Chapter 101: If You’re Doomed, You’re Doomed
Xu Qing had no way of knowing that Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior was moaning and sighing in his sect headquarters. Back in the scavenger basecamp, he bought a small residence so he would have a place to rest when needed. In scavenger basecamps, newcomers usually had to go through certain formalities before being allowed to take up residence. But if you were strong enough, those rules didn’t apply.
All Xu Qing had to do was show off the spirit power of the third level of Qi Condensation, and he had a new log cabin. Because of showing off the fact that he could easily afford something like that, he immediately attracted the attention of two scavengers with malicious intentions.
Before long, their severed heads were hanging outside his door.
After that, Xu Qing was accepted as a member of the camp. Days began to pass. A few people paid attention to him at first, but his behavior was exactly the same as the average scavenger, so he quickly blended in.
He would kill people who provoked him. He would go on missions. He would buy white boluses. And he prowled the camp with an instinctive vigilance and caution that made it so no one doubted that he was anything other than a random scavenger.
It didn’t take long before people didn’t even think of him as being a newcomer. After all, the wilderness was full of scavengers, and it wasn’t unusual for them to eventually come look for a residence after a long period of wandering.
Of course, Xu Qing would slip out of the camp to go study the Golden Vajra Warrior Sect and the area around it. And he would occasionally see disciples make the trip from the sect to the basecamp to spend their time off.
Xu Qing recognized some of those disciples from when he’d attacked their previous sect headquarters, poisoned everything, and set the place on fire. They walked around the camp looking haughty and arrogant. But within their eyes was a deep sense of hesitation and helplessness that Xu Qing picked up on.
As more time passed, Xu Qing got more first-hand information about the sect moving into the area, as the event had not gone unnoticed by the local scavengers.
After about half a month, Xu Qing had a fairly good understanding of the whole situation.
There aren’t even a hundred people left in the sect. Only four of the original seven elders remain. The sect leader is still around. That means that Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior only has four experts among his subordinates. This area is controlled by the Church of Departure, which is why he came here. To seek refuge with the Church....
Xu Qing was being patient. He might have impressive battle prowess, but he was dealing with a Foundation Establishment enemy. If they ended up fighting, he could probably win, but it would be a long, hard fight.
Therefore, Xu Qing was as cautious as usual. He took time to analyze all the bits of information he’d uncovered, and didn’t take any action. Another half a month passed. One night when shadowing two disciples on their way back to the sect, he overheard a conversation that provided some very interesting information.
“The patriarch is really blowing all of this out of proportion. Whenever he has guests, he makes us disciples leave the sect every three or four days to ‘accidentally’ spread rumors about the sect. But... what’s the point?”
“Exactly. It’s been half a year since we saw the Kid! Ai. I really can’t believe the patriarch is constantly inviting so many friends to the sect. When one leaves, barely a few days pass before another guest arrives. Furthermore, we’re being too obvious about spreading these rumors.”
“Well, there’s nothing we can do.... We can’t dare ignore the patriarch’s orders.”
When the disciples were just about to reach the sect, Xu Qing quietly made his way back to the basecamp feeling the need to be more cautious than ever. After that, he was more attentive in his observations.
One evening as he was staking out the sect headquarters, he saw a bright beam of light shooting from the top of the mountain and off into the distance. Just barely, he could make out someone on top of the mountain, seeing the guest off.
Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed, then he hurried back to the basecamp to organize his weapons and poisons. Then he looked up at the sky to check the time, and started waiting.
***
At the grand hall at the very top of the Golden Vajra Warrior Sect, the patriarch watched his guest leave, then sighed. He could only persuade guests to stay for so long. Turning back toward the hall, he started thinking about who to invite next.
It won’t be long before that pill is done. I’ll consume it immediately and open my 30th dharma aperture. Once I have my first life flame, and can enter the profound radiance state... then I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
The patriarch disappeared into the hall.
***
As the glow of dusk turned darker and darker, a cold wind whimpered through the scavenger basecamp, slowly growing stronger and stronger.
The dirt ground was already frozen hard, so there was no dust to be kicked up. But there was trash, tumbling along the streets. And the cold wind eventually landed on the huddled forms of some of the children who resided in the camp.
It was like a sharp blade, trying to slice apart everything it encountered.
Eventually, snow started to fall, blanketing the Crimson Wilds for as far as the eye could see.
The later it got, the harder the snow fell. The snowflakes became like goose feathers piling up everywhere. The camp residents who didn’t have shelter could only shiver, their eyes looking numb and dead. It seemed that this winter was going to be a cold one, and that meant more people would freeze to death.
Meanwhile, Xu Qing had made all his preparations, so he walked out of the log cabin.
Upon seeing all the snow, and feeling the cold wind, he wrapped his clothing a bit tighter around himself. He saw some shivering children nearby, thought for a moment, then continued walking. He didn’t shut the door behind him. There was a fire in his cabin, making it a lot warmer than the outside. When the children noticed the open door, their dead eyes suddenly flickered with a bit of hope.
Xu Qing walked faster and faster in the snow, until eventually he merged with the wind, becoming a string of afterimages that headed straight toward the Golden Vajra Warrior Sect. The energy and blood within him boiled, and he kept the Seaforming Scripture operating at a maximum level. Violet light flowed through him, converging above his head in the very vague shape of a heavenly saber.
Soon he arrived at the sect, and looked up at the headquarters framed by falling snow. Moonlight fell, refracted by the snow, causing the sect headquarters to be illuminated clearly.
Seeing it, Xu Qing’s eyes burned with killing intent. Without any hesitation, he jumped off the ground. The flight talisman glittered like the light of a saber as he shot up through the snow toward the hall atop the mountain. He moved faster and faster, and within a short moment, was standing outside the hall.
Without the slightest hesitation, he lifted his right hand, then chopped it down toward the hall.
Rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth as a huge heavenly blade took full form in the sky above him. The wind and snow were strong, but they didn’t cause the blade to waver by even the smallest fraction. Violet light shone everywhere as the heavenly blade chopped down.
From a distance, it was possible to see that the blade was dozens of meters long. Even more shocking was the mad grandeur of the blade as it descended, as if it could sever anything that it touched. In the blink of an eye, it landed on the hall, and a massive boom shook the entire mountain. The hall couldn’t stand up to even a single attack, and began to crumble. Then the light of the blade slashed into it, cutting the entire hall in half.
Within the gap was Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior, staggering backward with shock in his eyes. He saw Xu Qing hovering in the air, but before any words could be spoken, Xu Qing unleashed a second saber attack!
Along with his increase in cultivation base, Xu Qing’s enlightenment of the saber attack from the temple had improved, and he could unleash it more times in a row. Furthermore, he had been stockpiling energy over the past month, and didn’t hesitate to tap into it. As soon as the second heavenly saber appeared, he slashed it down toward Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior.
The violet saber descended amidst deafening rumbling sounds, and the patriarch howled and prepared to meet the second attack.
This time, the hall entirely collapsed. Meanwhile, the furious patriarch’s energy and blood were also boiling. Shooting backward 300 meters, he waved his hand to summon the projection of a golden vajra warrior, surging with immense energy. That said, his hair was disheveled and his eyes were bloodshot. It was obvious that Xu Qing’s two saber attacks had put him in extreme danger.
The patriarch was actually a bit confused about what was happening. And he almost couldn’t believe he was dealing with someone this powerful. Of course, he had his suspicions. Hoping to get some more information, he said, “Fellow Daoist, you—”
Before he could finish speaking, his face fell, and he tried to lurch backward. However, he was too slow. A shadow had been stretching out across the ground right toward him. Though he moved fast, it wasn’t fast enough to stop the shadow from touching his arm. Instantly, mutagen exploded into him, turning his arm greenish-black, and causing his heart to fill with alarm.
Up in the air, Xu Qing looked down coldly at the patriarch. And without saying a single word, he tapped into his stored energy to unleash a third saber strike. Violet light erupted, and the saber appeared, slashing through wind and snow right toward the patriarch, who was only just starting to fall back.
The patriarch’s summoned vajra warrior howled, throwing out both hands to block the attack. A boom rang out as the vajra warrior’s arms collapsed, and blood oozed out of the patriarch’s mouth as he staggered away.
In the end, though, he was a Foundation Establishment cultivator. He didn’t have the techniques of a big sect, but Foundation Establishment was still Foundation Establishment. He had incredible battle prowess, and thus, the ambush with the saber and the shadow had only wounded him. Eyes bloodshot, he looked at Xu Qing, gritted his teeth, and said, “It’s you, isn’t it, Kid?”
Astonished, the sect disciples, elders, and even the sect leader charged out and looked up into the sky.
They saw Xu Qing up above, his hair floating around him. His scavenger outfit only made him seem more deadly. With the moon, the wind, and the snow around him, he looked like someone from the underworld, ready to take command over life and death.