214: Xujiazhai Forbidden Area

Qin Shilei and his group quickly encountered another group of mutated monkeys, with the strongest only at Bronze Realm Four Stars.

Kong Qingshu didn't even need to act; Xu Jun and Ma Hongwei easily dealt with the thirty or forty monkeys.

As they continued along the mountain path, various mutated beasts constantly appeared before Qin Shilei and his group.

There were Wind Blade Wolves of the Bronze Realm, Blood Soul Boars of the Silver Realm, and even flocking Gale Sparrows.

The short distance of over ten kilometers from Xujia Town to Xu Family Stronghold made Qin Shilei and his group realize the horror of the mountain forest.

The threat posed by mutated beasts in the wild was no less than the threat posed by zombies to humans in large cities.

When they finally arrived at Xu Family Stronghold, the scene before them shocked them.

Xu Family Stronghold, which once housed two to three thousand people, had now become a ruin.

The ancient ethnic buildings had become broken walls and crumbling ruins, and the air was still filled with the stench of dried blood.

"Dad, Mom, Grandpa." Xu Hongyu ran like a madwoman towards her home.

"city Lord, I'll go check the patriarch's house."

Xu Jun, seeing this scene, was also full of surprise. After greeting Qin Shilei, he walked towards a collapsed house in the middle of the village.

"Let's go take a look too." Qin Shilei pulled Kong Qingshu and also walked towards the house in the middle.

As they walked, traces of fighting were visible everywhere, as were marks of dried blood.

The patriarch's house was a three-courtyard residence, and several walls had already collapsed.

No bodies were found inside, perhaps they escaped, or perhaps they were eaten by the attacking exotic beasts.

Xu Jun and Ma Hongwei were meticulously searching every part of the courtyard, hoping to find the Gu Insect Scripture.

Two hours later, Xu Jun, having found nothing, walked out of the house, "city Lord, I'll take you to the forbidden area of Xu Family Stronghold; the Gu Insect Scripture might be there."

Qin Shilei replied, "Okay, let's go get Xu Hongyu."

The group found the distraught Xu Hongyu in a collapsed house, and then together they set off for the forbidden area on the back mountain of Xu Family Stronghold.

The forbidden area was several kilometers from Xu Family Stronghold, a valley with Cliffs on three sides. The valley used to be infested with a massive number of venomous snakes.

Clan members of Xu Family Stronghold who committed serious crimes would be thrown into the valley to be bitten to death by ten thousand snakes.

The patriarch also possessed a treasure that allowed him to safely enter a cave within the valley.

Xu Jun didn't know what was in the cave. However, if Xu Feng was still alive, he would definitely be hiding inside, and the Gu Insect Scripture was very likely also inside.

Qin Shilei and his group quickly arrived in front of the valley.

At this moment, a large eagle was swooping down from the sky, snatching a five or six-meter-long venomous snake from the valley.

The large eagle, with a wingspan of nearly ten meters, glanced at Qin Shilei and his group, then ignored them, grabbing the large snake and flying away into the distance.

"Someone!" Xu Hongyu suddenly shouted excitedly, pointing at the cave inside the valley.

"city Lord, the survivors of Xu Family Stronghold are likely hiding in that cave," Xu Jun guessed.

"With so many snakes here, didn't they attack your Xu Family Stronghold before?"

Looking at the extremely large number of venomous snakes in the valley, Kong Qingshu felt goosebumps all over her body.

"It's strange to say, but the snakes in this Snake Valley have never attacked Xu Family Stronghold," Xu Jun also became curious at this point.

Qin Shilei scanned the valley from left to right.

The canyon was three to four hundred meters deep, forty to fifty meters wide, with Cliffs four to five hundred meters high on three sides.

At a glance, the entire canyon was full of various venomous snakes, some less than half a meter long, others five or six meters long; even some depressions on the Cliffs were occupied by venomous snakes, probably hundreds of thousands of them.

The cave where the figure appeared earlier was at the end of the canyon, three to four hundred meters from Qin Shilei and his group.

Upon discovering Qin Shilei and his group, the venomous snakes in the canyon flicked their tongues and slithered towards them.

Qin Shilei frowned and said, "Xu Jun, you guys find a place to hide first; I'll go check that cave."

After speaking, he embraced Kong Qingshu and instantly teleported into the canyon.

After four consecutive blinks, they appeared at the front of the cave.

"Who are you, and how did you get in?"

As soon as Qin Shilei and his group appeared inside the cave, two people walked out from the depths of the cave and questioned them.

"We are from Nanzhuang City, looking for your patriarch for something. Your patriarch is here, isn't he?" Qin Shilei spoke.

"You really came from Nanzhuang City, three hundred kilometers away? Are you sent by the government to rescue us?"

The young man in his twenties said excitedly.

"Looking for our patriarch, how did you get through Snake Valley?" The other middle-aged man in his thirties looked at Qin Shilei with surprise and doubt.

"Take us to your patriarch. When I meet him, I will explain the situation myself." Qin Shilei couldn't be bothered to waste words on these minor figures.

"If you want to see our patriarch, let me see if you are qualified."

After the middle-aged man finished speaking, he lightly raised his hand, and immediately a black shadow shot rapidly towards Qin Shilei.

A flash of sword light, and the black shadow was split in half by Qin Shilei's sword, falling to the ground to reveal a small green snake.

At this moment, the upper half of the small snake was still desperately wriggling towards Qin Shilei.

Qin Shilei stepped forward, stomped the small snake into oblivion, and simultaneously placed his sword at the middle-aged man's neck.

"Let's go, take me to your patriarch."

The icy touch on his neck made the middle-aged man wilt instantly, and he quickly said, "Our patriarch doesn't know where he went. I'll take you to our elder."

"Let's go," Qin Shilei commanded.

The middle-aged man led Qin Shilei and Kong Qingshu forward several tens of meters along the cave, arriving inside a spacious karstic cave.

There were dozens of people inside the karstic cave. Seeing the middle-aged man being held hostage, they all took out their weapons and surrounded them.

"Who is the Elder? Please step forward and speak." Qin Shilei put away his Blood Soul and spoke.

"This old man is Xu Jiacheng, the Grand Elder of Xu Family Stronghold. May I ask what business this young brother has with me?" A white-haired old man stepped forward.

"You are Xu Jiacheng, Xu Hongyu's grandfather?" Qin Shilei asked.

"You know my granddaughter Hongyu?" Xu Jiacheng retorted.

"We just saved her life, and she is outside the canyon right now."

Qin Shilei replied while activating his Eye of Illusion Breaking Purple.

Xu Jiacheng was instantly controlled.

"Do you know where the Gu Insect Scripture is?"

"It's currently with the patriarch."

"Then where is your patriarch?"

"The patriarch is currently in seclusion in a secret room in the cave."

Just as Qin Shilei was about to ask where the secret room was, an old voice suddenly echoed in the karstic cave.

"Who is looking for this patriarch?"

Qin Shilei looked around but couldn't find where the voice came from.

As the voice sounded, Xu Jiacheng also broke free from his control and regained consciousness.

"First, I'll deal with you, then we'll talk."

That voice sounded again.