The moonlight was like water, and the night breeze was like water. (Read the full text novel at Shiliu Literature Network) Heaven and earth seemed like a vast sheet of crystal, and the small valley where Gu Xichen was located was embedded in it like a tiny potted landscape.

Within the small valley ran a stream, surrounded by blooming wild flowers and the incessant chirping of insects. Pale purple wisteria hung straight down from the cliffs on either side of the valley, and several large bird nests dangled among the vines. Occasionally, the faint calls of hatchlings could be heard. Several extremely thin green snakes cautiously climbed among the vines, occasionally opening their wide mouths to hiss fiercely at the nests.

Gu Xichen, clad in the attire of a Taoist priest, leaned lazily against a large rock beside the stream. A ferocious tiger lay nestled at his feet, while a great white crane, nearly four feet tall, stood beside him. At first glance, he possessed an air of the immortal.

But upon closer inspection, the tiger was bruised and swollen, currently unconscious, having clearly been beaten; the white crane’s major wing tendons had been forcibly dislocated, leaving it unable to move, and its long beak was tightly bound with rope, naturally rendering it speechless. One beast and one bird looked utterly desolate and miserable. Gu Xichen’s air of immortality had vanished without a trace, replaced instead by an overwhelming sense of wickedness.

A breeze blew, and Jin Hua, clad in a long black cloak, appeared at the valley entrance. He crossed the ground in several agile leaps, arriving before Gu Xichen. The incomparably handsome young Taoist priest followed closely behind Jin Hua, waving a horsetail whisk loosely. Though his steps appeared slow, he lagged not a fraction behind the swiftly leaping Jin Hua. Both bowed in unison to Gu Xichen. Jin Hua cupped his hands and said, “Mr. Gu, this gentleman is our leader for this venture, the young Taoist Zhang from Yuntai Pass in Pan Tao Valley, behind Mount Zhongnan. You may simply call him Little Zhang the Snout.”

Little Zhang the Taoist bowed deeply to Gu Xichen, smiling faintly, “Mr. Gu is also of our Yanhuang lineage.”

Gu Xichen quickly stood up, returning the salute with cupped hands, “That is very true. Although the Gu family’s foundation is on the North American continent, we dare not forget our Yanhuang ancestors. We are indeed kinsmen.”

A burst of black mist suddenly erupted from the stream. Bobbiebi, entirely wrapped in a black cloak, strode out from the smoke, accompanied by a stout blond, blue-eyed man and a blonde woman with an hourglass figure. Bobbiebi chuckled hoarsely, “Today, we discuss only true gold and silver here; please, everyone, do not try to claim false kinship. Heh heh, kinsmen, kinsmen—two living people and one zombie count as kinsmen?”

Jin Hua’s expression shifted, and he let out a low growl, glaring fiercely at Bobbiebi, “Bobbiebi, are you trying to become my junior brother?”

Bobbiebi cackled strangely, “I have no such interest. If I were to truly transform into an undead creature, I would prefer to specialize as a Necromancer!”

Jin Hua’s eyes turned red. With a whoosh, he lunged, throwing a punch straight at Bobbiebi’s face. The heavy fist tore a streak of white air current through the atmosphere, arriving almost instantly before Bobbiebi. Jin Hua roared, “Spit out your mother’s bullshit! Your whole family is undead creatures! I am a kinsman of the Corpse God Clan!”

The blond, blue-eyed strongman let out a long roar toward the sky. The three full moons of Paradise Star simultaneously cast a pale, ghostly moonlight down into the strongman’s mouth. White lances sprouted all over the strongman’s body, and his stature, originally around two meters tall, suddenly shot up by another meter or so. His head also transformed into a snarling wolf's head. The werewolf opened its massive jaws and lunged to bite fiercely at Jin Hua’s right fist.

With a resounding clang, Jin Hua’s fist slammed violently against the werewolf’s teeth. A large tooth flew out over ten meters, whistling piercingly as it embedded itself deep into the cliff face. Jin Hua’s right fist was also torn open by a deep wound; the muscles within were shredded into a mess, yet there was not a drop of blood visible. The werewolf strongman yelped in pain, hopping about where he stood clutching his mouth, while Jin Hua frowned deeply and retreated several steps.

Bobbiebi let out a few strange whoops, and the blonde woman slowly walked toward Jin Hua, swaying her slender waist. She giggled, “Mr. Jin Hua, the Corpse God Clan—aren’t you still a zombie? Heh heh heh, looking at how tall and mighty you are, do you still retain certain masculine functions?” The woman’s eyes suddenly glowed with concentric rings of pink light, and a soul-capturing, malevolent power shot straight toward Jin Hua.

Little Zhang the Taoist sighed deeply and cried out toward the sky, “Boundless Celestial Venerable! We are here today for an auction; why must we start things off so unpleasantly? Harmony is precious, harmony is precious!”

While chanting about harmony, Little Zhang the Taoist’s actions proved to be the most formidable. The horsetail whisk, used as a decoy, was casually tossed to the ground. Little Zhang the Taoist flipped open the front panel of his robe, and thinking he had stored it nowhere visible, pulled out a heavy, large-caliber, high-velocity anti-ship individual rocket launcher from beneath his vestments.

Gu Xichen, standing nearby, was utterly startled. This rocket launcher was used by ground forces to attack low-flying space battleships. The 300mm caliber rocket rounds were astonishingly powerful; a direct hit on a weak spot of an ordinary Tier Three warship would be devastating, let alone on a human—unless one reached the legendary Mars-level fighter, no flesh-and-blood body could withstand it. What especially shocked Gu Xichen was that even with his keen eyesight, he absolutely failed to see where Little Zhang the Taoist had produced this massive weapon. He scrutinized the Taoist up and down—the man was slender, his clothes thin; there was no place on him to hide such a thing?

The rocket launcher was almost jammed into the dumbfounded blonde woman’s face. Little Zhang the Taoist, who had just moments ago appeared refined and knowledgeable like a true sage, roared with sudden brutality, “You filthy woman, do you believe I won’t blow your head off with one shot? Huh? A certain male function? I am a man too! Do you find this big stick enjoyable?” The Taoist violently shoved the launcher forward, smashing it heavily against the woman’s forehead, sending her stumbling back seven or eight meters.

The werewolf behind her let out a few roars, raising his thick arms as if to pounce on Little Zhang the Taoist. Jin Hua, standing behind, still twitching his right palm, sneered. He swung his hands left and right, and two heavy, nearly six-foot-long, pitch-black scythes suddenly materialized in his hands. The black scythes were forged from some unknown material, their blades carved all over with sinister, evil runes and images of naked, writhing demons. As soon as the curved blades appeared, the surroundings instantly darkened; these two wicked weapons actually seemed to devour a significant amount of the ambient light.

Bobbiebi’s face grew grim, and he said in a low voice, “Enough. Chuck, Ylian, both of you stop. We are here to compete; don’t make a spectacle for others!”

The werewolf strongman panted heavily, huffing and puffing. The white fur receded back into his body, and he glared viciously at Jin Hua before retreating behind Bobbiebi. Ylian also let out a cold snort. She touched the small lump on her forehead where the rocket launcher had struck her, and with extreme vexation, she made a crude gesture toward Little Zhang the Taoist before similarly standing behind Bobbiebi.

Gu Xichen gave a strained laugh, “No worries, please continue, continue! I truly wasn't watching you for amusement; this is just fair competition, you see!”

Without a word, Little Zhang the Taoist rotated the rocket launcher and fired a shot toward the valley entrance.

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Oh la, Pig Head arrived home very happily... Hmm, carrying a suitcase up the stairs is really tough going... Life, ah... My shoulder is red and swollen, cramping up, and I twisted my wrist too... Depressed, but updates will proceed as scheduled... Comrades, look forward to April 1st, Pig Head is going premium soon... Heh heh, looking forward to April 1st immensely, anticipating the new chapters... Everyone, work hard and smash those votes, consider it a comfort for Pig Head’s swollen elbow...