Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 66: Stealing My Merit?

The rewards this time were astonishing.

This showed just how deeply the Seven Blood Eyes Sect’s higher-ups detested the Night Dove organization.

Xu Qing wasn’t the only one whose heart stirred. At this moment, everyone in the Sixth Squad had a gleam in their eyes. Some let out low chuckles, others licked their lips, and many more revealed intense desire in their gazes.

For disciples of the Seven Blood Eyes Sect, obtaining cultivation resources determined everything about their path.

Usually, everyone used various methods to capture wanted criminals to earn extra Spirit Stones. Opportunities for large-scale operations like this were rare. Now, everyone realized that if they handled this job well, none of them would lack resources for the foreseeable future.

Thus, their breathing gradually grew heavier, and they all looked toward their captain.

“Captain, when do we set off?”

“Yeah, let’s just do it!”

Hearing his team members’ urgent voices, the captain smiled, took a bite of the apple in his hand, and pulled out a handful of jade slips, distributing one to each person.

“Our target isn’t too big either. Two enemy chieftains at the Grand Perfection stage of Qi Condensation must be ours!”

“Once we reach the destination, we’ll infiltrate and execute a decapitation strike. During the action, I’ll deal with one first. The moment you see the other, surround him immediately. Kill him if you can; if not, hold him off until I arrive. I hope that when this mission ends, all of you will still be alive.

“Now, move out!”

The entire Homicide Department instantly mobilized.

From a distance, under the moonlight, figures rushed out from the Homicide Department’s headquarters, speeding toward various directions within the city.

Their speed was extreme, and their murderous intent was intense, making each figure seem like a thorny tentacle of the Homicide Department. As they continuously dispersed, the entire Homicide Department resembled an ancient behemoth awakening and stretching its limbs, its Pressure erupting overwhelmingly in an instant.

This caused all the sinister forces and shady characters throughout the city to tremble in fear.

“The squad that kills an enemy chieftain will receive ten Spirit Stones per person. There are two chieftains… If both are killed by Squad Six, then each person will have at least twenty Spirit Coins as a base reward.”

Among the members of Squad Six, Xu Qing increased his speed while murmuring inwardly, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.

He had already swiftly scanned the jade slip the captain distributed. It contained detailed information on everyone at the target stronghold, extremely comprehensive. Their appearances and the Techniques they specialized in were all marked, showing that the Department had thoroughly investigated the Night Dove’s presence in the main city during this period.

As they advanced, everyone fell silent, following the captain ahead. Their speed grew faster and faster, their killing intent boiling and intensifying.

In the darkness of night, murderous aura filled the sky. The Homicide Department’s mobilization had not leaked any information in advance, causing all those engaged in nocturnal activities who saw their appearance to feel their minds tremble, their eyes wide with terror as they instantly hid.

Those brothels and gambling dens also fell silent from their lively bustle, the people inside stunned and trembling, hurriedly closing their doors.

All the sinister forces understood perfectly clearly that if the Homicide Department was mobilizing like this, then tonight…

The entire main city would bleed!

Countless people would die because of this, like thunderbolts streaking across the sky, intending to dispel all darkness and evil!

Even many inns that operated at night chose to close today, and the same was true on Banquan Road…

At this moment, Squad Six passed by Banquan Road. Xu Qing, among them, watched the old man from the inn swiftly closing up. Their gazes met for an instant.

“He’s afraid…” Xu Qing narrowed his eyes, noticing the flash of apprehension in the old man’s eyes. He then looked down at the badge on his own robe.

At least, tonight, the badge on his gray Daoist robe represented the majesty of the Seven Blood Eyes Sect.

Any force, whether snake or dragon, had to lower its head and shrink back tonight!

At this time, the slightest interference would undoubtedly be instantly crushed and obliterated.

“Every place has its light and dark sides, and it’s the same here. Although the Sect practices a survival-of-the-fittest policy and allows a certain dark prosperity within the main city, there are two red lines: first, no harming civilians; second, no external Foundation Establishment experts killing our Sect’s Qi Condensation disciples. Crossing these red lines… comes with a price.”

The captain ahead spoke indifferently, then left while assigning tasks.

Xu Qing’s heart rippled with waves. Although he had previously realized this point, now, being part of the operation and experiencing it firsthand, he gained a deeper understanding of the Seven Blood Eyes Sect’s domineering nature.

He followed among the squad members as they moved with clear purpose. Half an hour later, they saw their destination in the distance.

It was a manor.

The moon hung high in the sky, the earth shrouded in darkness. Although there were lights within the manor, in this night, those flickering points of light seemed about to be extinguished.

Outside the manor, as Squad Six arrived, several Homicide Department disciples hidden in the shadows immediately emerged.

They were assigned by the Department to keep watch. After saluting the captain with clasped fists, they swiftly departed.

“According to the mission assignment, begin infiltration!” The captain’s eyes flashed with cold light as he darted into the manor. As for the Squad Six members, eight split off to surround the manor, forming a blockade. The remaining dozen or so dispersed, infiltrating the manor from various positions.

Xu Qing was among them, now crouching low and moving with extreme speed.

From a distance, the Squad Six members resembled a giant hand reaching toward the flickering lights, grasping fiercely.

At the same time, in the distance, another squad of Homicide Department disciples appeared. Leading them was that mermaid youth. They were Earth Squad Three, tasked with coordinating with Squad Six in tonight’s operation.

Upon arriving and seeing that Squad Six had already deployed and charged in, the mermaid youth’s eyes revealed disdain. With a cold sneer, he waved his hand, and a black circular object flew out, landing within the manor and exploding with a deafening roar.

His squad members also grinned ferociously, each throwing out similar objects. Immediately, the sounds of explosions echoed.

In the darkness of night, this sudden noise instantly alerted the Night Dove members within the manor. Their expressions changed as they swiftly scattered, causing Squad Six’s plan for a stealthy infiltration and decapitation strike to fail.

Xu Qing frowned. Squad Three’s method was clearly intended to interfere with Squad Six’s mission.

One of the self-destruction devices landed not far from him. Amidst the intense blast, the Night Dove cultivators within the manor scattered in all directions. Some even set fires and activated traps, causing the entire manor to instantly become engulfed in flames, with thick smoke billowing outward.

The smoke and fire obscured vision. Within this mist, sounds of fighting, low roars, and explosions instantly erupted.

What should have been a clean decapitation plan was thrown into chaos, adding unnecessary casualties.

A cold light flashed in Xu Qing’s eyes. Ignoring Squad Three, he darted through the spreading mist. His killing intent suddenly manifested as he raised his right hand and grabbed fiercely to his side. A scream followed as a Night Dove cultivator had his throat slit by the dagger in Xu Qing’s hand.

This person was a middle-aged man with cultivation around the sixth layer of Qi Condensation. His neck severed, blood gushed out, and his eyes retained a look of terror.

Taking the leather pouch from the man’s body and tossing the corpse aside without a second glance, Xu Qing crouched and darted away, speeding through the mist. The black light of his dagger flashed as he approached another Night Dove cultivator and slashed, opening the man’s throat.

Throughout the process, Xu Qing’s expression remained unchanged. He let the cultivator, clutching his throat and gasping for air, convulse on the ground. He collected the other’s pouch, stepped away quickly, and searched for a third target.

Thus, time passed swiftly. After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, as the surrounding explosions and roars grew increasingly intense, Xu Qing, while advancing, suddenly twisted his body aside. A wind blade whistled past him.

The wind lifted Xu Qing’s hair, revealing wolf-like eyes within. His speed exploded instantaneously as he charged toward the source of the wind blade. There, two Homicide Department disciples—one from Squad Six, one from Squad Three—were engaged in combat with a single person.

The Squad Three disciple’s expression changed upon seeing Xu Qing, while the Squad Six disciple’s eyes lit up with pleasant surprise—a rare, genuine delight, for tonight, they were operating as a team.

“Xu Qing, this one’s at the eighth layer of Qi Condensation!”

On the ground lay two more corpses, mangled and bloody. The Night Dove cultivator fighting the two, seeing Xu Qing’s arrival, quickly retreated, wanting to escape.

But it was too late. Xu Qing’s body surged forward, his speed so fast it created a sonic boom. To the astonishment of the Squad Three and Squad Six disciples, he was already in front of the Night Dove cultivator in an instant. With a fierce collision, the dagger in his hand slashed across the man’s throat.

Blood sprayed. By the time he landed, the Night Dove cultivator was decapitated, becoming a corpse.

The Squad Three disciple nearby paled, his eyes revealing intense apprehension. He had seen strong cultivators before, but those who could kill an eighth-layer Qi Condensation cultivator with a single strike were not common.

Not daring to linger, he swiftly retreated and left. As for the Squad Six teammate, he also took a deep breath, his gaze toward Xu Qing filled with shock. He bowed deeply before disappearing into the mist.

Xu Qing glanced down at the three corpses on the ground, calmly bent over, and slowly searched each one. Throughout the process, his expression didn’t change in the slightest. Occasionally, he would open the pouches he found and place their contents into his own bag.

Just as he picked up the pouch from the third mangled, bloody corpse, Xu Qing rubbed his hands together and turned as if to leave. But the dagger in his hand shot out with lightning speed, stabbing toward the corpse’s brow.

His speed was extreme, his movement sudden, with no prior warning.

The next instant, the corpse actually moved. It slid away, swiftly shifting backward, causing Xu Qing’s dagger to miss.

The corpse floated up, its eyes suddenly snapping open, revealing a cold, sinister glare fixed on Xu Qing.

“How did you discover me?”

“I’ve seen many corpses that died miserably. Your act wasn’t convincing.” Xu Qing looked at the ‘corpse’ before him and spoke indifferently.

“Is that so? Then consider yourself unlucky.” The corpse wiped its face, revealing the appearance of a middle-aged man. His body swayed, then erupted with power as he charged toward Xu Qing. The cultivation of Grand Perfection in Qi Condensation spread out from him at this moment.

This person was one of the enemy chieftains of this stronghold. Cautious by nature, he had originally planned to pretend to be a corpse and slip away quietly, but he hadn’t expected to be discovered here.

But he was also a ruthless person. Knowing he couldn’t afford to delay, he immediately attacked with full force.

Now, Spiritual Energy fluctuations emanated from his entire body. Serpents of fire materialized around him, nine in total, snarling ferociously as they shot toward Xu Qing.

Each of these fire serpents could instantly tear apart the body of a ninth-layer Qi Condensation cultivator. With nine of them encircling him, their combined power was the peak Xu Qing had witnessed among Qi Condensation cultivators.

But Xu Qing’s expression still didn’t change much. With a wave of his hand, countless droplets of water instantly appeared around his body. The aura of the Forbidden Sea directly spread out, each droplet distorting. In the blink of an eye, they converged, forming the shape of a crocodile.

This crocodile was covered in scales, extremely ferocious. Its gaping maw revealed sharp, gleaming teeth. It seemed to possess a spiritual liveliness, letting out a roar after appearing before charging toward the nine incoming fire serpents.

The two collided instantly. Amidst the roar, the Divine Ability of Xu Qing’s Sea Transformation Scripture was fully displayed, actually devouring five of the fire serpents directly. Although the remaining ones entangled it, it was clear the Sea Transformation Scripture could hold its own.

What made the Grand Perfection cultivator even more horrified was that Xu Qing suddenly stepped forward. Behind him, a blood and Qi Kui shadow materialized, forming a fierce ghost. With a roar, it accompanied Xu Qing’s body as he shot out like an arrow, heading straight for him.

“You’re no ordinary Seven Blood Eyes disciple!!” The Night Dove chieftain’s eyes sharply contracted. He felt an intense sense of crisis from Xu Qing. His body abruptly retreated as he waved his hand, throwing out a talisman treasure that shone with a blue light.

Without even looking at the result, he accelerated his retreat even faster.

This blue talisman treasure seemed to have been used too many times; its color was quite faded, and its power had diminished considerably. Although it instantly erupted, materializing a blue ghostly hand carrying a hint of Foundation Establishment aura that fiercely grabbed toward Xu Qing, its power fell far short of a true Foundation Establishment expert’s.

Although Xu Qing sensed this talisman treasure was mediocre, he still swiftly dodged. But the large hand persistently pursued him, preventing him from continuing to chase the chieftain. However, Xu Qing wasn’t anxious. While evading the hand, he coldly watched the fleeing chieftain.

“The poison you’ve been infected with, isn’t it about to take effect?”

The moment Xu Qing’s words rang out, the Grand Perfection Night Dove chieftain’s expression drastically changed. His mental fluctuations accelerated the poison’s onset. He spat out a mouthful of coagulated black blood, a sickly, necrotic blue-black hue rapidly spreading across his veins.

“Poison?!”

Horrified, his body staggered. Feeling the poison’s fury within him, his internal organs seemed about to melt. His eyes immediately revealed madness. He unleashed some secret technique, both hands fiercely striking his own chest. The next instant, flames directly ignited on his body, as if stimulating all his Potential at this moment. The poison within him was actually suppressed, and the bluish-black on his face rapidly faded.

But clearly, the price was enormous. Now, his mind was somewhat blurred. It seemed the only thought in his head was to escape.

So, with a sway, he attempted to flee even faster.

Yet this delay gave Xu Qing time to dodge the talisman treasure hand’s attack. His body erupted with full speed, shooting out like lightning. In an instant, he closed in on the Night Dove chieftain of this stronghold. He raised his right hand, about to grab him.

But at that moment, an intense sense of life-and-death crisis made Xu Qing’s expression change, his pupils contracting. He forcibly altered his posture, abruptly retreating. Almost the instant he retreated, a sharp flying wheel whistled past the spot where he had been.

It tore through the air, emitting a piercing sound. If he had dodged even slightly slower, his body would undoubtedly have been sliced open.

As he retreated, a figure rushed over from the direction the flying wheel came from. Ignoring Xu Qing, this person headed straight for the Night Dove chieftain. The newcomer… was Squad Three’s captain, that cold-faced mermaid youth.

“Stealing my merit?” Xu Qing’s eyes instantly turned sharp.