Ten days later, Xu Qing burst out of the lava in the Heavenfire Sea. The glow of the fire reflected down from the dome of heaven onto him, causing him to shine dazzlingly. His eyes were particularly resplendent. His cultivation base was now far beyond its previous point. Among his thirteen nascent souls the golden crow and violet moon versions had progressed the farthest. Although they weren’t quite at the great circle of one tribulation, they were very close.

That collection of heavenfate was priceless.

His eyes shone as he considered that if he had a few more bits of heavenfate like that, he would probably be able to get all of his nascent souls into the great circle of one tribulation.

The heavenfate of a Spirit Trove cultivator lives up to its reputation. Maybe she was only in the dao begetting and dawnstar raising phase, but that heavenfate is far stronger than anything from the Nascent Soul level.

Xu Qing’s eyes glittered brightly; the damage to his soul had recovered in the ten days that had passed. Furthermore, he could tell that, not only had his soul recovered, but it had actually become a bit stronger.

In that case… I’ll return the eyeball and then start traveling again!

He looked down at the Heavenfire Sea and thought about what other secrets must be hidden in those depths. For example, were there other sealed areas down there? Or what about that area in the depths where fire emerged from the rift in the dome of heaven?

Now’s not the time to explore those things. The better part of a year has already passed. I need to hurry up to meet with Eldest Brother.

He looked down at his wrist, and the mark that encircled it. That was Ling’er. After leaving the human city hidden beneath the abandoned mine, he had come to an agreement with Ling’er. Because he had been planning to go to some dangerous areas in the Heavenfire Sea, he wanted her to remain sleeping in that seal. That had seemed the safest. But now that the danger had passed, and the time had come to return to the abandoned mine briefly, Xu Qing smiled and tapped on the symbol.

“Ling’er, wake up. We’re going back to that mine.”

The symbol flickered, then Ling’er poked her head out, blinking blearily. When she heard Xu Qing’s words, her eyes glittered. “We’re going back? Awesome! Big Bro Xu Qing, do you think we can stay there again for a little bit?”

When Xu Qing saw the anticipation on Ling’er’s face, he thought about it briefly and then nodded. “How about for half a month?”

Laughing happily, Ling’er climbed up to Xu Qing’s shoulder and coiled next to his ear.

Her happy laughter caused him to relax a bit. He wasn’t as nervous as he had been at the bottom of the Heavenfire Sea, but he still kept his guard up. He knew that he had to be very careful about revealing the position of that human city. Therefore, as he flew along, he kept a close eye on his surroundings.

After he was sure he wasn’t being followed, he left the Heavenfire Sea and flew toward the mine.

At one point, he stopped and looked down. Below, he saw a red flower growing out of a crack in the ground. It was one lonely flower blowing back and forth in the wind. This was the first vegetation Xu Qing had seen in this area. It wasn’t easy for most plants to survive, given the climate. But there were some special plants that would actually bloom after the Heavenfire Skycrossing. This little flower was one of them. It was no ordinary plant, but rather, a very precious medicinal plant.

In Grandmaster Bai’s medicinal codex, this flower was called a firespirit tulip. Surprised, Xu Qing harvested the flower and put it into a transparent bottle.

I remember Panyan asking about this flower. Smiling, he continued on his way.

Staying in concealment the entire time, it took three days before he spotted the mine in the distance. Thinking about Duanmu Zang and his apprentice Shi Panyan caused Xu Qing to sigh in his heart.

It’s too bad I can’t dispel that curse. But give me enough time, and I can do some experimenting.

When he was about 3,000 meters away from the mine, he stopped in place. Pupils constricting, he looked around the area. Things seemed different. Before, the mine entrance had a lot of loose rocks piled around it. That rock had been melted together during the Heavenfire Skycrossing, leaving only a small opening to be squeezed through. But now, the mine entrance looked completely collapsed. A tremor passed through Xu Qing.

Ling’er swayed back and forth as she took everything in. But then she stopped swaying. Voice trembling, she said, “Big Bro Xu Qing….”

Eyes shining with vigilance, Xu Qing shot forward. It took him three breaths of time to reach the entrance. 𝑖𝘦.𝒸𝘰𝘮

As he neared, he smelled blood wafting out of the mine. Ling’er sensed the same thing, and she shivered. Breathing heavily, Xu Qing tapped into his cultivation base, then raced into the mine.

The smell of blood grew stronger. Heart racing, Xu Qing flew along for a few dozen breaths of time. He stopped when he ran into a pile of seven or eight corpses. He took a few steps closer and examined them. He recognized them. They were guards from the city who had low level cultivation bases.

Xu Qing closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them, they were as cold as ice. He pressed on. More and more corpses became visible until at last he reached a large cave temple. It was the first level of the tomb, and it was in complete disarray. Evidence of fighting was everywhere. The floor in the middle of the cave had caved in. Down below was a silent city.

The blue canopy that made the sky had been ripped up mercilessly. Tattered bits of it fell down into the city. It was the same with the white clouds.

Hundreds of corpses lay scattered about the city. They included men, women, and children. They had died horribly. Some had been chopped in half. Others had been largely crushed into bloody paste. Still others had been dismembered violently. Before, this place had been alive with laughter, but now it was as quiet as death. The warmth and companionship of memory had become like ice. The tomb… had truly become a tomb. Buildings had collapsed, and the odor of blood and decay filled the place.

Ling’er flew out and raced toward the city. The Spike of Misfortune trembled as Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior sent it flying in the same direction. After they were in the city, both of them lurched to a stop.

Ling’er began weeping, and the patriarch simply looked around, the eyes of his projected body completely bloodshot.

Xu Qing quietly walked forward. He looked around at the familiar city and everything in it, and his heart hurt. And a terrifying howl was building in his mind.

Xu Qing had seen death. A lot of death. But he couldn’t get used to things like this. He wasn’t capable of it. He thought back to the three months he had lived here, and everything that happened. Those memories were now a source of immense pain.

“Big Bro Xu Qing, they… th-th-they….” Ling’er wept in pure grief. Among the corpses were some of the women she had befriended. She just couldn’t accept that the people who had laughed with her as they taught her to cook and sew were now mutilated corpses.

Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior returned to Xu Qing’s side and looked at him. His expression was one of fury, and also… pleading. He had also spotted corpses who had once come to listen to his stories. .𝒎

Xu Qing’s face was expressionless, but something boundlessly cold was rising up within him. Without a word, he took some time to carefully inspect his surroundings and determine when these people had died.

More than a hundred thousand people lived here. But there aren’t even a thousand corpses. That seems to indicate most everyone else survived. Whoever captured them won’t have an easy time moving so many mortals. They can’t be far.

Given the state of decomposition, these people died no more than five days ago. Considering Duanmu Zang’s cultivation base, and the safety precautions he’d put in place, the only group in this area who could have broken inside and taken everybody away is the Twofold Alliance.

The Red Moon Cathedral is in the area…. Duanmu Zang said that the cathedral comes regularly to demand offerings from the local species….

Xu Qing turned and waved his hand, causing Ling’er and Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior to fly back to him. Then he shot back toward the exit.

Ling’er, her heart almost overwhelmed with grief and anxiety, said, “Big Bro Xu Qing, we—”

“We’re going to find them,” Xu Qing said softly, his eyes turning colder and colder.

He soon sped out of the mine and was able to start looking for clues.

In the five days that had passed, the heat levels were dropping slowly, and thus, much of the evidence was gone. There seemed only one likely destination, and that was Holy City. Unfortunately, there wasn’t just one path to Holy City. What was more, it wasn’t possible to guarantee that they were taking the humans there. If Xu Qing made an error in judgment, he would lose precious time. And every bit of time mattered in trying to carry out this rescue operation.

As Xu Qing pondered the situation, Ling’er wiped her eyes. Looking suddenly determined, she said, “Big Bro Xu Qing, let me look for some clues. This is an Ancient Spirit tomb, and they lived here for years. If they have even a scrap of Ancient Spirit aura on them, I can probably find them!”

Ling’er flew up into midair, where she suddenly erupted with a seven-colored glow. As it swirled around her, she began to change shape. She turned human, but didn’t stop there. Within moments, she was even taller and more impressive than an ordinary human. Because of the light, it wasn’t possible to see her clearly, but Xu Qing could see a dragon and a snake encircling her.

“South!” Ling’er said in an echoey voice.

Without any hesitation, Xu Qing grabbed her and started moving south.

***

Some 5,000 kilometers in that same direction was a long caravan flying along at low altitude. The caravan included ten huge iron cages, each of which was like a small mountain being dragged along by huge beasts of burden. The cages were packed with people. Countless humans were visible, some of whom, on the bottom of the cages, had been crushed to death. However, there were plenty who were alive.

That said, those who still lived had numb expressions. They were already living lives worse than death, and were less human than animal.

The caravan was being led by cultivators from the Twofold Alliance. In order to make sure that as many mortals survived as possible, they couldn’t move too quickly. Teleportations were a possibility, but there was no way the two species would pay for a luxury like that simply to save some time.

The cultivator in charge sat atop one of the carts looking cold and indifferent. “We’ll be in Holy City soon. It will take about seven days.”

“This job has been a lot of work. That said, who could have guessed there would be so many humans?”

“That’s a good thing. With an offering like this, plus the other species we got from other places, we should be fine.”

The Skyfaces pulled out a few human corpses and began viciously eating them.

The sound of tearing flesh and snapping bones echoed out brutally into the evening.

.𝒎