Chapter 212: So, It Was You All Along!
Meanwhile, not very far away from Seven Blood Eyes near the Forbidden Sea was another abandoned teleportation portal. It flickered with light, and then a mist appeared above it, which gradually took a humanoid shape.
After the teleportation was complete, the figure smashed the teleportation portal to bits. Then he breathed a sigh of relief before throwing his head back and laughing long and hard. The mist grew denser, eventually revealing the features of a middle-aged man, his face filled with extreme complacency.
The truth was that, in the end, he had hoped to be captured by Xu Qing and then use the power of the teleportation portal to activate a secret magic. Everything had gone according to plan.
I haven’t lost too much time. Next, I just need to get to my employer and recite the formula for the supreme yin chosen assimilation pill, which I already memorized. As of now, I’m the only one who knows it, so if she doesn’t hand over the payment item I want, she can forget about ever getting the formula.
Laughing coldly, he burst into motion.
As he sped through the moonlit wilderness, he didn’t notice that, within his shadow... an eye opened. He was a grue, but he still had a shadow, and as long as that was the case, he was vulnerable to Xu Qing’s shadow. Xu Qing had intentionally let the Gruegloom get away. He had never believed the story about wanting to talk to Master Sixth. His plan all along had been to lure the Gruegloom into a sense of safety, then follow him to discover the identity of the true killer!
Back when searching for countless ghosts haunting the night, Xu Qing came to a clear understanding of how the shadow eyes worked. When they were very far away, the images they conveyed became blurry, but they could still impart a general sense of direction.
Opening his eyes, he made some adjustments to the teleportation portal. The other teleportation portal had been destroyed, but that didn’t matter. He had a direction to move in.
A moment later, he vanished.
Meanwhile, the Gruegloom cultivator was speeding along through the night near the waterfront. On more than one occasion, he looked over his shoulder, and the entire time, he was keeping close watch on his surroundings.
Despite confirming that he wasn’t being followed, he was still being very cautious. Sadly for him, he didn’t understand how Xu Qing’s shadow operated, and had no idea that his own shadow had an eye in it.
That said, the Gruegloom cultivator was being very cautious. He didn’t immediately go to the spot where his employer waited. He spent the entire night taking a roundabout route before eventually going to the shore. Eventually, he spotted a merchant vessel off in the distance.
“Hey!” he shouted. “Come meet me! I have the item you want!”
Then he stood there, quietly keeping an eye on his surroundings. However, he never noticed the eye in his shadow, which was narrowed to a slit, but was still observing him closely. After a long moment in which nothing happened, the Gruegloom turned and started moving in a different direction. Obviously, his words shouted to the merchant vessel had been an act to lure out any potential enemies in the area.
By now, he was finally starting to feel safe. Looking very pleased with himself as the light of dawn began to spread, he eventually reached the shore and jumped into the water. A moment later, a swordfish nearby shivered, then changed directions and started moving at high speed.
However... the shadow eye was locked onto the Gruegloom’s true form, so even when he possessed a new body, the shadow eye stuck with him. Grues existed on different levels, and the shadow was obviously on a much, much higher level than the Gruegloom. In fact, it was almost like the shadow was the grue’s ultimate nemesis.
Meanwhile, the shadow was pulsing with faint emotions. It had come to realize that it and the Gruegloom were a good match. If it hadn’t attempted to possess Xu Qing but instead this Gruegloom….
The shadow suddenly forced itself to stop thinking such evil thoughts. No, the Gruegloom was not a good match for it. It didn’t measure up to Fiendish Xu, and was only food. How could the shadow possibly consider possessing food?
The thoughts made the shadow feel embarrassed but at the same time terrified as it recalled the torment it had endured at the hands of Fiendish Xu. Forcing itself to cheer up, it worked hard on observing what was happening and conveying the information to Xu Qing.
The Gruegloom had no idea what was happening.
Time passed. The possessed swordfish sped through the water, taking a wide, arcing path. The Gruegloom switched hosts seven or eight times, picking a different sea beast each time. Finally, on the evening of the second day, it possessed a starfish.
Riding the waves, the starfish eventually landed on a black sand beach within Seven Blood Eyes territory.
Seawater dripped down onto the black sand, and moonlight shone down onto the frothy water. Everything was mysterious and quiet.
The Gruegloom starfish lay on the sand, not moving at all.
Time passed, and the night wore on. Eventually, the deepest part of night came and went. Dawn was approaching.... Soon it would be time for the sun to replace the moon.
Similarly... within the pre-dawn light, shadowy figures appeared in the distance.
There were four of them.
They wore black daoist robes with hoods that covered their heads, making it impossible to make out their facial features. In fact, the robes were so voluminous it was impossible to tell if these people were human or not.
None of them released any cultivation base fluctuations, and there was also a strange blurry haze around them. It was something that blocked divine sense, and was not the result of a magical device, but rather, an innate species ability.
The four figures walked along the beach until they eventually reached the Gruegloom in starfish form. When they stopped, one of them just stood there, while the other three moved away in three different directions. Some distance away, they produced disc-like objects which they placed on the ground and studied. They were obviously scanning the area. After finishing, they turned around and stood in place respectfully.
A breeze blew across the shore, carrying with it the pungent aroma of the sea. As it did, it stirred the garment of the figure standing next to the starfish. As the hood of the garment shifted... a strand of blue hair appeared!
Simultaneously, the figure within the hood spoke in a melodious voice.
“You’re late.”
The starfish on the ground responded, “I almost got killed in the Violet Lands. You didn’t tell me this mission was going to involve dealing with a degenerate psycho! He was more of a grue than me!”
“We had no idea that would happen,” came the response. “You’ll be fully compensated. Now, hand over the item.”
The breeze picked up, enough that the hood of the robe tumbled back, revealing an extremely pretty face. She had a mass of blue hair, as well as bright blue eyes, with skin as fair as jade. She was none other than... the Seastar princess who had come to visit Seven Blood Eyes! [1]
Upon arriving at Harbor 176, she had given Xu Qing a conch shell, and had frequently come to visit him afterward. On none of those occasions did she ever seem like she was plotting or scheming, and had always seemed to admire Xu Qing. She had asked a lot of seemingly random questions, but if you considered the group of questions as a whole... it was obvious she had been trying to learn more about Xu Qing’s personality and habits.
When you know a lot about someone, you can target them easier. All of it had been part of her plan. Everything had been devised with Xu Qing in mind.
“Hey, slow down,” the Gruegloom said. “Considering all of the chosen you’ve captured over the years, including many from Seven Blood Eyes, you have plenty of primary medicinal ingredients. You said you would compensate me, so I also want a supreme yin chosen assimilation pill!”
While the princess stared down at the starfish, one of the other black-robed Seastar people said, “Princess, we don’t have much time left. The elders’ powers are limited, and they can only keep us concealed for so long before Seven Blood Eyes notices something.”
“You’ll be rewarded back in our territory. Don’t worry, you can go back with us.” Without the slightest hesitation, the princess reached down and picked up the Gruegloom in starfish form.
However, right then...
A cold voice rang out, filled with killing intent.
“So, it was you all along!”
The moment the voice started talking, the Gruegloom starfish trembled and unhesitatingly self-detonated, killing himself.
At the same time, the Seastar princess’ expression flickered, and she shot backward. The other three Seastar cultivators immediately unleashed their cultivation bases to protect her.
She reacted too slowly. A figure moved with lightning-like speed in her direction. No longer was this person disguised as a middle-aged man. It was Xu Qing in his true form. Within him was a burning force like a continent on fire, and he was surrounded by a massive sea of black flames. And his killing intent surged to heaven.
Beneath his feet was a massive bluegreen dragon, like a vicious avenger, and behind him was a golden crow surrounded by black fire. Xu Qing was not holding back anything. He was letting all of his murderous rage out!
“Xu Qing!!” the Seastar princess blurted, her pupils constricting. But before she could back away, Xu Qing was right in front of her, launching a blow. Intense rumbling sounds echoed out as the ground below exploded. A huge crater opened up, and all four of the Seastar cultivators coughed up mouthfuls of blood.
One of them stepped forward to defend against the attack, but Xu Qing, in his rage, directed a palm strike at him, causing him to explode and be absorbed by the golden crow.
Xu Qing also extracted his soul, imprisoning it in a dharma aperture.
The remaining three Seastars were visibly flabbergasted. Without any hesitation, all three of them tapped into the full potential of their cultivation bases. Shockingly, two of them were in the two-flame level, and one was in the three-flame level!
The one with the three flames was the princess herself!
However, their cultivation bases were completely useless. Their life flames flickered unstably, and obviously wouldn’t remain lit for long. Meanwhile, Xu Qing, full of rage, erupted with tempestuous killing intent as he closed in on them.
1. The Seastar princess was introduced in chapter 199. ☜