This Immortal Master Jiang definitely has a problem.

Li Qingfeng felt his hair stand on end under the boy’s gaze, and belatedly, he felt a bit absurd.

He cursed himself silently; a Qi Refining Middle Stage Cultivator was actually scared by a Mortal, how timid.

Song Yan and Li Qingfeng looked at Qin Ying simultaneously.

But she still sat there, silent, clutching Gu Qingqing’s life talisman in her hand.

Why hasn’t Senior Sister Qin gone to find that Immortal Master Jiang yet? If she doesn’t act soon, it’s hard to guarantee that Junior Sister Gu won’t run into trouble...

Song Yan felt a bit anxious, and Li Qingfeng also had the same doubt.

He sent a voice transmission: "Senior Brother Song, do you think Senior Sister Qin is testing us?"

"If she were to act, there would be nothing left for the two of us."

"..."

Song Yan was somewhat puzzled, but he also felt that his chubby Junior Brother’s words made sense.

"Senior Brother Song, with Senior Sister here, nothing will go wrong. Let’s go investigate and see if there are any clues."

Song Yan pondered for a moment, then sent a voice transmission: "Alright, you stay nearby, I’ll go check other places in the village."

Li Qingfeng stood up and said to the boy: "Little brother, I drank your tea and now my stomach hurts. I’m afraid I’ve been eating too much greasy and meaty food lately."

He deliberately lowered his voice, fearing these words would dirty Senior Sister’s ears: "Um... where’s the latrine?"

The boy was a bit suspicious; he hadn’t seen any of the three drink tea, he just thought he hadn’t noticed: "I’ll show you."

The boy and Li Qingfeng left. Song Yan informed his Senior Sister: "Senior Sister, I’m going to walk around the village."

"..."

Qin Ying nodded, then added: "Be back before the banquet begins."

"...Okay."

It was already dusk. After leaving the Jiang Family, the village was deserted, with only a few scattered people emerging from their homes and heading towards the Jiang Family, seemingly to attend the evening’s celebration.

To the right of the Jiang Family’s entrance was an old well. Following the small path in front of the well eastward, there was an archway and a low wall.

Sounds of laughter came from that direction.

Song Yan passed through the archway; this was a courtyard. Five children, like wild ponies, chased and played, running past him.

A little boy, who had just gone somewhere, didn’t catch up with the main group and was anxiously rushing to follow.

"Oh!"

He accidentally tripped and was about to fall beside Song Yan.

"Careful."

He reached out to steady him, and the small hand was icy cold.

"Oh... Thank you, Big Brother."

"No problem."

Song Yan nodded: "Go play."

So much energy.

These children, on the other hand, seemed quite normal... Song Yan mused.

It was almost certain now that this so-called "Immortal Master Jiang" was the mastermind behind everything.

But... "How did this Immortal Master Jiang turn Peach Blossom Dock into a dead village?"

Was it... a trapping Formation?

No, if it relied on a Formation, it meant the Formation had been active for a long time, but he hadn’t sensed any spiritual energy fluctuations belonging to a Formation.

Was it... coercion and inducements?

That wasn’t right either. Song Yan could tell that everyone in Peach Blossom Dock, men, women, old, and young, had spontaneously stayed here. What about the outsiders? Where had the Cultivator from Jiangyun Prefecture and Junior Sister Qingqing gone?

"..."

...A sinister Dao Art?

That shouldn’t be it either, otherwise, when the three of them entered the village, why didn’t they appear to curse them?

Unless... Suddenly, the expression on Song Yan’s face vanished.

What was that?

In a flower bed not far away, a patch of white felt somewhat familiar to him.

He slowly walked forward, staring at it blankly.

Paper man?

"..." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Song Yan looked back, and only four of the groups of children remained... Unless... the three of them were the last group of people... The sun quickly plunged, about to disappear on the horizon.

"Pingping, on this joyous day, why are you still cooking rice here instead of going to the Jiang Family for the banquet?"

The village chief, leaning on his cane, walked from under the banyan tree at the village entrance, where people chatted, towards the Jiang Family, pausing for a moment as he passed a house.

"Village Chief, you go ahead. Dog Egg and I can’t eat those good things... We don’t have that kind of good fortune."

Chen Jiping was an outsider, and her life was very bitter; her husband passed away soon after she married into the family.

The village chief sighed and turned to leave.

"..."

Buzz... At a certain moment, a sharp ringing sound echoed in Chen Jiping’s ears.

Her hunched figure suddenly stood up, her eyes losing their luster.

Like a puppet, she walked out of the house with stiff limbs, her shoulders and neck twitching occasionally, and her facial muscles also looking unnatural.

She walked towards Xianglujian.

On Xianglujian, there was a medium-sized Daoist temple, which was the place of cultivation for "Immortal" Jiang Xiao.

In front of the Daoist temple was a large bluestone, on which lay a voluptuous woman.

"Hmm..."

It was night, and the weather had already turned cold.

Yet, she was only wrapped in a thin silk cloth, wearing nothing else.

She yawned lazily, glancing at the walking corpse approaching the Daoist temple from outside, then paid no more attention.

A pair of long, fair legs simply crossed over each other.

At this moment, Immortal Master Jiang Xiao finally walked out of the Daoist temple.

He watched Chen Jiping continuously approach, his gaze wandering over her voluptuous body, as if looking at a toy.

"Why is she the only one left?"

Bai Yu Lu asked casually, but her voice seemed a bit strange.

"Although she has no Spiritual Root, for some reason, her speed in Cultivating the Ancient Blood Refining Scroll is astonishingly fast."

"Much faster than the other pigs in the village, I don’t know by how much."

Jiang Xiao gently stroked Chen Jiping’s face and untied his sash.

"Anyway, one more or one less makes no difference."

"Hmph..."

Jiang Xiao tilted his head back, a look of intoxication on his face: "Keep her. We’ll have another helper."

"We?"

Bai Yu Lu sneered: "I don’t need any helpers."

Jiang Xiao scoffed inwardly.

Of course she didn’t need any; a First Stage Middle Stage Demon Beast daring to speak loudly in front of him had no other reason.

It was simply because she represented one of the two major Yao Race forces in Chu State.

Corpse Bone Abyss.

"You’ve been setting up this Blood Refining Formation for three years, and now you’re going to use it just because one Foundation Establishment Cultivator has arrived."

"With that immortal sword bestowed by your Master, perhaps you could have slain that Foundation Establishment Cultivator by yourself."

"The remaining two are both Qi Refining Middle Stage Cultivators. Your courage is a bit too small..."

Jiang Xiao didn’t even open his eyes: "There’s no need to be greedy for quick success. Attracting too many Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivators can lead to trouble. This is just right."

"That Qin Ying is a Cave Abyss Sect Inner Sect Disciple, and she’ll probably become a True Disciple soon. Using it on her isn’t a waste... Hiss..."

He frowned, seemingly displeased.

"It won’t cause too much commotion, and we have plenty of time..."

Jiang Xiao kicked the puppet-like Chen Jiping aside, then walked towards Bai Yu Lu: "All the time in the world."

He licked his dry lips, leaned down, and reached out to caress Bai Yu Lu’s bare ankle, then moved inch by inch, deeper.

A pink mist appeared in Bai Yu Lu’s eyes, making her look even more seductive and alluring.

"At this moment, you’re quite bold."

That piece of silk slipped to the ground.