Proofreader & Editor: Lotas
As Xu Taiping spoke, he gently exhaled a breath of turbid air from his chest.
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly, he drew his saber.
With the sound of an explosion, Xu Taiping's figure left a residual image in place, and the dancing saber light resembled a startled bird in the mountains, bursting forth amidst the people of Blood Spider Valley.
"Boom!"
In the next moment, a blood mist exploded around the group, and their bodies were cleanly bisected at the waist.
Ordinary warriors without protective qi were like blocks of tofu in front of Xu Taiping's blade.
However, a large part of the reason he could wield his saber so cleanly and efficiently was thanks to the Spring Tiger in his hand.
"It fits like a glove, as if it were my own arm."
Xu Taiping appraised the Spring Tiger in his hand.
The blade of the Spring Tiger was as bright as autumn water, not a single drop of blood adhered to it.
Although he had heard that a suitable weapon could double the power of martial skills, Xu Taiping had always thought that was an exaggeration. But now, after trying the Spring Tiger, he felt that even if it couldn't double the power, it could at least increase it by fifty to sixty percent.
More importantly, he no longer had to worry that the saber would break when he exerted his full strength using the Seven Kills Saber Technique.
Just this alone was enough to elevate the power of his saber technique by a level.
"Clang."
Xu Taiping sheathed his saber with satisfaction.
"This…"
Upon witnessing this scene, Commander Cao's forehead broke out in cold sweat, and a sudden realization dawned on him:
"No wonder His Highness said that everything would be easily resolved once this person arrived."
"Bang, bang!"
Just then, Xu Taiping threw two consecutive punches, smashing the heads of two escaping Blood Demon Spiders.
Against such beasts, using fists was more satisfying than a blade.
"Taiping, you can keep the corpses of these Blood Demon Spiders. They can be used as fertilizer for Earth Fruits later on."
Fairy Lingyue reminded Xu Taiping at this moment.
Xu Taiping nodded slightly.
He then took out the green gourd from his waist, gave a flick of his hand, and collected the corpses of the two Blood Demon Spiders.
"What rank do these Blood Demon Spiders fall under among demon beasts?"
Xu Taiping asked Fairy Lingyue in his mind as he put away the gourd.
"Blood Demon Spiders are not particularly powerful demon beasts, but if they are of the Demon King or even Demon Emperor level, their silk can be used to make weapons or armor like gauntlets and soft armors, which can resist fire and wind."
Fairy Lingyue explained.
"Then they must be worth quite a few merit points, right?"
Xu Taiping was only concerned about this.
He was really in need of merit points now.
"The silk of a King-level Blood Demon Spider is considered a decent material in our realm. It's not because the Blood Demon Spiders are rare, but because they need to be fed with human blood, and most righteous sects under our jurisdiction do not allow this."
Fairy Lingyue frowned.
"Doesn't that mean, behind each of these Blood Demon Spiders, behind each web, there are numerous human lives?"
Looking at the layers of webs above his head, Xu Taiping's tone suddenly turned cold.
"Yes, the number of Blood Demon Spiders here would require at least a hundred human lives."
Fairy Lingyue responded.
Having seen too much killing, she was not surprised by this.
Hearing this, Xu Taiping's expression grew even colder.
"A hundred lives, that's almost the population of Green Bull Village."
He muttered to himself.
"Follow me."
Xu Taiping glanced back at Commander Cao.
"Yes!"
Feeling the sudden surge of killing intent from Xu Taiping, Commander Cao nodded vigorously.
He no longer doubted Xu Taiping's strength.
***
Inside Mandala Villa.
"Slap!"
Two subordinates of Blood Spider Valley threw a blood-soaked man forcefully onto the ground.
"Young Master, this man tried to escape through the back gate and was discovered by Elder Blood Fang."
One of the Blood Spider Valley disciples kicked the man before grinning and looking towards a young man dressed in bright red wedding attire.
"Thank you for your efforts, Uncle Blood Fang."
The young man raised his head and cupped his hands towards a giant Blood Demon Spider on a huge web above.
Beside the young man stood a young woman, also dressed in wedding attire.
"General Chu!"
The woman's face showed nervousness as she recognized the man on the ground.
She wanted to rush to the injured General Chu but was stopped by the Blood Spider Valley's young master.
The woman was none other than the Sixth Princess of White Tree Nation.
"Didn't you promise me that you would spare them?"
The Sixth Princess looked at the young man with a cold face.
Despite being in a perilous situation, her expression remained proud and unyielding.
"My dear, I only promised to spare their lives, but I never allowed him to leave the valley."
The young master's expression was innocent as he looked at the Sixth Princess with greedy and mocking eyes.
"Is Commander Cao also captured by you?"
The Sixth Princess avoided the young master's greedy gaze and turned to the other Blood Spider Valley subordinates.
The subordinates exchanged smiles.
Then one of them, a bare-chested man, cheerfully replied: "Elder Blood Fang found two people trying to escape just now, one from the front gate and one from the back. The one from the front gate must be the Commander Cao you mentioned, right?"
"Where is Commander Cao?"
The Sixth Princess's eyebrows shot up as she demanded.
"Stop grinning and tell me."
Seeing that the Sixth Princess seemed truly angry, the young master also frowned and glared at the bare-chested subordinate.
"Reporting to the young master, the one who fled from the front gate is being pursued by Stone and Fox. I reckon they are not…"
"Hm?"
The bare-chested man hadn't finished speaking when the young master glared at him, prompting him to change his words:
"I reckon they should be back soon."
However, the Sixth Princess saw everything.
Her eyes dimmed, and she regretted in her heart:
"If I had known this would happen, I might as well have fought these people!"
But she also knew very well that with the surrounding situation, the guards she brought couldn't beat the people of Blood Spider Valley.
The reason she agreed to the Blood Spider Valley's young master was because she still harbored a sliver of hope—that person would surely come!
"My dear, it's getting late. I will have someone treat General Chu. Let's proceed with the wedding ceremony."
The Blood Spider Valley's young master looked at the Sixth Princess with a smile.
His insistence on the wedding ceremony with the Sixth Princess was not out of a genuine desire to marry her, but to avoid the backlash of the curse on her. Only by completing the wedding ceremony could the curse be lifted and the fairy power within the Sixth Princess be obtained.
This was almost a consensus among those coveting the Sixth Princess's power in the martial world, both righteous and evil.
The Sixth Princess didn't move but stared intently at the Blood Spider Valley's young master.
"My dear, I swear to you, once we finish the ceremony, I will let all your guards go. If not, may I be struck down by heavenly punishment."
The Blood Spider Valley's young master swore solemnly.
The Sixth Princess was silent for a few moments before finally turning her head away and walking straight towards the main hall.
Now, she had no other choice.
She would stall for as much time as possible.
She sighed inwardly.