Chapter 2: Heterogeneous Matter

"If it's a living person, it might really be related to the purple light... but it might also be a trap."

Xu Qing's eyes showed contemplation, and he began to ponder.

In these days in the ruined city, he deeply knew that those existences polluted by the deity's aura and turned into strange beasts were each extremely ferocious and possessed immense strength.

But perhaps because the forbidden zone had not yet completely formed, these strange beasts mostly slept during the day.

Unless it was like when he obtained the bamboo slip last time, breaking into the outer area of their sleeping place.

Otherwise, being careful in daily life would be fine.

And compared to them, Xu Qing was more vigilant against living people, because sometimes the human heart was more sinister than fierce beasts.

So after pondering, his eyes slowly turned cold. Regardless of whether it was a living person or a trap, that area... he was prepared to go again.

It was just that when going, he needed to be fully prepared.

Thinking of this, Xu Qing gripped the cultivation bamboo slip in his hand tightly.

The changes in his body over these few days gave him some confidence, and his mind couldn't help but recall the introduction to cultivation in the bamboo slip, apart from the technique.

Cultivation was inherited from the ancient years before the deity's remnant face arrived.

Although there had been changes now, overall it still continued the system of the past.

It was divided into Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, and Nascent Soul.

As for after Nascent Soul, perhaps the realm was too high, and the bamboo slip did not record it, but it clearly pointed out the helplessness of cultivators' cultivation.

Because the deity's aura invaded the spiritual energy, causing the spiritual energy to be polluted, this kind of pollution was like a deadly poison to all things.

I don't know when it started, but everyone called the deity's aura 'heterogeneous matter'.

Xu Qing knew very clearly that the ice-cold he felt when cultivating before was actually because the spiritual energy he inhaled was mixed with heterogeneous matter.

Once this heterogeneous matter accumulated to a certain degree in the body, it would cause the cultivator to become alienated, either dying suddenly and turning into blood mist, or turning into a strange beast without intelligence.

And the area the deity looked at when opening her eyes, where the concentration of heterogeneous matter instantly skyrocketed, was actually just accelerating this change.

Cultivation existed with danger.

But if one didn't cultivate, in this Endland world filled with the pollution of the deity's aura, people's lifespans were generally reduced, and serious illnesses were frequent, like living in a nine-nether purgatory, and almost no one could end well.

So cultivation became the only path after having no choice.

Thus, for countless years, people had evolved generation after generation of cultivation methods based on inheritance.

What was circulating now was to use techniques while absorbing spiritual energy to separate the heterogeneous matter mixed in the spiritual energy and compress it in a certain location of the body.

This location was called the 'alienation point'.

Therefore, the ratio of separating heterogeneous matter also became an important standard for distinguishing the quality of techniques.

And almost all high-separation-ratio techniques were mastered by large forces or families. That was their important resource. This point, regardless of whether the deity arrived, was actually the same.

And according to the different techniques practiced, the degree of separating heterogeneous matter was different, and the areas where alienation points existed were therefore different.

But no matter what, as long as one cultivated, there would be heterogeneous matter, and alienation points would slowly form.

And alienation points were theoretically irreversible. Although they could be resolved through some elixirs, they only treated the symptoms but not the root cause.

As for the method of completely purifying alienation points, the bamboo slip also mentioned it.

In the Endland world, apart from the Nanhuangzhou Continent, there existed a more majestic continent named 'Wanggu'.

That was the origin of the human race. Although it was also in the pollution of the deity's aura, it seemed that a method for complete purification had already been found.

But obviously, this kind of method could not be quantified, and only extremely noble people could enjoy it.

Ordinary cultivators could only look at it but not seek it.

As for the low-level loose cultivators who were the most numerous, there was even less possibility of obtaining it.

And the techniques of loose cultivators mostly had a very low degree of separation, so not only was cultivation difficult, but the risk of alienation was also greater.

Although the risk of cultivation was so great, for most people, the figures of cultivators were still common.

For example, Xu Qing, he knew that he could also be counted as a loose cultivator now.

Although according to the records on the bamboo slip, the cultivators of the Endland world were each walking on a difficult and dangerous path of no return, just like mortals swimming into the deep sea, rushing toward that unreachable other shore.

But often, before seeing the legendary other shore, they had already exhausted themselves and died.

But Xu Qing, who grew up in the slums, deeply knew that a conflict or a disease could make people lose their lives.

"So rather than worrying about future alienation, it's better to worry about whether one will be alive tomorrow."

Xu Qing muttered, touched the wound on his chest, and looked at the sky outside the gap.

At this moment, it seemed that it was not far from dawn outside, and the roars and shrill sounds had also decreased a lot.

"If the blood rain continues and the purple light hasn't been found, I have to consider leaving and going to other cities to find herbs." Xu Qing lowered his head to look at his wound.

Because of the permeation of the deity's aura and the continuation of the blood rain, almost all items in the city were seriously polluted, and herbs were among them, so resources were very scarce.

Xu Qing raised his hand and pressed on the wound on his chest; some blood seeped out.

His face was a bit pale. He took a deep breath, took off the clothes wrapped inside the fur coat, wrapped them around his back to bind his wound, and then cheered himself up, waiting silently for dawn.

It didn't take long for the roars and shrill sounds outside to decrease even more.

Until they completely disappeared, Xu Qing noticed through the gap that the sky outside was already dawning.

According to his past experience, it was possible to go out at this moment.

But he didn't set off immediately, instead standing up to move his somewhat stiff body.

Until bursts of warmth arose, he moved the stones and debris blocking the gap, used the faint light coming from outside to open his leather pouch, and tidied it up.

A dagger full of rust was tied to the side of his lower leg.

That pitch-black iron spike was placed in the position he could reach most easily.

There was also a snake head, which he wrapped in linen cloth, carefully opened to check, and then cautiously put away.

Having done these things, Xu Qing closed his eyes, and after a few breaths, opened them suddenly, his eyes already replaced by calmness.

He drilled out of the gap at high speed and paused at the exit.

After checking all around vigilantly and confirming there was no problem, Xu Qing rushed out suddenly, and as the sky gradually brightened, he reached the outside world.

He sped toward the front.

Because of the continuous blood rain and dense clouds, the dawn here could not see the sun, and there would be no strong sunlight.

The dim dawn was like a critically ill old man covered in age spots, whose turbid gaze seemed to still retain the frost of the night.

And the breath exhaled turned into the morning wind, blowing the smell of death, very cold, very chilly.

If one hadn't warmed up, one's entire body would tremble uncontrollably when blown by the wind.

But for Xu Qing, his body still retained the previous warmth, so he was not too affected.

At this moment, his speed did not decrease, and he rushed straight to the area he saw yesterday that was suspected to have a living person.

Looking from afar, in the empty city, Xu Qing's figure was like a leopard, leaping over broken walls and ruins, moving like flowing water without the slightest pause.

And accompanying him was a flock of birds flying across the sky, but their position was very high, making them difficult to catch.

While speeding, Xu Qing looked up at the birds in the sky and licked his lips.

He didn't know the reason, but after the deity opened her eyes, all living things were polluted and almost all died, including beasts, but only birds survived the most.

And these birds were the focus of his hunting to satisfy his hunger during this period.

At the same time, although birds were also trapped in the blood rain, they seemed to be able to instinctively find some safe shelters, like Xu Qing's hole, which was discovered by following the birds' tracks before.

This kind of shelter was actually not absolutely safe, just relatively speaking, it seemed easier to be ignored by those strange beasts and eerie existences.

Xu Qing had discovered two such places during this time, one was his stone hole, and the other was outside the City Lord's Mansion.

But at this moment, he just scanned the sky and withdrew his gaze, locking onto a direction in this city, getting closer and closer.

Soon, Xu Qing approached the area he saw yesterday. He didn't go directly, but circled around to find a high point.

After climbing up cautiously, he lay down, motionless, his eyes narrowed to avoid revealing any light, and he slowly lowered his head to look over.

At a glance, Xu Qing's pupils shrank; he saw that person from yesterday again!

The other party was sitting by the ruins, dressed neatly, with normal skin.

Most importantly... his demeanor, his body, everything about him was exactly the same as what Xu Qing saw yesterday.

It was as if for the entire night, the other party hadn't moved at all.

This was extremely unreasonable.

If the other party were a living person, the dangers existing in the city at night could not have ignored him.

If the other party were a dead person, this unpolluted corpse would be the best food for those strange beasts, so it was equally impossible for it to exist until now.

Xu Qing was silent. After pondering in his heart, he lay there motionless. Having grown up in the slums, he didn't lack patience.

And so, under his careful gaze, time passed slowly. Until noon passed, that person still hadn't moved at all.

Xu Qing, who had waited for three hours, pondered, raised his right hand gently, grabbed a stone in his hand, and shot it toward the place where the figure was located.

This stone was very fast and had considerable impact. When it landed on the figure at the ruins, it made a 'bang' sound.

The figure swayed accordingly, actually falling to the side like a corpse.

And the moment he fell, a wisp of purple light was revealed on the ground where he had once sat.

Seeing the purple light, Xu Qing's eyes revealed a sharp glint, and his breathing became rapid.

He had been searching for these days, and what he was looking for was the purple light he had once seen descend into the city.

At this moment, he forcibly suppressed the impulse to go over immediately, waited with difficulty for a moment, and after confirming there was no problem, he rushed out suddenly.

His speed was so fast that he almost exploded with all his strength, his whole person like a hunting falcon, rushing straight toward where the purple light was.

After arriving at high speed, he grabbed the purple light, and his figure sped away without hesitation, moving far away.

The entire process was extremely fast. Until he retreated more than ten zhang away, Xu Qing stopped, panting, and looked at the object emitting purple light that he had grabbed in his hand.

It was a purple crystal, crystal clear, possessing a dazzling beauty.

Xu Qing's heart beat faster. When he looked up, he saw the fallen corpse, which, because it had lost the protection of the purple light, was now visibly corroding, and its skin instantly turned blue-black.

This scene made Xu Qing instinctively grip the purple crystal in his hand tighter, turn around, and run at high speed toward his hole.

And not long after running, Xu Qing's footsteps suddenly paused, and his expression was a bit confused.

He lowered his head to untie his fur coat and looked at his bound chest.

There was no more blood seeping out there, but instead, bursts of itching sensation emerged.

Xu Qing's eyes froze. He tore open the tattered clothes binding his wound and looked at the wound, his mind shaking violently.

He clearly remembered that when he checked in the early morning, the wound hadn't healed, and it had even turned blacker, but now...

The wound on his chest had actually healed by more than half, and at the edges, there was only a shallow mark left!

"This..." Xu Qing's breathing became rapid, and then he suddenly looked at the purple crystal in his hand. ===== CHAPTER 3 =====