NOVEL NEXT Chapter 33: Formation Breakthrough
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A few hundred meters above the abandoned village, a rainbow light flickered past.
Deputy General He Xiao was enveloped in the rainbow light, his eyes scanning the mountains and forests.
As a martial master of the Spirit Void Realm, his five senses were sharp, constantly searching for traces of others.
Seeing no signs of activity in this area and unable to sense the aura of any martial masters, he immediately abandoned the search in this region and swiftly moved to other locations.
Unintentionally, Shen Qing activated a formation, sparing them from another ordeal.
After resting in the dilapidated straw hut for a day, the rain finally ceased the next morning.
The sky cleared up.
Looking around, the sky was a wash of blue, without a cloud in sight.
Shang Jin and his group emerged from the straw hut.
Now that they had a way out, the burden in their hearts lifted, and each wore a smile, exhaling a breath of relief.
"Let's go."
Shen Qing withdrew the formation and stepped in front of everyone.
Shang Jin and the others became even more respectful, uniformly cupping their fists and bowing, "Yes."
Shen Qing took the lead, activating the Da Xu Technique, his figure flashing as he leapt dozens of meters in a single step.
The others dared not delay upon seeing this, each striding forward, exerting all their strength to keep up, not daring to lag behind.
Once again, Shen Qing did not choose the main road but deliberately avoided areas where other martial masters were active, traversing through the mountain forests.
It took them two days to reach the vicinity of Dan Zhou, with thrilling but safe encounters along the way.
Shen Qing thought their pace was fast enough, but to his surprise, upon arriving near Dan Zhou with Shang Jin and the others, they found traces of noble sons already present.
Moreover, other martial masters had also arrived one after another, encircling and attacking the saints of the Huang Tian Sect everywhere.
The battle intent was strong.
Concealing his aura, Shen Qing walked to the green hills outside Dan Zhou City, watching from afar the aerial palanquins flying in the sky, surrounded by Spirit Void Realm cultivators joining forces to attack the camp.
He did not get involved and quietly withdrew.
After half a day, Shen Qing found an abandoned village where he took Shang Jin and the others to settle.
The village was completely deserted, devoid of any people.
With no great expectations in the wilderness, they were content just to find a place to settle.
But to Shen Qing's surprise, upon entering, they found all kinds of household utensils still left inside the houses, even the bedding had not been taken.
For a farming family, bedding was considered an important asset.
It was not easy for a family to make a set of bedding.
It seemed apparent that some reason had caused the villagers to leave the village in a hurry, leading to this situation.
While Shen Qing was puzzled, Shang Jin returned from scouting the surrounding area, finally revealing what had happened.
There was a broken temple in the northwest direction of the village.
The Buddha statue in the main hall had long disappeared, leaving only the framework of a house, with half of the walls already collapsed.
However, the two guest rooms at the back were relatively intact, the tiles on the roof slightly reorganized, similar to regular dwellings.
Shen Qing saw an unbelievable sight in those two rooms.
They were packed with corpses of various men, women, elderly, and children, many of the bodies bearing the marks of beasts' gnawing, with a foul stench reaching the heavens, making one nauseous. Experience exclusive tales on empire
Upon closer inspection, many women were holding children in their arms.
The heads of the mothers and children had been smashed with a single punch, leaving them unrecognizable, with red and white matter exposed, continually attracting flies that traversed between the bodies.
Judging by their attire, these were village folk.
A sharp light flashed in Shen Qing's eyes as he employed the Tracking skill.
In his vision, he saw row upon row of footprints filled with spiritual energy, chaotic and varied.
Shen Qing carefully observed and secretly deduced.
It seemed the villagers noticed something amiss, hurriedly hid nearby, intending to wait out the storm before returning to the village.
Yet unexpectedly, they were discovered by passing martial masters and were slaughtered as battle contributions.
These people surely begged for their lives in their final moments, but it was of no avail.
Looking at the bloodstains on the walls and ground, anyone with a compassionate heart couldn't help but feel their scalp tingle.
The expressions of those following Shen Qing became heavy, and they remained silent.
The only female, Shao Hongling, paled, unable to resist turning away and covering her mouth to vomit.
Never having seen such a scene before, she was profoundly shaken.
"Let's go back."
Shen Qing turned and headed back, the others maintaining their silence as they gradually left.
Shao Hongling glanced at the heap of corpses that resembled a mountain of flesh, feeling an unprecedented horror.
She did not understand what had gone wrong in the world, why the powers above always demanded them to fight and kill relentlessly, without a moment's peace.
Human lives were so cheap.
Shao Hongling swallowed her nausea and walked out of the broken shrine.
Returning to the village, Shen Qing found a wealthy family's house for them to stay.
The house had two entrances and exits, just enough to accommodate them.
Once the house was chosen, Shen Qing wasted no time, tossing the formation flag in his hand and activating the formation.
Suddenly, a piece of information flashed in Shen Qing's vision, stirring his heart, and the ink panel appeared before his eyes.
[Skill: Formation (Beginner)]
[Progress: 101/100 points]
[Status: Upgrade Available]
[Remark: Standing tall on a hundred-foot pole is not difficult, diligence makes everything possible, continuous practice can break through the skill progress.]
Shen Qing did not expect this skill's progress to advance so quickly.
Without hesitation, he focused his mind, "Breakthrough."
A familiar sensation overtook him.
Countless strange and intense memories flooded his mind.
However, compared to previous skills, the formation technique was relatively simple and did not cause him any discomfort in his current state.
After assimilating the memories in his mind, Shen Qing gained a more profound understanding of this formation technique.
He formed a seal with his hands, and the formation flag hovering mid-air swayed side to side before staking into three directions of the thatched house.
With a clear buzz, an invisible ripple rose slowly from the three directions, encompassing and concealing the thatched house and its yard, expanding the range by twofold.
At this moment, the noticeable yellow dazzle also disappeared, turning into a transparent color.
Not only that, with the concealment of the formation flag, from the outside it appeared as if the house had become a level ground that seamlessly blended with the surrounding environment, with no trace of the original thatched house, creating an illusion.
Shen Qing knew that this was the full capacity of this formation, and the breakthrough had allowed him to fully wield it.
Unless someone accidentally stumbled into this place, none would discover their whereabouts.
He felt his spirit settle.
However, for safety's assurance, Shen Qing still commanded Shang Jin and the others to rotate on guard duty daily to prevent any unexpected incidents.
The group of seven settled down as such.
Shang Jin and the others shared a room, Shen Qing occupied a room alone, while Shao Hongling stayed next to Shen Qing, with a small door between their rooms allowing passage.
During the days that followed, she managed Shen Qing's daily activities while cultivating, living a stable life.
The sole exception was the haunting image of the "corpse mountain" she had witnessed that often resurfaced in her mind, disturbing her peace.
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