Chapter 564

Xu Qing thought about it this way and immediately felt that he was justified; after all, this was his Master's teaching, and his Master could not be wrong.

Xu Qing let out a sigh of relief, his heart quickly becoming incomparably calm, his gaze even clearer and more crystalline.

He faced the vast will emanating from within the mirror with a clear conscience.

His heart was at peace.

The mirror shimmered with a faint light before him, and vaguely, some power of a curse seeped out from the mirror's surface, as if it were being expelled.

Xu Qing glanced at it, remaining composed.

Soon, after the mirror finished expelling the curse, its light dimmed somewhat, but the will within it still spread out, informing Xu Qing of the content of the second assessment.

"Faith."

Xu Qing murmured; he knew the content of this second item from his previous exploration of the Reverse Moon Hall assessment.

This second assessment of faith, for cultivators in the Sacrifice Moon Great Domain, was almost ninety-nine percent not a big problem; its main purpose was to screen out cultivators who had infiltrated from the Red Moon Divine Hall.

As long as one believed in the Red Moon and contained the Red Moon's blessing within their body, it was impossible to pass this stage.

Xu Qing sighed.

He was very clear that if he could pass the first assessment with his own methods, then it meant the difficulty of this second one would be ridiculously high.

"This means the Reverse Moon Hall cannot distinguish between the Purple Moon and the Red Moon..."

This was understandable; after all, whether it was the Purple Moon or the Red Moon, both were the power of the same authority, just with different allegiances. But for Xu Qing, this was a very headache-inducing paradox.

He clearly had no faith in the Red Moon's Red Mother, but the Purple Moon power he possessed within his body would definitely be considered that of a Red Moon cultivator, and it was not impossible that he might even be mistaken for a God Child.

"For this assessment, I must think of another way to pass."

Xu Qing did not dare to try lightly, but he did not give up either. From his explorations in the past few days, he had recalled his Master's style of doing things many times, and he already had some ideas in his heart, though they still needed careful analysis.

Just like that, time passed day by day.

The Shadow still occasionally went out to hunt for Xu Qing, and the Jin Gang Sect Ancestor was equally diligent, hanging from the beam and staring at every customer who entered the shop.

And the little grass seedling grew increasingly robust, shaking every day as if it were dancing.

As for Linger, her mood was better with each passing day because the time spent bookkeeping had increased.

As their little medicine shop had been open for a long time, with the White Elixirs being sold again and again, it gradually gained some reputation, so the customers coming to buy elixirs naturally increased.

This made the Jin Gang Sect Ancestor's vigilance even stronger, though he had nothing to use his skills on; most of the cultivators who came to buy elixirs were at the Qi Condensation stage, and Foundation Establishment cultivators were rare.

After all, for an elixir like the Bai Dan, the demand was greatest at the Qi Condensation stage, and although high-rank cultivators appeared in the small city, many were rogue cultivators living alone in the Bitter Life Mountain Range, occasionally coming to make purchases.

For their demand for White Elixirs, they had other channels to obtain them and looked down on this ordinary little medicine shop.

As for the factions, the Bitter Life Mountain Range was somewhat chaotic, with numerous factions large and small, all existing in the form of tribes or small groups. The low-rank cultivators within these factions and the residents of the small city were the main source of buyers for the little medicine shop.

For example, at this moment, a human youth walked into the medicine shop.

This youth wore wide robes, and his cultivation base was at the Qi Condensation Layer Five. He came from a nearby medium-sized faction, and because friends of his had come here to buy elixirs, he chose to come here to purchase them after finding out.

The moment he walked into the medicine shop, he scanned his surroundings vigilantly. The first thing he saw was the ugly girl with her head down bookkeeping behind the counter. Determining there was no danger, he walked quickly to the counter.

"I want ten White Elixirs!"

The youth spoke in a low voice, taking out ten spirit coins and placing them on the counter.

Linger's eyes lit up. She quickly picked up the spirit coins, checked them carefully one by one, put them away with satisfaction, and took out a pouch to hand over.

"Come again next time." Linger said with a smile.

The youth took the pouch, opened it to check carefully, and discovered that the White Elixirs here were indeed as his partners had said, not quite the same as those in other places, with no impurities at all.

So he took one out and swallowed it. When he opened his eyes more than ten breaths later, he was covered in sweat, his expression somewhat moved.

"The medicinal effect is this good?" The youth was surprised in his heart. He took a few steps back, and just as he was about to leave, he hesitated for a moment and turned his head to look at Linger.

Linger looked over with a smile.

"This customer, is there anything else?"

The youth hesitated for a moment; his attitude became somewhat respectful due to the medicinal effect of the Bai Dan, and he spoke in a low voice.

"Do you have any detoxifying elixirs here?"

"Recently, every time I cultivate, I can't help but spit out foul-smelling black blood, and there is a dull pain where my heart is. Sometimes, my meditation is interrupted by sudden sharp pains."

"I suspect I've been poisoned."

Linger scanned him with her gaze, and just as she was about to speak, the youth hurriedly transmitted his words.

"I still have one spirit stone!"

Linger blinked and turned her head to look at the back room.

"Brother, there's a big customer!"

In the back room, Xu Qing opened his eyes. He was unable to laugh or cry at Linger's playfulness; he knew this was Linger acting out of compassion, so he got up and walked out.

The instant he saw Xu Qing, the youth instinctively retreated, his expression full of vigilance.

He felt that the young man before him made people tremble, but he couldn't say why he was afraid. The other party had no cultivation base fluctuations, looking just like an ordinary mortal.

But to be able to open a shop here, and for the elixir quality to be so astonishing, the possibility of being a mortal was almost zero.

Xu Qing didn't pay attention to the youth's vigilance; he just scanned him with his gaze and saw the problem with the youth.

The other party was indeed poisoned, and this poison... Xu Qing had encountered it before.

It was exactly the poison of that one-eyed cultivator, only it had been diluted a lot and hadn't been detonated yet.

But because the youth's constitution was weak, there was a reaction in advance.

Regarding the one-eyed cultivator's escape, Xu Qing had always kept it in his heart. At this moment, sensing this poison, he also had some interest, so he raised his hand and threw out a detoxifying elixir.

"Go back and prepare a wooden bucket to hold water, you also need nine drops of morning dew, then swallow this detoxifying elixir, submerge yourself inside, and breathe for an hour."

"Once the color of the water becomes completely pitch black, your poison will be cured."

The youth took the elixir, half-doubting, but still gave Linger a spirit stone and turned to leave quickly.

Linger put away the spirit stone and gave Xu Qing a sweet smile.

Xu Qing shook his head and returned to the back room to continue dissecting the cursed beast, researching the curse while also analyzing ways to enter the Reverse Moon Hall.

However, a wisp of his spiritual sense had already remained on the youth. It didn't act up, but as long as a one-eyed cultivator appeared beside the other party, Xu Qing could sense it instantly.

Just like that, in Xu Qing's exploration and research, half a month passed.

Xu Qing and Linger's little medicine shop had been open here for almost two months, and the medicinal effect of the Bai Dan as well as its low price had given the Qingling Hall a bit of a small reputation.

And so

The customers coming to buy elixirs became more and more numerous, even occasionally reaching the situation of dozens of people arriving in a single day, which attracted the attention of many people in the small city and also caught the attention of some small factions nearby.

Sometimes, the trees want to be still but the wind will not cease; once anything becomes famous, trouble will follow.

This principle is the same everywhere.

Especially in this chaotic place where factions are mixed, it is even more so. At noon this day, an uninvited guest came to the medicine shop.

This was an alien cultivator at the Great Perfection of Qi Condensation, wearing a black robe with a skull hanging on his chest, looking very exaggerated.

The moment he walked into the medicine shop, his cultivation base spread out, forming a wave that enveloped the medicine shop, and he even kicked away a chair in front of him.

Amidst the clattering sound, the chair hit the counter, breaking into pieces and scattering all over the floor.

A corner of the counter was also broken. Linger, who was bookkeeping behind it, raised her head, her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed.

"From today on, you will hand over three hundred White Elixirs to our Skull Alliance every month. Do you hear clearly? I'll only say it once!" This cultivator at the Great Perfection of Qi Condensation slapped the counter with a 'pop' and spoke coldly.

He was not alone; there were four others behind him guarding outside the medicine shop, also in the same style.

Pedestrians on the street saw this scene, noticed the characteristics of these people's clothing, and avoided them one after another.

"It's the Skull Alliance!"

"This group of people is ruthless and vicious. I heard before that a shop in a small city provoked them and was broken into by them at night, killing the whole family."

"Especially their leader, who is at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment. Sigh, they don't dare to provoke the strong, so they come to bully us poor people."

Linger didn't speak. The Jin Gang Sect Ancestor, hanging from the beam, trembled with excitement at this moment.

It had been so long, and he had finally waited for someone who came looking for death, which also allowed him to find an opportunity to show himself.

So, just as he was about to fly over to give the other party three stabs and six holes, piercing a few holes, he had to stop the next instant because Linger wouldn't let him.

Linger's little face turned pale, as if she had been frightened. She hurriedly took out a pouch and placed it in front, nodding repeatedly.

"Okay, okay, we'll give it."

Seeing it go so smoothly, the Great Perfection of Qi Condensation sneered. They often did things like this, and every time they would investigate in advance, ensuring they wouldn't encounter a tough nut to crack before extorting.

They had been watching this medicine shop for half a month, and coming here today was also mainly to test it out. But he didn't expect it to be so successful, so he glared at Linger, raised his hand to take the pouch, weighed it in his hand, and spoke indifferently.

"You're sensible!"

After speaking, he turned and left proudly.

When they left, the panic on Linger's face dissipated. While bookkeeping, she spoke as if nothing had happened.

"You Lingzi."

"Here, please give your orders, Mistress." The Jin Gang Sect Ancestor hanging from the beam responded hurriedly.

"It's not good to kill people here; it will affect business. Tonight, go to their place and quietly get rid of them all. Remember to bring back the elixirs when you return; not a single one can be missing. Also, if there is anything valuable, bring it back together."

"It's a pity Little Shadow hasn't returned; this matter can only be left to you."

Linger spoke indifferently.

The Jin Gang Sect Ancestor scanned the back room quickly and then looked at Linger, having more understanding of this little girl in his heart.

He secretly thought that this Mistress was not as harmless as she looked on the surface. Before, when facing that one-eyed cultivator, she had used a soft-hearted posture to say words about giving the other party a quick end, which had stunned him at the time.

At this moment, he spoke hurriedly.

"Mistress, I guarantee the mission will be completed!"

Linger smiled, tidied up the broken chair on the floor, and said one more thing.

"By the way, remember to bring back three more chairs."

The Jin Gang Sect Ancestor blinked and hurriedly said yes.

"Hmm, let me think, you should catch a few of their heads and bring them back to give to Brother Xu Qing for research."

Linger gave one more instruction.

Xu Qing raised his head in the back room, moved his gaze away from the half-dissected Golden Core scorpion in front of him, and looked outside. For Linger's thoughtfulness, warmth rose in his heart.

He was indeed a bit tired of always researching fierce beasts.

The big scorpion in front of Xu Qing hadn't died yet, its eyes revealing terror and despair. In its cognition, this human before it was incomparably terrifying; it was being cut apart alive.

And the fluctuations here were all hidden, so they couldn't be sensed outside.

Otherwise, that Skull Alliance cultivator at the Great Perfection of Qi Condensation would definitely have been scared limp instantly, regretting walking in here.

"It's time to research the curses within these cultivators." Xu Qing murmured in his heart, raised his hand, and crushed the scorpion's head, ending its life.

At night, the dim sky became even darker. A streak of black light flew out rapidly from the medicine shop, its speed astonishing, shuttling between heaven and earth. It was none other than the Jin Gang Sect Ancestor.

He drove the divine fish bone and headed straight for the small faction where the people who came during the day were located.

"Little Shadow is usually silly, but it made one right move, and that is to please the Mistress..."

"This matter was my negligence. At first, I didn't see that this little girl is usually innocent and lively, but actually, her heart is as black as the fierce star's."

"In storybooks, such a Mistress is a character not to be trifled with."

"Little Shadow has a backer, and it has become arrogant recently too."

The Jin Gang Sect Ancestor recalled scene after scene regarding Linger and felt more and more that the other party was not as simple as she looked on the surface, so he made up his mind in his heart that he would also have to please her more in the future.

"But I lost the initiative... It doesn't matter, after returning to Fenghai County, I will go please the other Mistress."

"This way, if one day the fierce star doesn't like me, I will also have a trump card to save my life."

The Jin Gang Sect Ancestor had a thousand thoughts, breaking through the air all the way. Soon, he left the Earth City and arrived at the place where the nearby small faction was located.

But before he could get close, his expression moved slightly, and he sensed the smell of blood.

The Jin Gang Sect Ancestor felt a light 'eh' in his heart. Although the people opposite him could be killed in an instant in his eyes, he still remained cautious, hiding his tracks and approaching slowly. Until, after walking a circle inside, he saw that the ground was full of corpses.

The cultivators of this small faction had already been slaughtered by someone, not a single living person remained, and the items within had also been looted clean.

"Looking at this, the time of death was half an hour ago, and the cultivation base of the person who made the move was at least Golden Core. After arriving, they killed all the way..."

The Jin Gang Sect Ancestor pondered for a while, turned and left this place. After returning to the medicine shop, he immediately reported everything he saw and his analysis to Linger and Xu Qing.

Linger was surprised, and Xu Qing was thoughtful. The possibility of this matter being a coincidence was not high; on the contrary, there was a feeling of it being done on purpose.

And the answer appeared the next day.

In the early morning, before the medicine shop opened, two people were standing there outside, waiting respectfully.

The moment Linger opened the shop door, these two people

bowed towards Linger.

"Greetings, Shopkeeper. I wonder if the Master is in?"

Linger blinked, her gaze scanning these two people.

She had seen one of them; it was exactly the human youth who bought the detoxifying elixir. And the middle-aged man beside him wore a cyan robe and had a somewhat scholarly air, clearly different from the clothing of others here.

His cultivation base was also not bad, belonging to the late stage of Golden Core, and it seemed he hadn't broken through for very long.

It was that Golden Core middle-aged man who spoke to her, while the youth beside him had a cautious expression, his eyes aiming at the back room where Xu Qing was.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man bowed towards the back room again and transmitted his words respectfully.

"Master, the people from the Skull Alliance provoked you yesterday. I have already wiped them out. These are the elixirs they extorted from here."

The Golden Core middle-aged man took out a pouch and handed it to Linger with both hands.

Linger's eyes lit up. She had been pondering the elixir matter all night and felt that she had lost money, but she didn't take it immediately, instead waiting for Xu Qing's response.

She knew Brother Xu Qing's personality and understood that there were some things she couldn't make the decision on.

"Please come in."

A moment later, Xu Qing's voice came from the back room.

Linger took a few steps back. The two people at the door walked in respectfully, stood to one side, and looked at the curtain of the back room, not having any intention to probe.

With such sensible people, Xu Qing couldn't not appear, so he walked out from the back room and looked at the two.

Regarding Xu Qing's youth, this Golden Core cultivator's eyes revealed a strange light, but this didn't affect his attitude. At this moment, his expression became solemn, he cupped his fists towards Xu Qing, and stated his purpose.

"Greetings, Master."

"I am Chen Fanzhuo, Sect Master of the nearby Runtu Sect. This is a disciple of my sect, and it was from him that I learned of Master's medical skills."

"I came here presumptuously because all the disciples of my sect have been poisoned, and even Chen himself is like this. May I ask if Master still has detoxifying elixirs?"

"Chen is willing to buy them with a heavy price."

He was very clear that some things should be simple and direct, not hidden or concealed, and since his sect disciples were falling ill one after another, he had found many elixir masters who were all helpless against this poison.

So he was incomparably anxious in his heart, until he inadvertently discovered that one disciple was actually fine.

So after knowing all this, he decided to come here.

He didn't believe that a mortal could refine such an elixir, and to be able to possess such detoxifying attainments, he was definitely not an ordinary person.

So his attitude was always polite.

Xu Qing's expression was as usual. He looked at this middle-aged cultivator and couldn't be bothered to distinguish whether the Skull Alliance's actions were pushed by this person behind the scenes to show goodwill.

The other party's attitude was already enough.

So he raised his hand and waved, and a pouch filled with detoxifying elixirs was thrown over.

The middle-aged cultivator took it with both hands, didn't check it, directly took out a storage bag and placed it to one side, then left politely.

After he left, Linger hurriedly went up to check, then exclaimed.

"Brother Xu Qing, there are one hundred thousand spirit stones here."

Xu Qing raised his eyebrows, having some good feelings for that middle-aged cultivator, then called Linger into the back room.

Linger didn't know what she thought of, her little face turned a bit red. She immediately went to close the medicine shop door, then took a deep breath, followed Xu Qing into the back room shyly, then puffed out her little chest hard and spoke softly.

"Brother Xu Qing, it's broad daylight, why did you call me over?"

Xu Qing didn't pay attention to Linger's words. After sitting cross-legged, he took out a mirror fragment.

"Linger, I want you to join the Reverse Moon Hall."

"Ah?" Linger was stunned, feeling a bit lost in her heart. Brother Xu Qing's actions seemed a bit different from what she thought...

"I've tried recently, but I can't get in." Xu Qing was helpless. During these days, he had tried to complete the second assessment, but every time it was a failure, and all the methods he thought of had no effect.

Now, only the last method remained.

That was to let Linger join and complete the assessment, and he himself would use the life-sharing technique with Linger to enter the Reverse Moon Hall.

There was originally a difficult point in this. Because the weakest cultivation base of the people in the Red Moon Divine Hall was Nascent Soul, and Linger's cultivation base hadn't reached Golden Core, there was a problem with the sacrificial power.

The assessment required the sacrificial target to be at the same realm as the sacrificer. If the level of the Red Moon cultivator being sacrificed was too high, this obvious loophole would be considered cheating with someone's help.

This was also to limit the cultivation base of those joining the Reverse Moon Hall.

However, with Xu Qing here, this point was easy to solve.

Under Xu Qing's explanation, Linger understood this, secretly put away her little thoughts, and nodded hard.

"No problem, Brother Xu Qing, I can do it."

As she spoke, Linger even patted her little chest in front of Xu Qing.

Xu Qing's mind was full of entering the Reverse Moon Hall at this moment. He had pondered this matter for a long time and had also analyzed it in detail in his heart; there wouldn't be any danger, so after he told Linger the steps, the two of them started immediately.

Xu Qing first let Linger open the mirror, then took out two fierce beasts with the same cultivation base as Linger, blessed them rapidly, and threw them into the mirror before their curses were about to explode.

Soon, the first assessment was passed, and then the faith assessment went very smoothly. There was no Red Moon power on Linger's body, and she completed this second item easily.

The instant she completed it, the mirror floating in mid-air made a cracking sound, and a crack appeared.

Bursts of suction power spread out from this crack.

"Brother Xu Qing, that voice told me that this is the entrance to the Reverse Moon Hall." Linger looked at the mirror and spoke hurriedly.

Xu Qing looked at the crack on the mirror and didn't dare to try to enter. With the status of the Reverse Moon Hall, if a non-examinee forced their way in, he was afraid that a killing force would descend instantly.

So Xu Qing looked at Linger.

Linger's eyes revealed anticipation. Ever since Xu Qing untied the life-sharing with her, she hadn't said anything, but she was still very lost in her heart. Now that she could continue, her heart was full of happiness. Without any hesitation, her body swayed, turned into a little white snake, and landed on Xu Qing's wrist.

The next instant, a green thread coiled around.

The connection between the two was re-established, but the current Xu Qing was not the same as before. Under the blessing of the Qi luck power in his body, this time it was not one-sided, but shared by both parties.

After doing all this, Xu Qing could clearly feel that he and Linger seemed to have become one at this moment.

"Brother Xu Qing, this is a unique talent of our Ancient Xiang Linger Clan. In one lifetime... one can only be tied to one person. Even if it's untied, one cannot be tied to others."

"From now on, you and I share life; if you live, I live; if you die, I die; life and death depend on each other, morning glow and yellow springs... all as companions!"

An ethereal voice rose in Xu Qing's heart.

Xu Qing gazed at the mark on his wrist, nodded heavily, and after taking a deep breath, he looked at the floating mirror and swayed his body, heading straight for the crack.

The moment he got close, his body turned directly into a beam of light and merged into the crack.

Entering a strange place!