Inside the temple complex, corpses were everywhere.
There were guards, attendants, and a few corpses of teenagers who had learned about the dangers of the forbidden zone. They still had the fear they had when they were alive, and they stared blankly at the sky.
Other than that, there were also dead jellyfish.
Unlike humans, jellyfish would turn into a gray, mud-like substance after they died. They would emit a foul stench, which was completely different from when they were alive.
At the same time, they would emit an extremely strong foreign substance, which would invade the surroundings and erode everything.
And this sudden disaster was still ongoing.
As the teenagers retreated in panic, the jellyfish chased after them. In the periphery of the forbidden zone, the killing and death were still on display.
When Xu Qing arrived at the temple complex, it was already two hours later.
Walking in the temple complex, Xu Qing looked at the corpses everywhere. His expression did not change much.
He had seen too many corpses.
Passing by the corpses of the guards and attendants, Xu Qing collected some of the dead jellyfish, preparing to go back and study them.
As for the items on these corpses, almost all of them had been invaded by the foreign substance formed after the jellyfish died, and could not be used.
Until Xu Qing came to the side of a corpse, he stopped in his tracks.
This was the corpse of an old man. There was a big hole in his chest, and the blood that flowed out had dried up. In his open, dim eyes, there seemed to be some lingering regret from when he was alive.
Looking at this corpse, Xu Qing sighed softly.
He was not a god, so even if the other party had bought his own insurance, he could not completely guarantee the other party's safety, especially before the mist appeared.
After a moment of silence, Xu Qing squatted down, covered Old Stone's open eyes, and buried him.
There was no tombstone, because Lei Dui had said that scavengers did not have relatives when they were alive, so there was no need to pay respects.
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
This was the life of a scavenger. When they were alive, they struggled in the world, and when they died … they just needed to be quiet.
This kind of sadness was actually the fate of most scavengers.
Standing in front of Old Stone's grave, Xu Qing looked in the direction of the camp outside the forbidden zone and recalled his life in the past few months.
It had been four months since he came to the scavenger camp.
Blood Shadow Captain was dead, Fire Crow was dead, Fat Mountain and Ma Si were dead, Savage Ghost was dead, Old Stone was dead, Lei Dui retired, Bone Knife escaped, and many more scavengers died silently.
In this cruel and chaotic world, human lives were like grass.
"The only way to survive is to become stronger," Xu Qing murmured. His expression slowly turned cold as he turned and left.
At this moment, in the afterglow of the setting sun, the wind blew, causing the clothes of the youth in the distance to flutter.
The voice seemed to carry some coldness. It gradually weakened until it disappeared into the forest along with the figure.
The light from the afterglow was gradually fading, but it still tried its best to shine through the dense foliage, trying to shine the sparse light onto the youth running in the forest.
However, the youth's speed was too fast. Light seemed to be unable to catch up.
Before long, Xu Qing suddenly stopped. He lowered his head to look at the ground, and a puzzled look appeared in his eyes.
Not long after, Xu Qing squatted down and sniffed carefully. Finally, his gaze landed on a blade of grass. There was a touch of powder on it that was difficult to detect.
If it wasn't for Xu Qing's solid grasp of the poisonous plants and his understanding of the smell of this forbidden area, it would have been very difficult for him to detect the abnormality.
At this moment, after identifying it for a long time, he finally picked up the leaf that was covered in a layer of powder. After focusing for a moment, he muttered to himself.
"The specific composition is unknown, but there must be the blood of the Time Centipede inside!"
Xu Qing's eyes flashed. In Master Bai's course, there was an introduction to the blood of the Time Centipede.
This blood had a certain medicinal effect, but it was more of a catalyst. So, when combined with other medicines, it could be made into a catalyst to attract certain beasts. It was often needed during hunting.
"The arrival of those jellyfish is related to this?"
Xu Qing narrowed his eyes. He put down the leaf that carried a fatal danger and took out a bag of poisonous powder to sprinkle on his body.
After using this to disperse the aura of the Time Centipede's blood, his body flickered and he changed direction.
Xu Qing didn't plan to go to the place where the youths brought by Old Stone had retreated. This matter had nothing to do with him, so he didn't want to get involved.
Even if Chen Feiyuan's friends were among these people, he had no obligation to help them. Moreover, these people had powerful cultivators who could fight against the big jellyfish. For Xu Qing, they were also dangerous.
Most importantly, there was a high probability that among these youths, there was someone who deliberately attracted the jellyfish. Their goal was unknown.
So, after discovering their location, Xu Qing changed direction. He circled around and returned to the pharmacy in the valley as the sky gradually darkened.
After putting away the herbs he had picked, he continued to study the white pill.
However, although Xu Qing didn't go to the place where the youths had retreated, when night came, Xu Qing, who was mixing herbs in the pharmacy, heard the roars and sounds of fighting in the distance. They were getting closer and closer. This made him frown.
When he heard the footsteps, Xu Qing sighed inwardly.
He stood up and walked out of the pharmacy. Using the moonlight, he saw the entrance of the valley. There were surprised voices coming from there.
"There's a path here!!"
"Everyone, come in quickly."
Following the voices, a few youths in tattered clothes appeared. They were in a sorry state.
Their faces were filled with fear. Behind them were more than ten people, most of whom were companions of similar age. There were also seven or eight guards who were covered in injuries.
A total of more than twenty people ran into the valley. When the guards desperately guarded the entrance, these youths who had survived the disaster all breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, they noticed the environment in the valley.
They quickly saw Xu Qing's pharmacy and also saw Xu Qing standing there.
"There's someone here!"
The instant they saw Xu Qing, the youths were like birds startled by the twang of a bow. They cried out in alarm and immediately retreated. Behind them, three of the guards rushed over, looking at Xu Qing with vigilance and murderous intent.
This murderous intent caused Xu Qing's gaze to turn cold. He coldly swept his gaze over the guards, then looked at the group of youths. There were two people in the group that caught his attention.
One of them was slightly older than him, about sixteen or seventeen years old. Although he was also in a sorry state, he was different from the others. There was very little panic on his face, and instead, there was a lot of vigilance.
The other was a young girl with a sweet appearance. Although her clothes were dirty and she looked frightened, Xu Qing, who was used to seeing all kinds of people, could tell at a glance that her fear was mostly fake.
Especially when … the girl wore a glove on her right hand. It looked like it was for cleanliness, but to Xu Qing, who used poison, gloves had many uses.
For example, sprinkling medicinal powder.
"Eight guards, Cultivation levels between the sixth and seventh level of Qi Condensation. The others are below the fifth level of Qi Condensation. They're divided into three small teams.
"Only the two of them. The guy seems to be at the seventh level of Qi Condensation, and the girl … should be the one who lured the jellyfish.
As for the experts who fought with the jellyfish, they're not among them. They're most likely the ones who lured the jellyfish away. "
This was Xu Qing's habit. The youths could never have imagined that Xu Qing would be able to discern so many details with just a glance.
However, the guards were clearly different from the youths. They could feel the coldness in Xu Qing's eyes, and then they looked at the pharmacy. Their hearts were filled with intense vigilance.
To be able to find such a canyon in the forbidden zone, and to build a house in it, all of this meant that the youth in front of them was not only familiar with the forbidden zone, but also lived here.
This kind of person was extremely dangerous.
"Fellow Daoist, is your family's leader here?
We mean no harm. We're just being chased by strange beasts outside, so we're borrowing this place to hide. "
"We'll leave as soon as the sun rises. Please forgive us if we've disturbed you."
The guards' words were instinctively polite.
Their words also made the frightened young men and women behind them feel that something was wrong, and they all looked at Xu Qing.
The oldest youth among them took a few more glances at Xu Qing. His expression was grave. As for the girl wearing gloves, she narrowed her eyes.
She scanned the pharmacy and also smelled the faint scent of herbs in the surroundings. She had a better understanding of the youth in front of her.
Xu Qing frowned. He looked at them and then at the entrance. After a while, he did not say anything, tacitly acknowledging their presence. He turned and walked towards the pharmacy.
His silent acknowledgment caused the guards to heave a sigh of relief. As for the youths behind them, they were all apprehensive.
Only the girl wearing gloves, after a strange light flashed in her eyes, spoke in a careful and aggrieved voice.
"You … you're so rude. We just want to hide here for a while. There are strange beasts outside. If we go out, we'll definitely die."
Her voice carried a tenderness that made one's heart ache for her, causing the surrounding youths who adored her to muster up their courage and speak to Xu Qing one after another.
"Yeah, why are you so cold-blooded?"
"We don't mean any harm. We just want to rest here for a while."
"The forbidden zone doesn't belong to his family. Why do we need to ask him?!"
Her casual words caused some people to feel enmity towards Xu Qing. Although it wasn't much, it still made the girl feel a little smug.
She wanted to use others to test the depths of the youth in front of her.
But in the next instant, a cold light flashed from Xu Qing. A whistling sound was heard, and a dagger shot towards the smug girl like lightning.
Her expression changed. Just as she was about to dodge, the dagger flew past her ear, cutting off a few strands of her hair. With a bang, the dagger stabbed deeply into the stone wall behind her, sending out some sparks.
The girl's heart trembled. Her breathing quickened as she instinctively raised her right hand. When she looked at Xu Qing, she saw the youth in front of her. His eyes were as cold as a wolf's, and they were filled with killing intent.
That gaze made her heart tremble. The guards and the other youths were all shocked. The former were extremely vigilant, while the latter let out cries of surprise.
"We just met by chance. Don't test me."
Xu Qing looked deeply at the girl and suppressed the killing intent in his heart. He spoke slowly, then turned around and walked towards the pharmacy.
Under the moonlight, his figure seemed to merge with the moonlight, revealing the coldness of the night. It flowed into the hearts of everyone in the canyon, causing them to slowly fall silent.
In the eyes of many people, the canyon seemed to be as dangerous as the jellyfish outside at this moment.
In this silence, the moment Xu Qing walked to the entrance of the pharmacy, a shrill scream suddenly came from the entrance.
A small jellyfish found the entrance and pierced through the body of a guard. After devouring his organs, it rushed into the canyon.
Behind it, a group of jellyfish came whistling.
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