Chapter 48: Seven Blood Eyes (Second Update)

August, the Lesser Heat.

Although the scorching sun in the sky still recklessly infused its heat into the wind, using the wind’s flow to spread the swelter across the land, the heat was inevitably reaching its end with the changing of the solar terms.

In the end, it could only gaze helplessly at the earth from the firmament, waiting for the wild geese to arrive, waiting for the swallows to return, and waiting for the appearance of the next solar term, White Dew.

But compared to the people on the ground, the sun’s position allowed it to see this island, surrounded by the endless sea, more clearly during this wait.

The entire Nanhuangzhou is, in reality, just an island.

It is shaped like a tilted oval, its interior divided east and west by a vast mountain range that stretches north to south like a coiled dragon.

This mountain range is named the Truth Mountain Range.

The western part of the range occupies a full seventy percent of the entire Nanhuangzhou; that area is the largest forbidden zone in Nanhuangzhou, named the Phoenix Prohibition.

Within it permeate dark jungles, burying ancient ruins one after another, shrouded in mist year-round, with numerous exotic beasts, countless anomalies, and extremely dense foreign substances.

As for the eastern part of the mountain range, occupying thirty percent of the entire Nanhuangzhou, that is the habitat of the human race.

And here, there is a location that is extremely special. Its position is precisely at the northern end of the Truth Mountain Range, at the starting point where it meets the sea.

This place connects to the Phoenix Prohibition in the west, leans against the human region in the east, has the endless sea to the north, and the Truth Mountain Range extending to the other end in the south.

This topography makes it the largest port in all of Nanhuangzhou, where huge cargo ships come and go in an endless stream; some come for trade from other surrounding islands, and others come from... the Wanggu Continent.

As such a special and important strategic location, it is naturally not something an ordinary force can control, and this place is where the mountain gate of the Seven Blood Eyes is located.

Looking from afar, the city where the port is located is divided into seven large districts, the port being only one of them; the city composed of these seven districts is vast and astonishing, worthy of being called a majestic city.

This is the main city of the Seven Blood Eyes.

Beside it, there are seven mountain peaks at the northern end of the Truth Mountain Range, each with a giant eye statue a hundred zhang in size on its summit; they are different in color, but all exude sharpness.

Whether day or night, the blinding radiance never dissipates, forming a grand formation that shrouds all directions.

These seven giant eyes overlook the earth like the pupils of a giant beast, carrying a chilling and icy aura that leaves everyone who sees them with a shaken spirit.

This is also the origin of the name Seven Blood Eyes.

The main city where the port is located, together with these seven mountain peaks, constitutes the full appearance of the Seven Blood Eyes mountain gate.

Among them, the seventh peak near the main city and the first peak in the distance are the tallest, standing like two giants, making the petty characters and numerous forces of Nanhuangzhou wary.

After all, within Nanhuangzhou, even the thirty percent area inhabited by the human race contains immense danger.

The wilderness is filled with foreign substances, lurking with various exotic beasts and desperate criminals.

Although exotic beasts are not as fierce as those in the forbidden zone, for the vast majority of humans, leaving the city often means a life-and-death crisis upon encountering them, especially when meeting desperate people... in the wilderness where there is not much order, it is perhaps even more miserable than death.

Therefore, a city where one can live is something the vast majority of humans dream of.

And the main city of the Seven Blood Eyes enjoys a great reputation throughout Nanhuangzhou, not only because of its prosperity, but also because the shroud of the Seven Blood Eyes’ formation can isolate foreign substances to a great extent, allowing people’s lifespans to far exceed those outside.

Thus, being able to enter the Seven Blood Eyes is the dream of too many people.

Countless people yearn to come, and countless people do not want to leave after arriving; it seems that here they can pursue their dreams, but... the rules of the Seven Blood Eyes main city are extremely harsh.

Like an invisible whip, it lashes out at every person who arrives.

The name of this whip is... survival of the fittest.

At this moment, in the main city of the Seven Blood Eyes port, in the central area, three huge teleportation arrays are constantly flashing with light.

They are arranged in a 'pin' shape, and the people coming are an endless stream.

Within the third teleportation array, as the light flickered, the figure of a young man was revealed from within.

The youth wore a dark-colored fur coat on his upper body, loose trousers with the cuffs tied by straw ropes, stained with dried blood; his hair was messy, and his face was dirty.

But his eyes were exceptionally bright, like stars.

As soon as he appeared, he heard the bustling noise and the sound of the waves, and even more, the hot and humid wind brushed over his whole body, making him feel sticky.

All of this transformed into a thick sense of unfamiliarity, surfacing in the youth’s body and mind.

The youth was none other than Xu Qing, who had teleported over from Lujiao City.

"Have I arrived..."

After this teleportation, Xu Qing’s head throbbed with pain; at this moment, rubbing his brow, he did not linger on the array, and as he walked out quickly, he raised his head to scan his surroundings.

Everything here was orderly.

A large number of guards in black armor patrolled and stood guard; outside every teleportation array, there was a long, dragon-like queue, within which were all kinds of people, men and women, bustling and carrying bags and bundles; while they were packed densely together, there were also motorcades among them.

They were all people who had teleported here, and every one of them carried a longing to live in this city; clearly, the teleportation fee to come here was not low, so the longing in their expressions was even more intense.

After scanning a circle, Xu Qing withdrew his gaze and followed the crowd heading out, walking toward the outside.

The teleportation array here was different from the one in Lujiao City; leaving required verification. While waiting in line for verification, Xu Qing looked up at the surrounding environment; from here, one could see the pitch-black sea in the distance.

And at the mountain range on the other end, under the sunset, seven mountain peaks were extremely prominent, especially the seven giant eye statues above them; the fluctuations they emitted seemed capable of connecting to the firmament, causing the sky in the area of those seven peaks to form a huge vortex.

Within the vortex, clouds swirled, and it seemed as if some huge, fierce beast existed; the rare glimpses of it as it moved revealed a sacred aura that shocked all directions.

This scene made Xu Qing’s heart tremble.

It was not until the person in front of him had been checked and left with the issued jade slip, and it was his turn, that Xu Qing took a deep breath and withdrew his gaze.

"Present your travel permit, and answer what business you have here." In front of Xu Qing was a desk, and behind the desk sat two people, a man and a woman.

The man was very handsome, wearing a gray robe; at this moment, he had his eyes closed, as if resting, but the spiritual energy fluctuations on his body were very strong.

The woman was also in a gray Daoist robe, not old, looking about eighteen or nineteen, with a delicate little face and fair skin.

Her eyes were very spirited, like starlight, making it easy for people to become immersed in them and unable to extricate themselves.

It was that woman who spoke to Xu Qing.

She raised her head and scanned Xu Qing indifferently, not minding the dirt on Xu Qing’s body and face.

Clearly, she had seen too many scavengers like Xu Qing here; as she spoke, she casually took out a jade slip, seemingly waiting for an answer to record it.

Xu Qing sensed the spiritual energy fluctuations on the other party; these fluctuations were not strong, but for some reason, the sense of danger they brought him was very clear.

But he weighed it and felt that if it were truly a life-and-death duel, he was confident he could kill the other party, so he calmly took that token out of his leather bag and handed it over.

"Hmm?" A trace of surprise appeared in the woman’s eyes; she took the token and checked it, and when she handed it back to Xu Qing, her expression was no longer cold, but she looked at him deeply.

"So you are a junior brother who is going to join the sect; I wish you... happiness in the Seven Blood Eyes."

The other party’s words were a bit strange; Xu Qing noted this, took the token, and looked at the jade slip in the other party’s hand.

"You don't need a contribution jade slip for ordinary people here; just holding the token is enough. This is your identity qualification. Also, I will remind you: complete the entrance test as soon as possible and adapt to the life of the Seven Blood Eyes as soon as possible..."

After the woman finished speaking, she ignored Xu Qing.

Xu Qing was thoughtful; after leaving the inspection area, he noticed that the people queuing behind him were now looking at him with a hint of envy.

This made Xu Qing lower his head and take a deep look at the token in his hand.

Not until he had gone far away did the man beside the woman, who had been closing his eyes, open them and smile.

"Why the sudden kindness, wishing a newcomer well and even giving a reminder?"

"He is holding the token of my Seventh Peak. Although it is white, no one can say for sure about the future. A blessing and a reminder don't cost me any contribution points, but if this person rises, this can at least count as a good connection."

The woman spoke calmly and called for the next person to come over for inspection.

"Where would there be so many futures? This person looks like a scavenger at a glance. Holding a white token, I imagine he doesn't have much potential. Whether he can pass the entrance test to obtain disciple status is another matter, and even if he does, with the daily payment of thirty spirit coins and expensive cultivation resources, I bet he won't last two months; either he'll be expelled, or—pop—he'll be gone."

The man raised his hand into a fist and then quickly opened it, gesturing.

Their words were very soft, and Xu Qing, who had walked far away, did not hear them.

At this moment, he had already left the teleportation area and walked into the city.

As he walked in, ripples slowly stirred in Xu Qing’s heart.

What came into his view was unprecedented prosperity and flourishing.

Under the sunset, any building here was as gorgeous as the City Lord’s Mansion in the city he had once been in.

And the green bricks, tiles, and greenery that could be seen everywhere also made this place exceptionally tidy.

The crowd in the city was numerous, an endless stream; everyone’s clothing was very clean, mostly silk, rarely coarse hemp, but their expressions were full of indifference, and they were in a hurry.

At this moment, the sunset was approaching dusk, and one could see the lights of thousands of households lighting up on both sides of the street; under the illumination of the lights, the brightness of the earth seemed no different from the daytime, only that the houses were all very quiet, with not a sound coming from them.

On a small river in the distance, there was also a small boat, on which a woman in a Daoist robe, wearing a veil, was throwing elixirs into the river, causing countless fish in the river to circle around, jumping up from time to time, creating ripples in the sunset.

On the shore, many young men jumped into the river one by one to compete with the fish for the elixirs, which was very strange.

All of this made Xu Qing feel unfamiliar, and at the same time, he became vigilant.

He felt that this city was different from the scavenger camp, and also different from the small city with the slum where he had lived.

But there was also something the same...

On the streets of this city, Xu Qing always smelled a faint, familiar scent.

This scent was very slight; if Xu Qing had not been accustomed to the slums and scavenger camps, he would probably not have been able to smell it so keenly.

It was the smell of blood, the same as in the slums and scavenger camps.

After a while, Xu Qing took a deep look at this city, his vigilance deepening.

While pondering, he walked on the road, not in the middle of the road, but in the dark edges; this was Xu Qing’s habit.

At this moment, he prepared to find an inn to rest first; the smell of blood here made him not want to linger on the street.

As for the source of the blood, Xu Qing did not want to investigate it either; he knew that what he had to do now was to complete the entrance test as soon as possible and join the Seven Blood Eyes, so as to alleviate the pursuit of the Jin Gang Sect.

At this moment, in the dusk, the sunset’s afterglow began to slowly dim; Xu Qing, who had not yet found a suitable place, looked around, his eyes gradually becoming sharp.

As the sky grew darker, the entire city became increasingly quiet, and the crowd on the road also walked faster with the changing sky.

Thousands of households, although still having lights, all had their doors closed, and it was deathly silent inside.

The residential houses were like this, and the shops were the same; only a few were still open, but there were no guests inside.

Until the last ray of sunset in the distance disappeared, there was not a single person left on the entire street.

All of this made Xu Qing narrow his eyes; he walked quickly in the dark, his gaze scanning his surroundings, looking for an inn.

Time passed, and after the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Xu Qing finally saw an inn that was still open in the distance; just as he was about to go over, at this moment, he suddenly looked into the distance.

On the pitch-black, empty street in the distance, a figure was fleeing at high speed, followed by seven or eight big men chasing with ferocious smiles.

"Want to run? Let's see where you can run to!"

"It's been a long time since I've seen someone so bold, actually daring to strike first against a contributor we have our eyes on!"

Xu Qing swept his cold gaze over; the person fleeing ahead was a woman, seemingly injured, her steps somewhat unsteady, and with her hair disheveled, one could barely make out a pretty face filled with ferocity.

Xu Qing withdrew his gaze; this matter had nothing to do with him, so he ignored it and walked toward the inn that was open for business.

At the same time, the woman fleeing in the distance also saw Xu Qing; her eyes flickered slightly, and she suddenly spoke in a loud voice.

"The contribution points have been obtained, why are you still waiting here to meet me? Run quickly!"

A cold glint gathered in Xu Qing's eyes as he looked at the woman who had spoken such a clumsy ruse.

Swept by this gaze from Xu Qing, the woman could not help but tremble, feeling as if her entire body had been plunged into the dead of winter; her pupils constricted, her heart shook violently, and a cold sweat broke out on her back, the intense sense of crisis even surpassing the pursuit of the people behind her.

She cursed her bad luck, but unable to take back the words she had spoken, she could only grit her teeth and change direction to flee at high speed.

And there's more~~~