Chapter 262: He Has Come

Inside the Phoenix Forbidden Zone, within the jungle, Xu Qing ran with all his might, pushing himself to his current limit. Yet, throughout this process, intense, stinging pain radiated from his entire body.

It was the corrosion from the aura of the Poison Prohibition Elixir, causing his body to rot both inside and out. Although his resistance had increased significantly since that day, he had spent too much time trapped in the Blood World.

This duration, combined with the heavy injuries he had sustained before and after, meant that Xu Qing was now at the point of exhaustion, his body incomparably weak.

Fortunately, the integration of the Life Lamp provided him with the power of five burning fires, brighter than ever before. It granted him an astonishing burst of strength; because of his bodily trauma, the firelight even leaked out through his torso, illuminating the surroundings.

Seen from afar, Xu Qing looked like a man of fire. While it was a shocking sight, the Shadow, as Xu Qing moved forward, revealed its eye. It looked at Xu Qing with a hint of curiosity, but a flash of purple suddenly erupted within Xu Qing's body, forming a suppression that landed directly upon the Shadow.

The Shadow let out a miserable shriek and hurriedly displayed a fawning demeanor.

"Even with injuries like these, I still have the strength to suppress you to death. Besides... cherish the merit you have earned." Xu Qing spoke coldly, and the Shadow hurriedly projected a submissive emotional fluctuation.

In reality, it had indeed seen Xu Qing's severe injuries earlier and harbored a sliver of evil intent. But it was truly terrified of Xu Qing's suppression. Just as when Xu Qing fought Sheng Yunzi, it had not dared to disobey the order to block the opponent's apertures, nor had it dared to intentionally slack off during that time.

But this was not actually its nature; everything was because it feared Xu Qing.

This fear was the key to Xu Qing's control over the Shadow, so it dared not even reveal that sliver of evil intent, hiding it instead within its curiosity.

Yet, it had not expected that Xu Qing would still perceive it.

Conversely, the Jin Gang Sect Ancestor was very sensible at this moment, following by Xu Qing's side with an appearance of absolute loyalty. Xu Qing glanced at him and nodded slightly, then manipulated the Shadow to cover his two Life Lamps, preventing his own flames from leaking out.

He then looked behind him with a gloomy expression. He could feel three figures behind him pursuing him as relentlessly as marrow-eating insects. If not for the speed granted by his six fires, he feared he would have been caught long ago.

"If my state were normal right now, I could certainly fight them!"

Xu Qing lowered his head, enduring the waves of dizziness caused by his bodily injuries and weakness. He bit the tip of his tongue, using the pain to force himself to stay alert, maintaining his full speed as he whistled forward.

He had used all his poison on Sheng Yunzi. In that battle, Xu Qing had no way to hold back; he had to go all out. The little black insects were all that remained of those that had consumed the Immortal Freeze and fallen asleep; the others were all inside Sheng Yunzi's body.

It was not long until dawn. As he sped along, Xu Qing bit his tongue again and vanished into the distance in an instant.

"I must find a way to shake off these three Dao Protectors behind me and try to leave the Phoenix Forbidden Zone as soon as possible..."

"The Seven Blood Eyes' attitude is hard to fathom; I still need to observe."

"The best method might not actually be leaving the Phoenix Forbidden Zone; surviving here is the same." A look of contemplation appeared in Xu Qing's eyes. Although the cost of this was not small, thinking of the Life Lamp he had obtained, Xu Qing's eyes revealed determination.

In this cruel, chaotic world, everything must be fought for with one's life.

Thinking of this, Xu Qing changed direction, heading straight for the depths of the Phoenix Forbidden Zone. At the same time, the voice that had come from the depths of the zone during his life-or-death crisis, along with that peerless aura, surfaced in his mind.

"Was the erasure of the Seven-Colored Glazed Lamp's mark caused by that aura, or was it done intentionally?" Xu Qing narrowed his eyes. He did not believe this was merely a coincidence; it was highly likely the latter.

"Why would that be?" Xu Qing could not understand, but his speed did not decrease in the slightest. As he moved forward, he raised his right hand and grabbed, pulling several medicinal herbs from the side and swallowing them directly.

This was not the first time he had done this along the way. In reality, while fleeing, he would do this whenever he saw useful herbs. Regardless of how much effect they had, swallowing them would always be of some help to his injuries.

It was just that the herbs had not been processed, making it difficult for their medicinal properties to be fully unleashed, but it was still better than nothing. Additionally, Xu Qing checked his storage bag; there were still some Black Pills inside.

"Black Pills are better used when the heterochromatic quality is thick at night."

Despite the current crisis, Xu Qing took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He calculated the time; he still needed about five days to fully recover.

"Five days... and I have to consider the reaction of the Lingyun Sword Sect, so five days is too long. In two days at most, I must reach the depths of the Phoenix Forbidden Zone and shake off the three people behind me." Xu Qing's body swayed, stepping onto a treetop, and he felt the wind around him.

"I can only continue to use the Poison Prohibition Elixir!"

Xu Qing felt his bodily injuries and sighed inwardly, while his eyes also revealed ruthlessness. He took out the Wish Box again, opened it directly, and unleashed his speed to the fullest, using the wind to scatter the aura of the poison pill behind him.

At this moment, in the jungle behind him, Sheng Yunzi's three Dao Protectors were pursuing him rapidly with gloomy expressions. Their killing intent toward Xu Qing was incomparably intense, for the Lingyun Ancestor's words had been very clear: if Xu Qing did not die, the three of them would die.

Thus, as they pursued, their killing intent was thick. At the same time, they were also shocked in their hearts that Sheng Yunzi had actually lost to Xu Qing, and that his Life Lamp had been stolen. This made them feel it was inconceivable.

This feeling also made them even more cautious during the pursuit. They even took out defensive magic treasures while speeding along, and utilized wind techniques to disperse the surroundings.

"This brat is skilled at using poison; we must be careful!"

"That's right, this child must be extremely sinister; we cannot be careless." The three looked at each other and did not choose to disperse, instead concentrating together.

They were not stupid. Even if Xu Qing was severely injured, he was the person who had almost killed Sheng Yunzi. No matter how injured he was, they had to treat him with caution. Even if they were anxious, they could not lose their composure.

Xu Qing, fleeing ahead, had already noticed this. While sighing in his heart, a flash appeared in his eyes.

If these three dispersed, he intended to set an ambush and risk everything to kill one of them to devour for healing.

And if they did not disperse, the aura of his Poison Prohibition Elixir could drift and scatter in a better, more concentrated way. Even if the three of them kept waving their wind techniques to disperse it, as long as there was one moment of negligence, his Poison Prohibition Elixir would take effect.

He had arrangements for both possibilities. At this moment, he lowered his head to look at his palms, which were slowly growing flesh. He hunched over and continued forward.

Just like that, the sky slowly brightened. One of the three Golden Core elders behind Xu Qing, while pursuing, swept his peripheral vision and his expression suddenly changed. He noticed that a patch of his companion's face had begun to rot.

"Your face!"

That person was stunned, raised his hand to touch it, and his expression changed accordingly. At this moment, the other two also checked immediately. Seeing no signs of poisoning on themselves, they breathed a sigh of relief, but their hearts became even more vigilant.

"Damn it!" Cold light flashed in the eyes of the poisoned cultivator. He deployed methods to suppress it, but the effect was minimal. His final choice was the same as Sheng Yunzi's: to take out elixirs that replenished vitality to resolve the onset of this poison.

"We can't go on like this. The poison I've been struck with is bizarre and hard to suppress. And we've been so cautious, yet we still fell for his tricks!"

"If this continues, and we keep getting poisoned without paying attention, we might capsize in the gutter!" The poisoned person spoke rapidly, and the other two also revealed determination in their eyes.

"We must finish this quickly!"

The three looked at each other, gritted their teeth fiercely, and each instantly deployed their methods. In an instant, their speed erupted, thirty percent faster than at the beginning, turning into three long rainbows as they rushed forward even faster.

Xu Qing, ahead, sensed this, and cold light flashed in his eyes.

He still had one final trump card, which was to find a way to stimulate the Poison Prohibition Elixir, causing the power of this pill to be stimulated to a great degree, forming a land of extinction.

As for the difficulty of stimulating it, although Xu Qing felt he might not be able to do it completely, using the Golden Crow Refines Ten Thousand Spirits and the power of the Life Lamp, even if he couldn't stimulate it fully, even if he only stimulated a tiny part, it would surely be incomparably terrifying.

He believed that after doing so, the three pursuers behind him would not be able to survive within this land of extinction.

"Should I gamble on it..."

This trump card was basically mutual destruction. What Xu Qing was contemplating was the probability of his own survival.

"A slim chance of survival..." Xu Qing fell silent, suppressing this thought, and felt his injuries. At this moment, his hands had grown back more than halfway. Although they were still a bloody mess, they possessed form and were much better than before.

"Keep fleeing!" Xu Qing lowered his head, about to continue his escape, but this time, before he could take a few steps, Xu Qing's footsteps suddenly paused, his pupils contracted, and he stared ahead.

In front of him, within the jungle, a figure walked out.

It was an old man.

He was wearing a purple robe. Although his face was covered in wrinkles, his gaze was very bright, and his whole body exuded an air of elegance.

He stood there, his whole person completely out of place with the gloom of the jungle forbidden zone. His body even appeared distorted, making the light that fell upon him seem to be drawn toward him.

In his hand, he was holding a black chess piece, toying with it. As Xu Qing looked at him, his gaze also swept over Xu Qing's bloody, mangled body.

"Put the poison away."

Xu Qing lowered his head and put away his poison, his heart still vigilant, but he knew that facing this person, whether in terms of strength or status, he could only obey.

The old man before him was none other than the Peak Master of the Seventh Peak of the Seven Blood Eyes, Seventh Uncle.

But Xu Qing kept a secret guard. Although he put away the Wish Box, he left magic power inside it, to be used for stimulation in case of extreme circumstances.

Almost at the same time Xu Qing put away the poison, Seventh Uncle's figure blurred, and when he appeared, he was behind Xu Qing, looking toward the jungle. At this moment, within the jungle, the three Golden Core cultivators erupted with full speed and rushed out in an instant.

But the moment they rushed out, the expressions of the three changed drastically. They stopped abruptly, their breathing rapid, and all three looked nervous, instinctively retreating.

If they were within the Seven Blood Eyes, they would not be like this, because they were certain that the Seven Blood Eyes would not dare to make a move in public. But in this forbidden zone, the three of them did not dare to gamble.

At this moment, the three hesitated. The Golden Core cultivator in the middle braced himself, cupped his fists, and spoke in a low voice.

"Greetings, Seventh Peak Master."

"This child has caused a great disaster, injured the prodigy of our Lingyun Sword Sect, and stolen our sect's Life Lamp. We are acting under the orders of the Lingyun Ancestor to apprehend and deal with him. We hope Seventh Uncle will understand."

Seventh Uncle looked at the three calmly and waved his hand.

In an instant, a vast, indescribable, heaven-shaking power suddenly erupted from the void, directly forming a grim, massive mouth above the three. The moment the expressions of the three Golden Cores changed drastically, this mouth swallowed down fiercely, instantly devouring the three of them in one gulp!

The sound of chewing echoed in the quiet jungle, exuding cruelty.

Xu Qing's body trembled as he watched this scene. He looked toward Seventh Uncle, opening his mouth not knowing what to say, when Seventh Uncle walked toward the distance with his hands behind his back, his voice drifting over.

"What are you standing there for? Let's go back; I still have a game of chess that isn't finished." ===== CHAPTER 263 =====