Chapter 649: Poison Seal Divine Curse, Forged Before the Eyes

As Xu Qing's mind was abuzz, on another lake within this void, the Captain stood, clad in a black robe, hands clasped behind his back, gazing up at the emptiness above. His expression was laced with a sense of wistfulness, as if he were savoring memories, a profound sense of ancientness arising spontaneously with his demeanor.

After a long moment, a sigh brimming with complex emotions escaped his lips, reverberating in all directions, creating lingering echoes, and conveying a sense of profound, overflowing sentiment.

"The land, the plants, everything here... I am so familiar with it all..." the Captain murmured.

However, before the echoes of his words could completely fade, a cold voice emanated indifferently from the lake surface beneath his feet.

"Are you blind? There are no lands, no plants here. This place has been a void since the Ruler created it, from beginning to end."

The Captain blinked, his expression unchanged, showing no embarrassment at being exposed. Instead, he felt secretly pleased, thinking, "You know nothing, little artifact spirit. I'm performing a chant." Now that the chant was finished, he looked up and spoke loudly.

"I have decided on my grand wish for the trial!"

The water surface beneath his feet rippled, and the white-robed elder gazed, speaking coldly.

"State your grand wish."

"My grand wish is to rescue all beings in the Sacrificial Moon Domain from their sea of suffering, lead them to resist the Red Moon, and ultimately, just as the Ruler did, I will slay the Crimson Mother and devour her, known throughout all lands, opening a new era!" The Captain's expression was arrogant, his voice echoing.

Within the lake's mirrored surface, the white-robed elder's expression remained unchanged, as if indifferent to this grand wish. Yet, waves of frigid air emanated from beneath his feet, spreading across the entire lake, then seeping out from under the Captain's location, transforming into a cold voice.

"How will you achieve this?"

"That's simple. First, I'll become the Master of this Anti-Moon Palace; that's a crucial step in my series of plans. Additionally, I have a second grand wish: I want to rename this Sacrificial Moon Domain to the Heavenly Ox Domain!" The Captain's eyes showed determination, and his voice was impassioned.

The white-robed elder said nothing. The cold air grew thicker, slowly enveloping the Captain from all directions.

Upon seeing this, the Captain's heart secretly rejoiced. He seemed to feel his declarations weren't exaggerated or forceful enough, and that the surrounding cold air was spreading too slowly, so he spoke again.

"I'm not finished. I have a third grand wish: I will ultimately destroy the fragmented face of the firmament, become the new Ancient Emperor of this Ancient World Continent, and unite the Ancient World! At that time, I will punch the Holy Lands, stomp on the Brilliant Heavens, all races will bow to me, and all heavens will submit to me."

At this point, the Captain was incredibly excited and threw his head back, laughing loudly. Amidst his laughter, the surrounding cold air instantly surged, rushing directly towards him, engulfing him in the blink of an eye, and finally... turning him into an ice sculpture.

The Captain within the ice sculpture still maintained his laughing posture, looking utterly defiant. It slowly sank at this moment, disappearing from the lake surface and descending towards the depths of this void. Evidently, his grand wish was deemed false by the Anti-Moon Palace artifact spirit, and he was thus punished with a seal.

Meanwhile, Xu Qing felt invigorated. After some thought, he believed his ideas about the poison restrictions were sound. The only uncertainty was whether the artifact spirit would detect his true intentions, as he was leveraging the assessment to fulfill his personal desires. So, to prevent any accidents, Xu Qing decided it would be safer to first refine a curse-reducing pill as a cover. That way, even if he were discovered, he would have an excuse.

With this thought, Xu Qing immediately waved his hand, and a large quantity of herbs flew over, continuously separating in his hands. Some had their liquids extracted, some were divided by veins, some were catalyzed, and some were grafted together, each different, yet harmonizing with each other. As for the basic pills, they were the curse-reducing pills Xu Qing had refined outside. These pills themselves could reduce curses by about ten percent, and Xu Qing had refined quite a few during his free time recently.

Under his re-refinement at this moment, although the added parts made the base medicine both illusory and real, on the lake's mirrored surface, the ingredients within these pills, integrated with illusory herbs, surprisingly merged perfectly. Most importantly, every herb here was just right, making Xu Qing's refining process incredibly smooth and satisfying. Whatever he needed, he just called for it. As soon as he called, it appeared instantly. If the age wasn't enough, he increased it; if the medicinal effect wasn't satisfactory, he switched to other, better herbs.

All his theoretical knowledge accumulated over the years burst forth in this short period. Every herb he had never seen in his life appeared effortlessly here. After continuous verification in this manner, Xu Qing's mastery of herbalism also advanced by leaps and bounds.

From afar, Xu Qing sat cross-legged, his hands waving, countless herbs swirling before him, constantly changing form. Under the catalysis of these herbs, the pill's ability to reduce curses gradually increased, almost reaching twenty percent. All of this invigorated Xu Qing. He knew that his previous research direction was correct. The main principle behind using herbs to reduce curses was essentially fighting poison with poison.

On one hand, there was the power of Xu Qing's Purple Moon contained within the pills themselves, which was the foundation, like the source. On the other hand, the transformed herbs were formed through the invasion of the divine remnant's face, thus possessing special medicinal properties. Most of these medicinal properties contained a certain degree of anomalous substance. Combined with Master Bai's teachings on herbalism, they could be utilized to fight poison with poison, thereby suppressing the Crimson Mother's curse.

It sounded easy, but in reality, it required extensive experimentation and formulation. If done in the outside world, it would be extremely difficult for Xu Qing to accomplish alone. The most difficult aspect, however, was the materials; there simply weren't enough rare heavenly treasures for him to individually test and find the correct formula. But here, nothing was a problem.

A fierce glint appeared in Xu Qing's eyes. "Vegetation is indeed the key to opening the path to the divine," Xu Qing murmured. He knew well that this was also Zhuzhao's understanding.

And so, time passed. Seven days went by.

Seven days here were equivalent to just one hour in the outside world. Others in this place would find it hard to know this specifically, but Xu Qing had a sundial within him, and by its pointer, he clearly discerned the passage of time.

"One hour outside means seven days here. So, one day outside is almost three months here?" Xu Qing was somewhat surprised; this ability was truly astonishing. He instinctively felt that, as the white-robed elder had said, this seemingly infinite flow likely had an end. "This place probably can't last forever... I don't have much time."

Thinking of this, Xu Qing quietly altered his pill formula. While seemingly still refining pills, every seven or eight transformed herbs now included one poisonous herb. Once the quantity reached a certain level, Xu Qing began refining poison pills.

"Falling Moon Shattered Star Leaf, Nine Nether Spirit Centipede Root, Undying Corpse Hum Blood..."

Xu Qing remained calm, suppressing his excitement, and slowly materialized the poisonous herbs from his memory, beginning to refine the poison pills. These poison pills were ones he had studied for years in the path of poison but had never been able to attempt due to lack of materials. Now, as he refined them, Xu Qing felt incredibly pleased, realizing that this place was a sacred ground for alchemists. His herbal mastery also improved with each refinement. Not only were rare poisonous herbs materialized, but also many exotic treasures; virtually everything was available. He even tried to materialize poisonous beasts, but unfortunately, the latter could not form here, which left Xu Qing somewhat regretful.

Still, it was fine; at least there were enough herbs. So, as days passed, Xu Qing refined more and more poison pills: Emerald Spirit Poison Millet Powder, Absolute Yin Rouge Pill, Three-Headed Zhen Feather Pellet, Thousand Night Wraith, Heart-Severing God-Splitting Liquid, Fire-Burning Thunder-Soaring Powder, Kuizhen Fatal Poison Egg, Half-Coin, Seven-Breath Smile, Sunfire Visage, Nine Nether Bridge.

Xu Qing looked at the myriad colorful pills, large and small, before him, his heart stirring with endless ripples. He deeply yearned for these pills to genuinely be transferable from this place.

"With these poisons, my combat power would increase tremendously," Xu Qing sighed inwardly. He knew it was unrealistic, so he picked one up, put it directly into his mouth, and slowly savored it.

The next instant, his body trembled as he felt the eruption of the emerald poison. Just then, the figure of the white-robed elder appeared in the lake mirror beneath his feet. He looked at Xu Qing, his expression unchanged, and spoke blandly.

"These are all illusory; swallowing them is useless."

Xu Qing opened his eyes and looked at the white-robed elder. While letting his body remember the sensation of ingesting the poison, he spoke hoarsely, "I've encountered a bottleneck in refining curse-reducing pills that needs to be broken by other means. So, even if they are illusory, I must personally try them, feel these illusory changes, and seek a way to break through the bottleneck."

The white-robed elder closed his eyes deeply, then sharply waved his hands in a conjuring gesture. Immediately, poisonous herbs materialized once again, one by one. Their quantity directly reached thousands.

After the instant materialization, Xu Qing had no time to refine. He suddenly opened his mouth wide and swallowed the herbs whole. He also punched some others with a raised hand, instantly turning them into mist that enveloped his entire body. As Xu Qing, shrouded in mist, let out a low growl, the power of the poison restriction instantly erupted within him.

This scene moved the white-robed elder. In his judgment, this trial participant had undergone unstable changes. So, after a wave of his hand, cold air emanated from beneath his feet, permeated the lake, and appeared around Xu Qing. The cold air grew increasingly dense, containing the power to freeze everything. It spread towards Xu Qing from all directions. Wherever it passed, the lake on the ground crackled, freezing over. The cold air was about to envelop Xu Qing.

Just then, the poison mist outside Xu Qing's body suddenly churned and rolled back entirely. It was as if Xu Qing himself had become a black hole vortex within the mist, instantly sucking in all the poison mist. As the poison mist vanished, Xu Qing's figure became clearly visible. At that moment, his jet-black eyes snapped open, like forbidden abysses. Anyone meeting his gaze felt as though they were staring into an abyss, or being peered at by one. His gaze was even more profound, as if hiding an eternal night, capable of causing immense ripples in the mind of anyone who met it. Most astonishingly, this gaze carried an anomalous substance, a unique anomaly that instantly infected the body and soul of anyone who met his eyes with a poison restriction.

It was precisely the Eyes of Poison Restriction!

The white-robed elder's body trembled. The lake mirror he stood on also turned black at that instant, with tendrils of ink-like blackness surging into it.

"How audacious!" the white-robed elder roared. The lake churned, its surface flashed, and immense coldness was about to erupt.

Just then, Xu Qing withdrew his moonlight, ignored the surging coldness around him, and looked down at his raised right hand. There, a pill rested. Under his gaze, and with the infusion of his poison restriction power, the pill's inner essence rapidly transformed. Its curse-reducing effect also rapidly increased. Xu Qing's poisonous restriction not only contained divine curses but also all the poisons he had swallowed earlier. At this moment, all of them converged and erupted in his gaze, fusing into this curse-reducing pill. These illusory poisons merged with the pill, influencing its internal balance and exerting their intrinsic effects.

And this curse-reducing pill's efficacy burst forth at that moment, increasing from nearly twenty percent to directly being able to reduce curses by fifty percent, and it was still increasing.

Finally, as a purple haze emanated from it, Xu Qing raised his head and, just as the surrounding cold air rushed to seal him, uttered his last words.

"This pill is finally complete. It can reduce the effect of curses by fifty percent."

As his words spread, the cold air simultaneously covered Xu Qing's entire body. Under some irresistible law, his body instantly transformed into an ice sculpture, unmoving. Only the pill fell from his hand, floating on the lake's ice layer, which shimmered with a purple glow while also giving a sense of illusion.

After a long moment, the pill merged into the ice layer and appeared in the white-robed elder's hand. The white-robed elder gazed at the pill before him, his expression changing again: first shock, then confusion, then bewilderment, and finally hesitation. In his entire existence as an artifact spirit, he had never seen such a pill.

After a long while, he suddenly blew a breath towards the pill. With that breath, the pill surprisingly transformed from illusory to real. Then he raised his hand and waved, and an ice sculpture instantly appeared, melting before him to reveal a middle-aged man. This burly man's cultivation realm roared forth as he returned from the void. After waking, he was momentarily stunned, and though he struggled, he didn't choose to escape. Instead, he respectfully clasped his fists towards the white-robed elder.

"Greetings, Elder."

"Take it." The white-robed elder's face was expressionless as he spoke indifferently, then waved the pill in his hand, letting it drop in front of the burly man.

The burly man hesitated but chose to comply. He took the pill, looked at it, his expression subtly shifting, then ate it in one bite and closed his eyes to experience the medicinal effect. Moments later, his body suddenly convulsed, trembling violently. He sharply opened his eyes and spat out a large mouthful of crimson blood with a gasp. That patch of blood, however, strikingly contained a rich curse and a putrid aura. It converged in mid-air, vaguely forming the shadow of the Red Moon, and within it, the power of the curse was about to tremble and erupt. But the white-robed elder let out a cold snort, and instantly, this void descended to suppress it. In an instant, that patch of blood directly turned into an ice block, falling onto the lake, and all its internal fluctuations were sealed away.

Having done all this, the white-robed elder looked at the burly man, his eyes gleaming with a strange light, while his expression once again changed, revealing shock. And the burly man was equally stunned. He felt his body and gasped in alarm.

"My curse... has been permanently reduced by half! Elder, what kind of pill is this?!"

The white-robed elder did not answer the burly man's question. He flicked his sleeve, and instantly, cold air descended once more, transforming the burly man's body back into an ice sculpture, which then sank beneath the lake.

Having done all this, the white-robed elder stood there, dazed for a moment. His body also sank into the lake. When he reappeared, he was precisely at the location of Xu Qing's ice sculpture.

Gazing at the ice sculpture before him, the white-robed elder fell silent again. After a moment, he raised his hand and touched Xu Qing's brow. With that touch, the ice sculpture rapidly melted, becoming mist that dispersed, and Xu Qing's body within it trembled as his consciousness awakened.

"Greetings, Senior."

Xu Qing wasn't too surprised. No matter how the other party interpreted his actions during this period, it didn't matter. What mattered was that he had shown them through his actions that all his previous moves were actually steps in refining a breakthrough curse-reducing pill. That final gaze, which made the pill appear almost sublimated, was enough to explain everything.

The white-robed elder gazed at Xu Qing, his expression filled with strangeness. After a long silence, a low voice echoed through the void.

"Throughout history, there have been seventy-nine individuals who passed this first assessment, and in this current epoch, there have been only three. You are now the fourth. However, those before you, though they all made grand wishes and qualified to complete them, and indeed did complete them, none of them became the Master of the Anti-Moon Palace; they all entered into secondary contracts. This is because passing this stage alone does not make one the Master of the Anti-Moon Palace... You will understand the reason once you step inside. You only have half a year. If you cannot complete it within half a year, you will also only be able to sign a secondary contract."

The white-robed elder looked at Xu Qing, then pointed a finger at the lake. Instantly, the lake churned, and a colossal stone gate, brimming with an ancient, desolate aura, rumbled up from within. This stone gate was a thousand zhang tall, filled with vicissitude, bearing the marks of fleeting time, as if it had arrived from ancient times, appearing on the ground. It did not need to be pushed open, as there was a gap in the middle, allowing people to walk through. Through the gap, Xu Qing vaguely saw what appeared to be a grand hall inside.

Xu Qing hesitated somewhat. The white-robed elder's words reminded him of the Captain, so he turned to the elder. "Senior, did the trial participant who arrived with me also pass?"

"His grand wish was too immense; he has already reaped what he sowed," the white-robed elder said blandly, then lifted his foot and stomped once on the ground. Instantly, as ripples echoed across the water, dozens of ice sculptures became visible from the depths. Xu Qing looked down and saw that there was one more, which was precisely Senior Brother. He maintained a smiling posture, his arrogance remarkably clear.

Xu Qing frowned. This outcome was somewhat different from what he had expected, so he pondered, recalling the Captain's words before the trial. Combining this with his understanding of his Senior Brother, Xu Qing felt that there was an eighty to ninety percent chance that the Captain had done this on purpose, that he had intentionally allowed himself to be frozen...

"If you can ultimately pass and become the Master of the Anti-Moon Palace, you will then have the authority to specially pardon all those sealed here. Now, go in." The white-robed elder gave Xu Qing a meaningful look, then slowly sank beneath the lake, disappearing without a trace.

Soon, only Xu Qing remained, along with the colossal stone gate. Standing before the gate, Xu Qing took a deep breath, no longer hesitated, and stepped forward into the gate's crevice, which was like a narrow canyon. He walked further and further, getting closer and closer to the hall within.

Until a swath of light entered Xu Qing's vision, filling his world. At the same time, within the Anti-Moon Palace, a bright radiance surged again.

Several hours ago, the Anti-Moon Palace's highest divine temple had shone brightly. It had already attracted the attention of many cultivators, and even eleven Deputy Palace Masters had arrived. Now, several hours later, as the news spread, more and more cultivators returned to the Anti-Moon Palace to witness this scene. Discussions were also frequently heard.

Looking around, divine statues across the sky were all gazing at the entrance of the Supreme Divine Hall, awaiting its opening. Among them were some who were even more specifically followers of Master Dan Jiu. Although they didn't know that it was their revered master who caused all this, it didn't prevent them from continuing to proclaim Dan Jiu's benevolent name at this moment. Their representative was Xu Qing's neighbor, a burly man whose sculpture showed him with a bare chest. He led hundreds, even thousands, of loyal Dan Jiu followers, dispersed among the crowd, singing praises to Dan Jiu.

Just as the Anti-Moon Palace was uncharacteristically bustling, suddenly, the Supreme Hall on the firmament vibrated with a thunderous roar, emitting a boundless, radiant light that filled all directions with its brilliance. Moreover, a sacred aura ascended within it. This scene instantly drew the attention of countless people.

"It succeeded!"

"Could it be...?" As the crowd on the Anti-Moon Palace mountain erupted, anticipation continuously surged. Looking out, divine statues across the sky were all gazing at the entrance of the Supreme Divine Hall, awaiting its opening.

However, as time passed, and an incense stick's worth of time went by, the light from the highest peak still shone, but the great gate remained closed; no one emerged. This scene caused the anxious elders of the Anti-Moon Palace to darken their expressions.

"Could it be that the legend about the Anti-Moon Palace is true...?"

***

"Brother Shen!"

"Hmm!"

Shen Changqing walked along the road. Whenever he encountered acquaintances, they would greet each other or nod. But no matter who it was, everyone's face was devoid of extra expression, as if they were indifferent to everything. Shen Changqing had grown accustomed to this.

This was because it was the Demon Suppressing Division, an organization tasked with maintaining the stability of Great Qin. Its primary duty was to slay demons and malevolent spirits, though it also had other minor responsibilities. It could be said that everyone in the Demon Suppressing Division had much blood on their hands. When one becomes accustomed to life and death, they grow indifferent to many things. When he first arrived in this world, Shen Changqing was somewhat unaccustomed, but in time, he grew used to it.

The Demon Suppressing Division was vast. Those who could remain there were either powerful experts or individuals with the potential to become experts. Shen Changqing belonged to the latter category. The Demon Suppressing Division was divided into two professions: Demon Suppressors and Demon Exorcists. Anyone entering the Demon Suppressing Division began as a low-level Demon Exorcist, then gradually advanced, eventually aspiring to become a Demon Suppressor. Shen Changqing's predecessor was an apprentice Demon Exorcist in the Demon Suppressing Division, the lowest rank among Demon Exorcists. With the memories of his predecessor, he was very familiar with the environment of the Demon Suppressing Division.

It didn't take long for Shen Changqing to stop before a pavilion. Unlike the other grim areas of the Demon Suppressing Division, this pavilion stood out like a crane among chickens, presenting a unique tranquility amidst the bloody division. The pavilion's main door was open, with people occasionally entering and exiting. Shen Changqing hesitated only for a moment before stepping inside.

Upon entering the pavilion, the atmosphere abruptly changed. A scent of ink mixed with a faint smell of blood assailed him, causing him to instinctively frown, but he quickly relaxed. The bloody scent on everyone in the Demon Suppressing Division was almost impossible to wash away.