Chapter 36

The red egg pulsed incessantly; from afar, it looked like a volcano about to erupt.

It radiated baleful energy and deathly aura, sweeping across a radius of several dozen miles.

After a brief moment of distraction, Lou Qinghe immediately regained his senses.

No one understood the terror of the Weird better than he did; even a powerful force as formidable as the Taiyi Sect had been wiped out under the encroachment of the Weird.

With not even a single Foundation Establishment cultivator in this outer city area, how could they possibly resist?

Yet, for the moment, that Weird did not seem to have fully formed; it was merely a gathering of massive evil energy. The outer city had arrays that shielded against evil energy, so it was still relatively safe.

Go to the outer city!

Lou Qinghe took a deep breath and hurried toward Pei Siyu's home.

The entire Qingyun Street was filled with rogue cultivators fleeing in panic; the ground was a mess of mangled flesh and blood, and shrill screams echoed incessantly.

It was like a living hell.

Lou Qinghe quickly arrived at Pei Siyu's doorstep, only to find the house empty, with no sign of anyone.

"Hmm!? No one!? Could they be by the creek?"

Lou Qinghe was stunned, then hurriedly dashed toward the creek.

"Fellow Daoist Shengkui!"

Suddenly, two rogue cultivators appeared at the intersection.

Lou Qinghe recognized them at a glance; these two were also rogue cultivators from Qingyun Street.

The person on the left, wearing tattered black robes and having a somewhat bloated figure, was named Wang Le, who made a living selling talisman paper; the tall, thin one on the right, who looked like a bamboo pole, was named Shi Cunlin, who usually made a living selling pills.

Shi Cunlin panted heavily and said in terror, "The Weird has appeared; we should huddle together for warmth so we can look out for each other."

Lou Qinghe frowned slightly and asked, "I need to find Fellow Daoist Pei first; have you two seen her?"

Shi Cunlin shook his head, "No, who knows..."

"Fellow Daoist Pei!"

Wang Le looked behind Lou Qinghe and shouted suddenly.

"Hmm!?"

Lou Qinghe turned his head instinctively.

No sooner said than done, he saw a cold light emerge in Wang Le's eyes, his hand pinching a Flying Arrow Talisman.

"Whoosh!"

A cold light pierced toward Lou Qinghe's heart.

"Thump!"

But at this critical moment, Lou Qinghe dodged to the side, and the flying arrow landed heavily on the ground, shattering the earth and sending stone fragments flying.

"You!"

Wang Le was shocked, not expecting Lou Qinghe to be able to dodge his fatal blow.

Qiao Li was right; this was a world that ate people.

If they didn't eat you on ordinary days, it was just because they weren't hungry yet.

How could Lou Qinghe easily show his back to others, and how could Pei Siyu possibly appear behind him?

"Attack together!"

Wang Le roared, his facial features becoming distorted.

Lou Qinghe silently recited the incantation, and two fireballs emerged from his palms.

The fireballs grew larger and larger!

Larger and larger!

With the improvement in his cultivation, the quality of the fireballs was also constantly climbing.

Just a simple Fire Control Technique, when cast by Lou Qinghe, was not inferior to the core spells of the general Earth Law Department.

"This... that big fireball!"

Shi Cunlin's mouth hung wide open; the cultivator who once wore a rabbit mask had also been the subject of much gossip, but news of them had soon vanished, as if they had never appeared at all.

Who could have imagined that person was actually the obscure Shengkui.

Boom!

Boom!

The huge fireballs flew extremely fast, carrying scorching heat waves.

Wang Le and Shi Cunlin were reduced to ashes, not even leaving behind any bone dust.

The surroundings remained noisy and chaotic.

Lou Qinghe picked up the magical artifacts and Spirit Stones left behind by the two and continued toward the creek.

The sky was gloomy and oppressive, as if it were about to collapse at any moment.

Beneath the firmament, dark clouds churned and wild winds scattered.

A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, briefly illuminating this patch of land.

Throughout the entire Qingyun Street, it was a scene of devastation and chaos.

The sound of shrill screams echoed through these several alleys, lingering for a long time.

There were not only mutated cultivators but also a large number of rogue cultivators with ulterior motives and wild ambitions.

They charged out like wolves and tigers, taking advantage of the fire to loot.

Even inside the houses in the shanty area, there were sounds of intense fighting.

No one could be trusted, and no one was worth trusting.

Slaughter, blood... ambition constantly sprouted on this piece of land, making people become unrecognizable.

Lou Qinghe held his breath and walked forward cautiously.

Just then, intense sounds of fighting came from not far away.

Lou Qinghe leaped, landing on the roof of a house.

In a shanty area, he saw Yu Tonghai and Yu Zhijing leading a group of Tianling Gang cultivators slaughtering everyone, with several corpses of rogue cultivators lying on the ground.

"A bunch of mongrels, only this many Spirit Stones!"

Yu Tonghai picked up the Spirit Stones from the corpses and said with some disdain.

Yu Zhijing smiled coldly and pointed into the distance, saying, "Gang Leader Yu, there are more over there..."

Yu Tonghai took a deep breath, shook his head, and said, "The Weird is giving birth to sub-eggs; we should leave this Longmen Market quickly..."

During this period, he had extorted a large amount in Longmen Market, and combined with his previous accumulations, it was enough to obtain an outer city immortal registration, so there was no need to stay here.

"Who!?"

Just then, a cultivator in front let out an exclamation.

"Thump!"

Then a cold light pierced through, directly blowing up the head of the rogue cultivator who had spoken.

Blood and white sticky matter splattered all over the ground.

The group of Tianling Gang rogue cultivators all changed color and looked up.

The street ahead was in a mess, and a cultivator in black robes walked over, stepping through the blood.

"Shengkui!?"

Yu Zhijing was extremely surprised to see the person who had arrived.

Lou Qinghe said indifferently, "Gang Leader Yu, it seems you can't leave."

【Hidden Value: 90%. (Obtained 90% proficiency)】

At the same time, his hidden value was constantly decreasing.

Yu Zhijing came back to his senses and sneered, "Are you here to throw your life away?"

Yu Tonghai was clearly much smarter than Yu Zhijing and asked in a deep voice, "Did you kill Fang Zu?"

"Fang Zu?"

Lou Qinghe had indeed discovered that Fang Zu was monitoring him, but Fang Zu had disappeared before he could make a move.

Yu Tonghai didn't care about Fang Zu's death at all; no one would care about a dead person.

He shouted with a cold face, "Go, kill him."

"Kill-!"

The group of Tianling Gang rogue cultivators charged toward Lou Qinghe.

Some held talisman paper, some controlled magical artifacts...

The first to charge was a cultivator holding a Ghost Head Blade; the big blade broke through the wind, carrying the sound of ghosts crying and wolves howling, which couldn't help but make one's heart turn cold.

Deterrence!

This was exactly one of the restrictions of the Ghost Head Blade; when facing an enemy, it could make people feel fear.

Swish!

Lou Qinghe slapped his palm, and the Qingfeng Sword shot out.

The sword light was like dense rain.

He saw the cultivator holding the Ghost Head Blade directly beaten into a sieve, falling powerlessly to the ground.

Just then, a crude 'Gold Thread Talisman' flew over, and the gold threads formed by countless strands of spiritual energy gathered, wanting to bind Lou Qinghe.

"Sizzle!"

Lou Qinghe stretched out his palm, and the sword light swept past rapidly like a wind blade, directly cutting the gold threads in front of him.

And the remaining sword light went forward without stopping, directly cutting that cultivator into three sections.

"Attack!"

Two rogue cultivators had already closed in, the magical artifacts in their hands hacking toward Lou Qinghe's head.

Lou Qinghe steadied his mind, pinching a spell in his hand.

"Boom!"

A huge fireball surged out, directly swallowing the two completely, and the remaining heat wave continued to spread, forming a surging path of fire.

In just a few breaths, four Qi Refining mid-stage cultivators died at the hands of Lou Qinghe.

"You... you..."

Yu Zhijing stepped backward, his eyes filled with incomparable shock, "That person wearing the rabbit mask, it was you!?"

Who could have imagined that the usually weak and cowardly Lou Qinghe had such shocking and terrifying strength?

【Hidden Value: 70%. (Obtained 70% proficiency)】

There was no expression on Lou Qinghe's face; the techniques he had painstakingly practiced could finally be put to the test today.

Facts proved that even the most ordinary and lowest-grade spells, as long as they were practiced to the extreme, could turn decay into magic.

"So that's how it is..."

Yu Tonghai's expression was uncertain, and beads of cold sweat appeared on his palms.

He was pretending to be calm, while his mind was thinking rapidly.

"These are all unimportant now."

A murderous aura appeared in Lou Qinghe's eyes.

For the sake of his hidden status, these two must not be allowed to leave today.

After Lou Qinghe finished speaking, the Qingfeng Sword in his hand stabbed toward Yu Zhijing's throat.

As a Qi Refining Level 6 cultivator, Yu Zhijing was only one step away from the Qi Refining mid-stage, and he liked to fight and kill on ordinary days; although he didn't dare to enter the forbidden area, he was much stronger than a Qi Refining Level 6 cultivator from the Literary Cultivation Sect.

"Whoosh whoosh!"

He took a Lightness Talisman from his hand and stuck it on his body, his speed suddenly increasing by 30%, dodging Lou Qinghe's sword, and he threw out three more talisman papers with a backhand.

Three flying arrows came mixed with the sound of breaking through the air.

"Swish!" "Swish!" "Swish!"

These three talisman papers were thrown extremely accurately, aiming at Lou Qinghe's throat, heart, and dantian respectively.

Every spot was a vital point; once hit, there would be no way out but death.

Lou Qinghe immediately cast the Thousand Mile Evasion Technique, dodging these three flying arrows.

And what shocked Yu Zhijing was that the cowardly rogue cultivator in front of him did not retreat but advanced, having already rushed in front of him.

Lou Qinghe's gaze was cold, but the sword in his hand was even colder, stabbing straight toward Yu Zhijing's chest.

"Boom!"

At this moment, a black bead was thrown from afar.

The bead was only the size of a fist, but it was heavy and powerful, as if carrying thousands of pounds of force.

Yu Tonghai had made his move!

Lou Qinghe had been observing Yu Tonghai on the side and had long been prepared, immediately withdrawing the Qingfeng Sword and retreating rapidly toward the rear.

Yu Zhijing saw Lou Qinghe retreat and felt a sense of surviving a disaster, but before he could catch his breath, a stinging pain came from his chest.

He looked down and saw a needle-sized hole in the clothes on his chest; if it weren't for the close distance, he wouldn't have been able to see it at all.

Flying needle hidden weapon!

"Boom!"

The next moment, Yu Zhijing's body was directly blown apart by spiritual energy, turning into blood water filling the sky.

Yu Tonghai held the red bead and said tremblingly, "Fellow Daoist Shengkui, I think we have some misunderstanding, why must we fight and kill..."

As he spoke, his palm took out a pill and swallowed it.

【Hidden Value: 60%. (Obtained 60% proficiency)】

The hidden value was still constantly decreasing.

"There is no misunderstanding, I just want to kill you!"

Lou Qinghe discovered Yu Tonghai's trick and also took out a Huiqi Pill and put it in his mouth, then rushed toward Yu Tonghai.

The Qingfeng Sword flashed with cold light, and the sword Qi turned into threads.

Sword Qi into Silk!

Sword cultivators were famous fierce gods in the cultivation world, but the sword path was also extremely difficult to practice.

Sword Qi into Silk, Sword Qi Thunder Sound, Sword Qi like Rainbow, Refining Sword into Gang, Refining Gang into Sha; this was the process of all sword cultivators mastering sword Qi.

For ordinary rogue cultivators, Sword Qi into Silk was already very remarkable.

Yu Tonghai hurriedly set up the magic bead to block in front of him; whenever the sword Qi was about to strike, it was blocked and absorbed by the magic bead.

"This magic bead is somewhat powerful..."

Lou Qinghe thought to himself.

Yu Tonghai's face also gradually turned red, and his skin swelled up like a big balloon, while his aura was constantly climbing.

"One Burning Life Pill and ten years of life, today I want you to die!"

Yu Tonghai shouted, his aura climbing crazily, actually reaching the level of the Qi Refining late stage.

The Qi Refining late stage Qi sea reached a limit, thus his strength had a qualitative leap.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

At this moment, Yu Tonghai once again sacrificed the magic bead to crash over; the surging spiritual energy caused dust to fly all around, and the houses were shattered.

Lou Qinghe's gaze was cold as a torch, his body constantly dodging Yu Tonghai's magic bead.

The situation suddenly reversed; Yu Tonghai's offensive also became completely crazy, and spiritual energy was injected into the magic bead like a vast ocean.

In an instant, the magic bead released ten thousand rays of red light.

"Clang!"

Lou Qinghe cast the LV5 Heavenly Intent Sword Controlling Technique.

Although this sword controlling technique couldn't be brought to the table, he had practiced it to LV5; the moment the Qingfeng Sword floated out, it erupted with a harsh roaring sound.

Sword Qi Thunder Sound!

Under the collision of the two, Lou Qinghe's feet stuck to the ground as he retreated repeatedly.

"Sword Qi Thunder Sound!?"

Yu Tonghai's eyes revealed astonishment.

Among rogue cultivators, those who could practice the sword path to such a degree were almost few and far between.

"Death is a fair thing, because once you're dead, you have nothing."

Yu Tonghai roared and slapped the magic bead with his palm.

Thump!

The magic bead surged forward with the momentum of a mountain collapsing and the sea overturning.

Sword light flew everywhere, and the chaotic spiritual energy formed waves, spreading to the surroundings.

Yu Tonghai's murderous intent rose, and he pursued the victory.

The next moment, Lou Qinghe, who seemed to be at a disadvantage, cast the Thousand Mile Evasion Technique and rushed in front of Yu Tonghai in an instant.

"Not good!"

Yu Tonghai only felt a blur before his eyes, and the magic bead protected his front, blocking the chaotic sword light.

"Pfft!"

Before he could catch his breath, a sharp blade directly pierced through his waist and abdomen, shooting out from the back.

How is that possible!?

Yu Tonghai's mind went blank, and he turned around with difficulty.

He saw Lou Qinghe in white clothes standing behind him.

How could there be two Lou Qinghes?

Yu Tonghai didn't understand until he died.

"It's over."

Lou Qinghe sighed softly, then waved his long blade.

A fine head flew out, and blood gushed from the neck like a spring.

"Gurgle..."

Yu Tonghai's head finally stopped, his eyes wide open, full of unwillingness.

He had worked hard his whole life and finally saved enough Spirit Stones for the outer city immortal registration.

But today it had all come to nothing.

"Corpses are buried in this ground, and so is ambition..."

Lou Qinghe muttered to himself, and the Lou Qinghe in white clothes turned into a wisp of smoke and flew back into his body.

【Hidden Value: 98%. (Obtained 98% proficiency)】

He glanced at the panel and found that it hadn't returned to 99%, but there was no time to worry about that now.

Lou Qinghe first collected the Spirit Stones, magical artifacts, pills, and talisman papers from Yu Zhijing and the other rogue cultivators, and finally came to Yu Tonghai's corpse, picking up the latter's treasure bead and storage bag.

For ordinary bottom-level rogue cultivators, a storage bag was already worth a lot.

The treasure bead was a Second-Grade magical artifact with four restrictions on it: Illusion, Rapid, Like a Mountain, and Vajra.

When he opened the storage bag, Lou Qinghe was shocked.

Inside, besides some Huiqi Pills, Healing Pills, and talisman paper, it was all Spirit Stones; a rough scan showed there were as many as fifty Middle-grade Spirit Stones.

Lou Qinghe only had a dozen Middle-grade Spirit Stones and two storage bags on him, while Yu Tonghai actually had three or four times as much.

Got rich!

Really got rich this time!

He now had the Spirit Stones to buy the outer city immortal registration.

Lou Qinghe took a deep breath and calmed down.

Now the surroundings were in chaos; although the Weird hadn't fully been born, it had derived sub-eggs, and wanting to reach the outer city was extremely difficult.

"Where... is she?"

Lou Qinghe whispered to himself.

Pei Siyu was a Qi Refining Level 4 cultivator of the Literary Cultivation Sect; if she encountered a crisis...

Looking around at the chaotic scene, his joyful mood suddenly fell to the bottom.

After tidying up a bit, Lou Qinghe walked toward the creek.

At this time, after experiencing a chaos, apart from the mutated cultivators, there were few normal living cultivators to be seen.

"Thump!"

At this moment, a heavy object fell from the dim sky.

Lou Qinghe hurriedly hid on the side and looked over.

The ground showed dense cracks, stone fragments flew everywhere, and in the drifting smoke and dust, it was unknown whether it was a person or a monster inside.

'He' had a long torso, flesh exposed, as if someone had skinned him; every inch of flesh was covered with white mucous membrane, and black blood kept dripping down his body.

"Hiss-!"

Lou Qinghe took a cold breath.

This monster was exactly what the red giant egg had spat out, which was the sub-egg derived from the Weird.

What exactly is 'he'?

And what was it formed from?

The monster discovered Lou Qinghe, and a bloody mouth suddenly appeared from between his waist and abdomen, with jagged fangs covered in blood.

"Boom!"

Lou Qinghe didn't hesitate and directly smashed a huge fireball over.

The fireball surged away, raising rows of heat waves on both sides.

"Thump!"

The fireball smashed heavily onto the monster; the moment it touched the mucous membrane, the fireball went out.

"Swish!"

Lou Qinghe stepped backward, waving the Qingfeng Sword in his hand, and cold sword light shot out.

"Clang!"

"Clang!"

The sharp sword light hacked onto the monster, just like hacking onto hard iron, without the slightest ripple.

The next moment.

The monster opened his bloody mouth, revealing a weird smile, and rushed toward Lou Qinghe.

"Run quickly!"

Lou Qinghe took a deep breath, turned around, and ran into the distance.

Every Weird was different, but even the lowest-level Weird could wipe out a powerful sect.

It was very clear that the sub-egg released by the Weird in front of him was not something he could contend with either.