Chapter 106: Two Hundred and Seventy

Inside the jade box was a pill in the process of melting, along with a small amount of medicinal liquid; the medicinal fragrance it emitted instantly enveloped the underground cave.

Xu Qing did not know what a Spirit Whale Pill was, but he understood herbs. After taking a sniff, his thoughts immediately began to turn, identifying the ingredients within.

"Half-Maple Flower, Hundred-Grass Leaf, Suhezi... and Green-Phase Fragrance, Lingxiao Lotus..." Xu Qing murmured, raising his right hand as if to grasp a wisp of the fragrance, bringing it to his nose to sniff carefully again.

"And Sea Gold Mud!"

Xu Qing's gaze deepened as he looked at the jade box not far away, analyzing it in his heart.

The composition of this pill was extremely complex; it was difficult for him to identify all the herbal ingredients from the fragrance alone, and he could only determine a few of the main ones.

However, with his attainments in the Dao of poison combined with his knowledge of herbs, he could still sense that the general effect of this item was primarily nourishing. After all, everything contained a certain amount of spiritual energy, especially plants.

The principle of tonics is essentially to extract the spiritual energy within plants in a special way, transforming it into cultivation power that can be absorbed by cultivators.

"There are a few other herbs in this pill that contain a sense of bloodthirst. I don't know what they are. The pill's name has the word 'Whale' in it; could it be the blood of a beast from the sea?" After pondering, Xu Qing raised his right hand and grabbed at the air; the jade box flew over and landed in his hand.

"Although I don't know what it is, I can at least catalyze and accelerate its melting." Xu Qing narrowed his eyes, took some herbs from his storage bag, and after some thought, began to prepare them and added them to the jade box.

Time passed. Several hours later, the black night descended once more. The wind and snow seemed even heavier than the day before, covering the earth, burying all traces on the ground, and completely sealing off the cave Xu Qing had chosen.

Only the wailing wind, which the snow could not fully block, drifted faintly from the entrance. As it echoed in Xu Qing's ears, he opened his eyes and looked at the jade box in front of him.

The pill that had originally been half-melted was now gone, having completely dissolved into part of the medicinal liquid. The liquid was clear and limpid, and the rich medicinal fragrance had become faint.

Looking at the medicinal liquid, Xu Qing picked it up and drank it in one gulp.

The moment the liquid slid down his throat and into his belly, an indescribable heat wave instantly erupted from within his body. This heat wave stood in stark contrast to the icy cold of the outside world; it felt as if it had exploded, spreading directly into every meridian of Xu Qing's body and seeping into his flesh and blood.

It seemed that even his physical body was breathing at this moment, diligently absorbing the spiritual energy within the medicinal liquid.

Xu Qing's body shook, and a strange light appeared in his eyes. He felt the astonishing efficacy of this pill and believed the words of the Jin Gang Sect Ancestor by thirty percent.

Especially with his own resistance to poison, he no longer hesitated and exerted his Sea Transformation Scripture to the fullest. In an instant, the ninety-seven-zhang spirit sea he had achieved when breaking through to the ninth level outside Sea Lizard Island erupted violently.

It expanded from ninety-seven zhang to ninety-eight zhang!

It did not end there. Supported by the spiritual energy transformed from the medicinal liquid, the spirit sea continued to swell, reaching ninety-nine in an instant, until... one hundred zhang!

The moment it reached one hundred zhang, a piercing purple light erupted from Xu Qing's eyes. His breathing became slightly rapid; the hundred-zhang spirit sea directly caused his Sea Transformation Scripture to break through, advancing from the ninth level to the tenth level!

He had reached the limit of the Sea Transformation Scripture for the vast majority of disciples!

The Sea Transformation Scripture is divided into ten levels, each level possessing more spiritual energy changes and more formidable Forbidden Sea aura suppression. Its power and foundation far surpass those of small sects and factions; it can be said to be one of the superior cultivation techniques.

This is also the reason why the disciples of the Seventh Peak are so formidable.

Yet it also has a limit: ten zhang of spirit sea per level, one hundred zhang of spirit sea at the tenth level—this is where the boundary of this technique lies. But this boundary is not fixed!

In reality, there are occasionally disciples who can break this boundary and elevate their spirit sea to a more majestic level, but such people are very rare, and even if they exist, most only increase it by thirty or fifty zhang.

But even so, those who can break the boundary are all outstanding individuals.

And Xu Qing had analyzed long ago that what limits disciples from cultivating the Sea Transformation Scripture and forming a boundary is heterogeneity!

As cultivators practice, the heterogeneity in their bodies constantly increases. Over time, even with elixirs to purge it, it treats the symptoms but not the root cause.

As time goes by, there will inevitably be a significant amount of deep-rooted heterogeneity. Xu Qing judged that the more heterogeneity exists, the firmer the boundary of the Sea Transformation Scripture becomes.

But in his case... there was no heterogeneity in his body.

"What affects the range of my spirit sea is not heterogeneity, but my own limit of endurance."

Purple light shone in Xu Qing's eyes. He felt the medicinal energy still erupting within his body and felt surprised by the pill the Jin Gang Sect Ancestor had prepared.

"For the Jin Gang Sect Ancestor, this pill must be an extremely precious item..."

Thinking of this, a look of determination appeared in Xu Qing's eyes. Whether it was the potential crisis in the sect or his own desire, he very much wanted to know how large his spirit sea could reach.

Xu Qing took a deep breath and operated the Sea Transformation Scripture once more, absorbing the spiritual energy from the pill with all his might. His physical body did the same, and even the Ba shadow behind him manifested at this moment, breathing and absorbing with all its strength.

Unheard by the outside world, the roaring sound echoing in Xu Qing's mind erupted in waves like giant tides. At this moment, the spirit sea within his body expanded once again.

One hundred and one, one hundred and thirty-one, one hundred and sixty-one...

The expansion of the spirit sea was terrifying. As time passed, it slowly reached two hundred and thirty zhang, and it did not end there; it continued.

This astonishing breakthrough caused the pressure radiating from Xu Qing, who sat cross-legged there, to far exceed what it had been before.

It even formed a vortex, causing the wind and snow outside to distort as they approached. If one looked closely, the range of this distortion was the same as the area of Xu Qing's spirit sea: two hundred and thirty zhang.

Continue to expand!

Two hundred and forty zhang, two hundred and fifty zhang, two hundred and sixty zhang...

With the eruption, the medicinal properties within his body finally began to dissipate.

In the wind and snow, an astonishing change occurred where Xu Qing's cave was located. Within a range of over two hundred zhang, a hurricane swept across all directions, like a strange phenomenon.

Fortunately, the place he had chosen was no longer the Red Plains and was very remote, with no people around, especially given the heavy wind and snow.

Therefore, this scene was not seen by anyone.

"According to the records of the Sea Transformation Scripture, throughout history, the strongest person of the Seventh Peak reached two hundred and seventy zhang in their Qi Condensation spirit sea..."

Xu Qing opened his eyes, his hands forming seals as he swung them violently to both sides. The medicinal properties within his body, which were gradually dissipating, were squeezed out by him with all his might. Furthermore, amidst the seal-forming, the chaotic spiritual energy from the wilderness also surged in frantically.

Although it was chaotic, the amount absorbed was small, but it was enough to serve as an auxiliary at this moment.

Thus, amidst the influx of the surrounding spiritual energy and the accelerated dissipation of the medicinal effect, the spirit sea within Xu Qing's body erupted once again.

Two hundred and sixty-three, two hundred and sixty-six, two hundred and sixty-nine...

Until, two hundred and seventy zhang!

The entire underground cave roared; the two-hundred-and-seventy-zhang area trembled in unison. The wind and snow shattered, the ground collapsed and crumbled, exploding outwards to reveal a huge deep pit and Xu Qing sitting cross-legged there!

Terrifying spiritual energy fluctuations swirled around him. The surrounding wind and snow dared not approach in the slightest. Moreover, the Ba shadow behind him was now roaring at the sky, the fiery power within its body becoming more violent, clearly growing.

One could see that there were more cracks on the Ba shadow, the magma inside was redder, and the hot air waves swept across all directions, causing the surrounding wind and snow to turn directly into rainwater, which then instantly evaporated into white mist, rolling up into the sky.

Faintly, it seemed that two bumps had appeared behind the Ba shadow, as if fleshy wings were struggling inside, wanting to grow out.

Xu Qing opened his eyes. With the shining of the purple light, he lowered his head to look at his body and felt the spirit sea within. An aura that even startled himself was emanating from his body.

Gradually, a sharp light appeared in his eyes.

"Qi Condensation Great Perfection!"

Xu Qing murmured. He compared himself to the Jin Gang Sect Ancestor and, after judging, felt that he did not need the divine strike; combined with his techniques, the Heavenly Blade, and his Dao of poison, he could suppress the Jin Gang Sect Ancestor.

Thinking of this, Xu Qing raised his right hand and pointed at the sky. Immediately, the plesiosaur transformed from his Forbidden Sea Dragon Whale manifested. It expanded violently in mid-air until it reached a size of two hundred and seventy zhang, then, under Xu Qing's contemplation, it rapidly shrank back to one hundred zhang.

Compressed along with it was the spirit sea within his body.

Because of Xu Qing's habit, his edge was only fully revealed in the instant of eruption.

After some disguise, Xu Qing stood up, a sharp light in his eyes, along with deep anticipation.

He felt that his spirit sea still had not reached its limit; it seemed there was still room.

"Whether that is so, I will know later!"

Xu Qing's body flickered like a thunderbolt, rushing out in an instant, moving away from this place and heading straight into the distance in the night.

He was going to another city to return to the Seven Blood Eyes through there.

He had been out for more than a month, and now that all matters were resolved and his own cultivation had improved, he prepared to return to see if the previous affairs with the Mermaid Race and the Third Prince were truly calm.

Just like that, Xu Qing sped along using flight talismans. Three days later, he finally reached his destination: the branch city of the Seven Blood Eyes outside the Red Plains.

Stepping into this place, he did not stop and headed straight for the teleportation array.

Arriving at the location of the teleportation array, Xu Qing paid the fee. After stepping inside, he looked up toward the direction of the Red Plains in the distance, letting out a long sigh of relief in his heart.

After such a long time, Xu Qing had finally pulled out this thorn in his heart. Although the Jin Gang Sect Ancestor's fate was not death, Xu Qing felt that such an outcome was acceptable.

"Next, if everything in the sect is normal, then I can truly have a good sleep." Xu Qing whispered in his heart. The light of the teleportation array shone, and a sea of light covered him from the edges, instantly swallowing his figure.

A moment later, as the sea of light dissipated, Xu Qing's figure was no longer to be seen in the teleportation array.

The wind and snow still blew down from the sky, covering the earth over and over again, turning it into white paper, revealing a touch of clarity.

Very clean.

The cold still permeated in all directions, invading the wilderness inch by inch, turning into murderous intent, revealing a trace of ruthlessness.

Very cruel.

Unknowingly, this little newbie has been writing for 40 days. Time flies so fast. I haven't missed a day, insisting on writing every day; it's not easy.

Especially since I had a dream last night; this time, it wasn't the Jin Gang Sect Ancestor I dreamed of, but the Captain.

I ate fruit all night, and when I woke up in the morning and looked in the mirror, I felt my face was swollen with water...