The early morning wind blew at the harbor and the sails swayed.
However, there were always a few strands of wind that were not satisfied with the swaying of the sails and tried to raise the surface of the sea to make the blue waves sparkling. However, the sea was too deep and the wind could not pass through it. If they were not careful, they would even be swallowed up by the rising and falling waves.
It was like a fish that had overestimated itself and provoked an opponent that it should not have provoked.
The light of dawn was calmer than the wind and did not have so much desire. It quietly sprinkled on the ships and also fell on Xu Qing who was walking back with a calm face.
Whether it was killing people or killing fish, for Xu Qing, the outcome was already decided from the moment the other party revealed their killing intent towards him.
He wanted to live, so any existence that threatened his life touched his red line.
He knew that living beings were different when they were alive.
The teacher in the slums had once mocked himself for this difference. He told the children, including Xu Qing, that if it was a prosperous time, then the people in power would use a fig leaf to cover it up. However, in troubled times, this was already a deep-rooted understanding of everyone.
However, along the way, Xu Qing also knew that this world was fair to a certain extent.
Because after death, everything was removed. The final outcome was only one direction.
Dying in an unknown alley was no different from dying in a wine pool piled with gems.
"The Second Prince is right. It is indeed very fishy."
Xu Qing withdrew his gaze from the sunrise and walked into the cabin. He washed his body until the fishy smell was gone, then he lay down.
Today was not the day he was on duty, so he did not need to go to the Department of Detectives for roll call. At this moment, he felt comfortable as if there were fewer thorns in his heart. He felt that he could have a good sleep.
However, before going to sleep, Xu Qing sat down cross-legged, took out a bamboo slip, and crossed out the words "young merman" on it. Then, he looked at the ancestor of the Vajra Sect who was ranked first. Killing intent rose in the depths of his eyes.
"Soon …"
As he murmured, Xu Qing took out the storage bag that the young merman had never had the chance to open.
He was very curious about what was inside.
Therefore, after weighing it in his hand, Xu Qing narrowed his eyes and pondered for a while. The psionic energy in his body instantly erupted and poured into the storage bag. It was not as difficult as he imagined. After the owner died, the mark on the storage bag had already dissipated.
This allowed Xu Qing's spiritual energy to flow in smoothly, allowing him to check the items inside.
After a long while, Xu Qing unconsciously took a deep breath.
"So rich?"
Murmured Xu Qing. Although there were only about a hundred Spirit Stones in the bag of holding, there were a total of twelve Spirit Tickets with the seal of the Sixth Peak on them.
Each one was worth a hundred spirit stones.
Such a sum caused Xu Qing's heart to beat faster. After all, this was wealth that he had never possessed before.
However, he knew that for the sake of safety, he wouldn't be able to exchange for those spirit tickets for the time being.
Therefore, after calming himself down, Xu Qing checked the other items. Aside from spirit stones, there were three to five precious treasures in his bag of holding. As he waved his right hand, two talisman treasures appeared in front of him.
One was yellow and the other was blue.
The appearance of these two talisman papers caused Xu Qing to be shocked. Looking at the markings on them, they were actually eighty to ninety percent new. Obviously, they hadn't been used many times.
Xu Qing sensed the two talisman treasures and confirmed that the blue one was for defense, and the yellow one was for attack.
"If that fish opens the bag of holding …" Xu Qing narrowed his eyes. He could imagine that if such a situation really happened, he would still be able to kill the fish, but if he wanted to end the battle quickly, the price he would have to pay would be enormous.
"So, the use of the shadow can actually be even more plentiful."
Xu Qing lowered his head and glanced at his shadow. A dark light flashed in the depths of his eyes. In his mind, when the mermaid youth was entangled by the shadow, for a moment, the shadow seemed to come alive.
"Was it an illusion?"
Xu Qing narrowed his eyes and looked deeply at the shadow. He raised his hand and touched the place on his chest where the purple crystal was buried. A cold light flashed in his eyes. He had felt it many times and knew that the purple crystal had the ability to imprison and suppress the shadow.
At this moment, regardless of whether it was alive or not, Xu Qing felt that he should try suppressing it first.
Therefore, he tried to channel the spiritual energy in his body into the purple crystal. The process was somewhat jerky. Xu Qing tried several times before he succeeded. The moment he succeeded, his entire body shone with a purple light, forming a suppressive force that rumbled toward the shadow on the ground.
The shadow instantly distorted and faded a little.
Xu Qing looked at it carefully and felt satisfied.
He did not want to waste his time guessing whether the other party was alive or not. Even if his guess was wrong and the shadow did not come alive, he would just be wasting some spiritual energy. Therefore, he tried several more times and suppressed the shadow continuously before he stopped.
In the end, he retracted his gaze and raised his head as if nothing had happened. He put away the two talisman treasures in front of him.
Then, he checked his bag of holding again and finally took out two items. The first was a sea map. The markings on it were very detailed, and it was much more comprehensive than the standard sea map of the Seventh Summit.
The location of the Mermaid Island was even marked inside. After Xu Qing checked it, he felt that the value of this item was probably no less than that of the talisman treasures.
After all, for disciples who cultivated by the sea, the more comprehensive the sea map was, the lower the risks and the greater the rewards.
Most of the time, information was even more valuable than Spirit Stones.
As for the last item, the level of his attention even surpassed that of the talisman treasures. Because … he had seen this item before, and he also had one.
It was a metal piece the size of a palm. It looked like a box, but it was not a box.
Looking at the metal piece in front of him, Xu Qing opened his bag of holding and took out one as well.
His metal piece had been obtained from Ma Si in the scavenger camp. Later on, Pang Shan had been greedy for it, so he intentionally gave Xu Qing a chance to attack him.
After putting the two pieces of metal side by side, Xu Qing carefully examined them. No matter how he looked at them, they were exactly the same.
"What exactly is this?" Xu Qing was very curious, and his eyes slowly narrowed.
He had been to most of the shops in the harbor recently, but he had never seen such an item. However, regardless of whether it was Pang Shan's greed back then, or the young mermaid boy's bag of holding, it was clear that this metal piece was not as ordinary as it seemed.
"I need to find a chance to investigate the use of this item."
After muttering to himself for a moment, Xu Qing put everything away. He looked at the sky outside, then lay down on his small bed and closed his eyes to rest.
He didn't rest for long. Four hours later, when noon had passed, Xu Qing opened his eyes and stretched. He was in good spirits, and his body was in good shape.
Most importantly, after last night's attack and today's relaxation, he had a strong feeling that his Sea of Mountains and Seas Incantation … was very close to a breakthrough.
"The seventh level is already the great circle. What will happen after the eighth level …? I wonder if I'll have the battle prowess to kill the Patriarch of the Vajra Sect by then."
Xu Qing's eyes shone with anticipation. He had the feeling that his Sea of Mountains and Seas Incantation had taken a very long time to reach the eighth level.
It was as if the Sea of Mountains and Seas Incantation had been brewing some sort of transformation all this time. Today, he could feel the aura of a breakthrough.
Therefore, Xu Qing sat down cross-legged and activated the Spirit Gathering Array of the magical boat. He took out Spirit Stones to replace them, then closed his eyes and began to cultivate.
Time passed as he immersed himself in cultivation. The afternoon passed by slowly. When night fell, a tremor ran through Xu Qing as he sat there cross-legged. All of a sudden, his flesh and blood went taut, as if they were shrinking.
Cracking sounds could be heard coming from his bones as they grew. Blood vessels bulged out and filled his entire body like ferocious pythons. It was a shocking sight, but at the same time, a majestic power of Qi and blood surged through his body with every beat of his heart.
With every heartbeat, his qi and blood grew stronger. Gradually, the power of qi and blood began to gather around Xu Qing. At the same time, a shadow magically appeared above his head. It lifted its head up and let out a soundless roar. Its face was twisted, as if it were undergoing an incredible tempering and transformation!
For ordinary people, after cultivating the Sea of Mountains and Seas Incantation to the great circle of the Body Refinement Realm, the shadow magically matured. However, Xu Qing's shadow magically reached the great circle of the Sea of Mountains and Seas Incantation when he was at the seventh level. After that, he continued to cultivate according to the technique. However, he wasn't sure what would happen after he broke through to the eighth level of the Sea of Mountains and Seas Incantation.
However, he could sense that as he cultivated the Sea of Mountains and Seas Incantation with his Seven Blood Eyes, his fleshly body power was growing. Therefore, he wanted to see what would happen once he reached the pinnacle.
After all, the cultivation of Body Refinement was the accumulation of power, speed, and recovery.
In fact, even the creator of the Sea of Mountains and Seas Incantation had never imagined that someone would reach the great circle of the Body Refinement Realm ahead of time like Xu Qing.
After all, the Sea of Mountains and Seas Incantation was a low-level technique that was prepared for people with strange qualities. No one had ever cultivated the Sea of Mountains and Seas Incantation like Xu Qing had done.
As time passed, more and more blue veins popped out on Xu Qing's skin. Cracks appeared on his skin, and blood seeped out of them. His qi and blood were so thick that it seemed as if his body was about to explode!
It was as if Xu Qing's body had turned into an earthen jar. The qi and blood inside were exploding, and it seemed as if they were about to shatter.
However, it was at this moment that, for the first time since Xu Qing had begun to cultivate, a violet light shone out from his chest and spread throughout his body. It rapidly repaired him, and at the same time, compressed him.
At the same time that his body became even more refined, an indescribably intense pain roared through Xu Qing's body.
His bones were shattering, and his flesh and blood were collapsing. It seemed as if he wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer. However, the light of the violet crystal continued to repair him.
The cycle continued, and the qi and blood grew stronger. Even the spell formation in the hold of the ship was incapable of covering it up. Much of it spread out, and from a distance, it looked as if Xu Qing's magical ship had been stained with blood.
The dense qi and blood spread out in all directions, attracting the attention of the disciples of the 79 Harbors. Even as they looked on in astonishment, Xu Qing's blood-colored eyes suddenly opened.
The instant his eyes opened, a roaring sound filled the air. It contained a single syllable that exploded like thunder in Xu Qing's mind. It was a sound that could rend Heaven and Earth. Xu Qing's body trembled violently, and the shadow above his head let out an even more intense roar. Its illusory body was ripped apart, revealing … a new body!
It was tall and green, and emanated an aura of madness and incomparable strangeness. Its skin was withered and cracked, and was covered with fissures that looked like dry land. Its withered hair hung loosely over its shoulders, and its crimson eyes were filled with madness.
It had fangs in its mouth, and a black horn on its head that crackled with lightning. It looked ferocious and savage. It lifted its head up and roared, as if it wanted to rip apart the Heavens that covered all living things.
It was as if the two extremes had switched. Instead of water vapor, it was now surrounded by black flames that seemed capable of incinerating anything and everything.
More accurately speaking, this was not a flame, but rather, a state in which all living things were dried up after absorbing water vapor to the extreme!
"Ba!"
Xu Qing murmured, his eyes shining brightly. That was the same syllable that had echoed out in his mind moments ago. It was also the qi and blood shadow that had appeared after the Sea and Mountain Incantation broke through to the next level!
It surpassed the Kui!
The Mandrill could move mountains, the Kui could move seas, and the Ba could incinerate all living things.
As soon as the words left Xu Qing's mouth, a power far more vigorous than the one he had felt before exploded out through him.
Xu Qing rose to his feet. Beneath his slender frame, the refined power of his fleshly body suddenly broke through the shackles of the Qi Condensation level, and reached a level beyond that of the Qi Condensation level!
The magical boat's defenses couldn't hold on any longer, and began to shatter. Even the hold of the boat began to crumble.
Everyone on the outside in the seventy-nine harbors, as well as the disciples who were watching, were completely shocked. Their eyes went wide, and their hearts began to pound. Their minds reeled as they looked over at Xu Qing.
Xu Qing was silent. He had never imagined that his breakthrough in the Sea-Mountain Incantation would cause such a huge commotion. Furthermore … he could sense that his Sea-Transformation Scripture was also circulating through his body, as if it were on the verge of a breakthrough.
"Congratulations, Elder Brother Xu Qing!"
"Congratulations, Elder Brother!"
As Xu Qing stood there silently, the disciples on the magical boat began to pant as they clasped hands and bowed respectfully to him.
They were respectful because of their strength.
It was the same with Elder Brother.
To be able to cause such a huge commotion while practicing cultivation, to the point where even the defenses of the sixth grade magical boat collapsed, showed how powerful he was. That was especially true of Xu Qing. The intense pressure radiating off of him caused their bodies and minds to tremble violently.
It was the type of pressure that came from … a powerful expert!
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I can't believe I got the numbers 74 and 75 wrong.
Life is always full of surprises. I had originally planned to go out with Lu Chong this afternoon ….
It seems I was born to write. I was just thinking about relaxing a bit, but then I got beaten back …. I had no choice but to tearfully refuse the invitations of these young ladies.
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