Chapter 307

This hidden chamber was not built by the Fire Virtue Healing Hall.

The shop and courtyard were purchased outright by the San Niang Association from the previous owners; behind the west wall of the front hall lies a hidden chamber, and no one knows what the former owner used it for.

But the Fire Virtue Healing Hall had no use for it, so it has remained unused for many years.

The iron door leading to the underground chamber was nearly rusted shut, so Miao Yan fetched a Wu Xiu fire master and forcibly pried it open.

The hidden chamber reeked of mildew.

Miao Yan had been distracted all along, his mind constantly revolving around Master Fei's "inference."

If this truly is a descendant of the Founding Grandmother, how should we handle it?

For all these years, the San Niang Association has settled affairs collectively through its various "Master Secretaries."

When opinions diverged, decisions were made by vote.

But in reality, the vast majority of the Association's matters were decided by the top three-ranked Master Secretaries.

Would my father's authority be weakened?

But if we recover the Founding Grandmother's descendant, perhaps the Association's lost lineage could be restored?

The San Niang Association might then enter a second era of growth, no longer confined to this small corner of southern Jiaozhi.

It seems there are both advantages and disadvantages…

But if my father and I bring back the Founding Grandmother's descendant, perhaps we could leverage this connection to move my father up in rank?

But what if Xu Yuan is… Master Fei won't even pass the accounting audit.

Oh, this is so frustrating!

For a moment, Miao Yan couldn't tell whether he hoped Xu Yuan was or wasn't the Founding Grandmother's descendant.

He led Master Fei into the hidden chamber; looking up, he saw Master Fei's face shifting colors constantly, torn between hope and dread—his inner turmoil was no less than his own.

Both men were lost in their own thoughts.

A member reported that Master Xu had arrived at the gate.

Miao Yan went out to greet Xu Yuan, then resealed the pried-open iron door, leaving Master Fei alone in the hidden chamber.

Xu Yuan arrived with Wang Shen.

Wang Shen's emotions were extraordinarily complex.

But her face showed no change, for that face could no longer make expressions.

Xu Yuan asked: "Clear the room?"

"As my lord commanded, everything is arranged."

"Leave not a single soul behind; if any problem arises with this artifact later, I take no responsibility."

Miao Yan's heart lurched, but he gritted his teeth and held firm: "No one was left behind."

"Good. You may go too."

"Yes."

As Xu Yuan and Wang Shen entered the front hall, the two lazy, idle artifacts clattered and clanged wildly!

The Hundred Illness Cabinet rapidly opened and closed every drawer, like clapping hands.

The Heart Scale flung its weighing pan into the air, tapping it with the tail of its beam, while the counterweight pounded the ground—like drumming and gonging!

Xu Yuan made an impatient shushing gesture at them.

I haven't even checked whether anyone else remains in the front hall—don't give us away.

Xu Yuan had specifically borrowed a seed from Zhou Leizi.

This seed was harvested by him during his last leave, from the valley where Jiao dwelled.

Originally, Zhou Leizi had sown his own soybeans, but under Jiao's enhancement, some seeds mutated.

This one took root upon touching the ground and grew rapidly.

Each leaf bore a fine layer of black hairs, shaped like dog ears.

Then Xu Yuan whispered a few words to the plant.

The "dog ears" all stood upright, listening intently in every direction.

Soon, a branch pointed toward the western wall.

…

Master Fei stood before the wall; a small hole in it allowed a view of the entire front hall.

Before Xu Yuan entered, Master Fei realized he had forgotten to ask Miao Yan for a chair—he had been standing all this time.

Both Master Fei and Miao Yan, their minds in disarray, had overlooked these details.

Then Xu Yuan entered, followed by an old woman.

Master Fei's spirit trembled; his body froze stiff!

Before he could recover, a thread as thin as a hair pierced through the small hole in the wall.

*Shhh! * It bound him instantly!

Master Fei instinctively spat out a burst of fire.

He was a Seventh-Rank Dan Xiu; in understanding herbal principles, he was the top in the San Niang Association.

In mastery of internal fire, he ranked among the top three.

But his rigid temper had earned him many enemies, so his rank remained low.

The moment he spat that fire, he regretted it.

He didn't want to damage Xu Yuan's artifacts.

He assumed the thread was an artifact.

He hastily retracted his internal fire, but the fire had already landed on the thread.

"Ruined," Master Fei thought silently.

Yet he felt the rope had not burned through; it still bound him tightly, even tightening further and digging into his flesh!

"Eh—"

Master Fei was astonished. Upon closer inspection, he exclaimed, "It is actually a Longzhu Waidan!"

"Exquisitely crafted!"

Master Fei then conceived the idea of testing the Founder's descendant. He spat the fire he had drawn back out onto the rope and carefully controlled the burning.

The rope remained completely unscathed.

"This shouldn't be..." Master Fei's stubborn temper flared, and he kept increasing the flame.

He soon exerted his full strength, yet still failed to burn it through.

Xu Yuan extended the beast-tendon rope, binding the hidden person, then bypassed the front hall to search for the entrance to the secret chamber.

Xu Yuan could have simply sliced through that wall with his Sword Pill, but causing total destruction would make things difficult to handle afterward.

After all, he had taken so much silver from Third Sister.

Soon, Xu Yuan found the entrance and kicked the door open with one foot.

Bang!

The rusted iron door detached entirely and flew inward.

Master Fei watched helplessly as that iron door slammed toward him—truly panicked, he suddenly spat out all the fire from his belly.

He also manipulated one of his Artifacts, a pair of scissors. It was a sixth-grade Artifact, a defensive item he had commissioned from a Wu Xiu at great expense, superior even to his Sword Pill.

Click-click-click!

The scissors snipped repeatedly, yet could not cut through that thin rope.

Unable to be burned or cut, Master Fei, bound in an instant, was slammed against the wall by the iron door with a "Bang!"

Master Fei's head buzzed, blood streamed from his nose, and golden stars danced before his eyes. He couldn't comprehend it in his mind: He was a Rank Dan Xiu; how could his body possess such immense strength?

Far superior to that eighth-grade Wu Xiu Wei Wei Huoshi from just now.

Could it be that he cultivates both paths?

Excellent. The Founder has a successor.

Xu Yuan had already burst in.

The Sword Pill circled around him, guarding.

He flung the iron door aside, and the Sword Pill whistled, pointing directly at Master Fei's brow.

Master Fei cried out urgently, "Lady, save me! It's me, Little Fei—"

Separated from them by a single wall, Wang Shen's ear flew out and pressed flat against the wall.

"Ah Yuan, wait."

Xu Yuan had not intended to truly kill him, so the Sword Pill halted.

"Say that again. Who are you?"

"Lady, it's me, truly me, Little Fei..." Tears gushed down Master Fei's face.

They would not stop.

Nosebleed and tears mixed together, instantly turning him into a big, painted face.

"Back then, outside the City God Temple, I fought a pack of wild dogs for food and was bitten until I was covered in wounds. That night, I developed a high fever. You saved my life with a single pill, gave me food, and taught me skills. Lady, it is me... After so many years, have you forgotten us all? Waaah..."

(End of Chapter)