At this moment, Ling Xiao released his Mountain and River Martial Soul directly because there was no one nearby.
Normally he was always afraid of others finding out, so he had kept suppressing that terrifying martial soul of his.
Only now did he realise just how truly terrifying his martial soul was.
“No time left!”
Ling Xiao could sense dozens of terrifying auras rushing towards this place at high speed.
However, about one-tenth of the lake still had not been sucked in.
“If you hesitate when you should act decisively, you will only bring trouble upon yourself. A person should not be too greedy.”
With this thought, Ling Xiao simply gave up on that remaining one-tenth of the lake. After all, he had already obtained most of it.
Then he quickly left.
Even so, he did not go far.
Instead, he stayed hidden in the dense forest, waiting for the crowd to arrive.
Once enough people gathered, if he appeared again, he probably would not be suspected.
“What is this! How can there be such abundant heaven and earth vital energy? Hurry and report to the island lord. Should we temporarily change the mission?”
Moments later, the group of experts from Saint Dynasty Immortal Island arrived first.
Although only about one-tenth of the lake remained on the ground, it was still thousands of square metres in size.
Feeling the rich heaven and earth vital energy released from the lake water, the people from the immortal island knew they had discovered a treasure.
They had originally come here on orders to find the person who had broken the immortal seal.
But now, seeing this lake, they found it hard to decide what to do.
So dozens of experts surrounded the lake.
“Heh, people really are greedy. Even the lofty members of the Ji family from Saint Dynasty Immortal Island are no different.”
Hidden in the shadows, Ling Xiao could not help but let out a cold laugh.
While staying in the dark, he carefully observed the remaining lake. Only then did he notice that deep in the lake water grew his other target this time: the Black Fire Lotus.
Although it grew at the bottom of the water, the lotus flowers were still burning with strange flames. This was truly peculiar.
“The number of Black Fire Lotuses is limited. Many people will probably covet them. Later, when there are more people, I need to grab as many as I can.”
Ling Xiao thought to himself.
Although there were also Black Fire Lotuses in the lake inside his Mountain and River World, the total from both sides added up to no more than a hundred plants.
Seventy were inside his body, and about thirty remained outside.
With just this many Black Fire Lotuses, it really was not enough for him.
If possible, he truly wanted to be a bit greedier and get more into his hands.
Moments later, more and more martial artists gathered here.
Ling Xiao roughly estimated that there were probably over ten thousand people, including quite a few Cave Heaven Realm martial artists.
Among them were some familiar faces: Ji Mengmeng, that middle-aged man surnamed Chen, the old couple he had met at Ghost Manor before, and that bald man.
These people had already been nearby. Now that such a change had occurred here, they naturally came to take a look.
Once he saw that enough people had gathered, Ling Xiao quietly slipped into the crowd.
“What a huge lake. What abundant heaven and earth vital energy. Cultivating here for one day is probably better than cultivating elsewhere for a hundred days.”
The bald martial artist sighed.
“It may not be quite that exaggerated, but it is not far off. The benefits probably vary depending on one’s aptitude. But no matter what, this place is truly an excellent spot for cultivation.”
The old couple also said.
“Hurry and claim a spot!”
Someone in the crowd shouted, and hundreds of figures shot towards the lake almost at the same time.
Kill!
As hundreds of figures rushed out, nearly a hundred people were instantly killed, and their bodies were thrown back out.
“This place has been claimed by the immortal island. Without the island lord’s permission, no one is allowed inside!”
Among the killers was a man whose cultivation had reached the Sixth Cave Heaven Realm.
He glared at all the martial artists with an icy voice.
“Why should we listen! Your Saint Dynasty Immortal Island may temporarily be the rulers of this island, but you have no right to hog it all. Listen to me. We outnumber them. If they refuse, we wipe them out. I refuse to believe the Ji family dares to offend all of us.”
Greed always makes people forget fear.
With someone shouting like that, the deaths from earlier were instantly forgotten.
Even more martial artists charged forward.
This time, the Ji family people had no choice.
After all, they only had a few dozen people. Facing over ten thousand, the number of Cave Heaven Realm experts among them was no less than theirs.
In almost an instant, all those dozens were killed.
Watching this scene, Ling Xiao could not help but shake his head inwardly. Were the Ji family people really this foolish?
Normally they might be able to intimidate those people.
But now, with such a massive treasure right in front of them, how could they possibly stop them?
He shook his head. Whether the other side was stupid or not had nothing to do with him. What he needed to do now was go grab the Black Fire Lotuses.
Blending into the crowd, Ling Xiao moved swiftly and jumped into the lake.
While others were preparing to cultivate there, he plunged straight into the water.
With his powerful soul force and the capturing ability of his Taiji Eyes, he knew exactly where the Black Fire Lotuses were located.
“You lot hurry and search. See if there are Black Fire Lotuses at the bottom of the lake!”
Ji Mengmeng’s target was also the Black Fire Lotus. She had little interest in cultivation.
So after seeing those Ji family experts killed, although she felt afraid inside, she still gave the order to her guards.
By now, the guards were already showing sinister smiles.
“Idiot. Who would help you?”
At this point, they were completely drawn in by the lake. How could they possibly help Ji Mengmeng?
Moreover, the Ji family and the martial artists present had now become enemies.
How would they dare meddle?
They could even expose Ji Mengmeng’s identity and let these people help them get rid of the girl.
“You are people from the Ji family. How dare you be so rude to your master?”
The middle-aged man surnamed Chen said coldly.
“Heh heh, Old Chen, stop trying to scare us. Right now we can still get along peacefully. If we reveal the young miss’s identity, do you think those people will let her go?”
At this moment, the guards were more focused on cultivating in the lake. They wanted to cultivate as long as they could and did not want to completely offend Ji Mengmeng.
“Insolent!”
The middle-aged man surnamed Chen was furious.
“Uncle Chen, let them go. I never expected them to help me from the start.”
At that moment, Ji Mengmeng shook her head and stopped the middle-aged man surnamed Chen.
“Heh heh, young miss Mengmeng is sensible after all. We take our leave.”
In an instant, all the guards plunged into the water.
They now held leverage over Ji Mengmeng. If she dared to harm them, they could immediately expose her identity. Whatever happened after that, they would not care.
“Miss, we should go down too. This lake formed after Black Fire Mountain was levelled. There might be Black Fire Lotuses at the bottom.”
The middle-aged man surnamed Chen said.
Although he was angry, he had no choice. His strength was indeed stronger than any single guard.
But just as the guards had said, if they exposed Ji Mengmeng’s identity, even if she did not die, she would probably be taken hostage.
So for now, he had to endure this insult.
