Chapter 467: Hidden Eyes in the Sky

The dark waters of the Styx churned and surged, with countless faces floating upon them, emitting eternal wails. In life, these were members of the Ancient Spirit race, afflicted by a curse that denied them peace even in death, plunging them into endless agony. Though they had long lost their minds and were reduced to instinct, the torment persisted. The sounds were shrill and piercing.

To those hearing them for the first time, it would be deeply unsettling, even tearing at their minds, but Xu Qing had grown accustomed to it after a full day of listening. He stood upon the river now, gazing up at the sky. In the gloomy, mist-shrouded heavens, his purple moon continuously radiated purple moonlight, and the poisonous mist swirling before the moon seemed to drape the moonlight in a toxic veil.

As he gazed at the purple moon, the Purple Moon Heavenly Palace within Xu Qing accelerated its operation, and his eyes likewise emitted a rich purple glow, mirroring the moon in the sky. After a moment, Xu Qing averted his gaze, looking towards the depths of the Styx, sensing the faint, terrifying fluctuations emanating from there. Even from such a great distance, a sense of trepidation still surged and ebbed like waves within his mind. In Xu Qing's perception, only a deity could achieve such a feat.

"Has the Ancient Spirit Emperor truly fallen?" Xu Qing's eyes revealed deep thought; he recalled the colossal serpent he had seen upon arriving in this Great World. Although it seemed to encompass only this single Great World, Xu Qing knew very well that this didn't mean it was merely at the first stage of God-Imbuement during its peak. After all, if that were the case, it couldn't have unified Wanggu. Yet, his steps did not falter; he continued forward, moving faster and faster.

Time slowly passed, and soon three days had gone by. Over these three days, nearly one-tenth of this world's sky had turned completely purple, and the land's purple hue grew increasingly dense. Xu Qing's unique abnormal energy continuously gathered from all directions as he advanced. Slowly, it transformed into a thick purple mist around him, and the enveloped area grew larger and larger. From afar, it resembled ominous clouds formed by the descent of an inauspicious entity.

This was the first time Xu Qing had unleashed his purple power to such an extent. Due to the Purple Moon's arrival, the souls of this Great World had undergone some changes, becoming increasingly agitated and frantic. The invasion from the Purple Moon seemed to have stimulated the curse within them. Over these three days, Xu Qing also encountered many powerful corpses and malevolent souls on the Styx, though these river souls were somewhat different from those he encountered in the wilderness. They possessed a domain-like characteristic: they wouldn't pursue endlessly or relentlessly. As long as Xu Qing moved a certain distance away, most would cease their chase.

Upon realizing this, Xu Qing didn't bother to engage them. He would often rush past and evade them immediately upon encountering them. Thus, he drew closer and closer to the depths of the Styx.

As the fourth day approached, Xu Qing, who was speeding above the Styx, suddenly changed his expression. The river section in front of him suddenly churned violently over a large area. As an Infant Soul aura burst forth and spread around, a colossal face rose from within the river. This face was a full ten zhang in size, many parts rotten, and the remaining covered in gray scales. As large amounts of river water splashed, its gaze fell upon Xu Qing, seemingly sensing something.

The next instant, as if it had perceived something, the face twisted violently, letting out a shriek of grief and indignation. The moment the sound emerged, the river water before it immediately exploded under the sound wave. A foul-smelling gust of wind rushed towards Xu Qing, making his daoist robe flap loudly. Xu Qing frowned, dodged, and was about to leave, but at that moment, the water surface to the right of the face churned again, and a second face appeared. It was also ten zhang in size, similar in appearance, connected by a wisp of black mist, rising into the air, blocking Xu Qing's path.

It didn't end there. Soon, a third face, a fourth face... up to eleven faces rapidly ascended from the Styx, forming a fan shape, all turning towards Xu Qing, letting out roars of grief and indignation. The howls from the eleven faces were earth-shattering. Xu Qing's body rapidly retreated under the sound blast, and after evading dozens of zhang in mid-air, the river water below exploded again. A massive rotten bird head rose from within, and broken wings broke through the water surface on either side. After ascending, it roared and charged towards Xu Qing.

Xu Qing's pupils contracted as he saw the full appearance of the corpse before him. This was a gigantic fierce bird, over three hundred zhang in size, somewhat resembling a phoenix. Most of its body was rotten, and it was riddled with defiled weapons, exuding astonishing ferocity. The eleven faces were formed from its tail feathers. What truly made Xu Qing's expression solemn was that beneath the fierce bird's neck, countless rope-like black flesh strands hung down, connecting to a humanoid skeleton! It was as if the phoenix-like bird was formed from the flesh and blood emanating from this humanoid skeleton. The skeleton was human, wearing a tattered crimson robe. Although its face was largely decayed, one could still vaguely discern it was a young man. He stared fixedly at Xu Qing, his expression twisted with extreme grief and indignation.

With a roar, he flashed forward, his speed immense, instantly appearing before Xu Qing. With a wave of his hand, his cultivation erupted, forming countless black flying snowflakes that whistled towards Xu Qing. Moreover, as he acted, the phoenix-like bird above him also let out a piercing shriek, opening its maw to release a foul odor, attempting to swallow Xu Qing. Furthermore, its tail feathers swayed, and the eleven faces simultaneously spewed out highly toxic mist. Within the churning mist, countless maggots teemed, a truly shocking sight.

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes, continuously retreating as he raised his right hand and punched out. In an instant, a violent gale erupted, sweeping away the flying snowflakes, while a sea of fire also formed above him. The Golden Crow materialized within the flames, rushing out directly towards the devouring phoenix-like bird. Immediately after, Xu Qing's shadow appeared behind him, transforming into a giant tree covered in eyes, lunging towards the poisonous mist spewed by those faces.

While this description sounds slow, everything happened in an instant. Both sides attacked each other in a flash, unleashing a series of deafening roars in the sky. In a short span, they exchanged dozens of blows. During this time, Xu Qing's poison ban spread, but the young man surprisingly sensed it beforehand. He grabbed towards the Styx, and instantly, the river water rapidly swirled up, encircling him, using the countless souls within the Styx to counter Xu Qing's poison.

This method was similar to Chu Tianqun's, but comparatively, the Styx contained an endless number of souls. Moreover, this section of the river seemed to share a common origin with the young man. At his command, more river water surged skyward, like black water pythons, strangling Xu Qing from all directions. The next instant, Xu Qing's body stumbled back over ten zhang, his pupils slightly contracted. He sensed that the young man's cultivation was quite bizarre; it continuously rose during combat. The opponent seemed to be able to draw power from the Styx. While initially at the early Infant Soul stage, he now felt comparable to Chu Tianqun.

As he retreated, Xu Qing's Nether Spirit Blood Wings appeared, his speed suddenly surging as he rapidly flew out, aiming to bypass the opponent. The opponent's cultivation was strong, and his spells were strange. Xu Qing didn't want to waste time continuing to fight this young man. And the Purple Moon's power, he had a great use for it later, so this place was not suitable for expending it prematurely.

But just as Xu Qing whistled forward, the young man suddenly turned his head. The phoenix-like bird connected to him flapped its wings, stirring up a violent wind. Its speed was equally astonishing; it shot towards Xu Qing like lightning, and even instantly teleported directly in front of Xu Qing. Xu Qing frowned, bypassed him again, and continued to speed away, but soon the young man's corpse rapidly approached, letting out a roar, attacking again.

A cold glint flashed in Xu Qing's eyes. He decided to stop, then suddenly turned around. With a wave of his hand, thirty Demon Transformation Runes appeared. At this moment, his Seventh Heavenly Palace erupted, and under the rapid burning of the Demon Transformation Runes, the figure of the Ghost Emperor materialized with earth-shattering rumbling. The moment the Ghost Emperor appeared, heaven and earth changed color, the surrounding void trembled, and the river waters shattered, creating an immense, all-encompassing deterrence. "Begone!" Xu Qing's gaze was cold. If the opponent continued to pester him, then even if it wasn't his desire, he would have to spend some time to completely slay him.

The young man's corpse clearly sensed the danger, abruptly stopping its pursuit. His body rapidly descended into the Styx, where he looked up, staring fixedly at Xu Qing, letting out a low growl. The surrounding river water churned, stirring up waves, and lines of water flew out, circling around him. Xu Qing gave the corpse-youth a cold glance, then his speed burst forth as he sped away into the distance.

On the Styx, the corpse-youth watched Xu Qing's retreating figure, hesitated, and finally gave up the chase, letting out a roar before sinking into the Styx and disappearing. "That corpse must have been a heavenly prodigy in life!" In the distant sky, Xu Qing retracted the Ghost Emperor Mountain, glanced back at the Styx behind him, flapped his wings, and continued forward, drawing closer and closer to the Styx's depths.

One day later, on the fifth day since arriving in this Great World, Xu Qing finally reached the end of the river. A hazy black palace came into his view. Its size was comparable to a prefecture capital! Though riddled with holes and utterly dilapidated, an overwhelming pressure surged within it. While immensely vast, a dense aura of time permeated it, revealing endless antiquity, as if it were an imperial palace forgotten by time. The fluctuations of souls within were boundless, and the aura of death was incredibly dense. Especially in the depths of the imperial palace, black flesh grew everywhere, piling up into a towering, cloud-reaching mountain. At the top of this flesh-and-blood mountain, hundreds of souls floated, like offerings. This was because behind these souls, a crack thousands of zhang long appeared at the horizon, as if an eye hidden in the sky curtain existed there.

Even though it was currently closed, supreme divine might was being released with earth-shattering intensity, distorting the surrounding areas and blurring everything. Xu Qing's mind was greatly stirred. He gazed at the flesh-and-blood mountain at the end of the imperial palace, looking at the hundreds of souls upon it. Even from a great distance, the guidance from the shattered golden threads allowed him to clearly sense that... the soul Ling'er was missing was right there!