In the black sky, a crescent moon hung high up. The cold moonlight was like a sharp blade that slashed down on the ground, stirring up the wind as it whistled past.
This wind blew up some of the snow on the ground, merging with the blade light falling from the sky. It swept in all directions, causing the grass in the Red Plains to bend slightly.
Xu Qing's figure moved forward like a ghost. As the cold light from the dagger shone in the night, boiling blood splattered everywhere from the desperadoes' bodies, landing on the red grass that was bent by the wind.
However, the evil contained in this blood was not qualified to melt the cold nor lower the temperature of the wind on this winter night. It was despised by even the red grass; they used the wind to bend down and shake the blood off their bodies drop by drop.
Corpses fell one after another.
The dagger in Xu Qing's hand became the last light in their lives.
As the dagger blade flashed, the neck of the last outlaw was sliced open by Xu Qing's saber. Xu Qing stood there with corpses strewn all over the ground.
Everyone was killed with a single strike.
All the attacks were on the neck.
This was because cutting the neck was the most convenient and fastest. The only flaw was that the blood that splattered everywhere dyed his robe which caused Xu Qing to frown slightly.
However, the killing intent in his gaze didn't decrease because of the blood on his clothes. Since he had made a move, he would kill them all.
Even if the fugitives here might not have the ability to take revenge, Xu Qing didn't like to be careless and didn't like to leave any hidden dangers.
It was fine if he didn't make a move, but since he did, he didn't want to expose any traces of himself.
Xu Qing held the dagger and walked toward the place where there was an uproar due to the massacre here.
In front of him was the place where the remaining warmth from cooking drifted over. There were seven to eight desperadoes surrounding a large pot. They were originally drinking soup but after seeing the massacre, they stood up in horror and looked at Xu Qing fearfully.
Xu Qing also looked at them.
The snowflakes on the ground were covered in traces left behind from dragging corpses. However, there were no corpses, only some clothes that had been removed.
Xu Qing knew very well where the corpses went.
He wasn't unfamiliar with the fragrance of meat that was drifting in the wind. When he was in the slums, he had smelled it from afar. Back then, the first person he killed was because the other party wanted to eat him.
Xu Qing's gaze swept past the large pot beside these seven to eight desperadoes and he continued walking.
In that instant, the expressions of the seven to eight desperadoes changed as they rapidly retreated. They wanted to escape, but the one who escaped the fastest didn't manage to run far before a black iron stick arrived at lightning speed. It pierced through the back of his head.
At the next moment, Xu Qing quickened his pace and suddenly rushed over. The dagger in his hand shone with the moonlight and seemed even colder in the wind and snow. He slit open the neck of a desperado and caught up to the second person.
"Friend, don't be rash…"
Heads flew up!
"We made a mistake. We were blind. We're willing to apologize!!"
A blood line appeared on his neck!
"I'll fight it out with you!!"
The head collapsed!
The entire massacre lasted for only five breaths of time before the world fell silent. The wind blew and snow continued to fall amidst the lonely moonlight. The corpses on the ground completely dyed the soil red, turning it into a true Red Plains.
Looking at the corpses in the surroundings, Xu Qing wiped his dagger on one of them and began to deal with it.
Very soon, the corpses here turned into blood and fused into the ground. Xu Qing glanced at the huge pot and silently extinguished the fire.
He suddenly understood why there was an endless stream of people who wanted to stay in the Seven Blood Eyes' main city despite having to pay expensive contribution points every day in exchange for residency.
In this chaotic world, human lives were worthless.
Xu Qing turned and continued his journey.
The blizzard grew even heavier that night. Snowflakes fell from the sky and rapidly slid down in front of Xu Qing, who was running. A cold wind blew over, lifting his long hair as it attempted to enter through his clothes.
Xu Qing frowned slightly and tightened his clothes. He then exhaled a mouthful of white fog and lowered his head slightly before continuing forward.
Just like this, a night passed.
When the morning arrived, Xu Qing, who had been rushing for the entire night, finally saw a mountain in the distance.
As a plain, Red Plains didn't have many mountains. Most of them were rather short and didn't look like mountains. Only the one in front of him was somewhat okay. However, compared to the mountain that Diamond Sect was located on back then, the difference was extremely great.
Regardless of whether it was in terms of elegance or solemnity, they were on different levels.
Some newly built halls could be seen on the peak. However, they were clearly desolate as though there weren't many disciples in the sect and the entire sect seemed to emit bleakness.
"Diamond Sect?" Xu Qing pondered.
According to the clues he had checked, this mountain was the new location of the Diamond Sect.
Clearly, not everyone could adapt to the changes in the environment, especially when they moved to the Red Plains, which was even more harsh and barren than their previous location. Naturally, fewer people could accept it.
In addition, they hadn't been here for long, so the desolate atmosphere of the Diamond Sect could be explained.
However, Xu Qing was very cautious. He wouldn't let down his guard just because he saw that the Diamond Sect was in decline. He wasn't clear about the internal situation of the sect and didn't know if it was really as he saw.
Hence, Xu Qing didn't plan to rush over and attack immediately. He wanted to observe first.
Just like a hunter hunting, he couldn't be anxious.
Xu Qing retracted his gaze from the Diamond Sect and left this place. He continued until he was 50 kilometers away and found the scavenger campsite closest to the Diamond Sect.
Compared to the Diamond Sect, which was 50 kilometers away, the campsite was clearly much livelier. Xu Qing could hear the commotion from afar.
When he was about to get close, he suddenly thought of something and took out the leather coat he used to wear from his storage bag. He then picked up some soil and smeared it on his face. The vigilance in his eyes and his attire caused him to instantly become a scavenger.
After checking and confirming that there was nothing wrong, Xu Qing crouched down and moved forward. He gradually arrived outside the scavenger campsite. As he got closer, the commotion became even more intense. Although there were guards here, they only glanced at Xu Qing and didn't care, allowing him to enter.
Xu Qing's disguise as a scavenger couldn't be described as similar. He was originally a scavenger.
He had the same aura, the same gaze, and the same cruelty.
When he entered the scavenger campsite, Xu Qing retracted his gaze from the surrounding tents and looked into the distance. Over a hundred scavengers were gathered there and all of them were shouting excitedly. The commotion he heard earlier came from this group of people.
What they were surrounding in excitement was a cruel scene.
It was a competition.
Like a dog race, seven to eight skinny figures in ragged clothes were running with all their might. The bodies of these seven to eight people were greenish-black due to the dense anomalous substances in their bodies, and they were not far from mutation.
Their eyes were filled with despair and madness. As for the racing track they were running on, it was a path filled with sharp pebbles and blade fragments.
The intense pain and blood from stepping on them could make one go crazy.
At the end of the racetrack was a white pill covered in spots.
To people with such a serious mutation, one white pill might not be able to save their lives but it could at least prolong their normal lives for some time. This time might give them a chance to obtain other white pills.
Hence, even though they were running on such a treacherous track and the ground was covered in blood and all of them were trembling, their desire to survive still made them race crazily. This was a dog race as well as a horse race.
Waves of excited and cruel shouts rang out from the scavengers in the surroundings. There was clearly betting involved.
Xu Qing watched all of this. Finally, one of the runners dragged his bloody body to the end. After he snatched the white pill and swallowed it, the remaining participants fell into despair. They were then dragged to the starting point and a new white pill was placed back on the goal. The competition continued.
As for the scavengers in the surroundings, some were happy, while others cursed non-stop. However, very soon, as the competition started again, they placed their bets one after another.
Xu Qing retracted his gaze and looked in the direction of the Diamond Sect.
At the same time, in the Diamond Sect's main hall on the mountaintop 50 kilometers away from the campsite, the Diamond Sect's ancestor was sitting there with an ugly expression. With some anger, he waved away the sect master who wanted to say something but hesitated.
"Do you really think this old man was willing to come to this godforsaken place? But what could we do if we didn't migrate here?!"
"That b*tch from the Seventh Peak is too vicious. I had to take out more than half of my life savings as an apology to her!!" The Diamond Sect's ancestor had a look of grief and indignation as he sat there and muttered.
"There's also that kid. He has gained a foothold in the Seven Blood Eyes. If we didn't migrate, should I have waited for him to slap me to death after he reaches the Foundation Building realm?!"
"According to this old man's countless experiences from reading ancient books, this matter is my life-and-death calamity…" The Diamond Sect's ancestor felt even more grief and indignation. When he thought of how the Diamond Sect had been reduced to such a miserable state in such a short period, his heart couldn't help but ache.
The impact of the migration was huge. After all, not everyone was willing to migrate. During this period, there were many disciples who secretly escaped. Although he killed some, he couldn't kill them all.
"It's fine. My alchemy pill is about to be completed. As long as I swallow this pill, I'll finally be able to break through my 30th magic aperture and form my first ball of life fire. Once my life fire is formed, I'll be able to activate the Mystic Brilliance form of Foundation Building!
"Under the Mystic Brilliance form, my combat strength will instantly increase greatly. At that time, I won't have to be afraid of that kid…" The Diamond Sect's ancestor gritted his teeth. However, when he thought of this, his expression suddenly changed.
"That's not right. According to the ancient books I've read, accidents often happen at such critical moments…" At the thought of this, the expression of the Diamond Sect's ancestor changed drastically. It was only when he took out a token and held it in his hand that he heaved a sigh of relief.
"It's impossible for the kid to make a breakthrough so quickly. Besides, I've joined the Litu Sect now and can be considered a follower. The Litu Sect is also a giant like the Seven Blood Eyes. With this backer, I should be safe for the time being. Besides, Fellow Daoist Tu Yun was also invited by me and is still a guest in the sect…"
The Diamond Sect's ancestor muttered. As he looked at the token, bitterness rose in his heart. For this token, he had paid a huge price. It could be considered as selling his body and he could not forsake it for the rest of his life.
At the same time, he was worried about the danger. Basically, after he moved over, he had been inviting his friends over as guests every few days. Every time he invited someone over, he would give them gifts.
So far, regardless of whether he was familiar with them or not, he had invited almost everyone he knew.
"One wrong step and every step will be wrong…" The Diamond Sect's ancestor let out a long sigh and looked at the distant sky, slowly feeling a little dazed.
At that moment, the sunlight landed on his body. From afar, he looked old and weak.
