Chapter 44: The Ghost Shadow Perfected

Inside the ruined city, the stone cave where Xu Qing was located was filled with bird feathers on the ground, mixed with a foul, turbid aura.

The stones and debris he had once used to block the gaps nearby had long since been severely corroded by the heterochromatic energy.

The dust all around was also greater than when he had first left.

Clearly, even though a forbidden zone had formed and scavengers would arrive one after another to explore, his shelter point was too well-hidden, so no one had come after he left.

Thus, the scent of dust mixed with decay constantly drifted into Xu Qing’s nose, but he did not mind.

At this moment, Xu Qing sat cross-legged in meditation, his Sea Mountain Technique circulating fully; after gathering his momentum, he was charging with all his might toward the seventh level.

Outside, the sounds of roaring and eerie, shrill noises, mixed with bone-chilling weeping, echoed incessantly, causing Xu Qing to have a momentary lapse in focus, creating an illusion.

It was as if he had returned to half a year ago.

At that time, while the god opened its eyes and blood rain descended, he had struggled to survive alone in this city filled with bones.

Xu Qing was silent.

After a long while, the past no longer surfaced in his mind, and his focus sank entirely into his cultivation; as his cultivation base circulated within, the spiritual energy in the surroundings slowly gathered, rushing in rapidly through the pores all over his body.

Thumping sounds gradually echoed within his body; these sounds grew louder and louder, eventually turning into a roar that reverberated in his mind.

Accompanying the roar were the black impurities secreted from his pores all over his body—these impurities grew more numerous and thicker.

And as they were secreted, the body beneath Xu Qing’s clothes also erupted with astonishing power within his flesh and blood at this instant.

All his blood vessels bulged, his flesh and blood compressed amidst constant tearing and reforming, and his bones likewise emitted sounds.

Until an hour later, as a sound like heavenly thunder exploded in his mind, Xu Qing’s eyes snapped open, and purple light erupted from his pupils.

At this instant, the Ghost Shadow manifested once again behind him.

But this time... his Ghost Shadow was completely different from before!

Its entire body was darker, its physique was sturdier, and even the top of its head no longer had a single horn, but instead featured two horns like those of an ox, spiraling in shape, with black lightning faintly coiling around the tips.

Its face was extremely ferocious, and as its bloody maw opened, it seemed capable of swallowing evil ghosts alive.

Especially the sharp claws, paired with the purple pupils, radiated a heart-stopping cruelty.

A formidable fluctuation spread out from this Ghost Shadow, as if it could pierce through the stone cave and shake the surroundings.

The Ghost Shadow, perfected!

This was a change that could only appear when the Sea Mountain Technique reached Great Perfection; for anyone else, cultivating to this degree would already be the Great Perfection of the Qi Condensation realm’s body refining, unable to improve further, yet for Xu Qing, it was only the seventh level.

As for his own body, it had also changed significantly at this moment; his physique was clearly more slender and refined, and the duration of the purple light in his eyes also exceeded the past.

Especially his face...

If he had been incomparably handsome when at the sixth level of the Sea Mountain Technique, then at this moment, under the purple intent in his eyes, even with his face covered in grime, he seemed not far from being supernaturally alluring.

But Xu Qing did not care about these things; what he cared about was the power erupting within his body at this moment.

So, he quickly lowered his head, looking at the bulging blood vessels on his slowly clenching fist, as well as the distinct veins bulging on his arms.

As the purple light in his eyes slowly dissipated, he felt his own power with absolute clarity...

It was more than double what it had been before!

"The power of one ghost?" Xu Qing murmured, looking around.

It was pitch black outside, and there was no light in the stone cave either; although Xu Qing could barely see everything now, he could not see his shadow.

Yet in his perception, he could feel the shadow's existence, so after pondering, he attempted to control it.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a flash of excitement and wonder appeared in Xu Qing’s eyes.

In his perception, his control over the shadow was much better than before, and he could even perform minute manipulations, allowing a portion of the heterochromatic energy contained within the shadow to return into his body.

Although doing so had no practical use, it could indirectly prove that his control over the shadow was more flexible.

All of this made Xu Qing feel that his current combat power, if he were to encounter the Camp Master again, would not require the God Statue Heavenly Blade; a single punch... would be enough to shatter the arm of the Camp Master, who was at the eighth level of body refining.

"But unfortunately, facing the Vajra Sect Ancestor, the gap is still too large."

Xu Qing shook his head; although he hadn't truly fought the other party, the escape along the way and the fist shadow from the Vajra Sect Ancestor made the gap very clear to him.

So even with the shadow to catch them off guard, Xu Qing was very clear that, as he was now, he could not possibly possess the power to battle a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

"However, if I encounter those two at the ninth level of Qi Condensation, I can kill them."

A cold glint flashed in Xu Qing’s eyes as he looked outside through the gap in the stone cave.

The roaring and eerie sounds reached his ears one after another, now distant, now near, forming a stark contrast with the silence inside the stone cave.

This scene gave Xu Qing that feeling of having returned to half a year ago once again; he instinctively took out his iron skewer, and as he slowly gripped it, he pondered in his heart where to go.

If he left now, he felt there was a high probability he could successfully reach Deer Horn City.

But... Xu Qing was somewhat unwilling, and a murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

"If I don't kill those few, this hidden danger is very unsettling." Xu Qing narrowed his eyes, a map of the entire city appearing in his mind.

He was very familiar with this city.

At this moment, as one street after another emerged, whether it was the sleeping spots of the exotic beasts or the shelter points of the birds, everything was clearly revealed in his mind, and he began to analyze.

"The City Lord's Mansion!" After a long while, Xu Qing whispered, a thick cold glint in his eyes.

He prepared to try leaving the city first; if he didn't encounter the Vajra Sect people on the way, so be it, but once he did, he would counterattack according to his established plan.

Sensing the roaring sounds outside moving from near to far, Xu Qing’s expression was decisive; he moved the debris blocking the entrance and slowly crawled out.

The crack entrance was narrow, and since Xu Qing’s body had grown a bit, it was somewhat difficult to get out, but his expression remained as usual; after squeezing out by force, even though his body was scratched, such minor injuries would heal quickly.

After crawling out, Xu Qing was vigilant, looking at the surrounding darkness; his body flickered as he rushed out, moving carefully through the ruined city.

This caution even exceeded his state when deep in the forbidden zone jungle.

It was simply because compared to there, the city at night had more exotic beasts and eerie entities.

Fortunately, Xu Qing understood the city's structure, so although he encountered danger along the way, he mostly avoided it by relying on his own speed and familiarity.

If it was truly impossible to avoid, he would strike with lightning speed to resolve it, then move away again.

Just like this, under the thick heterochromatic energy, Xu Qing moved carefully through the city for over an hour; as he was about to reach the edge, he suddenly heard a roaring sound from afar.

This sound made Xu Qing’s eyes narrow.

In the dark night, his gaze, like that of a lone wolf, became sharp at this moment, and he approached the place where the sound came from; after the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he saw two figures being pursued by seven or eight exotic beasts.

These two were the Elders of the Vajra Sect.

They had only arrived at the city some time after Xu Qing and the Ancestor had entered.

It was already late at night when they arrived, so after hesitating and weighing the situation, they chose not to enter the depths, but instead hid on the outskirts to wait.

It was just that there were too many exotic beasts and eerie entities in the city, and their hiding place was not a relatively safe shelter point found by birds, so encounters were inevitable.

Because they did not want to cause too much disturbance and attract more exotic beasts, the two of them avoided conflict whenever possible, only striking when they truly could not avoid it.

This cautious behavior, combined with their considerable strength, meant that even when they were attacked, they were still able to cope.

At this moment, as they were speeding along, just as they were about to shake off the exotic beasts behind them, a cold glint arrived in an instant from afar.

Its speed was so fast that in the dark night, it was like an arrow released from a bow, whistling straight toward the Vajra Sect Elder in front.

This person was not the one who had fought Xu Qing before, but a latecomer who had followed the Vajra Sect Ancestor.

His expression changed immediately; he pinched a spell with both hands and pushed forward, and immediately, cold ice roared and spread around him, and he solidified his own defense to block the incoming cold glint.

But this cold glint had astonishing power; it instantly pierced through the ice and struck directly onto his defense.

As the spiritual energy fluctuations trembled violently, cracks appeared on his defense, but it ultimately blocked it, also allowing him to see clearly that what had attacked him was a black iron skewer!

This scene made the Vajra Sect Elder’s eyes contract; he turned his head sharply to look at his companion behind him, just about to take action, but it was already too late.

The moment he was attacked, a black shadow had already turned into a black lightning bolt from the alleyway to the side, instantly approaching the other Elder behind this person.

This black shadow was Xu Qing.

The previous iron skewer was a distraction; the target Xu Qing truly wanted to eliminate first was the middle-aged man who had fought him before and whose left foot had been shattered by him!

Xu Qing’s speed erupted fully at this moment, much faster than when he was at the sixth level of the Sea Mountain Technique; as he sped along, he stirred up a sharp whistling wind, and in an instant, he reached the side of the injured middle-aged cultivator.

This middle-aged cultivator was injured, and because the heterochromatic energy in the forbidden zone was thick, he could not continuously use flight talismans to stay in the air, so his pace was slightly staggering compared to his companion.

Facing danger at this moment, his eyes widened, a strong sense of life-and-death crisis rising in his heart; his body retreated sharply, intending to dodge, but how could Xu Qing give him the chance? The moment he approached, his body leaped up instantly, his right hand clenched into a fist, and he struck a fierce punch toward him.

For this punch, whether in speed or power, Xu Qing used his full strength.

As he struck, a ferocious Ghost Shadow manifested directly behind him, emitting a silent roar that intimidated all directions as it gathered into Xu Qing’s fist.

The moment this punch was thrown, the air seemed about to explode; amidst crackling sounds, it seemed to contain a suppressing power, and amidst the ferocity of the Ghost Shadow, it landed on the middle-aged cultivator’s chest.

The defense in front of the middle-aged cultivator shattered instantly, and Xu Qing’s fist, like a hot knife through butter, slammed directly into his chest.

A thunderous boom echoed suddenly within the silent city.

Accompanied by a shrill scream, the middle-aged cultivator whose left foot had been shattered vomited blood wildly, his chest deeply sunken, his internal organs on the verge of collapsing and shattering at this moment, and his figure was sent tumbling uncontrollably like a kite with a broken string.

But he was, after all, at the ninth level of Qi Condensation; at this moment, his expression was terrified as he forcibly suppressed his injuries, the flight talisman on his right leg flashed violently, and the flight power spread, causing his falling body to twist, intending to rise into the air and escape.

But the next instant, a cold glint rose again; a long sword whistled over, arriving in an instant, and cut directly across his right leg.

Blood sprayed, and as a shrill scream echoed in all directions, his right leg, which had the flight talisman attached, was instantly severed from his body.

But before this person, who had lost his right leg, could fall, Xu Qing exerted force with his thighs and rushed out again; the moment he rushed out, the ground where he had just been was pierced and stabbed by a large number of ice blades cast by the other person.

While crossing paths, Xu Qing didn't even look back, directly catching up to the falling middle-aged cultivator in mid-air; amidst the man's despair, he threw a punch with his right hand.

The Ghost Shadow roared, merging into the fist, and lunged ferociously toward the middle-aged cultivator.

It slammed directly into the man’s forehead.

With a bang, the middle-aged cultivator’s body trembled violently, his head exploded suddenly, blood splattered everywhere, and he was shattered to death!

The corpse fell to the ground and was swarmed by the exotic beasts that had been chasing them, torn apart and devoured.

Xu Qing’s body did not pause in the slightest; he tore the flight talisman off the severed leg on the ground and turned to look at the other Vajra Sect Elder not far away, whose face was pale and eyes filled with horror.

After licking his lips, a cold glint flashed in Xu Qing’s wolf-like eyes, and he rushed toward this Elder at high speed.

Kill!

Corrected a typo, causing the update to be a little late...