Death

  Having captured the hostage, Tian Tao burst out laughing and shouted: "If you still want his life, give me the Chi Yan fruit, I'll return him to you. Otherwise... I won't guarantee he'll be unscathed!"

  The person whose neck was pinched by him was young and handsome, with eyebrows and eyes that had not yet opened, looking no more than twelve or thirteen years old. He was indeed very weak. There was a hint of panic in his expression, but he did not fluster, only slightly tilting his head to avoid it, without any pleading attitude.

  Tian Tao was indeed pleased with himself, but Xu's people were at a loss, and in the end their expressions also looked somewhat strange.

  Only one old man with a humble appearance spoke up and begged: "Elder Tian, the child is innocent, I hope you will show mercy!"

  Seeing that he was only at the 9th level of Qi Refining, Tian Tao wouldn't bother with him and instead looked at Xu Zifeng, his hand tightening: "Xu family's young one, if you don't hand over the spiritual object, I'll strangle his neck. Let's see how you explain it to Xu Zhengtian!"

  Xu Zifeng slightly furrowed her brow: "Why should I report to the master of the house?"

  Tian Tao sneered: "Because of you, Xu Zhengtian's young son died prematurely. How can I not settle the score!"

  Xu Zifeng's gaze swept over the young man, but she was unmoved: "This child is just a miscellaneous servant from Baicao Garden, not the young master of the family. Tian Daoyou, you've got it wrong."

  It turned out that this poor guy who was being pinched was actually Xu Ziqing.

  He was standing beside Old He, being protected by him, and didn't even dare to provoke those gray butterflies, only being vigilant about himself. Unexpectedly, he suddenly suffered a disaster, and was grabbed by someone who pinched his neck and took him away. Even when Old He reacted, he couldn't stop the other person.

  Xu Ziqing was naturally apprehensive in his heart, but fortunately the people in this cave were all disciples of the Five Houses, and it seemed unlikely that they would lose their lives easily, so he didn't panic either. But when he heard Tian Tao's words, he suddenly couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time.

  He was naturally of noble birth in his past life, and there were many people who wanted to use him as a threat against his parents and elder brother. However, in this life, he really didn't have any status, so using him as a threat would be laughable.

  It's no wonder that Tian Tao misunderstood, Xu Ziqing's cultivation is only at the first level of refining Qi, if he were an ordinary person, he wouldn't have been able to enter this Lin Yuan secret realm. But everyone knows that Xu Zhengtian, the master of the Xu family, has a son with a dual spiritual root who is still underage and has just started on his immortal path for over a year, yet already has a cultivation at the first level of refining Qi, truly an exceptional talent.

  Xu Ziqing's appearance is like this, and his demeanor is extremely calm, isn't it confusing people?

  Now that Xu Zifeng has been pierced, Xu Ziqing is worried about his own life. He observes that the Tian family has always been arrogant and domineering. Tian Liang, with only a five-layer cultivation base, can rely on his family background to whip and scold others in other families. This Tian Tao is already a foundation-building cultivator, who knows whether he will be enraged by shame and anger, and kill Xu Ziqing?

  Xu Zi Qing, however, did not want to die and so he looked up at Old Man He with a pleading gaze, while secretly circulating the spiritual energy within his body. If it came down to the final moment, he would make one last desperate struggle.

  Tian Tao didn't believe it though.

  He only thought that if this young man was not of noble status, how could he have such a thin cultivation to come to the secret realm? Not to mention the old man who refined his energy for nine layers and begged for mercy, thinking that he had a close relationship with him. Thinking of this, it's not necessarily Xu Zhengtian's youngest son, nor is it necessarily useless.

  Xu Ziqing was of such status, and not all the Xu family members were aware of it. However, these people were all outstanding members of the Xu family, and the young master naturally knew them. Therefore, what Tian Tao did was just laughed at by everyone.

  He Lao was indeed anxious, and his eyes turned to Xu Zifeng, with a somewhat complicated expression.

  Xu Zifeng had already established his foundation, and the people below him were all insignificant to him. He couldn't be bothered with them. However, he still remembered the two favors he owed Old Man He, and considering that Old Man He's skills in cultivating spiritual herbs were quite exceptional, Xu Zifeng thought it was possible that he might need to rely on him in the future, so he decided to give him some face.

  "At that moment, he spoke up and said: 'Although I am not the young master of the house, I am also a descendant of the Xu family. Tian Daoyou would do well to stop here, so as not to damage the relationship between our two families.'"

  His tone was very calm, and there wasn't much sincerity in it. The master of the Tian family, Tian Cheng, and Xu Zhen Tian had already torn their faces apart, and now even a superficial response didn't have much to do with it. But since Xu Zi Feng, a fellow cultivator of the same level, said so, if Tian Tao wasn't a fool, he would still have to consider some courtesy.

  He Lao then was very grateful to Xu Ziqing, for in the eyes of these individuals, Xu Ziying didn't have much weight, and being able to get a Foundation Establishment cultivator to speak up for him was already a great favor.

  Xu Ziqing breathed a fine breath, and he also hoped that Tian Tao would give up at this point, and did not want to lose his life for nothing. He was grateful to Xu Zifeng and He Guanshi in his heart, but before his life was saved, everything else was just empty talk.

  Tian Tao saw Xu Zifeng speak, and thought he had the upper hand. He burst out laughing and grabbed Xu Ziqing, dragging him towards the outside of the cave. He Ge's old head was worried about the young boy who would take his place in the future, and immediately flew up to follow them. Xu Zifeng saw Tian Tao not giving him any face, furrowed his brow, and also left on a sword light. The rest of the people looked at each other in dismay, especially Meng Wanjin, who didn't know what she was thinking, and also followed them.

  Then all the monks showed their skills and rushed out of the cave together. This time, they came to the cave to find treasures but got nothing, mostly because "the chicken was not stolen, but the rice was lost". Now, seeing that Xu Tian's two families seemed to have a grudge against each other, and someone might have another plan, everyone became interested.

  Natao hadn't gone far, but was worried that the cave was narrow and he would be watched by others, and his clansmen couldn't come to his aid, so he went to a wider place outside the cave, which would make it easier for him to do things.

  Before long, the Tian family and others surrounded Tian Tao, while the Xu family stood facing him. The Meng, Wei, and Luo families also gathered around to watch, making it a lively scene.

  Xu Ziqing had always thought of quietly cultivating and accumulating strength, never expecting that just one trip to the secret realm would make him the focus of everyone's attention. At present, he doesn't know what kind of feeling it is, but because he hasn't reached a dead end yet, he's still calm. He only wonders how this matter will develop later, and can only clench his fists to look for an opportunity to take advantage of.

  The two parties confronted each other, Tian Tao stroked his beard with a smile, his expression gloomy and ruthless: "Xu Daoyou, I've always disliked saying such nonsense. Don't try to make friends with me or discuss emotional ties." As he spoke, he let out a cold laugh, "Even if the master of the house finds out what I'm doing, he'll probably be delighted."

  Xu Zifeng's face sank like water, he was rebuked and lost face, so he didn't vent his anger on He Lao Tou, but instead harbored a murderous intent towards Tian Tao. The Tian family had torn off their facade with the Xu family, this person after all had foundation-building period cultivation, if not eliminated, would become a great calamity for the Xu family!

  Tian Tao had already pinched Xu Ziqing's neck even harder and opened his mouth to say: "Xu Zifeng, are you going to swap or not?"

  Xu Ziqing's face turned pale, and his breathing became difficult. He was sweating profusely, secretly gathering all his spiritual energy. While everyone was watching Xu Zifeng, he quietly grasped the remaining explosive talismans in his right hand, and held the green talisman in his left palm, waiting for an opportunity to strike!

  Xu Zifeng had the intention to kill Tian Tao, so he naturally didn't want to talk. He just stood here to delay for a while, but in fact, he was gathering his spiritual energy to re-release his sword aura and directly behead this savage!

  Xu Ziqing looked at He Lao, and He Lao also sensed that something was off. He asked Xu Zifeng again, but Xu Zifeng simply raised his hand and waved it, leaving no room for further inquiry.

  He Lao knew that he couldn't use the Chi Yan fruit to trade with Xu Zi Qing, because although it was extremely effective, having it would allow him to create a single-spirited genius. This would be of great help to the Xu family. However, Xu Zi Qing, despite being a good candidate to inherit the Bai Cao Garden, was still young and not worth such a great cost.

  At this point, He Lao thought of his over 100 years of loyalty and dedication, now he could only helplessly love Xu Ziqing.

  Xu Ziqing saw He Lao's expression change from urgency to calmness and then to apology, already knowing his choice. The little hope he had just now turned into despair. It was impossible for him to get help from others now.

  Xu Ziqing closed his eyes. Since he had already reached the end of the road, he could only...

  Tian Tao laughed for a while, and also sensed the aura on Xu Zifeng's body. His expression turned serious. At this moment, he only heard a loud explosion coming from his own body, although there was no pain, it made him somewhat surprised. He lowered his head to look down, saw that there was a green light flashing, originally the young boy who was being held by him had used an evading light talisman, and in an instant moved several zhang away!

  Ke Tian Tao's imposing foundation, where is such a good match? However, grasping a mere Qi Refining stage junior, he unexpectedly lost his grip and let him escape for several steps, which was extremely humiliating! At that time, he no longer bothered with Xu Zi Feng, and with a reverse grab, there was an extremely strong attractive force that pulled Xu Zi Qing back alive!

  Xu Zifeng's eyes flashed cold, but he got an opportunity, immediately raised his sword and slashed towards Tian Tao - if he wanted to kill this person, he couldn't show any mercy!

  Tian Tao didn't expect Xue Zifeng to make a move at this time, and he was shocked and furious. He didn't have time to do anything else, and with one palm, he shattered Xue Ziqing's dantian, throwing him backwards, and immediately dodged to the side to avoid the dense sword energy. Xue Zifeng took advantage of the situation and didn't give Tian Tao a moment to catch his breath, launching three consecutive swords. Tian Tao was forced into a desperate situation and accidentally got scratched on his arm, leaving a deep wound.

  The two of them were on fire, and at this moment, they were already in a life-and-death struggle!

  None of the monks had ever seen that the person thrown by Tian Tuo fell straight into the lake behind.

  Xu Ziqing couldn't escape, and when Tian Tao was attracted to catch him back, he knew that he had reached the end. Later, his dantian was broken, and after enduring intense pain, he was thrown high into the air. When he fell into the water, his whole body felt cool all over.

  The icy lake water poured into his mouth and nose, Xu Ziqing struggled to wave his limbs, wanting to swim. But he had never learned to swim, and with severe injuries on his body, he could only let himself slowly sink, and soon, all sides were surrounded by water...

  His heart grew colder and his consciousness gradually blurred, Xu Ziqing had not given up yet, but ultimately sank down.

  It seems like I won't make it this time either...

  This taste of death, no one understands it better than him.

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