Chapter 41: Spiteful Revenge

The arrival of the damaged divine face, like a sudden spring thunder, disrupted the natural growth of all things, compelling them to adapt.

This change made the world cruel and cold.

The formation of the forbidden zone brought this coldness to its extreme. Yet, at this moment, as Xu Qing gazed at the white-clad figure receding into the distance, he suddenly recalled something Captain Lei had once told him.

"Do you know why I offered to take you with me twice in the city ruins?"

"Because I saw you cremating the corpses. Standing by the flames, illuminated by the firelight, you seemed to merge with the fire, and it was as if I saw... a shred of warmth in this cruel world."

Xu Qing stood in silence.

At this moment, just like Captain Lei had once felt, Xu Qing also sensed a shred of warmth.

It came from the white-gowned faceless woman, from the many faces on her body that smiled and thanked him.

It came from... humanity, something even this cruel world could not take away.

After a long while, Xu Qing bowed deeply once more.

He then turned and raced towards the distant city wall.

Perhaps he had thrown too many black pills earlier, making the foreign matter in the City Lord's Mansion area incredibly dense, pushing it past its critical point. Like a flame in the dark night, it drew countless gazes and attention.

Or perhaps it was the karmic connection between him and this city.

Thus, Xu Qing, who was racing away, encountered little danger and reached the city wall without incident.

Standing there, Xu Qing looked back at the city shrouded in darkness. Roars and shrill cries echoed faintly in his ears as he gazed silently for a long moment.

"I wonder when I'll return next..." Xu Qing murmured, gazing once more at the city in the darkness before turning, leaping off the city wall, and racing away into the night.

To increase his speed, he took out the flying talisman he had acquired. After sticking it to his leg, a surge of spiritual energy within him ignited, and his speed exploded, lifting him directly into the air.

He whistled away through the air.

The wind on his face made Xu Qing slightly uncomfortable. This sudden burst of speed and the act of flying took him a long time to get used to, especially since it was his first time flying in his life.

The sensation of soaring through the sky, looking down at the earth, and feeling the world beneath his feet left Xu Qing somewhat dazed.

He felt as though he had become one of the surviving birds, spreading its wings in the sky under the gaze of the gods.

"So this is what it feels like for birds to fly," Xu Qing murmured, striving to control his body.

With his Sea Mountain Art now at the seventh level, his body was perfectly under his control, so Xu Qing quickly grew accustomed to this airborne state.

He further enhanced his speed by combining it with his innate swiftness and strength, occasionally touching down to forcefully push off, and punching backward in mid-air to accelerate.

From a distance, he looked like a long rainbow, swiftly streaking through the air of the forbidden zone.

While others would have to worry about the influx of foreign matter, Xu Qing had no such concern, allowing him to continuously increase his speed.

Before long, he saw the boundary of the forbidden zone in the distance. With a single surge, he burst right out of it.

The moment he reached the outside world, a warm breeze blew upon him, dispelling the chill of the forbidden zone.

Standing in mid-air, Xu Qing remained silent. He looked up towards Deer Horn City, then turned his head to survey another direction.

Half a year living in the scavenger camp had taught Xu Qing a great deal. He had come to understand the area he lived in, learning the names and locations of many nearby cities, including the Vajra Sect's mountain gate.

Although it wasn't daylight yet, the land wasn't completely dark under the moonlight, and the undulating mountains in the distance were faintly visible.

Xu Qing, standing in mid-air, shifted his gaze several times between the direction of Deer Horn City and the Vajra Sect.

"I'm not willing to let it go," Xu Qing murmured.

He didn't know what fate awaited the Vajra Sect Ancestor, now trapped in the ruined city.

But Xu Qing believed it was highly probable the ancestor would not perish, though severe injury and a humiliating state were inevitable, and a swift escape was unlikely.

As for himself, if he were to head to Deer Horn City now, everything should proceed smoothly, but he felt deeply uncomfortable just leaving things as they were.

So after a few moments of silence, a cold glint appeared in the youth's eyes. His body swayed as his speed fully erupted, and amidst the intense fluctuations from the flying talisman, he shot straight towards... the Vajra Sect.

Xu Qing did not choose to head directly to Deer Horn City; he was going to make a trip to the Vajra Sect.

He planned to take advantage of the Vajra Sect Ancestor being trapped and two elders dead, while the entire sect was in an unprecedented state of weakness, to properly repay them for their pursuit.

This was Xu Qing's nature.

If it were anyone else, their first choice at this moment would likely have been to leave. But Xu Qing's life experiences had taught him that hidden dangers must be eliminated.

Even if a hidden danger was beyond his immediate power to resolve and couldn't be eliminated quickly, he had to make the opponent suffer as much as possible.

Only then could this pain, to a certain degree, become a deterrent.

This was the law of survival in the slums, and also the law of scavengers. As for whether it was the law of this chaotic world, Xu Qing didn't know, but it was his law.

Having killed two elders, Xu Qing still felt the deterrence wasn't enough.

As he raced on, Xu Qing continuously drew closer to the Vajra Sect. Until the first sun rose into the sky and sunlight spilled across the land, Xu Qing saw his destination in the distance.

The Vajra Sect's mountain gate!

The Vajra Sect was built upon a mountain peak, with buildings encircling its slopes. The main hall at the summit seemed to radiate brilliance under the sunlight, appearing extraordinarily grand from a distance.

However, most of the sect's cultivators were currently out on a search and had not returned. Consequently, there weren't many disciples left guarding the mountain gate, and only occasional figures could be seen in the early morning.

Their expressions carried arrogance, as if merely being there signified supreme status. By the arched bridge of the mountain gate, three or five disciples were chatting and laughing.

Their conversations mostly revolved around the Ancestor's recent trip to search for a child, and their words more often than not revealed a belief that the Ancestor was making a mountain out of a molehill.

Still others were cultivating, sitting cross-legged and practicing breathing techniques in their respective residences.

Meanwhile, the Vajra Sect Master sat in the main hall, calmly flipping through an account book that recorded tributes from nearby cities and camps.

In his heart, just like the disciples outside, he was somewhat unconcerned about the Ancestor's absence.

"Just a scavenger. Even if he has some ability, two elders are enough to suppress him. There's really no need for the Ancestor to personally intervene; it's practically emptying out the sect."

The Vajra Sect Master shook his head, secretly thinking there was nothing to be done; no one dared to defy the Ancestor's words.

And just as the entire sect was in a state of idleness, Xu Qing, high in the sky and unnoticed by anyone, looked down with a cold gaze.

He first assessed the wind's direction, then circled around to the downwind area, gauging the wind speed and the distance it would spread.

He finally chose a position, and giving the Vajra Sect cultivators no chance to react, he took out a large amount of poison powder and scattered it handful by handful, his face devoid of expression.

Xu Qing had a large quantity of poison powder on him, and at this moment, he used eighty percent of it.

Such a large amount of mixed poison powder possessed astonishing toxicity. It now drifted on the wind towards the Vajra Sect.

Xu Qing did not act immediately; he was waiting.

Time passed. Because of the sheer quantity of poison powder, as it spread on the wind, the sky slowly appeared to be dyed, faintly turning into a black haze. At that moment, a cold glint flashed in Xu Qing's eyes.

"That should be enough."

The appearance of this black haze quickly drew the attention of the Vajra Sect cultivators.

The first to see it were the disciples chatting by the mountain gate. They looked up in surprise, gazing at the black haze, and were all stunned.

"What is that?"

But the next instant, when a wisp of the black haze drifted past a distant tree, causing it to instantly wither, the expressions of these disciples drastically changed.

"Poison!"

As the cry of alarm spread, the disciples within the sect who witnessed this scene were all shaken. Figures rapidly emerged from the sect, their expressions changing as they prepared to cast spells to disperse the poisonous haze.

But just then, Xu Qing's figure suddenly shot out from the sky. His speed was like a flash of lightning, leaving a trail of thunder as he hurtled straight towards the Vajra Sect's mountain gate.

From afar, his figure was like a heavenly thunderbolt descending upon the world, directly plunging into the Vajra Sect.

Amidst the shock and anger of the Vajra Sect cultivators and the echoing warning bells of the entire sect, a roar reverberated everywhere as Xu Qing abruptly landed.

His landing spot was precisely at the mid-level of the Vajra Sect's mountain.

A loud bang erupted from the ground, and cracks spread outwards. From within, Xu Qing abruptly looked up, his eyes blazing with intense killing intent, and charged directly towards the many Vajra Sect cultivators in front of him, whose faces were filled with horror!

A massive roar erupted.

Xu Qing's attacks were swift and his speed astonishing. Wherever he passed, anyone he touched would certainly let out a scream, and bodies lay scattered.

Even though there weren't many disciples within the Vajra Sect, there were still a good number of them.

So very soon, amidst roars, figures converged from all directions, heading straight for Xu Qing.

"Enemy attack!"

"Damn it, someone dares to attack our Vajra Sect!"

"Kill!"

At this moment, the Vajra Sect Master in the main hall immediately noticed the commotion. He hurried out in shock and anger, witnessing the turmoil within the sect and, more importantly, the spreading poisonous haze.

"All disciples, immediately take your antidote pills and cast spells to dispel the poisonous haze!" His expression suddenly changed as he quickly issued orders to the sect.

At the same time, he locked onto the source of the roar from the mid-level of the mountain, his eyes filled with a cold glare, and immediately rushed towards it.

However, Xu Qing's actions were incredibly swift. He did not get entangled with the Vajra Sect disciples but moved around, waving his hand and throwing out black pills one by one.

Some of these black pills landed, others remained in mid-air, but they all exploded simultaneously, forming vortices that attracted foreign matter. The omnipresent foreign matter floating between heaven and earth seemed to come alive, instantly drawn in.

"Foreign matter!" The Vajra Sect disciples trying to rush forward from all sides paled as they realized what was happening, instinctively retreating. However, a few were still at the center of the vortex, and under the dense foreign matter, their bodies quickly turned greenish-black.

"How dare you!" A furious roar erupted from the direction of the main hall on the mountaintop, and the Vajra Sect Master suddenly arrived.

His cultivation, at the Great Perfection of Qi Condensation, surpassed that of the elders Xu Qing had killed. This was the second strongest individual in the Vajra Sect, apart from the Ancestor.

At this moment, his golden robe billowed, his face was gloomy, and his eyes held intense killing intent. But after seeing Xu Qing's scavenger attire and young age, his entire body trembled.

"It's you!" He didn't need to guess; the answer was already in his heart.

And the moment this answer emerged, a great wave surged in the Vajra Sect Master's heart.