Xia Long looked around as he spotted the bodies of the five people, all of whom were unconscious. Actually, the poison wasn't harmful; it was just designed to make the martial artists sleep. He had concocted it using almost all the resources he had received from his mother.

He had always wanted to teach his bratty cousin, who had rejected his advances and become a disciple of the Pind Autumn Sect. After she joined the sect, he knew he had almost no chance of touching her.

However, the sight of his cousin's body had driven him to become horny again as she had a beauty that xiao long just couldn't resist anymore when she again visited the family in the previous winter.

His desire has driven him to spend all the resources his mother had given him on concocting a poison that could even affect third-stage martial artists by finding a poison master and making a deal with him he was so horny that he even negelating martial arts.

When he heard that his cousin was searching for a flower, Xia Long finally knew that his chance had come. So he fabricated a story to trick her. After all, he wasn't stupid.

If she had truly become a core disciple of the sect, he would have been at her mercy for the rest of his life. But as she was only an inner disciple for now, he could still escape that fate by convincing his mother and her associates.

So, he had created a poison to incapacitate her temporarily, planning to savour her beauty before killing her and eliminating this threat once and for all.

As he contemplated this, his treacherous little brother, barely more than a worm, stirred, growing slightly larger.

As for the cave, he had discovered it by chance, but he fabricated the story. He wanted to explore the cave himself, but he refrained because he had seen a snake guarding it, one that could rival a third-stage martial artist. He had no intention of sharing such a valuable find with anyone.

He kept it a secret because if word got out about a third-stage beast in the forest, martial artists would come rushing to claim the resource.

As for Lu Zhen and the others, he sought revenge for their thwarted plans involving the assassin his mother had specifically instructed him to send after the Jiang family's young miss. Although he was reluctant to part with such a beauty, he bore with it and dispatched the assassin, fully aware of how terrifying his mother could be.

He had the plan to obtain xia mei so he didn't care about the other beauty.

Moreover, he had a chance to earn some contribution. However, when he saw that everything had gone awry because of Lu Zhen, he was undoubtedly infuriated. In fact, he was grounded by his mother for a week as a result of this failure.

However, as he looked at the nearly finished poison, he felt a growing unease. Even though the poison was effective, it had a time limit. He couldn't underestimate third-stage martial artists; they could awaken at any moment.

He had no knowledge of what was happening in the cave, but given the strangeness of the situation, Lu Zhen should have died by now. A martial trainee like him couldn't have survived such a concentrated dose of poison. If, by some chance, Lu Zhen had survived, he would have been unconscious for weeks at least he thought he had died.

With determination in his eyes, he approached Xia Jiang and, without a hint of pity, slit his throat using the sword at his waist. Although it felt like cutting through metal, he managed to do it with the help of his combat art.

"Wind slash."

Yet, he still wasn't satisfied. Although blood gushed profusely, he had to be cautious. Third-stage martial artists and above could recover from mortal wounds in seconds if they had the necessary qi. With a cold expression, he severed the neck of his former servant, Xia Jiang, who had cared for him since childhood.

With a sickening sound, Xia Jiang's head was decapitated, but Xia Long continued to strike until Xia Jiang was mutilated in his sleep.

"Old Jiang, you will be remembered," Xia Long thought, fake tears in his eyes. Although he would lose a trusted third-stage martial artist, it was better than leaving any witnesses who might uncover his crimes and lead to his downfall. Even his mother's forces might abandon him in such a scenario.

Unbeknownst to him, at the cave entrance, Lu Zhen stared at him, thinking, "What an idiot." He sneered as he watched Xia Long kill Xia Jiang, the only one who had a slim chance of protecting him.

However, Lu Zhen was somewhat puzzled by Xia Long's extreme actions. True, he had made Xia Long look like a fool and had ignored him, but it shouldn't warrant such a drastic response.

"These shouldn't be the reasons why..." Lu Zhen pondered as he observed the situation.

Regarding why Xia Long hadn't killed Old Bai first, Lu Zhen had a theory. Perhaps it was because Yu Bai had always been known as a sick, frail old man, seemingly on the brink of death. In the public eye, he had barely entered the third stage of martial arts.

From Xia Long's perspective, eliminating his own follower first was undoubtedly the wisest choice, considering his determination to leave no witnesses.

"The moment Xia Long touches any of my followers, his fate is sealed," Lu Zhen thought as he carefully observed Xia Long, as if watching a great display of "how to be foolish."

"Wait, could it be..." Lu Zhen contemplated as he noticed a pathetic little worm standing up in Xia Long's crotch area. Upon this realization, Lu Zhen was disgusted, yet his eyes widened as he considered his conjecture.

He looked at Xia Mei and then back at Xia Long.

"So that's it, huh?" Lu Zhen thought, disgust evident in his eyes.