Lei Jingxiao perked up the moment he saw Ling Zhuo arrive, staring at him with malicious intent. "Ling Zhuo, you've got some nerve coming here alone. Aren't you afraid we'll kill you right here?"
Ling Zhuo showed little emotional reaction, merely saying calmly, "You can try. See whether the lot of you can kill me before I destroy the Nine-Jointed Jade Bamboo."
Ling Zhuo then assumed a posture that said they could fight whenever they pleased. At the same time, Cao Ying still stood at Ling Zhuo's side. Everyone understood that they could not truly come to blows before the Nine-Jointed Jade Bamboo was exchanged. With Ling Zhuo's strength, destroying a medicinal herb would indeed be effortless for him.
Xiao Yan stepped forward and said directly, "I only want the Nine-Jointed Jade Bamboo. Where is it?"
With a tap on his Storage Ring, Ling Zhuo produced the Nine-Jointed Jade Bamboo in his palm. The Source Spirit Pattern Crystal appeared alongside it. His threat was crystal clear: if Xiao Yan dared attack him and seize it by force now, he would immediately reduce the Nine-Jointed Jade Bamboo to ashes. He had demonstrated this many times during their earlier clash.
"What's your demand?"
Ling Zhuo glanced at Cao Ying before sneering at Xiao Yan. "Cao Ying already told you: every medicinal herb inside the final Mist Mountain. Do you really think I'd kindly lower my demand?"
After saying that, Ling Zhuo turned his gaze toward Yao Qingyu, seemingly lost in thought.
Xiao Yan frowned and answered honestly, "The restrictions within the final Mist Mountain are too powerful. There are more than a hundred medicinal herbs there. I can't take them all."
"Then you and Wei Jiangyuan will collect as many as you can. I want however many you manage to obtain!"
Xiao