Chapter 2 The Second Zone
The blood-red hue intensified in the second zone. As Li Xuan stepped into it, his brow immediately furrowed. The murderous aura in the air was so potent that even he felt his qi and blood churning. Li Xuan estimated that if he hadn't broken through to the Martial God realm, he would have been utterly unable to resist the killing intent here.
"No wonder they are unwilling to come to this second zone; it's because they can't withstand the malevolent energy within," Li Xuan murmured. Not only was the air thick with murderous intent, but when inhaled, it also bred a host of violent, negative emotions. Those with weak minds would likely descend into madness instantly.
With a deep breath, Li Xuan circulated his sword intent, instantly purging the negative emotions from his body. Then, he turned his gaze forward, pondered for a moment, and slowly proceeded.
The second zone was considerably smaller than the third. However, Li Xuan knew that precisely because of this, the prodigies from various worlds who managed to reach the second zone possessed even more terrifying strength. Furthermore, the second zone itself was rife with countless dangers. The map provided by Xing Ba indicated far more perilous areas in the second zone than in the third.
Qingmeng Mountain was one of the safest spots in the second zone, closest to the third. Li Xuan was heading in that direction. However, he soon halted. About ten li from Qingmeng Mountain, at a mountain pass, a burly, stout man sat in the middle, gnawing on the flesh of a mystical beast.
Li Xuan's expression turned peculiar. The scene felt eerily familiar.
"Yo, someone actually came. This road I opened, this tree I planted. If you want to pass, leave your toll," the fat man said, glancing at Li Xuan before continuing to devour his beast meat.
Li Xuan was speechless. Had he run into a fellow bandit?
"How much?" Li Xuan asked after a moment's thought.
The fat man was taken aback, his hand holding the beast meat pausing mid-air. After a long while, he snapped back to attention and hesitantly replied, "Well, seeing as you're so earnest, how about five million mid-grade spirit stones?"
Li Xuan inwardly cursed. Back when he used to extort money, he only charged five hundred thousand mid-grade spirit stones. This fatty was asking for five million right off the bat!
"What, are you telling me you don't even have five million mid-grade spirit stones?" the fat man asked, frowning slightly when Li Xuan made no move.
Li Xuan forced a bitter smile and then drew his sword, Jinghun, presenting it to the fat man. "What do you think of this sword?"
The fat man looked at Li Xuan. "Your sword is good. If you offer it as payment, that would be acceptable too."
Li Xuan chuckled. This fatty was rather naive.
The next moment, Jinghun vanished from Li Xuan's hand. However, Li Xuan was quickly astonished as Jinghun was forced to a halt three inches from the fat man's brow.
"Your swordsmanship is quite formidable. What percentage of your strength did you use just now?" the fat man asked, a hint of surprise in his eyes as he looked at Li Xuan.
Li Xuan was also shocked inwardly. "Seventy percent."
"Seventy percent, eh?" The fat man looked at Jinghun in front of him and then back at Li Xuan. "If you were to go all out, I fear I might be heavily injured. Fighting with you is troublesome. Forget it, you don't need to pay the toll."
"In that case, thank you," Li Xuan said with a smile and recalled Jinghun with a thought.
"My name is Wang Meng. Those who know me call me Fatty Wang. Your strength is extraordinary. Are you interested in joining us?" Fatty Wang's eyes darted around, and he suddenly asked Li Xuan with a face full of expectation.
Li Xuan was stunned. "Robbing people here?"
"Ahem, why phrase it so crudely? We are here to protect these plants and flowers. They can't give us spirit stones, but we can't work for free, can we? So, we just make those who pass through here pay. Yes, that's it," Wang Fatty said, nodding as if to himself.
Li Xuan's head was covered in sweat. This reason was acceptable?
"Brother, what do you think?" Wang Fatty asked again after seeing Li Xuan's moment of silence.
Li Xuan pondered for a moment and finally nodded. "Alright. But how do we split the earnings?"
Wang Fatty immediately laughed. "That's easy. We'll do a fifty-fifty split. And, if I can't defeat them, we'll both fight."
"Good," Li Xuan said with a smile and then walked to Wang Fatty's side to sit down.
Seeing that Li Xuan showed no signs of worry, a hint of surprise flashed in Wang Fatty's eyes. He then tore a large piece of beast meat from the fire and handed it to Li Xuan. "Here, let's eat together."
Li Xuan took the beast meat from Wang Fatty, took a few bites, and then, as if recalling something, suddenly asked, "My name is Li Xuan, from the Vast Continent. By the way, Brother Wang, how many people have you stopped here?"
Wang Fatty chuckled sheepishly and then, under Li Xuan's gaze, held up a single finger. Li Xuan was speechless. So, he was the very first one.
"Young Master, I've discovered that the people you meet are quite eccentric," the Heavenly Dao Brush's voice sounded in Li Xuan's mind. Li Xuan was startled, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. Because just as the Heavenly Dao Brush spoke, Wang Fatty seemed to hear it and looked up at him.
"Hmm, this fatty has something special about him," the Heavenly Dao Brush's voice sounded again, but it was significantly clearer than before. Li Xuan knew that the Heavenly Dao Brush had enhanced their communication.
"Brother Li, we have a guest," Wang Fatty suddenly said at this moment.
Li Xuan's heart stirred, and his divine sense quickly probed into the distance. A few breaths later, Li Xuan indeed felt an aura approaching. The sensation made Li Xuan even more shocked. It seemed this Fatty Wang was not as simple and honest as he appeared. His divine sense was even stronger than Li Xuan's.
"Leave five million mid-grade spirit stones, and... and we'll let you pass." As the newcomer appeared, Wang Fatty put down his beast meat and spoke to the approaching person.
Lü Hua glanced at Wang Fatty, then shifted his gaze to Li Xuan, his expression changing drastically. "The Roadblock Demon, it's you!"
Wang Fatty was stunned and then looked at Li Xuan, who was also bewildered. This person actually recognized him? Soon, Li Xuan remembered that this person had been robbed by him once before when he was blocking the road in the third zone.
Lü Hua felt like crying. After being robbed of five hundred thousand mid-grade spirit stones by Li Xuan in the third zone, Lü Hua had explored some ruins and caves. Fortunately, his luck was good, and he obtained inheritances and a large amount of spirit stones from two consecutive ruins. After raising his strength to the peak of the Martial God realm, he chose to enter the second zone. But he never expected to run into Li Xuan again.
Seeing the curiosity in Wang Fatty's eyes, Li Xuan looked at Lü Hua helplessly. "Well, how about you give him two and a half million?"