Qin Feng was right. The underground ruins did have another exit, located on the far side of the swamp within a narrow rift valley.
RUMBLE!
In the once-peaceful rift valley, a section of stone wall suddenly began to tremble. It then slid open, revealing a hidden stone door from which a figure shot out like a bolt of lightning.
Strangely, the figure was carrying an Ancient Bronze Tripod. The massive tripod cut through the air with a whistle, an utterly staggering sight. Yet in the man's hands, it seemed weightless. He even made a motion as if tossing a pebble; the enormous Ancient Bronze Tripod appeared to be no heavier than a stone to him.
Freakish strength!
When Qin Feng emerged, he had spotted an abandoned Ancient Bronze Tripod near the exit. Thinking it would make a handy weapon, he had pulled it free. Right now, a vigorous power of vitality was awakening within him, his strength growing with every passing moment.
He called this awakening power Xuanwu's Power. The Ancient Bronze Tripod, weighing nearly a thousand jin, truly felt like nothing in his hands.
Dusk was now approaching. After leaving the rift valley, Qin Feng had no intention of returning to the Qi Yang Mountain Range. The small courtyard there was now completely abandoned.
Beyond the rift valley lay a lush, dense jungle and towering, majestic mountain ranges. The sun sank in the west, painting the twilight sky the color of blood. The rift was about forty to fifty li from Shanghe Town. If he rested for the night and nothing unexpected happened, he should be able to make it back the next day.
Walking through the forest, Qin Feng wore a cold expression as he pondered his future. At the Martial Arts Third Heaven, he had a basic ability to protect himself. Combined with his freakish Xuanwu's Power, his combat strength far surpassed that of an ordinary Martial Arts Fourth Layer expert. However, reaching the Perfection stage of the Martial Arts Third Heaven was no easy task. It would take a considerable amount of time to break through to the Martial Arts Fourth Layer.
'But things would be different if I had elixirs. I'm proficient in the Pill Array Technique, so maybe I could consider refining a batch of Bone Tempering Pills, or perhaps Quenching Essence Pills. A single Bone Tempering Pill is worth half a month of Cultivation. If I could get my hands on a few bottles, I might be able to push for a breakthrough to the Martial Arts Fourth Layer!'
A single Bone Tempering Pill was worth dozens of gold pieces. Even in a great clan like the Qin Family, only Direct Lineage Disciples received a monthly stipend of two pills. Their value was self-evident.
Refining Bone Tempering Pills wasn't difficult. The main ingredient was Fierce Beast Marrow. One simply had to kill a Fierce Beast, skin and butcher it to extract the marrow, and then combine it with a few other medicinal herbs.
The only tricky part was securing the Earth Fire of an Alchemy Furnace.
Just as Qin Feng was fretting over the problem of furnace Earth Fire, he suddenly heard a voice call out from the forest. "Hey, there's movement here! Look, the branches over there are disturbed. Quick, let's go check it out!"
Following the voice, Qin Feng heard the RUSTLE of footsteps approaching his position through the trees.
Qin Feng's brow furrowed. Hoisting the Ancient Bronze Tripod, he ducked behind a large tree. He wasn't panicked, but he couldn't help but wonder, 'How did they get here so fast? Since when did that bastard Lao Liu command so many people? No, wait... could I have alerted the Patriarch, Qin Qingshan?!'
His expression flickered with alarm, and his face grew solemn. As he mulled it over, two men emerged from the woods about a hundred paces away. They were dressed in practical martial attire, and both possessed the strength of the Late-stage Martial Arts First Layer Heaven. They radiated an Evil Qi, the clear sign of battle-hardened veterans.
After scanning the surroundings with sharp, piercing gazes, one of them spoke in a low voice.
"Strange. There was definitely some noise here a moment ago. How is there nothing now?"
The other man replied dismissively. "You're being too careful. It was probably just an animal. There are plenty of beasts on the outskirts of the Barbaric Mountain Range. Or maybe it was just an herb gatherer. It doesn't have to be *him*."
The first voice said gravely, "The young masters gave us strict orders this time. We're to apprehend anyone and anything moving in this area. No one gets away!"
"It definitely wasn't an animal," the first man stated with conviction. "My family has been hunting in these woods for generations; how could I not tell the difference between a man and a beast? Look at these broken branches. Someone came this way! He has to be nearby!"
Hiding behind the tree and listening to their conversation, Qin Feng glanced at the Great Tripod by his feet and cursed his luck. 'Can't believe I'm this unlucky. I barely snagged a few branches with this thing, and these guys picked up the trail!'
As he thought, the two men followed the trail. They were now only ten paces away and slowly closing in on the large tree where he was hiding.
At this, Qin Feng actually began to smile. From behind the tree, it was a chilling sight. One of his hands was already gripping a leg of the Great Tripod.
'Since they've found me,' he thought, 'I'll just have to silence them permanently!'
The two men drew closer and closer. When they were just seven or eight paces away, Qin Feng suddenly burst from his cover, hoisting the Ancient Bronze Tripod. Like a savage, powerful bear, he charged forward with thunderous steps, bringing the massive tripod crashing down to smash the life out of them.
Ever since he'd swallowed the Mystic Turtle Divine Pill, a trace of Xuanwu's power had fused with his body, and his strength was constantly growing. The monstrously heavy Ancient Bronze Tripod felt as light as a twig in his hands. The instant he lifted it, it was already descending upon the two men's heads.
The two men were also seasoned fighters. From the moment they'd found the trail, they had been on high alert.
But they could never have imagined Qin Feng would be so fast, his attack so ferocious. In the blink of an eye, a terrifying Ancient Bronze Tripod filled their vision, a dreadful weapon that clearly weighed at least a thousand jin.
In sheer terror, the two men raised their long sabers, crossing them in front of themselves in a desperate attempt to block the massive tripod.
But this was an Ancient Bronze Tripod weighing over a thousand jin, backed by Qin Feng's terrifying, brutish Xuanwu strength. As it came crashing down, the two Late-stage Martial Arts First Layer Heaven Martial Artists didn't even have time to scream before they and their sabers were flattened into meat paste.
Two Martial Artists of the Late-stage Martial Arts First Layer Heaven, smashed to death without being able to withstand a single blow!
It was an utterly gruesome scene!
Qin Feng swung the blood-stained Ancient Bronze Tripod. 'This Great Tripod, combined with my brute strength, is surprisingly effective,' he mused. 'Brute force trumps all techniques. It doesn't matter if you have some fancy Saber Technique or Swordsmanship; one smash from my tripod, and you're on your knees.'
With that thought, Qin Feng was about to leave when his sharp eyes spotted a yellowed piece of paper amid the gory mess on the ground. Rummaging through the tattered clothing, he found a Secret Manual and a few loose taels of silver.
A Human Martial Level Middle Tier Secret Manual: the Long Wind Saber Technique. Qin Feng gave it a glance and sighed in disappointment. This Secret Technique might have been precious to the Martial Artist who'd carried it, but to Qin Feng, it was utterly worthless.
Besides, he had never been fond of Saber Techniques.
Still, he didn't toss it. It was, after all, a Human Martial Level Middle-level Saber Skill. If he sold it, he could get a hundred taels of silver for it. He could only imagine how his little Maid would nag him if she knew he'd thrown away that much money.
He found a small porcelain bottle on the other body, but it had been shattered by his tripod. The single, pale-yellow elixir inside was cracked.
Picking up the cracked elixir, Qin Feng cursed himself. 'Killing and looting have always gone hand-in-hand, how could I forget? These guys are Martial Artists; of course they'd have some good stuff on them. I should've gone easier. This Low Grade Bone Tempering Pill is smashed. What a waste!'
Qin Feng had almost forgotten his old trade!
At that thought, he rummaged through the two 'meat pastes' a few more times. But their injuries were too severe; even their long sabers had been bent out of shape. There was nothing left to plunder.
Qin Feng sighed. After dealing with the scene, he proceeded with much more caution, picking his way carefully through the forest. He traveled for several li, but to his alarm, in that short distance, he encountered no fewer than a dozen different search parties.
These people were all dressed in martial attire and typically moved in teams of three to five. Most had a Cultivation at the Martial Arts First Realm or Second Heaven. Some teams even included Martial Artists of the Third Heaven.
Clearly, these men were from the same group as the ones he had killed earlier. They were highly vigilant, searching the forest with meticulous care. Their methods were airtight and showed a great deal of experience.
These were the elite disciples of the Qin Family!
Even with his caution, Qin Feng was nearly discovered several times.
'This can't go on,' he thought. 'They've laid a Celestial Net of Heaven and Earth here. These elite disciples are incredibly experienced trackers; their search patterns are interlinked and they cover for one another. The deeper I go, the higher the chances of being discovered. It seems I have no choice but to be ruthless and carve a bloody path out!'