Chapter 467: Waves

The sound of breaking waves echoed as that frantic shadow ran aimlessly along the coastline.

The horse beneath her was already panting heavily, each hoof fall sending a visible tremor through its body.

Gongsun Xiaotao’s eyes were vacant, no idea when this dark, winding path would ever end.

“Ying’er, maybe you should just give up and run on your own…”

She tearfully stroked the black steed’s neck, calling its name.

She knew this horse had run to the end of its life—it had burned through everything for her sake.

Gongsun Xiaotao couldn’t bear to see it like this. This horse was her only friend. She would rather die herself than watch it suffer so.

Unfortunately, misfortune always comes in waves.

With a sorrowful whinny, the steed suddenly collapsed to its knees, flinging Gongsun Xiaotao from its back and sending her crashing heavily onto the sandy ground.

The soft sand absorbed much of the impact, but it still left Gongsun Xiaotao writhing in pain, unable to get up for a long while. She lay helplessly on the ground, looking back—the black horse had already closed its eyes, silent and still.

In the shadows of the road behind her, the glow of Cultivators’ Power-Enhancing Artifacts was already clearly visible, densely packed like summer fireflies.

“Resist…” Gongsun Xiaotao let out a despairing sigh, ultimately having no choice but to give up.

“Eh? Whose girl is this? Why are you lying here?”

A warm call by her ear roused Gongsun Xiaotao. She opened her eyes and realized she had been thrown all the way to the entrance of a Small Fishing Village.

The slightly plump woman’s face was covered in wrinkles, her complexion sallow, as plain and simple as could be.

She wore a grease-stained apron, her face and body dusted with white flour, preparing dry rations for her husband’s fishing trip the next day.

It was Zhao Shen.

Zhao Shen grabbed her Rolling Pin and hurried over. After seeing Gongsun Xiaotao, she forgot to put the Rolling Pin down entirely.

“Auntie! Don’t come closer! It’s dangerous!”

Gongsun Xiaotao hurriedly shouted to stop her—she truly didn’t want to drag this simple fishing village into her mess.

Those bastards were ruthless people who didn’t care a whit about ordinary lives. If they saw commoners getting involved, given their ways, they would slaughter the entire village clean!

But the folk here were clearly simple-hearted. Zhao Shen had no idea danger was approaching, and paid no heed to her warning, crouching down to gently help her up.

It’s over.

Despair filled Gongsun Xiaotao’s heart.

The pursuers in the distance had already witnessed this scene—not a single villager here would survive.

“Did you hurt yourself anywhere?” Zhao Shen was still asking about her injuries with genuine concern, her tone so simple and sincere that it reminded Gongsun Xiaotao of her own mother.

That made Gongsun Xiaotao’s heart twist in agony, hating herself for bringing disaster to such a kind village.

Tears streamed from her eyes. If only she had died on the road earlier, she wouldn’t have cost Ying’er and these villagers their lives.

“Auntie, listen to me—run, take everyone in the village and flee as far as you can…” Gongsun Xiaotao pleaded painfully. “Do you see those people? They’re beasts who kill without blinking!”

“Then I definitely can’t leave you here alone!” Zhao Shen’s eyes widened. “Girl, come with your auntie. Let me see who dares enter this village! A bunch of bastards picking on a young girl—is there no King’s Law anymore?”

As she spoke, Zhao Shen actually scooped Gongsun Xiaotao up in her arms and ran stubbornly toward the village’s Medical Hall… As for those pursuers? There was a Communication Stone in the Medical Hall—she’d just report them to the authorities.

Gongsun Xiaotao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but her injuries were too severe to resist. She could only watch helplessly as Zhao Shen naively went through the whole process.

Lying on the sickbed in the Medical Hall, Gongsun Xiaotao could already picture the village after it was slaughtered clean.

“Too late… too late…”

Those people were all Cultivators, and everyone in the village was an ordinary mortal. Even if they tried to run now, it was already too late.

But wait—why was there still no commotion outside?

Logically speaking, with those Cultivators’ speed, they should have reached the village by now…

Could the Dongsheng Shenzhou authorities really be that efficient? They reported it and the problem was solved on the spot?

Jiang Ke’er didn’t want to expose her identity, nor did she want to use the village’s defense system this soon.

So the best approach was to intercept the danger beyond the villagers’ sight.

“Who dares approach?!”

The leader of the pursuers was a bare-chested brute, his upper body covered in tattoos of strange ferocious beasts, glistening and imposing.

He glared at Jiang Ke’er, his tone carrying a faint hint of panic.

Jiang Ke’er was clad in a black robe, looking quite mysterious—but more importantly, the strength she had displayed was truly chilling.

In a single exchange, she had gravely wounded a third of the Southern Zhan Cultivators, and she had clearly held back.

Otherwise, every one of those terrifying sword lights could have easily severed their heads.

“I am Xu Chen, Chief of Tribulation Immortal Hall.”

Jiang Ke’er’s eyes darted for a moment before she spoke in a rough voice.

“Xu Chen? The Tribulation Immortal Hall?!”

The big man sucked in a cold breath, his expression instantly turning reverent. “My apologies—I didn’t expect an immortal from the Tribulation Immortal Hall. But might I ask why you’re blocking us? This is our private matter…”

“Blocking you?” Jiang Ke’er’s tone was puzzled. “What private matter? I don’t know what you’re doing. I just happened to pass by here, ran into you, and stopped you, that’s all.”

“Why?” The big man’s eyes blazed. “We haven’t offended the Tribulation Immortal Hall, have we?”

“You haven’t offended anyone. It’s just that recently I—Xu Chen—haven’t been able to get it up, so I need some virile men’s essence blood to take back for Pill Refinement.”

The big man froze.

This was the first time he’d heard a man so bluntly and openly admit, “I’m impotent, I can’t get it up.”

This man named Xu Chen earned his deep admiration.

But he soon realized he was shocked too early—something even more intense was coming.

After a pause, Jiang Ke’er continued: “I also need to grab a few big men from Southern Zhan to warm my bed. I, Xu Chen, have always loved the men of Southern Zhan—their leg hair is incredibly long, and licking it feels as stimulating as sandpaper… slurp~”

The big man’s jaw dropped, the anger in his eyes turning to terror.

The Chief of Tribulation Immortal Hall… was this unrestrained?

“Well… if you immortal like burly men, we could pick a few fine warriors and I’ll personally deliver them to the Tribulation Immortal Hall.”

The big man said with a trembling voice. “But we still have important matters to attend to. Could you please let us off this once…”

“No! I, Xu Chen, always act with lightning speed—do it the moment I say so. How can I put it off until tomorrow?”

Jiang Ke’er raised her voice. “I, Xu Chen, want to take you back to the Tribulation Immortal Hall right now for the hunky man selection! The men of our Tribulation Immortal Hall just love your type, slurp~”

The big man stared at “Xu Chen,” goosebumps suddenly spreading across his brawny flesh.

He couldn’t stand another second here.

“Immortal, please spare us this time! When we return, we’ll immediately prepare five thousand strapping men and deliver them personally to the Tribulation Immortal Hall!”

The big man was already crying from fear. He frantically turned his Storage Bag upside down, making all the gold, silver, artifacts, Celestial Materials and Earthly Treasures float in the air, and begged: “We’ll give you everything we own!”

“When we get back, we’ll send five thousand hand-picked burly Disciples from our sect, all dressed up and packaged nicely—guaranteed exciting and spicy! Just let us go this once!”

“Fine.”

Jiang Ke’er let out a “disappointed” sigh. “I, Xu Chen, am not an unreasonable man. Considering how sincere your attitude is…”

“Deal~”