Chapter 125: Jade Tablet

Damn it, who the hell did this?

Xiao Yan smashed the wooden pillar beside him with one punch, shouting angrily.

At this moment, his appearance resembled a volcano about to erupt, his face twisted with extreme anger.

"Xiao Yanzi, calm down first. I swept the Xiao Family with my soul power and found no trace of your father. Let's first see if we can find any clues about the killer."

Seeing his state, Yao Chen reminded him.

"Yes, first find the killer—I'll tear him to pieces!"

Hearing Yao Chen's reminder, Xiao Yan also came to his senses.

Then, suppressing his emotions, he continued forward, searching for clues about the killer.

Quickly approaching a corpse, Xiao Yan realized that when alive, he knew this person—he was one of the few Combat Masters of the Xiao Family.

Yet now, he lies dead here with an expression of extreme fear.

Xiao Yan crouched to examine it for a moment, finding no wounds on the corpse's surface.

At the same time, his examination showed it was not death by poison.

Moreover, he is currently a fourth-rank peak alchemist.

It's unlikely the killer could have used a high-grade poison that would escape his detection on these Xiao Family fighters and Combat Masters...

However, the items in his pockets had been emptied out, scattered all over the ground.

Moreover, from the various items strewn across the ground, it seems the killer was searching for something.

"Master, this is definitely the work of the Yun Lan Sect or the Mi Te Er Family. Please lend me your strength—I want to avenge the Xiao Family."

He had never encountered such a bizarre situation before; after thinking it over, he could find no useful information, and immediately fixed his gaze on the two forces he held grudges against.

Hearing this, Yao Chen shook his head, his expression solemn as he said: "This manner of death doesn't seem like something those lowly forces could produce; I hope it's not related to souls..."

"Wait, there's someone in the dry well beside you!"

Mid-sentence, Yao Chen suddenly felt a faint fluctuation of weak life force from beneath the dry well nearby, and reminded him.

"What?"

Hearing Yao Chen's words, Xiao Yan was also startled, then hurriedly ran to the side of the dry well and peered inside.

Faintly, he seemed to see a black shadow lying at the bottom of the well.

He grabbed the rope used to draw water on the well, then leapt down.

"Second Elder!"

Landing on the ground, Xiao Yan used the sliver of sunlight shining from the well mouth to recognize the identity of the person at the bottom.

After helping the fallen old man to his feet, Xiao Yan released a strand of Beast Fire.

Only then did he discover that the Second Elder's lower half of his body had almost completely vanished.

On the wound, some unknown black substance had adhered.

"He's basically down to his last breath; if he weren't about to wake up, emitting a tiny fluctuation, I might not have noticed—while he's still alive, say your final words to him."

Gazing at the blackness on the wound, Yao Chen's expression suddenly grew solemn; after speaking, he retreated into his storage ring.

Hearing Yao Chen's words, Xiao Yan's face looked grim.

After great difficulty finding a living clansman, he was told this would be their last meeting.

Facing such a situation, surely few could remain in good spirits.

"Cough cough..."

Just as the former lost himself in thought, the old man's mouth suddenly emitted a coughing sound.

His tightly shut eyes slowly opened.

"Xiao... Xiao Yan, is that you?"

The old man's eyes suddenly saw light, he instinctively narrowed them, then weakly inquired.

"Xiao... Xiao Yan, is that you?"

Seeing the other awake, Xiao Yan voiced a series of doubts in his heart.

"Really it's you... cough cough..."

The Second Elder sighed, never expecting to see a surviving clansman at such a time.

After a moment, he slowly said: "This morning, everything was fine, but then a black-clothed figure shrouded in black mist suddenly appeared in the sky, continuously releasing black chains, wantonly slaughtering our Xiao Family people..."

Mid-sentence, the old man seemed exhausted, paused briefly, then said: "That person seemed to want our ancestral jade tablet; before leaving, he also said, 'Exactly where did the Xiao Family hide the jade tablet...' Right, I remember your father was seized by that black-clothed person, and beforehand he handed this ancestral jade tablet to me..."

After another pause, he continued: "Although I don't currently know the clan chief's exact condition, if the light at the center of this jade tablet still shines, we can confirm that he at least is not in mortal danger."

Speaking, the Second Elder carefully produced an ancient box from his bosom and handed it to Xiao Yan.

Upon hearing that this could confirm his father's condition, Xiao Yan hastily opened the box.

Then, he saw a piece of green jade tablet lying quietly inside.

At this moment, a point of light wandered slowly at the center of the jade tablet, as if it possessed spirituality.

"This jade tablet was left by the Xiao Family ancestors; each clan head leaves a fragment of soul power within it. When the clan head dies, that wandering point of light dissipates. Seeing that the clan head's soul light remains strong, he must be free of mortal danger."

Gazing at the jade tablet that brought about the slaughter of the Xiao Family household, the Second Elder spoke with a complex expression, weak and breathless.

Then, as if recalling something, he suddenly burst with great strength, grabbing Xiao Yan's arm and speaking excitedly: "Those juniors from the Jia Nan Academy must still be alive; when you see them, tell them not to avenge us, for that black-clothed person, when he flies, he does not manifest Dou Qi wings—he is a Dou..."

Before he could finish, the formerly excited Second Elder suddenly lost strength, his eyes slowly closed, and he completely lost consciousness.

"Second Elder!"

Seeing the other dead, Xiao Yan's back teeth nearly shattered from grinding, his hatred for the black-clothed person skyrocketed.

"Damn it, even if you are a Combat Sect, I will make you pay the price!"

Gently laying down the Second Elder's corpse, Xiao Yan spoke fiercely.

But he simply couldn't understand why a Combat Sect powerhouse would personally come seeking their Xiao Family's great Combat Master lineage's jade tablet, and even abduct his father.

As for the Yun Lan Sect and the Mi Te Er family, even all the people of the Jia Ma Empire were excluded by him.

As for Mi Te Er, no need to mention him; it's impossible for there to be a Battle Ancestor expert; otherwise, they could easily be extorted by their master and disciple.

As for the Yun Lan Sect, that's also unlikely.

If the one who comes this time is a wind-attributed Battle Ancestor, he might still suspect the Yun Lan Sect.

But as for the dark attribute, I'm afraid the Yun Lan Sect doesn't even have a decent cultivation technique; where would they get the resources to cultivate a dark-attributed Battle Ancestor?