Chapter 580: The Consequences of Attempted Lasciviousness and Robbery (part 2)

Chapter 580: The Consequences of Attempted Lasciviousness and Robbery (part 2)

To Xu Qing, this poison was simply too weak.

Clearly, these two opponents had very different skills when it came to the use and understanding of poison. One seemed like an apprentice, while the other seemed like a master.

Xu Qing ignored all of that. He was like a descending storm as he shot his hand out. It completely ignored the one-eyed cultivator’s defenses. As the magical devices shattered, his hand landed on his opponent’s neck.

The one-eyed cultivator let loose a shout. Releasing the power of his seven three-tribulation nascent souls, he started a minor teleportation. His goal was clear; he wanted to get away from Xu Qing. But then a host of heavenfiend clones appeared around him, like a vortex distorting the air. The resulting interference to the one-eyed cultivator’s minor teleportation caused it to slow down slightly. In a moment like this, a slight slow-down could be the difference between life and death.

In the blink of an eye, Xu Qing closed in and grabbed the cultivator by the throat and slammed him down onto the ground below. A boom rang out as the boulders shattered and a large crater opened up.

The one-eyed cultivator was like a rag doll that Xu Qing was holding in place, making it impossible for him to move. Eyes shining with terror, the cultivator blurted, “Please, calm yourself, Senior! This is my fault! I know what you want to ask about. I know! I know everything!!”

Xu Qing’s expression was as cold as ice. He had always been the type of person who lived by the maxim, don’t hurt me, and I won’t hurt you. Right now, his eyes were radiating so much killing intent that the one-eyed cultivator was about to pass out from terror.

“Senior, I bet you want to ask about the Moonrebel Congregation. Am I right? The red moon is by no means eternal, hope exists from time immemorial and into forever!!”

Xu Qing looked at him coldly.

The one-eyed cultivator shivered. The truth was that he had instantly recognized that Xu Qing was an outsider. And most outsiders who came to this place wanted to join the Moonrebel Congregation.

Of course, there were exceptions. But given the deadly crisis situation, the one-eyed cultivator couldn't worry about it. All he could do was try to make the best of a bad situation. Therefore, he spoke the secret signal out loud, then searched Xu Qing’s eyes in hopes of finding clues that his guess was correct. Sadly, he couldn’t discern anything by looking at Xu Qing.

However, there was one thing he did notice: Xu Qing didn’t kill him. Therefore, he quickly continued, “Senior, I'm from the Moonrebel Congregation! We're on the same side! You want to join, right? I can help you!”

Xu Qing’s gaze remained as cold as ever. If the Moonrebel Congregation was full of people like this, then he didn’t have any desire to join them.

“Senior, as long as you’re in the Moonrebel Congregation, all you have to do is take out a mirror—any kind will do—and say the secret signal. That will initiate the Moonrebel Congregation’s assessment test. Once you pass the test, then it doesn’t matter where you go. You can always use a mirror to instantly be sent to the Moonrebel Congregation!”

As the one-eyed cultivator finished speaking, his heart sank as he noticed a hole in his own story. And all he could do was brace himself for Xu Qing to notice the same thing.

“If that's true,” Xu Qing said calmly, “then why did you try so hard to run away? Why not just pull out a mirror?”

The one-eyed cultivator smiled wryly. This person had instantly honed in on the very point he was worried about.

“Senior, I... I'm still in the assessment period myself. I haven’t passed it yet....” Seeing that his words hadn’t reduced the killing intent in Xu Qing’s eyes, he quickly continued, “Senior, everything I said before is true. I was blinded in one eye, Senior, that's why I messed up!”

I escaped a catastrophe. But what a price I had to pay... my traction avatar....

The old man was a member of the Traction species, who had an innate ability that allowed them to turn dead enemies into mummies. By adding their own blood to such a mummy, and then using certain refining techniques, they could turn it into a ‘traction avatar.’ Traction avatars were essentially like clones, except even more lifelike, to the point where they were almost indistinguishable as doppelg?ngers.

Normally speaking, this old man used his Traction abilities to his own benefit. It was also one of the key ways he could evade powerful experts. Unfortunately, the traction avatar he had just lost was his primary ensorcelled avatar. It was connected to his mind and heart, and its destruction left him severely injured. His internal organs had all been badly damaged.

What was more, he didn't recall ever having met a powerful expert like this one. The mere memory caused his heart to pound with dread.

This isn't going to work. That guy is smart enough that he probably spotted the clues.

Gritting his teeth, he ignored his injuries and started moving. He didn't dare to stay in one place, and could only hope that he would be able to get far enough away to find a good hiding spot.

***

About two hours later, Xu Qing appeared outside of that very same mansion grotto. After sending his shadow in to scout, he entered. Looking at the blood everywhere, he snorted coldly.

After the initial incident, something had seemed off. The nascent souls he had harvested didn’t contain the right amount of heavenfate, and as a result, the heavenfiend clones they made had too much baleful energy. That made him think of the random assortment of magical devices his opponent had used, and how he had witnessed him transform his opponent into a desiccated corpse and seal him in a nascent soul. After that, Xu Qing came to suspect that he hadn’t killed the true form of his enemy.

Different species had their own unique characteristics. That also counted for innate abilities and gruish skills. Just about anything was possible. Therefore, Xu Qing had cast his senses out and used the new heavenfiend clones to detect the presence of his enemy.

“He ran away quickly,” Xu Qing murmured. Walking outside he looked around. His opponent hadn’t left behind traces of his passage, and with the ever present green wind, not even the heavenfiend clones could lock onto him now.

He got lucky. I guess I’ll have to wait until next time to kill him. Xu Qing turned and left. After traveling for a while, he found a remote mountain hollow without any other cultivators nearby.

He was currently contemplating how much, if any, of the information the one-eyed cultivator had given him was true. Back in the heat of the moment, the man had obviously been primarily concerned with keeping himself alive and also protecting his true identity and abilities. In moments like that, most people would say some true things in the hopes of keeping their secrets safe. Telling outright lies could lead to the other person suspecting everything they were saying.

Given that logic, I bet there’s some truth to what he said. I might as well do some experimentation!

Eyes gleaming with determination, he took out a mirror fragment.

He still had fragments of some of the Mirrorlings he had killed, which he had kept with the intention of studying them later. Based on what the one-eyed cultivator had said, it seemed worth it to experiment with them now.

“The red moon is by no means eternal, hope exists from time immemorial and into forever!”

Almost the same moment that Xu Qing spoke the words, the mirror fragment vibrated, and then a majestic will entered his mind.