Chapter 309: Like Reincarnation

Almost at the same moment the little boy spoke, the door of the house beside them opened silently.

The little boy's parents walked out with expressionless faces, staring coldly at Xu Qing.

Vaguely, the evening glow of dusk was covered by a patch of black clouds, as if rain were about to fall, and bursts of rumbling thunder echoed in the sky, with bolts of lightning flashing in all directions.

In the town, amidst this impending storm, the residents hurried back to their respective homes. The gravel on the ground trembled slightly at the moment the wind rose, and fallen leaves were swept up in large quantities.

To an outsider, all of this looked like a natural change in the weather, but in Xu Qing's eyes, this entire scene originated from the little boy before him.

"A bit interesting."

Xu Qing tilted his head, his gaze sweeping over the little boy's parents. The Ghost Emperor Mountain within his sea of consciousness flashed suddenly at this moment, reflecting in Xu Qing's pupils.

The next instant, the little boy's parents shuddered, their cold gazes filled with shock and terror. The little boy's eyes were the same, looking exactly like his parents' gazes.

Xu Qing did not release his pressure; he simply withdrew the shadow of the Ghost Emperor Mountain after a single glance and stopped looking at the little boy's parents.

Those two figures had no meaning.

He focused his attention on the little boy with the strained smile, leaped up, and landed in front of him.

The little boy's expression changed, and he retreated rapidly.

Xu Qing waved his hand, and the white token given by Seventh Master was tossed directly to the little boy.

"This is the entrance qualification token for the Seven Blood Eyes of the Eight Sect Alliance."

The little boy did not catch it, letting the token fall onto the ground in front of him, where it touched the gravel and made a crisp sound.

Xu Qing didn't mind. He took a step forward, and as he passed by the little boy's side, he spoke indifferently.

"Do you want to become a human?"

After saying this, Xu Qing continued forward, walking further and further away until he left the town.

The moment he left, a torrential rain poured down, drenching the entire town.

The sound of the downpour, accompanied by thunder and lightning, washed the ground and washed away everything.

In the curtain of rain, only the little boy and his parents stood in place, motionless, all looking down at the white token half-buried in the rainwater on the ground.

After a long while, the little boy suddenly spoke.

"Do you think I should go and see?"

The little boy's parents remained silent.

"I forgot, you were created by me; your thoughts are singular, so it's impossible for you to answer this question."

The little boy muttered to himself, looked at the token again, and his expression revealed a sense of temptation.

He was not a human, nor was he of another race; he was a strange entity, a very special strange entity.

His combat power was not strong, but he possessed clear thoughts and intelligence like the myriad races. At the same time, he didn't know why, but ever since he gained consciousness, he had yearned for the life of a human.

Thus, many years ago, he came to this town, transformed himself into the appearance of a human, and also transformed his parents.

Every day, he would happily go to school, repeating the cycle.

And every few years, he would erase the memories the people of this town had of him, letting everything start over.

This way, he could continue to happily go to school every day.

He no longer remembered how long this life had lasted—year after year, generation after generation.

He watched his classmates grow up, become adults, grow old, and die, while he remained the same.

At the same time, it was because of his secret protection that this town remained peaceful; this was also the reason why there were so many elderly people and children.

Xu Qing had seen all of this clearly the moment the Ghost Emperor Mountain reflected in his eyes, and he had his own judgment. Naturally, Seventh Master had also seen everything when he gave the little boy the token.

As for whether the little boy would eventually come to the Seven Blood Eyes, that was not something for Xu Qing to consider.

He simply felt that this strange entity was indeed somewhat different from the others.

At this moment, amidst the wind and rain, Xu Qing returned to the magic ship floating in mid-air. The moment he stepped on board, Seventh Master didn't ask anything. He flicked his large sleeve, the magic ship hummed, and it instantly sped away.

On the way back, Seventh Master was not in a hurry, but instead wandered around casually.

Sometimes he would take Xu Qing and Ding Xue to a large city, squatting on a tree in front of a wealthy family's mansion to observe a young master inside.

Sometimes, he would go into small countries, watching the suffering people, not knowing what he was thinking.

Other times, he would go to places like scavenger camps, observing everyone there. Until he saw someone interesting, he would smile and ask Xu Qing and Ding Xue what they thought of that person.

If he encountered someone suitable, Seventh Master would hand Xu Qing a white token and have Xu Qing deliver it.

Those who received Seventh Master's tokens were all young boys and girls.

Among them were children of wealthy families, poor scholars, and even beggars or sallow, thin children.

After delivering many, a scene from when he was in the scavenger camp surfaced in Xu Qing's mind; at that time, it was Seventh Master's servant who followed him.

This time, it wasn't very convenient for the servant to follow, so Xu Qing took on this job.

Gradually, Xu Qing also saw the clues; these people who received Seventh Master's tokens, without exception, all had some special qualities.

Like that wealthy young master, the soul and physical body within him were not tightly integrated. Outsiders might not be able to tell, but after Xu Qing's Ghost Emperor Mountain appeared in his pupils, he could see it at a glance.

This wealthy young master must have been possessed.

And that suffering person in the small country was a silly girl who begged for food with a smile all day long, her body covered in rot. Yet, everyone who bullied her during the day would have nightmares at night.

The reason was that this silly girl would dig off the rotting parts of her body at night and perform some kind of curse.

This curse didn't look like a technique; it looked more like an innate talent.

It was just that she hid it very well, and outsiders couldn't see it. Those who had nightmares wouldn't die immediately, but often, the probability of them encountering accidents when going out would increase infinitely.

Or like the medicine shop boy in the scavenger camp, who was forced by the shopkeeper to eat mud every night. Every time he finished eating, blood would flow from his body.

And the shopkeeper would carefully collect this blood, put it into small bottles, and sell it the next day as healing medicine.

Things like this were mostly hidden very deeply, but Seventh Master seemed very adept at finding them. Thus, Xu Qing saw many during this period, and every one of them made him feel they were extraordinary, with great potential.

Until after issuing more than twenty tokens, Seventh Master stopped searching and sighed with emotion in front of Xu Qing.

"It truly is the arrival of a great era. I came to this Capital District years ago and searched around, but there weren't many good seedlings; in the end, only your Third Senior Brother emerged."

"But now that I've come again, there are actually quite a few good seedlings here."

"This time, I intend to continue with the fifty-to-one selection, to see who can eventually become your junior brother or junior sister, Fourth."

Seventh Master was clearly very satisfied with the harvest of this trip.

"Xu Qing, Xue'er, which of these seedlings who received tokens this time do you think will walk before me?"

Ding Xue thought for a moment and spoke immediately.

"Little Aunt-in-law, I think that silly girl who can curse others—she can!"

Seventh Master smiled and looked at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing pondered, recalling the people he had seen, and eventually, the one that surfaced in his mind was that wealthy young master.

"I think the one who was possessed has the greatest possibility."

Seventh Master was somewhat surprised.

"Why do you say that? I thought you would say the little boy who was the first to receive a token."

Xu Qing shook his head.

"He is not cautious enough. Among these people, only that wealthy young master is the most cautious."

"A bit interesting." Seventh Master laughed, controlled the magic ship, and with Xu Qing and Ding Xue, ended this trip and headed straight for the Seven Blood Eyes.

On the way, Xu Qing was rarely free and continued to ponder the opening of his 121st magic aperture. Vaguely, he had a plan in his heart, but it wasn't clear yet. He also asked Seventh Master.

Seventh Master's reply was that the Seven Blood Eyes' taboo magic treasure might have a certain strengthening effect on finding the 121st magic aperture, and he told Xu Qing to find an opportunity to try it.

Xu Qing was thoughtful, remembering the small mirror he had harvested during this trip. He took it out and held it in his hand to study.

Seventh Master glanced at it but didn't speak.

Xu Qing didn't ask further. He pondered it for several days and gradually figured it out clearly.

This object was a fragment of a magic treasure. The complete magic treasure might have the same taboo shape as the Seven Blood Eyes—both were mirrors—but their abilities were naturally different. The function of this magic treasure fragment was to stimulate the soul.

Anyone illuminated by it would experience a momentary lapse in their soul, and their eyes would feel intense pain. If they were killed by it, this small mirror would form a sub-state strange entity, controlled by it.

Judging by its capabilities, it is passable, but this object clearly has not undergone ritual refining. To mortals, its effects are astonishing, akin to a supreme treasure, but for cultivators with a certain level of cultivation, the effect is mediocre and cannot be fatal.

"However, when used to catch someone off guard, it might serve as an auxiliary tool." Xu Qing recalled the moment he obtained this small mirror; at the time, he was illuminated by it, and the stinging pain in his eyes caused a momentary distraction.

That split second of distraction, if used well, can often determine life or death.

After pondering, Xu Qing put the object away, intending to experiment with it slowly later to see where its limits lie.

Just like that, several more days passed, and the Eight Sect Alliance was visible in the distance.

The moment he returned, amidst Ding Xue's reluctance to let him go, Xu Qing left Seventh Master's dharma ship and flew toward the Transportation Department where Zhang San was located.

This trip out had been somewhat long, and the dharma ship had undergone two self-destructions; although it could still be used, Xu Qing felt it would be better to repair it somewhat.

At this moment, it was noon, the sun was bright, and as Xu Qing was whistling through the main city of Seven Blood Eyes, his expression suddenly shifted, and he abruptly lowered his head to look at the ground.

On the ground, at a street corner, Xu Qing saw the Little Mute.

For the first time, the Little Mute was not wearing a dog-skin coat over a Daoist robe, but was wearing only the Daoist robe.

The way he walked was also different from usual; he was not hugging the wall, but walking swaggeringly right down the middle.

Although the sense of vigilance on him was still there, it was somewhat different from what was in Xu Qing's memory.

The current vigilance contained some excitement and curiosity about the outside world, whereas the previous vigilance was "strangers keep away," as if he could choose to devour someone at any moment.

Most importantly, the Little Mute was very weak; this weakness was not of the body, but of the soul.

Xu Qing had seen the same scene before; it was exactly what happened to that rich family's son who had been possessed.

Looking at the Little Mute now, the shadow of the Ghost Emperor Mountain reflected in Xu Qing's eyes. After carefully sizing up the Little Mute, Xu Qing's eyes narrowed.

He stepped out, and in an instant, he was in front of the Little Mute.

Xu Qing's appearance was abrupt; the Little Mute's expression changed, and he instinctively backed away. After seeing Xu Qing's face clearly, he hurriedly lowered his head, paused for a moment, and immediately knelt down.

But the next instant, Xu Qing's right hand had already been raised, and he grabbed the Little Mute by the throat, lifting the red-faced, terrified Little Mute up before him.

Xu Qing's gaze was calm, carrying a hint of coldness, as he looked into the Little Mute's eyes and spoke indifferently.

"Who are you?"