Ruthless Judge

The mournful sound of the flute rose again. It drifted slowly through the night sky, but unlike the first time it sounded, it didn't seem so lonely...

The melodious and crisp sound of the xiao (vertical bamboo flute) intertwined with the bold and unrestrained notes of the qin (a seven-stringed zither). The lingering notes, mixed with tenderness amidst the wildness, immediately enhanced the gentle yet heroic sentiment of the song, bringing out the charm of "the land laughs, the misty rain is far away" to the fullest extent.

The night wind seemed to stir with excitement, rushing towards the area and causing everyone's clothes to flutter. The bonfires flickered from side to side... The zither and flute played together flawlessly, a melody rarely heard in the world.

The six women of Yan Lan had their long hair fluttering in the wind, yet they remained fixed on Yue Qianchou, as if the melodious flute music were emanating from the strings beneath his fingers. No one suspected that the flute player was someone else, for the flute's melody found its perfect harmony, and those captivated by it felt the music was even more beautiful and lyrical.

Yue Qianchou noticed this, and stopped speaking, his ten fingers continuing to play a tune on the zither to accompany the crowd singing loudly. He turned to look at the veiled woman playing the flute beside the Kaoshan Pavilion. The night breeze had clearly arrived at the right time, making the mysterious woman's figure appear graceful and Linglong.

The green veil covering her face was blown off at an angle, and although her true face was not yet revealed, half of her smooth and rounded chin, like an egg, was already showing.

Yue Qianchou stared at her. Unbeknownst to him, the eyes beneath the veil were also looking at him. Fingers plucked the strings, lips played the flute, their movements so perfectly in sync, as if they were telepathically connected, their hearts intertwined around the melody, everything unspoken. A subtle, intimate affection brewed between them...

Fang Ming was probably the only one among these Rogue Cultivators who wasn't completely absorbed in the music. He was slightly dazed, but the sound of the flute snapped him back to reality. Seeing the mysterious woman playing the qin and xiao with Niu Youde, it would be a lie to say he wasn't jealous. But what could he do about it? He could only keep it to himself...

Fang Ming's gaze fell on the four brothers who were singing loudly. His expression hesitated for a moment, then flashed with a ruthless determination. He moved his feet lightly and slowly retreated to the outer edge, not daring to make any big movements, intending to leave before everyone could react.

It wasn't that he didn't want to take his four brothers with him, but he was afraid of alerting others, which would leave him unable to escape. He had already squandered the last chance Niu Youde had given him. The practice of abandoning comrades to save their own lives in the Cultivation World didn't start with him...

However, he left a little too late. If he had left while Yue Qianchou was still immersed in his singing and playing, he might have actually gotten away. But now that Yue Qianchou was awake, with his cultivation level, how could Fang Ming possibly escape right under his nose?

Yue Qianchou's eyes narrowed slightly as he caught Fang Ming's retreating figure out of the corner of his eye. A cold smile crept onto his lips. He had done many despicable things, but he had never abandoned his brothers.

"Crackling and banging..." A sudden, violent clatter from the zither startled the singing crowd, jolting them awake. They all turned to look at Yue Qianchou. The melodious flute music also ceased. Niu Youde stood up, tossed the zither into his Storage Bag, and stared intently at a spot, saying in a deep voice, "Fang Ming, where do you think you're going?"

Fang Ming stopped in his tracks, slowly turned around, and said nonchalantly, "Niu Youde, what do you mean by that? Do I have to inform you before I go anywhere? This is Ghost Manor, not your home. No matter how powerful you are, you have no right to make decisions here."

All eyes were on him. They weren't fools; considering the previous events, they naturally guessed that Fang Ming wanted to run away. His four brothers watched him silently, their expressions truly complex...

"I don't make decisions about other things, and I'm too lazy to make decisions about them. But your life..." Yue Qianchou raised his hand and pointed at him, saying indifferently, "I gave you one last chance, but you didn't take it. When I played this piece, your life no longer belonged to yourself."

Fang Ming, of course, would not sit idly by and wait for his death. Even ants try to survive, let alone humans. He said with his chest heaving, "Niu Youde, who can prove that the song you played and sang was definitely composed by Yue Qianchou?"

Everyone understood the meaning behind the words, but they also sensed a hint of cheating. At the very least, everyone believed that the piece was Yue Qianchou's masterpiece.

"I knew long ago that you were not only a liar but also a scoundrel." Yue Qianchou said expressionlessly, "But besides liking to persuade people with virtue, I, Niu Youde, also like to be Ruthless Judge. People like you don't deserve to die. I sentence you to death!"

"What do you want to do?" Fang Ming was shocked. He had thought that the other party would be more cautious in the Ghost Manor and was even prepared to use his words, but judging from Niu Youde's appearance, it seemed that he was going to use force. So, while moving towards the Kaoshan Pavilion, he said, "This is Ghost Manor. It's not your place to act recklessly."

He looked pleadingly at the one-armed old man. He knew that the other party's cultivation was higher than his own, and he couldn't escape. He could only pin his hopes on the one-armed old man guarding the Ghost Manor.

"Hmph!" Yue Qianchou snorted coldly, his figure moved with a "whoosh", his feet gliding over the low grass on the ground, bypassing several campfires and crowds, and directly approaching Fang Ming.

Amidst the gasps of the crowd, Fang Ming, terrified, released a flying sword, leaped onto it, and flew towards the Kaoshan Pavilion. His only chance of survival lay there; where else could he run but there?

However, how could his speed at the Nascent Soul Early Stage possibly surpass Yue Qianchou's? In an instant, the sound of air being torn apart behind him drew near, and Fang Ming, terrified, cried out, "Senior, save me! Senior, save me! Miss, save me..."

The shout abruptly stopped. Yue Qianchou leaped into the air and struck out with his palm behind Fang Ming. A cloud of white smoke rapidly emerged from Fang Ming's body and quickly entered Yue Qianchou's palm. Immediately afterward, Yue Qianchou waved his hand and unleashed a gust of wind. With a "poof," Fang Ming instantly turned into dust and scattered in all directions.

The Rogue Cultivator were so shocked they couldn't speak, they hadn't even seen what happened... just two palm strikes! They chased after him and with just two palm strikes, they actually reduced a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator to ashes, not even a speck of dust was left. What kind of Method Formula was this? It was far too terrifying.

While the others didn't see it, the veiled woman and the one-armed old man saw it clearly: Fang Ming had been turned into a dried-up skeleton by Niu Youde's palm strike, and then pulverized into dust by another palm strike.

"Star Absorbing Great Method!" The veiled woman's delicate body trembled slightly, and her lips murmured beneath the green veil, "It really is him!"

If Yue Qianchou had heard the first sentence, he would have been very surprised. Although this wasn't the first time he had used the Star Absorbing Great Method Technique, very few people knew what it was Star Absorbing Great Method. At least, no woman knew it.

Having clearly witnessed the power of the palm strike, the one-armed old man's pupils contracted sharply, his shock evident in his eyes. After Fang Ming's death, the flying sword beneath his feet continued its trajectory towards the Kaoshan Pavilion. The one-armed old man teleported in front of the woman in green gauze, catching the flying sword in his hand.

Teleport! Yue Qianchou glanced deeply at the one-armed old man. He had no intention of colliding with these two people of unknown origin. In mid-air, he flipped over and immediately rushed towards Fang Ming's four brothers.

The four, still stunned by Fang Ming's gruesome death, suddenly realized the man was charging at them again. Terrified, they leaped up and fled. However, the moment they jumped, they found themselves enveloped by an aura...

Yue Qianchou leaped backwards, striking down at the four people below with his palm. Four plumes of white smoke whooshed into his hand. Having already made his move, he didn't mind bearing the stigma of indiscriminate killing; he was determined to eliminate them completely!

Everyone looked up in surprise. Just as they saw the four sounds of a single palm strike, they suddenly heard a sharp, rushing whistle piercing the air. Turning around, Fang Ming the one-armed old man in the Kaoshan Pavilion had made his move. Fang Ming's flying sword, which had landed in his hand, shot towards Yue Qianchou, who was in mid-air, with a graceful silver light and the faint sound of wind and thunder.

A strong gust of wind accompanied the flying sword, extinguishing the campfires in its path and stinging the faces of those below. Seeing that the two experts were about to clash, no one dared to remain still; being caught in the crossfire would be disastrous. They scattered like birds and beasts, too busy trying to escape to avoid the commotion. Even if they wanted to watch the spectacle, they had to stay far away.

Yue Qianchou finished off four people with a single palm strike, a flying sword hurtled towards him, arriving in an instant. Even before the sword was several meters away, a powerful gust of wind swept over him, nearly knocking him off his feet. He was greatly alarmed; this old fellow possessed such high cultivation!

Without a word, he soared into the air once more, activated his Gold Art, and slapped down at the flying sword that had just brushed past him. With a resounding "bang," the flying sword, caught in the powerful airflow, could no longer withstand the pressure and instantly exploded into a cloud of silver dust, scattering everywhere!

The campfire below was extinguished with a "boom" by the airflow, and the four mummies were instantly reduced to dust.

Beneath the green veil, her delicate brows furrowed slightly. While Yue Qianchou killing Fang Ming was somewhat understandable, her inability to spare even these four was unbearable. She was a compassionate person throughout her life and utterly detested the indiscriminate killing of innocent people.

Seeing that the flying sword had been shattered into dust by the opponent's palm, the one-armed old man's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and a fierce fighting spirit gradually emanated from his broken body as he stared intently at Yue Qianchou.

Ghost Manor did not allow anyone to cause trouble, but Fang Ming had offended someone he shouldn't have, so he didn't stop Niu Youde from killing Fang Ming. However, after killing Fang Ming, Niu Youde turned around and killed four more people, showing absolutely no respect for him, the guardian of the Ghost Manor.

Breaking the rules here naturally warrants a lesson. But unexpectedly, Niu Youde was able to shatter the flying sword he released with a single palm strike, reducing it to dust. This level of skill was quite frightening. He was confident he could easily shatter ordinary flying swords with a single palm strike, but he couldn't possibly reduce a flying sword to dust.

He now suspected that Niu Youde was a Spirit Transformation stage expert concealing his identity, deliberately causing trouble. Even he couldn't see through Niu Youde's cultivation level, so Niu Youde's cultivation was obviously quite low. His fighting spirit surged, but just as he slowly took half a step, a light sigh and a whispered voice suddenly reached his ears, "Forget it, this person's background is not simple, and he has a close relationship with Nong Zhu. Let him be!"

"Does Miss know this person?" The one-armed old man paused, then replied telepathically, "Who is he?"

.