March, the beginning of Spring.
At a corner of the eastern part of Nanhuang* Continent.
The hazy sky was a stretch of gray and black, emitting a heavy sense of oppression. It was as if someone had splattered ink on drawing paper, allowing the ink to soak the sky, smudging the clouds.
The clouds folded over each other, merging together. After that, streaks of red lightning could be seen shooting out, accompanied by thunderous rumbling sounds.
The sounds were akin to the low-sounding roars of Gods reverberating through the mortal world.
The blood-colored rain emanated sorrow, falling onto mortal soil.
In the vast land, there was a ruined city. It looked devoid of vitality as it sat silently under the hazy blood-colored rain.
Within the fragmented city walls, desolation and dilapidation painted the scene bleak. Everything was withering, and collapsed houses could be seen everywhere. One could also find numerous greenish-black corpses and torn flesh around that resembled crumbling autumn leaves as they silently withered.
The once-bustling streets were now in shambles.
The sandy paths that were once crowded with people were now silent.
The only things that remained were shredded flesh, dust, and paper mixed with blood-soaked mud to the extent that one was indistinguishable from another. It was an extremely shocking sight.
Not far away, a broken carriage could be seen deep in the mud. Degrees of deterioration could clearly be seen on it, and the only thing there was an abandoned bunny puppet that was tied onto the carriage's shaft, gently swaying with the wind.
Its white-colored fur was long dyed red, exuding a gloomy and eerie aura.
Its cloudy eyes seemed to contain some resentment as it stared lonely at the mottled stones ahead.
A figure could be seen lying there.
This was a youth that seemed around 13 to 14 years old. His clothes were tattered and filled with dirt. Also, there was a damaged leather pouch tied to his waist.
The youth squinted his eyes as he lay there unmoving. The bone-piercing chill seeped through the holes of his clothes from all directions, enveloping his entire body, gradually causing his body temperature to dip.
But even when the rain fell onto his face, he didn't blink. He was coldly staring at a place far away like an eagle.
If one followed his gaze, at a location roughly seven to eight zhang* away, there was a skinny vulture currently chewing the rotting corpse of a wild dog. It would occasionally cast a vigilant glance at its surroundings.
It felt like in this ruined city where danger abounded, the moment a slight gust of wind caused the grass to sway, the vulture would instantly soar into the air.
The youth was like a hunter, patiently waiting for his chance.
A long time later, an opportunity came. The greedy vulture finally completely buried its head into the wild dog's stomach to feast.
Hence, the youth instantly narrowed his eyes as a cold light could be seen gleaming within.
His body shot forward like a fired arrow, dashing rapidly ahead for the vulture. His right hand stretched to the leather pouch on his waist and pulled a black-colored iron stick out.
The tip of the iron stick glimmered with cold sharpness.
Maybe it was the vulture's perception of killing intent, but at the moment the youth dashed forth, it immediately became aware. Due to fright, it flapped its wings and wanted to take off for the safety of the air.
However, it was too late.
The black iron stick—as the youth with a face devoid of emotions lightly tossed it—transformed into a black line that erupted forth.
Pu!
The sharp iron stick instantly pierced into the vulture's head, breaking its skull and killing it in one strike.
The powerful impact blasted the vulture back, finally pinning it onto the horse carriage not far away.
As a result, the blood-soaked bunny puppet also moved due to the collision impact and began swaying.
The youth showed a calm look. From the start until now, his speed didn't reduce at all. He dashed toward the horse carriage and grabbed the vulture's corpse and iron stick.
His strength was great enough to break apart a small piece of the carriage at the location where the vulture was pinned earlier.
After doing all these, he didn't even turn his head as he rapidly headed toward the streets.
At this moment, the wind here seemed to blow even stronger. The blood-colored puppet on the carriage seemed to be observing the departing back of the youth as it swayed in the wind.
He moved further and further.
The wind indeed grew stronger. It brought along the chill in the rain and blew past the thin clothes that the youth was wearing.
The youth involuntarily shivered. After that, he furrowed his brows slightly and wrapped his clothes tighter around him as the sound of breathing could be heard.
He hated the cold.
And the solution to resist the cold was to find a place that could block the wind and rain to rest. However, the currently running youth didn't reduce his speed at all as he passed by numerous tattered-looking shops.
He didn't have much time left because the hunting of the vulture had taken too much time. He still had a place he had to go today.
"It shouldn't be far now," the youth muttered to himself and continued sprinting in the streets.
On his way, numerous greenish-black corpses could be seen everywhere. Their faces that were devoid of hope were filled with malice, causing them to emanate an aura of despair that threatened to taint the youth's spirit.
However, the youth treated this as normal and didn't even bother to spare a glance at them.
Some time passed. The youth would occasionally glance at the sky as anxiousness appeared on his face. It seemed like the darkening sky was more frightening to him compared to the corpses.
Luckily, he saw a medical shop in the distance not long later. The youth then heaved a sigh of relief and rushed over there.
The medical shop wasn't big and many medicine cabinets were lying on the ground, emitting the stench of mold. It was like a tomb that had been forced open by others, and everything in there was a mess.
Also, there was the corpse of an old man in the corner. It was completely greenish-black and sat there with its back to the wall. The corpse's eyes were wide open as though the owner didn't die peacefully. It was listlessly staring at the world outside.
The youth shot a glance at it when he entered, and he immediately began to search.
The vast majority of the medicinal herbs had turned greenish-black like the corpses. Only a few were still normal.
Among these normal medicinal herbs, the youth spent a long time identifying them.
He seemed to be recalling his past experiences. Eventually, he picked a strand of golden-sore grass up and removed his thin clothes, revealing a large wound across his chest.
The wound hadn't completely recovered, and one could see the sides of the wound already starting to turn black. There was even some blood seeping out of the wound.
The youth lowered his head to glance at the wound. After crushing the grass, he inhaled deeply and gritted his teeth before lifting his hand to smear the grass paste on his wound.
In an instant, intense pain akin to a surging tide gushed forth from the wound, causing the youth to involuntarily shudder. However, he forcibly endured it. Even so, there was no way for him to stop the sweat from emerging on his forehead. The droplets of sweat then began flowing down his face, dripping onto the dark ground.
[1] Nanhuang 南凰 can be literally translated as Southern Phoenix
[2] 1 zhang = 3.3 meters
-x-X-x-
The tears formed small spots of water akin to ink on the dark ground.
The entire process persisted for over ten breaths. After he finished smearing the medicinal herb paste over his wound completely, the youth seemed to have lost all his strength. He grabbed hold of a cabinet beside him and rested for quite some time before he exhaled deeply and slowly put on his clothes.
He glanced at the sky outside again. After some contemplation, he took out a fragmented map from his leather pouch and opened it carefully.
The map was very elementary, depicting the layout of this city.
The medical shops' locations were all marked. In fact, in the northeastern area, many areas were crossed out by someone's fingernails. Only two areas on the map weren't crossed out yet.
"After searching for these few days, it should be inside one of these two remaining areas." The voice of the youth was hoarse. He muttered in a low voice and was about to leave after putting the map away.
However, before he left, he turned and glanced at the old man's corpse. His gaze then fell onto the clothes that it was wearing.
That was a leather coat. Maybe it was because of some special quality of the leather, the degree of corrosion wasn't severe.
The youth pondered and decided to walk over and remove the leather coat from the corpse before wearing it on his body.
The coat was somewhat large, but after it enveloped his small and skinny frame, the youth finally felt a hint of warmth. Hence, he lowered his head and looked at the opened eyes of the old man and lifted his hand to gently brush across them, allowing the old man to close his eyes in death.
"Rest in peace," said the youth lightly. He tore down the curtains of the shop and covered the old man's corpse before turning to depart the medical shop.
When he walked out, a weak glint of light flashed before his feet. The youth lowered his head and saw a palm-sized fragmented mirror piece in the blood-coated mud.
In the mirror, he saw the reflection of his face.
Although the face in the mirror was covered in dirt, one could still faintly see an extremely exquisite-looking face under the layer of dirt.
However, it lacked the juvenile aura of the other ordinary 13 to 14-year-olds. The immaturity was replaced by coldness.
The youth silently looked at his reflection. A moment later, he lifted his foot and stomped down.
Ka~
Numerous cracks appeared on the fragmented mirror.
After smashing the mirror, his body moved as he sped into the distance.
On the ground, although the fragmented mirror had even more cracks now, it still reflected the sky. The reflected sky resembled half of a vast fragmented human face from the gods that seemed to cover the entire world and all lives.
The fragmented face had its eyes closed with a cold and lofty expression. Strands of withered curly hair draped down below.
This fragmented face was a natural existence akin to the sun and moon of this world.
It was as though it was saying that all existences below the gods were ants and insects. The living habits and lifestyle of the myriad of creatures had no choice but to change under their influence.
And at this moment, the sky also gradually lost its light under the 'face of gods' reflected in the mirror.
The shadow of the setting sun was like a black mist that pervaded the ruins in the city, covering the entire land as though wanting to devour it.
After that, the rain grew even heavier.
As the dark night gradually 'devoured' everything, the wind was as strong as ever and would occasionally cause sharp whimpering sounds to ring out.
The sounds resembled the howls of malicious ghosts, awakening all the bizarre existences in this city. The wind then continued making bone-chilling creepy noises one after another.
Hearing this, the running youth ran even faster and his movements grew more hurried. He agilely passed through the streets, trying to outpace the descent of the night.
Just as he passed a collapsed house and was about to continue speeding ahead, the eyes of the youth abruptly narrowed.
From the corner of his eyes, he spotted someone amidst the rubble.
From afar, the person's clothing was neat and there seemed to be no injuries on his body. That person was seated there with his back against the wall.
The most important thing was that the revealed skin of that person was normal-colored and not greenish-black!
In this city, unless one was alive, it was impossible for such a figure to appear!
And people who were alive…during these few days, the youth had not met a second living person other than himself.
This scene caused his mind to stir. Very soon, it seemed that he thought of something and his breathing grew hurried.
He had the intention to go forward, but the darkness of night behind him akin to smog appeared and was about to engulf him.
The youth hesitated a little. He then made a mental note about this location before he quickly left.
He sprinted all the way and finally returned to his temporary dwelling in this city before the night caught up to him.
This place was a cave with a very small interior, and it was filled with bird feathers.
The gap that was the entrance wasn't large. Adults had no way to come in, and only youths might be able to enter forcibly if they squeezed.
After entering, he blocked the entrance with miscellaneous items such as books and rocks with great familiarity.
Right after the gap was completely blocked, the darkness of the night gushed over.
At this moment, the youth didn't let go of his vigilance. His hand forcefully clutched the iron stick as he held his breath, squatting there to listen for a long time.
Gradually, the roars of mutated beasts and a piercing sound rang out, occasionally mixed in with eerie laughter.
After that, there was even a clearer-sounding roar that echoed out in reply. Because of the nervous state of the youth, he only relaxed and sat at the side after the voices passed him by and faded into the distance.
The interior of the cave was covered in complete darkness. The youth silently sat there, and it felt as though time could stop at this moment.
He then fell into a daze and calmed his frayed nerves. After that, he grabbed a water flask beside him and gulped down a few mouthfuls of water, ignoring the sounds outside as he took the vulture out from his pocket.
In the darkness, he began to chew on the vulture bit by bit.
A disgusting bloody and fishy stench then gushed forth from his throat, but he calmly chewed on and swallowed, forcing the food down to his stomach.
And at this moment, his stomach was forcefully churning, trying to digest and alleviate the feeling of hunger.
Very soon, he finished the entire vulture. The youth then drew in a deep breath as waves of fatigue flooded his body. His eyes also slowly closed.
However, his hand still held the black-colored iron stick tightly, as though he was a lone wolf taking a nap.
-x-X-x-
It was as though he would open his eyes instantly the moment there was anything strange.
At this moment in the outside world, darkness was like a curtain, enveloping the city, the land, and the sky.
The world under the sky was extremely vast. The Nanhuang Continent, which was situated overseas, was just one of the continents.
Only a few people knew exactly how large this world was. However, the imposing 'fragmented face' above the sky emanated intense intimidation, and everyone could see it by lifting their head.
It was no longer known what was the exact time the fragmented face arrived in this world.
Humans only knew that very long ago, from the descriptions recorded in some texts, this world that was filled with immortal qi was prosperous and flourishing with vitality, but it only lasted until this gigantic fragmented face, which brought with it destruction, was attracted over from the depths of the void.
In the process of its arrival, all lives in this world used all their methods and attempted to stop it, but everyone failed. In the end, only a few ancient kings and sovereigns brought part of the human race to relocate, abandoning the rest of the lifeforms here.
Not long later, the fragmented face arrived. It hung suspended in the sky and from then on, a nightmare descended.
The aura from the face permeated the entire world. Mountains, seas, all objects, and the myriad of life…even cultivators and the spirit energy they used to cultivate were tainted.
Everything withered, and all lives were extinguished. The survival rate was less than 1%.
From then on, the humans who survived with great difficulty from this calamity referred to this fragmented face as…a god.
They also termed this world as 'Endsoil'. As for the places the ancient kings and sovereigns relocated to, they were known as holy lands.
These terms of address had lasted through many eras and were passed down through each generation.
Also, the disasters brought by the gods weren't just these. The fragmented face's imposing intimidation would oppress all sentient beings constantly…
Every few years, a few decades, or even a few centuries, the fragmented face would open its eyes once for several breaths.
Every time it opened its eyes, the area it was staring at would instantly be tainted heavily by its aura.
After that, all lives in that area would perish, and it would become an eternal forbidden zone.
For the past few centuries, the number of forbidden zones in this world was increasing, and the places where the living could stay had become increasingly fewer.
And nine days ago, the god once again opened its eyes, and the location the fragmented face was staring at was none other than the area where the youth was staying.
In this area, all species and over ten human cities—regardless of their locations, including the slums inside or outside the cities—were instantly tainted heavily and became forbidden zones that prevented lives from existing.
Under the terrifying taint, all lives directly dissolved into blood. Some of them mutated and became mutated beasts with no intellect. Meanwhile, the others turned into greenish-black corpses whose souls had thoroughly dispersed.
Only very few humans and beasts managed to survive due to luck.
The youth was one of these lucky survivors.
At this moment, outside the dark cave, a shrill cry drifted from the distance and moved closer and closer to the cave. As a result, the youth who was asleep quickly opened his eyes.
He instinctively lifted his hand that held the iron stick and stared at the blocked entrance gap warily.
Only when the source of the shrill cry circled once in the vicinity and gradually moved further did the youth heave a sigh of relief.
He had lost all desire for sleep. He then touched his leather pouch and removed a bamboo slip from within.
In the darkness, he gingerly touched the words carved on the bamboo slip, and there seemed to be a gleam in his eyes. After that, he sat upright and closed his eyes to adjust his breathing.
This youth's name was Xu Qing. He grew up alone and led an arduous life in the slums outside the city.
Nine days ago, when the calamity suddenly appeared, he hid in this cave behind the gap between the rocks. Different from the frightened and crazed masses, he calmly looked at the fragmented face in the sky that was opening its eyes. From the god's gaze, he could see unique pupils that were in the shape of a cross. After that, he seemed to have lost the emotion of fear.
It lasted until he saw a beam of purple light descending from the sky, landing in the northeastern area of the city.
At the next moment, he slipped into unconsciousness.
When he awoke, he became the only lucky survivor be it inside or outside of the city.
However, he didn't leave immediately.
This was because he knew that when the god opened its eyes, this area would become a forbidden zone. At the start, it would be shrouded by blood rain and a boundary would be formed.
Because of it, the people inside couldn't get out, and the people outside couldn't enter until the forbidden zone was completely formed.
And the sign for completion was when the blood rain stopped.
This calamity was nothing much to Xu Qing who grew up in the slums.
This was because, in the slums, everything—be it a vagrant, wild dogs, sickness, or a cold night—could easily cause one to lose their life. One could only survive with great difficulty.
As long as he survived, nothing else mattered.
Naturally, despite the cruelty in the slums, there would occasionally be a trace of warmth.
For example, some scholars who were down on their luck would teach kids how to read for a living. Other than this, there were also the memories of his relatives.
It was just that in Xu Qing's mind, the memories of his relatives faded as time passed. Despite him trying his best to remember, as he was afraid that he might forget, the memories he had of them gradually grew blurry.
However, he knew that he wasn't an orphan and still had relatives somewhere. It was just that they had lost touch long ago.
So, his dream was to continue surviving.
If he could live slightly better, if he had the chance to meet with his kin, that would be for the best.
Hence, he who had luckily survived chose to enter the city.
He wanted to head to the dwellings of those rich men in the upper echelons of the city to find the things rumored in the slums: cultivation arts and methods that could strengthen one's body, as well as the beam of purple light that landed in the city.
The shortcut to growing stronger had been circulating in the slums as rumors, and everyone thirsted for it. They called this practice 'cultivation', and those who grasped the methods of cultivation were known as cultivators.
Hence, becoming a cultivator was Xu Qing's greatest wish other than meeting his relatives.
Cultivators weren't a common sight. During these years at the slum, he had only seen cultivators entering the city once from afar.
Cultivators had a typical characteristic. When ordinary people were observing them, their bodies would instinctively shiver.
In fact, Xu Qing had even heard people saying that the city lord was a cultivator. Some of his guards were cultivators as well.
Hence, after searching in the city for a long time, he finally found this bamboo slip on a corpse inside of the city lord's residence.
However, that place was very dangerous. He suffered a wound on his chest at that time as well.
Fortunately, the information recorded on the bamboo slip was the cultivation method he thirsted for.
All its content had been memorized completely by him. In fact, he had begun attempting to cultivate during these few days.
Xu Qing had never seen other cultivation arts before. This bamboo slip was his only gain. He also had no idea how to practice cultivation correctly.
Luckily, the information on the bamboo slip was recorded in simple and easy-to-understand terms. It emphasized visualization and one's breathing.
So, he proceeded step by step and had a few gains.
This art was named the Mountains and Seas Art.
The method of cultivation was to visualize the totem carved on the bamboo slip and combine that with a special way of breathing.
The picture of the totem was very strange, looking like a mutant. It had a large head and a tiny body with only a single leg. Moreover, its entire body was black and its face was as malevolent as a malicious ghost.
Xu Qing had never seen such a lifeform before. The bamboo slip termed it as a 'xiao*'.
At this moment, as he cultivated, the picture of the xiao appeared in his mind, and Xu Qing's breathing gradually changed. After that, undercurrents formed in the nearby air.
The spirit energy in the surroundings flowed over and slowly entered his body, coursing through it. He also felt waves of bone-chilling coldness coursing through his body. Everywhere the cold feeling flowed, it felt like that body part was submerged in ice water.
Xu Qing was afraid of the chill. However, he endured it and didn't give up, continuing to persevere.
After a long time, when he finally ended this cultivation session after meeting the requirements on the bamboo slip, his body would be drenched in cold sweat.
And despite having eaten a vulture not long ago, the sensation of hunger appeared once more in his stomach.
Xu Qing wiped the cold sweat away and touched his stomach as determination flashed in his eyes.
Ever since he cultivated this art, his appetite had evidently increased by a lot. His body was also more agile compared to the past.
All of these allowed him to have a higher resistance to the icy chill that appeared during his cultivation.
At this moment, he lifted his head and peered through the gap to look at the outside.
In the outside world, it was pitch black. Only the sounds of terrifying roars that were sometimes weak and sometimes strong echoed in his ears.
He didn't know why he became a lucky survivor. It might be due to luck or it might be due to the fact that…he saw that beam of purple light.
So during these few days when he was searching for cultivation arts, he was also trying his best to find the location where the purple light fell in the northeastern area of the city. Sadly, he hadn't found anything.
As he pondered, Xu Qing listened to the roars outside. His mind then involuntarily recalled the time before sunset when he saw the corpse that was leaning against the wall. His eyes slowly narrowed.
The location of the corpse was in the northeastern area…and that body seemed like someone alive.
"Could it be that it has something to do with that purple light?"
[1] a supernatural being from Chinese folklores
-x-X-x-
"If that person is alive, it might really have something to do with the purple light…but it might also be a trap."
Xu Qing contemplated as he muttered to himself.
During these few days in the ruined city, he deeply understood that those existences, who had transformed into mutated beasts due to the corruption by the gods' aura, were all incomparably savage and boundlessly strong.
However, maybe because the forbidden zone hadn't completely formed, these mutated beasts would be sleeping during the day.
Unless it was like back then when he had obtained the bamboo slip. He had barged into the external perimeter of the location where they were sleeping.
If not, as long as one was slightly more careful, there wouldn't be much problem.
As opposed to them, Xu Qing was warier of living humans because sometimes, the human heart was even more treacherous compared to savage beasts.
After pondering, his gaze slowly turned cold and sharp. Regardless of whether it was a living person or a trap, he was prepared…to enter that area once again.
But before he headed over, he had to be fully prepared.
When he thought of this, Xu Qing clutched the cultivation bamboo slip in his hand tightly.
During the cultivation these few days, the changes to his body allowed him to gain some confidence. The content of the bamboo slip involuntarily appeared in his mind. Other than the cultivation method, there was also an introduction to cultivation.
Cultivation had been passed down from ancient times long before the god's fragmented face appeared.
Now, although there were some changes, the overall system was still the same as in the past.
It was categorized as Qi Condensation, Foundation Building, Core Formation, and Nascent Soul.
As for the stages after Nascent Soul, maybe the cultivation realms were too high so the bamboo slip had no records. However, this clearly enlightened Xu Qing to the helplessness cultivators felt.
This was because the gods' aura had contaminated spirit energy, causing spirit energy to be tainted. This taint was like poison to all living things.
It was unknown when it began, and everyone referred to the gods' aura as anomalous substances.
Xu Qing was very clear that the icy chill he felt during his cultivation earlier was actually due to the fact that the spirit energy he absorbed contained these anomalous substances.
Once the anomalous substances were accumulated to a certain degree in the body, it would cause the cultivator to mutate. Either the cultivator would explode in a burst of blood or they would transform into a mutated beast with no intellect.
As for the area the god gazed at when its eyes opened, the anomalous substances there would instantly increase explosively. In reality, it simply hastened the speed of the transformation.
Danger existed in cultivation.
If one didn't cultivate, the lifespan of humans in this Endsoil World that was polluted by gods' aura was more to the lower end. In addition, sicknesses and diseases were more prevalent. It was as though they were living in the nine levels of purgatory; almost no one could have a good ending.
The so-called cultivation became the only path. There were no more choices left.
Hence, for countless years, humans inferred the cultivation methods through the generations based on what was passed down.
The knowledge that was currently being disseminated was that when one absorbed the spirit energy, they should also make use of their cultivation art to separate the anomalous substances that mixed into the spirit energy before compressing them inside a certain part of their bodies.
This location was known as the mutation point.
Thus, the degree of separation for anomalous substances also became an important criterion to judge whether a cultivation art was good or bad.
In addition, all the cultivation arts that could provide high degrees of separation were controlled by huge forces or powerful clans. These were their important resources. For this point, things were the same regardless of whether the gods arrived in this world or not.
Since people would practice various cultivation arts, the degree of separation for anomalous substances would be different as well. Naturally, the locations of their mutation points would differ as well.
However, no matter what, as long as one cultivated, their bodies would contain anomalous substances, and they would slowly form their mutation points.
In theory, the mutation couldn't be reversed. One could only cleanse it through some medicinal pills, but the pills could only treat the symptoms and not the root of the problem.
As for the method to completely purify the mutation point, the bamboo slip did have a sentence about it.
In Endsoil, other than the Nanhuang Continent, there was an even vaster continent named the Wanggu Continent.
It was the place of origin for the human race. Although the gods' aura had also polluted that place, there seemed to be a way to completely cleanse the taint in the Wanggu Continent.
But evidently, this solution couldn't be quantized. Only people of extremely noble statuses could enjoy it.
Ordinary cultivators could only hope for it but never obtain it.
To the rogue cultivators at the lowest level of the social ladder and also the class with the most number, it was even more impossible for them to obtain it.
The cultivation arts practiced by rogue cultivators usually had an extremely low degree of anomalous substances' separation. In this case, not only was it difficult for them to cultivate, but their risk of mutation was also greater.
However, despite the risk of cultivation being so great, the vast majority of people would still choose to become a cultivator.
For example, Xu Qing knew that the current him could be considered a rogue cultivator.
According to the records on the bamboo slip, the cultivators of the Endsoil were walking on a path of no return that was filled with difficulty and immense danger. They were akin to mortals swimming toward the other side of the deep sea, rushing toward the unreachable other shore.
But no matter what, before they could even see the 'legendary' other shore, they would have died of exhaustion.
However, for Xu Qing who had grown up in the slums, he deeply understood that every single conflict and illness could cause one to lose their life.
"So, rather than worrying about mutation in the future, I might as well be worried about my survival tomorrow."
Xu Qing mumbled. He gingerly touched the wound on his chest as he stared at the sky outside the entrance gap.
At this moment, dawn was about to arrive in the outside world. The howls and mournful cries also became fewer in number.
"If the blood rain still continues and I haven't found the purple light, I have to consider leaving this place to search for medicinal herbs in other cities." Xu Qing lowered his head and looked at the wound on his chest.
Due to the gods' aura permeating the atmosphere and the continued falling of the blood rain, almost every item in the city was heavily polluted. The medicinal herbs were naturally among them and this place was very lacking in terms of resources.
Xu Qing lifted his hand and pressed down at the wound on his chest, causing some blood to seep out.
His countenance was somewhat pale. He drew in a deep breath and removed his inner shirt, wrapping it around his body to use as a bandage for his wound. After that, he drummed himself mentally and silently waited for dawn.
Not long later, the roars and mournful cries outside became scarcer.
This lasted for a while before all sounds vanished completely. Through the entrance gap, Xu Qing could see that the sky outside was starting to become bright.
Time was tight. According to his past experiences, he could already head out now.
However, he didn't move immediately. Rather, he stood up to flex his somewhat stiff body first.
Only after his body was warmed up did he remove the stones and miscellaneous items blocking the gap. He borrowed the aid from the faint light seeping in through the gap to open his leather pouch for a search.
A dagger covered with rust was then taken out and tied to his thigh.
That black-colored iron stick was placed in a location where he could grab it freely.
There was also a snake head that was wrapped by him in sackcloth. He carefully opened it to do a check before cautiously keeping it.
After he finished doing all this, Xu Qing closed his eyes for a few breaths before opening them again. His gaze was now replaced by a cold calmness.
He rapidly squeezed his way out of the cave and paused for a moment outside the entrance.
After vigilantly surveying his surroundings and ensuring that there were no troubles, Xu Qing rushed ferociously ahead. As the sky gradually brightened, he arrived in the outside world.
He then sprinted ahead.
Because the blood rain was still falling, the dense clouds completely covered the sky. Hence, even in daylight, one wouldn't even be able to see the sun, let alone have any chance to experience intense sunlight.
Dawn and dusk were like an aged old man filled with age spots and were heavily ill. Hence, Xu Qing's cloudy gaze contained the frost of the night.
Also, the breaths he exhaled transformed into the clear wind that was filled with the stench of death. It was very cold and very frosty.
If Xu Qing didn't warm his body up earlier, he would involuntarily shiver once the wind gusted past him.
But to Xu Qing, because his body still retained the warmth earlier, he wasn't too affected.
Hence, his speed didn't reduce as he sped toward the area where he saw the seemingly alive man yesterday.
If one stared at him from afar, in this spacious city, Xu Qing's figure was like a leopard, leaping across broken walls and sprinting smoothly forward with no hesitation.
There were also a bunch of birds flying through the air that accompanied him. It was just that their altitude was very high so it was tough to capture them.
As he sprinted, Xu Qing lifted his head and stared at the soaring birds while licking his lips.
He also had no idea why, but after the god opened its eyes, all lifeforms were tainted and almost everything died, including beasts. However, the bird species had the most survivors.
Hence, these birds became the main solution for him to satisfy his hunger by hunting them during this period.
At the same time, the birds were also trapped in the blood rain, but they seemingly could instinctively seek out a shelter with some modicum of safety. For example, the cave Xu Qing stayed in had been found by him by following the tracks of birds.
This shelter also couldn't be considered completely safe; it was only safer comparatively. Also, it seemed easier for those mutated beasts and bizarre existences to neglect it.
During this period, Xu Qing found two shelters. One was the stone cave and the other was a place outside the city lord's residence.
Right now, he merely swept his gaze through the sky before retracting it. His eyes locked onto a certain area in the city as he moved closer and closer.
Very soon, Xu Qing arrived at the area he saw yesterday. He didn't head over immediately but circled one round to look for a tall vantage point.
After cautiously climbing up, he lay down unmoving as he squinted his eyes, trying not to reveal the light within as he slowly lowered his head to take a look.
Xu Qing cast a gaze over and his pupils narrowed. Once again, he saw the person from yesterday!
The other party was seated down with his back facing a wall. His clothes were tidy and his skin was normal.
The most important thing was that…his demeanor, his body, and everything about him were exactly the same as what he saw yesterday.
It was like during the entire night, he didn't move or wasn't moved in any way at all.
This was extremely illogical.
If the person was a living human, he couldn't possibly ignore the dangers that emerged during the night.
If the person was dead, his undamaged body would be the favorite food for mutated beasts. So it was impossible for his body to have remained untouched until now.
Xu Qing fell silent. After pondering, he decided to remain unmoving. He, who grew up in the slums, didn't lack patience.
Just like this, under his careful observation, time slowly flowed. Even when afternoon arrived, he still remained immobile.
Xu Qing who had waited for six hours slowly lifted his right hand now. He held a stone in his hand and tossed it toward the location the other party was in.
The speed of the stone was very quick and the impact wasn't small. When the stone hit the person, there was a loud bang.
That figure trembled from the impact before falling down to the side like a corpse.
And at the instant he fell down, a flicker of purple light flashed. The source of the light was on the ground where the person sat down previously.
The moment he saw the purple glow, Xu Qing's eyes immediately gleamed as his breathing grew hurried.
He had been searching for so many days for no other reason than the purple beam of light that had fallen into the city.
At this moment, he forcibly suppressed his impulse to rush over immediately. He waited for some more moments with great difficulty and only rushed out rapidly after confirming that it was safe.
His speed was extremely quick as he erupted forth with all his strength. His entire person was like a hunting eagle, directly heading to the location of the purple light.
After swiftly rushing over, he grabbed the source of the purple light and retreated far away immediately with no hesitation.
The entire process happened extremely quickly. Xu Qing only stopped and panted after he had retreated for over ten zhangs. He then glanced at the item emitting purple light that was clutched in his hands.
That was a shiny purple crystal that had a dazzling beauty.
Xu Qing's heart pounded rapidly. When he tilted his head, he saw that the corpse that had fallen to the side was currently rotting rapidly after losing the purple light's protection. Its skin instantly turned greenish-black.
This scene caused Xu Qing to instinctively tighten his grasp on the purple crystal in his hand. He then turned in the direction of his cave and rushed there speedily.
Not long after he sprinted, Xu Qing suddenly paused. A puzzled look appeared on his face.
He lowered his head and undid the button on his coat to glance at his bandaged wound.
Right now, there was no longer blood seeping out. On the contrary, he felt waves of itchiness from the wound.
Hence, Xu Qing's gaze turned heavy. He removed the inner shirt that he used as a bandage, and the moment he saw his wound, he felt an intense shock.
He clearly remembered that when he checked this morning, his wound hadn't healed yet and the blackening had increased by a certain degree. But now…
More than half of the wound on his chest had healed. Only a very thin scar remained at the sides of the wound!
"This…" Xu Qing panted. After that, he fiercely stared at the purple crystal in his hand.
[1] the words 'Wanggu' in more liberal translation can mean staring at the past, gazing back at ancient times, etc
-x-X-x-
"This item…"
An intense gleam appeared in Xu Qing's eyes. The image of that perfectly undamaged corpse before he had taken the purple crystal away appeared in his mind.
"It can allow corpses to be undamaged and allow the living to heal quicker?"
Xu Qing grabbed the purple crystal as he surveyed the surroundings rapidly with an increased heart rate.
Although he knew that there shouldn't be other people alive in this area, he was still instinctively vigilant due to obtaining a treasure.
At this moment, he couldn't stay here anymore. He swiftly sped off back to the cave where he stayed earlier.
On the journey back, he faintly discovered that not only did his injuries heal at a rapid pace, but even the physical fatigue he felt was much lesser.
In the past when he sprinted like this, he would have to slow down roughly an hour later. But now, despite having sprinted for over an hour, he still felt that his body was warm and he had an abundance of stamina.
In fact, on his way back, he even casually caught a bird that landed on the ground.
He didn't kill the bird but knocked it unconscious instead because the preservation period for living things was longer.
Even after doing these, the amount of time he used to reach the cave was much quicker than before. There was still some time before nightfall, but he already saw his cave in the nearby distance.
Xu Mo's mood was unprecedently good. However, he wasn't careless.
Because he knew that maybe it was due to the god opening its eyes, or when the forbidden zone was initially formed, the nearby areas during the night would have other bizarre existences appearing other than the awakening of mutated beasts.
When in the slums, he heard people saying that many places in the world where death gathered would eventually produce such bizarre existences.
For example, the eerie laughter that rang out during the night from outside the cave was precisely from such an existence.
With regards to such existences, everyone knew not to look, not to touch, and not to meet them.
Although his past experiences told him that these existences only appeared at night, Xu Qing couldn't be sure whether they would occasionally appear during the day or not.
Hence, he didn't reduce his speed in the slightest. He soon arrived at the cave and the moment he entered, he immediately blockaded the entrance.
After that, he sat down cross-legged and opened his palm that was tightly clenched.
The purple light spread from his palm, illuminating this tiny cave. Under the light, Xu Qing's eyes and face seemed to be dyed purple as well.
He stared at the purple crystal in his hand unblinkingly.
This crystal was rectangular-shaped and roughly the size of his finger. There was some floccule in the crystal, and that was the source of the purple light.
"Healing wounds…?" Xu Qing observed for a long time. He then opened his shirt and glanced at the wound on his chest. He discovered that the wound was now 90% healed.
Right now, the remaining wound seemed like it would heal completely after a short amount of time. In fact, even the scar at the edge of the wound was disappearing.
He then thought back to his sprint and the feeling of being much less fatigued compared to the past. After that, Xu Qing roughly had an initial judgment of this purple crystal.
The effect of this item was evidently recovery.
It caused his wound and stamina to recover, including his vitality!
"I wonder if it has any other effects," Xu Qing mumbled as contemplation shone in his gaze.
He didn't know whether this purple crystal had a connection with the act of the god opening its eyes. But most probably, there should be one.
No matter what, this was a supreme treasure. At the very least, ever since Xu Qing was young until now, he had never heard of any items that possessed such shocking recovery prowess.
By having such an item on him, the help it provided was equivalent to him having a second life.
However, Xu Qing was very clear that he was able to possess this item only because there was no one alive other than him in this city.
Once the blood rain ended and he exited this place…he most probably wouldn't have the strength to protect such a treasure.
So, the only solution was to hide this purple crystal…
Xu Qing fell silent for a long while. He cast a glance at the unconscious bird he had caught and lifted his hand to grab it over.
After squeezing its beak to ensure it couldn't make any sound, he then took out the dagger on his thigh and directly sliced open a wound on the bird's body.
As the bird struggled, Xu Qing stuffed the purple crystal inside it.
After that, he observed it with meticulous attention.
He saw that at the start, the bird was still struggling. But very soon, undercurrents surged from all directions. It was as though spirit energy was being drawn over. In fact, the amount of spirit energy was even more in comparison to what Xu Qing had gathered when he cultivated. The spirit energy then gushed into the bird's body.
And right now, the intensity of the bird's struggle grew stronger by many times. Despite Xu Qing using his full strength, he felt that he actually could no longer control the bird so easily.
This scene caused the light in Xu Qing's eyes to intensify.
In the past, he could easily crush the neck of a bird with a gentle squeeze. But at this moment, he had to use the entirety of his strength to squeeze it several times before he managed to crush the bird's neck.
He then swiftly took the purple crystal out and wiped it before closing his eyes to contemplate.
"The bird didn't die. On the contrary, spirit energy flooded its body and its strength suddenly became extremely great…There should be no worries."
A moment later, Xu Qing opened his eyes. His eyes now gleamed with determination, and he directly stuffed the purple crystal into his wound that had yet to recover fully.
The process of stuffing it inside was somewhat painful, but Xu Qing endured the pain by gritting his teeth.
There was no place safer than hiding something inside the body.
Also, he did a simple test and it seemed that this item would have better effects by placing it within his body.
As the purple crystal fused into his body and as his wound closed up, a rumbling sound echoed from within his body before Xu Qing could take a closer look.
An even greater amount of spirit energy compared to what the bird had absorbed earlier began flooding forth directly from all directions, even seeping through the soil to reach him.
The spirit energy was too shocking. Hence, Xu Qing's body instantly glowed with a faint blue color as an indescribable chill coursed through his entire body.
This was due to the great amount of anomalous substances within the spirit energy.
However, Xu Qing was long prepared. At this moment, he didn't hesitate to directly circulate his energy according to the Mountains and Seas Art.
-x-X-x-
As he circulated his energy according to the Mountains and Seas Art, the spirit energy flowing into his body suddenly filtered out a large amount of anomalous substances.
After that, the cleansed spirit energy that remained coursed through his entire body through his energy channels, and this caused Xu Qing's body to emit popping noises at this moment.
It was as though some previously congested areas in his body were now instantly opened. His blood and flesh were tempered and nourished at this moment.
He visualized the xiao image in his mind. At this moment, the xiao seemed to come alive and was adopting all sorts of different postures.
Although the Mountains and Seas Art was known as a cultivation art, it didn't cultivate laws. But rather, it was a type of body-refining method.
There were a total of ten levels that matched the ten levels of the Qi Condensation Realm.
The bamboo slip clearly introduced that every level a cultivator attained would grant them an additional tiger's worth of strength. Five tigers made up one xiao and two xiaos made up one kui*.
The introduction continued to say that xiao could move mountains, while kui could shift seas. This was why the cultivation art was known as the Mountains and Seas Art.
At this moment, the purple crystal that was buried in his chest was like a vortex that continuously absorbed spirit energy, and it flowed toward the crystal with absurd ease.
As a result, Xu Qing's cultivation speed greatly increased.
After an unknown amount of time, the popping sounds in Xu Qing's body intensified and a lot of impurities within his body flowed out of the pores of his entire body.
A pungent smell then permeated the cave.
As the impurities flowed out, Xu Qing's body actually became more 'crystalline' than before. Even his dirt-covered face looked more exquisite now.
The popping sounds and the spirit energy flowing in gradually ceased after some time. After that, Xu Qing opened his eyes.
A hint of purple light flashed past his eyes.
After he recovered, Xu Qing's mind turned sluggish for a moment.
Right now, the dark cave actually looked somewhat clearer in his eyes. He then hurriedly lowered his head to survey his body, and a look of disbelief gradually appeared on his face.
"This feeling…"
A trace of excitement flashed on Xu Qing's face. He stood up and punched out, actually creating the sharp gushing sound of wind from the blow.
Because the cave was very small, he couldn't test his speed. But the feeling when he lifted his legs and punched out allowed him to know that there was a great improvement in all the various aspects of his body.
After that, he immediately rolled up the sleeves on his left arm.
When he saw a fingernail-sized black dot appearing there, Xu Qing drew in a deep breath and suppressed the excitement in his heart.
"So, this is the first level of Qi Condensation!"
According to the description of the bamboo slip, this black dot was none other than a mutation point of someone who cultivated the Mountains and Seas Art. It was located on their left arm. Moreover, there would be an additional black dot for every level the cultivator attained.
He touched the mutation point on his arm. At this moment, Xu Qing was evidently excited with regard to his sudden improvement in strength. He then lifted his head and glanced at the entrance gap, waiting in anticipation for dawn so he could go out and test his speed.
But very soon, Xu Qing's expression was filled with suspicion. He moved closer to the entrance gap and listened attentively.
The outside world was as dark as ever, but there were no strange sounds at all.
This was something he had never encountered despite his many days here.
In the past, even if dawn had broken, although there were no more sounds from the mutated beasts and strange existences, the sound of falling rain would still exist.
However, right now, even the sound of falling rain was gone.
"Can it be that…"
Xu Qing's mind was stirred as a conjecture rose in his heart.
He silently waited until he saw a beam of resplendent light streaming through the entrance gap of the cave. The light reflected in Xu Qing's black pupils was as though it illuminated his entire world.
The instant he saw the light, Xu Qing's body trembled.
He lifted his hand and slowly approached the ray of light before he basked his body with it. He felt a warmth in his palm. This sensation, which he had not felt for a long time, slowly awakened his spirit that had been sleeping.
"Sunlight…"
A long time later, a bright luster appeared in Xu Qing's eyes, and he began to shift the blockage away. As more light streamed in, he slowly squeezed his way out of the gap.
The instant he exited the cave, he lifted his head and what he saw was no longer the dense layer of dark clouds but the bright and resplendent sun.
It was as though the old man in the morning suddenly regained his vitality after being ill for many days. The curtains of dark clouds finally parted, allowing 'freshness' to descend upon the world again.
"The rain has stopped."
p Xu Qing took a deep breath of the air that contained the warmth of the sun as he silently gazed at the city under the shadow of the rising sun.
Everything in the city seemed to shine with a different splendor under the resplendent red-tinged sky.
The morning glow of the sky cascaded down from the gaps of the cloud. The rays of light were like countless whales spewing out golden waterfalls, cleansing away the darkness and mist in the city, revealing its mottled scars.
The collapsed buildings everywhere, the numerous greenish-black corpses, the blood-colored puddles that constituted a shocking sight…everything seemed to be reminding Xu Qing that a calamity had happened here.
A hint of complication appeared in Xu Qing's gaze. He had lived for six years in the slums outside the city, and he had also seen this city for six years.
Although the number of times he entered was very few, this place was ultimately the place he had wanted to stay in the most for the past six years.
"I obtained a cultivation art here."
"I obtained the purple crystal here."
"I…survived here." Xu Qing mumbled and fell silent.
Only after a long time later did he sigh lightly and walk toward the greenish-black corpses. He lowered his head for some time and carried one of the corpses before he walked forward.
He then headed to a public square nearby and placed the corpse down. After that, he turned and continued to carry the second corpse, the third, the fourth…
Some of the corpses were at the end of the street, and some were even crushed underneath the rubble.
Even so, he still carried all the corpses in the surrounding area to the public square. Right now, the corpses here were stacked up like a small mountain. Some were complete corpses, and others had parts of their bodies missing.
Xu Qing stood there and started a fire. Maybe it was because of the anomalous substances, the flames grew increasingly intense the longer they burned, and thick smoke was soon emitted…
Next to the thick smoke, Xu Qing gazed at the burning bodies for a very long time before he silently walked away to the second area. Very soon, another column of thick smoke spiraled upward, and the columns of thick smoke began to increase in number…
Just like this, on the first day when the sunlight streamed into the city, other than the sunlight, there was only black smoke that arose from the burning corpses.
The columns of black smoke rose to the skies, blotting out the sunlight. At this moment, the red morning glow was also filled with helplessness. The reddish hue darkened into a dark red, and it felt as though the sky was sighing.
It also seemed that the columns of smoke had become the tears, and the shadow cast by the smoke on the ground transformed into tear stains.
The last tear stain was at the location Xu Qing discovered the purple light.
Over there, Xu Qing placed the corpse of the old man from the medical shop down. As he burned the body, heat waves gushed forth and he stood silently at the side. The roiling flames were reflected in his dark pupils as they flickered unceasingly.
His disheveled and dried long hair also slowly curled from the heat. A long time later, Xu Qing's body bent as he lowered his head to pray.
"I wish…for you all to rest in peace."
At this moment, the flames suddenly flared intensely and the heat grew increasingly stronger. Sparks akin to dandelion seeds were generated, and they floated in the sky along with the wind.
Only the spiraling smoke still contained reluctance and regret that was impossible to diffuse. Even the wind couldn't disperse the emotions.
As the smoke rose higher, it felt like wounds had appeared in the sky.
They were insignificant and filled with helplessness.
…
A long time later, as the sounds of chaotic steps rang out, a strange voice drifted over behind the youth.
"I was saying why we didn't see any corpses when we were on our way here. So, there's a silly brat who didn't mind wasting his strength and stamina to cremate these corpses."
"Might as well. Since your longing cannot be cut, I shall help you and toss you inside the fire to let you accompany them."
Xu Qing then abruptly turned his body to face these people.
[1] Supernatural being from chinese folklores
-x-X-x-
The instant Xu Qing turned, he quickly observed the situation behind him.
He saw that seven to eight zhangs* away, there were seven people in different locations moving closer to him.
There were adults, males and females in this group of seven. They mainly wore deep gray leather coats, and they had many leather pouches attached to their waists.
All of them possessed weapons as well, and they spread themselves out in different directions.
Three of them had bows and two wielded blades, but none of them showed their backs to each other. It was as though they were wary for some reason.
There was also another person who wore boxing gloves. He moved forward alone, standing in the center-most location.
As for the person who had spoken in an eccentric way earlier, he was a tall and muscular dude.
This man carried a gigantic ax, and his distance was the closest to Xu Qing.
He had a sturdy frame, a full beard, and a malevolent-looking scar on his face. At this moment, his gaze shone with cruelty as he smiled maliciously while striding forward with huge steps toward Xu Qing.
All of these were seen by Xu Qing in a single glance.
His pupils narrowed as his mind instantly analyzed the fact that these people weren't a single entity. Rather, it seemed that they had grouped up on the spur of the moment.
He could tell this from the locations they stood in and the wariness they exhibited toward the others.
Besides, Xu Qing had guessed these people's identities. They were all…scavengers!
The Nanhuang Continent didn't lack scavengers. The majority of them were cruel and didn't have any bottom lines. Everything was a case of the strong eating the weak.
Evidently, now that the blood rain had stopped in the forbidden zone and the boundary had opened, the scavengers in the surroundings were all drawn here.
To them, although the forbidden zone was dangerous, their lives were already balanced on the edge of a blade. Hence, the resources contained in an empty city were enough to make their eyes red with envy.
Even if some items were tainted, they would still have some storage value.
As Xu Qing's thoughts rapidly flitted across his mind, his body moved as he was about to leap to the side.
However, that burly dude who was moving closer to him immediately rushed forward when he saw that Xu Qing wanted to flee. The cruelty in his eyes intensified, and his malevolent smile contained a hint of bloodthirst.
"Wanting to flee? I love abusing and killing brats like you the most. You should have plenty of items in your leather pouch, right? Captain Lei, let me handle this kid."
The burly dude's eyes flashed with cruelty. It felt like the cruelty within his eyes shot out and transformed into intimidation. Combining that with his tall, muscular figure and his battle-ax, the sense of oppression he exuded was exceedingly strong.
At this moment, he rushed forward with large strides and leaped in the direction Xu Qing was in before tossing his battle-ax over.
With a whooshing sound, the battle-ax whistled through the air and closed the distance between them, instantly approaching its target from the air.
The muscular dude had great strength and his movements weren't slow either. However, Xu Qing's speed was even quicker. At that instant the battle-ax arrived, his body had fiercely sped up as he dodged to the side.
The battle-ax harmlessly whistled past the area in front of him.
However, the wind from the momentum blasted into Xu Qing's face, causing his disheveled hair to flutter a little, revealing his cold wolf-like gaze underneath his hair.
At the next moment, Xu Qing's body borrowed the momentum of his dodge to roll onto the ground. However, he didn't choose to flee. Rather, he moved closer to the burly dude and lifted his right hand while a raven black-colored iron stick directly appeared in it.
Borrowing the advantage that his height was shorter than the other party, Xu Qing furiously leaped, and the iron stick in his hand stabbed upward from down below, aiming to pierce the burly dude's chin.
Everything happened too quickly. The skinny body of Xu Qing as well as his earlier act of fleeing was all to naturally mask his intention to attack. As for the burly dude, he also felt a sense of life-and-death crisis at this instant.
After all, he was extremely experienced. At this moment, his upper body furiously leaned backward and his countenance drastically changed. He narrowly avoided the iron stick, but the iron stick still caused a wound on his chin.
However, before he could fester the anger in his heart, Xu Qing swiftly pulled out the dagger from his thigh with his left hand, looking extremely cold.
At the moment the upper body of the burly dude leaned back, Xu Qing directly stabbed the dagger into the instep of the burly dude's right foot.
A plopping sound then echoed out as the dagger penetrated the straw sandals and the flesh, directly pinning the burly dude's foot into the soil.
As a result, the expression of the burly dude contorted, and intense pain swept through his entire body. A tragic cry abruptly rang out. He was then about to counterattack, but Xu Qing was too nimble. After Xu Qing attacked, his body instantly shot toward a broken bunker for cover. He crouched there and was ready to attack again.
When the flickering flames illuminated his face, it made his entire person look a little indistinct. His wolf-like gaze was something the flickering flame couldn't conceal. It was filled with wariness and ruthlessness as he stared at the scavengers.
All of these happened too quickly. Xu Qing's young age and skinny body frame confused many of the scavengers, causing them to be careless. Hence, they didn't manage to react immediately.
At this moment, a fierce glint flashed in the eyes of everyone. Particularly, the gazes of the three people with the bows turned even sharper.
Xu Qing who was hiding behind the bunker didn't bother to glance at the burly dude not far away who was screaming tragically, struggling to pull out the dagger from his insole. His gaze swept through the three archers and eventually landed on the man with the boxing gloves in the center.
This man was an old man. Although his clothing was similar to the others, his gaze was the sharpest. Also, Xu Qing could sense the hidden undercurrents of spirit energy from his body.
From the old man's position as well as the way the gazes of others instinctively gathered on the old man, Xu Qing had a guess in his heart.
This old man…probably was the temporary leader of these scavengers.
Xu Qing looked at the old man and analyzed, while the old man also looked at him. There seemed to be a hint of strangeness in his gaze.
Very soon, the old man shifted his eyes away. He only looked at the burning flames not far away and remained silent.
At this moment, the burly dude who had removed the dagger had flames of anger in his eyes. He let out a loud roar and was about to rush at Xu Qing.
"Brat, watch how I make you die!"
Xu Qing narrowed his eyes which were gleaming with sharpness. Just when he was about to act, an aged voice calmly rang out at this moment.
[1] 1 zhang = 3.3333 meters
-x-X-x-
"Enough!"
This single word was filled with intimidation, causing the burly dude who was roaring to halt his steps. He then turned his head toward the speaker.
The person who had spoken was none other than the old man wearing boxing gloves whom Xu Qing had seen earlier.
"Captain Lei…"
"That kid should be a lucky survivor from the slums outside. Since the gods have spared him, you shouldn't act against him. Let us leave."
"But…" A strong reluctance could be seen in the eyes of the burly dude. He believed he was just careless earlier. If he really acted seriously, he was confident he could crush Xu Qing's neck in the span of a few breaths of time.
Just when he was about to speak, the old man calmly glanced at him.
"Do you need me to repeat myself?"
The burly dude's expression showed a struggle, but he ultimately lowered his head.
It was just that when he lowered his head, he glanced at Xu Qing who was hiding in the bunker from the corner of his eyes, and killing intent flashed in his expression. After that, his countenance turned gloomy as he turned and limped in the old man's direction.
Xu Qing sensed the killing intent. His eyes narrowed slightly as he warily gazed at this group of scavengers who were walking further away.
However, just when they moved tens of zhang away, the old man in the center suddenly stopped. He turned his head, and it was unknown whether he was looking at Xu Qing or the flames from the pile of burning corpses as he suddenly spoke a long time later.
"Kid, are you willing to leave here with me?"
Xu Qing started. He noticed the other party's tone. The old man said 'me' and not 'us'.
Hence, Xu Qing fell silent as his gaze swept through the crowd. The old man was also someone with patience, so he didn't rush Xu Qing. He stood far away and waited for Xu Qing's answer.
Tens of breaths later, Xu Qing once again swept his gaze through these people. He then looked at the old man as well as the gloomy burly dude whom he injured.
A strange light flashed in the youth's eyes.
He slowly stood up and didn't speak, moving nearer to them.
Upon seeing Xu Qing walking over, the old man smiled and turned to continue walking. The others also cast deep looks at Xu Qing as they departed together.
Just like this, Xu Qing followed this group of scavengers and watched them search through and collect all the valuable items in the city.
In the meantime, he also learned that the nickname of the burly dude was Broken Ox.
This person had swept his sinister gaze many times toward Xu Qing.
However, he was evidently suppressing his murderous urge. It seemed like he wasn't anxious and wanted to wait for a chance to act when the old man wasn't present.
Also, it was like he was very sure that there would be such an opportunity appearing on their journey.
Xu Qing contemplated for a while and thought of the burly dude's greed before coming up with a plan. Hence, with his familiarity with the city, he provided some aid to these scavengers.
Xu Qing assumed a very humble demeanor and helped these scavengers to find more valuable items at an even quicker speed.
As for Broken Ox, his greed was clear to all. Even though the load he was carrying was full and the weight had exceeded what he could bear, he still wanted to grab more items.
Hence, he who was already injured searched more places than others and also carried an increased load due to having more items.
At the start, this couldn't count for much. But as time flowed, the stamina of the burly dude was greatly exhausted. The sense of fatigue he felt also soon exceeded the others.
As for the area around the city lord's residence, Xu Qing thought of how the old man named Captain Lei had helped him. So, he decided not to lure them over.
They continued doing this until the night was about to descend. The group then finally left the city and set up a campsite in the slums outside the city.
Their actions were very proficient, and they soon set up six tents.
Other than the two people wielding blades sharing a single tent, the others were all solo. They lit up a stick of incense outside their tents, and some even took out some powder and sprinkled it in the surroundings.
Seeing that the sky was growing darker and the various roars in the city started echoing out, these scavengers all entered their tents.
Only Captain Lei swept his gaze toward the lonely Xu Qing. He took out a sleeping bag and tossed it over to him.
"Lighting the incense can dispel the mutated beasts, and the powder can stop the bizarre existences from coming nearer. Given your contribution today, Broken Ox won't dare to target you when I'm here. This place can still be considered safe."
After the old man finished speaking, he no longer cared and entered his tent.
Xu Qing didn't speak. He merely cast a deep glance at the old man's tent before opening the sleeping bag and snuggling inside.
However, he didn't seal it completely, leaving a slight gap facing the direction of the scavengers' tent.
During late-night, the roars and mournful cries outside grew even more intense, and an eerie crying sound also reverberated through the air. The terrifying atmosphere seemed to be inundated everywhere in the outside world.
No one was willing to leave the safety of their current dwelling place.
Except Xu Qing…
In the sleeping bag, he opened his eyes and remained immobile as he silently waited.
Time continued to flow and when it was deep in the night, when most people were soundly sleeping, Xu Qing slowly climbed out of his sleeping bag.
His movements were very careful and he did his best not to make any sound.
The roars and mournful cries inside the city echoed in his ears, but they didn't cause him the slightest bit of distraction.
After Xu Qing climbed out carefully, he silently walked toward the tent that the burly dude nicknamed Broken Ox was in.
He wouldn't allow a concealed danger near him that would threaten his life to exist. Even though it was a concealed danger, he had to think of a solution to resolve it immediately.
This was a rule Xu Qing had learned by surviving in the slums through lessons paid in blood. This was the true reason why he had agreed to follow the old man.
In fact, all the help he provided these scavengers during the day to allow them to have a greater harvest was because he saw Broken Ox's greed. He wanted the injured Broken Ox to be even more fatigued and lose his wariness.
Hence, he intentionally adopted a humble demeanor to numb the other party, to make him unprepared.
All of this was for the sake of taking action right now. Currently, Xu Qing's expression was calm as he softly approached the tent. He wasn't reckless at all. He first squatted there to listen attentively for a long while.