Treasure Vault, Xu Family Makes a Move

The peaks of Fire Spring Sect stretched in an unbroken chain.

Following the trail of blood, Shen Zhou and his group tracked the Two-Headed Lion to a ravine.

A forest of stone blocked their path within the ravine.

Looking out, the stone forest rose and fell in a tangled maze, its depth unclear and terrain unknown—rash entry risked getting lost.

In front of the stone forest stood a massive stele, about two zhang tall, thick and heavy, engraved with eight large characters: "Rear Mountain Forbidden Ground, No Entry."

The group halted before the stele. Meng Gang glanced at the inscription, then turned back and said, "That beast has charged into the woods. Do we still pursue?"

Old Man Ji's face showed clear hesitation. He didn't want to let go of the Two-Headed Lion, which was comparable to a great medicine, but a forbidden ground of a sect that had been neither righteous nor evil a thousand years ago made him quite wary.

Shen Zhou, holding the Taixuan Sword, showed no hesitation at all. "What's there to fear? Chase it. This is just a scare tactic."

Tang Shan quickly stopped Shen Zhou and said, "Junior Brother Shen Zhou, absolutely not."

Qin Changfeng also advised, "Family Head, since this is Fire Spring Sect's forbidden ground, there must be dangers and restrictions. For safety's sake, it's better not to barge in recklessly."

Shen Zhou shrugged noncommittally. "What's there to fear from a forbidden ground? A thousand years have passed. Even if there were formations, they'd have failed by now. Besides, I—"

He suddenly cut himself off.

He had been about to say that even if there were, he was already invincible under heaven—why would he fear it?

Qin Yihu gazed at the Rear Mountain Forbidden Ground, seeming reluctant to give up easily. He said, "Since this is a forbidden ground, what do you think—could Fire Spring Sect's treasury from back then be inside?"

This sentence was like a drop of water into a pan of hot oil, instantly lifting everyone's spirits, and their breathing grew a little hurried.

If Fire Spring Sect's treasury really was inside, then a sect's hoard would be an unimaginably rich treasure.

Divine techniques...

Secret arts...

Pills...

Spirit stones...

If they got their hands on it, the Qin Family could easily turn things around, return to the ranks of first-rate noble houses, and even overpower the other five great families to become the foremost clan.

Now Qin Changfeng hesitated too.

Seeing everyone wanting to go in but afraid to, Shen Zhou decisively stepped forward and said, "Look at you all racking your brains. Since the situation's unclear, I'll just go in and take a look. Even if there's danger, I have the Taixuan Sword in hand—retreating shouldn't be hard."

In truth, his words were only meant to reassure the Qin Family. Once he went in, there was no way he'd easily retreat without finding the treasure.

After hearing this, everyone discussed it and agreed.

Because it seemed like the best option at the moment.

In the end, Old Man Ji felt it was too dangerous for Shen Zhou to go alone, so he proposed they enter together.

With the decision made, Shen Zhou and Old Man Ji wasted no time. Following the blood trail, they flashed into the stone forest in pursuit.

Before the stele, Qin Mingyue, the two Qin elders, Li Taohua, Tang Shan, and Meng Gang waited outside.

"Roar!"

The Two-Headed Lion had been lying on a large rock nursing its wounds. With a beast's powerful bloodline constitution, the severed neck had already stopped bleeding and begun to scab in just a short time.

Another few days of sleep, and its injuries would fully heal.

But suddenly, the air carried the scent of humans, mixed with a trace of chilling killing intent. The Two-Headed Lion immediately rose from the Great Green Rock and roared warily at the stone forest.

Swoosh, swoosh...

The next moment, two figures moved at incredible speed, turning into gray shadows through the void, quickly bursting out of the stone forest and arriving before the great mountain.

"Beast, so you are here!"

Shen Zhou and Old Man Ji landed together. The moment he saw the Two-Headed Lion, Shen Zhou raised his sword and struck.

Sword Qi surged!

Two-Headed Lion: "..."

If the Two-Headed Lion could speak, it would have been cursing up a storm by now.

This guy who had already chopped off one of its heads—before it could even curse him out for showing up, he dared to strike first.

Enraged, the Two-Headed Lion immediately leaped to dodge, while opening its massive maw to spit a fireball each at Shen Zhou and Old Man Ji.

Shen Zhou cleaved the fireball apart with a single sword stroke, then turned his body into a streak of light, chasing after the Two-Headed Lion to hack at it again—as ferocious as a humanoid tyrannosaur.

Old Man Ji smashed his fireball with a punch, then immediately sealed off the Two-Headed Lion's escape route, cutting off any chance of it fleeing again. "Beast, let's see where you run this time. This old man is determined to have that 'lion soup'!"

Roar, roar...

Boom, boom...

A sky full of Sword Qi enveloped the Two-Headed Lion. In the end, it couldn't hold out for even two breaths before Shen Zhou lopped off its other head with another sword strike, then kicked it away.

Seeing this, Old Man Ji said regretfully, "Ah, you little brat, why'd you kick the lion head away? If you'd kept it, braised lion's head would have tasted pretty good!"

Shen Zhou: "..."

The 'braised lion's head' you're talking about doesn't seem to be the same 'braised lion's head' I know!

After stowing the two-headed lion's corpse into the Taixuan Sword, Shen Zhou and Old Man Ji looked around and noticed a cave not far away, but its entrance was sealed shut by a stone door.

Old Man Ji's eyes lit up. "The Fire Spring Sect's treasure vault?"

Shen Zhou perked up as well. "Let's take a look."

The two approached and fumbled around the cave entrance for a good while, but unfortunately found no mechanism to open the door.

Old Man Ji said with a regretful face, "That's it, then. If there really are treasures inside, we can't get in!"

Shen Zhou glanced at the Taixuan Sword in his hand and, without a word, struck the door with it.

The entire ground shook with the impact, but the stone door held firm, though the blade had cut several inches into it.

Old Man Ji examined it and frowned. "This stone door is made of some special material. It'll be hard to—"

Before Old Man Ji could finish, Shen Zhou raised his hand and condensed a Sword Aura over ten meters long. Then, with a wave, in the span of a single breath, he struck no fewer than a hundred times.

The stone door shattered on the spot.

Shen Zhou sheathed his sword, his face unchanged and his breathing steady. "What did you just say?"

"..." Old Man Ji's mouth twitched.

He'd forgotten that this kid, with a sword in hand, could step into the Heavenly Firmament.

The two then stepped into the cave.

While Shen Zhou and Old Man Ji entered the Fire Spring Sect Forbidden Ground cave, outside the Stone Forest, Xu Baxia and Xu You and their group stopped hiding and stepped out from the shadows into the open.

Seeing them suddenly appear, Second Elder Qin Changfeng frowned and went on alert.

Qin Yihu, rough by nature, saw nothing amiss and asked bluntly, "Hey, how'd you find your way here too? Did you find any treasures on that mountain path?"

Xu Baxia said nothing, his cold eyes fixed ahead, but the great halberd behind him was already in his grip, battle intent and killing intent flickering beneath his gaze.

Xu You, however, remained expressionless. He smiled and sidled over. "We did. I found a bottle of pills. Not sure what they do, though. I was hoping the two Qin Elders could take a look for me."

As he spoke, Xu You pulled a bottle from his sleeve and held it out.

Qin Yihu, suspecting nothing, stepped forward.

But the moment Qin Yihu reached out to take the bottle, Xu You's smile vanished. His gaze turned cold, and he struck without warning—a palm strike, full force, aimed straight at Qin Yihu's chest.

Though Qin Yihu was thick-headed, he was still an elder of the Qin Family and a Transformation Yuan Eighth Realm expert. The instant Xu You moved, his martial instincts kicked in. He erupted with Yuan power and crossed his arms like a door bolt, shielding himself with lightning speed.

The next moment.

The palm blade slammed into Qin Yihu's arms.

A dull thud rang out. Qin Yihu's body was sent flying backward, skidding a long distance before he landed. His face changed, flushing bright red in an instant.

Shwish, shwish!

The Xu Family's sudden attack snapped everyone else into action.

Tang Shan and Meng Gang jolted in shock, then quickly assumed defensive stances, eyeing the enemy warily.

Qin Mingyue drew her sword at once, watching Xu Baxia and the others approach at a leisurely pace, a bad feeling rising in her heart.

The Xu Family really did have ill intentions!

Qin Changfeng rushed over to stand in front of Qin Yihu, afraid they might strike again. He glared coldly at Xu You and snapped, "Elder Xu, what is the meaning of this?"

Xu You finally dropped the act, revealing his true face. He sneered. "Elder Changfeng, no need to pretend. You've been on guard against us ever since we entered the secret realm. That's why you suggested we split up, isn't it?"

Seeing Xu You lay it out directly, Qin Changfeng suppressed his anger and said calmly, "It seems our caution wasn't unwarranted. The Xu Family truly harbors wolfish ambitions. But I don't understand—you've been currying favor with the Qin Family ever since the North Mountain negotiations. After all this groundwork, what exactly are you after?"

At that moment, a voice cut in from behind Xu You, answering for him: "It's because... This Family Head wants your Qin Family's Divine Weapon—the Taixuan Sword!"

Hearing this, Xu You was the first to turn around. He saw who it was and immediately bowed. "Family Head!"

Qin Changfeng, Qin Mingyue, Tang Shan, and the others all changed color in an instant.

They followed the sound and saw a new group emerge from behind Xu Baxia and the others.

This group was small—fewer than ten people—but every single one of them radiated thick blood energy and abundant Yuan power, their momentum like tigers.

And the man leading them was imposing, moving with the stride of a dragon and the step of a tiger, standing like a mountain peak, his domineering aura restrained.

A closer look revealed him to be the current Xu Family Head, the scheming Xu Mengfu!

The moment he recognized him, Qin Changfeng's heart sank.

For the Xu Family Head himself to appear here, with no one else around, could only mean that Xu Mengfu had entered in secret, without anyone knowing.

But if the secret realm had only one entrance, guarded outside by Clan Leader Qin Yuanshan and the Ancestral Aunt, there was no way he could have slipped past them alone.

Yet here he was. That left only one possibility.

There was more than one entrance to the secret realm!

If the Xu Family had known about this secret realm all along, then the exposure of this entrance could only be a trap.

A conspiracy long laid by the Xu Family against Shen Zhou and the Qin Family!

Now that they had already shown their hand, it only meant the Xu Family was fully confident of victory.

The moment he realized this, goosebumps broke out all over Qin Changfeng's back. Without a second's hesitation, he made his decision and turned to shout at Li Taohua, Qin Mingyue, and Tang Shan: "Quick, into the Stone Forest!"

But it was already too late.

Xu Mengfu didn't wait for Qin Mingyue and the others to move before waving at the group of Xu Family elites behind him: "Take them down!"

The battle erupted with a bang!