Just like that, that night, Xu Qing's figure appeared in the county capital's teleportation array. The moment he walked out, he looked at the familiar county capital and the huge statue of the Ancient Sovereign Mystic Nether. He suppressed his racing heart and returned to the Sword Pavilion.
After he sat down, he immediately transmitted his voice to the captain but didn't receive any response.
He understood that the captain shouldn't have returned yet. Hence, he transmitted his voice to Zi Xuan and told her that he was safe.
Zi Xuan instantly replied, her tone filled with concern. It didn't take long for her to appear outside Xu Qing's Sword Pavilion.
Under the moonlight, Zi Xuan, who was wearing a blue dress, looked at Xu Qing with concern in her eyes.
"Why did you go out for so long this time?" As she spoke, Zi Xuan's gaze landed on Xu Qing. After carefully checking and discovering that there was indeed nothing wrong, she heaved a sigh of relief.
Xu Qing cupped his fists and bowed.
"I encountered something on the way and was delayed." Xu Qing said softly when he sensed Zi Xuan's concern.
Zi Xuan nodded. She seemed to be busy with some matters, so after sensing that Xu Qing was fine, she gave him a few instructions and left in a hurry.
Looking at Zi Xuan's departing figure, Xu Qing suddenly spoke.
"Fairy, I've been feeling a sense of trepidation recently. Take care."
Zi Xuan stopped in her tracks and turned to look at Xu Qing. She then smiled sweetly and nodded before leaving.
Xu Qing fell silent for a bit before transmitting his voice to Kong Xianglong and asking if anything had happened in the county recently. He found out that other than the Holy Wave Race's commotion due to Black Heaven Divine Son, everything in the county was normal.
Moreover, Kong Xianglong wasn't in the county capital. He was on a mission outside. He hurriedly asked Xu Qing about the matter in the Holy Wave Race.
"Mm, yes. There was another Black Heaven Race group there…" Xu Qing coughed. There was no way to explain this matter.
"I obtained a few thousand…" Facing Kong Xianglong's question, Xu Qing didn't hide the number. At the next instant, he heard Kong Xianglong's gasp coming from the command sword.
"Thousands?"
"Yes… There's also a portion that belongs to you guys," Xu Qing replied.
"Good brother!! Xu Qing, don't be in a hurry to sell them. With the Ten Guts Trees gone, the price of this thing will definitely skyrocket. Ahem, although we're all Sword Holders, sometimes… we have to seize the opportunity!" Kong Xianglong coughed and quickly replied.
Xu Qing wasn't surprised. Although Kong Xianglong was a loyal and faithful Sword Holder, no one would think that there were too many military contributions. The two of them exchanged a few more words and ended the voice transmission.
"Everything is normal in the capital, but the source of the sense of danger is here. Does that mean that this danger in the county capital is only targeted at me?" Xu Qing put down the command sword and fell silent.
He didn't think that he was overthinking and his vigilance didn't decrease.
The night passed uneventfully. The next morning, Xu Qing left the Sword Pavilion early with vigilance and went to the capital city above. After restocking the medicinal pills he had expended, he went to the Demon Transformation Sect's branch here.
After paying a certain amount of military contributions, Xu Qing headed to the Great Void World again.
Regardless of where the danger came from, Xu Qing felt that as his trump card, he had to make sure it was ready to be used as soon as possible. After all, although he had fused it into a Heavenly Palace, he still needed the demon transformation runes to share the burden.
However, after integrating into the Heavenly Palace, his control over the Ghost Emperor Mountain was much more smooth.
In the gloomy world filled with whispering brain trees, his appearance immediately caused an uproar.
Wherever he passed, countless brain trees shuddered and screamed as they evaded him.
Xu Qing had been too ruthless last time, so much so that although he didn't come for a while, the news about him had long spread among these brain trees.
However, Xu Qing's cultivation base wasn't comparable to before. Although the brain trees fled from him, he quickly caught up. Just like that, when the time limit arrived, Xu Qing teleported out in satisfaction.
"75!" When he walked out of the branch sect, Xu Qing touched his storage bag and went to the Sword Holding Palace's library. He wanted to find the origin of the golden thread on his wrist.
Unfortunately, the library was a sea of books. Xu Qing couldn't find any information even though he searched until very late. He called it a day and returned to his Sword Pavilion.
"I'll continue looking for information tomorrow. I have to find it!"
"If that doesn't work, I'll go to the Prison Department and ask the Palace Master. After that, I won't come out for a while." Xu Qing felt that since the county capital was dangerous to him, the safest place would definitely be the Prison Department.
After all, the Palace Master stayed there.
At the thought of this, Xu Qing sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes.
The world outside was pitch-black. Late at night, Xu Qing finished his cultivation. He opened his eyes and lowered his gaze to his right wrist. He then gently stroked it with his left hand.
"This golden thread… what exactly is it?"
A thunderous sound rang out in the sky. As the rumbling sound echoed, a strong wind blew, turning into a whimpering sound that echoed outside the Sword Pavilion.
The storm was about to arrive.
The night was even darker than before.
The sky was covered by endless clouds. Only muffled thunder rumbled continuously, as though a god was roaring.
What followed were bolts of lightning that lightened the world for moments.
It illuminated the county capital and the jungle mountain range where the Wood Spirit Race was located.
The wind picked up, causing the trees to sway and rustle. Suddenly, heavy rain poured down from the sky, drenching the human world.
Amidst the storm, a pained cry pierced through the sky from the basin. It was enough to make the scalps of everyone who heard it tingle.
