Chapter 387: Twilight Clan's Eyes

Outside the ghost ship, darkness reigned supreme. There was no light, only an endless, bone-chilling cold that permeated every direction within that gloom.

Through what his shadow saw and felt, Xu Qing gazed at the netherworld-like void beyond the ghost ship. He was suddenly reminded of the great terror, a legendary dread among countless cultivators, spoken of when one established their foundation.

It was said that at the moment a Foundation Establishment cultivator ignited their 'life lamp,' they would attract entities from another world.

Just like the little mute girl back then, she had failed this stage, and half of her body was taken over. If not for Xu Qing, she would likely have been completely annihilated.

Xu Qing now felt that the netherworld outside the ghost ship was precisely that other world.

Xu Qing pondered this, though time here seemed to pass imperceptibly—what felt like an instant could also have been an eternity. This continued until a powerful light suddenly appeared in the darkness.

This light, radiating intense heat, expanded thousands of feet, tearing through the darkness. From within the rent void, a blindingly bright desert was revealed.

The next moment, the ghost ship surged directly into this desert formed by the torn netherworld. The instant it pierced through, the ghost ship vanished.

Everyone on board immediately felt a sensation of falling.

"You may open your eyes now," came the voice of Immortal Zixuan, revealing a burning desert.

The desert was ablaze, an endless sea of fire permeating the landscape. A crimson sun in the sky radiated astonishing heat.

The sun here was far clearer and more colossal than any Xu Qing had seen in Yinghuang Province.

It was as if the sun hung directly above this desert.

Or perhaps, this desert was simply the closest region to the sun.

The ghost ship could not exist here, thus it dissipated, causing everyone to fall.

Swiftly, with a wave of Zixuan's hand, a flying boat resembling a cerulean dragon appeared, and everyone quickly entered it.

The next moment, the flying boat defied the scorching sun, navigating through the sea of fire between heaven and earth, advancing rapidly.

As for the ghost ship's other passengers, they each had their own methods. The two sword-wielders took out hat-like artifacts and, instead of ascending, drilled into the earth, disappearing from view.

"This is the final stretch of our journey. After three days of flying through this desert, we will reach the capital of Fenghai County," Immortal Zixuan spoke softly from the flying boat.

Under the blazing sun, Zixuan's voice, like a clear spring, greatly eased everyone's minds.

Xu Qing took a deep breath, a strange light in his eyes. Although the experiences along the way had been brief, they had shown him many more oddities of this world.

This increase in knowledge was something Yinghuang Province could not provide.

The vastness of the world seemed to unfold a corner for him.

And in this desert, foreign races resided.

Half a day later, as the flying boat advanced, areas where the flames on the ground had extinguished appeared. After the flames vanished, a large amount of green smoke diffused from those spots.

This green smoke curled upwards, astonishingly forming vague human-like silhouettes.

Though still blurry, one could roughly discern men, women, old, and young within them.

It was like a tribe, living and going about their daily lives normally.

Especially where the green smoke was dense, the outlines of cities had even formed.

This sight astonished Xu Qing, and most others as well, though the captain seemed unfazed, as if he had seen it all before.

As they watched the smoke-formed tribe, many of the figures made of green smoke looked up at the flying boat in the sky. This scene caused Immortal Zixuan's expression to become solemn. Upon encountering this foreign race for the first time, she drifted out of the flying boat and bowed in mid-air towards the smoke city on the ground.

"Cultivators of the Yinghuang Province escorting our sect's sword-wielders to the county capital request passage through this land. We hope our friends of the Yanmiao Tribe will forgive us," Zixuan said, cupping her fists.

After Zixuan cupped her fists, Xu Qing did the same, and then all the disciples solemnly bowed towards the ground.

Below, the smoke churned, and numerous smoke figures emerged.

They watched the flying boat, seemingly pondering, then quickly returned the gesture of cupped fists, and all remained peaceful.

At this, Immortal Zixuan breathed a sigh of relief.

"The Yanmiao Tribe is the most difficult race we've encountered on this journey. They disregard most sects and clans, but they still hold reverence for the sword-wielders," she explained.

"This tribe is born under the scorching sun and are natural assassins. Their forms can merge with any aura, making them incredibly elusive. If you encounter them in the future, be extra cautious. Do not easily antagonize them; try to foster good relations," Immortal Zixuan admonished.

Xu Qing nodded, gazing at the smoke city on the ground behind them, committing the characteristics of this tribe firmly to memory.

Along the rest of the journey, Xu Qing and his group saw many peculiar races in this desert.

After another day, the desert's color changed. It was no longer yellow-red but slowly crystallized.

This crystallization created reflections, where lights of various colors intertwined. Though dazzling, they were intensely blinding; prolonged exposure could cause blindness if one's cultivation was insufficient.

The flying boat, traversing between heaven and earth, was like a shuttle weaving through a sea of light.

It was at this very moment that Xu Qing saw the two sword-wielders again.

Evidently, this crystallized desert was their destination. Here, amidst the sea of light on the crystallized ground, the two were battling unseen entities. Sword light scattered, sounds reverberated, and waves of magical fluctuations spread outwards.

Beside them, the young foreign girl who had once been on the female sword-wielder's back now had the black bandage removed from her eyes. She was looking up, gazing directly at the sun, which could scorch everything in this place.

Her eyes glowed, filled with an extraordinary strangeness, seemingly able to absorb sunlight.

The more sunlight she absorbed, the brighter her eyes became.

The two tendrils on her forehead swayed, weaving rune after rune that merged into her eyes.

This process clearly could not be interrupted, so the two sword-wielders were protecting her.

The entities attempting to stop her from absorbing sunlight were invisible.

They seemed to be fused with the light itself; one could only discern their presence where the surrounding light circulated more intensely and distorted frequently.

"Those are Light Abominations," Immortal Zixuan slowly said, watching the scene from the flying boat.

"When light gains sentience, it becomes a Light Abomination. They mostly appear in areas with dense sunlight, leaving no actual traces because they are, in essence, light itself. This makes them difficult to deal with and kill. They only dissipate when night falls."

As Zixuan spoke, the two sword-wielders on the ground were clearly at a disadvantage, seemingly having underestimated the task's difficulty, and were now both injured. Xu Qing looked at the captain, and the captain looked at Xu Qing.

"Senior, they once helped us. Your disciple wishes to go down and assist," Xu Qing said, bowing to Immortal Zixuan.

"Do you need my help?" Zixuan asked softly.

"My senior brother and I can manage. If we prove no match, then we will trouble you, Senior," Xu Qing calmly replied. After Zixuan nodded, he swayed and left the flying boat.

The captain coughed. "Actually, Senior, you could intervene now..."

Zixuan glared at the captain, who shrank his head and hastily flew out, following Xu Qing towards the ground. Noticing their arrival, the two sword-wielders in battle showed gratitude in their eyes. The male sword-wielder, whom Xu Qing and his group had met in Yinghuang Province, quickly spoke.

"Thank you, two fellow Daoists. The number of these Light Abominations is greater than what we've encountered in similar missions before. We trouble you both to help us protect this Twilight Tribe child."

Xu Qing nodded, arriving in an instant. The moment he landed, he felt a startling murderous intent surge towards him from within the sea of light before him.

A glint flashed in Xu Qing's eyes. As the poison core in his Third Heavenly Palace vibrated, it released a poisonous suppression that permeated his entire body.

The next moment, a shrill scream echoed from the sea of light ahead. Immediately, a beam of light turned pitch black and rapidly dissipated.

This sight made the two sword-wielders' eyes light up. At the same time, a startling phenomenon occurred on the captain's side: a blue glow flashed around his body, and in an instant, an endless chilling aura spread outwards. This cold was terrifying; wherever it covered, areas of no light, of utter darkness, appeared. It seemed his icy power could freeze light itself, and light could indeed be frozen.

Once frozen, unable to flow or move, the light naturally caused its surroundings to turn pitch black.

It must be said that here, the terrifying extent of the captain's ice power surpassed Xu Qing's.

The addition of the two greatly lightened the burden on the two sword-wielders, and the crisis here quickly began to subside.

The surrounding Light Abominations, sensing the difficulty, dispersed one after another.

"Thank you, two fellow Daoists," said the two sword-wielders, both appearing to be at the Golden Core Three Palaces cultivation stage. Although they were grateful as they looked at Xu Qing and the captain, a sense of caution inevitably remained in their hearts.

This was an instinct.

In this world, without such an instinct, one would surely die young.

The one of the two who had met Xu Qing in Yinghuang Province was now filled with shock.

He had seen prodigies and elites, but these two in front of him, whom he remembered as only Foundation Establishment cultivators back then, had now reached a comparable level to himself. Moreover, judging by their actions, their combat strength was clearly superior.

"We haven't yet thanked you for the treasure you gifted us that day. Consider this our small contribution today," Xu Qing said sincerely, cupping his fists in return.

"Exactly, besides, my junior brother and I are sword-wielders. Of course, we must help when we see such a situation," the captain laughed, revealing his and Xu Qing's identities.

Hearing this, the two sword-wielders' expressions turned serious, and they each took out their command swords.

Xu Qing and the captain also drew theirs. The four command swords shone with brilliant light. Seeing this, the two sword-wielders noticeably relaxed, their caution significantly reduced.

"I am Chen Tinghao, and this is my beloved, Sun Liying. Thank you both for your help this time. My partner and I were a bit careless in taking on this mission."

Chen Tinghao sighed, then took out a jade slip and handed it to Xu Qing.

"We'll share half of the military merit from this mission with you. Please don't refuse; this is how we sword-wielders interact. Great comrades, a gentleman's agreement."

Seeing this, Xu Qing and the captain did not decline. After accepting the jade slip, the four of them chatted while waiting for the Twilight Tribe girl to absorb the sunlight.

Chen Tinghao and his partner learned that Xu Qing and his group were heading to the county capital to report, while Xu Qing and his group understood the other pair's mission this time.

The Twilight Tribe was one of their allies, a rare benevolent race.

Their innate ability allowed them to absorb sunlight with their eyes, after which they would travel to sunless regions to sell their eyeballs.

This time, Chen Tinghao and his partner had received a mission to escort this young girl here to absorb sunlight, as this place had the most concentrated sunlight.

Before long, the girl finished absorbing. She closed her eyes again, and after the black silk band was reapplied, she seemed somewhat weak. Chen Tinghao's partner carried her on her back.

Since they were also returning to the county capital, Chen Tinghao and his partner accepted Xu Qing and the captain's invitation to board the flying boat with them.

On the flying boat, Chen Tinghao and his partner first paid their respects to Immortal Zixuan.

Zixuan welcomed their arrival, expressing her hope that Xu Qing would make more sword-wielder friends before entering the county capital.

However, her cultivation was too high, and her presence would put great pressure on Chen Tinghao and his partner. So, after welcoming them, she returned to the cabin, smiling as she instructed Xu Qing to host them.

With mutual goodwill, their interactions were naturally pleasant.

As the flying boat continued its journey towards the county capital, Chen Tinghao reciprocated their kindness by providing Xu Qing and the captain with a detailed introduction to county capital matters.

"The county capital is the core of Fenghai County. Essentially, every major force from each province has established a branch sect in the county capital. However, they are at the very bottom of the county capital's hierarchy, considered the sixth tier. Above them, forming the fifth tier, are the various government offices of the county system.

Above them are the three major sects and one clan of Fenghai County: the Taixu Demon Transformation Sect, the Primordial Thunder Vein, the Blood Cold Gate, and the Marquis Yao Daoist Manor."

"Among these, the Marquis Yao Daoist Manor is the most special. Its founding ancestor was one of our clan's former thirty-six Heavenly Marquises, bestowed the character 'Dao' by the Mysterious Nether Ancient Emperor. This allowed their clan to continue and be referred to as a Daoist Manor."

Chen Tinghao's voice gradually echoed as the flying boat sped onward.

They were getting closer and closer to the county capital.

"Brother Shen."

"Mm."

As Shen Changqing walked, he encountered acquaintances, exchanging greetings or nods with them.

But no matter who it was.

There was no superfluous expression on anyone's face; they all seemed indifferent to everything.

Regarding this.

Shen Changqing had grown accustomed to it.

This was because he was in the Town Demon Division, an organization responsible for maintaining the stability of Great Qin. Its primary duty was to slay demons and malevolent spirits, though it also had other auxiliary tasks.

It could be said.

Every person in the Town Demon Division had much blood on their hands.

When one grew accustomed to life and death, they would become indifferent to many things.

When he first arrived in this world, Shen Changqing was somewhat unaccustomed, but he grew used to it over time.

The Town Demon Division was vast.

Those who could remain in the Town Demon Division were either powerful masters or individuals with the potential to become masters.

Shen Changqing belonged to the latter category.

The Town Demon Division was divided into two professions: the Demon Suppressor and the Demon Exterminator.

Anyone who entered the Town Demon Division began as a Demon Exterminator, the lowest rank.

They would then gradually ascend, eventually hoping to become a Demon Suppressor.

Shen Changqing's previous self was an apprentice Demon Exterminator in the Town Demon Division, the lowest type of Demon Exterminator.

With the memories of his previous self.

He was also very familiar with the environment of the Town Demon Division.

It didn't take long before Shen Changqing stopped in front of a pavilion.

Unlike other places in the Town Demon Division, which were filled with grimness, this pavilion stood out like a crane among chickens, presenting a different kind of tranquility amidst the bloody Town Demon Division.

The pavilion's main door was open, and people occasionally entered and exited.

Shen Changqing hesitated for only a moment before stepping inside.

Upon entering the pavilion.

The environment suddenly changed.

A scent of ink mixed with a faint smell of blood wafted towards him, causing him to instinctively frown, but then quickly relax.

The scent of blood on everyone in the Town Demon Division was almost impossible to wash away.