Chapter 96: Very Strange Indeed

The sun was setting, and the Holy Demon Peak in the evening scene was solemn and quiet. Apart from the sounds of insects, only bursts of sighs came from the weeds.

In the weeds, a pair of round buttocks were raised high, swaying back and forth, quite eye-catching.

"Ah, how am I supposed to live from now on?" Zhang Ergou had been working all afternoon and really wanted to cry. Many parts of his body had been cut by the weeds, and it hurt like hell.

Zhang Ergou slumped to the ground, signaling a strike. Looking at the endless weeds, he wanted to slap his ass and leave. This environment wasn't fit for humans, and this work damn well wasn't meant for humans either.

But when he thought about how he had offended the head of the menial laborers before leaving, Zhang Ergou shuddered.

If he went back now, his life would be in danger.

Ah...

Zhang Ergou sighed heavily. Just then, noisy sounds came from not far away. Zhang Ergou's expression changed, and he immediately stood up, grabbed his tools, and started frantically cutting grass.

The sect master is back, it must be the sect master.

If he saw me slacking off, he would definitely kill me. Maybe I'd end up like that stone, shattered to pieces, with no remains left.

Zhang Ergou wiped away his tears and said nothing more. Time to work.

But then, Zhang Ergou sensed something was off. The dense footsteps and the many voices in conversation clearly weren't the sect master returning.

Zhang Ergou looked up. When he saw a group of figures holding longswords, broadswords, and battle axes, his face instantly turned pale.

"No way, did he send someone to kill me?" Zhang Ergou was almost scared shitless. He figured that the other guy had come for revenge.

At a glance, there were at least dozens of people. With the sect master away and his own cultivation so low, if they chopped him to death with random blades, what would he do?

In that moment, Zhang Ergou immediately hid in the grass, motionless, not even daring to breathe, afraid of being discovered.

Lin Fan led these outer disciples to the place, estimating that with this many people, they could finish in a few days at most.

As for the pills, there was no worry. Tomorrow he would go to the Dan Ding Peak to exchange for a secret room, continue digging earth and refining pills, and that should cover the wages.

Lin Fan frowned slightly. Hey, where did Ergou run off to?

Could it be that while he was away, Ergou couldn't stand the work and just bolted?

"Ergou... Ergou, where are you?" Lin Fan called out.

Zhang Ergou, hiding in the weeds, was trembling and dared not show himself. But upon hearing the sect master's voice, his face lit up with joy.

"Sect master, I'm here!" Zhang Ergou immediately ran out.

"Where were you just now? I brought you some helpers. With more people, the work will go faster. Alright, let's start." Lin Fan said.

Zhang Ergou breathed a sigh of relief. So they were here to weed. And he noticed that these helpers were all outer disciples. In that moment, Zhang Ergou's gaze toward Lin Fan changed.

The sect master was indeed the sect master. He could even get outer disciples to do weeding. That was truly impressive.

Back when they were with the menial laborers, encountering an outer disciple meant treating them like royalty. Unlike the sect master, who could just drag them over to weed.

"Ergou, take these pills. Distribute them in the morning. I'm tired, so I'm going to rest." Lin Fan directly tossed the pills to Zhang Ergou. These pills weren't anything special, so he left them to Zhang Ergou to handle.

"Yes." Zhang Ergou nodded.

The outer disciples who had come with Lin Fan saw him hand over the Speed Yuan Pills to Zhang Ergou like that. Their eyes widened, and then they understood.

This guy called Ergou must be Uncle Lin's close aide.

Zhang Ergou looked at the sect master's back, then at the pills in his hand, completely dumbfounded. What was going on?

At the same time, Zhang Ergou noticed the outer disciples looking at him with a kind of fervor, as if they were coveting his flesh. It scared him, and he shuddered with a sense of foreboding.

"Brother Ergou, where should we start?" An outer disciple asked with a friendly expression. The address "Brother Ergou" made Zhang Ergou look at the person in disbelief.

"What did you just call me?" Zhang Ergou was stunned, as if he had misheard.

These were outer disciples, people he had once looked up to as unattainable.

"Brother Ergou," the outer disciple said, somewhat puzzled.

In that moment, Zhang Ergou felt an overwhelming sense of relief. That "Brother Ergou" had him utterly enchanted.

Zhang Ergou had never imagined that an outer disciple would call him "Brother Ergou."

"Alright, follow my orders. Start weeding from here." Zhang Ergou pointed to one side.

...

Lin Fan went up to the second floor of the wooden house. He had been pondering something for a while.

Before sending him here, the Holy Demon Ancestor had placed a drop of divine blood into his forehead.

But so far, he hadn't felt any reaction. Lin Fan knew that such things often contained the will of a powerful being, and possession wasn't unheard of.

However, since nothing had happened for so long, Lin Fan breathed a sigh of relief.

He still couldn't sense the divine blood's presence, nor did he know what effect it had.

Even the system didn't take the divine blood seriously. It seemed the divine blood was just trash, since even the system paid it no mind.

Then Lin Fan entered a cultivation state, practicing both the Formless Demon and Sword Intent simultaneously. The world's true essence gathered from all around, flowing into his body like streams.

The next day.

Lin Fan left the wooden house. He had expected the disciples to have left, but to his surprise, the outer disciples were still working hard, huffing and puffing.

Lin Fan could only nod approvingly.

As for Zhang Ergou, that guy had already fallen asleep in a corner.

The Xiantian realm and the Houtian realm differed not only in strength but also in physical endurance.

Those in the Xiantian realm could go days without eating, drinking, or sleeping, but for Houtian disciples, that was impossible.

Lin Fan said nothing and headed toward the Dan Ding Peak.

Although Speed Yuan Pills weren't very useful to him, they were quite beneficial to these outer disciples. The pills he had given Zhang Ergou might not be enough.

Dan Ding Peak.

Li Shun, regarded as the chief alchemist among the outer disciples, was naturally very arrogant. He was confident that those who had begged him to refine pills yesterday would definitely come back.

Refining pills for others every day and taking their pills in return—this feeling was incredibly satisfying.

But today, Li Shun found it strange that the number of people seemed slightly fewer than yesterday.

Where were those disciples who had begged him to refine pills?

Based on past experience, those outer disciples seeking his alchemy services should have been waiting here early.

Very strange indeed.