Chapter 344: Shadow Fusion Secret Magic
As Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior got more and more nervous, he happened to notice Xu Qing looking at the whirlpool. Within Xu Qing’s eyes were keen anticipation.
As far as the patriarch could remember, Xu Qing had never looked at him in that way. That caused the patriarch to grow even more flustered inwardly. Lightning started flickering in his eyes, as he apparently pushed himself to the limit. Madness swelled within him as he looked at Xu Qing and spoke via divine will, “Milord, please produce those mirrors for me.”
Despite being spoken with divine will, it was still possible for Xu Qing to sense the determination and madness in the words. Glancing at the patriarch, he waved his hand, sending out the collection of mirrors from August Spirit Nethersprite’s mansion grotto.
Without another word, the patriarch sent the skewer flying toward the mirrors. He stabbed into the nearest one, and a scream rang out as the spirit automaton within it was devoured by the patriarch.
Xu Qing had previously inspected that so-called spirit automaton, and knew that it wasn’t complete. It was more like a sliver of will, and was a long way from becoming a true spirit automaton.
Next the patriarch went on to the second, the third, and the fourth mirror.... In the blink of an eye he devoured the will of seventy percent of the mirrors. Lightning crackled around him, and it almost looked like he would completely transform into lightning. A mad howl escaped his lips.
Xu Qing was a little surprised at what was happening, as he could sense that the patriarch was putting everything on the line.
The truth was that Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior was already at his limit. Devouring more wouldn’t necessarily guarantee that he would be able to break through. However, seeing Xu Qing’s gaze, he felt that it was all worth it.
Around then, the whirlpool the shadow was in began emanating even more intense fluctuations. Along with them came a howl that could shake one down to the soul.
Xu Qing looked over with a serious expression.
The patriarch didn’t say anything, but he eyed the mirrors with bloodshot eyes and then howled and raced toward the next one. He would devour them even if he wasn’t capable of devouring them! If he failed to break through, but the shadow succeeded, then he would cease to be important. What was more, the shadow would certainly bully him, and he would have no way to fight back.
If he was that powerless, it would be easy for the shadow to find a way to secretly kill him. If he didn’t end up killed, the Fiendish Xu would probably use him as cannon fodder. And even if he wasn’t used as cannon fodder, he would be so weak that he would either be harmed or stolen, whereupon the Fiendish Xu would kill him with a thought.
Failure meant death. Success meant life. With those thoughts running through his head, the patriarch went completely mad.
Meanwhile, the shadow was doing the same thing. Terrifying fluctuations rolled out of the whirlpool, and the howling grew more intense. Soon, it became possible to see a black, shadowy mass rising from within the whirlpool.
It looked like a large, rectangular box. As it inched its way out of the whirlpool, its howls grew more intense. At the same time, the mutagen flowing toward the whirlpool grew stronger. The shadow was clearly struggling mightily.
This state of affairs went on for about eight hours. Then, all of a sudden, an intense rumbling sound echoed out from the whirlpool as it faded into nothing.
Left behind was a huge shadow on the wall, extremely clear and visible.
Xu Qing was openly moved. He was looking at something rectangular and wrapped up with strips of gray cloth, all of which were stained with black blood that emanated an inauspicious, gruish air. Although the shadow lay flat on the wall, Xu Qing got the sense that it was actually three-dimensional. It made it seem like he was looking at a coffin! He had never sensed anything like that from the shadow before, not even the previous time the shadow rose to another level, in which it took on the shape of a tree. If you described the previous shadow as a painting, then this shadow was something that had walked out of a painting. Xu Qing could sense it very clearly.
What was more, extraordinary fluctuations pulsed off of the black coffin, similar to the Gold Core level.
What caused Xu Qing’s eyes to sparkle even more was that a host of eyes snapped open on the surface of the coffin. There were too many to count, and they all had vertical pupils. The eyes all looked at Xu Qing very coldly, and it reminded him of looking into the eyes of the god above. They were eyes that seemed to look down on all other beings as being inferior forms of life. The aloof and arrogant nature of the eyes caused Xu Qing’s own eyes to suddenly grow incredibly cold.
“Looking to get killed?” Xu Qing said quietly.
The shadow shivered in response as though it were suddenly remembering everything that had happened to it in the past. The arrogant attitude disappeared, and the eyes suddenly seemed like they were fawning on Xu Qing.
“Milord... I’m... obedient....”
“You broke through, but you still can’t talk in complete sentences? What good are you?” Xu Qing’s eyes turned icier, and he suddenly radiated a violet light. Inside his third heavenly palace, his poison core vibrated.
The shadow’s trembling grew more intense, and the eyes seemed to radiate terror. In its anxiety, it released stuttering fluctuations.
“I’m... strong... useful....”
“Useful? How?” Xu Qing asked.
The strips of cloth loosened, revealing that it was actually one long cloth. It floated over toward Xu Qing.
Xu Qing simply looked on.
“Taboo... absorb all....”
Xu Qing frowned and instinctively looked at Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior. However, the patriarch was in the middle of devouring a mirror, and couldn’t help translate.
Voice cool, Xu Qing said, “I don’t understand.”
The shadow seemed to get even more anxious. Trembling, it created an image that depicted Xu Qing handing something to a kowtowing sapling.
Looking at the image, Xu Qing recalled something. Sometime back he had given a fragment of a taboo treasure to the shadow. He looked at the strip of cloth again, and an expression of surprise appeared on his face. [1]
“After you absorbed the mutagen from it, the fragment turned into this?”
The coffin-shaped shadow rocked back and forth as if it were shaking its head.
Xu Qing frowned again. Then the shadow suddenly blinked vigorously.
“Forgot... damned Golden Vajra... yes....”
Xu Qing looked at the gray strip of cloth and the black blood that stained it, then suddenly realized it looked very much like a funeral shroud. However, it didn’t stink, but instead, pulsed with immortal energy. Curious, he reached out and took hold of the cloth. Then his eyes narrowed and he released it. Looking down at his hand, he saw numerous tiny incisions, as if his palm had been stabbed with thorns or needles. As for exactly how it worked, he would study it later. He looked back at the shadow.
“That’s all?”
Seeing that Xu Qing didn’t seem very pleased, the nervous shadow quickly sent out some more fluctuations.
“Merge... transform... ultimate....”
The lid of the coffin suddenly opened, causing a loud creaking sound to echo out. Inside of it was pitch darkness.
“Milord... enter....” the shadow said fawningly.
Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed and he peered at the shadow. After considering the matter, he chuckled inwardly. The shadow had reached a higher level, but he could still crush it. If it rebelled against him, he wouldn’t keep it around any longer.
Walking forward he stepped inside the coffin. The lid closed over him.
The moment the lid sealed, the shadow shivered, and the countless eyes on the surface of the coffin closed. Then it seemed to melt like a liquid, revealing Xu Qing. However, the shadow now covered his entire body.
Xu Qing opened his eyes, and they revealed incredible astonishment.
After looking himself up and down, he burst into motion, moving much faster than before as he smashed his fist into the wall. The entire wall crumbled into ash, and the remaining force carved a 3,000-meter tunnel in that direction. What was even more shocking to Xu Qing was that he hadn’t punched with full force. He had been holding back. This was something that he could never have done given the previous level of his fleshly body.
Panting a bit, Xu Qing inspected himself. Clearly, he had reached an astonishing level compared to before, both in his defenses, speed, and strength. Because of the darkness that covered him, he couldn’t see his heavenly palaces, his cultivation base, his dharma force, or anything else.
In exchange for losing those things, he received stupefying fleshly body power.
After sending out a thought, the darkness retracted, and his skin returned to his previous state. Meanwhile, the shadow converged on his forehead in the shape of a pitch black eye.
This must be a secret magic the shadow developed after upgrading. It can fuse with me.
He performed an incantation gesture, but nothing happened.
After fusing, virtually all of my magical techniques go away, and I become a pure body cultivator. That said, I can still use my poisons. The strength involved seems to surpass the four-palace level, and is probably around five-palace level. Pure five-palace fleshly body power is completely terrifying.
Xu Qing couldn’t help but feel astonished by the heaven-shaking, earth-toppling transformations he had gone through thanks to his trip to the Three-Spirits Dao-Suppressing Mountain.
Good preparation is the key to success, and this was the result of everything Xu Qing had worked on up to this point.
After doing a few more tests, he exercised another thought, and the black eye on his forehead left him and turned back into the shape of a coffin. The lid opened, and Xu Qing stepped out.
Waving his hand, he produced a stream of black balefire. His heavenly palaces were back to normal. That confirmed his theory about the technique. It was a secret fusion magic.
“Not bad at all!” he said with a nod, his eyes shining with approval.
Seeing how pleased Xu Qing was, the shadow got excited.
“Milord... I’m... obedient....”
The shadow had been learning from Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior. It was now pleased and relieved. Then, it looked over at the patriarch with disdain and provocation.
1. Xu Qing gave the shadow the fragment of the taboo treasure in chapter 320. ☜