Chapter 611: Poison Prohibition Divine Curse, Refining in the Eyes

While Xu Qing was deep in thought, on another lake within this void, the Captain stood with his hands behind his back, wearing a black robe and looking up at the void above.

His expression carried a sense of wistfulness, as if he were savoring and recalling memories; a feeling of vicissitudes arose naturally with his demeanor.

After a long while, a sigh filled with complex emotions escaped his lips, echoing in all directions and stirring up layers of lingering sound, giving one the feeling of an overflowing heart.

"This world, these plants, everything here... I am so familiar with it all..."

The Captain murmured.

However, before the echoes of his words could fade, a cold voice emerged indifferently from the surface of the lake beneath his feet.

"Are you blind? There is no world here, nor are there plants. From the moment this place was created by the Sovereign, it has been a void, from beginning to end."

The Captain blinked, his expression remaining unchanged; there was no embarrassment at being exposed. Instead, he felt smug in his heart, secretly thinking, "You little artifact spirit don't know a thing; I was just reciting a spell."

Now that the spell was finished, he looked up and spoke loudly.

"I have already thought of my grand ambition for the trial!"

The water beneath his feet rippled, and the white-robed elder stared at him, speaking coldly.

"State your grand ambition."

"My grand ambition is to save the sentient beings of the Red Moon Great Domain from the sea of suffering, lead them to resist the Red Moon, and eventually, just as the Sovereign did back then, I will slay the Red Mother, devour her, and let the whole world know—I shall open the heavens and split the earth!"

The Captain's expression was arrogant, his voice echoing.

Within the mirror-like lake, the white-robed elder's expression did not change at all, appearing indifferent to this ambition. However, bursts of cold air radiated from beneath his feet, spreading across the entire lake before seeping out from the lake where the Captain stood, turning into a cold voice.

"How will you achieve this?"

"That is simple. I will first become the master of this Reverse Moon Hall; this is a crucial step in my series of plans."

"Besides that, I have a second grand ambition: I want to rename this Red Moon Great Domain to the Heaven Ox Great Domain!"

The Captain's eyes revealed persistence, his voice impassioned.

The white-robed elder did not speak, and the cold air grew denser, slowly enveloping the Captain from all sides.

Seeing this, the Captain felt a surge of joy. He felt that saying this wasn't exaggerated or intense enough, and the surrounding cold air was spreading too slowly, so he spoke again.

"I haven't finished yet. There is a third grand ambition: I will eventually destroy the remnant face in the firmament and become the new Ancient Emperor of this Eastern Wanggu Continent, unifying Eastern Wanggu!"

"At that time, I will strike the Sacred Grounds with my fists and trample the Radiant Heavens with my feet; all races shall bow to me, and all heavens shall sink for me."

Having said this, the Captain was incredibly exhilarated and threw his head back in laughter.

And amidst his laughter, the surrounding cold air surged violently, rushing straight toward him. In the blink of an eye, it submerged him, eventually... turning him into an ice sculpture.

The Captain inside the ice sculpture still maintained his laughing posture, looking quite rampant.

At this moment, he slowly sank, disappearing from the lake and falling into the depths of this void...

Clearly, his grand ambition had been judged as false by the Reverse Moon Hall's artifact spirit, and thus he received the punishment of being sealed.

On the other side, Xu Qing was in high spirits.

After pondering, he felt there was no problem with his thoughts on the Poison Prohibition, except for one thing: he was unsure if the artifact spirit would detect his actions.

After all, this could be considered using the assessment to achieve his own private goal.

Therefore, to prevent any accidents, Xu Qing felt it would be safer to refine a Curse-Descending Pill first as a cover.

In this way, even if he were truly discovered, he would have an excuse.

Thinking of this, Xu Qing immediately waved his hand, and a large amount of medicinal herbs flew over, constantly being separated in his hands.

Some were for extracting liquid, some for separating veins, some for catalysis, and some for grafting together—each different, mutually harmonizing.

As for the base elixir, it was the Curse-Descending Pill that Xu Qing had refined outside.

These pills themselves could reduce curses by about ten percent, and Xu Qing had refined quite a few during his spare time recently.

Now, under his re-refinement, although the added parts made the mother medicine both illusory and real, on this mirror-like lake, the components within these pills infused with illusory herbs fused together perfectly.

Most importantly, every herb here was just right, making Xu Qing feel incredibly comfortable as he refined.

Whatever he needed, he would call for it. As long as he called, it would appear immediately.

If the age wasn't enough, he would increase the age; if the medicinal effect wasn't satisfactory, he would swap in other, better herbs.

All the theoretical knowledge he had accumulated over the years erupted in this short time; every herb he had never seen in his life was available here at his beck and call.

After such continuous verification, Xu Qing's mastery of vegetation also advanced by leaps and bounds.

Looking from afar, Xu Qing sat cross-legged, his hands waving as countless herbs circled before him, their forms constantly changing.

And under the catalysis of these herbs, the pill's ability to reduce curses gradually increased, nearing twenty percent.

All of this gave Xu Qing a boost in spirit.

He knew his previous direction of study was correct.

The main principle of using vegetation to reduce curses is actually fighting poison with poison.

On one hand, the pill itself contains Xu Qing's Purple Moon power; this is the foundation, the root, like a source.

On the other hand, the manifested vegetation grew and formed during the invasion of the God's remnant face, so they possess special medicinal effects.

Most of these medicinal effects contain a certain degree of foreign matter.

Combined with the Way of Vegetation taught by Master Bai, one can utilize them to fight poison with poison, thereby suppressing the Red Mother's curse.

It sounds easy, but in reality, it requires a massive amount of experimentation and blending. If it were in the outside world, it would be extremely difficult for Xu Qing to accomplish this alone.

And the most difficult part was the materials; there simply weren't enough heavenly treasures for him to try one by one to find the correct formula.

But here, none of that was a problem.

A strong light appeared in Xu Qing's eyes.

"Vegetation is indeed the key to opening the path of the gods," Xu Qing murmured. He knew clearly that this was also the understanding of the Candlelight.

Just like that, time passed.

Seven days went by.

"One hour in the outside world is seven days here? That means one day outside is nearly three months here?"

Xu Qing was somewhat surprised; this ability was truly astonishing. He instinctively felt that it shouldn't be the infinite passage of time the white-robed elder spoke of, and it likely had an end.

"It is unlikely that this place can last forever... I don't have much time left."

Thinking of this, Xu Qing quietly changed the pill formula. Seemingly still refining the elixir, he began to mix in one poisonous herb for every seven or eight herbs manifested.

When the quantity reached a certain level, Xu Qing began to refine poison pills.

"Falling Moon Star-Shattering Leaf, Nine Nether Spirit Centipede Root, Undying Corpse Howl Blood..."

Xu Qing remained calm, suppressing the excitement in his heart as he slowly molded the poisonous herbs from his memory and began refining poison pills.

These poison pills were ones he had studied for so many years but could never attempt due to a lack of materials. As he refined them, Xu Qing felt incredibly comfortable, thinking that for an alchemist, this place was a holy land.

His mastery of vegetation also improved with each refinement.

Not only were those rare poisonous herbs manifested by him, but there were also many rare treasures; it could be said that everything one could wish for was there.

He even tried to mold poisonous beasts, but unfortunately, the latter could not be formed here, which made Xu Qing somewhat regretful.

But this was fine; at least there was enough vegetation. Thus, as the days passed, the number of poison pills Xu Qing refined grew and grew.

Green Spirit Poison Millet Powder, Absolute Yin Rouge Pill, Three-Headed Poison Feather Pellet, Thousand-Night Soul-Death, Heart-Breaking Spirit-Splitting Liquid, Fire-Burning Thunder-Rising Powder, Kui Truth Absolute Life Poison Egg, Half-Side Coin, Seven-Breath Laughter, Yang Fire Face, Nine Nether Bridge.

Xu Qing looked at the colorful pills of all sizes before him, and endless waves rose in his heart. He longed for these pills to be able to be taken out of this place.

"With these poisons, my combat power would increase so much." Xu Qing sighed in his heart. He knew this was unrealistic, so he picked up one and put it directly into his mouth, tasting it slowly.

The next instant, his body shook as he felt the explosion of the green poison. At this moment, the white-robed elder's figure appeared within the mirror-like lake beneath his feet. He looked at Xu Qing, his expression unchanged, and spoke indifferently.

"These are all fake; swallowing them is useless."

Xu Qing opened his eyes and looked at the white-robed elder. While letting his body remember the sensation brought by swallowing the poison, he spoke hoarsely, "I encountered a bottleneck in refining the Curse-Descending Pill and needed to break through it in another way. Therefore, even if it is fake, I must try it personally to feel these illusory changes and find a way to break the bottleneck."

The white-robed elder closed his eyes deeply and his hands formed seals, waving them violently.

Immediately, stalks of poisonous herbs were manifested once again.

The quantity was so great that it reached several thousand stalks.

After they were manifested, Xu Qing had no time to refine them. He opened his mouth wide and suddenly swallowed toward these herbs. Some were even smashed into mist by a punch from his hand, enveloping his whole body. Amidst the echoing sound, a low roar came from Xu Qing, who was shrouded in the mist; the power of the Poison Prohibition erupted within him instantly.

This scene moved the white-robed elder. In his judgment, the trial-taker before him had shown unstable changes, so after waving his hand, cold air radiated from beneath his feet, permeated the lake, and appeared around Xu Qing.

The cold air grew denser and denser, containing the power to freeze everything, spreading toward Xu Qing from all eight directions.

Wherever it passed, the lake on the ground made cracking sounds as it froze. It looked as if this cold air was about to envelop Xu Qing.

Just then, the poison mist outside Xu Qing's body suddenly churned and all rolled backward.

It was as if Xu Qing in the mist had become a black hole vortex, sucking all the poison mist in within the blink of an eye.

And with the disappearance of the poison mist, Xu Qing's figure was clearly revealed. At this moment, he suddenly opened his eyes—pitch-black eyes, like a deep abyss. Anyone who met his gaze felt as if they were staring into an abyss, or being stared at by one.

His gaze was incomparably profound, as if it contained an eternal night, enough to cause huge waves in the minds of those who looked at him.

Most astonishingly, this gaze carried foreign matter. This foreign matter was special, causing those who met his gaze to be instantly infected with the Poison Prohibition in body and soul.

It was the Eye of Poison Prohibition!

The white-robed elder's body shook. The mirror-like lake he was in also turned black at this instant, with strands of ink-like substance pouring in.

"Audacious!" the white-robed elder roared low. The lake churned, the mirror surface flashed, and the cold air surged as if about to erupt.

Just then, Xu Qing withdrew his moonlight, ignored the cold air surging from all around, and looked down at his raised right hand.

There, a pill lay. Under his gaze and the infusion of his Poison Prohibition power, the internal quality of this pill changed rapidly, and its curse-reducing efficacy also soared.

The Poison Prohibition in Xu Qing's gaze contained not only the God's curse but also all the poisons he had swallowed before. At this moment, they all gathered in his gaze, erupted, and merged into this Curse-Descending Pill.

These illusory poisons merged with the pill, affecting the balance within and exerting their influence.

And the efficacy of this Curse-Descending Pill erupted at this moment, from nearly twenty percent, directly exploding to fifty percent, and still rising.

Finally, a hazy purple light radiated from it. Xu Qing raised his head, and at the moment the surrounding cold air sealed in, he spoke his final sentence.

"This pill is finally complete; it can reduce the curse by fifty percent."

As the words were spoken, sand and cold air covered Xu Qing's entire body; under some irresistible law, his body directly turned into an ice sculpture, motionless.

Only that elixir fell from his hand, floating above the ice layer of the lake, shining with purple luster while also giving one a sense of illusion.

After a long while, this elixir merged into the ice layer and appeared in the hand of the white-robed elder.

The white-robed elder looked at the elixir before him, his expression changing once again: first shock, then confusion, followed by bewilderment, and finally hesitation.

In his entire life as a spirit artifact, he had never seen such an elixir.

After a long time, he suddenly blew a breath of air toward this elixir.

Within this breath, the elixir actually transformed from illusory to real.

Afterward, he raised his hand and waved it; immediately, an ice sculpture appeared, melted before him, and revealed a middle-aged man inside.

This man's Void Returning cultivation base erupted; after waking up, he was stunned for a moment, did not choose to flee while struggling, and then respectfully cupped his fists toward the white-robed elder.

"Greetings, my lord."

"Eat it." The white-robed elder said indifferently with a blank expression, then flicked the elixir in his hand, and it landed before the man.

The man hesitated, but still chose to obey; he took the elixir and looked at it, his expression shifting slightly, then he swallowed it in one gulp and closed his eyes to experience the medicinal effect.

A moment later, his body suddenly shook violently, trembling intensely; he opened his eyes abruptly and spat out a large mouthful of crimson blood with a wail.

Within that blood, there was unexpectedly contained a dense aura of curses and decay, gathering in mid-air and vaguely manifesting the shadow of a red moon, with the power of curses within it, about to tremble and erupt.

But the white-robed elder let out a cold snort, and immediately, this void descended to suppress it.

In an instant, that blood turned directly into ice cubes and fell onto the lake, all the fluctuations within it also being sealed.

After doing this, the white-robed elder looked at the man, his eyes revealing a strange light while his expression changed once again, showing shock.

And that man was equally shocked; he felt his body and gasped in horror.

"My curse... has permanently decreased by half!"

"My lord, what kind of elixir is this!"

The white-robed elder did not answer the man's question; he flicked his sleeve, and immediately the cold air descended again, the man's body instantly turning back into an ice sculpture and sinking beneath the lake.

After doing this, the white-robed elder stood there, dazed for a moment, then his body also sank into the lake.

When he appeared, he was exactly at the location of Xu Qing's ice sculpture.

Gazing at the ice sculpture before him, the white-robed elder was silent again; a moment later, he raised his hand and pointed at the center of Xu Qing's brow.

Under this point, the ice sculpture melted rapidly, turning into mist and scattering; the Xu Qing within felt his body shake, and his consciousness awakened.

"Greetings, Senior."

Xu Qing did not have much surprise; regardless of how the other party understood his actions during this period, that was not important; what was important was that he had used his actions to tell the other party that all his previous moves were actually steps in refining the Curse-Breaking Elixir.

That final glance, which made the elixir appear to have a sense of sublimation, was enough to explain everything.

The white-robed elder gazed at Xu Qing, his expression filled with strangeness; after a long while, a low voice echoed through this void.

"From ancient times to the present, there have been seventy-nine people who passed this first trial, and in this era, there are not many, only three."

"You are now the fourth."

"But those before you, although they all made great vows and provided the qualifications to complete them, and indeed completed them afterward, they were not the Master of the Moon-Reversing Palace; they were all secondary contracts. Because they only passed this trial, they actually could not become the Master of the Moon-Reversing Palace... You will know the reason once you walk inside."

"You only have half a year; if you cannot complete it within half a year, you can only sign a secondary contract."

The white-robed elder looked at Xu Qing and pointed a finger at the lake; immediately, the lake churned, and a massive stone gate filled with an ancient aura rose from within with a rumbling sound.

This stone gate was a thousand feet tall, full of vicissitudes, bearing the traces of the passage of time, as if it had arrived from the ancient past, appearing on the ground.

It did not need to be pushed open, because there was a gap in the middle that allowed people to walk in.

Through the gap, Xu Qing vaguely saw that there seemed to be a palace inside.

Xu Qing was somewhat hesitant; the white-robed elder's words made him think of the Captain, so he asked the elder.

"Senior, did the trial-taker who arrived with this junior also pass?"

"His vow was too great, and he has already reaped what he sowed."

The white-robed elder spoke indifferently and stomped his foot on the ground.

Immediately, as ripples echoed on the water surface, dozens of ice sculptures were revealed in the depths.

Xu Qing looked down and discovered that there was one more, which was exactly...

The Eldest Senior Brother.

He maintained a smiling posture, his sense of arrogance being incomparably obvious.

Xu Qing frowned; this was slightly different from what he had expected, so a sense of contemplation rose in his heart, and he thought of the words the Captain had said before the trial.

Combined with his knowledge of the Eldest Senior Brother, Xu Qing felt that this matter was nine times out of ten intentional by the Captain; he had intentionally allowed himself to be frozen...

"If you can eventually pass and become the Master of the Moon-Reversing Palace, you will..."

"... have the authority to pardon all the sealed ones here."

"Now, Xu Qing, go in."

The white-robed elder gave Xu Qing a meaningful look, his body slowly sinking beneath the lake, disappearing without a trace.

Soon, only Xu Qing remained here, along with this huge stone gate. Standing before the stone gate, Xu Qing took a deep breath, no longer hesitating, and stepped forward to walk into the gap of the stone gate that looked like a canyon.

Walking further and further, he drew closer and closer to the palace within.

Until a piece of light shone into Xu Qing's eyes, filling his world. At the same time, within the Moon-Reversing Palace, a commotion arose again.

Several hours later, the highest temple of the Moon-Reversing Palace shone.

It had already attracted the attention of many cultivators, and even eleven Vice Palace Masters had arrived.

Now that several hours had passed, as the news spread, more and more cultivators returned to the Moon-Reversing Palace to witness this scene.

Sounds of discussion also frequently broke out.

Looking around, the sky was full of statues, and among them were some who were followers of Master Dan Jiu; although they did not know that the one causing all this was the Eldest Senior Brother they were fanatical about, this did not affect them continuing to praise the benevolence of Dan Jiu at this time.

The representative among them was Xu Qing's neighbor; this person's statue was a burly man with a bare chest, leading over hundreds or thousands of Dan Jiu's die-hard followers, scattered among the crowd, singing the praises of Dan Jiu.

And just when the Moon-Reversing Palace was rarely this lively, suddenly, the highest palace on the firmament shook violently, shining with ten thousand feet of light, the sense of brilliance filling all directions.

Furthermore, a sense of holiness rose within.

This scene immediately attracted the attention of the masses.

"Success?"

Could it be... as this erupted from the mouths of the crowd in the Moon-Reversing Palace, a sense of anticipation also rose continuously here.

Looking around, the statues filling the sky were all gazing at the gate of the highest temple, waiting for it to open.

But as time passed, a stick of incense later, the light on the highest peak was still shining, yet the gate remained closed, and no one had walked out.

This scene caused the expressions of many elders of the Moon-Reversing Palace to dim.

"Could it be that the legend regarding the Moon-Reversing Palace is true..."