Chapter 896: Honeypot! Honeypot! Honeypot!

A single remark about losing their manhood was more than Wan Ji's seven daughters and the 250 pledge-makers could bear.

Bai Lu and the others had been forced to submit to Yun Xiao, but they hadn't suffered abuse.

In contrast stood Mu Zixiao and Mu Zhilu. They had cursed so loudly before; now they wept even louder.

Their hands were stained with blood. Though no one controlled them, they were disheartened, tears streaming down in utter regret.

As for anger, when Yun Xiao's cold gaze fell upon them, they truly didn't dare to be angry anymore.

Castrated and having thoroughly offended the Ancestral Land—this fellow had even slain Meng Huan; how could he show mercy to the brothers?

Even Zu Wei had been humiliated!

"I'll hand it over!"

"We'll both hand it over!"

No matter how much they cursed inwardly, the two brothers hurried to obediently surrender their Personal Pledges.

What occupied their minds was merely waiting until the Grand Assembly of Myriad Sects concluded, so this damned celestial slave would face the overwhelming wrath and lethal intent of their Ancestral Land powerhouses and their father.

"Hah…" Seeing the Mu brothers castrated, completely stripped of a man's joy, and trembling as they bowed to Yun Xiao, the other followers lowered their heads and sighed, losing all will to fight.

Zu Wei, Meng Huan, and the Mu brothers—these four young leaders: one was conquered and humiliated, one was slain, and two were crippled!

They had all knelt; what else could the others do?

Under the cold gazes of Bai Lu, Gusu Yan, and the Bloodvine Young Masters, these 100 disciples could only obediently hand over their Personal Pledges, which flew toward Yun Xiao.

In the history of the Grand Assembly of Myriad Sects, Yun Xiao was perhaps the only one using Personal Pledges in place of Parent Flags.

After collecting them all, Yun Xiao held nearly 400 Personal Pledges in his hands!

It was clear that Bai Lu and the others had fought hard in this battle.

Yun Xiao knew what they were thinking. They didn't want only themselves to be constrained by him; the more people who joined, the less pressure and criticism they'd face.

As for the future of the Southern Divine Dragon Realm and Extreme Yin Celestial Realm, it wasn't their concern and had little to do with them. With the excuse of the Personal Pledges, they could shirk responsibility no matter who won or lost when the time came.

So, with more people, the Extreme Yin Star's Carefree Windy Clouds faction increased its combat power instead.

"Release them," Yun Xiao commanded.

Standing amid the roaring blizzard, his white robes fluttered as his voice—majestic and cold—carried an irresistible pressure.

Hai Qing, Bai Lu, and the others completely released them, allowing the disciples of the Ancestral Land and Nine Yin Soul Sea to regain partial freedom.

Unfortunately, Yun Xiao had already grasped their Personal Pledges.

Even though they were released, no one left. The 100 disciples stood there, faces grim, each bowing their heads under the weight of inner defeat.

The Mu brothers, once potential leaders, now hung their heads. Their faces were ashen, legs trembling, wishing they could find a hole to crawl into.

Hai Qing and her six sisters stood nearby, their delicate fragrances drifting in the air. Yet the brothers didn't dare to look. After all, looking would do them no good now.

"Yun Xiao, we came to support you, helped you once, and you repay kindness with ingratitude!" a young female disciple of the Ancestral Land cried out, tears welling in her eyes. "All the elders in the Million Starlight Palace have seen your crimes clearly. You keep courting death—what do you plan to do with us?"

She stared desperately at this man who was undeniably handsome yet seemed like a devil.

In her heart, the Mu brothers were perfect senior brothers, but Yun Xiao had shattered her dreams. Her heart was in pieces.

"Don't worry," Yun Xiao replied, as if he didn't notice her despair. "Having captured you all, there will be times when you can achieve great deeds for my Carefree Windy Clouds faction."

"Achieve great deeds for you? Dream on!"

Others, besides the Mu brothers, gritted their teeth in refusal, unable to accept their fate.

"Only those who are both righteous and strong can inspire heroes to follow them!" the junior sister shouted sharply, tears streaming down. "You are merely brutal without morality. Even if you take our Personal Pledges, no one will risk their lives for you!"

"Is that so?" Yun Xiao smiled and shrugged. He turned away from them and looked at Zu Wei beside him. She hung her head, sobbing, shame written all over her. "You only brought over 100 people. That's too few."

"W-what do you want?" Zu Wei's delicate body trembled, her voice numb.

Though Yun Xiao used the Soulfire Eye to control her soul, he didn't delve too deep, leaving her room to think and feel.

He had his reasons. First, like with Shen Nanyin, he wanted to make it seem real, so others wouldn't realize Zu Wei had become his puppet. It made things easier.

Second, while he was stronger than Zu Wei and Shen Nanyin in spirit, these geniuses had strong souls themselves. Yun Xiao couldn't control them completely.

So Zu Wei's current behavior—being overly afraid of Yun Xiao—wasn't unusual.

To the spectators, a peak saintess being suppressed like this by a madman, clinging to life was understandable.

"What do you want?" she asked again.

Yun Xiao placed his hands on her shoulders, staring into her eyes. His voice was low and dangerous.

"Use your status to send flying talismans to all those willing to follow the Ancestral Land and Nine Yin Soul Sea. Summon them to the Extreme Yin Star, to avenge Meng Huan. Make sure to send the messages separately. Don't have too many come at once; we can't handle too many at once."

Even though they were released, not a single person left. Hundreds stood there, faces bleak, each burdened by inner turmoil, heads hung low.

Zu Wei still had some clarity of mind. Hearing this, her scalp tingled; she snapped her head up, eyes wide in shock. "No way! You're using my Ancestor Land's reputation to set a trap! That's too despicable and shameless! I'd rather violate my Personal Pledge and be eliminated..."

Before she could finish, Yun Xiao raised his hand, pinching both her ears, lifting her pretty face up to his. The Life Sigil pattern on his forehead glowed, illuminating Zu Wei's eyes.

A faint, cold smile played at the corners of Yun Xiao's mouth. "Actually, I didn't take your Personal Pledge. I trust you. You can definitely do this, right? Together, we'll defeat the Southern Divine Dragon Realm..."

"Ah!" The terror in Zu Wei's eyes gradually faded; her gaze grew vacant, wisps of violet swirling within her pupils.

"Yes... together, we'll defeat the Dragon Devil Clan. We are allies," she murmured, nodding to Yun Xiao.

"Send out the call. Feel free to describe how despicable I am. Proactively gather heroes from all over to come and uphold justice. Be quick about it," Yun Xiao released her and patted her cheek.

"Yes! I'll hurry!" Zu Wei became excited, as if entrusted with a grand mission. She was a figure similar to the Young Dragon Lord, with extensive connections. As a celestial goddess, she had countless admirers.

In terms of rallying power, with her righteous and illustrious background from the Ancestral Land and as a member of the Heavenly Deity Alliance, she far surpassed the Young Dragon Lord.

But as someone from a prestigious sect, she usually disdained relying on her admirers' support.

This was where she differed from the Young Dragon Lord; he relied on the might of the Southern Divine Dragon Realm, using threats and bribes to forcibly recruit others.

Now, as she sent out one flying talisman after another, Yun Xiao could already foresee flocks of fat sheep, as if injected with adrenaline, racing toward the Extreme Yin Star as if welcoming spring.

"Hope we can handle them," Yun Xiao said calmly.

Feng Yao, Hai Qing, and the other eight listened to his arrangements, their eyes wide with astonishment.

"Goodness, he's really fleecing them dry," Hai Qing couldn't help but exclaim.

She was undoubtedly shocked.

In the past, her sisters had fought in the Grand Assembly Arena relying solely on raw strength—just seven or eight of them, always outnumbered, exhausting themselves to the limit.

But this celestial slave, after securing the first batch of people, was now rolling a snowball that was getting bigger and bigger.

"Yun Xiao truly has the genius of an Emperor," Hai Qing couldn't help but praise.

"Save it," Feng Yao curled her lips. "He has the ability, but he's carefree by nature. If he weren't forced, he'd be too lazy to play this game."

"You know him that well?" Hai Qing asked with a teasing smile.

She realized what she was implying and suddenly felt it was absurd that she was pairing Feng Yao and Yun Xiao together.

"Perhaps there really is a love that transcends the physical. Maybe I'm being shallow. Cultivators' love doesn't necessarily need that kind of..." Hai Qing thought to herself. This showed that she now respected Yun Xiao enough to see him as someone on par with Feng Yao.

"Things are going to get busy," Feng Yao said, curling her lips. "Lil Yun is having Zu Wei's admirers come to the Extreme Yin Star in batches for revenge. I wonder how many will come?"

"No worries, let them come slowly." Hai Qing couldn't help but laugh. "The Southern Divine Dragon Star is too far away, and the

admirers

will move faster in small groups, making it easier to capture them and strengthen our Carefree Windy Clouds faction."

At this moment, Zu Wei's flying talismans had already been sent out, but Mu Zixiao, Mu Zhilu, and the 100 or so new recruits had no idea what was about to happen.

After arranging everything with Zu Wei, Yun Xiao approached them with a cold expression. "New captives, each of you must pay a protection fee of 10,000 Supreme Immortal Jades. You can choose not to pay and violate your Personal Pledges to exit the competition, but let's see whether my sword is faster or you exiting is faster."

"Celestial sl... Yun Xiao! Don't go too far!" Mu Zixiao's eyes were bloodshot. Clenching his fists, he raised his head angrily, glaring at Yun Xiao.

Just as he finished speaking, a three-foot azure blade was pressed against Mu Zixiao's mouth, shredding his tongue to pieces.

"Ah! Ah!" Mu Zixiao leaned back, mouth full of blood, face covered in tears.

"Mu Zixiao, take the lead and stand up for our celestial slave group. We're not real men, but we're braver than most," Yun Xiao said.

"I'll pay! I'll pay!" Mu Zixiao hurriedly said, hands trembling as he took out a Bag of Holding. In a quivering voice, he said, "It's just 10,000, right? I can afford it!"

With his example, everything went much more smoothly.

In a short time, Yun Xiao collected over 1,000,000 Supreme Immortal Jades, making Blue Star and Red Moon's eyes widen. They thought to themselves that collecting a protection fee was indeed a quick way to make money.

"Why are only we paying? Did they pay?" Mu Zhilu asked indignantly, pointing at Bai Lu and the others.

"They did," Yun Xiao looked at Bai Lu, Gusu Yan, and the others, raising an eyebrow. "Tell them, did you pay?"

Bai Lu bit her lip and quickly said, "Um, yes, we paid..."

Hearing this, those paying felt balanced in their minds.

In reality, Bai Lu and the others hadn't paid, because the situations of the two groups were different. Bai Lu's group were originally supporters of the Southern Divine Dragon Realm. Getting them to willingly serve him was very difficult.

Some people needed to be sincerely recruited; others just needed a beating. This was the art of controlling people.

With this little detail, Bai Lu and Gusu Yan exchanged glances. Through this grading and preferential treatment, subtle changes occurred in their hearts.

In fact, they were now among the strongest fighters in Yun Xiao's Carefree Windy Clouds faction and had fought for him before.

From now on, things would only go more smoothly.

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