Perilous

Seven days later.

Qingyu City, one of the cities in Southern Mangzhou closest to the Vast Mountain Range.

Outside the city.

Xu Zhiji, mounted on his horse, gazed at the mountains stretching endlessly into the distance, one range after another, like coiled dragons and snakes, seemingly without end. He pointed northeast and said to Xu Shixiong, who was riding beside him, "Let's split up today. You take a group of people to the northeast, and I'll take a group to the southwest."

"Understood, Great Uncle!" Xu Shixiong nodded, then quickly selected a group of people, including the Seventh-Rank Great Martial Master, and they rode off together.

Liang Jingtang and his disciple remained with Xu Zhiji's group, as did Xu Shisen.

Watching Xu Shixiong's team quickly disappear at the end of the mountain path, Xia Daoming secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

At first, he thought everyone would act together, but later learned that there were two locations to visit, requiring them to split up.

Now that Xu Shixiong had finally taken a group of people away, the oppressive feeling that had been hanging over Xia Daoming's head dissipated.

He was confident he could handle any unexpected situation involving the Eighth-Rank Great Martial Master, who was in his eighties.

As for Xu Shisen, who had just been promoted to Sixth-Rank Great Martial Master, Xia Daoming didn't take him seriously.

In fact, if the opportunity arose, he wouldn't mind secretly dealing with him.

"Let's go too!" After seeing Xu Shixiong and the others depart, Xu Zhiji flicked his horse's reins, pointing southwest, and commanded.

"Yes!" the crowd responded in unison, then surrounded Xu Zhiji and headed southwest.

Five days later.

Western foothills of the Vast Mountain Range.

Towering trees blocked out the sunlight.

Fallen dead branches and leaves formed a thick layer on the ground, emitting a damp, rotting odor.

A group of people walked cautiously through the dim forest.

Their footsteps on the decaying branches and leaves created unsettling rustling sounds in the quiet mountains.

The five factions, totaling twenty Martial Masters, spread out to form a loose encirclement, protecting the seven Xu Family Martial Masters in the center.

And the most powerful among them, Xu Family Elder Xu Zhiji, was protected at the very heart by six Xu Family Martial Masters.

Xu Zhiji held a Tiger Head Saber in one hand and a map made from an unknown beast's hide in the other, occasionally issuing orders to Liang Jingtang and his disciple, who were scouting ahead at the front of the group.

"Ah!"

Suddenly, a sharp scream pierced the quiet forest.

A robust Fifth-Rank Great Martial Master collapsed to the ground, frantically clawing at himself.

His neck and face were covered in centipedes, each three to four inches long, with only their abdomens showing a blood-red line, while the rest of their bodies were black.

"Dafu!" an old man cried out upon seeing this. Just as he was about to rush forward to help, he saw that where the young Martial Master was rolling, a rustling sound emerged, and the same centipedes, numerous and dense, crawled out from beneath the decaying leaves, making everyone's skin crawl.

"Quick, move! Move! It's Bloodline Centipedes!" Someone grabbed the old man, their eyes filled with terror as they retreated.

The others, seeing this, also quickly moved away from the young Martial Master screaming on the ground.

Within seven or eight breaths, the young Martial Master's voice abruptly ceased. The others looked back from a distance and saw that his face was completely black, and he was motionless.

Xia Daoming's expression darkened, and his vigilance intensified.

They had officially entered the mountains two days ago.

But in just two days, their group, including the Martial Master who just died, had lost two people.

One of them had yesterday stumbled into a mist that refracted dreamlike colors in the sunlight. As soon as the person stepped into it, their muscles began to rot.

It turned out that the mist was a miasma formed from the decay of countless poisonous creatures, corpses, and dead branches and leaves in the deep, old forest. When the sun shone on it, it evaporated, forming a cloud of miasma.

At that moment, Xia Daoming felt a chill run down his spine.

"Hoo!"

Blinding sunlight suddenly shone down without obstruction. The Martial Masters instinctively squinted and let out a long sigh of relief.

They had finally emerged from the damp, dark primeval forest.

Before them lay a wide canyon, with steep cliffs on both sides, a ground covered in scattered rocks, and colorful wild flowers and trees. In the middle, a mountain stream rushed rapidly, and in the distance, a giant waterfall cascaded down like a silver river.

The field of vision ahead was open, the surrounding scenery was novel and spectacular, and the air was fresh.

The gloom in everyone's hearts seemed to dissipate considerably.

"Liang Jingtang, Xia Daoming, you two will scout ahead again." Xu Shisen called out to Liang Jingtang and his disciple.

Liang Jingtang's face showed a hint of anger, but he still nodded silently and led Xia Daoming forward.

Xu Shisen, having become a Sixth-Rank Great Martial Master at such a young age, was already one of the key disciples being cultivated by the Xu Family.

Furthermore, Xu Zhiji, who was in charge of this expedition, was his own grand-uncle.

In this contingent of the Xu Family, Xu Shisen's standing was second only to Xu Zhiji.

Even though Liang Jingtang knew full well that Xu Shisen was using this as a personal vendetta, he could only endure it.

He even worried that the young and impetuous Xia Daoming might not be able to take the slight, and had specifically cautioned him twice in private.

As it turned out, Liang Jingtang later realized that he was the one who almost lost his composure once. Fortunately, Xia Daoming nudged him with his elbow, snapping him back to attention.

Liang Jingtang and his disciple quickly took the lead again.

The unobstructed, expansive view, along with the novel and spectacular scenery, gradually caused Liang Jingtang to lower his guard.

Most of the others felt the same.

Xia Daoming, however, remained highly alert, his senses, far keener than ordinary people's, constantly scanning for any subtle changes around them.

"Master, be careful!"

Suddenly, Xia Daoming felt his hair stand on end. Without a second thought, he grabbed Liang Jingtang's arm and pulled him horizontally to the left.

Just as the two of them lunged to the left, a verdant shadow shot up from the rushing stream. It was a ferocious creature, entirely green, covered in menacing scales, and shaped like a crocodile.

Seeing Liang Jingtang move, the creature didn't pursue him. Instead, it opened its mouth and spat a green ice blade at a Fifth-Rank Martial Master who had been following behind Liang Jingtang.

The incident was sudden, and the green projectile was incredibly fast. The Fifth-Rank Martial Master had no time to dodge and hastily drew his saber to block.

"Clang!" A crisp sound of metal striking metal rang out.

Sparks flew.

The horizontal saber in the Fifth-Rank Martial Master's hand was knocked out of his grip, and blood gushed from his wounded hand.

He himself was sent staggering backward.

"Whoosh!"

As the Fifth-Rank Martial Master stumbled back, the creature spat another green ice blade from its mouth.

"Clan elder, save me!"

The Fifth-Rank Martial Master turned his head to look at Xu Zhiji, who was not far behind him.

But Xu Zhiji's expression was cold. He gripped his saber in one hand, ready for defense, and grabbed Xu Shisen beside him with the other, darting to the side.

"Thwack!"

The green ice blade pierced through the Fifth-Rank Martial Master's body. He collapsed to the ground, blood flowing from the wound where the ice blade had entered.

The creature, catching the scent of blood, its eyes turned green. It lunged forward, pinning the Fifth-Rank Martial Master's corpse with its claws, opening its massive maw, and began to tear at it.

"Hurry, move!" Xu Zhiji commanded with a stern expression, not a trace of pity in his eyes.

The others remained silent and quickly moved away from the creature.

Only after they had put twenty to thirty zhang between themselves and the beast did they dare to look back.

In the sunlight, they could still see the creature tearing at the Fifth-Rank Martial Master, blood splattering everywhere.

"Clan elder, you are an Eighth-Rank Martial Master. You could have saved him just now, so why didn't you save Xiong Qi?" a Sixth-Rank Great Martial Master, nearing sixty, asked Xu Zhiji with a face full of grief and indignation.

"That's an Azure Water Crocodile. Its hide is thick and impenetrable to blades and spears. It's a First-Tier High-Rank Demonic Beast and naturally ferocious. If I had intervened, it would have targeted me!

The Xu Family summoned you all here to help us clear obstacles and dangers along the way and hunt Ice Rabbits, not for me to risk my life protecting you!" Xu Zhiji said coldly.

"No matter how powerful the Azure Water Crocodile is, it's just a beast without intelligence. If you had just blocked it for a moment, with all of us here, we could have definitely taken it down!" the elderly Great Martial Master's expression grew even more indignant.

"Fine!" Xu Zhiji nodded at this. But then he suddenly shot up into the sky. While in mid-air, his Tiger Head Saber flashed a cold light under the sun as he slashed towards the elderly Great Martial Master.

"You!" The elderly Great Martial Master turned pale with shock. He drew his long sword from its sheath, attempting to block.

"Clang!"

The elderly Great Martial Master's long sword was cleaved from his grasp by the Tiger Head Saber in a single strike. After a slight pause, the Tiger Head Saber continued its arc.

The elderly Great Martial Master's head fell to the ground, blood spurting from his severed neck.

Silence descended upon the surroundings.

"Is there anyone else who thinks I should have intervened just now?" Xu Zhiji landed, holding his Tiger Head Saber, still dripping with blood. His gaze, sharp as a blade, swept over everyone present.

Sweat beaded on their foreheads. Everyone lowered their heads, their downcast eyes revealing a mixture of fear and resentment.

Xia Daoming also lowered his head, a sense of awe stirring within him.

An Eighth-Rank Great Martial Master is indeed formidable. Even at his advanced age, his blade is still so fast, and his power so immense. I wonder about his stamina, though.

Today's update is complete.