Chapter 48

Chapter 48: Are those corpses for sale?

The sea breeze blowing nearby lifted Xu Qing’s hair.

He walked forward, wind rippling through his hair and making the hem of his pants flap lightly. He was like a blade about to be unsheathed as he coldly stared at the woman who had fled in a different direction.

Xu Qing hesitated for a moment. It was his first day here, so he didn’t want to kill anyone. Thus, he looked away and continued walking towards the inn.

However… just because he didn’t want trouble didn’t mean that trouble didn’t want him. [1]

At that moment, the sea breeze blew even harder.

The apparent leader of the eight burly men chasing after the woman, a man with a scar on his face, sneered when he saw this exchange.

“Regardless of whether it’s true or not, go take down that kid too. A body refiner in the sixth or seventh level must have some contribution points on him!”

When he spoke, the eight pursuers immediately split off into two group. Four of them went after the woman and the other four ran straight toward Xu Qing.

Xu Qing frowned as he looked at the four men approaching him. These four people weren’t commoners. All of them were body refiners around the sixth level of Qi Condensation.

However, he really didn’t want to kill people since he had only just entered the city, so he backed away and spoke in a low voice.

"I don’t know her."

“Little brat, it doesn’t matter if you know her or not. Just count yourself unlucky!” One of the burly men rushing towards him sneered, waving his hand and directly unleashing a punch. The other three also moved, and one of them was grinning fiendishly as he pulled out a blade.

The blade gleamed coldly in the moonlight, and it was clearly smeared with poison.

Xu Qing’s face fell.

In this world, there were always some people who liked to march right up to the gate of hell. Xu Qing hadn’t wanted to make a move, but the burly men tried to kill him first, so his body shifted, not to retreat, but to attack.

Instantly, he appeared in front of the man punching out. He raised his left hand and immediately struck the man’s forehead.

The attack was fast, so fast that it was utterly shocking.

A boom rang out, but there was no scream. The burly man’s head directly exploded from Xu Qing’s astonishing power, which was already comparable to a body refiner at the peak of Qi Condensation. Covered in blood, Xu Qing calmly stepped over to the man wielding a blade. To the blade-wielder’s astonishment, Xu Qing simply bumped him with his shoulder.

Suddenly, half of the blade-wielder’s body directly collapsed.

Finally, Xu Qing punched the air twice, and the remaining two men’s eyes widened. Their expressions suddenly changed drastically.

The pair were just about to retreat, but fluctuations appeared in the air in front of them, instantly submerging their bodies. Their bodies immediately trembled violently, and they spurted out blood. Their chests sank in, their internals disintegrated, and they died.

In just two breaths of time, all four people had died.

When they saw this, the other four burly men who had split up not far away also stopped in their tracks. They stared dumbfoundedly at Xu Qing’s expressionless face, feeling like their heads were about to explode.

“Mis… Misunderstanding, we…” The leader’s arrogance had completely disappeared. His body trembled, and he tried to speak, but Xu Qing suddenly gave him an ice-cold glance. The leader’s mind roared and he retreated crazily.

But the moment he stepped back, Xu Qing made his move.

In the next instant, the other three men’s bodies shook, and blood spurted out of them one after another. Bloody holes appeared on their foreheads, and their lifeless corpses fell to the ground.

Xu Qing appeared next to them, and his fingers had suddenly become covered in blood. He walked toward the madly escaping leader step by step.

It was alright not to kill, but once he did start killing, Xu Qing’s habit was to eliminate all hidden dangers.

Xu Qing approached the leader in the blink of an eye and indifferently raised his right hand.

“Fellow Daoist, I’m one of the Night King’s men, don’t be rash…” The leader was shocked and hurriedly spoke with desperation.

Xu Qing paused and looked at the terrified man in front of him.

“You’re a Seven Blood Pupils disciple?”

“I’m not Seven Blood Pupils, but…” The big man was taken aback and subconsciously responded, but before he could finish, Xu Qing’s right hand had already struck his forehead.

Bang. Blood splattered everywhere.

Xu Qing bent down and wiped his hands with the corpse’s clothing before looking into the distance. He pondered for a moment, but since it was dark and he wasn’t familiar with the area, he decided not to chase after the woman who ran away.

However, he engraved her appearance into his mind.

Lowering his head, he was about to dispose of the corpses, but he felt a sudden fluctuation in his mind. Xu Qing suddenly turned his head to look at the inn in the distance and his body instantly prepared for battle.

At some point, an old man had appeared at the door of the inn, wearing a shopkeeper’s robe. The old man had a hunchback, and his face was covered with liver spots. His complexion was sallow and he looked sickly overall.

Noticing Xu Qing’s gaze, the old man grinned, revealing his yellowed teeth.

"Boy, are those corpses for sale? Eight corpses, how about ten spirit coins each?"

Xu Qing was taken aback for a moment. It was the first time he’d heard of someone buying corpses, so he looked at the old man with vigilance. He didn’t respond, just lowering his head to dispose of the corpses.

The old man shook his head helplessly after being rejected.

“A pity, a pity. Corpses are freshest right after they’ve been killed."

Some time later, Xu Qing finished cleaning up the scene. He looked at the inn, feeling a little hesitant on whether to spend the night there.

As if he saw Xu Qing’s hesitation, the old man outside the inn spoke with a smile.

“You must have seen it on the way here. Around this area, except for here, everywhere else is closed. I won’t cheat you, just eighty spirit coins or eighty contribution points for a night.”

"Contribution points?" Xu Qing looked at the old man. The woman who framed him had also mentioned contribution points.

“Sure enough, you’re a newbie. You’ll learn about contribution points later. They have the same value as spirit coins.” The old man grinned.

Xu Qing frowned. He felt that everything about this city was weird. There were contribution points that had the same value as spirit coins, someone was trying to buy corpses, and the price to stay at the inn was completely outrageous.

“Don’t think it’s too expensive. The nights here in the main city aren’t peaceful. Other inns aren’t cheap, either, and I only have two rooms left.” The old man half-smiled as he spoke.

Xu Qing pondered for a while. He looked at the sky, and then at the old man. As he was thinking, he narrowed his eyes and suddenly looked over at the street. A blood-red shadow was quickly approaching the inn.

As it drew near, the figure of a cultivator appeared within it. Without a word, he tossed out a leather bag filled with spirit coins and disappeared into the inn.

“Now, there is only one room left.” The old man weighed the leather bag in his hand and spoke with a smile on his face.

Xu Qing thought for while before walking over. He handed over the spirit coins and walked up to the second floor, opening the door to the last remaining room. Before entering the room, he went downstairs and asked the old man who was smoking a pipe at the counter.

“What are you buying corpses for?”

The old man looked up and grinned.

“I have a little pet at home who likes them. It’s a pity that you didn’t sell them to me. If you encounter this sort of thing in the future, remember to sell me the corpses. The price is negotiable.”

Xu Qing silently looked at the old man before walking into the room.

He checked the room carefully. After making sure there was nothing wrong, Xu Qing pushed open the window and peered outside.

In the dark of night, the city was pitch-black, and light of the bright moon seemed to form a mysterious veil as it fell over the dark city.

The whistles of ships could be heard from the distant sea, along with the sound of waves. Beneath the light of the lighthouse, huge ships could faintly be seen approaching the port.

As he looked at all of this, Xu Qing remembered the words of the female disciple at the teleportation formation. He realized that this city was like a deep pool, with danger hiding everywhere. In addition, he finally understood where the faint smell of blood came from. After all, just now, he had also contributed to it a bit.

Thus, compared with the slums and scavenger camp, although this city seemed grand and clean, at the root, it was the same kind of place.

"After all, it’s this chaotic world..." Xu Qing murmured. He no longer thought about these things, instead turning his thoughts to the entry exam.

“Although I should be able to pass the test, I have to be prepared. If I fail, then I have to plan my next moves well. My biggest threat right now is the Vajra Sect ancestor… I have to cultivate harder and kill him as soon as possible.”

As he was lost in thought, the sky outside grew darker and darker. Although there were no roars or shrieks from mutated beasts, as the wind blew, he heard the sound of shouts and wanton laughter.

Xu Qing ignored all of this and lowered his head, taking out a cloth bag.

This was the item he had found in the Vajra Sect. When he checked it out on the way here, he had been extremely surprised.

This cloth bag seemed to be very small, only the size of his palm, but it actually contained a separate space when opened. The space inside was the size of a bed.

Xu Qing had heard about this kind of item in the scavenger camp. It was called a storage bag.

Back where Xu Qing lived before, storage bags were extremely rare. They were incredibly valuable and buying one wasn’t easy.

Just the loss of this storage bag was enough to make the Vajra Sect feel heartache, not to mention its contents. Inside the bag, there were many pill bottles, all of which contained Clear Dust Pills.

Looking at it, there were more than 30 pills inside.

But what shocked Xu Qing even more was the one hundred and ten… spirit stones!

Xu Qing had never seen a spirit stone, but Captain Thunder had once mentioned them during a meal.

They were much more valuable than spirit coins. One spirit stone was equivalent to one thousand spirit coins, and they contained highly concentrated spiritual energy. In a critical situation, they could be used to cultivate directly. Even one was extremely valuable, and Xu Qing was only able to recognize them because of Captain Thunder’s description of their appearance.

These were his biggest gains from the Vajra Sect. As for the other miscellaneous items, compared with the storage bag and spirit stones, they were all nothing.

Even though Xu Qing had already checked it many times on the way here, he was still shocked by this unimaginable windfall. Ever since he was a child, this was the greatest amount of wealth he’d ever had.

“If I fail the exam, this much money should be enough to cultivate rapidly in the Seven Blood Pupils main city…” Xu Qing muttered before closing his eyes and starting to cultivate.

No matter where he was, no matter what the test would be, Xu Qing wouldn’t miss a day of cultivation. This was the foundation for his strength and the best guarantee for his survival.

After all, in this chaotic world, the seemingly unchanging things like sunrise and sunset might suddenly change one day.

Anything was possible.

The only certain thing was the law of the jungle.

And… in Xu Qing’s experience, places with a lot of people were even more dangerous than a forbidden area. After all, it was hard to judge the viciousness in people’s hearts.

This was especially so for the Seven Blood Pupils main city, which was obviously full of danger and mystery.

For the young man, this was also a forbidden area.

Another kind of forbidden area.

[1] – “树欲静而风不止”- “The tree wants to be still, but the wind doesn’t stop” – Used to describe when a situation goes against one’s wishes

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