Chapter 745: Cleaning House

Outside the human territories, the slaughter of humans has occurred countless times over the years. After all, humans were once the strongest race in Wanggu, and humans reside in large numbers in every domain of the Wanggu Continent.

Later, as they declined, territory after territory was seized, causing countless clansmen to become livestock for foreign races overnight.

Therefore, acts of sacrifice are frequently seen.

But... within the current human territories, aside from war, such large-scale, heinous incidents rarely occur.

The sacrifices that took place in Tianzhao County were not just one incident; there were three!

The number of victims ranged from tens of thousands to over a million, and most were from small, commoner nations. Their souls were forcibly extracted, and their states of death were extremely miserable.

Such an extremely heinous act strikes at the very foundation of the human race, so when this matter reached the Human Emperor, his anger rose to the heavens.

Because the three incidents in Tianzhao County were very likely just a part of a larger event; there is a high probability that similar incidents have occurred elsewhere.

After all, this behavior is clearly a requirement for some sacrifice or cultivation, and millions are clearly not enough.

Perhaps because the actions in other places were secretive, or because those in charge were negligent, they have not yet been discovered.

Thus, the Human Emperor immediately issued an imperial decree, ordering the entire human territory to conduct self-inspections, while simultaneously ordering the Five Palaces of the Upper Profound to go out together to monitor the matter.

Finally, he also issued a decree targeting the Hetero-Immortal School.

Temporarily seal the White Tower of the Hetero-Immortal School, and imprison the Hetero-Immortal School Master and their ancestor.

Once this decree was issued, it stirred up monstrous waves in the Imperial Capital and the Imperial Academy.

Some even took this opportunity to spread the words spoken by the Fusion-God School Master that day.

In an instant, the theory that there were evil spirits within the Hetero-Immortal School echoed once again.

All fingers pointed toward the Dao Seeds of the Hetero-Immortal School.

The entire Hetero-Immortal School encountered a great calamity at this important moment of revival.

Whether it was the Human Emperor's decree or the fermentation of public opinion, it made the Hetero-Immortal School feel as if it were placed on a fire, under immense pressure.

Especially... those who had fused with the Dao Seeds found their defenses powerless.

They understood the characteristics of the Dao Seeds better than outsiders.

It, indeed, could devour the souls of all living beings.

It was just that, besides strengthening itself, this devouring would also accelerate the formation of soul threads.

But ultimately, in theory, the souls of living beings could indeed allow cultivators who fused with the Dao Seeds to cultivate faster.

However, there was a difference: the souls required by the Dao Seeds were not limited to humans; the souls of all races on the Wanggu Continent could be devoured and absorbed by it.

But this matter could not be used as evidence to prove their own innocence.

Thus, in a short period, as the incident continued, the Hetero-Immortal School changed from its original liveliness to silence, and from its previous revival to extinction.

Some even spared no cost to extract the Dao Seeds from their bodies and turn them in.

As for Xu Qing, watching the momentum of the Hetero-Immortal School's revival—which he had pushed—suffer such a catastrophe, the feeling that the building was about to collapse brought him not a crisis, but killing intent.

Since this matter was, to a certain extent, caused by him, he wanted to investigate it himself.

If this matter was truly done by those who fused with his soul seeds, then he would clean house, simultaneously reclaim all soul seeds currently outside, and do his utmost to compensate for it.

But if this matter was not done by the Hetero-Immortal School, but was instead slandered and utilized by others, then regardless of who was behind the other party, he would surely slaughter them completely and pull them out by the roots.

Too many people had died.

Therefore, the moment Xu Qing left the Imperial Academy, he walked into the teleportation array without hesitation and left the Imperial Capital.

Outside the Imperial Capital, Xu Qing no longer suppressed the fluctuations of his own soul seeds, spreading them out with all his might to assist in his sensing.

In an instant, it was as if lightning flashed through his mind, and threads appeared in his heart—a total of several hundred—connecting every person who had fused with a Dao Seed.

Whether they were purple, cyan, or white, they were all within his perception.

The vast majority of these threads pointed toward the Imperial Capital; as for those outside... there were eleven.

Some were close, while others were very far away. If it had been the Hetero-Immortal School Master, they might have had difficulty sensing them accurately due to the range, but Xu Qing was the source. At this moment, going all out, he could clearly feel the location and state of all the threads through the mysterious connection.

"Ten soul seeds are in a state of fusion, while the other one is the opposite."

Xu Qing could guess that the soul seed outside that hadn't been fused with was likely the one currently being sent over by the Tianzhao County Governor and was on its way.

Xu Qing closed his eyes and carefully felt the threads in his mind. After locking onto that soul seed, his thoughts recalled the time when this soul seed left the Imperial Capital.

A moment later, Xu Qing's eyes suddenly opened.

"Over half a month ago, a total of three soul seeds left with it at that time."

"The other two..." A cold glint flashed in Xu Qing's eyes, and he instantly locked onto two threads from the other threads outside.

One of the threads was in the 97th Ring of the Imperial Capital Domain, and the other was much further away—not in this domain, but had gone to the Jiuzhou County, one of the seven counties.

Xu Qing's killing intent was intense. His body instantly flew out, and he even took out the Ancient Sun, using its astonishing speed to gallop toward the 97th Ring.

The journey was long, but fortunately, the teleportation was smooth during this period. Thus, one day later, after experiencing multiple teleportations and relying on the speed of the Ancient Sun, Xu Qing arrived from the inner ring of the Imperial Capital Domain to the outer 97th Ring.

There were 110 rings in the Imperial Capital Domain. The place where the 97th Ring was located was inhabited by many human commoners. When Xu Qing arrived, it was dusk. Looking out, the entire ring land was harmonious, as if nothing major had happened.

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes, put away the Ancient Sun, and followed the guidance of the soul seed's thread, galloping toward the far west of this ring land.

The blood-colored sunset glow spread across the sky at this time. Xu Qing, within the red glow, also carried intense killing intent as he passed through. Half an hour later, his figure appeared in the west of this ring land.

This place was very vast, with plains as the main terrain. It looked somewhat empty, and there were nine small human nations within it.

Calling them small nations, they were actually just relatively autonomous capital cities.

Because they were located in the Imperial Capital Domain, the human capital cities residing here were relatively much more peaceful. What Xu Qing was looking at now was one of the nations named Wanli.

At this time, one could see smoke rising from the chimneys of this nation's capital. Looking from the sky, the streets there were bustling with noise, and people coming and going were numerous; foot soldiers and merchants were everywhere.

There were also some cultivators, but not many.

The one with the highest cultivation on the surface within it was at the Nascent Soul stage, located inside the nation's imperial palace.

Xu Qing's spiritual sense swept over, his body flickered, and he disappeared in the sky. When he appeared, he was already in a corner of the capital's street, walking forward.

He walked through the city, and wherever he passed, neither commoners nor cultivators could perceive him in the slightest, as if in the eyes of others, Xu Qing did not exist.

This was caused by the aura of a high-rank cultivator himself. Because they have their own Heavenly Dao, they can form their own laws. Therefore, if they do not want to be seen, unless it is someone with a higher cultivation, they cannot be perceived.

And Xu Qing's mood at this moment also left him in no mood to experience the commoners. At this moment, as he walked, he appeared outside a shop.

This was a grocery store. The shopkeeper was an old man, sleeping with his arms as a pillow on the counter. The business in the shop was taken care of by a small assistant.

Xu Qing's arrival naturally would not attract the assistant's attention, but that sleeping shopkeeper's body shook violently. The next instant, his figure actually blurred and disappeared.

Xu Qing was expressionless and spoke indifferently.

"Come back."

Words followed the law; the rules were changed, and the teleportation was affected. In an instant, the shopkeeper's figure at the counter blurred out again and gradually became clear.

His expression was horrified, and he wanted to get up, but it was already too late. Xu Qing flicked his sleeve, and the world shifted; the space changed, and they were no longer in the city, but appeared ten thousand miles above the sky.

Gale winds blew, and the whistling sound was ear-piercing. The shopkeeper standing there had his heart surging with monstrous waves at this moment, looking at Xu Qing with suspicion, uncertainty, and extreme fear.

He had already been extremely cautious. Ever since he learned that his companion had failed and been beheaded, he immediately abandoned the operation and used secret techniques to form multiple traces scattered in other rings, while his true body chose to hide here.

He intended to observe for a while and wait for instructions from above before making a decision.

But now, while there were no fluctuations of any of his other traces being touched, someone had directly found his true body.

This already made him vigilant, and what shocked him even more was Xu Qing's identity.

He had naturally seen Xu Qing before.

At the same time, what made him extremely terrified was the trembling of the Dao Seed within his body at this moment and the sudden feeling that it did not belong to him.

All of this seemed to be telling him that his Dao Seed truly belonged to the person before him—the Domain Venerable Xu Qing, who radiated a terrifying Hetero-Immortal School aura from head to toe.

"Behind the Hetero-Immortal School, it was actually him!"

The shopkeeper felt despair in his heart; there was no need to ask. Finding him at this timing, there was only one answer.

Thus, a look of death appeared in his eyes. Without any hesitation, he directly bit the poison sac hidden in his teeth, and his vitality gradually rotted.

He even shook his body, triggering the restriction he had prepared in advance, causing his physical body to also begin to shatter without a trace.

At the same time, his soul was also instantly burned by the Void Fire that had long been planted.

This series of actions were all means he had as a death-sworn, to ensure that no traces were left behind.

At this moment, it was completed in an instant. Before dying, the despair in his eyes disappeared, revealing a touch of mockery.

It was as if he were telling Xu Qing: You found me, you are the source of the Hetero-Immortal School, so what... can that do!

Xu Qing calmly looked at the shopkeeper who had performed this series of operations. He did not stop him, but observed his methods. After seeing the other party's way of committing suicide, he expressionlessly raised his right hand.

The sundial pointer in his body instantly moved, and a huge phantom appeared behind him, shaking the heavens and the earth. The 1.3 million soul threads in his body poured in, causing this shadow to turn from virtual to real.

Looking from afar, it was like a god descending.

As early as half a month ago, Xu Qing had already tried in the secret room to simulate his own sundial with soul threads, which could break the restrictions and manipulate the years on the enemy for seven breaths. This was his tentatively defined half-fourth form.

Time and space reversed.

Where his right hand pointed, the shopkeeper, whose body had collapsed and soul had dimmed, had his body instantly restored to its original state, stunned on the spot.

"This..." ===== CHAPTER 746 =====