Volume Two: A Bandit’s Life Chapter Six: The First Follower

In the Divine Realm of Primordial Chaos, a lower-grade heavenly divine artifact was an immense temptation to a mid-level heavenly god. Even a high-level heavenly god without backing might still be using one.

“However, senior…” The mid-level heavenly god scratched his head awkwardly. “Could you please not reveal that these things came from me?”

“All right, all right. Speak,” Qin Si urged impatiently.

Seeing that Qin Si had grown impatient, the mid-level heavenly god hurriedly explained, “This village is called Sangping Village, the largest village in the area. There are seven bandit forces nearby.”

“Seven small bandit forces?” Qin Si blinked. For such a small region, to have seven bandit forces was truly surprising.

“Yes, seven. The strongest among them is the Demon Refining Cave. Its cave master is a Divine King. There are three deputy cave masters, all at the peak of the high-level heavenly god realm. Under them are more than a dozen high-level heavenly gods, nearly a hundred mid-level heavenly gods, and several hundred lower-level heavenly gods.” As the mid-level heavenly god spoke of the Demon Refining Cave, his eyes were filled with dread.

Qin Si frowned. “A Divine King? The leader of a mere bandit force is actually a Divine King?”

“Mere?” The mid-level heavenly god let out a bitter smile. “Senior, you may not know this since you have just arrived, but these seven bandit forces can also be said to be one. The other six are all under the Demon Refining Cave’s authority and must obey its orders completely.”

“Oh? Interesting.” Qin Shuang licked his lips, a spark of excitement in his eyes. “I never expected that even the bandit forces here in the Divine Realm of Primordial Chaos would have ranks among them.”

“Big Brother…” Qin Shuang sent a divine sense transmission to Qin Si. “I think we should focus on tempering ourselves first. Against a Divine King, unless we let my avatar act, we have no way to deal with him.” By the time Qin Shuang reached the mid-level heavenly god realm, he had already clearly distinguished between a puppet and an avatar.

An avatar, even with only a wisp of soul power, could independently comprehend the laws of space and time. Unless a puppet possessed a soul, it could not compare with an avatar at all.

“Xiaoshuang, don’t rush. Let him continue first,” Qin Si transmitted back to Qin Shuang, then asked the mid-level heavenly god, “Tell me about the other six bandit forces.”

“The other six bandit forces are all about the same in strength. Most have two or three high-level heavenly gods commanding a few mid-level heavenly gods and a dozen or so lower-level heavenly gods. These six forces are Blood Grass Plain, Sand Dune Ridge, Earth Dragon Mountain, Thousand Insects Valley, Wind God Stronghold, and Gourd Mountain…” The mid-level heavenly god quickly recited the names of the six bandit forces, then went on, “All six are constrained by the Demon Refining Cave. Every hundred years they must offer tribute to it. Each tribute requires five top-grade divine spirit stones and three upper-grade divine artifacts. Every thousand years, they must also present one lower-grade heavenly divine artifact…”

“Damn it, the leader of these bandits has clearly never seen much of the world.” Qin Si was utterly disdainful inwardly. “Only five top-grade divine spirit stones and three upper-grade divine artifacts every hundred years—truly miserly.”

Qin Si had forgotten that if this were the Divine Realm of Linmeng, such bandits would indeed seem pitifully stingy, but in the Divine Realm of Primordial Chaos, which had developed for over a thousand yans, top-grade divine spirit stones were already exceedingly rare. Anyone who could casually produce them was at the very least a Divine King.

Of course, Qin Si and Qin Shuang were absolute exceptions. The divine crystal essence they carried could pile up into a mountain, and their top-grade divine spirit stones numbered in the billions.

“Which bandit force is closest to here?” Qin Si asked casually, already having a plan in mind.

The mid-level heavenly god shot Qin Si a puzzled glance, then said cautiously, “More than thirty thousand li east of Sangping Village is Thousand Insects Valley. It is also the nearest bandit force.”

“Thirty thousand li? Indeed not far.” Qin Si smiled and carelessly tossed the lower-grade heavenly divine artifact in his hand to the mid-level heavenly god. The latter caught it and immediately bled to claim it as his master, as though fearing Qin Si might change his mind.

Qin Si gave a faint, meaningful smile and said to him, “Keep it well. Be careful not to let anyone snatch it away.”

The mid-level heavenly god shuddered at once. In his mind, the scene of himself being killed and having the lower-grade heavenly divine artifact seized instantly appeared.

“S-se-senior…” In his anxiety, the mid-level heavenly god even began to stammer.

A trace of satisfaction appeared at the corner of Qin Si’s mouth. He glanced at Qin Shuang from the corner of his eye, then coughed twice and said to the mid-level heavenly god, “How about this: if you follow our two brothers, we can protect your safety. It just depends on whether you are willing.”

A few dark lines immediately appeared on Qin Shuang’s face. His big brother was truly formidable—using one lower-grade heavenly divine artifact to extract the information he needed, and then planning to have this mid-level heavenly god become their first subordinate on the spot.

“This…” The mid-level heavenly god clearly looked troubled. He understood Qin Si’s meaning very well, but Qin Si had only just asked him about the nearby bandit forces. Who knew what they intended to do?

“It seems you are very unwilling,” Qin Si said unhappily. “Forget it. I don’t like forcing people. If anyone asks about the heavenly divine artifact, I’ll just describe your appearance to him.”

Qin Shuang spread his hands and said helplessly, “I… I agree!”

The mid-level heavenly god hurriedly said with a bitter face, “To joke… to joke about it would be courting death if others learned I had a lower-grade heavenly divine artifact.”

Qin Si smiled in satisfaction. “That’s more like it. What is your name?”

“This junior… ah, no, this subordinate is Zhong Xing.” Zhong Xing quickly bowed to them.

“Zhong Xing? Good name. As for these brothers behind you…” Qin Si glanced meaningfully at the more than ten lower-level heavenly gods behind Zhong Xing.

Zhong Xing froze, then said at once, “My lords, please spare them. It was not easy for them to cultivate to the lower-level heavenly god realm in the village. Please let them continue cultivating in peace.” Since he had already stepped into this trap, there was no need to drag his brothers into it as well.

Qin Si was hesitating when Qin Shuang’s voice suddenly rang in his mind. “Big Brother, forget it. Zhong Xing does not know our strength. Once we take down one or two forces, he will naturally come around and recruit these people.”

Qin Shuang was right. Whether in the Divine Realm of Linmeng or the Divine Realm of Primordial Chaos, strength reigned supreme. Merely possessing the cultivation of a high-level heavenly god was still not enough to convince others.

“All right then,” Qin Si said readily. “You all may leave for now. In the future, anyone who wants to join my Purple Mystic Alliance can contact Zhong Xing then.” Zhong Xing’s plea on behalf of the others had made Qin Si look at him in a new light. To think of others was easy to say, but very hard to do.

“Zhong Xing, our force is called the Purple Mystic Alliance. From now on, I, Qin Si, am the alliance lord, and my younger brother, Qin Shuang, is the deputy alliance lord. Remember that, will you?” Qin Si gave Zhong Xing a simple introduction to the members of the Purple Mystic Alliance.

“This subordinate remembers.” Zhong Xing felt stifled inside. A bandit organization had been formed by just three people; if word got out, it would be a laughingstock.

“Zhong Xing, let me ask you this: if we attack Thousand Insects Valley, will the Demon Refining Cave interfere?” Qin Shuang asked. What he worried about most now was that Divine King in the Demon Refining Cave.

After thinking for a moment, Zhong Xing replied, “Probably not. These bandit forces change hands often. The Demon Refining Cave has never interfered. It’s just that whoever takes over the original force must continue as before and pay tribute to the Demon Refining Cave.”

“Tribute?” Qin Shuang smiled. That was a simple matter. As for top-grade divine spirit stones, they had plenty.

A thought stirred in Qin Shuang’s mind, and three top-grade divine spirit stones appeared in his hand. He handed them directly to Zhong Xing. “Zhong Xing, these three top-grade divine spirit stones are yours. I won’t hide it from you—we consider you the first subordinate of the Purple Mystic Alliance, and we also hope your cultivation can improve as quickly as possible. Rest assured, as long as you serve the Purple Mystic Alliance well, you will naturally not lack future benefits.”

Zhong Xing stared wide-eyed. Three top-grade divine spirit stones—what did that mean? The Demon Refining Cave collected only five from each force every hundred years, yet this deputy alliance lord had casually handed him three all at once. In other bandit forces, a mid-level heavenly god would be lucky to receive even one upper-grade divine spirit stone every hundred years.

“Why aren’t you taking them yet?” Qin Shuang said with a smile.

Qin Si secretly gave his younger brother a thumbs-up. This kid was really good at winning people over.

“This… Deputy Alliance Lord, if… if we truly take over Thousand Insects Valley, we must first offer tribute to the Demon Refining Cave. As for these top-grade divine spirit stones, perhaps…” Though Zhong Xing said so, his eyes remained fixed on the three stones.

“We have plenty of top-grade divine spirit stones. You needn’t worry about that. If the deputy alliance lord tells you to take them, then take them. Don’t dawdle like a woman. What kind of man are you?” Qin Si said impatiently.

Hearing this, Zhong Xing no longer put on airs. His trembling hands took the three top-grade divine spirit stones, and he said fervently, “Alliance Lord, Deputy Alliance Lord, for you two to think so highly of me, even if I must go through fire and tread upon blades for you in the future, I will not shrink from death!”

A mid-level heavenly god receiving a lower-grade heavenly divine artifact and three top-grade divine spirit stones in the space of half a day was indeed a rare sight throughout the Divine Realm of Primordial Chaos.

“Good. Thousand Insects Valley—the Purple Mystic Alliance’s first battle. We set out.” Qin Si’s eyes gleamed with excitement. The bandit life of the Divine Realm of Primordial Chaos had finally begun.

To be continued.