Fleeing for One's Life

With his experience this time, Xia Daoming was familiar with the process.

He returned not long after.

"Everyone be careful, there are two Ice Rabbits this time!" a voice rang out, followed by a figure darting into the crowd like a slippery snake.

Close behind, two white blurs shot towards them like lightning.

The large net was still deployed to ensnare them.

But this time, it was a pair of adult male and female Ice Rabbits.

As soon as the large net was cast, within a few breaths, the people pulling the net had their hands torn free, and they were thrown to the ground.

However, during this time, Xu Zhiji had already led the others in launching a fierce round of attacks.

Both Ice Rabbits were injured.

The net was torn open.

The injured Ice Rabbits went completely berserk.

They opened their mouths and spewed white mist, which transformed into ice arrows that shot out.

"Ah! Ah!"

In an instant, two Martial Masters were hit and injured.

A white blur flashed by like lightning, claws descending. One of the men trying to pull the net was flipped to the ground. Before the Martial Master could even recover, his head was pierced through, blood and brain matter splattering everywhere.

A brutal battle unfolded between the Martial Masters and the two injured Ice Rabbits.

A moment later.

The battle ended.

On the ground, spanning only a few acres, lay ten Martial Master corpses in disarray.

Among them were two Xu Family Martial Masters.

Of the remaining fourteen people, apart from Xu Zhiji, everyone else had sustained injuries to varying degrees.

Xia Daoming was no exception, with multiple bleeding wounds on his body.

As for how much of that blood was his own, only he knew for sure.

Xu Zhiji's gaze swept coldly over the ten Martial Master corpses on the ground. Only when his eyes landed on the two Ice Rabbit corpses did his expression change, becoming joyful and fervent.

Two Xu Family disciples stepped forward, extracted the Ice Rabbits' hearts, placed them in leather pouches, and secured them.

Some Martial Masters stepped forward to collect the bodies of their comrades.

There were also a few particularly unfortunate factions whose members had all died, leaving no one to collect their remains.

"No matter what, let's dig a hole and bury them!" Liang Jingtang saw that two bodies were unattended and said to Xia Daoming. Then, he picked up a large saber from the ground and began digging.

Seeing this, Xia Daoming silently stepped forward to help.

The other Martial Masters' expressions varied.

Some lowered their heads in shame, while others showed envy and mockery.

There were five factions following Xu Zhiji this time.

Apart from the Hidden Dragon Martial Arts School, the other four factions, including the Xu Family, had casualties.

"We've hunted enough Ice Rabbits," Xu Zhiyuan said slowly after everyone had finished tidying up the bodies.

The survivors breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Next, everyone will search the surrounding areas of the valley for the Ice-Cold Purple Ganoderma. This time, your efforts won't be in vain. If you find any Ice-Cold Purple Ganoderma, you only need to hand over half.

However, remember not to go near the cold pond rabbit den in the center. We have one hour. After an hour, we must leave, otherwise, as night falls, it will become extremely cold here," Xu Zhiji added.

"Yes!" everyone responded, many with expectant looks.

Soon, the crowd dispersed, leaving only Xu Zhiji and his grandson Xu Shisen guarding the leather pouch containing the Ice Rabbits' hearts.

"Uncle-Ancestor, are we really going to let Liang Jingtang and his disciple go?" Xu Shisen asked with lingering resentment.

"Do you understand the concept of combining authority with benevolence? Our Xu Family has dominated Li City for so many years. Do you really think it's solely through martial might? If that were the case, all the capable people in Li City would have fled long ago.

If all the capable people fled, how would the Xu Family develop? This hunt for Ice Rabbits would have resulted in the deaths of all our Xu Family disciples! Your martial talent is decent, becoming a Sixth-Rank Great Martial Master at such a young age, you have the potential to become an elder in the future. You need to think long-term!" Xu Zhiji said earnestly.

"Uncle-Ancestor's teachings are correct, but your nephew feels that Xia Daoming is a bit strange. He's only a Fifth-Rank cultivator, yet he's managed to escape danger multiple times," Xu Shisen said, still unconvinced.

"Hmph, no matter how strange he is, he's still just a Fifth-Rank Martial Master. He's not young anymore, can he really stir up any trouble? Alright, I know your little thoughts. If you really want to eliminate them, wait until you become an elder, and then deal with them yourself," Xu Zhiji said, his expression darkening slightly.

"Yes, Uncle-Ancestor!" Xu Shisen quickly nodded, no longer daring to instigate.

"Daoming, I didn't expect to be targeted like this on this trip. Fortunately, I had you, otherwise, this old life of mine would surely have been lost," Liang Jingtang said, shrouded in a hazy mist.

"Master, you shouldn't say such things! It's a rare and excellent opportunity, let's quickly find the Ice-Cold Purple Ganoderma!" Xia Daoming said with a smile.

"You rascal, fine. If we find any, I'll give you my share," Liang Jingtang said.

"Heh heh." Xia Daoming chuckled noncommittally.

Soon, the master and disciple began searching around the edge of the valley.

Like ordinary Polygonum multiflorum, the Ice-Cold Purple Ganoderma is a perennial climbing vine.

However, its vines and leaves are purple, and it emits a cold air that gathers mist.

So, as the master and disciple searched, they specifically looked for places along the valley edge where the mist was particularly dense.

Those places often harbored Ice-Cold Purple Ganoderma.

An hour later.

Everyone gradually returned to the gathering point.

The lucky ones returned with full hands.

One person even dug up a century-old and a two-century-old Ice-Cold Purple Ganoderma.

As for the unlucky ones, they returned empty-handed.

Liang Jingtang was unlucky, his hands empty.

Xia Daoming had average luck, digging up a century-old Ice-Cold Purple Ganoderma.

Except for the Martial Masters from the Xu Family, everyone else's harvested Ice-Cold Purple Ganoderma was handed over to Xu Zhiji.

Xu Zhiji collected them and distributed everyone's shares according to the prior agreement.

However, Xu Zhiji, that old fellow, was quite cunning and stingy.

Xia Daoming handed over a century-old Ice-Cold Purple Ganoderma, and Xu Zhiji directly allocated him one that was about fifty to sixty years old.

It looked like the age was halved, but in reality, the value differed by several times.

However, Xia Daoming said nothing, just quietly accepted it. This made Xu Zhiji secretly praise him, considering him a young man who knew when to advance and retreat and could remain calm. Xu Shisen, on the other hand, was a bit disappointed.

He had wished Xia Daoming would act impulsively, which would have given him an opportunity to kill him.

Just as Xu Shisen was putting the Ice-Cold Purple Ganoderma belonging to the Xu Family into his bag and tying it shut, a thick fog suddenly rose in the valley.

The dense fog covered the sky and earth, spreading rapidly.

The thick fog enveloped everything, and looking up at the sky, one could see nothing.

Looking down at oneself, the body itself became blurry.

Not only that, but the dense fog brought a bone-chilling cold. Not to mention that Fourth and Fifth-Rank Great Martial Masters were shivering uncontrollably, even Xia Daoming, while circulating his vital energy and strength, felt a trace of coldness continuously invading his body.

"Gulp! Gulp!" A sound that vibrated the eardrums and made the mind tremble came from within the dense fog.

Everyone looked towards the sound and saw two points of purple light flashing within the thick fog.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!" Just as everyone was secretly alarmed, the dense fog suddenly churned, and streaks of ice arrows shot out from within the fog.

Faintly, everyone saw an Ice Rabbit, its size comparable to a ferocious tiger, appearing behind the ice arrows.

"It's the Rabbit King! Quick, quick, step forward and block it!" Xu Zhiji, who had been acting extremely calmly, saw this and his face instantly turned pale and bloodless. He yelled sharply.

As he screamed, he grabbed Xu Shisen with one hand, snatched two bags with the other, and fled back the way they came.

Even Xu Zhiji was so terrified that he fled with his people. In this life-or-death moment, why would the others foolishly rush forward to help him block it? Seeing this, they all immediately scattered and fled towards the cliff edge.

At this moment, Xia Daoming had naturally realized that this Ice Rabbit was exceptionally powerful and by no means someone he could contend with. Forgetting to hide his strength, he quickly reached out to Liang Jingtang, preparing to grab him and run.

Unexpectedly, Liang Jingtang was also reaching out to him.

"Quick, follow your master!"

Xia Daoming was slightly stunned, then understood Liang Jingtang's intention. While feeling a mix of amusement and helplessness, he also felt a sense of gratitude.

Moved, Xia Daoming twisted his hand like a snake's body, dodged Liang Jingtang's outstretched palm, and then grabbed his arm.

Liang Jingtang was startled. Just as he was about to ask a question, he felt a powerful pulling force transmitted to his arm.

Then, his entire body was involuntarily pulled up.

Liang Jingtang was involuntarily pulled along by the powerful pulling force, running wildly. The cold wind whistled past his ears, making his cheeks sting.

However, Liang Jingtang was completely unaware of it.

While reflexively circulating his vital energy and strength and running wildly with the pulling force, he looked at the young man in front of him with incredibly shocked eyes.

He wanted to speak, but the mist filled his mouth, making it impossible to utter a sound.

"Gulp! Gulp!"

"Ah! Ah!"

Behind them, the ferocious roars of the Ice Rabbit and screams erupted one after another.

The master and disciple unleashed their vital energy and strength to their fullest, running even faster.

In a flash, the two stepped onto a steep slope and, using the protruding cliff rocks on the slope, leaped and climbed upwards one after another.

The dense fog enveloped everything, and everyone had scattered to escape. No one noticed the terrifying speed of the master and disciple. Otherwise, they would have been utterly shocked.

Soon, the master and disciple passed through the clouds and mist that shrouded the valley, and specks of sunlight began to fall.

"Hoo!"

Looking back down, thick fog enveloped them, and both master and disciple felt a lingering fear and relief, as if they had narrowly escaped death.

"I never expected an Ice Rabbit to evolve into a Level 2 Demonic Beast!" Liang Jingtang exclaimed, still shaken.

"Yeah, I really didn't expect it either!" Xia Daoming agreed, looking around.

Originally, the second time he lured two Ice Rabbits, the hunting party suffered heavy casualties. This would have been more advantageous for his subsequent plan to secretly kill and rob them.

However, the risk of the secret leaking out remained high!

But now, things were different.

The unexpected appearance of the Rabbit King caused everyone to flee in a panic, resulting in deaths, injuries, and people getting separated.

If he could find any lone members of the Xu Family, the risk of the secret leaking would be minimized.

Moreover, he would have a scapegoat!

Soon, Xia Daoming saw two figures emerge from the mist in the distance, rapidly climbing upwards.

One of them was carrying two bags, yet was moving faster than the other.

Xia Daoming's eyes narrowed.

PS: I'm going all out today, here's the third update. This triple update is quite substantial for a book in its early stages, totaling nearly ten thousand characters. If this continues, I'll likely be removed from the rankings for exceeding the word count. Given my hard work, I kindly ask all readers for their support.

Today's update is complete. Thanks to silence01 and 20211216094838620 for their generous donations. Thanks to RPG Defense, Carousel, 20200216193747765, Autumn Divine Light, Little Nini's Husband, and other readers for their tips.