"Brother Feng..." Outside the door, Zhou Wei knocked on Zhu Bufan's room door, feeling puzzled, "Could it be that Brother Feng has been cooped up in his room cultivating all day?"

After waiting for a while, the door finally creaked open.

"Brother Feng, you haven't been cultivating inside all day, have you?" Zhou Wei asked curiously, looking at Zhu Bufan's tired face.

"That's right, it's already this late! I didn't even notice myself," Zhu Bufan smiled calmly.

"But Brother Feng, you look terribly pale. Did something happen?" Zhou Wei said with a worried expression.

Zhu Bufan could clearly feel that Zhou Wei was genuinely concerned about him, but he couldn't reveal anything about what happened before. "It's nothing, just a small mishap during cultivation that took up quite some time!"

"What? A mistake in cultivation!" Zhou Wei exclaimed in shock. A mistake in cultivation can be extremely dangerous; it could greatly weaken one's strength, and might even threaten one's life.

"Don't worry, it's resolved. Don't tell Zhou Zi and the others!" The entire convoy was divided into several small formations, just like the team from the last Endless Ice Field training.

"That's good, that's good!" Zhou Wei breathed a sigh of relief and patted his chest repeatedly. "Come on, Brother Feng, we're all waiting for you. There's good food waiting!"

"Alright, let's go!" Zhu Bufan said with a smile, feeling the need to replenish his nutrition.

...

Panlong Ridge stretches outside the You State, marking the border between You State and Rong State, separating the two states and counties because it lies between them.

Rong State is home to one of the three major families of Li Chu Country, the Tang Family's influence, while another family, the Song Family, is located to the east of the two major families, near Li Chu Country's largest ancient city, Tianji City. Although it is merely a city, it is the largest in Li Chu Country. In terms of land area, it is slightly inferior to the few major states, but the Song Family's strength firmly places them above the Zhou and Tang Families.

The three major families stand in a triangular formation, forming a tripod-like stance.

Because Panlong Ridge exists in the gap between the two families' influences, countless bandits have gathered on it.

Naturally, the Zhou and Tang Families are aware of the bandits on Panlong Ridge. In the beginning, they were just small-time thieves, and neither family paid much attention. But by the time they did take notice, the strength of Panlong Ridge had already expanded to a certain level. Eradicating them would come at a certain cost, and neither the Zhou nor Tang Families wanted their strength to suffer because of insignificant mountain bandits.

Moreover, the bandits of Panlong Mountain are remarkably perceptive. Not only do they refrain from robbing the Zhou and Tang Families, but at the end of each year, they even contribute some treasures to the two families as if giving gifts. Thus, the Zhou and Tang Families choose to turn a blind eye, never sending troops against Panlong Mountain.

On this day, the convoy arrived near Panlong Mountain.

"Elder, considering the perilous mountain range, there must be bandits and robbers here! Why do I see that the guards appear even more relaxed than before?" Zhu Bufan, who had been silently observing, asked Zheng Da Longde.

"Haha, once we pass Panlong Ridge, we'll enter the Zhou Family's territory. You're right, there are indeed several groups of bandits on Panlong Ridge. However, once we unfurl the Zhou Family's banner, how dare these bandits make a move on us? If they anger the Zhou Family, even that small group of bandits would be wiped out, let alone the entire Panlong Mountain range!" Elder Zheng Da laughed.

"Haha, indeed!" Zhu Bufan replied with a smile.

...

"Master, look, they've arrived!" On the cliff, three hulking men stood, clad in animal skins with oily faces. Before them, a small henchman half-knelt.

"Have the Tiger Gang mobilized?" the leader, with a serious expression, asked.

"They've mobilized, and not just the Tiger Gang, but also Skinny Monkey and Black Bear as well!" The small henchman replied excitedly.

"Big brother, what should we do about this? Down below are the Zhou Family's elites. If it were just half of the servants, we could kill them and send some gifts afterward without issue. But these are the Zhou Family's branched members. Doing this means completely turning against the Zhou Family. What about the consequences?" One of the hulking men asked.

"Hmph, of course I understand the consequences of angering the Zhou Family. But we have no choice; have you forgotten what the person who came to give us the antidote said?" replied the leader.

Hearing this, the two men behind him could only bitterly smile, saying nothing more.

Years ago, a mysterious figure arrived at Panlong Ridge and challenged each bandit camp within it. The figure was incredibly powerful, defeating the bandit leaders who had approximately Eighth Rank strength without a single move. Everyone challenged was severely injured by his heavy-handed technique, and forced to consume a black pill.

Since then, they've been under someone's control. Every five months or so, someone comes by to deliver an antidote, and if they don't take it, their organs will burn, driving them mad and causing them to die. They've witnessed such cases themselves, and although they've consulted with various doctors, none could resolve it. To survive, they had to be confined to Panlong Ridge, unable to leave even if they wanted.

Ever since the mysterious figure took control of them, there haven't been any instructions. Someone simply comes by regularly to deliver the antidote. They've cursed the mysterious figure countless times, hoping for his downfall, but also fearing that if he truly perished, there'd be no one to deliver the antidote.

Several years have passed, and they've almost forgotten about the mysterious figure. Surprisingly, he reappeared a few days ago, and his first order was to ambush the Zhou Family convoy coming from Nanli City, accompanied by detailed information.

The mysterious figure also assured them that upon completing the task, he would permanently remove the poison and offer a generous reward to help them leave this place far behind.

Thus, the current situation unfolded.

However, these bandits are unaware that the information provided by the mysterious figure is incomplete, missing the crucial part: one of Zhou Family's three elders, a Pseudo Innate expert, is sitting in the convoy.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ridge, several groups were also hidden among the mountain.

"For the sake of regaining our freedom, what does it matter if we offend the Zhou Family? Once we get the antidote, we'll make a swift escape. Hmph, even with the might of the Zhou Family, can they really find us in this vast sea of humanity?"

That's currently the thought in all the bandit leaders' minds.

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