Chapter 887: Perfect Living Body

A vast voice entered his mind. Xu Qing’s eyelids slightly lowered, and he spoke softly.

“Regarding your battle with the Underworld Fiend in the starry sky, I am weak and don’t know how I can help.”

“It is precisely for this reason that I need your help, young friend.”

The voice of the Celestial Dao came again, ancient yet imbued with a sense of plea.

“My battle with that evil entity takes place both in the starry sky and across myriad realms; it is a struggle for destiny and for sacred land.”

“This realm is the origin of Beisui and the very beginning of the evil entity Underworld Fiend’s appearance. It contains a projection of its dao body, and it has already usurped most of this realm’s Celestial Dao authority!”

“Therefore, I ask you, young friend, to draw out the original projection of the Underworld Fiend’s dao body here and slay it over a hundred times!”

“Each time it dies, it will consume the Underworld Fiend’s fundamental power. This will affect the battlefield in the starry sky, creating an opportunity for me to unfold my destiny!”

“I am ashamed of the Immortal Emperor’s bestowal, unable to protect the common people of this realm. Now, barely clinging to existence, I only seek to use this opportunity to perish together with that evil entity, fulfill my destiny, perfect my dao, complete the rule of fate, and repay the Immortal Emperor’s grace.”

“And in return, young friend... as I perish with the Underworld Fiend, I will take its unique eye and bestow it upon you!”

“Your hidden potential lacks a great dao and contains a special thought. The true Fiend Eye was born from resentment, a resentment stemming from the calamity of an outer god. It can be called the calamity of the Resentful God, and it can complete what you lack.”

“Moreover, this is also the only way for you to leave this place.”

Xu Qing seemed to ponder, neither affirming nor denying, as he looked up at the mist in the sky.

The mist contained poison, flowing across the land and sky, sometimes falling like a waterfall to cleanse the earth. Though seemingly thin overall, its vast expanse still gave a sense of blotting out the sun and sky.

The words from the entity calling itself Qingmu, the Celestial Dao of this realm, indeed held some truth. Xu Qing understood that his second divine treasury, formed from poison prohibitions, meant that few beings could, by their status, become the Celestial Dao of this treasury.

After all, Xu Qing had long understood the essence of poison prohibitions: they were divine curses.

This was also why he risked entering the seventh vortex.

If the Underworld Resentment was indeed born from the grievances of all living beings when an outer god descended to destroy the world, then this kind of resentment towards divine beings could, to some extent, indeed meet the conditions to become the Celestial Dao of the poison prohibition divine treasury.

This was further corroborated by the fluctuations within the poison prohibition divine treasury and the yearning it exuded when he previously saw the Underworld Fiend in the starry sky.

However...

A faint light flickered in Xu Qing's eyes. After a moment of contemplation, he spoke calmly.

“Thank you, young friend. I cannot divert my attention to speak at length; my mind is entirely focused on the struggle with the Underworld Fiend in the starry sky. You only need to cause intense fluctuations here, perform destructive acts, and the original body of the Underworld Fiend will descend to obstruct you.”

“You fulfill my duty and grant me favor. Once this is accomplished, Qingmu's promise will certainly not be forgotten!”

The ancient voice, filled with determination, echoed all around.

Then, countless specks of light shimmered in all directions, rising from the land and sky, seemingly representing his divine consciousness. They converged into a single beam of light and shot directly towards the sky.

Watching the beam disappear into the firmament, Xu Qing, standing on the leaning tower, withdrew his gaze.

His expression was devoid of joy or sorrow, calm as water, free of distracting thoughts. He merely cast a profound glance at the stone tablet he had just pieced together.

After a moment, he waved his right hand, dispelling the tablet's power.

The massive stone tablet, which recorded history, collapsed with a crash, breaking into several pieces that scattered across the ground, losing their radiance and becoming re-covered in dust.

Xu Qing took a deep breath and sat cross-legged on the leaning tower. Qingmu's words had indicated that to draw out the original projection of the Underworld Fiend's dao body, destructive acts were required.

“No need for such trouble.”

Xu Qing murmured inwardly. His eyes instantly turned black, and his second treasury roared. The power of poison prohibition surged within, flowing into his eyes. Wherever his gaze fell, poison prohibition ascended.

He looked at the ruins; all the buildings in the ruins instantly blurred, as did the roads and structures. Poison prohibition transformed into mist, appearing spontaneously and distorting everything.

He looked at the surrounding earth. The gray ground of this realm looked as if ink had splattered upon it, creating spots that progressively turned black, as the aura of poison prohibition generated mist.

He looked at the sky. The firmament churned, and amidst the vast mist, more poison prohibition mist appeared. Rather than mingling, they reacted like water dropped into hot oil, bursting apart.

Wherever his gaze reached, divine curses descended.

The ground roared, winds howled from all directions, clouds gathered, and the mist became furious.

Soon, from everything his gaze touched, mist representing poison prohibition continuously rose, gathering in the air above the leaning tower. The initial repulsion between it and the surrounding mist of the realm transformed into a clear separation.

A tremendous roar echoed throughout.

Two vortices became visible in the sky: one at the center, containing Xu Qing's poison prohibition, spinning rapidly with immense power.

The second, encompassing the four directions, consisted of the realm's native poison, rotating in reverse, vast and astonishing.

The two vortices spun simultaneously, counter-rotating, creating a tearing force that fractured the void and shattered lightning.

As time passed, the phenomenon intensified, continuously bursting forth. Great winds also howled across the surface, forming storms that swept through everything, affecting the entire realm.

From a distance, it looked as if the sky was splitting and the earth collapsing, bringing about an apocalypse.

Only Xu Qing, on the leaning tower beneath the vortices, remained unperturbed, his gaze fixed on the firmament.

Amidst the storm, his hair danced and his clothes flapped, appearing like an immortal or a god between heaven and earth.

Until the next instant, a low bellow, like that of an ox, came from the sky. The sound echoed, deafening and shaking heaven and earth.

It naturally contained thunder, embodying laws and rules. Wherever the sound passed, the sky ceased to collapse, the earth stopped cracking, and even the vortices paused.

The wind also stopped!

Only the mist churned violently, falling from the sky like a waterfall, resembling an inverted flower that dispersed in all directions. From within that mist, a beast emerged.

This beast had the body of an ox, a white face, a single vertical pupil, and a serpentine tail, exuding a ferocious appearance.

As it approached, a great plague surrounded it, like an ancient source of poison, spreading disease with its every move.

It walked through the sky, and the sky decayed.

It passed through the void, and the void became flawed.

Wherever it went, a monstrous toxic plague surged, staining the sky and spreading across the land, rushing towards Xu Qing with murderous intent.

Its appearance was precisely that of the Underworld Fiend Xu Qing had seen in the starry sky, but compared to its starry form, the one appearing here was far, far smaller.

If a mortal were to see it now, they would surely be terrified. However, in Xu Qing's eyes, although the beast's plague was astonishing, this original projection of the Underworld Fiend's dao body possessed only the combat strength of a first-stage Return to Ruins.

Yet, Xu Qing was not particularly surprised by this. The moment the Underworld Fiend, carrying its toxic plague, charged forward, he casually raised his right hand and struck it.

The heavens and earth trembled. Countless soul threads flew out, forming a giant palm in mid-air before Xu Qing, like the hand of a celestial god. It enveloped the surging Fiend and seized it.

Then, it squeezed fiercely.

With a thundering sound, the Underworld Fiend, which had been terrifying beyond compare in the eyes of mortals just a moment before, was instantly crushed and obliterated by Xu Qing's palm, utterly destroyed in both form and spirit.

However, just as the giant palm formed from soul threads loosened and Xu Qing was about to withdraw it, about thirty percent of the soul threads composing the palm suddenly trembled, instantly turning from crimson to pitch black, with a surge of resentment emanating from within.

This blackness spread rapidly, seemingly intending to engulf the entire ox-shaped palm.

That was Fiend Poison!

A strange light appeared in Xu Qing's eyes for the first time. Ignoring the palm in mid-air, he raised his hand and grabbed. Instantly, a soul thread that had turned black shot towards him, landing in his hand.

Xu Qing had a deep understanding and extensive experience in the way of poison. Now, his gaze fixed on the black soul thread in his palm. After a meticulous observation, he seemed to ponder, then suddenly inhaled.

Immediately, the black soul thread merged into Xu Qing's body.

The next instant, a momentary daze appeared on Xu Qing's face, followed by a surge of brutality. However, he suppressed it in the blink of an eye as the poison prohibition within him erupted, spreading and covering everything.

This caused that wisp of black soul thread to dissipate as if purified.

At this moment, only the light in his eyes became even more peculiar.

“This poison actually targets divinity!”

Xu Qing murmured, gaining a deeper understanding of the Underworld Fiend's poison.

The Underworld Fiend's poison, born from resentment towards divine beings, can thus contaminate divinity, cause it to lose its brilliance, and consequently lower one's status. It is a rare poison capable of affecting divine beings.

The wisp that Xu Qing had actively absorbed for observation, though only a trace, still caused a temporary imbalance in his divine, human, and beast natures.

“Interesting.”

Xu Qing licked his lips. This was the first time he had encountered a poison that could, to some extent, contend with his poison prohibition. Although not comprehensive, its unique effect on divinity set it apart.

With his divine prohibitions fully open, he gazed at the soul-thread palm in mid-air. The moment his gaze fell, his poison prohibition and the Fiend Poison abruptly began to contend with each other, using the palm as their battleground.

At the same time, the heavens and earth roared again. From where the Underworld Fiend had died, the world's mist gathered, and the Underworld Fiend's body materialized from illusion, forming once more. Its combat strength had actually increased somewhat. After forming, it let out a roar towards Xu Qing and rushed over.

Xu Qing raised his right hand and violently grabbed. This time, it wasn't soul threads converging, but rather, relying on his terrifying combat strength, he seized the Underworld Fiend through the air and brought it before him.

The Underworld Fiend was restrained, unable to struggle, only able to spew toxic mist, staining all directions.

But Xu Qing surprisingly ignored the Underworld Fiend's poison. After seizing it and bringing it before him, he raised his hand, and with a swift motion, cut open the Fiend's body, his gaze focused as he began his research.

He intended to study the Underworld Fiend's physical structure, soul structure, and the fundamental essence of how its poison formed.

This action even startled the Underworld Fiend itself, causing it to struggle more violently. However, the immense disparity between them meant that aside from its poison affecting Xu Qing, nothing else was effective.

Yet, this poison was indeed fierce. After the Underworld Fiend spewed out seven or eight mouthfuls, staining all directions and invading divinity, Xu Qing frowned. With a wave of his hand, a black long spear appeared beside him, piercing the Fiend's skull and utterly destroying its form and spirit once more.

Its body was illusory, its soul indistinct. It was indeed born of resentment, but the way this resentment operated within its body was quite interesting...

“I need to dissect it a few more times to understand its essence.”

Xu Qing's eyes gleamed as he looked at the place where the Underworld Fiend had died, a sense of anticipation rising in his heart.

A few breaths later, in front of Xu Qing, the Underworld Fiend reappeared. Just as it was about to roar, Xu Qing's large hand had already arrived.

He continued to grab it, bring it close, then raise his hand to dissect it, separating its body, its serpentine tail, and its limbs. With a scholarly spirit, he meticulously began his research.