Chapter 339: Key to the Gods

The Sword Restricted Zone is the only forbidden area within Yinghuang Province.

It is located slightly west of the central region of Yinghuang Province and also covers a main section of the Immortal River of Ten Thousand Ages. Before the Immortal River of Ten Thousand Ages flows into the Sword Restricted Zone, its waters are brimming with immortal spiritual energy; however, after it flows out, it becomes pitch black.

This place is perpetually shrouded in thick fog, and sunlight cannot penetrate it. Thus, when viewed from high above, one can only see the surging, dark river flowing out, but not the detailed conditions of the river within the forbidden area. The fog shrouds everything.

One can only vaguely discern that the Immortal River of Ten Thousand Ages divides the Sword Restricted Zone into two areas, yet the swirling fog seems to connect them.

"According to alliance records, three thousand years ago, a catastrophe erupted in the Sword Restricted Zone when the Sword Emperor awakened and emerged. This event caused a sensation throughout Feng Hai County and was only barely suppressed by the combined forces of all races in the county."

"The Flame Emperor, the Corpse Emperor, and the Sword Emperor—these three masters of their respective forbidden areas each possess unfathomable strength." As the captain spoke, looking at the distant dark jungle, Xu Qing's body shot forth, his speed so immense that he transformed into a long rainbow, heading directly towards the Sword Restricted Zone.

On the magic vessel, Yan Yan worried and looked at the captain. "Senior Brother..."

The captain looked at Xu Qing's retreating figure and smiled faintly. "It's fine. With me here, Xu Qing will be perfectly safe. But Yan Yan, I'm a bit short on funds lately. Do you have any...?"

Yan Yan immediately threw out a storage bag.

The captain's eyes lit up. After taking it and scanning its contents, he was instantly delighted and loudly declared, thumping his chest:

"Sister-in-law, don't worry! This elder brother will go through fire and water to ensure your husband's safety!" As he spoke, the captain looked eagerly at Yan Yan.

The phrase "sister-in-law" immediately made Yan Yan's small face blush, and she happily threw out another storage bag.

"Oh wow! From now on, Yan Yan, you are the only sister-in-law I acknowledge!" The captain's body trembled slightly. Holding the storage bag, he swayed and dashed directly after Xu Qing.

Listening to the captain's words, Yan Yan felt happy inside, her small face slightly flushed.

But she didn't know that the captain, currently pursuing Xu Qing, was overjoyed while speeding, his eyes shining with delight, as if he had discovered a new way to get rich.

"How foolish of me! I shouldn't envy little Ah Qing. I should invite a female cultivator every time I go out with him and repeat this process. I'll never be short of money again!"

"And there's Ding Xue, that little rich woman! She has the most money in her pockets!"

The captain was excited, especially thinking that if one day the Purple Profound Immortal appeared beside Xu Qing and obediently called him "Senior Brother," that would be truly thrilling.

"It seems then, I should go back and give small gifts to all those people in little Ah Qing's name to maintain their relationship with him. Ah Qing, Ah Qing, having a senior brother like me must be a blessing you cultivated in your previous life."

The captain was touched and in a joyful mood. In reality, this wasn't the first time he had done something like this. Back when he and Xu Qing caused a major incident among the Sea Corpses and escaped back to Seven Blood Eyes, when they were arranged to have image disciples greet outsiders, the reason Ding Xue and Gu Muqing appeared beside Xu Qing simultaneously was due to his secret manipulation.

In fact, the sect had originally designated Gu Muqing, so the captain secretly informed Ding Xue and sold her a spot.

Feeling smug inwardly at this moment, he accelerated his speed, chasing Xu Qing directly into the Sword Restricted Zone.

Within the Sword Restricted Zone's jungle, Xu Qing moved swiftly. The moment he dashed in, the surrounding anomalous substances surged, rapidly spreading towards his body, instantly absorbed by him, and flowing into his third palace.

He didn't stop. Leaping up in the jungle, he grabbed to the side with his right hand, immediately seizing a fierce beast hanging from a large tree. The fierce beast trembled all over, having no ability to dodge or resist. In an instant, Xu Qing's palm landed on its head. With a thud, the beast's body immediately withered, turning into a skeleton within a few breaths.

This scene caused the eight-legged wolf pack to tremble and flee even faster. But Xu Qing licked his lips, crouched and leaped, transforming into an afterimage, he caught up directly and began to absorb.

After more than ten breaths, the captain's figure appeared here. He looked at the corpses scattered on the ground and felt relieved. "It seems there's no major problem," he muttered.

The captain murmured, just about to continue following. But at this moment, his expression suddenly shifted. He subtly sniffed the air and turned his head suspiciously to gaze into the depths of the forbidden area.

That location was in a different direction from where Xu Qing had gone.

After careful observation, the captain's eyes lit up. "There's actually such a treasure here!" The captain licked his lips, his eyes gleaming. "Little Junior Brother is fine. I might as well go check out this treasure first."

Thinking of this, the captain changed direction and immediately rushed off, disappearing into the jungle.

And so, time slowly passed, and soon half a month went by.

During these past two weeks, Xu Qing's killing was exceptionally frenzied. Wherever he went, any fierce beast he encountered would have its vitality instantly absorbed by him to nourish his own Poison Dan. The same applied even when he encountered anomalies.

He himself couldn't remember how many fierce beasts he had killed. With his current four-palace combat strength, he could practically sweep through everything in the outer regions of this forbidden area. So Xu Qing soon moved slightly closer to the depths. As he delved deeper, he encountered more fierce beasts, his killing was ceaseless, and his absorption continuous.

Gradually, his mind became normal, the light in his eyes was no longer dim, and his body had recovered significantly from its previous skeletal state. Coupled with the effects of the purple crystal, he now appeared to have undergone no major changes; at most, he was slightly thinner than before.

His hair had also regrown, and he had changed into new robes. The Poison Forbidden Dan within his third heavenly palace, under such concentrated vitality and anomalous substances, was only a tiny bit away from complete recovery.

This tiny bit was also easy to resolve. At this moment, Xu Qing was taking action for this very purpose. He moved extremely fast, heading directly towards a group of giant jellyfish flying in the sky!

These jellyfish each emitted a freezing aura. Wherever they passed, the jungle below was instantly frozen, and most fierce beasts within their range could not escape death. There were quite a few of these jellyfish, dozens of them varying in size. Within their translucent bodies, one could still see decomposing corpses being digested.

Xu Qing had seen similar jellyfish before, back in the restricted area of the Scavenger Camp. It seemed these jellyfish were common in both restricted zones and forbidden areas. After seeing them here now, the intense pressure he had felt back then had completely vanished!

Looking at the jellyfish, Xu Qing also thought of the Scavenger Camp and the countless low-level cultivators killed by creatures of this species, including Old Stone, whom Xu Qing had buried.

A sharp glint flashed in Xu Qing's eyes. His body suddenly shot out, moving so fast that he instantly dashed into the group of jellyfish. As rumbling sounds echoed, one by one, withered and lifeless jellyfish plummeted from mid-air.

A moment later, Xu Qing's body descended, landing on the crown of a giant tree. His eyes radiated vigor, and a thunderous roar echoed within his body.

Within his third palace, the Poison Forbidden Dan, now merged and transformed into his Natal Treasure, at this instant, seemed as if its flame of life had been rekindled, directly emanating dense waves of vitality. It even vibrated slightly. This vibration was continuous, like a heart. What followed was an incredibly close sense of connection, as if the Poison Forbidden Dan within the third palace was inherently a part of Xu Qing's body.

After experiencing this, Xu Qing's spirit was invigorated. He first took out the small black bugs. With a single inhalation, all these small black bugs instantly drilled into Xu Qing's body, entered his third heavenly palace, and circled around the Poison Forbidden Dan.

Immediately after, Xu Qing raised his head, looking at the sky in the distance beyond the jungle, where another batch of jellyfish was currently approaching with a roar. Clearly, the jellyfish swarm here was larger. What he had killed before was only a portion, and it had attracted the attention of the local jellyfish swarm. The jellyfish now rushing from afar numbered several hundred. Among them, three had bodies hundreds of feet long, which was astonishing, exuding immense power. The fluctuations they emitted were comparable to those of two or three cultivators with Heavenly Palace Golden Cores.

"Very well, I'll test my Poison Forbidden Dan right here and see how powerful it truly is!"

Xu Qing murmured, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. His third heavenly palace vibrated with a thunderous roar, and the Poison Forbidden Dan within it instantly erupted. Endless poison spread from the Poison Dan, emanating from Xu Qing's body. It was colorless and odorless, sweeping outwards in all directions like a tsunami with a booming sound.

Wherever it passed, countless trees on the ground instantly rotted, and all vegetation turned into ash in the blink of an eye. All fierce beasts on the ground had no ability to struggle; they were instantly poisoned and turned into bloody water amidst agonizing screams.

The jellyfish arriving in the sky were even more unable to escape death. One by one, they visibly turned pitch black, decaying and melting under horrific wails, becoming black water that splattered onto the ground! It wasn't just them; the land was also affected similarly. The ground instantly became cursed land, countless small insects simultaneously succumbed to the poison, and even fierce beasts deep underground could not escape, instantly perishing.

The fog in the sky rapidly dissipated at this moment, directly revealing a large opening, allowing the moonlight from outside to pour in! The moonlight enveloped Xu Qing and covered an area of five hundred zhang around him.

Within this five-hundred-zhang radius, no blade of grass grew, and everything perished. Looking around, the ground was barren! Only the pitch-black earth exuded a horrifying sense of dread.

Xu Qing stood in mid-air, gazing at all of this. The shadow behind him slowly appeared, forming the silhouette of a dark great tree, bowing behind him as if in worship. The black iron spike floated in mid-air, trembling at this moment. The phantom of the Vajra Sect Ancestor manifested on it also knelt in worship.

His heart was already churning with immense waves; everything transformed into internal murmurs. The reason for this was the anomalous substances slowly rising from the ground at this moment! These anomalous substances were not from within the forbidden area, but rather generated spontaneously after this place was covered by Xu Qing's poison. What was even more bizarre was that these anomalous substances actually gave Xu Qing a sense of shared origin. It was as if they were born from him. This was unlike the anomalous substances originally pervading this place! Xu Qing's body trembled, unable to believe it, because this was... the ability of a deity!