Chapter One, The Foremost of the Ten Evils

This time, I must jump down!" The tattered-clothed youth encouraged himself, but as soon as he tentatively extended his foot, he quickly retracted it, still lacking the courage to jump down. He couldn't help but lament to himself, "I am truly worthless; I don't even have the courage to commit suicide.

The young man skillfully unbuttoned, hung himself on the silk, tapped the wooden cow, and the sound of the loom began, leading him away with the sound.

Li Quan, the leader of the Beggar's Sect, is one of the ten scourges of the town. The beggars under his command engage in deception, trickery, and ambushes, causing harm to passing pedestrians and merchants.

When leaving the Goddess Temple, Lin Bo put on the clean clothes from the bundle and followed behind Lu Xiaoyi with his head lowered

There exists a divine race that claims descent from the Mother Goddess. This divine race possesses a tortoise shell master who employs the continent's forbidden technique, the Great Tortoise Shell Technique, to protect their kin, existing apart from the three factions. On the Spirit Gathering Continent, a hundred immortals gathered, launching a concerted strike, resulting in the annihilation of this race, with their bloodline vanishing without a trace

Passerby A could no longer bear it and muttered, "What a waste! This fine cloud silk is at least two thousand meters long. It could be exchanged for a vitality stone."

The young man, standing at the edge of the cliff, was filled with immense grief and indignation. He thought to himself: "I, Lin Bo, possess extraordinary aspirations, and my father supported me wholeheartedly, exhausting our family fortune to send me for selection, hoping that I would be chosen and thus change my identity. However, on the way, I was first robbed and slaughtered by bandits along with a merchant convoy. My father, abandoning his wealth, sustained severe injuries, and only managed to bring himself to the outskirts of the town before he breathed his last. Before I could bury my father, I was robbed again by the beggar gang in the town, and the bundle containing my clothes and provisions was taken from me. When my father was buried, there was not even a coffin for him. How cruelly has fate treated my father and me?"

Lin Bo was taken aback, as he saw a robust woman, weighing in tons, appearing on the upper floor by the roadside, waving a small red flag in her hand

"No, this took me half a month to complete, Qingqing, you..." Lu Xiaoyi said with a face full of frustration, while the young man Qingqing pretended not to hear and disappeared behind the door

"What a nuisance!" As someone spoke behind him, the young man was startled and turned around, only to receive a kick to his backside, sending him flying uncontrollably off the cliff. "Ah!" A scream erupted as the rapidly falling youth closed his eyes, awaiting death, when suddenly his body came to a halt, suspended against the sheer cliff face a hundred meters high.

The young man, shaking his head and swaying, strutted back down the street with an air of arrogance, followed by a small companion behind him

With a thud, the dog-beating stick fell to the ground, and Li Quan's knees buckled, causing him to kneel down. Do not underestimate these three wooden dogs; a single bite would surely take a chunk of flesh.

Prologue

Suddenly, the fearless Lu Xiaoyi's expression changed, and he grabbed Lin Bo's hand: "Run quickly!"

"As long as it is made by my godmother, it is delicious!" Lu Xiaoyi's mouth looked as if it had been smeared with honey. The young woman, Mei Jinyun, was filled with affection in her eyes as she stepped forward to pat his head: "Your mouth is really sweet!"

The beggars seeking shelter from the rain in the temple stood up nervously as he entered, brandishing their wooden sticks at him

Someone is about to jump off the cliff! Suddenly, a passerby exclaimed. The young man on the cow's back sat up, glanced at the edge of the Soul-Despair Cliff at the end of the mountain path by the roadside, and indeed, there was someone standing at the cliff's edge

Creaking and clattering, amidst the sound of the loom, the boy who jumped off the cliff was pulled back up. Upon seeing the mocking expression on Lu Xiaoyi's face, a surge of anger welled up in him, and malice surged within his heart. He grabbed a wooden stick and lunged forward, shouting: "I'll make you pay for kicking me!"

The wooden ox appeared at the entrance of the town, on the bluestone-paved street. As the wooden ox walked by, the sound of clattering echoed incessantly. The young man on the ox's back hummed a tune, crossing his legs nonchalantly, completely indifferent to the suffering of the townsfolk by the roadside who were covering their ears. Behind the ox, a young boy was bound with his hands tied, being led along by the wooden ox with a rope.

The young boy on the cow's back pulled out a handful of crossbows from the Liuhe bag beside him and pulled the trigger at an old pine tree on the edge of the cliff

The boy at the edge of the cliff, dressed in tattered clothes, gazed at the unfathomable abyss below. He contemplated jumping several times, yet he could not muster the resolve to take the leap.

The Poison Widow, one of the ten evils of the small town, is a leading figure in the entertainment industry. She specializes in purchasing young girls to train for a few years, after which they may either serve clients or be sold at high prices. She commands dozens of brave and fierce warriors under her banner

Swish! The arrow shot like lightning, striking the tree with precision. In a flash, the crossbow vanished from sight, and in the hands of Young Master Lu appeared a small wooden monkey. Following an almost invisible fine thread, it swiftly leaped up to the old pine tree, tightly wrapping a pulley around it, and then the small wooden monkey slid back along the fine thread.

"Godmother, I will take him to settle some accounts with the Beggar Gang and will be back shortly." In front of the woman, Lu Xiaoyi, who was feared by everyone, was exceptionally clever, knowing that he would become detested the moment he turned around. Mei Jinyun did not care. Two years ago, it was Lu Xiaoyi who took out the selection fee, which was due every three years, to seek medicine, and her husband, Meng Daqiang, lost his life. Lu Xiaoyi missed the opportunity to participate in the selection, and she did not care how others viewed her; she only knew that this was her good godson. Two years ago, it was Lu Xiaoyi who took out the selection fee, which was due every three years, to seek medicine, and her husband, Meng Daqiang, lost his life. Lu Xiaoyi missed the opportunity to participate in the selection, and she did not care how others viewed her; she only knew that this was her good godson.

On the back of the cow, the little Yi reluctantly stopped the wooden cow, and as soon as he slid down and landed, he complained: "Qingqing, how many times have I told you, do not call me 'auntie', I am male"

"Little Yi, when are you coming to steal the bellyband that I just made?"

The young girl Qingqing stepped forward, casting a disdainful glance at the boy in the back who was dressed in rags and had attempted suicide. Skillfully, she reached into the mouth of the wooden ox and pressed a mechanism, causing the wooden ox to emit a series of clattering sounds, transforming into a small wooden box the size of a child. Qingqing stepped forward and picked it up: "Disturbing the peace, confiscated!"

"What is the use of it? No matter how clever the trick is, it is still just a ... ... ." Before the first passerby could finish speaking, the elderly passerby interrupted him.

Xianpa Mountain spans an area of five hundred miles, with extraordinary peaks standing tall. The main peak, Goddess Gong Mountain, is shrouded in clouds and mist throughout the year, and it is said to be the dwelling place of the daughter of the Mother Goddess

The wooden ox moves at a pace that is neither fast nor slow, while the young boy on its back dozes off on a bamboo chair. An oiled paper umbrella is opened and propped up against the wooden tube behind him, as fine rain, carried by the wind, dampens the boy's pant legs

"Are you afraid now? Come, let me show you some exciting clips." With a wave of Lu Xiaoyi's hand, a piece of shadow stone appeared, and this fellow had an additional memory block in his hand, which he inserted into the shadow slot.

"Go ahead, come back soon!" The words were not yet finished when Lu Xiaoyi, holding the rope, pulled the young man away.

The fallen bystander A got up and bowed to the wooden man, saying: "The scoundrel deserves to die, let me slap myself ten times." As he spoke, he began to slap his own face. After the wooden man waited for him to slap himself ten times, it swiftly retreated into the bushes and disappeared

... ...

A young married woman appeared at the door and said to the child on the road, "You’re back. Qinqin doesn’t understand, so don’t hold it against her. I will cook now! What would you like to eat? Just tell your godmother."

The indiscreet bystander A, whose scar has not yet healed, could not hold back his words: "That's right, you were caught peeping at butcher Hu's wife while she was bathing."

The one making the sound is a cow, a wooden cow, a wooden cow that is two meters tall

Alas, after the death of the wet nurse, no one could restrain this child any longer, and he has become the foremost of the ten calamities in the town of craftsmen

The Goddess Temple, the refuge of the beggar gang in the small town

Li Quan, if the poisonous widow finds out that you were peeking at her while she was bathing, do you think she would kill you?

Lu Xiaoyi walked over lazily, as if leading a livestock, bringing Lin Bo along with her

What appeared on the shadow stone was a courtyard, where Li Quan stealthily stepped on his subordinate's shoulders and leaned over the courtyard wall to look inside

The boy on the cow's back has a handsome face beneath his messy short hair, with a barely noticeable hint of mischief at the corners of his mouth. He makes a few nonchalant sounds without fully opening his eyes, as if to acknowledge a greeting.

In a swift motion, the young man was yanked up and hung from the branch of an old pine tree, the wooden stick in his hand falling into the hands of the young boy, who lightly and heavily struck him, saying: "Dare to bare your teeth at me?"

Bystander C angrily said: "The sentry didn't kill you just now, but now I will kill you." Saying this, he swung his old fists and charged forward, and the two of them became entangled, rolling in the mud.

"Master Lu, please show some mercy and let us have a way out." The leader knelt down, and the other beggars also knelt down one after another, pleading for mercy. Six months ago, when Lu Xiaoyi merely released a dog, it caused chaos among the beggar gang, and now there are three dogs.

"Shut up, do not bring disaster to the town!" As soon as the words were spoken, a wooden figure leaped out from the bushes by the roadside, wielding a wooden staff, and struck down the passerby who had just been scolded by the old man, knocking him into the muddy water by the side of the road

Witnessing the scene of the beggar leader Li Quan kneeling and crawling on the ground, offering his bundle with both hands, Lin was left in disarray in the thin wind

At this moment, Li Quan, holding the dog-beating stick, appeared as if he had seen a ghost, trembling as he raised the stick

During the Qingming Festival, the spring rain falls like silk

... ...

"Tsk tsk, the dog-beating stick, I am so afraid. Since you have the dog-beating stick, why not bring a few dogs for you to play with?" As she spoke, Lu Xiaoyi reached into her pocket, took out a few wooden balls, and tossed them onto the ground. As they rolled, the wooden balls transformed into three ferocious dogs. There was no barking, but the creaking sounds of the wooden dogs moving, combined with their lifeless expressions, were even more terrifying.

There are many craftsmen capable of making wooden oxen, but there is only one who can make the wooden oxen bear a weight of one thousand catties

Passersby who were fighting stopped as well and continued along the mountain road towards the town

This is a sentry puppet spread throughout the territory of the Thousand Machine Gate; anyone who looks down upon the Thousand Machine Gate will suffer its consequences

The onlookers on the mountain road, upon witnessing this scene, exclaimed: "It's over, it's over, there's nothing to see, just another unfortunate soul."

"Lu Xiaoyi, others fear you, but our Beggar's Sect is numerous and powerful, and the Dog-Beatting Stick is not to be taken lightly." Li Quan appeared fierce but was weak at heart, and the little brothers behind him also seemed lacking in confidence. When he spoke, all the beggars retreated, pushing him to the front.

The Thousand Machine Sect is located in the mountains, establishing itself in the realm of cultivation with its ingenious methods. At the southern foot of the mountain lies the Artisan Town, which gathers skilled craftsmen to serve the Thousand Machine Sect and is also the essential route to reach the sect.

"Is someone really going to jump off the cliff? Sigh, standing here for so long without jumping, I might as well push him down."

The creaking sound echoed across the wilderness, and passersby did not need to turn back, all avoiding it in succession

The remaining nine adversaries also contemplated eliminating Lu Xiaoyi for a fee, but ultimately fell one by one to Lu Xiaoyi's diverse and intricate tactics

Li Quan was infatuated with the poisonous widow for a long time. He confessed his feelings once, asking the poisonous widow to repel him with a mixture made from foot wash water and waste from the toilet. That time, Li Quan spent a full hour by the Clear Stream River on the outskirts of the town, yet he still found it difficult to eliminate the odor

Hello, Young Master Lu! The pedestrians by the roadside made way, all calling out in a flattering manner to greet the young man

In the three thousand worlds created by the Mother Goddess, there exists a clearly defined hierarchy on the Continent of Spirit Gathering. The Celestial Realm is esteemed above all, followed by the Cultivators, and then the Mortals.

The celestial realm is lofty and untouchable, receiving worship without interfering in the mortal world. In the mortal realm, various sects of cultivation establish offices to govern their subjects. On the continent below, there are over a hundred sects, where strength is paramount, and each sect's territory functions as an independent kingdom. The sects are in constant conflict with one another, a struggle that has persisted to this day

On the mountain path, the traveler is heartbroken

Lu Xiaoyi, the most despised figure in the town of Jiang, was once merely a petty thief, not particularly hated by the people. However, after the death of his mother, this fellow, relying on a set of peculiar skills learned from an unknown source, began to create various puppets and used shadow stones to spy on the private lives of others. He has not been seen extorting anyone; rather, if someone is caught behaving improperly in his presence, the shadow stone will play back the highlights of their misdeeds.

An elderly man leaning on a cane, observing the departing youth, cast a disdainful glance at the previous speaker and said, "If you don't understand, don't speak carelessly. Cloud silk is both fine and tough, and when combined with pulleys, it becomes an effective tool for transporting goods in the mountains. This child, Lu Xiaoyi, is remarkable."

"Aunt, it's so noisy!" A young girl appeared at the entrance of a small courtyard by the roadside, calling out.