The Terrifying Path of Immortal Cultivation

Wen Tianquan looked at Li Qing with a solemn expression and said, "The refugee camp outside the south gate just exploded."

"At least two hundred people died, all of them refugees fleeing for their lives."

Upon hearing this, Li Qing's eyes showed a hint of surprise. "How could this happen?"

"Because there's no food," Wen Tianquan sighed softly.

"No food? How is that possible? I heard that the government was distributing porridge," Li Qing questioned.

Wen Tianquan shook his head slightly, a strange expression on his face.

"One meal a day, thin soup and little water, how can that save lives?"

"The refugee camp was built just to let them die."

Upon hearing this, Li Qing was stunned. "What?"

Wen Tianquan shook his head and said, "There's more to this than meets the eye."

"Now there are more and more refugees outside, the number has even reached tens of thousands."

"We can't save them all."

Upon hearing this, Li Qing's expression turned from surprise to a hint of anger.

"Is this how callous it is?"

Wen Tianquan patted Li Qing on the shoulder. "Be realistic, this is not something we can handle."

"The Great Tang Dynasty has never lacked people."

"These refugees will only disrupt the stability of other cities, and the areas they come from will be desolate for hundreds of miles."

"It will take at least three to four years to restore the original state."

"I heard it might be caused by some kind of anomaly."

"We also need to guard against these anomalies sneaking into the city among them."

Upon hearing this, Li Qing sighed softly.

"Rise, people suffer; fall, people suffer."

It seems to be the same everywhere.

Hearing Li Qing's words, Wen Tianquan's eyes lit up. "I didn't expect you to be so eloquent."

Li Qing shrugged. "Just average."

At this moment, he was feeling somewhat uneasy, being a person from modern civilization.

Seeing such inhumane things in ancient times, it was impossible not to feel compassion.

Suddenly, a person walked into the mission hall, wearing a special suit of armor.

In a loud voice, he said, "We need three people to go to the mass grave and supervise the burial of the bodies."

"Because it will take a whole day, and the situation is quite special, there may be 2 to 3 mutated bodies, so this task is considered first-class, with 10 merits for each person."

Wen Tianquan immediately jumped up. "I'll go! We have two here."

Saying that, he grabbed Li Qing and rushed to the man in armor in front of everyone.

The man looked to be in his forties or fifties, with a full beard and restrained Essence Qi all over his body.

Looking at Wen Tianquan, he couldn't help but smile and say, "Wen Tianquan, you're always quick to come running when there's a chance for gain."

At this point, the others reacted.

They looked at Wen Tianquan and Li Qing with resentment. Their speed was indeed too fast.

In the end, amidst the excitement, another person snatched the task.

The three of them followed the man in armor and received the mission dossier. Under Wen Tianquan's leadership, they headed towards the mass grave.

On the way, Li Qing asked in a low voice, "Is this task dangerous? You're so enthusiastic, clearly it's a first-class task."

Wen Tianquan whispered, "This task is preventive in nature, and the location is quite special."

"The mass grave is where the unjustly dead are buried, and their grievances are very heavy."

"Sometimes there are anomalies, but they are usually of the ghostly kind."

"They rarely appear during the day, but sometimes at night."

"The burial workers have to work until dusk at least."

"It's very easy to disturb some ghostly creatures during this process."

"Also, some bodies are full of grievances, and if not handled properly, they can turn into monsters."

"These things are not very dangerous, but mainly troublesome. With many burial workers, if something goes wrong, many people will die. So we need to be careful at all times and protect the lives of the burial workers."

"That's why it's considered a first-class merit."

"But the chances of something happening are very low, so for us, it's actually a relatively easy task."

"At least the likelihood of encountering life-threatening situations is very low."

"So I took it to earn a good amount."

Upon hearing this, Li Qing smiled. "Thank you, I'm indeed in need of merits lately."

At this time, another person accompanying them on the mission was a middle-aged man with a gloomy complexion.

His name was Ying Taihua, and he looked like a Taoist, dressed in a black Taoist robe.

The three soon arrived at the west gate, where the mass grave was just a mile away.

At this point, there were already some burial workers pulling carts of corpses on the road.

These burial workers were the lowest of the low in the city, and only those with a tough character would do such work.

There were quite a few of them, at least seven or eight.

But they were legitimate officials, belonging to the burial bureau under the government.

They were responsible for clearing all kinds of bodies.

The three of them soon arrived at the mass grave. It was a desolate wilderness.

As far as the eye could see, undulating peaks were visible three miles away.

The ground was pockmarked and undulating, with many mounds, all containing buried bodies.

At this point, the seven or eight burial workers had chosen a spot and were digging the earth there.

Li Qing watched as they brought the bodies and piled them onto the carts.

In the current hot weather, these bodies were already emitting a bloody stench.

Li Qing frowned as he watched the burial workers digging and burying the bodies.

These bodies were all ragged, emaciated, with pale faces.

Their dead fish-like eyes stared blankly at the sky, devoid of any signs of life.

Li Qing looked into the eyes of the dead and felt a strange fear rising within him.

He seemed to see his own future in these people.

"If I'm not strong enough, perhaps in the future, I'll end up like them."

"Lying here like a dead dog."

He let out a heavy sigh, his eyes filled with solemnity.

But as he pondered, his brow furrowed suddenly.

His gaze fell on the wounds of these bodies.

He noticed something strange, very strange.

He walked over to the bodies and stood by, looking at the wounds.

There was coagulated blood, but it had turned somewhat black.

It had been at least half an hour since he saw the burst of Essence Qi from the blood. Blood couldn't turn black. "Is there a problem?"

Li Qing's eyes showed a hint of seriousness.

Wen Tianquan had been watching Li Qing all along and saw him standing by the cart of bodies.

He was surprised and quietly walked over.

"Is there something wrong?"

Li Qing glanced at Ying Taihua in the distance, who was keeping watch, and then at Wen Tianquan. The two of them walked to the side.

In a low voice, Li Qing said, "How long does it take for the blood of a body to turn black?"

Wen Tianquan furrowed his brow. "At least a day, I suppose."