Inside the secluded mountain villa, Ye Ling kicked open the door, sending disciples flying and rolling across the ground.
Ye Ling strode into the villa, glancing at the frail Qi family disciples. He sneered, "The so-called immortal cultivation families are nothing more than this. I wonder where they get the nerve to provoke the Demonic Palace?"
These Qi family disciples were all between the fourth and sixth ranks, with a very small number reaching the seventh rank. While this might be considered a top-tier force in the outside world, compared to the power the Demonic Palace had displayed to the world, the Qi family was far from qualified to pick a fight with them.
Boom!
The moment Ye Ling entered the villa, an extremely powerful pressure erupted from deep within. It even caused fluctuations in the barrier enveloping the sky.
Ye Ling looked at the soaring aura and chuckled, "Heavenly Palace peak, one step away from Half-step True Martial. This fellow's power isn't bad."
"Ye Ling! How dare you!"
A furious roar echoed from the depths of the villa. Qi Heng descended from the sky, his heart filled with rage.
Seeing Qi Heng emerge, the surrounding Qi family disciples ignored Ye Ling and immediately knelt before Qi Heng, paying their respects. "Greetings, Patriarch!"
Qi Heng landed among the disciples like a feather, his cold gaze sweeping over Ye Ling. He asked in a frigid tone, "Ye Ling, did you really kill Qi Mo?"
"You already know." Ye Ling showed no intention of hiding anything. He smiled, "Indeed, Qi Mo provoked me. I merely gave him a small lesson."
"A small lesson?" Qi Heng laughed in anger. "Your so-called lesson was to kill him?"
Ye Ling replied, "Compared to the annihilation of your Qi family, isn't Qi Mo's death a small lesson?"
"Annihilate my Qi family? Utterly arrogant!" Qi Heng said solemnly, reaching out. A white jade longsword flew out from the depths of the villa, landing precisely in his hand.
"Our Qi family has always remained hidden. After your Demonic Palace rose, we did not interfere with your development, allowing you to grow. Yet, in the end... your confidence has inflated infinitely, to the point where you've lost all sense of direction. Do you truly believe you are someone of consequence before my Qi family?"
"Today, I, this seat, shall teach you a good lesson and show you the gap between people!"
As Qi Heng's words fell, he charged towards Ye Ling at an astonishing speed, leaving behind only afterimages in his wake.
The Qi family disciples were still staring at the phantom of Qi Heng standing in place. The real Qi Heng had already reached Ye Ling, his sword aimed at Ye Ling's brow.
"It's over," Qi Heng sneered, already envisioning Ye Ling's demise.
His Heavenly Palace realm cultivation, even in the Immortal Realm, was considered upper-tier second-rate. In the mortal realm, he was absolutely invincible!
If not for his cultivation of the Qi family's heart method, which prevented him from ever leaving the Five Spirit Mountain, he would have been invincible throughout the world long ago!
The so-called Mortal Immortals outside couldn't withstand even a single move from him!
More than a decade ago, a member of the Qi family had bullied a female disciple of a Mortal Immortal. When that Mortal Immortal learned of his female disciple's mistreatment, he was enraged and emerged to hunt down the Qi family member, ultimately killing him at the foot of the Five Spirit Mountain.
Afterward, still unsatisfied, that Mortal Immortal stormed the Five Spirit Mountain, demanding an explanation from Qi Heng.
At that time, that Mortal Immortal had also broken in, standing in the same spot as Ye Ling. Qi Heng had used the same move, piercing the Mortal Immortal's brow with a single sword strike.
Killed with one blow!
From then on, Qi Heng knew that the so-called powerhouses in the outside world were no match for him.
Ye Ling was no exception!
As his sword was about to strike Ye Ling's brow, Qi Heng's eyes filled with an even greater mockery. He thought, "Little Mo, Second Uncle has avenged you!"
Qi Heng's thought flashed through his mind, but he didn't see his sword piercing Ye Ling's brow. Instead, he found his perspective spinning wildly.
"What happened?"
Qi Heng was filled with confusion. Before he could even react to why his perspective was changing, he saw his own headless body slowly collapsing before Ye Ling, his crimson blood staining the marble floor.
"My body?"
Qi Heng couldn't understand why he could see his own body, nor why the eyes of the surrounding disciples showed fear.
It wasn't until his head heavily impacted the ground, and his consciousness began to fade, that he realized...
His head had been severed.
Silence fell over the villa.
The surrounding Qi family disciples stared blankly at Qi Heng's head rolling on the ground, their faces filled with disbelief. They couldn't believe what they were seeing.
They couldn't comprehend why the unimaginably powerful Qi Heng had his head severed the moment he appeared.
They hadn't even seen Ye Ling's movement!
Ye Ling glanced at Qi Heng's wide-eyed head and said dismissively, "A mere Heavenly Palace, utterly ignorant."
After dealing with Qi Heng, Ye Ling surveyed the surrounding Qi family disciples again and asked loudly, "Where are your other Qi family powerhouses currently located?"
Upon entering the villa, Ye Ling had already swept the entire villa with his divine sense. Apart from Qi Heng, everyone else in this vast Qi family were insignificant disciples. There were no other Qi family powerhouses to be found.
Clearly, the Qi family within this villa was not the true strength of the Qi family.
However, the surrounding Qi family disciples were already terrified by Ye Ling. They stood frozen, trembling. They didn't even dare to look at Ye Ling, let alone answer his question.
Seeing no response, Ye Ling casually picked out a young man with a rather immature appearance, dressed in white, and asked, "You tell me, where are the others of the Qi family?"
Thump!
The white-clothed youth immediately knelt before Ye Ling, trembling. "My lord, spare me! I'm just an ordinary villager from the mountain who came to seek apprenticeship. I'm not from the Qi family! I know nothing!"
As the white-clothed youth knelt, the other Qi family disciples also prostrated themselves before Ye Ling, begging for mercy. "My lord, spare us! We are not Qi family members either, just ordinary disciples. We know nothing!"
Ye Ling looked at the uniformly kneeling Qi family disciples and couldn't help but be stunned by the scene.
In this vast villa, was Qi Heng the only patriarch of the Qi family?
Ye Ling didn't quite believe it. He extended his divine sense outwards, enveloping the Qi family disciples and searching their memories. He discovered that the vast majority of them were indeed villagers from the mountain, captured from below and brought to the Five Spirit Mountain for cultivation since childhood. They knew nothing of the Qi family's secrets.
Among the disciples present, only a very small number possessed Qi family bloodline, and it was impure and diluted, completely different from pure-blooded Qi family members like Qi Heng and Qi Mo!
"The vast Qi family... in the end, only one Heavenly Palace realm cultivator can be considered a Qi family member? And why did they capture villagers from the mountain to train as disciples?"
Ye Ling scanned the surrounding Qi family disciples and noticed that none of them were over twenty years old, making him feel that the matter was even more bizarre.
At this moment, the Black and White Impermanence appeared, offering a deep bow to Ye Ling. Then, with a furrowed brow, they said, "Your Majesty, something has happened... Qi Heng, whom you just killed, his soul did not reach us!"