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**
That soft sigh caused the faint smirk on Mo Cheng's lips to freeze mid-curve. A terrible premonition suddenly welled up in his heart.
The moment the sigh faded—
Boom!
A far more powerful aura surged forth, engulfing everyone present.
This aura was scorching hot—oppressively terrifying.
Just being within its range made Mo Cheng and the others feel like they had been thrown into a pitch-black furnace of unbearable heat.
Even the king cobra's pupils contracted. Deep within its golden eyes, a flash of fear and alarm surfaced. It quickly withdrew its own aura, slithered backward, and coiled protectively around its master.
Its former ferocity had completely vanished. Now it looked low-key and obedient.
"Young Master!" Qing Lin cried out joyfully.
Whoosh!
Somehow, a handsome young man dressed in a black robe embroidered with golden patterns was already standing atop the sand dune.
He stared at Qing Lin with a blank expression.
"Young Master, you've returned…" Qing Lin's initial cheer slowly faded away.
Because she noticed that Wei Yang's expression was off—not his usual gentleness. His gaze held a clear trace of disappointment.
Her smile froze, her hands nervously wringing together. Her face turned pale as she looked at Wei Yang with a guilty and wronged expression, tears welling in her eyes.
Wei Yang's brow twitched, and he nearly softened. But he resisted the urge, maintaining his cold expression as he said, "Qing Lin, you've let me down."
"Young Master…" Qing Lin trembled, her face turning even paler as her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.
"Hmph." Wei Yang gave a cold snort, his gaze shifting toward the king cobra that now hung its massive head low, avoiding eye contact with him. His lips curled into a mocking sneer. "Well, you've done quite well. Is this how you protect your master? Hmm?"
Hiss…
The king cobra let out a soft hiss—somewhere between flattery and grievance.
It seemed to be saying: My master told me not to move. What else could I do?
"You've lived for so many years, and yet you've managed to live like a dumb beast!" Wei Yang snapped.
The king cobra looked utterly wronged. It drooped its head, nudging Qing Lin lightly.
Qing Lin sniffled, her eyes red with tears. She was full of grievance herself and had no mood to comfort it.
"I'll deal with both of you later." Wei Yang glanced at the pair, then turned to look down the sand dune at the group of terrified men below.
Hands behind his back, he slowly stepped forward, stopping at the edge of the dune as his cold gaze swept downward.
Mo Cheng felt ice run through his veins. A chilling dread surged from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.
At that moment, all thoughts of the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils, the eye transplant, and his ambitions had completely vanished from his mind.
With a sudden bend of his knees, he dropped heavily to the ground and kowtowed, his body trembling violently as he pressed his face into the sand and cried out respectfully, "Mo Cheng pays respects to the honored one!"
Behind him, the Mo Clan disciples followed suit, all dropping to their knees in fear and shouting in unison, "Greetings, honored one~!"
"Mo Cheng, Grand Elder of the Mo Clan?" Wei Yang sneered softly. "You're quite bold, daring to target one of mine. Hmm?"
"It's a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding, honored one!" Mo Cheng hurriedly raised his head, not even bothering to wipe the sand from his face.
He shouted loudly, "We were merely passing through on our way back to Rock Desert City. We happened upon this young girl cultivating alone, and out of concern for her safety, we thought to bring her with us…"
"That's enough." Wei Yang cut him off impatiently, his voice cool. "From the moment you arrived a few hundred meters away, I've been watching you from the shadows. Do you understand now?"
Mo Cheng's body shook violently. His face turned ghostly pale. Whatever slim hope he still clung to was utterly shattered.
Clenching his teeth, he slammed his head into the sand and said with a trembling voice, "Mo Cheng deserves death. I beg your forgiveness, honored one!"
"Please forgive us, honored one~!" the Mo Clan disciples pleaded in unison.
Qing Lin's eyes widened. Even with her naivety, she was starting to piece together the situation.
"So you know you deserve death. Good." Wei Yang nodded, then turned to the king cobra. "You know what to do now?"
Hiss…
The king cobra looked at Qing Lin, hesitant. Seeing no reaction from her, it quickly nodded.
"Then what are you waiting for?"
The king cobra turned to look at Qing Lin again.
Qing Lin's small face twisted with regret. She bit her lip and closed her eyes tightly, then gave a faint nod.
Wei Yang saw this and allowed a faint smile to appear on his face. At least she's not completely foolish.
Whoosh!
With a sudden twist, the king cobra launched itself down the sand dune. Though massive, its movements were lightning-fast and frighteningly agile.
"Aaaah!"
"Spare us!"
"Honored one, please spare us!"
"Don't come any closer—aaah!"
Screams of horror and pleas for mercy erupted from below.
Wei Yang didn't spare them a single glance. His eyes remained fixed on Qing Lin.
Qing Lin lowered her head in guilt, her chin nearly touching her chest. She didn't dare look at Wei Yang at all.
On the far side of the sand dune, the sand suddenly bulged upward, then split apart, revealing a dark underground tunnel entrance.
Whoosh!
A figure in white shot out from within. Her anxious gaze swept across the area—and when she saw Wei Yang, she finally let out a long breath of relief.
The worry on her face slowly faded.
Just then, Xian'er, who had been cultivating below and sensed the disturbance above, hurriedly rushed to the surface.
Lightly tapping her toes, her figure floated swiftly up the sand dune. With only a casual glance at the King Cobra below—currently devouring the enemies one after another—she furrowed her brows slightly before quickly shifting her gaze away.
She stepped forward a couple of paces, grabbed Wei Yang's hand with a smile, and said, "Brother Yang, you're back?"
"Mm." Wei Yang nodded with an emotionless expression.
"Uh…" Seeing this, Xian'er glanced again at Qing Lin, who stood with her head bowed, clearly in the wrong. Her eyes turned slightly as she quickly pieced together what had happened.
And so, Xian'er pursed her lips and said nothing. She ignored Qing Lin's quiet, pleading glance for help.
"Aaah! I won't accept this!"
From the distance, Mo Cheng's anguished roar rang out as he fled—only to be swallowed whole by the King Cobra a moment later.
Soon, everything quieted down again.
Peace returned once more to the area.
Hiss—
The King Cobra slithered back, its belly bloated, moving slowly with a look of great satisfaction.
When it reached Wei Yang's side, it opened its mouth and spat out eight or nine spatial rings, which floated before him.
Hiss—
The King Cobra let out a low hiss, its pale golden eyes looking up at Wei Yang with a slightly ingratiating gaze.
Wei Yang raised his hand and grabbed the rings, then shot the snake a glance and said coolly, "Get lost. Don't get in my way. If something like this happens again, end yourself."
The King Cobra shrank back, then slinked off with its tail between its legs and curled up beside Qing Lin.
"I really don't know what your senses are for," Wei Yang said coldly. "The enemies were chatting just a few hundred meters away, and you want me to believe you couldn't understand what they were saying? Worthless!"
The King Cobra flinched with guilt. Light flashed across its body as it rapidly shrank in size before darting straight into Qing Lin's sleeve, not daring to show its head again.
It had only sensed that some small fry had arrived and didn't think much of it. After notifying its master, it went back to lazily dozing off.
How could it have known that those "small fry" would be worth eavesdropping on?
Qing Lin gently patted her sleeve and slowly shuffled over, speaking in a small voice, "Young Master, I'm sorry. I know I was wrong."
"You think what I did to them was too cruel?" Wei Yang suddenly asked.
Qing Lin almost nodded reflexively but quickly shook her head.
"I'm telling you, this world was always this cruel."
Wei Yang's tone was indifferent. "Showing mercy to your enemies is cruelty to yourself."
"Kindness is good, but it must have the right target! This is a world where people eat people. Repaying evil with good? How naive!"
"You might not want to hurt others, but they want to hurt you!"
"It's fine if you don't have the heart to harm others, but you must have the heart to guard against them!"
"In the dead of night, a group of strangers appears in the desert, charging straight toward you with clear malice—and in the end, you go soft-hearted and let them go. What were you thinking?"
"Do you not realize your constitution will provoke others' greed? You let them go—what, hoping they'll come back later with more backup? Maybe even bring people from the Heavenly Serpent Mansion to cause trouble for us?"
"Remember this: Danger must be nipped in the bud!"
"And another thing. You have a peak Rank 5 magic beast at your side. People got within a few hundred meters of you, and it didn't occur to you to ask it why they were here?"
Wei Yang's face darkened, clearly disappointed. "I really don't understand what you're thinking."
Qing Lin lowered her head even more, not daring to make a sound.
"Hmph. Stay here tonight and reflect on your actions."
With a flick of his sleeve, Wei Yang turned and walked down the sand dune toward the tunnel entrance.
Soon, his figure disappeared into the passage.
Only then did Qing Lin dare to raise her head. The tears she had been holding back finally burst forth, streaming down her face.
"Wuwu… Sister Xian'er, the young master's angry… What do I do?"
Qing Lin clutched Xian'er's hand in panic, seeking help.
Her mind was blank with regret. Because of a single moment of soft-heartedness, she had nearly brought great danger to the young master and Sister Xian'er.
"I'll head down first. I'll let you know once he's calmed down. For now, just stay up here and focus on your cultivation, alright?" Xian'er gently rubbed her head and whispered.
"Mm-hmm." Qing Lin nodded repeatedly.
"And remember—what happened today, reflect on it carefully. Don't ever make the same mistake again."
Xian'er tapped her on the forehead.
"I understand." Qing Lin pouted and nodded.
Shaking her head, Xian'er turned and left as well.
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