Chapter 163: A Freak!
Seven Blood Eyes was a sect in which profit was the most important thing to everyone. For that reason, the weak showed clear respect to the strong. And no one would be foolish enough to behave improperly in front of someone stronger than them. People who did that didn’t end up living for very long.
That was why the Fifth Peak Foundation Establishment disciple was acting as respectfully as if Xu Qing were a sect elder. It didn’t matter what he thought inside, he made sure to show the right attitude on the outside. In response to the disciple’s words, Xu Qing nodded, then found a place to sit down cross-legged and meditate. His plan was to wait for the tideflow, and simultaneously work on his 41st dharma aperture. The soul of a life flame Foundation Establishment cultivator turned out to be just as useful as he’d imagined. It only took a moment for him to open his 41st dharma aperture, and even make some progress with his 42nd. He felt very pleased. If he could keep up this level of progress, then it wouldn’t be long before he could ignite his second life flame. At that point, it would look like he had two flames, but would actually be as strong as someone with three.
Sadly, Foundation Establishment cultivators with life flames aren’t very common. I guess it’s going to come down to luck. The more he thought about it, the more he realized he was probably going to have to accept dangerous missions.
As he pondered the matter, more disciples entered the valley to help the Second Peak disciples dismantle their pill furnaces and magical devices. When all of the work was done, the disciples gathered near the teleportation portal to wait for the sect’s tideflow to arrive.
Of course, many of them were surreptitiously looking at Xu Qing and whispering amongst themselves. He was their pillar now. Though they were still on the battlefield, his presence made them feel a lot safer. As time passed, the island shook and trembled. Simultaneously, the fluctuations of teleportation continued to spread out. Also, the mutagen got stronger. Meanwhile, the sky grew darker, and the clouds above made the sky vague and indistinct, as though great danger were hidden inside them.
As Xu Qing sat in meditation, the young woman from the Second Peak approached, holding her ripped garment against her chest as she did. She was obviously seriously injured, as her face was pale white. However, it didn’t make her any less attractive. She had an oval face with arching eyebrows and phoenix-like eyes that seemed perpetually sad. Her age was probably around thirty, and because of her constant work with medicinal pills, she was similar to Gu Muqing in that she exuded a pleasant, medicinal aroma.
“Elder Brother, I previously hid a lot of magical eyes on this island. More than half have been destroyed, but there are enough left to get a good idea of what’s going on.”
Xu Qing looked at her. It was hard to say if she was doing it intentionally, but the way she stood over Xu Qing as he sat there made it impossible for him to not see right through the ripped part of her garment to her half-covered bosom, which was as fair as snow.
Xu Qing shifted his gaze to focus on her face.
Meanwhile, as she got a good look at his face, and sensed how terrifyingly powerful he was, her heart started pounding. However, she quickly realized she was acting inappropriately, so she bowed her head, performed an incantation gesture, and summoned a projected image.
The image revealed large amounts of Seazombies pouring onto the other islands from the water. It was a shocking scene. There were Seazombies converging on this island as well, in several locations, including the valley they were in.
“How long until the tideflow?” Xu Qing asked.
“A hundred breaths of time.” The one to answer wasn’t the young woman, but Gu Muqing.
She seemed anxious as her long black hair swirled around her. A few strands of hair fell across her face, but that only made her seem more beautiful. Her bright eyes, and the pleasant aroma she naturally exuded, made her seem like a beauty from a painting.
Looking at the injured Second Peak cultivator, she bowed slightly. “Well met, Sect Aunt Li.”
The woman smiled, then gave a deep, meaningful look to Gu Muqing, who in her eyes was nothing more than a little girl.
Gu Muqing turned back to Xu Qing. “Elder Brother Xu.” When she confirmed that Xu Qing didn’t mind if she addressed him in that manner, she relaxed a bit inwardly. “Elder Brother Xu,” she continued, “this jade slip contains all the instructions for the taboo pills here. We were instructed to activate the pills before we left. You have the highest cultivation base here, so the decision is yours to make.” With that, she handed him a jade slip.
He took it, not bothering to think about why Gu Muqing possessed the jade slip, and not the Foundation Establishment cultivator. As he well knew, many of the old-timers in Second Peak trusted conclave disciples more than anyone else, so it was no surprise to him.
As he scanned the jade slip, shouting could be heard from outside the valley as a group of Seazombie cultivators appeared. Hardly paying any attention at all to the corpses on the ground, they charged into the valley.
Everyone in the valley seemed nervous, but Xu Qing didn’t look away from the jade slip.
However, only a moment later, agonized shrieks rang out as the approaching Seazombies realized they had started melting. Some only managed to take a few more steps before becoming nothing more than pools of blue blood. The disciples in the valley were all shaken. However, the Second Peak disciples recovered their wits more quickly than the others. Looking at the area where the Seazombies had been killed, they then looked at Xu Qing. They knew that it was poison.
Only a very unique poison could kill a Seazombie so quickly, and could only be concocted by someone with a very deep understanding of medicinal theory. And it would also require a lot of experimentation. The former was a lot more attainable than the latter.
That was one reason why not very many people on the Second Peak specialized in concocting poison. Oftentimes, the person concocting the poison would end up poisoning themselves and dying before they even had a chance to use their poison on someone else.
The presence of the deadly poison made everyone feel a little less nervous, and the area outside the valley went quiet. The poison there, plus the presence of the iron skewer and Xu Qing’s shadow, ensured that things were still.
Thus, a hundred breaths of time passed, and everyone stood and approached the teleportation portal to wait for its activation. The portal wasn’t very large, and thus, it was going to take three rounds of teleportation to get everyone out.
Standing, Xu Qing walked over to the portal, and was about to say something when his expression suddenly flickered, and he looked in the direction of the valley entrance. There in the distance, from out of the darkness of the night, emerged a burning fire surrounding a man in a white robe. He pulsed with zombie poison, and had a profound radiance state that obviously surpassed the level of one life flame. As he neared, thunder rumbled.
He moved with such incredible speed that ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators couldn’t track his movements properly. Not even the Second Peak woman with one life flame was able to see him clearly. The other disciples present simply felt an immense pressure building up in their minds.
The volcanic power within this Seazombie, combined with his zombie poison, made it so that the flames surrounding him were green.
Two life flames. Xu Qing’s pupils constricted.
This was the first cultivator Xu Qing had seen on the battlefield who had two life flames. His shocking power and burning light made everything in the area turn a shade of green. It was like a huge green hand was approaching the valley to crush it.
When the approaching white-robed Seazombie got close enough to see everything in the valley clearly, he seemed to pause for a moment. But then he laughed bizarrely and sped up. Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed as he stepped forward and ignited his life flame.
The volcanic eruption caused him to enter the profound radiance state, which was now becoming quite familiar. Then, everything around him slowed down except for the incoming white-robed Seazombie. Xu Qing shot up into the air to meet him.
In the blink of an eye, they slammed into each other, causing a boom to crash out that surpassed any kind of thunder. Then Xu Qing clenched his right hand into a fist and let loose a punch backed by his burning life flame. The white-robed Seazombie did the exact same thing, and when their fists met, another huge boom exploded out.
A tremor passed through Xu Qing, and he felt his internal organs vibrating. This opponent was so powerful that he was now gaining a new appreciation for two-flame opponents. Thanks to the reserves he had built up in Qi Condensation, and his life lamp, he should still have an advantage over someone with two life flames. But from what he could tell, he was about on equal footing with this white-robed Seazombie.
Waving his hand, he sent his snakeneck dragon roaring forth, while simultaneously tapping into his balefire to summon a host of flame daggers. As the daggers flew forth, he raised his left hand over head to summon the heavenly saber. Boosted by the profound radiance state, the saber was stronger and could affect a greater area. And black flames wreathed it as it slashed toward the white-robed Seazombie. A huge boom rang out.
The white-robed Seazombie staggered backward, as if it had been difficult to stand up to the attack, and his life flame was flickering dangerously.
Then, Xu Qing’s expression turned more vicious as he pressed the attack. The Seazombie’s white robe was so voluminous it was hard to make out his facial features. But his zombie poison was extremely potent. What was more, his eyes were visible, and they radiated a crazy look that caused Xu Qing to frown briefly. However, there wasn’t time for him to consider the situation at length. Charging forward, he slammed into the Seazombie again.
Booms rang out continuously as they clashed back and forth, moving at incredible speed and unleashing shocking magical techniques. In the space of only a few dozen breaths, they attacked each other over a hundred times.
After a final barrage, the two of them backed away from each other. Xu Qing was coughing up blood, as was the Seazombie. However, as the Seazombie glared at Xu Qing, his eyes radiated that crazy look, plus... a bit of defiance.
Xu Qing looked him in the eyes. Then, without a word, he tapped into that volcanic power and shot forward like a blade.
His dagger danced, and the heavenly saber appeared. His spirit seas unleashed crushing might, and the black iron skewer shot through the air, its bell tinkling. Of course, Xu Qing released poison as he attacked. As he closed in at top speed, he aimed his dagger right at his enemy’s throat.
The white-robed Seazombie was also extraordinarily skilled. His hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, causing frigid cold to freeze the entire area in front of Xu Qing, blocking his path. As that barrier shot up, the Seazombie also launched an attack.
Xu Qing was forced to back away. At this point, the Seazombie cultivator’s eyes shone brightly as he suddenly used a secret magic to pierce through the air and appear right in front of Xu Qing and reach out toward his throat.
Seeing that, Xu Qing did something the Seazombie couldn’t ever have predicted. Instead of evading, he viciously head-butted the Seazombie’s hand.
As blood flowed out of Xu Qing’s head, the white-robed Seazombie’s hand collapsed past the wrist, and he howled in anguish. Then, just as he was about to flee, Xu Qing pressed the attack and slashed his dagger into the Seazombie’s abdomen.
The attack was so quick that the white-robed Seazombie’s pupils constricted, and he lunged in the opposite direction. Though he succeeded, he didn’t quite move fast enough, and Xu Qing’s blade slashed open his robe, causing some items inside to fall out.
It was an odd assortment of things, but what stood out most to anyone who could see it was the fruit. There were tangerines, peaches, pears, and of course a lot of apples….