"Whoosh..."
Just then, a beam of light appeared in the private room.
Everyone felt a blur before their eyes, and a man and a woman suddenly appeared.
The man was dressed in snow-white robes, with an extraordinary demeanor.
The woman was lively and mischievous, with a charming smile.
It was Bai Zihe and Miao Yinuo.
"My lord!"
"You're here just in time, my lord!"
Seeing Bai Zihe, the governor acted as if he saw his own father, rushing forward and grabbing Lin Tianxuan's leg.
Bai Zihe was taken aback.
Then, he released his divine sense and discovered the anomaly.
In an instant, he understood why the governor reacted this way.
"My lord..."
As expected, in the next second, the governor knelt before Bai Zihe and said, "Please, help me, help me explain."
He didn't know Bai Zihe.
But this didn't stop him from knowing that Bai Zihe was an extremely powerful being, powerful enough to make the Evil King falter.
He couldn't ask Bai Zihe to do anything for him, so he could only plead.
"Explain..."
Bai Zihe happened to need his help with something, so he nodded and said, "I can help you explain, but in return, you need to do one thing for me."
"Good!"
The governor was overjoyed.
He was eager to curry favor with a formidable figure like Bai Zihe, so he naturally wouldn't refuse.
Doing something for Bai Zihe was far more reliable than doing something for the Evil King and then being inexplicably ditched or eliminated.
Bai Zihe nodded slightly.
Then...
"Swish..."
In the next moment, Bai Zihe took everyone in the room, and they all appeared on the rooftop of the hotel.
"Hiss..."
This scene startled Nan Wentian, who had just moments ago been sneering and preparing to mock Bai Zihe.
What kind of divine ability was this?
He had brought so many of them to the rooftop in a single flash...
Such a technique could be called a miracle.
"Miao Miao."
Then, Bai Zihe gave Miao Yinuo a look.
Miao Yinuo nodded, chanted a spell, and then the Evil King, who had been refined into a Gu-worm puppet, suddenly appeared beside them.
His appearance.
Immediately made Nan Wentian's heart pound with fear.
And the governor...
His heart was also filled with sudden realization.
When he saw Bai Zihe appear, he had already guessed – the Evil King must have been killed by Bai Zihe.
And now, looking at his dazed expression, dull appearance, and vacant eyes, the governor was certain that the Evil King was not dead but had been refined into a puppet.
His heart was even more filled with awe at Bai Zihe's power.
"Everyone..."
Bai Zihe looked down from above, and his voice echoed throughout Nan Miao City: "The Evil King's intention in gathering you all here today was actually to kill you."
As Bai Zihe's voice fell, the entire place erupted.
Even Nan Wentian, standing nearby, instantly changed his expression.
The Evil King actually intended to kill them?
However.
Most people present didn't quite believe Bai Zihe's words and began to question and reprimand him.
Bai Zihe paid them no mind.
He merely nodded to Miao Yinuo.
Immediately, Miao Yinuo controlled the Evil King to move to the side, appearing before everyone: "You may not believe it, but this is the truth."
"And..."
"Now that the Evil King has been subdued by me, he can no longer accept you as disciples. You should all go your separate ways."
The commotion below intensified.
After all...
They had essentially been tricked, having made a wasted trip and a pointless effort.
"Perhaps you don't quite believe..."
Bai Zihe's lips curved into a smile, and then he beckoned, and a sword energy appeared out of thin air.
The instantaneous pressure forced tens of thousands of people below to gasp for breath, unable to speak or move.
For a moment.
The entire place fell silent, and everyone stared at Bai Zihe in awe, not daring to make the slightest move.
"Now, you should be convinced that I have this power."
"And..."
Bai Zihe smiled slightly, took out some items from the Evil King's storage bag, and displayed them to the hundreds of thousands of people below.
Those items...
Were precisely the videos the Evil King had recorded when he was first invaded by dark anomalies. At that time, he didn't understand how he gained power by killing people, so he recorded them to study later.
And now...
These videos became his evidence!
Of course, these videos were not recorded on a phone, but through memory stones!
Seeing the Evil King slaughtering ordinary people in large numbers, many below were stunned and began to doubt the Evil King.
Bai Zihe didn't pay much attention.
After displaying this matter to the commoners below, he shifted his focus to the few people on the rooftop.
"You..."
Bai Zihe's gaze fell on Nan Wentian, and he said calmly, "When you return, use your influence to explain more to the civilians."
Nan Wentian was already shocked by Bai Zihe's power and immediately nodded in agreement: "Okay!"
"Alright, you can go."
Bai Zihe dismissed him, and Nan Wentian dared not linger, immediately leaving with his people in a dejected manner.
Bai Zihe then looked at the governor.
The governor's face was full of eagerness, and he asked, "My lord, is there anything you need my service for? Please tell me!"
"This humble one, Tian Zhongtang, will absolutely not refuse and will do his utmost."
"It's very simple."
Bai Zihe took out a Hundred-Year Willow Heart and asked, "This item, you offered it to the Evil King, correct?"
"Yes!"
Tian Zhongtang immediately nodded.
"Then I ask you."
Bai Zihe said solemnly, "Where did you get this item from, and do you have any better quality ones?"
"This..."
Tian Zhongtang hesitated for a moment, then immediately said, "To be honest, my lord, I obtained this item from a peculiar place deep within the Southern Barbarian Forest."
"That place..."
A look of apprehension flashed across Tian Zhongtang's face: "is extremely terrifying, truly a 'dragon's pool and tiger's den.' Honestly, I never want to go there a second time in my life!"
Bai Zihe's eyebrows twitched.
It seemed that obtaining the Hundred-Year Willow Heart had a story behind it.
However, he wasn't interested in slowly listening to these stories, so he coldly snorted, "Tian Zhongtang, just get to the point."
"Yes!"
Tian Zhongtang's heart tightened, and he continued, "Deep in the Southern Barbarian Forest, there is a very strange lake, and in the center of the lake, there is a piece of land."
"On the land, all sorts of willow trees grow."
"Among them, the thickest..."
"Its thickness is comparable to a football field. I suspect it has grown for tens of thousands of years!"
A football field in thickness...
Bai Zihe couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
Such a willow tree was likely tens of thousands of years old.
If a willow heart was nurtured within it, it would be considered a Ten-Thousand-Year Willow Heart.
"Let's go, lead the way."
In the next moment, Bai Zihe took Tian Zhongtang and Miao Yinuo onto a flying sword and flew directly towards the Southern Barbarian Forest.
With his current cultivation at the Tribulation Stage, leading a few people in sword flight was naturally not difficult.
About half an hour later.
The three arrived at the outskirts of the Southern Barbarian Forest.
"Lord Bai..."
"I can't discern the direction from the sky, you see..."
There were indeed some slight differences between the sky and the ground.
So the three landed on the ground.
And entered this dense forest.