52. Search for Death Qi Cultivators III
It is the middle of the night and Clay is silently meditating. One by one he inspected the beast cores naturally cycling Qi within his body. Aside from his skin slowly mutating, he needed to know any other changes to his body.
Considering what Urda said, he is certain he is not undergoing the same Beast Transformation everyone is familiar with but what worries him are the similarities in symptoms. He does not mind looking different but what he is worried about is his lifespan.
If they indeed have similar symptoms, then it means he only has a few months to live.
He wanted to extract and remove the Cores he incorporated into his body but Urda said it will not make a difference and even if it will not, he would be hesitant to remove it as it is the only way he can protect himself.
Exhale!
Clay sighed and while in deep thought, he heard a soft knock on the door.
"My apologies for disturbing you at this hour but a deacon from Tang Lib Guild is waiting for you outside." The door was still closed but Clay heard the voice of the inn keeper.
Clay got up to his feet.
He was not expecting that Urda would diligent work in the middle of the night.
When Clay stepped outside, he saw Urda holding a rope from a huge bird that looks like a White Stork.
"If we move now, you get to see your live sample before sunrise."
Clay smiled and hopped on the saddle.
SWISH!
Gust of wind blew away the nearby leaves as the bird flapped its wings. It started slow when the beast lifted off and when it levitated around two hundred meters, the bird imbued more Qi on its wings increasing its speed like an accelerating bullet.
Clay noticed that the speed they were traveling it is comparable to his power boosted on the 2nd. The big difference is that the bird they were riding on barely consumed Qi. He observed the circulation pattern of the bird through his Divine Sight but was disappointed since the Qi Nodes involved are mostly on the wings and feathers.
"It is a village near Nuwayak Town. Some bandits abducted some farmer's daughter and the farmer wanted revenge."
Clay did not respond and would rather remain silent during their flight. He felt awkward holding unto the waist of an old muscular man who looks like drug dealer. He felt like a teenage girl having her first taste of rebellion by falling in love with thug. It felt like a gay version of a classic love story he watch on Earth called Titanic. It is a more romantic version since they are flying on bird instead of a boat.
For a moment, Clay suddenly recalled that there was somebody with him during that movie but he could still not remember who.
Clay closed his eyes hoping to remember something but when he opened his eyes, it was already morning and it seems they have arrived at their destination as well
The exhausted bird slowly descended and landed on a patch of grass.
Later Clay and Urda climbed down a mountain and after a few minutes, they arrived at a vacant pasture near a village.
RAWRRR!!
RAWRRR!!
Clay heard disgruntled voices which sounded like rabid dog and when he finally got to see his live sample, he saw a middle aged man with red eyes, drooling and tied around a log while guarded around by three Foundation Establishment experts.
“That’s your Death Qi infested cultivator.” Urda commented.
The man tied in a log exuded a dark aura and on top of that, the discoloration of his skin had already spread all throughout his body and it has even grown claws.
If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
But unlike his transformation where his skin looks like that of a Horned Flame Lion, the Death Qi cultivator has dark chestnut skin.
"This is a common Aloe grass. Place a few extracts on your fingertip and touch the navel area of this pitiful beast then force your Qi into its dantian to destroy his cultivation. After that, its stoned skin will become vulnerable to attacks, but most importantly it will die after a few minutes of not doing anything." Urda summoned the grass knowing that Clay is not educated about this.
“Have the villagers disperse.” Clay noticed that there were a few villagers around and while he can subdue the Death Qi infested cultivator easily, he did not want any unforeseen events.
Urda only needed to stare at the nearby villagers to shoo them away.
“Don’t let anyone disturb me.” Clay instructed as he approached the infested rabid man.
"Be careful young friend. As you.."
Before Urda could finish his sentence, Clay activated his Qi Projection to the 2nd power and summoned a Qi Projection Hand interrupting Urda and to show that he can handle it.
Urda was shocked beyond belief.
Meanwhile, Clay activated his Divine Eyes to observe the infested man and when his vision changed, what greeted him is an image of pitch Black Qi circulation and looking up close, the man’s center of circulation or dantian has been replaced with a small circular mass around two centimeters in diameter.
Clay is getting a bad feeling. As he focused on the dark spot, he noticed an unknown circulation pattern but the image in the middle looks similar to the dendroid he has on the Beast Cores installed in his body.
Clay switched his Failed Superman's Eyesight II so he could see the man’s soul and what greeted him next confused him.
“What is that?”
Clay had always suspected that the balls of light reflected on the second version of Divine Sight are souls and this is the second time he would be seeing a peculiar soul. The man’s soul is enshrouded by a bluish mist.
This is the second time he has seen this and the first one was the young swordsman with mysterious Sword power. The difference though is that this subject has darker blue mist around its soul.
In an attempt to further observe the Death Qi infested cultivator, Clay simultaneously activated each version of the Failed Superman's Eyesight on both his eyes.
“Holy mother lord!” Clay exclaimed.
A magnificent image unraveled before him. It appears that the circulation pattern is extended to the mist surrounding the soul. The thread is very thin and barely perceptible.
RAWRRR!!
RAWRRR!!
Clay came to his senses when the infested man tried to struggle to break the ropes. He still have compassion left in him and remembering that Death Qi infested cultivators may gain a little sanity when sufficiently feed pills, he cut off a piece of meat from his spatial ring and inserted a few pills in it then used his Qi to guide the meat towards the man’s mouth.
He plans on performing euthanasia but out of respect, if there is a chance that this man can still think even for a few seconds, at least the man can properly say his goodbye.
The man gobbled up the piece of meat and after swallowing it, it became more enraged.
RAWRRR!!
After a minute, and contrary to Clay’s expectations, the infested man showed no signs of salvation.
*Exhale
Clay decided to kill the man but before delivering a fatal blow, he activated his Divine Sight one last time.
“What’s going on this time?” He mused as he noticed a thin thread of silver white light coursing through the meridians of the infested man. He could see it passed through the tiny core then upwards to the blue mist but it caused to return a stronger black mist.
Clay returned to his normal sight upon sensing the man emitting a stronger dark aura.
"Hey kid, I am not sure if you noticed but there is only two of us left. One of the cultivators already sent a signal exposing your location.”
Clay turned around in confusion as he looked at Urda.
“Did you know that there some big shots looking all over the place for you?"
Clay’s eyes squinted when he heard big shots. He did not need Urda to elaborate but it certainly has to do with the cultivators whom he killed months ago.
He is curious as to how did they find him.
While this world did not have surveillance cameras, they certainly have methods to track him down. As to how, he would like to know.
“How could I have been careless?” Clay cursed.
He thought he had been careful but he did not realize that Qi Projection Hand must have been the cause.
"If you decide to kill everyone in this village, I can even help you capture those who just escaped."
Clay finds it fascinating that Urda is still willing to help him. Whatever schemes this man has, he may be forced to kill him to avoid inviting more troubles.
"You do not seem afraid that I will kill you."
Urda chuckled. "Yeah right. If killing me would help, I would be delighted to become a corpse."
Earlier when Clay showed his power, Urda was stunned and astonished by how terrifying and intimidating the Qi Projections were and the reason he wanted to help Clay is because Clay’s power is exactly what he had been looking for.
As for he being killed, it is an idea that would never enter his mind.
He been observing Clay since they met and he views him as a young naïve harmless duck.
But that will certainly change. Like all other cultivators, they would start from being an inexperience rookie who would hesitate to kill a chicken for dinner. Then later, they will talk about probity and justify killing in the name of defending good from evil. Then finally, the only thing noble is the satisfaction of their greed.
“You’ve no idea who I killed.” Clay said as he turned around to leave. Despite Urda’s taunt, he could not muster any courage to kill him.
"Do not underestimate their ability to track you down. Since they will find you anyway, I ask you place this insect into your pocket. If you are lucky and they leave your corpse intact, the least I can do is give you a proper burial."
Clay did know why he allowed the Urda’s inset to land in his pocket but if this man proves to have sinister schemes, he will skin him alive.