetual motion machine, can it?

Xu Jiayin took out a handful of melon seeds from her pouch at her waist.

Those were caramelized melon seeds that Cheng Laiyun had fried for him.

She happily kowtowed once, then glanced at Cheng Laiyun and said:

"I told you."

"The Mysterious Pearl is the core of the Dragon Clan, the leader of all demons in ancient times."

Cheng Laiyun nodded in surprise: "I did say that."

"So Xuanzhu has another name."

Xu Jiayin's lips curled up, and she slowly uttered two words: "Dragon Ball."

Ok?

Cheng Laiyun was a little sensitive to these two words, and he looked up in surprise.

Dragon Ball?

Can you make a wish if you collect all seven?

Xu Jiayin met his gaze and continued speaking:

"Not to mention now, even in ancient times, the Mystic Pearl was an extremely rare and precious treasure."

"Because the Xuanzhu is not only extremely useful to the human race, but also has a heaven-defying effect on the demon race."

"Any demon that swallows the Mystic Pearl will experience a significant increase in strength."

Cheng Laiyun stroked his chin.

Xu Jiayin continued cracking sunflower seeds in her hand, then spoke:

"Dragons have a special physique and extremely strong physical combat power. During battle, the Xuan Pearl within their bodies can continuously absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for their own use."

"Therefore, in ancient times, the dragon race was the leader of all demons."

"The manufacturing process of my Mo Sect's Spiritual Pivot Giant Elephant is actually imitating the body structure of the dragon race. After being combined with the Mysterious Pearl, there is no need to worry about insufficient spiritual energy. It will continuously absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for its own use."

After these words...

This will completely resolve Cheng Laiyun's deepest concerns.

"I see……"

Cheng Laiyun's brows relaxed, and he was about to ask another question when he heard a voice.

"Junior Brother Cheng!! Junior Brother Cheng!!"

Ling Ziyun's voice came from outside the courtyard gate, as loud and boisterous as ever.

Cheng Laiyun and Xu Jiayin turned their heads at the same time and saw Ling Ziyun striding into the courtyard.

There was a hint of urgency in his eyes.

"Senior Brother Ling, what is it?" Cheng Laiyun stood up to greet him.

"Why are you here?" Xu Jiayin tilted her chin up and glanced at Ling Ziyun before asking.

Ever since Ling Ziyun told her right under her nose that she was ugly and had a bad temper, he has been owing her money.

Ling Ziyun took a deep breath and said solemnly:

"It's confirmed."

"The source of the plague is the venom of the Black-bellied Serpent of the Demon Clan."

Cheng Laiyun had not yet spoken.

Then Xu Jiayin asked casually, "So?"

Ling Ziyun's face was serious: "The method of preserving the venom of the demon race's black viper is extremely demanding."

"And this time it's another large-scale infection."

"Therefore, the medical community speculates that either someone went to great lengths to preserve snake venom in Qingzhou using unusual methods."

"Or..." He paused, then spoke softly.

"A black viper has infiltrated Qingzhou!"

"The black-bellied snake loves water, and Qingzhou is surrounded by water on all sides, with the Nie River in the distance and the Qu River nearby... The search area is too vast, so..."

He forced a smile and looked at Xu Jiayin, reluctantly saying:

"I hope Junior Sister Xu can set aside past grievances and lend me my Spirit-Tracking Disc to hunt down the demons!"

Fearing that Xu Jiayin might disagree, he quickly added:

"The infiltration of the demon race into the territory of Dayuan is a major national case and cannot be taken lightly."

Xu Jiayin frowned: "Have you reported this matter?"

Ling Ziyun nodded: "My senior from the Medical Sect has already reported this to Prefect Zhang. I believe it won't be long before this matter reaches the Emperor's ears."

"Okay." Xu Jiayin didn't hesitate any longer and directly took out a spirit plate the size of a mirror from her bosom and handed it to Ling Ziyun, saying:

"Remember to return it to me after you're done using it."

Ling Ziyun took the spirit plate, nodded in response, and hurriedly headed outside.

"that……"

Cheng Laiyun suddenly called out to Ling Ziyun.

"Is there anything else?" Ling Ziyun put the spirit plate into his pocket and turned around blankly.

Cheng Laiyun pondered for a moment and said, "We can focus our search on Qujiang."

Why?

Xu Jiayin and Ling Ziyun were both taken aback.

"Do you still remember the martial arts instructor from Xu's Cloth Shop?" Cheng Laiyun's voice was low and deep, his eyes sharp as knives.

"The martial arts master's symptoms..."

"How could I not remember? My Xu's Cloth Shop's cargo ship mysteriously disappeared on the Qujiang River, and only one martial arts master returned... He even died without saying a word before he died..."

Xu Jiayin gritted her teeth when this was mentioned.

The phrase "severe losses" is an understatement.

"You mean... the cargo ship might have encountered that black viper..." Ling Ziyun snapped back to reality, then solemnly bowed to Cheng Laiyun:

"Thanks for reminding me, I understand!"

The case of the Black Viper was investigated jointly by the disciples of the Medical Sect and the Prefectural Judge.

For several days in a row, no information was found.

This has little to do with Cheng Laiyun.

He couldn't be bothered to get involved.

Now all he wanted was to get some more information about martial arts from Qi Dazhuang.

If you can get as many as possible, then get as many as you can.

We can't always get stuck at a bottleneck and then cram at the last minute...

So as soon as the weather cleared up today, he went to find Qi Dazhuang.

The aroma of wine wafted through the courtyard.

Cheng Laiyun and Qi Dazhuang sat at the stone table, each with a bowl, drinking heartily.

On the table were several dishes of peanuts, braised tofu, and half a roast chicken, which had been torn to pieces by the two of them.

"Laiyun, have another bowl!" Qi Dazhuang's face was flushed, and his tongue was slurred as he held up the bowl and tried to shove it into Cheng Laiyun's hand.

Cheng Laiyun smiled and brushed him off:

"Alright, alright, drink less. When Sister Xinxiang gets back and sees you like this, she'll probably pull your ear..."

The main problem was that Qi Dazhuang was too drunk, which made it difficult for him to get information out of Qi Dazhuang.

"Uh..." Qi Dazhuang's face was a little stiff.

In his entire life, he feared nothing but his own sister...

Just as he was about to offer some excuse, the courtyard gate was gently pushed open.

Wu Qiufeng stood at the door.

He was still wearing that dark brown shorts, and carrying a bulging cloth bag in his hand.

He glanced around the courtyard, his gaze lingered on the stone table, then drifted towards the house before settling on Qi Dazhuang.

"Dazhuang," he called out in a muffled voice.

Qi Dazhuang turned around and grinned, "Brother Qiufeng! You've come at the perfect time, come and have a couple of bowls!"

Wu Qiufeng shook his head, picked up the cloth bag, and walked into the courtyard.

He put the cloth bag under the eaves, and just like last time, it contained the same few items.

A packet of salt, a packet of sugar, a bundle of dried noodles, and a piece of cured meat wrapped in oil paper.

Wu Qiufeng put his things down and stood there, neither moving nor sitting, nor speaking.

Qi Dazhuang waved to him, "Brother Qiufeng, come and sit down!"

Wu Qiufeng hesitated for a moment, then slowly walked to the stone table and sat down next to Qi Dazhuang.

He sat upright, his hands on his knees, his eyes fixed on the roast chicken on the table, refusing to look anywhere else.

Cheng Laiyun looked him over with great interest.

This man has thick eyebrows and big eyes, and a kind and honest face. He looks like the kind of straightforward person who doesn't mince words.

"Brother Qiufeng, this is my brother Cheng Laiyun," Qi Dazhuang introduced.

"We came from Yong'an County together, we're best buddies!"

Wu Qiufeng then looked at Cheng Laiyun and nodded: "Brother Cheng."

His voice was still muffled, but his attitude was sincere.

Cheng Laiyun smiled and clasped his hands in greeting: "Brother Wu, I've heard so much about you."

Wu Qiufeng paused for a moment, seemingly not understanding where the "long-standing admiration" came from, but still nodded seriously and turned back to stare at the roast chicken.

Qi Dazhuang poured him a bowl of wine and pushed it towards him, saying, "Have a sip."

Wu Qiufeng took the bowl but didn't drink from it; he just held it.

His gaze drifted towards the house again.

"Sister Xinxiang isn't here," Cheng Laiyun said with a smile.

He could tell what the man was trying to do by constantly looking inside.

Wu Qiufeng's hand stiffened slightly.

"He went shopping," Qi Dazhuang added, a slight smile playing on his憨憨 (simple and honest) face.

"You've come at a bad time."

Wu Qiufeng was silent for a moment, then put down the bowl, stood up, and said, "Then I'll be going now."

Before leaving, he pointed to the cloth bag under the eaves:

"That bag of salt, although it's coarse salt, has been ground, making the cured meat even more fragrant."

"That sugar is maltose, not cane sugar. It's cheap, but sweet."

"The noodles were freshly rolled out this morning, so they won't spoil."

He looked up at the sky.

The sun was already setting in the west.

"I'm gone."

Qi Dazhuang urged, "Sit a little longer, my sister will be back soon."

Wu Qiufeng shook his head and walked towards the courtyard gate.

Qi Dazhuang called out from behind, "Where are you going? Sit a little longer!"

Wu Qiufeng paused in his steps.

His kind face suddenly flushed red.

After holding it in for a long time, he finally managed to utter a muffled sentence:

"It's so late, I'm worried about your sister."

After saying that, he pushed open the door and went out.

…………

Watching his retreating figure, Cheng Laiyun suddenly remembered the case of the life bone that Qi Dazhuang had mentioned before.

This is precisely what Wu Qiufeng is currently in charge of.

A 20-day deadline.

Cheng Laiyun let out a soft breath.

Hopefully, he can successfully investigate and find out the truth.

The sky gradually darkened.

The wine bowl was empty, and only the skeleton of the roast chicken remained.

Qi Dazhuang had already started hiccuping from the alcohol, and Cheng Laiyun was also slightly tipsy.

We've covered most of the groundwork.

He now knows the methods for an eighth-rank martial artist to defeat a seventh-rank one, and the methods for a seventh-rank martial artist to defeat a sixth-rank one.

Even if it were higher, Qi Dazhuang wouldn't know...

"Then I'll be going now." Cheng Laiyun stood up with a smile, about to take a step.

But then the courtyard gate was kicked open with a bang.

Qi Xinxiang stumbled in.

Her face was deathly pale, her whole body was trembling, and her lips were quivering, as if all her strength had been drained away.

She leaned against the doorframe, her gaze sweeping across the courtyard, landing on Qi Dazhuang's face, then on Cheng Laiyun's. Her lips moved, but no sound came out.

Qi Dazhuang was stunned: "Sis? What's wrong with you...?"

Qi Xinxiang suddenly knelt down on the ground.

Cheng Laiyun and Qi Dazhuang rushed over to help her.

Qi Xinxiang gripped Qi Dazhuang's arm tightly, her nails digging into his flesh.

She looked up, and her usually sharp and outspoken face was now deathly pale.

Tears rolled down her cheeks in large drops, and after trembling for a long time, she finally managed to squeeze out a sentence:

"Wu...Wu Qiufeng...him..."

Her voice sounded like it was being torn from her throat, each word trembling:

Something's happened.