Yang Ling had yet to set out.
News from Taoqiu arrived first.
"Elder Yang, did some top experts from the Calamity Mutual Aid Society come to you and demand your submission?" The man Taoqiu had sent was an elderly man with the air of an immortal sage. His name was Nan Fu.
He was at the ninth tier peak.
Sending an expert of his caliber as a messenger showed just how seriously Taoqiu took this matter.
"That's right."
"They were all from Corpse Liberation Valley, but I slaughtered them all."
"Why?"
"Did they come to you too?"
Though Yang Ling asked, he was not surprised. The people from Corpse Liberation Valley had already told him that the Calamity Mutual Aid Society had dispatched large numbers of people to the major factions.
"Yes."
"Not just Taoqiu. People came knocking at the other ancient villages too."
Nan Fu spoke gravely.
"Oh?"
"What happened?"
Yang Ling asked.
"The person sent to Taoqiu came from Myriad Corpse Island. His strength was roughly at the Fifth Tier of the Divinity Staircase. He was quite courteous and invited us to join the Mutual Aid Society to discuss their grand plans," Nan Fu said.
"But the people the other ancient villages encountered weren't so friendly."
"Their strength varied."
"The stronger ones were Ninth Rank."
"Even the weaker ones were Eighth Tier."
"That made them stronger than the leaders of many ancient villages."
"Clearly, that was deliberate."
"They were extremely arrogant and showed no regard whatsoever for the ancient villages. General's Tomb couldn't stomach it and used a taboo weapon to kill those people."
"Conflicts broke out in most of the other villages too, but no one died."
"They merely drove the visitors back."
"Liunian Village, though... their attitude was rather ambiguous."
"According to the intelligence we received,