The shopkeeper's mind was in turmoil. The scene that just occurred caused his mind to rumble.
He had heard of time reversal methods, but it was mostly used for retrospection, allowing one to see events from the past without being able to alter them. Moreover, such methods could only be used by a great Nihility cultivator.
But now… he had clearly used all his methods to commit suicide and had been poisoned. The restrictions on his body had erupted and his soul had burned. Logically speaking, he was already dead and there should have been no traces left of him.
However… with a raise of Xu Qing's hand, everything reversed. His time changed and actually reversed back to seven breaths ago.
This matter caused his heart to churn intensely. As for the terrifying phantom that appeared behind Xu Qing, it caused his soul to tremble. In fact, he even felt a piercing pain in his eyes.
"How is this possible!"
Amidst the horror, the shopkeeper rapidly retreated. He wanted to commit suicide again. However, this time, it was clearly too late.
Xu Qing took a step and his body instantly arrived in front of the shopkeeper. He then lifted his right hand and grabbed the shopkeeper's chin. With a shake, the teeth in this person's mouth and the poison sac that had reappeared fell off.
The shopkeeper's eyes revealed horror and he was about to struggle.
Strands of soul threads instantly spread out from Xu Qing's body. They were like sharp swords that carried a resplendent light as they directly entered this person's body. Wherever they passed, all the restrictions would be destroyed like rotten weeds, unable to erupt at all.
A muffled groan rang out from the shopkeeper's mouth. At the next moment, the soul seed in his body instantly switched sides and headed straight for his soul to suppress the intent of burning.
Xu Qing restrained all his methods in advance, rendering them ineffective. All of this happened in the blink of an eye. From the start to the end, Xu Qing was expressionless.
In the eyes of this shopkeeper, everything was bizarre and inconceivable. However, to Xu Qing, everything was done with a raise of his hand.
Now that he had suppressed all of the other party's methods, he couldn't be bothered to ask. From the other party's previous series of reactions, he had already made a basic conclusion in his mind.
Hence, without any hesitation, he lifted his left hand and pressed it on the top of the shopkeeper's head. His divine sense entered the latter's head and he began… soul searching!
Soul searching was an extremely cruel method in the world of cultivation. It entailed higher-level cultivators forcibly probing the minds of lower-level cultivators. The repercussions varied: at the lighter end, the target's soul may dim, while at the more severe end, the target's soul would be obliterated.
This was especially so if the user of the soul search wanted to know minute details. The soul search had to be even more thorough, and they often used techniques to fragment the soul to do that.
At that moment, Xu Qing was using this method.
Under his search, the shopkeeper's soul showed signs of collapse. More and more cracks appeared and an extremely heart-rending cry that didn't seem human rang out from the shopkeeper's mouth.
This sound was like wild shrieks and howls, containing extreme pain. If mortals heard it, they would definitely have nightmares for a long time. Even cultivators would feel their hair stand on end when they heard it.
However, this place was 5,000 kilometers high in the sky and there was no one around, so the beauty of this sound was lost in the air.
Xu Qing fragmented this person's soul bit by bit and checked all his memories. Gradually, the scene of this shopkeeper's life appeared in his mind.
The other party's background, identity, and so on gradually became clearer. Due to their complexity, Xu Qing didn't pay too much attention, brushing past them and focusing instead on events from half a month ago.
Finally, he saw the scene he wanted to know.
More than half a month ago, in a hidden residence, the figure of the black-robed man and his words.
However, just as Xu Qing wanted to take a closer look, the scene disappeared. The shopkeeper's soul was completely destroyed. Only a limp body was left, motionless.
Xu Qing frowned slightly.
"This person's soul was born lacking… It can't withstand a strong soul search."
Xu Qing recalled the scenes he saw.
"In his early years, he joined an organization whose origins he didn't know about. This organization gave him a chance to be reborn but it also restricted his life."
"As for the details…"
Xu Qing narrowed his eyes and took out this person's storage bag, finding a black urn inside.
After scanning with his divine sense, Xu Qing's expression turned even uglier. There were hundreds of thousands of human souls here…
After a while of silence, Xu Qing's body swayed and he disappeared from the spot, heading to a few locations in that person's memories.
Every location was a harvest point set up by the other party. However, because his comrade was exposed, the situation became tense, so he refrained from activating these harvest points.
Xu Qing went to those harvest points and destroyed them, while recording the evidence.
After that, he left this ring.
He took the shopkeeper's corpse as well. This was also evidence.
Time flowed by. Five days later, in the Nine Provinces County of the Dao Heaven Region.
This county was one of the seven enclaves of the human race and wasn't far from the Grand Imperial Capital Region. Hence, after Xu Qing sped over and used the teleportation arrays, it took him five days to arrive.
When he arrived, it was already late at night.
Xu Qing had passed by this county before on his way to the Imperial Capital. However, the group didn't stay for long before activating the ancient teleportation and leaving.
Now that he had returned, killing intent filled his heart. The instant he walked out of the teleportation array, his figure had already disappeared, speeding toward the place where his soul seed perception had locked onto.
Among the three people back then, one was killed by the Tianzhao County Governor, one was killed by Xu Qing, and the last one… was here.
It was difficult for outsiders to find the hiding place. However, in Xu Qing's eyes, the tracks were clear due to the target absorbing a branch of his soul seed.
Since he wanted to clean up the school and find the mastermind, he naturally had to eliminate them completely. At the same time, he also needed to soul search again to confirm the identity of the black-robed man he had seen.
"The other party's soul seed hasn't moved for several hours."
In the night, Xu Qing's figure teleported in the Nine Provinces County. An hour later, he appeared on a mountain range.
This mountain range was pitch-black. Only the sounds of birds and beasts could be heard from time to time. There was also the sound of the wind blowing against the vegetation.
Other than that, it was completely silent.
Xu Qing's gaze swept over and his body turned blurry as he quickly left.
At the next instant, when his figure was revealed, he was already outside a natural cave in the depths of this mountain range.
Xu Qing frowned. On the way here, he had already sensed that something was amiss. Standing here, the feeling was even more obvious. A cold glint flashed in his eyes. He waved his right hand. The hidden restrictions in the cave were instantly corroded by the anomalous substances he emitted and lost their effect.
In that instant, Xu Qing had already appeared in the cave.
On the ground, there was an array formation operating.
There was a person in the array formation.
This person was a middle-aged man with a strong vitality but he was motionless.
He was completely naked and his stomach was squirming. Xu Qing's soul seed was inside.
Outside the array formation, there was a jade slip on the ground.
Xu Qing looked at the array formation and then at the jade slip. After his divine sense swept over and confirmed that there was nothing wrong, he lifted his hand and grabbed the jade slip. The moment he checked it, an ancient voice echoed from the jade slip.
"Regardless of who it is, to be able to find this place means that you're the same as me. You're here to investigate the matter of the dao seed of the Variant Immortal School. I've already asked for the answer."
"As for this person, because he couldn't withstand the soul search, he's in a state of collapse. However, with the support of my array formation, his soul hasn't completely dissipated but he won't be able to last for long. Anyone who comes can check for themselves."
Xu Qing fell silent. After a while, he calmly spoke.
"Petty tricks."
"Shadow, spread out in all directions and seal everything, no matter what method you use, find the person hiding here."
As soon as Xu Qing finished speaking, the shadow under his feet instantly rose. After transmitting an ingratiating emotion, it rapidly spread, enveloping the entire mountain range and continuously spreading outwards.
Within its range, all the birds and beasts trembled. They were possessed by the shadow and made to scout the place.
Xu Qing looked at the person on the ground. He didn't believe what the jade slip said.
He believed in another possibility. The person he was looking for had some mysterious methods that could extract his soul seed and place it on others, allowing him to escape.
This method might not necessarily be targeting Xu Qing. After all, the other party didn't understand of Xu Qing's existence. In that case, this method should be targeted at the investigators of the Imperial City.
Hence, this person left behind a jade slip to deliberately mystify things.
The main point was how he extracted the soul seed without being discovered by Xu Qing. However, there was a possibility.
That was, from the start to the end, the soul seed… had never been taken out, but ironically, not taking out could achieve the effect of taking it out.
"Clone!"
Xu Qing looked at the unconscious person on the ground and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
If the one who fused with the dao seed at the begin was a clone and the main body followed the clone, he would be able to create this seemingly perfect situation.
The flaw in this matter was also the main reason for Xu Qing's guess. The reason was that… it was impossible for anyone to find this place faster than him.
Therefore, according to that person's plan, by the time someone found this place, his clone would have died long ago. The array formation could also explain everything. Presumably, even if the investigator utilized the time reversal technique to inspect, there would be no flaws.
The person had indeed used soul probe on the clone and the array formation could indeed maintain the soul from completely collapsing. The clone had indeed lived for some time.
However, the investigator would arrive too late.
Xu Qing fell silent. He understood that if his guess was correct, his quick arrival was something that was beyond this person's prediction.
The traces here also proved that it hadn't been set up for long.
"I'll understand in a while."
The soul threads in Xu Qing's body erupted and rapidly weaved behind him, forming… the third level of the god form.
Amidst the rumbling, the sky changed color and the wind blew.
A terrifying figure appeared behind Xu Qing and fused with him, becoming one.
It was as though a god had descended, causing the surroundings to blur and the anomalous substances to erupt. The rock walls of the cave couldn't withstand it and disintegrated. At this moment, the surroundings took on a new appearance.
The mountains turned into burial mounds, vegetation became skeletal remains, and where the cave was located, a colossal skull emerged.
This scene was both illusory and real, making it difficult to see the true appearance of this area.
A figure walked out of this blurry scene.
His long purple hair dragged on the ground, looking astonishingly sinister. Outside his crystal-like skeletal structure, there was flesh and blood formed by countless blood threads that distribute in all directions.
There were also gigantic wings formed of purple feathers and flesh, with a purple moon rising behind him.
All of this was accompanied by a terrifying rise of life level.
He was Xu Qing.
At that moment, He walked in front of the array formation and grabbed at the ground. The unconscious person immediately flew over and was grabbed by the top of his head.
This time around, it wasn't a soul search. Xu Qing wanted to use the power of his level to check the life threads of the unconscious person and track his main body.
As for getting the shadow to distribute out first, it was to prevent the other party from teleporting away if he was alarmed.
"Trace of Life, activate!"
The divine sound was astonishing.
