Chapter 120: Xu Qing Also Goes Crazy

Xu Qing stared at the mural, his mind shaking. Suddenly, the black umbrella lamp within the mural shone brightly, as if it were truly there. Its light pierced through the mural itself, spreading outwards.

At the same moment, the Spirit Breath Lamp in Xu Qing's hand also emitted an even more intense light, reflecting the mural's radiance to form a surging sea of light that erupted with a roar.

Xu Qing's expression changed. He wanted to retreat, but it was too late; his figure was instantly enveloped by the sea of light. In the blink of an eye, as the sea of light vanished, so too did Xu Qing's figure!

It felt as if a long time had passed, yet also as if it had only been an instant.

As Xu Qing's senses sharpened from their blur, the first thing he felt was an utterly terrifying pressure, like the roar of a monstrous beast, surging towards him from the front. Though there was no sound, only pressure, it still made Xu Qing's ears ring, as if his eardrums were about to burst from the strain, and blood trickled from his ears.

Not only that, his nose felt the same, and his eyes stung intensely, making it difficult to open them. Inside, his body churned violently, as if his internal organs were trembling.

The intense pain caused by all this made Xu Qing, unable to open his eyes, afraid to touch anything around him. He quickly crouched down, instinctively assuming an offensive posture. At the same time, poisonous powder spread around him, and he retrieved the black iron spike. Without hesitation, he immediately unsealed the Vajra Sect Patriarch within it. As the seal broke, a wail instantly emanated from the iron spike.

The Vajra Sect Patriarch awoke, and the very next moment, he began to wail miserably. "Master, I was wrong, I was really wrong. What is this place? Oh my god, here, here..."

"Master, are you trying to throw me in here to suffer torment for all eternity? I've read many ancient texts where characters are dealt with like this."

"Master, I genuinely surrender, I sincerely want to be your artifact spirit! Don't kill me, I'm very obedient, I know I was wrong. I'll confess: I actually buried a lot of spirit stones in another location, and I also told some fellow cultivators, promising a hefty sum, that if I ever went silent, they should try to find you."

"Master, I'll tell you who they are right now! I'll help you kill them!"

"Shut up!" Xu Qing, unable to open his eyes, gritted his teeth and spoke.

"Tell me, what's around us!"

The Vajra Sect Patriarch trembled even more violently, but he dared not disobey Xu Qing's words, nor conceal anything. His life-soul was in Xu Qing's hands; his life or death was but a thought away for the other party.

So he quickly spoke with a tremor in his voice.

"Master, this seems to be an altar. All around are bones forming a sea of bones. We are on a high platform. Ahead, there's a staircase leading down to a path with cliffs on both sides. At the end of the path is a circular altar. In front of this altar is an immense sea of bones. Oh my god, this place is massive! And even further ahead, there are three earth-shaking statues of gods!"

"Three standing side by side?" Xu Qing transmitted in a low voice.

"No, it's one standing and two bowing." The Vajra Sect Patriarch was completely unaware of the near-death experience he had just skirted. "Continue," Xu Qing said slowly.

"The one standing is a giant, with a nine-headed serpent coiled around its body, like a deity! Oh my god! What is that thing? Just looking at it makes my eyes feel like they're going blind! If I weren't an artifact spirit without a mortal body, I'd probably be truly blind! And in front of it are two more... Master, I was wrong, where is this place?" As the Vajra Sect Patriarch rambled, Xu Qing's heart stirred. He realized that his current location was indeed the world depicted in the mural.

So, after a moment of thought, he said nothing. Instead, he casually resealed the Vajra Sect Patriarch, forcing him back into silent slumber. He then quietly waited for his body to adapt and recover.

It was an entire incense stick's worth of time later before the restorative power of the purple crystal within him continuously spread, allowing Xu Qing to gradually adapt to the surrounding pressure. Though intense pain still permeated his body and the feeling of disintegration hadn't vanished, he managed to open his eyes and see everything around him. This place was indeed as the Vajra Sect Patriarch had described: Xu Qing's location resembled a massive cavern, or perhaps another layer of the world.

The steps ahead were enormous, not seemingly meant for human traversal. In the vast sea of bones furthest ahead, the three divine statues exuded overwhelming majesty. The unbearable pressure Xu Qing felt originated from them.

Xu Qing's eyes stung and bled, but he gritted his teeth and persisted in scanning. Suddenly, his pupils contracted. He saw the black umbrella lamp clutched in the mouth of one of the coiled serpent heads on the standing giant within the sea of bones. This black umbrella lamp shone with myriad brilliant lights and auspicious colors, illuminating the worlds on the giant's two shoulders, making them incredibly lifelike. Xu Qing's breathing immediately quickened, his heart pounded violently, and his mind buzzed with a deafening roar. His eyes were fixed, staring intently at the black umbrella lamp.

"Life Lamp?" Xu Qing's mind was profoundly shaken. The captain's previous description of the Life Lamp flashed through his mind, and an indescribable yearning arose within him.

Although he had speculated before coming, he was still profoundly shocked by this sight.

A Life Lamp actually existed here!

If news of this got out, the grand competition outside would likely end immediately, all attention would converge here, and the Seven Sect Alliance of the Ancient Continent would rush over at the first opportunity.

Indeed, if this secret were revealed, the outside world would undoubtedly go mad. Compared to this Life Lamp, things like the mermaid race would become completely insignificant.

Furthermore, the mermaid race clearly wasn't aware of this, otherwise, presenting it to any major sect would surely earn them protection!

As for Xu Qing, it would have been difficult for him to find and enter this place without the Shadow. At this moment, Xu Qing looked at the Life Lamp, his emotions incredibly stirred, but he did not act rashly. Instead, he took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart, allowing his emotions to calm. Then, he first raised a hand to wipe away the blood flowing from his eyes. As the purple crystal's restorative power continued to spread within him, his condition was now slightly better than before.

After a while, Xu Qing, his breathing somewhat steadied, looked up at the lamp again, a determined glint slowly appearing in his eyes. He tried to walk forward until he reached the edge of the platform. He glanced at the massive steps below, then abruptly flipped himself down.

However, the moment he flipped down and landed on the second step, the pressure from this place intensified dramatically, becoming even stronger than before.

Xu Qing's body trembled again, his throat sweetened, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. His face was utterly pale, and his body swayed. He immediately sat down cross-legged to regulate his breathing.

It was a long while before he recovered slightly. Gritting his teeth, he continued to move forward, each step difficult. His body roared, blood flowed from his seven orifices, and his bones seemed on the verge of collapsing and shattering.

By the time he barely reached the edge of the second step, his body had reached its limit of endurance, and his vision was somewhat blurry.

Xu Qing knew very well he couldn't continue. He had a strong premonition that if he descended to the third step, something truly terrifying would appear.

Yet, he stared intently at the Life Lamp, truly unwilling to leave empty-handed. So, he looked down at the ground beneath his feet.

The light here came from the front, so his shadow faintly appeared behind him. Xu Qing looked back at his shadow, his eyes narrowing, and suddenly spoke.

"Wake up. Don't you like extinguishing lamps? Go get it for me." As he spoke, Xu Qing immediately began controlling the Shadow. Instantly, the Shadow twisted, seemingly unwillingly receding from behind him back to the ground beneath his feet, then extending forward. Illuminated by the light, the forward-spreading shadow was invisible to the eye; only Xu Qing's perception could feel its presence. Under his control, the Shadow landed on the third step.

No discomfort was transmitted back.

A sharp glint flashed in Xu Qing's eyes. He continued to control the Shadow's extension, across the fourth step, then the fifth. Finally, under his control, the Shadow extended across all the steps, reaching the altar below. It continued forward, heading towards the three divine statues in the sea of bones.

Xu Qing didn't know how long the Shadow could extend. However, he could feel that the further he made it stretch, the greater the control required. At the same time, the Shadow seemed to become more unstable, and the difficulty of controlling it also intensified. Especially as it neared the three divine statues in the sea of bones, the feeling of the Shadow's instability fed back into Xu Qing's mind with increasing intensity, indicating it could no longer extend further.

Bloodshot eyes, Xu Qing glanced at the Life Lamp, then felt the Shadow. With no other option, he decided to have the purple crystal in his chest flicker, emitting a suppressing force, attempting to "suppress" it to see if it could extend further. This was a desperate measure, but as the suppressing force formed, before it even fully landed, the previously unstable Shadow suddenly shuddered. As if overdrawn, it abruptly extended a significant length, reaching directly onto the giant's body, just a step away from the Life Lamp held in the serpent's mouth. But this time, it had truly reached its limit. It visibly trembled, showing signs of tearing. Even when Xu Qing genuinely suppressed it, it still couldn't continue, even threatening to retract, as if it couldn't bear the strain. This made Xu Qing's breathing quicken, but he didn't trust the Shadow. He didn't know if it was deliberately refusing to proceed or genuinely couldn't. So, he stared at the Shadow and spoke in a deep voice.

"If you don't get it this time, then after we're out, even if I die, before my last breath, I will suppress you a thousand times until you are dead!!" Xu Qing's words were spoken very calmly.

However, the threat contained in his words seemed to reach the Shadow's absolute limit. The Shadow trembled visibly, desperately trying to extend forward, but it clearly couldn't. The feeling of tearing became even stronger. Witnessing this, Xu Qing finally believed it. His eyes quickly showed resolve. He took out his talismans and his magic boat, activating all defenses.

He then climbed onto the magic boat, placing a large quantity of spirit stones into the formation's grooves to strengthen its defensive power. Next, he took a deep breath. Without any hesitation, he controlled the magic boat, making it sharply fly forward by one step's distance, appearing above the third step.

The instant his figure advanced with the magic boat, the Shadow also extended one more step forward with his movement, directly touching the Life Lamp in the serpent's mouth and firmly grabbing it.

Before Xu Qing could check if it was successful, as his magic boat drew closer, an overwhelming roar, far surpassing anything before, erupted directly in front of him. This roar, louder than thunder, formed a force capable of overturning mountains and seas, sweeping towards Xu Qing. His magic boat was the first to succumb; its front collapsed with a boom, the first layer of defense made of sails instantly tearing apart, and the entire boat was abruptly sent hurtling backward.

Then came the second layer of defense, which also disintegrated and exploded. Even with a large quantity of spirit stones supporting it, it was useless; it simply collapsed, and the magic boat was sent reeling back even faster.

Next, the bow of the boat, despite the divine essence emanating from the sea lizard skin, couldn't withstand the force and instantly shattered into pieces. The front half of the boat suffered the same fate.

While the magic boat was utterly decimated, this force also impacted several of Xu Qing's protective talismans. The talismans frantically resisted, but the inscriptions on them instantly dimmed and vanished in a flash. The remaining force then surged forward, directly striking Xu Qing.

Xu Qing's entire body violently shook as if he had been struck by a mountain. His body roared, and he spat out large mouthfuls of blood. Many bones throughout his body were shattered, and his flesh was utterly mangled. At that moment, his magic boat finally retreated to its extreme, and with the surrounding light flashing, within the temple in the underwater world of the Merfolk's Jujin Island, beside the mural, Xu Qing and his severely damaged magic boat were suddenly blasted out from within the mural.

The force of being blasted out was immense, causing Xu Qing's magic boat to violently smash into the wall on the opposite side. The wall collapsed, and the boat was thrown a hundred zhang across the ground, leaving a long gouge.

Xu Qing, on the boat, spat out large mouthfuls of blood, also tumbling as he was thrown a hundred zhang with the boat. Flesh in multiple parts of his body was torn apart, exposing bones, many of which were broken. There was also a huge wound on his abdomen, piercing through his body, and only a small portion of his robes remained, a truly horrific sight.

As a large amount of blood gushed out and spread around, Xu Qing's vision rapidly blurred. His injuries were unprecedentedly severe, yet his right hand was tightly clutching an item.

It was the Life Lamp that the Shadow had seized and brought back from within the mural world!

"I can't pass out!" As his vision blurred, Xu Qing bit his tongue hard, forcefully opened his eyes, and struggled to pull out a handful of pills from his storage bag. Without time to consume them, he pressed them directly onto his wounds. He also scattered poisonous powder around him, remaining vigilant against any potential danger. At the same time, he had no time to examine the Life Lamp; he quickly put it away into the storage bead he had obtained from the Vajra Sect Patriarch.

Still uneasy, he then placed the storage bead into a storage bag. Feeling it still wasn't secure enough, he put that storage bag into yet another storage bag. This multi-layered concealment ensured that its aura, under spatial superposition, could not leak out in the slightest.

Additionally, some divine essence remained in the ruined magic boat. Xu Qing had no time for regret; he immediately controlled the boat to disperse this divine essence, forming a protective barrier around him.

After doing all this, Xu Qing spat out another mouthful of blood. A profound sense of weakness made him feel as if death was calling. The purple crystal within his body emitted a distinct purple light, flowing continuously throughout him. However, the pervasive, agonizing pain that accompanied it still caused Xu Qing to groan. He then gritted his teeth, forcing himself to stay conscious, enduring the agony as he waited for the purple crystal to complete its recovery.