"Xiao Ming..."
In the crowd, Gu Xun'er looked at Xiao Ming, whose aura was dense and unfathomable like an abyss, and a hint of astonishment flickered in her eyes.
Remembering the past, even though Xiao Ming's reputation was soaring in the Jia Ma Empire, he was still just a poor boy from the North-Western Region before her.
He may have had extraordinary talent, but in the eyes of the Gu Clan, he was still nothing more than that. She hadn't expected that after leaving the Xiao family, not many years had passed before he had grown to the level he was at now. It was truly beyond belief.
Free from Xiao Yan's influence in her earlier years, her heart had grown as cold as a lotus, and she carried herself with immense aloofness. However, seeing Xiao Ming smile at them at this moment, her cheeks couldn't help but redden almost imperceptibly. It added an unusual touch of vivacity to her usually cold and proud face.
It was embarrassing to see him again under these circumstances, knowing that he was already aware that she had been living with the Xiao family for many years in order to steal their ancient jade.
On the other hand, although their interactions had been brief, she still had an understanding of his character, which was why she didn't feel as afraid as the members of the Hun Clan.
"Alliance Leader Xiao!"
Gu Qing Yang greeted Xiao Ming with a slightly embarrassed nod. Similar to Gu Xun'er, his impression of Xiao Ming was limited to a talented youth from a small area in the North-Western Region. Although Xiao Ming had defeated him in the past, his Dou God Bloodline had not been fully unleashed at that time.
He had thought that after a few years, he would be able to leave Xiao Ming far behind.
After a few years, it turned out that he had indeed fallen far behind. The only problem was that he himself was the one who was left behind!
It was extremely embarrassing!
Moreover, he had received orders from the elders of his clan to acquire the ancient jade from Xiao Ming. Although their actions hadn't been excessive, who knew if Xiao Ming held a grudge?
In this isolated place, communication with the outside world was impossible. Therefore, Gu Qing Yang felt a little uneasy.
The rest of the people had different feelings, but they all obediently paid their respects to Xiao Ming.
There weren't many people here who were younger than Xiao Ming. In fact, many of them were several hundred years older than him.
But there was nothing they could do. Who made Xiao Ming's strength terrifying and his status astounding?
Xiao Ming smiled and nodded at them when he saw this.
Then he turned his gaze to the Hun Clan members who hadn't paid their respects.
"You two must be the strongest of the young generation of the Hun Clan, right? Two Divine Bloodlines, tsk tsk, the Hun Clan truly deserves its reputation as an ancient and powerful clan. It's truly impressive!"
The lone cultivators in the group felt relieved that Xiao Ming was not interested in them and was instead confronting the Hun Clan. They couldn't help but feel a sense of schadenfreude at the Hun Clan's situation.
After all, Hun Feng had deceived them so badly before. If it weren't for their strength, they would have died in the beast tide a long time ago.
They hadn't expected the retaliation to come so quickly! It was so satisfying!
Feeling the subtle gloating of those around them, Hun Feng and Hun Yu were extremely frustrated. This was especially true for Hun Feng, the most formidable of the Hun Clan's younger generation. He had never been treated like this before.
He was about to speak, but Hun Yu spoke first.
He forced a smile and said, "Ha ha, you should not make fun of us, Alliance Leader Xiao. Our talents in front of Alliance Leader Xiao are like fireflies in the face of the full moon, truly unworthy of mention."
"Hehe, I wasn't making fun of you at all. Your talents are indeed strong. If you were to grow, my Heavenly Court might have to face two more threats..."
Xiao Ming shook his head and sighed, his voice echoing through this space.
"What do you mean..." Hun Yu, as if realizing his impending fate, could no longer force a smile.
"Nothing special, I just wanted to invite you to stay and meet your demise."
The expressions of Hun Feng and the other Hun Clan members changed as soon as the words were uttered. They rushed forward, their bodies expanding rapidly.
"Planning to self-destruct in front of me?"
A trace of amusement flashed in Xiao Ming's eyes, but he didn't move.
Qing Lin's eyes were filled with a green light behind him. A gentle breeze of green swept over Hun Feng and the others, and they instantly vanished as if they had never existed!
When the rest of the people saw how quickly Hun Feng and the others died, they lost their gloating expressions and instead showed a deep sense of awe in their eyes.
Hun Feng's group was the strongest among them, but in front of Xiao Ming, or more precisely, in front of Xiao Ming's people, their attempt at self-destruction was futile.
A Dou Saint powerhouse was truly terrifying!
"¡Buzz!"
As Qing Lin's actions stirred the people's emotions, a burst of emerald green light erupted from within the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree. It seemed like something was about to gush out violently.
Seeing the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree's sudden activity, Gu Qing Yang and the others quickly retreated. They had a deep understanding of the terrifying power of the ancient tree, and they didn't dare to be the slightest bit careless.
A muffled sound suddenly emanated from within the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree as they retreated. Then, like falling petals, countless green spots of light burst forth and floated in the air.
"Bodhisattva Seeds!"
Seeing these spots of light, the crowd was stunned at first, and then shouts of shock erupted.
"They're all Bodhisattva Seeds!"
Gu Qing Yang and the others also stared at the green light spots in astonishment. It was unimaginable that these Bodhisattva Seeds, which were extremely rare in the outside world, were being dispersed by the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree all at once, almost more than thirty of them.
"Loot!"
After the initial shock, most people's eyes became bloodshot. What had brought them here if not these precious treasures?
Lured by the temptation, they momentarily forgot about Xiao Ming and the girls. As they rushed forward, their formidable Dou Qi surged and turned into shadows, desperately grabbing at those green light spots.
"Heh..."
Seeing the glint of greed in the eyes of these people, Xiao Ming chuckled. With a wave of his hand, the emerald green spots of light floating in the air seemed to respond to his call. They quickly dodged these people's attempts to grab them. In a few flashes, they all gathered in Xiao Ming's palm.
"Thank you for the generous gift, Senior!"
Once he had these Bodhisattva Seeds in his grasp, Xiao Ming turned to the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree and smiled. Then, with a flick of his fingers, the Bodhisattva Seeds floated in front of the members of the Heavenly Court.
"It is not easy for all of you to come here. However, there are many of you, and I can't distribute a Bodhisattva Seed to each of you individually. For those who haven't received any, don't worry, I'll place three in the Merit Hall of the Heavenly Court, and you'll still have a chance to obtain them."
The members of the Heavenly Court had nothing to say. By now, everyone could see that Xiao Ming had a good relationship with the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree.
The fact that they could be released might also have something to do with him. Furthermore, the Bodhisattva Seed was extremely valuable, and they only got a few because Xiao Ming was their leader.
Besides, Alliance Leader Xiao Ming had said that if they didn't get any this time, they would still have a chance when they returned, right?
So, after expressing their gratitude, the Heavenly Court members happily began to divide the treasures among themselves. Even those who didn't receive any Bodhisattva Seeds were compensated by those who did.
Seeing the Heavenly Court members happily sharing the treasures, others couldn't help but feel a touch of jealousy. They regretted not joining the Heavenly Court before!
----------------
----------------
//The next story has already been chosen, and I am pleased to announce that we will have BTTH for a while!
I took everyone's opinions into account and considered taking on a WDQK story as a side project. There was a very suitable candidate: easy to follow, light writing, likable protagonist, etc. Unfortunately, that was only true for the first half of the story; the second half is just rubbish and not worth the time. So, I ended up discarding it.
Ultimately, I decided not to take on any more projects and focus entirely on the new story.
While we are still approaching the end of this story, write to me in the comments. What elements would you like to be present in the new story? Which aspects of this story do you think should be improved for the next one, and which should be minimized?
Read up to 25 advanced chapters here and support this story!
www.pâtreon.com/kisshot