The old woman in black swept her gaze around anxiously, her expression greatly relieved. She quickly beckoned in the air, retrieving the silver centipede back into her hand. Then her eyes swept across the scene, and she glared angrily at that The Daoist in Blue, shouting, “What kind of demon are you?”

That The Daoist in Blue, upon seeing The Old Woman in Black and The Maid in Green, finally felt a bit more at ease. He hurriedly cupped his hands in greeting in midair and said, “I am Grant Jr. from Yongzhao Mountain in Yun Prefecture, here by order to escort Miss Carter back to the mountain. Miller broke through the formation, which nearly caused a misunderstanding. Please forgive us, please forgive us…”

“From Yongzhao Mountain?”

When The Old Woman in Black heard this, she felt somewhat reassured, knowing that the newcomers were not enemies but rather the people she had been waiting for. But as soon as she glanced at Henry Foster lying on the ground, his life or death uncertain, her anger flared up again. She shouted, “If you’re here to fetch the young lady, don’t you know to properly send a message and ask for the door to be opened? Where did you get the guts to try and forcefully break through my grand formation as soon as you arrived?”

Upon hearing this, The Daoist in Blue looked a bit embarrassed, chuckled awkwardly, and did not answer.

But just then, a lazy voice sounded from behind The Daoist in Blue, laughing, “Granny Hill, don’t be so quick to scold. It was I, worried about Little Sister Lily’s safety, who asked Daoist Grant to break the formation directly. Are you blaming me for lacking in manners?”

The Old Woman in Black and The Maid in Green in the air turned toward the source of the voice, and both their expressions changed dramatically.

They saw that behind The Daoist in Blue, suspended in midair, were several black-armored guards. In the midst of these guards was a black sedan chair, flanked by two beautiful young maids. The sedan was inlaid with pearls and jade, indescribably luxurious. At this moment, the curtain of the sedan was being slowly lifted, revealing a gentle-faced youth sitting upright inside, his complexion as fair as white jade.

This youth was not very old, about seventeen or eighteen, and extremely handsome. Only his eyes, even when smiling, held a hint of wild arrogance, looking at people from beneath his eyelids as if no one was worth his regard.

“So it’s Young Master Smith who has arrived. Please forgive this old woman for not coming out to greet you sooner…”

The Old Woman in Black and The Maid in Green exchanged a glance, then both respectfully gathered their robes and bowed to the youth.

“I happened to be nearby and heard that Little Sister Lily was being bullied here, so I took on this task and came to this prefecture. I first wiped out those audacious sects that dared provoke my The Carter Family, and then hurried over to fetch Little Sister Lily. After sending a message once and getting no reply, I worried something had happened to her, so I had someone break through your formation. Are you blaming me for this?”

The youth in the pale golden robe stood up, stepped down through the air one step at a time, and spoke with a half-smile.

“So that’s how it was…”

The Old Woman in Black’s heart trembled slightly, only now realizing that this Young Mr. Smith had indeed sent her a message.

It was just that she had been in the middle of treating The Maid in Green’s injuries at that critical moment and hadn’t noticed.

But thinking it over, she still felt a bit dissatisfied. Since the surrounding formation was intact, it meant that those inside would be safe. Couldn’t this Young Mr. Smith, after not getting a reply to his message, have waited a little longer?

Especially when she glanced at Henry Foster lying on the ground, his life or death uncertain, her heart grew heavier.

The silver centipede on this country youth was placed there by her, originally to deal with enemies. If real enemies had come and he died protecting the young lady, that would have been acceptable. But unexpectedly, no enemy came, and he was instead injured by their own people. Now she could sense that his vital energy was extremely weak—who knew how much he had lost, or whether he could be saved.

Though dissatisfied, she dared not voice her thoughts in front of the golden-robed youth. She hurriedly bowed and apologized, “Just now I was treating Miss Green’s injuries and was momentarily negligent. Please do not blame me, Young Master Smith…”

The golden-robed youth ignored her and didn’t even bother to glance at Miss Green. His gaze fell only on Little Lily, who was crouching on the ground, and he put on a smile, saying, “Little Sister Lily, you were frightened just now, and that’s truly my fault. But you needn’t be afraid anymore. The seven audacious sects—Wild Dragon Ridge, Carefree Den, Blood Fiend Sect, Shangguan Mountain, and the rest—that dared to harm you have all been wiped out by me. The heads of the seven sect leaders are right here. Little Sister Lily, see if any are missing?”

As he spoke, the armored guards behind him stepped forward, each holding a wooden box. Inside were seven freshly severed, bloody heads.

“All wiped out?”

The Old Woman in Black and The Maid in Green were both shocked by Young Mr. Smith’s words.

As members of the Eastern Lands’ The Carter Family, they naturally looked down on these small An Prefecture sects. But after all, this was not the Eastern Lands, and the The Carter Family’s influence did not reach here. These local sects, as the local powers, did have some means of self-preservation.

The most crucial thing was that it had only been a few days since they sent the message, and yet this Young Mr. Smith had already wiped out all seven sects with such ease. The speed and ruthlessness of his actions were truly shocking. They just wondered if he had left any survivors to interrogate about the mastermind behind the scenes…

…But thinking of this Young Mr. Smith’s usual methods, it was unlikely he would have left any alive!