Hiding in the weeds, Zhang Ergou suppressed his aura.
"I'll quit after this last job today!" Zhang Ergou thought, observing his surroundings.
For the past few days, without Zhang Ergou ambushing them from behind, the Misty Sect had gradually calmed down.
The disciples walking in the back mountains no longer appeared as timid and hesitant as they had a few days prior.
They were careful, afraid someone might suddenly appear and hit them with a stick.
As dawn broke, disciples from the two peaks could be seen heading towards the back mountains.
Having learned from previous lessons, the disciples who ventured out these days formed groups of two or three.
After observing for a long time, Zhang Ergou failed to spot a single lone individual.
"They're really cowards. They even form teams to gather herbs in the back mountains. With such courage, what's the point of cultivation?"
"Go home and farm!" Zhang Ergou muttered to himself.
He waited patiently, like a lion stalking its prey.
However, before Zhang Ergou could make a move, he unexpectedly saw someone.
Wasn't that Li Qiang from Summer Sun Peak? His eyes were red, and he was heading straight for the back mountains.
Then, he entered the back mountain of Autumn Sun Peak via a small path.
Taking out a black iron rod.
Zhang Ergou was stunned!
Just as he was about to move, Zhang Ergou quietly retreated and lay back down in his original spot.
Li Qiang, holding the black iron rod, walked directly behind a lone disciple from Autumn Sun Peak.
Then, with a swift and clean strike, he brought the disciple down, who immediately collapsed unconscious.
"Damn! They even do this!"
If it weren't for the strict rule of not acting at this moment, Zhang Ergou would have definitely demanded patent fees from Li Qiang.
"You Autumn Sun Peak disciples schemed against our Summer Sun Peak and swindled a spiritual artifact from my master!"
After the Autumn Sun Peak disciple fell, Li Qiang didn't stop. He struck him again with the black iron rod.
Then, Li Qiang continued to search for his next target.
Soon, Zhang Ergou noticed something was wrong.
Because besides Li Qiang, a large number of Summer Sun Peak disciples were heading towards the back mountain of Autumn Sun Peak, all holding black iron rods.
This damn—
Just as he was preparing to flee, he was caught up in a few steps and struck down with a rod.
Seeing this, Zhang Ergou covered himself with his black robe and quietly retreated from the area along the small path.
Who knew what else would happen if he stayed here!
Indeed, Zhang Ergou's guess was correct!
Not long after Zhang Ergou left, disciples from Autumn Sun Peak, not to be outdone, each carrying a black iron rod entered the back mountains.
From this point on, it was no longer about ambushing.
It eventually evolved into a full-blown brawl.
Strangely, during this melee, the disciples did not use any spells or spiritual energy.
Instead, they all adopted the tactic of ambushing, as if whoever delivered the most ambushes was the most formidable.
After leaving the back mountains, Zhang Ergou found a place to remove his black robe and then headed to the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.
"Kid, you've got tough bones. After over a hundred lashes, you can already get out of bed and walk?"
Wu Dafei looked at Zhang Ergou with curiosity as he entered.
"Elder, you even know about this?"
"Who do you think I am? Such a widely rumored incident in the outer sect can't escape my ears, Wu Dafei!"
Zhang Ergou smiled sheepishly.
"I'm not fully recovered yet, so I came to buy some herbs for healing."
As he spoke, he handed over a jade token.
It contained over ten thousand contribution points.
"Where did you get so many contribution points?" Wu Dafei asked suspiciously.
It was almost unbelievable for a disciple at the Qi Refining stage, who had just joined, to possess so many contribution points.
"Hehe, I stumbled upon them!"
"You stumbled upon this many? Where did you find them? Tell me, so I can go find some too!" Wu Dafei glanced at Zhang Ergou.
However, he didn't press further.
"Which herbs do you need?"
"The same dozen or so herbs from last time, give me some!"
"Here!" Wu Dafei tossed him a storage ring, as if he was prepared.
"Thank you, Elder!" Zhang Ergou took the storage ring and, without even looking, stuffed it into his sleeve.
"Elder, do you know if our Misty Sect's library is open to newly admitted disciples?"
"It's only open on the last day of every month for new disciples."
"Thank you, Elder. So, that's in five days!" Zhang Ergou muttered and then turned to leave the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.
"What a strange little fellow! Where did Senior Brother Chunyang find such a prodigy!"
Wu Dafei murmured as he watched Zhang Ergou's retreating figure.
Returning to Spring Sun Peak, Zhang Ergou didn't see Liu Cuilan or Chunyang Sanren.
He quickly went to his usual hidden cave in the back mountains and decided to continue refining Qi Condensing Pills.
He took out the cauldron and prepared the herbs he had purchased.
Zhang Ergou adjusted his breathing, entering his optimal state.
*Hoo!*
Dan fire erupted from his hand, and the herbs were systematically thrown into the cauldron.
Compared to last time, Zhang Ergou's movements were much more fluid.
By the time night fell, Zhang Ergou had already refined five or six bottles of Qi Condensing Pills.
This was still not enough. He swallowed a Qi Condensing Pill and continued refining...
Without a break that night, cultivation knows no time, and neither does alchemy.
In the blink of an eye, it was dawn the next day.
The Misty Sect was bustling today. To be precise, the back mountains of the various main peaks were quite lively.
Yesterday, disciples from Autumn Sun Peak and Summer Sun Peak had ambushed each other in the back mountains, and disciples from Spring Sun Peak and Winter Sun Peak were also caught in the crossfire.
This directly angered the three Golden Core stage powerhouses: Spring Sun, Autumn Sun, and Winter Sun, who specifically warned their disciples to be wary of disciples from other main peaks.
The implicit meaning was to allow their disciples to act freely.
Soon after, the back mountains of each main peak became a battlefield where disciples from various main peaks ambushed each other.
As a result, every disciple who ventured out to the back mountains carried a signature black rod.
This was something Zhang Ergou had not anticipated.
He hadn't expected things to escalate so much, even involving Spring Sun Peak.
The disciples of the various main peaks were not ones to simply endure bullying.
After being ambushed once, they would definitely find ways to retaliate, and he himself couldn't suffer this silent loss.
As long as they were not disciples of their own peak, it didn't matter if they were the perpetrators.
Just strike them down.
Thus, screams like being slaughtered were often heard from every back mountain.
This led to disciples being afraid to venture into the back mountains alone to gather herbs.
By the end of the day, no disciple who entered the back mountains of any main peak emerged unscathed.
Of course, the instigator, Zhang Ergou, was an exception.
Every disciple who emerged from the back mountains bore some injuries.
The battles in the back mountains soon escalated into open combat, and the battlefield shifted from the back mountains to the Misty Sect's training grounds.