Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Scavenger Camp

This newly-formed forbidden area wasn’t very large.

The city ruins Xu Qing was in were already on the edge of the forbidden area.

This was also one of the reasons why scavengers could rush into the city on the first day the blood rain stopped.

Thus, as the sky began to darken, the group was already about to walk out of the forbidden area.

Although they encountered some mutated beasts on the road, the scavengers took care of them quickly.

After observing them along the way, Xu Qing had some internal judgments.

He felt that if he made a move, he could take on any one of them except for the old man called Captain Thunder.

"They aren’t cultivators, but their ruthlessness and timing, as well as their attitude of disregarding life and death at the critical moment, make them just as dangerous."

Xu Qing’s final analysis was that, apart from Captain Thunder, he could fight any of the other five if they were alone.

If there were two, it wasn’t impossible, but if there were three, he probably couldn’t win.

With this judgment, Xu Qing became even more cautious.

At the same time, he noticed that as they approached the edge of the forbidden area, the scavengers became much more relaxed.

They even joked and laughed with each other on the road.

Only the old man known as Captain Thunder did not say anything along the way.

The others held him in high regard, which made Xu Qing curious about the identity of this old man.

However, this curiosity didn’t make him let his guard down. Even now that he was about to leave the forbidden area, Xu Qing's vigilance was still as high as ever. Although he was following the scavengers, he didn’t get too close.

Instead, he walked a distance behind them, listening in on their conversations as he carefully followed the group.

Just before night completely fell, Xu Qing suddenly paused as a feeling of warmth appeared on his face. He looked back at the desolation behind him, then at the world in front of him.

There seemed to be an invisible boundary between heaven and earth in this location.

Within the boundary, it was a forbidden area that had just formed, giving off a cold and gloomy feeling.

Beyond the boundary, it was the normal world, where the earth was warm and lively.

They walked out of the forbidden area.

Although night had fallen, bright stars dotted the sky, and moonlight shone down from high above.

Even though the land was still desolate, it was far from the coldness of the forbidden area, and it was still possible to hear the normal sounds of birds and beasts.

Xu Qing even saw a rabbit in the distance, staring at the group vigilantly.

All this made Xu Qing feel a little dazed.

Those scavengers also relaxed completely, and even Captain Thunder eased his brows.

"We’re finally out. This time it went smoothly. If possible, I don't want to take another half a step into another forbidden area."

"You don’t want to step into a forbidden area? If you want to survive in this damned world, if you want to live better, you must go to forbidden areas and work hard. Sooner or later, I will buy the rights to a residence in a Seven Blood Pupils branch city!"

Outside the forbidden area, these scavengers were obviously in a more relaxed mood as they spoke to each other.

Xu Qing was silent, but he listened carefully. He had listened to the conversations of these people along the way and already learned a lot of things that didn’t know before.

For example, Seven Blood Pupils, which these scavengers had mentioned many times, seemed to be a very powerful force.

The name Purple Earth had also been mentioned several times.

"That's your ambition? Seven Blood Pupils has many branch cities, and Antler City nearby is one of them, but the qualifications to live there can't be bought even if you have enough spirit coins. You also need the recommendation of a Seven Blood Pupils disciple. Who cares about having a residence there, my goal is to obtain an entry qualification and become a disciple of Seven Blood Pupils!"

"If you went to Seven Blood Pupils, you wouldn’t last three days. Who doesn’t know how to brag? Why don't you say that your goal is to go overseas and check out the origin of humanity on the Ancient Hope continent."

When Xu Qing heard this, his heart moved. He had seen the name Ancient Hope on the bamboo slip.

"Ancient Hope? If I had the power to ignore those existences in the Forbidden Sea, do you think I wouldn't go?"

These two scavengers seemed to have some conflict with each other, and they quickly began to argue.

Xu Qing pricked up his ears and was about to continue listening to their conversation when old man Captain Thunder glanced at the two. For the first time along the way, he opened his mouth to speak.

"It's not impossible to visit the Ancient Hope continent. There are four methods, you can think about which suits you.”

"One, reach Foundation Establishment before the age of fifteen, becoming a rare talent. Two, pay 300,000 spirit coins and buy an immigration quota from Purple Earth or Seven Blood Pupils, or even the Departurist Church.”

"Three, make an outstanding contribution to the human race in alchemy. Four, be accepted as a direct disciple by one of the major families of the Purple Earth Holy Land, peak masters of Seven Blood Pupils, or leaders of the Departurist Church.”

"Oh, there is a fifth method, becoming a treasure breeder. Think about it, which one is suitable?"

The scavengers fell silent one after another, especially when they heard the fifth method. At that, they all had unnatural expressions and revealed fearful gazes.

Xu Qing's eyes narrowed. He had heard the term treasure breeder before.

Back in the slum, he’d known several children who were taken away one day by some luxuriously dressed people.

They said that they would be trained to become treasure breeders. At that time, all the other children in the slum were envious.

So he hesitated for a while, looked at old man Captain Thunder, and asked softly.

"Excuse me... what is a treasure breeder?"

The old man’s eyes fell on Xu Qing, and he spoke calmly.

"They use their own bodies to cultivate magic treasures. By practicing special exercises, they rely on their flesh and blood to dilute the pollution of heterogeneity of a magic treasure. Thus, each time the magic treasure is used, it won’t be polluted as much, and it can be used more times. Of course, the treasure breeder will eventually wither away and die."

Xu Qing's eyes narrowed. He was unable to speak for a while and became silent.

Everyone seemed to have lost their interest in talking because of the words “treasure breeder”, and they walked silently in the dark night.

Some distance after leaving the forbidden area, Captain Thunder chose to make camp on a plain.

Unlike in the forbidden area, the scavengers lit a campfire after setting up their tents.

As the fire burned, the surroundings became warmer. The scavengers sat around the campfire and began cooking their food. Gradually, a pleasant aroma began to spread out.

Looking at their food, Xu Qing swallowed. He was sitting in the distance, having taken out half a piece of jerky from his bag. He put the jerky in his mouth and chewed it carefully.

Captain Thunder, who was sitting beside the campfire, looked over. He got up and walked over to Xu Qing.

As Xu Qing raised his head suddenly, Captain Thunder threw a leather bag with a few hot steamed buns in it.

The moment he saw these steamed buns, Xu Qing's eyebrows straightened. Resisting the urge to eat immediately, he spoke in a low voice.

"Thanks."

Captain Thunder didn’t reply and returned to the campfire, surrounded by scavengers who were laughing and chatting.

"Captain Thunder, why are you being so nice to that kid?"

"We’re all pitiful people, and our meeting was a matter of fate. Since I can help, I’ll help."

There were three steamed buns in the bag, and they felt hot to the touch.

Xu Qing hesitated for a while. Seeing that everyone by the fire was eating the same steamed buns, he pretended to take a bite. After observing the scavengers and seeing that they had no reaction, he waited a while longer and took a small bite.

Finally, after confirming that there were no problems, he slowly chewed and swallowed the first steamed bun.

He waited for a long time, and after he reconfirmed that there were no problems, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Xu Qing hesitated for a while, then ate the second one in small bites.

Although he was still hungry, he wrapped the last steamed bun and carefully placed it in his leather bag, as if he were handling a treasure.

Soon, it was late, and the scavengers returned to their tents one after another. Like before, Captain Thunder handed him a sleeping bag, but this time, he said something to Xu Qing before leaving.

"I’m giving this to you."

Xu Qing raised his head, looked at Captain Thunder, and suddenly spoke.

"Why?"

"Why what? Three steamed buns, a sleeping bag... There is no reason. If you want, you can also get me something to eat in the future." Captain Thunder turned around and walked towards his tent.

"What do you like to eat?"

"Me?" Captain Thunder stood beside the tent and thought.

"Snake. Those taste good." After speaking, he walked into the tent.

Xu Qing held the sleeping bag and looked at Captain Thunder’s tent for a long time. Then he nodded heavily, got into the sleeping bag and closed his eyes.

But he did not fall asleep immediately, instead silently circulating the Sea and Mountain Art with his eyes closed. This had already become his habit.

Even though cultivation caused him to feel an extreme chill, he didn’t give up, seizing every moment to cultivate painstakingly.

Moreover, earlier that day, Captain Thunder had talked about reaching Foundation Establishment before fifteen years old. Although Xu Qing couldn’t compare with the sort of genius being talked about, he still had some thoughts of his own.

"I'm fourteen this year..." Xu Qing muttered. He continued to cultivate.

Time passed slowly like this, and soon five days had passed.

Xu Qing followed the scavengers over the mountains and across the plains. Three people left along the way, which also confirmed Xu Qing's previous judgment that these people were only together temporarily.

On the seventh day, after the two scavengers with knives also left, only Xu Qing and Captain Thunder were left.

That night, they stayed at the foot of a mountain. Next to the campfire, old man Captain Thunder watched Xu Qing carefully eat a steamed bun, and opened his mouth to speak.

"Kid, at noon tomorrow, we’ll reach our destination. It's a camp where scavengers gather, and I live there."

Xu Qing raised his head and looked at the old man.

The old man looked into the distance and continued to speak.

"Scavenger camps are often built next to forbidden areas, and there’s also a forbidden area next to the camp on the other side of this mountain.

"Compared to the newly born forbidden area where you were before, it’s been around for a long time. Not only are there mutated beasts, there are also mysterious danger zones, and the heterogeneity is extremely dense. If an ordinary person goes in for a day and doesn't come out, they will surely die. Even I can only last a week inside.”

“But it contains a lot of seven-leaf grass. Seven-leaf grass is a key ingredient for refining White Pills.”

“The White Pill is an essential pill that cultivators use to dissolve heterogeneity, so there are often outsiders in the camp. Since they cherish their lives and are unfamiliar with the geography, they usually don’t go in to pick the seven-leaf grass themselves. Instead, they spend spirit coins to hire local scavengers."

When the old man said this, he looked at Xu Qing.

"Do you understand what I mean?"

"You mean, the local scavengers in the camp are all desperate, and they’ll do anything for money."

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes and spoke softly after pondering for a moment.

Old man Captain Thunder seemed to be surprised and smiled.

"Part of your answer is correct. What I wanted to tell you is that in the scavenger camp, the rule is that the strong eat the weak, and strength is above all.”

"But at least it’s a place to live, and there is a market, a place to buy and sell necessities of life, and even a caravan from time to time, so each of the houses in the camp is very valuable.”

"That's why not just anyone gets to enter. Everyone who wants to win the right to live there has to go through a beast trial. This is the rule set by the camp owner.”

"As for you, if you successfully join the camp, I can rent you a room in my residence." The old man looked at Xu Qing and spoke slowly.

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