Chapter 44: Body for Sale?

The sea breeze blew, lifting Xu Qing's hair.

He walked forward, letting the wind ruffle his hair and billow his trousers, like a sword about to be drawn from its scabbard. His eyes gleamed coldly as he glanced at the woman who had changed direction and left.

Xu Qing hesitated. He didn't want to kill anyone on his first day here, so he withdrew his gaze and continued walking towards the inn.

But though he wished for calm, the wind did not cease.

Now, as the sea wind reached the shore, its intent seemed to grow more menacing.

Among the seven or eight burly men chasing the woman ahead, one with a scar on his face, who appeared to be their leader, sneered upon seeing this scene.

"Regardless of whether it's true or not, seize this kid too," he barked. "He's showing cultivation at the sixth or seventh level of Body Refinement, so he must have some contribution points!"

As he spoke, the seven or eight men immediately split into two groups: four pursued the woman, while the remaining four headed straight for Xu Qing.

Xu Qing frowned, his gaze sweeping over the approaching four. These men were not ordinary; they were all cultivators, mostly at the sixth level of Qi Condensation, and seemed to specialize in body refinement.

Yet, he truly didn't want to kill anyone immediately after arriving in this city, so he stepped back to avoid them, uttering a low remark.

"I don't know her."

"Little brat, whether you know her or not, you're unlucky!" sneered the burly man rushing at him, swinging a fist directly. The other three also attacked, one of them grinning menacingly with a knife in hand.

In the moonlight, the blade gleamed with a cold light, and it was smeared with poison.

Xu Qing lowered his gaze.

Some people in this world always liked to linger at the gates of hell. He hadn't wanted to act, but since his opponents harbored killing intent, Xu Qing's body flickered in silence, no longer retreating.

Instead, he moved like lightning, instantly appearing in front of the man who had thrown the punch, his left hand rising and landing on the man's forehead.

With a bang, no scream was uttered. The burly man's head exploded under Xu Qing's astonishing strength, comparable to Body Refinement Grand Completion. Amidst the bloody mess, Xu Qing's expression remained calm as he stepped forward, reaching the man with the knife and, to the latter's horror, striking him with his shoulder.

The knife-wielder's upper body instantly collapsed.

Then, Xu Qing struck the remaining two men, whose eyes were wide with shock and faces contorted in horror, with two punches from a distance.

These two were about to retreat, but a ripple appeared in the air in front of them, instantly enveloping them. In an instant, their bodies trembled violently, blood spurted out, their chests caved in and utterly shattered, and they died.

It all happened within two breaths; all four men were dead.

This scene made the four burly men who had split off nearby halt their steps, staring dumbfounded at the expressionless Xu Qing. Their scalps seemed to prickle.

"Mis... misunderstanding... we..." The leader, his earlier arrogance completely vanished, trembled and was about to speak, but seeing the coldness in Xu Qing's sweeping gaze, his mind reeled, and he retreated frantically.

The moment he retreated, Xu Qing moved.

The next instant, the other three men, excluding the leader, trembled, spurted blood, their temples revealing bloody holes, and fell to the ground, dead.

Xu Qing's figure emerged from beside them, his blood-stained fingers withdrawn, as he took a step towards the fleeing leader.

Xu Qing's habit was that if he didn't kill, he wouldn't act; once he did, he eliminated all potential threats.

Now, with a flicker, he neared the leader. Xu Qing indifferently raised his right hand, about to strike.

"Fellow cultivator, I'm with Night King, don't be rash..." The leader, terrified and despairing, quickly blurted out.

Xu Qing's right hand paused as he looked at the pale, severely trembling burly man before him.

"A Seven Blood Pupils disciple?"

"Not from Seven Blood Pupils, but..." The burly man paused, answering instinctively, but before he could finish, Xu Qing's right hand had already descended, striking the man's forehead.

With a bang, blood splattered.

Xu Qing bent down, wiped his hands on the corpse, then looked up at the dark distance. After a moment's thought, he decided not to search for the fleeing woman since he was unfamiliar with the local terrain.

But he remembered her appearance.

He then lowered his head to deal with the bodies, but suddenly, his mind stirred. Xu Qing sharply turned to look at the distant inn, his body tensing into an attacking posture.

At the inn's entrance, an old man had appeared at some point. He wore a long robe like an innkeeper, was slightly hunchbacked, had a face full of age spots, a sallow complexion, and a sickly appearance.

Noticing Xu Qing's gaze, he grinned, revealing his yellowed teeth, and chuckled.

"Young man, are you selling those corpses? Eight bodies, how about ten spirit coins each?"

Xu Qing was startled; it was his first time hearing someone wanted to buy corpses. He eyed the old man warily, said nothing, and continued processing the bodies.

After being rejected, the old man shook his head helplessly.

"What a pity, what a pity. Freshly dead bodies are the freshest."

A while later, Xu Qing finished his task and looked at the inn, a hint of hesitation in his heart about whether to stay there.

As if sensing Xu Qing's hesitation, the old man outside the inn spoke with a smile.

"You clearly just arrived here. Around this area, pretty much all the inns except mine are closed. It's eighty spirit coins or eighty contribution points a night, no trickery."

"Contribution points?" Xu Qing looked at the old man. He had heard the woman who framed him mention "contribution points" earlier.

"Indeed, you're new. You'll learn about contribution points later; they're worth the same as spirit coins," the old man grinned.

Xu Qing frowned. He felt that everything in this city was strange: spirit coins and contribution points had the same value, people wanted to buy corpses, and the room rates were outrageously high.

"Don't complain about the price; the nights in the main city aren't peaceful. Other open inns aren't cheap either. And I only have two rooms left now," the old man said, his smile not reaching his eyes.

Xu Qing pondered, looking at the sky, then at the old man. As he thought, his eyes narrowed, and he scanned the street. A blood-red shadow was rapidly approaching, its target clearly the inn.

As it drew closer, the figure of a cultivator emerged, who, without a word, threw down a leather pouch full of spirit coins and stepped into the inn, disappearing from view.

"Now there's only one room left," the old man said with a smile, weighing the leather pouch in his hand.

Xu Qing thought for a moment, then simply walked over, paid the spirit coins, and got the last room on the second floor. Before entering, he turned to the old man, who had returned to the counter downstairs and was smoking a pipe, and asked.

"What do you need those corpses for?"

The old man looked up and grinned.

"I have a little pet at home that just loves that kind of thing. Too bad you wouldn't sell them to me. If you have any more such 'incidents' in the future, remember to sell them to me. We can discuss the price."

Xu Qing remained silent, glanced at the old man, and entered his room.

Inside, he carefully inspected the room. Once he was sure it was safe, Xu Qing pushed open the window and looked outside.

In the dark night, the city was black, bathed in the bright moonlight that seemed to drape a mysterious veil over the dark city.

In the distance, the mournful sound of ship horns drifted across the waves from the sea, and within the lighthouse's beam, giant ships could faintly be seen slowly approaching.

Watching these, Xu Qing recalled the words of the female disciple by the teleportation array. He now realized that this city was like a deep pool, harboring too many dangers. He also finally understood where the faint scent of blood came from; after all, he himself had just added a wisp of bloodiness to the city.

This place differed greatly from his previous living environment in terms of architecture and cleanliness, yet fundamentally, there seemed to be no real difference.

"It's a chaotic era after all..." Xu Qing murmured, no longer pondering these thoughts, but instead considering the upcoming entrance test.

"While it's highly likely I'll pass the test, I need to be prepared for what to do if I don't. Also, the Vajra Sect Patriarch is currently my biggest threat; I must improve myself quickly and then kill him."

As these thoughts occupied him, the night outside deepened. Although there were no roars of strange beasts or eerie sounds, the wind carried shouts and wild laughter, brimming with the dark side of human nature.

Xu Qing was accustomed to this and paid no attention, instead lowering his gaze and taking a cloth bag from his person.

He had plundered this item from the Vajra Sect and had examined it on the way, feeling extremely surprised by what he found.

The cloth bag appeared small, only palm-sized, but when opened, it revealed a vast internal space, capable of holding items equivalent to the size of a bed.

He had heard of such items in the Scavenger Camp; they were called storage bags.

Storage bags were extremely rare in the areas where Xu Qing had lived before, remarkably valuable, and very difficult to acquire.

This storage bag alone would have been painful for the Vajra Sect to lose, let alone the numerous elixir bottles it contained, all filled with Purity Pills.

Over thirty pills in total.

But what surprised Xu Qing even more on his journey was the one hundred and ten... spirit stones!

Xu Qing had never seen spirit stones before, but Captain Lei had once taught him some knowledge during a meal, which included information about spirit stones.

These were far more precious than spirit coins; one stone was equivalent to a thousand spirit coins. They were made of highly concentrated spiritual energy and could be used directly for cultivation in critical moments. Each piece was immensely valuable, and Captain Lei's description allowed Xu Qing to recognize them.

These items were his greatest gain from the Vajra Sect. As for the other miscellaneous items, they paled in comparison to the storage bag and spirit stones.

Even though Xu Qing had checked them multiple times on his journey, now that he had organized them, his mind was still shaken by this windfall. This was the greatest wealth he had ever acquired in his life.

"If I don't pass the test, then this money should allow me to accelerate my cultivation in the Seven Blood Pupils main city..." Xu Qing murmured, closing his eyes and beginning his cultivation.

No matter where he was or what the upcoming test held, for Xu Qing, cultivation was indispensable. It was the foundation of his existence and the best guarantee for survival.

After all, in a chaotic era, even seemingly eternal things like sunrises and sunsets could change one day.

Anything was possible.

The only constant was the law of the jungle.

Moreover... in Xu Qing's experience, places with many people were even more dangerous than restricted zones, because the maliciousness of the human heart was the hardest to discern.

Especially this Seven Blood Pupils main city, which clearly concealed danger and mystery.

For the young man, this place was also a restricted zone.

A different kind of restricted zone.