Chapter 134: Bells Arouse Notice in the Mountain
In the chaotic world that existed after the arrival of the god’s broken face, the majority of cultivators were in the Qi Condensation level. Relatively few ever reached Foundation Establishment. Because of that, outside of cities, they were rare. And only big sects like Seven Blood Eyes would have Foundation Establishment in numbers. It was only natural that Xu Qing’s arrival would cause something of a commotion. As the guards offered respectful greetings, and before Xu Qing could even make his way toward the teleportation portal, powerful fluctuations rolled out from the direction of the city magistrate’s manor.
Frowning, Xu Qing looked in that direction, his eyes cold.
A beam of light appeared, shooting in his direction and coming to a stop about nine meters away from him in the form of an extravagantly dressed middle-aged man. He was handsome, and pulsed with Foundation Establishment dharma force as he sized up Xu Qing.
Meanwhile, Xu Qing glanced at his throat and simultaneously tried to judge how many dharma apertures he had opened.
“Can I help you, Fellow Daoist? I’m Zhou Hengli from the Zhou Clan in Violet Lands. I was appointed as city magistrate to run this city, which is jointly owned by Violet Lands, Seven Blood Eyes, and the Church of Departure.”
“I’m just passing through for teleportation,” Xu Qing said tranquilly. He could sense that this man didn’t have many dharma apertures open, and thus didn’t have a life flame.
Zhou Hengli hovered in the air, his expression nothing out of the ordinary. However, inside he was fully on guard, as he could sense a very strong baleful aura from this sallow-faced cultivator. Obviously, he had killed many people. However, it was hard to tell where he was from, and thus, Zhou Hengli didn’t take the situation lightly. Especially noteworthy was how his hair stood on end when the young man looked at his throat. Most shocking of all was that he couldn’t tell if this cultivator had a life flame.
“After you!” Zhou Hengli said, feeling shaken but trying not to show it. Turning, he gestured toward the teleportation portal and barked some orders.
Immediately, everyone on the street moved to the side to make room for Xu Qing, leaving a path that led straight to the portal.
Xu Qing’s expression remained the same as ever. He could sense that the city magistrate wasn’t very happy to have him in the city, and wanted him to leave as quickly as possible. What was more, Xu Qing could sense other powerful fluctuations in the city. They didn’t come from a cultivator, but from a spell formation that was just being activated.
This was an ordinary reaction as far as Xu Qing was concerned. This was a city in the middle of the wilderness, so it made sense that they would be wary of a random Foundation Establishment cultivator who showed up out of nowhere.
Xu Qing nodded. Then, instead of walking, he flew through the city toward the teleportation portal, kicking up a strong wind as he did, which sent dust flying everywhere.
Pupils constricting, Zhou Hengli quickly followed.
When Xu Qing arrived at the teleportation portal, he saw that it had already been cleared for his use. There were no random people present, only the handful of guards that operated the portal, who trembled and bowed to him in greeting.
“Well met, Senior. The teleportation portal is ready. Sir, where would you like to go?”
Xu Qing looked at them, and then at the city magistrate, who was obviously trying to look casual but was fully on guard. It really gave Xu Qing a sense of what it meant to be a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Walking up to the portal, he said, “The capital city of Seven Blood Eyes.”
The guards voiced acknowledgement, made some adjustments to the formation, and then after triple checking to make sure everything was in order, backed away thirty or so meters.
Xu Qing looked at the teleportation portal. He wasn’t intimately familiar with the workings of spell formations, but he had learned a bit. After examining it, he stepped onto the portal, whereupon the formation started shining with bright light.
After he vanished, Zhou Hengli breathed a sigh of relief. He was in Foundation Establishment, but he had no interest in provoking someone with such a powerful baleful aura.
Seven Blood Eyes doesn’t permit outside Foundation Establishment cultivators to enter their capital city. But that’s where he’s going. I’d say it’s unlikely he’s a criminal. So does that mean he’s a Seven Blood Eyes Foundation Establishment cultivator?
Scratching his neck, Zhou Hengli decided not to think about it. As far as he was concerned, all outside Foundation Establishment cultivators were dangerous. If such a person had a life flame and could enter the profound radiance state, they could take his life in an instant. Therefore, all he wanted to do with such people was escort them on their way as quickly as possible.
If conflict erupted with a person like that, given how far away he was in the wilderness, away from his clan, he would be dead long before his clan had any idea what was happening.
***
In the eastern part of the continent of South Phoenix, where the Mountains of Truth connected to the sea, there were seven huge blood-red eyes that looked down on a bustling city. In the city center there was a teleportation portal, where Xu Qing stepped out of the glittering light.
The moment he appeared, and before he could even look around, his expression flickered. He could sense powerful fluctuations filling the city, and in the blink of an eye, they were converging on him. They didn’t do anything, but they remained around him, as if they were monitoring him. Xu Qing knew what was happening. This was the Seven Blood Eyes Grand Formation at work.
It had never behaved like this in the past when he returned to the sect. But things were different now that he was in Foundation Establishment. Now he had a better understanding of why outside Foundation Establishment cultivators wouldn’t blithely enter Seven Blood Eyes.
From the perspective of the spell formation, the fact that he was in Foundation Establishment was more important than him being a disciple. So though it recognized him as a disciple, until he went to the Seventh Peak to register his cultivation base, the spell formation would continue to monitor him closely.
Taking a deep breath, he calmly walked off the teleportation portal. The fact that he was being monitored by the spell formation was not something other cultivators or ordinary citizens would notice. After leaving, he changed into the standard gray daoist robe. He had learned his lesson after Sealizard Island, and upon returning, had bought several gray robes as spares. As he walked down the street, he tested out whether hiding his cultivation base would prevent the spell formation from locking onto him. It didn’t, which gave him an even deeper understanding of the spell formation.
I wonder if it would work if I used my shadow.
After some thought, he decided not to do any experiments. For the time being, it wasn’t necessary, and besides, could theoretically be dangerous.
I guess it’s time to go up the Seventh Peak.
Looking at the distant Seventh Peak, he started walking.
As he passed the various shops, the cold and detached pedestrians, and the occasional gray-robed disciples, he thought back to everything that he’d done in Seven Blood Eyes. It caused him to sigh inwardly. At the same time, he was full of anticipation at the idea of getting his share of the sect’s profits in the form of 5,000 spirit stones a month.
Just as he was about to start walking faster toward the Seventh Peak, he noticed a familiar face.
This person immediately attracted the attention of the common citizens, who looked at him in awe. Some of the nearby Offpeak disciples stared at him with open envy. He was a young man in a pale violet daoist robe. Of course, the color of his robe indicated how important he was. Coupled with his handsome features and his powerful cultivation base fluctuations, he seemed like the child of a god descended into the mortal world. He was none other than Zhao Zhongheng.
Xu Qing saw him.
He saw Xu Qing.
Before, Zhao Zhongheng would have ducked his head and walked in the other direction without saying a word to Xu Qing. But today, he snorted coldly, waved his hand, and pointed toward the dome of heaven. All of a sudden, a Forbidden Sea dragonwhale appeared above him, roaring briefly before vanishing.
The scene caused a commotion in the area, with many of the Offpeak disciples cheering loudly.
Looking extremely pleased with himself, Zhao Zhongheng faced the expressionless Xu Qing.
“I also cultivated a Forbidden Sea dragonwhale!” he said proudly.
Xu Qing showed no reaction whatsoever. Not wanting to waste time on Zhao Zhongheng, he just kept walking toward the Seventh Peak.
Zhao Zhongheng frowned. He was a bit irritated that Xu Qing didn’t react with shock to his dragonwhale. However, he hadn’t forgotten everything that happened when they met out on the open sea. And therefore, he just bit his tongue, stowed any thoughts of showing off, and headed toward the Seventh Peak. He had come off the peak today to pick up a phoenix hairpin he’d had custom made for Elder Sister Ding, and now he planned to give it to her. As he went further south in the city, he eventually neared the gate that led to the seven peaks. Because that was the only thing in this part of the city, there weren’t a lot of pedestrians. And that was when a look of surprise appeared on his face as he realized Xu Qing was still ahead of him.
At this point, he realized that Xu Qing must be planning to go to the peaks. Of course, Zhao Zhongheng was curious about this, but being as proud as he was, he didn’t ask for details. Sometime later, they were getting close to the stairs that led up the Seventh Peak. When they were about 300 meters away, he finally couldn’t hold back any longer.
Hurrying to catch up, he asked, “Where are you going, Xu Qing?”
“Up the peak,” Xu Qing replied with a slight frown.
Zhao Zhongheng looked Xu Qing up and down, and didn’t notice any unusual fluctuations coming from him to indicate he was stronger than before. What was more, he didn’t see anyone waiting to receive Xu Qing. Snorting coldly, he said, “Up the peak? Gray-robed disciples can’t go up the peak unless they’ve been invited. And even if they have been invited, they have to wait to be escorted up! Only conclave disciples can go up without an escort!”
Xu Qing ignored Zhao Zhongheng and kept walking toward the stairs.
Seeing this, Zhao Zhongheng laughed coldly. “Offpeak disciples are prohibited from going up the peak, Xu Qing. If you step onto that staircase, the spell formation will activate. Xu Qing, if you keep walking you—”
Before he could finish speaking, Xu Qing calmly placed his foot onto the first step on the staircase. The moment his foot touched the step, it suddenly blurred, as though some invisible force were gathering there to confirm something about him. Xu Qing looked up toward the top of the peak and simultaneously released the power of his cultivation base. A Foundation Establishment aura erupted out, causing the tolling of bells to echo out from the top of the Seventh Peak.
As the melodious sound filled the air, Xu Qing started walking up the stairs. Behind him, Zhao Zhongheng staggered backward under the force of the Foundation Establishment aura, trembling, his face pale and his eyes nearly popping out of his skull.
“F-F... Found... Foundation Establishment!”