Chapter 55: Transforming into a Butterfly

In the middle of the night, through Xu Qing’s cultivation, the Sea Transformation Scripture broke through all the way to the fourth level.

This speed was extremely exaggerated, causing the disciples of the Seventh Peak outside to feel a shock in their hearts, though most people of the Seventh Peak preferred to hide their ripples.

Thus, noticing that Xu Qing’s boat was a new one and realizing he was a newly promoted disciple, most returned to their own boats, appearing to pay no more attention and acting as if everything were normal, yet in reality, they had already begun to probe in secret.

Until the morning sun slowly rose on the distant horizon, and the sunlight fell upon the sea surface to form blinding light that spread in all directions, Xu Qing, inside the small covered boat, opened his eyes from his cross-legged position.

The purple glow in his eyes lasted for a full dozen breaths this time before slowly dissipating, revealing the astonishment within.

Although the cultivation speed in the second half of the night was significantly slower, only breaking the Sea Transformation Scripture through from the fourth level to the fifth level.

Yet, to reach such a degree in a single night still exceeded Xu Qing’s expectations.

“The Sea Mountain Art and the Sea Transformation Scripture can complement each other…” Xu Qing felt it was inconceivable.

Sitting there at this moment, he looked different from yesterday; the originally sharp edges and corners had now become a bit softer.

There was even a faint, otherworldly temperament slowly budding within him.

This was the aura brought about by the Sea Transformation Scripture.

After sensing the spiritual sea of over fifty zhang within his body, Xu Qing took a deep breath, recalling a sentence mentioned in the Sea Mountain Art.

The Xiao can move mountains, the Kui can shift seas.

But after carefully analyzing and judging in his heart, he ultimately felt that the reason for this was partly due to the effect of the Sea Mountain Art, but more so because his meridians were clear and unobstructed, without the slightest bit of foreign matter.

It was like a container that had already been forged to be incomparably sturdy, not comparable to the bodies of those just coming into contact with cultivation.

That was why it could accommodate a massive influx of spiritual energy in the initial stage, which also explained why the cultivation speed had decreased in the second half of the night.

The capacity of a container is not infinite.

“But judging from the fact that I still broke through a level in the second half of the night, although the cultivation speed decreased, it can still support me in continuing to improve rapidly.”

Xu Qing pondered for a moment, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes; it was not just the Sea Transformation Scripture that had improved this night, his Sea Mountain Art had also improved quite a bit.

At this moment, he was not far from the eighth level.

Most importantly, every level of the Sea Transformation Scripture recorded techniques, so he lowered his head to look at his right hand.

As his thoughts stirred, a drop of seawater suddenly formed rapidly in his palm, and in an instant, it turned into a water ball the size of a human head, constantly changing—at times forming a flying knife, at times turning into a small shield, and at times becoming a flying bird.

In his hand, this water ball changed continuously; depending on the different distribution of seawater, the focus of each object it transformed into was different, and naturally, there were differences in power.

And within the jade slip of the Sea Transformation Scripture, there were no fewer than a hundred such variations recorded from the first to the tenth level.

While it emitted an icy chill, it also possessed an aura belonging to the Forbidden Sea, capable of forming a deterrent to an enemy’s spirit, and in terms of power… Xu Qing sensed it slightly.

The explosive force within this water ball was enough to deter all the Qi Condensation fifth-level cultivators in the scavenger camps he had seen.

Xu Qing weighed himself as he was before coming to the Seven Blood Eyes, and after analysis, he concluded that he could swiftly kill within forty such water balls.

But after sensing the spiritual sea of over fifty zhang in his body, he analyzed that he could release about fifty water balls; if he were skilled in changing them, he would have to be extremely vigilant, and although he could still kill them, it would take a bit longer.

This was already very exaggerated; Xu Qing’s Sea Mountain Art seemed to be at the seventh level, but compared to others who cultivated the Sea Mountain Art, his combat power was equivalent to the tenth level, after all, the Kui Shadow was perfected.

In other words, a person who had normally cultivated the Sea Mountain Art to the tenth level could not achieve an instant kill when facing a disciple of the Seventh Peak with a fifth-level Sea Transformation Scripture cultivation base.

All of this caused Xu Qing’s perception of the Seven Blood Eyes to rise once again, and he gained a more profound judgment of the endurance and ferocity of the Seventh Peak disciples.

“The gap between rogue cultivators and sect disciples is too great.”

“As I am now, combined with body refining, I am confident I can kill my past self within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.” Xu Qing whispered, his expression slowly revealing a sharp glint.

Although there was no obvious improvement in his cultivation base, the increase in combat power made him feel that he was walking on the right path.

It was morning now, and the sunlight fell, pouring into the cabin along the canopy, causing Xu Qing’s shadow to form on the deck; he lowered his head to look at the shadow.

After a night of cultivation, all the foreign matter had been absorbed by the shadow, making his shadow look darker than ever before; if one looked closely, it was as if the place it covered contained an abyss.

At this moment, under Xu Qing’s gaze, the shadow suddenly moved, swaying left and right, stretching out its hands, clenching them into fists, and then spreading its fingers, repeating the cycle over and over, faster and faster.

It even rapidly elongated and shrank, looking extremely eerie.

Until after a long while, as a trace of fatigue appeared on Xu Qing’s face, the shadow instantly returned to its original state, motionless.

“Having gone through the second round of assessments and the breakthrough of the Sea Transformation Scripture, my control over the shadow has also made rapid progress.” Xu Qing raised his head, looking at the sun outside.

After a while, he slowly stood up, tidied his items, took out the gray Daoist robe, and touched it gently on the table.

Then, with a wave of his right hand, a drop of seawater formed, expanded into a water ball, then flattened, ultimately turning into a water mirror that reflected Xu Qing’s figure.

The face in the water mirror carried a trace of youthfulness, incomparably handsome, containing a unique charm; although it was dirty, the spirit in his eyes was like the stars, very dazzling.

Looking at himself in the water mirror, Xu Qing was silent for a moment, a look of decisiveness appearing on his face; he took off the scavenger clothes from his body, revealing the refined and perfectly proportioned physique he had gained after cultivating the Sea Mountain Art.

He raised his left hand and grabbed toward the water mirror; immediately, the water mirror rushed toward Xu Qing, and upon drawing near, it turned into a large amount of water vapor, directly covering his entire body. As it continuously rinsed him, black, dirty water flowed down his slender body and spread to his feet.

Xu Qing stood there calmly; this was the first time in seven years he had cleaned his body so thoroughly.

Because he knew that the environment had changed; in the slums and scavenger camps, he was covered in filth just like everyone else, so he was not conspicuous.

But here, if he remained as he was before, it would attract too much unnecessary attention. Although dressing like a scavenger would give people a sense of poverty, the fact that he had a magic boat was no secret, and anyone with a mind would know it at a glance, so if he continued to pretend to hide it, there was little point.

Therefore, there was not a ripple on his face as he let the water vapor wash over him, and gradually, his fair skin was exposed over a large area, as were his face and hair.

Until a moment later, when the last trace of filth on his entire body dissipated, Xu Qing opened his eyes.

The sunlight spilled into the canopy, landing on his black hair and his face, as if lingering and unwilling to leave, wanting to flow gently over his entire body. Xu Qing felt somewhat uncomfortable and stepped back a few paces, letting his body fall into the shade.

The figure in the shade had a head of black, shiny, straight hair.

He looked to be sixteen or seventeen years old, with heroic, slanted sword-like eyebrows, long, narrow black eyes containing sharpness, thin, tightly pressed lips, a well-defined profile, and a slender build, resembling a fledgling eagle about to spread its wings in the dark of night.

Cold, proud, and aloof, yet imposing and aggressive, standing alone, fused with the lingering youthfulness on the boy’s face, causing him to exude an astonishing charm from head to toe.

Xu Qing looked down at his hands and took out the inner lining of the gray Daoist robe, putting it on piece by piece.

Finally, he changed into the shoes issued by the sect and put the Daoist robe on; he waved his hand, and water droplets appeared again to wash away the bloodstains from the cabin floor from the night before. Until it was completely clean, Xu Qing walked out of the boat, and under the sunlight, his whole person radiated an indescribable brilliance.

Like a dust-covered gem that had been wiped clean, revealing a dazzling light.

Causing many of the guards patrolling the shore to look over.

Xu Qing stood on the boat, squinting his eyes as if to block out the outside gaze, and the direct sunlight falling on his skin also made him somewhat uncomfortable, but he understood that this was a necessary experience for him, so Xu Qing soon slowly opened his eyes, forcing himself to adapt.

After a while, he took a deep breath and turned to walk off the small boat.

With a wave of his hand, he stored the small covered boat into a bottle and, under the gaze of the patrolling guards in the distance, slowly walked away.

Today was the day he was to report to the Criminal Investigation Department.

At the same time, he also planned to go to the pharmacy at the port to buy some herbs for refining White Pills and poison powder; the elixirs on his person were now empty.

The port in the morning was very lively.

The outside merchant ships coming and going from more than a hundred harbors, along with the disciples of the Seventh Peak, made the port bustling with activity, with many people coming and going. Most of the shops were also opening at this time, and the pedestrians on the street had begun their day of busyness.

Xu Qing’s arrival attracted some gazes because of his appearance, but for cultivators, appearance was merely skin-deep, so most just took a glance and then withdrew their gaze.

Xu Qing also slowly adapted, but walking on the street, he was still accustomed to moving in the shadows. At the same time, on this road to the Criminal Investigation Department, Xu Qing also noticed that besides pharmacies, there were some artifact refining workshops and array-engraving shops open in the port.

Through the jade slip of the magic boat, Xu Qing knew that not every disciple could refine a boat on their own; for the vast majority of disciples, they often sent the materials and the magic boat to shops opened by Sixth Peak disciples, or to array-engraving shops opened by Fifth Peak disciples, to commission the refining.

After paying attention to these shops, Xu Qing inquired and learned the location of the Seventh Peak’s Criminal Investigation Department, then walked over quickly.

Before long, a magnificent building appeared before Xu Qing.

The gate of this building was very similar to the City Lord’s Mansion he had seen, but the area inside was larger, with dozens of small buildings standing among them, and bursts of pressure also spread from within, suppressing all directions.

Especially the overall color, which was pitch black, and the two stone carvings in front of the gate had ferocious appearances, resembling a fusion of human and beast, like Rakshasas, which were shocking to the eye.

The area in front of the gate was desolate; pedestrians often took a detour to avoid it from far away, not daring to get close.

At this moment, at the entrance, there were two young cultivators wearing gray Daoist robes, one male and one female, both around twenty years old, with ordinary appearances, lazily leaning against the door pillars, yawning as if they hadn't woken up. But the moment Xu Qing walked over, the two immediately raised their heads, their gazes like lightning, landing on Xu Qing.

Xu Qing’s expression was calm as he walked over under their gaze; he did not get too close, stopped at the entrance, and bowed with cupped fists.

“Seventh Peak disciple Xu Qing, ordered to take office, here to report.”

“A newcomer?” A glimmer of dark light appeared in the young man’s eyes as he scanned Xu Qing up and down, but his eyes narrowed slightly soon after, as if he felt the unusual fluctuations on Xu Qing. Just as he was about to speak, he was pushed aside by his female companion, who rushed to the front of Xu Qing, looked at Xu Qing’s face, and revealed a gentle, beautiful smile.

“Little Junior Brother, I wonder what brings you here?”

“He already said he’s here to report, why are you still asking what for?” The young man said with a half-smile.

The female cultivator acted as if she hadn't heard this sentence and continued to look at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing instinctively took a few steps back; he did not like being very close to people, and at this moment, he habitually observed the two, especially instinctively taking a few extra looks at the necks of these two male and female cultivators.

I guess many young boys and girls will sigh that Xu Qing has finally taken a bath…