Chapter 518: Crazed Taboo Poison
Xu Qing bowed his head and sighed inwardly. Never could he have imagined that their Master had actually been with them the entire time. And that cold warning snort from moments ago had made it clear that their Master wanted to teach a lesson to Eldest Brother. Xu Qing looked sympathetically at the Captain, and was tempted to somehow warn him. However, that cold snort from his Master brooked no such interference.
In response to Xu Qing’s explanation, the Captain looked suspiciously at Ning Yan.
‘Ning Yan’ looked back with a cordial smile. “Captain, I did my research before coming here. Besides, as you know, I have a unique bloodline, and as such, I’m able to sense that there’s something really amazing not too far away.”
The Captain blinked a few times and then looked at Xu Qing.
Xu Qing cleared his throat and was about to secretly signal the Captain that something was going on, only to notice ‘Ning Yan’ smiling enigmatically in his direction.
Looking very serious, Xu Qing said, “Eldest Brother, we should get moving. I trust Ning Yan!”
The Captain was starting to get even more suspicious. Tousling Ning Yan’s hair again, he said, “Little Ningning, you—”
“Eldest Brother!” Xu Qing interrupted, his heart pounding as he watched his Eldest Brother continue to court death. “Eldest Brother, you should really give poor, poor Ning Yan a break. There’s no need to keep your hands on him all the time. Let him go for a bit. I know you’re treating him like this because of the mean things Ning Yan said about our Master a while back. You feel the need to punish him, right?”
“Huh?” the Captain said. However, his surprise only lasted a moment. Being as shrewd as he was, his eyes quickly went wide, and his hand, which had been in the middle of tousling ‘Ning Yan’s’ hair, suddenly stopped moving. He was now starting to suspect something was going on with Xu Qing also. Looking cautiously at ‘Ning Yan,’ he pulled his hand back. Then his gaze shifted to ‘Ning Yan’s’ belly. Not able to take the suspense, he decided to make a final check. Without any further warning, he smacked ‘Ning Yan’s’ belly.
WHACK!
Xu Qing closed his eyes.
‘Ning Yan’ did absolutely nothing to stop the Captain from striking him. No vine appeared.
The Captain gasped, and despite how cold it was, beads of sweat broke out on his forehead.
As ‘Ning Yan’ stared, the Captain shivered and backed up a few steps until he was standing next to Xu Qing.
“Little Ah Qing, why have you always made me hit Ning Yan’s belly on missions like this?” the Captain said loudly. “It’s so impolite! Is that how Master taught us to act? Have you forgotten what I told you before? Master treats us so well! Like a father! In fact, we’ll never be able to repay him for that, not in our entire lives! Therefore, we have to solemnly abide by everything our Master tells us. Remember that. Whenever we make some bad decisions, just think back to what Master taught us. That’s the best way to pick the right path in life!”
Xu Qing looked at the Captain, gave a sarcastic chuckle, and then looked away. He had already acted with extreme humanity and utmost virtue . If his Eldest Brother wanted to court death, then Xu Qing would let him.
“Want to smack me again?” ‘Ning Yan’ asked coolly.
The Captain cleared his throat and shook his head. He looked quizzically at Ning Yan. Then he started worrying about Ning Yan noticing him staring at his belly. Shivering, he shifted his gaze to Ning Yan’s face. But then he worried that doing so wasn’t the best move, considering he had just been tousling Ning Yan’s hair.
When ‘Ning Yan’ noticed the Captain’s shifting gaze, he calmly said, “Want to do a bit more hair tousling?”
The Captain shook his head as vigorously as a rattle drum. He was already howling inwardly with anguish, especially when he thought back to that wonderful sensation from earlier. Shivering violently, he turned to Xu Qing.
“Little Junior Brother!” he berated. “I have to offer you some constructive criticism. Last time when Ning Yan said those very mean things about our Master, I was planning to beat him black and blue, but you stopped me! Ah, whatever. This time, Ning Yan, I won’t go very hard on you. But I have to warn you. If you ever say bad things about our Master again, I won’t show you a scrap of mercy!
“I, Chen Erniu, am the type of person who, if someone disrespects my Master, I will track them down no matter how far away they are to deliver severe punishment!
“Therefore, little Junior Brother, in the future, you’d better not interfere like you did in the past. Otherwise you and I are going to have a very big problem. I, Chen Erniu, will put my life on the line for the sake of our Master!”
‘Ning Yan’s’ expression softened a bit.
Meanwhile, Xu Qing expressionlessly pointed off into the mists. “Eldest Brother, see that mist over there? Isn’t that the cloud troll you ran into a while back?”
The Captain looked in that direction and blurted, “Cloud troll? I didn’t realize this place was so dangerous!”
He then lunged in front of ‘Ning Yan’ protectively, making it seem like, if even the slightest bit of danger cropped up, he would throw caution to the wind to provide a defense.
However, the Captain's words actually provoked a cold snort from ‘Ning Yan,’ who then glared at the Captain.
The Captain looked back at ‘Ning Yan’ with a fawning expression.
“You two, come with me,” ‘Ning Yan’ said, and then he shot into the mists.
Xu Qing followed, ignoring the Captain.
The Captain gritted his teeth and went after them. When he caught up to Xu Qing, he looked over innocently, produced a green stone, and tossed it over.
Xu Qing’s expression eased a bit.
And thus, the three of them traveled through the palaces covered with flesh. ‘Ning Yan’ led the way. They encountered occasional grues and mutant beasts, but they were easy to deal with. They were all roughly in the Gold Core level, so it was only a question of who could kill them first, Xu Qing or the Captain. Occasionally mutant beasts would appear with battle prowess so terrifying the two of them couldn’t handle them. But such beasts would almost instantly start to wither as if aging, and within moments would crumble into ashes.
When Xu Qing and the Captain saw that, they were deeply shocked.
There was one mutant beast they encountered which was 300 meters long and pulsed with the aura of the great circle of first-stage Void Returning. Even that one quickly collapsed into dust. Xu Qing was stunned.
The Captain blinked madly. Then the two of them exchanged a look.
Although both of them now realized that they were with their Master in disguise, neither of them were aware of his true battle prowess. The fact that he could so casually destroy a first-stage Void Returning enemy went to indicate that his cultivation base was at least in second-stage Void Returning.
“He’s probably beyond that level!” the Captain projected.
Fully convinced of that, Xu Qing nodded. Up ahead, ‘Ning Yan’ looked over his shoulder and smiled at them proudly. The Captain grinned back flatteringly, while Xu Qing blinked a few times and tried to look as charming as possible.
The further they traveled, the stronger the mutagen got. Xu Qing was already shivering from the effort of keeping himself under control. A sensation of longing now filled every fiber of his being. He knew full well it was because his body had been remolded by the god’s finger.
Before, he had been in front of too many eyes to try to absorb anything from his surroundings. But now he was in a much safer position. After one more brief moment of hesitation, he relaxed his control slightly and started absorbing some of the surrounding mutagen. As it flowed into him, a tremor passed through him, and then an unbelievably pleasant sensation filled him. His pores opened, and mutagen flowed into him, nourishing him and strengthening him!
The tiny golden threads within him began to flow, becoming more active. As they did, they began to take the form of something like a thread of golden spirit energy. It seemed like spirit energy, yet wasn’t. Xu Qing scanned it with divine sense, and could sense something like the aura of a god.
“This...” he murmured, feeling deeply shaken.
There was only one single such golden thread. But the moment it came into existence, his poison core, violet moon, and Ghost Emperor mountain all trembled and unleashed forces of absorption. That was especially true of the taboo poison core, which seemed like parched lands longing for sweet dew, or a starving person who had encountered delicious food. It immediately pulsed with a terrifying aura. That aura caused the violet moon and the Ghost Emperor mountain to tremble.
The taboo poison core absorbed the largest portion. It got about fifty percent, while the violet moon got thirty, and the Ghost Emperor got about ten. After the taboo poison core finished the absorption process, it seemed more than ever like it might awaken. The violet moon glittered with more intense violet light, as if it had finally received some powerful nourishment. The Ghost Emperor mountain reacted similarly, as its eyes glowed.
Xu Qing was shocked. At the same time, the sensation of longing within him grew stronger. Gritting his teeth, he loosened his control a bit more, and a vortex sprang up around him as mutagen rushed in his direction. At the same time, all the howling and shrieking in the area suddenly ceased.
Xu Qing’s heart leaped in his chest, and he quickly tightened up his control.
At the same time, the Captain turned to look at him, visibly surprised. ‘Ning Yan’ stopped in place and looked at Xu Qing in delight.
Xu Qing blinked a few times and prepared to offer an explanation. Before he could, the ground shook, and the surrounding mists seethed as a host of mutant beasts charged in their direction. They contained tremors of greed and were filled with madness. It was as if they had sensed something indescribably delicious, and were determined to devour it.
A sensation of intense crisis erupted in Xu Qing’s heart.
‘Ning Yan’ shot toward Xu Qing and the Captain, grabbed them, and then leaped up into the air. All of them disappeared.
A moment later, the spot they had just occupied became filled with snarling mutant beasts. The beasts began searching the area, but it didn’t do them any good. Before long, they calmed down and dispersed.
Meanwhile, about 50 kilometers away, ‘Ning Yan’ appeared with Xu Qing and the Captain.
The Captain immediately turned to Xu Qing. “Little Junior Brother, y-y-you—”
“Shut up!” ‘Ning Yan’ said, glaring.
The Captain shrank in on himself.
‘Ning Yan’ then snorted coldly and turned to look at Xu Qing. Looking very pleased, and even admiring, he softly said, “Fourth Sib, was it that body of yours which caused that scene just now?”
Xu Qing had been scared witless by the sensation of all those mutant beasts wanting to devour him. And he saw no reason to try to fool his Master.
“Yes, Master. As I mentioned to you before, this body was remolded by that god’s finger.” Back when Master Seventh had first arrived, Xu Qing explained everything in detail. After all, it was all related to how he knew about the red moon wanting to devour the god in Forbidden by the Immortal. “Master, I can keep it under control. I won’t attract the attention of any more mutant beasts.”
Xu Qing still felt lingering fear based on what had just happened.
“Well done, Fourth Sib. But those mutant beasts weren’t there to devour you. They were driven by instinct to allow you to devour them . The reason is that they’re manifestations of the very same aura that your body is formed from. That said, now is definitely not an appropriate time. Because... the source of that finger is a sleeping god. Not a dead one.
“When hē’s dead, then you can eat to your heart’s content. Otherwise, you’ll be creating potential calamities because of that god’s will. By the way, have you produced any god vitality yet?” Master Seventh’s eyes glittered brightly. “It’s something golden that looks like spirit energy.” He waved his right hand, and a golden power appeared in his palm. “Like this.”
Master Seventh looked at Xu Qing with keen anticipation.
Xu Qing waved his hand, tapped into his heavenly palaces, and produced a golden power that looked very much like that held by Master Seventh, except smaller.
Master Seventh looked at Xu Qing. Xu Qing looked at Master Seventh. A moment later, Master Seventh let loose a stream of unsurpassably contented laughter.
“Amazing. Amazing! Just what I would expect of an apprentice of mine. Later on, the two of us can rebuke heaven and earth together, as Master and apprentice! Hahahahaha!”
Off to the side, the Captain waved his hand a bit, hoping to do the same thing, but nothing happened. He cleared his throat. “Master, what about me? Remember, sir, I’m your highest-ranking apprentice....”