Early in the morning, Xu Qing controlled the concealed magic ship and whistled out.
His speed was so fast that he instantly left the main city.
At the start, he took the path of the Immortal Enrichment River, but the magic ship quickly changed directions and distanced itself from the Grand Affairs Misfortune Passing Mountain, rushing in the direction of the Grand Affairs Immortal Sect.
"Brother Xu Qing, this is the first time I've gone out since I came to the Yinghuang Province. If there's anything that I have to know, please tell me." On the magic ship, Ding Xue's pretty face was flushed red. Under her curly eyelashes, her bright eyes blinked gently as she spoke.
After that, she took out a roll of spirit stone tickets worth 100 spirit stones. There were about 20 to 30 of them and she handed them to Xu Qing.
Xu Qing instinctively took them and glanced at Ding Xue in front of him.
Ding Xue calmly puffed out her small chest.
Today, Ding Xue was wearing a purple dress with a red flowing cloud silk at her waist. Her long hair draped over her shoulders and she carried an ancient sword on her back. Although she didn't look as soul-stirringly charming as Purple Mystic Fairy, her youthful aura and her rosy face caused her to be filled with beauty and vitality from the inside out.
Under the restraint of the flowing cloud silk, her waist gave off an even more delicate feeling. Moreover, the obedience on her face and the spirit stones she had given Xu Qing under the premise of respect for knowledge in the past allowed Xu Qing to accept Ding Xue following him.
Old Master Seventh didn't follow him on this trip.
Since he was fishing, he naturally had to hide himself. Only then could he let the fish take the bait. In order to make it more realistic, or maybe it was because Ding Xue had gotten wind of this through her aunt, this trip turned to Ding Xue and Xu Qing moving together.
Their mission was to investigate the bizarre things that had happened recently in a small country that had chosen to rely on the Seven Blood Eyes.
In addition, Xu Qing also understood that Old Master Seventh had the intention of letting him bring Ding Xue along. After all, in this chaotic world, although Ding Xue's cultivation had broken through to the Foundation Building realm, she hadn't formed her first life fire yet.
Moreover, her temperament needed some training.
The best training was to personally see the misery of the world.
The only thing that surprised Xu Qing was that he didn't see Zhao Zhongheng.
However, he didn't ask. Instead, he retracted his gaze from Ding Xue and calmly spoke.
"Yinghuang Province isn't like the Nanhuang Continent. It's very dangerous outside, you have to be careful. Also, don't touch the things on the ship. They're poisonous."
Xu Qing was calm when facing Xu Qing. After he finished speaking, he closed his eyes and sat down to meditate. His face and aura had been disguised.
Although Old Master Seventh wanted to fish, it would be too fake if he didn't try to disguise himself.
Ding Xue hurriedly nodded. Her heart was filled with excitement and smugness. For this trip, she had fawned over her aunt for a long time before she obtained this opportunity.
Seeing that Xu Qing was cultivating, she obediently didn't disturb him. Instead, she sat cross-legged at the side and looked at the surrounding scenery. Occasionally, her beautiful eyes would sweep past Xu Qing.
Even though Xu Qing had disguised his appearance, her mind could automatically recall Xu Qing's appearance. When she thought of that extremely delicate face that was almost demonic, her pretty face would blush.
Even when she arrived at the main city of the Eight Sects Alliance and saw so many people, she felt that no one could compare to Xu Qing in terms of appearance.
This made her desire to conquer Xu Qing even more intense and firm.
Time flowed by and three days passed.
During these three days, Xu Qing and Ding Xue's interactions were scarce. He was cultivating and Ding Xue was looking at him. Every time Xu Qing opened his eyes, Ding Xue would take out some pills and hand them over with spirit tickets and questions. She looked like she was very eager to learn.
Xu Qing felt that this way of interaction was very good. Hence, after tasting the pills, he guided Ding Xue attentively according to the knowledge he had.
Ding Xue listened seriously every time, and her eyes revealed admiration. From time to time, her words would contain some softness. When it landed in one's ears, it made one feel very comfortable and want to continue talking.
This was something Ding Xue didn't possess in the past. After Xu Qing sensed it, he couldn't help but take a few more glances at Ding Xue.
Ding Xue was secretly delighted. This was what her aunt had taught her.
At the same time, she kept observing the sky, searching for an opportunity. Just like that, another seven days passed.
Finally, Ding Xue got the weather she wanted.
That night, thunder rumbled, lightning filled the air, and heavy rain poured down.
Ding Xue's countenance was a little pale. The place she was sitting wasn't far from Xu Qing but it wasn't close either. Every time lightning rumbled, her body would tremble slightly.
Xu Qing opened his eyes and looked at Ding Xue.
"Brother Xu Qing, because my father and mother weren't by my side since I was young, I hid in a corner alone every time it thundered. Although I'm a cultivator, I still have some instinctive fear of thunder and lightning, especially during rainy nights. However, it's fine. I can endure this. Brother Xu Qing, you can continue cultivating."
Ding Xue's voice was very soft. In the end, she muttered weakly.
"I'm already used to it." As she spoke, she curled up in the corner of the bow, looking pitiful.
Xu Qing thought about it and took out a wine gourd, handing it to Ding Xue.
"Ah?" Ding Xue was stunned.
"Drink a little and you'll feel warmer."
Ding Xue hesitantly took it. She looked at the wine gourd in her hand and then at the calm Xu Qing. She gritted her teeth and directly drank a large mouthful.
She drank it too quickly and couldn't help but cough. However, at the next instant, a pill flew over.
"This pill stops coughing."
Ding Xue was at a loss. After a long time, she took the pill and looked at Xu Qing pitifully. At that moment, thunder rumbled and her body trembled.
Xu Qing's expression was as calm as ever. He looked at the lightning outside and listened to the thunder and the sound of the rain. For some reason, he thought of the same rainy night a month ago, the same ship, and the valiant figure sitting on the railing.
After a while, amidst the rumbling thunder, Xu Qing took out the willow flute and blew it gently. The leisurely sound of the flute rose and fell on the magic ship and drifted between the heavens and the earth. The rumbling thunder seemed to slowly become a drumbeat, accompanying the flute's sound.
That flute sound contained the aura of the martial world and also the thoughts in Xu Qing's heart. When it rang out, Ding Xue's eyes were dazed.
She stared blankly at Xu Qing, at the figure in the purple Daoist robe, at the emerald-green flute under his sword-like brows and starry eyes. Time seemed to have frozen in her world at this moment.
At some point in time, the flute music ended. At some point in time, dawn broke in the outside world and the thunderstorm stopped.
"Brother Xu Qing, what's the name of this tune?" Ding Xue took a deep breath and regained her senses as she mumbled.
Xu Qing shook his head and didn't answer. He stood up and looked at the ground where the first rays of the morning sun scattered down. There was a small country there that was reflected in his eyes.
That was their destination for this trip.
Mind Eye Country.
This was a small human country. Originally, it didn't rely on any forces until the Seven Blood Eyes arrived. The former king of the country was an elder of the Seven Blood Eyes a few generations ago. His talent caused him to be taken by the Alliance and he was not allowed to return to the Seven Blood Eyes.
When he was old and dying, he chose to settle down here and founded this small country. Even until the moment he passed away, he could not return to the Seven Blood Eyes.
The Seven Blood Eyes naturally attached great importance to the matters of this country.
They had originally planned to arrange for a two fires disciple to come and deal with it. However, because Old Master Seventh wanted to bring Xu Qing out, they simply handed this matter to Xu Qing.
Under the morning light, smoke rose from the houses of the commoners of this small country. The scene looked peaceful. It could be considered one of the few safe countries.
The reason for this was because of the protective array formation in the surroundings set up by the Seven Blood Eyes' elder who founded this country. This array formation made it difficult for cultivators below the Golden Core realm to enter without permission.
However, it was obvious that there should have been a flaw in the array formation of this small country recently, resulting in the appearance of the bizarre entity.
Xu Qing had read the dossier before he came. He knew that twenty days ago, 49 people in this country had turned into dried corpses and walked into the city square on their own. There, they set up array formations and wailed for hours before dying.
After the country came under the Seven Blood Eyes, the Seven Blood Eyes arranged for a Foundation Building disciple of the Sixth Peak to be on duty here. Although this disciple didn't have a life fire, he was definitely not someone ordinary rogue cultivators could go against. After his investigation, he quickly found the culprit and killed him.
However, ten days ago, the same scene appeared again. The culprit was still the same person.
At this point, that Sixth Peak disciple knew that this was definitely the work of a bizarre entity, so he reported it to the sect and asked the sect to send someone over in ten days. He analyzed that it would happen again in ten days.
The day Xu Qing arrived was the tenth day.
After he arrived, he didn't inform the king of this small country or the disciple of the Sixth Peak. Instead, he controlled the magic ship to fly out of the range of this small country. Only after he had flown far away did he quietly bring Ding Xue off the magic ship. He hid his tracks all the way and strolled around the capital of this small country.
Everything in sight here was ordinary. Because of the existence of the array formation in the surroundings, they looked much better off than the people Xu Qing had seen in the past.
Although their bodies also had anomalous substances, it wasn't to the extent where one's entire body was rotting, greenish-black, and on the verge of mutation. Moreover, there were many pedestrians on the streets and most of them were moving around happily.
Ding Xue looked around curiously.
She had never been to such a small human country but she wasn't stupid. She also understood this world from the dossiers and knew that they were going to look for the bizarre entity now. Hence, she didn't disturb Xu Qing and followed closely behind him.
Xu Qing walked on the streets. Outsiders couldn't see his figure. This was the effect of a low-level invisibility talisman in the Alliance. Unless one's cultivation had reached the Foundation Building realm, they wouldn't be able to sense the energy fluctuations of the invisibility talisman.
Just like that, two hours passed. Xu Qing walked one round around the small country and finally stopped in front of a house. He lowered his head and looked at his shadow. The shadow sent its emotions, saying that it sensed a bizarre entity here.
This mission might be difficult for others but to Xu Qing, it was very simple. He didn't hesitate to directly enter the residence. The instant he entered, a cold wind blew at his face.
Xu Qing didn't need to do anything. The shadow suddenly spread out and swallowed fiercely. The cold wind instantly landed in the shadow's mouth. As the sound of chewing rang out, the bizarre entity in this place disappeared.
After that, Xu Qing stood on the spot and waited silently. After a long time, he raised his brows. The message from the shadow told him that it had discovered a bizarre entity again in another place.
"Could it be the Bizarre Fiend Race again?" Xu Qing fell silent and brought Ding Xue, who was waiting outside the door, to the place pointed out by the shadow. There, he sensed the aura of a bizarre entity. Very soon, the bizarre entity disappeared in the shadow's mouth.
"…Not… one… treasure… child…"
As the shadow chewed, it emitted its emotions. Xu Qing frowned and the Diamond Sect's ancestor quickly transmitted his voice.
"Master, what Little Shadow means is that this isn't the same bizarre entity but two different ones. Their taste is different from the Bizarre Fiend Race, so this shouldn't be the Bizarre Fiend Race. It thinks that this is more like a bizarre entity produced by an item."
