Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Crisis at Every Turn

"In the end, what is the purple crystal? And what is the shadow with an evil will that tried to invade me? Why did the mutation point disappear?"

Xu Qing couldn't understand. While he was thinking it over, the figures of Captain Thunder and the rest all ran past him one by one, each glancing at him as they passed.

Xu Qing put away his thoughts and his eyes flashed.

Whatever strange thing was going on didn’t matter right now.

He had recovered enough. It was his turn to fight again.

Xu Qing stood up and wiped the blood off the iron skewer. As soon as Cross passed him, he rushed out.

His speed was fast, and he instantly closed in on the pursuing wolves.

The sounds of fighting and the wolves’ yelps were like a baptism for the boy.

He had survived the opening of God’s eyes, he had survived the blood rain, and now, in the afterglow of the setting sun, his sharp edge was being revealed!

This time, he persisted even longer than before.

Time passed slowly under the Thunder Team’s constant cycles of fighting and retreating.

The sun fully set, the moon rose high in the sky, and darkness fell in the forbidden area, but they still continued fighting.

Finally, when they had exhausted all the energy in their bodies, when they ran out of White Pills, and when their heterogeneity almost reached the point of mutation… dawn arrived.

The wolves finally began to retreat.

As the morning light fell, the last black-scaled wolf glanced at them warily and disappeared into the jungle in the distance, and the surroundings slowly became quiet.

Every member of the team was covered in blood, lying on the ground and panting.

Xu Qing was no exception. Despite having the purple crystal, the constant tension still exhausted his spirit.

"Finally… survived." Luan Ya whispered, struggling to get up. She looked at Xu Qing and said softly.

"Thanks."

Barbarian was completely out of breath, so he just gave Xu Qing a thumbs up.

This time, the amount of time Xu Qing spent fighting was even more than Captain Thunder and Cross. It could be said that if he wasn’t there, some of them would have mutated before the wolves retreated.

But Xu Qing, who was looking up at the sky while laying down, had deep doubts in his heart.

In tonight’s battle, he felt that the rate at which his own heterogeneity increased was clearly abnormally slow.

He even felt like it was disappearing on its own over time.

While everyone was resting, Captain Thunder rubbed his brows. He looked over at everyone with a serious gaze and spoke in a hoarse voice.

"The incident this time shouldn’t be accidental. The black-scaled wolves’ actions were more like they were being attracted to something. Everyone, take out everything you picked up outside recently. We need to check carefully, because I suspect… this incident might have been planned by someone.”

After Captain Thunder spoke, Cross and the others agreed. Everyone took out the things they had acquired in the past few days.

Xu Qing’s heart pounded. Just as he was thinking whether it was the metal block he got from Horse Four, Luan Ya suddenly exclaimed and pointed over at Barbarian.

Among the items Barbarian took out, there was a wooden box.

The wooden box was cracked and seemed to be corroding, and it gave off a faint scent. Since the scents in the forbidden area were all mixed together, it was difficult to notice if you weren’t paying close attention.

"How did this thing get corroded?" Barbarian was surprised.

Captain Thunder immediately stepped forward, picked up the wooden box, and handed it to Luan Ya. Luan Ya smelled it carefully, and nodded with an ugly expression.

"How did you get this thing?" Captain Thunder looked at Barbarian.

"I bought it at the camp's stall the day I came back. I thought it was insect repellent..." Barbarian scratched his head.

"This is made from the feces of the butterfly rabbit. Once it encounters external stimuli, it will ignite itself. It’s very attractive to creatures with scales... including black-scaled wolves."

Luan Ya looked at Barbarian and spoke slowly.

Barbarian hung his head.

The surrounding atmosphere tensed up, and Xu Qing narrowed his eyes.

After a while, Captain Thunder shook his head.

"Barbarian was deceived. I’m sure you know who in the scavenger can arrange such a trap against us.”

"Blood Shadow Team!" Cross said coldly from the side.

"The Blood Shadow Team arranged this, and it’s hard to say they have no backup plans. We’re also not in the best shape right now..." Luan Ya hesitated.

"So, we can continue on to the harvesting location and complete the mission, or we can give up and leave. What do you think?" Captain Thunder looked into the distance and spoke slowly.

Xu Qing pondered, but did not speak.

The others also looked at each other, and finally Cross spoke reluctantly.

"Team Leader, the harvesting spot isn’t too far from here, and everyone also lost a lot this time. If we go back empty-handed..."

Captain Thunder was silent and glanced over at Barbarian and Luan Ya. The former bowed his head in shame, and the latter had an unresigned look on her face, so he sighed lightly after a while.

"We’ll continue. When we arrive at the harvesting spot, collect the herbs as quickly as possible. Then we’ll split up on the way back and meet up again at the camp."

Captain Thunder made a final decision, and after meditating for a bit, everyone moved deeper into the jungle.

On the way, Xu Qing approached Luan Ya. He took out the cracked amber from Fat Mountain and asked her what it was.

After seeing the amber, Luan Ya was startled and examined it carefully. Eventually, she told Xu Qing that it held the tail of a ghost-faced scorpion.

Although the ghost-faced scorpion was venomous, its venom wasn’t incurable and it had some medicinal properties. After being poisoned, a person’s potential could explode out instantly, but it only lasted for a short time. Afterwards, they would need to detoxify the poison immediately. Nevertheless, it was pretty useful and many people raised ghost-faced scorpions to sell for a high price.

Finally understanding, Xu Qing thanked Luan Ya and put the amber away.

Afterwards, everyone remained vigilant as they ran forward, constantly observing their surroundings.

Compared to before, they were even more silent this time.

Maybe it was because of yesterday’s black-scaled wolves, but most of the other beasts in the area were scattered, so the Thunder Team didn’t run into any danger along the way. Two hours later, they finally arrived at the junction between the outer area and the depths of the forbidden area.

This place wasn’t all jungle; there were also some hills and streams. However, the water in the streams was black and not safe for consumption.

Hidden in the dense jungle was a secluded trail. Unexpectedly, upon following it to the end, the group appeared in a small valley.

When Xu Qing walked into the valley with the others, it was as if he had entered another world.

The top of the valley was covered by thick rattan vines on all sides, like a roof that blocked off the sunlight. There were no large trees, only flowers and grasses everywhere.

Fist-sized flowers of different colors were scattered through the entire valley, and they were accompanied by many stalks of grass that emitted crystalline blue light.

Each stalk had seven leaves.

The light radiating off of them was like stars, filling the quiet valley with a unique beauty like the starry sky.

This was the harvesting spot that the Thunder Team had once discovered. For any scavenger team, such harvesting spots were absolutely top secret, being the foundation for the team’s continued existence.

Since harvesting seven-leaf grass required special techniques, the team didn’t let Xu Qing participate. Instead, they split up and harvested on their own, which was the most efficient method that allowed them to reap the greatest gains.

Paying attention to their harvesting techniques, Xu Qing did not forcefully join in. He sat down cross-legged and regulated his breathing.

After going through yesterday’s battle, he found that his cultivation had increased quite a bit. He could feel that he had reached the critical point for his next breakthrough.

In order to improve his odds of surviving through the next crisis, Xu Qing didn’t hesitate. Even though this was still the forbidden area, he circulated the Sea and Mountain Art to absorb spiritual energy from the surroundings.

As he absorbed, the wind in the valley picked up.

Captain Thunder looked at Xu Qing, but didn't stop him. He knew very well that there was a high chance for them to be ambushed on the way back. In that case, the best way to guarantee survival was to seize every moment to become stronger.

Soon, thumping sounds could gradually be heard from Xu Qing’s body.

Black impurities leaked out of his pores, mixing with the blood all over his body. His flesh and blood began absorbing spiritual energy even more rapidly, becoming stronger than ever.

The thumping sound became stronger and stronger, and after reaching its limit, it suddenly stopped. Xu Qing felt a rumble echo in his mind.

His blood vessels suddenly swelled up under his skin, and his flesh and blood filled up with spiritual energy. It was clear that his power and speed reached a whole new level compared to before.

A powerful aura exuded from his body, and potent spiritual energy fluctuations filled the surroundings.

Sea and Mountain Art, third level.

Xu Qing slowly lowered his head and opened his eyes.

No one could see it, but as purple light flashed through his eyes, there was no joy from having broken through. Instead, there was only deep doubt.

When he looked down, he saw the shadow that appeared underneath the scattered sunlight.

Just now, when he was cultivating, he clearly felt that something was wrong. After separating out the heterogeneity with the Sea and Mountain Art, the pure spiritual energy nourished his whole body, but as for the heterogeneity… instead of flowing into his left arm to form a mutation point, it flowed into his shadow.

It seemed like the shadow had devoured it.

After a long while, Xu Qing shook his head and suppressed all his doubts.

He looked at Captain Thunder and the others who were about to finish harvesting. Then he looked past them, beyond the end of the valley and into the deepest part of the jungle.

Vaguely, he could see that there were some structures far away. These structures seemed to be temples, and they were filled with an ancient aura, as if coming from a faraway time.

"Those temples are leftovers from an unknown era, and they are also the farthest boundary we scavengers have reached. It’s impossible to go past that boundary, but if you encounter any danger nearby, you can go to the temple complex to avoid it.”

After finishing with his portion of the harvest, Captain Thunder came over to Xu Qing's side. Following the boy’s gaze, he opened his mouth and spoke about the faraway temples.

Xu Qing nodded and asked, “Boundary?”

"Yes. Some people say that in the past, the reason this place became a forbidden area was because God looked at those temples. Some scavengers have explored that place in the past, but there was almost nothing there. The only notable find was a special stone that sometimes appeared."

Captain Thunder took out a portion of his seven-leaf grass and put it in a separate leather bag.

"What’s so special about the stone?" Xu Qing asked curiously.

"If you crush it into powder and sprinkle the powder on a recent scar, it can remove the scar without any traces. It’s useless for us scavengers, but some important people occasionally want it." Captain Thunder finished and looked at Cross and the others.

At this moment, Cross, Barbarian, and Luan Ya were also finished harvesting. All of them took out a portion of their seven-leaf grass and put it in the leather bag Captain Thunder he was holding.

Finally, after dividing the seven-leaf grass into five parts, Captain Thunder handed the fifth leather bag to Xu Qing.

"This is yours. From now on, everyone will scatter and go back on different paths. This way, we can maximize the chances of making it back to camp.”

"Kid, the target on my back is too big. The Blood Shadow Team will definitely prioritize catching me over the rest of you. As the team leader, I must take responsibility and cover for you. Go back quickly and wait for me back at the camp.”

Captain Thunder spoke in a deep voice. As the other team members looked at him silently, he left the valley and disappeared in a flash.

Xu Qing wanted to say something, but before he could speak, Captain Thunder was already gone.

Cross patted Xu Qing's shoulder and left as well.

Finally, Barbarian and Luan Ya each imparted some of their experience to him and left in a hurry.

Xu Qing silently watched them go. He put away the bag containing the seven-leaf grass and turned back to look at the temple complex in the distance.

After a long while, Xu Qing turned around, took a deep breath, and ran towards the entrance of the valley. Reaching the third level of body refining had obviously increased his speed by a lot, and he disappeared past the entrance in an instant.

In the forbidden area jungle, Xu Qing was like an agile little monkey, constantly running and changing directions. Rather than directly go back on the path he came, he checked the map and made many detours.

Thanks to the experience he gained on the way, he avoided several crises. Occasionally, he encountered some mutated beasts that he was also able to defeat or avoid smoothly.

At the same time, he constantly glanced at his shadow. A strange light flashed through his eyes.

He had already tested things out. Whether he was intentionally absorbing spiritual energy or just breathing in the air of the forbidden area, any heterogeneity that entered his body would slowly be devoured by his shadow, just like when he broke through previously.

Thinking back, this had all started back when the purple crystal had released that cold current.

And after breaking through to the third level of the Sea and Mountain Art, it became more and more obvious.

It seemed that after the purple crystal devoured the shadow of that black-scaled wolf… his own shadow mutated.

This bizarre occurrence caused Xu Qing's eyes to narrow slowly.

He rolled up the sleeve of his left arm and looked at it. There was only one mutation point remaining, and it was already very faint.

At this rate, the heterogeneity in his body would continue to decrease until it eventually disappeared. His whole body would become perfectly pure.

And this kind of purity was something that Xu Qing had heard about before. On the bamboo slip that contained the Sea and Mountain Art, it mentioned that this sort of heterogeneity-less body was only enjoyed by those with high status on the Ancient Hope Mainland, in the origin of the human race.

"Is it because of the purple crystal?" Xu Qing muttered. He squatted on a branch and stared at the sky for a while.

After a long time, he touched the spot in his chest where the purple crystal was buried and fell silent for a moment. When he raised his head, he suppressed all his doubts, no longer thinking about them. His figure flickered and he continued to run through the jungle.

Although heterogeneity was temporarily not a threat to him, the forbidden area had many strange and diverse perils. Xu Qing still encountered some perilous situations along the way.

For example, one time, he saw two mutated bears whose auras both surpassed Captain Thunder’s.

There were actually huge and colorful spiders on the bears’ backs. Countless silk threads spewed from the spiders’ abdomens and drilled into the bears’ bodies, as if puppeteering them.

Suddenly, while running, the bears seemed to lose control of their bodies.

Any trees they encountered were smashed to pieces, and if any mutated beasts tried to block their way, they would viciously rip them apart.

If not for the fact that they were chasing a red tiger and didn’t care about Xu Qing, in addition to the fact that Xu Qing fled extremely quickly, it could have been very dangerous.

And those weren’t the only perils in the forbidden area.

An hour later, when Xu Qing was looking around from the top of a tree to find his bearings, he noticed a creature that seemed like it didn’t belong in the jungle.

An icy cold aura exuded from its body and its huge body was like a mountain peak. It was… a jellyfish.

Its entire body emitted dim light as it floated in the air above the forbidden area.

As the sunlight penetrated its translucent body, countless mutated beast corpses could be seen inside it, slowly decomposing.

It had many large, swaying tentacles, and each tentacle was covered with eyes. However, most of the eyes were closed, not open.

At that moment, it floated leisurely towards the depths of the forbidden area. Wherever it passed, the jungle underneath it would freeze, and no living things could escape the calamity.

Its aura surpassed Xu Qing’s by countless folds, and Xu Qing even felt that those two bears from earlier were nothing in front of this jellyfish.

Even just looking at it from afar, Xu Qing’s body turned stiff, and he felt an overwhelming sense of crisis.

Finally, the jellyfish disappeared into the distance, and Xu Qing let out a breath. His heart beat rapidly as he stared at the frozen stretch of jungle. A straight road of ice extended over to the depths of the forbidden area.

"If the jellyfish was heading over here..." Xu Qing inhaled sharply.

He knew that he had an advantage over others in this forbidden area since his shadow could absorb heterogeneity for him.

But right now, this advantage was only to the point of allowing him to stay in the forbidden area longer.

In the future, if he became stronger, this advantage would be amplified infinitely.

After a long time, Xu Qing proceeded on his way. This time, he was more cautious of the forbidden area.

Time passed, and the sun began to set. Only a few remnant rays of light continued to illuminate the forbidden area.

More roars began to echo out from the jungle. Xu Qing silently estimated his location according to the map he had memorized. He concluded that if he traveled overnight, he should be able to leave the forbidden area by dawn.

But just as he was hesitating over whether to risk the night journey, he heard a boom in the distance. There was also an agonized scream, and it was a voice he was familiar with.

"Barbarian?" Xu Qing's eyes narrowed as he recognized the voice.

He immediately jumped up and approached carefully. His thin figure was difficult to notice as he nimbly moved through the trees.

Soon, he arrived at the place where he heard the scream come from. Hiding in the treetops, he saw six or seven corpses. One of them… was Barbarian!

He had obviously mutated, because his whole body was blue-black. His corpse was torn apart and his death was clearly extremely miserable.

His huge steel shield had been split unevenly into two pieces, and his mace had fallen to the side, covered in blood.

Obviously, he had used everything he could while he was alive, and finally died together with his enemies as he mutated.

Xu Qing was silent, and his heart filled with sadness. But suddenly, he noticed that not far away, there was a figure being besieged by five people. This figure’s body was turning blue-black, and he was clearly almost at the point of mutating. It was Captain Thunder!

This scene caused Xu Qing's pupils to contract. He gripped the iron skewer in his hand tightly, and his eyes blazed with explosive killing intent.

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