Chapter 60

Time passed, and the wind and rain grew stronger.

The wailing sound of the wind, like crying, swirled within the main city of Seven Blood Eyes, wandering through every street and every alley, meeting and embracing the rain from the sky time and time again.

It also landed on Banquan Road, all around Xu Qing.

The rain tapped against the bricks and tiles nearby, making a tapping sound, and the wind was not to be outdone, blowing his long robe, making it flap loudly.

And Xu Qing, standing under the eave, seemed undisturbed by the wind and rain, his whole person merging into the darkness, like a hunter, motionless, gazing coldly.

He was very patient, his breathing even, neither hurried nor impatient.

Just like that, another hour passed. When thousands of households had long since extinguished their lights and the entire city was plunged into darkness and silence, with only the rustling sound of rain, a figure slowly poked its head out inside the inn.

That was a middle-aged cultivator wearing a red robe. The body under the robe seemed very sturdy, with extremely broad shoulders; standing there gave one a sense of oppression. It was indeed Qing Yunzi.

The spiritual energy fluctuations on his body were also quite impressive, reaching the appearance of the ninth layer of Qi Condensation; he seemed very strong.

But this kind of strength was only relative to small sects and small forces. For the disciples of Seven Blood Eyes, the difference in cultivation techniques already widened the foundation of both sides, and being able to grow up in the brutal environment of the Seven Blood Eyes main city, then only the seventh layer of Qi Condensation was needed to suppress a ninth-layer cultivator from such a small sect like him.

So this made him very cautious within the Seven Blood Eyes main city.

At this moment, at the inn door, he first poked his head out to scan around, and after confirming there was no danger, he tried to take a step out. The moment he stepped out of the inn, his whole person suddenly swayed, about to leave in the rainy night.

But just after walking less than five steps, Qing Yunzi's expression changed, as if he had a talent for identifying danger. Although he did not see Xu Qing, he seemed to sense a crisis and suddenly turned around, heading straight for the inn.

Xu Qing's brows furrowed slightly. He had intended to wait for the other party to run a bit further before making a move, but the other party's alertness was too high. At this moment, a cold, sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and he stepped out.

His speed was so fast that his whole person was like a bolt of lightning, shuttling through the rain.

The falling rain became incomparably slow before him, and the entire street set off a sonic boom at this instant.

As the rain collapsed one after another with thumping sounds, Xu Qing's figure was like an arrow released from a bow, heading straight for Qing Yunzi outside the inn with irresistible force.

Qing Yunzi's expression changed drastically. He saw Xu Qing, felt the terror of this speed, and even more so felt the Forbidden Sea aura from the other party's spiritual energy, suppressing his entire body and causing his own spiritual energy to stagnate. His heart shook wildly, and a life-and-death crisis erupted at this moment.

His eyes turned blood-red in an instant, and he bit his tongue tip as if to trigger a secret technique, forcibly operating his cultivation base, causing his speed to soar suddenly. He was just about to rush into the inn's door.

And at this moment, inside the inn door, the old man smoking from a pipe also appeared there, looking at Xu Qing who was heading straight for this place amidst the dim light of the tobacco fire.

The next instant, as bloodshot eyes filled Qing Yunzi's vision and he was only half a step away from the inn door, with his right foot raised and about to land and cross in, a black light approached in an instant with even greater speed. Carrying cold light and rich Forbidden Sea spiritual energy, it broke through Qing Yunzi's cultivation defense and suddenly pierced through the lower leg of his raised right foot.

The speed was so fast and the impact so strong that Qing Yunzi emitted a shrill scream in this silent night.

His right foot could not land, his body was deflected by the impact, and as he staggered and struggled to stand steady, forced to take a step back, a second black light whistled over; it was a dagger.

With a bang.

The speed of this dagger was astonishing; it arrived in an instant, directly piercing into Qing Yunzi's left arm. The terrifying spiritual energy erupted within his body, destroying his meridians while also pinning his body fiercely to the ground, face down, only an arm's length away from the inn door.

Amidst the screams, the veins on Qing Yunzi's forehead bulged, and he struggled to pull out the dagger and crawl toward the inn, but it was too late. Xu Qing's figure had already approached, and he stepped on Qing Yunzi's back.

This kick had immense force; with a crack, his back's spine broke. The intense pain caused Qing Yunzi's whole body to shake wildly, and his screams became even shriller.

Amidst his misery, the old man inside the inn put down the pipe in his hand, and at this instant, his whole person seemed to exude a dangerous aura, looking coldly at Xu Qing who appeared at the door.

"Are you trying to break my rules?"

His two eyes turned yellow, and one could see tentacles drilling out from within, and a crack even appeared on his forehead, as if some existence within his body was about to drill out at this moment, which was shocking.

At the same time, inside his inn, strange noises emerged. A huge python, fully three people thick, actually hung down from the inn's rafters, its vertical pupils revealing coldness and bloodthirst as it stared at Xu Qing.

Not only that, but a large number of centipedes also drilled out from the ground, each one pitch-black and containing highly toxic poison, all posing in an attacking posture. Furthermore, sharp auras emanated from the surrounding houses, locking onto Xu Qing, while ropes hung down from the roofs.

These ropes seemed to possess life, like hanging nooses; at this moment, they slightly formed circles, as if they could entwine Xu Qing in the next instant, exuding an endless aura of death, as if the number of people who had died on these hanging ropes was countless.

They were staring at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing stood at the door, stepping on the back of the screaming person under his feet, looking up at the old man inside the inn.

The two locked eyes.

Regarding the strange beasts inside the inn, the aura locks from the surroundings, and those ropes, Xu Qing seemed not to see them; he just looked at the old man.

The phantom of the ghost-like figure manifested behind him, pitch-black like a fierce spirit, ferocious and ready to strike.

At the same time, Xu Qing's Mountain-Sea Secret Technique operated at full power, and every inch of flesh and blood in his body was prepared for a complete eruption at this moment.

The Sea-Transformation Scripture was the same; the surrounding rain paused in mid-air at this moment, circling around Xu Qing, echoing with the spiritual sea within his body.

It seemed that a killing technique could be formed at any time.

The poison was the same, and so was his shadow; at this moment, silent and undetectable, it had already spread into the inn, to the feet of that strange old man.

Especially above his head, amidst the circling raindrops, there was an illusory long blade, appearing and disappearing, as if containing vast power; now it was compressed, ready to be slashed down onto the earth like a heavenly blade at any time.

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes, looking at the old man before him, not intimidated by the tentacles in his eyes and the forehead about to split open. He knew the other party was very strong, but he also had a way to retreat unscathed, so his expression was calm, and he spoke earnestly.

"He did not step in, so it does not count as breaking the rules."

Gloomy light flashed in the old man's eyes. After staring at Xu Qing for a good while, he suddenly laughed.

"What you say makes sense."

Once the smile appeared and the words echoed, all the auras locked onto Xu Qing outside the inn vanished in an instant, the python inside the inn retracted to the rafters, and the centipedes on the ground dissipated into the ground amidst rustling sounds.

And those ropes also blurred and soon disappeared without a trace. As for the old man himself, the tentacles in his eyes and the crack on his forehead all dissipated, returning to the appearance of an unremarkable old man, and he picked up his pipe and took a puff.

"Are you selling the corpse?"

Xu Qing shook his head, grabbed Qing Yunzi's hair, and amidst the other's trembling, spoke indifferently.

"Where is the woman you captured two days ago?"

Qing Yunzi's hair was disheveled, his face covered in blood, looking extremely wretched.

At this moment, he trembled, but seemed to want to be stubborn, about to spit blood at Xu Qing, but Xu Qing pressed his head onto the ground and wiped it earnestly.

As the screams became even shriller, Xu Qing raised his hand and pressed it onto Qing Yunzi's right arm, crushing all the bones bit by bit, then switched to the other arm. This intense pain made Qing Yunzi shiver, unable to scream.

Xu Qing's expression was calm. After a careful inspection, he punched Qing Yunzi's dantian, destroying his cultivation base. After confirming the other party was no longer a threat, he stood up, put away the dagger and black iron skewers, grabbed Qing Yunzi's foot with one hand, and dragged him forward.

The contact between flesh and the ground, even with the rain as a buffer, made the feeling of skin and flesh slowly shattering, rolling, and being rubbed cause Qing Yunzi's screams to become even sharper.

As Xu Qing moved forward, these screams continued incessantly, and a bloodstain slowly appeared on the ground. Although it was washed away rapidly by the rain, the traces could still be seen.

These scenes caused the inn old man's eyes to shrink fiercely. He watched the young man walking away in the rainy night, listening to the inhuman screams of Qing Yunzi being dragged by him, and after a long while, he murmured.

"This kid is ruthless enough..."

Just like that, Qing Yunzi's screams continued all the way. Everyone walking in the dark night who saw this scene felt their hearts shake, and they had an extremely deep impression of the expressionless young man's figure.

Even some patrolling disciples heard the noise and rushed over. After seeing it and recognizing Qing Yunzi's identity, their expressions changed, and they looked at Xu Qing.

Being able to kill a ninth-layer Qi Condensation cultivator, even if it was just a rogue cultivator from a small sect, but to capture him alive and torture him to this extent, showed his combat power and ruthlessness. No one was willing to provoke such a person easily.

This battle gave Xu Qing some fame in the main city.

And Qing Yunzi's toughness was completely lost after persisting for an hour. While in a state of delirium, he told Xu Qing a location and also told Xu Qing the secret about that informant.

That informant was actually an eye planted by Qing Yunzi. He did not know that the other party had told Xu Qing about his clues, but he had a habit: any eye, after being used for a period of time, would be discarded.

This time, it was just that eye's turn.

According to the address provided by Qing Yunzi, Xu Qing went there, carefully checked to ensure there was no ambush, and then truly stepped in. Finally, in a sealed dungeon mixed with countless foul-smelling odors, he saw the dying informant.

Having lost the spirit coins, the smell of the poison powder on her body was confused, and being locked in this sealed place, Xu Qing had not found her.

But she was not dead yet; around her were rotting corpses, both male and female.

The way these people died was extremely miserable; clearly, they had been cruelly tortured before death, and a formation seemed to have been drawn on the ground, as if their deaths were some kind of ritual.

Xu Qing's arrival caused the informant to open her eyes weakly. When she saw Qing Yunzi unconscious on the side, she didn't know where the strength came from, but she went crazy. Regardless of Xu Qing being on the side, she pounced like a wild beast to tear and bite, livingly biting the unconscious Qing Yunzi until he woke up, screaming shrilly, and finally, she bit into Qing Yunzi's neck, one bite after another.

Until Qing Yunzi's flesh and blood were blurred and his body twitched and stopped breathing, she stayed there, instinctively raising her head to look at the expressionless Xu Qing on the side.

In her eyes, Xu Qing, in his gray robe, had a tall posture, and his handsome face revealed a coldness that she found hard to fathom. The aura emanating from his body made her feel unable to breathe.

Thus, the madness on her face was slowly suppressed. After becoming calm, under Xu Qing's gaze, she gradually revealed a submissive look, her body instinctively trembling, as if remembering something, and she hurriedly rummaged around here.

Finally, she found a jade slip, looked up at Xu Qing, and slowly knelt and bowed, as if surrendering, offering it to Xu Qing with both hands.

Xu Qing took the jade slip; inside, it recorded an evil formation, and the description matched that after the ritual was opened, incredible power would descend.

But the conditions for opening this formation required the emotions of living beings, various extreme emotions such as joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness.

Silently watching the human misery in the dungeon, he remained silent for a long time. Xu Qing dragged Qing Yunzi's corpse away. Before leaving, his voice echoed in the woman's ears.

"From now on, be my informant earnestly."

Following the voice was another spirit coin and an antidote pill.

The woman held the spirit coin and the antidote, staring blankly at the departing Xu Qing. His back figure, in her eyes, was gradually carved into her soul, and she lowered her head to acknowledge.

At this moment, it was not far from dawn outside. Xu Qing took out a black paper umbrella, dragged Qing Yunzi's broken corpse, and walked silently on the street.

The clouds in the sky piled up, as if reflecting his mood somewhat. Until he sent Qing Yunzi's corpse back to the division and left amidst the surprise of his colleagues, Xu Qing looked at the morning sun in the sky and the remnant face of the god in the distance, resilience appearing in his eyes.

"In this cruel, chaotic world, only by becoming stronger can one avoid... becoming fish and meat under someone else's knife!"