Chapter 539

At the Nascent Soul realm, the gap between cultivators is astonishing. With different foundations and the accumulation of strength, the small differences of the past will be magnified countless times.

Because it involves the number of Nascent Souls and the number of life tribulations, as well as different clan and personal experiences, strength is often not as immediately visible as it is at the Tiangong stage.

Unless the difference between them is huge, the aura can be sensed.

Otherwise, one must carefully weigh it before knowing.

But fundamentally, the ten thousand clans have a most basic understanding.

The first life tribulation is to bestow the meaning of truth upon the false infant, making it truly become a Dao Infant, possessing Nascent Soul combat power.

And the second life tribulation is to double the power of the Nascent Soul under the blessing; one infant, two powers. The third tribulation is three powers!

Like the Sky Face Clan cultivator Xu Qing encountered earlier, he was a heaven's pride of his clan. Although he did not have a Life Lamp, he possessed seven Dao Infants and had experienced two life tribulations.

Therefore, his basic combat power, under the blessing of the life tribulations, could be seen as the combat power of fourteen infants.

This is also the reason why he still took action after sensing Xu Qing's thirteen Dao Infants.

And his past can also be clearly seen through this point: when he was at the Golden Core stage, he possessed seven Heavenly Palaces, and when he was at Foundation Establishment, he possessed four fires.

His Dharma Apertures must have been one hundred and twenty.

He did not achieve the ultimate one hundred and twenty-one.

After all, in Xu Qing's journey, apart from Sheng Yunzi and Kong Xianglong, he had never encountered anyone who truly achieved one hundred and twenty-one Dharma Apertures.

Perhaps there were others, but they did not show it, and Xu Qing could not judge.

But these are only the basics. At the Tiangong stage, it could still be used as an important measurement method, but the fighting between Nascent Soul cultivators has huge variations.

For cultivators of similar levels, the standard for measuring each other's strength, besides the realm, also includes factors like treasures and techniques, and even more, the different talents of various clans and the ability to adapt in actual combat.

Every item is critical and can determine victory or defeat.

Therefore, Nascent Soul power cannot be used as the sole basis; it can only serve as a simple reference for each other.

Many times, one needs to fight to know who is stronger.

It is the same for Xu Qing.

His thirteen Dao Infants have all experienced one life tribulation, so the foundation he possesses at this moment is theoretically the combat power of thirteen infants.

But his Dao Infants are too special, whether it is the Imperial-grade technique, the god-related aspects, the Heavenly Dao blessing, the supreme treasure like the Time Bottle, or the Mount Zhaoxia Light and the Sundial Life Lamp.

All these factors, with the accumulation of strength, make Xu Qing's combat power at the Nascent Soul realm exceed the normal scope, making the toughness of his Dao Infants at this moment comparable to a cultivator who has experienced two life tribulations.

In other words, the most basic combat power Xu Qing possesses now is twenty-four infants!

The reason it is not twenty-six is because he still has two Life Lamps that have not been refined. Once the remaining two turn into a sundial, he will possess the combat power of twenty-six infants.

However, Xu Qing remains cautious, because he can make his Dao Infants special, which does not mean others cannot, and the same logic applies to treasures and techniques.

This is also the tricky part of the Nascent Soul realm.

At this moment, after these thoughts flashed through Xu Qing's mind, his body shot up into the sky from within the magma, his thirteen Dao Infants exploded fully, forming a terrifying combat power comparable to twenty-four infants, heading straight for the firmament.

His speed was so fast that in an instant, he appeared in front of a first-tribulation Mirror Shadow Nascent Soul cultivator.

That Mirror Shadow Clan cultivator's expression changed. Even though half of his energy at this moment was used to support the formation, his rich combat experience and adaptability still allowed him to withdraw most of his mind in an instant, and the six Nascent Souls in his body exploded.

He even opened his mouth to spit out a flying sword, and the mirror lens between his eyebrows shone, reflecting Xu Qing's approaching figure. His face became blurred as it changed, actually becoming similar to Xu Qing's.

This is one of his clan's talents, used to bless himself, causing his combat power to leap to the level of eight infants in one go.

This kind of talent, combined with his reaction, was already quite extraordinary. If it were any other first-tribulation cultivator who came to sneak attack, it would probably be very difficult to complete the kill.

But if the absolute strength gap is too large, then many uncontrollable variables

will have to become controllable.

Therefore, the next instant, the moment Xu Qing whistled past, a cold light shone, and the Mirror Shadow Clan cultivator's head directly separated from his body.

Blood surged, and as the shrill screams echoed, Xu Qing had already gone far away, rushing towards another Nascent Soul Mirror Shadow clansman.

At the same time, Xu Qing's poison prohibition also rose in the surroundings. The target was not the Nascent Soul cultivators, but those Golden Core Heavenly Palaces.

With the improvement of Xu Qing's strength, his poison prohibition elixir also displayed more vicious and terrifying power. As it spread at this moment, at least seven Tiangong cultivators let out exclamations.

They didn't even react before their bodies instantly turned purple-black and began to rot.

The shrill and terrified sounds spread in all directions.

Even more, several Tiangong cultivators shivered, their eyes instantly turned pitch black, and a strange smile appeared at the corners of their mouths. They suddenly turned around and rushed straight towards the giant mirror formation, and after getting close, they suddenly self-destructed.

As the rumbling echoed, a red lightning bolt circled a fish bone and shuttled through it. Wherever it passed, the slaughter was astonishing.

This scene caused the expressions of the Mirror Shadow Clan cultivators here to change one after another.

Chaos broke out here almost instantly.

Blood surged, and as the shrill screams echoed, Xu Qing had already gone far away, rushing towards another Nascent Soul Mirror Shadow clansman.

At the same time, Xu Qing's poison prohibition also rose in the surroundings. The target was not the Nascent Soul cultivators, but those Golden Core Heavenly Palaces.

With the improvement of Xu Qing's strength, his poison prohibition elixir also displayed more vicious and terrifying power. As it spread at this moment, at least seven Tiangong cultivators let out exclamations.

They didn't even react before their bodies instantly turned purple-black and began to rot.

The shrill and terrified sounds spread in all directions.

Even more, several Tiangong cultivators shivered, their eyes instantly turned pitch black, and a strange smile appeared at the corners of their mouths. They suddenly turned around and rushed straight towards the giant mirror formation, and after getting close, they suddenly self-destructed.

As the rumbling echoed, a red lightning bolt circled a fish bone and shuttled through it. Wherever it passed, the slaughter was astonishing.

This scene caused the expressions of the Mirror Shadow Clan cultivators here to change one after another.

Chaos broke out here almost instantly.

Watching Duanmu Cang, who was resisting the pressure of the giant mirror, was also stunned. After noticing those poisoned Mirror Shadow Clan cultivators, his pupils shrank, and he immediately recognized the source.

"It's that cunning brat!"

Thus, he shouted loudly.

"Don't waste time, finish the battle quickly, kill the Nascent Souls outside so that the formation is not blessed, and I can break free!"

"Be quick, the Mirror Shadow Clan's State Preceptor is on the way here!"

As soon as Watching Duanmu Cang's words came out, the face on the giant mirror turned its gaze, about to look at Xu Qing, but Watching Duanmu Cang laughed loudly, not caring about his own injuries flaring up, and his cultivation base exploded.

Eight Nascent Souls were seen rising from his body, each of them surprisingly possessing the power of five life tribulations. Even more astonishingly, behind these eight Nascent Souls, a phantom of a secret repository was vaguely revealed.

However, this secret repository was collapsed and full of withered intent, clearly caused by a failure at the moment of breakthrough.

Even so, its combat power was still so strong that it skyrocketed with the appearance of the secret repository phantom, forcing the giant mirror face in the sky to withdraw its gaze from Xu Qing and suppress it with all its might.

The rumbling sound echoed to the heavens, and Xu Qing's attack was even faster.

There was no need for Watching Duanmu Cang to remind him. The moment he decided to take action, Xu Qing knew that this battle must be ended as soon as possible and could not be delayed.

Therefore, at this moment, the poison prohibition exploded, the shadow raged, and amidst the dancing fish bone, Xu Qing's body rapidly approached a Mirror Shadow Clan Nascent Soul cultivator.

But at this moment, the other Mirror Shadow clansmen also reacted. Amidst the roars, two second-tribulation Nascent Souls and one third-tribulation Nascent Soul were galloping towards him from all directions.

Seeing them approaching, the Mount Zhaoxia Light within Xu Qing's body suddenly shone, brushing fiercely outwards.

The colors in the four directions were directly replaced by seven colors. Amidst the brilliance, the footsteps of the arrivals all paused, each retreating, while Xu Qing's body directly turned into a ghost, and with a rush, he passed directly through the body of the Mirror Shadow Clan cultivator in front.

Two Nascent Souls were grabbed

in his hands and crushed.

Dozens of Heavenly Demon bodies, carrying ferocity, rushed into the Mirror Shadow Clan cultivator's body.

The next moment, a shrill and miserable scream echoed from the Mirror Shadow Clan cultivator's mouth. As his body trembled and withered rapidly, Xu Qing's body suddenly retreated.

Almost the moment he retreated, the place where he had originally been was directly blasted into a huge vortex by the third-tribulation Mirror Shadow cultivator who had rushed in.

"Humble human, you are courting death!"

As this Mirror Shadow Clan cultivator roared, seven Nascent Souls shone within his body, five of which were third-tribulation and two were second-tribulation, exploding with a terrifying combat power close to twenty infants.

Behind him, a black mirror materialized to bless him. Inside that mirror, a giant bat was bound, transmitting sound waves towards Xu Qing from the mirror surface, exploding in all directions.

At the same time, there was a long spear in his hand, surrounded by countless wailing vengeful spirits, spreading out like smoke, with an astonishing momentum.

It didn't end there. There were two third-tribulation Mirror Shadow clansmen here in total, and now the other one was also whistling closer.

This person was wearing black armor, with seven ghost fires floating above his head.

Each one was transformed from his Nascent Soul. The cloak behind the armor fluttered, forming countless eyes on it, all of which opened and glared at Xu Qing.

Not only that, but four second-tribulation Mirror Shadow clansmen whistled from all directions, surrounding Xu Qing.

This scene made Watching Duanmu Cang's expression turn heavy. Although it would be easy for him to kill these Mirror Shadow clansmen after breaking free, he couldn't quite fathom Xu Qing's combat power.

"This brat's Nascent Soul is a bit strange!"

At this moment, poison mist filled the eight directions, the screams became more shrill, and the six Mirror Shadow Nascent Souls around Xu Qing were approaching.

But just at this moment, coldness gathered in Xu Qing's eyes. He instantly pulled up the needle on one of the sundials in his body, and his gaze fell on the third-tribulation Mirror Shadow Clan cultivator closest to him.

In an instant, time stood still on the first sundial in Xu Qing's body.

This power of stillness followed his gaze and affected the Mirror Shadow Clan cultivator who was being stared at by his eyes in the outside world.

This third-tribulation Mirror Shadow Clan cultivator's body paused, his expression remained ferocious, and his body seemed to be frozen, as if the time belonging to him had been stalled.

Although it returned to normal in just an instant, for a cultivator at the Nascent Soul level, an instant is life and death.

Xu Qing's dagger, the moment the person's time recovered, slashed fiercely across his neck. Blood erupted, and his head flew up.

Xu Qing didn't have time to absorb too much. After grabbing two Nascent Souls and crushing them, the needle on his first sundial had to fall, and the withering of the sundial disk was far more severe than when he tested it with Ling'er.

But it was not irreversible; it was currently recovering.

Xu Qing ignored it. While the other Mirror Shadow clansmen were horrified, he looked at the other third-tribulation one and pulled down the needle on the second sundial.

A monstrous storm rose in the Mirror Shadow Clan cultivator's mind. His eyes revealed horror and disbelief. In the scene he saw before his eyes, his companion had suddenly paused for some unknown reason.

Without any resistance, without any struggle, as if he had become a puppet, he was directly beheaded by that human cultivator.

"This is..." Before he could continue to think, Xu Qing's gaze descended.

In an instant, this third-tribulation Mirror Shadow cultivator's body shook, losing perception, losing everything, until the moment he recovered, he saw Xu Qing's face.

His head flew up, and his Nascent Soul withered and died.

Everything happened in two instants.

The surrounding Mirror Shadow second-tribulation cultivators all gasped, their scalps tingling, horrified to the extreme, and they instantly retreated, wanting to escape.

Xu Qing ignored them and rushed straight to the giant mirror formation.

"This object is the supreme treasure of the Mirror Shadow Clan's State Preceptor, difficult to shatter. However, now that no one is blessing it, it's easy to handle. You step back, I'm prepared to self-destruct a Nascent Soul to blast open a gap!"

Watching Duanmu Cang suppressed the shock in his heart at Xu Qing's attack and roared, just about to self-destruct.

But Xu Qing raised his right hand and pointed. The red lightning transformed by the Jin Gang Sect Ancestor whistled from afar.

The speed was so fast that it approached in an instant, driving the fish bone to stab fiercely at the giant mirror.

The face on the giant mirror suddenly looked at Xu Qing, about to speak amidst ferocity, but the next instant, its expression changed drastically.

Amidst the rumbling, the fish bone ignored all the mirror's defenses and directly pierced through, unstoppable, stabbing into the mirror surface.

With a 'Crack!', the mirror surface shattered.

Xu Qing didn't look at Watching Duanmu Cang and turned to wave his hand.

The surrounding poison rushed towards him, as did the shadow. The fish bone turned into a red light and landed in Xu Qing's hand.

Xu Qing's speed exploded, and he rushed into the distance, fleeing the place.

From beginning to end, he didn't say a single word.

He came with the force of a thunderbolt and left without a sound.

The giant mirror trembled violently at this moment, the cracks on it constantly spreading, the face distorted, its expression changing rapidly, looking up and staring fixedly at the departing Xu Qing.

And Watching Duanmu Cang, who had been trapped by it, also gasped. Then he hurriedly stopped the act of self-destructing his Nascent Soul, rushed out through the gap, and then flicked his large sleeves, throwing his collapsed secret repository at the giant mirror.

Boom!

The cracks in the mirror increased, and it fell from the sky, crashing into the magma.

The face inside opened its mouth as if wanting to say something, but the severe damage made it difficult for its divine sense to be transmitted.

Watching Duanmu Cang snorted coldly and spat a thick glob of phlegm at it.

This phlegm was very heavy, hitting the mirror face and causing the mirror to sink into the magma.

After doing all this, Watching Duanmu Cang turned around and flickered, rapidly moving away.

And three hours after they left, a flame storm rose in the distant heaven and earth. Inside it was a giant figure wearing a golden robe, with no face; the entire face was a golden mirror.

He whistled over, paused here, and looked down at the magma.

The face refracted the scene around it.

A long time later, he raised his right hand and grabbed. Immediately, the mirror that had sunk under the magma was taken out by him. He held it in his hand for a long time, and from within the mirror face, a cold voice was transmitted.

"Human..."

Three days later, on the Heavenly Fire Sea ten thousand miles away, Xu Qing was whistling and galloping. For these three days, he had not stopped for a moment, hiding himself while constantly approaching the shore.

The sky here had become increasingly bright over these three days, and the flames seemed to be a bit thicker than in the past, and the blooming of the magma flowers was also becoming more frequent.

This caused the temperature here to continue to rise, and it even spread a sense of burning the soul.

"Must return to the shore as soon as possible. If this continues, even if the body can hold on, the soul will be melted."

Xu Qing felt the scorched intent coming from his hair, and his divine soul also showed signs of withering. Thus, amidst contemplation, he was just about to accelerate, but the next instant he spoke indifferently.

"Senior, you've followed me for so long, there's no need."

A long while later, Xu Qing continued forward.

For these three days, every hour, he would do this once.

Although he could sense the aura of the poison prohibition, Xu Qing understood that once a certain perception was taken as a habit, negligence would form. And in this chaotic world, one moment of negligence could lead to a miserable end.

Therefore, even if he didn't sense the aura of the poison prohibition, he still spoke like this.

Just like this, another day passed, Xu Qing's footsteps paused, and a calm voice was transmitted.

"Senior, do you like hiding so much?"

This time, there was a response...

"Hmm?"

More than ten feet to Xu Qing's right, a surprised voice came. The place quickly distorted, and Watching Duanmu Cang's body was revealed.

Outside his body, there was a bubble that isolated some aura, and furthermore, on his right hand, there was a cloth strip wrapped around it. It was precisely this object that completely isolated the poison prohibition aura.

Xu Qing's eyes narrowed, and he took a look, vaguely feeling that it looked somewhat familiar.

"How did this brat sense me?"

Watching Duanmu Cang was suspicious in his heart. Thinking of Xu Qing's previous attack, he felt that it was highly likely the other party still had some strange methods hidden.

"Of course, it's also possible that this brat just shouts like this every once in a while!"

"Cunning!"

Watching Duanmu Cang

snorted coldly in his heart. Noticing Xu Qing's gaze looking at the cloth strip on his right hand, he didn't explain, but glared at Xu Qing.

"Brat, you have no conscience!"

"I, the old man, didn't have any intention to harm you, and even gave you a box to hide. And the antidote you gave me is fake!"

Xu Qing frowned.

"However, considering you helped resolve the siege earlier, I won't hold it against you." Seeing Xu Qing frown, the old man hurriedly softened his tone, then raised his hand and coughed.

"We are all humans, so... give me the antidote."

Xu Qing's expression remained as usual, and he spoke indifferently.

"Ten thousand spirit stones!"

The old man gasped, glared at Xu Qing, and after a long while, smiled bitterly and shook his head, throwing out a storage bag. This was the one Xu Qing had given him earlier.

After Xu Qing took it, he counted it and confirmed there was no problem.

Seeing Xu Qing still wanting to count, the old man's temper was about to rise again, but he held it back.

"Is that enough!"

Xu Qing nodded, raised his right hand, and grabbed towards the old man. Immediately, the old man's body trembled, and the poison prohibition power within his body instantly surged. Amidst his painful expression, it drilled out along his body.

Finally, it turned into a black mist, rushed straight towards Xu Qing, merged into Xu Qing's body, and disappeared.

With the disappearance of the poison prohibition, the old man clearly felt his body relax, his cultivation power surged, and his body's recovery began to return to normal, becoming blurred.

This made him let out a long sigh of relief and look at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing took a few steps back, extremely vigilant.

The old man's eyes widened.

"Brat, seeing how powerful your attack was earlier, why didn't you take action the first two times, and had to wait for me to appear to help you?"

"I didn't have time." Xu Qing spoke calmly. He was telling the truth.

The old man was silent upon hearing this. He felt that this brat really didn't know how to talk, so he turned around and was about to leave, but after walking a few steps, he looked back at Xu Qing.

"Heavenly Fire is coming soon, you'd better find a place to hide."

The old man waved his hand and threw an umbrella to Xu Qing.

"This umbrella can resist for some time, but it won't last too long. Take care of yourself."

After speaking, his body flickered, and he was about to merge into the void.

Xu Qing took the umbrella, and after checking it, felt the other party's goodwill. Thus, after thinking for a moment, he shouted at the old man who was about to disappear.

"Wait a moment."

The old man's body paused, and he looked at Xu Qing in surprise.

Xu Qing raised his hand and extracted the last wisp of poison mist from the other party's body...

This was left by Xu Qing to prevent the old man from suddenly attacking earlier.

At this moment, following the appearance of the poison mist, the old man's expression changed again. He glared at Xu Qing, panted a few times, and finally laughed in anger.

"No sense of martial virtue!"

Xu Qing was expressionless. His experiences from childhood to adulthood made him understand the necessity of caution, especially in this strange Great Domain.

And from beginning to end, he had no intention to harm others.

The old man looked at Xu Qing and finally nodded.

"Forget it, your vigilance is also normal."

After speaking, he thought for a moment, took out a jade slip, and threw it to Xu Qing.

"If you really can't find a place to avoid the fire, come here."

The old man turned around, flickered, and disappeared between heaven and earth.

Xu Qing took the jade slip and put it away after scanning it. He knew what Heavenly Fire was; it was a unique climate of the Sacrifice Moon Great Domain. Whenever this time came, the sky of the entire Sacrifice Moon Great Domain would become bright.

"It should be related to this Heavenly Fire Sea."

Xu Qing didn't know the specifics earlier, but at this moment he had some guesses. Remembering the heat on the sea these past few days, he was thoughtful and accelerated away.

Several days later, Xu Qing returned to the shore, not the place where he had been in seclusion earlier. He didn't want to go to the same place a second time.

At this moment, on this shore, he looked at the sky.

Compared to two months ago, the firelight in the sky was now more intense, and the churning of the Heavenly Fire Sea magma was also becoming increasingly violent.

Standing here, the

rumbling from the Heavenly Fire Sea was like rolling thunder.

And the figures of cultivators were also much fewer than in the past.

Even the ground was shaking, as if some behemoth was about to rise from within the Heavenly Fire Sea.

This made Xu Qing think of the scene where he first saw the Mirror Shadow Clan border guards hiding underground.

"Could this be a way to avoid Heavenly Fire?"

Xu Qing was thoughtful. He moved away from this place, found a location, dug a large hole in the ground, entered it, cast a spell to cover it, and hid underground. After that, he sat cross-legged and began to recover his body.

Although it was a god's body, that Heavenly Fire Sea was mysterious and unpredictable, and the high temperature under the magma gave Xu Qing the feeling that it contained terror. He could sink at most about one foot.

Xu Qing didn't dare to go any deeper. This fire burned the soul, and even with the absorption of the purple crystal, he couldn't guarantee he wouldn't be injured.

Time passed day by day like this. Deep underground, Xu Qing recovered his body while studying his Sundial Life Lamp, occasionally chatting with Ling'er.

It wasn't lonely either.

Until seven days later, when his body returned to its peak, Xu Qing felt the changes in the outside world.

The temperature had been getting higher and higher over these seven days.

Even though he was underground, it was the same, and the surrounding soil began to turn crimson.

Until a rumbling sound came from the sky, spreading like an explosion. Through his divine sense, Xu Qing saw a scene that caused huge waves in his mind.

The Heavenly Fire Sea, like a tsunami, erupted.

Amidst the violent churning, the magma raised waves after waves. While spreading towards the shore, a pair of giant broken hands, one hundred thousand feet long, rose into the sky from the vast Heavenly Fire Sea.

These broken hands had huge flesh tumors growing at the end of the arms, spreading countless tentacles, and the palm prints on the palm, which was like a sky curtain, were clearly visible.

They rose into mid-air and were slowly forming seals.

Magma surged, and strange phenomena like dragon water-suction appeared on the magma sea. Large patches of magma were sucked into the sky, spread out, and flew rapidly to cover the horizon in all directions.

The sky was bright.

Infinite fire fell from the sky, causing the earth to be burned.

This was the reason why this region was full of bare and irregular low mountains, and also the main reason why there were no plants.

Its range was so large that it covered the alliance of the two clans, spreading continuously from east to west, until it shrouded the entire Sacrifice Moon Great Domain.

"Heavenly Fire passes..."

Xu Qing looked at this scene and muttered in a low voice.