For those who had passed the first trial, they possessed great freedom. They could choose to leave at any time or enter at their will, attempting to push open the door of the highest hall.
The time limit was half a year.
After agreeing with the captain, Xu Qing chose to return and wait for the oil the captain mentioned. At the same time, he was also adapting to his Poison Restriction Eyes.
The captain's main body was sealed in the depths of the lake, so what appeared in the gate was the soul body that his consciousness had gathered. Hence, he couldn't leave and could only stay here.
Regarding this, the captain didn't mind at all. He stared at the Crimson Goddess' totem and continued to devour it like a rabid dog.
Just like that, days passed.
The war in the Moon Worship Region became increasingly intense. The quelling movement from the Red Moon Shrine was equally ferocious. The flames of war continued to burn but the resistance was still intense.
Ever since Fifth Grandma and Eighth Grandpa disappeared, they haven't returned. The heir and Princess Mingmei also went out many times. It was unknown what they were busy with.
Hence, the small apothecary was less lively than before. However, Wu Jianwu was still passionate about reciting poems. Ning Yan still cleaned the ground every day, and Li Youfei worked as a guard too.
Although Nether Fairy and Ancestor Mogui noticed that the heir and the others often went out, they didn't dare to have any thoughts of escaping and maintained the current situation.
During these few days, Xu Qing also left the apothecary frequently and searched for a place in the Bitter Life Mountain Range to test his Poison Restriction Eyes.
At that moment, his figure shuttled through the mountain range at an astonishing speed. Even though he had the sun on his body and a horn-like hat on his head, he was already used to all of this.
Now, he could manage everything as usual under this astonishing burden.
In fact, his speed was even faster than before, turning into an afterimage in the mountain range. A while later, he appeared in a valley.
The rock walls of this valley were filled with potholes like a honeycomb, with traces of corrosion.
The aura of the Poison Restriction still lingered in the surroundings, causing all living beings to instinctively sense a life-and-death crisis when they got close and avoided it from far away.
This was the place where Xu Qing experimented with his Poison Restriction Eyes.
After arriving here, Xu Qing sensed his surroundings and confirmed that there was nothing amiss. He then sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.
After about fifteen minutes, when he opened his eyes, Xu Qing's eyes had turned pitch-black. One couldn't see his eyeballs or the whites of his eyes. Everything was black.
In fact, if someone saw his eyes, they would feel as though they were staring at an abyss.
Where Xi Qing's gaze fell, instant corrosion occurred. The power of Poison Restriction erupted with a resounding force, causing distortion in all directions. A hazy atmosphere blurred everything."
This scene was extremely similar to when the fragmented-face of the god in the sky opened His eyes.
However, in terms of might, Xu Qing's was many, many times weaker. Even so, this scene was still astonishing.
It could be said that Xu Qing was growing with each passing moment in the Moon Worship Region. If he were to return to Fenghai County now, he would undoubtedly astonish all his former acquaintances.
However, this kind of growth didn't come without a price.
Just like now, Xu Qing's expression gradually became complicated.
This wasn't the first time he used the Poison Restriction to observe this place, but every time he unfolded this divine power in recent days, waves of emotions surged within his heart.
"When I came into contact with the divinity, I saw the world through the vision of a god, and it was completely different from my usual perception."
Xu Qing mumbled inwardly. In his eyes, although the valley was still a valley, what formed this place wasn't rocks but countless skeletons. Among them were humans and nonhuman races.
The entire area here was formed from bones, including the ground.
Death was the only main theme here. As for the gray wind in the distance, it was also different in Xu Qing's eyes.
It was a giant serpent, with an enormous body. At the edge of the sky, it opened its mouth, and its breath was the source of this gray wind. Every movement of its form caused scales to fall, turning into ashes that scattered across the land.
Farther away, one could faintly see snow falling in the world outside the desert.
Red blood fell like goose feathers, but unfortunately, 99% of the cultivators couldn't see this scene.
"There's also the fragmented-face in the sky."
Xu Qing silently lifted his head and stared at the fragmented-face that was faintly discernible above the gray wind and red snow. He… opened His eyes.
The place He was looking at wasn't here.
"Different visions see different worlds. Which one is real?"
Xu Qing fell silent. After a long time, he turned his head and took out a sand scorpion.
This scorpion was ten feet long. After Xu Qing took it out, it shivered, not daring to resist or struggle. It was as though to it, Xu Qing was a god.
In Xu Qing's eyes, the shape of this scorpion was also different from normal. It wasn't a scorpion but a dim sphere of light. In fact, its shape was still changing continuously, like it was squirming.
Finally, this light source completely dimmed and turned pitch-black, dissipating from Xu Qing's vision.
If someone else was here, they would be able to see that the scorpion… had turned into blood.
After a long time, Xu Qing lifted his hand and his gaze landed on his palm.
It was still a palm.
Only on it, there were some fuzzy fluffs resembling dandelions, densely covering it, trying to absorb his flesh and blood.
Some had even burrowed into the flesh, spreading inward.
There should have been intense pain but Xu Qing didn't have any perception of it.
He knew what they were.
"Anomalous substances…"
Muttering to himself, Xu Qing was well aware of the anomalous substances in this world from the moment of his birth, and through his cultivation journey, he gained even deeper understanding.
As the cultivation base advanced and one gradually distanced themselves from the mundane, the pain brought by the anomalous substances seemed to have unconsciously faded into the background.
The mutation brought about by cultivation seemed to be diminishing as well.
However, Xu Qing understood that this was caused by the difference in levels. In reality, the mortals were still being tortured by anomalous substances. For example, the curse in the Moon Worship Region was one of them.
He knew that he couldn't underestimate anomalous substances just because the shadow could devour them.
Right now, he sensed the anomalous substances again.
In his sight, anomalous substances were everywhere.
"The anomalous substances are alive…"
Xu Qing's mind fluctuated as he sensed this world again.
"The colossal serpent in the sky is the manifestation of the divine anomalous substances traded by the captain, including the gray wind."
"The red snow in the sky is the anomalous substance of the Crimson Goddess."
"The fluffs on my palm are anomalous substances lingering here, of unknown origin."
"I imagine in other places, there would be even more anomalous substances, of various kinds. As long as it's a place where gods have passed or looked upon, anomalous substances will form."
There was more than one type of anomalous substance.
"In essence, my Poison Restriction is also a type of anomalous substance."
"The Poison Restriction can harm all things and all races, and now, from what I can see, it's even clearer… it is encroaching on everything."
A black glint flashed in Xu Qing's eyes. Immediately, the fluffs on his hand shook. After they turned pitch-black, they fell off, revealing Xu Qing's skin.
On his skin, one could see a black ghost face that covered the location of the fluffs.
Evil, cold, death, and ominous were all the auras of this ghost face.
This was the Poison Restriction in the eye of the god.
It could be a ghost face or countless ghost faces. Every one of them was an anomalous substance that could grow on their own under Xu Qing's gaze.
To existences whose level was inferior to it, this… was a curse.
Xu Qing closed his eyes. When he opened them again a while later, he looked at the shadow.
The shadow trembled, revealing fawning emotions.
Xu Qing's expression was a little strange. This wasn't the first time he had seen the shadow with the Poison Restriction Eyes but every time… it was different.
He remembered the first time he looked at it a few times ago. The shadow was a tree. The second time he took a look, it was a coffin. The third time was eyes.
Now that he looked at it again, it had changed again, transforming into a back view.
This back view was incomparably tall and majestic, giving off the feeling of strength. At the same time, it carried a hint of violence and domineeringness.
However, at the next instant, it changed again.
It turned into a sphere of ink that flowed around Xu Qing.
A long time later, Xu Qing retracted his gaze.
"In that case, what do the fragmented-face's anomalous substances look like?"
Xu Qing suddenly had an impulse. He wanted to experience what the anomalous substances on the fragmented-face were.
However, he also had a premonition that this was very dangerous.
Xu Qing pondered for a while before suppressing his curiosity. There were too many strange things in this world. Intense curiosity often brought about great terror.
"You want to know about the anomalous substances of the god's fragmented-face?"
The moment Xu Qing gave up, the heir's voice suddenly rang out. His figure silently floated in the air and looked at Xu Qing.
Princess Mingmei was also there.
"Greetings, seniors." Xu Qing immediately cupped his fists and bowed.
Princess Mingmei nodded and looked at Xu Qing as she calmly spoke.
"If you want to see it, then just take a look. This way, you'll know what you have to face in the future."
When she said this, Princess Mingmei's eyes were deep.
When Xu Qing heard this, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes. After some thought, he didn't hesitate anymore. His form swayed and he directly rose from the valley, rushing into the sky.
He sped all the way and continued to fly. It was only when he flew out of the range of the colossal serpent and the waves of the red snow that he finally sensed the anomalous substances of the fragmented-face.
"Abire, Dohada Yaya, Gajara, Dodaya…"
A mumbling sound appeared in Xu Qing's sea of consciousness.
It wasn't heard but seen. This didn't make sense.
Yet, in that instant, Xu Qing experienced it exactly that way. He wasn't sure why, but he was absolutely certain the sound did not come from his ears; it unmistakably originated from what his own eyes beheld.
From there, it appeared in his mind.
At the start, this complicated incantation-like voice was very soft but it gradually grew louder. Finally, it stirred up a rumbling sound in Xu Qing's sea of consciousness, repeating and echoing.
Xu Qing's form trembled, giving a sense of overlapping. His spirit seemed to be separating, as if tearing apart. His physical form and the surrounding void melded together, becoming indistinct.
A life-and-death crisis gushed into Xu Qing's perception. He suddenly sank and a large number of bizarre changes appeared in his entire body. He could clearly sense that all his organs were starting to activate and he could sense his past appearing in the surroundings.
Those memories of the past seemed to be walking out of the illusory scenes and were about to become real.
