Chapter 26: Liyang Rain Gold

The black sky held no stars; only thin wisps of dark clouds drifted across the high-hanging bright moon.

The wind was strong, yet it did not impede the flow of moonlight.

The pristine moonlight cascaded down like flowing water onto the human world.

Some of it fell within the scavenger camp, landing in Xu Qing's courtyard and illuminating the two figures standing before his door.

Seventh Master, clad in purple robes, stood there for a long time with his hands clasped behind his back. Under the moonlight, his aged face was thoughtful, lost in contemplation.

The attendant beside him did not dare to disturb him and waited silently.

As for the wild dogs around them, these two individuals seemed to be invisible to their eyes, undetectable, so they lay there without any unusual behavior.

The surroundings were quiet, with only faint echoes of laughter and screams from the outer ring of the camp.

Inside the room, after the two sentences were spoken, silence also descended, with only faint sounds of breathing and exhalation emanating from within.

Time passed. After the duration of an incense stick, Seventh Master, standing at the door, sighed softly. He did not push the door open but turned and walked away.

"Give him a token," Seventh Master said in a low voice as he reached the courtyard gate.

"What color?" the attendant asked.

"The most common one. And you don't need to say anything more to him," Seventh Master replied, walking past the gate and gradually disappearing into the distance.

The attendant's eyes narrowed, and waves of surprise rippled through his mind.

During his time following Seventh Master in the camp, he had personally witnessed Seventh Master paying attention to that child multiple times.

Later, Seventh Master also went to greet Master Bai. All of this made him realize that the child's opportunity had arrived, which was why he had inquired last time whether to give him a token.

A token was the qualification for entry into the Seven Blood Eyes. Only those with a token could participate in the assessment, and if successful, they could officially join the sect.

Tokens also came in different colors: purple was the highest, signifying immediate entry as a core disciple; yellow was intermediate, meaning an inner disciple; and white was the most common, for ordinary disciples.

The attendant felt that Seventh Master would at least give a yellow token, but now it was only white, and he had even emphasized not to say more.

This unusual scene forced him to ponder, and his heart couldn't help but beat faster.

"There's only one answer. Seventh Master places extreme importance on this child. Not only does he want him to join the sect, but he also has the idea... of taking him as a personal disciple? Is he planning to observe him? The first three princes all entered this way. Could the Seventh Peak be getting its fourth direct disciple?"

The attendant clearly understood the weight of the term 'direct disciple.' It could be said that once someone became Seventh Master's direct disciple, that person would instantly attract the attention of various forces throughout South Phoenix Continent.

However, he also felt that the possibility was not very high, as Seventh Master had not taken a disciple in a long time.

Nevertheless, he needed to pay close attention to this child. With this thought, the attendant took a deep breath, composed himself, and slowly knocked on Xu Qing's door.

The moment the knocking sounds entered the room, the breathing within instantly ceased.

The next instant, a smile appeared at the corner of the attendant's mouth. His body blurred and vanished, reappearing startlingly behind the room!

In the corner behind the room, there was a hole, very well hidden and covered by bricks, which seemed to have been dug some time ago.

At that moment, Xu Qing's figure swiftly emerged from within, just about to circle around to observe the person knocking on the door, but the next instant, with the attendant's appearance, his body abruptly halted.

Xu Qing's eyes narrowed as he watched the figure that suddenly appeared, as if forcing its way into his vision. His heart sank.

The figure before him was a middle-aged man in a gray robe with a very ordinary face. Most strikingly, a five-pointed star pattern was emblazoned on his brow, currently emitting a faint glow that distorted the surrounding moonlight.

A strong sense of oppression accompanied his presence, causing Xu Qing's breathing to quicken slightly. He tightened his grip on the iron skewer in his right hand and subtly grabbed a handful of poison powder with his left.

The opponent's appearance was too strange, and the feeling he exuded far surpassed that of the little girl's brother he had seen a few days prior.

Especially the man's gaze made every fiber of Xu Qing's being tremble at that moment, as if his body were screaming at him, telling him that the person before him was extremely dangerous!

This pushed Xu Qing's alertness to its extreme. The trembling of his flesh was not just a warning of danger; it also informed him that his body was ready for any subsequent action.

Xu Qing had already simulated the dangers he might face in his dwelling multiple times in his mind. The ability to silence the wild dogs and remain completely undetected was the most perilous scenario in his simulations.

Now, with narrowed eyes, Xu Qing tried to slowly retreat.

"I mean no harm," the attendant said with a smile, looking at the child who had become like a wolf cub, ready to spring into action at any moment.

Glancing at the hole in the wall behind Xu Qing, he realized this must be the escape route the child had prepared to prevent danger within his dwelling.

"To have such preparations made so early, and to not panic when faced with an unexpected situation but rather to look for an opportunity to resist—no wonder Seventh Master values this child."

Scenes of Xu Qing slitting Ma Si's throat and killing Fat Shan flashed through the attendant's mind. With a look of appreciation in his eyes, he raised his hand, took out a white token, and threw it towards Xu Qing.

Xu Qing did not catch it. He instantly leaped back, sharply retreating while simultaneously flinging out a handful of poison powder. Within the powder, two daggers, glinting with cold light, whistled towards the attendant.

But the next instant, Xu Qing's eyes widened. He saw his daggers pierce through the gray-robed man's body and embed themselves in the wall behind him, yet the man showed no change, as if he had no physical form.

The poison powder likewise passed through his body, scattering onto the ground.

This scene instantly tensed Xu Qing's nerves. His breath hitched as he was about to continue retreating.

Just then, the gray-robed man smiled, and his figure slowly vanished from Xu Qing's sight.

First his legs disappeared, then his torso, and just as his head was about to vanish, his voice echoed.

"Child, someone asked me to give you this token. It's the qualification for entry into the Seven Blood Eyes. The map on the back shows various branch cities. With this token, you can teleport to the main sect gate once, free of charge, from any of them."

After the words were spoken, the attendant's figure completely disappeared, as if he had never been there. Watching all of this, Xu Qing stood there in silence for a long time.

He felt the opponent's strangeness and also experienced the helplessness of his own weakness.

After a long while, Xu Qing silently walked over, pulled out his daggers, and looked down at the token on the ground.

The white token lay face up, adorned with intricate patterns. Under the moonlight, it seemed to reflect light, exuding an ancient charm.

Xu Qing pondered, then carefully picked it up with a glove to examine it.

The back of the token bore a map, densely marked with hundreds of raised points, indicating numerous cities.

"Seven Blood Eyes..." Xu Qing murmured.

He had heard about the Seven Blood Eyes from Captain Lei and knew it was one of the most formidable and ruthless forces in South Phoenix Continent. Every year, countless people wished to join its sect.

However, entry into the Seven Blood Eyes was very strict; one couldn't just walk in. An entry token was required, but these tokens were extremely rare.

Xu Qing didn't know why he had received it, nor did he recognize the gray-robed man, and he couldn't verify the token's authenticity.

Yet, after pondering, he concluded that given the opponent's terrifying strength, there was no need to play tricks on him, so it was highly probable that the token was genuine.

"Why me?" Xu Qing couldn't figure it out, but he did notice how the man had addressed him.

The term "child" had multiple layers of meaning, both general and specific.

In this scavenger camp, "Child" was a name uniquely associated with Xu Qing.

Being able to call out his name from the scavenger camp indicated that the other party knew him very well.

Moreover, the man's words mentioned that someone had asked him to deliver the token, which suggested the gray-robed man had a companion, and that companion's status was significantly higher.

"Could it be Master Bai?" Xu Qing looked down, examining the token, and after a moment, he hesitantly put it away.

The sky was now faintly lit. Xu Qing reinserted the bricks into the wall behind the house, restoring it to its original state, then he fed the wild dogs in the courtyard.

Although these creatures were quite useless, having kept them for so long, feeding them had become a habit.

Watching the more than ten wild dogs scrambling for food, Xu Qing was about to leave for class, but after a few steps, he paused and silently sat down in the courtyard.

"It's also a habit..." Xu Qing murmured, sitting there until it was fully daylight. He then stood up, left the courtyard, and walked into the camp.

The camp, though familiar, now felt strange. Shizi and Luan Ya hadn't returned in a long time. As Xu Qing walked, he suddenly missed his pharmacy in the canyon.

Although it was a forbidden zone, fraught with dangers, his longing for it remained strong.

At the same time, Xu Qing was also preparing to try compounding white pills. He took a deep breath, about to leave the camp for the forbidden zone. But before he could exit, someone called out from behind him.

"Child! Child!"

The voice sounded familiar. Xu Qing turned and saw an old man with white hair and a leather coat running towards him.

This man was one of the older scavengers in the camp.

No one knew his real name; everyone called him Old Stone. He was also one of the five or six people Xu Qing had saved when he brought Captain Lei back.

Afterwards, like Bone Knife, he often came to Xu Qing to buy insurance.

"Hey, Child, I got a big job!" Old Stone exclaimed excitedly.

As he rapidly recounted, Xu Qing understood.

Old Stone, it turned out, had somehow managed to get the young men and women who had arrived outside the camp recently to hire him as a guide to the temple complex in the forbidden jungle.

This time, he had come to Xu Qing to buy insurance.

"The usual deal, five white pills," Old Stone said with a smile. "If I don't return in a week, please, Child, come rescue me near the temple complex."

"A week?" Xu Qing was somewhat surprised.

"Yes, these pampered folks from the Purple Soil insist on staying for a week. But the pay is very generous, so I, an old man, will take the risk. After this job, I plan to retire."

Old Stone sighed. As an an experienced scavenger, he knew very well that staying in the forbidden zone for a week would not only exponentially increase the risks but also the abnormal energy exposure. However, the reward was so substantial, enough to buy residency in a nearby city, so he wanted to take the chance and had prepared enough white pills.

Xu Qing frowned slightly. He was not planning to continue taking on such tasks, especially now that he needed time to research white pills.

He was about to refuse, but seeing Old Stone's white hair and expectant expression, Xu Qing couldn't help but think of Captain Lei. After a moment of silence, he nodded.

"This is the last time."

With that, he accepted the white pills amidst Old Stone's gratitude, left the camp, and headed straight for the forbidden zone.

At that moment, mist was appearing within the forbidden zone, covering an area and spreading outwards...

Outside the mist-covered area, near the Poison Dragon Pond in the forbidden zone, a scavenger, his face filled with terror, hid himself within a tree crevice, his body trembling.

Around him, four figures with cold gazes were actively searching.

"It's getting foggy! As long as I hold on, Child will definitely come to save me!" The person hiding was Bone Knife, who had bought insurance from Xu Qing multiple times!

"It's foggy."

The moment he stepped into the forbidden jungle, Xu Qing's footsteps faltered.

He felt his shadow subtly distort. He had encountered this before; it was a sign of mist appearing in the forbidden zone.

Upon closer inspection, he could even discern faint wisps of mist among the trees.

Xu Qing hesitated slightly, but after a moment's thought, he still chose to enter the jungle.

On one hand, he needed to go to the canyon pharmacy, and on the other hand, although the shadow's help wouldn't last too long, it would be enough for him to reach the canyon.

Moreover, while the appearance of mist seemed dangerous, it was equally so for the mutated beasts. Therefore, to some extent, it was safer than usual.

However, the premise was not to get lost within it and for the abnormal energy not to increase.

Thus, Xu Qing quickened his pace, rapidly traversing the jungle.

An hour later, as the mist slowly grew thicker, Xu Qing paused, arriving at the muddy area where the night lizard's hide was located.

He stood on a nearby large tree, turning his head to look north.

"That's the Poison Dragon Pond area..." Within the forbidden jungle, due to varying terrains, scavengers had divided it into several marked points, and the Poison Dragon Pond was one of them.

Xu Qing had heard about this Poison Dragon Pond many times, mostly from Bone Knife, as the designated rescue area after each of his insurance purchases was always the Poison Dragon Pond.

Xu Qing thought about it. Bone Knife had bought insurance too many times; he recalled that he had bought it once two days ago.

Although the time hadn't yet come, since it was foggy and he was nearby, he might as well go and check.

With that thought, Xu Qing's body flickered. He leaped from the treetop, approaching the direction of the Poison Dragon Pond.

As he got closer, Xu Qing slowly narrowed his eyes, a wary expression appearing on his face, and his movements became even more concealed.

He saw a person.

The person was wearing a black leather coat and a sinister mask, holding a long sword that glinted with cold light, and was currently searching.

Furthermore, significant spiritual energy fluctuations emanated from them, giving Xu Qing the feeling that their power had reached the level of Fire Crow from the Blood Shadow Squad.

Xu Qing watched for a moment, then skillfully circled around. Soon after, he saw a second person dressed identically with similar cultivation, which made Xu Qing feel a bit puzzled.

"They're not scavengers." After pondering, Xu Qing became even more cautious. After circling the Poison Dragon Pond area, he spotted Bone Knife!