The Mountains and Seas Art was originally a very ordinary cultivation art and the degree of separation of anomalous substances was also very ordinary.
There were many cultivation arts like this in the Nanhuang Continent. Most of them were cultivated by small families and small forces.
Even if one cultivated it to the great circle of perfection, their combat strength wouldn't be very high. The content would often be exaggerated.
For example, if a xiao could move a mountain, then Kui could move the sea. This sentence was a typical exaggeration.
However, when it came to Xu Qing, the Mountains and Seas Art erupted with unprecedented might. Even the creator of this cultivation art might not have reached this level before.
When he was at the fifth level, his shadow was comparable to the sixth or seventh level of those who cultivated the Mountains and Seas Art. Now that he was at the sixth level, it directly formed a kui shadow.
Although it was only a fledgling, its might had far surpassed that of a Xiao.
One could imagine that when Xu Qing's Mountains and Seas Art reached the seventh level, his shadow would probably undergo a complete transformation.
At that time, the Mountains and Seas Art would be the end for all cultivators.
However, he still had a long way to go.
"According to the description of the Mountains and Seas Art, only by reaching the tenth level can one form the Kui shadow. After reaching the great circle of perfection, the shadow will transform into an adult."
Xu Qing sat in the lab as a strange glint appeared in his eyes.
"According to my development, the seventh level should be able to transform into an adult. What about the eighth level? What about the ninth level, the tenth level, and even the perfected stage?"
Xu Qing's anticipation was intense. He lowered his head and looked at his body.
This time, he didn't need to test his speed and strength. He could clearly sense that the aura in his body now far surpassed the aura he had at the fifth level.
The strength of this force surprised even him.
His speed was the same. Xu Qing had a feeling that if he were to sprint at full speed, the wind would become his only obstacle.
He didn't know what level he was at now at the campsite.
However, he was very clear that he could kill two seventh-level Qi Condensation cultivators like the old man in black a few days ago.
A long time later, Xu Qing drew in a deep breath and lowered his head to look at the ground around him.
At this moment, it was night outside and the room was pitch-black. However, he could still faintly sense the shadow's existence.
His breakthrough seemed to have affected the shadow as well, causing it to absorb even more anomalous substances. The connection between the shadow and him became even closer and more subtle.
In the silence, Xu Qing stared at the ground. Time slowly flowed by and the sky outside gradually brightened. As the sunlight streamed in, a blurry shadow appeared beside Xu Qing in this simple pharmacy, becoming increasingly clear.
The instant it appeared, Xu Qing's eyes narrowed.
He had been waiting for this moment. As his thoughts travelled, he could see his shadow contorting slightly.
Gradually, the shadow's right hand slowly lifted.
Xu Qing's breathing grew heavier as he stared at the shadow. He controlled the shadow's hand to move on the ground. When it reached the darkness, the shadow merged into the darkness and disappeared. However, Xu Qing's expression was calm. He could sense that the shadow still existed.
This lasted until the hand he used to control the shadow reached the small compartment and slowly crawled over, grabbing a medicinal herb.
The instant the shadow grabbed the medicinal herb, the anomalous substances on the herb instantly thickened and turned greenish-black.
At that moment, Xu Qing's control had also reached its limit. As his head rang out, the part of the shadow that extended out was instantly retracted and returned to its original state.
After a long time, Xu Qing lifted his head. His eyes were a little bloodshot and he had a splitting headache. He immediately closed his eyes and regulated his breathing.
Two hours later, Xu Qing opened his eyes and the throbbing pain in his head was gone.
"I still can't control it flexibly."
Xu Qing cast a deep glance at the shadow and retracted his thoughts.
He wasn't in a hurry. At this rate, sooner or later, he would be able to completely control it.
At that time, the shadow… would become his most secret trump card.
At this moment, he rested a little. Xu Qing then lifted his hand and grabbed it. Immediately, that mutated herb flew over. After it landed in his hand, Xu Qing lowered his head and observed it carefully.
"It's exactly the same as the herbs in the medicine shop when the gods tainted it and opened it."
"So, the shadow's ability is to infiltrate anomalous substances into objects?" Xu Qing mumbled and attempted to control the shadow again.
Just like this, time flowed by.
Four hours later, Xu Qing had a rough understanding of the shadow's abilities.
The other party couldn't release anomalous substances to invade and cover things at any time. Only under his control would the objects he touched mutate.
This characteristic was unexpected and possessed astonishing lethality. However, Xu Qing was still on guard against the shadows.
At this moment, he looked at the place where the purple crystal was buried in his chest. Xu Qing could sense that this purple crystal could restrict and suppress shadows.
After a long time, Xu Qing retracted his gaze and put down the medicinal herbs in his hand. He then glanced at the small cubicles in the surroundings. Right now, less than 10% of the medicinal herbs were left, and all of them were now piled up in the stone basin.
Glancing at the stone basin, Xu Qing sighed.
He couldn't bear to throw it away. After some thought, he felt that this black-colored medicinal liquid was also a type of weapon if used well.
Hence, after some thought, he kneaded the medicinal liquid in the stone basin into pills one by one. He then applied a layer of seven-leaf grass' juice on the surface to form a membrane.
In the end, he produced dozens of pills with pitch-black inner quality and a green exterior.
"Let's call it black pills then." Xu Qing kept them and walked out of the lab. He was prepared to head out and collect some medicinal herbs. At the same time, he had to think of a way to capture a black-scaled wolf.
During this period of time, he had used the black-scaled wolf as a medicine-testing beast, so Xu Qing was very familiar with using it. After leaving the canyon, he headed straight for the cluster of temples. He arrived very quickly but didn't stop as he sped deeper into the forbidden zone.
There were more herbs in the depths than the ones outside.
Also, Xu Qing had explored the depths more than once or twice. Although he didn't cover a large area, he gained quite a lot each time.
At the same time, not long after Xu Qing stepped into the depths of the forbidden zone, a group of people slowly explored the area at the edge of the forbidden zone.
There were over a hundred people in this group. There were men and women among them and there were even a large number of guards surrounding them. There were even five to six middle-aged men with very powerful auras who were vigilant of their surroundings.
The ones they were guarding were none other than the young men and women who had once been stationed outside the campsite. Their arrival was like they were having fun. One couldn't see the nervousness on their faces at all and their laughter continued to ring out.
As for their guide, it was Old Stone. However, at this moment, his face was filled with helplessness. From time to time, he would glance at those young men and women. Looking at their relaxed appearances, he sighed in his heart.
"This is the forbidden zone…" Old Stone wanted to say something but hesitated. He knew that no one would listen to him. These people who had always lived in the city thought that they knew how dangerous the forbidden zone was, but in reality, they were far inferior to scavengers in understanding how terrifying the forbidden zone was.
The former knew about the danger through books and conversations but the latter experienced the danger personally.
"I hope the journey will be smooth and there won't be any changes. After completing this mission, I'll retire and won't come to the forbidden zone anymore," Old Stone muttered in his heart as he proceeded cautiously.
No one noticed that among this group of youths, there was a beautiful young girl with long black hair wearing a green dress. As she chatted and laughed with the blue-clothed youth who was trying to curry favor with her, her right hand subtly scattered some medicinal powder.
As the wind blew, the medicinal powder became colorless and odorless before dissipating. It was like some sort of primer that gradually caused some changes to occur in the depths of the forbidden zone.
Xu Qing soon sensed this change.
At that moment, he, who was moving carefully in the depths of the forbidden zone, clearly felt that there were much fewer mutated beasts in the forbidden zone today.
He even saw a lizard whose aura was comparable to the sixth or seventh level of Qi Condensation and who was usually extremely aggressive, lying in the mud and hiding. Even when Xu Qing got close, it didn't attack. It seemed to be afraid of the outside world.
This caused Xu Qing to be extremely vigilant as he surveyed the forbidden zone's jungle.
An uneasy feeling rose in his heart. Hence, after picking some medicinal herbs, Xu Qing prepared to leave.
However, just as he was about to retreat, a cold aura erupted from the depths of the jungle. This aura instantly spread out, causing the surrounding trees to be frozen.
Xu Qing's eyes narrowed and he abruptly dodged. He then lifted his head and saw numerous translucent jellyfish flying out from the depths of the forbidden zone.
Among these jellyfish, there were six with huge bodies and hundreds of small jellyfish followed behind them. They majestically flew toward the temple group.
It was as though something in that direction was strongly attracting them.
The instant he saw these jellyfish, Xu Qing's existence also attracted the attention of the group of jellyfish in the sky.
One of the large jellyfish paused in mid-air. When it turned to face Xu Qing, half of the densely-packed eyes on its tentacles suddenly opened.
At this instant, a sense of danger erupted from Xu Qing's heart. He could feel all the flesh and blood in his body trembling at this instant. Behind him, the kui shadow suddenly appeared and let out a soundless roar toward the jellyfish in the sky.
Xu Qing narrowed his eyes. At that moment, he was no longer at the third level of Qi Condensation. Facing the pressure of this jellyfish, he had no strength to resist.
Right now, as the qi and blood in his body swelled, the jellyfish that was looking at him seemed to hesitate as the shadow behind him roared.
Maybe it was because the attraction from the direction of the temple cluster was greater, or maybe it felt that Xu Qing was not a threat, it hesitated for a moment before turning around and drifting away.
After the jellyfish left, Xu Qing also heaved a sigh of relief.
He looked around the forbidden zone and felt that the place today was too strange. Hence, his body flickered and he quickly left.
"Is the place they're heading to the temple cluster? Or is it further away from the temple cluster? I hope it's not the temple cluster and that they're just passing by. Otherwise, I'll have to take a detour…"
On the way, a look of contemplation appeared in Xu Qing's eyes but his speed didn't decrease. He transformed into a long trail that shuttled through the jungle.
Time slowly passed. Two hours later, following the rumbling sounds in the distance, Xu Qing leaped up and landed on the tree crown, looking at the cluster of temples in the distance.
This place was still an hour away from the temple cluster, so he could see the general outline of the temple cluster from afar.
The instant he looked over, Xu Qing's expression darkened. The scene he was worried about had appeared.
At this moment, the group of jellyfish was in the air above the temple cluster. There seemed to be someone fighting against them and the rumbling sounds were faintly discernible.
The distance was too far, so Xu Qing couldn't see the appearance of the person fighting. Hence, after pondering, he carefully approached.
At the same time, within the cluster of temples, Old Stone's body trembled and his lips trembled as he looked around in despair.
There were a large number of corpses around him. They were the followers and guards brought by the youths.
As for those young men and women, they were no longer as carefree as before. All of them had pale faces and injuries. Amidst their sorry states, there was fear.
The remaining guards and followers protected them as they moved out while fighting a bloody battle.
The ones attacking them crazily were none other than the hundreds of small jellyfish. In the sky, the ones fighting against the five to six large jellyfish were the five middle-aged cultivators with powerful auras whom the young man and woman had brought with them.
"How could this be, how could this be… It was clearly fine earlier…"
Old Stone trembled as he followed the panicked movements of the youths. However, he was old and after taking a few steps, a small jellyfish passed through the guards and pounced on him.
He didn't have time to dodge. In the next instant… the jellyfish floated past Old Stone and swallowed his heart, heading straight for the youths.
Old Stone's body collapsed, twitching uncontrollably.
Fresh blood flowed down his chest and filled the surroundings of Old Stone. Blood also flowed out of his mouth uncontrollably as if it was quicksand engulfing him. He muttered the last sentence of his life in his heart.
"The qualifications to enter the city… I can't buy them anymore…"
Old Stone opened his eyes and his aura dissipated. He didn't move at all. Everything in front of him became eternal darkness.
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