When Xu Qing thought of this, he suddenly felt that he was right. After all, this was his master's teaching, and his master would not be wrong.
Xu Qing breathed a sigh of relief, and his heart quickly became extremely calm, and his eyes became even clearer.
He faced the vast will emanating from the mirror with a clear conscience.
His heart was at peace.
The mirror shone faintly in front of him, and some curse power seeped out from the surface of the mirror, as if it was being expelled.
Xu Qing glanced at it and remained calm.
Soon, the mirror's light dimmed a little after the curse was expelled, but the will within still spread out and informed Xu Qing of the content of the second test.
"Faith," Xu Qing murmured.
He knew the content of the second test from his exploration of the Inverse Moon Palace's test.
The second test of faith was not too much of a problem for almost ninety-nine percent of the cultivators of the Sacrificial Moon Realm. It mainly screened the cultivators of the Red Moon Palace who had sneaked in.
As long as one worshipped the Red Moon and had the Red Moon's blessing in their body, it would be impossible for them to pass this test.
Xu Qing sighed.
He knew very well that with his method, if he could pass the first test, it meant that the second test would be ridiculously difficult.
"This means that the Inverse Moon Palace can't distinguish between the Purple Moon and the Red Moon …"
This was understandable. After all, whether it was the Purple Moon or the Red Moon, they were the same power of the Heavenly Gods. It was just that they belonged to different people. However, to Xu Qing, this was a very troublesome paradox.
He clearly did not have any faith in the Red Moon Scarlet Mother, but the power of the Purple Moon in his body would definitely be mistaken for a Red Moon cultivator. It was even possible that they would mistake him for a Divine Child.
"I have to think of another way to pass this test."
Xu Qing did not dare to try it lightly, but he did not give up either. During his exploration a few days ago, he recalled his master's style of doing things many times, and he already had some ideas in his mind. However, he still needed to analyze them carefully.
Just like that, the days passed.
The shadow still occasionally went out to hunt for Xu Qing, and the Diamond Sect's patriarch also worked hard, hanging from the beam and watching every customer who entered the shop.
Meanwhile, the grass sprouts grew stronger and stronger, swaying every day as if they were dancing.
As for Ling 'er, her mood was better and better every day, because the time she had to do bookkeeping increased.
Their small medicine shop had been open for a long time. After selling the white pills again and again, they gradually gained some reputation. Therefore, the number of customers who came to buy pills naturally increased.
This made the Vajra Sect's Patriarch even more vigilant. However, he did not have anything useful for martial arts. Most of the cultivators who came to buy medicinal pills were in the Qi Condensation Stage, and few were in the Foundation Establishment Stage.
After all, Qi Condensation cultivators were the most in demand for White Pills. Although there were high level cultivators in the small cities, many of them were rogue cultivators who lived alone in the Bitter Life Mountain Range and would occasionally come to purchase them.
They had other channels to obtain White Pills, so they didn't think much of this small, ordinary medicine store.
As for the factions, the Bitter Life Mountain Range was a little chaotic. There were many factions of various sizes, and they existed in the form of races or small groups. The low-level cultivators and residents of small cities within these factions were the main source of customers for the small medicine shop.
For example, at this moment, a human youth walked into the medicine store.
The youth wore loose robes, and his cultivation seemed to be at the fifth level of the Qi Condensation Stage. He came from a nearby medium-sized faction, and because a friend of his had come to buy pills, he chose to come here after learning about it.
The moment he walked into the medicine store, he looked around vigilantly. The first thing he saw was the ugly girl behind the counter, her head lowered as she did bookkeeping. After confirming that there was no danger, he quickly walked to the counter.
"I want ten White Pills!"
The youth said in a low voice. He took out ten spirit coins and placed them on the counter.
Ling 'er's eyes lit up, and she quickly picked up the spirit coins. After carefully inspecting them one by one, she put them away with satisfaction, then took out a bag and handed it over.
"Come again next time," Ling 'er said with a smile.
The youth took the bag and opened it to examine it carefully. He found that the White Pills here were indeed different from other places, just as his friend had said. They did not have any impurities.
So he took out one and swallowed it. After ten breaths, he opened his eyes. He was sweating all over, and his expression was a little moved.
"The medicinal effects are so good?"
The youth was shocked and took a few steps back. Just as he was about to leave, he hesitated and turned to look at Ling 'er.
Ling 'er looked over with a smile.
"Dear guest, is there anything else you need?"
The youth hesitated for a moment. Because of the White Pill's medicinal effects, his attitude became a bit more respectful.
"Do you have any antidote pills here?"
"Recently, every time I cultivate, I can't help but spit out stinking black blood. Also, there is a dull pain in my heart. Sometimes, my meditation is interrupted by a sudden stabbing pain.
"I suspect that I've been poisoned."
Ling 'er looked over and was about to speak when the youth quickly spoke up.
"I still have one spirit stone!"
Ling 'er blinked and turned to look at the back room.
"Big Brother, there's a big customer!"
In the back room, Xu Qing opened his eyes.
He didn't know whether to laugh or cry at Ling 'er's mischievous behavior. He knew that Ling' er had been moved by compassion, so he got up and walked out.
The moment the youth saw Xu Qing, he instinctively retreated, his expression full of vigilance.
He felt that this youth in front of him made him tremble, but he couldn't explain why he was so afraid. This youth didn't have any cultivation fluctuations, and he looked like a mortal.
But to be able to open a shop here and have such amazing quality pills, the possibility of him being a mortal was close to zero.
Xu Qing didn't care about the youth's vigilance. He just glanced over and saw the problem with the youth's body.
The youth was indeed poisoned, and this poison … Xu Qing had encountered it before.
It was the one-eyed cultivator's poison, but it was diluted a lot and hadn't been detonated.
But because the youth's body was weak, he reacted in advance.
Xu Qing still remembered the one-eyed cultivator's escape. Now that he noticed this poison, he was also a little interested. He raised his hand and threw out an antidote pill.
"Go back and prepare a wooden bucket to fill with water. You also need nine drops of morning dew. Then swallow this antidote pill and sink into it to breathe for two hours."
"When the color of the water turns completely black, your poison will be cured."
The youth took the pill, half believing and half doubting, but still gave Ling 'er a spirit stone and turned to leave quickly.
Ling 'er put away the spirit stone and smiled sweetly at Xu Qing.
Xu Qing shook his head and returned to the back room to continue dissecting the cursed beast. As he studied the curse, he also analyzed the method to enter Inverse Moon Palace.
However, he had left a wisp of divine sense on the youth and hadn't activated it. But as long as the one-eyed cultivator appeared beside the youth, Xu Qing could instantly sense it.
Just like that, half a month passed in the midst of Xu Qing's exploration and research.
Xu Qing and Ling 'er's small medicine shop had been opened here for almost two months. The efficacy of the white pills and the low price made Green Mourning Hall a little famous.
So …
The number of customers who came to buy the pills increased. Occasionally, there would even be dozens of customers coming in a day. It attracted the attention of many people in the small city and also attracted the attention of some of the smaller factions nearby.
Sometimes, a tree wants to be quiet, but the wind disturbs it. Once something became famous, trouble would follow.
This principle was the same everywhere.
Especially in this chaotic place where there were many factions, it was even more so. At noon one day, an uninvited guest came to the medicine shop.
It was a cultivator of the Great Circle of Qi Condensation. He wore a long black robe and a skull hung on his chest. It was a very exaggerated appearance.
The moment he walked into the medicine shop, his cultivation base spread out, forming a wave of energy that enveloped the medicine shop. He even kicked a chair in front of him.
With a crash, the chair hit the counter and broke into pieces, scattering all over the floor.
A corner of the counter was also broken. Ling 'er, who was behind the counter, looked up with a slight frown.
"From today onwards, you will hand over three hundred white pills to the Skeleton League every month. Do you hear me?
I'll only say it once! "The cultivator of the Great Circle of Qi Condensation slammed the counter and said coldly.
He wasn't alone. There were four people behind him who stood guard outside the medicine shop. They were also dressed in the same manner.
When the pedestrians on the street saw this scene, they noticed the peculiarities of these people's clothes and moved away.
"It's the Skeleton League!"
"These people are vicious and merciless. I heard that a shop in a small city provoked them. They rushed in at night and killed the whole family."
"Especially their leader, who is of the Great Circle of Foundation Establishment. Sigh, they don't dare to provoke the strong, so they come to bully people like us who have a hard life."
Ling 'er didn't say anything. The Vajra Sect's patriarch, who was hanging from the beam, trembled with excitement.
After so long, he had finally found someone who had come to court death. It was also an opportunity for him to show off.
So, just as he was about to fly over and pierce the other party's body, he had no choice but to stop because Ling 'er wouldn't let him.
Ling 'er's little face turned deathly pale, as if she was frightened. She quickly took out a bag and placed it in front of her, nodding repeatedly.
"Okay, okay, we'll give it to you."
Seeing that things were going so smoothly, the Great Circle of Qi Condensation sneered. They often did such things, and each time, they would investigate in advance to ensure that they wouldn't encounter any difficult people before extorting.
They had already been watching this medicine shop for half a month. Today, they came here mainly to probe, but they didn't expect to be so successful. So, he glared at Ling 'er, raised his hand, and took the bag. He weighed it in his hand and said indifferently.
"You're sensible!"
Finished speaking, he turned and proudly left.
After they left, the panic on Ling 'er's face dissipated. She calculated while speaking nonchalantly.
"You Lingzi."
"Here, Mistress, please give your orders," the Vajra Sect ancestor hanging in Liangshan responded promptly.
"It's not good to kill people here. It will affect the business. Tonight, go to their place and quietly kill them all. Remember to bring back the pills when you return. Don't miss a single one. Also, if there's anything valuable, take it back as well."
"It's a pity that Little Ying didn't come back. I can only leave this matter to you."
Ling 'er said indifferently.
The Vajra Sect ancestor quickly scanned the back room, then looked at Ling 'er. He had a better understanding of this little girl.
He thought to himself that this Mistress wasn't as harmless as she appeared. Previously, when she faced that one-eyed cultivator, she softened her stance and said that she would give him a quick death. At the time, he was stunned.
Now, he quickly spoke.
"Mistress, I promise to complete the mission!"
Ling 'er smiled, cleaned up the shattered chair on the ground, and said, "Oh, right.
Remember to bring back three more chairs. "
The Vajra Sect ancestor blinked and quickly said yes.
"Mm, let me think. Bring back a few of their heads for Big Brother Xu Qing to study."
Ling 'er exhorted again.
Xu Qing looked up from the back room and shifted his gaze away from the half-dissected Golden Core scorpion in front of him. Ling 'er's thoughtfulness warmed his heart.
He was indeed tired of studying ferocious beasts all the time.
The huge scorpion in front of Xu Qing was not dead yet. Its eyes were filled with fear and despair. To its knowledge, this human before it was incomparably terrifying and its body was sliced apart while it was still alive.
Furthermore, the energy waves here were all concealed and couldn't be detected from the outside.
Otherwise, the Skeleton Alliance cultivator who was at Perfected Qi Condensation would definitely be so scared that he went limp and regret coming here.
"It's time to study the curses in these cultivators' bodies," Xu Qing murmured to himself. He raised his hand and crushed the scorpion's head, ending its life.
At night, the dusky skies turned even darker. A black light flew out from the medicine shop at an astonishing speed, shuttling between heaven and earth. It was the Vajra Sect ancestor.
Riding on the divine spirit fish bone, he headed straight for the small faction where the person who came in the day was from.
"Little Fart Shadow is usually silly, but it made the right move and that was to curry favor with the matriarch …"
"I was careless in this matter. I didn't realize that the little girl's innocent and naive personality was actually as black-hearted as that malefic star."
"In novels, matriarchs like that are not to be trifled with."
"Now that Little Fart Shadow has a backer, it's become more arrogant."
The Vajra Sect ancestor recalled everything about Ling 'er and felt that she wasn't as simple as she seemed on the surface. Therefore, he made up his mind to curry favor with her more in the future.
"But I lost the initiative … It's alright, I'll curry favor with the other matriarch when I return to Sealed Sea County."
"This way, if the malefic star finds me an eyesore one day, I'll have a trump card to save my life."
The Vajra Sect ancestor had a myriad of thoughts. He broke through the air and soon left Earth City, arriving at the small faction nearby.
But before he could get close, his expression changed slightly as he smelled the scent of blood.
The Vajra Sect ancestor was slightly surprised. Although he could kill the other party in an instant, he remained cautious and concealed his tracks as he slowly approached. After circling around the place, he saw that the ground was littered with corpses.
The cultivators of this small faction had all been slaughtered. Not a single one was left alive, and the items inside had been looted.
"From the looks of it, the time of death was an hour ago, and the person who did it was at least a Golden Core cultivator. After arriving, he killed his way here …"
The Vajra Sect ancestor pondered for a moment, then turned and left the place. After returning to the medicine shop, he immediately reported everything he saw and his analysis to Ling 'er and Xu Qing.
Ling 'er was surprised, while Xu Qing was thoughtful. The possibility of this being a coincidence wasn't high. Instead, it felt like it was deliberate.
And the answer was revealed the next day.
In the morning, before the medicine shop opened for business, two people stood outside and waited respectfully.
The moment Ling 'er opened the shop door, the two people —
They bowed to Ling 'er.
"Greetings, shopkeeper. Is the master here?"
Ling 'er blinked and swept her gaze across the two people.
She had seen one of them before. It was the human youth who bought the antidote. The middle-aged man next to him wore a long green robe and had a scholarly air about him. His attire was clearly different from the others here.
His cultivation was also extraordinary. He seemed to be in the late-stage Golden Core realm, and he seemed to have broken through not long ago.
The one who spoke to her was the middle-aged Golden Core cultivator. The youth next to him had a reserved expression as he glanced at the back room where Xu Qing was.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man bowed to the back room again and spoke respectfully.
"Master, the people from the Skeleton League provoked you yesterday. I have already wiped them out. These are the pills they extorted from here."
The middle-aged Golden Core cultivator took out a bag and handed it to Ling 'er with both hands.
Ling 'er's eyes lit up. She had been thinking about the pills last night and felt that she had suffered a loss, but she didn't immediately take it. Instead, she waited for Xu Qing's response.
She knew Brother Xu Qing's personality and understood that there were some things that she couldn't decide.
"Please come in."
After a moment, Xu Qing's voice came from the back room.
Ling 'er took a few steps back and the two people at the door respectfully walked in. They stood to the side and looked at the back room. They didn't do anything to investigate.
Xu Qing couldn't just ignore such reasonable people, so he walked out from the back room and looked at the two of them.
The Golden Core cultivator's eyes lit up at how young Xu Qing was, but that didn't affect his attitude. He clasped his hands at Xu Qing and explained his purpose for coming.
"Greetings, Master."
"I'm the sect master of the nearby Leap Earth Sect, Chen Fanzhuo. This is a disciple of my sect. It was from him that I learned about Master's medical skills."
"I took the liberty to come here because all of my sect's disciples have been poisoned. Even I am the same. May I ask if Master still has any antidote pills?"
"I'm willing to pay a high price for them."
He knew that some things had to be simple and direct. He couldn't hide it. The disciples of the sect were acting up one after another. He had found many alchemists, but none of them could do anything about it.
That was why he was so anxious until he accidentally found one of his disciples who was fine.
After learning about all of this, he decided to come here.
He didn't believe that a mortal could refine such a pill. To have such skill in detoxification, he was definitely not an ordinary person.
That was why he remained polite.
Xu Qing's expression was the same as ever as he glanced at the middle-aged cultivator. He couldn't be bothered to figure out whether or not this person was behind the Skeleton League's actions.
The man's attitude was enough.
Therefore, he waved his hand and a bag full of antidote pills was tossed over.
The middle-aged cultivator caught it with both hands. He didn't check it, but instead took out a bag of holding and left politely.
After he left, Ling 'er quickly went to check and then let out a cry of surprise.
"Big brother Xu Qing, there are 100,000 Spirit Stones here!"
Xu Qing raised his eyebrows. He had a good impression of the middle-aged cultivator. Then he beckoned Ling 'er into the back room.
Ling 'er seemed to have thought of something, and her face turned red. She immediately went to close the door of the medicine shop. Then she took a deep breath and bashfully followed Xu Qing into the back room. She stuck out her chest and spoke softly.
"Big brother Xu Qing, it's broad daylight. Why did you call me here?"
Xu Qing didn't pay attention to Ling 'er's words. He sat down cross-legged and took out a lens.
"Ling 'er, I hope you can join the Defiant Moon Hall."
"Huh?"
Ling 'er was stunned and felt a little disappointed. Big brother Xu Qing's actions seemed to be a little different from what she had imagined …
"I've tried recently, but I can't join."
Xu Qing was helpless. During this period of time, he had tried to complete the second test, but he failed every time. All the methods he thought of had no effect.
Now, there was only one last method left.
That was to let Ling 'er join and complete the test. He would use the Life Sharing Technique with Ling' er to enter the Defiant Moon Hall.
There was originally a difficulty because the weakest cultivation in the Red Moon Hall was at the Nascent Soul Realm. Ling 'er's cultivation had not reached the Golden Core Realm, so there was a problem with the power of sacrifice.
The test required that the target of the sacrifice must be at the same cultivation level as the sacrifice. If the level of the Red Moon Hall's cultivator was too high, this obvious loophole would be seen as someone helping to cheat.
This was also to limit the cultivation of the people who joined the Defiant Moon Hall.
However, with Xu Qing around, this was easy to solve.
Under Xu Qing's explanation, Ling 'er understood. She secretly put away her thoughts and nodded vigorously.
"No problem, big brother Xu Qing. I can do it."
As she spoke, Ling 'er patted her little chest in front of Xu Qing.
At this moment, Xu Qing's mind was filled with the matter of entering the Defiant Moon Hall. He had been thinking about this for a long time and had analyzed it in detail in his heart. There would not be any danger, so after he told Ling 'er the steps, the two immediately began.
Xu Qing first let Ling 'er open the mirror. Then, he took out two ferocious beasts with the same cultivation as Ling' er and quickly blessed them. Before their curse was about to erupt, he threw them into the mirror.
Soon, they passed the first test, and the test of faith went smoothly. Ling 'er did not have any power of the Red Moon on her, so she easily completed the second test.
The moment it was done, a cracking sound came from the mirror floating in the air, and a crack appeared.
Waves of suction force spread out from the crack.
"Big brother Xu Qing, that voice told me that this is the entrance to the Defiant Moon Hall." Ling 'er looked at the mirror and quickly said.
Xu Qing looked at the crack on the mirror and did not dare to try to enter. With the status of the Defiant Moon Hall, if a non-examinee tried to force his way in, he was afraid that he would immediately be killed.
Therefore, Xu Qing looked at Ling 'er.
Ling 'er's eyes shone with anticipation. Ever since Xu Qing had broken the bond between them, she hadn't said anything, but in her heart, she was very disappointed. Now that she could continue, her heart was filled with happiness. Without any hesitation, she transformed into a white snake and landed on Xu Qing's wrist.
In the next moment, a green thread wrapped around him.
The connection between the two was reestablished. However, Xu Qing was no longer the same as before. With the support of the power of destiny inside of him, this time, it was not a one-sided connection, but a joint one.
After doing all this, Xu Qing could clearly sense that he and Ling 'er had become one.
"Big brother Xu Qing, this is a unique innate skill of the Ancientspirits. In our lifetime … we can only bind one person. Even if we break the bond, we can't bind others.
"From now on, you and I share a life. If you live, I live. If you die, I die. In life and death, we live together. The rosy dawn and the yellow springs … are all companions!"
An ethereal voice rose up in Xu Qing's heart.
Xu Qing looked at the mark on his wrist and nodded heavily. After taking a deep breath, he looked at the floating mirror and then shot toward the crack.
The moment he got close, he transformed into a beam of light that merged into the crack.
He had entered a strange place!