Chapter 183: Bewitchingly Charming
He was unsealing his second seal!
The Captain’s true identity had always been a mystery. Xu Qing had his speculations about who he really was, and had even considered that he was the grand highness of the Seventh Peak. However, he would only consider that matter occasionally, as it wasn’t really important. After all, regardless of who the Captain was, it wouldn’t affect the unique relationship they had.
Seeing the Captain suddenly surging with energy, Xu Qing’s eyes glowed with a fierce light. He didn’t want to lose this bet either, and what was more, was very much interested in seeing the Captain transform into Third Princess.
Therefore, as soon as the Captain went all out, Xu Qing burned his life lamp even brighter. Then, the two of them clashed again.
Massive booms rang out everywhere. Having unsealed himself, the Captain’s entire body glowed with golden light that, to Xu Qing, seemed similar to godliness, yet wasn’t. Godliness was holy, but this sensation from the Captain seemed incredibly domineering, as if it was capable of crushing anything and everything. Surrounded by glittering light, the Captain waved his hand, creating a golden sea of light that in turn transformed into an enormous hand that crushed toward Xu Qing.
“You’re going to be Third Princess!” he roared.
The sea of light slammed into Xu Qing, shoving him backward relentlessly. That light seemed both crazy and domineering, making it difficult for him to breathe, and even affecting his cultivation base, causing his life flame to flicker.
From a distance, that giant golden hand was a hundred times larger than Xu Qing, and it seemed like there was no way he could stop it from smashing him down into the water.
This level of might seemed like the level of two flames to Xu Qing. And the speed was so great he had a hard time matching it. The only way to do so... would be to have the power of three flames!
Xu Qing’s pupils constricted as killing intent filled his eyes. The veins on his forehead bulged, and he threw both hands out. Instantly, the cry of a bird echoed out from behind him, and black flames surged as the golden crow swirled out. As it threw its head back and howled, it superimposed itself on Xu Qing.
The golden crow’s body overlapped with his, covering his violet robe. The feathers became like an imperial robe, illusory, yet bursting with a sense of majesty. The head became like an imperial crown pulsing with a paragonic aura. The phoenix-like tail became a pendant, and the black sea of flames attached to it became a cloak.
From a distance, Xu Qing, with his delicate and even pretty face, coupled with this extraordinary outfit, made him seem like a young emperor. In fact, he actually seemed similar to the golden crow Ancient Emperor in the dragon chariot.
Even the Captain was stunned, and his eyes narrowed as Xu Qing expressionlessly clenched his right hand into a fist and punched toward the incoming hand!
The punch was a combination of his life flame, life lamp, and the berserk fleshly body power of Golden Crow Assimilates Myriad Spirits. Together, they created the most powerful attack he was currently capable of. Heaven and earth rumbled as the fist created an illusory projection that grew larger by the moment, until it was just as big as the incoming hand. And it also radiated an extremely domineering sensation!
However, the domineering sensation from Xu Qing felt like the disdain of an imperial monarch, whereas the Captain’s felt like the madness of a savage.
When they hit each other, a deafening explosion occurred at the impact point.
Blood sprayed out of Xu Qing’s mouth as he was sent spinning off to the side. The imperial garb created by Golden Crow Assimilates Myriad Spirits couldn’t stand up to the force, and disappeared. At the same time, pain exploded into Xu Qing’s right fist as his arm was dislocated.
The Captain similarly coughed up blood as he was cast backward, completely out of control. The magical symbol in his eyes flickered a few times, then faded away. His right hand also flared with pain, and a cracking sound rang out from his wrist as, apparently, it broke.
As the two of them skidded away from each other, panting for breath, Xu Qing grabbed his right arm with his left hand, and wrenched it back into place.
At the same time, the Captain waved his left hand, causing golden light to flare, instantly healing the damage to his wrist. Not showing any indication that he felt pain, he calmly said, “Not bad, punk. You already have about ten percent of the battle prowess your director can unleash. Keep working hard. Oh, by the way... you lose.” With that, the Captain looked at the surface of the water.
The sea snake the two of them had been fighting over was currently being wrapped up by a tentacle that then dragged it out of the water.
The Captain looked very pleased with himself, and was clearly expecting Xu Qing to say something. However, that was when a gruish light shone in the eyes of the snake, and it opened its mouth wide and bit its own neck.
The bite contained immense power, and the snake was clearly holding nothing back in the effort. A ripping sound could be heard as the snake’s head was torn off the rest of its body. However, it wasn’t dead. The gruish sensation grew even stronger as the snake then began to eat the rest of its body. Blood sprayed out from the severed parts of the snake, creating a shocking and ghastly sight.
As the Captain stared in shock, Xu Qing calmly said, “Actually, Captain. I win.”
After the words left his mouth, the snake’s head shuddered, and then it seemed to lose whatever power was sustaining it. It dropped down into the water, while Xu Qing’s shadow quietly returned to him.
It was only at this point that Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior finally managed to unseal himself. Returning to Xu Qing, he looked angrily at the Captain. The patriarch had lost a lot of face just now, and what was more, he had to wonder if the Fiendish Xu was going to think he was useless after this fight. Even worse, the shadow had clearly performed amazingly. The patriarch felt a sensation of crisis growing stronger and stronger within him.
The Captain stared blankly at the mangled sea snake floating on the surface of the water. Then he looked at Xu Qing. Seemingly a bit embarrassed, he lowered his voice and said, “Little Junior Brother, why don’t we negotiate a way—”
“You lose.”
“Hey, you dropped a spirit note!”
“You lose.”
“Yeah, yeah. I get it. Wait, I just had a really good idea! I think—”
“I said. You. Lose!” Xu Qing’s expression was very serious as he said the words one at a time. Then he thought for a moment, and an odd expression appeared on his face, as if he disapproved of the Captain’s behavior. As far as Xu Qing was concerned, if you lost a bet, you needed to take the matter very seriously. It was just as important as paying back money you owed. Both came down to heaven’s law and earth’s principle.
Meanwhile, the Captain was having trouble steadying his breathing. His eyes were bloodshot, and he was even grinding his teeth.
“Fine. All we’re talking about is dressing up like Third Princess, right? Not a big deal! Hold on a second!” Eyes filling with determination, he turned and went into the ship’s cabin.
The anticipation in Xu Qing’s heart built as he stared at the cabin door and waited.
Time ticked by. About an hour later, when Xu Qing was just beginning to lose patience, the cabin door slowly opened, and a bewitchingly charming, elegantly lithe young woman strode out.
She was none other than Third Princess.
At first, she walked slowly and steadily. But after taking a few steps, she turned her delicate and charming face toward Xu Qing. That was when she noticed the odd look on his face, and her own expression turned sour. Snorting coldly to hold back from lashing out, she stomped over to him, then hiked up her skirt, revealing two long legs. Squatting down, she pulled out a large apple and viciously took a bite.
“Happy?” the Captain said. His disguise was remarkably true to life, making him truly a feast for the eyes. No matter which angle Xu Qing looked at him from, he couldn’t find any flaws. The only exception was that his legs were a bit too hairy. Everything else was perfect. The bright eyes and white teeth. The dainty hands, as fair as jade. The arms as slender as a lotus root. Even the most beautiful female disciples back in the sect would have been jealous at the sight.
Xu Qing was really curious about how the Captain managed to do this, and took a long moment to size him up. Meanwhile, the clearly irritated Captain stretched a delicate hand toward Xu Qing.
“Give me the bag of holding.”
Xu Qing took out Third Princess’s bag of holding and held it upside down. Instantly, numerous miscellaneous objects tumbled out into a big pile. Most were clothing items. There weren’t very many spirit stones, although there were some small black stones that pulsed with mutagen. And Xu Qing also spotted numerous finger-sized crystal bottles, all of which contained black pearls. And each pearl had a magical symbol inside. Presumably, it was an item like this that he’d run into with his dharmaskiff.
“So many!” Xu Qing picked up one of the bottles to inspect.
Rifling through the other things, the Captain said, “Those things are called Yin-Illuminating Lightning Pearls. They’re a disposable magical device unique to Seazombies. They’re very powerful, and can only be created by top Seazombie experts. Because of that, they’re rare among other species, and go for different prices depending on how powerful they are.
“Different Seazombies will make different versions. There was one type created by the Seazombie patriarch that could unleash an attack comparable to the Nascent Soul level. A few years ago, it went up for auction in the Violet Lands, and ended up selling for an astronomical price. One unique property of these pearls is that you need to power them up with blood. And they’re more lethal to whatever species the blood comes from.”
As he spoke, the Captain picked up an identity medallion. Sounding pleased, he continued, “I spent a lot of money on this disguise technique. It’s really amazing. Not only does it allow you to imitate the aura of a species, but also, it can perfectly mask your own fluctuations. Since I’ve been keeping an eye on Third Princess for a while now, I can imitate her perfectly.
“Now, we need to head into Seazombie territory. As long as we don’t somehow end up stuck there for a long time, and as long as we don’t run into any Gold Core experts who can pierce through this disguise, then no one will have any idea what’s going on.”
At this point, the Captain looked at Xu Qing and then tossed him a white robe. He also handed him a small bottle.
“Get dressed in that. Then open the bottle and pour some of the contents on yourself. It will allow you to exude zombie poison, plus, it will mask your aura and change your physical appearance.”
Xu Qing did as told. Afterward, the zombie poison he emanated and his withered features made him look exactly like a Seazombie. As for the little bottle, Xu Qing could tell that it had been created by someone with a very extraordinary cultivation base. Furthermore, it gave him even new insights into the unorthodox and extraordinary things the Captain did.
“And now,” the Captain said somberly, “you’re going to be my dao protector. You will escort me, the princess, back to Seazombie territory. Going forward, we need to put on an act that nobody can see through. Agreed?”
Xu Qing nodded, as what the Captain said definitely did make sense.
The Captain cleared his throat, stretched at the waist a few times, which revealed his attractive figure, then sat down and slowly crossed his legs. Gently bobbing one leg up and down, he took out an apple and bit into it.
“Come, little Ah Qing. The princess needs a leg massage.”
Xu Qing looked at the Captain, then took out some poison powder from his bag of holding and prepared to pour it out into his palm.
The Captain tucked his legs back and looked somberly at Xu Qing. “It just occurred to me that we need to talk about the plan.”