On the top of the Seventh Peak, Lord Seven stared coldly at the sea for a long time before retracting his gaze.
"Come, let's continue the game."
The servant nodded. After setting up the chessboard, he hesitated for a moment before speaking in a low voice.
"Lord Seven, about the Third Prince and the child …"
Lord Seven glanced at the servant and spoke faintly.
"You're quite concerned about the child."
The servant lowered his head and didn't speak.
"It's in the Third Prince's nature to be unscrupulous. He usually looks gentle, but he doesn't have any feelings in his heart. This is how he stood out at the foot of the mountain and came to me. It's also why I think highly of him."
"As for the child, whether he can see through the Third Prince's thoughts and figure out something from this will depend on his wisdom. In this chaotic world, the stupid won't live for long."
After Lord Seven finished speaking, he looked at the sky before dawn. It was about to be daybreak.
Under the sky, in the 79th harbor, Xu Qing sat on the deck of the spiritual boat with a thoughtful look in his eyes. As the sun rose and the first rays of dawn dissipated into the night, Xu Qing's eyes became deep the moment the sun shone on him.
"First, the competition was held 30 years ago at the Mermaid Clan. After that, the Mermaid Clan became allies. Naturally, the relationship between the two sides is only superficial. Moreover, the young mermaid at the Sixth Peak's shop was full of fear when he saw the Second Prince. This means that the Second Prince killed a lot of Mermaids 30 years ago.
"Second, the disciples of the Seventh Peak's Peak Master shouldn't go against their master's orders. The Second Prince's attitude towards the Mermaid Clan is a problem. Then, it's understandable that the Third Prince killed the Mermaid Clan!
"Then, why did the Third Prince invite the Mermaid Clan to the Seventh Blood Pupil?
He came and killed them … and did it in front of me?
"The Third Prince has other motives. If I were the Third Prince, under what circumstances would I do this? And under what circumstances would I kill in front of the person who came?"
Xu Qing narrowed his eyes. After a while, he had an answer in his heart.
"There's only one situation. I want to blackmail the Mermaid Clan with something on them. If I don't have something on them, I will create something on them!
At the same time, I killed them in front of the person who came because I want to make the killing more valuable. While blackmailing the Mermaid Clan, it's also worth it to sell a favor.
"The prerequisite is that this person has value."
Xu Qing recalled the scene when the captain had told him about the incident on Ocean Lizard Island with a smile that was not a smile. The other party clearly had some channels that he did not know about and was able to obtain some information.
If the captain had it, then the Third Prince might have it too.
In addition, Xu Qing recalled the aura that had locked onto him when he escaped from Ocean Lizard Island. He was at the bottom of the sea and couldn't see who it was. At this moment, his eyes lit up and he had more guesses.
"Since the Seven Blood Pupils allowed this to happen, it can only mean that … they want to attack the Mermaid Clan!"
"No matter what, I have to leave for a while!"
Xu Qing wasn't sure if his analysis was completely correct, so he planned to leave for a while to see if there was a follow-up to this matter. If everything was really calm, then it wouldn't be too late for him to come back.
After all, he was only one step away from the tenth level of Qi Condensation. Once he broke through to Foundation Establishment, he would have the right to enter the mountain and the right to split the profits of the Seven Blood Eyes.
A monthly income of at least 5,000 Spirit Stones, and as long as he had the Seven Blood Pupils, he would be able to continue earning. Xu Qing had been tempted by this for a long time. Of course, compared to this, surviving was more important.
Therefore, Xu Qing didn't hesitate and chose to leave first to observe.
Moreover, he felt that he could use this time to do something that had been buried in his heart for a long time.
A cold light flashed in Xu Qing's eyes. He wanted to completely pull out another thorn that had been buried in his heart for a long time.
That was … the patriarch of the Vajra Sect.
If he didn't kill this person, Xu Qing wouldn't be able to sleep at night.
With this decision, Xu Qing didn't waste any time. At daybreak, he put away the spiritual boat and rushed straight to the Arresting Department.
"The Vajra Sect is a sect after all. Even if they are relatively weak, it's hard to hide their whereabouts when they move. To the Seven Blood Pupils, everything that happens within their sphere of influence is no secret."
During the time that Xu Qing came to the Seven Blood Pupils, as a member of the Arresting Department, he had the right to look through the department's files. He knew that most of the files recorded the changes within the Seven Blood Pupils' sphere of influence.
Although the level of detail wasn't as high as that of the Intelligence Department, it was easier for Xu Qing to investigate.
Therefore, he quickly arrived at the Arresting Department and went straight to the file office.
His reputation in the Detectives Department was even greater than that of the outside world. Apart from his outstanding performance in the Night Dove Operation, most of it came from the heads of wanted criminals one after another.
Therefore, the disciple in the dossier office was very polite to him and allowed Xu Qing to look through the files alone. Not long after, Xu Qing finally found the clues he wanted from the messy information that the Seven Blood-pupil did not pay much attention to.
"They went to the Departure Sect?"
Xu Qing looked at the file in front of him and narrowed his eyes. The members of the Divine Path Sect were all crazy people. The other forces were both disgusted and afraid of the Divine Path Sect. Therefore, most of the time, they stayed far away from them and didn't have much contact with them.
"They probably didn't move because of me. Back then, the second prince asked for too much compensation. After the Vajra Sect paid the price, their vitality was greatly damaged and they were filled with fear. Therefore, they didn't dare to stay within the Seven Blood Pupils' sphere of influence."
Xu Qing stroked his chin. He remembered the Vajra Sect's movements in the file and left the Arresting Department.
Walking on the streets of the port district, Xu Qing pondered for a while and went to a few shops. He sold the sundries he got from the Ocean Lizard Island and part of the Ocean Lizard Skin. He also bought some things he needed outside, including a lot of poisonous herbs.
In the end, he stood outside a shop that specialized in talismans. After thinking for a while, he suppressed his heartache for the spirit stones and stepped in.
A moment later, when he walked out, he had a talisman with a special use. This talisman could change a person's aura and appearance. Although it wasn't perfect, it was enough for Xu Qing.
It was noon. Although winter had arrived, the Seven Blood Pupils' geographical location made the winter here mostly warm. The sunlight was still strong and slightly dazzling.
Thus, under the sunlight, Xu Qing's figure disappeared into the corner of an alley. When he came out from the other end, his appearance had changed. He was no longer handsome and delicate, but had become a young man with a sallow complexion and a long face. The Daoist robe he wore had been changed into an ordinary long gown.
The fluctuations of his cultivation had also changed. He was no longer at the ninth level of Qi Condensation, but at the third level of Qi Condensation.
He was very clear that in the outside world, those at the ninth level of Qi Condensation were all people with status and were very conspicuous.
Only scavengers at the third level of Qi Condensation had a certain degree of deterrence and at the same time, didn't attract attention.
Feeling the power of the talisman, Xu Qing was vigilant of his surroundings. However, his face was expressionless as he walked toward the teleportation array.
He didn't pay with his identity token, but with spirit stones. Not long after, Xu Qing stood in the teleportation array, vigilantly looking around. As the array flashed, his figure was submerged in a sea of light and disappeared.
In the eastern part of the Southern Phoenix Continent, at least tens of thousands of miles away from where the Vajra Sect used to be, there was a sparsely populated area.
The wilderness here was called the Red Plains because of the red toothed grass that grew there.
From afar, the entire land looked like it was dyed in blood. It was a shocking sight, and at the same time, the foreign matter here was denser than in the other areas of the Southern Phoenix Continent. As a result, the fierce beasts here were more ferocious.
In this harsh environment, there weren't many cities. You could only see one within a few hundred miles. Most of the buildings here were primitive and crude. Most of the slums here were formed by scavengers.
Whether it was the landscape or the population, the Red Plains were very harsh, so the families of the Purple Earth didn't care about it. The Seven Blood Eyes didn't care either. Only the Departure Sect, due to their teachings, liked to develop their disciples in this harsh area.
Thus, the Red Plains became the territory of the Departure Sect.
At this moment, at the edge of the Red Plains, in the center of a simple city, the only teleportation array in the Red Plains was set up by the Purple Earth Sect and the Seven Blood Eyes.
A middle-aged cultivator with a sallow face wearing a black robe appeared in the teleportation array.
He was Xu Qing, who had used the disguise talisman to change his appearance.
Just as he arrived, before he even left the teleportation array, a rotten and foul smell came from the surroundings. If it was someone who hadn't experienced much hardship, they would feel uncomfortable with this smell.
However, to Xu Qing, these were all normal occurrences in the place where he had once lived. It was just that the stench of decay here was a little thicker.
Xu Qing's expression was calm as he walked out of the teleportation array under the indifferent gazes of the lazy guards around him.
All the buildings in the city were greyish-black and filled with ruins. The ground was filled with trash, mostly feces.
There were very few people in the city, and most of them were very vigilant. They all strongly rejected each other.
There were very few women, and even if there were, they all had fierce expressions. At the same time, there were children hiding in the corners of the alleys. There was no innocence in their eyes, only death and indifference.
Occasionally, there would be screams and curses coming from the city.
"It's more like a scavenger camp."
Xu Qing's gaze swept the surroundings and he calmly walked forward.
Along the way, Xu Qing ignored the cautious and fawning gazes that looked at him. He didn't stay in the city for long. Once he left the city, his speed suddenly increased, and he charged into the wilderness.
The Vajra Sect had migrated to the Red Plains, but it was still some distance away from the city Xu Qing was teleported to.
Before he came, Xu Qing had looked at the map of this place while he was hunting criminals. Now, he had locked onto a direction and was running in the wilderness.
He was very fast. The wind that blew against his face was bone-piercing cold, and there seemed to be some snowflakes mixed in with it. There were even some small hills in the distance that were covered in thin white snow.
What was a warm winter for the Seven Blood Pupils was a gradually arriving cold here.
This cold awakened many memories in Xu Qing's mind, especially when he saw many ferocious beasts and human skeletons along the way.
"Chaotic times." Xu Qing's gaze was calm, and he ran even faster.
Time passed. Night fell, and the night grew cold. The wind grew stronger, and the snow grew fiercer. Xu Qing was a bit further away from the city, and was well into the Red Plains. Suddenly, he stopped in place and looked off into the distance.
The wind was blowing from that direction, carrying with it a hint of ferocious laughter and blood.
In the distance, he could vaguely see corpses strewn across the ground. There were poor people, guards, and scattered goods and broken carriages.
This was clearly a caravan headed for the city.
Next to the corpses were a dozen or so desperadoes. Their clothes were tattered, their hair disheveled, and their expressions savage and bloodthirsty. Most of them had the aura of a second or third level Qi Condensation cultivator.
Some of them were killing people, some were rummaging through items, some were dragging corpses into the distance, and some were lying on top of the naked female corpses, venting their bestial instincts.
Further away, there was the faint glow of a fire, as if someone was cooking. The wind carried with it some residual heat.
Clearly, this caravan had run into a group of desperadoes, and all of them had died tragically.
Xu Qing's arrival immediately aroused the vigilance of these desperadoes. They looked up and stared at Xu Qing with murderous intent.
Sensing that Xu Qing was a third level Qi Condensation cultivator, the desperadoes began to laugh savagely. Their murderous intent erupted, and they wordlessly charged toward Xu Qing.
In their minds, Xu Qing could also be their prey.
Xu Qing stared coldly at the fugitives who were charging at him. He had seen too many massacres like this since he was young.
His experiences as a scavenger had taught him that wasteland caravans rarely had good intentions. When they encountered someone weak, they could easily turn into murderous predators.
Such were the chaotic times. Therefore, killing and being killed were common occurrences. Xu Qing didn't have the compassion to investigate who was good and who was evil.
But … if these people wanted to attack him, then things were different.