Chapter 69: Heart Longing Like an Arrow

The ceiling of the central stone chamber had no hanging stalactites, but a faint aura emanated from all four walls, making Xia Daoming feel remarkably at ease.

The chamber was clearly a place where the demonic cultivator sat in meditation and cultivated.

Inside, apart from a stone bed, there stood only a bookshelf carved directly from the stone wall.

But the bookshelf held nothing but secular curiosities and light reading material—no cultivation texts at all.

Clearly, the important books relating to cultivation had been taken with him.

Xia Daoming, slightly disappointed, led Liu Qiaolian out of the central stone chamber and turned toward the last one.

The curtain in this chamber was noticeably much denser.

When he pulled back the curtain, a foul, stinking odor hit them, and the interior was very dark.

Against the stone wall directly opposite the entrance stood a small altar.

On the altar rested a pitch-black gourd, inside which was inserted a small black banner embroidered with numerous strange talismans.

Before the altar was a large pit, filled entirely with snake bones.

Yinyinjian , a cold, malevolent energy seemed to seep from the pit and flow into the black banner.

Around the pit stood eight stone pillars, each carved with a lifelike python.

The pythons hissed with forked tongues—on first glance they seemed ordinary, but upon closer inspection, they appeared to come alive, radiating an icy, eerie aura that sent chills down the spine and froze the blood.

“Master, this place feels cold and sinister—let’s leave quickly!” Liu Qiaolian said, her face slightly pale.

Xia Daoming stared for a long while at the gourd on the altar, then at the eight python-carved pillars surrounding the pit, and ultimately dared not risk it.

Moreover, he had not even touched the threshold of cultivation; even if he took that clearly evil magic treasure, he could not use it—better to leave it for later.

“Alright.” Xia Daoming finally nodded and turned, leading Liu Qiaolian away.

“Great hero!” Seeing Xia Daoming and Liu Qiaolian emerge, the bearded giant hurried forward, holding two sets of Bishuie hide armor.

Clearly, he had not been idle.

Three days later.

A man and a woman each rode a fine steed.

They galloped steadily along the road.

Their saddles bore heavy, bulging saddlebags.

The man and woman were naturally Xia Daoming and Liu Qiaolian.

After a long while, the horses panted heavily, and the two reluctantly slowed their pace.

“Master, when will we return to Li City?” Liu Qiaolian asked.

“We’ve been riding hard for three days without direction—we’ve gone far enough. Tomorrow, we’ll ask for directions and turn back toward Li City.” Xia Daoming thought for a moment and replied.

Three days earlier, after looting the Gengyun Mountain valley, they had first ridden hard in the opposite direction of Li City for a day, then wandered aimlessly through winding paths.

They mostly traveled through rural hills and mountain trails.

Though Li City was chaotic, to Xia Daoming it was a place of peace—he had friends and family there, and even if he was overly cautious, he would not mind.

“Wonderful!” Liu Qiaolian exclaimed happily.

Before leaving the valley, Liu Qiaolian had pulled up the array’s central flag.

Now she had gathered a full set of Peach Miasma Illusion Flags and could hardly wait to return to Li City and study them thoroughly at home.

“It seems my Lian’er is homesick—I’m homesick too!” Xia Daoming felt his heart yearning to return.

Liang Jingtang was a good master; the three senior brothers were good senior brothers; the senior sister was a good senior sister.

Unfortunately, they were all too old—even after Xia Daoming gave away most of the Life-Nourishing Jade Elixir and personally guided them, their potential for advancement was already extremely limited.

Especially Liang Jingtang, past sixty, had virtually no chance of further progress.

But now things were different.

He had unexpectedly acquired two large sacks of spirit rice.

This spirit rice not only gently nourished one’s meridians and vitality, but also refined the martial artist’s internal force.

If Liang Jingtang and the others cooked and ate even a small bowl daily for a while, their martial path’s potential would change dramatically.

Besides, Xia Daoming had taken far too much from Ji Wenyue and had never repaid her.

Now, having struck it rich in Gengyun Mountain, he could finally return home and repay her with reckless generosity.

The next day.

Xia Daoming and Liu Qiaolian set out on their return journey.

“Who did this! Who did this! The Dao Master will flay you alive, extract your tendons, grind your bones to dust!”

That day, a gaunt, claw-handed old demonic cultivator in black robes, his face like a carrion crow, stared at the harvested rice stubble and shrieked like an owl.

Soon, the gaunt old man seemed to remember something and rushed frantically into the stone cave.

Upon entering, he headed straight for the stone chamber with the snake pit.

“Phew, thank heavens my six-decade-long cultivated Ten-Thousand Serpent Yin Soul Banner is still here!”

Seeing the snake pit chamber undamaged, the old man sighed with relief.

But then he remembered the Zhuyu fruit tree in the left chamber and hurried out of the right chamber.

“Damn it, my Zhuyu fruits!” Seeing the cluster of Zhuyu fruits—ripe only after sixty years—gone, the old man wailed in anguish, his body swaying unsteadily, nearly collapsing.

Long moments passed before his wailing ceased.

The only silver lining: the tree still stood, and the new blossoms remained.

These blossoms were from the same batch as the matured fruits—they would bear fruit again in a few years, requiring no further sixty-year wait.

Otherwise, waiting another sixty years would have driven him to tears of despair!

Soon, the enraged, gaunt old man’s feet surged with black mist, and a chilling wind howled around him.

The black mist carried him as he skimmed low over the hills, heading straight for Luogui City.

Several hours later.

A large force poured out of the city lord’s mansion, carrying portraits and hunting for people everywhere.

Each portrait depicted the martial artists who had labored in the Gengyun Mountain valley, and the women kept captive for Sang Zhang and others’ pleasures.

Instantly, Luogui City erupted into chaos—inside and out, people ran in panic, dogs barked, chickens flew.

Xia Daoming and Liu Qiaolian knew nothing of this.

Their hearts burned to return home; they galloped without pause.

Qianjiao Martial Hall.

The atmosphere was heavy.

“Led by the Ji and Dong families, the fleeing factions were ambushed at Yingyan Mountain. The ambushers included not only elite fighters from the Lin family and two other allied clans, but also elite forces from the Xu family. Rumor says there were moles within the fleeing force from all four major factions—they turned traitor on the spot and slaughtered many great martial artists.”

The once massive force was instantly thrown into disarray, shattered into fragments. Heads rolled, rivers ran red. Several factions were reportedly wiped out entirely.

But the Ji family somehow used a secret potion—Ji’s patriarch suddenly surged in power, rivaling a Rank 8 Great Martial Artist; many clan elders and descendants also saw explosive growth, and some even bore protective talismans said to be granted by cultivators.”

“The Ji family managed to carve a bloody path out and escaped with some forces. But since the four major factions have temporarily set aside their conflict to clear the field, those Ji family members will likely still meet their end.” Zhu Xingji said grimly.

Xingyou Escort Agency, constantly traveling outside, knew many people and had excellent intelligence.

PS: The new book has left the Bangdan , but it’s still a while before official release, so we’ll continue providing many free chapters.

This week marks the fourth round of PK—good rankings earn better recommendations. Without Bangdan support, we now rely entirely on readers’ help.