On this day, Ting Yu, who had lived in the Purple Lands since she was a child, had a dream.
In her dream, Chen Feiyuan was fiercely making things difficult for Xu Qing. She was very angry.
Early in the morning, Ting Yu awoke from her dream. Her mood was somewhat different from before. After arriving at Grandmaster Bai's tent, she sat down and began to recite the medicinal encyclopedia. She was somewhat absent-minded and would occasionally look outside the tent.
Until she saw … Chen Feiyuan.
Ting Yu's eyelids fluttered as she remembered her dream from yesterday.
Chen Feiyuan yawned, rubbed his eyes, and opened the tent flap. He was just about to sit down next to Ting Yu when Ting Yu moved the prayer mat away.
Chen Feiyuan looked at Ting Yu in shock.
"What are you doing?"
"Sit over there." Ting Yu couldn't be bothered with Chen Feiyuan. She pointed to where Xu Qing usually sat.
"Why should I!?" Chen Feiyuan's eyes went wide.
"Because you don't study hard. Because you've been taking time off recently. I'm annoyed that you're sitting here. Is that enough?"
Tingyu glared at him with her almond-shaped eyes and spoke very quickly. Chen Feiyuan was once again stunned. After a while, he muttered a few words to himself, as if he didn't dare to provoke her. He gloomily sat down in Xu Qing's seat.
"Ai, Ting Yu, you …." Before Chen Feiyuan could finish speaking, Ting Yu's eyes filled with hostility.
"Don't say the word 'ai'. What if someone hears and misunderstands?"
"Huh?
What's wrong with the word 'ai'? "Chen Feiyuan looked confused. The tent flap opened and Xu Qing walked in.
When she saw Xu Qing, two small dimples appeared on Ting Yu's face. She smiled and patted the prayer mat next to her that used to belong to Chen Feiyuan.
"Little Junior Brother, sit here."
Xu Qing stared in shock. Chen Feiyuan stared blankly.
"What are you spacing out for?" Ting Yu urged. "Teacher is coming. Hurry up and get over here."
Xu Qing hesitated. He looked at Ting Yu, then at Chen Feiyuan, who was sitting in a daze in his own seat.
Grandmaster Bai was indeed coming, so Xu Qing could only walk over to Ting Yu's side and sit in Chen Feiyuan's seat.
Chen Feiyuan was dumbfounded. He pointed at Xu Qing and was about to speak when Ting Yu turned and glared at him.
"Shut up!"
"I haven't said anything yet."
Chen Feiyuan was on the verge of tears. He felt that it was unfair. Just as he was about to continue speaking, the tent door opened and Master Bai walked in.
Chen Feiyuan could only hold back the words he wanted to say and angrily sit there. On the other side, Ting Yu seemed to be very comfortable. As for Xu Qing, he was a bit uncomfortable, as if he were sitting on pins and needles.
When Grandmaster Bai walked in and saw where Xu Qing was sitting, he looked at Tingyu and the bullied Chen Feiyuan, and a smile appeared on his face. He didn't disturb them and began the examination.
As usual, Chen Feiyuan stuttered as he was reprimanded, while Ting Yu proudly completed the test and looked at Xu Qing expectantly.
And Xu Qing's answer was even more perfect. He even asked some of his own questions during the test.
The whole process made Chen Feiyuan extremely depressed.
Therefore, he was the first one to run out of the tent after the lesson was over. He felt that he had been discriminated against today.
Xu Qing also felt uncomfortable sitting there during this class. He stood up and bowed to Master Bai. Just as he was about to leave, he was stopped by Tingyu.
"Junior Brother, why is your face dirty again?"
Tingyu took out a handkerchief and was itching to try. Xu Qing frowned and immediately left.
After he left, Tingyu looked at Grandmaster Bai with a wronged expression.
"Teacher, why is this child dirty every day? I helped him with good intentions."
Grandmaster Bai laughed and dotingly patted the girl's head.
"Because for people who live in pain and danger, it's not a good thing to attract too much attention."
Ting Yu thought for a moment and nodded.
Xu Qing didn't hear Grandmaster Bai's words, but he was thinking the same thing.
Growing up in the slums, he knew that the less attention he attracted, the safer he was. Most people around him were dirty, so if he stood out, he would be like a torch in the dark night, increasing the danger.
This was his survival rule since he was young. As for those who didn't do this, unless they were extremely strong, they wouldn't live for long.
Because of this, Xu Qing developed the habit of not washing himself. He needed to blend into the environment and make himself inconspicuous.
He was like a hunter in hiding. Only when he made his move would he reveal his true strength.
At this moment, Xu Qing, who had left the camp, was doing the same.
He picked up some rotten leaves and rubbed them on his body, doing his best to blend in with nature as he slowly stepped into the forbidden area.
Although Captain Lei went to live in the city, Xu Qing didn't give up looking for the Heavenly Mandate Flower.
With the increase in his cultivation and strength, coupled with his rich experience and knowledge of plants and vegetation, as well as his vigilance, he encountered less danger in the outer area of the forbidden area.
Thus, Xu Qing's range of exploration was no longer limited to the temple, but slowly explored deeper.
Although the danger was greater, this kind of tempering allowed his battle strength to continuously increase, and his harvest of plants and vegetation also increased.
However, just like the outer area, although there were more herbs in the depths, most of them were sinister and poisonous.
And because there were so many poisonous herbs, Xu Qing's knowledge of plants and vegetation was mostly focused on the concoction of poisons.
As he improved, he also learned a few more types of poisons.
For this reason, he specially went to a clothing store and bought a jacket full of pockets, each pocket containing a different type of poison.
As for the black gloves he obtained from the Blood Shadow Captain's leather bag, Xu Qing put them on and gradually found them more and more comfortable.
These gloves could increase the killing power of his fists and also had a certain ability to block poison. Thus, together with the dagger given to him by the cross, they became his daily weapons.
At this moment, as the sun was about to set, Xu Qing, who had finished a day of tempering and developing poisons, walked out of the small pharmacy in the canyon. He tidied up his weapons and poisons and then rushed straight to the temple.
Every time he left the forbidden area, he would make a trip to the temple to look for the Scar Dispelling Stone.
Although he had gone there many times without success, he had inquired about this stone and knew that it was naturally formed. It was colorful and could occasionally be seen. Thus, he persevered until this time …
After he arrived at the temple, under the afterglow of the setting sun, he saw a colorful light flickering between the eyebrows of the stone statue in the distance.
Xu Qing's eyes focused and he quickly looked around. He also checked his previous hiding arrangements. After finding that they were intact, he jumped to the top of a temple and squatted down to observe again.
Finally, after confirming that there was no danger here, he rushed to where the stone statue's head was.
When he arrived, he saw a colorful stone growing out of the crack between the eyebrows.
This stone should have been ordinary in the past, but after being washed by time in this mysterious temple, it had changed on this day.
Xu Qing quickly took it down and quickly looked around. After searching through the entire temple, he found six of these stones.
Looking at the stones in his hand, Xu Qing let out a sigh of relief. He had finally found one of the Heaven's Will Flower and the Scar Dispelling Stone.
After carefully putting away the six stones, Xu Qing took a deep look at the temple. He bowed and quickly left, disappearing into the forest in the distance.
Xu Qing's figure jumped up and down on the treetops as he ran.
As night fell and the roars of the ferocious beasts echoed, his pace did not change. Sometimes it was fast, sometimes it was slow. He got closer and closer to the edge of the forest.
Before long, when Xu Qing jumped onto a tree trunk and was about to use it to move forward, the mud on the ground suddenly exploded. A Giant Horned Python rushed out and opened its mouth to swallow him.
Its body was even bigger than the one he had seen in the camp that day.
Xu Qing's expression did not change in the slightest in the face of this sudden attack. He only lifted his right hand and flicked it at the Giant Horned Python's head.
With a bang, the Giant Horned Python could not withstand it. Its shrill roar came to an abrupt stop. Its tough skin could not withstand Xu Qing's power. Its head was torn apart and its flesh and blood collapsed.
The collapse spread through its entire body in the blink of an eye until it turned into a bloody mist.
Only its guts … remained intact. It fell out of the bloody mist and was caught by Xu Qing. With a flash, he left.
Just like that, at dawn, Xu Qing walked out of the forest and returned to the camp.
The camp was pitch black. At this time of the day, there were few lights. As Xu Qing walked in, his mood from obtaining the small stone grew gloomy as he approached his residence.
His residence was also pitch black. Only the dozen or so ferocious dogs sensed his return and lay on the ground, wagging their tails.
Xu Qing walked into the courtyard and glanced at Captain Lei's room out of habit. Then he silently walked into the kitchen.
He heated up the leftovers from the day before and ate them as if to fill his stomach. After cleaning up and returning to his room, he sighed.
"I wonder how Captain Lei is doing in the city," he murmured. "He should be doing well. If I can't find the Destiny Flower in the end, I'll save up some spirit coins and buy a spot."
Xu Qing murmured. He closed his eyes and immersed himself in cultivation.
The next day, Xu Qing went to class as usual.
Ting Yu had returned to normal, but the seat was still reserved for him. As for Chen Feiyuan, he had resigned himself to his fate and could only watch as Xu Qing sat in his former seat.
When class ended, Ting Yu no longer said anything to wipe his face. Her eyes were filled with understanding.
Xu Qing felt this understanding. He bowed his head slightly and bid farewell to Master Bai.
After leaving the tent, Xu Qing touched the small stone in his bag and walked towards the general store where the little girl was.
But before he got close, he saw a group of strangers outside the general store.
Their clothes were very special. On their black robes, there was a blood-red sun embroidered on them. A murderous aura was particularly obvious on their bodies.
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Let me share with you a true experience from when I was young. I don't know why, but I still remember it. Perhaps it was because I was dumbfounded for so long that I even went home and asked my parents …
It was when I was in the fourth grade of elementary school. My deskmate was a girl. One morning, she didn't know why, but she didn't like me. I remember it clearly. At the time, I said to her, "Sigh, so-and-so, lend me your homework."
Then she looked at me fiercely and said, "Don't say 'sigh'. What if someone misunderstands?" After saying that, she turned her head and quickly glanced at a male classmate in front of us … It was a true experience.
When I grew up and had a class reunion, I laughed about it. My old deskmate didn't admit it …