Chapter 816: Little Aqing, What Are You Doing?

"Ah Qing, what are you standing around for? The moment I entered this forbidden zone, I felt the mark of the Yan Yue Xuan Tian clan. It seems someone has claimed this area as their private property."

The Captain, enduring the itching and swelling on his body, looked up at Xu Qing. "Hurry up, Ah Qing! Let me tell you, this feeling is quite comfortable. The more intense it is, the better the body's enhancement effect for the first stage of the Perfect Yan Yue Grand Hunt. I suffered quite a bit back then. Do you know why it's called 'Heaven Collapsing Earth'? It's because the sky curtain descends over 100,000 miles outside the sacred mountain, suppressing everyone, regardless of their cultivation."

"That's one aspect. Additionally, this stage involves various indescribable agonies that manifest in countless ways, from internal to external and external to internal, making it impossible to take even a single step."

"At the time, I was too thin and my physical body wasn't well-prepared; the pain nearly made me faint. However, I noticed that cultivators with powerful physiques and giants had a considerable advantage in this stage. So, I began to devise a method and eventually discovered this forbidden zone in this very place. The venom from the mutated mosquitoes here can be endured, and it temporarily strengthens the physical body."

"Furthermore, it gradually numbs the sensation of pain, making it perfectly suited for the first stage. It's a shame I died tragically in my previous life; I never got the chance to fully utilize it."

"Trust me, Ah Qing!" the Captain declared, simultaneously circulating his cultivation in various ways. Gradually, batches of mosquitoes outside his body fell to the ground, dead, evidently poisoned by his own unique constitution.

Yet, the Captain remained persistent, unsatisfied with his current state, and proceeded to attract another large swarm.

Witnessing this, Xu Qing recalled the details of the Grand Hunt that Mud Fox had shared with him. Comparing them with the Captain's assertions, Xu Qing found the Captain's words rather unreliable; Mud Fox's information seemed more trustworthy.

Xu Qing suspected the Captain might be overly absorbed in his past experiences, possibly unaware that the rules had changed.

After all, the human race is geographically distant from the Yan Yue main headquarters, and communication between them is relatively restricted. Gaining advanced knowledge would be quite difficult unless an entire clan organized a dedicated intelligence effort.

So Xu Qing opened his mouth, intending to share the information he'd received from Mud Fox with the Captain. However, just as he was about to speak, the Captain raised his hand and tossed a pill bottle, which landed directly in front of Xu Qing. "Ah Qing, don't ever say your Senior Brother doesn't care about you! This is from my own experience. Open it, and you'll be able to attract mosquitoes just like me."

"What's more, the unique scent inside this pill bottle was specially prepared for you. I attract female mosquitoes, and yours will attract male ones, hehe."

The Captain, swollen from head to toe, winked at Xu Qing, as if challenging him to disbelieve. However, his eyelids were so puffed up that after blinking once, he couldn't open them again.

Xu Qing glanced at the pill bottle, then at the Captain, picked it up, and put it away, swallowing the words he had been about to speak.

He decided against telling the Captain the truth. Instead, he turned and walked towards the blood-red forbidden mountain. At its base, he gazed up at the peak, took a deep breath, raised his right hand, and pressed it directly onto the rock face.

His full cultivation instantly erupted, generating a terrifying aura that enveloped the mountain. The forbidden peak began to tremble, and deep rumbles echoed through the air.

The mosquitoes covering the mountain were startled one by one, rising in dense swarms that blotted out the sky, plunging the already ominous forbidden zone into even deeper gloom.

The buzzing intensified dramatically, becoming both unsettling and alarming.

As this scene unfolded before the Captain, he noticed Xu Qing wasn't attempting to attract mosquitoes, which surprised him. "Huh, what exactly are you doing?"

Xu Qing remained silent. At that moment, as his cultivation circulated, two million soul threads within his body rapidly activated, surging outwards.

From a distance, these soul threads appeared to connect with the firmament, drawing countless bolts of thunder and lightning. They eventually coalesced into a swirling vortex that encircled the mountain, exerting an immense force.

It was as if a colossal hand had materialized from nothingness, seizing the mountain peak and yanking it fiercely.

As he attempted to lift it from the earth, the ground trembled, the forbidden zone roared, and the mountain itself swayed violently.

The Captain tried to open his eyes wide but found he couldn't. His mind reeled, and he was filled with growing suspicion.

Just as he was about to speak, a deafening roar, like a peal of heavenly thunder, emanated from within the mountain. Under the intense shaking and the relentless pull of two million soul threads, cracks began to appear in the ground.

It was lifted seven inches!

A black, blood-like liquid seeped out from the point where the mountain met the earth. If one were to lie down and observe closely, they would see countless black threads of flesh and blood between the mountain and the ground.

There were even some bones embedded there. This was no mere mountain; it was clearly a physical body—the very body of the forbidden zone!

Xu Qing pondered this, finding the discovery somewhat surprising. The forbidden mountain's weight vastly surpassed that of any ordinary mountain outside this zone. After sensing its nature, Xu Qing gained a much deeper understanding of the forbidden zone.

Moreover, the mountain itself exuded a powerful pressure, making it no easy task to lift.

Furthermore, the heterogeneous substance on Xu Qing's body intensely dispersed as he lifted it. Most importantly, this mountain was intricately connected to the forbidden zone, forming an integral part of it; attempting to remove it was akin to tearing flesh from a living being.

At this moment, he had only managed to lift it this slight amount, yet the entire forbidden zone seemed to come alive. Intense repulsion and malevolence surged from every blade of grass, every piece of anomalous material, every rock, and indirectly from the very fabric of this world.

The earth churned as well, and the cadavers of countless beings that had perished within this forbidden zone throughout history began to crawl out from beneath, radiating intense hostility. They surged directly towards Xu Qing and the Captain, clearly unwilling to yield.

The entire forbidden zone seemed to have developed its own consciousness, locking onto Xu Qing. The wind also suddenly grew much stronger, carrying whispers that could have been the wind itself or faint, unsettling words.

"Leave!"

"Leave immediately!"

"Die!!"

These voices only made Xu Qing's gaze colder. He could withstand the weight; he could use his soul threads as an alternative.

He could ignore the anomalous matter. As for this mountain being an integral part of the forbidden zone—

"If you're unwilling to give it up, then I'll simply take it all." Xu Qing's eyes gleamed with a cold resolve as he silently summoned Little Shadow, who was playfully chasing something, and issued a command:

"Devour this forbidden zone!"

Little Shadow had been eagerly awaiting this command. In the past, it wouldn't have hesitated to devour anything when hungry. However, after encountering Xu Qing, it had become utterly terrified and dared not disobey in the slightest. Thus, it had only tormented its prey through pursuit, fearing direct consumption would be deemed a mistake and lead to further punishment.

Therefore, upon receiving Xu Qing's order, Little Shadow, who had been tormenting the blood mist, instantly became exhilarated, its emotions surging.

It expanded into a colossal shadow, rising vertically from the ground like a vast black curtain.

Upon this shadowy curtain, an image of a forbidden zone became visible!

Within that depicted forbidden zone, there were jungles, and from deep within them, chilling chewing sounds could be heard.

With each sound, something was being swallowed. As the shadow, which had formed the curtain, devoured, it descended once more, then abruptly began to spread outwards, consuming everything in its path.

Under its encroaching expanse, everything—be it flora, fierce beasts, living, or deceased—began to blur into indistinctness.

Beneath the shadow, the soil rapidly changed color, gradually turning a sterile gray, devoid of both vitality and the aura of death. That grey expanse resembled the very bedrock of the world, as if a massive, fleshy forest had been swallowed whole.

The wind intensified, and amidst its howl, sounds of agonizing roars seemed to emerge, echoing throughout the forbidden zone. As the shadow continued to spread, this lamentation grew even more fervent.

This sight also momentarily stunned the Captain.

"This..."

"Ah Qing, we just need to get bitten by a few mosquitoes. Why does it look like you're about to collect this entire forbidden zone?"

Xu Qing didn't respond. Once he sensed Little Shadow beginning to spread and devour the forbidden zone, he pressed his hand onto the rock once more. Immediately, a tremendous sound echoed from the mountain peak as it was slowly lifted another seven inches.

Soul threads coiled around it, exerting an even greater pulling force and creating a powerful wave that swept away the charging corpses, pulverizing them hundreds of feet away.

The forbidden zone was being refined, and the forbidden mountain was being displaced!

Just then, Little Shadow sent an emotional warning to Xu Qing. Immediately after, a blue light flashed in the Captain's eyes, and he shifted his massive body to look behind them.

Behind them, a long rainbow was rapidly approaching from the other end of the forbidden zone. A domineering aura, characteristic of a Return to Void First Stage cultivation, manifested as thousands of illusory meteors circling the rainbow, resembling a fiery meteor shower.

Inside, a tall figure was discernible.

This figure resembled a human but was significantly more robust, nearly two zhang tall, like a giant. It had long golden hair that swayed in the wind, exuding an air of nobility.

Its golden eyes conveyed a sense of superiority, and unlike humans, its pupils were vertical, like a dragon's. The aura emanating from its body was particularly pronounced and concentrated in its vital essence.

With his arrival, he resembled a volcano on the verge of eruption; his oppressive aura was astonishing, and his combat prowess clearly exceeded that of other races.

Even cultivators of the same realm felt a subtle pressure, and he possessed an astonishing bloodline talent. All anomalous substances around him were repelled, demonstrating a level of resistance to corruption that clearly surpassed that of most other races.

"The Yan Yue Xuan Tian clan!" The Captain's eyes lit up, and he licked his lips.