Chapter 563: Adding You Is Enough

A poisonous sandstorm spanning a hundred miles enveloped the Holy City. From a distance, the city, a witness to the history of the two-race alliance, appeared blurred, as if the apocalypse had arrived.

Here, anomalous substances spread, causing countless houses to wither and countless lives to perish. Even more terrifying was the transformation. Large numbers of both races, as the anomalous substances in their bodies surpassed a critical point, either disintegrated into flesh and blood or became monstrous beasts in a roar, killing anyone they saw.

Death was everywhere.

But compared to this, the poisonous restriction was the most direct manifestation. Whether it was mutated beasts or tribesmen, alive or dead, even buildings could not escape its power. The mirrors of the Mirror-Shadow race turned black and lost their luster. The bodies of the Sky-Faced race dissolved into blood, their vitality extinguished.

Wailing, mournful cries, and pained roars blended together to form the melody of a funeral dirge. One after another, these notes played out, surrounding Xu Qing as he moved forward, his figure hidden like a ghostly assassin. Each of his strikes added a note to this composition. Each of his kills added a strand to this funeral song.

The dagger in his hand was not stained with blood; all the blood from his kills flowed down the blade onto Xu Qing's arm, soaking into his clothes. His white robe had long turned blood-red and clung to his body. Xu Qing had grown accustomed to this feeling.

He moved through the mist with his head bowed, harvesting life after life. He ignored those who wailed; Xu Qing would not offer such mercy as freeing them from pain. In his mind, the city of fireflies in the darkness appeared, and the scenes from there seemed to make his movements even faster. The meat paste in the iron cage made him grip his dagger even tighter.

Finally, the image settled on Pan Yan's small face. Xu Qing flashed past a Sky-Faced cultivator, and hot blood landed on his hand.

“Not enough,” Xu Qing murmured. He retreated, merging into the mist. The moment he vanished, six figures whistled past where he had just been, creating a roaring sound. Those six figures were all Nascent Soul cultivators of the fourth and fifth tribulation, radiating powerful fluctuations. Their eyes showed hatred, and their expressions were savage and furious.

They were responsible for pursuing Xu Qing, but within this city permeated by the poisonous restriction, they couldn't find any trace of him. Even if they occasionally detected a fluctuation, they couldn't track him down, as was the case now. At the same time, they had to fully resist the invasion of the poisonous restriction. Fortunately, the duration wasn't long, and they could still hold on, but all six inevitably began to rot.

Xu Qing never engaged them directly. His objective was clear from the beginning: the plaza located between the two royal palaces within the city. Duanmu Zang was there. His previous identity as a Black Sky tribesman and his words during his attacks were all part of Xu Qing’s plan to conceal his true race and objective. Only this way could he rescue Duanmu Zang amidst sudden changes, catching the opponents off guard and preventing them from using Duanmu Zang as a hostage. After all, threatening the Black Sky tribe with a human was too far-fetched.

Of course, the key to achieving this was time. If the two-race alliance had been given a chance to react and investigate, Xu Qing's method would still have had some flaws. But at this moment, there were few flaws.

Xu Qing moved swiftly through the poisonous mist, rapidly approaching the plaza at the city's center. Using the mist, he sensed Duanmu Zang lying there, near death, his body completely permeated by the poisonous restriction. With such dense poisonous mist, it was difficult for Xu Qing to control its spread and invasion with precision; it couldn't bypass Duanmu Zang. However, Duanmu Zang had an advantage: he had been poisoned before and cured by Xu Qing. Therefore, compared to the cultivators of the two races, he possessed a certain degree of resistance in his body. Although this resistance couldn't make him immune to the poison's effects, it allowed him to endure for longer.

Yet, even the most meticulous plan was difficult to execute flawlessly in haste. Although Xu Qing changed his identity and concealed his purpose, his appearance just as Duanmu Zang was being refined still led some cultivators of the two-race alliance to suspect something and choose to lie in wait here. However, interfering uncertain factors and the invasion of the poisonous mist meant that not many cultivators from the two races were waiting there.

In the mist, a cold glint flashed in Xu Qing's eyes as he stared at a few figures moving about in the dim fog ahead. He narrowed his eyes, concealing the cold glint, and instantly charged forward. His speed was so swift that in his concealed state, he instantly appeared behind a Mirror-Shadow cultivator. His right hand silently rose, covering the mirror on the Mirror-Shadow cultivator's forehead. The moment the person noticed, before he could even struggle, Xu Qing seized it and crushed it violently. With a crack, the mirror shattered. A shrill scream was about to escape, but Xu Qing's left hand immediately pressed against his mouth, sealing it tightly. The scream turned into muffled whimpers, drowned out by the continuous wailing within the city.

At this moment, the poisonous restriction emanated more intensely from Xu Qing's body, merging into the opponent's. Once the person completely lost all vitality and stopped moving, Xu Qing gently laid him down, then crouched and vanished from the spot. Soon, one less figure remained in the dim mist. Over ten breaths later, another person disappeared.

At this point, the remaining cultivators also noticed. As Xu Qing attacked again, over a dozen figures from both races surged around him, erupting towards him. Xu Qing's expression remained calm. He calculated the time in his mind and, instead of retreating as before, he shifted his body from Ghostly Stealth, and golden threads instantly stretched within him. His body suddenly swelled, the appearance of a Black Sky tribesman dissipated, revealing his human form, and he grew directly from normal human size to three zhang tall.

Like a divine demon, his figure appeared in the poisonous mist, and a divine fluctuation surged from his physical body. This was Xu Qing's strongest physical state. With this sudden burst, the area around him instantly turned into a whirlpool. The next instant, Xu Qing suddenly charged out, colliding with the three Sky-Faced cultivators at the very front.

A booming sound echoed. The three Sky-Faced cultivators couldn't stop him at all; one's body disintegrated, and two spewed blood as they retreated, their expressions utterly horrified. Indeed, the techniques Xu Qing displayed were more astonishing one after another. Without any pause, Xu Qing opened his large hand, leaped, and appeared beside two Mirror-Shadow cultivators, grabbing their bodies and forcefully throwing them. Amidst a series of explosions, these two Mirror-Shadow cultivators' bodies burst apart, scattering flesh and blood, as the other cultivators from both races rushed straight towards Xu Qing.

Leading them was a Nascent Soul cultivator of the fourth tribulation. Seeing them approach, the dawn light within Xu Qing suddenly shone, sweeping outwards in an instant. The dawn light could brush away all techniques. The moment it appeared, the cultivators of both races rushing towards Xu Qing had to retreat to block it. But the fourth-stage Nascent Soul cultivator's killing intent was strong. He arrived instantly before Xu Qing, regardless of the cost or his own poisoning.

“Die!”

Amidst the roar, Xu Qing spat out blood, his Nascent Soul trembling, and his body reeled backward. Before he could steady himself, the opponent charged again, forming a swarm of vengeful spirits with a hand seal, heading straight to devour Xu Qing's body. However, the divine pressure emanating from Xu Qing caused the vengeful spirits to shriek and recoil the moment they approached. But that four-tribulation cultivator was relentless. He clearly knew that his own poisoning could not be alleviated, so he wanted to kill Xu Qing before his entire body rotted away.

Seeing that the vengeful spirits were ineffective, he bit the tip of his tongue and spat out blood, driving the spirits into a frenzied, mindless state. At the same time, he took out a gourd, releasing more spirits, which forcibly devoured, while he formed hand seals to conjure a golden bell, shaking it rapidly. The bell emitted a sound that pierced Xu Qing's soul. The vengeful spirits bit relentlessly, causing Xu Qing's body to tremble and recoil again. One pursued, one retreated, but Xu Qing's speed was inferior to his opponent's, and without Ghostly Stealth, he was quickly caught and continued to fall back.

As the sounds of impact continuously reverberated, more cultivators from both races in the vicinity became aware and arrived one after another. After over ten breaths, Xu Qing's body was sent ten zhang flying by the four-tribulation cultivator's powerful blow. The moment he landed, the four-tribulation cultivator was about to continue, but what charged out was no longer a complete body. His lower body had completely rotted away. With that charge, half his body was in mid-air, his Nascent Soul melted within him, and the poisonous restriction fully erupted inside him.

“I…” The four-tribulation cultivator's eyes showed unwillingness. He had tried his best, but the enemy's body could withstand too much damage, and he couldn't kill him with a single blow. As for restraining him, the seven-colored light emanating from the opponent's body was equally troublesome. Just as despair lingered, a red lightning bolt flew in, piercing through him from behind and exiting his forehead. The cultivator with half a body fell to the ground, his form and spirit utterly destroyed.

Xu Qing struggled to get up, still covered in many vengeful spirits. Some of these spirits dispersed due to the four-tribulation cultivator's death, but others, released from the gourd, had lost their sentience. Even as they constantly disintegrated under the aura of Xu Qing's body, they continued to bite frantically as long as they could still move. Xu Qing ignored them. He knew he was no match for that four-tribulation cultivator, but it didn't matter. This was his battlefield; his combat power might be insufficient, but his physical defense was exceptionally strong. As long as he wasn't instantly killed, then in this poisonous mist, he would not be the one to die in the end.

The death of this four-tribulation cultivator also deterred the remaining survivors; one by one, amidst the poison's onset, they instinctively ascended, wanting to leave. Xu Qing paid them no mind; he quickly approached the plaza, panting. Restraining six Spirit Treasures, collapsing the city's defenses, poisoning at least a hundred thousand tribesmen from both races, killing hundreds of Core Formation cultivators, and dozens of Nascent Soul cultivators—all of this was already Xu Qing's limit.

At this moment, he had given his all and finally reached the plaza, seeing Duanmu Zang lying there, near death. The poison on Duanmu Zang was extremely potent, and his body was beginning to rot. Upon seeing Xu Qing, he opened his mouth as if to say something, but he no longer had the strength. Xu Qing smiled, raised his right hand, and patted Duanmu Zang's body. Instantly, the poison within Duanmu Zang abruptly left his body and rushed towards Xu Qing. At the same time, a ray of dawn light landed on Duanmu Zang, isolating him from the poisonous restriction and shattering the remaining restrictive bindings around him.

The next moment, Duanmu Zang's body trembled. As the poison vanished and the bindings dissipated, his cultivation began to recover. However, his injuries were too severe; at this moment, he could only struggle to sit up, looking at Xu Qing with a bitter smile.

“You shouldn’t have come,” he said. He had witnessed Xu Qing's purple moon rising earlier, but at this moment, he asked nothing about it.

Xu Qing panted, sitting down beside Duanmu Zang. He sensed the fluctuations around them, knowing that the events here had been detected by the powerful cultivators of both races within the mist, who were now converging. They would likely appear soon. Meanwhile, a miserable cry came from Cang Long in the ethereal realm. Clearly, it was also about to reach its limit and could no longer restrain the six Spirit Treasures.

“The Purple Moon, even with the cooperation of the Heavenly Dao, couldn't restrict them for even an incense stick's time. A bit useless,” Xu Qing sighed. He looked up at the sky. The Red Mother's slumber allowed him to release the power of the Purple Moon without as much concern as before, though he still needed to be wary of the temple here. But with the Heavenly Dao and the poisonous restriction providing concealment, as long as he didn't unleash his power directly in front of them, everything would be fine.

So Xu Qing looked at Duanmu Zang. “Drink?” he asked. Saying this, he took out two flasks of wine, tossed one to Duanmu Zang, and drank from the other, tilting his head back.

The moment Duanmu Zang took the flask, a roar echoed from the distant sky—several earth-shaking, sky-altering roars, like a storm. The earth trembled, the city swayed, and the poisonous mist here drifted, as if it was about to be blown out of the city's bounds. Cang Long wailed, its body collapsing, and the six Spirit Treasures within it broke free. Upon appearing, curses within their bodies revived, but were forcibly suppressed. The desolation of the city and the massive deaths of their tribesmen—all this catastrophe—ignited a monstrous rage within them.

They each cast spells, and for a time, earth-shattering roars were continuous. The sea of fire was suppressed, the mist shifted, the Old Ancestor of the Vajra Sect rapidly returned, and hope arose in the hearts of the surviving tribesmen of both races. Witnessing this scene, Duanmu Zang's eyes showed resolve. He drank deeply from the flask in his hand and was about to stand up, but Xu Qing pressed him down.

“No rush,” Xu Qing said with a smile.

Looking at Xu Qing's smile and the vengeful spirits still tearing and disintegrating on his body, Duanmu Zang couldn't help but feel a tremor in his heart and spoke. “Those things on you…”

“It’s not my body, it’s fine, let them bite,” Xu Qing replied. As soon as Xu Qing uttered these words, a tremor came from within Ding Yi San Er, but it quickly vanished. Xu Qing paid it no mind, looked around, and spoke softly. “Elder, I saved most of the humans in the city, but ultimately there were still some… I couldn't do anything for.”

Duanmu Zang fell silent, letting out a soft sigh.

At this moment, the mist around them churned. With the appearance of the six Spirit Treasures in the sky, a strong wind howled, sweeping across all directions, finally causing the poisonous sandstorm here to gradually thin and leave the city's confines. The Golden Crow had also exhausted its strength and now returned, and the heavenly fire within the city extinguished. All of this revealed the city's full appearance to the world.

Looking around, less than three-tenths of the city remained. Most of the buildings had collapsed; some were burned by fire, some were broken by mutated beasts, and most had turned to dust under the poisonous restriction. As for corpses… there were surprisingly few. This was because all who died were inevitably poisoned, turning into blood and then having their traces dissipated by the high temperatures. Thus, the smell here was exceedingly foul. Cries, wails, and angry roars continuously echoed.

Witnessing all this, the surviving tribesmen of both races trembled, their rage already overflowing. And the six Spirit Treasures in the sky, their eyes blood-red, all looked towards the plaza, towards Xu Qing, who sat there drinking.

“Who exactly are you?!”

“I am your divine messenger,” Xu Qing said calmly, looking up at the sky.

The six Spirit Treasures fell silent. The revival of the curses within them was no illusion, and Xu Qing's identity, by now, they had largely guessed.

“An outer-domain divine messenger.”

This answer filled their hearts with resentment, and their eyes glowed with intense killing intent. Their aura influenced the sky, causing thunder to rumble and the heavens to become oppressive, ultimately forming a massive whirlpool with six faces within it. They dared not kill a divine messenger, but if he was from an outer domain, they could capture him and send him to the Divine Temple. Perhaps they could exchange him for extremely precious difficulty-alleviating pills to mitigate the painful torment of their curses as their cultivation grew.

So, after exchanging glances, at the Mirror-Shadow King's signal, the Mirror-Shadow Imperial Preceptor walked from the sky towards Xu Qing. His steps were not fast. To him, the person before him had too many methods, all incredibly strange, so he was very cautious.

Seeing this, Xu Qing withdrew his gaze, stood up, and calmly transmitted a divine thought to the divine finger in his mind. “Under my poisonous restriction, the number of tribesmen here isn't as high, and with the Purple Moon's invasion and the power of the Heavenly Dao, the meat isn't as rotten. If you don't eat now, you'll be even hungrier later with nothing to eat. I'll be staying at Sacrifice Moon for a long time.”

“I won’t be hungry if I sleep!” the divine finger declared proudly, yet enduring its hunger with disdain. “Are you still trying to threaten me with your own life and death? I'm telling you, it's useless. The Red Mother is asleep and won't awaken anytime soon, and you've used this trick too many times. I've also figured out that you're afraid of death, too. So what, if we're going to die, we die together! I won't eat even if I die!”

Xu Qing's face remained expressionless upon hearing this. He glanced at the Mirror-Shadow Imperial Preceptor approaching from the sky, then raised his hand and took out the teleportation token given to him by the Ancient Spirit Emperor. The moment the token appeared, the divine finger shuddered and quickly spoke.

“What are you doing?!”

“I'm going to take them to the Ancient Spirit Emperor for sacrifice,” Xu Qing transmitted calmly, walking towards the sky with resolve in his eyes.

“Didn’t the Ancient Spirit Emperor tell you to sacrifice a remnant god next time? These few Spirit Treasures aren't enough,” the divine finger paused, a sense of unease rising in its heart.

“With you, it’ll be enough,” Xu Qing said coldly.

Having said this, he was already in the sky, and as he gazed at the approaching Mirror-Shadow Imperial Preceptor, the divine finger's horrified scream echoed in his mind.

“You, you, you… you ungrateful wretch, how many times have I saved you?!” the divine finger cried out in indignation and despair. It felt it had miscalculated. Remembering the Ancient Spirit Emperor's terrifying gaze and the drooling sound when it looked at him, it shuddered, then let out a mournful roar. “Why bother Lord Spirit Emperor with such a small matter? I’ll do it!”

With that, the divine finger burst out from within Ding Yi San Er, filled with resentment and indignation, and with Xu Qing's tacit consent, it instantly permeated his entire body. A divine fluctuation, far exceeding anything before, instantly surged from Xu Qing's body!

At this moment, the dim sky suddenly churned, forming a massive whirlpool that rotated with a rumbling sound, exuding an aura that suppressed heaven and earth. The faces formed by the six Spirit Treasures of the two races instantly changed dramatically, and the Mirror-Shadow Imperial Preceptor's steps abruptly halted, his face revealing horror.

“This is…”

“Impossible!!”

As they panicked, the changes emanating from Xu Qing made the heavens and earth lose color, the eight directions roared, and the city trembled violently. Cracking sounds came from his body; each sound was like a clap of thunder, echoing infinitely. All the golden threads within his body shone with golden light, enveloping his entire form, stretching to their limits and rapidly spreading throughout his body. All of this caused Xu Qing's body to surge again from its previous state, reaching a height of thirty zhang in the blink of an eye. He stood on the earth, comparable to a mountain peak. The sky's whirlpool roared, cracks appeared in the void, and streaks of lightning manifested out of thin air, moving like electric light around Xu Qing. The aura of a deity completely erupted at this instant.

The power of anomalous substances spread with immense density, distorting everything in its path, blurring all directions. The city roared, collapsing once more, and wails resumed. Even the six Spirit Treasures in the sky felt an incredibly intense life-or-death crisis welling up within them. This sense of crisis emanated from their flesh and blood, from their souls, and continuously arose from every part and perception within their bodies, converging as if their entire beings were screaming.

“A deity!!”

Previously, even when Xu Qing displayed the poisonous restriction, he only made them wary, but now… it was terror. Indeed, Xu Qing’s current aura transcended the realm of mortals; he had become *Him*!

A roar filled with indignation and despair suddenly erupted from Xu Qing's mouth amidst the cosmic fluctuations, echoing through the sky. The six Spirit Treasures, whether they had truly formed their first arcane treasure or were cultivating the Dao, had their minds rattled by this roar, becoming completely dazed and trembling, losing all power to resist. It was as if mortals hearing a tiger's roar would be stunned, like lost souls. This was the formation of fear, and fear arose from the enormous disparity between them, from the crushing difference in life levels between mortals and deities. The divine finger, no matter how weak, was still a deity!

At this moment, its eyes turned golden, and its body likewise shone with golden light. Amidst this awe-inspiring divine might, it took a step towards the six Spirit Treasures ahead! Its enormous body landed with a single step, directly traversing an infinite distance, appearing before the Mirror-Shadow Imperial Preceptor. This Mirror-Shadow Imperial Preceptor, who held a high position within his tribe and was parasitic within a rock body, now appeared like a mere mortal. The face reflected in his mirror was filled with terror as the divine finger raised its large hand and seized him by the neck, he who had lost all power to resist. With a violent inhalation.

Immediately, a shrill scream emanated from the Mirror-Shadow Imperial Preceptor's mirror. His body visibly withered, eventually turning into dust and countless white wisps of energy, which flowed into the divine finger's mouth and nose.

“Blech! It really doesn’t taste good!” The divine finger gagged, its indignation growing stronger. It hadn't intended to eat more, but after that bite, its hunger surged, and its stomach rumbled emptily. Compared to this extreme hunger, the taste was nothing. So, it gritted its teeth fiercely.

“I’m not being picky anymore. I’ll satisfy my hunger first!”