Chapter 59

Chapter 59: Solitary Silhouette under the Night Rain

As time passed, the wind and rain continued to grow heavier.

The wind howled as it blew around in the Seven Blood Pupils main city, creating a noise that sounded almost like weeping. It meandered through every street and every alley, fusing with the rain that continuously fell from the sky.

It also blew into Banquan Road and onto Xu Qing.

The rain made a pitter-patter sound as it fell on the bricks and tiles around him, and the wind, not to be outdone, blew over his robe with a rustle.

Xu Qing stood still underneath the eaves, apparently unable to be disturbed by the wind and rain. His whole body had fused with the darkness, standing motionless like a hunter as he stared with a cold gaze.

He waited dispassionately, breathing evenly without a hint of impatience.

Just like that, another two hours passed. When the lights of the thousands of houses had already been put out and the whole city had been plunged into darkness and silence, when only the pitter-patter of the rain could be heard, a figure slowly appeared just inside the door of the inn.

It was a middle-aged man in a red robe. The body under his robe seemed to be strong and muscled, with extremely broad shoulders that gave people a sense of pressure just from standing there. It was Master Azurecloud.

The spiritual energy fluctuations rolling off his body were also very powerful. His ninth-level Qi Condensation cultivation was clearly revealed.

But this “powerful” was only relative to small sects. Because of the gap in cultivation techniques, disciples of Seven Blood Pupils were fundamentally different from small sect cultivators. Furthermore, they also survived in the cruel environment of the main city. If it really came down to it, even a Seven Blood Pupils disciple in the seventh level of Qi Condensation could suppress a ninth-level small sect cultivator like Master Azurecloud.

Thus, Master Azurecloud was always very cautious in this Seven Blood Pupils main city.

As he stood inside the inn’s doorway, he first checked to make sure there was no danger before tentatively taking a step. The moment he stepped out of the inn, his body flickered and he was about to disappear into the rainy night.

But before he even took five steps, Master Azurecloud’s expression changed drastically. Although he couldn’t see Xu Qing, he seemed to have sensed an incoming crisis; immediately, he turned around and rushed straight towards the inn.

Xu Qing frowned slightly. Originally, he’d planned to wait for Master Azurecloud to travel a little further before making his move, but the other party was just too careful. A cold light flashed through his eyes as he suddenly moved.

His speed was extremely fast, making his body seem like a bolt of lightning as he shuttled through the rain.

The rain falling in front of him seemed to suddenly slow down, and a sonic boom filled the whole street.

As raindrops splattered one after another, Xu Qing’s figure was like an arrow released from the bow, shooting straight towards Master Azurecloud outside the inn with irresistible force.

Master Azurecloud’s expression changed drastically when he saw Xu Qing and sensed his terrifying speed. The aura of the Forbidden Sea emanating from the other party’s body seemed to suppress him, causing his own spiritual energy to fall stagnant. His heart shook as the sensation of an intense life-and-death crisis welled up within him.

His eyes instantly turned red, and he bit the tip of his tongue, seemingly activating a secret technique. He forcibly circulated the stagnant spiritual energy in his body, and his speed skyrocketed. He was about to reach the doorway of the inn.

At that moment, the old innkeeper also appeared within the inn’s doorway, smoking a pipe. As he let out a puff of smoke, he looked at Xu Qing, who was rushing straight for the inn.

Master Azurecloud was only half a step away from the inn. As he raised his right foot and was about to step in with bloodshot eyes, a black flash suddenly approached him at a blinding speed. Carrying a cold glow and strong spiritual energy that had the aura of the Forbidden Sea, it directly penetrated Master Azurecloud’s spiritual energy barrier and pierced through his right calf.

It was too fast and too strong. Master Azurecloud couldn’t help but let out a mournful scream that echoed through the silent night.

He couldn’t place his right foot down, and his body was knocked off-balance by the impact. Staggering, he was forced to take a step backwards, but a second black flash appeared. It was a dagger.

Bang!

The dagger’s speed was astonishing, and it instantly stabbed into Master Azurecloud’s left arm. Terrifying spiritual energy rampaged through his body, ravaging his meridians and also nailing his body fiercely to the ground. When his face hit the ground, he was only an arm’s length away from the door of the inn.

As he screamed, veins bulged out on Master Azurecloud’s forehead as he pulled out the dagger and struggled to crawl towards the inn. However, he was too late. Xu Qing’s figure approached and he stomped a foot on Master Azurecloud’s back.

This stomp was extremely powerful, and with a crunch, Master Azurecloud’s spine shattered. A sever pain wracked his whole body, causing him to tremble violently and let out even more horrific screams.

As Master Azurecloud writhed miserably, the old innkeeper put down the pipe in his hand. A dangerous aura seemed to exude from his whole body, and he looked coldly at Xu Qing, who was in front of the inn’s door.

“Are you going to break my rules?”

The old man’s eyes turned yellow, and tentacles began poking out of them. Cracks appeared between his brows, as if there was something in his body that was about to break out. It was a shocking sight.

At the same time, a strange noise sounded out within the inn. An enormous python as thick as three people hung down from the roof beam of the inn. Its vertical pupils revealed coldness and bloodthirst as it stared at Xu Qing.

Moreover, a large number of centipedes began crawling out of the ground. All of them were extremely dark and clearly highly venomous, and they were all poised to attack. Sharp auras locked on to Xu Qing from the surrounding houses, and ropes slid down from the roof of the inn.

These ropes seemed to be alive, and they were shaped like nooses. At that moment, they twisted slightly, as if ready to attack Xu Qing at the next moment. There was an endless aura of death on them, as if countless people had been hanged on these nooses.

They were all staring at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing stood before the inn’s doorway, foot still on the back of the screaming Master Azurecloud, and looked up at the old innkeeper.

Their gazes met.

Xu Qing didn’t seem to notice the beasts inside the inn, nor the auras locking on to him from all around, nor the ropes. He just stared at the old innkeeper.

Behind him, the Chief Shadow appeared. With a pitch-black body and a ferocious expression, it was ready to fight.

At the same time, Xu Qing was circulating the Sea and Mountain Art at full capacity. Every inch of flesh and blood in his body was ready to explode forth at any moment.

The same was true for the Sea Transforming Scripture. All around Xu Qing, the rain seemed to stop in mid-air, surrounding him and resonating with the spiritual sea in his body.

It seemed that he could release a killing blow at any time.

His poison was also at the ready, and his shadow had spread into the inn, unnoticed, and silently reached the strange old man’s feet.

Above his head, surrounded by countless water droplets, an illusory blade loomed in the air, seemingly containing an imposing might. It was nearly solid, as if it could slash down with the might of heaven at any time.

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes and stared at the old man in front of him. He wasn’t intimidated by the tentacles in the old man’s eyes, nor was he afraid of the forehead that seemed on the verge of breaking apart. He knew that this opponent was strong, but he also had a way to escape unscathed. Thus, he was extremely calm as he spoke in a serious manner.

“He didn’t step inside, so it doesn’t count as breaking any rules.”

A faint light appeared in the old man’s eyes. After staring at Xu Qing for a long time, he suddenly smiled.

"You have a point."

As soon as he smiled and his words rang out, all the auras locked on to Xu Qing immediately disappeared. The python retracted itself, and the centipedes crawling all over returned to the ground with a rustle.

The ropes seemed to turn blurry and soon also disappeared. As for the old innkeeper himself, the tentacles in his eyes and the cracks on his forehead all receded, and he turned back into an old man with an unremarkable appearance. He picked up his pipe and took a puff.

“Are you selling the corpse?”

Xu Qing shook his head. Grabbing Master Azurecloud by the hair, he opened his mouth slightly as the other party trembled.

“Where is the woman that you caught two days ago?”

Master Azurecloud’s hair was disheveled, his face was covered in blood, and his whole body was in an extremely sorry state.

Although he was trembling at the moment, he seemed to want to be stubborn and moved to spit blood at Xu Qing. However, Xu Qing shoved his head to the ground and wiped it hard.

Master Azurecloud’s screams became even more horrific, but Xu Qing ignored them, raising his hand to press against Master Azurecloud’s right arm. Little by little, Xu Qing crushed all the bones in Master Azurecloud’s right arm, then switched and did the same to the left. Master Azurecloud trembled even harder from the severe pain and couldn’t even make noise anymore.

With a calm expression, Xu Qing carefully looked Master Azurecloud over before punching his dantian again, permanently destroying his cultivation. After making sure that the opponent was no longer a threat, he stood up and put away the dagger and black skewer. Grabbing Master Azurecloud’s foot with one hand, Xu Qing dragged him on the ground while walking away.

Although the rain cushioned the impact of his body continuously hitting the ground, the feeling of his flesh slowly scraping and shattering as he was dragged made Master Azurecloud’s screams grow even more miserable.

As Xu Qing marched forward, horrific screams continued to ring out, and a trail of blood was left behind on the ground. Although the rain soon washed it away, some traces still remained.

The old innkeeper’s eyes narrowed. Looking at the youth calmly walking away in the rainy night, he listened to Master Azurecloud’s inhuman screams. After a long while, he murmured.

"This kid is ruthless…"

Just like that, Xu Qing dragged Master Azurecloud away amidst the criminal’s horrifying screams. Everyone they passed on the way was shocked after seeing this scene. The expressionless youth had formed a deep impression on them.

Some of the patrolling disciples also heard the screams and rushed over. After recognizing Master Azurecloud, their expressions as they looked at Xu Qing had changed.

Being able to defeat a cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Condensation, although only a minor character from a small sect, was an impressive feat. This was especially so since the defeated cultivator was actually captured alive and tortured to this point, clearly revealing the battle prowess and ruthlessness of the person who captured him. No one was willing to easily provoke such a person.

After this battle, Xu Qing gained some prestige in the main city.

As for Master Azurecloud, after persisting for two hours, he eventually lost all his stubbornness. Just before passing out, he gave Xu Qing a location and also told Xu Qing a secret about the informant.

In fact, that informant was actually a spy for Master Azurecloud. He didn’t know that she’d squealed on him to Xu Qing, but he had a habit of only using a spy for a short time before getting rid of it.

And it just happened to be her turn this time.

Xu Qing soon came to the address provided by Master Azurecloud. After he arrived, he checked carefully to make sure there was no ambush before actually stepping in. Finally, he saw his informant on the verge of death inside a sealed dungeon filled with countless foul stenches.

She’d lost the spirit coin, so the smell of the poison powder on her body was mixed up. In addition, she was sealed up in this place, so Xu Qing couldn’t find her.

However, she wasn’t dead just yet, although she was surrounded by the rotting corpses of both men and women.

These people had died extremely miserably. Clearly, they had been tortured cruelly when they were still alive, and an array formation seemed to be drawn on the ground. It was as if their deaths were part of some kind of ritual.

Xu Qing’s arrival caused the informant to weakly open her eyes. When she saw the unconscious Master Azurecloud he was carrying, she seemed to obtain strength from nowhere and went crazy. Not caring about Xu Qing at the side, she rushed forward like a wild beast, biting the unconscious Master Azurecloud until he woke up. As he screamed, she continued to bite into him, ripping and tearing at his neck over and over.

She didn’t relent until Master Azurecloud’s blood-covered body twitched and he died. Finally, she instinctively raised her head and looked at the expressionless Xu Qing.

The gray-robed Xu Qing reflected in her eyes had a tall and straight figure, and his beautiful face exuded an aloof coldness. The aura emitted from his body made her feel a little suffocated.

Soon, the madness on her face slowly receded, and after she calmed down, she gradually revealed an obedient expression under Xu Qing’s gaze. Her body suddenly trembled, and she seemed to remember something, hurriedly rummaging around.

Finally, she picked out a jade slip. Raising her head to look at Xu Qing, she slowly knelt down, as if surrendering, before offering the jade slip up with both hands.

Xu Qing accepted the jade slip and saw that it recorded information about an evil array formation. According to the jade slip, after carrying out a ritual, an incredible power would descend.

However, for the ritual to be completed and array formation to activate, it required various emotions from living things, such as joy, anger, sorrow, and other extreme emotions.

Silently observing the miserable world in this dungeon, Xu Qing dragged Master Azurecloud’s corpse away after a long silence. Before he left, his voice echoed in the woman’s ears.

"You must be my informant seriously in the future."

Following his voice came another spirit coin, as well as an antidote.

Holding the spirit coin and antidote, the woman stared blankly at Xu Qing’s departing figure. The appearance of his back at that moment filled her eyes and gradually engraved itself into her soul. She lowered her head in assent.

By now, it was almost dawn. Xu Qing took out a black paper umbrella and dragged Master Azurecloud’s broken corpse as he walked silently through the streets.

Clouds gathered densely in the sky, seeming to reflect his mood as he brought Master Azurecloud’s body back to the department, where his colleagues looked at him with shock. After leaving, Xu Qing looked at the morning sun in the sky and the fragmented face of God far in the distance. His eyes slowly revealed firmness.

“I have to become stronger. Otherwise, in this cruel and chaotic world, I won’t be able to avoid… becoming meat on someone’s chopping block!”

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