Chapter 110: The Impermanence of Life and Death

  The air was thick with blood and dust, the stench so foul it nearly choked everyone who breathed it in. Faint fmes, mingling with still-glowing warning lights, cast a dim, flickering glow.

  The walls had been torn apart by tremendous force; damaged wires and mechanical structures crackled with blinding electric arcs. From the depths of a pitch-bck crater came a fierce shockwave, scorching and violent, producing a shrill ‘wuwu’ sound—like a wail from the underworld itself.

  The battle between the Fengdu Guards and the bck market cultivators was still raging in the depths of the bck market. Only the aftershocks reached this area now, stirring gusts of wind and shaking the ground beneath one’s feet. Even so, the distant cries of combat could still be heard.

  From within a pool of gore—made up of the dead and half-congealed blood—a lone figure slowly stood up.

  Thick, sticky blood dripped from the edges of his conical hat and straw cloak. An Jing silently surveyed his surroundings, struggling against a wave of nausea in his chest and stomach.

  The free-trade market y in complete ruin; the area around the emergency exit was nothing but corpses and blood. An Jing had survived mainly because he ran fast—he slipped into a passage before the bck market cultivators and the Fengdu Guards began their csh, escaping the direct bst of the aftershocks. Beyond that, he did have some means of protecting himself.

  Infused with Taibai Baleful Qi, even a single leaf could serve as sturdy armor, and a sheet of paper could cut like a bde. His bulletproof rain cloak, already tough, functioned as a protective Magical Artifact, helping him weather the aftershocks.

  Others were far less fortunate. Most of the corpses around An Jing were shattered, their skeletons only faintly retaining a human outline. Beyond the passage entrance, some bodies had been reduced to bckened charcoal, completely unrecognizable as human.

  In truth, that was not the most horrifying sight. If one didn’t look closely, one might never realize those lumps of charcoal had once been people. Far more nauseating were the corpses of those who had tried to defend themselves with Magical Artifacts yet still perished. Their bodies were charred only on the surface, with crimson blood seeping through cracks in the scorched yer, exposing tender red flesh beneath that still pulsed with residual heat.

  Even through his gas mask, the thick stench of blood surged into his nostrils.

  Once he finally steadied himself, An Jing silently checked the drone and various supplies he had kept secured beneath him.

  While counting his resources, he forced himself to think.

  Although the people frequenting this pce were hardly w-abiding, from what he had observed, the bck market was surprisingly organized—more akin to an underground shopping mall run by a major corporation than a mere illicit bazaar.

  But here y the real question.

  If, as Boss Ji Lu had cimed, the Xuandu Group—one of the Primordial Spirit-level powers—truly supported this bck market, then it shouldn’t have been so easy to raid.

  Unless…

  “I recall that among the three major groups permanently based in Xuanye City, Xuandu isn’t one of them. The Four Primordial Spirit Inheritances are Luofu, Shouyang, Xuandu, and Lianshan… Right, the third major corporation in Xuanye City is the Lianshan Group!”

  Not daring to make a sound, An Jing tucked himself away after finishing his equipment check. While keeping a wary eye on his surroundings, he thought, “Xuanye City is the domain of three major corporations. The Xuandu Group can’t intervene officially, so they established this bck market with tacit approval from certain factions. That’s why it even pays taxes as a protection fee.

  “But that only holds true in peaceful times. Once an actual conflict begins, such tacit deals become criminal, so they send in the Fengdu Guards to clean up—showing no concern for casualties!

  “I’m probably not the only survivor. Boss Ji Lu is most likely still alive too.”

  After regaining his composure and listening carefully, An Jing could faintly hear bored breathing and cries for help coming from the stairwell below the emergency exit—survivors deeper within the bck market. On closer inspection, he saw no sign of Boss Ji Lu’s telltale outfit. The man had carried numerous talismans, suggesting he was from a notable family, so blocking the aftershocks likely wasn’t difficult for him.

  Indeed, Boss Ji Lu’s corpse was nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, the path to the upper exit showed clear footprints, indicating that anyone still able to move had already fled.

  But An Jing did spot a different, familiar corpse.

  It was the young waitress who had helped him test the drone earlier. She y curled behind a half-burnt counter, arms covering her ears. She bore few outward wounds—likely her internal organs had been destroyed by the aftershock rather than the fmes—so her body remained mostly intact, though blood seeped from her seven orifices.

  An Jing gazed silently at the girl—once so cheerful, hardworking, full of hope for the future, and shyly asking him for a favorable review.

  Now, she was simply a corpse.

  He lifted his head, surveying the entirety of the second underground floor.

  All around, the floor was densely strewn with blood and death, the heat rising like a haze.

  Was all of this truly necessary?

  So many people here had nothing to do with those rger schemes, and it would have been easy to distinguish them.

  Even if something vital had gone missing, couldn’t they have detained and questioned people one by one? Their power was overwhelming—would it really have cost that much more effort?

  Must it be like this—fixated on killing? Such senseless sughter!

  —Was there truly no other way?!

  An Jing did not vent his anger. Rage and demands for answers would do nothing, for those who committed such acts would never ask themselves these questions.

  Unless they, too, were forced into this same plight.

  Unless they, too, ended up as corpses.

  He burned every scene into his memory. Then he reached out, closed the young waitress’s bewildered, blood-streaked eyes, and turned away.

  He then headed for the top-floor exit.

  The second underground floor was the free-trade area. Below that, on the third underground level, were the specialized storefronts. The first floor sold everyday items like bullets, stimunts, various talismans, and pills. Above it all was the pza entrance and exit, not far off.

  He had barely taken two steps upward when a warning rang in his mind.

  He stopped, listening in startled confusion.

  —How could it… be this silent?

  The lower floors of the bck market had sustained massive damage, with more dead than wounded, and those only lightly injured had already run. Even then, one would expect to hear screams and cries of pain.

  Yet above, everything was eerily silent—far too silent.

  An Jing had suspected there might be enforcers or even Fengdu Guards above, waiting to assess the situation before acting. But now, he didn’t dare approach.

  Thus, he turned around and quickly headed toward the third underground floor instead.

  That third level was the specialized storefront zone—the same pce where An Jing had bought the jade-cleaving steel.

  It was lined with “brand shops” and “exclusive stores,” much like Little Ochre Mountain. Ordinary patrons rarely came here. Each store used its own reinforcement spells, so the initial damage seemed retively light.

  In reality, though, such defenses meant little against the battle between the Fengdu Guards and the bck market cultivators. The third floor was still full of ruined walls, corpses, and trails of blood—simply not as gruesome as the first and second floors, which were bnketed with bodies.

  An Jing channeled his Serene Sword Technique and the Imperial Heaven Method.

  He needed to remain calm at this moment.

  He soon discovered a colpsed shop that sold talisman brushes and spiritual ink—carefully steering clear of the ‘Paralysis Law Restriction’ his Sword Spirit had cautioned him about. Once inside, he retrieved his drone goggles and controller from his bloodstained backpack.

  Once ready, he activated the ‘Six Qi Lotus Ptform.’

  He infused a small amount of spiritual power to initiate the authentication process. Then, donning the drone goggles to sync his vision with the Six Qi Lotus Ptform, he watched as the mother unit—shaped like a blue lotus—rose silently, spinning as it flew upward.

  (End of Chapter)