Immortal-Exterminating Divine Venerable

"Um, Miss Ye, Young Master Yang has been in there for many days now. Does he need something to eat?"

At the Flame Cloud Mountain Mine, outside the secret chamber where Yang Xiao was in seclusion, Ye Wanqing had been standing guard. For three days, she had not taken a single step away.

Just then, for reasons unknown, Yan Chixiao came over and asked her this.

Having lived her whole life in the Inner Realm, Ye Wanqing was clearly unsure if Yang Xiao truly needed to eat. After some thought, she said, "Prepare something, just in case. When Yang Xiao comes out, we can ask him if he wants it."

"Right away! I'll have them get it ready."

Having received his orders, Yan Chixiao left immediately.

But it wasn't long before a commotion started.

It grew louder and louder.

Even though Ye Wanqing was focused on her guard duty and tried to ignore it, she eventually had to see what was going on.

The moment she did,

her expression darkened.

She saw over a hundred Mining Slaves surrounding Yan Chixiao.

"Immortal Master, pick me! Don't mind my tough hide, my meat is really firm! Young Master Yang will definitely like it!"

"Ma Sanming, what are you pushing for? Is your meat as firm as mine? Immortal Master, look, you should pick me instead, what do you say?"

"Pick me, pick me! I'm an old man, but even my bones are good for gnawing—they're real brittle!"

"You old coot, where's your son hiding? If someone's going to compete, let him do it! Don't you try to cut in!"

"Just take me. I'm the youngest, so my meat is the most tender and my bones are brittle. None of you can compare to me."

At first, Ye Wanqing thought these people had surrounded Yan Chixiao because the Immortal Cultivator was giving them trouble again. She never expected this.

They were actually recommending themselves to him.

And listening to what they were saying...

'Meat… bones…'

'What is going on?'

'Are they offering themselves up like a dish on a platter?'

Then she recalled how Yan Chixiao had suddenly run over to ask if they should prepare food for Yang Xiao.

'Could it be? Is that guy planning to serve these poor Mining Slaves to Yang Xiao?'

At that thought, Ye Wanqing's expression changed drastically.

She abandoned her post, flashing in front of Yan Chixiao and the others in an instant.

"What are you doing?" she demanded, her face cold.

"It's Miss Ye! Miss Ye, what about me? My flesh is really firm, perfect for frying! Why don't you just pick me?"

"No, pick me, Sister Ye! Don't mind that I'm all dirty. My meat is actually very tender. Pick me!"

"Pick me, Miss Ye! I'm already old, and they're still young. You should choose me."

The moment these people saw Ye Wanqing, they turned their attention and swarmed her instead.

Seeing this,

Ye Wanqing felt truly helpless.

However, she knew it wasn't their fault.

So, Ye Wanqing didn't answer them. Instead, she looked at Yan Chixiao. "What did you say to them? Why are they acting like this?"

The question left Yan Chixiao stunned.

"I… I didn't do anything! Didn't you say I could prepare food for the Young Master?"

Yan Chixiao looked aggrieved.

"Food! Is this what you call preparing food? Or do you think Yang Xiao eats people?"

Ye Wanqing was furious.

But as soon as she said it, everyone present froze.

They all looked at each other in confusion.

The small child, who looked to be only twelve or thirteen and had claimed his meat was tender, suddenly spoke in a daze. "Sister Ye, don't you Martial Artists eat people? That's what I've heard everyone say."

"That's right, Miss Ye. Don't be shy. You saved us and haven't made us work these past few days. Weren't you trying to fatten us up to make us tastier? It's fine. We're all willing. As long as you treat our families a little better and let the children live a bit longer, we're willing."

"Yeah, we're willing! Before, we were digging in the mines all day, and not a day went by when someone didn't die. Now we're not digging, and you only take one of us every three days for Young Master Yang to eat. It's more than worth it! Oh, right, Miss Ye, do you need to eat too? Should we pick out another person for you?"

"Of course she does! Miss Ye is a Martial Artist too, and a very powerful one at that. Of course she has to eat. Steward Yan, just pick two of us."

In front of Ye Wanqing, these people didn't dare call Yan Chixiao "Immortal Master." Instead, they called him Steward Yan.

This was because Yan Chixiao was the Chief Steward appointed by Yang Xiao.

But their words only made Ye Wanqing even angrier.

"We Martial Artists are people too! Why would we eat people?"

Ye Wanqing roared.

Her roar made everyone present jump in fright.

But it also left them utterly baffled.

Even Yan Chixiao was a little confused.

He had been born within the last thousand years or so and had hardly ever seen a Martial Artist. Any he did encounter, he killed on sight.

He had no idea if they ate people or not.

He had only assumed it was true because these people spoke with such conviction.

That was what led to this whole scene.

Now, seeing Ye Wanqing's reaction,

Yan Chixiao started to think.

'Maybe I was wrong?'

'That's right. Martial Cultivators are human, and we Immortal Cultivators are human too. We don't eat people, so why would they?'

As for why such a rumor had spread, Yan Chixiao figured it must have been a scheme concocted by his ancestors.

Thinking of this,

Yan Chixiao, who was gradually regaining his humanity, couldn't help but blush.

Meanwhile, Ye Wanqing had already begun to speak loudly.

"I don't know where you heard that we Martial Artists eat people, but I want to tell you this: over six thousand years ago, this continent was ruled by Martial Cultivators. Back then, there were no 'lowly commoners.' As long as you were human, you could cultivate the Martial Dao and become a Martial Artist!"

"The strong may have been superior, but they wouldn't go so far as to treat the weak as food! Besides, think about it yourselves: if all of you could become Martial Artists, would you eat people?"

"No!"

someone muttered in a low voice.

"No!"

"I wouldn't either!"

"None of us would!"

Gradually, the voices grew louder.

Soon, everyone was roaring.

Seeing them,

Ye Wanqing finally nodded. "Since you wouldn't, and we are people just like you, why would we eat you?"

"Uh…"

Countless people fell silent.

Although they still had their doubts.

From childhood, they had been taught that Martial Artists ate people, and the stories were always vivid and detailed.

To have that belief overturned in an instant,

was truly difficult.

Just as Ye Wanqing was frowning, thinking how stubborn these people were,

CREAK.

The door to the distant seclusion chamber was pushed open.

A figure walked out from within.

"Huh? What's everyone doing here?"

Yang Xiao yawned.

But seeing him open his mouth, the very people who had just been shouting their willingness to be his dinner all took a frightened step back for no apparent reason.

Clearly, deep down, they were still terrified.

In contrast,

Yang Xiao was even more confused.

Only after Ye Wanqing explained what had just happened in detail did Yang Xiao understand.

By then, however, his expression had turned completely black.

'What the hell are these people thinking?'