Chapter 34: Eternal Darkness

The Sea-Mountain Art is, in essence, a very ordinary cultivation technique, and its degree of separating foreign substances is also quite average.

Techniques like this are common in Nanhuangzhou, mostly practiced by small families and minor factions.

Even if cultivated to Great Perfection, its combat power is not particularly high, and the descriptions in its content are often exaggerated.

Phrases like "The Xiao can move mountains, the Kui can shift seas" are typical hyperbole.

Yet in Xu Qing’s hands, this Sea-Mountain Art has erupted with a power never seen before; I fear even the creator of this technique never achieved such a state.

His Xiao shadow at the fifth level was already comparable to the sixth or seventh level of others practicing the Sea-Mountain Art, and now, at the sixth level, it has directly formed a Kui shadow.

Although it is only a fledgling Kui, its power has already far surpassed the Xiao.

One can imagine that when Xu Qing’s Sea-Mountain Art reaches the seventh level, this Kui shadow will likely undergo a complete transformation.

By that time, for all other practitioners, the Sea-Mountain Art will have reached its end.

But for him, there is still a path to walk.

"In the description of the Sea-Mountain Art, only upon reaching the tenth level can a Kui shadow be formed, and after Great Perfection, the Kui shadow transforms into its adult form."

Xu Qing sat in the pharmacy, a strange light appearing in his eyes.

"And according to my progression, the seventh level should allow it to transform into its adult form, so what about the eighth level? The ninth, the tenth, and even Great Perfection?"

A strong sense of anticipation rose in Xu Qing’s heart; he lowered his head to look at his own body.

This time, there was no need to test his speed or strength; he could already clearly feel that an aura far surpassing that of the fifth level was brewing within his body.

The intensity of this power surprised even him.

His speed was the same; Xu Qing had a feeling that if he were to sprint with all his might right now, the wind would become his only obstacle.

He did not know what level he would be considered within the camp.

But he was very clear that even if two Qi Condensation seventh-level spell-type cultivators like the black-robed old man from the other day were to attack him together, he could kill them both.

After a long while, Xu Qing took a deep breath and looked down at the ground around him.

It was currently the dead of night outside, and the room was pitch black, yet he could still faintly sense the presence of his shadow.

His breakthrough seemed to have affected the shadow as well, causing it to absorb more foreign substances, and the connection between it and him had become even tighter and more subtle.

In the silence, Xu Qing stared at the floor. As time slowly passed, the sky outside began to brighten. With the sunlight spilling in, the shadow emerged from the blur beside Xu Qing in the simple pharmacy, becoming increasingly clear.

The moment it appeared, Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed sharply.

This was the moment he had been waiting for; as he projected his intent, he clearly saw his shadow twist slightly.

Gradually, the shadow’s right hand slowly lifted.

Xu Qing’s breathing grew heavier. He stared at the shadow, controlling its hand to move across the floor. When it spread into a dark corner, the shadow merged with the darkness and became invisible, but Xu Qing’s expression remained calm; he could feel that the shadow still existed.

He controlled the shadow’s hand until it reached the small compartment, where it slowly crawled up and grabbed a medicinal herb.

The instant the shadow grabbed the herb, the foreign substance within it became dense, and it turned black-green immediately.

Xu Qing’s control reached its limit at this moment; with a roar in his head, the part of the shadow that had extended retracted instantly, returning to its original state.

After a long while, Xu Qing raised his head, his eyes bloodshot and his head throbbing with pain; he immediately closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.

An hour later, Xu Qing opened his eyes, and the throbbing in his head had subsided.

"Still unable to control it flexibly."

Xu Qing took a deep look at the shadow and withdrew his focus.

He was not in a hurry; at this rate, he would eventually be able to control it completely one day.

At that time, the shadow... would become his most secret trump card.

After resting briefly, Xu Qing reached out and grabbed the mutated herb. Once it was in his hand, he lowered his head to observe it carefully.

"It is exactly the same as the herbs in the pharmacy that were invaded when the god opened its eyes."

"So, the shadow’s ability is to inject foreign substances into whatever it touches?" Xu Qing muttered, attempting to control the shadow once more.

Thus, time passed. Two hours later, Xu Qing

had a rough understanding of the shadow’s abilities.

It could not release foreign substances to invade objects at will; only under his control would the object it touched become mutated.

This characteristic was devastatingly effective when used by surprise, but Xu Qing remained wary of the shadow in his heart.

He looked at the spot on his chest where the purple crystal was embedded; Xu Qing could feel that this purple crystal could restrain and suppress the shadow.

After a long time, Xu Qing withdrew his gaze, put down the herb in his hand, and looked at the surrounding small compartments. Less than one in ten herbs remained, and all of them were now piled in the stone basin.

Glancing at the stone basin, Xu Qing sighed.

He was reluctant to throw it away. After thinking about it, he felt that this black medicinal liquid could also be a weapon if used well.

So, after some thought, he kneaded the medicinal liquid in the stone basin into pills one by one, coating the exterior with the juice of seven-leaf grass to act as a membrane.

In the end, he produced dozens of pills that were pitch-black inside and green on the outside.

"Let's call them Black Pills." Xu Qing put them away and walked out of the pharmacy. He prepared to go out to collect more herbs and also needed to find a way to catch a Black-Scaled Wolf.

During this time, Xu Qing had found the Black-Scaled Wolf very convenient as a test subject. After leaving the canyon, he headed straight for the temple complex. He arrived quickly but did not stop, sprinting deep into the forbidden zone.

There were more medicinal herbs in the depths than on the outskirts.

Moreover, Xu Qing had explored the depths more than once or twice; although the range was not very large, his harvest each time was not small.

Meanwhile, shortly after Xu Qing stepped into the depths of the forbidden zone, a group of people was slowly exploring and moving forward on the edge of the forbidden zone behind him.

This group numbered over a hundred, including both men and women, surrounded by a large number of guards, and even five or six middle-aged men with powerful auras who were vigilantly watching their surroundings.

The ones they were protecting were the very same young men and women who had previously been stationed outside the camp. Their arrival seemed like an outing; there was no sign of tension on their faces, and laughter and chatter flowed constantly.

Their guide was Old Stone, but he was currently filled with helplessness. He glanced at the young men and women from time to time, sighing in his heart as he watched their leisurely demeanor.

"This is the forbidden zone..." Old Stone wanted to say more but stopped himself. He knew that no one would listen to him. These people who had always lived in the city thought they knew the dangers of the forbidden zone, but in reality, they were far less knowledgeable about its horrors than a scavenger.

The former knew of it through books and conversations, while the latter knew it through personal experience.

"I hope the journey goes smoothly and nothing changes. Once I finish this mission, I will retire and stop coming to the forbidden zone," Old Stone muttered in his heart, moving forward with trepidation and vigilance.

No one noticed that among the group of young men and women, a beautiful girl with long black hair and wearing a long green dress was laughing and chatting with the blue-robed youth who was trying to curry favor with her, while her right hand imperceptibly scattered some medicinal powder.

As the wind blew, this colorless and odorless powder dissipated, acting like some kind of catalyst, gradually causing some changes in the depths of the forbidden zone.

Xu Qing felt this change very quickly.

Moving carefully in the depths of the forbidden zone, he clearly felt that there were far fewer exotic beasts in the forbidden zone today.

He even saw a lizard with an aura comparable to the sixth or seventh level of Qi Condensation, which was usually extremely aggressive, lying hidden in the mud. Even when Xu Qing approached, it did not launch an attack, as if it were wary of something outside.

This made Xu Qing extremely vigilant, and he looked at the surrounding forbidden zone jungle.

A sense of unease rose in his heart, so after picking some herbs, Xu Qing prepared to retreat.

But the moment he was about to leave, an icy aura erupted from deeper within the jungle in the distance. This aura spread instantly, causing the surrounding trees to freeze.

Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed. He dodged instinctively and looked up, immediately seeing translucent jellyfish flying out from the depths of the forbidden zone.

Among these jellyfish, there were six of enormous size, followed by hundreds of smaller ones, sweeping through the air in a grand procession toward the temple complex.

It was as if something in that direction was strongly attracting them.

The moment he saw these jellyfish, Xu Qing’s presence also attracted the attention of the jellyfish swarm in the sky.

One of the large jellyfish paused in mid-air. When it turned to face Xu Qing, most of the dense eyes on its tentacles suddenly opened.

In that instant, a crisis erupted from within Xu Qing’s heart. He felt his flesh and blood vibrating throughout his body, and behind him, the Kui shadow suddenly emerged, letting out a silent roar toward the jellyfish in the sky.

Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed. He was no longer the Qi Condensation third-level cultivator he once was, who had no power to resist the pressure of such jellyfish.

As the blood and Qi in his body swelled, following the roar of the Kui shadow behind him, the jellyfish that had looked at him seemed to hesitate.

Perhaps the attraction from the direction of the temple complex was greater, or perhaps it felt that Xu Qing was dangerous, so after a moment of hesitation, it turned and drifted away.

Until the jellyfish were far away, Xu Qing let out a sigh of relief.

Looking around the forbidden zone, he felt more and more that this place was too strange today, so he flickered his body and left quickly.

"Is the place they are going to the temple complex? Or somewhere even further beyond? I hope it’s not the temple complex and they are just passing through; otherwise, I will have to take a detour..."

On the way, Xu Qing’s eyes showed contemplation, but his speed did not decrease, turning into a long trail as he wove through the jungle.

Time passed bit by bit. An hour later, as a roaring sound came from afar, Xu Qing leaped onto a treetop, looking out at the distant temple complex.

It was still a half-hour journey from the temple complex, so he could only see its general outline from afar.

And the moment he looked, Xu Qing’s expression turned grim; the scene he had feared had appeared.

That swarm of jellyfish was currently in the air above the temple complex, and it seemed faintly as if someone was fighting them; the roaring sounds were intermittent.

The distance was too great for Xu Qing to see the appearance of the people fighting, so after pondering, he approached carefully.

Meanwhile, inside the temple complex, Old Stone was trembling, his lips quivering as he looked around in despair.

Around him were a large number of corpses, all of them attendants and guards brought by those young men and women.

As for the young men and women, they no longer had their previous leisure; each of them was pale and injured, looking disheveled and terrified.

The remaining guards and attendants were protecting them, fighting a bloody battle while trying to move outward.

Those attacking them frantically were the hundreds of small jellyfish, and in the sky, the ones fighting the five or six large jellyfish were the five middle-aged cultivators with powerful auras brought by the young men and women.

"How could it be like this, how could it be like this... It was clearly fine before..."

Old Stone trembled as he moved in a panic with the young men and women, but he was old, and after only a few steps, a small jellyfish passed through the guards and lunged fiercely toward him.

Before he could dodge, the next instant... the jellyfish drifted directly through Old Stone, took his heart into its mouth, and headed straight for the young men and women.

Old Stone’s body collapsed, twitching uncontrollably.

Blood flowed down his chest, spreading around Old Stone, and blood also spilled from his mouth uncontrollably. As the flowing sand covered everything about him, he muttered the last sentence of his life in his heart.

"The qualification to enter the city... can no longer be bought..."

Old Stone’s eyes remained open, his breath faded, and he lay motionless. Everything before him became an eternal pitch-black.

Happy weekend, everyone~ Another two chapters, seven thousand words~