Chapter 33: Life and Death Decision-making

The moment the teacup was set down, a scene of carnage unfolded on the long street outside the camp leader’s mansion. Blood drenched the ground, and bodies lay strewn everywhere.

Xu Qing moved like a ferocious tiger. Wherever he went, blood splattered from those he touched, leaving a gruesome trail of crimson streaks across the ground. He killed relentlessly as he advanced.

Ahead of him, guards from the camp leader’s mansion rushed in from all directions, joined by dozens of strangers dressed in black – cultivators from the caravan.

Both groups shared a single target: Xu Qing.

As they drew closer, a gust of wind lifted the strands of hair from Xu Qing’s face. He casually slung his longsword, which he wasn’t accustomed to, onto his back. With a dagger in hand, he seemed to merge with the wind, charging directly towards a Qi Condensation sixth-layer cultivator from the caravan.

Their paths crossed in a flash, and a head flew into the air.

As blood sprayed, more black-clad figures and guards charged forward.

Xu Qing gazed at the caravan cultivators, a brief flicker of recognition in his eyes. He recalled that on the day this caravan arrived, the Thunder team had indeed gone out to buy ingredients, only to return swiftly.

It was clear they had spotted their enemies that day, prompting their early departure.

Xu Qing remained silent, his killing intent deepening. He unleashed his full speed, not dodging, but charging directly into the fray.

In the distance, two figures stood on a rooftop.

One was an elder in a blue Daoist robe, the other a middle-aged man dressed in practical combat attire. The elder stood with his hands behind his back, observing the street scene with cold eyes.

The middle-aged man sat, gnawing on a sinewy rope that, upon closer inspection, was unmistakably the bowstring of a crossbow.

This crossbow string was extraordinary; even ordinary iron weapons struggled to sever it. Yet, in this man’s mouth, it was being bitten off piece by piece.

“Quite interesting. He’s a body refiner, like me, but only seems to be at the sixth or seventh layer. He should be more entertaining than that fellow with the cross scar on his face.”

“Will you go, or shall I?” the elder asked calmly.

“This is your Vajra Sect’s territory, and the camp leader is your sect’s elder. Naturally, it falls to you, the newly appointed elder of the Vajra Sect,” the middle-aged man sneered, spitting out bits of sinew with his saliva.

As they spoke, a roar echoed from the long street, accompanied by piercing screams. The seven or eight guards and black-clad figures who had surrounded Xu Qing were all forced back.

Their bodies staggered, gushing blood from fatal wounds. One by one, they collapsed, revealing Xu Qing, who emerged from the circle of their fallen forms.

He wore a reverse-fur leather coat, stained by an unknown amount of blood, and a pair of straw sandals soaked black. His long hair swayed in the wind, and his eyes, like those of a solitary wolf, held a chilling intensity.

His right hand hung loosely, blood trickling down the blade of his dagger, dripping onto the dirt.

The seven or eight bodies around him were gruesomely disfigured. This wasn't due to torture by Xu Qing, but simply the brutal nature of wounds inflicted on vital areas.

Xu Qing’s attacks were precise and lethal, devoid of any wasted movements. This further horrified the scavengers who witnessed the scene.

Ignoring the bodies, Xu Qing’s face remained impassive, his eyes filled only with bloodlust. He pressed forward swiftly, his feet treading on the dirt.

His destination was the camp leader’s mansion, still over three hundred zhang away.

As he drew closer, the remaining dozen or so black-clad caravan members and several camp leader’s guards stationed outside the mansion shuddered in terror, instinctively recoiling.

After a few quick strides, Xu Qing looked up, his gaze fixing on the two figures on the distant rooftop.

The auras emanating from these two were the most formidable he had sensed throughout his massacre, marking them as the strongest adversaries he currently faced.

Xu Qing knew that once he chose to act in the current situation, he would have to see it through to the end. Moreover, their position was on the direct path to the camp leader’s mansion.

After taking a few more steps, he raised his left hand and gave a slight beckoning gesture to the two figures on the rooftop.

“Arrogant!” The blue-robed elder narrowed his eyes, a glint of coldness flashing within them. His body swayed, and as wind billowed beneath his feet, he stepped directly from the rooftop, seemingly walking on air, towards Xu Qing!

This sight utterly stunned the guards, black-clad figures, and scavengers alike. In their understanding, only Foundation Establishment realm cultivators possessed the ability to walk on air.

To them, a Foundation Establishment cultivator was akin to an immortal descending from the heavens.

Many had never witnessed such a feat in their entire lives. Indeed, a single Foundation Establishment cultivator could essentially become an ancestor figure within a minor sect or family, such as the Vajra Sect.

This blue-robed elder was clearly not a Foundation Establishment cultivator; he had only just entered the eighth layer of Qi Condensation.

His apparent ‘walking on air’ was merely a trick, connected to his cultivated wind techniques. It held no practical combat value, couldn’t be sustained for long, and was purely for show.

Nevertheless, for those watching, the spectacle was profoundly unnerving.

Xu Qing paid no mind. The instant the elder's foot touched the air, Xu Qing discreetly scattered a cloud of poison powder, then shot forward like a bolt of lightning.

He moved so swiftly that he left an afterimage on the ground. In the blink of an eye, as the blue-robed elder’s expression drastically changed, Xu Qing was already directly in front of him.

Xu Qing launched a direct punch. A monstrous shadow manifested on his fist, emitting a silent roar. The elder, caught mid-air, found himself unable to dodge in time and could only hastily form hand seals to create a protective barrier.

The barrier shattered with a resounding crash, crumbling inch by inch. The force of Xu Qing’s punch sent the elder reeling backward. Simultaneously, a sharp black iron skewer, transformed into a streak of light, whistled through the air, pursuing the elder.

*Bang!*

The black iron skewer was blocked by a shield.

As the shield splintered into fragments, the skewer’s force dissipated, revealing the disheveled blue-robed elder behind it, coughing up blood.

The elder’s face contorted in a grimace; he was about to speak, but Xu Qing, still expressionless, stomped his right foot on the ground. With a resounding thud, he surged forward once more.

The elder’s eyes narrowed, filled with rage. As he suddenly raised his hands, a powerful gale erupted around him, sweeping in all directions.

He took a furious inhale, drawing the winds into his mouth. His face flushed, and a cruel, murderous glint appeared in his eyes. He was about to unleash his attack.

But the very next instant, his expression drastically changed. His eyes bulged, and his skin visibly darkened, showing clear signs of poisoning. His body began to tremble violently.

“You…”

Before he could complete his sentence, Xu Qing, without the slightest hesitation, was upon him.

The dagger in his hand, superheated by his speed, glowed red like a branding iron as it brutally slashed across the elder’s neck.

Blood gushed forth, accompanied by a horrific shriek. Xu Qing’s left hand clamped onto the elder’s head, separating it from his body as he continued his forward momentum.

It all happened too quickly!

The next moment, Xu Qing flung the bluish-purple, poisoned head he held directly towards the middle-aged man. The man, now standing on the rooftop, wore an extremely grim expression, his eyes filled with intense apprehension.

Then, he raised his left hand, and just as before, beckoned to him.

Time seemed to stand still.

Scavengers, guards, and caravan members alike were utterly dumbfounded, their minds reeling. An indescribable tremor ran through their entire bodies.

“Too... too strong...”

“Was that poison... such potent poison!” one of the scavengers stammered, trembling.

The middle-aged man on the rooftop was breathing heavily.

“Are all members of the Vajra Sect useless? To still show off during a fight!”

He knew perfectly well that the blue-robed elder couldn't be that weak; his wind techniques were quite astonishing. However, his mistake was showing off with his 'walking on air,' which cost him the initiative. He also underestimated his opponent by failing to detect the poison, even actively inhaling it.

Ultimately, it was the complacent lifestyle of sect cultivators that made them far less ruthless and quick-witted than scavengers, who were hardened by their constant struggle for survival.

At this thought, the middle-aged man quickly produced seven or eight antidote and poison-repelling pills from his person and swallowed them all in one gulp.

He then gritted his teeth, and a series of cracking sounds emanated from his entire body.

His already burly physique became even more formidable. He took a massive stride and leaped directly from the rooftop, soaring like an eagle towards Xu Qing.

Xu Qing lowered his head, his dark hair falling over his eyes. His body, too, accelerated, rapidly closing the distance to his opponent.

The next instant, both figures erupted in speed, colliding head-on.

With a deafening boom, the middle-aged man’s entire body shuddered, and his expression showed even greater horror. The shockwave lifted the hair from Xu Qing’s face, revealing the sharp glint in his bloodshot eyes.

Xu Qing felt the astonishing power of his opponent, yet it was still inferior to his own, and his recovery ability was far superior. At that moment, killing intent erupted in his eyes, and with a surge of inner strength, he delivered another punch!

The clash between body refiners was both simple and brutal.

They continually engaged on the long street.

As roars echoed throughout the area, the shockwaves they generated caused houses to collapse in various places.

Gradually, the middle-aged cultivator’s breathing grew ragged, his face turned pale, and his body trembled. Veins bulged across his skin, and his eyes were bloodshot, unable to conceal the fear and despair within him.

He was inferior to Xu Qing in both strength and speed, to say nothing of recovery capabilities.

Thus, in little more than thirty breaths, his fist utterly collapsed, becoming a mangled mess of flesh and bone.

His arm, unable to withstand Xu Qing’s overwhelming force, was utterly shattered, torn into pieces. Blood and bone fragments sprayed outward. Amidst a final, horrific scream, Xu Qing leaped, driving his knee forcefully into the middle-aged man’s forehead.

*Thud!* The sound of bone and flesh crushing replaced the scream. The middle-aged man’s voice abruptly ceased as he died.

Without a glance, Xu Qing’s eyes still blazing with intense killing intent, he stepped over the fallen body of the middle-aged man, leaping directly towards... the camp leader’s mansion!

The guards outside the camp leader’s mansion and the remaining caravan members were by now utterly terrified, their courage shattered.

Witnessing Xu Qing, drenched in blood and charging like a brutal demon god, their will to survive eclipsed all else. Without a single person knowing who fled first, they all scattered and dispersed in the blink of an eye.

Thus, as scavengers from across the entire camp gathered, their gazes filled with utter shock, Xu Qing’s figure created a whistling wind as he charged directly towards... the main gate of the camp leader’s mansion.

The moment he neared, the massive gate exploded inward, shattering into splinters. Simultaneously, a fist thrust out, colliding directly with the arriving Xu Qing.

With a deafening crash, Xu Qing’s body recoiled for the first time.

He took three steps back, then raised his head. His hawk-like eyes fixed coldly on the camp leader, who emerged from the shattered doorway dressed in a golden robe, his face grim.

Behind the camp leader stood a gloomy elder in brocade robes, his features sharp and unkind.

In the elder’s hand, a figure familiar to Xu Qing was being carried!

The instant Xu Qing saw the figure, his body jolted, and an indescribable wave of emotion surged within him.

It was the Thunder team’s captain.

He was barely alive.