March, early spring.
East of Nanhuang Continent, a corner.
The hazy sky was gray and black, showing a heavy depression, as if someone had spilled ink on the rice paper, the ink soaked the sky and smudged the clouds.
The clouds layered on top of each other, blending with each other, dispersing one after another of crimson lightning, accompanied by the rumbling thunder.
Like a god roaring, echoing in the world.
The blood-colored rain, with sadness, fell to the mortal dust.
The earth was hazy, and there was a ruined city, silent and lifeless in the red rain of blood.
In the city, the walls are broken and everything is withered. There are collapsed houses everywhere, as well as blue-black corpses and pieces of meat, like broken autumn leaves, withering silently.
The bustling streets in the past are now desolate.
The sandy road where people used to come and go is now no longer noisy.
There was only blood and mud mixed with minced meat, dust, and paper, which could not be separated from each other, which was shocking.
Not far away, a crippled carriage was sunk deep in the mud, full of sadness, except for an abandoned rabbit doll on the cab, hanging on it, swaying in the wind.
The white fluff has long been soaked into wet red, full of eerie and eerie.
The turbid Shuangtong seemed to have some resentment left, looking at the mottled stones in front of him alone.
There, there was a figure lying there.
This is a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy, dressed in tatters, covered in dirt, with a torn leather bag tied around his waist.
The young man squinted his eyes and remained motionless. The biting cold penetrated his tattered coat from all directions and swept through his body, gradually taking away his body temperature.
But even if the rain fell on his face, he didn't blink, staring coldly into the distance like a falcon.
Following his gaze, at a distance of seven or eight feet away from him, a skinny vulture was eating the carrion of a wild dog, occasionally observing the surroundings alertly.
It seems that in this dangerous ruin, it will vacate in an instant with the slightest disturbance.
And the young man is like a hunter, patiently waiting for an opportunity.
After a long time, the opportunity came, and the greedy vulture finally completely submerged its head into the belly of the wild dog.
In an instant, the boy's squinted eyes flashed coldly.
His body was like an arrow from the string, and he rushed out quickly and went straight to the vulture. With a flick of his right hand, he pulled out a black iron stick from the leather bag at his waist.
A sharp cold glow flashed from the tip of the iron stick.
Perhaps it was the perception of murderous intent. When the young man rushed out, the vulture immediately sensed it. Frightened, he flapped his wings and flew into the air, about to fly away.
But it was still too late.
The black iron sign turned into a black line and shot out with the boy's expressionless swipe.
puff!
The sharp iron stick pierced the vulture's head in an instant, shattering the skull and killing him instantly.
The powerful impact brought its body, leaning down, and with a bang, it was nailed to the carriage not far away.
The blood-colored doll on the side also swayed more and more due to the turbulence of the carriage.
The young man looked calm, and the speed did not stop from beginning to end. He went straight to this place, and when he arrived, he grabbed the vulture's body and the iron stick.
The force was so great that the part of the carriage that was nailed with the iron picks also lifted a small piece.
After doing this, he quickly left along the edge of the street without looking back.
The wind seemed to be bigger at this moment, and the blood-colored doll on the carriage swayed, as if watching the youth go away.
Farther.
The wind was indeed stronger, with the coldness in the rain, brushing the boy's thin clothes.
The young man shook involuntarily, frowned slightly, shrank his clothes, and let out a sound of inhalation.
He hates the cold.
The way to resist the cold is to find a place to rest from the wind and rain, but the young man running on the street at the moment, his speed did not stop at all, and the dilapidated shops passed by his eyes.
He doesn't have much time left.
Because hunting vultures took too long, there is one place he hasn't gone today.
"It shouldn't be far." The boy whispered to himself, galloping down the street.
On the way forward, there are blue-black corpses everywhere. Their faces that have lost hope are full of hideousness, as if they have turned into an aura of despair, trying to contaminate the mind of the young man.
But the young man is used to it and doesn't even look at it.
Until the time passed, the young man looked up to the sky from time to time, and his face was a little anxious, as if for him, the change in the sky was more terrifying than those corpses.
Fortunately, when he saw a pharmacy in the distance, the boy heaved a sigh of relief and rushed away.
The pharmacy is not big, and there are many medicine cabinets scattered on the ground, exuding a musty smell, like a tomb that has been opened, full of mess.
There was also an old man's body in the corner, his whole body was blue and black, leaning against the wall, it seemed too late to rest his eyes, and stared at the outside world.
The young man stepped in and glanced at it, and immediately began to rummage.
Most of the herbs here are the same as those corpses, turning blue-black, only a few are normal.
Among these normal medicinal herbs, the teenager carefully identified them for a long time.
As if recalling his past experiences, he finally picked up a common Jinchuang grass and took off the thin shirt on his body, revealing a huge scar on his chest.
The wound has not fully healed, and it can be seen that the edge of the wound has begun to turn black, and there is even some blood oozing out.
The teenager looked down, crushed the herb, took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and raised his hand to apply a little bit on the wound.
In an instant, the severe pain from the wound came suddenly like a surging tide, causing the boy's body to tremble uncontrollably, but he forcibly endured it, but the sweat on his forehead could not be suppressed, dripping down his cheeks onto the dark ground.
Become Inmo.
The whole process lasted for more than ten breaths. After he completely smeared the herbs on the wound, the young man seemed to lose his strength all of a sudden. Slowly put on clothes.
Looking at the sky outside again, after thinking, he took out a broken map from the leather pocket at his waist and carefully spread it out.
The map is very simple, depicting this city.
The location of the pharmacy inside has been marked, and in the northeast direction, many areas have been crossed with fingernails, but only two areas are left without crosses.
"After looking for these days, it should be in these two areas." The young man's voice was hoarse, he muttered in a low voice, and was about to leave after putting away the map.
But before leaving, he looked back at the old man's corpse and his eyes fell on the corpse's clothes.
It was a leather jacket, perhaps it was a special leather jacket, and the leather jacket was not very corroded.
The teenager thought about it, walked over, took off the leather jacket from the old man's body, and put it on himself.
The leather jacket was a bit big, but after wrapping his thin body, the young man finally felt a touch of warmth, so he looked down at the old man's open eyes, raised his hand to cover it lightly, and made it restful.
"Rest in peace," the young man said, tore off the curtain inside the shop, covered the old man's body, and turned to leave the pharmacy.
When he walked out, a shimmer of light reflected from his feet, and the boy looked down, and there was a fragment of a mirror the size of a palm in the blood mud.
In the lens, he saw his own face.
Although the face reflected in the broken mirror was full of dirt, it could still be vaguely seen that it was an extremely handsome face.
It's just that the immaturity that a 13- or 14-year-old should have was replaced by indifference.
The boy silently looked at himself in the mirror on the ground, raised his foot after a while, and stepped on it.
Card sound.
Cracks appeared.
After smashing the mirror with one foot, he shook his body and galloped away.
On the ground, although the broken mirror filled the cracks, it still reflected the sky, as if covering the world, covering all living beings, like half a vast human face with the remnant face of a god.
Remnant Mian closed his eyes indifferently, standing high above, only strands of withered, curved hair hung down.
That is the natural existence of this world like the sun and the moon.
It seems that under her, all living beings are ants, and it is like Jing Zhe, the phenomenon of the growth of all things, affected by it, has to change.
At this moment, the sky is also under the face of this god, and gradually loses its light.
The shadow of the setting sun is like a black haze, filling the ruins of the city, covering the earth, as if to engulf everything.
more rain
As the night gradually engulfed, so did the wind, and there were bursts of sharp whimpers.
As if the roar of a ghost, began to awaken the strange existence in this city, causing all kinds of creepy voices to respond one after another.
The running boy's footsteps are faster and his movements are more rapid. Between this and the dark night, he flexibly shuttles through the streets.
Until, when he passed a collapsed house and wanted to use his strength to jump far, the boy's Tong Kong suddenly shrank.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that not far away, there seemed to be a person among the ruins.
From a distance, the man was neatly dressed, as if he had no injuries, and was sitting there leaning against the wall.
The most important thing is that the exposed skin of the other party's body is actually normal color, not blue and black!
Such a figure, in this city, unless it is a living person, it is impossible to appear!
And the living... The teenagers these days, apart from himself, haven't met anyone else.
This scene shocked him, and he seemed to think of something very quickly, and his breathing was a little short.
Go there with the intention, but the smog-like night behind you has engulfed it.
The young man hesitated, remembered this position, and left quickly.
After galloping all the way, the boy finally returned to his temporary residence in this city before the night finally caught up with him.
It was a hole in the ground, which was very small and full of bird feathers.
The gap at the entrance is not big, adults can't get in, only teenagers can barely get in here.
After entering, he skillfully blocked the entrance with books, stones and other debris in the hole.
The moment it was completely filled, the darkness outside covered it in an instant.
The young man did not let his guard down, grabbed the iron stick in his hand, held his breath, and squatted there to listen for a long time.
Gradually, there were the roars and shrill sounds of alien beasts, occasionally mixed with strange laughter.
It wasn't until there was a clearer roar, and in the nervousness of the teenager, the voice seemed to pass by, and when it gradually became lighter, he breathed a sigh of relief and sat aside.
The cave was dark, and the boy sat there silently, as if time had stopped at this moment.
He was in a daze for a while, calmed down the nerves that had been tense all day, grabbed a water bottle from his side, took a few sips, ignored the sound outside, and took out the vulture in his pocket.
In the dark, put it on the side of the mouth and bite it bit by bit.
There were bursts of astringent taste in his throat, but he swallowed it calmly and slowly, and squeezed the food down his throat into his stomach.
At this moment, the stomach is also wriggling hard, trying to digest and relieve hunger.
Soon a whole vulture was eaten by him, and the boy took a deep breath, bursts of exhaustion flooded his body, and his eyes slowly closed.
But in his hand, he was still holding on to the jet-black iron stick, like a lone wolf dozing off.
If there seems to be any abnormality, he will open his eyes instantly.
In the outside world at this moment, the darkness is like a curtain, covering the city, the earth, and the sky.
The world under the sky is extremely vast, and Nanhuang Continent, which is overseas, is only one of them.
Few people know how big the whole world is, but the majestic face on the sky, with a strong shock, everyone can look up.
The exact time when this face will arrive is unknown.
People only know from the descriptions in some ancient books that a long, long time ago, this world full of fairy spirits was prosperous and full of vitality, until... This huge residual face, from the depths of the distant void, With destruction, attracted.
In the process of arriving, the sentient beings in this world tried every means to stop it, but all failed. In the end, only a few ancient emperors ruled and abandoned sentient beings with some clansmen and chose to migrate.
Soon, the residual face came, hanging in the sky, and from then on, the nightmare came.
The breath from her permeated the entire world, and the mountains, the sea, all things and all living beings, even the spiritual energy that the monks relied on to practice, were also infected by it.
All things wither, all living beings perish, and there is no one in a hundred.
From then on, those who survived this disaster with difficulty call this half of the human face... a god.
This world is called the end land, and the place where the ancient emperor ruled is called the holy land.
This title has been passed down from generation to generation after many epochs.
And the disasters brought by the gods are not only these, her majesty suppresses all beings all the time, because...
Every few years, decades or even hundreds of years, she would open her eyes from time to time and keep counting her breaths.
Every time she opened her eyes and looked at the area, it was instantly polluted by its strong aura.
Life was smeared into charcoal and turned into an eternal forbidden area.
For many epochs, there have been more and more restricted areas in this world, and fewer and fewer habitable areas.
Nine days ago, the god opened his eyes again, and the place he looked at was the area where the boy was.
All species and a dozen human race cities in that area, no matter where they exist, whether in the slums inside or outside the city, are instantly polluted and turned into forbidden areas for life.
Under this terrifying pollution, all living beings have directly decomposed into blood mist, some have mutated into strange beasts without spiritual wisdom, and some have lost their souls and left behind polluted blue-black corpses.
Only a very small number of people and beasts can survive.
Teenagers are one of them.
At this moment, outside the pitch-black cave, the sleeping boy quickly opened his eyes with a shrill sound from far to near.
The iron sign in his hand instinctively lifted, and he looked vigilantly at the blocked entrance gap.
It wasn't until the shrill voice circled around and gradually moved away that the young man breathed a sigh of relief.
Without sleepiness, he touched the leather bag and took out a bamboo slip from it.
In the darkness, he touched the writing on the bamboo slip, and there seemed to be some light in his eyes, then he sat upright, closed his eyes, and adjusted his breathing.
The young man named Xu Qing has lived alone in a slum outside the city since he was a child.
In the sudden catastrophe nine days ago, he hid in the crevices of the stone. Unlike other people who were terrified and mad, he calmly looked at the gods who opened their eyes in the sky, and in the eyes of the gods in the sky, the special cross boy hole seemed to be lost. emotion of fear.
Until he saw a purple light descend from the sky and landed on the northeast side of the city.
The next moment, he passed out in a coma.
After waking up, he became the only survivor inside and outside the city.
But he didn't leave immediately.
Because he knew that the forbidden area formed by the opening of the eyes of the gods would be enveloped in blood rain at the beginning and turned into an enchantment.
People inside can't get out, and people outside can't step in, unless the restricted area is completely formed.
And the sign formed is that the blood rain stops.
This catastrophe seemed nothing to Xu Qing, who grew up in a slum.
Because in the slums, whether it is all kinds of homeless people, wild dogs, or a disease, or even a cold night, people will lose their lives at any time, and it needs to be very difficult to survive.
And as long as you live, nothing else matters.
Of course, in the cruelty of the slums, there is occasionally a touch of warmth.
For example, some destitute scholars will teach and literate a group of their children to make a living. In addition, it is the memory of their relatives.
It's just that in Xu Qing's mind, the memories of his relatives passed by as time went by. Even if he tried hard to recall them, he was afraid that he would forget them, but they were still fading away.
But he knew that he was not an orphan and that he still had relatives, but they had long since been separated.
So his ideal is to live.
If you can live a little better, if you have the opportunity to see your relatives, it will be even better.
So fortunately, he did not die, and chose to enter the city.
He was going to the residences of the upper-class gentlemen in the city, looking for a way to make himself stronger, and even looking for the purple light that fell into the city.
And the way to become stronger has been circulated in the slums and is desired by everyone. They call it cultivation, and those who master the method of cultivation are called monks.
So becoming a monk is Xu Qing's greatest wish, apart from the memories of his relatives.
Cultivators are not uncommon. In the past few years in the slum, Xu Qing has seen such people entering the city from a distance.
Their typical characteristic is that their bodies instinctively shudder when they are staring at them.
Even Xu Qing heard people say that the city owner is a monk, and the guards around him also have monks.
So after searching in the city for a long time, five days ago, he finally found the bamboo slip in his hand on a corpse in the city lord's mansion.
It was very dangerous there, and the wound on his chest was left at that time.
What the bamboo slips recorded was the cultivation method he longed for.
All the content on it has long been familiar to him, and even in the past few days, he has begun to try to practice.
Xu Qing had never seen other cultivation techniques, and this bamboo slip was the only one obtained, and he did not know how to practice it correctly.
Fortunately, most of the descriptions are in simple and easy-to-understand words, focusing on visualization and breathing.
So after working step by step, he has gained some gains.
This method is called Haishan Jue.
The method of practice is to bring to mind the totems carved on bamboo slips, and to breathe in and out with specific breathing.
This picture is very strange, it is an alien existence, with a big head and a small body, only one leg, the whole body is black, and the face is as ferocious as a ghost.
Xu Qing had never seen this kind of creature, and it was called a mandrill on the bamboo slips.
At this moment, with the practice, not long after this picture came to mind, Xu Qing's breathing gradually changed, and there was an undercurrent in the nearby air.
The surrounding spiritual energy poured in, slowly burrowing into his body, flowing through the whole body, and there was a biting cold, and the parts where it passed were like being in ice water.
Xu Qing was afraid of the cold, but he resisted and didn't give up, still insisted.
Until a long time, when he finally ended this practice according to the requirements of the bamboo slips, his body was soaked in cold sweat.
And just after eating the belly of the vulture, there was a feeling of hunger again.
Xu Qing wiped away the cold sweat and touched his stomach again, his eyes showing firmness.
Since cultivating this technique, his food intake has obviously increased too much, and his body is more flexible than before.
All of this made him have a stronger tolerance for the cold during his cultivation.
Looking up at this moment, Xu Qing followed the gap at the entrance and looked outside.
Outside, it was pitch black, only the terrifying roar, sometimes strong and weak, echoed in the ears.
He didn't know the real reason why he became a survivor, maybe it was a fluke, or maybe it was... He saw that purple light.
So these days, while looking for exercises, he is also constantly going to the northeast region to find the place where Ziguang falls, but unfortunately he never found it.
In his thoughts, Xu Qing listened to the roars outside. The corpse leaning against the wall that I saw when I came back at sunset could not help but narrow my eyes.
The place where the other party is located is the Northeast region, and... seems to be a living person.
"Could it be related to Ziguang?"