Chapter 102: The Xu Clan

On the other side, Ji Yuanzhen was even more ferocious.

As he battled Xu Shangdong, every saber strike he unleashed was like a vicious tiger pouncing for the kill; faintly, the sound of a tiger's roar could be heard, chilling the soul.

"Clang!"

Xu Shangdong quickly exhausted his strength, and the long sword in his hand was knocked away.

"Rip!"

The saber light slashed horizontally.

A fine head soared into the sky.

The head of the Xu Clan had been slain.

Once the Xu Clan head was dead, the Xu Clan disciples were completely terrified, fleeing madly without a care for anything else.

"Kill them!" The Martial Masters who had originally been forced into the war by the Xu Clan, along with a portion of the Ji Clan disciples, clamored as they pursued and killed all the way.

Many Xu Clan disciples collapsed in front of the Xu Manor gates, struggling to lift their heads for one last look at the gate before closing their eyes in unwillingness.

"Rip!"

With the Xu Clan head dead and the Xu Clan disciples routed, the disciples of the Three-Family Alliance also scattered in a chaotic mob. Seeing this, the eighth-rank Great Wu Shi of the Three-Family Alliance panicked, and Liang Jingtang, whose momentum was like a rainbow, seized the opportunity to run his spear through the man's chest.

He breathed his last.

A seventh-rank killing an eighth-rank—Liang Jingtang felt a surge of immense heroic spirit; he felt completely satisfied!

With the combat-capable members of the Three-Family Alliance and the Xu Clan almost entirely wiped out, and the other forces in Li Cheng with any slight strength suffering heavy casualties and severe damage to their vitality, the people from the Ji Clan and the Hidden Dragon Qianjiao Wu Guan quickly took control of the situation in Li Cheng.

The old master was very adept at handling people.

While sealing the assets of the Three-Family Alliance and the Xu Clan, he specifically ordered people to take medicine for healing wounds and restoring blood and qi strength to distribute to the various factions.

The Ji Clan head, Ji Shouli, even personally visited each family to offer condolences for those who had passed away.

There is no harm without comparison.

Now that Li Cheng had just experienced a great catastrophe and every family's strength was greatly diminished, the Ji Clan could be said to be the sole power.

Under these circumstances, the Ji Clan did not take the opportunity to show off their might, but instead lowered their posture, offering comfort and concern, which made the domineering ruthlessness of the Three-Family Alliance and the Xu Clan stand out even more, highlighting the sincerity and preciousness of the Ji Clan.

Once the Ji Clan and the Hidden Dragon Qianjiao Wu Guan controlled the situation, they immediately sent people to guard the key areas of the Xu, Ding, and Lin families, as well as the Tyrant Saber Sect.

Not only were outsiders forbidden from entering, but even the people from the Ji Clan and the Hidden Dragon Qianjiao Wu Guan were not allowed inside to rummage for items.

Unless they had received orders from Xia Daoming.

The Xu Clan's backyard, backed against Mount Yuncui.

This was the place where the Xu Clan ancestor lived and cultivated.

Xia Daoming ordered a Ji Clan disciple to guard the entrance and entered alone.

Aside from being quiet and fresh, and situated at the foot of Mount Yuncui, the Xu Clan's backyard did not seem to have anything special about it.

But Xia Daoming knew it certainly wouldn't be that simple.

Xu Zhiyuan's return to his peak and the reaction of Xu Shixiong before his death had already fully indicated that the Xu Clan was hiding treasures.

Of course, there was also the Grandmaster Secret Map.

Soon, Xia Daoming pushed open the bedroom where Xu Zhiyuan had lived.

The bedroom was very spacious, with a passage connecting to a secret cultivation chamber.

Xia Daoming felt and tapped around the room but found nothing.

Thus, Xia Daoming entered the passage connecting to the secret cultivation chamber.

The secret cultivation chamber was built underground.

One could only enter the secret cultivation chamber through Xu Zhiyuan's bedroom.

The passage was somewhat long and led straight downward, seemingly heading toward the base of Mount Yuncui.

After walking about ten-plus zhang, Xia Daoming arrived at a door.

The door to the secret cultivation chamber was a very heavy iron door; it had no mechanisms, but it required the level of an eighth-rank Great Wu Shi to even have a chance of pushing it open.

Xia Daoming gently pushed the iron door open.

The secret cultivation chamber built underground had stone walls on all four sides and no visible ventilation design, yet it didn't feel stuffy at all.

On the contrary, the air inside was surprisingly fresh, and it felt very comfortable.

"This air is very similar to that cave on Gengyun Mountain..."

Xia Daoming's eyes lit up instantly.

But soon, Xia Daoming slowly closed his eyes, immersing himself in an ethereal state, quietly sensing the surprisingly fresh and lively air flowing in the secret chamber.

After a good while, Xia Daoming opened his eyes again and strolled to a corner.

This corner was no different from the rest of the secret chamber.

The walls were stone, and the floor was exceptionally hard black steel rock.

Xia Daoming felt around in this corner and suddenly touched a stone texture that felt different.

He pressed it.

A grinding sound followed.

The floor in the corner slowly opened, revealing a passage leading downward.

An exceptionally fresh breeze, making one feel as if bathed in a spring breeze, rushed out from the passage.

"As expected!"

Xia Daoming was overjoyed and hurriedly followed the passage downward.

The passage was damp, narrow, and winding.

After walking about twenty zhang, Xia Daoming felt things open up.

Before him was a natural rock cavern with an area of about twenty to thirty mu.

Light filtered in from an unknown source, and sporadic unknown stones embedded in the rock walls illuminated the cavern.

Near the back of the cavern, there was a natural spring.

The spring water bubbled, and mist steamed upward; it looked like a hot spring, but in reality, the mist and water were quite cool.

In the corner of the rock wall beside the natural spring grew an old vine with roots deeply embedded in the rock.

The old vine had three fruits hanging from it; their skin was verdant but not translucent, appearing quite green and unripe.

Unlike the one Xu Shixiong had kept in his bosom, which was verdant and translucent, with a cloud of mist churning inside that was indescribably mysterious.

Aside from the spring and the old vine, a stone room had been carved out to the left of the vine.

The stone room was very simple, with almost no decorations or furnishings, save for a meditation cushion on the floor and three chests placed in the corner.

Seeing those chests, Xia Daoming's eyes couldn't help but light up, and he hurriedly stepped forward to open them.

The moment the first chest was opened, Xia Daoming felt a wave of medicinal fragrance rush toward him.

Inside were pieces of medicinal herbs wrapped in special materials.

"Five-hundred-year-old Lie Lin Ginseng, four-hundred-year-old Red Flame Ganoderma, Fire Phoenix Fruit, hundred-year-old Profound Ice Spirit Ganoderma..."

The more Xia Daoming counted, the more joy appeared on his face.

"Truly, one cannot judge a book by its cover! This Xu Clan ancestor was already so old, yet he hid so many potent medicines; wasn't he afraid of dying from eating too much? Things like this should be eaten by young people like me." Xia Daoming grumbled while closing the chest, then proceeded to open the second one.

The second chest contained some elixir bottles, filled with elixirs that looked quite precious at a glance, capable of greatly replenishing blood and qi strength, among which was a full bottle of Longevity Jade Liquid.

"A Grandmaster is truly wealthy!" Xia Daoming grumbled again, then opened the third chest.

The third chest contained a scroll made of some unknown animal hide.

As soon as the chest was opened, Xia Daoming faintly felt an indescribable charm emanating from the scroll.

"Grandmaster Secret Map!" Xia Daoming's pupils shrank sharply.

Xia Daoming resisted the urge to open the Grandmaster Secret Map.

His strength had already been reinforced to the eighth level; if he had a Grandmaster Secret Map, as long as he observed and comprehended it, stepping into the Grandmaster realm could be said to be a matter of breaking through like a hot knife through butter.

At this moment, rashly observing the Grandmaster Secret Map of another technique, once attracted by the charm within, he might unknowingly become obsessed, which could prove counterproductive.

Therefore, Xia Daoming planned to wait until he found a Transforming Dragon Fruit to consume and became a Grandmaster before observing this Xu Clan Grandmaster Secret Map, to see if he could integrate and master it, gaining more variations in his transformed strength.

After witnessing the battle between Xu Zhiyuan and Ding Chu Shan, Xia Daoming now understood that, to a certain extent, strength that could manifest outside the body could also be seen as a form of magical change.

It was merely relatively singular.

But if more variations of transformed strength could be integrated, perhaps it would be different.

PS: March 1st, which is tomorrow at dawn, the book will be officially listed. VIP chapters will be updated at dawn. I hope all readers can come to Qidian Chinese Network to support the genuine subscription. This concerns whether old Duan can rely on writing to support his family in the future!

The free period for the new book has been a bit long, and the updates have been quite intense, so I haven't been able to save up any drafts. Therefore, that's all for today; I will strive to update a bit more at dawn. ===== CHAPTER 103 =====