Chapter 35: Strange Objects Reappear (Combined)

The next day, at noon.

Lou Qinghe, dressed in black, carrying five or six Middle-grade Spirit Stones, his Flying Needle artifact, and several Life Soul Banners from the Baigu Sect, hurried out the door.

Ever since the Baigu Sect went into hiding on the outskirts of the city, not only Longmen Market but other markets were also in a state of panic.

Longmen Market was remote and had no oil to scrape, but it was actually much safer, which was the reason Lou Qinghe was willing to continue staying on Qingyun Street.

But with the Xu Family leaving, a sense of crisis kept surging into his heart.

So Lou Qinghe planned to head to other markets to gather some information, to make plans for the future.

As the side door opened, Lou Qinghe's figure vanished with a 'whoosh'.

At this moment, he discovered a sneaky figure at the corner.

Fang Zu!

He was naturally no stranger to this person; he was a loose cultivator he had patrolled with, and this person was also among the first to follow Yu Tonghai in forming the Tianling Gang.

"What is he doing lingering around my house?"

Lou Qinghe frowned, a hint of unease in his heart.

"Forget it, I'll wait until I've gathered some information."

Lou Qinghe didn't rush to question or act; instead, he used the Wind Breath Art and flew off into the distance.

Qingyun Street belonged to the west side of the city outskirts, where there were numerous markets, large and small, totaling about dozens, all built from the shantytowns of loose cultivators, including small markets like Longmen Market and medium-sized markets like Baiyu Market.

Because of the last upheaval at Baiyu Market, Lou Qinghe had some trauma in his heart.

This time, he didn't choose to go to Baiyu Market but planned to head to the further Heisong Market.

Compared to the outermost Longmen Market, Heisong Market was closer to the Outer City, and the Spirit Qi was much denser.

This meant the hygiene fees were higher, and the overall cultivation of the cultivators was a notch higher than at Longmen Market.

Along the way, Lou Qinghe continuously discovered scorched marks on the ground, tattered clothing, and even bleached white bones.

Destroying corpses and erasing traces!

Without any rules to constrain them, killing people and seizing treasures seemed to be a common occurrence, especially in the current, more chaotic world.

Besides this, loose cultivators appeared from time to time, most looking disheveled and panicked.

This made Lou Qinghe's heart sink.

Chaos!

This was his first feeling after leaving Qingyun Street!

Lou Qinghe thought secretly, "Could it be that not only the Xu Family has left? Have other families also retreated to the Outer City one after another?"

In the past, the order of the city outskirts was controlled by various small families and gangs.

With them there, although loose cultivators would be oppressed and exploited, at least there was a chance to survive.

If these families had all left, he didn't know how terrifying the outskirts of the city would become.

Gangs everywhere, killing each other, blood flowing like a river......

Lou Qinghe could almost imagine what it would become.

Traveling at high speed, in about the time it takes to drink three cups of tea, he arrived at the shantytown of Heisong Market.

Blood Qi!

Even from several miles away, one could see the blood Qi soaring into the sky, and from time to time, there were sounds of fighting and killing.

A rough scan revealed black shadows flickering in the distance.

Baigu Sect!

"Bad!"

Lou Qinghe's body flashed, and he dove into a nearby courtyard.

Heisong Market had actually been breached by the Baigu Sect!?

This was simply earth-shattering news; Longmen Market was not far away and had no experts, meaning the Baigu Sect could slaughter the entire Longmen Market in an instant.

Qingyun Street was completely unsafe!

Lou Qinghe narrowed his eyes to a slit, his heart thinking rapidly.

At this moment, a rough shout came from outside the courtyard.

"Search every room clean."

"Maybe there are some artifacts or pills left behind."

Hearing this voice, Lou Qinghe cursed inwardly.

"Clang!"

Hearing a clear sound, a Baigu Sect member holding a Life Soul Banner walked into the small courtyard where Lou Qinghe was hiding, acting brazenly.

Qi Refining Level 5 cultivation!?

Lou Qinghe hid behind the wall, feeling the cultivator's aura, and frowned.

"Who would have thought that the fighting between these three gangs would benefit my Baigu Sect......"

The cultivator sneered and walked toward the bedroom with large strides.

Step!

Step!

The footsteps were getting closer.

Lou Qinghe's heart began to beat along with them.

He had to kill with one sword; if he made a commotion, he would attract other experts of the Baigu Sect, among whom there were certainly those at the Late Stage of Qi Refining, and if that happened, there would be almost no possibility of escaping.

Just as the Baigu Sect member took a step, Lou Qinghe pressed his fingers together.

"Swish!"

A cold, sharp light shot out from his fingertips.

"Hmm!?"

The Baigu Sect member had been fighting for years and was extremely sensitive to life-and-death crises; he only felt the hair on his back stand up, and his footsteps retreated a step.

"Pfft!"

This sword light didn't pierce the Baigu Sect member's head, but it did cut his neck, and blood immediately sprayed out.

"Ah--!"

A shrill scream rang out, echoing in all directions.

"Damn it!"

Lou Qinghe cursed inwardly, Qi gathering frantically in his palm, and several sword Qi shot out from between his fingers.

Wielding sword Qi with his fingers was no longer the means of an ordinary loose cultivator.

"You......"

The Baigu Sect member fell into a pool of blood, his face filled with astonishment.

Afterward, his head was shattered by several sword lights, white and red scattered all over the ground.

"There's a sound over there!"

"Brother Sun, what's going on!?"

"What happened!"

At this moment, the Baigu Sect members who heard the shouting all gathered around.

A drop of cold sweat appeared on Lou Qinghe's forehead; if he faced the siege of so many Baigu Sect members, with his current cultivation and strength, he would certainly die.

What to do?

Use the Thousand Mile Evasion Technique to escape, or fight to the death!?

In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through Lou Qinghe's mind.

In one breath, his forehead was already covered in dense cold sweat.

"Hmm!?"

Suddenly, he saw the old face of the corpse on the ground, and a bold idea sprouted in his mind.

Outside the courtyard, several Baigu Sect members found the house very quiet, all frowning, then looked at each other and prepared to rush in.

Just then, the door of the house swung wide open.

A figure wearing the robes of the Baigu Sect walked out, cursing, "Daring to resist, you really have the guts of a bear."

A Baigu Sect member hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "Brother Sun, are you alright?"

The Baigu Sect member surnamed 'Sun' waved his hand, "I'm fine."

The Baigu Sect members then breathed a sigh of relief.

This person was Lou Qinghe in disguise, but because of the Wind Breath Art, no one present discovered anything unusual.

At this moment, he saw dozens of Baigu Sect members around him, his heart very nervous, fearing he would reveal a flaw and become a beehive in an instant.

"Then what was that just now?"

A member asked suspiciously.

Lou Qinghe said faintly, "There was an old woman inside, very juicy."

Hearing this, everyone suddenly realized, and then they all secretly marveled, damn, that was fast!

If it had been anyone else, wouldn't they have just taken off their pants?

The member who spoke first thought of something and said, "Brother Sun, the sect is holding a lecture tonight, and we've delayed the time; the higher-ups will blame us, let's go back quickly."

"Right, time to go back."

Lou Qinghe feigned calmness, "Then let's go back."

Immediately, he followed dozens of Baigu Sect members toward the core area of Heisong Market.

These people were all at Qi Refining Level 5 or 6, but they showed fawning and flattering intentions toward Lou Qinghe, and there was no gap in time, so the idea of escaping privately could only die in the cradle.

Soon, more and more Baigu Sect members gathered.

A rough look showed there were forty or fifty of them, among whom there were four or five experts at the Late Stage of Qi Refining.

This made Lou Qinghe's heart jump wildly.

If he were discovered, wouldn't he be torn apart by five horses?

"Is everyone here?"

"Everyone is here."

"Let's go, back to the main altar!"

Following the shout of the black-robed cultivator in the lead, the Baigu Sect members present surged toward the distance.

"Go to the Baigu Sect main altar!?"

Lou Qinghe swallowed his saliva secretly.

"Brother Sun, what's wrong with you? Let's go."

A Baigu Sect member saw Lou Qinghe not moving and hurriedly walked over to ask with concern.

"It's fine, let's go back."

In the end, Lou Qinghe didn't find a chance to run away and could only follow behind the Baigu Sect members in a daze.

Qingyun Street.

Fang Zu was staring at Lou Qinghe's courtyard door, his brows locked tight.

"This Shengkui is only a Qi Refining Level 2 cultivator, where did he offend Gang Leader Yu?"

Just last night, he received a task to keep a close watch on Lou Qinghe.

Fang Zu also didn't understand at all.

"Forget it, just keep a good watch."

Fang Zu let out a breath and didn't think about it anymore.

"Ding!"

At this moment, a crisp, pleasant sound came from the distance.

Fang Zu raised an eyebrow and looked ahead.

It came from a cramped alley.

A thought entered his mind, and he subconsciously walked toward the alley, his heart wanting to find out the truth.

The alley was very deep, very deep.

It seemed to have no end.

Suddenly, cold, sharp light erupted.

Fang Zu was pierced through by countless sword lights, turned into a puddle of flesh, and fell to the ground.

He died just like that, without knowing why, without a bit of pain.

"You shouldn't have, you really shouldn't have......"

At this moment, the female cultivator wearing grey robes landed and said softly.

The night grew deeper, the stars twinkling.

Yu Tonghai's house was brightly lit, lively and boisterous.

At this moment, Yu Tonghai stood up, looked at the crowd, and smiled, "That Zhao Feng is dead; Cross Street no longer has anyone to contend with the Tianling Gang. From now on, Longmen Market is our world."

Just today, Zhao Feng of Cross Street took a risk, wanting to break through to Qi Refining Level 7, reaching the Late Stage of Qi Refining.

He didn't expect the news to leak.

Yu Tonghai led the loose cultivators of the Tianling Gang to rush in, directly beheaded Zhao Feng, and took Longmen Market in one fell swoop.

"Zhao Feng was fickle and self-willed, relying on his peak Qi Refining Level 6 cultivation to do evil; his death is well-deserved."

"Just because of him, he wanted to break through to Qi Refining Level 7 and fight Gang Leader Yu? It's truly laughable."

The loose cultivators of the Tianling Gang present were all flushed with excitement, clamoring one after another.

Yu Tonghai kept a smile on his face; he knew in his heart that this place was extremely dangerous, otherwise a loose cultivator wouldn't have the opportunity to occupy a market, but hearing these flattering words at this moment, he still felt pleasant and extremely satisfied.

Just as he was about to speak, a figure walked in hurriedly and whispered a few words in his ear.

"Everyone, drink first; I'll go handle some business."

Yu Tonghai greeted them, then took the person to the back hall.

"Fang Zu is missing?"

The person nodded hurriedly, "That's right, I searched for half a day and couldn't find a shadow of him, he wasn't at home either, he might have met with misfortune....."

Yu Tonghai said in a deep voice, "Could it be that Shengkui is playing tricks?"

Yu Zhijing shook his head, "Gang Leader Yu, that Shengkui is only at Qi Refining Level 2, how could he make Fang Zu, who is at Qi Refining Level 3, disappear?"

What kind of character Lou Qinghe was, the whole Qingyun Street knew.

"Not necessarily, those who can survive in this world are not simple small characters. It seems I underestimated him before."

Yu Tonghai didn't agree with Yu Zhijing's point of view and said coldly, "Keep a good watch on Shengkui; this time send a few more cautious people, and if there is any abnormality, kill him directly."

Fang Zu's death was of no consequence to him, but an uncontrollable factor appearing on this Qingyun Street made him feel like a bone stuck in his throat, extremely unpleasant.

"Yes!"

The confidants present all nodded heavily.

At home.

Lou Qinghe opened his eyes from his cultivation, carrying a hint of worry.

"This is trouble; one clone has joined the Baigu Sect, and its life or death is unknown."

"Once discovered, it will be death and destruction, but if it can survive, it can also obtain some important information."

It was his clone that went out at noon to gather information; he didn't expect to encounter a mishap halfway, and now it had gone deep into the dragon's den.

"Now that the outskirts of the city are completely chaotic, I must enter the Outer City."

Lou Qinghe clenched his fists, "It's just that I don't know why Yu Tonghai has his eyes on me; could it be because I didn't join the Tianling Gang?"

"Since that's the case, then before I leave, I'll solve this trouble along the way."

Originally, he didn't want to provoke more trouble, but now the trouble had come to his door.

Lou Qinghe made a decision in his heart and developed a murderous intent.

Just then, he suddenly discovered that the panel in front of him had changed.

【Alienation Degree: 29%.】

【Alienation Degree: 30%.】

"What's going on?"

Lou Qinghe opened his eyes, shocked to find that the alienation degree was climbing, and it didn't seem like it was going to stop.

【Alienation Degree: 31%.】

【Alienation Degree: 32%.】

【Alienation Degree: 33%.】

It wasn't until the alienation degree reached 34% that it stopped.

"What on earth happened?"

Lou Qinghe hurriedly stood up and looked around in terror.

The last time the alienation degree climbed was when he was refining pills for the Zhou Family.

And today, how could the alienation degree suddenly surge?

Boom! Boom!

Just then, the ground shook violently, as if an earth dragon were turning over.

Lou Qinghe stumbled and almost fell; he hurriedly grabbed the Storage Bag under the bed, the Qingfeng Sword, and the Flying Needle artifact, and ran toward the outside of the house.

And the moment he pushed open the door, the scene that met his eyes made his heart surge, unable to control himself.

He saw cracks a yard wide appearing on the ground, and the houses in the shantytown of Qingyun Street began to collapse, with countless loose cultivators losing their heads and fleeing in panic.

From those cracks, strands of black evil Qi emerged, drifting wantonly in the air.

"What happened?"

"What's going on!"

"Ah--! Wang Zhiping alienated!"

"Fellow Daoist He also alienated!"

"Run, run!"

He saw some loose cultivators who were originally normal suddenly alienate, going crazy and tearing at everything around them.

Even if their heads were destroyed and their bodies separated, these alienated cultivators were still difficult to eradicate.

"Save me!"

At this moment, a female cultivator was torn apart by an alienated cultivator and called for help to her former Daoist partner.

But the male cultivator didn't even look back and ran toward the distance, as if he hadn't heard the cry for help behind him at all.

This scene was happening in every corner.

Chaos!

The entire Qingyun Street became incomparably chaotic!

Just then, an alienated loose cultivator with scarlet eyes rushed toward Lou Qinghe ferociously.

Lou Qinghe hurriedly circulated his Qi, his Flying Needle shot out, and then he hit out four or five Exorcism Talismans in succession.

"Boom!"

Hearing a violent explosion, the alienated loose cultivator turned into nothingness.

However, more alienated loose cultivators around had already rushed over, as if they couldn't wait to swallow Lou Qinghe alive.

"What on earth is going on!?"

Lou Qinghe was shocked and used the Thousand Mile Evasion Technique to flee toward the distance.

At this moment, a scene in the distance made him stand frozen on the spot.

In the distance, a giant red egg, hundreds of yards high, blocked the sky and the sun, standing majestically.

Even the blood vessels and fascia on the egg were as wide as a road.

Even from tens of miles away, one could still see the giant egg wriggling, and from it, strange things seemed to be falling off, crawling wildly toward the surroundings.

At the same time, a fierce, strange, and terrifying aura shrouded this piece of heaven and earth.

It was like a mountain, pressing heavily on everyone's hearts, making even breathing extremely difficult.

"That is......."

Lou Qinghe couldn't help but think of the Taiyi Sect that day, the scene of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, flowing like a river.

A cold chill surged from the soles of his feet to his crown, his lips trembling slightly.

"Strange Object!?" ===== CHAPTER 36 =====