The hunchbacked man frowned deeply but ultimately nodded helplessly. "Yes."
With a sigh, he turned and left.
The woman's hands gripped the strings of the zither beneath her, tightening with increasing force, the murderous intent in her eyes growing denser.
"Blazing Fire, Six-Fingers are dead. Dongfang Bai, Ghost Saint, Han Xun, He Qinghua—just you wait."
"Soon, Father, Mother, Xiao Lin—I'll avenge you soon enough."
The icy voice, brimming with hatred, echoed through the room, lingering without end.
Time passed slowly, and the atmosphere around Six-Fingers Manor grew more restless.
Like clouds that had gathered for months, with lightning already flickering within, just waiting for the moment to explode with a thunderous roar.
Li Daoqiang could deeply sense this mood, but he wasn't the least bit tense. With a calm mindset, he continued his own affairs.
After all, it had nothing to do with him, and he had no interest in the Demon Zither.
He just wanted to seize the opportunity to gain benefits.
So whether it exploded or not, it didn't concern him, nor would it hinder him.
If it didn't explode, he'd keep recruiting talent.
If it did, perhaps even greater rewards awaited him.
At this moment, he truly appreciated the benefits of meddling in others' affairs.
He was even pondering how many more such opportunities lay ahead—if he wasn't busy, he'd definitely attend as many as possible.
No worries, and plenty of gains.
It was incredibly satisfying.
Another two days passed, and his team had grown to eleven people.
That meant, aside from himself, Blood Saber Old Ancestor, and Lü Lin, a total of eight innate masters had seen the light and joined Black Dragon Village.
Five at the third level, three at the second.
To avoid drawing too much attention, he hadn't touched some at the first level, letting them go.
In total, he had obtained 460,000 bandit points. (The previous chapter said 480,000, but it was 240,000—a mistake, now corrected.)
460,000 bandit points were a minor matter; the main thing was the eight innate masters, which were crucial for Black Dragon Village's current state.
They could greatly alleviate the shortage of experts in the village.
Next, Black Dragon Village's influence could rapidly advance further.
During the day, Li Daoqiang continued to conserve his energy, preparing for another night of action.
Meanwhile, dozens of miles away.
At Han Xun's residence, a piece of paper was suddenly tossed into his room.
Startled, Han Xun rushed out to check but found no trace.
Cautiously examining the paper, he saw writing on it and carefully used a knife to open it.
"Brother Han, thirty miles east, meet for a chat. Six-Fingers."
His eyes widened instantly, a mix of emotions surfacing.
After a moment of doubt, he called for his daughter and instructed seriously, "Yuxia, I'm going out now. If I'm not back in an hour, go find your uncles and give them this note."
Handing the note to his daughter Han Yuxia, Han Xun immediately set off.
Han Yuxia wanted to stop him but couldn't, left only to fret.
A short while later.
Thirty miles east.
As soon as Han Xun arrived, before he could react, a powerful palm strike hit him.
"Boom!"
With a soft crash, offering little resistance, Han Xun spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes wide as he stared ahead.
There, a woman holding a zither stood coldly and proudly.
"Demon Zither!"
He forced out three words, filled with hatred and unwillingness, before losing his last breath.
The woman glanced coldly, ignored him, and turned to leave.
A little later.
Over forty miles south of Six-Fingers Manor at Immortal Peak.
"Ding~!"
A faint zither sound emerged, accompanied by an unmatched surge of murderous intent soaring into the sky.
At the same time, a fierce yin wind rose, and a chilling aura spread like a ghostly domain appearing, its massive commotion instantly alerting countless people.
Even Li Daoqiang, who was conserving his energy, snapped his eyes open and looked over.
Leaving a brief remark, his figure vanished instantly.
Blood Saber Old Ancestor and the others also began to move.
At a certain estate, Zhu Yuyan's spirit stirred, and her figure disappeared.
At the local government office, Zhui Ming and another figure seated in a chair exchanged glances, both seeing the gravity in each other's eyes—trouble was finally brewing.
One after another, figures with formidable auras, like awakened beasts, stirred and began heading toward the same direction from all sides.
At the scene.
A man in black, unusually gaunt, wore a shocked and wary expression.
"Demon Zither! Who are you? Why do you have the Demon Zither?"
A chilling voice sounded, and simultaneously, a blue-gray light flared up, continuously resisting the terrifying zither sound.
But visibly, his aura was being forcibly suppressed, growing weaker.
With the zither's melody, traces of pain appeared on his face.
His subordinates around him had already died from bleeding from all seven orifices, their expressions agonized.
"Sixteen years ago, the vengeance for my family's destruction—Ghost Saint, it's time you paid."
The woman said coldly, her hands continuously plucking the strings. The enchanting zither sound rippled out, and wherever it passed, it seemed to plunge into a dreamlike world.
Ghost Saint's eyes widened, as if realizing something, and he said painfully, "You're Huang Dong's daughter! Old Blazing Fire—you killed him!"
"Blazing Fire, Six-Fingers, Han Xun—you're next."
The woman spoke word by word, as if venting her hatred.
Suddenly, her jade fingers pulled, and a string was plucked.
"Twang," a sound rang out, and an invisible blade cut through the air, ripples spreading across it, moving at incredible speed.
Ghost Saint, caught in the midst of enduring pain, couldn't dodge in time and could only watch as the blade sliced through his body.
"Bang!"
A bloody hole burst open in Ghost Saint's chest, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. His already pale face turned even whiter.
The woman pressed her hands down, and the zither sound stopped.
Within a hundred zhang radius, over a hundred corpses lay, all with agonized expressions.
"Good, good Demon Zither. You're stronger than Huang Dong." Ghost Saint swayed, glaring at the enchanted ancient zither, full of unwillingness.
He paused, then laughed, "But you're dumber than Huang Dong. Once I'm dead, you'll die soon too."
The woman's eyes sharpened, and she said coldly, "Who was behind you back then?"
Ghost Saint froze, then burst into laughter. "Want to know? Go ask the living."
The woman's eyes grew even colder, and she let out a light snort.
"Boom!"
As if following a command, sharp energy burst from Ghost Saint's body, and his form exploded into pieces.
The next moment, the woman's expression shifted slightly, and she leaped into the air.
A fierce palm strike came at her, slamming into the spot where she had been.
"Boom!"
A thunderous crash shook the ground.
The woman's jade fingers moved again, pulling heavily on a string. An invisible blade dozens of zhang long cut through the air at incredible speed, heading forward.
There, another palm strike met it, colliding with the invisible blade.
With a roar, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth erupted, and the terrifying sound echoed across the sky, drawing more and more attention.
The woman glanced coldly and was about to turn and leave.
But before she could take a step, she stopped.
Her aura grew even icier, like a block of ice from hell.
Ahead of her, a figure had already flown in.
Not just ahead—from all directions, figures with powerful auras appeared, trapping the woman in the center.
She swept her gaze and frowned slightly—Dongfang Bai wasn't there.
Gritting her teeth, she flew in one direction.
"Ding~!"
The zither sounded again, an invisible blade leading the way, as if to sweep everything aside.
There, Zhui Ming and a man in a wheelchair felt a bit speechless—she really knew how to pick a direction.
Without hesitation, they stepped aside, not intending to block her.
But others intercepted.
A blade glow over thirty zhang long, radiating coldness, slashed toward the woman.
"Leave the Demon Zither, and I'll let you go."
Zhu Yuyan stood in the void, her stunning grace still intact, her commanding aura even stronger, with two translucent thin blades in her hands.
The woman holding the zither glared coldly, said nothing, and lightly plucked a string, sending an invisible blade to block, while she continued forward.
But a palm strike had already arrived.
A black palm print, dozens of zhang wide like a mountain, descended as if to crush everything.
"Haha, Yin Empress, you're here too. Let's seize the Demon Zither first, then we'll split it, how about that?"
A figure in a deep green battle robe, imposing as a demon god, laughed loudly.
"Geshu Tian!"
Zhu Yuyan glanced over, a flicker of killing intent deep in her eyes, but she quickly replied, "Fine."
"Boom!!"
As if an agreement was reached, explosions rang out continuously.
In the void, attacks appeared one after another, accompanied by the zither sound, shaking heaven and earth.
Palm prints spanned the sky, blotting out the sun.
Blade glows shone like stars, cutting through everything.
And the zither sound seemed to pull this realm into a dreamlike world.
At the same time, countless blades emerged from the zither, blocking the palm prints and blade glows.
A few miles away, Zhui Ming and the man in the wheelchair watched intently, their expressions grave.
"Yin Empress Zhu Yuyan and Geshu Tian of the Heavenly Desire Palace—two top experts have already appeared. There are likely even more grandmaster-level masters in the shadows." Zhui Ming glanced around and said solemnly.
"Don't rush. First, stop the martial artists from getting close. This zither sound is too powerful; they can't withstand it." The man in the wheelchair said steadily.
Zhui Ming looked around again, nodded heavily, took a deep breath, and shouted, "I am Zhui Ming! Those below the grandmaster level, don't come near! The zither sound doesn't distinguish friend from foe!"
His voice boomed, echoing for dozens of miles.
Many in the growing crowd, drawn by the commotion, paused. Zhui Ming's reputation from the Divine Marquis Mansion was well-regarded.
(Thanks for the support.) ·······