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(Southern Region- Xercopolis Empire)

(The Forbidden Desert)

"We can speak in your tent," Xu Lu suggested kindly.

She was not stupid and could read the obvious change in the atmosphere after her announcement that she was a cultivator.

These tribespeople were terrified of her.

Maybe they thought that demon cultivators represented all cultivators or perhaps there were those on the \'righteous\' side who were no better.

Xu Lu\'s brows furrowed slightly beneath her mask as she felt an uncomfortable sickly feeling. It did not feel good to make these people afraid.

Knowing that they were willing to get down on their knees and beg for their lives did not make her feel powerful.

It just made her feel upset.

This world... was broken. Cultivators had the power of gods but the problem was that at the end of the day they were humans.

Humans were good, bad and everything in-between.

If you gave a group of humans god-like powers... this was the inevitable result.

"Yes... yes... please... come this way..." the village head stammered as he leaned on his cane and walked towards a large tent.

The tent was near the shore of the oasis and right under the shade of a large palm tree.

Xu Lu followed behind him and the crowd of tribespeople naturally parted to the side and took several steps backwards.

The parents hid the children behind their bodies and some even covered their child\'s mouth in case they said something that offended the powerful cultivator.

But regardless of whether they were young or old...

Male or female...

They all trembled.

Xu Lu knew that trying to calm them down would be useless because it would be difficult to change the first impression that she had already made.

So, she could only do the next best thing.

Get the information that she wanted from the village head as soon as possible and then leave these people alone.

The village head walked towards his tent and a frail elderly woman came outside the flap.

The village head said a few words to the woman in a language that Xu Lu did not understand but she could tell that he was talking about her.

The elderly woman bowed her head and then left the tent. Her footsteps were shaking and yet she moved with a steadfast determination.

A single teardrop ran down the side of her cheek and Xu Lu was struck with a horrible realisation.

The elderly woman inside the tent, most likely the village head\'s wife... she did not expect him to survive.

What had cultivators done to make these people so afraid?

Xu Lu was almost scared to find out the answer to that question.

"Welcome to my humble abode... o great cultivator," the village head spoke respectfully as he pulled the flap open.

Xu Lu walked inside and was impressed by what she saw. It was simple set-up but it looked very cozy and comfortable.

There was a thick greyish- black carpet covering the sandy floor and one could see a makeshift bed in the corner of the room.

In the center of the tent was a steel table where a pot of water had been placed down.

Along the walls of the tent were extra chairs, a drawer, a closet, and other pieces of furniture.

It was a small and compact arrangement, but it was also a glimpse into the lives of the people who lived in this harsh and unforgiving desert.

The village head walked into the tent behind Xu Lu and closed the flap.

He muttered a quiet word of prayer beneath his breath to the Sun god to protect him and his people.

The elderly man knelt down on the ground and lightly rested his forehead against the top of the carpet.

"O great cultivator... I swear that I will tell you the truth... please I beg you... do not take your anger out on my people," the village head begged desperately.

"Let you anger fall on me."

"Get up," Xu Lu spoke calmly.

She took a step forward to help the elderly man up from the ground, but he quickly got up on his own.

"Tell me what happened to the five cultivators," Xu Lu asked quietly.

A troubled expression flashed across the old man\'s wrinkled face and there was a brief moment of silence.

Xu Lu did not say a word and allowed the silence to linger. She felt like a bad guy interrogating an innocent old man but this was the best way.

She could not stay here for long and cause these people even more distress.

"I... they... visited us around a month ago... searching for... they didn\'t say the name of the plant but they described it to us..." the village head finally spoke.

"A flower with golden petals... we... no one had seen or heard of such a plant before... the cultivators they..."

The village head\'s voice trailed off and a frightened expression flashed across his face. He seemed to be weighing internally in his mind if to say more about the incident.

"Answer truthfully... I want to hear everything," Xu Lu bluntly spoke as she could tell that what the old man was about to say next could be a lead.

"They got angry..." the village head whispered softly.

"They... the female one... she... she killed... seven young men... said that they were looking at her funny..."

"The rest... they did not stop her... they laughed and made all of us come outside and watch the execution..."

"O great cultivator... I..."

The village head choked up and there was a faint tremor in his voice. Whatever he had seen that day... still affected him deeply.

"They left... three days later... they headed in a north eastern direction... I don\'t know what happened next," the village head finished his recollection with great difficulty.

Xu Lu did not know what to say.

Those five disciples belonged to a clan under the control of the Holy Sword Sect. They were cultivators who were part of the \'righteous\' path.

And yet...

How could they be so comfortable killing the innocent?

Why did no one stop the female cultivator? No... it was worse than that...

Why did they encourage the violence?

Xu Lu closed her eyes and took in a few deep breaths. Now it all made sense. She could understand why the desert tribespeople were so afraid.

If she had witnessed something like that from their perspective... she would be terrified of all cultivators for the rest of her life.

"I know that my words will mean little to the dead," Xu Lu spoke solemnly as she approached the village head and placed a warm hand on his shoulder.

"But I promise you... when I find them... they will answer for their crimes."

The village head stared directly into her gaze and he must have seen something in her dark brown eyes because his shoulders dropped with relief.

"Thank... thank you..." the village head murmured softly as he hung his head.