Chapter 87 The Five Cunning Elders

Zan Yunxiao calmly looked at the arrogant man and asked, “Why do you want to dominate the Western Continent?”

The man sneered dismissively. “There's nothing particular about it. I simply want to dominate the Western Continent. So, are you joining my side or not?”

Zan Yunxiao ignored the question and asked another, “Where are you from? Judging by the way you people behave, you're not from the Crimson Empire, nor are you natives of the Northern Region.”

“Crimson Empire? Natives?” The man's expression became puzzled for a moment before his face turned impatient. “What are you talking about?”

Zan Yunxiao narrowed his eyes. “I see. If you were truly natives of this region, you wouldn't act this arrogantly without knowing the situation here.”

The man's expression darkened. Zan Yunxiao's endless questions had clearly exhausted his patience. “Enough! Are you joining my side or not?”

“What if I refuse?” Zan Yunxiao asked calmly.

“Then you'll submit to me by force!” the man shouted as his spiritual energy erupted. He immediately charged forward, while the Nascent Soul cultivators behind him prepared to watch the battle.

Zan Yunxiao merely smirked. “What if you people submit to me instead?”

“Arrogant!”

The man instantly drew his sword and launched himself forward. His blade flashed toward Zan Yunxiao's head with terrifying speed, clearly intending to behead him in a single strike.

Yet Zan Yunxiao didn't move.

The sword continued descending.

Just as the blade was about to reach his head, a strange sensation suddenly passed through the attacker's body.

His expression froze.

"Huh?"

His vision suddenly spun.

The world appeared upside down.

"Why... is my view upside down?"

His head fell to the ground before his body collapsed lifelessly.

The surrounding Nascent Soul cultivators were completely horrified. They had watched a Soul Transformation Realm cultivator die without even putting up a struggle.

Zan Yunxiao calmly looked toward the remaining cultivators. “You.”

The five Nascent Soul cultivators immediately knelt.

“Senior, please spare us!” one of them hurriedly said. “We were forced to follow him! We never truly wanted to serve him!”

The others quickly nodded in agreement, afraid that Zan Yunxiao would kill them next.

Zan Yunxiao looked at them silently for a moment before saying coldly, “Submit to me.”

The five cultivators trembled before immediately pressing their heads toward the ground.

“We are willing!”

They had just witnessed a Soul Transformation cultivator being killed as effortlessly as swatting an insect. The mysterious black-robed man before them was clearly an existence far beyond their understanding.

There was no reason to resist.

Zan Yunxiao nodded calmly. “Good.”

Internally, however, he was rather pleased.

"Five new Nascent Soul cultivators under my command."

Zan Yunxiao glanced at the corpse of the Soul Transformation cultivator and muttered to himself, “That guy was valuable... but unfortunately, he's a criminal fugitive.” 

Before killing the man, Zan Yunxiao had already used the All-Seeing Eye to investigate his background. The result had revealed that the arrogant cultivator was actually a criminal fugitive from the Central Continent who had fled to the Western Continent.

And he had deliberately gathered cultivators under his command with the intention of establishing his own faction and eventually dominating the region.

Zan Yunxiao sighed inwardly, feeling somewhat regretful that he had killed a Soul Transformation cultivator who could have been useful to his plans. However, the man was also dangerous, and Zan Yunxiao couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't cause trouble in the future or even betray him at a critical moment. 

"It's better to eliminate the danger now than allow myself to be betrayed later."

He then turned his attention toward the five kneeling Nascent Soul cultivators and secretly used the All-Seeing Eye to examine their backgrounds.

To his surprise, all five were hidden experts who had never joined any major force within the Crimson Empire. Judging from the information he obtained, they were most likely cultivators from outside the empire who had remained hidden in the Northern Region for many years.

Zan Yunxiao's mood improved slightly. Although losing a Soul Transformation cultivator was unfortunate, acquiring five Nascent Soul cultivators was still a worthwhile gain.

“Follow me,” Zan Yunxiao ordered calmly.

“Yes, Senior!”

The five cultivators immediately rose into the air and followed Zan Yunxiao without hesitation. Together, the six figures flew toward the nearby city, their destination being the city where Zan Yunxiao had previously encountered Qiu Wuyin.

After arriving at the city, Zan Yunxiao returned to the City Lord's residence and calmly entered the office. He had no intention of disturbing Qiu Wuyin's recruitment efforts, so he simply sat down and waited for the old man to return.

As for the five newly recruited Nascent Soul cultivators, Zan Yunxiao ordered them to remain in the guest rooms and wait for further instructions. “Stay here until I call for you,” he said calmly, and the five cultivators immediately nodded in obedience.

“Yes, Senior.”

With that, they headed toward the guest rooms while Zan Yunxiao remained alone in the City Lord's office, quietly waiting for Qiu Wuyin to return.

A few months passed, and winter finally arrived in the Northern Region. Snow covered the rooftops and streets of the city, while a cold wind swept through the surroundings. During those months, Zan Yunxiao spent most of his time in the City Lord's office, reading various books simply to kill his boredom.

Another month passed, and Zan Yunxiao finally decided that he had enough of staying indoors. “I've been sitting in that office for too long,” he muttered while stretching his arms. “Let's go outside and have some fun.”

Zan Yunxiao spent the day wandering through the city, sampling different foods and exploring places he hadn't visited before. Since he was using Qiu Wuyin's authority as City Lord, he naturally didn't hesitate to spend some of the City Lord's money.

Behind him, the five Nascent Soul cultivators followed helplessly.

“What is Senior doing now?” one of them muttered while watching Zan Yunxiao stop at another food stall.

The others exchanged glances.

They were all hundreds of years old cultivators who had spent most of their lives cultivating. They honestly couldn't remember the last time they had gone out simply to have fun.

But they couldn't refuse their new master.

So, after wandering around the city for some time, they gradually began participating in the activities themselves. Before long, even these centuries-old cultivators were surprisingly enjoying themselves.

Eventually, Zan Yunxiao stopped in front of a familiar-looking stall.

His eyes immediately lit up.

“Goldfish scooping?”

He hadn't expected to see such a simple game in a cultivation world.

The stall had a large shallow basin filled with water, and dozens of small goldfish swam beneath the surface. Beside the basin were several thin paper scoops attached to small wooden handles.

The rules were simple: the player paid a small fee and received a paper scoop. They then had to use it to catch as many goldfish as possible before the delicate paper broke apart from contact with the water.

Zan Yunxiao stared at the goldfish for a moment before a nostalgic smile appeared on his face.

“It's been a long time since I've played this.”

Zan Yunxiao paid the fee and crouched beside the basin, carefully holding the thin paper scoop as he attempted to catch a goldfish. Unfortunately, the moment the scoop touched the water, the paper tore apart. He tried again, only for the same thing to happen.

Again.

And again.

After countless failed attempts, Zan Yunxiao's expression gradually became annoyed. “This is boring,” he muttered, tossing the ruined scoop aside before walking away.

The five Nascent Soul cultivators remained behind, staring at the basin.

One of them exchanged a glance with the others before saying, “If Senior couldn't catch one, perhaps we should try.”

They each paid for a scoop and began playing.

A few moments later...

Rip!

Rip!

Rip!

One after another, their paper scoops broke apart without catching a single fish.

The five old cultivators' faces gradually darkened.

“This is rigged!” one of them shouted at the stall owner.

Another Nascent Soul cultivator slammed his hand on the table in frustration but immediately remembered Zan Yunxiao's warning against using force against mortals. He reluctantly withdrew his hand and complained, “Yeah! This is definitely rigged! How fragile is this paper? It can't even last for a second!”

The other three immediately joined in.

“We paid so much money for this!”

“This paper is absolutely trash!”

“How are we supposed to catch anything with this?”

The stall owner looked helpless as the five furious old men surrounded his stall. “Gentlemen, this is simply how the game works. The paper scoop is deliberately made fragile. That's the challenge.”

“The challenge?” one of the cultivators shouted incredulously. “You call this a challenge? Bullshit!”

Their loud complaints soon attracted the attention of nearby pedestrians.

Several bystanders gathered around the stall, and after hearing the five old men complain, some began nodding in agreement.

“I tried this game earlier too! I couldn't catch anything!”

“Me neither!”

“Refund our money!”

The five Nascent Soul cultivators immediately realized they had gained unexpected allies.

Their eyes secretly exchanged glances.

"This is useful."

They quickly intensified their complaints.

“Look at us!” one of them shouted dramatically. “We're five old men, and this merchant tricked us with this fraudulent game!”

Another clutched his chest and complained, “That money was supposed to buy medicine for my granddaughter!”

The surrounding crowd immediately became sympathetic.

“You bastard!”

“Not only is your game a fraud, but you're even scamming elderly people!”

“Give them their money back!”

The stall owner panicked. “Wait! I didn't scam anyone!”

“My money...” one of the Nascent Soul cultivators suddenly muttered while staring blankly at the stall owner. “Where's my money?”

He looked around in confusion before repeating, “My money?”

The crowd became even more sympathetic.

“Look at him! He doesn't even remember!”

“That old man must have dementia!”

“You shameless merchant! You took advantage of an elderly man!”

The stall owner desperately tried to explain himself, but the crowd had already become furious.

“Beat this fraud!”

The situation quickly spiraled out of control as several angry bystanders rushed toward the stall.

Meanwhile, the five Nascent Soul cultivators quietly stood among the crowd.

Not a single one of them had used spiritual energy.

They didn't need to.

They had discovered something far more effective—public opinion.

From a short distance away, Zan Yunxiao watched the entire scene unfold.

His eyes twitched slightly.

"These five old man..."

He had originally thought they were merely powerful cultivators.

He hadn't expected them to be this cunning.

They actually managed to turn the crowd against the stall owner without using force.

Zan Yunxiao folded his arms and watched the five Nascent Soul cultivators pretend to be innocent old men.

A faint smile appeared beneath his blurred face.

"Interesting."

"Perhaps I should find a use for these five fellows."

After all, if they could manipulate public opinion over something as trivial as a goldfish-scooping game, Zan Yunxiao could only imagine what they might accomplish when dealing with something far more important.