Chapter 143: Set to Kill
Xu Qing had his own set of principles. Previously, this person chased a giantfang shark right past him. It wasn’t that he hadn’t been tempted by that shark. He had been. But he hadn’t made a move because he felt that the shark wasn’t his.
It was just like that time, so long ago, when Sergeant Thunder gave him some steamed buns to eat. He had been deeply grateful from the bottom of his heart. That said, he wouldn’t have felt it inappropriate for Sergeant Thunder to not give him those buns. Later, he treated Sergeant Thunder to some snake, and had felt fully justified in joining whole-heartedly. He had no problem wolfing down what belonged to him.
It was the same today. He had worked hard to capture that armored mackerel, had nearly killed it, and was just about to fully extract its soul. Then this person rudely jumped in and attacked the fish. It was behavior that, to Xu Qing, crossed the line. The last person who had acted this way toward Xu Qing was that young merman. If someone far stronger than him treated him in this way, he would patiently wait for the right opportunity to destroy them. But this person wasn’t that strong. And Xu Qing wasn’t feeling patient.
Bursting into motion, his black dagger rippled with dark flames as he aimed it toward the young man’s throat.
The First Peak disciple’s sword had collapsed, but an illusory sword appeared in front of him which blurred to intercept the dagger.
A boom rang out, and Xu Qing didn’t hesitate to follow up with a punch mirrored by the howling spectral drought demon. His Sea and Mountain Incantation coupled with his dharma body unleashed such force that a vortex sprang into being in the air in front of his fist, rumbling toward the First Peak disciple like it could rip apart anything it touched.
The First Peak disciple’s expression flickered as he backed up. His hands met each other to perform an incantation gesture, but then Xu Qing’s shadow closed in, wrapped around his wrist, and interrupted. That distraction had profound effects.
Xu Qing’s fist slammed into the illusory sword in front of the disciple. His fist crushed through the sword like a boulder crushing a drinking glass, and as the sword exploded, the blow landed on the young man. The First Peak disciple’s pupils constricted, and blood sprayed out of his mouth as he tumbled backward like a kite with its string cut. And before he could stabilize the terrifying force threatening to rip him apart from the inside, the water below him exploded as a snakeneck dragon lunged up with its gaping maw. At the same time, a huge heavenly saber appeared, bursting with shocking momentum as it slashed toward him.
In that moment of deadly crisis, the First Peak disciple’s eyes were bloodshot and he howled at the top of his lungs. Instantly, something like a furnace raged into life within him, something almost like the profound radiance state. Brilliant light spread out everywhere, shredding the snakeneck dragon into pieces that dropped down to the water below. They quickly reformed, but it was obvious the dragon had sustained serious damage. Meanwhile, the heavenly saber struck true, but let loose a thrumming boom as it did. Though the saber hit the disciple, it didn’t slash him in half. Instead, it caused blood to ooze out of his mouth as he borrowed the force from the blow to retreat 300 meters.
Xu Qing had noticed that the young man had something that resembled the profound radiance state, yet was different. His best guess was that it was a secret magic that released a fraction of the power of the profound radiance state. However, this young man didn’t have a life flame, and therefore, using this secret magic would harm him.
Xu Qing’s assessment was correct. As the First Peak disciple fell back, he coughed up a huge mouthful of blood, and the raging furnace within him winked out. His face was now very pale, yet his eyes were still locked on Xu Qing and burning with the desire to do battle. He didn’t know Xu Qing, and didn’t believe that Xu Qing was worth knowing. This disciple was the most recent, and also final, apprentice to be taken in by the peaklord of the First Peak. In other words, he was the First Peak’s ninth highness, and it had been a very long time since he encountered a fellow disciple from the sect who could make him cough up blood.
Now, his eyes filled with killing intent as he glared at Xu Qing. Stabilizing his energy and blood, he wiped his mouth clean of blood and waved his trembling right hand. Instantly, a host of over thirty bronze swords appeared behind him, arranged in a complex spell formation pattern. As they radiated intense sword energy, he pointed at Xu Qing, and the swords shot forward. Then the First Peak disciple sprang into motion, looking almost like a sword himself as he headed right toward Xu Qing.
Xu Qing looked completely calm as he also charged forward, waving his hand to cause the black fire in his 11 dharma apertures to spring to life. The fire then erupted out of him, wreathing him completely in flame. At the same time, numerous illusory flame daggers appeared around him.
When they slammed into each other, a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering boom rumbled out. Xu Qing’s daggers collapsed, and the flames surrounding him faded a bit. However, the First Peak disciple’s swords all shattered, and he coughed up three successive mouthfuls of blood.
Xu Qing also sustained injuries, but because of his body cultivation and dharma body, he didn’t even pay attention to them.
But the First Peak disciple was an extraordinary individual. More sword projections appeared around him and shot toward Xu Qing as he approached, filling the sky and causing rumbling sounds to echo out over the surface of the water.
Xu Qing waved his right hand, and a huge wave rolled up, transforming into an enormous hand that grabbed toward his opponent. Meanwhile, the First Peak disciple performed an incantation gesture and touched his forehead. Instantly, the mark of a sun appeared on his forehead, then sent out dazzling light that destroyed the hand of water. Xu Qing frowned, but kept pressing the attack. This time, as they closed in on each other, he decided to resort to a simple head-butt. A boom rang out, and blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth.
At the same time, the First Peak disciple howled in grief, tumbling back, his forehead bleeding and seemingly about to collapse.
Xu Qing was about to chase after him again, but suddenly realized something and backed up. The instant he did, all of the broken pieces of the sword from earlier suddenly shot out of the water, creating a tornado of blades that swept right over the spot where he would have been passing through if he gave chase.
The First Peak disciple suddenly ceased howling. After backing up a few more meters, he stopped in place to catch his breath. Inside, he was shaken by Xu Qing’s performance. The First Peak disciple felt confident in his own status as a very strong cultivator. His own Master had outright said he was. In fact, his Master said he was the strongest new Foundation Establishment cultivator with no profound radiance state in the entire history of the First Peak.
This fight was a big blow to his faith in himself. However, he wasn’t ready to give in yet.
“When I go strolling in the sky; the sun and moon both say good-bye!”
The only response he got from Xu Qing was a second godly attack from his dharmaskiff. The dazzling beam of light caused everything around it to ripple and distort as it shot toward the First Peak disciple. The First Peak disciple’s expression yet again flickered, and he immediately threw out a jade talisman in front of him. The talisman exploded, and a host of soul shadows appeared from within it.
These soul shadows were all the beasts the First Peak disciple had slain. By using a special sealing method, he captured them and transformed them into a magical technique he could unleash. Most were beasts from forbidden region jungles. As they appeared in the open, they merged together to form one huge, pitch-black monster that faced the incoming attack of godliness. Everything rumbled loudly.
The First Peak disciple’s eyes burned with killing intent as he bit the tip of his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood. Then he lifted his right hand again and jabbed it onto his forehead. A tremor passed through him, and his energy and blood surged. His skin became crimson, to the point where he looked like he was covered in blood. And there was something sharp and incisive that glittered within him as well. Just barely, it was possible to see the image of a huge, blood-colored sword surrounding him as he pierced through the air toward Xu Qing.
Xu Qing felt a sensation of danger, but he didn’t back down. Throwing both hands out in front of him, he tapped into all 11 of his dharma apertures, causing each of them to emit a 1,500-meter sea of fire.
Combined together, that was a total of 16,500 meters that raged in all directions. As that sea of fire was reflected in the water below, the Forbidden Sea energy for 16,500 meters in all directions combined with it, creating a crushing pressure. And the First Peak disciple in his blood sword form slammed right into it.
A boom rang out. Xu Qing’s 16,500-meter sea trembled and began to fade away. But at the same time, the First Peak disciple in his sword form shook violently, and began to collapse starting from the tip of the sword. It didn’t take long. After ten breaths of time, the blood sword collapsed, and the First Peak disciple was sent tumbling away. As he did, Xu Qing’s 16,500-meter spirit sea became a massive fist which shot toward him.
Mouthful after mouthful of blood sprayed out of the First Peak disciple’s mouth, and his eyes went wide. In that critical and potentially deadly moment, he didn’t hesitate to pull out a pearl that he then crushed. A haze of water vapor instantly surrounded him, blocking Xu Qing’s terrifying attack, and simultaneously allowing the First Peak disciple to turn and flee. His expression seemed very unsightly, and he had given up any aspirations of continuing the fight.
For one thing, he got the feeling he couldn’t beat this opponent. In addition to that, he was terrified of this Seventh Peak disciple’s spirit sea. He couldn’t assess Xu Qing’s cultivation base, but he had the feeling it was close to being able to produce a life flame.
However, just as he thought he was about to escape, a black shadow shot out of the water and wrapped around his leg. Then, the First Peak disciple’s face fell as he realized an iron skewer was shooting toward his throat. He was nearly losing his mind with the intense sense of imminent crisis. Before he could do anything, a pop could be heard as the iron skewer hit him.
However, it didn’t pierce into the skin of his throat. What was more, it seemed the shadow had finally met its match, as the First Peak disciple slipped out of its grip as if he were coated in oil.
The First Peak disciple didn’t escape without paying a price, though, as a jade pendant he had hanging around his neck shattered.
It was a life-saving item his Master had given him, which would substitute itself for him in death. Now that it was destroyed, true terror appeared in the First Peak disciple’s eyes. Without any hesitation, he started fleeing at the highest speed he could muster. However, behind him, Xu Qing waved his hand, causing his dharmaskiff to fly out of the nearby bay. As its wings unfurled, Xu Qing jumped onto it, recalled his shadow and skewer, and then started chasing after the First Peak disciple.
This opponent was strong. In fact, he was the strongest Foundation Establishment cultivator Xu Qing had encountered outside of the Captain in his profound radiance state.
If the old Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior faced an opponent like this, he would die within three breaths of time. But he had stolen something that belonged to Xu Qing, and therefore, Xu Qing was dead set on killing him.