Chapter 214: Ice and Fire Dual Assassins

As the Captain and Xu Qing charged forward, the Starfish Clan Leader’s words echoed around them, and he stood up, taking a step forward.

The moment his foot landed, his body overlapped, as if two illusory resentful souls were rising within him, spreading out to either side.

The next instant, the Starfish Clan Leader's body split into two identical forms, each charging towards the Captain and Xu Qing respectively.

Moving with incredible speed, one of the bodies instantly neared Xu Qing, raising its right index finger to press directly onto his brow.

A mocking smile played on its lips. As the finger descended, an immense power erupted, along with the might of its Golden Core cultivation, suppressing everything around. Xu Qing's body trembled, and his life fire, like a flame buffeted by a strong wind, flickered precariously, seemingly on the verge of extinction.

Just then, the black iron rod, transformed from the Vajra Sect Ancestor, whistled closer, attempting to block. However, the Starfish Clan Leader merely flicked it with a slight touch.

The black iron rod immediately vibrated, rapidly flying back, even developing some cracks. The Starfish Clan Leader then lifted his right foot and stomped forcefully on the ground.

The ground rumbled, and the shadow beneath his foot instantly dissipated.

“Is that all?” The Starfish Clan Leader shook his head, his finger about to land on Xu Qing's brow. But at that very moment, the Golden Crow behind Xu Qing instantly materialized, powerfully drawing something towards itself.

The Starfish Clan Leader’s body paused and blurred slightly, but it still pressed onto Xu Qing's brow. Yet, as it pressed, the Golden Crow's flames swept fiercely across it. Xu Qing, his eyes burning with frenzy, showed no evasion, instead ramming his skull directly into the finger.

With a thud, the Golden Crow seemed somewhat weakened but forcefully absorbed a trace of vital energy. Xu Qing's forehead, too, fully collided with the Starfish Clan Leader's finger.

A sharp crack echoed. The Starfish Clan Leader’s eyes showed a strange glint; his finger had snapped off directly. Xu Qing's body was sent flying backward by the immense force, but the protection from his pendant ensured he suffered no injuries. Only his internal blood and qi churned from the shock, but he quickly twisted his body to land, glaring intensely at the Starfish Clan Leader, whose strange expression had now turned to astonishment.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the Captain faced the Starfish Clan Leader's other body, which also raised a finger to press onto his brow. The Captain’s approach was both similar to Xu Qing's and different.

Immediately, seals of runes in his eyes unraveled, and his aura continuously erupted. Similar to Xu Qing, he didn't dodge, choosing instead to advance rather than retreat. What differed was that he didn't use his head to ram the Starfish Clan Leader’s finger; instead, he opened his mouth wide, his eyes gleaming with boundless frenzy, and bit down on the opponent's finger!

While all this seems slow in description, it actually happened simultaneously. The Starfish Clan Leader’s two split bodies attacked Xu Qing and the Captain at the exact same moment.

The next instant, the Captain bit the Starfish Clan Leader’s finger. With a crunch, though it didn’t sever, it broke through the flesh, drawing blood. The Captain, however, lost a few teeth and reeled back, but his eyes remained wild. He formed hand seals, produced a shield to block the Golden Core power, and was then thrown far away.

“Interesting,” both Starfish Clan Leader bodies muttered, looking down at their fingers. Then, the two bodies instantly merged, becoming one again, and the injury on its finger healed in an instant.

The full force of its Golden Core cultivation erupted at that moment. Xu Qing’s eyes stung, his entire body vibrated, feeling as if a sun were crashing into him, yet killing intent surged within his eyes.

The Captain experienced the same, and despite having a few teeth missing, it seemed to make it easier for him to stick out his tongue and lick his lips. He even had the leisure to grin at Xu Qing, a triumphant expression on his face.

The next moment, the Starfish Clan Leader snorted coldly and took a step towards the Captain. But before he had taken three steps, his expression suddenly changed.

His completely healed finger now showed a distinct bruise-like blackness, as if a large amount of poison was spreading throughout his body from within.

If anyone could peer through his flesh and see inside, they would undoubtedly discover countless small black worms within, frantically tearing and devouring, releasing vast amounts of alien matter and potent toxins.

This was the result of Xu Qing and the Captain's coordinated effort. Xu Qing was well aware of the Captain’s combat habits; after all, at the Sea Corpse Clan statue, the Captain bit, and with the Golden Core octopus, he did the same. Therefore, Xu Qing had previously manipulated the small black worms to go onto the apple the Captain was eating.

The Captain noticed, but paid no mind, allowing the small black worms to hide within his teeth. That forceful bite just now broke the skin, allowing the small black worms to successfully burrow inside.

The moment the Starfish Clan Leader's expression changed, the Captain grinned savagely, his eyes growing even more frenzied, and he charged directly towards the opponent. Xu Qing did the same.

As they charged, Xu Qing’s shadow suddenly spread out, enveloping the surroundings to form a domain. Simultaneously, all the lightning runes on the black iron rod erupted, and the Golden Crow behind Xu Qing roared, merging with him once more. His internal life lamp and life fire were fully unleashed, his physical strength pushed to its absolute limit, and his speed likewise maximized, as he unleashed a full-powered punch at the Starfish Clan Leader!

This punch was Xu Qing's full commitment; it combined his life fire and life lamp, the power of the Golden Crow, and the complete eruption of over sixty spiritual apertures within his body. Everything, absolutely everything, converged into this single punch. The moment it was unleashed, a storm erupted around them.

It transformed into a raging sea of fire, surging skyward! It was the Golden Crow's fire, the life lamp's fire, his magical power's fire, and the fire of his rage!

The Captain likewise erupted, seals in his eyes unraveling one by one. Gradually, an indescribable low temperature appeared around him, freezing the ground, and snowflakes began to materialize everywhere.

These snowflakes emanated astonishing coldness, a chill that surpassed many eerie entities. Not only did the ground freeze, but even one's will could be frozen by it.

Even the sky changed at this moment; an endless chill erupted from the Captain, forming a stark contrast to the blazing heat from Xu Qing.

This fire and this ice, coming from two directions, converged instantly on the Starfish Clan Leader, who was afflicted by the small black worms.

In the blink of an eye, as they neared, the frenzy in the Captain's eyes intensified even further. From his chest, a hand bizarrely extended!

This was an ice hand, blue and seemingly inhuman, covered in sharp bone spurs that were horrifying to behold. And shockingly, within the palm of this open hand, there was a face.

That face was indeed the Captain’s, though its eyes were closed, as if in slumber.

The appearance of this hand made the Starfish Clan Leader's eyes narrow. He wanted to dodge, but the black worms inside him erupted wildly at that moment – self-destructing to form even more potent alien matter and toxins – causing the Starfish Clan Leader’s body to involuntarily pause.

In that instant of hesitation, the hand extending from the Captain's chest pressed onto the Starfish Clan Leader's forehead.

With a thundering boom, endless cold burst forth. With cracking sounds, the Starfish Clan Leader’s body was instantly frozen. In the blink of an eye, Xu Qing's full-powered strike, unleashing an endless sea of fire, abruptly enveloped him. Seizing this opportunity, Xu Qing immediately pulled out the Ancestor's calligraphy and roared, “Fire!”

In an instant, the 'Fire' character, which caused his nose to burn, blurred slightly, transforming into a sheet of green flame that carried an unparalleled might, sweeping towards the Starfish Clan Leader.

Xu Qing's eyes, too, blazed with intense killing intent. All the power of his flames gathered into his fist, which he slammed onto the Starfish Clan Leader's frozen body.

With that punch, cracks instantly appeared on the Starfish Clan Leader’s body, which was then engulfed by flames. The ancestral fire within, in particular, was incredibly potent; as it enveloped him, the sound of intense burning echoed throughout the surroundings.

Under the flames, the Starfish Clan Leader’s body visibly burned away, dissipating. Yet, strangely, his eyes showed not the slightest hint of fear, but rather intense surprise.

“There’s even a character from a mighty being!”

The next instant, the Starfish Clan Leader’s body disintegrated with a loud bang. But precisely as his body shattered, an arm-thick tentacle immediately shot out from within his crumbling form, lashing fiercely at Xu Qing and the Captain.

The force of that lash caused the void to collapse like shattering glass, its terrifying might capable of destroying one's very soul. Xu Qing and the Captain trembled, involuntarily sent reeling backward.

In this moment of crisis, Xu Qing pulled the Captain close to him, using the protection of the pendant given by Sixth Master to block the violent impact. Their bodies were sent reeling over a hundred feet away, both spitting blood, their internal organs aching. They quickly looked up at the origin of the tentacle.

There… as the dust settled, a figure gradually emerged, walking step by step.

Numerous silver tentacles swirled around this figure. Occasionally, a few would shoot out from the dust, revealing themselves clearly.

It became clear that these were not tentacles at all, but rather thick, grotesque nematodes, baring sharp teeth and letting out monstrous snarls at Xu Qing and the Captain!

And soon, the figure from within the dust fully emerged, coming into full view for both Xu Qing and the Captain.

This was a foreign creature, standing over ten feet tall, entirely silver-skinned, with a triangular head, double pupils, and a long tongue. Its entire body was covered in writhing nematodes.

As it appeared, a terrifying fluctuation that shook Xu Qing and the Captain to their cores erupted from its body, accompanied by dense divine energy that distorted all surrounding space.

This was not a Golden Core stage cultivator; it was a Nascent Soul!

As its power erupted, the heavens changed color, and winds and clouds surged. Xu Qing and the Captain were forced to retreat once more.

“I didn’t expect to find two rather interesting little sparrows in this small place,” a chilling voice slowly emanated from the strange foreign creature. “One has a Tier 4 eerie entity sealed within its body, and the other possesses an Imperial-level cultivation art with strange divine abilities, as well as a character left by a mighty being. It's just a pity that its body doesn't contain a sealed eerie item like the other.”

Upon hearing this, Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed, but then he let out a sigh of relief. The opponent had clearly only perceived a portion of his true abilities, having missed his life lamp, his shadow, and certainly not sensing the black crystal.

The Captain beside him also let out a breath of relief, seemingly having similar thoughts to Xu Qing.

Then, sensing each other's apparent relief, they exchanged glances.