Under the bright glow of the morning sun, Xie Qing waved goodbye to Lian Xin, Xu Mei, Xie Meiling, and Yu Yang.


    The young manwas dressedin a simple ck hanfu that suited him perfectly and created a mysterious image.He also wore amask made of ck stone that coveredthe upper part of his face.This mysterious appearance wascreatedto avoidanypossible incidents where he might be recognized on the street and cause trouble.


    Xie Qing sat in the flying carriage and looked at the retreating silhouettes of his women with a sense of mncholy. Before leaving, he spent a week fulfilling all their desires. He spent a lot of time with them but still felt unsatisfied. "Well, at least I have themunication token," he thought.


    Thanks to this invention, he did not have to worry about loneliness. "How beautiful the world is..." he thought, looking at thewonderfulmountains and forests.


    With the help of the carriage, Xie Qing reached the teleportation formation located on the very edge of the Eastern Continentfairlyquickly. The air here was much colder. There were few people in the city of Zizhu Cheng. Perhaps this was because thecitywas too remote and there were few goods. It was difficult for mortals to live in such cold ces.


    Moreover, the soil was not very fertile, and remoteness created a big problem in feeding - at least, transportation cost a lot of money.


    Zizhu Cheng should have been called a fortress city. However, it looked rather shabby. There were holes in the walls, stoneswere coveredwith moss, and a terrible stench indicated the level of sanitation here. It took Xie Qing a few seconds to get used to the annoying smell. Then he looked at the gate.


    "Well, at least the gate is in order," the young man thought.


    The gatewas madeof Immortal Stone. No matter how many generations died, this stone was longsting and could serveforup to a thousand years with the right approach. Thedynastystrictly controlled the Immortal Stone like the pupil of an eye.The mines where this stone/ore was located were so strictly guardedthat even a cultivator of Divine Transformation would find it difficult to get inside.


    "Hm? Only two guards?" Xie Qing was puzzled.


    Indeed, as he approached the gate, he discovered thatthere were only two guardsat the level of Core Formation - 6th stage.This power could not be consideredworthy of guarding such a city. Although itwas partly abandoned, there was a valuable teleportation formation here.


    "Something is wrong here..." Xie Qing frowned: "How can such an important city allocate two miserable guards to priceless gates?"


    The gate was the mostimportantpart of the city. With thespecialtechnologies of theDynasty, formations were poured into them, which created an enormous invisible dome around the city. This dome could withstand a one-time attack of a hundred cultivators at the level of Soul Integration.


    And his doubts only increased as he approached the guards. The distance between them was ten steps. However, even so, the guardsdid not pay attention tohim. They just looked in a daze somewhere in the distance.


    "My sixth sense... cannot detect any danger in them.Thisonly means one thing - their power is at the level ofmortals,or...corpses? I hope it''s the first option."


    Because if they were not even corpses, then...the situation wasvery bad.


    And, unfortunately, the red g was high on the forehead of our young master.As soon ashe patted the guard on the shoulder, they immediately fell to the ground. They did not even have the usual, most basic reflex - to support themselves with their hands to avoid kissing the ground.


    "They... they have no souls! Their hearts are beating, but they have no souls!"


    The bodies functioned. However, the problem was that they had no soul - this was the mostimportantpart of the being in whichpersonality, memories, and reason were preserved.


    And if there was no soul, then who needed a healthy but soulless body?


    The gate was too heavy to be opened by hand. Even a kick would not help. Therefore, Xie Qing took out the token of the imperial censor. It acted as a special permission that could open most gates.


    And, as expected, with difficulty, but the gate still opened. Xie Qing entered inside, and after that, the gate closed again.


    "Wh-what... is this?!"


    ***


    The Eastern Continent. Near the city of Zizhu Cheng...


    On a high rocky mountain, in onehugecave...


    Hundreds,no,thousands of eyes opened.


    "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!"


    ***


    The city of Zizhu Cheng was in a deplorable state. Wherever he went, people looked as if they had lost their souls. They stood in ce with ack of emotions on their faces.


    "Strange... they look as if everything was normal," thought Xie Qing: "There are not even those who would try to escape. As if it were an ordinary day."


    Someone was buying vegetables, someone was holding a child''s hand and walking along the spacious streets, and someone - from the guards - was guardingimportantbuildings.


    In the end, wherever he went, there were motionless and soulless bodies everywhere. As if in one moment, undera specialpower,all souls were devoured.


    "This is terrible... I didn''t expectthat my journey wouldbe sodangerous" thought Xie Qing angrily: "Can''t I rx for a few days? This shit is too dangerous!"


    He took out his token of the imperial censor and poured Qi into it, trying to contact the Empress, but...


    "Hsh-sh..."


    CRASH!


    "A?!"


    The token emitted only white noise, and Xie Qinghimselfreceived slight damage from the lightning that appeared out of nowhere.


    "What the hell?!"


    He could not help but shout, being shocked by this situation. Then, Xie Qing becameserious.


    "World Sealing Formation... no wonder I felt a sense of suppression and undefined sensations from the Tender DragonToken"


    The Tender Dragon Token allowed him to know the location of his women at any second, moreover, it gave them a little bonus to strength. But now it emitted the same white noise and a feelingas ifhe was looking into the darkness.


    "The Empress is reallyfunny" Xie Qing snorted angrily: "Having reached the peak of her reign, it''s no wonderthat shehas rxed. Now an important city is under threat of destruction."


    However, Xie Qing did not care about the fate of this city. He wanted toget rid ofthe danger as soon as possible and find the treasure. Therefore, he headed to the ce where the formation was, but...


    "BITCH! SHIT! I HATE THIS BULLSHIT!"


    Loud explosions shook the earth. Xie Qing looked with gloom at the destroyed teleportation formation.


    "And now what should I do?! The nearest teleportation formation is ten thousand miles away!"


    The situation was not the best.Hehad to go on a path that was even further. Moreover, he got into someone''s conspiracy.


    "Aagh! I even lost my calmness! Annoying!"


    Xie Qing clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. Nowhevery much wanted to break the face of that bastard who made him waste so much time in vain. However, before he began a new wave of insults, Xie Qing fell silentandhis eyes narrowed.


    "Five hundred... no... five thousand hostile creatures. Southeast, distance one hundred meters, average level - Core Formation - 9th stage...highest level - Soul Nascent - 7th stage...minimum level Core Formation - 4th stage..."


    With each second, his face became darker and darker. In the end, the result was:


    "I''m in shit. In full,viscousand annoying shit."


    And when he already thought about running away,above thecitythere was a sh, and as if a flock of crows, five thousand flying creatures appeared!


    "Teleportation?! Plus...fuck, there are a lot of them!" Xie Qing thought in surprise. He took out his Nameless Sword and gritted his teeth: "I''ll have to fight. Damn, here''s a gift for the trip! There will be something to tell the descendants..."


    Ignoring the stream of disappointment inside him, Xie Qing took a stance. And then, taking a deep breath, he aimed thede of the swordstraight at the sky.


    "Will of the Empress of Swords... World of des!"


    At first nce, nothing happened. However, as soon as these creatures descended below the city barrier, suddenly...


    p!


    The weakest died instantly - their number reached a hundred.Whilethe stronger ones received only deep and not very deep wounds.


    Boom!


    "Oh..."


    Xie Qing dodged the falling head of a creature. Recognizing who it was, he wasvery surprised.


    "Three-legged crow?Thisis impossible, theyare not aggressive creatures. But...wait a minute..." the young man widened his eyes when he discovered something: "Theyare emanatingdevilish Qi! They were infected?!"


    Thisalone was amazing. A creature that represented the Sunwas infectedwith the power of darkness. What kind of monster should the devilish cultivatorbe,capable of this?


    However, of course, he could not be admired for a long time.


    Immediately after he demonstrated weakness, sounds of "bdzin" were heard from the sky.


    "Dangerous!"


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Xie Qing dodged the threatening rays of ck color.Wherever he went,these rays followed him and filled him with devilish Qi.At the same time, the soulless bodies...suddenly moved.


    More than a thousand residents...fromthe oldto the children.Holdingin their handsa sword created from dark energy, they slowly approached Xie Qing.


    And he, avoiding the rays of the Three-legged crows, could only grit his teeth.


    "I don''t even have time to counterattack!"


    Looking at this dangerous situation...cold sweat ran down Xie Qing''s forehead.


    "I''m in deep shit!"


    BOOM!