Chapter 254: Extremely Vicious and Evil

The ancient wooden door, bearing the mottled marks of time, exuded an aura of profound age, as if it were an old man who had witnessed countless ages pass and seen through the depths of human hearts. The decay inherent in the door's blackness seemed to mirror the old man's helplessness towards this miserable world.

Oppressive, eerie, chilling.

This was the feeling the door evoked in Xu Qing.

The moment this black door opened, Xu Qing had a clear perception: he felt that everything around him seemed to quieten, and all sounds vanished. The wind also ceased, as did the clouds and mist. Even his heartbeat, in that instant, seemed to be suspended. Everything stood still, including his rapidly retreating body and Sheng Yunzi, who stood atop the door.

It was as if the door's power was too vast, too peculiar; neither the user nor the affected could be an exception to this immense force, as all were stripped of their right to any activity.

Xu Qing had experienced this feeling before; it was four years ago, the moment a song emanated from the forbidden zone of the scavenger camp, when he saw the woman's boots walking through the jungle and the mist. He felt the same then as he did now. While unable to move, a coldness capable of piercing the soul, as if it could freeze one's thoughts, also emerged with the appearance of this door, sealing the four directions.

Xu Qing's breathing ceased, frost appeared on his eyebrows, and his hair turned similarly white. His body, from inside out, was completely invaded by the extreme cold. In that instant, everything vanished from his eyes, leaving only the slowly opening door.

A grating, ear-piercing creak echoed as the black door slowly opened. Inside was pitch black, seemingly empty, yet an even more intense chill spread outwards. One could even see wisps of thin white mist spreading from the edges of the door.

Sheng Yunzi, atop the door, had a ferocious expression, with intense killing intent in his eyes. This door, called the Profound Spirit Eternal Will Door, was like a supreme treasure to him, yet he had only used it once since acquiring it. Because both enemy and self would be suppressed when it was activated, he dared not use it lightly after the last time. Most importantly, using this door consumed his own soul.

Moreover, this door was incredibly eerie, its origin mysterious. What would appear from inside after it opened was uncertain, so its destructive power varied from person to person. His grandfather had once told him this. The last time he used it, what appeared inside was a rotten tongue, which made him extremely uncomfortable. This was because his grandfather had said that what emerged from this door was a materialization of the heart.

At this moment, he greatly wanted to know what would appear from inside the door when Xu Qing faced it.

"It would be best if a malevolent ghost appeared, a malevolent ghost that would tear him to shreds!!"

The moment Sheng Yunzi roared in his heart, inside the black wooden door, amidst the endless blackness, a sudden change occurred in that very instant. Surprisingly...

A beam of light appeared!

This light was very faint at first, just a single point, but in the blink of an eye, it continuously spread and expanded, eventually transforming into a dazzling, incomparably bright sea of light. From within this door, it suddenly burst outwards, forming countless beams that were completely released. Wherever it passed, the sky outside the door changed from black to bright, as did the surrounding earth and countless plants and trees. And Xu Qing's figure, in that instant, was enveloped by this bright light, submerged in the sea of light.

Within this sea of light, Xu Qing's entire body was wracked with indescribable pain, as if his entire being was being scorched. His skin, his flesh, and even his internal organs felt this way. This light penetrated his body, his soul, his everything. The pain it caused wherever it passed was incredibly astonishing, causing Xu Qing's entire body to emit wisps of smoke, as if he were about to be obliterated. While his body could not withstand it, due to the appearance of this light, he also regained the ability to move and abruptly retreated.

His speed fully erupted, yet he still could not stop the light's scorching. It was as if he had become the night, and that light had transformed into dawn; under this light, the night was torn apart. His skin was scorched black, his flesh lost all moisture, and his hair and eyebrows turned to ash. Both his life lamp and emperor-tier cultivation technique were resisting with all their might. At the same time, he took out a jade slip and held it in his hand. A fleeting, rapid hesitation appeared in his expression, but in the end, he did not crush it, accelerating his retreat.

As he retreated in a disfigured state, amidst his hesitation, Sheng Yunzi, atop the door, noticed this scene. Yet there was not even a trace of joy on his face; instead, he showed disbelief, even an expression of utter bewilderment, and a strong sense of absurdity welled up in his heart.

"Light!"

"After the Profound Spirit Eternal Will Door opened for you, it actually released light!!"

"How is this possible? You, who have committed countless massacres just like me, who walked out by treading on dry bones, who are skilled in sinister poisons, who cultivate by devouring soul flames, whose entire body radiates black fire, and whose life lamp is also black—it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call you a demon. Yet, your heart's materialization is light!!"

"Ridiculous... ridiculous... ridiculous..."

"In darkness, with light in your heart!" Sheng Yunzi's eyes were bloodshot, his expression ferocious, and he roared. He had lost his composure, unable to control his emotions. Everything was because, after the door opened, what emanated was light.

Because this was what he longed for. His name was Sheng Yunzi, and the two characters 'Sheng Yun' represented light. Yet what appeared when *he* opened the door was a rotten, disgusting tongue. This comparison made his killing intent surge again.

So the moment Xu Qing retreated, seeing that the other party had exited the range of the door's light, Sheng Yunzi abruptly formed a hand seal, and the door instantly slammed shut. Then it blurred for an instant; when it reappeared clearly, the door was no longer facing Xu Qing, but Sheng Yunzi instead.

At this critical moment, where he was poisoned and could only briefly suppress it, he took out this door not solely with the purpose of killing Xu Qing. His true intention was to use this door to suppress the poison within himself. That one time he had used this door before, in a situation similar to today's, he had used it to erase a curse placed on him.

Gritting his teeth at this moment, as the Profound Spirit Eternal Will Door rotated, in an instant, the black wooden door opened towards Sheng Yunzi. Inside, it was still black, but in the blink of an eye, a rotten, disgusting tongue rapidly shot out from within, heading straight for Sheng Yunzi and swiftly wrapping around him. Sheng Yunzi's body immediately trembled, his expression pained. His body directly rotted upon contact with the tongue; his handsome face now looked like that of a zombie, and his hair fell out, while a foul stench permeated the air.

But the result, gained from paying these costs, made him very satisfied. The severe poison in his body was instantly dispersed by more than half. The remaining poison also dimmed, as if losing vitality, and was suppressed. But what truly horrified him was that the black shadow on his 120th Dharma Aperture remained unharmed under the power of this eerie door. Not only that, it even revealed a small eye and cast a contemptuous gaze at him.

"What is this!" Sheng Yunzi's entire body trembled violently, but he had no time to think. Now that the poison in his body was suppressed, he put away the wooden door, not daring to use it again. After taking out and gulping down healing elixirs, he fiercely charged at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing, in the distance, also suddenly looked up at this moment. He was equally disheveled from head to toe, but his killing intent remained strong. Although his previous injuries were severe, his purple crystal was rapidly recovering him, and he had swallowed quite a few healing pills during his retreat.

At this moment, as Sheng Yunzi charged, Xu Qing also stomped his right foot hard on the ground. As the dirt beneath his foot burst open, Xu Qing's body shot up and charged straight in, re-engaging in battle with Sheng Yunzi in mid-air.

Booming sounds echoed throughout the surrounding forbidden zone. Countless plants and trees crumbled, and large sections of the jungle collapsed. The fierce beasts in the area all fled and avoided them; truly, the battle between Xu Qing and Sheng Yunzi was earth-shattering. Even if Golden Core cultivators arrived, they would be utterly horrified.

Amidst the roars, both of them moved at astonishing speeds, striking and dashing simultaneously, leaving a trail of explosions wherever they passed. Moreover, in this continuous exchange, Xu Qing raised his right hand and violently waved it. Instantly, a crystal was thrown by him, and after it burst open, a large amount of black mist spread out from within. From within the mist, a headless bovine-bodied monstrosity charged out, ramming fiercely towards Sheng Yunzi.

It wasn't over. The next moment, three more crystals were also thrown by Xu Qing, each bursting open and releasing a mass of twisted black hair, a withered hand, and a white eyeball. These ominous items were precisely what Xu Qing had obtained from Sima Ling, the Wealth God of Wanggu, from his pockets. At this moment, he used them all at once, and immediately, the surrounding heteromorphism became incredibly dense. And Xu Qing, gritting his teeth, also threw out a large number of black pills.

As booming sounds echoed, the heteromorphism in this area instantly erupted, becoming incredibly dense, while also attracting malevolent presences from deep within the forbidden zone. Sheng Yunzi's expression changed, and he retreated with a wave of his hand. But those four grotesqueries, in this dense heteromorphism, were like fish in water, and after appearing, they surprisingly merged into one. The withered hand grew onto the bovine body's neck, the eye flew and embedded itself within the palm, and the hair wrapped around and grew onto the bovine body. In an instant, the monstrous entity's aura surged, roaring as it charged towards Sheng Yunzi.

Sheng Yunzi was just about to dodge. Xu Qing's eyes showed resolve. Waving his hand, he took out most of Sima Ling's bizarre controlling artifacts from his storage bag, and after throwing them all out, he waved his hand again. Instantly, these artifacts burst open with a roar, blocking Sheng Yunzi's retreat path and making it impossible for him to dodge, so the grotesque entity directly pounced on him.

The Miemeng neighed, but with Sheng Yunzi's deteriorating condition, it was also damaged. Especially being targeted by the Golden Crow, the moment it moved, the Golden Crow instantly arrived, and both sides resumed their fierce battle. Xu Qing also approached, and waving his right hand, a dagger appeared in his grip. Taking advantage of Sheng Yunzi being preoccupied, he directly slashed at his neck.

Sheng Yunzi tilted his head back, and the dagger swiftly passed in front of his neck. Though he dodged it, the Fiendfire still arrived and enveloped him. But Sheng Yunzi was also formidable; his life fire spread out, blocking it with a roar, yet he could not stop Xu Qing's ferocity. He abruptly looked up and slammed into him.

Sheng Yunzi's eyes were bloodshot, and he surprisingly head-butted back.

With a boom, both became dizzy and retreated.

Xu Qing's ferocity still greatly impacted Sheng Yunzi, but his killing intent did not diminish. Today, he *must* kill Xu Qing and seize his lamp. So, as he retreated, Sheng Yunzi slapped his right hand to his brow. His body trembled as, unknown what secret technique he activated, his right hand surprisingly penetrated his brow and entered his body, then fiercely pulled outwards, surprisingly extracting a bloody pen from within his body!

This pen was very small when it first appeared, but it instantly grew larger. The pen's tip was astonishingly a head, and this head looked exactly like Sheng Yunzi.

"Brother, I was sleeping. Did you wake me up to play?"