Chapter 52

Chapter 52: Colleagues

At that moment, dusk was approaching.

The remaining rays of the setting sun fell on the mountain path and gradually dimmed.

Xu Qing carried the brocade box, looking at the sky and replaying the round-faced cultivator’s words in his head. By now, he had a clear understanding of Seven Blood Pupils.

He knew that although the main city seemed to be orderly on the surface, it actually hid great danger. This was especially so at night, when sinister intentions came from all sides. There were always people who would bare their fangs at others for the sake of better survival.

Their actions couldn’t be considered right or wrong.

But Xu Qing didn’t want himself to become a sacrifice for someone else’s survival. He touched the brocade box on his back, planning to find somewhere secluded to put it in his storage back without anyone noticing.

He quickened his pace, and soon, he finally left the mountain path. At the foot of the mountain, he saw two figures in gray robes.

It was Zhou Qingpeng and Xu Xiaohui.

Xu Xiaohui had a beautiful appearance. Although the gray robe hid her graceful figure, the way her breasts and buttocks bulged out slightly gave her an additional air of seductiveness.

As for Zhou Qingpeng, he was already handsome to begin with, and the gray Daoist robe made him look noble and elegant. Xu Xiaohui had a dazed expression on her face.

It was unknown whether it was Zhou Qingpeng or his magic boat that made her feel dazed.

When Xu Qing’s figure appeared, Zhou Qingpeng laughed and walked up to him.

“Xu Qing, you’re finally down. I’ve been waiting for you for a while.”

Xu Qing’s expression didn’t change, but vigilance filled his heart. He didn’t get any closer, glancing at Zhou Qingpeng’s neck from a couple dozen meters away. His right hand dangled casually next to a leather bag where the black skewer was hidden.

“We’re all disciples of the Seventh Peak, and we entered in the same batch. Moreover, we’re not familiar with the other members of the sect, so I think we should get closer with each other.”

“This way, if something happens in the future, I’ll have one more friend and one more connection.” Zhou Qingpeng spoke in a sincere tone and clasped his fists towards Xu Qing.

Xu Qing’s vigilance didn’t decrease, but he felt that Zhou Qingpeng’s words made sense, so he nodded.

Zhou Qingpeng continued to smile and briefly said a few words. Seeing that Xu Qing didn’t like to talk, he exchanged communication information from afar before bidding farewell and bringing Xu Xiaohui to leave.

Watching their disappearing figures, Xu Qing looked down at the identity token in his hand. When he exchanged communication information with Zhou Qingpeng just now, they’d used their tokens as a medium.

“I can use this to talk?” Xu Qing looked at it curiously, pouring some spiritual energy into it. Immediately, the information contained within the token appeared in his mind.

This was a new and unfamiliar feeling, so he continued to study the token as he moved forward.

When he walked into the city, he found a hidden corner and put the brocade box into his storage bag. However, he didn’t change into the gray Daoist robe, still wearing that dirty fur-lined jacket instead.

In the clean and tidy main city of the daytime, his scavenger outfit was very conspicuous, but it was almost nighttime right now. The fur-lined jacket was better for concealing himself, and at the same time, it would let him avoid some problems that he might not be able to solve.

After all, most scavengers were poor, and those who targeted them naturally wouldn’t be experts. Xu Qing felt that he would be able to handle anyone who came for him.

At the same time, he continued studying the functions of the identity token. He knew how to transmit his voice with it and also saw the department that he was assigned to.

“Homicide Department?” Xu Qing muttered. Although he didn’t understand what exactly his department did, he could guess one or two things just from the name. This department… seemed to be dangerous and brutal.

In any case, the information in the token told him that he didn’t have to check in until tomorrow, and at the same time, it marked the location of his personal berth.

When a disciple bought a magic boat, the sect would automatically assign them a berth where they could live without rent for one month. After one month passed, they would be charged 30,000 contribution points per month, or 30 spirit stones. If they couldn’t pay, their allocated berth would be revoked.

“Dock 79, ‘Black’ No. 33?” Xu Qing raised his head and looked over at the great sea. His figure flickered in the darkness, and he cautiously advanced through the city as quickly as possible without leaving a trace.

Just like that, time passed, and soon dusk gave way to nightfall.

The thousands of houses in the city closed their doors one after another, and the hustle and bustle of the day instantly turned into utter silence.

The dark of night also completely hid Xu Qing’s figure. His eyes narrowed slowly, and his footsteps picked up as he gradually sensed the killing intent arising in the city’s night.

He saw people killing, he saw people fleeing, he saw people ruthlessly chasing, and he also saw people stealing.

However, Xu Qing merely glanced over at these things before looking away. Concealed by the darkness, he didn’t participate and just continued on his way.

In the dark night, his traceless figure was just like a ghost.

He also saw some casinos. The railings were brightly lit, showcasing the prosperity of this flip side of the city.

Perhaps it was because Xu Qing was being more cautious this time, but he didn’t encounter any problems on the way.

However, he could still occasionally feel gazes sweep over him from the darkness that contained a cold and sinister feeling. Luckily, once they saw his scavenger outfit, most of them chose to ignore him.

Xu Qing remained silent and continued to speed along. Two hours passed before he approached the port.

There were more than one hundred docks here. Xu Qing was headed to Dock 79, which was in the purple area.

But just as he started looking for it, Xu Qing’s expression suddenly changed. He concealed himself in the entrance of an alley and looked ahead.

The sound of footsteps and whistling wind floated over from a distance, and soon, Xu Qing saw a group of cultivators wearing gray Daoist robes running over at a high speed. Each of them wore a cold expression and killing intent exuded from their bodies.

Some were on the road, and some were atop the surrounding buildings. They seemed to be searching for someone.

All of them wore a badge that read “Homicide” in blood-colored text.

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes. Sensing the spiritual energy fluctuations of these Seven Blood Pupils disciples, he noticed that they gave off a powerful baleful aura.

"Homicide Department?" Xu Qing guessed.

At that moment, some of the Seven Blood Pupils cultivators detected Xu Qing. Even though he had concealed himself well, there were so many of them after all, and they were all extremely on guard, so it was inevitable that he would be discovered.

Among the group, there was a young man with phoenix eyes who glanced coldly at Xu Qing before quickly walking over.

As the young man approached, Xu Qing felt a wave of baleful aura rush towards his face, and his body instantly tensed up. He felt an extremely strong sense of crisis.

Only those who had killed a lot would possess this sort of baleful aura.

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes. He knew that if he were to make a move to flee, the young man would definitely attack. Thus, he just stood still and looked at the approaching young man. At the same time, his right hand lightly touched the leather bag containing the black skewer, ready to take it out at any moment.

"Identity token!" After the young man came over, he looked Xu Qing up and down and looked meaningfully at his right hand.

The crowd of disciples around him had also come over, giving off the impression of surrounding Xu Qing on all sides. Their expressions were icy cold, and it seemed that so long as Xu Qing made any abnormal movements, they would immediately attack.

Xu Qing noticed the young man’s gaze and became more determined to rid himself of his habit. Scanning the surroundings, he carefully took out his identity token and handed it over.

After the young man looked it over, his cold expression faded a little and he seemed surprised. Smiling, he turned to his companions.

“It’s actually a newbie who’s going to report to our Seventh Peak’s Homicide Department.”

“Alright, everyone chill out. Don’t scare this kid to the point that he doesn’t even dare to report in tomorrow.” As he spoke, most of the surrounding cultivators suppressed their aura. However, there were still a few who stayed locked on to Xu Qing.

"Sure enough, it's the Homicide Department." Xu Qing felt most of the auras locked on to his body disappear. The young man with phoenix eyes returned Xu Qing’s identity token and looked him up and down.

“Kid, you’re a little interesting. Hurry up and get going. The city’s going to be dangerous tonight.”

Xu Qing nodded and took back his identity token. He was about to leave, but a mournful shriek suddenly pierced the dark night from far away.

The sharp voice seemed like a roar as it echoed through the air.

Xu Qing’s expression froze, and he immediately turned his head to take a look. Suddenly, he saw a black shadow on a tall tower in the distance, spewing out blood as it fled through the air.

Although the spiritual energy fluctuations coming from its body were chaotic, Xu Qing’s heart was shaken. That was the aura of Foundation Establishment.

Behind the distant figure was a middle-aged man in a purple Daoist robe. His expression was dignified without seeming angry as he surged forth with a mighty aura. Although he was still far away, his spiritual energy fluctuations blazed like a raging fire.

As he approached from the sky, the purple-robed middle-aged man raised his hand, directly summoning a long spear and violently throwing it out.

The sky seemed to explode, and enormous waves of power spread out in all directions like thunder. The long spear seemed to ignite from friction, turning into a fire dragon that shot straight towards the fleeing black shadow.

From far away, it seemed like heaven was about to split apart, making the fire dragon appear incredibly dazzling.

Its speed was so fast that it instantly pierced through the air, piercing the black shadow’s chest with irresistible force. With a bang, the black shadow was nailed to the bluish-gray bricks on the street. The impact created a storm that swept out in all directions.

It was clean and efficient, as easy as crushing dead leaves!

This scene gave Xu Qing a strong shock. He felt that the black shadow that was easily killed just now was about as strong as the Vajra Sect ancestor.

The purple-robed middle-aged man’s spear strike was incredibly powerful. If it had been targeting Xu Qing, he wouldn’t have the slightest chance of survival. He would definitely die.

"It's the Department Chief!"

"Let’s go!"

The surrounding Homicide Department disciples all looked excited. Ignoring Xu Qing, they headed over to the battlefield and full speed one after another.

That mighty attack and the shock it brought him continued to fill Xu Qing’s mind by the time everyone had already left. After a long time, he took a deep breath and his eyes revealed a sense of longing.

“When will I be able to do the same?” Xu Qing muttered. He took a deep look at the direction where the purple-robed middle-aged man had disappeared before turning around and walking away quickly.

He could sense that the night was doomed to not be peaceful. Speeding up, he finally found Dock 79 after an hour had passed.

The port area was different from the rest of the city. The lights here were dimmer, and although there were a few guards patrolling vigilantly, they mostly avoided anyone walking around. Clearly, their vigilance wasn’t to maintain order, but to prevent themselves from being harmed.

When they saw Xu Qing, it was the same. After glancing at him, they immediately walked away without asking any questions.

Xu Qing watched as the patrolling cultivators walked away vigilantly and fell silent. This scene made him a little more aware of the dangers in Seven Blood Pupils.

He slowly approached the dock, feeling the humid sea breeze more clearly. As he heard waves rising and falling, he arrived at the horseshoe-shaped bay of Dock 79. Within it, the seawater constantly splashed against the shore.

Most of the boats in the dock were a distance away from each other, as if on guard. They were all about the same size, but their shapes were slightly different. Looking carefully, it could be seen that their basic shape was pretty much the same as the dark awning boat in Xu Qing’s bottle. There were more than two hundred ships moored here.

But the bay of Dock 79 was too big. All these boats took up less than a fifth of the whole area.

Although lights shone in some of the boats, they were very quiet, and there were no disciples coming and going. It seemed that the arrival of nighttime had raised everyone’s vigilance to the extreme.

At the same time, Xu Qing discovered that the spiritual energy here was very strong. However, so was the heterogeneity. They seemed to be emanating from the sea.

The black sea water obscured his vision, blocking him from looking into the bottom of the sea.

This sort of unknown made him feel uneasy. At the same time, there seemed to be some huge danger hidden at the bottom of the sea. Xu Qing only tried to take a look, and all the hairs on his body stood on end. It was a feeling similar to that of a forbidden area.

“If I cultivate here, my progress should be very fast, and I can constantly temper myself…” Xu Qing muttered before moving forward to locate Black No. 33.

Black No. 33 was in a bit of a remote location. The surroundings were relatively empty, and there were only a few other boats around.

When he arrived, Xu Qing first carefully observed his surroundings. After ensuring that nothing was suspect, he removed the bottle from the brocade box and opened it. The mouth of the bottle lit up with a flash of light, and the dark awning boat flew out from inside. As it hovered over the water, it rapidly increased in size.

With a bang, it fell into the sea, causing waves to ripple outward. What appeared in front of Xu Qing was a boat around three meters wide and ten meters long.

The body of the boat was pitch-black, and each plank was engraved with many runes. The boat was surrounded with a black light, and it even emanated spiritual energy fluctuations. It was very impressive.

The dark awning on top of the boat seemed to be the skin of some kind of mutated beast. It had transparent scales that looked very resilient. There was also a statue at the front of the ship.

This statue depicted the huge head of a crocodile. Its mouth was open, revealing sharp teeth and strong viciousness.

From far away, the small boat looked like a giant crocodile floating atop the sea.

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