Currently, human cultivators couldn't be seen as easily as before in Fenghai County. Under the unified order of the various provinces' Sword Holding Courts, most of them had gone to two battlefields in the north and west.
The human sects and forces didn't send just their Spirit Repository and Nihility cultivators. Other than leaving some kindling for the sect, almost the entire power of these forces was mobilized.
Hence, the majority of cultivators Xu Qing saw in the ports of the Morning Glow Province were nonhumans.
These nonhuman races who lived in Fenghai County had been protected by the human race to a certain extent for countless years.
Although the protection wasn't very great, they weren't chased out of the county and could be considered to have a settling place for their races.
However, when he thought of how they had rejected in every way possible when they were asked to send their experts to participate in the battle, Xu Qing shook his head.
He could understand these nonhuman races and knew that they felt that this war had nothing to do with their race. It didn't matter much to them who ruled Fenghai County.
Since that was the case, why should they help?
From their perspective, it might not be wrong but Xu Qing wasn't a saint who pitied these myriad races. His standpoint caused him to have no good impression of these nonhuman races.
This was especially when he saw the Smoke Race members among these nonhuman races.
The Smoke Race didn't only exist in the desert. There was fog and smoke in the abyssal sea, and places with fog were a suitable dwelling place for this race.
Their bodies were made of smoke, so unless one had a special understanding of them, it was very difficult to distinguish their gender or see their specific appearance.
Only lumps of smoke could be seen drifting around the docks, moving back and forth as though they were searching for something.
There was also a special black puppet among them. There were many gaps on it that could allow the Smoke Race to enter and control it.
Xu Qing, who was sitting on a turtle's back, naturally attracted the gazes of the Smoke Race. After all, the turtle he was riding on didn't have a head and its tail had a fist-sized barnacle parasitizing it.
However, compared to those strange-looking nonhumans at the docks, Xu Qing wasn't out of place. There were even some nonhumans beside him riding on corpses.
As for the Smoke Race, Xu Qing felt a deep disgust toward them. Previously, in the desert, this race's attitude was filled with malice. Moreover, the fragment of the great world where Chu Tianqun fought with him was also lent by this race.
Xu Qing calculated the time. When he was stopped by Chu Tianqun, he was only two hours away from stepping into the county capital's territory. These two hours… were delayed by the Smoke Race.
However, he didn't forget about his secret investigation. Hence, after his gaze swept over, he suppressed his killing intent and didn't bother with it. Instead, he continued to sit on the back of the stone lion that had transformed into a turtle and silently waited at the pier for the arrival of the ship.
Very soon, those Smoke Race members seemed to have not gained anything here and quickly left, continuing to search at the other piers.
Xu Qing didn't care what they were looking for but he heard many nonhuman cultivators discussing in low voices after the Smoke Race members left.
"The Smoke Race has been searching for days. I wonder what they're looking for. I heard that they're not only searching at the ports but also on the abyssal sea."
"They are saying that they are searching for the remains of the fallen sun. However, the remains of the sun have long been searched and taken away by the human race and other races in the countless years. In the past thousand years, there has been no record of any new remains being discovered."
"They are probably not searching for the sun's remains. Why do I feel like they are trying to stop someone from entering the Morning Glow Province?"
Xu Qing fell into deep thought. He then glanced at the Smoke Race members in the distance.
Two hours later, when there were many more nonhumans waiting for the ship, whimpering sounds rang out from the fog on the distant abyssal sea.
The nonhumans on the docks all looked over.
Accompanying the sounds were gusts of cold wind.
This wind blew along the abyssal sea to the harbor. Gradually, some strange-looking giant ships appeared in the surging fog and slowly became clear.
There were two types of them.
One was like a swallow that was thousands of feet long. There were many exquisite and luxurious pavilions on its back and there were also many maidservants with rabbit ears. All of them had sweet appearances and graceful figures.
Xu Qing's gaze swept over and he recognized that this was the Spirit Rabbit Race. It was a large race but they didn't have their own territory. All their clansmen were scattered in several provinces and relied on the experts of the powerful races for survival.
As for the other type of huge ship, perhaps it shouldn't be called a ship because they looked more like huge leaves. They had four slender rod-like legs that went deep into the bottom of the abyss fog.
These leaves were enormous, spanning about a thousand feet in length. They had a simpler design compared to the swallow ships, and their quantity far surpassed that of the swallow ships. In fact, they made up for 90% of the total ships present.
As they arrived, the cultivators at the various piers leaped up and chose the ships according to the directions they were going.
Xu Qing noticed the energy fluctuations of a few Nascent Soul cultivators among them. The ships they boarded were those few swallow ships, while the rest boarded the leaf ships. He immediately realized that these two types of ship were prepared for different cultivation levels.
He observed for a while and found a leaf ship that was heading to Green Fog Mountain. He then boarded it.
Green Fog Mountain also belonged to the central area of the Morning Glow Province and wasn't far from Mount Morning Glow.
Xu Qing felt that it was a little inappropriate to head straight to Mount Morning Glow. Since he was carrying out a secret investigation, he planned to rely on his cultivation to cross a distance and head to Mount Morning Glow after reaching Green Fog Mountain.
Although Xu Qing felt that he couldn't cross the distance for a long time relying solely on his own cultivation, he believed that he could do it within a short period of time.
After stepping onto the leaf ship, Xu Qing swept his gaze across the surroundings.
This leaf ship was extremely simple. There were no buildings or maidservants. There were only a few green-robed men wearing ghost masks sitting cross-legged at the front, in charge of navigating the ship.
As for the cultivators who boarded the ship, there were more than 30 of them. Other than seven of them sitting together, the others were all alone and spread out.
The thousand-foot-wide area could accommodate them.
Xu Qing found a corner and sat down cross-legged. His gaze then landed on the three green-robed cultivators.
His understanding of the Morning Glow Province was mostly from the dossiers of the Sword Holders. For example, the people in charge of ferrying here was a Merchant Alliance called Dawn.
This Merchant Alliance was formed by many forces in the Morning Glow Province, and the Sword Holding Court here was naturally among them. After all, the uniqueness of the Morning Glow Province caused the ferrying of boats and ships here to be incredibly profitable.
The uniforms of the Dawn Merchant Alliance were such green robes.
After sizing them up carefully, Xu Qing's gaze swept past the other cultivators on the ship. Only then did he close his eyes and silently meditate.
About fifteen minutes later, a portion of the large ships at the harbor began to set off.
The leaf ship Xu Qing was on was one of them. After they paid the fee, as the leaf ship shook, the four thin legs under them slowly moved forward. Strong wind blew and with no obstruction, they landed on everyone on the leaf ship.
As the leaf ship continued to move forward and gradually left the port, when the wind blew a little stronger, a thin light barrier spread out from the ship and enveloped the surroundings, blocking the wind.
However, the feeling of turbulence and shaking became even stronger.
Xu Qing didn't care about these. He closed his eyes and rested. Just like that, three days passed.
During these three days, Xu Qing occasionally opened his eyes and looked around. What he saw was the endless great abyssal sea. He felt the cold air that filled the place and saw some strange existences of the abyssal sea.
There were winged whales, countless dancing red lanterns, and huge two-headed bats. However, these mutated beasts clearly had an agreement with the Dawn Merchant Alliance. Although they appeared in the surroundings, they didn't attack the leaf ship.
Xu Qing also saw a huge flower that was ten thousand feet long blooming under a relatively shallow part of the abyssal sea.
The red color of this flower was very conspicuous. Its stamens floated above the abyssal sea and spread in all directions.
Their appearance attracted the gazes of many nonhuman cultivators on the ship. Their expressions were strange.
This was because at the end of those swaying stamens, there were females from different races. In fact, Xu Qing even saw humans.
They were graceful and in line with the aesthetic standards of every race. They didn't have any clothes covering them at all. After they appeared, they flirted and waved at the cultivators on the leaf ship.
"Sir, our luck isn't bad." When Xu Qing looked at the stamens, he heard the sound of the barnacle on the turtle's tail. This barnacle was the disguise of the head. At that moment, its eyes were revealed as it looked at the external world in fascination.
"Joyflower, my favorite flower back then."
Xu Qing frowned. He didn't know of such flowers.
"Joyflower is a special bizarre plant in the Morning Glow Province. When this bizarre plant blooms, its stamens will transform into the appearance of women from different races to enchant passersby."
"Once they are successfully enchanted, they will be dragged down to the bottom of the abyssal sea and sucked dry. Ordinary Foundation Building cultivators will die in three to five breaths of time. Golden Cores can last a little longer but not too long."
"Only a talented person like me could truly taste the supreme bliss brought about by the joyflower."
The head mumbled and his eyes revealed reminiscence.
"So, was this how your body disappeared?" The one who interrupted the head wasn't Xu Qing but the large turtle under him.
The head glared and just as it was about to speak, Xu Qing suddenly spoke in a low voice.
"Shut up."
In an instant, the turtle and barnacle no longer made any sound. Xu Qing sat cross-legged and spread out his perception, spreading it to the place where the seven nonhumans were gathered in a group. Earlier, he faintly heard them mention the Sword Holding Court.
As he paid attention, their voices gradually became clearer.
"This is a chaotic world. I heard that only when the number of races in the Morning Glow Province decreases greatly will an evil bizarre plant like the joyflower bloom…"
"The human race is doomed this time and the Sword Holding Palace is also in danger. Have you heard? It seems that many races and rogue cultivators have designs on this Sword Holding Court on Mount Morning Glow."
"I also vaguely heard that someone seems to be calling for rogue cultivators, bandits, and murderers from the various races to attack Mount Morning Glow in the near future and invade the Sword Holding Court."
"The human race is in a precarious situation. I've indeed seen many unfamiliar faces these few days. They shouldn't be native cultivators of the Morning Glow Province."
"This matter has nothing to do with us. Let's hurry back to the race. We can't care less about the life and death of the human race. If the human race is defeated in the end… it's not impossible for us to take a share of the loot."
"That's right. I heard that the Sword Holding Court is very rich…"
When Xu Qing heard this, he frowned slightly. A hint of coldness appeared in his eyes, but his expression suddenly changed and he looked at the fog on the distant sea.
Vaguely, seven black puppets that were 100 feet tall appeared in the fog. They walked on the sea and their eyes revealed a red glow as they looked at the leaf ship with hostility.
It was the Smoke Race.
A cold glint flashed in Xu Qing's eyes. He looked at the black puppets of the Smoke Race and judged their cultivation and combat strength.
As they got closer, wisps of fog crawled out of the cracks on the black puppets' bodies. They transformed into blurry figures outside. While examining the leaf ship, most of the fog drifted away and surrounded the leaf ship.
As for the seven huge black puppets, they stood in front of the leaf ship, blocking its way.
The four legs under the leaf ship shook slightly and didn't dare to move anymore. The hearts of the cultivators on the ship trembled. Many of them immediately put up their guard.
The three green-robed cultivators wearing ghost masks also quickly stood up. One of them cupped his fists and spoke in a low voice.
"Fellow Daoists of the Smoke Race, what are you here for?"
