As Protector Shou lay prostrate before him, Xie Tianxiao spoke with a hint of mockery in his voice, "Too bad you guessed wrong. But that's not important. What matters is—"
"Guessed wrong?" Protector Shou paused, confused by Xie Tianxiao's words.
Xie Tianxiao didn't waste any more words. He lifted his head and looked around at the people who were already frozen in shock.
As they felt the immense pressure in Xie Tianxiao's gaze, everyone shuddered, their hearts filled with anxiety. They feared that Xie Tianxiao would destroy them with just a flick of his finger.
Just as they thought Xie Tianxiao was about to do something drastic, he calmly and coldly said, "Everyone, hand over your storage rings. Consider it the price for me saving your lives."
"You… have no objections, right?"
As Xie Tianxiao's words fell, it felt as though a weight of a mountain had descended upon everyone's shoulders, making them all stand rigidly in place.
"No, no objections."
"You must be joking, Senior. Without your intervention, we would have been dead by now. We owe you our lives!"
"Yes, yes! Senior, you're a true benefactor!"
The empire's Dou Wang's and the rogue cultivators all shook their heads vigorously. While they were puzzled as to why someone as powerful as Xie Tianxiao would be interested in their meager possessions, but they didn't dare hesitate. They quickly pulled out their storage rings and other treasures, respectfully holding them out in their hands.
No one was foolish enough to resist. Protector Shou's miserable state on the ground was a clear warning. Even if Xie Tianxiao had taken their belongings by force, they would have had no complain.
Bowing to strength wasn't something to be ashamed of!
Xie Tianxiao waved his hand, and all the storage rings and valuables flew into his possession.
Satisfied, he turned his gaze to the black-robed elder and the Barbarian Emperor, who were both sweating profusely. "You two wouldn't want me to have come all this way for nothing, right?"
The black-robed elder and the Barbarian Emperor immediately broke out in cold sweats, hurriedly responding, "We wouldn't dare. We are just trembling in fear, Senior."
"We were just so impressed by your display of power that we wanted to invite you to our sects as an honoured guest to express our respect," the Barbarian Emperor added quickly.
With that, both of them reluctantly pulled out three storage rings each and handed them over to Xie Tianxiao with the utmost reverence. "These contain all our wealth. Please, Senior, accept them."
The two felt a deep pang of loss—those rings held the accumulations of many years. But despite the pain, they knew they were lucky. Xie Tianxiao hadn't killed them outright, which was already a tremendous stroke of luck.
Xie Tianxiao took the rings, quickly scanning their contents. Nodding in satisfaction, he tucked them away. "I'll take these. As for visiting your sects, I have other matters to attend to."
"Understood, Senior. Your strength is beyond our comprehension," the black-robed elder said, his tone filled with flattery.
"Enough," Xie Tianxiao said, waving off the elder's words. He had no patience for their sycophancy.
"Yes, we'll take our leave," the Barbarian Emperor and the black-robed elder said in unison. Bowing deeply, they took off into the sky, their Dou Qi wings carrying them far away.
Xie Tianxiao had no intention of killing them. He believed in principles—there was no need to kill mindlessly. Although taking their lives would have been effortless, they hadn't wronged him directly and had even handed over six rings full of cultivation resources. It was a fair transaction, and there was no need to eliminate them.
As for the cultivators they had killed, that had nothing to do with Xie Tianxiao. In this world of the strong devouring the weak, those who sought power did so knowing their hands would be stained with blood.
With a wave of his hand, Xie Tianxiao turned to Lan Cangshan and the other Dou Wangs, saying, "You too—don't bother with the Dou Zong's legacy. It's time to leave."
Lan Cangshan, snapping out of his daze, was the first to speak, "Lan Cangshan thanks Senior for saving our lives!"
"Indeed, without Senior, we would have perished," the other Dou Wangs quickly chimed in, bowing deeply in gratitude.
"It's nothing," Xie Tianxiao waving his hand replied dismissively.
He paused for a moment, then added, "Speaking of which, I came across some juniors from your empire earlier. One of them left a decent impression on me."
Lan Cangshan was momentarily puzzled by Xie Tianxiao's words. "May I ask who the fortunate junior is that earned your praise, Senior?"
The other Dou Wangs were equally curious. To receive such a compliment from a powerful figure like Xie Tianxiao, the individual must have been quite extraordinary.
"About twenty years old, part of a group of four. The others called him Senior Brother," Xie Tianxiao recalled.
"What? That must be Feng Jing!"
"Too bad Feng Jing isn't here."
"Congratulations, Sect Master Feng! Your Fengyue Sect has produced a truly talented young man, one who has caught the eye of a great Senior!"
The Dou Wangs were visibly impressed and envious.
"Not at all, not at all," Feng Yue Sect's sect master replied modestly, though inwardly he was overjoyed.
Lan Cangshan, deeply surprised, said, "So that's how it is. The mysterious expert Feng Jing reported to me about must have been you, Senior!"
Lan Cangshan was shocked. He had assumed that the person Feng Jing had encountered was merely a Dou Wang expert. He never imagined that it was this incomprehensibly powerful figure before him. The realization left him speechless, overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the revelation.
Meanwhile, not far from Lan Cangshan and the other Dou Wangs, a white-robed young man, known as the Young Master, was startled by Xie Tianxiao's words. He thought to himself, "He remembers us? Thank goodness I listened to Senior Brother that day and didn't mock him further. Otherwise, I'd probably be a corpse by now."
"But Senior Brother is truly lucky to be praised by someone so powerful. It's unbelievable."
The white-robed young man had recognized Xie Tianxiao from the moment he saw him, but the memory of his earlier insolent remarks had filled him with fear. He had hidden in the crowd, terrified that Xie Tianxiao would notice him and seek revenge.
Now, recalling how he had once ridiculed Xie Tianxiao for not knowing how to manifest Dou Qi wings, he felt a deep sense of shame, wishing he could dig a hole to hide in.
Breathing a sigh of relief, the young man wiped the cold sweat from his brow and muttered to himself, "When I get back, I need to warn my junior sisters not to be deceived by appearances. Otherwise, we'll only end up suffering."
To offend such a powerful figure… even if his father came, the entire empire would be in jeopardy!
This young man was none other than the Second Senior Brother of the group Xie Tianxiao had encountered earlier. He was also the son of the Chu family head, one of the core figures in the family.
Normally, someone of his status wouldn't be in such a dangerous place, but driven by his feelings for his junior sister, he had begged his father to let him participate in the exploration of the Dou Zong's ruins. He had never expected the journey to be so perilous, with one powerful figure after another emerging, culminating in someone as fearsome as Xie Tianxiao. He had nearly lost his life!
"Alright, that's enough chatter. Go back now," Xie Tianxiao said, waving his sleeve dismissively, signaling them to leave.
"Yes, Senior."
"Gather everyone from the family. We're heading back to the empire."
"Understood, Your Majesty!"
Seeing that Xie Tianxiao had lost interest in them, Lan Cangshan and the others quickly took their leave, gathering their disciples and retreating into the distance.
The remaining rogue cultivators, seeing the Lan Shan Empire's people leave, also scattered in a hurry.
As for the Dou Zong's ruins, they no longer dared to harbor any thoughts about it. Surviving today was a fortune enough.
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END