Before long, footsteps could be heard as the group from the Church of Departure walked out of the forest and to the ridge line surrounding the basin. There were eight of them, and they all wore black cloaks with red suns embroidered on them. They looked strange and bizarre, and at the same time, radiated a sinister coldness. That was especially true given how their eyes gleamed within the darkness of their hoods. There wasn’t a scrap of emotion on them, as if the living beings here meant absolutely nothing to them and their Church.

That apathy toward death struck the rogue cultivators and nonhumans to the core. Even the Sea Ghosts, who were widely known to be cruel and ruthless, seemed somewhat afraid of them. After all, cruelty and ruthlessness were aspects of humanity. However, the people from the Church of Departure seemed like emotionless killing machines.

Along with their arrival came a sinister coldness that filled the basin and caused many of the surrounding rogue cultivators to finally turn and leave. The people from the Church of Departure didn’t bother looking at such rogue cultivators. They simply sat down cross-legged. After that, they didn’t move a muscle.

Xu Qing glanced at them, but didn’t see the big brother of that young girl from the scavenger basecamp, so he looked away and closed his...