Chapter 3 Rest in Peace...

“This object...” Xu Qing's eyes revealed a strong light, and his mind conjured the image of the intact corpse before he took the purple crystal. “Can it preserve the body intact, can it heal the injuries of the living rapidly?” Xu Qing grasped the purple crystal in his hand, his heart racing as he quickly scanned his surroundings. Although he knew there should be no other living beings in this place, he instinctively felt a sense of vigilance due to acquiring a treasure. At this moment, he did not linger any longer and swiftly rushed straight to the cave where he was hiding. On the way, he vaguely noticed that not only were his injuries healing rapidly, but even the exhaustion of his body seemed to have diminished significantly. In the past, running like this would require him to rest after about half an hour, but now, even after more than half an hour, he felt warm all over and his physical strength still seemed abundant. He even casually caught a fallen bird on his way back. He didn’t kill it but instead knocked it unconscious, for living creatures last longer. Even after doing all this, he still managed to shorten the time it took to return to the cave significantly. With some time left before nightfall, he could already see his cave from afar. Xu Qing's mood improved unprecedentedly, but he did not let his guard down. Because he knew that perhaps due to the awakening of the gods and the initial formation of the forbidden zone, in this area at night, besides the awakening of strange beasts, there would also be some bizarre entities appearing. He had heard people in the slums say that many places with high death counts in the world would form such peculiarities. The laughter heard from outside at night was emitted by such beings. And for these anomalies, it was widely acknowledged that one should not look, touch, or encounter them. Although he had previously experienced that these entities appeared only at night, Xu Qing was not certain whether they might occasionally show up during the day. Therefore, he did not reduce his speed at all, quickly approaching the cave, and with a flash, he slipped in and blocked the crack of the cave. Then he sat cross-legged and opened his tightly clenched palm. The purple light spread from his palm, illuminating the small cave, and under that glow, Xu Qing's face and eyes were also tinted purple. He gazed intently at the purple crystal in his palm. This crystal was long and about the size of his finger, and it seemed to contain some fluffy substance, with the purple light emanating from those fluff-like things. “Healing wounds...” Xu Qing observed for a long time, unbuttoned his shirt to look at the scar on his chest, discovering that the wound had healed by ninety percent. The remaining part seemed that it wouldn't take long to completely heal, and even the surrounding scars were dissipating. Considering how much less exhaustion he felt on his way back, Xu Qing had a preliminary judgment in his heart about this purple crystal. The function of this object was evident: restoration. Restoring injuries, restoring physical strength, restoring vitality! “I wonder if there are any other effects.” Xu Qing murmured, a thoughtful look in his eyes. He did not know whether this purple crystal was related to the gods opening their eyes, but it was highly likely. However, no matter what, this was a supreme treasure, at least Xu Qing had never heard of any item that could possess such incredible restorative power in his entire life. Such an item kept by his side was equivalent to having a second life. But Xu Qing was very clear that the reason he had this item now was because there were no other living beings in this city besides him. Once the blood rain ended and he stepped outside... he feared he would be powerless to protect such treasures. So the only way was to hide this purple crystal... Xu Qing pondered for a while, glanced at the unconscious bird he had caught back, and raised his hand to take it. After pinching its beak to prevent it from making noise, he drew a dagger from his calf and directly opened a wound on the bird's body. As the bird struggled, Xu Qing stuffed the purple crystal inside. He then watched closely without blinking. At first, the bird was still struggling, but soon dark currents began to surge around it. Spiritual energy seemed to be drawn in, and even more than what Xu Qing experienced during his cultivation, it rushed straight into the bird's body. The strength of the bird's struggles instantly increased significantly; Xu Qing's grip seemed to be unable to hold it. This scene made Xu Qing's eyes shine brightly. In the past, he could easily snap the bird's neck with one hand, but at this moment, he had to exert considerable force several times to break it. He quickly retrieved the purple crystal from its body, wiped it clean, and closed his eyes to contemplate. “The bird isn't dead; instead, spiritual energy is flowing in, and its strength has suddenly increased greatly... it should be fine.” After a moment, Xu Qing opened his eyes, decisively stuffed the purple crystal into the wound on his chest that was about to completely heal. The process of insertion was somewhat painful, but Xu Qing gritted his teeth and endured it. There was no place safer than hiding it inside his own body. He had also simply verified that this object seemed to work better when placed inside the body. As the purple crystal merged, as his chest wound healed, before Xu Qing could examine it closely, a roaring sound emanated from within him. A force of spiritual energy, even more powerful than that attracted by the bird earlier, surged from all directions, penetrating through the soil toward him. This spiritual energy was so overwhelming that Xu Qing's body instantly turned a pale green, an indescribable chill spreading throughout him. This was due to the excessive alien substance within the spiritual energy. But Xu Qing was already prepared; without hesitation, he immediately operated the Haishan Technique. As he did, a large amount of alien substance was separated from the spiritual energy pouring into his body. The remaining pure spiritual energy flowed through his meridians, causing Xu Qing's body to emit a series of popping sounds. It was as if some blockages within him had been suddenly opened, and his flesh was nourished and refined at that moment. The phantom of the Xiaoshu he envisioned in his mind seemed to come alive at this moment, assuming various poses on its own. The Haishan Technique, while a cultivation method, was not a method of spiritual practice, but rather a body refining type. It was divided into ten levels, corresponding to the ten levels of the Qi Condensation Stage. The bamboo slips provided a clear introduction to it; each layer could increase a practitioner's strength by one tiger's power, and five tigers equated to one Xiao, while two Xiaos equated to one Kui. It was said that a Xiao could move mountains, and a Kui could part seas, hence the name Haishan Technique. At this moment, the purple crystal buried in his body was like a vortex, continuously sucking in spiritual energy as if it were a downpour. Xu Qing's cultivation speed surged as well. He did not know how much time had passed; the pounding sound within him suddenly intensified, and a vast amount of impurities flowed out through his sweat pores. A foul smell also filled the cave. As the impurities flowed out, Xu Qing's body became noticeably more translucent, and the face that had been covered in grime now appeared increasingly handsome. After a while, as the sounds within him and the influx of spiritual energy gradually diminished, Xu Qing's eyes suddenly widened. A flash of purple light flickered in his gaze. After returning to normal, Xu Qing stood there momentarily in a daze. The dark cave, at this moment, appeared somewhat clearer in his eyes. He quickly looked down at himself, his expression gradually revealing disbelief. “This feeling...” Xu Qing's expression carried a hint of excitement as he stood up and threw a punch, which surprisingly generated a sharp wind sound. Due to the cave being small, he couldn't test his speed, but the sensation of lifting his leg and throwing punches made him realize that he had achieved an astounding improvement in every aspect compared to before. He immediately rolled up his left sleeve. Upon seeing a black spot the size of a fingernail appear on his forearm, Xu Qing took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement bubbling within him. “So this is the first level of Qi Condensation!” This black spot, according to the description on the bamboo slips, was an alienation point; the alienation point of the Haishan Technique was on the left arm, adding one for each layer. Touching the alienation point on his arm, Xu Qing felt more invigorated by the evident power he had gained. He glanced up at the gap's entrance, pondering to test his speed when dawn arrived. However, Xu Qing soon showed an expression of suspicion, moving closer to the entrance to listen carefully. Outside, it was still pitch black, yet there wasn't a single unusual sound. This was something he had never encountered during his days here. Even when dawn arrived before, although the strange beasts and eerie sounds had ceased, the sound of rain was always present. But now, even the sound of rain had disappeared. “Could it be...” Xu Qing's heart jolted as a guess surfaced in his mind. He silently waited until a brilliant beam of light shone through the cave's entrance, illuminating Xu Qing's dark eyes, as if it had lit up his world. At the moment he saw the light, Xu Qing's body noticeably trembled. He raised his hand, slowly approaching that ray of sunlight, placing it in his palm. The long-lost warmth gradually awakened his slumbering spirit. “Sunlight...” After a while, Xu Qing's eyes shone with brightness as he cleared away the debris blocking the gap. As more beams of light embraced him, he slowly crawled out. The moment he stepped out from the exit, he raised his head and saw not the dense, dark clouds, but a bright, brilliant sun. It was as if an elderly man in the morning light, after being ill for many days, had revived, gently unfurling the curtain to bring freshness back to the world. “The rain has stopped.” Xu Qing took a deep breath of air infused with sunlight, silently gazing at the city shrouded in the dawn glow. Everything within the city, under the dazzling red sun, seemed to radiate a different kind of brilliance. The vivid red dawn in the sky shone down from the gaps in the clouds, like countless whales spouting golden waterfalls, washing away the city's gloomy mist bit by bit, revealing mottled scars. Those collapsed houses, those dark blue corpses, and those horrifying pools of blood seemed to remind Xu Qing of the catastrophe that had occurred here. A complex expression emerged in Xu Qing's eyes. He had lived in the slums outside the city for six years, and he had watched this city for six years as well. Although he hadn't entered many times, this place was where he had yearned to live the most in those six years. “I obtained the cultivation method here.” “I received the purple crystal here.” “I survived here...” Xu Qing murmured silently. After a while, he sighed softly and walked to a dark blue corpse nearby, bending down to carry it on his back as he walked forward. He walked all the way to a nearby square before placing the corpse down, then turned to carry the second, third, and fourth corpses... Some were scattered in the streets, while others were trapped under the ruins. Until he had carried all the corpses in this nearby area to the square, the remains were stacked like a mountain, some intact and some incomplete. Xu Qing stood there, igniting a fire. Perhaps due to the alien substance, the flames burned increasingly fiercely, billowing thick smoke... Within that thick smoke, Xu Qing gazed for a long time, silently walking away to the second area, and soon, another plume of thick smoke rose, more and more... Thus, on the first day the sunlight reached this ruined city, besides the light, there was also the black smoke from cremated corpses. This black smoke rose into the sky, obscuring the sunlight, and the dawn at this moment became filled with helplessness, turning crimson, as if it hid deep sighs. It seemed that those plumes of thick smoke became its tears, while the shadows formed on the ground appeared to be the earth's traces of sorrow. The last trace of tears was where Xu Qing discovered the purple light. There, Xu Qing placed down the corpse of the elderly medicine vendor, and as the flames of the pile consumed the corpses, the heat waves brushed against him. He silently stood by the fire, the rolling flames reflected in his dark pupils, continuously swaying. His disheveled long hair curled due to the spreading heat waves. After a moment, Xu Qing's body also bent, and he bowed his head in respect. “May you... rest in peace.” At that moment, the flames suddenly flared up, growing more intense, emitting countless sparks like dandelions that scattered with the wind. However, the rising thick smoke still carried the unwillingness and regrets of the deceased that could not be dissolved, which the wind could not disperse. Rising higher and higher, like a few scars in the sky. Insignificant, filled with helplessness. ...... After a long time, accompanied by the sound of chaotic footsteps, a strange voice suddenly came from a distance behind the young man. “I wondered why I hadn't seen any corpses along the way, turns out there's such a foolish kid, unwilling to expend his own strength, actually moving the corpses here for cremation.” “Well, since you are so attached, I might as well help you and throw you in to accompany them.” Xu Qing suddenly turned around. (End of this chapter)