C14 Qi Yuan

The elderly man, clearly the village chief of North Mountain Village, was being steadied by Qiu Xiya, his body trembling slightly. Qiu Xiya's face was a mask of frosty anger.

The village chief advanced a couple of steps and addressed the domineering young man with a shaky voice, "Immortal Master, our village has a mere hundred souls. Twenty percent are children, and forty percent are the elderly, the infirm, and women. Only about thirty able-bodied adults can hunt in the mountains. We subsist on a few dozen acres of farmland and earn our keep by selling animal hides. The beast bones are bartered from the Immortal Sect miles away. After covering our village's expenses, this is all we have left."

His words were an honest reflection of their plight. The villagers scrimped and saved every month, surrendering all their money and even their food to the Green Mountain Sect. Now, with their last resources on the line, the Sect still deemed their contributions insufficient. What were they to do?

"Old fool, you dare to argue?" the young man bellowed, his eyes flashing. Suddenly, an intimidating aura erupted from him, and a gust of wind whipped around, nearly knocking the frail village chief off his feet.

Had it not been for Qiu Xiya's support, the village chief might have met his end right there.

It was then that Jiaang Lin's gaze fell upon Qiu Xiya, who had donned a veil that obscured her alluring features, leaving only a vague impression of her beauty beneath the fabric. Yet, this only served to enhance her enigmatic allure.

The Green Mountain Sect disciple sneered at the village chief, "Old man, our Sect has long shielded the villages within a hundred miles from demonic beast invasions. Consider the heavy toll it's taken on us, particularly with your village being so close to the Flame Beast Plain. Our disciples have suffered greatly. Is it so wrong to ask for a modest protection fee?"

"Yes, the Immortal Master speaks the truth!" the village chief managed to say, nearly coming undone by the young man's intimidating presence. Behind him, the villagers seethed with indignation, barely resisting the urge to surge forward in protest.

Perhaps they were intimidated by the young man's strength, which left everyone seething with anger yet too fearful to speak up.

The four individuals standing behind the youth watched the villagers with derisive sneers, their faces brimming with mockery.

"Since you acknowledge my point, why haven't you offered up more money and provisions?"

The youth's fierce glare caused the Village Chief to step back, his voice quivering as he said, "Immortal Master, truly, this is the utmost North Mountain Village can muster!"

"You old fool, you truly have no sense of fear!"

Annoyance was written all over the youth's face as he openly berated the elder.

"It appears a lesson is in order, or you won't speak the truth," he said, while the gazes of his companions grew even colder. One of the female cultivators remarked, "Senior Brother Qi Yuan, teach them a lesson. Do they really think we're so easily dismissed?"

Qi Yuan's eyes narrowed, a chilling glint emerging from within.

Their true motive was to collect protection fees under the guise of seeking to amass a private fortune, which they intended to exchange for cultivation items upon returning to their sect. They were tasked with overseeing North Mountain Village and had hoped to extract a substantial amount of wealth from it. However, the village's contributions fell short of their expectations, leaving them without any significant gain and feeling dissatisfied. Therefore, they were determined to extract more from the village before their return to the Green Mountain Sect.