Chapter 31: Rain of Gold in Liyang

The black sky, where no stars could be seen, had only a sliver of dark clouds drifting across the high-hanging bright moon.

The wind was strong, but it did not affect the flow of moonlight.

The bright moonlight poured down upon the world like flowing water.

Some of it landed within the scavenger camp, fell into the courtyard of Xu Qing’s residence, and draped over the two figures standing before the door.

The Seventh Master, dressed in purple robes, stood there with his hands behind his back for a long time; under the moonlight, his aged face was lost in thought, though it was unclear what he was pondering.

The attendant beside him did not dare to disturb him, waiting in silence.

As for the wild dogs in the vicinity, it seemed that in their eyes, these two people did not exist and could not be perceived, so they lay there without any abnormality.

The surroundings were very quiet, with only the laughter and screams from the outer area of the camp echoing faintly.

Inside the room, after those two sentences, silence had also fallen, with only the faint sound of breathing and Qi circulation drifting out.

Time passed, and after the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the Seventh Master standing at the door sighed softly; he did not push the door open, but instead turned and walked away.

"Give him a token," the Seventh Master said in a low voice as he walked past the courtyard gate.

"What color?" the attendant asked.

"The most ordinary one. Also, you need not say much to him." The Seventh Master walked past the courtyard gate and gradually moved into the distance.

The attendant’s eyes narrowed, and ripples of emotion stirred in his heart.

During the time he had followed the Seventh Master in the camp, he had personally seen the Seventh Master pay attention to that child several times.

Later, the Seventh Master had also gone to greet Master Bai; all of this let him know that the child’s opportunity had arrived, which was why he had asked last time whether he should give the other party a token.

A token was the entry qualification for the Seven Blood Eyes; only those who possessed a token could participate in the assessment, and if successful, they could join the sect.

The tokens were also categorized by color: purple was the highest, representing that one would be a core disciple upon entry; yellow was middle, representing an inner sect disciple; as for white, it was the most ordinary, meaning one would be a common disciple upon entry.

According to the attendant’s intuition, the Seventh Master would at least give a yellow token, but now it was actually just a white one, and... he had even emphasized not to say much.

Such an abnormal scene forced him to ponder, and his heart could not help but beat a few times faster.

"There is only one answer: the Seventh Master values this child extremely highly. It is not just about bringing him into the sect, but he has even had the... thought of taking him as a disciple? So he intends to test him? The first three Highnesses all entered this way; could it be that the Seventh Peak is about to have a fourth personal disciple?"

The attendant was very clear about the weight of the words "personal disciple"; it could be said that once one became the Seventh Master’s personal disciple, that person would instantly be watched by all forces within Nanhuangzhou.

But he also felt that the possibility was not very high, as the Seventh Master had not taken on any disciples for a long time.

However, regardless, he needed to pay close attention to this child. Thinking of this, the attendant took a deep breath, composed his mind, and slowly knocked on Xu Qing’s door.

The moment the knocking sound entered the room, the sound of Qi circulation inside vanished instantly.

The next instant, a smile appeared on the attendant’s lips, his body blurred and vanished, and when he reappeared, he was actually behind the room!

In the corner behind the room, there was actually a hole, very well-hidden and covered by bricks and stones; it seemed to have been dug for some time.

At this moment, Xu Qing’s figure flew out from within. He was just about to take a detour to observe the person knocking, but the next moment, with the appearance of the attendant, his body stopped abruptly.

Xu Qing’s pupils contracted as he looked at the figure that had suddenly appeared, as if squeezing into his field of vision, and his heart sank.

The figure before him was a middle-aged man in a gray robe with an extremely ordinary face. The most eye-catching part was the center of his brow, where a pentagonal pattern existed; this pattern was currently emitting a faint glow, and even the surrounding moonlight was affected, appearing distorted.

A strong sense of oppression followed; Xu Qing’s breathing became slightly rapid, his right hand gripped the iron skewer more tightly, and his left hand also surreptitiously grabbed a handful of poison powder.

The other party’s appearance was too eerie, and the feeling he gave him far surpassed the little girl’s brother he had seen a few days ago.

Especially the other party’s gaze, which made all the flesh and blood in his body tremble at this moment, as if shouting at him, telling him that the person before him was extremely dangerous!

This brought Xu Qing’s vigilance to the extreme, and the trembling of his flesh was not just a signal of danger, but also told him that his body was already prepared for all subsequent actions.

Regarding the dangers he might encounter in his residence, Xu Qing had long simulated them in his mind several times, and the situation that could make the wild dogs not bark while he himself had no perception at all was the most perilous scenario in his simulations.

With his eyes narrowed, Xu Qing tried to slowly retreat.

"I have no malice." Looking at the child before him who had turned into a wolf cub, ready to explode into action at any moment, the attendant smiled.

He glanced at the hole in the wall behind Xu Qing; he could guess that this must be the escape route the child had prepared to prevent encountering danger in his residence.

"To be able to make such preparations early on, and not to be flustered when encountering a sudden change, but instead to wait for an opportunity to resist—no wonder the Seventh Master values this child."

The attendant’s mind flashed with the scene of Xu Qing cutting Ma Si’s throat and killing Fatty Shan. Appreciation appeared in his eyes as he raised his hand to take out a white token and threw it toward Xu Qing.

Xu Qing did not catch it; he leaped up in an instant. While his body retreated abruptly, he also threw out a handful of poison powder, and within the powder were two daggers carrying a cold glint, whistling toward the attendant.

But the next instant, Xu Qing’s eyes widened. He saw his daggers pass through the gray-robed man’s body and nail into the wall behind him, yet the other party seemed as if they had no physical form, showing not the slightest change.

The poison powder was the same, passing through his body and scattering on the ground.

This scene made Xu Qing’s nerves tense instantly; his breathing paused as he was about to continue retreating.

Just then, the gray-robed man smiled, and his figure slowly vanished in Xu Qing’s eyes.

First his legs, then his torso, and until his head was about to dissipate, his voice echoed.

"Child, someone asked me to deliver this token to you. It is the entry qualification for the Seven Blood Eyes. In the map on the back, you can use this token to be transported to the sect gate for free once from any branch city."

After the words were spoken, the attendant’s figure completely disappeared, as if he had never appeared at all. Watching all this, Xu Qing stood there, silent for a long time.

He felt the other party’s eeriness and also experienced the helplessness of being weak.

Until a long while later, Xu Qing walked over silently, pulled out his daggers, and looked down at the token on the ground.

The white token, face up, was carved with complex patterns; under the moonlight, it seemed to reflect light, filled with a sense of antiquity.

Xu Qing pondered, then put on gloves to carefully pick it up for inspection.

On the back of the token was a map, densely packed with hundreds of raised dots, marking one city after another.

"Seven Blood Eyes..." Xu Qing murmured.

He had heard of the Seven Blood Eyes from the Lei Team and knew that this was one of the few massive, ruthless forces in Nanhuangzhou; every year, countless people wanted to join their sect.

But the entry requirements for the Seven Blood Eyes were very strict; one could not just go there, as an entry token was required, yet the distribution of these tokens was extremely rare.

Xu Qing did not know why he had received one, nor did he recognize the gray-robed man, and he was even less aware of the token’s authenticity.

But after pondering, he felt that with the other party’s terrifying strength, there was no need to come and toy with him, so in all likelihood, this token was real.

"Why give it to me?" Xu Qing could not figure it out, but he noted the way the other party addressed him.

The word "child" had multiple layers of meaning; it had both a general sense and a specific reference.

And in this scavenger camp, the title "child" was a name unique to Xu Qing.

Being able to call out his name in the scavenger camp showed that the other party knew him very well.

And the other party mentioned in his words that someone had asked him to deliver the token, which meant the gray-robed man had a companion, and this companion’s status and position were much higher.

"Could it be Master Bai?" Xu Qing lowered his head, examining the token, and after a long while, he hesitantly put it away.

At this moment, the sky was beginning to brighten. Xu Qing stuffed the bricks back into the wall behind the room, restored it to its original state, and then fed the wild dogs in the courtyard.

Although these guys were useless, after raising them for so long, feeding them had become a habit.

Watching the dozen or so wild dogs scrambling to eat the food, Xu Qing was about to go out to class, but after walking a few steps, he paused and sat down silently in the courtyard.

"It’s also a habit..." Xu Qing murmured. He sat there until the sky was fully bright, then stood up, walked out of the courtyard, and walked through the camp.

The camp, which was clearly very familiar, now felt strange. Shizi and Luan Ya had not returned for a long time. As Xu Qing walked, he suddenly missed his pharmacy in the canyon.

Although that place was a forbidden zone, full of crises everywhere, this feeling of longing was still very strong.

At the same time, Xu Qing was also preparing to try and concoct the White Elixir, so he took a deep breath and was about to leave the camp to head to the forbidden zone. But before he could walk out of the camp, someone called out from behind him.

"Child, child."

The voice was somewhat familiar. Xu Qing turned around and saw an old man with a full head of white hair, wearing a fur coat, running toward him.

This person was an old scavenger in the camp.

No one knew his specific name; everyone called him Old Stone. He was also one of the five or six people Xu Qing had saved when he carried the Lei Team back.

Later, like Bone Knife, he often came to Xu Qing’s place to buy insurance.

"Hey, child, I’ve taken on a big job!" Old Stone said excitedly.

As he spoke quickly, Xu Qing understood.

This Old Stone before him had, during this period, used some unknown method to successfully get the young boys and girls who had arrived in the camp recently to hire him as a guide to go to the temple complex in the forbidden zone jungle.

He had come to find him this time to buy insurance.

"The old rules: five White Elixirs. If I haven’t returned in a week, please, child, come to the temple complex and save me." Old Stone said with a smile.

"A week?" Xu Qing was somewhat surprised.

"Yeah, this group of people, pampered in the Purple Earth, insists on staying inside for a week. But the reward offered is very generous, so this old bone of mine will just have to risk it. Once this is done, I plan to retire."

Old Stone sighed. As an old scavenger, he knew very well that staying in the forbidden zone for a week would not only double the risk, but the miasma would also be the same, but the reward was too much—enough for him to buy the qualification to live in a nearby city, so he wanted to risk it once, and he had also prepared enough White Elixirs.

Xu Qing frowned slightly. He was not prepared to continue taking on such matters, especially since he needed time to study the White Elixir right now.

So he was just about to refuse, but seeing Old Stone’s white hair and expectant expression, Xu Qing couldn’t help but think of the Lei Team. After a silence, he nodded.

"This is the last time."

After saying this, he accepted the White Elixirs amidst Old Stone’s gratitude, walked out of the camp, and headed straight for the forbidden zone.

And at this moment, inside the forbidden zone, mist was appearing, covering an area and spreading toward the surroundings...

Outside the range of the mist, near the Poison Dragon Pool in the forbidden zone, a scavenger was hiding in a tree crevice with a face full of terror, his body trembling.

Around him, there were four figures with cold gazes, searching.

"The mist has risen!! As long as I can hold on, the child will definitely come to save me!" This person hiding was Bone Knife, who had bought insurance from Xu Qing many times!

"The mist has risen."

The moment he stepped into the forbidden zone jungle, Xu Qing’s footsteps paused.

He felt his shadow undergo some distortion; he had encountered this before, and it was a sign of the mist appearing in the forbidden zone.

Even looking carefully, one could see wisps of very thin mist existing among the trees.

Xu Qing was somewhat hesitant, but after thinking about it, he still chose to walk into the jungle.

On one hand, he needed to go to the canyon pharmacy, and on the other hand, although the shadow’s help could not last too long, it was enough for him to reach the canyon.

Moreover, when the mist appeared, it seemed dangerous, but in reality, it was the same for the exotic beasts, so to a certain extent, it was safer than usual.

However, the prerequisite is not getting lost inside, and that the foreign substance does not increase.

Thus, Xu Qing increased his speed, rapidly weaving through the jungle.

Until an hour later, when the mist gradually grew somewhat thick, Xu Qing paused his steps and arrived at the mud where the Night Lizard skin was located.

He stood on a large tree nearby, turning his head to look toward the north.

"That is the area of the Poison Dragon Pool..." Within the forbidden jungle, due to the different terrain, scavengers had divided it into several points, and the Poison Dragon Pool was one of them.

Regarding this Poison Dragon Pool, Xu Qing had heard of it many times, mostly mentioned by Gu Dao, because the rescue area the other party specified every time after buying insurance was the Poison Dragon Pool.

Xu Qing thought for a moment; Gu Dao had bought insurance too many times, and he remembered that the other party seemed to have bought it two days ago.

Although the time had not yet arrived, since the mist had risen and he was in the vicinity, he might as well go over and take a look.

Thinking of this, Xu Qing’s body flickered as he leaped from the tree canopy, approaching the direction of the Poison Dragon Pool.

And as he drew closer, Xu Qing slowly narrowed his eyes, a look of vigilance appearing in his expression, and his movements became increasingly stealthy.

He saw a person.

The other party was wearing a black fur coat, a hideous mask on their face, and holding a long sword gleaming with cold light, currently searching.

Their body also emitted an impressive fluctuation of spiritual energy, which gave Xu Qing the feeling that it had already reached the level of Fire Crow from the Blood Shadow squad back then.

Xu Qing watched for a moment and nimbly bypassed them, but before long, he saw a second person in the same attire with a similar cultivation base, which made Xu Qing feel somewhat puzzled.

"Not scavengers." After pondering, Xu Qing became even more cautious; after circling the area of the Poison Dragon Pool, he saw Gu Dao!