Chapter 141: Fishing for Dragons

Xu Qing had never experienced war, but he had seen something similar.

It was just that the gap in level was very large.

What he saw was a struggle between the small city where the slum was located and another city. This struggle lasted for seven or eight days.

"Then how long will the war between the Seven Blood Eyes and the outside world last?" Scenes from the Mermaid Clan grand competition surfaced in Xu Qing's mind. After a long while, his gaze became restrained.

The Captain was right about one thing: this kind of major event was not something they should worry about. The big shots of the sect were the ones who directed all of this.

"What I need to do is, unless the profit is sufficient, I will never participate in the war." Xu Qing turned and walked back to the cave dwelling. When he sat cross-legged, he took out the jade slip of the Longevity Scripture.

Although the Malevolent Fire Soul-Swallowing Scripture was also a technique, it was more about cultivation through slaughter, so to a certain extent, it was not much different from a technique. After practicing it, as the Dharma Apertures opened, there were corresponding magic techniques and moves.

And the Longevity Scripture was different. It relied purely on the cultivator themselves to breathe in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to practice, similar to the Sea Transformation Scripture, slowly strengthening themselves and grinding open one Dharma Aperture after another.

Therefore, Xu Qing felt that his previous thoughts were somewhat wrong. These two techniques could actually be practiced together. It didn't matter which was the main and which was the auxiliary, because everything in the Foundation Establishment stage was focused on opening Dharma Apertures to form a Life Fire.

At this moment, while sitting cross-legged, he began to practice the Longevity Scripture.

A night passed.

The next day, at dawn, the moment the morning sun rose, as the sunlight fell like wisps of flame, Xu Qing opened his eyes.

He calmly organized his weapons and poison powder, as well as the talisman treasures he had bought, and then suppressed the shadow as usual, before opening the cave dwelling door, looking at the red-lit blue sky and white clouds in the distance, the sunrise like a vast furnace.

"Need to go out to sea to kill sea beasts, obtain their souls, and impact the Dharma Apertures."

Xu Qing stepped out in one step, stepping directly into mid-air. The snake-necked dragon beneath him transformed, roaring toward the sky, its four dragon fins swaying slightly, as if turning the firmament into a vast sea, stimulating astonishing speed, and carrying Xu Qing straight toward the horizon.

Endless Sea, the waves were pitch black.

Compared to the brightness of the firmament, this blackness revealed a thick sense of strangeness, like ink, and because of its depth and unknown, it made people inevitably feel intense awe in their hearts.

Although it was not his first time going out to sea, Xu Qing's mood at this moment was still not much different from before, and even more cautious and careful.

Because in the sect, there were certain rules, but outside the sect... anything could happen.

So Xu Qing did not fly ostentatiously. Instead, he took out his Dharma Boat and activated concealment, making his Dharma Boat look very ordinary. Afterward, he sat cross-legged on the deck, surrounded by protection.

"The boat is more comfortable than the cave dwelling." Xu Qing sat on the boat, feeling emotional in his heart while controlling the Dharma Boat to head straight for an area he had selected.

That area was one he had been to before, precisely the place where he had encountered the snake-necked dragon with Zhao Zhongheng and Ding Xue that day.

Because his hunting target was... the snake-necked dragon.

Forcing open Dharma Apertures required souls. Xu Qing felt that since he had decided to use the souls of sea beasts as firewood, the snake-necked dragon that had shown murderous intent toward him that day naturally became his first choice.

It was just that he also knew it was impossible to encounter the same one, but it was good to go and see where snake-necked dragons had appeared before.

Thus, Xu Qing sailed while practicing the Longevity Scripture, not wasting any time. At the same time, his own snake-necked dragon was also taken into his Dharma Apertures.

His own snake-necked dragon's aura was Foundation Establishment. Once it appeared, Xu Qing worried that with the cautious nature of these wild snake-necked dragons, they might not show themselves.

During this period, he also saw some boats that were not from the Seven Blood Eyes on the sea. Every time, Xu Qing was extremely vigilant. Although he was now Foundation Establishment, his guard had not decreased in the slightest.

And when encountering strange boats on the sea, both sides were mostly like this, each on guard, carefully moving away from each other.

Just like that, time passed. Three days later, Xu Qing, with his Foundation Establishment speed, finally arrived at the sea area from that day. At this moment, it was noon, sea birds were flying in the sky, and hissing sounds echoed.

Xu Qing sat on the deck, looking down at the black Forbidden Sea, his perception spreading out, paying attention to the fluctuations under the sea.

He waited for a long time, but didn't see the snake-necked dragon appear.

Xu Qing pondered for a while, retracted the fluctuations of the Dharma Boat, and at the same time looked up to observe the sky. Until a moment later, he locked onto a pseudo-toothed bird circling in the surroundings, seemingly testing whether he was food.

With a wave of his hand, the black iron slip flew out from his hand in an instant, heading straight for the sky. The pseudo-toothed bird was startled and was about to flee, but it was too late, and its wings were directly pierced by the black iron slip.

When the sharp hissing sound came from the pseudo-toothed bird's mouth, Xu Qing controlled the black iron slip to bring it over, floating on the sea surface. After making it unable to escape no matter how it struggled, Xu Qing waited vigilantly.

Time passed bit by bit. As the pseudo-toothed bird's struggle became weak, Xu Qing's pupils suddenly shrank. He perceived an undercurrent surging from below the seabed. Not long after, a snake-necked dragon, even more majestic than the last time and a full three hundred zhang long, revealed its figure.

Its aura was astonishing, between Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment, but relying on its astonishing body, its combat power was no longer something Qi Condensation could resist. At this moment, as it approached, it noticed Xu Qing's Dharma Boat.

But the fluctuations of Xu Qing's Dharma Boat were completely restrained, not revealing a trace, and his body was the same. Thus, this snake-necked dragon swam around him for a circle before suddenly approaching.

It didn't break the sea surface to swallow the pseudo-toothed bird, but instead slammed into Xu Qing's Dharma Boat.

It seemed that to it, Xu Qing here... looked even more delicious than the pseudo-toothed bird.

At this moment, seeing it approaching, Xu Qing remained calm. Until the moment the other party thoroughly approached, cold intent erupted in his eyes, and his right hand suddenly raised, grabbing toward the incoming snake-necked dragon.

Immediately, the seawater around the snake-necked dragon roared, and a large hand composed of seawater, containing Foundation Establishment magic power, faintly protruded and grabbed toward the snake-necked dragon.

At the same time, the black iron slip in mid-air also pierced through the pseudo-toothed bird's body at high speed and headed straight into the sea. The Jin Gang Sect Ancestor inside was currently working very hard, wanting to show his value, breaking into the sea and rushing toward the snake-necked dragon at high speed.

The snake-necked dragon let out a hiss, forming sound waves that pierced through the seawater, blocking the black iron slip while its dragon fins swayed rapidly, setting off big waves on the seabed to try to counterattack the hand that grabbed it. Its eyes revealed suspicion, and it retreated with all its might, about to leave.

But it was still too late. Amidst the roaring, as the big hand squeezed fiercely, as the light on the black iron slip shone, it broke through the sound waves and directly pierced into the snake-necked dragon's body, swimming rapidly through its flesh and blood, heading straight for the heart.

"I want it alive!"

Xu Qing spoke calmly. The black iron slip trembled. Although it pierced into the snake-necked dragon's heart, it didn't dare to pierce through and remained motionless.

And the heart being pierced, even if this was a very subtle wound like a needle eye to the snake-necked dragon, the pain it brought still made it hiss. Struggling, it was unable to escape and was grabbed by the hand formed of seawater, fished from the sea surface into mid-air.

Seawater fell like a waterfall. The snake-necked dragon's huge body covered the sunlight in mid-air, casting a shadow over Xu Qing's Dharma Boat.

Xu Qing looked up at the snake-necked dragon in front of him. His expression was calm, and he raised both hands, beginning to pinch seals. The black fire in the Dharma Apertures in his body slowly rose from the apertures, spreading along his body to the outside.

Looking from afar, Xu Qing was currently filled with black fire, and the rising of the flame made the snake-necked dragon reveal terror in its eyes, letting out an intense hiss, struggling even more violently.

But it was of no avail. Soon, following Xu Qing's pinching of seals, more and more black fire rose outside his body, until finally, it suddenly scattered outward, actually turning into a phantom like a demon, letting out a cackling laugh, and pouncing toward the snake-necked dragon.

The moment it touched, this demon's body immediately permeated the snake-necked dragon's whole body, instantly shrouding it and beginning to burn.

It was not burning its body, but its soul.

The whole process lasted for the time of an incense stick. As the snake-necked dragon's struggle and hissing became weaker and weaker, the black fire on its body suddenly rolled back and fused into Xu Qing's body.

At this moment, the snake-necked dragon's body suddenly went limp, motionless, and its aura was gone. After losing its soul, its flesh and materials lost their spirituality and lost their value.

As the hand composed of seawater loosened, the snake-necked dragon's body fell into the sea with a boom and sank.

The black iron slip flew out from its body at high speed and obediently circled around Xu Qing.

As for Xu Qing, this was his first time unfolding the Malevolent Fire Soul-Swallowing, and he was checking the soul shadow that was white with a hint of cyan that had appeared in his dantian at this moment.

The shape of this soul shadow was precisely the shape of the snake-necked dragon.

"It is indeed white." Xu Qing muttered. According to the description of the Malevolent Fire Soul-Swallowing Scripture, the soul of Qi Condensation is white, and Foundation Establishment is cyan. Among them, the cyan soul is suitable for impacting apertures, while the white one is much worse.

"Let's try it." Thinking of this, Xu Qing's heart moved. Immediately, the snake-necked dragon soul shadow in his body roared and burned, like firewood, making the flame extremely vigorous, and finally, it headed straight for the third Dharma Aperture Xu Qing had chosen.

Xu Qing's body shook violently. His third Dharma Aperture trembled, seemingly appearing with a crack, but ultimately it was still not forced open, and the snake-necked dragon's soul power also dissipated at this moment.

"It is indeed effective, it's just that the process is too slow." Xu Qing pondered. He felt that perhaps it was because he was not proficient, so he controlled the Dharma Boat to change to an area and continued to fish for dragons using the same method.

The pseudo-toothed bird was just a lead. He also used himself as bait, scattering Qi Condensation fluctuations, lingering under the sea in this area.

At the same time, he also prepared to ascend into the air once things were not good. After all, this kind of dragon fishing... still had a certain probability of fishing up some terrifying existences he could not resist.

It was just that the probability was not high. After all, to those existences, the aura of Qi Condensation was not sweet.

Three days later, under Xu Qing's continuous luring, the second snake-necked dragon approached and was treated by him in the same way, turning into soul power to continue impacting, making the cracks in the third Dharma Aperture more.

Finally, after changing many positions and fishing for dragons for more than half a month, after he fished up the seventeenth snake-necked dragon comparable to the Qi Condensation Great Perfection, his third Dharma Aperture was finally forced open by a small half.

"Too slow..." Xu Qing muttered, frowning. He calculated that at this speed, he would need at least three years of non-stop time on the sea to force open thirty Dharma Apertures.

And he felt that this time was also too optimistic, because the opening of Dharma Apertures was clearly not looked at individually, but the further one went, the more difficult it was, and the more soul power required.

Therefore, in terms of time, Xu Qing felt that the probability of doubling was high. This didn't count returning to the main city and the accidents that might be encountered. If all were counted, a conservative estimate would be more than ten years.

"Still need to find a way to kill more sea beasts at once!" Cold intent rose in Xu Qing's eyes. Suddenly, his expression moved, and he looked into the distance.

In the distance, the waves on the sea suddenly surged at this moment. One could see a giant-toothed shark galloping inside, its Foundation Establishment fluctuations very intense, and behind it in the sky, a figure was standing on a huge bronze ancient sword, chasing and approaching.

This figure was a young man, wearing the crimson Daoist robe of the First Peak of the Seven Blood Eyes, his long hair fluttering, his expression incomparably cold, his gaze filled with cold intent.

At this moment, he swept a cold glance at Xu Qing in the distance and spoke calmly.

"Calling the wind and summoning the rain is too ordinary, plucking a star and hiding it in the bag."

Xu Qing frowned. ===== CHAPTER 142 =====