Chapter 129

Chapter 129: Heading Out for Foundation Establishment

In the Seven Blood Pupils main city, the moonlight was like flowing sand scattering across the earth.

That moonlight shone down on Xu Qing as he walked forward.

Although his cultivation base was already at the peak of Qi Condensation, his previous injuries hadn’t healed yet. Thus, Xu Qing didn’t let his guard down at all, just as vigilant as back when he had just entered the sect.

Moreover, he still had the Life Lamp on his person, heightening his vigilance even further. As he walked, his right hand seemed to bounce very naturally, but it was actually placed such that he could take out the black skewer at any moment.

This was something Xu Qing had learned after entering Seven Blood Pupils, the art of hiding a needle in cotton. Unless he had a reason to do so, it was best not to reveal his sharpness and vigilance through his habits.

Moreover, Xu Qing had also learned that the more vigilant he was, the more relaxed his body should be.

Back in the slums and the scavenger camp, his body would always be tense with vigilance. He seemed like he could launch an attack at any moment, but in reality, he was still a beat slow.

The best method was to relax the body and only be alert in his heart. Like this, outsiders would be unable to see his vigilance, and his body could instantly burst into action with a thought.

These were things he’d only learned since coming to Seven Blood Pupils, and he had unknowingly changed many of his behaviors thanks to them. However, Xu Qing was still too inexperienced. He couldn’t perfectly hide his true expression like the captain could.

But Xu Qing didn’t force himself and acted according to his instinctual feelings. At that moment, he was approaching Zhang San’s Transportation Department.

But when he passed a certain alley, Xu Qing’s footsteps suddenly stopped. He turned his head and looked behind him with a cold light in his eyes.

Under his chilly gaze, a thin figure slowly walked out from the alley. It was the little mute.

The gray Daoist robe was still bulging on his body, with a dog hide coat underneath. But there was also something new; a badge had appeared on the Daoist robe that bore the emblem of the Homicide Department.

As he left the alley, he glanced at Xu Qing and squatted down. His posture wasn’t that of attacking, but rather seemed to suggest that he would follow and protect Xu Qing.

Xu Qing stared at the little mute and took note of the badge on his Daoist robe. He had read the dossier on the little mute before and knew that the other party was originally just a provisional member of the Homicide Department. Now, it seemed, he had become official.

But that didn’t matter to Xu Qing, who opened his mouth and spoke slowly.

"I don't like being followed."

The mute youth was silent. He backed away slowly, then disappeared into the night.

It was only then that Xu Qing finally withdrew his cold gaze. He didn’t know whether the other party had ill intentions or not, and neither did he care to guess. All he knew was that if he caught the little mute still following him, he would kill him.

Xu Qing continued to walk through the city.

Soon, he arrived at the Transportation Department and saw Zhang San counting goods in the distance. Obviously, after returning from the great competition, Zhang San was worried that some of his loot had gone missing.

Zhang San noticed Xu Qing at the same time and waved. After he finished counting, he took a puff of his pipe in satisfaction.

“Junior Brother Xu Qing, why’d you come over to my place? Shouldn’t you be resting?”

Xu Qing didn’t ask why Zhang San didn’t just keep his loot in a storage bag. He took out his magic boat.

As the magic boat landed, the ground shook. Some fragments of the half-demolished boat that were barely hanging on also fell to the ground.

"I need to fix my magic boat."

Xu Qing said calmly.

Zhang San looked like his eyes were about to pop out of his head. He forgot to take a puff of the pipe and stared blankly at the familiar and yet unfamiliar half-demolished magic boat in front of him.

“You- that- we met at the great competition, didn’t we? We went to a temple with the captain, then came back together?” After a long while, Zhang San spoke with a dazed expression.

“Yes.” Xu Qing looked at Zhang San in surprise.

“So I wasn’t hallucinating. If it was really you that I met at the great competition, then… what the hell happened to make your magic boat like this? Heavens, this… that was my greatest work yet, I… Even if a Foundation Establishment cultivator attacked, your boat still shouldn’t have turned out like this!!”

“How on earth did you manage to get half your magic boat destroyed? Did you use it as a shield or something?” Zhang San gripped his chest. He seemed even more distraught about the state of the magic boat than Xu Qing.

Zhang San still remembered the scene where Xu Qing used the magic boat to ram the giant sea corpse amalgamation. Back then, it was completely intact, but now, it was destroyed to this extent. This was an unbelievable matter, unless Xu Qing had done something totally crazy like the captain…

When his thoughts reached this point, Zhang San’s heart skipped a beat. He recalled Xu Qing’s sorry state back when they were escaping Juying Island and inhaled sharply.

“Hey, you… you didn’t really do something crazy like the captain, did you?”

Xu Qing shook his head.

"Senior Brother Zhang San, how long will it take to fix the magic boat?"

Zhang San looked at the magic boat and let out a long sigh.

“Alright, alright. Last time you only brought a tiny skiff back. In comparison, this time’s a little better, at least there’s still half the boat remaining…”

“But it can’t be repaired that quickly. Tomorrow I’m bringing the captain somewhere for his recovery. He said that I can also establish my foundation there.”

“If you’re not in a hurry, just wait for me to break through to Foundation Establishment and return. After breaking through, my refinement skills will definitely go up a notch. Plus, by then, you can get a chunk of divinity flesh from the captain and place it in your new ship as the power supply.”

Zhang San circled Xu Qing’s magic boat and finally sighed in resignation.

After thinking about it for a while, Xu Qing nodded. He didn’t ask Zhang San about the matter of breaking through to Foundation Establishment. No matter how close they were, such a question clearly crossed a line.

Thus, he said farewell and left.

By now, the sky had already darkened completely and night had arrived. Unless absolutely necessary, the main city’s teleportation array wasn’t open at night. After thinking about it, Xu Qing didn’t choose to stay the night at an inn, instead heading over to the Homicide Department.

After being promoted to vice captain, Xu Qing had received his own room in the Black Division’s headquarters. He had rarely stayed there, but since his boat was demolished and he had no other accommodations, Xu Qing decided to stay a night there.

After all, compared to an inn run by outsiders, the Homicide Department was much more secure.

Soon, Xu Qing arrived at the Homicide Department.

The Black Division was totally empty at the moment, and even the captain was nowhere to be found. Xu Qing entered his room and activated the five defensive formations he’d bought, then closed his eyes and meditated.

The night passed without incident.

The next morning, Xu Qing’s eyes flew open. Without hesitation, he immediately put the defensive formations away and left the Homicide Department, heading straight for the teleportation array in the center of the main city.

An hour later, he finally saw the teleportation array in the distance.

There were quite a few people already queuing up, and two of them in particular were especially conspicuous. One was Zhang San, and the other, on Zhang San’s back, was the captain.

Thinking of Zhang San’s words from yesterday, Xu Qing wasn’t surprised. The captain was eating an apple and looking around. Soon, he saw Xu Qing and waved him to come over.

As Xu Qing approached, the captain looked him up and down with a smile that wasn’t a smile.

“What, you don’t dare to stay in the sect and want to break through outside? Want me to recommend a few places for you?”

Zhang San also turned to Xu Qing and greeted him with a smile. When he heard the captain’s words, his eyes lit up, and he, too, looked Xu Qing up and down a couple times. His expression seemed to be full of the joy of a successful investment.

“No, I’m going out on an errand.” Xu Qing glanced at the teleportation queue and said calmly.

“Vice captain Xu, your expression is too fake. Here, let me teach you. In the future, when you lie to someone, you should look them in the eyes. Only then will you be a little more believable. But, tsk tsk, for you to cover it up like this, it seems like your gains in the great competition were pretty good?”

“Come, come, bring it all out. Let me see if it’s as valuable as this apple.”

The captain finished eating the apple in his hand and took out the bigger apple that Xu Qing had given him on Juying Island. He waved it ostentatiously before taking a bite.

“Then, captain, where are you going?” Xu Qing nodded and withdrew his gaze from the teleportation array.

“Me? I’m going to a place for recovery. I’ll be even stronger when I come back, so if you don’t pay me the ten thousand spirit stones you owe me, you’ll be sorry.”

The captain narrowed his eyes and looked meaningfully at Xu Qing’s leather bag. Then he retracted his gaze and took another bite of the apple.

“I wish you a smooth recovery.” Xu Qing looked into the captain’s eyes and spoke sincerely.

The captain was stunned for a moment. He looked back into Xu Qing’s eyes with a ponderous expression, as if trying to figure out whether or not he was really sincere.

Zhang San sighed. These two freaks, the captain and Xu Qing, would always chat like this whenever they met. Thus, he opened his mouth, about to interrupt them.

But at that moment, the sky over the Seven Blood Pupils main city suddenly changed. The originally clear sky instantly turned pitch black, and an incomparably shocking pressure descended from above that caused the entire main city to tremble. Even the seven peaks shook under this terrifying pressure!

Everyone in the main city, whether cultivator or mortal, was startled and looked up to the sky. Off shore, immense waves stirred in the sea, as if in worship.

Xu Qing’s expression changed, and when he looked up, he saw the cause of the sky turning black.

It was a majestic black cloud that seemed to stretch on without end, spreading over from the direction of Phoenix Forbidden. When it passed above the Seven Blood Pupils main city, it blotted out the sun and cast its shadow on the earth, turning everything pitch black.

Endless lightning streaked through the black cloud, and thunder rumbled across the sky. An incomparable sense of deterrence emanated from the cloud in all directions.

Everyone who saw it instinctively felt the sensation of a life-and-death crisis from the core of their being.

Within the black cloud, there seemed to be a god-like existence. Vaguely, a majestic phoenix could be seen!

Its brown body was like a stone, and its feathers were like wisps of flame.

It seemed to be filled with anger as it rushed in the direction of the Forbidden Sea. As it advanced, the distant sea followed, with raging waves and terrifying rumbles accompanying it.

Just from its aura, it was clearly stronger than Juying, and not just by a little bit.

Even looking at it from a distance was enough to give Xu Qing a splitting headache, and for his mind to buzz. The same was true for the others around him, and some of them were already bleeding from their seven orifices.

Xu Qing was utterly astonished. He recognized that being.

The existence within the black cloud was none other than the sovereign of South Phoenix’s number one forbidden area. When he was returning from his first outing at sea, he had also come across it.

It was Yanhuang, the Flame Phoenix!

Back then, Yanhuang seemed to be in a placid mood, so Xu Qing didn’t suffer a feeling like his head was about to explode. But now, the Flame Phoenix was clearly angry, and the fluctuations of its mood alone were enough to affect him.

“Yanhuang’s going out to sea… Something big is about to happen. Could it be that the sovereign of Corpse Forbidden has walked out of the forbidden area?”

As the captain whispered quietly, the black cloud shot past the Seven Blood Pupils main city and gradually disappeared into the distance. Even after the sky above the main city became clear again, everyone still felt their minds reeling.

Xu Qing took a deep breath. He had asked Zhang San about Yanhuang last time. Apparently, the Flame Phoenix wasn’t a bloodthirsty being and usually slumbered most of the time, only occasionally waking up.

It treated the human race and other alien races equally. To a certain extent, all sentient beings in South Phoenix were under its protection.

That was why some humans had settled on this continent and survived to this day.

Long after Yanhuang had completely disappeared, the Seven Blood Pupils main city finally returned to life. Xu Qing withdrew his gaze from the horizon and stepped into the teleportation array. In the next moment, he was gone.

“Hmph, that kid doesn’t trust me. Looks like he got something good. Ah well, no matter what, it won’t be as good as my Juying flesh.” The captain laughed triumphantly and patted Zhang San on the head.

“Zhang San, let’s go. This big brother will bring you to eat meat.”

Zhang San sighed. In his heart, he was thinking that it wasn’t just Xu Qing who didn’t trust the captain. In fact, Zhang San himself also didn’t believe the captain so easily, but when he thought about all his years of investment, he had no other choice but to acquiesce.

“Investing in someone just means they’ll step all over you!” Zhang San shook his head and stepped into the teleportation array with the captain on his back.

After Xu Qing, Zhang San, and the captain all teleported away, the Seven Blood Pupils main city gradually returned to normal. However… at some point, clouds had appeared in the sky.

As if a storm was brewing.

**End of Book 2**

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