The others are only at the late stage of True Immortal, so their progress is much slower.

"When the toxins are expelled from our bodies, that will be the time when you, Lord Lingcheng, perish. I will then extract your soul, refine your spirit, and grind your bones to dust."

The Chen family patriarch is the most violent of all, and has already threatened Ling Tinglan.

“My master is coming soon, you may never have this chance again.” Ling Tinglan was not afraid at all.

"So what if your master came? When your master was the city lord of Lihuang City, his cultivation level was only at the early stage of True Immortal, and when he left, he was only at the late stage of True Immortal."

"That old man Tianhuang, if it weren't for the help of our families, how could he have become the lord of a city, and how could his cultivation have improved so quickly?"

“Even if your master has made some breakthroughs in recent years, his cultivation level is only at the early stage of the Heavenly Immortal realm. There are five of us here. How can he possibly withstand the combined strength of the five of us?”

"Having learned this lesson, we absolutely cannot tolerate evil anymore. If the city lord has been in power for too long, he will no longer want to be a puppet."

...

The family head present remained completely calm, feeling that Ling Tinglan was throwing an egg against a rock.

"I didn't expect that before I even came in, people were already calling my name. It seems that everyone has not forgotten me."

A familiar voice came from over.

The person who opened the door was a tall, thin old man with a kind smile on his face.

"Master!"

Ling Tinglan quickly went to help the old man.

"Old dog of the desolate past!"

The Zhu family patriarch cursed angrily.

“If it weren’t for the help of the major families in our Desolate City back then, you would have died long ago, let alone become the lord of a city.”

"Now it's you who instructed your disciple to poison our food. When we get up, we'll tear your soul out and refine your spirit."

Many people present were cursing Tianhuang Daoren, and their words were quite offensive.

It is clear that Tianhuang Daoren was also a puppet back then, and his situation was not much better than Ling Tinglan's.

"Fellow Daoist, please calm down."

Daoist Tianhuang said with a smile, "You helped me ascend to the position of city lord back then, how about you help me again now?"

"Give up on that idea, you old dog. Back then, you were beaten so badly by the city lord of Tianyu City that you were like a stray dog. If it weren't for our help, you wouldn't even have a place to live."

"This old dog is impossible to tame. He has the audacity to ask us for help. We're already being lenient by not tearing him apart."

"We'll capture him alive and hand him over to Tianyu City later; we might even get a generous reward."

...

Everyone present hated Tianhuang Daoist to death; they certainly wouldn't help him.

“In the past, fellow Daoists had a choice, but this time there is no choice.”

Tianhuang Daoist sneered.

"How arrogant! We have five early-stage Celestial Immortals here, and you are only an early-stage Celestial Immortal yourself. You don't really think that the poison in that little bit of food can kill us all, do you?"

The Zhu family patriarch scoffed.

Poisons capable of killing even True Immortals and Celestial Immortals are extremely rare.

They themselves had a hard time obtaining these poisons, let alone Ling Tinglan and the others.

"Who said I was going to use poison? I was talking about myself."

The Heavenly Desolate Daoist's body visibly expanded, growing to over two meters tall in an instant.

Its skin is bluish-green, and its fingers extend into sharp claws.

His mouthful of teeth turned into sharp fangs, making him look like a reincarnated evil spirit.

As Tianhuang Daoren's cultivation level rose, it increased from the early stage of Heavenly Immortal to the late stage of Heavenly Immortal.

"You actually cultivate the Hungry Ghost Technique of the Undying Netherworld Art. Aren't you afraid of falling into the realm of hungry ghosts and never being reborn?"

The Zhu family patriarch's face was filled with fear.

"Hehehe!!"

The Heavenly Desolate Taoist's laughter was extremely terrifying: "You all forced me to do this. Actually, I didn't want things to turn out this way either."

"You all forced me to this, I'm going to devour you all!"

The Heavenly Desolate Daoist's bell-sized eyes turned extremely blood red.

No!

The Zhu family patriarch screamed in agony.

The starving ghost that was actually the Taoist of the Desolate Land pounced on him, disemboweled him, and devoured his heart and intestines.

The once perfectly intact Zhu family patriarch was instantly reduced to fragments.

The large chunks of flesh and blood were all devoured by the Heavenly Desolate Daoist.

Everyone felt utterly disgusted, but to the Taoist of Heavenly Wasteland, it was all delicious.

"My God, what kind of monster is this?!"

Terrified, the Chen family patriarch tried to escape despite the poison in his body.

However, the main hall had already been sealed off by Ling Tinglan's array, so he had no way to escape from it.

Because of Tianhuang Daoren, the main hall had become a slaughterhouse.

Dozens of the strongest members of various families who left the desolate city became food for the Heavenly Desolate Daoist.

Ling Tinglan then arranged for the army to head towards the heartland of the various families within the city.

The entire desolate city was engulfed in blood, with blood and screams everywhere.

...

The Great Wilderness.

"It's almost time, we can go back now."

Han Feng heard a voice from his clone outside him, saying that all the major families in the desolate city had been wiped out.

It shouldn't be long before it's Han Feng's turn.

Han Feng has reached the mid-stage of the Celestial Immortal realm, and his true strength is comparable to that of a Golden Immortal.

He easily slipped away from the city lord's guards and returned to his room.

Han Feng had been sitting cross-legged on the cultivation platform for a short while when Ling Tinglan knocked on the door.

He opened the door and asked, "What business does Lord Ling have with me?"

"Fellow Daoist Han, your cultivation has now reached the late stage of True Immortal. You still have eight years left to serve. Come with me for a moment, I want to reassign you to a different job."

"I see. I'll go with you now."

Han Feng had no doubts whatsoever and followed Ling Tinglan over.

The two walked to a spot not far from the main hall, when Han Feng suddenly stopped.

"Why did you stop moving forward?"

"I smell a strong stench of blood. Has something happened in the main hall?"

"Something did happen, but it's been taken care of. Just come along."

"OK."

Han Feng readily agreed and followed Ling Tinglan inside.

The lobby, as usual, was luxurious yet simple.

If it weren't for Han Feng's keen eyesight, he definitely wouldn't have noticed the blood hidden in the corner.

"Fellow Daoist, please find a place to sit down."

Han Feng found a nearby seat and said, "Lord Ling, you can tell me the work you've assigned me, and I will complete it properly."

"After all, without your help, I wouldn't be able to enter the Immortal Cleansing Pool now. I would like to express my gratitude once again."

"You don't need to thank me so much, you deserve it."

Ling Tinglan explained her purpose: "I have a favor to ask of you, fellow Daoist. If you can do this, you will not have to do eight years of forced labor."

Han Feng's face lit up with joy: "Such a good thing? Lord Ling, just say the word. As long as I can do it, I'm definitely willing."

"It's not a big deal, it's just that I need to borrow your body."

A sinister voice came from beside me.