Chapter 102: Xu Family Secret Realm

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

In his battle against Xu Shangdong, every slash he unleashed resembled a ferocious tiger pouncing, with faint roars echoing, striking fear into the soul.

“Clang!”

Xu Shangdong quickly exhausted his strength, and his long sword flew from his hand.

“Ssshh!”

The blade sliced horizontally.

A fine head shot skyward.

The head of the Xu family patriarch was dead.

With the death of the Xu family patriarch, the Xu family disciples were utterly terrified and fled in wild panic.

“Kill them!” The martial masters previously forced into the war by the Xu family, along with some Ji family disciples, shouted as they chased after them.

Many Xu family disciples collapsed before the main gate of the Xu mansion, struggling to lift their heads and glance at the gate, then closed their eyes in bitter resignation.

“Ssshh!”

With the death of the Xu family patriarch and the collapse of the Xu disciples, the Three Alliance disciples also scattered in chaos. The Three Alliance’s eighth-rank martial master, seeing this, panicked and lost his composure; Liang Jingtang seized the opportunity and drove his spear straight through his chest.

He died on the spot.

An eighth-rank killed by a seventh-rank—Liang Jingtang suddenly felt a surge of heroic spirit, utterly satisfied!

With nearly all combat-capable members of the Three Alliance and the Xu family dead or wounded, and other slightly powerful forces in Licheng suffering heavy losses and severely weakened, the Ji family and the Qianjiao Martial Arts Hall quickly took control of Licheng’s situation.

The old master was very skilled at handling people.

While sealing the assets of the Three Alliance and Xu family, he specifically ordered the distribution of healing and qi-restoring medicines to all factions.

Ji family patriarch Ji Shouli personally visited each household to offer condolences to the deceased.

Without comparison, there is no harm.

Now that Licheng has just endured a great calamity and every faction has suffered heavy losses, the Ji family stands alone as the dominant power.

Under these circumstances, rather than exploiting its advantage, the Ji family lowered its posture, showing warmth and concern—highlighting the brutality and heartlessness of the Three Alliance and Xu family, and underscoring the Ji family’s sincerity and value.

As soon as the Ji family and the Qianjiao Martial Arts Hall secured control, they immediately dispatched personnel to guard the key locations of the Xu, Ding, Lin, and Ba Dao Men families.

Not only were outsiders forbidden from entering, but even members of the Ji family and the Qianjiao Martial Arts Hall were not allowed to search inside.

Unless given orders by Xia Daoming.

The Xu family’s rear courtyard, nestled against Yun Cui Mountain.

This was where the Xu family’s ancestral patriarch lived and cultivated.

Xia Daoming ordered a Ji family disciple to guard the entrance, then entered alone.

The Xu family’s rear courtyard seemed merely quiet and fresh, situated at the foot of Yun Cui Mountain, revealing nothing special.

But Xia Daoming knew it could not be that simple.

Xu Zhiyuan’s return to peak strength, and Xu Shixiong’s reaction before death, had fully revealed that the Xu family hid a treasure.

Of course, there was also the Master’s Secret Map.

Soon, Xia Daoming pushed open the bedroom of Xu Zhiyuan.

The bedroom was spacious, with a passage leading to a training chamber.

Xia Daoming searched and tapped everywhere in the room but found nothing.

So Xia Daoming entered the passage connected to the training chamber.

The training chamber was built underground.

Only through Xu Zhiyuan’s bedroom could one enter the training chamber.

The passage was long and descended continuously, seemingly leading to the base of Yun Cui Mountain.

After walking about ten zhang, Xia Daoming reached a door.

The door to the training chamber was a very thick iron door, with no traps, but only an eighth-rank martial master might have the strength to push it open.

Xia Daoming gently pushed open the iron door.

The underground training chamber had stone walls on all sides, with no visible ventilation, yet it felt anything but stifling.

On the contrary, the air inside was unusually fresh and deeply comforting.

“This air feels just like that cave in Gengyun Mountain…”

Xia Daoming’s eyes instantly brightened.

But soon, Xia Daoming slowly closed his eyes, sinking into a state of emptiness, quietly sensing the unusually fresh and lively flow of air within the chamber.

After a long while, Xia Daoming opened his eyes again and walked calmly to a corner.

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

The walls were stone, the floor made of exceptionally hard Xuan Gang stone.

Xia Daoming fumbled around in the corner and suddenly felt a different texture in the stone pattern.

He pressed it.

A grinding sound.

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

An exceptionally fresh, spring-breeze-like air rushed toward him from the passage.

"As expected!"

Xia Daoming rejoiced and hurried down the passage.

The passage was damp, narrow, and winding.

After walking about twenty zhang, Xia Daoming felt the space suddenly open up.

Before him was a natural cave measuring roughly twenty to thirty mu.

Light filtered in from some unseen source, and scattered unknown stones embedded in the cave walls illuminated the chamber.

At the inner edge of the cave lay a natural spring.

The spring bubbled continuously, its mist rising, appearing like a hot spring—but in truth, both the mist and water were cool.

In a corner of the cave wall beside the spring grew an ancient vine, its roots deeply embedded in the rock.

The vine bore three fruits, their skins a greenish hue but not translucent, appearing quite unripe.

Unlike the one hidden in Xu Shixiong’s arms—translucent green, with a swirling cloud-like mass visible inside, exuding an ineffable mystery.

Besides the spring and the vine, to the left of the vine was a carved stone chamber.

The chamber was plain, with no decorations or furnishings—only a meditation mat on the floor and three chests arranged in the corner.

Seeing the chests, Xia Daoming’s eyes lit up, and he hurried forward to open them.

As soon as he opened the first chest, a medicinal fragrance surged toward him.

Inside lay herbs carefully wrapped in specially prepared materials.

"Five-hundred-year Li Lin ginseng, four-hundred-year Chi Yan mushroom, Huofeng fruit, hundred-year Xuanbing lingzhi..."

The more Xia Daoming counted, the more joy spread across his face.

“Truly, one cannot judge a man by his appearance! This Xu family patriarch is already ancient, yet he hoards so many fierce medicinal herbs—doesn’t he fear eating too much and dropping dead? Such things should be consumed by young men like me!” Xia Daoming grumbled, closed the chest, then opened the second one.

The second chest contained vials of pills, all clearly precious and potent for replenishing blood and qi—among them, a full vial of Yunshou Yuye.

“Masters are truly wealthy!” Xia Daoming grumbled again, then opened the third chest.

Inside the third chest lay a scroll made of some unknown animal hide.

As soon as he opened the chest, a faint, indescribable aura emanated from the scroll.

“Master’s Secret Map!” Xia Daoming’s pupils sharply contracted.

Xia Daoming suppressed the urge to immediately unroll the Master’s Secret Map.

His qi had already strengthened to level eight; with the Master’s Secret Map, merely observing and contemplating it would surely lead him effortlessly into the Master realm.

But if he rashly studied another’s Master’s Secret Map now, he might be drawn in by its spiritual essence, unknowingly becoming lost—and risk the opposite of his goal.

Thus, Xia Daoming planned to wait until he found and consumed the Hualong fruit, became a Master himself, then return to study this map, to see if he could integrate its principles and unlock more variations in his transformation qi.

After witnessing the battle between Xu Zhiyuan and Ding Chushan, Xia Daoming now understood that, in a sense, qi capable of separating from the body and taking form could also be viewed as a kind of magical transformation.

It was merely simplistic.

But if more transformation variations could be incorporated, perhaps it would be different.

PS: On March 1st, that is, tomorrow at midnight, the VIP chapter will be released. Please support the official subscription on Qidian Chinese Website—it determines whether Old Duan can continue writing to support his family!

The free period for this new book has been long, and the updates have been intense, leaving no time to stockpile drafts. So today ends here—I’ll try to add a bit more at midnight.