Chapter 15 Consequences Of Threat (1)
-x-X-x-
"I've finally broken through."
Xu Qing stood up and punched out, producing a crisp sound echoing through the air. In fact, the blast of wind even caused the door to the house to shake a little.
This scene caused Xu Qing's eyes to open wide. He sensed that the current him was simply much stronger compared to yesterday.
If the current him fought against that giant-horn snake, Xu Qing believed that he could blast through the belly scales of the snake with a single punch.
Not only that, but his senses were also sharper than before. His vision was clearer, and his hearing also became more sensitive. Hence, the sounds of knocking from outside the courtyard could now drift into Xu Qing's ears.
Xu Qing started and walked to the side of the house's door. Under the moonlight, he peered through the gap and saw the figure of the little girl standing outside the courtyard's gate.
It seemed that she had injuries on her body, and she was trembling slightly.
Xu Qing frowned. He originally didn't want to bother about this, but the girl persisted and continued to knock lightly.
Hence, a long time later, Xu Qing finally pushed the door of the house open and walked out.
After seeing Xu Qing's figure, the girl evidently grew nervous. She bore the impulse to retreat and stared at Xu Qing through the bamboo gate.
"Is something the matter?" Xu Qing asked.
"I…I also obtained the residency right of the campsite a…and also found a job in the campsite." The little stuttered a little as she spoke.
"Understood." Xu Qing nodded and was about to turn and leave.
"Wait…Thank you. I came here to thank you," said the girl hurriedly.
"No need to thank me. It was me who wanted to eat the snake. This has nothing to do with you." After Xu Qing finished speaking, he returned to the house.
The girl pursed her lips as she looked at Xu Qing's departing back. She suddenly spoke loudly.
"No matter what, I still have to thank you. This debt of gratitude…I will surely repay you in the future." After she finished speaking, her figure ran away and vanished into the darkness.
Xu Qing turned and glanced over, not minding this at all. He then returned to the house and drew in a deep breath, sensing the changes in his body. In his heart, he felt more confident about his thoughts of living a better life.
However, the faint piercing pain that originated from his left arm made him guess that the anomalous substances in his body must have been concentrated to a very high degree. Even the snake gallbladder didn't manage to neutralize much.
At this moment, it was in the dead of the night, and there were no roars from ferocious beasts outside. Xu Qing then walked to his bedside and saw the clean bedding there before he took another look at his clothes, which were filled with dirt and grime.
He pondered a little before removing the clean bedding. After placing it to the side, he lay down on the wooden plank.
His hand instinctively grabbed the black-colored iron stick as waves of sleepiness surfaced.
This iron stick was the companion he trusted the most.
Ever since he had found it after searching through the garbage many years ago, he had decided to bring it everywhere with him and use it as his own weapon after discovering how sharp and durable it was.
"I will search the campsite for a place that sells white pills tomorrow."
Xu Qing silently mused as he touched his leather pouch. Inside was his savings of these few years as well as a few valuable gems he had found inside the city.
He didn't dare to take too many gems as he understood the logic of 'the weak possessing a jade ring becomes a crime'. He had seen cases like that when he was younger.
As he contemplated, the feeling of sleepiness slowly overcame him, and Xu Qing gradually closed his eyes.
It was just that the iron stick in his hand was still clutched tightly, with no sign of relaxation.
The calm night passed as the rays of the morning sun cascaded down.
The next morning, Xu Qing, who woke up early, had already left the small house.
Before he departed, he looked in the direction of Captain Lei's room. The other party wasn't in, so maybe he had gone out. Hence, Xu Qing retracted his gaze and went to wander around the campsite.
Maybe it was due to the shock he had caused everyone when he forcibly harvested the gallbladder of the snake yesterday, when Xu Qing was walking in the camp, he could clearly feel the gazes of the scavengers in the surroundings. They were somewhat different when they looked at him now.
They no longer felt that he was easy to bully because he was young. From this, one could see the evil of human nature.
Now, there were more hints of recognition and vigilance. At the same time, the listless gaze of those youths around the same age as him, who were hiding in corners now, had a hint of envy when they looked at him.
Dignity was something one had to obtain by themselves.
Xu Qing silently mused in his heart.
While he was searching for shops at the campsite, Xu Qing also familiarized himself with the surroundings.
He discovered quite a lot of wild dogs in the camp. They were barking at each other and snatching goods. Most of them were thin, but some looked even more muscular and sturdy than some of the humans.
After paying attention to these wild dogs, Xu Qing continued to observe the campsite.
He did so until the map of the campsite was fully created in his mind. According to his mental map, he found a shop in the inner-circle area of the campsite.
The shop wasn't small and there were streams of people leaving and entering. This looked like a lively place, and it seemed to sell everything within.
Xu Qing observed it for a while from outside and noticed the little girl from yesterday with a staff attire in the shop. Clearly, she must be doing miscellaneous jobs here. She seemed very busy, and droplets of sweat covered her forehead.
She only noticed Xu Qing after he walked into the shop. However, just when she was about to speak, she was dragged to the side by a scavenger who wanted to inquire about an item.
Xu Qing didn't immediately pay attention to the things for sale in the shop. Rather, he first took a look at the people in the surroundings who came to shop.
There were a total of seven people. Some were browsing through the items for sale, some had their heads lowered as they contemplated, and some were bargaining. Two among them, one skinny and one fat, seemed to be part of a group.
The fat guy had a rotund figure, while the skinny guy had a horse-like face. Evidently, their attitudes were unyielding, and spirit energy fluctuations that weren't weak radiated from them. One of them was currently scolding the little girl as though he was very unsatisfied with her answers.
And as the little girl anxiously apologized, Xu Qing began to check out the merchandise in the shop.
Things were the same as what he had guessed. This place was a general goods shop. There were alchemy pills, weapons, clothes, food, etc. They had everything.
Hence, he retracted his gaze and walked to the counter. He then calmly spoke as he looked at the shopkeeper who had an indifferent expression when he smoked a pipe.
-x-X-x-
"How are the white pills sold?"
"The white pills are limited, so we only sell five of them per day. There are still two pills remaining in the quota today. Each pill costs 10 spirit coins."
The shopkeeper lifted his brows and swept a glance at Xu Qing. Maybe it was because he recognized that Xu Qing was the youth who had fought against the beasts yesterday, his attitude was somewhat friendlier.
However, after hearing the price, despite Xu Qing being mentally prepared, he still couldn't help but frown slightly.
His savings after these few years were at most 20 to 30 spirit coins. However, the piercing pain from the mutation point on his arm didn't cause him to hesitate. He carefully took out 20 spirit coins from his leather pouch and handed them to the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper kept the spirit coins with his right hand and took out a sack from a cabinet, tossing it to Xu Qing.
Xu Qing grabbed it and opened the sack, revealing two white-colored alchemy pills within. However, his brows soon knitted again.
Some parts of the surface layer of these two alchemy pills had turned greenish. Evidently, this was caused by a change in the quality, and they weren't very fresh. There was also no medicinal fragrance emitting from them. It looked like they were inferior pills.
"All white pills in the campsite are like this. We don't have any pills with good appearances here. For this item, even if it is rotted, it will still have some effect. You can rest assured and consume them."
After the shopkeeper saw Xu Qing's bewilderment, he couldn't help but speak while having an insincere smile on his face.
Xu Qing was very cautious, so he didn't consume them immediately. He planned to ask Captain Lei after he returned. Hence, he packed them up and wanted to leave.
But at this moment, a gleam of sharpness flashed in his eyes, and his body quickly moved to the side.
Almost at the same time as he evaded, a hand landed at the location he had been in previously, grabbing the air.
Xu Qing coldly looked over and saw the scavenger with a horse face, who was previously berating the little girl, standing there with his hand retracted and looking at him with an astonished expression.
At the same time, the scavenger with a rotund body stood at the entrance to block the way out as he stared at Xu Qing. He then grinned, revealing yellow teeth.
"They are Fat Mountain and Horse-Four from the Bloodshadow Team!"
"This kid should be someone Captain Lei brought back. Thunder and Bloodshadow have always been against each other, so I won't participate in your matters. However, don't waste too much time as I'm still running a business."
The others in the shop also had their attention drawn by the actions of the two. After they looked over, they began to whisper in low voices.
The sentence spoken earlier was naturally from the indifferent-looking shopkeeper.
At this moment, the pedestrians outside also noticed the commotion here. All of them looked inside with expressions of interest.
"Don't worry, this won't take long." The guy with a horse face smiled. He then looked at Xu Qing as his eyes gleamed sinisterly.
"Kid, I've killed plenty of giant-horn pythons, so I won't make things difficult for you. I only need the white pills. Give me the two white pills you just bought and I will let you leave here safely. If not, I will help slit your throat and take the white pills from your corpse."
These words caused Xu Qing's gaze to turn even colder. He looked at the other party's neck and the fatty blocking the entrance. Noticing that there were quite a lot of people outside, he started coming up with a plan.
The spirit fluctuations from these two fellows weren't weak at all. They should be around the second level. He was confident to deal with one of them as he was sure he could finish the fight in the span of ten breaths.
However, if the two of them cooperated, he would also be able to kill them, but it would take longer.
In addition, this was the downtown area. Once the fight began, since the other parties were members of a team, they would surely have reinforcement.
He didn't wish to put all his hope on praying that Captain Lei would arrive in time. This wasn't his personality. He didn't like putting hope in others as depending on himself was the best solution.
Hence, Xu Qing expressionlessly swept his glance at the neck of the scavenger with a horse face again. His right hand then took out the sack containing the white pills and tossed it over with no hesitation. After the other party caught it, he turned his head back to glance at the fatty before he laughed complacently.
His companion, Fat Mountain, also laughed and moved aside from the entrance. After that, Xu Qing didn't even turn his head and walked out immediately.
The surrounding crowds, be it whether they were in the shop or outside, felt that this was very normal. Under the rules where the weak were eaten by the strong, the weak naturally had to know when to bow down. This was the path of survival.
The little girl also heaved a sigh of relief. Earlier, she had been sweating profusely. Now that she saw that the crisis had been averted, she continued to busy herself.
As for Fat Mountain and Horse-Four, they swaggered out of the shop while laughing uproariously as they walked into the distance.
It was just that…no one noticed that a figure, which seemed as though it had vanished after walking a great distance away, was following them like a shadow patiently, not exposing itself in the slightest.
Its eyes were like a wolf staring at prey, paying close attention to the two of them.
This figure was none other than Xu Qing.
Time flowed and the sky gradually darkened.
Fat Mountain and Horse-Four went to many places in the campsite and even after an entire day had passed, they didn't notice that a figure had been following them from the start.
The two of them finally separated when the moon was high in the sky.
The place Fat Mountain went to had a bonfire, while Horse-Four showed an expression of lust as he headed to the dark area in the outer perimeters of the campsite, planning on entering one of the feathered tents.
Just when Horse-Four was about to arrive at the dark area, he suddenly heard the sound of wind gushing behind him.
Hence, Horse-Four turned around immediately with vigilance, but there was nothing behind him. He started and his expression couldn't help but change. It was already too late.
An instant later, a small hand shot out beside him, tightly clamping his mouth. At the same time, a sharp dagger sliced forcefully across his throat without hesitation at all.
Woosh~ Fresh blood spurted all around. As a result, Horse-Four's eyes were wide open and he wanted to struggle.
However, the small hand that clamped down on his mouth possessed very great strength. Horse-Four's body was then dragged backward, and it was futile no matter how much he struggled.
His feet could only helplessly tap on the ground, unable to stop him from being dragged into the darkness.
Finally, his end was like that of a slain chicken, tossed into a corner.
Even until now, the small hand clamped on his mouth didn't move away. The owner of the hand waited for a long time, and only after he was sure that Horse-Four had lost all resistance from suffocation and blood loss did he finally relax his hand. He then slammed Horse-Four's weak and shivering body onto the ground.
Only now did the despairing Horse-Four see the expressionless face of the youth clearly with the aid of the dim moonlight.
"Wu, wu…"
Horse-Four's gaze contained disbelief. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that the youth who had obediently handed the white pills to him in the morning would be so decisive and ruthless when he acted.
He seemed as though he wanted to tell the youth that his words of slitting the youth's throat in the morning had been nothing but a threat. He wouldn't have really killed him…
However, the blood gushing out of his throat made it impossible for him to speak. With despair, he could only whimper weakly and looked at the youth who was crouching down and emotionlessly searching through his pockets.
When everything was taken out, Xu Qing found his white pills with an additional five more. Other than these, the other party also had some spirit coins and miscellaneous items.
After Xu Qing kept them, as Horse-Four's terror reached an extreme limit, Xu Qing removed the sackcloth covering a snake head carefully and used the snake's fangs to pierce Horse-Four's body with great familiarity.
As a result, Horse-Four's body instantly convulsed and started melting from the location of the wound. The pain and agony from being melted alive caused him to break down mentally.
Only until Xu Qing lifted his hand and covered Horse-Four's eyes did Horse-Four's world lose its light forever.
His body melted and became blood that seeped into the earth.
Xu Qing had learned his lesson from his previous negligence. At this moment, he took out a prepared pouch and put Horse-Four's clothing and items away before he turned to leave.
And after he left, two figures appeared from the darkness at the location of Horse-Four's death.
They were none other than the two men no one could see yesterday in the Beastfight Arena. One of them was an extraordinary old man clad in purple and the other was his servant.
The old man lowered his head to look at the pool of blood seeping into the ground before lifting his head to glance at Xu Qing's back in the distance. A hint of admiration could be seen in his eyes.
"This is a good seedling. He has great tolerance and is decisive when it comes to killing. What's even rarer is that although he's ruthless when he acts, he can still handle the aftermath cleanly. Not bad at all," said the old man.
The servant who was at the side revealed a surprised expression.
He had followed this old man for many years, and it was very rare for him to hear the old man praising others as 'not bad'. In addition, this youth had caught the attention of the old man twice. Hence, he also lifted his head to stare in the direction where Xu Qing vanished.
"An interesting little fellow." The old man smiled before casually asking another question.
"When will Grandmaster Bai arrive again?"
"Old Master Seventh, according to Grandmaster Bai's schedule, he should arrive here in one or two days." The servant withdrew his gaze and respectfully spoke.
"He's finally going to arrive. This time around, this old man has to properly persuade him. The stupid Purple Earth is full of stupid rules. What's there to miss? He might as well come and join my Seven Blood Eyes so he can be more relaxed and carefree."
The old man laughed and seemed like he was very happy. He then glanced in the direction Xu Qing left.
"Let us go take a look at what this little wolf cub wants to do next."
[1] The 'Lei' in Captain Lei's name stands for thunder.
-x-X-x-
During March, although spring had returned, the weather was still somewhat chilly.
If Xu Qing had just exited the forbidden zone, the cold wouldn't matter to him. But if he was outside for too long, his body would still feel the bone-chilling cold.
This was especially so during the night. The icy chill would feel heavier.
As the cold wind gusted by, Xu Qing's figure didn't stop in the slightest. He merely wrapped his coat tighter around himself.
He still had a mission he hadn't completed. Hence, he was carefully making his way through the campsite during the night.
On his way, he saw some wild dogs that bared their teeth as they rushed at him. However, after he glared at them, it was like they could sense the smell of blood on him, so they ended up shutting up and hiding away.
Xu Qing's gaze shifted away from the wild dogs as he continued on his way.
After he arrived behind a house in the center-ring region, he crouched in the dark and remained motionless as he stared at a large house far away.
There were signs of an extinguished bonfire there.
Xu Qing remembered that Fat Mountain, who separated from Horse-Four, had gone there. So, he wanted to wait and see if the other party would travel out during the night.
The icy chill invaded his body, but Xu Qing's body was as though it had been petrified, remaining completely motionless as he waited patiently.
At this moment, behind him, on the rooftop of a building, Old Master Seventh and his servant had also followed over. When he saw Xu Qing crouching there, Old Master Seventh couldn't help but break into a smile.
"As per what I expected. This little wolf cub is going to weed out the roots."
"This old man is now filled with great expectations. If this brat entered the forbidden zone beside our camp, what performance would he show?" Old Master Seventh squatted down, watching with interest while speaking to the servant beside him.
The servant smiled and squatted beside Old Master Seventh, also surveying Xu Qing who was in the distance.
Time flowed by, and after seeing an hour had passed, Xu Qing gradually frowned.
After thinking about it, he turned and left, walking into the darkness. His entire person was like an apparition, coming and leaving silently.
However, he didn't return to Captain Lei's residence but chose to circle the surroundings for a round.
After confirming that no one was following him, Xu Qing headed back to Captain Lei's courtyard and quietly returned to his little house.
After entering, he drew in a deep breath and rubbed his hands, wanting to dispel the chill in his body with the aid of this motion.
He then wiped away the blood stains on his body. Only after that did he sit cross-legged on the bed with a look of pondering in his eyes.
"These scavengers would head out for missions at irregular timing. Luckily, Horse-Four was a horny individual so as long as not too much time has passed, no one would realize that he is dead. Fat Mountain probably wouldn't be on his guard because of this either.
"But for the sake of safety, it's best that I get rid of Fat Mountain as fast as possible." Xu Qing narrowed his eyes.
Just like how he had killed Broken Ox back then, he who was now in the scavenger campsite wouldn't permit any concealed danger that would threaten his life.
He killed Horse-Four because the other party had snatched his item and threatened him. This was also the reason why he was preparing to deal with Fat Mountain.
After a period of silence, Xu Qing took out Horse-Four's items from the pouch and carefully inspected them.
Most were miscellaneous stuff. There was also a palm-size metal plate that looked ordinary, appearing like an ingredient.
Other than these, there were about 70 plus spirit coins. To Xu Qing, this was already considered a huge sum of money.
He meticulously counted them once before taking out the white pills. After comparing his white pills with Horse-Four's white pills, he discovered that these white pills were truly not of good quality and didn't look fresh.
Hence, he began to believe 70% of the shop owner's words.
After pondering for a while, Xu Qing took out one pill and swallowed it. After that, he closed his eyes to silently sense the effect.
Very soon, he felt a current of warmth rising in his body. The current gathered on the mutation point on his left arm, and he began to feel a sense of comfort.
After some time, this feeling disappeared. Xu Qing opened his eyes and immediately looked at his left arm. The two mutation points had grown slightly lighter in color, and the piercing pain was also reduced somewhat.
"It's effective." Xu Qing revealed joy in his gaze and took out the second pill to consume.
The same feeling emerged. As it vanished, the sensation of piercing pain also vanished with it.
He felt a sense of coolness in his body. It was very comfortable as though his flesh and blood were being cleansed. This caused Xu Qing to sense that his speed and strength seemed to be enhanced by a little.
As for the remaining white pills, he didn't continue to consume them. He placed them in his leather pouch and began to close his eyes to cultivate.
The night was silent.
The next morning, Xu Qing opened his eyes and rose to head out.
Just when he pushed the house's door open, he saw Captain Lei sitting cross-legged in the courtyard, doing breathing exercises.
Xu Qing didn't disturb him. He then opened the courtyard gate softly and carefully closed it before setting off.
The wind today seemed even colder than last night. When it blew on someone, they would involuntarily shiver. Even those wild dogs were hiding in their caves, rarely venturing out.
When Xu Qing breathed out, he could see mist forming, and this caused his brain to recall some unpleasant memories from when he was in the slums.
He hated the cold.
To homeless vagrants, the cold wind was like a calamity. One had to forcefully struggle before they could survive.
At this moment, Xu Qing, who passed by a clothing shop in the cold, involuntarily halted his steps and glanced at the thick and clean clothes hanging in the shop.
He gingerly touched his leather pouch before turning to enter.
The shop didn't have many customers. When Xu Qing entered, he cast his gaze on those clothes that were hanging on the wall, looking at them seriously.
At the counter, the shopkeeper cast a glance at Xu Qing and wasn't too bothered as he continued instructing his staff at the side.
"Go and handle things at the back. Take the past month's custom-made clothes that the orderer failed to collect and hang them in front to sell."
"But what if the person who ordered the custom-made clothes comes back to collect them in the future?" The staff hesitated, appearing to be someone new.
"Come back? There would be people going missing periodically in this campsite. Some died in the forbidden zone, and some vanished mysteriously. Only ghosts can return. Quickly go and follow my instructions."
-x-X-x-
The shopkeeper impatiently waved his hands, and the assistant quickly ran into the back hall.
Not long later, before Xu Qing had chosen his clothes, the assistant already returned with a large number of clothes in his arms. After he hung them up, Xu Qing immediately had his eyes on a deep-colored inner-fur leather jacket.
This was something someone custom-made but had no way to return and buy it.
After the amount of time it took to finish burning an incense stick, when Xu Qing walked out of the shop, the article of clothing he was wearing was none other than that deep-colored inner-fur jacket.
This clothing could isolate the cold and wasn't thick or heavy. Moreover, the degree of warmth Xu Qing felt when he wore it was far greater compared to the clothes he had worn before.
The only bad thing was that he was too small and skinny. So, this jacket looked like an overcoat on him. The sight of it wasn't very matching.
However, Xu Qing was very happy. When he was walking on the road, he carefully avoided some places that were slightly dirty.
Just when he was about to search for Fat Mountain, he noticed that there were sounds of a clamor from outside of the campsite. Also, many of the scavengers in the campsite walked out at the same time. There was a hint of anticipation in their eyes as they moved in the direction of the sounds.
Xu Qing also lifted his head to look over.
Gradually, under the sunlight, he saw a group of over ten horse carriages driving over here in a majestic manner.
For those seated there, even the clothing of the guards was incomparably vibrant. Their faces were rosy, and their gazes were sharp. Also, shocking fluctuations of spirit energy could be sensed from them.
As for the people inside the carriage, Xu Qing couldn't see any, but he could guess that they were people with very important status.
Xu Qing had also heard of such a convoy from Captain Lei before. It seemed that they would come to the campsite often for trading or to purchase the seven-leaf grass used to concoct white pills.
Fat Mountain's silhouette also appeared among the crowd and after Xu Qing's focus was attracted, he no longer paid any attention to the convoy. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and stared at Fat Mountain, starting to follow him secretly.
Maybe it was because of the convoy's arrival, but the campsite today was very lively and a bazaar was created. Hence, from the start until now, Xu Qing couldn't find an opportunity.
This lasted all the way until late at night. He saw Fat Mountain returning to that big house again. Thus, he could only keep the dagger in his sleeves and turn to leave.
Although he had no chance to act today, Xu Qing had plenty of patience. After he returned to the small house, he wore his newly-bought clothes and sat down to cultivate. Even when he was asleep, he didn't take off his new clothes.
This lasted until the next morning when he was preparing to head out to find opportunities. Only then did he lovingly remove his inner-fur jacket, changing back to his tattered coat.
Looking at his new clothes, Xu Qing felt that he had been somewhat too impulsive yesterday.
At this moment, Xu Qing wore his tattered coat and walked around the campsite. As he passed by a crowded market, his gaze seemed to be surveying the passing carriages, but he was actually searching for Fat Mountain's figure.
Far away, Old Master Seventh yawned and was with the servant on a rooftop. His gaze swept past the carriages and turned to Xu Qing. After that, he casually asked the servant beside him.
"Have you sent the invitation to Grandmaster Bai?"
"Old Master Seventh, I've delivered it. But Grandmaster Bai said that he feels a little unwell recently…"
"Unwell? Isn't he a doctor? He really is…sigh. Anyway, I remember that this kid bought new clothes yesterday, but why did he change back to his old ones today?" As Old Master Seventh spoke halfway, he noticed what Xu Qing was wearing, so he couldn't help but be puzzled.
While Old Master Seventh was puzzled, Xu Qing locked on to Fat Mountain in the crowd from the corner of his eyes.
Just like this, an entire day passed as Xu Qing followed his target.
As late-night came, Fat Mountain, who originally wanted to return to his residence, suddenly changed his direction for an unknown reason. He actually headed to the outer-ring region in the middle of the night.
That place was comparatively more remote.
"Has he discovered me?" Xu Qing frowned and narrowed his eyes. His gaze gradually became colder.
He didn't continue to follow but surveyed the surroundings instead. After confirming that the other party was indeed heading there alone, he circled around and continued advancing in the darkness, reaching the outer-ring in advance before Fat Mountain did.
He ascertained that there were no ambushes here first. His eyes then gleamed with coldness as he hid in the darkness.
And at this moment, Fat Mountain also arrived in the area, but his footsteps suddenly stopped.
"Brat, I already sensed someone following me yesterday. Just come out, this place is very remote and is suitable for burying your corpse. If you don't dare to come out now, I'll no longer be alone next time. Even if Captain Lei protects you, us Bloodshadows will still be able to make you pay a price."
Xu Qing's eyes narrowed. The other party had stated it this way, so there was no longer a need to hide. Hence, he walked out of the darkness.
"Horse-Four didn't secretly accept a mission and head out, right? He must have been killed by you. I have underestimated you." Fat Mountain malevolently laughed and looked at Xu Qing who walked out.
"But no worries, I've long since found him unpleasant to my eye. Even if you didn't kill him, I planned to finish him off in our next outing. So, I still have to thank you. Also, I don't care about his life or death, but there's something in his pouch that I want. It should be in your hands now, right?"
Fat Mountain glanced at the leather pouch at Xu Qing's waist as a hint of greed flashed in his eyes. He didn't wait for Xu Qing to answer. His body shifted as his rotund figure actually erupted forth with a speed that exceeded the second level of Qi Condensation.
The spirit energy fluctuations from him were much stronger than before. In fact, it even formed a layer of airflow around his body, bringing the cold wind along. His entire person was like an ice ball ramming toward Xu Qing.
He wasn't at the second level of Qi Condensation. From the spirit energy fluctuations at this moment, he had reached the third level.
It was also precisely because of this, in addition to the item he wanted from Horse-Four's pouch, that he decided to come out tonight alone.
Xu Qing narrowed his eyes. This was his first time fighting a head-on battle against another cultivator. To make it even worse, the airflow barrier around Fat Mountain's body was something formed by spirit energy. Fortunately, Xu Qing was confident in both his strength and speed.
Hence, at the instant the other party came near, Xu Qing also rushed out ferociously. He erupted all his strength and unleashed his maximum speed, causing his movements to leave behind some afterimages.
In the blink of an eye, he dodged Fat Mountain. When Fat Mountain was clearly startled, Xu Qing had already arrived behind him. After that, he lifted his right hand and erupted forth with the entirety of his strength in a single punch.
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This was the first time Xu Qing used all his strength. This punch directly caused thunderous claps and created an explosive boom when it landed on Fat Mountain's body.
As a result, Fat Mountain's entire body shuddered immensely. The air barrier formed outside his body then shattered inch by inch as his inner organs churned wildly.
Pu! When the sound of coughing up a mouthful of fresh blood rang out, the killing intent in Xu Qing's eyes grew even more intense.
After that, the iron stick appeared in his lifted right hand, and Xu Qing's body swayed as he brushed past Fat Mountain who was retreating in a hurried manner. The iron stick then followed with the flow and pierced toward Fat Mountain's head.
But at the next moment, Xu Qing's expression drastically changed as he decisively retreated with explosive speed.
The instant he retreated, Fat Mountain's eyes revealed a hint of ruthlessness.
Two black lines abruptly drilled out from his ears and flew toward Xu Qing's face one after another, producing a whooshing sound through the air.
These two black lines were none other than winged centipedes. Their speed was extremely fast, and they were about to reach Xu Qing in the blink of an eye. However, Xu Qing slashed out with his dagger using his left hand and directly sliced them apart.
The last one was only seven inches away from Xu Qing's eyes when he finally killed it.
This dangerous scene caused the killing intent in Xu Qing's eyes to deepen as he charged over again.
During the window of opportunity created when Xu Qing retreated, the churning of Fat Mountain's inner organs also recovered somewhat.
At this moment, his rotund body continued to retreat rapidly. His hands performed a set of mudras, and his face instantly flushed red. A moment later, he spat out a mouthful of poison mist at Xu Qing.
The mist churned with an exceedingly large radius, floating toward Xu Qing. Everywhere the cloud of mist passed by, crackling sounds could be heard. From this, one could see how intense the poison was.
After he finished doing all this, Fat Mountain's countenance was pale, and his fat belly got reduced by an entire size. He retreated once more. There was ruthlessness in his gaze along with some lingering fear.
Xu Qing's strength had exceeded his expectations.
He didn't expect that despite him being at the third level of Qi Condensation, in addition to his poison attacks, he had actually failed to kill the other party in a single blow.
Also, this poison mist was one of his ultimate killing techniques. If he could still do nothing to his opponent, he would have to shout for help and cause Xu Qing to feel trepidation.
p However, if he shouted for help, it most probably would be very difficult for him to obtain that item of Horse-Four.
Actually, he still had a taboo item he didn't use. The side-effect of using this item was exceedingly great, but he still took it out. It was a piece of amber.
As he hesitated in his heart, he glanced at the area that was covered in the poison mist where Xu Qing was in.
However, the instant he glanced over, the poison mist suddenly started parting violently in all directions as Xu Qing's figure dashed out from it.
His speed was so fast that Fat Mountain felt his eyes being dazzled. His heart pounded, and he wanted to crush the amber with his right hand and shout for help. But sadly, it was already too late.
A raven-black iron stick shone with incomparable sharpness and instantly penetrated his head with the ease of a hot knife going through butter. As a result, fresh blood splattered out, landing on Xu Qing at the side.
Fat Mountain's body stiffened. He wanted to turn his head but failed to do so. His corpse then slowly fell to the floor and became motionless.
Not glancing at Fat Mountain's body, Xu Qing panted as he warily regarded the surroundings with vigilance.
This place was a remote location. After ascertaining that he didn't attract any attention, he quickly moved toward Fat Mountain's corpse and took away his leather pouch.
Just when he wanted to use the poison fang, Xu Qing suddenly noticed that Fat Mountain's right hand seemed to be holding something. Hence, he pried his fingers open and saw a piece of amber that was half-cracked.
This item looked ordinary and there didn't seem to be anything miraculous about this safe for the fact that there was a scorpion tail encased within.
Xu Qing carefully kept it. He then melted the corpse and only left speedily after the corpse had turned into a puddle of blood.
As he departed, he wiped away the bloodstains on his body and vanished into the night.
Old Master Seventh and the servant walked out from the darkness at this moment.
He then gazed at the location where Xu Qing vanished. Old Master Seventh wasn't really concerned about the fight between Xu Qing and Fat Mountain. But after a moment of thought, he revealed a look of sudden realization.
"I understand why that brat didn't wear his new clothes. He must be afraid that it would be stained by blood. He must have been living in poverty and would feel heartache if the new clothes got stained."
The servant who was at the side also breathed a sigh of relief.
Throughout this entire day, Old Master Seventh had been wondering why this brat refused to wear his new clothes. Right now, there was finally an answer. So, this meant that he didn't need to keep hearing and pondering over the reason why every time.
-x-X-x-
In the darkness of the night, Xu Qing's figure was like a cat. He proceeded forward nimbly and silently.
His hand pressed against his mouth occasionally as he forcefully bore with the impulse to cough.
During the first few times of this process, it was still tolerable. However, as Xu Qing continued moving, as well as with his many times suppressing the impulse, his lungs gradually felt like burning, and this caused his countenance to become paler and paler.
Luckily, this place wasn't far from his residence. Besides, the campsite wasn't very large, so Xu Qing saw Captain Lei's courtyard not too long later.
He didn't directly rush in. Instead, he stood at his original location and breathed deeply, trying his best to make himself seem somewhat more normal. Only then did he reduce his speed and proceed forth in a manner that was neither hasty nor slow.
He pushed open the courtyard's gate. After that, Xu Qing's gaze swept through the surroundings, and he slowly entered the little house.
The instant he entered, Xu Qing couldn't endure it anymore and directly coughed up a mouthful of blood. The blood was black in color, and when it landed on the ground, it actually emitted a sizzling sound.
As he coughed up this mouthful of poisoned blood, Xu Qing's countenance turned somewhat more normal compared to the paleness earlier. He panted heavily and sat down cross-legged as he began to use his breathing technique.
It was only a long time later that he opened his eyes. The color of his face had now recovered completely.
"What a fierce poison!" Xu Qing mumbled.
That breath of poison mist unleashed by Fat Mountain at the end contained extremely high toxicity.
However, in that situation, if Xu Qing had chosen to dodge, the other party would have surely fled immediately while calling for help to attract attention. At that time, things would become much more complicated if he wanted to handle things.
Besides, even if he pretended he was injured, it would most probably be very hard to swindle the cunning Fat Mountain.
Ever since Fat Mountain sensed he was being followed, everything he did was to mask his intentions. His only miscalculation was his wrong estimation of Xu Qing's strength.
So, at that crucial moment, Xu Qing had chosen to believe in the recovery prowess brought about by his purple crystal. He forcibly endured the invasion of the poison mist as he decided to push ahead and finish the fight quickly, taking his target's life with a single blow.
From the looks of things now, his choice wasn't wrong.
The purple crystal indeed possessed a very strong recovery characteristic against the invasion of poison.
On his way back, the burning feeling in his lungs and the impulse to cough were actually his recovery prowess taking effect.
"There are indeed no simple people among scavengers. Most probably, if it wasn't for me being quick enough during my attack on Horse-Four and not giving him time to retaliate, he was going to be very hard to handle as well."
Xu Qing silently mused as he started to analyze the aspects where he was insufficient during these two battles.
A long time later, Xu Qing inhaled deeply and lowered his head to look at his leather pouch. A strange light then gleamed in his eyes.
"Fat Mountain was moving about alone because he wanted an item from Horse-Four. So, he was preparing to counter-hunt me and take away the item belonging to Horse-Four from me."
Xu Qing opened his leather pouch and poured everything belonging to Horse-Four out, including the spirit coins. He then arranged the items before him.
His gaze swept through the items, and he examined them closely.
Ultimately, he eliminated the possibility of all other objects and stared at the metal plate. He frowned and couldn't be sure.
In reality, Horse-Four's items were all very common. Hence, this metal plate could be considered to be somewhat out of place and unknown when compared to the other items.
"Is it this item? But there doesn't seem to be anything marvelous about it. Could this be a very valuable ingredient?"
Xu Qing pondered as he kept it carefully. He prepared to find a chance in the future to find out about the origin of this item.
After that, he took out Fat Mountain's leather pouch and inspected it.
There were no white pills inside, but there were plenty of spirit coins. Xu Qing also found many bottles of poison. However, since he didn't know the art of poison, he didn't dare to carelessly open them.
Finally, he took out the amber that was filled with cracks, recalling the appearance of that fatty who was clutching it before he died.
"What's this item then…it seemed that the fellow was about to crush it before he died." Xu Qing was puzzled. He felt that he lacked the relevant knowledge, so he put it away after thinking about it.
After he finished doing all these, he closed his eyes and continued to cultivate.
During these few days, Xu Qing discovered that after he broke through to the second level of Qi Condensation, the duration of his sleep didn't need to be as long as in the past. He would be able to regain his energy in just roughly two hours of sleep.
So, he spent the vast majority of his time immersed in his cultivation.
Moreover, because he didn't have any targets he needed to follow today, he cultivated even longer. In fact, he cultivated the whole day. However, when the night just descended, Xu Qing sensed something, so he opened his eyes and looked outside his house.
The moment he glanced over, he heard Captain Lei's voice coming from there.
"Kid, come to the courtyard."
Upon hearing this, Xu Qing sat up and silently walked over as he looked at Captain Lei who was in the courtyard.
There was a large table in the courtyard with some meat dishes and wine. Moreover, there were a total of six chairs and six sets of chopsticks and bowls. Captain Lei was sitting there, and he waved his hands at Xu Qing when he saw him.
When Xu Qing swept his gaze across the table and sets of tableware, he had a guess in his heart. He then walked over lightly and sat beside Captain Lei.
"Have you gotten familiar with the campsite during these few days?" Captain Lei glanced outside the courtyard. His attitude was casual as he spoke to Xu Qing.
"Relatively so," Xu Qing replied. His gaze then swept past the food on the table.
Maybe it was because he had cultivated for an entire day, or maybe the fragrance of the food was too tempting, Xu Qing soon felt his stomach making grumbling sounds.
Captain Lei who was at the side laughed when he heard it.
"Don't rush, wait for them."
"Are we waiting for the people from the Thunder Team?" Xu Qing had long since guessed some things in the past. Hence, he took this opportunity to ask about it.
The old man nodded and just when he was about to speak, he seemed to sense something and turned his gaze outside. At the same time, Xu Qing also sensed the same thing and followed his gaze.
Outside the courtyard, in the dim streets, the figure of a burly man appeared.
This burly man's muscular figure even surpassed Broken Ox. His entire person was like a small mountain, and the muscles of his body were extremely pumped, emitting a compelling aura. He carried a gigantic finesteel shield on his back and a mace that was even taller than Xu Qing in his hand. He was striding over with large steps.
-x-X-x-
The thumping sound resounded with every fall of his step, coming closer until he was outside the bamboo gate. When the bamboo gate was pushed aside, the shocking stature of a large man stepped into the courtyard.
With his existence, the courtyard seemed to have shrunk a little, and the imposing aura of his tall silhouette spread even more. Xu Qing felt like he was facing a formidable mutated beast in a ruined city, and his pupils constricted.
"Leader, I'm back."
The large man grinned at Captain Lei, his voice muffled. When his gaze caught the food on the table, his eyes lit up. As he came closer, he cast his shield aside and threw the mace on the ground. Thereafter, he sat down right away. A hair-raising creaking sound was then emitted from the chair, as though it could hardly support the weight. From the start to the end, he didn't look at Xu Qing. It was like he didn't care.
Captain Lei laughed but said nothing. Meanwhile, the large man stared at the food but didn't lift a finger. He waited quietly.
As for Xu Qing, he looked at the shield and mace on the ground.
From the sounds earlier, he could make an elementary judgment that the weight of these two items probably… far exceeded his weight.
Not long after, amid the silence within the courtyard and the streets outside the bamboo gate, two silhouettes appeared; a man and a woman.
The man was a youth with a longbow on his back. He had a tall and straight figure, but he had a scar in the shape of a cross on his face. It looked as though it was forcefully carved by someone. While it was a ghastly sight, his eyes were particularly sharp.
As for the woman, she looked to be around thirty years old and had an ordinary appearance. However, with the full body of tight leather clothing, her figure was very hot, emitting a type of primeval temptation.
The two of them walked into the courtyard and greeted Captain Lei before sitting on the seats. After that, the youth carrying the bow shot a glance at Xu Qing as though he was examining him.
On the other hand, the woman by his side had a curious look. Her tone was a little coquettish when she smiled and spoke up.
"Leader, we were only out for a trip. How did you gain an extra child? You're old but strong, huh, leader? Don't tell the reason you called us here today is to let everyone know that you have an offspring but have kept it a secret from us?"
"The age isn't right," the burly man muttered.
Xu Qing didn't speak. He shifted his left leg slightly away, allowing a smooth retrieval of the dagger tied around his calf. He felt a little uneasy; each of these three people who came gave him a feeling that they were very strong.
They felt even stronger than Fat Mountain from yesterday.
This was especially so for that man with the bow. He gave Xu Qing a faint feeling of needles prickling on his back.
"Barbaric Ghost, the third level of Body Refinement*, innately born with godly strength." Captain Lei didn't bother with her joke. He only looked at Xu Qing and pointed at the burly man.
"Luan Tooth*, the third level of Qi Condensation, able to communicate with ferocious beasts. The wild dogs you see at the campsite are mostly her spies."
"Cross, the great circle of the fourth level of Qi Condensation, people within the same realm are hardly his match." Captain Lei introduced them one after another and then pointed to Xu Qing in front of the three people.
"Kid, the second level of Body Refinement."
As Captain Lei spoke, the expressions of the three people on the team grew much more solemn. Xu Qing sat at the side and listened attentively.
"Eat first. We'll talk as we eat." Captain Lei started flatly as he swept his gaze across the four of them. He then picked up a small piece of meat and ate it.
"I called you all back earlier because this year's spring harvest has been brought forward. The camp leader has issued a mission, and it is about the seven-leaf grass. Apart from the original purchase value, the party with the most harvest will receive three clear dust pills. Its effect far exceeds that of the white pill.
"We can start harvesting in advance from the piece of land we hid in the forbidden zone. What are your opinions?" The moment Captain Lei made his speech, there was a glimmer in the eyes of Barbaric Ghost and the other two. They looked at each other and then nodded.
Xu Qing had never heard of clear dust pills, but it was clear from Captain Lei's words that they were better than white pills, with superior effects.
"Since you have all agreed, let us prepare. The kid will follow us on our trip into the forbidden zone this time around," Captain Lei said slowly.
"Him?" The three team members turned toward Xu Qing.
Cross furrowed his brows slightly.
"Leader, the second level of Body Refinement is too weak. It will be a little inappropriate for us to take care of him on top of completing the mission."
"There's a first for everyone." Captain Lei's gaze swept past Cross, and he looked toward Xu Qing.
"Kid, decide for yourself."
"I can do it." Xu Qing nodded.
He still had five white pills in his pocket. Xu Qing didn't have a great need for the pills, but he understood that to live within the scavenger campsite, he would have to enter the forbidden zone sooner or later. If that was the case… then he could learn more by going with a team with abundant experiences.
Cross fell silent, not speaking anymore.
"Let's disperse after you are done eating. We will gather here tomorrow morning and set off!" Once Captain Lei was done, he got up and returned to the house.
Xu Qing's fork stabbed into a large piece of meat. After consuming it, he took a look at the three people and then returned to his room quickly, not wanting to stay there. Xu Qing had always stayed vigilant toward strangers from the start.
It was a night of silence as the preparatory work wasn't much for Xu Qing. Because of his habit, he was at the level where he could undertake a task at lightning speed, anytime and anywhere.
As such, the next morning, the group of five walked around the campsite under Captain Lei's lead.
Today, the sky was azure blue and the sun shined brightly.
In the air, a single eagle circled the campsite as if it was staring, and their figures attracted the attention of scavengers all around.
This was seemingly because of Barbaric Ghost's abnormally large stature coupled with Luan Tooth's graceful figure. Some people from the group of carriages, which had arrived a few days ago, looked toward them as well.
Today, there were even more scavengers around the carriages, and it was a rare occasion for them to stand in a queue. It looked as though they were waiting.
As Xu Qing didn't head out at all yesterday, he had no idea what happened. As his gaze swept across, Luan Tooth smiled and spoke up from the side.
"I heard someone talking last night that these carriages were from Purple Earth. There seems to be a doctor with superior medical expertise there. Yesterday, he healed the leg injury of that old pervert, Lame Jackal. So, many people queued up to have their injuries checked."
"That doctor must be earning quite a bit," Barbaric Ghost muttered in envy as he heard this.
Xu Qing was envious too as he glanced from afar. The moment he retracted his attention, his gaze hardened slightly.
Not only him, but even Barbaric Ghost and Luan Tooth's eyes sharpened in that instant. Only Cross and Captain Lei maintained their usual expression. However, upon closer look, one would be able to see the coldness in their eyes.
That was because of another team gathering members ahead.
There were seven or eight of them in that team, men and women included. Every one of them emitted a savage aura.
This was especially so for one member who was an old man like Captain Lei. People were clustering around him.
His hair was disheveled, and he had a bloodthirsty look in his eyes. At this moment, he was sitting atop a stray dog's corpse and eating a raw dog leg. He then said some chilling words.
"Go find those two b*stards, Horse-Four and Fat Mountain! How dare they be late for set off. They must be sick of living."
It was none other than the Bloodshadow Team!
That old man eating the raw meat appeared to be the captain of the Bloodshadow Team.
His body released fluctuations of unrestrained spirit energy that caused Xu Qing, who heard these words, to squint slightly and cover the glint in his eyes.
After Luan Tooth saw the meat in the Bloodshadow Team Captain's hand and the dog's corpse under his body, intense rage and murderous intent filled her eyes in an instant. That was her dog.
At the same time, the Bloodshadow Team spotted the Thunder Team too. The old man sitting on top of the dog's corpse grinned and licked his lips, looking at Luan Tooth.
"Little coquettish hussy, the quality of your dog's flesh is not bad. I wonder what the flesh of your body will taste like."
[1] Body Refinement seemed to correspond with Qi Condensation, but it might be referring to the type of cultivation art they practiced. The raws the author used was '炼体' for Body Refinement, even when he introduced the MC's cultivation level. For example, the Mountains and Seas Art that MC is practicing is one that tempers and refines his body.
[2] Luan (鸾) is a mythical bird related to the Chinese phoenix.
-x-X-x-
Faced with the Bloodshadow's challenge, the killing intent in Luan Tooth's gaze grew even more intense. She then looked at Captain Lei.
Captain Lei's expression was just like usual, and he spoke up calmly.
"Cross."
Hearing that, Cross picked up his bow without saying a word, instantly drawing it and shooting an arrow toward the air.
He was so fast that a sharp sound was created, and the arrow instantly pierced through the eagle circling in the air like a bolt of lightning.
As a result, blood burst out and the eagle let out an agonizing cry, falling. With a bang, it landed on the ground between the two groups.
At the same time, the body of someone in the Bloodshadow Team shook tremendously, and he spurted out a mouthful of blood. His countenance instantly turned extremely pale.
That was his eagle. Unlike the dogs that Luan Tooth kept, he had integrated his spirit energy into this eagle to control it. Hence, because of the backlash effect, he received a severe injury.
The other people in the Bloodshadow Team instantly sent out strong killing intent, but they were stopped by the Bloodshadow Team Captain. The latter slowly stood up from the dog's corpse and stared at Captain Lei instead of looking at Luan Tooth.
Captain Lei also looked at him coldly.
The two of them stared at each other for a very long time before both let out cold snorts.
"Let's go." Captain Lei said calmly and continued walking forward. Luan Tooth and the others followed behind him. Xu Qing was amongst them too.
He felt the great hostility between the two teams and thus turned back to take a look at those people from the Bloodshadow Team. He could tell that they were waiting for Horse-Four and Fat Mountain, but it was a pity that the two of them would never appear again.
Xu Qing withdrew his gaze silently and followed Captain Lei and the others, gradually leaving the campsite.
The forbidden zone didn't seem far from the campsite, but it was still a bit of a distance to go there on foot.
The group then walked for over an hour before they saw the pitch-black jungle from afar.
From the outside, this stretch of forbidden zone jungle seemed to stretch on endlessly, and it was unknown how wide an area it covered.
It was now late in the morning, and the sun was very strong. However, the jungle in the forbidden zone seemed to be a different world compared to the outside world.
They could see a tempest gathering in the sky above the end of the jungle. The many bolts of lightning that could be seen by the naked eye were especially dazzling, giving the entire forbidden zone a mysterious and dangerous feeling.
Xu Qing observed everything and quietly followed the group. On the way, no one in the Thunder Team said a word. However, as they got closer and closer to the forbidden zone, Xu Qing sharply noticed that everyone's muscles were gradually tensed up. It was the same for him.
This continued until the feeling of having stepped into a cold world appeared on Xu Qing's body, and all the warmth on his body was instantly removed. He had entered the forbidden zone.
It felt as if all the scenes he saw in the normal world had been wiped out as well.
The familiar bone-piercing chill awoke his memories of being in the abandoned city ruins and under the blood rain.
Therefore, he took a deep breath and became extremely vigilant. He instinctively grabbed onto his iron stick tightly, just like he had done back in the ruins.
What was different was that there were a lot of crumbling walls and ruined curbs in the city but here...
The trees were warped so badly that they looked like vicious ghosts, and the muddy ground was so loose that they seemed to be from hell. Also, the branches and leaves of the trees permeated out like claws and teeth covering up the sky.
However, the Thunder Team's members seemed to be very familiar with this place.
They carried their weapons on their back, and the path they took was clearly one they had often taken, with each step taken very meticulously. Some places seemed normal, but they would jump past them, and there were places that seemed dangerous, but they just walked through them.
There were also areas from which they made a detour for no reason. This continued on and they avoided all the dangers on the way.
Xu Qing followed behind them and paid attention to remember all the details.
However, he also noticed some strange things. Captain Lei didn't take the lead for the entire journey. Sometimes, it'd be Barbaric Ghost and sometimes it'd be Luan Tooth. They went in rotations.
Although they didn't progress at a very fast pace, other than them hearing some ferocious beasts' roars in the far distance, it had been quite safe.
There were some venomous bugs, but they didn't get close after Luan Tooth had lit an incense.
After they walked for about two hours without saying a word, they finally stopped beside a muddy place with silt and let out a sigh of relief.
Xu Qing noticed that Luan Tooth had taken out some medicinal powder and scattered it into the mud. Very soon, a bunch of hostile venomous bugs came out. However, Luan Tooth kept a normal expression as she swung her hand, scattering out another type of powder. After that, the venomous bugs quickly scattered off restlessly, and the muddy spot calmed down
After completing all these, everyone squatted down and scooped up the silt with great familiarity, covering it all over their bodies.
"Did you remember the details on the way here?" Captain Lei gestured for Xu Qing to do the same while he was spreading the silt onto his body.
Xu Qing nodded and started doing the same without any hesitation. At the same time, his gaze swept past Luan Tooth. He felt that she seemed to know a little about poison techniques.
"The reason we jumped across certain places was because the leaves looked seriously decomposed yet were intact. This means that no ferocious beasts passed by them, and there are unknown factors that exist.
"The areas we crossed through were because there were ferocious beasts' feces on the ground. Living creatures instinctively choose safe areas for excretion. Therefore, it means that there aren't any excessive dangers or mud swamps that devour humans.
"As for the areas we made a detour from, it's because of Barbaric Ghost's nose. His nose is sharp and can smell the scent of some dangerous mutated beasts. You'll learn many things on this journey, so just try to remember whatever you can."
Hearing this, Xu Qing looked at Barbaric Ghost. Barbaric Ghost also turned his head at this moment and bared his teeth to smile at Xu Qing.
"As for this silt, it's a place that our team found many years ago. It contains the shedded skin of night lizards. Not only will we be able to cover our scents after wiping them all over our bodies, but it'll also instill fear in other creatures to a certain degree.
"The place we're headed to is further forward. To the north is the Venomous Dragon Swamp. The different terrains in the forbidden zone jungle have been segregated into multiple areas by the scavengers.
"The Venomous Dragon Swamp is one of them, but this time around, we aren't going there." As Captain Lei said all these, he had covered his entire body with the silt.
-x-X-x-
Xu Qing was also done. When he got up, Cross, who walked past him, despite doubting whether it was a good decision for Xu Qing to tag along with them earlier, still chose to speak out albeit with an indifferent expression.
"Pay more attention to your mutation points. The density of anomalous substances in the forbidden zone is very dense, so you must pay constant attention to it. Once the mutation goes over the limit, no one can save you."
Xu Qing nodded. He had noticed this point long ago.
He could sense that the density of anomalous substances in this forbidden zone was extremely high, but it was a lot weaker when compared to the peak in the city ruins.
However, he had now accumulated quite a lot of anomalous substances in his body, so even though he wasn't cultivating now, the mutation point on his arm was starting to give him a faint piercing pain just from him breathing.
Therefore, he took out a white pill and put it in his mouth. He didn't swallow it but kept it in his mouth to let it slowly melt.
Very soon, everyone was done covering themselves with the silt. They checked out each other and then continued on their way.
However, things were a little different from before. Their travel speed became even slower, and everyone had their weapons drawn.
Xu Qing glanced at their weapons.
Barbaric Ghost's weapons were a finesteel shield and a mace, Captain Lei's weapons were a pair of boxing gloves, Cross's was a longbow, and Luan Tooth took out a serrated dagger that shone with a cold gleam.
When Xu Qing had gone out a few days ago to tail Fat Mountain, he had other gains too.
Due to his sharp hearing, he had heard a lot of conversations between scavengers and learned a lot of information he didn't know of in the past.
For example, he already knew that weapons were classified into magic treasures, runic treasures, and ordinary treasures.
Amongst them, magic treasures were considered legendary and extremely rare.
Rumor had it that each magic treasure had a different degree of anomalous substances within, and the amount of anomalous substances would increase with usage, being extremely hard to eliminate. Therefore, they were practically non-renewable resources. In addition, their might was exceptional, and thus they were considered extraordinarily precious.
This led to the birth of unique existences like treasure-nurturers. They tended to be kept from a young age, using their bodies to dilute the magic treasures' anomalous substances.
Captain Lei had mentioned this in the past.
Apart from magic treasures, there were also runic treasures and ordinary treasures.
Although runic treasures were also rare, they were more attainable compared to magic treasures. Last but not least, ordinary treasures were commonly seen.
They tended to be weapons that were forged from unique materials and could be used by ordinary people as well.
Xu Qing felt that his iron stick might be an ordinary treasure, and what these people were using was clearly of the same category.
Time passed by slowly and Xu Qing followed the Thunder Team, entering deeper and deeper into the forbidden zone.
They did encounter some troubles on their way, but the troubles were nothing major. Barbaric Ghost was enough to deal with them by himself.
When they occasionally encountered some stronger ferocious beasts, Cross's bow would fire intensely.
As for Luan Tooth, her attacks were mainly spells. She seemed to be able to perform some intimidating skills that caused the ferocious beasts to pause in their movements and become less agile.
There was also once when Xu Qing attacked. He grabbed a venomous snake that shot out from behind them and crushed it.
After Xu Qing had done this, Cross also noticed during their journey that Xu Qing was able to keep up with them without making any newbie mistakes. Hence, there was less judgment in his gaze when looking at Xu Qing. He also imparted to him some of his experience.
"Kid, this forbidden zone might seem dangerous, but to us people who are veterans here, as long as we don't encounter three types of situations, we're basically safe.
"You must remember these three situations.
"The first one is the encounter of unfamiliar mutated beasts from the depths of the forbidden zone heading to the outer area. Such situations aren't common and our activity areas are basically on the outer edges.
"However, the moment we encounter one, it'll be extremely dangerous. It's because we only understand the habits and abilities of the mutated beasts on the outer edges. Moreover, the forbidden zone is too big and there are various mutated beasts in it with different abilities. If we aren't careful, we'll die.
"The second type is singing voice." At the mention of this, Cross revealed a wary expression.
"There's a saying that a singing voice appears in this place, and not a single person out of a hundred who heard the voice can survive. However, I have never heard it before. Among us, the only one in our team who has heard it is Captain Lei."
Xu Qing looked toward Captain Lei.
Captain Lei didn't say anything but looked into the depths of the forbidden zone with a hint of complication in his eyes.
"Let me talk about the third one." Luan Tooth, who was at the side, smiled and said. She took a look at Xu Qing.
"Kid, the third type of danger here is very commonly seen. It's labyrinth fog."
"When labyrinth fog appears, it's like one is blinded and loses their way. Moreover, the labyrinth fog usually exists for a very long time. Once a person loses their way in here and can't find their way out, the anomalous substances in the fog will corrode them, causing the anomalous substances in their body to gradually rise. This also tends to represent that death is coming.
"However, there are two ways to deal with this. One is fire, while the other is coming from people who were either born with or cultivated to gain strong mental energy.
"The former doesn't tackle the problem from the roots. Although fire can drive the labyrinth fog away within a small range, allowing one to regain vision, the labyrinth fog is mysterious and it's hard for fire to sustain for long. As for the latter, they are very rare and there might only be one in the campsite in a few decades. People like these tend to leave very quickly as they have better room for growth elsewhere."
"There's a fourth type of danger, and that is encountering malicious sneak attacks from hostile enemies." Barbaric Ghost, who was leading the group, said gloomily.
Luan Tooth was about to say something. However, Captain Lei, who was looking far away, suddenly changed his expression and let out a low bellow.
"Quiet!"
At the next instant, Cross drew his bow, Luan Tooth's eyes revealed a cold gleam, and Barbaric Ghost's muscles tensed up. Xu Qing's hair instantly stood up. A strong sense of danger suddenly emitted out from the pitch-black jungle in the far distance.
Very soon, streams of cold light appeared in the darkness. They were many pairs of eyes, which looked at them with indifference and coldness.
There were exceptionally a lot of eyes.
With the appearance of these eyes, many huge wolves with the size of water buffalos and black scales growing all over their bodies walked out slowly.
There were at least several dozen of them. Moreover, there seemed to be even more of them in the far distance, and the numbers might be in the hundreds.
Upon sensing that each wolf emitted the energy around the second level, Barbaric Ghost and the others' countenances changed.
"Black-scaled wolf pack!"
"They usually only live near the boundaries between the depths and the outer edges of the forbidden zone. Why did they come here?!"
Cross's pupils contracted and Luan Tooth's face also turned a little pale.
They were very clear that although one black-scaled wolf might not be much, wolves in such large numbers would be a harsh trial for them.
Most importantly, the density of anomalous substances in the forbidden zone was very strong. If one were to deplete too much spirit energy in their bodies, they could only absorb spirit energy from the surroundings for replenishment. During the battle, they wouldn't be able to separate the anomalous substances. If that was the case, the anomalous substances in their bodies would accumulate extremely quickly and the risk of mutation would be magnified.
Xu Qing's breathing also hastened slightly. The pressure coming from the wolf pack was tremendous.
"You guys, retreat first. I'll stay here and obstruct them."
Amidst everyone's shaken state, Captain Lei spoke up in a deep voice and walked out slowly.
,m At this moment, a spirit energy wave that surpassed Cross's by at least a fold erupted as Captain Lei stepped forward.
The wolf pack also paused in their footsteps, all of them staring at Captain Lei.