The Treasure Hall, Zhang Yi's Betrayal

After Xu Yang, the two groups explored several more caves in succession, but unfortunately, they were all dead ends, and their subordinates suffered heavy casualties. Seeing this, both Lei Dong and Yin Shihong could no longer sit still, as the massive losses of their men pained them deeply.

To reduce casualties, the two immediately deployed their elite fighters, which finally managed to curb the death toll. An hour later, thanks to the collective efforts of everyone, they finally found the correct path. Seeing this, Xu Yang's face lit up with joy, and he immediately stood up to follow them inside.

Passing through a long corridor, Xu Yang and the others arrived in a magnificently decorated hall. Upon entering, they saw two huge bookshelves standing on either side of the hall, filled with books, and five large chests sitting on the floor in the center.

Behind the chests was a raised platform, upon which sat a rectangular table. On the table lay a precious sword and two books, and behind the table sat a skeleton in a cross-legged position.

The eyes of the crowd lit up instantly, and they rushed forward to scramble for the items. The high-ranking members of the Shunfeng Escort Agency, led by Lei Dong, charged straight for the platform, while Yin Shihong and his men followed closely behind. The others, knowing their place, headed toward the bookshelves and wooden chests.

While still halfway there, the two factions could not help but start fighting, and the hall immediately became a battlefield. Xu Yang was helplessly dragged into the fray, clashing with an expert from the Yin Moon Hall. Fortunately, this person's martial arts were much weaker than Xu Yang's; Xu Yang struck out with two palms at full power, forcing the man back, and took the opportunity to head toward the bookshelves.

Dodging and weaving, Xu Yang soon arrived in front of a bookshelf. He looked up and scanned it, discovering that the shelves were filled with martial arts manuals, though most were second or third-rate goods, with nothing particularly precious.

He then checked the other bookshelf, which also contained nothing of value. Xu Yang felt deeply disappointed. Just then, someone opened one of the wooden chests, and Xu Yang turned to look. A brilliant, dazzling golden light filled his vision; the chest was packed with gold ingots. Subsequently, the other chests were opened one by one, all filled with gold, silver, and jewelry.

Seeing this, the crowd's eyes turned bloodshot, and they breathed heavily, glaring viciously at one another. Someone shouted, "Kill!" and the scene immediately descended into even greater chaos, with screams ringing out one after another.

Xu Yang's expression changed, and he immediately moved toward the corner of the hall. He had no desire to fight to the death over mere wealth or mediocre manuals. Suddenly, Xu Yang turned to look to his right, where Zhao Qian and Lei Yue were being surrounded, their situation looking precarious.

Xu Yang leaped forward, jumping in front of the two. He struck out with his Ice Palm, hitting the opponents with rapid, thunderous force. With a series of popping sounds, the men opposite them stumbled backward, falling to the ground and unable to rise, their entire bodies shivering uncontrollably.

Having repelled the enemies, Xu Yang turned to Zhao Qian and the others and said, "This place is too chaotic. We should leave for now and wait in the corner of the hall!" As he spoke, Xu Yang prepared to lead the two away.

Hearing Xu Yang's words, Lei Yue's expression changed. "No, we should go find my father and Uncle Zhao. They are powerful martial artists; they will surely be able to kill the thieves of the Yin Moon Hall and claim the treasure for ourselves."

Xu Yang was stunned by this, and he turned to look at Zhao Qian. "Miss Zhao, what do you think? To be honest, I do not agree with the young escort leader's opinion. Senior Zhao previously entrusted me with protecting you. The area where Chief Lei is located is too dangerous, and with my strength, I fear I am not up to the task."

Zhao Qian looked troubled after hearing this. She thought for a long time before saying to Xu Yang, "Thank you, Young Hero Xu, for your help. I am very worried about my father, so please, Young Hero Xu, take me to find him." Xu Yang looked at Zhao Qian and said with a pained expression, "Senior Zhao has to deal with the experts of the Yin Moon Hall. If you go there, it will only distract him."

Zhao Qian looked dejected. "In that case, we shall listen to Young Hero Xu! I hope my father is safe and sound." Beside her, Lei Yue said indignantly, "My father, Uncle Zhao, and the others are already top-tier experts in the martial arts world; how could they be in danger? Do not try to alarm us here." With that, he hurried toward the platform.

Seeing this, Zhao Qian looked anxious and hurriedly chased after Lei Yue. Xu Yang was left dumbfounded; he never expected Lei Yue to be so naive. When they first met, he had been full of arrogance, and Xu Yang had assumed he was very confident!

Xu Yang reacted quickly. Seeing Zhao Qian chasing Lei Yue, he immediately followed them. A moment later, Xu Yang caught up, but no matter what he said, Lei Yue insisted on heading to the platform. Zhao Qian had no choice but to go with him, and seeing this, Xu Yang had to accompany them.

With the three of them working together, they quickly broke out of the chaotic fray and arrived at the foot of the platform after only a moment. Upon getting closer, Xu Yang realized that the platform was about three zhang high, with a flight of stairs leading to the top, which was about ten meters in diameter.

At this moment, Lei Dong and the others were confronting each other above. Seeing the situation on the platform, Lei Yue immediately stopped in his tracks. Seeing this, Xu Yang breathed a sigh of relief; at least he wasn't stupid enough to charge straight up.

Feeling relieved, Xu Yang stood under the platform and looked up at the scene above. The atmosphere on the platform was heavy. The two sides, led by Lei Dong and Yin Shihong, stood before the table, guarding against each other. No one dared to act rashly, lest they suffer a thunderous blow.

Suddenly, Yin Shihong gave a sinister laugh. "If you're going to act, why wait any longer?" No sooner had he finished speaking than Zhang Yi, who was standing behind Lei Dong, struck out violently, pointing a finger at Lei Dong's back.

The event was so sudden that Lei Dong could not dodge. In desperation, he managed to twist his body, avoiding his vital points, but was struck on his left shoulder. With a crack, the sound of bone breaking echoed, and the bone in Lei Dong's left shoulder shattered instantly.

Lei Dong let out a muffled groan and used the momentum to dodge to the side, narrowly avoiding Zhang Yi's follow-up attack. The yellow-clad elder beside Lei Dong reacted immediately, raising his hand to strike at Zhang Yi. Seeing this, Zhang Yi's expression shifted slightly, and he quickly leaped away, landing beside Yin Shihong.

"Hahaha! How does that feel, Chief Lei? Did you not expect Zhang Yi to be my man?" Yin Shihong laughed triumphantly. Opposite him, Zhao Qiankun looked on in disbelief and asked Zhang Yi, "Why? How could you betray the agency?"

Zhang Yi replied with a look of disdain, "I am a subordinate of Prince Fu; I was never a member of the Shunfeng Escort Agency. Now that the Yin Moon Hall has pledged allegiance to Prince Fu, you lackeys of the imperial court must naturally be cleared out to avoid disrupting the Prince's great cause."

"Indeed, Brother Zhang is absolutely right. However, if you all are willing to join Prince Fu's ranks, we will naturally spare you," Yin Shihong chuckled.

"Pfft!" Lei Dong spat out a mouthful of blood. He said with furious rage, "So you are all subordinates of Prince Fu. It seems Prince Fu has long harbored rebellious intentions. Thinking we would surrender is a pipe dream. Today, I will kill you traitors!" With that, Lei Dong leaped forward, raising his right hand to strike at Zhang Yi.

Zhao Qiankun and the yellow-clad elder exchanged a glance and immediately joined the fray, the two sides clashing. Lei Dong struck at Zhang Yi, but was intercepted by Yin Shihong. He roared in anger, "Fine, let me experience your Heavenly Yin Palm, Hall Master Yin." Yin Shihong laughed sinisterly, "I have been wanting to experience the Chief's Primordial Thunderbolt Hand to see if it is as formidable as the rumors in the martial arts world suggest." The two immediately began to fight.

On the other side, Fire Venerable blocked the yellow-clad elder and said, "I have long heard that Huang Zhonggong's Earth-Covering Palm is incredibly powerful; today, I would like to experience it." The elder, who was indeed Huang Zhonggong, looked at Fire Venerable with a solemn expression. "I did not expect the famous Fire Venerable to have defected to Prince Fu. I have also long heard of the reputation of your Separated Fire Finger, so today, I have no choice but to experience it."

Near them, Zhao Qiankun, his face flushed, was locked in combat with Zhang Yi. While unleashing his Qiankun Palm, he said, "You wretch, to think you deceived me for so many years! It was in vain that I treated you like a brother. That ambush last time must have had something to do with you."

Zhang Yi replied disdainfully, "What brother? You were merely using me. Do you think I didn't know you were always coveting the position of Chief?" Hearing this, Zhao Qiankun's expression changed instantly, and he shouted, "You villain, how dare you sow discord! Take my Qiankun Boundless!" With the shout, Zhao Qiankun's palms suddenly grew a size larger, their power surging dramatically.

Zhang Yi's expression changed drastically. He quickly raised his fingers, unleashing his signature move, the Heavenly Snake Finger, to strike at the rapidly approaching palms. With two soft "pop" sounds, the two sides collided, both being forced back by the immense power.

Zhao Qiankun looked at Zhang Yi in shock. "A top-tier expert! I never expected you to have broken through, and you even know the Yin Moon Hall's Heavenly Snake Finger. You hid your strength so deeply." As he said this, Zhao Qiankun gritted his teeth in hatred.

Zhang Yi said with a look of lingering fear, "Well played, Zhao Qiankun. To think you had such a powerful move; you are indeed cunning. Fortunately, I was prepared."

The situation on the field was evenly matched, with both sides at a stalemate. After fighting for a while longer, Lei Dong was ultimately hampered by his injury and was gradually being suppressed by Yin Shihong. Zhao Qiankun and Huang Zhonggong wanted to assist, but were held back by their respective opponents.

Lei Dong grew anxious. He scanned his surroundings and happened to see the precious sword on the table. His heart filled with joy, and he hurriedly channeled all his internal energy to force Yin Shihong back, taking the opportunity to leap to the table, grab the sword, and turn to thrust it at Yin Shihong.

Yin Shihong was alarmed and hurriedly retreated in flight. This sword was the personal weapon of Old Man Tianjue, the renowned divine weapon Tianjue Sword; he dared not test his body against it. With the Tianjue Sword in hand, Lei Dong immediately gained the upper hand, and the situation reversed.

Yin Shihong dodged in a sorry state, his mind racing for a countermeasure. Suddenly, his expression shifted as he saw Xu Yang and the others watching the battle from below the platform. He immediately flew backward, charging down toward Xu Yang and his companions.