The one who spoke was a middle-aged man who seemed to be in his forties. He had the strength of a high-level King.
There was a hideous scar on his face that made people feel a chill down their spines. His arms were like two iron pillars, and there were two lifelike serpents drawn on them. The deep fangs that were revealed made people feel fear, as if the two serpents could jump out and bite at any moment.
This person had an evil look on his face, and a strong murderous aura emanated from him. At a glance, one could tell that this person spent his days in slaughter.
There were more than a dozen people behind him, all of them above the King level, and two of them were low-level Earth Emperors.
If such a force was in the northwest or the southern region, it would be comparable to a ninth rank sect.
They were all members of the Blood Serpent Mercenary Group.
The Blood Serpent Mercenary Group could be said to be the third largest mercenary group in the Blood Demon Region. The leader, Blood Serpent, had the strength of a half-step Exalt, and the middle-aged man who spoke was Blood Serpent's younger brother, Green Serpent.
Originally, it was an equal and voluntary transaction for a merchant to hire a mercenary group to escort them.
However, the Blood Serpent Mercenary Group never followed the rules.
They were a group of thugs, and forcing people to buy and sell was something they often did.
Once they set their sights on a fat sheep, very few would be able to escape from their palms.
Right now, the old man and the beautiful young man had already become the "fat sheep" in the eyes of the Blood Serpent Mercenary Group.
The old man turned around and looked at Green Serpent and the group behind him. He revealed an amiable smile and said, "Big brother, we have already contacted someone. There is no need to trouble you."
Green Serpent didn't look at the old man directly. Instead, his gaze fell on Ling Xiao and the others. A trace of surprise flashed across his face, but it was quickly drowned out.
In the end, his gaze landed on Ling Xiao, the young man who didn't have the slightest aura of a martial artist.
"You dare to steal the business of our Blood Serpent Mercenary Group?" Green Serpent narrowed his eyes and said to Ling Xiao.
"Young master, the Blood Serpent Mercenary Group is the local snake here. Their group is extremely powerful, and their leader, Blood Serpent, has the strength of a half-step Empyrean." Poison Scorpion hurriedly transmitted his voice to Ling Xiao.
After hearing this, Ling Xiao did not show any emotion. He ignored Green Snake and turned to leave with his men.
At this time, the old man rushed forward and said to Ling Xiao, "Little brother, just bring us grandfather and grandson. We won't cause any trouble for you."
"You've already caused us trouble," Ling Xiao said calmly.
"How can you be like this? When have we caused you any trouble? Grandpa Wei, let's find someone else. You really don't know what's good for you." That beautiful young man finally couldn't help but speak up.
His voice was actually mixed with the soft and delicate voice of a woman. Anyone with a discerning eye would immediately suspect that he was a woman.
However, Cai Xiayue directly told Ling Xiao, "This is a little beauty. Look, she doesn't have an Adam's apple."
Ling Xiao had long since sensed this, but it was not appropriate for him to cause any trouble when he was outside. He immediately said, "Then please leave!"
Seeing Ling Xiao and the others about to leave, the old man anxiously looked at his "young master" and said, "Young … Young master, didn't I say not to let you speak?"
"I just can't stand his attitude." The young woman stomped her feet and said angrily.
The old man sighed and did not say anything more.
At this time, Green Snake walked over and said, "Young master, do you want to vent your anger?
It will only cost 100,000 low-grade Xuan Crystals for one head. "
Green Snake had seen many soldiers, and he could tell at a glance that this beautiful young man was a female and would be easily hooked.
"My apologies, our young master is immature. We won't hire anyone for now." The old man hurriedly pulled the young woman away.
"Hmph, there's no way you can leave. Whether you enter the Blood Demon Region or not, you must take out 50,000 mid-grade Xuan Crystals. Otherwise, you two can stay here." Green Snake coldly snorted.
Green Snake had heard the old man mention the reward to Ling Xiao.
50,000 mid-grade Xuan Crystals was not a small amount. It was equivalent to five million low-grade Xuan Crystals.
Green Snake had his eyes on this sum of Xuan Crystals, so he naturally would not let it slip away.
"Are you making things difficult for me?" The young woman shouted at the green snake.
"Hehe, that's right. I'm going to force you to do something you don't want to do. Hurry up and take out the Glazed Crystal. Otherwise, I'll reward you, a tomboy, to my brothers." Green Snake glanced at the young woman and said with a wretched look.
Just as the young woman was about to get angry, the old man had already grabbed the young woman's hand and quickly rushed into the entrance of the Blood Demon Region.
Green Snake raised his eyebrows and was about to lead the group to chase after them.
At this time, a low-level Earth Emperor came to his side and said, "Green Snake, don't be impulsive. That old guy just now might be a mid-level Earth Emperor."
"What? That old guy is that strong?" Green Snake was surprised.
"My senses can't be wrong. He's stronger than me," the low-level Earth Emperor replied.
At this time, another low-level Earth Emperor said, "The two of us will keep him busy and then capture that tomboy as a hostage. I'm not afraid that he won't give in."
"That's right. We have to go in anyway. Let's get rid of that old guy first and then settle the score with the group from before. There are a few beautiful girls there. We definitely can't let them go." Green Snake revealed a sinister smile.
"I have no objections, but we have to wait for Flaming Snake to meet up before chasing after them. The other group is not so easy to swallow," a low-level Earth Emperor replied.
…
The Blood Demon Region was the only way to the central region from the southern and northwestern regions.
A safe path had long been opened up here by the ancestors.
This road of safety was the result of countless journeys.
Along the way, they tried to avoid the territories of high-level spirit beasts. As long as ordinary people did not provoke those spirit beasts, they would not take the initiative to attack them.
Of course, it was a different story if they encountered the Blood Wind Eagle.
Within the lush forest of the Blood Demon Region, the roars of spirit beasts could be heard continuously. A thick bloody aura left behind from the years of killing made people feel extremely irritated.
Savage Leopard, who had been keeping a low profile, sent a voice transmission to Ling Xiao, "Young Master, the murderous aura here is very heavy, in case there are vengeful spirits roaming about."
"Yes, I know," Ling Xiao replied indifferently. He then said to everyone in a clear voice, "Everyone, pay attention. There are many tyrannical spirit beasts here. Without my orders, no one is allowed to leave the group."
"Yes, Young Master!" everyone replied in unison.
The prodigal waved a gun and played like a naughty child. He turned his face to Ling Xiao and said, "Boss, what are you afraid of? With me here, they won't dare to attack us."
Not many people present knew the identity of the prodigal. They just thought that he was bragging and didn't care about it.
Ling Xiao patted the prodigal's head and said, "I know you're strong, don't show off in front of Boss."
At this moment, Poison Scorpion said, "Those two are following us."
Ling Xiao did not turn his head and said, "Let's go, we'll be fine. Don't bother with them."
Without guessing, Ling Xiao knew what the two of them were planning.
However, this road was not opened by him after all, so he just followed them.
The group walked for a day, and night gradually fell!
The old and young man behind Ling Xiao and the others were still following at a leisurely pace.
At this time, Ling Xiao asked everyone to sit down and rest.
It was not suitable to travel at night because many fierce spirit beasts would choose to ambush at night.
Ling Xiao and the others chose a place to sit down. The old and young man did not continue on their way and also chose a place not far away to sit down.
Bai Yuxi could not bear to say to Ling Xiao, "Young Master, there are only two of them, why don't we …"
"Why not what?" Ling Xiao looked at her and asked.
"Why don't we let them come with us?" Bai Yuxi pinched the corner of her clothes and said in a low voice.
Before Ling Xiao could say anything, Cai Xiayue had already grabbed Bai Yuxi's hand and said, "Life is dangerous, we can't trust others so easily."
Wei Daier also said from the side, "Yuxi, Sister Yue is right. When we go out, we have to be careful in everything we do."
After a few months of getting along, the five women, Feng Xianyun, Cai Bayue, Ji Beixin, Bai Yuxi, and Wei Daier, had already become sisters.
They all truly loved a man and knew that their man did not like them to have any unhappiness behind his back. Therefore, the women were very tactful and did not cause any trouble for Ling Xiao.
Ling Xiao looked at the woman beside him with a gratified expression. He then caressed Bai Yuxi's hair and said, "Yuxi, you're just too kind, but … I just like your kindness!"
Bai Yuxi's delicate face was suffused with shyness when Ling Xiao said this in front of everyone.
Ling Xiao stood up and walked in front of the old man and the young woman.
The young woman glared fiercely at Ling Xiao and said, "What are you doing here?"
Ling Xiao ignored her and looked at the old man instead. A jar of strong wine appeared in his hand and he handed it to the old man, "Sir, would you like a drink?"
The old man smiled and took the jar of strong wine. He said, "Thank you, little brother. I've caused you trouble!"
"We've already caused trouble, there's no point in saying anything more. Cheers!" Ling Xiao raised the wine in his hand and said to the old man.
The old man and Ling Xiao clinked glasses and both of them drank the wine.
The young woman said angrily, "It's fine if you don't escort us, but when did we cause you trouble? You're so unreasonable."
"Little brother, don't lower yourself to her level. It was our fault, but I'll still say it. If you can escort us to the other side, we'll definitely reward you generously," the old man said from the side.
"You're from that side?" Ling Xiao asked.
"That's right. We just came back to visit our relatives, but we ran into some trouble. Now it's just us grandpa and granddaughter." The old man nodded.
Ling Xiao naturally knew that the old man wasn't lying, but he didn't expose him. He just nodded and said, "Alright, since you're from that side, I'll escort you."
The old man was a little excited, "Thank you, little brother."
"Grandpa, he definitely doesn't have good intentions. We don't need them to escort us anymore," the young woman said unhappily.
"What do you know?" The old man glared at the young woman.
Ling Xiao smiled and ignored the young woman. He then looked in the direction he came from and said faintly, "What will come will come. I'll let you take care of this old man, and we'll be responsible for her safety. How about it?"