The woman Ling Xiao referred to was none other than She Mei.
In the end, everything today stemmed from this woman. Not only was she venomous and cunning, but she was also highly skilled at manipulating others. Keeping her alive would only bring future trouble, so it was better to eliminate her sooner rather than later.
As soon as Ling Xiao finished speaking, Master Lin and Lord Bai stood up, their eyes locked on She Mei with murderous intent.
Killing She Mei might offend the Beast King Palace, but that was a problem for later. If they didn’t kill her, both of them would die now!
The choice was simple, with no room for hesitation.
“I’m giving you ten breaths to kill this woman. As for Skeleton Village, you have one day. If you fail, the only ones dying will be you two. When I, Ling Xiao, make a promise, I keep it!” Ling Xiao said coldly, seeing their slight hesitation.
His words ignited a fierce battle intent in the two men. They charged at She Mei from both sides.
To them, She Mei was just a woman. Killing her was nothing if it meant saving their own lives.
Though She Mei resisted desperately, unwilling to accept her fate, both Master Lin and Lord Bai were far stronger. After just a few moves, she lay defeated on the ground, staring at the blue sky, filled with regret for her initial actions.
Used to being domineering and believing she had powerful backers, she never expected to meet her match in Ling Xiao today.
From the moment she tried to kill him, her tragic fate was sealed.
“Alright, you two, go destroy Skeleton Village now. Don’t forget my deadline!”
Ling Xiao didn’t even glance at She Mei’s body. With a flick of his hand, black flames engulfed her corpse, reducing it to ashes.
Before that, he had already absorbed the martial souls of the three Beast King Palace disciples into his Mountain River World. Except for the Black Panther martial soul, which he kept, the other two were given to the Primordial Golden Dragon to absorb.
The Black Panther soul was still useful, enhancing his Cloud Dragon Divine Movement to make him faster.
He could let the Primordial Golden Dragon consume it later when a better soul came along.
“Go!”
Master Lin and Lord Bai, as if granted amnesty, hurriedly left Green Valley to deal with Skeleton Village.
Ling Xiao didn’t tell them that he had planted plague seeds in their bodies. If they didn’t follow his orders, he wouldn’t even need to lift a finger, just detonate the seeds, and they’d be dead.
Their lives were in their own hands, depending on whether they knew how to behave.
Watching them leave, Ling Xiao approached the manor’s gate and placed a formation stone on it.
He hadn’t anticipated such shamelessness before, but now he was prepared.
“Since everyone’s here today, let me remind you: you’re welcome in Green Valley, but if anyone tries to steal the achievements of my Moon Flower Sect, their fate will be the same as those three Beast King Palace disciples.”
Ling Xiao’s cold gaze swept over the crowd, “I’ve set up a formation around this gate. Any martial artist below the fourth level of the Mortal Realm who approaches will be killed by plague poison. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!”
The crowd looked at Ling Xiao, filled with mixed emotions.
His methods were ruthless, killing Beast King Palace disciples and ordering the destruction of Skeleton Village without hesitation. But who could blame him when he had such strength?
In the Mysterious Realm, the weak had no voice.
The weak existed to serve as stepping stones, slaves, or tools for the strong.
With his Half-Step Master cultivation, Ling Xiao easily killed Beast King Palace disciples and the Skeleton Village leader, proving his overwhelming power. So what if he was a bit domineering?
Besides, he wasn’t unreasonably brutal. His actions were justified and methodical, leaving no room for criticism.
In fact, many secretly thanked Ling Xiao.
Among those She Mei had harmed were their friends or relatives.
Skeleton Village had caused even more deaths, and most disciples on missions here had been extorted by them.
Sects rarely bothered to wipe out Skeleton Village for the sake of low-level Mortal Realm disciples.
Moreover, the Skeleton Village leader, Tu, seemed crude but was cunning, offering half his plunder to various sects.
Even a small gain was still a gain, so nearby sects turned a blind eye to Skeleton Village’s actions.
Thus, Ling Xiao resolved a conflict with decisive force, restoring peace to Green Valley. Now, he waited for the Moon Flower Sect to arrive.
Meanwhile, Master Lin and Lord Bai didn’t follow Ling Xiao’s orders. Instead, they tried to rally friends to join forces against him.
But during their gathering to plan, their bodies suddenly exploded, unleashing a plague poison that ravaged the entire venue.
Over a dozen attendees, all Mortal Realm second to third-level martial artists, died instantly.
They never imagined the kind of person they were trying to kill, and they perished in confusion.
“Hmph, those two were no good either. People who’d kill others to save themselves can just as easily betray.”
Ling Xiao snorted coldly, leaping into the air and heading to Skeleton Village alone.
Just an hour later, he returned.
Skeleton Village was now a sea of flames. All the slaves and women were freed, but every bandit was killed, not a single one spared.
The wealth Skeleton Village had accumulated over the years now belonged to Ling Xiao.
The village was surprisingly rich, with a whopping 20,000 low-grade spirit stones, though no mid- or high-grade ones.
There was also a vast amount of gold and silver.
What thrilled Ling Xiao most was finding five rare treasures in Skeleton Village.
With those, plus the rare treasures from Wan Yanjun, Chen Zui, the Plague Demon King, She Mei, and Tu, he now had ten in total, including the golden brick.
Unfortunately, the best treasures Master Lin, Lord Bai, and their group had were only fine-grade, which he didn’t care for. He planned to send them to the Divine Sword Sect.
None of their martial souls caught his eye either, so he let the Primordial Golden Dragon consume them all.
The stronger the dragon grew, the stronger his soul became, boosting his combat power in human-dragon and Primordial Golden Dragon forms.
No martial soul was wasted.
This also continuously enhanced his hidden combat strength, a nightmare for those who underestimated him.
