Chapter 381: 不可直视

Xu Qing felt something was amiss.

He had previously observed many areas, and even beings deep within the forbidden zones couldn't detect his gaze. This was because he was now fused with the forbidden magical artifact, the Ancient Bronze Mirror.

It was as if the Ancient Bronze Mirror was seeing, rather than him.

As a forbidden magical artifact, capable of serving as a sect's ultimate foundation, it naturally possessed terrifying power and formidable capabilities. Therefore, the strange entities within the forbidden zones found it difficult to sense being watched, and others even less so.

Xu Qing scanned around and didn't encounter anyone who seemed to sense anything unusual.

Only Huang Yan.

At that moment, Huang Yan, on the Dharma vessel, raised his head and looked at the sky.

After blinking, he coughed and pretended to be admiring the scenery. He then lowered his head in what he thought was a natural manner and continued to massage his Second Senior Sister's legs.

However, to Xu Qing, this scene was riddled with flaws.

Xu Qing silently withdrew his gaze, not lingering. But at that moment, he clearly understood that Huang Yan held a secret.

What specific secret it was, Xu Qing couldn't discern and didn't wish to delve deeper.

After all, many people in this world had their own secrets: Huang Yan did, the Captain did, his master did, and so did he.

Why bother digging to the bottom? It was enough to know they posed no harm to each other.

Xu Qing calmed his thoughts and shifted his gaze, looking towards other directions, including the Corpse Forbidden Zone near the Sea Corpse Race.

The Corpse Forbidden Zone was very peculiar, somewhat different from the Phoenix Forbidden Zone.

Although both were forbidden zones, one was on land, and the other was underwater.

The underwater Corpse Forbidden Zone was shrouded in dense black mist and was vast in extent, making it impossible to tell if there were islands within it. However, the anomalous energy there was incredibly concentrated, and the seawater was even more so.

Under the influence of the Corpse Forbidden Zone, the surrounding sea surface would occasionally manifest specters and corpses, and various strange occurrences frequently happened.

Normally, passing boats would not approach the Corpse Forbidden Zone, at most only going as far as the Sea Corpse Race's location.

Xu Qing did not look towards the core of the Corpse Forbidden Zone underwater, nor did he peer into the depths of the black mist. He merely swept his gaze across its edge, then looked towards the Wanggu Continent.

He still adhered to the same principle, not gazing intently at any major power.

He understood that these places should not be looked at; if he did, he might be detected, leading to unnecessary calamity and suspicion.

Furthermore, he knew why his master had warned him: he had a strong feeling that in his current state, looking at entities he shouldn't would likely lead to instant death.

For instance, when his gaze had just swept across the Forbidden Sea, he sensed a terrifying fluctuation in a certain deep-sea area.

He suppressed his curiosity, even forcing himself not to look up at the sun in the sky or the lofty remnant face of the deity.

When his gaze was finally fully withdrawn, he suddenly thought of looking at himself.

"I wonder what I look like when others view me with a forbidden magical artifact."

Thinking this, Xu Qing attempted to look.

The next instant, he saw the Sea Corpse Race, the giant Ancient Bronze Mirror floating above them, and himself sitting cross-legged atop that ancient mirror.

As the mirror rotated, his body remained cross-legged, as if solidified upon it, not moving an inch, no matter how the mirror tilted.

This feeling was strange, unlike looking in a mirror; it was as if his soul had risen and was observing his physical body from mid-air.

Xu Qing focused his mind, directing his full attention to his physical body.

The first thing he saw was an exceptionally handsome, almost demonic, face.

Xu Qing didn't dwell on it. As he continued to observe intently, his physical body became somewhat transparent under his gaze.

He saw the meridians within his body, all the shining Dharma apertures, and his own Sea of Consciousness.

He also saw the three Heavenly Palaces within his Sea of Consciousness; even though two were veiled by the mist of fate, he could still clearly perceive them.

Everything was clear, even the Ghost Emperor Mountain was reflected within, though the purple moon was invisible.

However, its location appeared to be occupied.

When compared with the Sea of Consciousness, a silhouette was formed.

Outsiders, observing this shadow-like silhouette, could discern the presence of something extraordinary there.

And the Poison Forbidden Pill in the third Heavenly Palace was blurry, its specifics unclear, yet it also occupied a distinct space.

Only his shadow and the purple crystal were truly invisible; they didn't even register as occupying space, as if they didn't exist.

Xu Qing fell into thought.

He also saw the form of the Golden Crow outside his body, encircling him invisibly, and concurrently, a partial sword shadow in his Sea of Consciousness.

That was the Imperial Sword, of which he had gained partial comprehension.

Gazing at these, Xu Qing pondered, then tried to manipulate his shadow to conceal them.

He didn't want to expose so much of himself. Now, using the Ancient Bronze Mirror's vision, Xu Qing began to adjust his presence.

First, he used the power of his shadow to cover the two Heavenly Palaces within the mist of fate, completely hiding them. He was satisfied only when, no matter how he viewed them through the ancient mirror, he could discern no clues.

Next, after pondering, Xu Qing used his shadow to spread out a veil, concealing his Ghost Emperor Mountain as well, making it disappear from sight.

As for the purple moon and the Poison Forbidden Pill, although they weren't directly visible, their occupied space was very clear when compared with the surroundings.

Xu Qing thought for a moment, then decided to also manipulate his shadow to cover them completely.

Having done all this, he meticulously checked everything to ensure it was flawless. Only then did he withdraw his gaze. The next instant, Xu Qing, sitting cross-legged on the bronze mirror, opened his eyes.

"So, this is what a forbidden magical artifact is like," Xu Qing murmured.

He definitely agreed with much of what his master had said: he needed to adapt to the operation of the forbidden magical artifact. Without such direct experience, merely understanding it indirectly would make it difficult to truly grasp its formidable power and unique nature.

"Though I don't know the exact function of Feng Hai Commandery's forbidden artifact, I imagine even if it can't see as clearly as this ancient mirror, hiding from its divine sense would be extremely difficult."

Xu Qing pondered for a moment, then closed his eyes, continuing to comprehend the operation of the forbidden magical artifact.

Time gradually passed, and soon, a month went by.

Throughout this month, Xu Qing spent every day sensing the forbidden magical artifact. He also repeatedly observed himself, continuously making adjustments until he achieved near perfection, only then truly feeling at ease.

Now, he was confident that even if the artifact spirit's divine sense from the Commandery's forbidden artifact swept over him after he entered the Commandery Capital, no secrets would be revealed.

Everything that was seen would be only what he wanted to expose.

Another gain was his familiarity with the divine sense perception of forbidden magical artifacts. Xu Qing could now instantly distinguish whether the divine sense gathered on him came from a person or an artifact.

Furthermore, he understood why forbidden magical artifacts would generate anomalous energy with every use. This was because forbidden magical artifacts were simply too powerful, absorbing massive amounts of spiritual energy when activated.

The anomalous energy from spiritual power would naturally accumulate within the forbidden magical artifact itself and was extremely difficult to dissipate, eventually building up to its limit and rendering the artifact useless.

Therefore, no major sect or powerful family would overuse a forbidden magical artifact, ensuring its longevity.

This led to most forbidden magical artifacts having two states: full activation and daily operation. In full activation, their power would reach its maximum.

Such a state was generally used to resist external enemies or launch attacks.

During ordinary times, daily operation was the primary mode.

However, even during daily operation, there would usually be a period of weakening. This timing was not fixed and varied for each forbidden magical artifact, requiring careful calculation to master.

Having comprehended all of this, Xu Qing gained a deeper understanding of his role as the artifact keeper. He also observed more and more places, but each time he knew when to stop, exercising restraint.

Even so, he still inevitably encountered some perilous situations.

He once saw endless ghost cities within the sea, filled with countless eerie entities, as if they formed a world of their own.

He also once saw a six-legged giant wielding a massive trident in the deep sea, radiating astonishing divine fluctuations, moving like a patrol, stirring up waves as it went.

He also saw the Sea Lizard Patriarch; each scale on its astonishing body contained terrifying power, and it moved like a dragon, its divine might vast.

And there were also eyes growing on the seabed.

Most of these eyes were closed, but the instant they opened, they would often create massive whirlpools on the sea surface, churning up waves and shaking the heavens and earth.

The Forbidden Sea was fraught with peril and full of the unknown.

Besides these living beings, Xu Qing also saw fissures of the abyss.

Some existed at the bottom of the sea, others in the forbidden zones of the Southern Phoenix Continent.

These abyssal fissures emitted black mist, unfathomably deep, and also sent forth piercing roars from within, like those from a ghost cave.

One night, Xu Qing even saw countless souls.

These souls drifted up from the direction of the Southern Phoenix Continent, proceeding in a line across the sky.

At the front of the procession was a horned figure holding a whip.

Driven by this figure, the souls flew into a door that suddenly opened in the sky, and with their entry came sounds of chewing.

Xu Qing merely glanced at that door, and his mind reeled, nearly destroying his form and spirit. He was immediately torn from his fused state with the Ancient Bronze Mirror, spitting out large mouthfuls of blood.

That time, he rested for five or six days before, with lingering trepidation, he re-fused with the Ancient Bronze Mirror.

Even though he had been careful enough, half a month later, he still encountered a cluster of divine temples on a small island.

It was not a Grand Clarity Daoist Temple, but rather a temple dedicated to worshipping deities, located on a secluded island shrouded in mist.

Xu Qing merely glanced at it, and his eyes immediately stung, preventing him from continuing to look.

All these experiences deepened his understanding of the world while also making him profoundly grasp his master's warning.

As the keeper of this forbidden magical artifact, it would be extremely dangerous if he did not exercise restraint.

Therefore, in the following days, Xu Qing avoided looking at unknown places and focused more on studying the operational patterns of the forbidden magical artifact, while also conducting small-scale observations of his surroundings.

It wasn't until only half a month remained before his departure for Feng Hai Commandery that, one day, Xu Qing, as usual, used the Ancient Bronze Mirror to survey his surroundings. The moment his gaze swept over the edge of the Corpse Forbidden Zone, Xu Qing's expression subtly changed.

He saw Zhao Zhongheng and Ding Xiaohai.

The two of them were currently at the edge of the Corpse Forbidden Zone, desperately controlling their Dharma vessel within the dense black mist, fleeing outward at high speed.

Behind them, the mist furiously churned, and whirlpools formed on the sea surface, from which countless withered hands emerged, reaching out to grab them.

Furthermore, a large quantity of black hair spread out from within the mist, strand by strand, intending to entwine them.

They were in grave danger.