Chapter 338: Anticipation Is Within Reach

Outside the Dao Mountain range of Sanling Town, a tattered magic vessel soared through the air, but it swayed unsteadily, as if it could crash at any moment.

The vessel looked dilapidated. Both its outer hull and deck were covered in numerous cracks and crudely patched repairs, giving the impression it could fall apart at any time.

It gave off the impression that it was sailing on a shoestring, barely holding together due to a lack of funds for proper repairs.

Even more exaggeratedly, parts would occasionally fall from the vessel and plummet to the ground.

This was Xu Qing's magic vessel.

Yan Yan watched the busy captain flying around outside the vessel, frowning as she spoke.

"Brother Xu Qing gave you control of the vessel because he trusts you, but if you keep doing this, he'll get angry."

"Yan Yan, I need to criticize you. Why are you so impolite? You keep saying 'you, you, you' without any respect!"

The captain, holding a brush and drawing a crack on the vessel's exterior, looked up at Yan Yan displeasedly.

Yan Yan's eyes immediately turned cold, and a fierce aura rose within her. Even if the person before her could easily suppress her cultivation, as long as their cultivation didn't surpass her grandmother's, Yan Yan wouldn't be afraid.

Since childhood, anyone who dared to criticize her like that had been flayed by her, except for Brother Xu Qing.

"Still glaring?" The captain looked even more displeased, staring at Yan Yan as he continued his critique.

"Listen, little girl, you need to learn manners, understand? Xu Qing calls me Senior Brother. You, too, should call me Senior Brother, just like Xu Qing. Among all the female cultivators around Xu Qing, you're currently the only one with this honor. Come on, tell me you were wrong."

"Huh?" Yan Yan was stunned. After blinking, her face flushed slightly, and all her fierce aura instantly vanished. She spoke obediently.

"Senior Brother, I was wrong."

"That's better," the captain said, beaming with satisfaction. He raised his right hand, waved it, and tossed a brush over.

"Go paint the other side. A-Qing is so stubborn; why does he keep the magic vessel so neat? It doesn't fit our Seventh Peak's traditions at all. I'm helping him."

As the captain spoke, he continued to apply paint to the vessel's exterior. Looking at it, every painted area now had lifelike cracks drawn by him.

"A magic vessel needs to look a bit tattered like this to have a miraculous effect."

Yan Yan hesitantly took the brush, and after a moment of hesitation, she also started painting.

"But Senior Brother, why do you occasionally throw parts off, and even cast spells to make smoke come out?" Yan Yan couldn't help but ask.

"Fishing, of course! We're spending so many spirit stones on this journey. This time, we didn't set off with the sect, so we're covering all the spirit stone expenses ourselves. Naturally, we need to 'fish' for some robbery opportunities."

"Yan Yan, I need to criticize you again. Xu Qing is too extravagant; you can't be like that. You need to save money, understand? I'm saving money for Xu Qing!" the captain said sternly.

Hearing this, Yan Yan quickly nodded, her expression showing understanding, and she committed it to memory.

"Furthermore, on our way to the extreme northern snowfield where the Primordial Separation Pillar is located, we'll pass through the forbidden land of Yinghuang State and the main flow of the Immortal-Nourishing Myriad Ancient River. There are certain risks along the way, so if it looks like this, those powerful cultivators might not be very interested in attacking us."

The captain continued painting until he finished the last crack. He then jumped onto the deck, admiring his masterpiece with satisfaction.

"Excellent, excellent, it looks so much better this way."

Yan Yan looked at the dilapidated magic vessel, still feeling a bit hesitant. Just as she was about to speak, the captain's expression suddenly changed, and he sharply looked towards the cabin door.

His expression instantly became incredibly solemn, his body turned chillingly cold, and faces appeared within his eyes. Layer upon layer, his entire being exuded a terrifying aura.

Almost the instant the captain looked, the cabin door roared, collapsing into countless fragments that shot outwards. Simultaneously, a beast-like growl, filled with madness and hunger, suddenly erupted from within.

Following it, a hand as withered as a skeleton firmly gripped the doorframe, slowly moving out to reveal a skeletal body.

It was Xu Qing. His clothes were now black, permeated with the dried, black blood of past decay, emitting a foul stench. His face was sunken, making him look like a vengeful spirit.

Especially the madness emanating from his eyes made Yan Yan's heart tremble. The captain's expression also changed; he was familiar with that look.

That's how he looked every time he was hungry.

"Just breaking through to the third Heavenly Palace, why so desperate?"

The captain swayed, rushing towards Xu Qing and grabbing his arm. Yan Yan was about to approach.

"Yan Yan, don't get close. His mind is struggling right now; he clearly ate something he shouldn't have, leading to a severe lack of vitality and extreme hunger."

The captain, looking very experienced, took out a piece of bloody meat from his storage pouch after steadying Xu Qing and directly shoved it into Xu Qing's mouth.

Xu Qing swallowed it in one gulp, closed his eyes, and after a few breaths, opened them again. Although his eyes were still bloodshot, his rationality had suppressed the madness.

"Senior Brother, thanks. Is there any more?" Xu Qing asked hoarsely, looking at the captain beside him.

"No, that was a snack I prepared for myself. Your current state requires you to kill and devour the vitality of all things. How did you get like this?" the captain asked, somewhat surprised.

"I ate a small something," Xu Qing said slowly. The hunger in his body resurfaced, making his breathing quicken, and he also felt his current state.

After his third palace assimilated the Poison Restriction Pill, this nearly withered pill, which had lost much of its spiritual essence, began to revive with nourishment. It acted like a colossal black hole, devouring everything in an instant.

This was an inevitable process for the Poison Restriction Pill's revival. Although Xu Qing had anticipated it and prepared thoroughly, the consumption of vital energy during the assimilation was unexpectedly vast, and the pill's revival was too quick, leading to insufficient preparation.

However, this wasn't entirely bad; in fact, it could be said to be Xu Qing's great opportunity.

Because once he provided enough vital energy to the Poison Restriction Pill, this nearly withered pill could truly revive.

After its revival, it would no longer be without a source, but an unending one, causing Xu Qing's combat power to soar.

His third palace would be the most unique palace throughout history.

Its power was immense, full of mystery and the unknown.

But all of this required abundant vital energy.

Besides that, Xu Qing also clearly sensed that for the Poison Restriction Pill to truly revive, vital energy was only one aspect; it also required abundant alien matter.

This discovery greatly shocked him, because it meant alien matter could be absorbed by him!

Although it was ultimately the Poison Restriction Pill within his third palace that absorbed it, to some extent, it was equivalent to him absorbing it.

Absorbing alien matter was a special privilege possessed only by those severely affected and newly formed races after the arrival of the Divine Remnant Face; cultivators rarely touched it.

Because what was referred to as alien matter was actually the aura of a deity; some also called it divine energy.

"Senior Brother, how far are we from the nearest forbidden zone?"

Xu Qing took a deep breath, his voice hoarse, and also saw Yan Yan's tense and worried expression. He nodded slightly to indicate he was fine.

Xu Qing never ignored the concerns of others.

"We're about half a month away from the Sword Forbidden Land in Yinghuang State. If you can't bear it, we can always find an outsider sect or a small outsider kingdom!"

The captain was somewhat worried, but the implication in his words revealed a complete indifference towards outsiders.

It seemed that in the captain's mind, as long as Xu Qing was fine, whatever happened to outsiders was irrelevant; if they were consumed, then they were consumed.

"Half a month should be fine," Xu Qing shook his head. Although outsiders also possessed vital energy and alien matter, the alien matter was ultimately inferior to that found in forbidden zones or lands.

He could feel that the amount he needed was immense, so the best choice was a forbidden land.

"Then we'll go to the Sword Forbidden Land. As the only forbidden land among the many forbidden zones in Yinghuang State, it is as famous as the Phoenix Forbidden Land in Nanhuang State and the Corpse Forbidden Land at sea. According to Captain's intelligence, the sovereign within this Sword Forbidden Land has been dormant for many years and has shown no signs of awakening recently. If we're careful there, it should be suitable."

As the captain spoke, he channeled his cultivation into the magic vessel, causing it to emit a chilling aura. Its speed abruptly increased, transforming into a long rainbow in the sky, dashing away like thunder.

The surrounding winds blew, scattering from the vessel's protective barrier, creating a whistling sound that echoed in all directions as it flowed past.

During this rapid journey, Xu Qing sat cross-legged on the deck, fully suppressing the hunger within him, while also adapting to the third palace's reaction after integrating the Poison Restriction Pill.

He could feel that although his condition was poor at the moment, his combat power had increased significantly. Combined with emperor-level cultivation methods, he could unleash at least the power of four palaces.

It's important to know that most Heavenly Palace Golden Cores only reach a maximum of six Heavenly Palaces.

"Next, once my poison pill revives, I'll need to consider forming the fourth Heavenly Palace."

Xu Qing's hunger gradually became harder to suppress. His breathing grew more rapid, and his eyes became more bloodshot. He could only focus on his cultivation to distract himself.

As for Shadow and the Vajra Sect Patriarch, they had already hidden themselves, fearing Xu Qing's notice.

Truly, Xu Qing at this moment was like a ferocious beast preying on humans, terrifying them to the extreme.

As for Yan Yan, although she was initially startled by Xu Qing's aura and skeletal body, she couldn't help but walk over after gradually adapting.

As she approached, Xu Qing abruptly looked up, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Yan Yan's neck. He struggled for a moment, barely managing to avert his gaze.

"Brother Xu Qing, do you... want to take a bite? It's okay, I'm not afraid of pain."

Yan Yan looked at Xu Qing, bit her finger, and tremblingly extended it towards him, her eyes showing anticipation and a dazed look.

Xu Qing looked at Yan Yan, then fell silent and closed his eyes.

Yan Yan felt a pang of regret and sadness in her heart. She silently withdrew her hand and sat down beside him.

While steering the magic vessel, the captain glanced back. He saw the dazed look in Yan Yan's eyes as she offered Xu Qing her finger, and the regret and sadness in her expression after Xu Qing ignored her. A bitter feeling arose in his heart.

"When I was hungry before, why didn't any beautiful female cultivators offer me their fingers to eat? What's wrong with me? This little A-Qing is so clueless about romance. If it were me, I'd definitely take a big bite."

Time passed like this, and as Xu Qing endured, they drew closer and closer to the Sword Forbidden Land.

Finally, when Xu Qing began to tremble violently beside them, and his hunger reached an uncontrollable extreme, a pitch-black Sword Forbidden Forest appeared before them.

Just by approaching, without even fully stepping inside, the alien matter here was already far denser than in other areas. Xu Qing's senses were incredibly sharp; his eyes suddenly snapped open, emitting a red glow.