Chapter 87: Do Not Speak Words That Harm Unity

What did you find? Gu Changqing glanced at the two bundles, each about half a person’s size, carried by Xu Jin and Wei Guojiang.

“We found a few wealthy households, some books, some blades and weapons, plus medicinal herbs and drugs, and things that looked like materials taken from beasts,” Wei Guojiang said, opening the bundle to reveal a great heap of items.

He picked up one of them with a suggestive smile. “Looks like some kind of whip.”

“You sure about that?” Gu Changqing laughed.

A little later, Ning Ze and Pei Yuntai also returned. They had brought back far less, though each was burdened with several sabers.

Ning Ze tossed a case to Gu Changqing. “We found a place like a martial hall and picked up a few martial arts manuals. They’re worth quite a bit.”

Gu Changqing caught the case and opened it. Inside was a silk booklet titled Imperial Extremes Fist.

His interest instantly piqued, he took it out and flipped through it. It contained a six-move fist art, broad and ferocious, all sweeping power and overwhelming force.

Mountain-Splitting Fist was centered on fist intent and had no elaborate forms. Once cultivated to a higher level, a single punch could shatter mountains and split the earth, and there would be no need to concern oneself with such things as changes in technique.

But Gu Changqing had not yet reached that stage. For now, this Imperial Extremes Fist could serve as a useful supplement to Mountain-Splitting Fist.

After glancing through it for a moment, he put the case away.

It was his now.

“What do we do next? I don’t know if anything here will change again tonight,” Pei Yuntai asked.

“Let’s see what the books say first,” Gu Changqing said, glancing at Shi Qiu. Ever since earlier, Shi Qiu’s expression had been in constant turmoil.

A moment later, Shi Qiu finally finished reading the booklet. He looked up at the others, drew in a deep breath, and said, “The most powerful place here is called Hollow Sun Mountain. That is where the Martial Venerables reside. Besides the two Martial Venerables, there are many Martial Dao Grandmasters. They call Hollow Sun Mountain a sacred land.”

“Martial Apprentices, Martial Masters, Great Martial Masters, Martial Dao Grandmasters, Martial Venerables. From the records, the Martial Venerables here can fly through the air and move mountains and fill seas. They likely possess the strength of a level-seven Awakened.”

“There is also a rank above Martial Venerable called Martial Saint, but no one has ever reached it...”

“The Martial Venerables are the highest-ranking people here. Even the king of this land, when he ascends the throne, must go to Hollow Sun Mountain to pay homage to the Martial Venerables.”

“Later, it seems something happened at Hollow Sun Mountain, and then the whole world underwent a change. With the rain, everyone turned into monsters. And any living person injured by a monster would also become a monster!”

“According to this record, some local Martial Masters initially could not bring themselves to kill people, but after being scratched, they too transformed into those monsters.”

As Shi Qiu said this, his face turned very unsightly.

“It’s those bugs. The bugs are inside the fingernails of those people... Once you’re wounded, they crawl into your body,” Gu Changqing said lightly. From far away the others could not see clearly, but he could.

At this, the others all felt a chill crawl over their skin.

“A parasite? Then it all makes sense!” Xu Jin said, and then suddenly jerked in alarm. “That rain before... could some people have been parasitized and carried those bugs back outside?”

As soon as he said that, the others could no longer sit still.

Just by looking at the situation here, one could imagine what sort of catastrophe it would become if those bugs were brought back to Southern Chu.

“It should be fine. After all, there’s a level-six Awakened in charge! Everyone returning has to go through quarantine and inspection, and even if anything did happen, it could still be suppressed!” Pei Yuntai said.

“This world underwent that drastic change mainly because those bugs fell together with the rain.”

With that explanation, everyone nodded, though they still felt uneasy.

After some thought, Gu Changqing raised an eyebrow. “What happened to all those Martial Masters and Great Martial Masters?”

“Before, all the people we saw were ordinary. Not to mention Martial Masters and Great Martial Masters, we didn’t even see any Martial Apprentices. Did they degenerate after being parasitized... or did they never appear at all?”

As soon as he said that, the others were startled again.

What interested Gu Changqing most was precisely this. Those Martial Masters and Great Martial Masters would certainly have far stronger vital energy than ordinary people.

But there was no answer for now.

“We’ll rest here tonight. I want to see whether they show up!” Gu Changqing stretched lazily. “Tomorrow, we head back and make a trip to the town we recorded before. It was called Jieshan, right?”

How could he possibly pass up that town?

By his estimate, once he devoured the people there, he should be able to reach the sixth level of Qi Refinement.

Cultivation was never easy.

“That area is under the scouts’ exploration zone!” Shi Qiu reminded him.

“It’s mine now! Maybe everyone there died in that rainstorm before,” Gu Changqing said with a laugh.

Shi Qiu glanced at the others, then shrugged. He guessed that by then, they would once again clash with the scouts.

That was fine inside the Qingjiang battlefield, but once they left, it would likely become troublesome.

After the sky darkened, the group rested inside the city gate. Compared with the buildings within the city, this place somehow felt safer.

Yet until dawn, Gu Changqing still did not see the Martial Masters and Great Martial Masters he had been thinking of all night.

“People always say that earnest longing is answered in time. Well, where the hell is the answer?” At daybreak, Gu Changqing cursed in some annoyance. “I waited for them all night!”

At least give me some answer!

Some answer!

Ning Ze pondered those words beside him and then laughed softly. “Earnest longing is answered in time... Interesting. Very flavorful indeed.”

After breakfast, the group headed straight for the town they had recorded earlier. The distance between the two towns was not far, only a little over two hundred miles, and with their pace they could reach it in half a day.

...

Jieshan, the first town to be explored and discovered, now had eight people standing atop its walls.

Leading them was a young man with hair standing straight up, wearing a short coat and carrying no luggage at all.

His name was Jing Zhaohu, a fourth-level expert ranked among the upper echelon within the scouts. He was only one step away from the fifth level, and his awakened power was a fire attribute of exceptionally great destructive force. Compared with the fire-type Awakened from the Ankang Second Squad, he was far stronger.

Around him stood seven others, all members of the scouts.

Among them was one person whom Gu Changqing, if he saw him, would certainly find familiar.

“Why do these monsters, having clearly ceased to be human, still imitate human beings? For whom are they doing it? Or is there some other reason?” a woman asked.

“That I don’t know. What’s already confirmed is that it is safe during the day. So long as you don’t do anything out of line, they will continue following their former patterns of life. At night, as long as they do not discover you, they will not attack.”

“Today we’ll continue exploring separately. Find the secret of this place as early as possible, then leave as soon as possible. This place reeks too badly! My rhinitis is about to act up!” Jing Zhaohu rubbed his nose and said.

“You think if we take out a few, what will happen?” a burly man asked with a grin.

“Don’t go looking for trouble. There are tens of thousands of those monsters here. If they go mad, we may not be able to stop them!” another young man immediately said.

“Liu Shi is right. First let’s figure out what’s going on here! Don’t forget, two Awakened have already gone missing!” Another man issued his warning, then added with a smile, “I wonder how things are on the Chongming side? Especially that provocateur—what was his name, Gu Changqing? What a pity we didn’t run into him here!”

“Didn’t several groups fire signal flares before? Maybe it was them! Maybe they died in some corner somewhere. Isn’t that right, Luo Xiu?” A curly-haired woman asked Luo Xiu with a sweet smile.

“Enough. No need to discuss them! Just some newcomer who doesn’t know the height of heaven and the depth of earth,” Jing Zhaohu said carelessly, not caring in the least what would become of the Chongming people.

“Same as yesterday. Split into four groups and meet back here at dusk. If you run into any trouble, disengage immediately.”

After Jing Zhaohu finished speaking, the eight of them divided into four groups and scattered into the city.

...

Not long after noon, the group appeared on the horizon outside Jieshan. In just a moment, they had reached the city wall.

Inside, the town looked peaceful beyond measure. On streets and in alleys, people could be seen sitting by the roadside chatting; children played at the corners of the streets; and some shopkeepers even stood outside with cloths draped over their shoulders, calling out to passersby.

A scene of vigorous life and tranquil harmony.

Had they not experienced it once already, they might truly have thought this was nothing more than an ordinary small town.

“Looks like there’s no one here...” Gu Changqing said with a smile.

“The scouts may be in the city!” Shi Qiu said.

“Which eye of yours saw that? Clearly no one has come here at all,” Gu Changqing said with a sidelong glance and a grin.

Shi Qiu immediately fell silent.

She understood a sentence in Gu Changqing’s eyes: do not say anything that harms unity.

“You wait here for me!”

With that, Gu Changqing dropped straight down onto the roof of a house.