Chapter 142: Xu Qing's Protector

Xu Qing recognized the falling Sea-Corpse Clan member as the cultivator whose body had been bisected by the First Peak Lord's sword. He was already severely wounded then, and clearly sustained further heavy injuries in subsequent battles, leading to him being struck down.

Although he didn't appear truly dead, it was clear that even if he wasn't, he must have been injured to an extreme degree.

Xu Qing now stared at the sea surface where the opponent fell, a glint in his eyes similar to when his captain gazed at Juying's flesh and blood. The First Peak youth outside his Dharma Boat also looked over, his expression a little hesitant.

Xu Qing pondered for a few breaths, then his expression turned resolute. The Sea-Forbidden Dragon Whale beneath his Dharma Boat suddenly moved, and under Xu Qing's control, it plunged straight to the seabed. Soon, he spotted the descending Sea-Corpse Clan cultivator.

The individual was in a truly pathetic state, with his lower body and head completely gone. Only his upper torso remained, shedding copious black blood into the seawater. His chest was still, appearing utterly lifeless.

The next instant, the Sea-Forbidden Plesiosaur lunged out, attempting to bite him. But just then, the Sea-Corpse Clan member's severed torso suddenly stirred. His right hand lifted and pressed directly against the approaching Plesiosaur.

With that press, the Plesiosaur's entire body rumbled and disintegrated. Only the Iron-Armored Fish's core remained within it, quickly retracting, while a new Plesiosaur rapidly reformed.

At the same time, the Sea-Corpse Clan cultivator seemed to have exhausted his remaining strength. His right hand fell limp, and the aura emanating from him grew even weaker. Furthermore, due to his recent action, the wounds on his severed torso split open further.

Witnessing this, Xu Qing narrowed his eyes and rapidly formed hand seals. Instantly, the Plesiosaur, reformed on the seabed, approached again and bit fiercely. This time, although it still disintegrated under the half-corpse's counter-attack, it managed to bite off one of its fingers.

Yet, Xu Qing still didn't approach personally. He continued to control the Plesiosaur to reform. Additionally, he made no attempt to conceal his fluctuations, allowing the First Peak youth nearby to clearly perceive everything.

The First Peak youth had initially been hesitant, but upon seeing this scene, his eyes lit up. He glanced at Xu Qing, then down at the sea, his gaze flickering. Meanwhile, Xu Qing controlled the Plesiosaur to attack again.

Amidst a roar, this time, only the arm of the Sea-Corpse Clan member's body disintegrated, causing the Plesiosaur to shatter. Seeing this, Xu Qing suddenly stood up, ready to rush out.

The First Peak youth laughed heartily and, before Xu Qing, plunged into the sea, heading straight for the severed Sea-Corpse Clan member.

On the Dharma Boat at the surface, Xu Qing stepped into the sea without pausing. Though seemingly moving at full speed, he held back, coldly watching the receding figure of the First Peak youth ahead.

Xu Qing had no intention of going first. Even though the Plesiosaur had probed multiple times, he remained cautious. He believed that a cultivator of an elder's caliber, even in such a dire state, likely possessed life-saving measures.

This was especially true for the peculiar Sea-Corpse Clan, whose terrifying recovery abilities Xu Qing had witnessed before.

Therefore, if someone else could go first to investigate, that would naturally be ideal.

As for whether this First Peak prodigy would be killed... Xu Qing didn't think so.

The opponent clearly still had hidden life-saving measures. And if he truly died, Xu Qing felt that while he wasn't entirely confident, he could try to use his shadow for concealment when the time came.

With this thought, Xu Qing maintained a certain distance from the First Peak youth underwater. As they approached the Sea-Corpse Clan cultivator, the prodigy ahead suddenly formed hand seals, and immediately, several great swords materialized, shooting towards the corpse.

He wasn't foolish. Although he had rushed ahead and Xu Qing was quickly following, he still suspected a trick. However, the temptation was too great to give up, so he prepared to probe upon approaching.

As he formed his seals, over a dozen great swords instantly cleaved through the water and shot towards the corpse. Just as they were about to cut into it, the Sea-Corpse Clan cultivator's chest suddenly split open, emitting a mass of black blood that transformed directly into a ferocious spectral shadow, roaring at the First Peak youth.

This roar instantly unleashed a violent force, causing the dozen-plus great swords to shatter inch by inch. At the same time, blood seeped from all seven orifices of the First Peak youth. A jade pendant he was already holding shattered, forming a protective barrier, and his body rapidly retreated.

His expression held a hint of fear as he dodged the impact. Meanwhile, Xu Qing shot out from behind him, surging directly towards the Sea-Corpse Clan cultivator, approaching in an instant with incredible speed.

The spectral shadow that had emerged from the Sea-Corpse Clan cultivator's chest roared again.

A cold light flashed in Xu Qing's eyes. The black umbrella concealed within his body slightly unfurled as he charged forward, a muffled sound echoing underwater.

Xu Qing's entire body trembled violently, blood oozing out. At the same time, he fiercely flung the black flame dagger in his right hand, stabbing it into the spectral shadow.

With a boom, the spectral shadow swayed. As black flames spread across its body, a second spectral shadow abruptly emerged from the cultivator's chest, letting out another low growl.

Xu Qing's body reeled, forced back several dozen zhang. The Sea-Corpse Clan cultivator, seizing the opportunity, accelerated his descent, attempting to escape.

A cold glint flashed in Xu Qing's eyes. From their previous contact, he had sensed a lingering trace of a soul on the opponent, which held immense temptation for him. He also vaguely saw a storage bag on the opponent's person.

Xu Qing had no intention of letting such an opportunity slip by.

After all, it was exceedingly rare to encounter an elder-level being on the verge of death. Even if such an instance occurred, there would undoubtedly be many contenders vying for the spoils.

With resolve in his heart, Xu Qing's body swayed and he abruptly lunged towards the Sea-Corpse Clan corpse, which was rapidly sinking to the seabed.

The Plesiosaur swiftly arrived and enveloped him, increasing Xu Qing's speed. At the same time, the Dharma Boat also submerged, its golden light shining as a divine strike began to prepare.

As for the First Peak youth, his eyes widened as he watched Xu Qing's retreating figure. His mind immediately became chaotic. In his opinion, while such an opportunity was tempting, fighting to the death for it was completely unwarranted.

After all, as the Ninth Prince of the First Peak, appropriate risks were acceptable, but risking his life was not an option. His future was bright as long as he proceeded step by step.

But... Xu Qing went.

He had a life-linking talisman with Xu Qing, and its restrictions were mutual. If he died, Xu Qing would be annihilated, and similarly, if Xu Qing died, he too would be annihilated.

This instantly filled him with extreme anxiety, though he had felt quite comfortable just moments before.

He suddenly felt his master wasn't as wise as he thought... So, at this moment, he was extremely conflicted. Finally, he gritted his teeth and, cursing inwardly, was forced to rush over.

And he moved even faster, biting the tip of his tongue which was almost numb, activating a secret art to transform into a blood sword, fearing that if he was too late, this madman from the Seventh Peak would lose his life.

Moreover, after catching up to Xu Qing, the First Peak youth, with extreme vexation in his heart, threw Xu Qing a beloved life-saving jade token...

Watching Xu Qing skillfully accept the jade talisman, the First Peak youth wailed inwardly. He felt that embarking on this sea journey, he absolutely shouldn't have tried to snatch the other party's sea beast.

Now, under the life-linking talisman, not only did he feel no comfort, but he had to become the other party's protector, risking his life alongside him, terrified that the other would die.

This sense of injustice reached its peak within him when he saw Xu Qing charge headfirst into the Sea-Corpse Clan's corpse. He accelerated frantically, having no choice but to join Xu Qing in the attack. He had to consider protecting himself, and at the same time, protect Xu Qing.

And so, the two engaged in an intense battle with the Sea-Corpse Clan's remaining body underwater. Although only a fragmented soul remained of the opponent, the spectral shadow it formed was formidable, and both of them suffered multiple severe injuries.

Xu Qing, on his part, seemed reckless, which made the youth's heart grow increasingly mournful. He continuously gave Xu Qing life-saving jade talismans and even unleashed his ultimate techniques, trying to end the battle as quickly as possible.

Towards the end, Xu Qing simply stopped defending himself. With both hands forming seals, he continuously released black flames, bombarding the enemy repeatedly, absorbing a trace of its soul power each time. And each time, under the spectral shadow's sonic waves, he was desperately protected by the First Peak youth.

The intensity of this protection would surely move any outsider who witnessed it.

So much so that by the very end, the First Peak youth despaired. He gritted his teeth and retreated, deciding not to protect him anymore. He didn't believe Xu Qing would truly seek death.

Xu Qing cast a cold glance at the youth, ignored him, and continued his attack.

A moment later, the First Peak youth was terrified. He saw Xu Qing nearly get killed multiple times, so his heart trembled, and with an inward wail, he quickly waved his hand, throwing out a protective jade talisman to shield Xu Qing. Then, with a bitter expression, he swiftly rejoined the battle, attacking the Sea-Corpse Clan member.

He poured all his inner frustration into his attacks. Thus, the battle lasted a full day. When both Xu Qing and the Ninth Prince of the First Peak were exhausted, the Sea-Corpse Clan's fragmented soul finally couldn't hold on and dissipated. After Xu Qing absorbed most of it, he also took the opponent's storage bag.

However, upon returning to the Dharma Boat, the Ninth Prince of the First Peak immediately pulled out a sword and placed it at his own neck. He was panting heavily, but his eyes showed immense resolve as he gritted his teeth and spoke.

"One stick of incense for Qingming's twin graves; uneven spoils will break a man's heart!"

"I don't understand," Xu Qing said indifferently, putting the storage bag into his embrace.

The Ninth Prince of the First Peak's eyes were bloodshot. He stared intently at Xu Qing, and after holding back to his absolute limit, he spoke his second 'human' sentence since embarking on this journey.

"Share it with me! Or I'll die right here in front of you!!"

Xu Qing calmly looked at the youth. From the other's eyes, he saw determination. He pondered for a moment, considering that the youth had indeed been a great help in the previous attacks, and had protected him with incredible effort, often acting more like a protector than an actual guardian.

So, he opened the storage bag and poured its contents out directly in front of the youth.

Instantly, a large quantity of items spilled out: a bundle of spirit notes, numerous loose spirit stones, jade slips, pill bottles, and even many refining materials, all accumulating into a small hill.

Particularly prominent were two jade talismans emitting fluctuations. Xu Qing had seen such talismans before; they were similar to the First Peak Ninth Prince's life-saving item, but these two clearly had much stronger fluctuations, significantly exceeding the others.

Xu Qing had seen this type of item in a port shop. They were also talisman treasures, but not crafted by Foundation Establishment cultivators; instead, they were made by Golden Core cultivators.

Because Golden Core cultivators were too powerful for any jade to fully contain the power of a single strike, such items mostly contained only a small amount of Golden Core methods. These two talismans seemed to have been recently crafted, clearly not for the Sea-Corpse Clan member's personal use, as he would have no need for them.

Most likely, they were intended as gifts.

Besides these, a jade-carved feather stood out prominently among the items, shining with dazzling brilliance. Upon seeing this object, both Xu Qing and the Ninth Prince's eyes narrowed.

"A Dharma Artifact!" Xu Qing was somewhat moved. His Spirit Breath Lamp was a Dharma Artifact, and his black iron spike could also be considered a Dharma Artifact to some extent.

Dharma Artifacts were between talisman treasures and true magical treasures. They were man-made magical treasures, though their power was vastly inferior to the legendary true magical treasures, and they were divided into three tiers: low, middle, and high.

But for cultivators, in the absence of a fortunate encounter to acquire a true magical treasure, a Dharma Artifact was already excellent.

Without any hesitation, Xu Qing grabbed the jade feather. The First Peak Ninth Prince also raised his hand, but he didn't grab the feather; instead, he seized a very inconspicuous item from the pile.

It was an iron block shaped like a box.