Chapter 562: The Wind Can’t Blow Out the Fireflies

Chapter 562: The Wind Can’t Blow Out the Fireflies

Ten days later, Xu Qing burst out of the lava in the Heavenfire Sea. The glow of the fire reflected down from the dome of heaven onto him, causing him to shine dazzlingly. His eyes were particularly resplendent. His cultivation base was now far beyond its previous point. Among his thirteen nascent souls the golden crow and violet moon versions had progressed the farthest. Although they weren’t quite at the great circle of one tribulation, they were very close.

That collection of heavenfate was priceless.

His eyes shone as he considered that if he had a few more bits of heavenfate like that, he would probably be able to get all of his nascent souls into the great circle of one tribulation.

The heavenfate of a Spirit Trove cultivator lives up to its reputation. Maybe she was only in the dao begetting and dawnstar raising phase, but that heavenfate is far stronger than anything from the Nascent Soul level.

Xu Qing’s eyes glittered brightly; the damage to his soul had recovered in the ten days that had passed. Furthermore, he could tell that, not only had his soul recovered, but it had actually become a bit stronger.

In that case... I’ll return the eyeball and then start traveling again!

He looked down at the Heavenfire Sea and thought about what other secrets must be hidden in those depths. For example, were there other sealed areas down there? Or what about that area in the depths where fire emerged from the rift in the dome of heaven?

Now’s not the time to explore those things. The better part of a year has already passed. I need to hurry up to meet with Eldest Brother.

He looked down at his wrist, and the mark that encircled it. That was Ling’er. After leaving the human city hidden beneath the abandoned mine, he had come to an agreement with Ling’er. Because he had been planning to go to some dangerous areas in the Heavenfire Sea, he wanted her to remain sleeping in that seal. That had seemed the safest. But now that the danger had passed, and the time had come to return to the abandoned mine briefly, Xu Qing smiled and tapped on the symbol.

“Ling’er, wake up. We're going back to that mine.”

The symbol flickered, then Ling’er poked her head out, blinking blearily. When she heard Xu Qing’s words, her eyes glittered. “We're going back? Awesome! Big Bro Xu Qing, do you think we can stay there again for a little bit?”

When Xu Qing saw the anticipation on Ling’er’s face, he thought about it briefly and then nodded. “How about for half a month?”

Laughing happily, Ling’er climbed up to Xu Qing’s shoulder and coiled next to his ear.

Her happy laughter caused him to relax a bit. He wasn’t as nervous as he had been at the bottom of the Heavenfire Sea, but he still kept his guard up. He knew that he had to be very careful about revealing the position of that human city. Therefore, as he flew along, he kept a close eye on his surroundings.

After he was sure he wasn't being followed, he left the Heavenfire Sea and flew toward the mine.

At one point, he stopped and looked down. Below, he saw a red flower growing out of a crack in the ground. It was one lonely flower blowing back and forth in the wind. This was the first vegetation Xu Qing had seen in this area. It wasn't easy for most plants to survive, given the climate. But there were some special plants that would actually bloom after the Heavenfire Skycrossing. This little flower was one of them. It was no ordinary plant, but rather, a very precious medicinal plant.

In Grandmaster Bai’s medicinal codex, this flower was called a firespirit tulip. Surprised, Xu Qing harvested the flower and put it into a transparent bottle.

I remember Panyan asking about this flower. Smiling, he continued on his way.

The Red Moon Cathedral is in the area.... Duanmu Zang said that the cathedral comes regularly to demand offerings from the local species....

Xu Qing turned and waved his hand, causing Ling’er and Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior to fly back to him. Then he shot back toward the exit.

Ling’er, her heart almost overwhelmed with grief and anxiety, said, “Big Bro Xu Qing, we—”

“We’re going to find them,” Xu Qing said softly, his eyes turning colder and colder.

He soon sped out of the mine and was able to start looking for clues.

In the five days that had passed, the heat levels were dropping slowly, and thus, much of the evidence was gone. There seemed only one likely destination, and that was Holy City. Unfortunately, there wasn’t just one path to Holy City. What was more, it wasn't possible to guarantee that they were taking the humans there. If Xu Qing made an error in judgment, he would lose precious time. And every bit of time mattered in trying to carry out this rescue operation.

As Xu Qing pondered the situation, Ling’er wiped her eyes. Looking suddenly determined, she said, “Big Bro Xu Qing, let me look for some clues. This is an Ancient Spirit tomb, and they lived here for years. If they have even a scrap of Ancient Spirit aura on them, I can probably find them!”

Ling’er flew up into midair, where she suddenly erupted with a seven-colored glow. As it swirled around her, she began to change shape. She turned human, but didn't stop there. Within moments, she was even taller and more impressive than an ordinary human. Because of the light, it wasn’t possible to see her clearly, but Xu Qing could see a dragon and a snake encircling her.

“South!” Ling’er said in an echoey voice.

Without any hesitation, Xu Qing grabbed her and started moving south.

***

Some 5,000 kilometers in that same direction was a long caravan flying along at low altitude. The caravan included ten huge iron cages, each of which was like a small mountain being dragged along by huge beasts of burden. The cages were packed with people. Countless humans were visible, some of whom, on the bottom of the cages, had been crushed to death. However, there were plenty who were alive.

That said, those who still lived had numb expressions. They were already living lives worse than death, and were less human than animal.

The caravan was being led by cultivators from the Twofold Alliance. In order to make sure that as many mortals survived as possible, they couldn’t move too quickly. Teleportations were a possibility, but there was no way the two species would pay for a luxury like that simply to save some time.

The cultivator in charge sat atop one of the carts looking cold and indifferent. “We’ll be in Holy City soon. It will take about seven days.”

“This job has been a lot of work. That said, who could have guessed there would be so many humans?”

“That's a good thing. With an offering like this, plus the other species we got from other places, we should be fine.”

The Skyfaces pulled out a few human corpses and began viciously eating them.

The sound of tearing flesh and snapping bones echoed out brutally into the evening.