Steam Era: The Lord of 'Puluo'

Chapter 1011 543: Ghost King Steals the Peach

Sun Tiecheng forced Gui Jianchou to go to Sage Peak, threatening to smash his eggs if he refused.

Ah Xiong urged Gui Jianchou, "Go, you need to protect those eggs."

Gui Jianchou had no choice but to agree, "City Lord, I'll go. Please lift the spell you placed."

Sun Tiecheng laughed and said, "I didn't use any spell, you're free to move as you please."

As soon as he finished speaking, Gui Jianchou found he could move again.

In front of Sun Tiecheng, Gui Jianchou was completely powerless.

After packing his belongings briefly, Gui Jianchou set off, with Sun Tiecheng escorting him to the courtyard gate.

"City Lord, there's no need to see me off."

Sun Tiecheng replied with a serious expression, "I must. Sage Peak is so dangerous, you might not return, we may never meet again."

Gui Jianchou smiled wryly, "Thank you for your kindness, City Lord, but please, it's not necessary."

Sun Tiecheng was reluctant, "We've spent so many days together, I've developed some affection for you, I have to see you off."

Gui Jianchou looked up at the sky, his face filled with dread, "City Lord, please, don't."

"What's wrong?" Sun Tiecheng looked up, and a beam of light descended from the sky, landing right on Sun Tiecheng.

He was struck by the Heavenly Light.

Frightened, Gui Jianchou ran several yards away, while Sun Tiecheng remained standing in place, stunned.

Before long, the light halo dissipated, and Sun Tiecheng crouched down, hands on his knees, "It really was Heavenly Light; this Red Lotus is the real deal."

He had just touched the Red Lotus, and was immediately struck by the Heavenly Light.

"I was too careless," Sun Tiecheng tapped his forehead, "The Red Lotus shouldn't be touched directly, I used methods before, but somehow I forgot today."

Despite Sun Tiecheng's cultivation level, being struck by Heavenly Light wasn't life-threatening. Gui Jianchou advised, "City Lord, you should rest a bit and let some of the Taoist Fate out."

"Let out the Taoist Fate?" Sun Tiecheng felt his flesh and bones, "There might not be much Taoist Fate, but there's a lot of heat to let out."

As he spoke, Sun Tiecheng moved his waist, looking at Gui Jianchou.

Gui Jianchou's cheeks tensed as he stepped back, "City Lord, do you need to release the heat?"

"Indeed!" Sun Tiecheng's eyes gleamed, fixed on Gui Jianchou.

"City Lord, I'll head to Sage Peak right now. If I don't complete my task, I won't return to face you!" Gui Jianchou fled.

"Why rush? Wait until I've released the heat, then it's not too late to leave!" Sun Tiecheng wanted to chase Gui Jianchou, but his body suddenly trembled.

"This heat is fierce, I need to find someone suitable to help relieve it." Sun Tiecheng waved his hand, the Red Lotus returned to the drawer on its own. He then left the courtyard, disappearing in an instant.

...

On Cheap Person Ridge, at Respect Virtue Village, several Knife Labor Ghosts were gambling and playing dice at the village entrance.

Gui Jianchou was puzzled; these Knife Labor Ghosts usually aren't this intelligent, so how did they learn to amuse themselves?

Knife Labor Ghosts are a special kind of spiritual being. Although called ghosts, they aren't ghosts; Nightmare Cultivator techniques are useless against them.

Gui Jianchou summoned a Sleeping Cultivating Ghost Servant. Quietly, it approached the Knife Labor Ghosts, placing a bet of two Silver Yuans.

The Knife Labor Ghosts glanced at the ghost servant and the two Silver Yuans, feeling drowsy and soon fell asleep.

While they slept, Gui Jianchou trapped them using a spiritual object.

Ah Xiong suggested, "Master, we should just kill them, they're all troublemakers!"

Gui Jianchou frowned, "That's not how you handle things. We're here for the Peach, not to conquer the mountain. If something goes wrong, we need a way to reconcile, not sever ties completely."

After entering the village, they found a farm to settle in, and Gui Jianchou summoned a ghost servant woven from Drama Cultivator and Thief Cultivation.

The technique for integrating ghost servants is called Soul Vein Integration, a Cloud Top Technique of Nightmare Cultivators. The integrated ghost servants are of two types: one with a single consciousness and those merged with multiple consciousnesses.

This ghost servant had only one consciousness, named Ah Zhong.

Gui Jianchou commanded, "Ah Zhong, disguise yourself as a Knife Labor Ghost, go to Sage Peak, and bring me the Golden Thorn Peach."

Ah Zhong looked at Gui Jianchou, "Master, you want me to go alone?"

Gui Jianchou replied, "Too many people increase the chance of mistakes. I trust you to handle this alone!"

"I can't do it alone..."

Ah Xiong shouted angrily, "What do you mean you can't? After nurturing you for so long, it's time to put you to use. How can you hesitate now and repay the Master's trust?"

Ah Zhong glared at Ah Xiong, having previously criticized Ah Xiong's uselessness, but now Ah Xiong had one-upped him.

Seeing Gui Jianchou growing angry, Ah Zhong, resigned, headed alone to Sage Peak.

...

Sage Peak's main summit, the original dwelling of the Saints.

Under the instruction of Cui Tiq, the Knife Labor Ghosts dismantled the Sage's Residence, constructing a massive altar.

The altar worships three deities: the left enshrines the Ancestor of Disease Cultivation, the right honors the Blade Labor War God, and the center reveres the Lord of Plagues.

Cui Tiq, leading a group of Knife Labor Ghosts, first paid homage to the Ancestor of Disease Cultivation, whose divine image resembled the Greenwater Beggar.

After paying respect to the Ancestor of Disease Cultivation, they turned to the right to venerate the Blade Labor War God, whose divine image looked just like Wan Jinxian.

Could Knife Labor Ghosts possess such exquisite carving skills?

Of course not, these two statues were indeed the Greenwater Beggar and Wan Jinxian.

They certainly didn't want to become statues willingly, but they fell victim to Cui Tiq's petrification curse, with most of their bodies turning into stone and only a few organs still functioning.

Cui Tiq presented offerings to the two deities. Each deity had dedicated priests who fed them and tended to their bodies regularly.

Having paid homage to the two Lesser Gods, it's time to worship the main deity.