"oh?"
When Li Ming heard that Lu Lishen had gone out of his way to capture a woman, he felt a little strange.
Because Lu Lishen doesn't seem to be a lecherous person; on the contrary, he is obsessed with martial arts and wants to achieve great things.
Even if he liked this woman very much, logically speaking, why would he waste time going out in person? Wouldn't it have been better to send his underlings instead?
Li Ming followed Liu Qingyun to the back hall, and then walked for a while before arriving at an underground corridor.
After passing through this corridor, a completely different world unfolds.
Before me was a dungeon of several hundred square meters, divided into several large and small areas, each separated by metal fences, and each area contained several women imprisoned.
The air was filled with a foul stench that made people nauseous.
Most of these women were barely clothed, with many even bare-skinned and covered in wounds. Their eyes were vacant and unfocused, and only their slightly heaving chests and slightly open mouths proved that they were still alive.
Even though this wasn't the first time Li Ming had witnessed such a scene, he was still somewhat moved. These bandits truly deserved to die; it was better to kill the innocent than let them go.
Clang! Clang!
Li Ming instantly drew his sword, and the blade flashed.
All the locks on the doors were cut.
"Everyone... those damned beasts from Lianyun Village have all been killed by Lord Li, you... are free."
Liu Qingyun couldn't help but sob softly.
The women, who had been imprisoned for too long, stared blankly at the open iron gate. After hearing Liu Qingyun's words, the light in their eyes gradually focused and regained a glimmer of color. However, due to the long-term abuse, they were all somewhat incredulous for a moment.
Li Ming sighed inwardly.
Even if he rescues these women, many of them probably won't want to return to their hometowns, and some might even contemplate suicide.
However, it was precisely because they were women, and most of them were quite attractive, that they were captured and taken to the mountains. Men or those with lower looks would probably have been killed by the bandits long ago.
Ultimately, it's because they're too weak...
A resolute glint flashed in Li Ming's eyes.
In this world, the strong prey on the weak. You either get trampled on and slaughtered, or you rise above all others and become the only one who matters... Naturally, he chose the latter.
"A new person has been arrested and is being held in the innermost cell. Lu Lishen values her highly."
Liu Qingyun stepped forward, walked around for a while, and pointed to the innermost cell.
Li Ming followed and saw that the cell only held a pretty young girl.
Li Ming took a closer look and found that the other person was nothing special. Although she was beautiful, why was she valued by Lu Lishen?
However, the other party seems to have decent cultivation, having reached the Qi Condensation Realm.
Why were you arrested?
Li Ming asked in a cold voice through the iron gate.
The girl was startled when she heard Li Ming's words.
"I……"
"I've thought it through, get to the point... If you're lying to me..."
Seeing her hesitation, Li Ming's eyes narrowed, and a murderous intent surged forth.
"My lord, my name is Yi Yao... I was captured because Lu Lishen wanted my ancestor's martial arts techniques."
"But I don't know anything about ancestral techniques."
Yi Yao immediately burst into tears.
She had decent talent and joined a small sect to cultivate, but was suddenly captured by Lu Lishen and interrogated about her family's heritage.
She was helpless, after all, she really hadn't found the source of the inheritance...
"What kind of martial arts technique does Lu Lishen want?"
Li Ming said in a deep voice.
Without hesitation, Yi Yao replied, "The Heavenly Overlord Body Technique... might be because one of my ancestors was an elder of the Heavenly Saint Sect, but after the Heavenly Saint Sect was destroyed, he was hunted down and disappeared without a trace."
Over the years, our Yi family has long since declined into nothingness, and I am now one of the few remaining descendants of the Yi family.
"If the legacy of our ancestors' Heavenly Saint Sect had been passed down, we wouldn't have ended up like this."
Upon hearing this, Li Ming guessed some of the cause and effect.
It seems that even though Lu Lishen joined the Heavenly Saint Palace, he probably didn't gain their trust and wasn't taught the Azure Heaven Overlord Body Technique.
He probably thought of another way and spent time finding the descendants of the Yi family, trying to obtain their cultivation techniques.
However, it was clear that Yi Yao did not know the technique either, and Li Ming was immediately disappointed, just as he was about to swing his sword to rescue her.
Yi Yao was startled and gritted her teeth, saying, "Wait... Actually, our ancestors left a token for our Yi family, but I don't know its exact location."
"oh?"
Upon hearing this, Li Ming became interested and even stopped swinging his knife.
Yi Yao quickly replied, "It was originally on me, but Lu Lishen took it away. He kept pressing me to tell me what it was for, but I was afraid he would kill me if he found out, so I never told him."
clang!
Li Ming cut the lock off the door with a single stroke.
"It stinks here... Come outside and talk to me later."
Li Ming opened the iron gate, gesturing for him to leave.
Yi Yao breathed a sigh of relief and took unsteady steps out.
"Tell me, what is the token?"
Li Ming said in a deep voice.
"It's just a small bronze cauldron; I really don't know what its specific purpose is."
Yi Yao told him the truth.
"This is a family heirloom of the Yi family. According to my elders, it was left behind by our Martial Saint ancestor. We don't know where it went after it was left behind."
"Um."
Li Ming nodded, and then indeed found what she had mentioned in Lu Lishen's storage space.
To his disappointment, this thing wasn't some kind of magical artifact... and naturally, there was no information about it.
Li Ming planned to ask around later; perhaps someone would know...
Li then sent her away.
If the other party is lying to her, Li Ming will naturally find a way to find her.
Finally, under Liu Qingyun's guidance, Li Ming found some of the mountain stronghold's valuables, tens of thousands of taels of silver notes, and some equipment.
That's it?
Li Ming frowned slightly.
However, he quickly came to terms with it, figuring that the bandits probably spent their money as soon as they had it, and that most of their valuables were on their leader, such as the fact that Lu Lishen had a lot of Yuan Crystals in his spatial ring.
In terms of value, it's dozens of times more than that amount of money.
Upon arriving at the main hall, Li Ming gave the women some travel expenses and told them to decide for themselves whether to stay or leave. Those who wanted to go home could do so on their own, while those who did not could have the government make arrangements.
Before going up Lianyun Mountain, Li Ming had already notified the local government. However, for their safety, he did not allow them to follow. Given his reputation, the government officials would not dare to neglect these matters.
Li then left, descending the mountain alone.
That's all he can do. Getting them out of this hopeless situation is all he can do, and he has no obligation to do anything more.
As Li Ming walked along the mountain path, seeing that there was no one in the nearby forest, he had some thoughts in his mind.
What would happen if this heartfelt blood were released?
He was a little worried that he might lose his rationality like Lu Lishen had, which would greatly affect his combat effectiveness.
"Why don't we give it a try?"
Li Ming couldn't help but think that he might use it at a crucial moment only to find that it had major flaws, and then it would be too late to make adjustments.
Thinking of this, Li Ming focused his mind and activated his essence blood.
Instantly, Li Ming's heart began to pound, the sound like a drumbeat.
His essence and blood instantly began to flow from his heart to his entire body. Li Ming felt a powerful force about to break through his body, and his skin turned red as if his body was about to spontaneously combust.
"call!"
Li Ming couldn't help but open his mouth and inhale, the cold air entering his body, and the white mist he exhaled turned crimson.
Suppress the surging blood and qi, and stabilize your current state.
Several strange, blood-red lightning patterns suddenly appeared on Li Ming's arms, looking extremely eerie.
"Um?"
Li Ming frowned slightly. He sensed that someone was watching him, and that the person was quite powerful.
He hadn't sensed it before, but in this state, his strength, speed, and perception were greatly enhanced in all aspects, allowing him to instantly detect someone spying on him hundreds of meters away!
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