Chapter 278: The Young Man Under the Mask

The main city of the Seven Blood Eyes was finally fully completed.

With teleportation after teleportation, although the population of the entire main city was not as large as that of Nanhuang Continent, the number of disciples from the one hundred and thirty-eight sects of the Alliance was large, and they were naturally very interested in the new city.

Whether they came to do business, shop, or make friends, it made this new main city look bustling and very lively.

At the same time, there were personnel adjustments in the various departments within the main city. Huang Yan was still doing water diversion work.

His beloved Second Senior Sister served as the deputy of the Patrol and Arrest Department, which was in line with Second Senior Sister's personality. With her there, it could also deter petty criminals to a certain extent.

In addition, some departments synchronized with other sects of the Alliance were added.

For example, the Business Department.

What determined the strength of a force, besides high-level personnel and taboo magic treasures, was another very important factor—wealth.

This principle was common anywhere, as long as it was a system of living together.

The appearance of the Business Department was logical, responsible for all internal and external business matters of the entire Seven Blood Eyes. Seventh Master personally appointed his third disciple to serve as the deputy of this department.

As for Xu Qing and the Captain, Seventh Master also knew that the two of them had a good relationship, so he arranged them together and sent them to the most important department after the Seven Blood Eyes merged into the Alliance.

The Security and Protection Special Department.

This name was a bit different from the customs of Nanhuang Continent, full of the flavor of the Alliance itself. Its full name was the Security and Protection Special Affairs Office.

This Security and Protection Special Department was not only in the Seven Blood Eyes; the other seven sects all had one. It was a whole, needing to accept the deployment of the headquarters, and the matters it was responsible for, both internally and externally, were extremely extensive. The Chief of this department was served by the Sixth Master.

One deputy was the Captain, and the other was Xu Qing.

The Sixth Master didn't care much on weekdays, delegating power and completely handing over all matters to Xu Qing and the Captain.

The location of the department was also built near the eight giant bridges of the Seven Blood Eyes main city. Viewed as a whole, it was in the shape of a triangle, with hundreds of pavilions inside, each with a not-so-small courtyard, independent yet a whole.

At the same time, several small departments were divided. More than three thousand disciples from various peaks of the Seven Blood Eyes were arranged to work here, half of whom were former members of the Crime Arrest Department, and the Little Mute was also among them.

On the way to take office, Xu Qing thought about how he would be in a department with the Captain again, so he bought some apples at a fruit stall on the way.

Continuing forward, passing by a newly opened Immortal Pool, he also saw an old friend.

It was Xu Xiaohui.

Noticing Xu Qing, Xu Xiaohui greeted him happily and even gave him a jade slip.

"Senior Brother Xu, this Immortal Pool is a side business I opened with a good friend. If you have time, you can come over. Take this jade slip, no charge."

Xu Qing nodded, his gaze falling on another woman behind Xu Xiaohui—that was her informant.

The money for Xu Xiaohui to open the shop was provided by the informant Xu Qing had arranged.

In this world, Xu Qing felt that there were very few people who knew how to repay kindness. Although Xu Xiaohui's cultivation aptitude was insufficient, her character had shining points. He felt that within his power, he would help if he could.

Thus, after taking the jade slip, Xu Qing left and arrived at the gate of the Security and Protection Special Department all the way.

"Greetings, Chief!"

The team members of the Security and Protection Special Department at the gate bowed respectfully, with fanaticism in their eyes. They were all former members of the Crime Arrest Department.

Xu Qing nodded, walked into the Security and Protection Special Department, and saw acquaintances all the way. He even saw Ding Xiaohai.

This Ding Xiaohai, who had wanted to become a core disciple back then and successfully obtained it after the Mermaid Island incident, and had also broken through to Foundation Establishment, showed an indescribable complexity in his expression when he saw Xu Qing.

He looked at Xu Qing, lowered his head, and bowed deeply.

"Greetings, Chief."

Xu Qing glanced at Ding Xiaohai. The other party's aptitude was indeed not bad. Now he had one Life Fire, and his magic apertures had opened to about forty. It was not easy to do this in a few years.

But Xu Qing didn't like him. Seeing this person, Xu Qing thought of Zhou Qingpeng, but everyone had their own way of living, so he withdrew his gaze and walked toward the distance.

Ding Xiaohai remained silent, looking at the departing Xu Qing, a sigh in his heart. He knew about Zhou Qingpeng's matter, but he didn't feel he had done anything wrong.

In troubled times, everyone, first of all, naturally had to consider themselves.

Xu Qing arrived at the center of the Security and Protection Special Department all the way and saw the Captain there.

The Captain was constantly checking the archives, occasionally issuing decrees, arranging for the various branches within the Special Department to handle various matters, looking very busy.

Seeing this scene, Xu Qing felt that the Captain was actually quite suitable for this work, so he took out one of the apples he bought on the way and placed it on the Captain's table, then sat aside and closed his eyes to cultivate with peace of mind.

After a while, the Captain looked up, took a bite of the apple, glanced at Xu Qing who was cultivating, felt unhappy in his heart, and prepared to let Xu Qing handle the few most difficult things to deal with, so he coughed.

"Deputy Chief Xu!"

Xu Qing opened his eyes.

"Senior Brother, do you want more apples?" Xu Qing said, taking out two more and placing them on the table.

The Captain looked at the apples, then at Xu Qing, his expression becoming serious.

"Don't try that with me, Little A-Qing, you've learned to be bad!"

Xu Qing thought for a moment and took out a jade slip, placing it on the table.

"What is this?" The Captain was surprised.

"On the way here, I saw an Immortal Pool opened next door. I thought Senior Brother likes to go, so I handled this jade slip that can give a twenty percent discount for you." Xu Qing looked into the Captain's eyes and said seriously.

Hearing this, the Captain smiled, and the previous little emotion disappeared instantly.

He felt very comfortable in his heart.

He felt that although Xu Qing had learned to be bad, it also meant he was more sensible, knowing how to please his Senior Brother, so he pondered that he couldn't be stingy either, and it was better not to give the most difficult things to his Junior Brother.

"Forget it, there are too many things arranged by the old man for this Security and Protection Special Department. I originally intended to let you handle the conflicts with other sects of the Alliance. I guess with your personality, you would be too lazy to move your tongue and would just suppress and kill. It's better for me to come."

"As for you, just be responsible for the handover of interests and rights between the sect and the Alliance. This matter is leisurely." As he spoke, the Captain flipped through the archives and took out one to hand to Xu Qing.

"Promote and maintain the transfer of Alliance formation permissions, as well as connecting to our Seven Blood Eyes formation. People from the Third Peak have communicated many times, but the Alliance Formation Department is deliberately dragging it out."

Xu Qing took the archives. He really didn't want to spend time on these things. He was prepared to free up time to study poison and cultivation matters.

Holding the jade slip, Xu Qing turned to leave, and the Captain behind him said.

"Also, the Alliance headquarters sent a notice that it will be our turn to patrol the river in a while. This river patrol task is rotated among the eight sects. When the time comes, if there's nothing to do, let's go out for a stroll."

Xu Qing nodded and left the Special Department.

He was not alone; he was leading over a hundred team members and disciples from the three peaks responsible for the formation, heading straight for the Alliance Formation General Command located at the Great Expansion Dao Palace.

On the way, he asked the Third Peak disciples about the reason for this matter being delayed.

"Senior Brother Xu, this matter was actually discussed by those above, but the people below are slow in handling things, especially the people from the Lingyun Sword Sect. They haven't shown up many times, so the handover couldn't be completed."

The disciple from the Third Peak responsible for this matter sighed.

"Lingyun Sword Sect?" Xu Qing narrowed his eyes and didn't speak again. Soon they arrived at the Formation General Department.

Here, Xu Qing submitted the archives and waited for a long time before seeing the people responsible for formations from other sects arrive slowly. But after seeing Xu Qing's figure, their expressions all changed, and their pace clearly accelerated.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Xu Qing!"

"Senior Brother Xu Qing, sorry for the long wait. We didn't know you had arrived, otherwise we would have definitely rushed over faster."

Xu Qing's reputation in the Eight Sect Alliance was now huge, and even more filled with deterrence. But he didn't deliberately act serious, instead sweeping his gaze over these disciples from the various sects, and found that the Lingyun Sword Sect was missing.

The transfer of formation permissions required the other seven sects to arrive together to be completed. If any one was missing, it would be difficult to hand over.

"Senior Brother Xu, if the Lingyun Sword Sect doesn't come, I'm afraid it won't be possible to transfer today..." Because the ancestors of the Spirit Mist Valley and the Tianjian Treasure Sect were on good terms with Xue Lianzi, the relationship between the three sects was very harmonious. At this moment, the female disciple from the Spirit Mist Valley responsible for this matter spoke softly, her beautiful eyes falling on Xu Qing's face, carrying radiance.

Xu Qing nodded, summoned a team member beside him, and handed him a jade slip.

"Send this to the Lingyun Sword Sect, give it to Chu Yunfeng, and tell him to handle this matter as soon as possible. Otherwise, after today, I will go to him to collect the debt."

Chu Yunfeng was the person who claimed to be Sheng Yunzi's junior brother and was suppressed by Xu Qing at the Seven Blood Eyes.

After giving the instructions, Xu Qing sat cross-legged aside and waited silently. Others saw this and looked at each other, also waiting.

Soon, this jade slip was sent to the Lingyun Sword Sect, sent to Chu Yunfeng, who was meditating and cultivating. Upon seeing this jade slip, Chu Yunfeng's eyes turned red.

"Poison Demon Xu Qing, bullying people too much!"

"A jade slip of a debt note, and you want me to do things for you? Dream on!"

Chu Yunfeng snorted coldly, threw the jade slip aside, and didn't pay attention to it. But half an hour later, he still opened his eyes and looked at the sky outside. The day... was about to pass.

So, with grievance, he sent a voice transmission to the Formation Department of the Lingyun Sword Sect, scolding them with a huge temper.

As one of the geniuses of the Lingyun Sword Sect, his words were still useful, so soon the disciples of the Lingyun Sword Sect's Formation Department arrived at the headquarters with gray faces.

The transfer of formation permissions was extremely smooth.

After doing these things, it was already dusk.

The dusk of this day was a bit different from usual. Red clouds filled the sky, looking like fire. While beautiful, it also revealed a bloody color, as if someone was painting on the firmament with blood to perform for the gods.

Xu Qing walked on the road illuminated by the red clouds. On the way back to the Seven Blood Eyes main city, he looked up at the red clouds in the firmament. For some reason, he thought of the dream he had the night before coming to the Wanggu Continent.

At the same time, in Yinghuang Province, extremely far away from the Eight Sect Alliance, in the direction close to the Primordial Departure Nether Pillar, there was a swampy land.

Although it was not a forbidden area, it was filled with rich foreign substances, which could be considered a place of death.

The center of the swamp was a depression with a lot of accumulated water. There existed a stone forest here. Black long-strip rocks rose from the swamp water, uneven in layers.

The red clouds in the distance reflected on the water surface, the water and sky were the same color, making this place rendered into a bloody color.

Also becoming bloody were two figures.

One of these two figures was kneeling, while the other was sitting on the edge of the highest rock, one leg hanging down, one leg stepping on the stone in an angular shape, body leaning back, supported by one hand, gazing at the red clouds in the sky.

Both of them wore masks. The pattern on this mask was shocking—it was the god with half a face in the firmament!

It's just that the eyes were not closed, but open.

What was revealed where they opened were the gazes of the two of them.

"Master, the Night Dove organization in Nanhuang Continent, your subordinate has already abandoned it according to your instructions. I let them all go to the Seven Blood Eyes, and through the hands of the Seven Blood Eyes, they are almost all dead."

"Also, Bai Li is dead, and it is also related to the Seven Blood Eyes, dying in the hands of the Sixth Peak Master of the Seven Blood Eyes."

The kneeling person spoke in a low voice at this moment.

The voice was respectful, and there was fanaticism in his eyes. Even though he was the head of the Night Doves, as long as the other party said a word, he could abandon the Night Dove members and huge interests. In his cognition, the person sitting on the rock in front of him was someone he could die for.

"There were two small characters who participated, and your subordinate has already recorded them."

"Also, after the Seven Blood Eyes merged into the Alliance and the seven sects changed to the Eight Sect Alliance, someone in the Alliance contacted your subordinate, wanting to join the Candlelight, and invited us to go over later to watch his bloody performance. He said that this performance would definitely make us applaud for him."

After the Night Dove spoke, the place was silent.

Until a long time later, the person looking up at the firmament slowly turned his head to look at the direction of the Forbidden Sea where the Alliance was located, and a mysterious laugh spread.

"Then let's go and take a look, and by the way, give the Seven Blood Eyes a meeting gift."

The person speaking should be a young man. His voice sounded very young, without any sense of old age.

The Night Dove nodded, his figure blurred, as if turning into a secret treasure, hidden in the void, and disappeared from this place.

Until a long time after the Night Dove left, when the red clouds in the sky gradually dimmed and the bright moon appeared in the sky, the young man looking up at the firmament looked at the increasingly clear bright moon and muttered softly.

"The sect where Little Brother is... it's been eleven years, hasn't it? The bonds of this life."

The young man laughed softly, with profound meaning. ===== CHAPTER 279 =====