Chapter 75 Going Up the Mountain

Li Miao cast a fleeting glance at Mei Qinghe, then looked toward Liu Baiyun.

Liu Baiyun, seasoned and experienced, immediately understood his intention. Seizing the moment as Mei Qinghe was distracted, he pressed a finger to the side of her neck.

Mei Qinghe collapsed softly to the ground.

Rubbing his fingers together, Li Miao said, "The situation is still unclear. Who knows what Yin Zelin is plotting right now?"

"If you want revenge, just wait until I kill him—then let Xiao Mei hack his corpse a few more times, and let that be the end of it. There's no need to throw lives away so recklessly."

Liu Baiyun bowed deeply to Li Miao. "Sir, thank you."

Li Miao waved him off. "No need."

He turned to the three sect leaders and said, "You three have done well today."

"Gather the bodies of your disciples first. Then, together with Sect Leader Liu, search the city for any remaining venom or Ming Cult members."

"Among the officials guarding the city gates, there's one named Jiao Qingfeng—he's reliable. Once you've finished in the city, have him lead the able-bodied townsfolk to put out fires and check for anyone trapped."

"I'll head to the Mount Tai Sect first. Once you're done, guard the road down the mountain—don't let the venom from the mountain spread to neighboring villages, or this disaster will never end."

"I'll go see this Ming Cult Right Envoy and find out what he’s scheming."

"I let him slip away all those years ago. Today, it's time to settle things."

Before his words had faded, Li Miao's figure had already vanished.

The others went about their grim tasks, while Li Miao—

There was some distance between Taian City and Mount Tai. Li Miao had been rushing about all night without rest: he had first saved Wang Hai, then sped with him back to Taian, only to discover the townsfolk had been infected. He had hurried to the prefecture yamen, ordered the officials and soldiers to guard the gates, then scoured the city, using his internal energy to expel the venom from the people.

When Wang Hai returned with Xiao Si, Li Miao had immediately raced outside the city, found Mao Yingxia, and slain five hundred venomous soldiers.

After that, he’d rushed back to Taian, saved Jiao Qingfeng, then hurried inside the city to assist Wang Hai and the others.

Each of these tasks was far from easy—only Li Miao could have accomplished so much in one night.

Even so, the drain on his internal energy was real and significant.

But Li Miao didn’t pause for a moment as he sped toward the Mount Tai Sect.

According to the three sect leaders, there were still many Mount Tai disciples infected with venom on the mountain.

Unlike Taian City, Mount Tai had no walls—if those infected escaped down the slopes and reached neighboring villages, the disaster would repeat itself.

Even without considering the venom, Li Miao could not allow Yin Zelin to run wild on Mount Tai.

He knew little of the Ming Cult's internal affairs, but he sensed clearly that their plan had been sabotaged by someone else, resulting in vulnerabilities that allowed him to break their schemes one by one.

Had the Ming Cult’s plan succeeded—with Mao Yingxia leading five hundred venomous soldiers into the city, and the Flood Banner Master’s men sowing chaos—far more would have died tonight.

And the one who sabotaged the Ming Cult was almost certainly Yin Zelin, now on Mount Tai.

The Later Earth Banner Master Zhou Mingxu had plainly been delivered to Li Miao by Yin Zelin himself.

Furthermore, although the Ming Cult knew Li Miao, they did not fully grasp the extent of his martial prowess. That was why Lan Lechuan appeared alone on Mount Tai, only to be killed by Li Miao.

But Yin Zelin seemed certain from the start that Lan Lechuan would die at Li Miao’s hands. Even Zhu Zai was unsure of Li Miao’s current level—how could Yin Zelin be so certain?

Li Miao utilized his lightness skill to the utmost—faster than any horse—and in less than half an hour reached the foot of Mount Tai.

Before ascending, a faint stench reached his nose.

Climbing the stone path through the forest, he saw corpses strewn on both sides—mostly Mount Tai disciples, some Taian soldiers, and a few eunuchs and Embroidered Guards.

Li Miao stopped beside a disciple’s corpse, broke a twig from a nearby tree, and, infusing it with his energy, drew it across the corpse’s chest.

The once-brittle twig, now sharp as a blade, sliced through flesh with ease, exposing the sternum.

With the twig, Li Miao poked and broke the bone, revealing the heart.

Its shape was no longer human—black and swollen with proliferated flesh.

Li Miao raised his eyebrows.

He examined several more bodies in the same fashion.

Surveying the identical viscera, Li Miao twirled his fingers in thought. The venom within these disciples—why did it seem as though the mother venom was already dead?

If the host died, the venom would remain as it was—lifeless, but unchanged.

If forcibly removed, the venom would appear shriveled and pale.

Only if the mother venom died would all the parasites die as well, turning into this black, gelatinous mass.

Tossing aside the twig, Li Miao strode quickly towards the main hall of the Mount Tai Sect.

The plaza before the main hall was awash with blood and bodies—no living soul remained.

From afar, Li Miao saw the great doors of the main hall wide open, and Yin Zelin sitting calmly in the seat of honor.

Li Miao smiled, raising his hand to send a “Profound Heaven Finger” strike from a distance.

Whatever might be said about the Ming Cult, this technique was truly useful—p