Witnessing this scene, the valley master Zhu Mo no longer dared to harbor any illusions and turned to flee.
But at that moment, the little monkey had already leaped up, blocking his path.
"Smash you!"
Little Ping'an shouted in its somewhat childish voice while raising its fist.
A punch fell.
With a "bang," Zhu Mo didn't even have time to scream before he was reduced to a pile of flesh and blood.
Not only the Sixth Princess but even Xu Taiping was somewhat surprised by this scene.
Although he knew that the little monkey had practiced the Ape Demon Technique under Fairy Lingyue's guidance, he hadn't expected its physical body to be so formidable.
"Heave-ho!"
After doing all this, Ping'an reverted to its little snow monkey form.
It looked drowsy, as if it hadn't woken up, and slowly climbed up the Sixth Princess's long legs to her chest, then looked up at her in a daze and asked:
"Sister, this place is very soft, can I, lie down for a while?"
The Sixth Princess, hearing the little monkey actually speak human language, was astonished and thought to herself, could this monkey be the legendary spiritual pet of the immortals?
With this thought, her heart leaped with joy, and she hugged the little monkey with both hands, then nodded vigorously:
"You can!"
In her eyes, having such a powerful spiritual pet as an ally would ensure her safety on the journey.
"Did you teach Ping'an some nonsense?"
From a distance, Xu Taiping, while retrieving the green gourd to capture the Blood Spider Ancestor, transmitted his voice to Baiyu.
"Xu Taiping, don't falsely accuse me; I never taught the kid any of that. It's all self-taught!"
Baiyu immediately retorted, then added enviously:
"Xu Taiping, quick, let me out too, to protect Her Highness. It's my unshirkable duty!"
"Bullshit duty, you're just lusting after her body!"
Before Baiyu could finish, he was beaten up by Fairy Lingyue inside the gourd.
"Ouch, ouch, sister, spare me, I won't dare next time!"
"Xu Taiping, save me, save me!"
Inside the gourd, Fairy Lingyue reigned supreme, and Baiyu was powerless to fight back.
Xu Taiping naturally wouldn't let Baiyu out.
The murky spiritual energy of the mortal world had a significant impact on spiritual beasts with insufficient cultivation, as evidenced by the little monkey's drowsy state.
He ignored the commotion inside the gourd and raised the green gourd in his hand, reciting another incantation to capture the frozen Blood Spider Ancestor inside.
What to do with the Blood Demon Spider next was Fairy Lingyue's concern.
Then, he walked over to the corpses of Zhu Tianze and his son Zhu Mo, picking up a square box made of dark iron from their incomplete bodies.
"Your Highness, is this yours?"
Xu Taiping picked up the box, cleared the bloodstains with his True Qi, and then approached the Sixth Princess with it.
"Yes, this is what I lost!"
The Sixth Princess was overjoyed to see the box.
However, she was holding the little monkey and didn't know how to take it.
"Come back and sleep."
Xu Taiping took the little monkey from the Sixth Princess's arms and stuffed it back into the green gourd.
Seeing the little monkey taken away, a look of loss immediately filled the Sixth Princess's eyes.
"Thank you, Taoist priest."
After a moment of stunned silence, the Sixth Princess regained her usual composure, took the box, and bowed slightly to thank Xu Taiping.
Her graceful demeanor seemed out of place amidst the surrounding carnage.
"Your Highness, now that this matter is settled, shall we head to the palace of Black Vulture Nation?"
Xu Taiping asked the Sixth Princess.
According to the letter from his sect, the Sixth Princess's mission was to meet the Emperor of Black Vulture Nation and deliver a peace letter from the Emperor of White Tree Nation.
"Please wait, Taoist priest."
The Sixth Princess didn't respond but quickly opened the dark iron box.
Upon seeing the two silk pouches, one yellow and one purple, still intact, she sighed with relief.
"When I was preparing to leave for Black Vulture Nation, my mother gave me three silk pouches. The first contained the jade bracelet used to request your help, Taoist priest, and this yellow pouch was to be opened upon meeting you."
The Sixth Princess explained to Xu Taiping while pinching the yellow silk pouch.
"Your Highness, my duty is only to escort you to the palace of Black Vulture Nation and then safely return you to White Tree Nation."
Xu Taiping was still reluctant to get involved in unnecessary trouble.
If the Sixth Princess had no objections, he could even take her straight to the palace of Black Vulture Nation.
"Don't rush, Taoist priest, let's open this pouch first."
The Sixth Princess gave Xu Taiping a proper smile.
"Alright."
Xu Taiping nodded.
He took the iron box from the Sixth Princess so she could free her hands to open the pouch.
"Thank you, Taoist priest."
The Sixth Princess thanked him again and then opened the yellow silk pouch with slight nervousness.
Xu Taiping then saw her take out a piece of paper and a bronze ring from the pouch.
The Sixth Princess opened the paper, glanced at it, and then let out a pleased exclamation:
"Indeed, mother has already thought of a strategy!"
Xu Taiping said nothing, standing silently by.
"Taoist priest, could you please help me kill someone?"
After calming herself, the Sixth Princess suddenly looked at Xu Taiping with excitement.
"No."
Xu Taiping refused without hesitation.
"Don't be hasty in refusing, Taoist priest."
The Sixth Princess seemed to have anticipated his refusal and, while speaking, lifted her hand to show the bronze ring to Xu Taiping and continued: "If you agree, I can gift you an item from within this ring."
"No…"
"Taiping, that ring has a terrifying aura of a sword cultivator."
Xu Taiping was about to refuse again when he was interrupted by Fairy Lingyue's voice in his mind.
"Terrifying?"
It was the first time Xu Taiping heard Fairy Lingyue describe something as "terrifying."
"It's just my guess for now; you can probe the Sixth Princess a bit."
Fairy Lingyue added.
Xu Taiping mentally acknowledged.
He couldn't treat lightly an item that even Fairy Lingyue was cautious about.
"Let's see if your treasure is worth my effort."
Xu Taiping looked back at the Sixth Princess.
Hearing this, the Sixth Princess's anxiety immediately turned to joy, and she revealed a relieved smile.
She was genuinely afraid Xu Taiping would refuse because, in her eyes, no one but the little Taoist priest before her could kill the person mentioned in her mother's note.
"You will definitely like this treasure, Taoist priest."
The Sixth Princess said happily, lifting her hands.
Then Xu Taiping saw a silver scabbard, emanating a dense murderous aura, appear in the Sixth Princess's hands.
"Do you know the origin of this scabbard, Taoist priest?"
The Sixth Princess asked Xu Taiping with a smile.
Although Xu Taiping had sensed the extraordinary spiritual force and murderous intent on the scabbard, he still didn't see anything special about it that would make the Sixth Princess believe it could compel him to act.
"What's the origin?"
Xu Taiping paused before finally asking.
"This was once the scabbard of the great Sword Immortal, Su Chan of the Nine Mansions. It happened to be obtained by the royal family of White Tree Nation. As a disciple of Qingxuan Sect, you must have heard of this great Sword Immortal named Su Chan, right?"
The Sixth Princess, struggling to contain the surging blood within her, smiled at Xu Taiping.
Proofreader & Editor: Lotas