Xu Qing was a little puzzled by Old Master Seventh's reply. However, he only felt that something was amiss and wasn't very clear about the details.
However, Xu Qing felt that it was still better to keep a respectful distance from Purple Mystic Fairy. He decided not to approach the Mystic Nether Sect's mountain in the future.
With this thought in mind, Xu Qing closed his eyes and began to meditate.
However, for some reason, he felt slightly uneasy.
Hence, Xu Qing opened his eyes and took out the book on herbs and plants that Grandmaster Bai had given him. After flipping through it for more than an hour, his heart completely calmed down.
Just like that, half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
In this half a month, other than cultivating, Xu Qing also obtained some water from the Immortal Enrichment River to wash away the Taboo fragment he had obtained from Sima Ling.
However, this Taboo fragment itself could emit anomalous substances, so the cleansing effect of the river water was average.
After Xu Qing thought about it, he still wasn't at ease with the shadow. Hence, he didn't let it absorb it. Instead, he continued to wash it with the river water. Even though the effect was ordinary, it was still better than doing nothing.
As everything in the entire main city progressed in an orderly manner, the Seven Blood Eyes' Special Security Department welcomed their first mission.
Patrol the tributary of the Immortal Enrichment River.
This tributary was extremely long. The river course went from the Minor Affairs Sect to the Eight Sects Alliance, running through almost half of the Yinghuang Prefecture.
The patrolling team had to move along the river toward the upper reaches of the tributary. While checking the quality of the river water, the main point was to intimidate the thieves. And if there were any water diversions, they had to destroy the parties involved.
After all, the river was long and passed by countless sects and small countries. If they didn't patrol, after the river was cut off layer by layer, the portion that reached the Eight Sects Alliance would be reduced on a large scale.
Hence, river patrolling was an important duty.
The Special Security Departments of the eight sects of the Eight Sects Alliance were in charge of this and they carried this duty in rotation. Now, it was the Seven Blood Eyes' turn.
Xu Qing also planned to go out and take a look at the Yinghuang Province. However, he had a cautious personality, so he asked Old Master Seventh first.
Old Master Seventh gave the go-ahead and gave Xu Qing a jade slip that concealed his identity.
After obtaining the jade slip, Xu Qing felt much more at ease.
He concealed his appearance, changed his clothes, and even used an aura-changing magic artifact. This morning, he and the captain led 700 to 800 disciples of the sect on 20 large ships and set off from the Eight Sects Alliance.
The 20 large ships sailed out of the Eight Sects Alliance's city in a majestic manner and followed the river course.
The width of this Immortal Enrichment River's tributary was extremely wide. The higher one went, the more it became like this. Gradually, a heaven-reaching river appeared in front of Xu Qing.
The river was surging and rumbling loudly.
The immortal Qi was dense.
In the morning, one could see the fog filled with energy rising above the river. One sniff of it could make one feel relaxed and happy.
This river was more than 100,000 feet wide and felt like an ocean. The large ships had to travel side by side with a large gap between them before they could investigate both sides.
The Diamond Sect's ancestor really liked this place. After expressing his desire to Xu Qing, Xu Qing took out the black iron stick, allowing the Diamond Sect's ancestor to cultivate here.
The shadow was strange. Even such an environment didn't affect it at all. Under the sunlight, a portion of it spread to the river.
Sometimes, when some of the spirit fish in the river got close to the shadow, they would be instantly devoured. Every time this happened, the shadow would transmit satisfied emotions.
"Immortal Qi can also be absorbed?" Xu Qing sensed it.
"What a good Immortal Enrichment River!" While Xu Qing was deep in thought, the captain at the side looked in all directions and sighed with emotion.
"No wonder the Eight Sects Alliance spared no expense and risked offending the Grand Affairs Immortal Sect to destroy the Minor Affairs Sect's dam and let this river enter the alliance."
"I wonder how vast and shocking the source of this ancient river is. We cultivators must make a trip there in our lives and see that scenery. If we can also become Sword Holders, our lives will not have been in vain." The captain placed his hands behind his back and his hair fluttered in the wind. His voice was filled with fascination.
Xu Qing glanced at the captain in surprise. From the time they set off in the morning until now, a long time had passed but he hadn't seen the captain eat an apple. At this moment, his words made Xu Qing feel even stranger.
These words didn't look like something the captain could say.
Hence, Xu Qing took out an apple and nodded after taking a bite.
He recalled that ever since the incident with the Mystic Nether Sect last time, the captain seemed to have been stimulated. The two of them had only met a few times after that. Every time he saw the captain, Xu Qing felt as though he was looking at Wu Jianwu.
This was especially clear today.
Other than not reciting poems.
"Eldest Senior Brother, do you want to eat an apple?" Xu Qing asked.
"Do you think Senior Brother only knows how to eat?" The captain turned his head and cast a meaningful glance at Xu Qing as he calmly spoke.
When Xu Qing heard this, he took out an apple and threw it over.
The captain instinctively caught it.
Xu Qing was silent.
The captain fell silent.
A long time later, the two of them squatted at the bow of the boat and ate together.
As he ate, the captain sighed.
"Why do you think Purple Mystic Fairy treated you like that? How am I inferior? I'm not bad either… I investigated later. When Purple Mystic Fairy was young, she was extremely famous in the Yinghuang Province. Her beauty was widely renowned. Moreover, the malicious rumors about her were mostly spread by her pursuers after failing to get her."
Xu Qing didn't say anything. He looked into the distance at the two shores and the description of the two sides of the Immortal Enrichment Ancient River appeared in his mind.
On one side was the Grand Affairs Misfortune Passing Mountain Range formed by a hundred thousand mountains. It was a black mass that was like the spine of a giant beast with no end in sight. There were demons, ghosts, bizarre entities, rogue cultivators, and countless sects inside. It was a chaotic mess and extremely cruel like hell on earth.
On the other side was the endless wasteland. The density of anomalous substances was high, and dead trees were everywhere. There were also countless small countries. Every small country often had to worship or rely on some cultivators and forces to survive.
Xu Qing pondered over the content of the file. After the captain finished eating the apple, he took out another one and took a bite. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly looked into the distance.
Xu Qing also lifted his head.
At the same time, their voice transmission jade slips transmitted the information sent by the disciples who had gone ahead to examine.
"There are mortals residing by the river in front."
Due to the distance, the disciples on the large ships at the back couldn't see the scene in the distance. However, in Xu Qing and the captain's eyes, everything in the distance was clearly visible.
After seeing it clearly, their expressions became complicated.
Xu Qing saw a large number of mortal refugees. There were old and young, men and women. Most of them were greenish-black, meaning that the anomalous substances in them were extremely dense and they weren't far from mutation.
They were as skinny as skeletons and their eyes were listless. There were even some who had difficulty walking and could only slowly move forward with the help of their friends or families.
There were hundreds of these people gathered on the shore, forming a long line. They were using the river water to wash their bodies.
They were using the immortal Qi of the water to maintain their exhausted lifespan.
There were even some whose bodies were rotting and lying on the shore. Some people filled stone bowls with river water and slowly fed them.
There were also a few crying children in the crowd. It was as though the cleansing of the water caused them to feel unbearable pain.
This miserable scene was just a small part of the myriad beings and this world.
After seeing the Alliance's ships, horror appeared in the eyes of these mortals and they trembled.
Xu Qing looked at all of this and spoke softly.
"Send some medicinal pills over."
"Yes!" The disciples from the Special Security Department following behind him immediately flew over with his men and distributed the low-level medicinal pills they had prepared before they set off to these suffering people.
"There's not much we can do. This is the way of the world, and our human race is in a serious state of internal strife." The captain sighed.
"I know." Xu Qing retracted his gaze and looked into the distance.
"If I can help, I'll help."
The captain cast a deep glance at Xu Qing. After that, he waved his hand and dozens of spirit fish flew out of the river and landed on the shore.
The effects of these spirit fishes on dissipating anomalous substances was faster than the river water.
"Little Qing, maybe this is why the old man likes you and why I'm willing to come into contact with you." The captain patted Xu Qing's shoulder.
Xu Qing didn't speak.
Time slowly passed and the voyage continued. In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.
In the past half a month, they saw many miserable people as before on the shores. Xu Qing saw mortals, rogue cultivators, other races, and small countries.
They were all cleansing their anomalous substances on the riverbank. Every one of them was very miserable, and there were many disabled people. Moreover, most of them clearly showed mutations.
Although this river course that was forcefully opened by the Eight Sects Alliance benefited the Eight Sects Alliance, it also helped the countless small countries and races near the river, allowing them to have a trace of hope in their painful lives.
The Eight Sects Alliance tacitly agreed to this. As long as they didn't divert the river, they wouldn't stop them. They silently allowed those who were suffering on the way to come here to obtain life.
Xu Qing and the others distributed the low-level medicinal pills as they passed by these people. This action was different from other sects. This was what Old Master Seventh had instructed before they set off.
This voyage lasted for a very long time and Xu Qing also began to cultivate. Only the captain couldn't sit still. Sometimes, he would fish and sometimes go ashore. Occasionally, he would capture some small beasts and bring them back.
On this day, the probing ships ahead sent them a message. They had encountered something they didn't know how to deal with.
Xu Qing got up from his cultivation. When he walked out of the cabin, he saw the captain standing at the bow of the ship, looking into the distance.
"This is the first time we've encountered such a situation. If they were cultivators, I would have directly killed them. However, that's not the case."
"The entire small country of about 40,000 to 50,000 people is moving the river water together… They are also digging a river channel…"
When Xu Qing heard the captain's words, he walked to the bow and looked over as well.
There were tens of thousands of people pushing wooden-wheeled carts on the distant shore, transporting buckets of river water away. The people who did these things were all sallow-faced and skinny paupers. There were also some mortal soldiers in the surroundings who were berating and flogging them.
There were also some who were digging up the ground, diverting the river water.
The convoy continued to spread toward a small country in the distance.
After Xu Qing swept his gaze over, his eyes suddenly narrowed as he looked at those sallow and skinny people again.
At that moment, under the illumination of the setting sun, long shadows were drawn out under the feet of these people. These shadows looked normal but under Xu Qing's gaze, it seemed like… they were all missing an ear.
Left ear.
Xu Qing's eyes narrowed.
