Myriad Daos of the Heaven

When Jiang Jichen heard the woman call herself Luochen, he understood the origin of Luochen Mountain Village's name.

Moreover, to his surprise, Luochen Fairy had taken the initiative to follow him.

Seeing their Village Chief willing to follow the strange young man before them, the bandits lost all will to resist.

The three oddball bandits—Shi San, Big Black, and Little Bai—were the first to shout, "We are willing to follow Lord Lingchen!"

Even Elder Lishan showed no hint of hesitation.

"This old one, Lishan, is also willing to follow Lord Lingchen and once more embark upon the arduous journey of the Celestial Dao."

"We, too, are willing to follow Lord Lingchen and conquer the world!"

The remaining bandits finally submitted.

Besides, Jiang Jichen had just demonstrated overwhelming combat prowess.

He had single-handedly and effortlessly defeated them all.

Lingchen was an Extreme Genius!

'He's an Extreme Genius!' was the thought on everyone's mind.

It was their honor to follow an Extreme Genius.

But if they knew that Jiang Jichen hadn't even used his strongest abilities or revealed his trump cards, one could only wonder what they would think.

Jiang Jichen's speech hadn't just been for show, meant to stir up passion and sentimentality.

It was a true cry that voiced the innermost feelings of many bottom-rung Cultivators.

In fact, they too had once stood on high, enjoying boundless glory.

But before those who stood even higher, they were nothing.

Now, they were like the world's most wretched outcasts, forced into the most remote and barren corner of the Six Paths Illusion Realm.

Yet, they could not resist, nor did they dare contend with those great powers.

Because resistance meant death, and to fight was to be nothing more than cannon fodder.

They could only cower in this corner of the world as their fighting spirit eroded and the flame of hope in their hearts was extinguished.

Furthermore, the longer they stayed here, the wider the gap grew between them and the Cultivators from the High-Level regions.

Jiang Jichen's words had voiced the thoughts of every single one of them.

More importantly, it had reignited the flame of hope in their hearts.

Their fighting spirit soared, and their blood boiled with passion!

Jiang Jichen's gaze swept over the crowd as he announced, "Everything about Luochen Village will remain unchanged, but henceforth it shall be called the Luochen Sect. It will continue to be managed by Luochen Fairy and Lishan Military Advisor. However, I have one condition, and it is my only one: from this day forward, we do not rob. Within the Land of Stray Bandits, we will crush other bandits and seize their strongholds. Outside the Land of Stray Bandits, we will only conquer cities and seize territory. As for Cultivation Resources, they will be distributed according to merit!"

Hearing Jiang Jichen's words, Luochen Fairy and Lishan were both stunned for a moment.

They never imagined that the young man before them would immediately delegate authority and show them such trust, right after taking over their stronghold.

In truth, it wasn't that Jiang Jichen trusted them; he simply didn't care.

'Besides, in a world where strength is supreme and interests come first, as long as I am powerful enough, they won't be able to stir up any trouble.'

Finally, Elder Li dismissed the crowd of bandits.

Luochen Fairy accompanied Jiang Jichen into the main hall of the stronghold.

"Lingchen, what's our next move?"

Luochen Fairy was direct, getting straight to the point.

Jiang Jichen knew she would ask. He smiled. "Don't be so anxious, Luochen Fairy. First, tell me about the situation in the Land of Stray Bandits. I..."

"What? You don't even know anything about the Land of Stray Bandits, yet you want to take it over? This is..."

However, before Jiang Jichen could finish, his words provoked even the normally graceful Luochen Fairy.

She let out a shriek, causing everyone nearby to probe the area with their Divine Thought.

Seeing how agitated Luochen Fairy was and that she looked ready to say more, Jiang Jichen thought, 'If the others heard what she's about to say, it would be bad for morale.'

So, without a second thought, Jiang Jichen reached out and covered Luochen Fairy's mouth.

"Shh, quiet! Just let me finish!"

Jiang Jichen said anxiously.

Er...

Caught off guard by the sudden move, even Luochen Fairy froze.

Jiang Jichen realized he had been too forward with the beautiful woman.

He quickly pulled his hand back and stammered, "Ah, that... In the heat of the moment... I didn't mean to, I..."

But before Jiang Jichen could finish, he suddenly found his own mouth covered by a palm.

"Quiet! Don't give anyone the wrong idea!"

This time, however, it was Luochen Fairy's turn to panic.

'Jiang Jichen is being too loud! The bandits outside will definitely get the wrong idea again.'

Jiang Jichen, for his part, hadn't expected such a sudden reversal.

Jiang Jichen sent a voice transmission: "What I was trying to say was that you only need to tell me who the strongest few people in the Land of Stray Bandits are, and I'll go kill them all. I know you're most concerned about those powerful experts. Don't worry, just leave it to me!"

In that moment, Jiang Jichen radiated a domineering confidence that inspired belief.

'Alright,' Luochen Fairy finally understood. This fellow Lingchen could be lecherous, roguish, and incredibly shameless, but that was only when he wasn't being serious. 'Once he gets serious, he exudes the aura of an overlord surveying his domain.'

And indeed, after all of Jiang Jichen's antics, Luochen discovered that no matter what shocking thing Lingchen did next, she would be able to face it with perfect composure.

So, she began to tell Jiang Jichen about the Land of Stray Bandits.

In the Land of Stray Bandits, there were over a hundred bandit groups of varying sizes, and Luochen Village had previously only ranked in the top twenty.

In other words, their strength was only upper-middle tier.

The Land of Stray Bandits had three major gangs that were the most powerful: the Tiger Ferocity Gang, the Pingshan Gang, and the Profound Lake Gang.

Nearly all the bandit strongholds had to obey their commands.

Before Luochen Fairy's arrival, the Luochen group had been a vassal of the Tiger Ferocity Gang, one of the three major powers.

Every year, they had to offer a large tribute of Cultivation Resources. Failure to do so meant annihilation.

In fact, every year, strongholds that couldn't afford the tribute of Cultivation Resources demanded by the three major gangs were massacred, with not a single person left alive.

"It seems... today is the day the tribute is due!"

Luochen Fairy said at last.

Since she had only been here for half a year, the time for tribute had not yet come.

But a few days ago, Elder Li had mentioned it.

'It seems... today is the day.'

The problem was, Luochen Mountain Village had barely plundered anything in the past six months.

Moreover, Luochen forbade her people from killing.

As a result, there was no way they had enough for the tribute.

Coincidentally, just as Luochen Fairy's words fell, a cold and indifferent voice rang out: "The Tiger Ferocity Gang, here to collect tribute. Don't pay, and we slaughter the village!"