"Elder, you must be joking...right?"

Uncle Huai forced a smile.

"This is the Ancient Nebula Underworld. What kind of fool would trust others as easily as you guys?"

Mu Chuan's earlier words were now repeated by Lin Xun.

"Go!"

Uncle Huai and the others immediately jumped up and tried to flee.

However, they soon turned into ashes like rapidly decaying wood. It was the wither and thrive power of the Green Wood Dao Body.

The flickering flames of the bonfire illuminated Lin Xun's handsome face as he picked up the wine gourd again, pulled back his head, and drank.

His original body had previously exhausted itself after using Time Stopping. Hence, he was currently using his Green Wood Dao Body.

After a while, Lin Xun softly sighed. "I wonder when Xi will come looking for me…"

The more time passed, the more he worried about Xi. If she was confident in winning, why hadn’t he heard anything from her yet?

Suddenly, a voice sarcastically sounded from outside the hall, "Uncle Huai, how's today's harvest?"

A man dressed in a luxurious robe swaggered into the hall with his hands behind his back. He couldn't help but be stunned upon seeing that Lin Xun was the only one present.

The robed man's expression abruptly changed at the sight of Mu Chuan's corpse and he immediately turned to leave.

However, a terrifying force immediately pressed down on him, making him unable to move a single finger.

His expression changed indeterminately, but he quickly displayed a respectful expression. "I am Ji Leng, a Saint under the City Lord Residence. I have no quarrel with this esteemed one, and I'll hope that you'll show mercy."

Lin Xun didn't move from the spot as he casually asked, "What are you doing here? I only want to hear the truth."

The man who called himself Ji Leng quickly answered, "Today is the collection deadline set by the City Lord Residence. I'm here to collect dao crystals from Uncle Huai and his subordinates."

"Collect dao crystals?"

Ji Leng hurriedly explained, "Yes, Uncle Huai and his men are robbers. By regulation, they have to pay the City Lord Residence ten thousand dao crystals every seven days."

Lin Xun couldn't help but be stunned. To think that even robbers like Uncle Huai and his subordinates had to make regular tribute to the City Lord Residence…

From the looks of it, the Nightmare City Lord, Daoist Croc, was a truly cutthroat individual.

From the entrance fee, to the daily residence tax, to how one had to work for the City Lord Residence in order to get protection…

With so many layers of exploitation, the City Lord, Daoist Croc, must be living it up.

Lin Xun thoughtfully remarked, "No wonder everyone is envious of the city lord position. Lording over a city is equivalent to having an endless stream of wealth." 𝘙АƝŐᛒËS

Ji Leng smiled apologetically and said, "Dao Friend, you might not be aware of this, but the city lord has to hand over at least sixty percent of his monthly earnings, so the wealth he actually keeps isn't that much."

Lin Xun raised an eyebrow and asked, "To whom?"

Ji Leng answered, "To one of the ten region lords of the Frosty Air Region, Region Lord Heikong."

At this point, he seemed to realize something and couldn't help but say, "Could it be that…Dao Friend, is this the first time you've been to the Ancient Nebula Underworld?"

Lin Xun openly admitted to it, "That's right."

Ji Leng wore an expression that seemed to say 'Just as I thought.'

His attitude also grew increasingly respectful.

In the outside world, a strong dragon could not suppress a local snake. However, in the Ancient Nebula Underworld, the most feared individuals were the 'dragons' who managed to cross over. [1]

The local snakes here were mostly people who sought protection from the strong, and were hardly worth mentioning.

Otherwise, they would never willingly accept the many layers of exploitation.

Uncle Huai, Mu Chuan, and the gang were perfect examples. Although they looked like ferocious bandits, they still had to pay tribute to the City Lord Residence to stay in the city.

Lin Xun said, "Tell me about Region Lord Heikong."

By this juncture, Ji Leng had become incredibly cooperative. He spilled everything he knew and displayed an exceedingly respectful and humble attitude.

According to him, Region Lord Heikong was an actual Emperor and the forces under his command controlled a hundred and nine cities.

Regardless of who managed these hundred and nine cities, they had to pay tribute every month. Otherwise, they would be destroyed by Region Lord Heikong's forces.

Among the ten region lords of the Frosty Air Region, Region Lord Heikong's power ranking was near the bottom. Although he wasn't the strongest, he wasn't someone ordinary people could afford to offend.

After understanding this, Lin Xun couldn't help but ask, "Why doesn't Region Lord Heikong appoint the city lords himself?"

Ji Leng said, "Dao Friend, you might not be aware that the Ancient Nebula Underworld is extremely chaotic. There is no order here and countless murders occur every day. Although Region Lord Heikong's forces are strong, they can't manage every city because it would be too exhausting. Instead, it's better to sit back and reap the benefits."

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Lin Xun finally understood.

Next, he asked a few more questions which Ji Leng answered to the best of his abilities.

For example, he found out that the first region lord of the Frosty Air Region was a grand elder of the Holy Illumination Ancient Sect, known by the moniker Demon Emperor Wind Slaughter.

Meanwhile, the other nine region lords could only move according to his whims!

From this, Lin Xun deduced that although the waters in the Frosty Air Region were muddy, the Holy Illumination Ancient Sect reigned above the ten region lords!

Simply put, the Holy Illumination Ancient Sect was the 'grand emperor' of the Frosty Air Region.

The Ancient Nebula Underworld consisted of thirty-three regions. The Holy Illumination Ancient Sect's influence extended far beyond a mere Frosty Air Region.

In truth, the influence of the Three Dark Giants, the Holy Illumination Ancient Sect, Earth Treasury Realm, and Copper Sparrow House, had already seeped into every corner of the thirty-three regions.

There were countless cities in the Frosty Air Region and every city lord had to pay tribute to their region lord, who would in turn pay tribute to the Holy Illumination Ancient Sect.

In the end, the biggest beneficiary would naturally be the Holy Illumination Ancient Sect!

Not to mention that this was only accounting for the Frosty Air Region!

Of course, there was far more to the Ancient Nebula Underworld than the Three Dark Giants. Other powerhouse factions such as Star Fiend Mountain and Fog Obscured Alms also existed in this infinitely vast land.

Ji Leng suddenly said, "Dao Friend, if my guess is correct, you…are definitely no ordinary person. It probably won't be difficult for someone like you to acquire the position of city lord. If you desire such authority, I may be of some assistance."

Through their conversation, he had realized that Lin Xun was an extremely formidable newcomer 'dragon.'

Lin Xun smiled ambiguously and asked, "You're not trying to egg me on to kill Daoist Croc, are you?"

Ji Leng hurriedly shook his head. "Daoist Croc is a formidable powerhouse. It's also said that he has close ties with some of Region Lord Heikong's most powerful generals. Additionally, I still have to rely on Daoist Croc for my survival, so I dare not have any evil thoughts related to him.

"However, just because the position of city lord in Nightmare City is too hot to handle, that doesn't mean that the other cities are the same."

Lin Xun firmly said, "You don't have to probe me any further. I'm not interested in such things and may leave at any time."

Ji Leng seemed a little disappointed. He said, "Dao Friend, it's obvious that you're extraordinary and it's understandable that a mere city might not be able to catch your eye…"

Lin Xun issued an order to leave, "Go back and tell Daoist Croc that I'll only attack if someone else attacks me first."

Ji Leng immediately agreed, deeply relieved that he had survived the encounter.

As he watched Ji Leng scuttle away, Lin Xun muttered to himself, "I hope that…you'll be smart."

……

Nightmare City.

The night was dark as ink, yet the enormous City Lord Residence was brightly lit.

In one of its resplendent halls, a group of beautiful dancers swayed gracefully. Their nearly transparent skirts revealed glimpses of their alluring, snow-white bodies with each movement.

Daoist Croc lay sprawled on the soft couch, his posture completely relaxed.

He was a handsome man with long, dark-green hair and dark brown eyes which occasionally flashed with divine light.

The soft body of a naked beauty nestled in his arms. She rested against him, red lips slightly parted and eyes dreamy while her exposed back curved gracefully, exuding an intense allure.

Daoist Croc gently rubbed the beauty's soft and warm back. As he listened to her faint breathing, a small flame of desire slowly grew in his eyes.

However, Ji Leng appeared and rushed over at this moment.

Daoist Croc frowned and unhappily said, "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

Ji Leng quickly said, "City Lord, a dragon with unfathomable strength has arrived in Nightmare City today!"

He began to recount his meeting with Lin Xun.

After hearing everything, Daoist Croc's pupils flickered in thought. He abruptly sat up from the couch, causing the beauty in his arms to fall to the ground with a soft yelp.

Daoist Croc impatiently shouted, "Get out."

The beauty and the dancers in the hall trembled and hurriedly left.

Before long, only Daoist Croc and Ji Leng were left.

Ji Leng softly sighed. "I originally planned to trick him into snatching the Flame Sin City Lord position. Unfortunately, he didn't fall for it…"

The city lord of Flame Sin City was Daoist Croc's sworn enemy and they had even fought recently over a newly discovered dao crystal mine.

In the end, Daoist Croc lost and the mine was also seized by the city lord of Flame Sin City.

This had already become a sore point for Daoist Croc.

Daoist Croc said, "You don't actually think that he can defeat Butcher Meng, do you?"

Butcher Meng was the nickname of the Flame Sin City Lord.

"I believe he can."

Ji Leng said, "City Lord, in my opinion, if we can rope him over, it won't be difficult to take over all the nearby cities, let alone defeat Butcher Meng."

Astonished, Daoist Croc asked, "Is he really as powerful as you say?"

Ji Leng confidently said, "City Lord, my judgment is never wrong. The best part is that he just arrived in the Ancient Nebula Underworld and doesn't belong to any faction yet. He isn't familiar with the Ancient Nebula Underworld either. If we can obtain his help, we won't be limited to a mere Nightmare City in the future."

Daoist Croc's interest was roused.

1. Dragons refer to bigshots while local snakes are local gangsters ☜