Chapter 204

Time passed, and seven days went by in a flash.

The girl in black from Eastern Wanggu Island was imprisoned within the Profound Department. Even though her entire body was reinforced with ten rings, she remained unconvinced, cursing in all sorts of ways, all of which were directed at Xu Qing. It was just that the sound could not get out of the dungeon where she was held.

But she clearly had abundant energy; even after seven days, she found that the Seven Blood Eyes hadn't released her, which made her even more frantic.

After Xu Qing learned of this, he made arrangements to add ten more rings to her. Under the huge sealing power, the girl in black became even more frantic, but she didn't have much strength left, so the daily cursing naturally decreased a little.

Xu Qing didn't go to see her; he only checked on her recent situation in the files and didn't pay any more attention to it.

As for when to release this woman, Xu Qing felt there was no rush. Moreover, the sect's attitude toward this matter was very interesting; apart from that day, there had been no inquiries whatsoever.

It seemed as if everything had truly been left for him to be responsible for. This was the first time Xu Qing had felt this strange sensation in the Seven Blood Eyes.

"Is it because of the sequence?" Xu Qing was lost in thought, but he knew his limits and naturally wouldn't be stupid enough to kill the girl in black just like that.

If he were to kill her, it would be after releasing her, finishing her off when she wasn't aware.

Therefore, he was also waiting for the sect's follow-up notification regarding this matter. Clearly, this matter couldn't just end so simply; after all, the Seven Blood Eyes occupied the moral high ground and needed to save face.

Even in these wartime days, this face was still extremely important.

Xu Qing felt that it was highly probable that this was the case; one had to know that not expressing an opinion was, in fact, tacit approval.

At the same time, during these seven days, Xu Qing, as a representative disciple, had been dispatched twice to welcome visitors from outside tribes into the sect. As for the overall time he spent as a representative disciple, his fame rose even more in another way.

Sometimes, even some female members of the visiting foreign tribes would take the initiative to ask the Captain that they wanted to see Xu Qing. It was truly because during this period, most of the foreign female cultivators who had seen Xu Qing were quite amazed by him.

Although the tribes were different, as the former masters of the Eastern Wanggu Continent, even though the human race had declined, the cognition and aesthetics engraved in the bloodlines of other foreign tribes were difficult to dissipate.

Therefore, the gifts Xu Qing received were enough to fill an entire storage bag.

While this made Ding Xue and Gu Muqing very vigilant, the impatience originally in Xu Qing's heart also lessened significantly; after all, the gifts given were of decent value.

However, this good thing didn't last long. After all, the heat stirred up by the nose of the Sea Corpse Clan's Corpse Ancestor had converged for a time, and then the people who arrived gradually decreased, and most of them left.

Only a few allies, such as the Sea Star Clan, had not yet left and needed to purchase many items within the main city. That girl from the Sea Star Clan seemed very interested in Xu Qing's side and came to visit many times.

But apart from the first meeting where she gave a gift, subsequent visits did not include any other gifts. Instead, she acted in an innocent and naive manner, asking questions here and there, seemingly extremely curious about Xu Qing and wanting to understand him comprehensively.

Consequently, after Xu Qing dealt with her once, he directly refused subsequent visits.

Subsequently, regarding the job transfers for Xu Qing and the Captain, due to their previous great contributions, Xu Qing's position was promoted, directly rising from Deputy Director of the Criminal Investigation Department to Director!

He was in command of the entire Seventh Peak Criminal Investigation Department.

As for the Captain, he originally should have been promoted to the Criminal Investigation Division that could control the seven peaks of the Seven Blood Eyes as a Deputy Minister. However, he didn't know how he operated, but he actually didn't go to the Division, instead arriving at the Seventh Peak's Intelligence Department to become the Director there.

There was a large gap between a Department and a Division. For example, the Criminal Investigation Department existed on all seven peaks, and above them was the Seven Blood Eyes' Criminal Investigation Division—one Division commanding seven Departments.

"Only a fool would go to the Division. The Intelligence Department is so good! That is the place I dream of. Here, I will know everything. Whether it's planting secret agents outside, identifying traitors inside, or investigating foreign intelligence, these are all things I excel at, and it's even more convenient for me to dig out some great opportunities!"

On the first day of becoming the Director of the Intelligence Department, the Captain called Zhang San and came to Xu Qing's place in high spirits. The three of them sat together drinking. Zhang San looked at Xu Qing and the Captain both being promoted; while happy in his heart, he also felt a bit sour.

"When you guys go out to go crazy next time, you can actually consider calling me. Captain, don't you think so? With me there, at least when you're missing half your body, isn't it better to have someone to carry you?" Zhang San said gloomily.

The Captain ate a bite of an apple and patted Zhang San's shoulder with a smile.

"Little San, don't be jealous. Big Brother still loves you!"

After speaking, the Captain looked at Xu Qing and found that Xu Qing was sitting there absent-mindedly, as if pondering something, so he was curious.

"Little Er, what are you doing?"

Xu Qing looked up and swept a glance at the Captain, then looked at Zhang San, who was equally curious, and spoke calmly.

"Erniu, I am thinking about how to improve the poison so that it can pose a threat to Golden Core cultivators."

Xu Qing had been thinking about this question for a long time. In fact, he had been pondering it all this time. As for the direction, it was those small black insects he had harvested.

Although the small black insects had been mostly consumed in the battle with the girl in black, after Xu Qing re-collected the remaining ones, he felt that using them like this was too weak.

He even vaguely felt that he hadn't fully exerted the potential of these small insects. After all... this was caused by a Golden Core powerhouse's strike; it made no sense that after he used them again, the power would drop so much that even a three-fire cultivator couldn't be instantly suppressed.

Upon hearing this, Zhang San gasped. He felt that Xu Qing was different from before; what he was thinking about now was actually how to deal with a Golden Core cultivator... And thinking of Xu Qing's poison, he instinctively moved backward, distancing himself from Xu Qing.

The Captain also widened his eyes. He suddenly felt that Xu Qing's words were very cool, possessing the characteristic of being able to stand out without making a sound, so he silently remembered it in his heart, then coughed and took out an elixir, swallowing it as a precaution.

"You'll have to study this slowly. Let me talk about the main business first. This time, with me as the Director of the Intelligence Department and Xu Qing as the Director of the Criminal Investigation Department—these two departments didn't get along before, but now we are one family."

"I have a plan. Since these two departments are under our management, we must achieve some results. We should strive to control the entire Seventh Peak before the war ends and experience the thrill of being a Peak Master!"

"That way, even if the old man and the others come back after the war, they won't be able to do anything for a while. We will have become cultivators with real power, which will make it more convenient for us to do big things later."

Xu Qing's brows furrowed slightly.

"Captain, I want to go into seclusion recently to focus on researching this poison."

"Researching poison requires money, right?" The Captain looked at Xu Qing.

"I have enough for now," Xu Qing shook his head.

"You need someone to do experiments for you, right? You always need to find some people to test the poison on, don't you?" The Captain didn't give up, speaking while eating an apple.

"I have enough for now," Xu Qing shook his head.

The Captain was a bit discouraged. He suddenly felt that Xu Qing was not easy to fool anymore, unlike when he first came to the sect, when he could fool him however he wanted; with a flick of his finger, Xu Qing would go to toil.

So various thoughts spun rapidly in his heart, pondering how to pull Xu Qing in, when Xu Qing's eyes suddenly lit up. He thought of a key point in refining the small black insects, so he immediately stood up.

"Captain, Senior Brother Zhang San, I'll take my leave first. We'll gather again when there's time."

As Xu Qing said this, he cupped his fists, his body flickered, and he headed straight for his magic ship. After entering the cabin, he immediately activated the protection, then sat cross-legged, took out a large amount of medicinal herbs, brought out the bottle containing the small black insects, and began to formulate according to his own ideas.

At the same time, Zhang San and the Captain outside the magic ship looked at each other.

"Captain, should we leave here? I feel this place is a bit unsafe..." Zhang San hesitated.

"Fear a bird, I..." Just as the Captain's words reached this point, a boom suddenly came from within Xu Qing's magic ship, and a cloud of poisonous mist spread from inside. Fortunately, there was protection to block it, so it didn't spread outside.

The Captain was silent for a few breaths of time, then stood up and laughed.

"Zhang San, let's go, let's go. It's been a long time since I've been to your Transportation Department. Let's go there and continue drinking."

Zhang San also stood up immediately, and the two of them left the place at high speed.

Not long after they left, the roar rose again in Xu Qing's cabin.

Xu Qing was indeed researching the raising of the small black insects. This was the only item of Golden Core power he currently possessed. He had originally intended to use it as a trump card, but the previous time with the girl in black made Xu Qing somewhat disappointed.

Now, a night had passed, and he had spent the entire night experimenting, utilizing all kinds of medicinal herbs and poisons, attempting to catalyze these small black insects to exert their full potential.

But all failed; only the flesh and blood of the Golden Core octopus had some effect, causing the number of small black insects to increase significantly.

"But if they can only be raised with Golden Core flesh and blood, then these poisonous insects have no value. They can't defeat a Golden Core cultivator now, and can only swallow flesh and blood that cannot fight back. To me, they are just chicken ribs; after all, I want to use them as a trump card to deter Golden Core cultivators. But I feel... it should be that I haven't found the right method."

Xu Qing muttered, taking out a thick pharmacopoeia from the side. This pharmacopoeia was gifted to Xu Qing by Master Bai before he left.

Xu Qing had always treasured it, checking it I don't know how many times. All the pages inside had almost been turned to shreds, so he was cautious and careful afterward, fearing damage.

Because this was a gift left to him by Master Bai, and it also carried Xu Qing's gratitude toward Master Bai.

It could be said that Master Bai was his first master in the true sense, and he had played a crucial role in the opening of his path of vegetation and the subsequent development of his path of poison.

Without Master Bai, Xu Qing would know nothing about vegetation, and the path of poison would not have become his important means.

"I wonder how Master Bai is doing." Xu Qing took a deep breath. In fact, after becoming a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he had also inquired about Master Bai's whereabouts, but the other party traveled all over the world, and every time he returned to the Purple Soil, the time was very short.

Xu Qing withdrew his mind, silently opened the pharmacopoeia, and searched for clues that could trigger his own thoughts.

"Master Bai once said that the path of insects and the path of medicine seem different, but their essence is not much different, and they can complement each other..." Xu Qing pondered, and finally his gaze fell on the description of a medicinal herb in the pharmacopoeia.

"Night Ding Orchid?" Xu Qing's eyes revealed contemplation. This was a medicinal herb that fierce beasts liked; it was useless to cultivators, but fierce beasts that had not opened their intelligence could increase their intelligence after eating it. It was also one of the basic medicinal herbs for the Transformation Pill.

"I can try!" Xu Qing stood up, walked directly out of the magic ship, and went to the pharmacy in Port 176. His arrival immediately attracted the high attention of the pharmacy. After the shopkeeper inside respectfully listened to Xu Qing's needs, he immediately prepared them for him.

Not long after, Xu Qing left with a storage bag, a trace of heartache flashing in his eyes.

"Why is this thing so expensive!"

What was contained in this bag was not just Night Ding Orchid, but also all kinds of medicinal herbs related to raising beasts that could be bought on the market, not to mention poisonous herbs.

Some were cheap, and some were extremely expensive.

But Xu Qing didn't want to care about these at the moment. He felt that he must have the means to threaten a Golden Core cultivator, so after returning to the magic ship, he researched and experimented again.

Just like that, another seven days passed.

During these seven days, the entire Seventh Peak of the Seven Blood Eyes was in a state of panic. It was truly because after the new Director of the Intelligence Department, Chen Erniu, took office, the first thing he announced was that he wanted to catch traitors.

Afterward, the Patrol Department cooperated in joint law enforcement, causing every department to be within the scope of the investigation, and even Foundation Establishment cultivators were investigated the same way.

For a time, the Captain, in the eyes of all the Seventh Peak disciples, seemed like a mad dog, but his status was too high, and others could only lower their heads and let themselves be investigated.

As for Xu Qing, during these seven days, he bought countless medicinal herbs to experiment with and finally found seven types of medicinal herbs that had a significant stimulating effect on the growth of the small black insects.

But just this was not enough. Xu Qing had already seen... if he wanted to truly raise these small black insects and make them continue to grow stronger, he still needed blood food!

"However, combined with medicinal herbs, at least I don't need Golden Core blood food..." Xu Qing's eyes revealed a cold glint. At dusk on this day, he went to the underground dungeon of the Profound Department of the Criminal Investigation Department!

When the Captain told him that refining poison required test subjects, Xu Qing had said it was enough. At that time, his target was the dungeon of the Criminal Investigation Department.

Anyone imprisoned inside was almost all heinous wanted criminals. Ye Jiu was also among them, and even within the dungeon, quite a few Foundation Establishment cultivators were imprisoned, among whom the human race was rare, and almost all were foreign tribes.

"It's a pity that since the establishment of the Criminal Investigation Department, no Golden Core cultivator has ever been imprisoned inside. If there is an opportunity and ability in the future to capture a few alive, that would be great."

This rather bold thought arose in Xu Qing's heart, and he was very tempted.

Fifth update!

I know that these updates are not enough to express my gratitude, but my eyes are a bit blurry from writing, my head is also dizzy, and there should be quite a few typos. I'll update first and correct later.

I will make up for the rest at the beginning of the month.

Thank you, everyone.