Chapter 560: Wind Blowing Fireflies Won't Turn to Ashes

Ten days later.

On the Heavenfire Sea, Xu Qing's figure burst forth from the magma. The fiery glow of the sky reflected on him, making his entire body shimmer. His eyes, in particular, were brilliant.

His cultivation had significantly surpassed its previous level. Among his thirteen Primordial Infants, all except the Golden Crow and Purple Moon had advanced considerably. Although they hadn't reached the peak of the First Tribulation, they were not far from it.

"That mass of Fate Energy is extremely valuable." A profound light flickered in Xu Qing's eyes. He was confident that if he acquired a few more such masses of Fate Energy, all his Primordial Infants would reach the peak of the First Tribulation.

"As expected of a Spiritual Repository cultivator's Fate Energy," Xu Qing muttered to himself, his gaze sharp. "Even in the Dao Cultivation and Enlightenment stage, its profoundness is incomparable to that of a Primordial Infant." His soul injury, too, had finally fully recovered during these ten days of recuperation.

Moreover, he clearly felt that his recovered soul was even more refined than before.

"In that case... after I return and deliver the eyeball, I'll leave this place!" Xu Qing looked down at the Heavenfire Sea below. He knew there were still many secrets hidden within this sea area.

For instance, he hadn't yet explored if there were other sealed lands beneath the sea, or the source of the flames flowing from the sky rift deep within the Heavenfire Sea.

"I won't go for now. More than half a year has passed; I need to meet up with my senior brother as soon as possible."

Xu Qing lowered his gaze to his wrist, where a ring-shaped mark, formed by Ling'er, rested. This was the agreement Xu Qing had made with Ling'er when he left the human city in the mining pit. Given the dangers of the places Xu Qing went to cultivate, Ling'er chose to transform into a mark and fall into a dormant state, which offered greater safety.

Now that the danger had passed, Xu Qing smiled at the thought of returning to the mining pit city and gently tapped the mark. "Ling'er, wake up. We're going back to the mining pit."

The mark flickered a few times, and Ling'er emerged from it, her eyes still hazy from sleep. Upon hearing Xu Qing's words, her eyes brightened, and she instantly became fully awake.

"Are we going back? That's wonderful, Big Brother Xu Qing! Should we stay for a while this time?"

Xu Qing thought for a moment, seeing the anticipation in Ling'er's expression, and nodded. "Then let's stay for half a month."

Ling'er immediately became cheerful, playfully climbing onto Xu Qing's ear, swaying back and forth, and giggling. Listening to her laughter, Xu Qing's mood also lightened.

The tension he had felt underwater gradually subsided. However, Xu Qing remained cautious. He knew the status of humanity in this place and understood that the mining pit must not be exposed. Therefore, as he flew, he paid particular attention to this. Only after ensuring he left no trace did Xu Qing head directly for the mining pit after leaving the Heavenfire Sea.

On the way, he paused once, looking at the ground. In the crevices of the rocks, a small red flower was growing. This tiny flower grew solitarily, swaying in the wind that carried heat waves. This was the first time Xu Qing had seen vegetation in this area. In this region, vegetation struggled to survive under the unique climate. Only specific types of plants would choose to bloom after a Heavenfire event. This small flower was one such example.

It was not ordinary, but a valuable medicinal herb. Master Bai's medicinal handbook described it as the Fire Spirit Flower, growing only in extremely hot places. Xu Qing looked at the Fire Spirit Flower with surprise, descended, picked it, and placed it in a small transparent bottle.

"Pan Yan once asked about this flower," Xu Qing smiled. After putting it away, he continued on his journey.

Maintaining stealth, it took Xu Qing three days to finally spot the mining pit from a distance. Thinking of Duanmu Zang and the disciple he had taken, Xu Qing felt a wave of emotion.

"Unfortunately, I currently have no way to lift the curse," he murmured, "but given some time, I can try more."

Xu Qing murmured inwardly as he walked, but when he was a thousand feet from the abandoned mining pit, his steps suddenly halted. His pupils contracted as he focused intently on the area a thousand feet away. Something there was different from when he had left.

Originally, the mining pit entrance was piled with a large amount of rubble, which had melted under the Heavenfire and solidified into one mass, leaving only a few gaps for entry and exit. But now, the mining pit entrance had collapsed and shattered into pieces. This sight shocked Xu Qing to his core. Ling'er, seeing it from a distance, stopped swaying, her voice trembling slightly.

"Big Brother Xu Qing..."

Vigilance filled Xu Qing's eyes. He moved instantly, rushing towards the pit, covering the thousand-foot distance in just three breaths. The moment he neared the entrance, a strong scent of blood wafted out from within the pit, reaching his nostrils and Ling'er's senses.

Ling'er trembled.

Xu Qing's breath quickened. His cultivation surged, and he rushed forward, stepping into the mining pit. The smell of blood here was even stronger. Waves of emotion churned in Xu Qing's heart. After dashing for dozens of breaths inside, he paused, seeing seven or eight corpses on the ground ahead.

Xu Qing remained silent, walking step by step towards the corpses and looking at them. He recognized them. These were human residents of the city, all guards with some cultivation. Xu Qing closed his eyes, and when he opened them, a cold light gleamed within. He rushed forward again, seeing more and more corpses as he went, until he reached the end, where there was a huge hole in the wall.

Inside the hole, what was once the first layer of the tomb was now a chaotic mess, filled with traces of fierce fighting. And in the center of this layer, it had collapsed downwards, revealing a silent city further below.

The blue sky canopy above had been torn mercilessly into countless pieces, scattered across the city. The white clouds met the same fate. Within the city, hundreds of bodies lay scattered: men, women, and even children. Their deaths were horrific. Some were dismembered, others had half their bodies crushed into pulp, and some were torn into pieces, clearly collapsing due to their fragility during a violent capture.

The joyous laughter that once filled this place was now replaced by deathly silence. The warmth and camaraderie of his memories had now turned into chilling cold. The tomb had indeed become a tomb. Most of the houses had collapsed. The bloodstains, unable to dissipate, mixed with the stench of decay, spreading in all directions.

Ling'er instantly flew out, heading straight for the city. The fish bone where Elder Jin Gang Sect resided also trembled as it sped forward. After rushing into the city, they all stopped there. The next moment, cries erupted from Ling'er, and Elder Jin Gang Sect's form materialized, his eyes bloodshot.

Xu Qing silently approached, looking at the familiar city, at everything he knew. His heart was throbbing with pain, and a resounding roar seemed to echo in his mind. Xu Qing had seen death, seen much of it. But he could not get used to any of it, nor could he get used to this scene. His mind flashed back to the two months he had lived here; each scene in his memory became a source of intense pain.

"Big Brother Xu Qing, they... they..." Ling'er flew over, crying with extreme sorrow. Among the corpses, she saw familiar elder sisters and aunts. She couldn't accept that those who had smiled and taught her to cook just months ago were now broken corpses. Elder Jin Gang Sect instantly returned to Xu Qing, looking at him with anger and pleading in his eyes. He too had seen his audience among those corpses.

Xu Qing's face was devoid of expression, an endless chill emanating from him. Without a word, he carefully observed his surroundings, determining the time of death and other details.

"Over a hundred thousand people, yet fewer than a thousand bodies combined. This indicates that most of them should still be alive. Those who captured them, transporting so many mortals, couldn't have moved very fast. Judging by the degree of decomposition, the time of death should be about five days ago... Given Duanmu Zang's cultivation and the layout of this place, only the Two-Race Alliance here could have found and breached it, and then transported so many humans. The Red Moon Temple has arrived... Duanmu Zang once said that the Temple requires offerings from various races at regular intervals..."

Xu Qing turned, raised his right hand, and with a wave, instantly stored Ling'er and Elder Jin Gang Sect. He then burst out of the pit.

"Big Brother Xu Qing, we..." Ling'er's heart was in turmoil, overwhelmed by sorrow and anxiety.

"We'll find them," Xu Qing said softly, the coldness in his eyes now reaching its peak.

He burst out of the mining pit at top speed, scanning the surroundings for traces. But with five days having passed and the high temperatures permeating the area, all traces were very faint. The only potentially effective direction was the Two-Race holy city. However, this location was far from the holy city, and there wasn't just one path. Furthermore, it was unknown whether the two races would even send the humans to the holy city. Moreover, if Xu Qing's judgment was wrong and it wasn't the two races who did this, then the best time for rescue would be lost.

As Xu Qing pondered, Ling'er wiped away her tears, and a determined voice came from her. "Big Brother Xu Qing, I'll find the traces! This is the Ancient Spirit Race's tomb, and they've lived here for many years, so they're all tainted with the Ancient Spirit Race's aura. I can find them!"

As she spoke, Ling'er's body flickered and she shot into mid-air. Her entire body instantly emitted a colorful light. After encircling her whole form, her body gradually transformed. After taking on a human shape, she continued to change, and soon a tall figure appeared before Xu Qing's eyes. This figure was blurry all over, its specifics unclear, but dragon-snake shadows circled around it, roaring.

"South!" Ling'er's voice was ethereal, echoing in all directions.

Xu Qing did not hesitate. He took Ling'er and headed directly south.

Meanwhile, ten thousand miles south of Xu Qing's location, a long convoy was moving across the land, hovering low above the ground. The convoy consisted of ten massive iron cages, each like a small mountain, pulled by giant beasts. Inside the iron cages, countless humans were densely packed like cargo. Those at the bottom had already died, crushed into pulp, but many more were still alive. However, the living ones had vacant eyes, filled with numbness, preferring death to life, reduced to less than animals.

The ones escorting this convoy were cultivators from the Two-Race Alliance. To ensure that most of these mortals remained alive, they couldn't move quickly, relying solely on this method for transport. As for teleportation, the two races would not pay such a high price just to save a little time.

At this moment, the Two-Race cultivators, tasked with the complex escort, sat on the carriages, their expressions indifferent, occasionally chatting with each other.

"We're almost at the holy city, seven more days."

"This assignment is tough work, but the number of these humans is quite unexpected; there are so many."

"More is good. This way, our offerings, combined with the foreign races obtained from other places, will be sufficient."

As they spoke, several Sky-faced tribe members simply grabbed some human corpses that had died and chewed on them directly. The sounds of flesh and bone being crunched and broken echoed with ferocity in the dim world.