Chapter 112

Regarding the spirit stones needed for cultivation, Xu Qing was not stingy, but he was very frugal in his daily life.

Even when he had had a big harvest in the past, he only ate three extra eggs for breakfast.

Therefore, he was naturally quite detailed about the wanted criminals in the main city. Even though the wanted criminal jade slips were updated every so often, he would carefully memorize them in his heart.

After all, no matter how few spirit stones, they were still spirit stones. Moreover, if he was lucky, he could open more items from the other party's storage bag.

So, at this moment, he recognized the identity of the corpse in front of him at a glance. The other party came from some pirate organization on the sea and was worth about fifteen spirit stones.

Such a sum of spirit stones was nothing to the current Xu Qing, but one could imagine that for that mute boy, it was a great fortune.

Such a fortune, and the other party actually just gave it to him...

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes and looked in the direction the mute boy had left.

He could naturally see that the other party was specifically waiting for him here, and the purpose... seemed to be just to deliver this wanted criminal.

"Is there a trap?" Xu Qing muttered. He did not pay attention to the wanted criminal at his feet and walked toward the distance. Soon, his figure disappeared into the street.

After his figure moved away, the wanted criminal's corpse left on the ground attracted the attention of passing pedestrians. Most avoided it, but there were still some disciples whose eyes flickered upon seeing the corpse, observing it for a moment before preparing to approach.

But the moment they approached, a figure as thin and agile as a wild dog rushed out from the alley to the side, arriving directly beside the corpse.

Crouching there, a cruel look appeared in his eyes, as if guarding food, and he looked fiercely at those around him who wanted to approach.

His teeth seemed to have been ground down and were different from a normal person's. Now, opening his mouth, his serrated teeth emitted a fierce intent, causing the cultivators walking around to pause their steps.

After a standoff, the surrounding disciples scanned the bite marks on the corpse and chose to retreat one by one. Only this mute boy remained crouching beside the corpse, looking a bit dazed, his expression carrying a rare sense of confusion and frustration.

Just like that, time passed. Soon, dusk arrived. The boy beside the corpse remained there until nightfall, when he silently grabbed the corpse, dragged it into the alley, and followed the wall corner all the way back to his residence.

The place he lived was not a magic boat, but a simple, dilapidated shack.

The monthly cost here was much lower than a berth. At this moment, he approached carefully, not using the door, but circling around to push open a blocked brick wall from the back and squeezing inside.

Inside the shack, he let out a long sigh, silently crouching in a corner in the darkness, allowing his gaze to see both the window and the door. After being dazed for a long while, he lowered his head to look at the wanted criminal's corpse beside him, the frustration in his expression deepening.

After a long time, he hesitated and felt around on the wanted criminal's body.

It seemed that before this, he hadn't checked the wanted criminal's leather bag. Now that he took it over and opened it to look, surprise appeared in his eyes; he actually took out three spirit stones.

He immediately gripped them, looking around vigilantly. Only after confirming it was safe did he put the spirit stones away and carefully counted his own savings, totaling seventy-seven.

After counting, he crouched there, his expression becoming frustrated again. Finally, he took out a rough stone, opened his mouth, and began to grind his teeth to make them sharper.

It was just that, now only at the third layer of Qi Condensation, he was completely unable to detect that Xu Qing was standing outside his shack at this moment, coldly watching the mute boy's every move.

Xu Qing's personality was vigilant and cautious. Even if the other party's cultivation base was inferior to his own, he still carried wariness.

And in his view, there were only two possibilities for what happened during the day: one was that it was a genuine gift for him, and the other was that there was an ulterior motive.

In this cruel, chaotic world, anything could happen, so he would not take this gift, but instead hide after leaving to observe in secret and decide whether to strike.

"Is it because of the fear he felt toward me when we met a few days ago, so he came to curry favor?" Xu Qing narrowed his eyes, looked at the boy inside the shack, pushed open the door, and walked in.

And the moment he walked in, the boy in the corner immediately bared his teeth, his whole body seeming about to explode. But upon seeing Xu Qing clearly, his body jolted violently, the fear in his eyes reaching the extreme, and he didn't dare to move at all.

"What did you see?" Xu Qing threw a jade slip over, stood at the door, and spoke slowly.

The moonlight fell on him, casting his shadow into the shack, very close to the little mute.

The little mute pressed his body tightly against the wall and took the jade slip.

This was something the Captain had once asked about, something he wouldn't say even if he died. At this moment, he didn't have any hesitation, immediately imprinting what he wanted to say inside, and then cautiously handed it to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing took the jade slip, and after spiritual energy surged in to scan it, his expression changed abruptly.

A cold glint appeared in his eyes. After looking at the little mute with deep meaning, he took out eight spirit stones, threw them over, and turned to leave.

Seventy-seven plus fifteen plus eight equals one hundred. This was the amount that could be exchanged for a magic boat.

Until he had walked far away, Xu Qing's right hand was still tightly gripping the jade slip. As he returned to the berth and stepped onto the magic boat, his right hand squeezed violently, and the jade slip turned into fly ash.

Then, he walked into the cabin with an expressionless face, closed his eyes to meditate, and began to cultivate.

A night passed.

The next morning, Xu Qing went to Zhang San's place as usual and delivered the array crossbow he had obtained from the Jin Gang Sect. Under Zhang San's refining, this array crossbow was installed on his magic boat, becoming one of his trump cards second only to divinity.

"This thing is a treasure. Xu Qing, as long as you get a Foundation Establishment power source for your magic boat, it can be promoted from a boat to a magic ship." Before Xu Qing left, Zhang San smiled and spoke, then scanned left and right, whispering.

"Xu Qing, are you going to the Grand Competition? It should be in these few days. I'm preparing to pull off a job. If you're going too, we can join forces then."

"I will go." Xu Qing nodded.

Zhang San laughed and didn't say anything more.

Xu Qing bowed and left. Walking in the port, he noticed that Seventh Peak disciples were buying items in the shops of various peaks, and the number of people was much higher than usual.

At the same time, there were more magic boats returning to the harbor than usual. On the road, he even saw several very unfamiliar faces, but the cultivation fluctuations of any one of them were at least at the eighth or ninth layer of Qi Condensation.

There were even a few who, like him, had reached the Great Perfection...

Clearly, these Seven Blood Child disciples had either chosen to go into closed-door cultivation or had been wandering the sea, and now, having heard about the Grand Competition, they had all rushed back.

And as for the malevolent Qi on their bodies, Xu Qing could clearly feel that bone-deep chill with just one glance.

At the same time, he also heard that during this period, the Spirit North Clan of the West Shan Islands seemed to be anxious beyond measure, constantly seeking help from other alien races while also repeatedly sending envoys to the Seven Blood Child for peace talks.

This made Xu Qing think of the words the Captain had said and his own speculations.

"Then, will the real target be the Mermaid Clan?" Xu Qing muttered. That night, a familiar visitor came to his boat.

"Xu Qing, Xu Qing, you didn't even tell me when you came back. Don't you treat me, Huang Yan, as a brother?" Outside the magic boat, Huang Yan shouted loudly, his expression carrying some unhappiness.

Hearing the voice outside, Xu Qing walked out of the cabin and saw Huang Yan, a smile appearing on his face.

Since he had been in the Seven Blood Child, he had met many people, but among them, only a very few gave him a feeling of being real, and Huang Yan was one of them.

"I came back to handle some trivial matters." Xu Qing explained.

Huang Yan didn't mind, laughed, and sat on the shore. Just like his last visit, he didn't choose to board the boat. After sitting down, he whispered.

"Xu Qing, I learned a big secret today!"

Hearing the word "secret," Xu Qing felt a bit of vigilance in his heart. He thought of the Captain's secret that was worth one hundred spirit stones.

Before Xu Qing could speak, Huang Yan, with a bit of show-off intent, quickly transmitted his words.

"Don't you feel that the Seventh Peak is acting strange this time? Although the targets and destinations were announced in advance in previous years, I always feel that this time it's too deliberate. Given the Seventh Peak's nature... I think the location of this Grand Competition is definitely not the Spirit North Clan. Based on my analysis and investigation, I conclude that the target this time is the Mermaid Clan!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Qing's eyes narrowed. After scanning Huang Yan's expression, this time, without needing the other party to remind him, he showed a look of surprise.

Seeing this expression from Xu Qing, Huang Yan immediately felt refreshed and very proud.

"Haha, actually, it's nothing. My Senior Sister told me all this. I have nothing I don't tell my Senior Sister now."

"After I learned this news, I started investigating the intelligence on Mermaid Island. Knowing you were back, I hurried over to share it with you. How about it? Am I a good brother?" Huang Yan said, throwing a jade slip to Xu Qing, and whispered again.

"I was especially shocked after investigating. This Mermaid Clan is too rich! Their clan land has four islands, namely Yin Meiqi, Youcang Island, Juying Island, and Mi'e Island. Each island contains a massive amount of treasure. Through my intelligence investigation, I have summarized the ones with the greatest value, which few people know about, on this jade slip."

Xu Qing caught the jade slip and spiritual energy surged in to check it. Huang Yan, on the side, seemed to have memorized it, shaking his head as he spoke.

"I put a lot of effort into getting this. Let me tell you, on that Mi'e Island, there is an armor called the Armor of Mi'e, hidden in the Mi'e Volcano. It is a magic treasure-level armor that the Mermaid Clan has been forging for thousands of years. This thing is worth too much, but unfortunately, we can't get it."

"And on Yin Meiqi, there are a large number of Mermaid Tears. These are things comparable to spiritual elixirs. However, compared to these, Yin Meiqi also has a drop of the Tear of Yin Meiqi. This thing is the most valuable. Yin Meiqi is the name of the Mermaid Clan's ancestor, and this tear is the very last drop before he died, which was inlaid on the crown."

Speaking of this, Huang Yan took out two eggs, threw one to Xu Qing, took one himself, poked it open, and began to suck while speaking.

"As for Youcang Island, it is a graveyard with countless treasures buried inside. But the most meaningful one is a feather. Do you know whose feather that is? It's a Flame Phoenix's! Do you know who the Flame Phoenix is? That is the King of the Western Forbidden Zone of the True Reason Mountain Range in Southern Wilderness Prefecture, and also the King of Southern Wilderness Prefecture. Why it's called Southern Wilderness Prefecture, you should know that much at least."

"Finally, there is Juying Island. That island is also very shocking. It is said that there are multiple elixir vaults, which should store quite a few Foundation Establishment Pills. My Senior Sister went there to rob them before, and I guess the competition this time will definitely be fierce."

"These aren't even the main things. On Juying Island, there is a treasure worth five hundred thousand spirit stones called the Spirit Breath Lamp!"

"This Spirit Breath Lamp is the Foundation Establishment holy object of the Mermaid Clan, placed in the Foundation Establishment Tower of the Juying Island main city."

"That is the place where Mermaid Clan cultivators specifically go for Foundation Establishment, just like our Seven Blood Child's Foundation Establishment place that costs one hundred spirit stones per hour. It's just that ours is said to rely on divine blood to protect disciples during Foundation Establishment, while the Mermaid Clan's relies on this lamp."

"This kind of magic tool that protects disciples during Foundation Establishment is actually possessed by every major sect and clan, just with different types. And the Mermaid Clan's one actually has average effects, so those major sects and clans don't look down on it."

"The reason it is said to be worth five hundred thousand spirit stones is because after my Senior Sister went and snatched it away last time, she extorted two million spirit stones from the Mermaid Clan. Later, the Mermaid Clan bargained it down to five hundred thousand and bought it back."

By the way, it is rumored that there are clues to some temple hidden inside this Spirit Breath Lamp, but no one has found them for so many years. My Senior Sister couldn't find them either, so she sold it back. The specifics are all in the jade slip; you can look at them yourself later."

Hearing this, Xu Qing was somewhat silent. He felt that he was still worrying about a few tens of thousands of spirit stones, while the other party spoke of millions of spirit stones as if they were nothing.

This made him feel somewhat uncomfortable. After taking an egg, poking it open, and taking a sip, he still couldn't suppress the thoughts rising in his heart, which turned into excitement.

Huang Yan finished speaking in one breath and began to chat about himself and his Senior Sister.

Throughout the whole process, he was basically the one talking, and Xu Qing was listening. This way of getting along was very strange, but Huang Yan felt very comfortable.

Until it was very late, Huang Yan, having finished his egg, patted his stomach and got up to leave. Before leaving, he burped and whispered.

"Xu Qing, I know you probably won't, but I still have to remind you: this time, don't be a fool and go fight for first place. That core disciple status isn't important. During the Grand Competition, resources are the priority. You'll understand when the time comes."

"In reality, not many people care about the ranking; everyone is going for the sake of getting rich. Also, let me tell you, only the two of us know about my information. I treat you as a brother, so don't spread it. When we go to whichever island, we'll just take what we can and make a fortune first!"

Xu Qing nodded.

Huang Yan left, satisfied, patting his belly. As he walked, he took out his jade slip to send daily sweet nothings to his Senior Sister.

Watching Huang Yan walk away, Xu Qing sat on the deck and turned to look at the Forbidden Sea, his gaze landing on the distant horizon.

At this moment, the sea waves surged gently, causing the boat to sway slightly.

Amidst this swaying, under the moonlight, his shadow fell onto the deck beside him, with a portion spreading into the sea and merging with the black seawater.

Xu Qing withdrew his gaze from the distance, scanned his shadow, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. In his mind, he recalled a sentence from the jade slip given by the little mute.

"It is sleeping..."

Time passed. Three days later, in the morning, the identity tokens of all Seventh Peak disciples of the Seven Blood Child vibrated at the same time, and a majestic voice entered the hearts and minds of all disciples.

"All disciples participating in the Grand Competition, gather at the central altar to form ranks within a quarter of an hour. The Seventh Peak Grand Competition begins immediately!"