Jumping beam clown mixed history

A whole year passed, Chuanshan's entire body was torn apart by Geng Er, smashed and tempered again.

The rotten bodies were mixed with other materials and piled up in a pile on the ground.

"Is this the material for refining my body?" Chuanshan almost spat out.He began to seriously consider whether to take another body and resurrect it. What kind of good body could be refined from such a disgusting bunch?

Geng Er was very busy, so busy that he didn't have time to pay attention to Chuan Shan's complaints.

I saw that he took out the blood-bubbling mud and Chuanshan's bone powder and mixed them into a pile, crushing a few leeches from time to time and adding them in. This was not enough, he also smashed the lumps of green gold pith stones according to a certain proportion, and smashed them into pieces. The powder was then mixed into the pile of extremely foul-smelling sludge.

"Hey! How many more worms do you want to add? Be careful not to be approached by big caterpillars."

"This kind of unintelligent nematode is fine. It is a good thing to nourish the flesh and blood, so it is not in vain."

Geng Er used a talisman to cover a big black lump on the bank, carefully picked it up and put it on the bone meal mud, and removed the talisman barrier with a wave of his hand. Before the tiny worms could crawl out of the bone meal pile, he raised the big hammer "噗嗤噗嗤" smashed randomly, and black, sticky liquid flowed out.

When Geng Er saw it, he quickly took out another jade pestle and inserted it into the bone meal mud, stirring for a while until the black, sticky liquid and bone meal mud were fully mixed together.After dipping some bone meal and mud, tasted it, smacked his lips, and immediately spat it all out with a "peh peh".

If there is a lack of water, it must be the water with the most vitality.But where in this ghost place can we find that kind of water that is full of vitality and can nourish all things?

The turtle doll scratched her head and secretly glanced at someone.In fact, there is no substitute for something, but...

Chuanshan, who was exercising his mental strength on the side, couldn't concentrate at all. Anyone who saw his body was ruined like this couldn't calm down, right?In particular, he has to feel the extreme pain from physical refinement anytime and anywhere.

Chuanshan regretted his original decision for the [-]th time.How could he be so crazy?

In the evening, Geng Er finished stirring the bone mud again, turned around and saw that Chuan Shan was cultivating mental power and didn't pay attention to this side, and immediately quietly peeled off the tortoise shell, revealing a small bird, facing the rotten bone mud on the ground, "咻──!"

"Geng Er, you little bastard, you are not filial! You actually pissed on your old man's bones!?" Chuan Shanqi went crazy.

Geng Er put away the little sparrow and ran away.

"Stop! I'm going to kill you today! Wow, I'm so pissed off!"

Geng Er shouted boldly while running: "What do you know, it's a boy's urine, I won't give it to others if they want it!"

"Give you a head! See if I don't unscrew that little bird of yours!" When I have a body in the future, I will definitely X you countless times!

After a while of flying and jumping, Geng Er was forced to panic, and he sacrificed the big killing weapon, the Dragon Refining Hammer, and smashed it wildly at Chuanshan.

Chuanshan gave in with hatred.Boy, wait for me!

two days later.

Geng Er stood in front of the bone clay and said solemnly:

"Next we are going to take the most important step. This step must be done by yourself. Only you are more aware of your body, and your soul will directly feel the changes in your body and bones in the furnace. But there is one thing, because extreme Pain, you may not be able to bear the refining process, which will lead to the failure of the first fire refining. If you fail, remember to protect the soul first, and then the body. You can correct what happens to the body, but it is very difficult to get the soul damaged. Trouble."

After Geng Er finished speaking, he took out a small, black three-legged bronze tripod from his bosom.

When the copper tripod fell to the ground, it immediately turned into a huge furnace tripod with the height of two people.

Chuanshan looked at Geng Er with murderous eyes.He saw that Geng Er's two short legs were moving straight together.

"Cough! Your mental power is still very weak now, and it is too difficult for you to refine your body with the heart refining method. It is safer to use the most traditional cauldron refining method."

The hammer was replaced with a shovel, and Geng Er used the flying talisman to float himself, and he shoveled the bone powder mud into the copper tripod in mid-air, probably because he was afraid of missing something, Chuanshan saw Geng Er scraping the ground for three points with his own eyes. The cave ground material was shoveled into the copper tripod together.

Geng Er leaned on the side of the copper tripod to look at the contents inside, took out a small jade bottle and dripped the collected blood into it, then took out a big jade pestle to stir it, and nodded in satisfaction.

Chuan Shan also floated over, looking numbly at his past and future body.

How would you describe this big pot of stuff?

Chuanshan found that he couldn't find an adjective. He felt that the smell alone could poison hundreds or thousands of Nascent Soul cultivators. Even Yang Guangming and Bai Tong would die if they smelled it.

It was dark, rotten, and smelly.It is [-] times more disgusting than ten-year-old feces.

"Luo, it's up to you. You need to direct the original fire to control the heat, and at the same time use this jade pestle to stir until the jade pestle has all turned into juice and blended with the materials inside. Then you can proceed to the third step, condensing. "

Geng Er got off the tripod, took out a fried worm and stuffed it into his mouth.

"It's so unpalatable! Oh, when will I be able to eat real food?" Geng Er lamented, feeling guilty, but in this environment he couldn't conjure something to eat, every time he saw Geng Er hungry Seeing the bugs drooling, his heart ached like something.Forget it, it's just a little boy peeing, don't bother with him.

"The first fire training time should be relatively long. You have also cultivated your spiritual power for a year. You may encounter demons during the fire training. You have to be careful."

Chuanshan expressed his understanding and didn't say much, and then called Tinder Xiaolan.

Flames rose from under the copper tripod, and the flames slowly enveloped the entire tripod.

Chuanshan looked extremely solemn.In this year, he has studied the body refining steps discussed with Geng Er over and over again. He knows every process like the back of his hand, and secretly calculated various changes and results many times.

He thought he had at least the strength to challenge the first fire trial.

The copper tripod was gradually steaming, and the bone meal and mud made a "gurgling" sound.The magical copper tripod was obviously not covered, but the floating mist still did not dissipate. Gradually, the mist turned into liquid, and dropped back to the copper tripod drop by drop.

Chuan Shanxu floated beside the copper tripod, using his mental power to concentrate on stirring the bone meal mud in the tripod.

At the beginning, he could still feel the connection between the bone powder in the cauldron and his soul, but gradually, he began to feel the burning sensation of being in the stove, and after a while, even his thoughts began to blur.

"This temperature should be fine, anyway, I have been burned by Xiao Lan for so long, I should get used to it?" Geng Er looked at Chuan Shan's blurry figure and said to himself.

Geng Er checks Chuanshan's current situation every day, shaking his head every time he looks at it.

Poor aptitude is poor aptitude, which includes not only physical fitness, but also mental intelligence.Luo's physical condition and mental intelligence are not bad among ordinary people, but in the world of cultivators, they are still not good enough in terms of cultivation qualifications and understanding of cultivation.

Luo Chuanshan, this is your chance, but also your catastrophe.If you want to completely transform, you have to rely on your own strength to comprehend and break free from the shackles.You have to be brave, don't waste the things I put.

While thinking, Geng Er took out the jade slips and wrote down the newly added "seasoning".These will have to be repaid by someone in the future, and cannot be given in vain.

It turns out that when the body turns into a liquid, it will feel like this.

The surface of Chuanshan's naked soul body opened little by little.

This pain can no longer be described in words.He could still use his will to fight against the pain that the skull fruit brought him back then.But now, he is desperately thinking about how to escape.

No, he couldn't even think of how to escape.I can only bear it for life!

Chuanshan soul body clasped the edge of the copper tripod tightly with both hands, and the "skin" around the eyes burst apart inch by inch.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"

"Tut!" Hearing Luo's scream, Geng Er blocked his ears carefully.

Madman, this is because you want to refine your body like a magic weapon, and I have nothing to do with any consequences.

In the haze, Chuanshan, who didn't know whether he was awake or not, seemed to hear someone sighing to him, and looked at him with a kind of compassionate eyes, like watching an ant that accidentally fell into a fire pit.

You can't, don't struggle anymore, just forget everything like this, go.As long as you stop resisting, soon, these pains will go away from you.

Suffering, hatred, grief, mourning, everything will disappear.

Don't struggle anymore, just give up, you can get the happiness and peace you never had before...

Do not……

No!I can't give up.My family is still waiting for me, Wangtou and they are still waiting for me to go back to avenge them, I can't just give up like this, absolutely can't!

Don't be so stupid, there is a lot less of you in this world, and there is not much more of you.Would your family and friends not be able to survive without you?

Don't forget that your brother is born with a lucky star, and he will definitely lead them to escape suffering and go to happiness.On the contrary, it is you, because of you, that brings disaster to them, and because of you, they will be killed!

It's all because of you!

If there is no you, if you disappear from this world, all the disasters that hang over your family will disappear, and your friends will no longer be burdened by you. You are the source of all disasters!

Do not……

It's not like this.I'm not a broom star, I didn't bring disasters to everyone, it wasn't me, it was the blind Taoist who made it up!

You know in your heart whether it's a fabrication or not.

How many years have you killed your comrades in the army?

It was because of your bad luck that Wang Tou and the others were arrested and framed!Because of you, the Xi Dynasty will perish!

Do not!

not me!none of my business!You are talking nonsense!Shut up!

If it's bullshit to say your bad luck, what's on your mind for him?

Look at your dirty heart!

See what you are thinking and expecting!

Oh, how can you be so shameless?To have such nasty thoughts about your brother?

Chuan Shan was panting heavily, his eyes were blood red.

who?come out!

who I am?I am yourself.

I am your goodness, your conscience.

You are so weak, you make me ashamed.Because of you, that person had to be confined in this dark, hopeless cave where even the minimum living conditions could not be met.

You still say you want to cover him?Say you want to raise him well?Not to mention the dirty thoughts you hide in your heart, have you...did you do it?

Ridiculous, ridiculous, you can say whatever you want, but in the end you still have to rely on him.

Rely on such a small child.

You can't give him food, you can't give him water, and you can't give him safety, and you still have such vile thoughts.

you!Damn it!

If it weren't for you, maybe he would have left long ago!

Without you... no!You shouldn't exist in this world at all!

"Tick tock."

The jade pestle finally turned into jade liquid and melted into the black-red liquid in the copper tripod.

Chuan Shan stared at the last drop of jade liquid, and his red eyes and ferocious cracked face suddenly burst into an extremely strange smile.

Refining the body, refining the soul.How can you not refine your soul if you refine your body?

Chuan Shan clasped the edge of the copper tripod with both hands, and his whole soul was thrown into the tripod.

"Boom!" The tripod cover fell automatically, covering the copper tripod tightly.

Geng Er suddenly turned around.

The man's soul has disappeared.

The bronze tripod sitting on the ground suddenly began to vibrate violently.

How is this going?

What about Luo?

Geng Er let go of his little feet and rushed in front of the copper tripod, who would have thought that the tripod burst out with a burst of extremely dazzling light, forcing him to be thrown out.

Geng Er was stunned by this sudden scene.

He had envisioned every possible scenario, but nothing like this.

What happened to that man?

Why is the copper tripod unstable?Could it be related to the "seasoning" he added?

Uh, there should be no problem, right?Although that recipe is just an idea...but it shouldn't be a frying pan phenomenon.

The fire seed Xiaolan emitted a pure blue flame that tightly enveloped the entire copper tripod.

Geng Er wanted to turn off Xiaolan's fire, but Xiaolan frantically encouraged the source of fire as if she had been stimulated by someone.

The extreme heat made Geng Er retreat step by step.

Oops!If it goes on like this, either the copper tripod will explode violently out of control, or it won't be able to withstand Xiaolan's firepower and turn into ashes.

It doesn't matter if the copper tripod turns to ashes, but Luo's entire body is inside!

Geng Er could feel that the man's soul hadn't disappeared, but he couldn't feel where he was?

Geng Er cast his eyes on the copper tripod, there is only one possibility for this situation, and that is...

Want to destroy me?want me dead?Try it!

Hahaha!bring it on!Use as many tricks as you can!

Three days, five days, ten days...Because the primordial fire was showing its power, the walls of the cave were beginning to melt. Seeing that the barrier could not be preserved, Geng Er was forced to take out a large number of talismans to repair the barrier.

"I told you to protect your soul, but you just jumped in and practiced together. You still call me stupid? You are the stupidest and most stupid lunatic in the world! Let me see how much soul you have left after you come out!"

36 days passed.

"Boom ─ ─!" The vibration of the copper tripod became stronger and stronger.

Geng Er was facing the copper tripod repeatedly, but he could only control it for a while.In less than an hour, little Geng Er was so tired that he couldn't even lift his fingers.

At this moment, "Bang!"

"Ah! You pay me Guan Tianding!" Geng Er cried out in distress, and in a blink of an eye, he was hit by a huge momentum and hit the black rock blocking the door. "Click" the rock moved out a little.

The copper tripod exploded, and the fragments of the cave tripod shot everywhere. In order to avoid the hidden arrows, Geng Er had to retract his whole body into the tortoise shell.The cave trembled for a while, and a large number of chrysoprase stones fell from the cave wall.

No one can control the kindling Xiaolan, and she flickers back and forth in the cave happily. Wherever it passes, no matter how hard the rock is, it turns into magma.

There was a puddle of semi-solidified strange liquid in the copper tripod that was still half fried, and the color was black and not black, red and not red.

A bubble the size of a human head suddenly popped up in the liquid.

Tinder Xiaolan suddenly stopped the figure, and then, as if being forcibly summoned by someone, she approached the liquid little by little. With a sound of "咻", Xiao Lan plunged into the bulging bubble.The strange thing is that Xiaolan's temperature is so high, but there is no reaction to the bubble.

"Okay, caught another ore thief! Brothers, come on! Take that little turtle to me!"

Geng Er peeked out half of his head from the tortoise shell, and a bitter expression appeared on his little face.The enchantment he had set up was over, and the big caterpillars who felt the huge changes in the cave came out of the biggest hole on the cave wall.Their days are over.

"Yes!" Three big caterpillars rushed out of the three holes, and rushed towards Geng Er.

The boss of Qingchong held his head high and slipped to the side of the half copper tripod, and looked inside curiously.

Suddenly, the boss of the caterpillar moved his head down and let out a loud growl: "Okay! You little turtle is cooking soup with my descendants! Brothers, tie up that little turtle and take it back to peel off its shell." , Take out the soul, chop meat and make soup for the worm mother to replenish her body!"

"Oh!" The caterpillar brothers responded loudly.

Geng Er anxiously looked at the semi-solid liquid that only bubbled up and then sank, and without any resistance, he obediently let the caterpillars drop a red egg into his mouth.Soon a strange pattern resembling a winged hexapod appeared on his forehead.

The caterpillars probably felt that his cultivation base was low, and they didn't take him seriously at all.

Qingchong's second child swam over and walked around the tripod for a long time, "Boss, this pot of soup...!"

The second child of the caterpillar was very excited, it felt the unusually mellow air of chaos.

God!This is the air of chaos!The source of all creation.How long has it not encountered such a mellow, so much chaos?If they get a chance to share this soup...

The boss of the caterpillar gave it a wink, the second could see it, why couldn't it see it?He didn't pay attention to that little human being, and it's okay to leave him here to languish, but he can cook a pot of great tonic soup rich in chaos, even if it's just a coincidence, they still want to kill him anyway. Get it back.

"...It looks good, why don't we split up?" Qingchong's second child picked it up cleverly.

"Well, carry it! Take it back together. Don't leak the breath inside."

"Yes!" The seven Qingchong brothers agreed with each other, and the second and third children surrounded him happily. With one arch of his body, the third child carried the heavy bronze tripod on his back.The second child even climbed directly onto the tripod, stretched his whole body to wrap around the tripod, let out a breath, and completely covered the aura of the tripod.

I saw seven big caterpillars suppressing Xiao Geng Er, carrying half of the copper tripod on their backs, happily swimming towards the largest round hole in the cave.

Haha, great!Today I just came out to watch the excitement, but I didn't expect to have such a big harvest, I made a lot of money!Fortunately, the boss is wise and took the drudgery of the South Gate.

This round hole seemed to allow only one caterpillar to pass through, but when the tripod touched the wall of the cave, there was a wave of water on the wall, and the half of the tripod, which was as high as three worms, went in just like that.

That is not a passage, but a door.

As soon as Geng Er came out, he felt extremely heavy.

Huh?This place can actually make him feel heavy in the tortoise shell, the gravity here must be extraordinary.Geng Er touched the tortoise shell quietly, and the heaviness disappeared instantly.

Just after taking two easy steps, Qingchong Laoqi, who was escorting him, suddenly looked sideways at him.

Geng Er was taken aback for a moment, and quickly touched the tortoise shell quietly again, letting the pressure of gravity return to his body.After walking for a while, Xiao Geng Er, who had not recovered his strength and cultivation base, was so tired that he could only be dragged away.

Qingchong Laoqi paid attention to him for a long time, but he didn't find anything unusual about this little human being after looking at it for a long time. He thought that it was probably his own illusion just now, so he didn't take it to heart.

Walking through a long passage, my eyes suddenly opened up.

Geng Er opened his eyes wide in surprise.

what did he see

This is... a rice field?

Watermelons are planted in the distance on the right?

What about the left?Endless sea of ​​flowers!

And these fields are not ordinary fields in the human world, but spiritual fields that can produce spiritual food.

"We are pests! We are pests! I am the biggest in the sky..."

The seven caterpillars carried their captives and trophies and sang all the way, advancing along an avenue completely paved with chrysoprase stones, allowing eight human carriages to run side by side.

Geng Er was completely stunned.

This turned out to be a huge underground world with a sky.But the color of the sky is a bit strange, showing a miasma-like grey-yellow.

Geng Er was dragged by Qing Chong Lao Qi, staring blankly at the farmers who were plowing in the spiritual field.

Uh, isn't the man in white the man in white?

The old man with the white beard who is fertilizing the Lingtian seems to have the cultivation base of the fusion period?

Oh, the one who is being whipped seems to have distracted late stage cultivation.

"What are you looking at! Hurry up!" Qingchong Laoqi scolded coldly.

Geng Er was startled, didn't dare to look any further, hurriedly dragged his feet and walked forward.

The semi-solid liquid in the half of the copper tripod carried by Qingchong's second and third children suddenly trembled.

The avenue paved with chrysoprase seems to be very long, but the caterpillars seem to have used the land shrinking technique when they were on their way. After about a stick of incense, they arrived at a huge golden city surrounded by clouds and mist.

Geng Er looked at the five big characters shining brightly on the gate of the city, and opened his mouth wide again.

"The South Gate of Tiangong"!

Even if it is called "Gong", it should be "Underground Palace", right?Thinking about the worm mother and empress in the mouth of the green worm, Geng Er is silent.Sure enough, there are no normal demons in the Blood Soul Sea...

There are sixteen black beetles guarding the entrance of the south gate. These sixteen black beetles are all huge in size, with sharp double pincers, and their carapaces are extremely hard. They are natural armor, and they are the best choice for soldiers among insects.

Seeing the return of the seven Qingchong brothers, the leader, the black beetle, lowered his head slightly, waved his long beard on his forehead, sixteen black beetles moved out of the way, and the seven Qingchong brothers entered the city smoothly.

As soon as he entered the city gate, all kinds of "squeaky, chirp, crackling" sounds of insects immediately poured into Geng Er's ears, which made Geng Er, who had been away from the lively environment for a long time, very uncomfortable.

All kinds of bugs and strange buildings are too dizzying to see.

The appearance of the insect city and the spiritual fields in the suburbs look like human beings, but once you enter the city, you will find the unique characteristics of the insect race.

If someone thinks that the city of bugs is not as good as that of humans, it is a big mistake.

The whole city is bustling and bustling, but it can be clearly distinguished and clean. It is divided into levels first, and then divided into functions.A residential area is a residential area, and a buying and selling area is a buying and selling area, and even the roads are clearly distinguished.

"Master Qingzhi!"

"I've seen Lord Qingzhi!"

The seven Qingchong brothers held their heads high, only occasionally nodding their heads.

Geng Er also saw humans appearing in the city, but they seemed to be able to walk sideways, and there were some strange marks on their foreheads, which looked like some kind of identity tattoo.

Some humans found him and would look at him curiously, with pity or schadenfreude, but no one dared to stop and watch, let alone ask.

On the contrary, some insects will point and point at him, some insects can make a sound, and some insects use the whiskers and horns on their heads to contact each other. There are various ways of talking and their voices are also different.

"How did the adults capture such a small human this time? It looks different from other humans."

"Stupid! This is a human cub, an ignorant fellow!" A bug that looked like a sandal laughed loudly at the cricket-like Zerg who was whispering to its companions.

"I haven't eaten human cubs yet, is it delicious?"

"It looks so tender, so it shouldn't be bad. Master Qingzhi, can you sell this human cub? I'll give you twenty middle-grade magic stones!"

"Human cubs are a rare commodity. You want to buy them for twenty middle-grade magic stones? Humph! My lord, I'll give you fifty middle-grade magic stones."

"They're all a bunch of ignorant idiots! Fifty middle-grade magic stones are not enough to buy the turtle-shaped armor on that cub! That cub is worthless, what is valuable is the armor on him. Li Yi, you are nothing Artifact master, do you think the armor on the cub is at what level in the magic weapon?"

A human demon cultivator with a four-winged gold bug pattern tattooed on his forehead bowed his head and said in a hoarse voice, "Returning to the master, at least it is a top-grade magic weapon."

"Did you hear that? That's a high-grade magic weapon that can only be refined by humans!"

"Master Qingzhi, I don't want that cub. After you eat that cub, sell me his armor. I'll give you a hundred top-grade magic stones!"

"How dare you steal my words! My lord, I will offer two hundred!"

"250! Master Qingzhi..."

"Everyone disperse! All disperse! All captives need to be sacrificed to the empress first, have you all forgotten!" Qingchong Boss shouted angrily like singing.

All the Zergs fell silent, and immediately prostrated themselves to the ground in the direction of the center of the city and kowtowed desperately.They didn't dare to argue, saying that they didn't know about the seven Qingchong brothers who came back from outside the city.Blame the idiot who was the first to say buy!

There are also some bugs who are cursing in their hearts, when did the adults who went out of the city on business not come in after searching all the treasures on the human demon cultivator?When they saw the human cub wearing armor, they thought Master Qingzhi and the others specially sent the cub and his armor to the free trade zone for sale, which is why such a disrespectful incident happened.

Geng Er wiped off his sweat, and with the talisman on his body, he might not be able to escape.But according to the rules of the Blood Soul Sea, he is not a direct breaker. If he wants to leave the Blood Soul Sea, he can only go out with Luo Chuanshan.

If Luo Chuanshan died in the Blood Soul Sea, he would have to pay a very, very high price to leave.

And when he thought of negotiating terms with that greedy, shameless, and unreasonable person, he would rather live under the threat of being boiled and cooked every day.

The seven Qingchong brothers dragged Geng Er all the way across the market.

Geng Er also found that the city seemed to be larger than what he looked like, and he had already found space formations like Xumizhen in a large number of buildings and grounds.In particular, he also saw insects crawling out of the underground passage, which proved that there must be more than one floor in this city.

"Look at it! Look at it! The latest human slaves brought in include men and women, old and young, with complete bodies and souls, without taking out the golden elixir and nascent soul inside. The living human beings are sold intact. There is absolutely no fraud, and you can inspect the goods on the spot! It is the best choice whether you buy it back for coolie or cooking!"

"Meat for sale! All kinds of fresh meat! There are monsters and humans, and you can kill and sell them now! Kill and eat! Fat, thin, old and tender, you can choose!!"

A smell of barbecue spread into Geng Er's nostrils, making Geng Er greedy.

food!This is serious food.For a foodie like him, he can tell the smell of meat when he smells it.Yunjin pig!This is definitely a Yunjin pig, or an adult body that has produced a magic beast crystal.

Although this kind of adult Yunjin pig with monster crystals is not as tender as suckling pig when roasted, the magic power contained in its body is enough to make up for it.

It's a pity that the magic chef's skill in grilling this Yunjin pig is not good enough, at least half of the magic power of this Yunjin pig was wasted.But it's all small things!If I can let him take a bite, just a small bite...

Geng Er also smelled the aroma of other meats, such as human flesh.But he automatically ignored it.Just like humans eat livestock, insects here cannibalize people, but the weak eat the strong. As long as they don't engage in genocide, even the gods can't control it.

Qingchong Lao Qi glanced at the human cub in disgust, drooling?Can such a cub really cook great tonic soup with the spirit of chaos?Don't let his parents do it?But where are his parents?Could it be that the peach blossom tree was killed because of the idea of ​​hitting that peach blossom tree?

Well, it is possible!

The status of the seven Qingchong brothers seems to be quite high in the insect city. Along the way, from time to time, worms give way to them.And their proximity to city centers and their palace-like residences prove it.