Chapter 382: The Living Are Like This

The morning light reflected on the black Forbidden Sea, refracting a dark, heavy halo. Under the blue sky, the Dharma ship sailed away.

Xu Qing looked up, watching for a long time until the Dharma ship was no longer visible to his sight, and only then did he withdraw his gaze.

Ever since Huang Yan arrived in the Yinghuang Province, he had been very uncomfortable, so his departure was within reason. Xu Qing respected Huang Yan's choice and also wished him and the Second Senior Sister a more beautiful future in the Nanhuang Continent.

"Wishing everything goes well." Xu Qing muttered softly, turned, and left the port, heading all the way to the mountain gate of the Seven Blood Eyes.

He was going to pay respects to Sixth Master.

He was supposed to go yesterday, but he was taken into the Demon Snake Secret Realm by Immortal Zixuan.

At this moment, walking on the steps of the mountain gate, facing the wind and listening to the rustling sound of the large trees planted inside the mountain gate in the wind, Xu Qing felt very calm in his heart.

In the early morning, most of the sect disciples were conducting their morning cultivation. From afar, there were bursts of chanting sounds echoing; this was caused by the reforms of the Seven Blood Eyes after arriving at the Alliance.

They had begun to cultivate the heart.

Xu Qing only learned about this during yesterday's banquet upon his return this time.

The act of cultivating the heart was proposed by Seventh Master and had recently begun to be popularized throughout the entire sect.

This matter had also caused surprise among many disciples; after all, before this, everyone only cultivated techniques and did not cultivate the heart.

Xu Qing was thoughtful, because according to the timeline, it seemed this was the Master's behavior after studying the God-Trial Body.

With these thoughts, Xu Qing followed the steps and walked to the back mountain.

Along the way, every disciple he encountered was extremely respectful, stopping from afar to pay respects.

Not long after, in the back mountain of the Seven Blood Eyes, in that bamboo forest area, Xu Qing saw a grave.

Offerings were placed in front of the grave, and incense was curling upward.

There were two middle-aged cultivators there, silently gazing at the words on the tombstone.

Xu Qing had seen these two; they were Sixth Master's disciples.

They also noticed Xu Qing's arrival, turned their heads to look at him, cupped their fists in greeting, and said, "Xu Qing, congratulations on becoming a Sword Holder."

Xu Qing walked over silently and cupped his fists in return.

"The two of us are ordered to go out, so we came here to pay respects to Master before leaving. Sigh, the world is impermanent; in a blink of an eye, a year has passed."

"Junior Brother Xu, we won't disturb your paying respects. Farewell." The two sighed with emotion and didn't say much more.

"Wishing you both a smooth journey." Xu Qing's expression was serious as he bowed and spoke.

The two waved their hands, their expressions still lingering with sadness, and stepped into the air to leave.

Although the dead were gone and the living were like this, in the end, there would still be moments when waves would rise in their hearts.

Xu Qing sat in front of Sixth Master's grave, took out two pots of wine, poured one on the grave soil, and put the other to his lips, drinking a large mouthful. He didn't speak, just drank. The wind of the mountain forest and the light of the sky blended together, constantly flowing through the world. An hour later, Xu Qing stood up. "Sixth Master, when I come to see you next time, I will bring you a few Zhuzhao heads to go with the wine."

After saying this, Xu Qing bowed deeply toward the tombstone. May heaven and earth be at peace together.

Xu Qing turned and left the back mountain. He didn't walk out of the mountain gate but intended to find his Master.

He had many questions to ask his Master, such as the changes in the Ghost Emperor Mountain within his sea of consciousness, and the fact that the Sword Holder Great Elder mentioned when explaining plants and trees that spiritual plants might be a direction for researching gods.

With such thoughts, Xu Qing walked within the mountain gate. During this time, he also sent a voice transmission to his Master to pay respects. Seventh Master informed him that he was in the pavilion at the top of the mountain and told him to come over... Knowing where his Master was, Xu Qing quickened his pace. Just as he was walking toward the pavilion at the top of the mountain, his expression suddenly stirred, and he looked toward the small path of the mountain gate ahead.

A familiar voice came from there.

"Little one, you're lucky to have met me. Your Uncle-Master Ding Xiaohai has a bad temper; is that someone you can provoke? If I hadn't happened to pass by after coming out of seclusion, he could have crippled you with one slap just now."

"From now on in the sect, you have to listen to me, understand?"

"Yes, I will listen to you, Uncle-Master Ding." A shy and soft voice accompanied Ding Xue's words as they came over.

Soon, Ding Xue, with her ponytail, heroic appearance, and an ancient sword on her back, appeared in Xu Qing's sight.

She was posturing as a senior, and following beside her was a little boy of about ten years old.

This little boy was dressed very cleanly, and his small face was the same.

At this moment, he nodded very politely, but the next instant, he noticed Xu Qing before Ding Xue did. The moment he saw Xu Qing, his expression suddenly changed.

He clearly revealed fear and wariness, and his body even paused, instinctively hiding behind Ding Xue.

Ding Xue was surprised, then also saw Xu Qing in the distance. Her eyes immediately lit up, and she quickly cast aside the little boy and ran toward Xu Qing alone.

At this moment, all the previous heroic posture was replaced by surprise.

"Brother Xu Qing, I was just about to find you. When you returned yesterday, I was still in seclusion. Look, I am already about to reach sixty Dharma apertures and open the second life fire!"

"However, I haven't forgotten the plants and trees; I will work even harder." Ding Xue saw Xu Qing, her eyes carrying an unusual radiance, full of joy.

"Brother Xu Qing, do you have something to do coming up the mountain?"

A smile also appeared on Xu Qing's face, and at the same time, he was surprised that her cultivation had improved so quickly. One had to know that more than a year ago, on the way back from the Ghost Emperor Mountain, Ding Xue had just completed one life fire.

However, thinking of Seventh Master once saying that girls should be raised richly, Xu Qing also roughly understood the reason.

"Very good." Xu Qing praised sincerely and informed her that he was going to pay respects to his Master. Hearing Xu Qing praise her, Ding Xue's heart beat faster, her small face slightly flushed, and her face was filled with happiness.

Xu Qing's gaze fell behind Ding Xue, looking at the little boy who was very uneasy in the distance.

That little boy remained where he was, not knowing whether to leave or stay. At this moment, he had a timid look, and fear rose in his heart.

He was truly afraid of Xu Qing.

Although the token he used to come to the Seven Blood Eyes was given by Xu Qing, the words Xu Qing said when he left that day made him know that the other party had seen through everything about him. Especially on Xu Qing's body, he had once felt the power of suppression, and now looking at it again, this suppression power had become extremely strong.

Others might not be able to see it, but he was different; his perception was extremely clear—that was the pressure of the Ghost Emperor Mountain.

This little boy was exactly the person transformed by the strange entity that Seventh Master had taken a liking to when he and Ding Xue were living in the small town under the Ghost Emperor Mountain that day.

"Brother Xu Qing, you still remember him, right? The little boy from that small town." Noticing Xu Qing's gaze, Ding Xue said with a smile. "Wang Ling, why don't you come over and pay respects to your Uncle-Master Xu?" Ding Xue glared at the little boy.

The little boy endured the fear, his scalp tingling as he stepped forward a few steps to pay respects to Xu Qing, his voice carrying some trembling.... "Greetings, Uncle-Master Xu."

Xu Qing's expression was calm. He learned about the situation and knew that this child had been at the mountain gate for several months, staying under the mountain the whole time.

Today, he came up the mountain to exchange for a Dharma boat, but for some reason, he aroused Ding Xiaohai's disgust, and Ding Xue, who was passing by after coming out of seclusion, helped him out.

"I saw Ding Xiaohai looking at him with a strange look earlier, as if he wanted to swallow him. I don't know why, so I helped out."

The smile on Ding Xue's face was still sweet, but she secretly transmitted her voice to inform Xu Qing.

Although she looked obedient and virtuous in front of Xu Qing, she was actually extremely clever, had a delicate heart, and lacked neither schemes nor observation skills.

"Brother Xu Qing, hurry up and go pay respects to Master. I will find you later, and I will send little Wang Ling down the mountain first." Ding Xue said with a smile.

Xu Qing nodded and walked toward the pavilion.

The little boy beside Ding Xue tilted his head at this moment to look at Xu Qing's figure. Deep in his eyes, a trace of envy was revealed. He thought of the words Xu Qing had said to him that day, so he couldn't help but speak softly.

"Big Brother... ah, Uncle-Master Xu, the words you said to me that day..."

"Work hard, you will achieve it." Xu Qing turned, looked at the little boy, and nodded.

The little boy took a deep breath, nodded as well, and followed Ding Xue away amidst her smiles.

He wanted to become a human, a real human. This was also the only reason he came to the Seven Blood Eyes.

An incense stick of time later, at the peak of the Seven Blood Eyes mountain gate, inside the pavilion, Xu Qing walked in from outside and saw his Master, who had a very serious face, and the middle-aged servant beside him. The two were playing chess.

However, compared to Seventh Master's seriousness, this middle-aged servant, whom Xu Qing was familiar with, had a relaxed face.

After seeing Xu Qing, the middle-aged servant was about to stand up to pay respects, but Xu Qing took a step forward first, lowered his head, and cupped his fists in a bow.

A smile appeared on the middle-aged servant's face, and he stood up to return the greeting.

Seventh Master, who was to the side, flicked his sleeve at this moment, messed up the chessboard, and said indifferently.

"You play too poorly. I gave you so many pieces, and you still lost."

"Fourth, you come and accompany Master in a game of chess." The middle-aged servant gave a bitter smile and stood to the side.

Xu Qing walked over with his usual expression, tidied up the messed-up chessboard, and began to play.

However, his chess skills were very ordinary, so as they played, a smile appeared on Seventh Master's face.

"Fourth, your heart is not calm. Chess contains one's state of mind. From this move of yours, Master can see that you have something on your mind."

"Sure enough, nothing can be hidden from Master."

Xu Qing looked into Seventh Master's eyes and said seriously, automatically ignoring the fact that he had already said he had something to ask when he sent the voice transmission via jade slip just now.

The middle-aged servant to the side, seeing that the master and disciple had something to say, stepped back and even waved his hand to seal off the surroundings, sitting cross-legged outside himself.

"Speak." Seventh Master picked up a chess piece with satisfaction and played with it in his hand.

"Master, the Ghost Emperor Mountain within my body has undergone a slight change." Xu Qing took a deep breath, his expression serious.

"What change?" Seventh Master's tone was relaxed, and the chess piece was just about to be placed.

"It has turned into my appearance."

Clang! The chess piece fell from Seventh Master's hand onto the chessboard. He looked up, looking at Xu Qing blankly.

"What did you say?"

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Er Gen reminds you: Remember to collect after reading. ===== CHAPTER 383 =====