Martial Arts: Starting with Upgrading the Dilapidated Temple

Chapter 90 Harvesting Leeks

On the southern side of the Hidden Cloud Realm, at the edge of the Poisonous Miasma Forest.

A thin layer of purple mist permeates the air here, and even a single breath can make you dizzy.

In the center of a cold pool on the outskirts of the poisonous forest, a lotus flower, its entire body ice-blue and radiating a chilling aura, is quietly blooming.

Mystic Ice Lotus.

On either side of the cold pool, two groups of people were locked in a stalemate.

On the left is a disciple of the Xiangyun Sect dressed in a light blue short-sleeved shirt. Leading the group is the boy who was injured by the Qingshan Sect earlier. At this moment, his face is still a little pale, but his hand holding the sword is clenched tightly.

On the right were several female disciples of the Hundred Flowers Sect dressed in pink and white dresses. The one in the lead was a round-faced girl with upturned eyebrows, holding several poisoned flying needles in her hand.

"Our Hundred Flowers Sect found this place first. Does your Auspicious Cloud Sect have any rules?" The round-faced girl sneered, flipping her wrist, and the eerie blue light on the flying needles appeared and disappeared.

The young man from the Xiangyun Sect spat a mouthful of bloody saliva onto the ground.

"Rules? In this secret realm, might makes right! Those scum from the Green Mountain Sect stole our Blood Spirit Ginseng before, now we're stealing your Mystic Ice Lotus—it's only natural! If you know what's good for you, get out of here, or we'll draw our swords!"

"You think I'm afraid of your few pieces of scrap metal?" The round-faced girl laughed angrily. "If we really fight, my Hundred Flowers Bone-Dissolving Powder will surely rot your guts!"

The two sides were on the verge of battle, their blood boiling, neither willing to back down an inch, and the battle was about to break out.

At this critical moment, the bushes beside the cold pool were suddenly and roughly pushed aside.

"Wow, it's quite lively here."

A figure dressed in a light green outfit, with an arrogant expression, sauntered out.

The people from Xiangyun Sect and Baihua Sect turned their heads at the same time, and their expressions changed drastically when they saw the newcomer's attire.

"Green Mountain Sect?" The young man from the Auspicious Cloud Sect gritted his teeth, his eyes almost spitting fire.

Xu Hao, disguised as a senior disciple of the Green Mountain Sect, picked at his ear, flicked the dust off his fingertips, and looked directly at the Xuanbing Lotus, bypassing everyone else.

"This lotus is quite beautiful; it'll be perfect for making tea for my master." Xu Hao grinned, his tone extremely arrogant. "Alright, this place belongs to the Green Mountain Sect. Are you going to get out of here yourselves, or should I kick you all into the pond to feed the turtles?"

The young man from Xiangyun Sect trembled with anger, his already injured face now flushed red.

"This is outrageous! Do you really think your Green Mountain Sect can run rampant in this secret realm? Junior brothers, form a formation and cripple him first!"

Seeing this, the round-faced girl from the Hundred Flowers Sect quickly led her fellow disciples back two steps, amused by the dog-eat-dog fight.

Xu Hao sneered, not bothering to say a word.

He pushed off with his foot, and the ground instantly collapsed, creating a shallow pit.

He shot out like a cannonball, striking out with both palms simultaneously.

There were no fancy moves, just pure physical domination.

After all, he didn't know the Green Mountain Sect's techniques, and using his own techniques would easily expose him.

boom!boom!

With two muffled thuds, the two core disciples of the Xiangyun Sect, who were just about to form an array, didn't even have time to scream before their chests were dented by the blows, and they were sent flying backward into the poisonous forest, their fate unknown.

This domineering palm strike left everyone present dumbfounded.

The young man from Xiangyun Sect was trembling as he gripped his sword; how could someone at the Yi Jin Realm possibly generate such power?

Xu Hao didn't even glance at them. He lightly touched the water's surface with his toes, uprooted the Xuanbing Lotus in the center of the cold pool, and stuffed it directly into the storage bag at his waist.

"The secret realm is over. Go back and tell your sect elders." Xu Hao stood on the opposite bank of the cold pool, his chin slightly raised, his expression extremely arrogant. "The Green Mountain Sect doesn't take your Auspicious Cloud Sect seriously. Come and bite me if you dare."

Before he finished speaking, his figure blurred, and he disappeared directly into the dense poisonous miasma.

"Qingshan Sect! Xiangyun Sect is your sworn enemy!" The young man from Xiangyun Sect was so enraged that, coupled with his old injuries not yet healed, he immediately threw his head back and spat out a mouthful of blood.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, took out a bone whistle from his pocket, put it in his mouth, and blew it with all his might.

The sharp whistle pierced through the poisonous miasma and spread in all directions.

"Senior brother, this—" The remaining disciples were terrified. "This is the highest summons! Are we really going to war with the Green Mountain Sect?"

"What's the point of gathering herbs!" The young man's eyes were bloodshot, and he gritted his teeth. "Order all disciples of the Xiangyun Sect to chop off anyone wearing green clothes!"

The round-faced girl from the Hundred Flowers Sect swallowed hard and quietly put away the poisoned needle in her hand.

The people from the Green Mountain Sect are really ruthless.

For the next half day, the Cloud Hidden Realm was in complete chaos.

Xu Hao mastered the art of disguise and bone shrinking, transforming himself into a convincing actor who performed at various theaters.

An hour later, at the spirit ore gathering point on the west side of the secret realm.

Several disciples of the Jinliu Sect were digging in the mine when suddenly a disciple of the Xiangyun Sect, dressed in a light blue short-sleeved shirt, rushed out.

Without a word, a flash of sword light appeared, and he stabbed a disciple to death, snatched the storage bag full of spirit ore, and ran away.

Before leaving, he didn't forget to say, "If you're not satisfied with how the Xiangyun Sect handles things, keep quiet!"

Another hour passed in the dense forest to the north of the secret realm.

A small team from the Tianheng Sect was searching for high-grade spiritual herbs when several needles coated with potent poison suddenly flew in from the shadows.

Before the leader disciple died, he only had time to see the Hundred Flowers Sect jade pendant dangling from the murderer's waist.

"Hundred Flowers Sect—you dare to plot against the Heavenly Heng Sect—"

In just half a day, the Hidden Cloud Realm was completely thrown into chaos.

The six major factions were already outwardly friendly but inwardly at odds. After Xu Hao, disguised as members of each faction, stirred up trouble everywhere, the last shred of their semblance of civility was torn to shreds.

The different teams encountered each other in the dense forest and, without asking any questions, immediately drew their knives and started attacking each other.

Beside the shallows in the southeast corner, the two factions of the Green Mountain Sect and the Auspicious Cloud Sect were locked in a fierce battle.

There were about ten corpses lying haphazardly on the ground, and the survivors were all injured.

"Your Green Mountain Sect is going too far! You steal medicine and kill people!" The disciples of the Auspicious Cloud Sect had bloodshot eyes, and even their sword moves became chaotic.

"Bullshit! It was clearly your Xiangyun Sect that started this dirty trick! My junior brother's head is still hanging from the tree!" The young man leading the Qingshan Sect cursed and punched the other party away.

Behind a thicket of bushes several dozen feet away, Xu Hao leaned against a tree trunk, rubbing the hilt of his knife with his fingertips, smacking his lips as he watched.

"They really fought fiercely. These pampered soldiers don't know how to think straight; they start fighting as soon as they see each other. Ha!"

In the open space ahead, the two groups fought to the last gasp.

Their vital energy was depleted, their protective aura dissipated, and their originally exquisite techniques and moves turned into chaotic, haphazard punches as they tumbled around in the mud, pulling each other's hair.

Xu Hao pulled out a dusty bamboo tube from his sleeve and uncorked it.

With the help of the wind, a very faint, sweet-smelling smell drifted silently toward the shallows.

The group of prodigies who were choking each other and fighting suddenly froze.

The last bit of qi and blood in his body instantly stagnated, his meridians felt like they were blocked by mud, his legs went weak, and he collapsed one after another into the muddy water.

"What's going on—my vital energy—" The young man from the Green Mountain Sect stared wide-eyed in horror, too weak to even lift a finger.

Xu Hao strolled out of the woods.

He was dressed in a black robe, and his pale, faceless mask looked chilling under the dappled shadows of the trees.

Without drawing his sword, he walked up to the group and stomped on the neck of the young man from the Green Mountain Sect, breaking it.

Amidst the crisp sound of bones cracking, the few remaining survivors died one after another, without even uttering a scream.

He deftly ripped off the storage bag, and even pried off the spirit jade inlaid on the person's belt.

Xu Hao weighed the dozen or so storage bags he had just confiscated in his hand, listening to the faint sounds of fighting coming from the distant mountains and forests.

He carefully put the storage bag away from his body, then turned and disappeared into the forest: "The chives in this secret realm are growing too densely; I need to hurry and cut them."