Many massacres of the human race had happened over the countless years outside of the human race's territories. After all, the human race was once the number one race in the Wanggu Continent. There were a large number of humans living in all the regions of the Wanggu Continent.
When it declined and its territories were seized one after another, countless humans became slaves of the nonhuman races overnight.
Therefore, sacrificial offerings were often seen.
However… inside the human race's territories, other than during wars, such a large-scale abominable event rarely happened.
The sacrificial rituals that happened in Tianzhao County weren't one but three!
The number of people ranged from hundreds of thousands to a million, mostly from small mortal countries. Their souls were forcibly extracted, and their deaths were extremely tragic.
Such an extreme and vile thing was the same as touching the foundation of the human race. Hence, when this matter was transmitted to the Human Emperor, his anger rose to the heavens.
This was because the three incidents that happened in Tianzhao County were very likely only a portion of the overall incident, there was a great possibility that similar occurrences may have taken place in other areas.
After all, such behavior was clearly a form of ritual or cultivation requirement. A few million was clearly not enough.
They might not have been discovered in other places yet due to their covert operations or oversight by the authorities.
Hence, the Human Emperor immediately issued a decree, asking the entire human race's territories to carry out an inspection. At the same time, he ordered the Upper Mystic Five Palaces to head out together to investigate this matter.
Finally, there was a decree targeting the Variant Immortal School.
The white tower of the Variant Immortal School was to be temporarily closed and the school head and the ancestor were to be imprisoned.
As soon as this decree was issued, it caused monstrous waves in the Imperial Capital and Imperial Academy.
There were even people who spread the words of the head of the Divine Fusion School that day.
In an instant, the saying that there were heretics in the Variant Immortal School echoed again.
All the spearheads were pointed at the dao seeds of the Variant Immortal School.
The entire Variant Immortal School was facing a great calamity at this important moment of recovery.
Regardless of whether it was the Human Emperor's decree or the fermentation of public opinion, it made the Variant Immortal School feel as though it was placed on fire and the pressure was immense.
This was especially so for those who had fused with the dao seeds. They couldn't provide a proper explanation.
They understood the characteristics of the dao seed better than outsiders.
It could indeed devour the souls of the living.
Other than strengthening itself, this devouring would also speed up the formation of the soul threads.
In theory, the souls of the living could indeed allow cultivators who had fused with the dao seeds to cultivate faster.
However, there was a difference. The souls required by the dao seed weren't limited to the human race; souls from all the races in the Wanggu Continent could be devoured and absorbed by it.
However, such a thing couldn't be used as a basis to prove their innocence.
Hence, in a short period of time, as the storm continued to brew, the Variant Immortal School turned from lively to silent. From its previous recovery, it became silent.
There were even people who spared no expense to dig out the dao seed in their bodies and hand it over.
Xu Qing watched as the recovery of the Variant Immortal School he had pushed forward was facing such a calamity. That feeling of a building about to collapse didn't bring him danger but killing intent.
Since this matter had a certain relation to him, he wanted to investigate it himself.
If this matter was really done by people who had fused with the soul seeds, he would cleanse the school, reclaim all soul seeds outside, and spare no effort to compensate for it.
However, if this wasn't done by the Variant Immortal School and they were just being slandered and used by others, then no matter who was behind the other party, he would uproot them completely.
Too many people had died.
Hence, Xu Qing left the Imperial Academy immediately and entered a teleportation array, leaving the Imperial City.
Outside the Imperial City, Xu Qing no longer suppressed the fluctuations of his soul seed. He spread them out with all his might and augmented his perception.
In an instant, it was as though lightning had flashed in his mind. Threads of connection appeared in his mind. There were a total of hundreds of them that connected to everyone who had fused with a dao seed.
Regardless of whether it was purple, green, or white, they were all within his perception.
The vast majority of the threads pointed to the Imperial City. As for the outside world… there were eleven of them.
Some of them were close, while others were very far away. If it was the school head of the Variant Immortal School, it might be difficult for him to accurately sense them due to the range. However, Xu Qing was the source. Now that he was going all out, he could clearly sense the location and state of all the threads through his perfection.
"There are ten soul seeds that are in the state of fusion. The other one is the opposite."
Xu Qing could guess that the soul seed that was not in a fused state should be the one sent by the Tianzhao County Governor.
Xu Qing closed his eyes and carefully sensed the threads in his mind. After locking onto that soul seed, he recalled the time when this soul seed left the Imperial City.
A while later, Xu Qing suddenly opened his eyes.
"More than half a month ago, a total of three soul seeds left the Imperial City and this was one of them."
"The other two…" A dark glint flashed in Xu Qing's eyes as he instantly locked onto two of the other threads outside.
One of them was in the 97th ring of the Grand Imperial Capital Region, and the other was much further away. It wasn't in this large region but in one of the seven counties, the Nine Provinces County.
The killing intent in Xu Qing's heart was intense. He instantly flew out and even took out the ancient sun. He borrowed its astonishing speed to speed toward the 97th ring.
The journey was long, but fortunately the teleportation was smooth along the way. So, after a day, undergoing multiple teleportations and aided by the speed of the ancient sun, Xu Qing arrived at the ninety-seventh ring of the outer perimeter of the Imperial Region.
The Grand Imperial Capital Region had a total of 110 rings. Many mortals lived in the 97th ring. When Xu Qing arrived, it was already dusk. When Xu Qing arrived, it was already dusk. Looking around, the entire land in the ring appeared harmonious, as if nothing significant had happened.
Xu Qing narrowed his eyes and kept the ancient sun. According to the guidance of the soul seed, he sped toward the west of this ring.
The blood red glow spread through the sky at this moment. Xu Qing, who was under the red glow, also carried intense killing intent as he shuttled through. An hour later, his figure appeared in the west of this land.
This place was quite vast, dominated by plains, giving it a somewhat empty appearance. Within it, there were nine small human countries.
Although it was called a small country, it was actually just a relatively autonomous city.
Because it was located in the Imperial Region, the human cities here were much more peaceful. What Xu Qing was looking at currently was a country called Wanli.
The capital of this country was bustling with activity, with smoke rising from many buildings. From above, the streets were crowded with people coming and going - messengers, merchants, and all sorts of others bustling about.
There were also some cultivators but not many.
On the surface, the one with the highest cultivation was a Nascent Soul cultivator. He was currently in the royal palace.
Xu Qing swept his divine sense over and with a sway of his body, he disappeared from the sky. When he reappeared, he was already in a corner of the streets of the city.
As he walked in the city, no matter if it was mortals or cultivators, they couldn't sense him at all. It was as though Xu Qing didn't exist in their eyes.
This was caused by the aura of a high-level cultivator. Because they had their own Heavenly Dao, they could form their own laws. Therefore, if they didn't want others to see them, unless the other side was someone with a higher cultivation level, they wouldn't be able to sense them.
Xu Qing's current emotions also made him in no mood to experience the mortal delights. With a step, he appeared outside a shop.
This was a grocery store, with the shopkeeper being an elderly man who was currently sleeping with his arms as pillows, resting on the counter. The business inside the store was being taken care of by a young staff.
Xu Qing's walk naturally wouldn't attract the attention of the young staff. However, the sleeping shopkeeper's body suddenly trembled. At the next instant, his figure blurred and disappeared.
Xu Qing was expressionless as he calmly spoke.
"Come back."
With that, the rules were changed and the teleportation was affected. In an instant, the shopkeeper's figure blurred out again and gradually became clearer.
His expression was filled with horror and he wanted to get up but it was too late. Xu Qing flicked his sleeve and their positions shifted. The space changed and they were no longer in the city but had appeared 5,000 kilometers above the sky.
Astral winds gusted and the howling sound was ear-piercing. At that moment, the shopkeeper's heart was in turmoil as he looked at Xu Qing in bewilderment and fear.
He had been extremely cautious. Ever since he found out that his companion had failed and was killed, he instantly gave up on action and used a secret art to scatter many traces in the other rings, while he chose to hide here.
He planned to wait and see and make a decision after the higher-ups messaged him.
While the other traces he scattered had no signs of being touched, someone had directly found his actual body.
This made him vigilant, but what shocked him even more was Xu Qing's identity.
He had naturally seen Xu Qing before.
At the same time, what terrified him the most was the trembling of the dao seed in his body as though it didn't belong to him.
All of this seemed to be telling him that the person his dao seed truly belonged to was Xu Qing, the region lord whose entire body emitted a terrifying Variant Immortal aura.
"The backer of the Variant Immortal School is actually him!"
The shopkeeper felt despair in his heart. There was no need to ask anymore. There was solely one reason for Xu Qing to look for him at this time.
Hence, his eyes revealed the intent to die. Without any hesitation, he gritted his teeth and crushed the poison sac hidden in them, his life force gradually rotting.
His body trembled as he activated the restriction he had prepared in advance, causing his body to also begin to shatter without a trace.
At the identical time, his soul was instantly burned by the void fire that he had planted lengthy ago.
This series of actions was all his methods as a sacrificial soldier to ensure that he didn't leave any traces.
It was completed in an instant. Before he died, the despair in his eyes disappeared and he revealed a hint of mockery.
It was as if he was telling Xu Qing, "You found me, you are the source of the Variant Immortals, but what difference does it make in the end?"
Xu Qing calmly looked at the shopkeeper without stopping him. Instead, he observed his methods. After seeing the other party's method of suicide, he expressionlessly lifted his right hand.
The needle of the Sundial in his body instantly moved, and a huge phantom appeared behind him, shaking the world. The 1.3 million soul threads in his body surged in, causing this phantom to materialize.
From afar, it looked similar a god had descended.
Half a month ago, Xu Qing had already tried using the soul threads to simulate his Sundial. It could break through the restrictions and manipulate time for seven breaths of time. This was half of his fourth form.
Spacetime reversal.
When his right hand pointed, the dispirited shopkeeper's body instantly returned to normal and he was stunned on the spot.
"Wha…"
