The village was not large, with only a few dozen households. When the nine landed at the entrance, Ling Hu and the others saw several young men and a group of teenagers emerge, staring at them.
The moment they caught sight of Zi Ling’s peerless beauty and ethereal grace, everyone stood transfixed.
She seemed like a fairy descended to earth, her aura light and otherworldly, untouched by mortal concerns. She was the most exquisite woman any of them had ever beheld in their lives.
The young men beside her were also striking, each with an imposing bearing and extraordinary presence. Clearly, this group did not belong to the nearby villages. They had come from beyond the mountain range.
“Greetings, senior brothers.”
Zi Ling gave a polite curtsey to the young men and said, “The nine of us have lost our way. May we ask you where this place is?”
The young men were stunned. They had not expected such an immortal-like woman to address them with such courtesy.
One of them summoned his courage, stepped forward, returned the greeting, and replied, “Greetings, fairy. This is Anshu Village. Within several thousand li around here, there are only about a dozen villages.”
Zi Ling and her companions frowned slightly. This was indeed a remote backwater. Given these people’s experience, they probably only knew of places within a few thousand to ten thousand li.
It was hardly surprising. Their auras were restless, their foundations unsteady. Evidently no one guided their cultivation, nor did they possess superior manuals. Their practice seemed limited to hunting or earning a living.
Even so, one of the young men had reached the Heavenly Martial Realm.
For that reason, Zi Ling and the other eight did not dare underestimate Zhongzhou.
In the Southeast Domain, in a place where settlements were ten thousand li apart, a young hunter from an ordinary family, with no clan resources, no sect backing, no fine techniques or skills, and no mentor, could never reach the Heavenly Martial Realm.
The spiritual energy of heaven and earth in Zhongzhou was several times richer than in the Southeast Domain.
The nine had noticed this as soon as they emerged from the sea region, and it grew denser the further inland they travelled.
Whoosh.
At that moment, an overbearing aura swept in from behind them. A commanding shout followed, rolling across the air. “Summon everyone in the village.”
Zi Ling and the others frowned and turned towards the source of the voice.
Five figures had arrived, hovering in the air ahead of the crowd.
There was one elder, one middle-aged man, and three youths.
The strongest was the elder, at the Fifth Layer Martial Lord Realm. The middle-aged man was at the Third Layer Martial Lord Realm.
Of the three youths, two were in the Martial Venerable Realm, and one was a mid-grade fifth-rank spirit controller.
It was the elder who had spoken. He looked down on the gathered people with arrogant disdain, his aura enveloping the entire village.
The young men and teenagers paled. Compared to the nine newcomers, the attitude of these five was utterly different.
Moreover, their strength was astonishing. They even had a Martial Lord among them.
The villagers were baffled. Outsiders rarely came here, yet today two separate groups had arrived.
Had something happened?
Hearing the shout and sensing the Martial Lord aura, the adults in the village hurried forward.
A few were at the Martial King Realm, while others had no cultivation at all. Everyone inside the village rushed to the entrance.
“To think such a stunning woman exists in this place?”
One of the arrogant youths hovering in the air exclaimed in surprise.
Her beauty and temperament surpassed Wen Ruo of their Wen family by countless degrees, far more ethereal and refined.
How could such a woman appear in this desolate corner?
The eyes of all three youths lit up. Even the elder and the middle-aged man showed faint astonishment.
On their journey of investigation, they had seen many striking women. Those women were not cultivators with special gifts or high cultivation, merely naturally beautiful.
Quite a few had already been claimed by the searching youths.
But the woman before them was by far the most graceful and breathtaking they had encountered.
“I am Zhao Dezhu, chief of Anshu Village. I was unaware of your honoured arrival, my lords. Please forgive any offence.”
A thin, elderly man bowed deeply in fear to the elder. The others all lowered their heads.
“Does anyone in your village bear the surname Lin?”
The elder asked.
Everyone shook their heads. The chief replied, “In answer to your lordship, Anshu Village has no one of the Lin clan.”
“Hmph.”
At that, the mid-grade fifth-rank spirit controller stirred his spiritual sense and directly seized control of the Martial King village chief’s mind.
The youth then produced a portrait and asked, “Do you recognise this person?”
“I do not.”
The chief shook his head.
The others also shook their heads.
When Ling Hu, Zi Ling, and the rest saw the portrait, their hearts jolted. It was Lin Xiao.
These people were searching for Lin Xiao.
Confusion filled the nine. Who were these men? What had Lin Xiao done to prompt a village-by-village hunt?
Had he fought someone, been injured, and fled into this region?
“I am a mid-grade fifth-rank spirit controller. I will perform mind-control checks on all of you. Answer truthfully whether you have seen this person. If anyone dares to lie, your entire village will be wiped out.”
The spirit controller youth threatened the crowd. His mid-grade fifth-rank spiritual pressure enveloped the area, filling the villagers with dread and terror.
Still, everyone shook their heads.
“And you lot?”
The elder turned to Zi Ling’s group and asked.
Their bearing clearly did not match the villagers’. If he was not mistaken, they were outsiders.
Yet, backed by a powerful patron, he had no fear of their origins.
Few disciples of great power or major forces ever crossed these mountains, so he was certain they could not have significant backgrounds.
No background could outweigh the Ji family.
Instead of answering, Ling Hu asked, “Sirs, with such a grand display of force, what crime has this youth committed?”
“How dare you speak to us like that?”
One of the other youths snapped angrily.
The spirit controller youth narrowed his eyes. A wave of spiritual force surged towards Ling Hu, intending to force him to his knees.
Yet he discovered, to his shock, that his spiritual force had no effect.
“Hm?”
The youth frowned and said coldly, “Who are you?
You can resist my spiritual force?”
At those words, the elder and the others all frowned.
Even a mid-grade fifth-rank spirit controller could not subdue him?
Did that mean the youth who had spoken was at least in the Martial Venerable Realm?
A genius on their level had appeared in this remote place?
“We are not from the village and bear no ill intent. We are merely curious why you seek this person.”
Ling Hu smiled.
Seeing that relaxed smile, the elder’s expression grew grave. He did not reply directly but probed, “Do you know Lin Xiao?”
The spirit controller and the others turned solemn.
It was unlikely, but if these people truly knew Lin Xiao, they were enemies. More importantly, discovering anyone close to Lin Xiao would earn them an immense reward from the Ji family.
A reward great enough to elevate their entire clan to the heavens.
