Chapter 280: Why Seek Death

Xu Qing had previously heard about the Sword Holders from the captain. He knew they were one of the Five Superior Divisions within the Imperial Capital Region, with Sword Holder Palaces established in all seven human counties and Sword Holder Courts in every prefecture.

However, he had never actually seen one.

Hearing the captain's words, Xu Qing focused his gaze. His eyes narrowed slightly as he observed the two figures in the sky. Both, whether the one in front or behind, exuded a terrifying power, and their fluctuations were astonishing.

If either of them had struck with a single palm, Xu Qing would have undoubtedly died without the protection granted by Old Man Qi.

"Two Heavenly Palaces," Xu Qing murmured. The two figures, one leading and one trailing, were now chasing each other. They passed the Immortal River, and the old demon in front was about to cross it, intending to escape to Mount Tai Si Du'e.

However, the old demon glanced down, his gaze falling upon the alliance's ships below, and his eyes gleamed with intense malevolence.

Injured and in urgent need of consuming essence blood for healing, he disregarded the fact that these ships belonged to the Eight Sects Alliance. With a cruel glint in his eyes, he flickered, transforming into over a dozen clones. These clones, accompanied by a black wind, surged directly towards the ships below, attempting to break through their defenses and devour their occupants.

Yet, the moment the old demon approached, the Seven Blood Eyes' ship buzzed. Its formation instantly activated, generating immense power and forming a protective barrier.

With a roar, the old demon's clones simultaneously struck the ships, causing the protective barriers to distort violently. Inside, the disciples' faces changed, and some even coughed up blood.

Especially their eyes.

For in their perception, the red-haired old demon now resembled a massive black hole, twisting all directions. A mere glance made them feel as if the world was spinning.

Only cultivators of Xu Qing and the captain's level could ignore such oppressive power. The moment the opponent's clones struck their ship, both of them made their moves.

Xu Qing didn't hesitate for a moment, immediately releasing a poison trigger. For some time, whenever he had leisure, he would spread some toxins around this ship. Before activation, these poisons were harmless; in fact, they were beneficial, enhancing one's vitality. If left untreated, they would dissipate on their own within half a month, leaving no hidden dangers.

Currently, Xu Qing had deployed approximately 170 to 180 types, specifically so that in a crisis, he could instantly trigger their effects, deeply poisoning any aggressor.

The instant the old demon arrived, Xu Qing immediately punched towards him, past the barrier. He also used the force of his punch to spread a non-volatile poison trigger.

Simultaneously, he formed a hand seal with his left hand, causing the sky to darken and black clouds to appear. A withered finger descended directly from the heavens, eerily heading straight for the old demon outside the barrier.

The captain also formed a hand seal. With a wave, an ice spear materialized and was fiercely flung. The spear instantly tore through the air, carrying an indestructible and unstoppable force, devastating everything in its path as it flew straight towards the old demon.

In an instant, the withered finger landed, and the ice spear pierced through. The old demon's clone exploded with a roar, disintegrating into swirling mist.

At this moment, the old demon's clones attacking other ships could not break through their defenses quickly and retreated, sustaining no damage. Only the clone that attacked Xu Qing and the captain's ship disintegrated into mist.

In the blink of an eye, the mist merged with the other clones, reforming the old demon's figure. He abruptly turned, glaring fiercely at Xu Qing and the captain, his eyes filled with killing intent. However, with the Sword Holder closing in behind him, he let out a cold snort and accelerated his escape, heading straight for Mount Tai Si Du'e.

But just then, a vast amount of icy energy suddenly appeared around him. With crackling sounds, it instantly began to freeze, forming countless ice mirrors that reflected eerie shadows, silently roaring at him.

The red-haired, black-faced old demon's expression changed. His spirit blurred for a moment. Fortunately, his Heavenly Palace descended, blasting apart the surrounding space, but his speed was still affected. The Sword Holder behind him drew even closer.

"Damn it!" The old demon was furious, realizing it was the work of the alliance members below. He didn't have time to deal with them now, but he made a mental note. Just as he was about to accelerate, his already dark face grew even darker the next instant.

"Poison!" The old demon spat out a mouthful of black blood, his face changing once more. Although the poison wasn't fatal to him, it had numerous negative effects, destabilizing his vitality, causing his cultivation to fluctuate, and making his entire body, especially his throat, intensely itchy, leading to uncontrollable coughing.

As a result, his speed slowed down again.

The next moment, a sword energy swiftly approached. The old demon couldn't evade in time and was directly pierced through the chest, letting out a horrific shriek as he desperately fled towards Mount Tai Si Du'e.

The Sword Holder, without a hint of hesitation, continued his pursuit, gradually vanishing into Mount Tai Si Du'e along with the old demon. After a distant roar echoed, a moment later, a beam of sword light flew out from Mount Tai Si Du'e.

It was the Sword Holder. He ascended into the sky, carrying a head in his hand. When he reached the midpoint above the alliance's fleet, he looked down at Xu Qing and the captain and nodded slightly.

Then, perhaps intentionally, he cast another glance at Mount Tai Si Du'e, where he had slain the old demon, before instantly departing.

Within Mount Tai Si Du'e, at the exact spot where the Sword Holder had fought, a headless corpse lay. Yet, at that moment, a finger on the corpse twitched slightly.

Unnoticed by him, an eye opened in the shadow beside the corpse under the sunlight.

Meanwhile, on the Immortal River, Xu Qing's eyes narrowed. The shadow's feedback informed him of the red-haired, black-faced old demon's feigned death. Given that the demon had attacked first, his viciousness was evident. If he were to recover, he could become a hidden threat on their journey ahead.

So Xu Qing glanced at the captain, who also looked at Xu Qing. Their eyes met.

"He's a hidden danger."

"He has treasure on him."

They spoke almost simultaneously, then profound understanding appeared in their eyes. They instantly rose, transforming into two long streaks of light, heading directly towards Mount Tai Si Du'e.

Upon drawing near, the captain twitched his nose, sniffing around, about to pinpoint the exact location. But Xu Qing had already surged forward, his target clear.

The captain raised an eyebrow and quickly followed. Soon, they continued deeper into Mount Tai Si Du'e, entering a dense forest. After proceeding further, they found a valley.

Inside the valley, a headless corpse was struggling to sit up. It was extremely weak, its body trembling, yet it persisted in forming hand seals.

Flesh on its neck was visibly writhing, as if attempting to regrow a head. But the next moment, its body violently shivered, and an eye emerged from the flesh of its neck, gazing in terror at the two figures approaching from outside the valley.

It was Xu Qing and the captain.

"If you had just properly escaped, without provoking us, we wouldn't have acted against you," the captain said.

"What a shame," the captain added, grinning. A ghostly light shone in his eyes, and a face identical to his own, also grimacing, appeared within his pupils. A terrifying aura emanated from his entire being, causing the headless old demon to shiver.

As for Xu Qing, his expression was blank, his gaze as calm as if looking at a dead man. From the moment the old demon had made his move, Xu Qing had decided to kill him.

As Xu Qing's cultivation fluctuated, though he seemingly only possessed three fires within him, the old demon perceived him as being no weaker than a Heavenly Palace cultivator. This caused the old demon's heart to tremble once more.

The truth was, he was now extremely weak. One Heavenly Palace had collapsed, and the other was on the verge of falling. Although his Golden Core remained, his combat power had plummeted to rock bottom.

All his storage bags and magical artifacts were gone, taken by the Sword Holder along with his head.

He had initially believed he had truly deceived the Sword Holder. Now, however, it was clear that the Sword Holder had simply been too lazy to finish him off, leaving him for these two youngsters as a reward for their earlier assistance.

Just as he was about to transmit a spiritual message, Xu Qing and the captain moved simultaneously, instantly closing in on the headless old demon.

The old demon abruptly leaped up, about to flee. But instantly, ice walls appeared behind him. Behind these walls, a vast sea materialized, roaring and raising waves like a tsunami, crashing down on him.

It wasn't a single strike but nine consecutive ones, causing the severely injured old demon's body to shake violently. As he was sent flying backward, a colossal icy hand shot out from the sea amidst the Nine Roaring Waves, savagely grasping at the old demon. Inside the icy hand, the captain's face could be seen, eyes closed, mouth wide open, swallowing fiercely.

The old demon's entire body shuddered, and he reeled back again. The eye growing from his neck showed even greater terror and urgency as he hastily transmitted a spiritual message.

"Young friends, I was wrong just now, I..."

Before he could finish, Xu Qing burst forward. His speed was instantaneous, and as he raised his right hand, he punched.

The old demon's body violently shook and reeled back, a bloody mess. Xu Qing formed a hand seal with his left hand, and immediately black clouds filled the sky. The withered finger descended with a roar, directly impacting the flesh on the old demon's neck.

The old demon's spiritual sense shrieked as his body threatened to shatter. The next moment, a vortex appeared behind him, transforming into a large maw that violently swallowed him.

With a crunch, half of the old demon's body was swallowed by the maw. As it chewed, a retching sound followed the next moment, and the maw spat the old demon back out.

The old demon was in an extremely pathetic state; his waist was nearly broken. His spiritual sense was incredibly weak, as if most of it had been devoured in that last moment.

Xu Qing glanced at the vortex. He had seen Old Man Qi use this technique before, swallowing three Golden Cores in one gulp.

"Tastes awful!" As the vortex vanished, the captain's figure emerged, retching as he walked.

"It's so stale! I need to recover. Ugh, if only I had some pastries, that was disgusting!" As he spoke, he quickly pulled out an apple and crunched on it, seemingly using the apple to ease the nausea since he couldn't get any pastries.

Xu Qing ignored him. He walked up to the dying old demon, raised his right hand, and pressed it against the demon's glabella. Baleful flames erupted, instantly incinerating it. Soon, soul power converged, and with crackling sounds, his 103rd, 104th, and 105th Dharma Apertures instantly opened.

It didn't stop there; next came the 106th, 107th... until his 108th Dharma Aperture also opened. The old demon's body trembled, and the Golden Crow materialized behind Xu Qing. It suddenly inhaled, devouring the physical essence and vitality of the old demon, who had lost his soul and spiritual power.

The old demon turned to dust, scattering away, leaving nothing behind.

After finishing, Xu Qing stood up. The captain looked at the spot where the old demon had vanished and smiled at Xu Qing.

"Little Ah Qing, do you think he was the old demon, or are we the old demons? This... is so clean."

Xu Qing thoughtfully considered his words, about to speak. But just then, a mist suddenly appeared in the dense forest.