Chapter 124

This scene was extremely eerie.

But for Xu Qing and Zhang San, they had each seen similar things. Even compared to what the Captain was doing right now, these invisible enemies outside didn't seem like much.

From childhood to adulthood, there weren't many people Xu Qing had admired. The teacher in the slums, Lei Ting from the camp, Master Bai who taught him about herbs—these were all people he respected from the bottom of his heart.

But now... there was one more.

It was just that for the Captain, what Xu Qing admired was that kind of madness of playing with one's life.

Daring to go into the deep sea at a time like this and use one's life to plunder Juying's flesh and blood—this kind of thing... only those who are mad in body and mind can do it. As for the Captain's true identity and cultivation level, Xu Qing didn't want to guess anymore; it was meaningless.

"I hope the Captain succeeds." Xu Qing spoke softly.

The Captain had given him Foundation Establishment Pills in exchange for him guarding this place for one stick of incense, so he would keep his promise. At this moment, his body flickered, and he headed straight for the temple gate.

After approaching in an instant, Xu Qing scanned the emptiness outside, raised his right hand, and waved it violently. Instantly, a large amount of poison powder scattered, dissolving into the seawater and spreading rapidly outward.

This time, the poison powder wasn't colorless but had many colors—black, red, blue, green. After merging together, it turned into a multicolored display, and the toxins within it increased significantly.

In the previously empty outside, a harsher sizzling sound came in the blink of an eye, and intense fluctuations formed distortions outside the temple.

Afterward, a flesh-and-blood tentacle as thick as a thigh suddenly emerged from the emptiness in front of Xu Qing and lashed out directly at him.

Its speed was so fast that it stirred up water waves everywhere it passed. And it wasn't just one; at this moment, such tentacles were emerging one after another from other places, dozens of them, all rushing toward Xu Qing.

Cold light filled Xu Qing's eyes. After his body dodged a tentacle that whistled past his face in an instant, he swung his right-hand dagger violently and brought it down hard, slicing the tentacle into two pieces directly.

Afterward, he took a step forward and began to battle the incoming tentacles.

In an instant, flesh and blood flew everywhere, and Xu Qing's ferocity was also reflected at this moment. Because there were too many tentacles, Xu Qing's dagger was entangled, so he simply let go of the dagger, grabbed the tentacle in front of him, and pulled hard.

The ground rumbled, and a deep pit exploded. A strange, tadpole-like fierce beast was suddenly dragged out by Xu Qing. As it writhed, a ferocious giant mouth appeared at its head, and it twisted its body to bite at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing's expression was calm. The Ba phantom behind him materialized instantly and threw a fierce punch at the incoming giant-headed beast.

With a "boom," the seawater fluctuations seemed to explode, and the giant-headed beast collapsed instantly.

It wasn't over. Xu Qing's body rushed toward another tentacle, dragged it out again, and threw another punch.

This scene was seen by Zhang San inside the temple, and he couldn't help but gasp.

"Although he's not as crazy as the Captain, this Xu Qing is also fierce as hell..." Zhang San muttered. He wasn't idle either; he formed seals with both hands, and the tiny threads outside his body flew rapidly out of the temple.

Killing enemies just the same.

At this moment, the rumbling of the traps outside became more frequent. One place after another where Zhang San had buried traps collapsed one after another, and one figure after another, stained increasingly clearly by Xu Qing's toxins, had to reveal themselves.

They were Merfolk.

It was just that they were different from ordinary Merfolk; they seemed to possess a certain level of stealth and were more ferocious. Now that they had appeared, although they were all spitting blood and had traces of poisoning on their bodies, they didn't retreat but headed straight for the temple entrance.

Their target wasn't Xu Qing, but... the flesh-and-blood statue inside the temple.

It seemed the appearance of this lump of flesh caused some fluctuations, making them frantically want to come and stop it.

But the moment these Merfolk cultivators approached the temple entrance, a rumbling sound erupted suddenly.

At the entrance, Zhang San had buried a large number of traps. Xu Qing had passed through fine, but after these Merfolk approached, the ground exploded directly.

The violent impact swept across, causing those Merfolk to retreat one after another. At the same time, Xu Qing, who was fighting the tentacles, suddenly had his expression change.

He felt the fluctuations of the ground and also felt a terrifying aura rapidly approaching the temple from underground.

"Senior Brother Zhang San, carry the statue and get out!" Xu Qing roared immediately.

Zhang San also reacted extremely quickly. Without any hesitation, he turned back, grabbed the statue's flesh and blood, and his expression turned ferocious. He rushed out of the temple violently, and as he waved his right hand, the threads circling around him spun sharply.

And the moment he rushed out of the temple, the entire temple collapsed with a roar. A rotting giant hand suddenly extended from the ground. Although it grabbed at nothing, as it slapped the ground and pushed with force, a figure a hundred feet in size crawled out.

Thick corpse poison instantly permeated the area.

This figure was clearly a corpse, and not just one, but a large number of corpses fused together. At this moment, it was ferocious, slapping the ground with its hands and feet, charging like a wild beast toward Zhang San.

Zhang San's expression changed, and he threw the statue he was carrying toward Xu Qing.

Xu Qing leaped, caught the statue's flesh and blood with one hand, and as his body retreated, he held the dagger in his left hand and slashed at the emptiness beside him. Instantly, blood sprayed there, and a head drifted down from the stealth.

At the same time, the giant corpse in the distance also changed direction, roaring and heading straight for Xu Qing.

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes, his speed erupted violently, and he sped toward the distance. At the same time, Zhang San also seemed to have found leverage, his body was pulled violently, and he approached Xu Qing.

Xu Qing wasn't surprised; he had felt it when he caught the statue's flesh and blood—there was a thread on it, which was what Zhang San was tied to.

"What is this thing? It can make the Captain head to the deep sea, and as soon as it formed, it made these Merfolk and sea corpses so crazy." Zhang San approached, his expression horrified.

Xu Qing had no answer, but he remembered the Captain's words: guard for one stick of incense. So he threw the statue's flesh and blood to Zhang San.

"Senior Brother Zhang San, you guard here." After saying this, killing intent erupted in Xu Qing's eyes. With the dagger in his left hand and the black iron skewer in his right, the Ba phantom behind him roared, and he rushed violently toward the incoming giant corpse.

His speed was so fast that he approached in an instant. Amidst the earth-shattering rumbling, Xu Qing's Ba phantom punched again and again, and his poison was also released on a large scale at this moment.

Everywhere he passed, one body after another manifested, emitting shrill screams as they fell. And that huge sea corpse was also forced back repeatedly amidst Xu Qing's bombardment.

Finally, under Xu Qing's control, countless water droplets formed a restraint, trapping the giant sea corpse. At that moment, cold light shone in Xu Qing's eyes. With a wave of his hand, his Dharma boat appeared, and its tip unleashed a divine strike, erupting instantly.

A golden beam of light, which seemed capable of purifying everything, broke through the seawater directly and landed on the giant corpse.

Amidst the rumbling, the corpse trembled, fell apart, and collapsed completely.

Xu Qing didn't want to waste divinity. After quickly retrieving the Dharma boat, he turned his head, killing intent flashing in his eyes, and rushed toward the other Merfolk in the surrounding area.

The dagger danced, blood permeated the area, and the black iron skewer whistled and circled around him, piercing through one Merfolk after another. Although the ancestor of the Jin Gang Sect within it was still sealed and sleeping, not awakened by Xu Qing, this skewer had become quite extraordinary after having an artifact spirit, and its lethality was immense.

Until a moment later, this area... had been cleared by Xu Qing.

His entire body was covered in blood, and he clearly showed some fatigue, but the killing intent in his eyes remained intense.

The black iron skewer was even more so; as malevolent aura permeated within it, a hint of Foundation Establishment intent also faintly radiated from it, as if the Jin Gang Sect ancestor was about to wake up.

And the Ba phantom behind Xu Qing stood ferociously at this moment, as if witnessing this slaughter.

This scene fell into Zhang San's eyes, causing his mind to tremble.

He looked at the blood all over the ground and then at Xu Qing's blade-like figure. He suddenly felt that his previous judgment was wrong. This Xu Qing in front of him might not be as crazy as the Captain, but in terms of ferocity... he was the same as the Captain!

Especially among the corpses on the ground, most had their throats slit...

And at this moment, the time for one stick of incense had also passed.

But the Captain had not returned.

Xu Qing was silent. He looked at the statue's flesh and blood Zhang San was carrying and waited for another half a stick of incense.

And Zhang San also noticed that a lot of time had passed, his expression somewhat dim.

"Senior Brother Zhang San, the time has passed. I have other areas to go to; take care of yourself." Xu Qing spoke softly, gave Zhang San a bag of poison, and after telling him how to use it, he turned his head and moved his body toward the distance.

He hoped the Captain would be successful, but he wouldn't wait for a long time for this. In this world of the Mermaid Clan, Xu Qing had more important things to do.

At this moment, his speed erupted fully. When he reached an uninhabited place, he took out the Spirit Breath Lamp and placed it into his shadow to sense. Soon, Xu Qing determined the precise orientation, put away the Spirit Breath Lamp, and sped toward the depths of the temple complex.

Time passed slowly. This temple complex was very large. Until half an hour had passed, Xu Qing's footsteps paused, and he raised his head to look at a very ordinary temple in front of him.

This temple was no different from the surrounding temples, but the location indicated by the Spirit Breath Lamp's fluctuations was right here.

Xu Qing scanned the surroundings vigilantly. After confirming that it was empty and unobstructed, he quickly scattered a large amount of poison to dissolve into the surroundings, shrouding the entire temple and even spreading inside.

Xu Qing didn't act rashly but hid and waited silently. Only after discovering that there was nothing unusual did he rush in, stepping into the temple, and at the moment he stepped in, he observed the surroundings rapidly.

The interior of the temple was empty, with only one statue.

This statue was not Juying but an old man of the Mermaid Clan. His expression was dignified without being angry, and he even wore a crown on his head. Overall, there was nothing unusual about it.

Xu Qing scanned it and let his gaze fall on the temple wall.

But just like the emptiness here, the wall was no different. Xu Qing searched for a long time and found nothing here, so he took out the Spirit Breath Lamp to check the surroundings again, but it was still the same.

Xu Qing thought for a moment, lit the Spirit Breath Lamp, and walked around the temple, but still found nothing.

Xu Qing pondered and simply placed the lamp into his shadow.

In an instant, the color of the lamp flame changed from dim yellow to ghostly green. The light shone on the surroundings, and a portion of it fell on the wall, where some changes seemed to appear.

Xu Qing's eyes narrowed, and he approached slowly.

As he approached, the ghostly green lamp flame shone on a larger area of the wall. Gradually, the wall twisted, and amidst the shock in Xu Qing's mind, the entire wall, which had been blank, revealed a mural.

The mural depicted a vast scene. The scene seemed to describe a place where a huge altar was located. There, countless white bones had become a sea, and on this sea of white bones, there existed three figures towering into the clouds.

Two were bowing in worship, and one was standing tall.

Of the two bowing, the one on the right was precisely the Mermaid Clan old man from the temple. However, in the mural, he was like an emperor, his dignity even heavier, his majestic body standing there with extraordinary might, and the crown on his head was inlaid with a gemstone.

On the other side was an old woman, wearing a fish-bone robe, permeated with tentacles, and behind her was a ferocious ghost face—it was Juying.

And the figure they were worshipping was clearly a giant wrapped in a nine-headed giant snake.

This giant wore armor permeated with countless runes, shouldering two worlds, and a great sword floated above his head. This great sword gave one a heart-pounding feeling, as if once it fell, it could split heaven and earth.

Being worshipped by Juying and the Emperor of the Mermaid Clan, he seemed more like a god.

And on his body, one of the snake heads held a burning lamp in its mouth.

The design of this lamp was an inverted black umbrella, and its appearance was consistent with the Spirit Breath Lamp, but the feeling it gave was not on the same level at all.

It was just like rock versus beautiful jade.

It even contained supreme imperial might, allowing everyone who saw it to see at a glance that this was the genuine article.

Thank you, handsome guys and pretty ladies!

Thank you, General Alliance Leader Brother Yanhui!

This little newbie will continue to work hard!