Qin Shilei and his group soon encountered another group of mutated monkeys, their strongest member only at Black Iron four-star.
Without even needing Kong Qingshu to intervene, Xu Jun and Ma Hongwei easily dealt with the thirty to forty monkeys.
They continued along the mountain path, and various mutated beasts continuously appeared before Qin Shilei and his group.
There were Black Iron realm Wind Blade Wolves, Silver realm Blood Fang Wild Boars, and a flock of Swift Wind Sparrows.
The short ten-odd kilometers from Xujia Town to Xujia Village showed Qin Shilei and his group the terror of the mountains.
The threat posed by mutated beasts in the wild was no less than that of zombies in large cities.
When they finally arrived at Xujia Village, the scene before them shocked them.
Xujia Village, which once housed two to three thousand people, was now a ruin.
The ancient ethnic architecture had become broken walls, and the air was still filled with the stale, fishy smell of dried blood.
"Mom, Dad, Grandpa." Xu Hongyu ran madly towards her home.
"City Lord, I'll go check the patriarch's house."
Xu Jun, also shocked by the sight, greeted Qin Shilei and headed towards a collapsed house in the center of the village.
"Let's go take a look too." Qin Shilei pulled Kong Qingshu and walked towards the house in the center.
As they walked, there were traces of fighting everywhere, as well as the marks of dried blood.
The patriarch's house was a three-courtyard compound, with several walls collapsed.
No bodies were found inside; perhaps they had escaped, or perhaps they had been eaten by the attacking mutated beasts.
Xu Jun and Ma Hongwei were meticulously searching every corner of the courtyard, hoping to find the Gu Worm Holy Tome.
Two hours later, having found nothing, Xu Jun emerged from the house. "City Lord, I'll take you to the forbidden area of Xujia Village. The Gu Worm Holy Tome might be there."
Qin Shilei replied, "Alright, let's go get Xu Hongyu."
The group found a distraught Xu Hongyu in a collapsed house and then set off together for the forbidden area in the back mountains of Xujia Village.
The forbidden area was several kilometers from Xujia Village, a valley surrounded by cliffs on three sides, where a vast number of poisonous snakes once dwelled.
Villagers of Xujia Village who committed serious crimes were thrown into the valley to be devoured by countless snakes.
The patriarch possessed a treasure that allowed him to safely enter a cave within the valley.
Xu Jun did not know what was in the cave. However, if Xu Feng was still alive, he would have hidden there, and the Gu Worm Holy Tome was also likely there.
Qin Shilei and his group soon arrived before the valley.
At that moment, a giant eagle swooped down from the sky, snatching a five to six meter long poisonous snake from the valley.
The eagle, with a wingspan of nearly ten meters, glanced at Qin Shilei and his group before flying away with the snake, paying them no further attention.
"Someone's here." Xu Hongyu suddenly exclaimed, pointing excitedly at the cave within the valley.
"City Lord, the survivors of Xujia Village are likely hiding in that cave," Xu Jun surmised.
"With so many snakes here, didn't they ever attack Xujia Village before?"
Looking at the immense number of poisonous snakes in the valley, Kong Qingshu's skin crawled.
"It's strange, actually. The snakes in this Snake Valley have never attacked Xujia Village," Xu Jun said, now also curious.
Qin Shilei scanned the valley.
The canyon was three to four hundred meters deep and forty to fifty meters wide, with four to five hundred meter high cliffs on three sides.
At a glance, the entire canyon was filled with various poisonous snakes, ranging from less than half a meter to five to six meters long. Even in the crevices of the cliffs, poisonous snakes were coiled, numbering possibly hundreds of thousands.
The cave where the figure was seen earlier was at the end of the canyon, three to four hundred meters from Qin Shilei and his group.
The poisonous snakes in the canyon, upon discovering Qin Shilei and his group, began to crawl towards them, flicking their forked tongues.
Qin Shilei frowned and said, "Xu Jun, find a place to hide first. I'll go to that cave to take a look."
With that, he held Kong Qingshu and teleported into the canyon.
After four consecutive teleports, they appeared at the entrance of the cave.
"Who are you, and how did you get in?"
As Qin Shilei and Kong Qingshu appeared inside the cave, two people emerged from its depths and questioned them.
"We are from Nanzhuang City. We have business with your patriarch. Is your patriarch here?" Qin Shilei asked.
"You really came from Nanzhuang City, three hundred kilometers away? Are you sent by the government to rescue us?"
The young man in his early twenties said excitedly.
"You're looking for our patriarch. How did you get through the Snake Valley?" The middle-aged man in his mid-thirties looked at Qin Shilei with surprise.
"Take us to your patriarch. Once I see him, I will explain the situation," Qin Shilei said, unwilling to waste more words on these minor figures.
"If you want to see our patriarch, let me see if you're qualified."
The middle-aged man said, raising his hand slightly. Immediately, a black shadow shot towards Qin Shilei at high speed.
With a flash of sword light, the black shadow was split in two by Qin Shilei's sword. It fell to the ground, revealed to be a small green snake.
The upper half of the small snake was still struggling to crawl towards Qin Shilei.
Qin Shilei stepped forward, stomped on the small snake, crushing it, and simultaneously held his sword to 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 deflate instantly. He quickly said, "Our patriarch doesn't know where he's gone. I'll take you to our elder."
"Let's go," Qin Shilei commanded.
The middle-aged man led Qin Shilei and Kong Qingshu tens of meters forward along the cave, arriving in a spacious cavern.
Dozens of people were inside the cavern. Seeing the middle-aged man being held hostage, they all drew their weapons and surrounded them.
"Who is the elder? Please step forward and speak," Qin Shilei said, sheathing Blood Soul.
"I am Xu Jiacheng, the Grand Elder of Xujia Village. May I ask what business young brother has with me?" an old man with white hair stepped forward.
"Are you Xu Jiacheng, Xu Hongyu's grandfather?" Qin Shilei asked.
"You know my granddaughter Hongyu?" Xu Jiacheng retorted.
"We just saved her life. She is outside the valley now."
As Qin Shilei replied, he activated his Violet Eyes of Illumination.
Xu Jiacheng was instantly controlled.
"Do you know where the Gu Worm Holy Tome is?"
"It is currently in the patriarch's hands."
"Then where is your patriarch?"
"The patriarch is in seclusion in a secret chamber within the cave."
Just as Qin Shilei was about to ask about the location of the secret chamber, a hoarse voice echoed through the cavern.
"Who is looking for this patriarch?"
Qin Shilei looked around but couldn't locate the source of the voice.
As the voice sounded, Xu Jiacheng also broke free from his control and regained consciousness.
"We'll take you down first."
The previous voice echoed again.