The moment this terrifying aura erupted, this independent space emitted endless fluctuations. The lake water rose, the void distorted, and the rain shook.
Clouds and fog appeared in the sky of this space, rapidly churning and forming a vortex, rumbling as it spun, connecting with the fog on the lake, as if bridging the gap between heaven and earth, forming a tornado.
The pressure enveloped the surroundings and rain poured in all directions.
Under this tornado and this terrifying aura, the black rune floating in the fog kept swaying and cracks that couldn't be restored appeared on it.
Pitch-black blood seeped out from it.
There were also cracks forming on the talismans that had transformed into a long street.
It seemed that the roiling from the fog brought forth a tremendous force, surpassing the scope of these two talismans, causing signs of unbearable stress to appear.
In the talisman, a blurry face appeared and stared fixedly at the fog where Xu Qing was. Although the exact appearance of this face couldn't be seen, the gloominess in its expression was extremely obvious.
At the same time, the 52 iron chains that extended out of the lake were creaking intensely. As roars rang out from the fog, seven of the iron chains instantly broke!
The lake rumbled and the shattered iron chains collapsed inch by inch, turning into ashes. It was the same for the threads. They were directly torn apart by the huge force coming from the fog.
Seeing this, the face in the black rune revealed a hint of unwillingness and transmitted its bizarre voice.
"The Dao Supremacy asked: When the water and fiends are exchanged, the ghosts are extinguished, and the evil is removed, what shall be done? We say: Those who disobey our command shall be beheaded!"
With a sound akin to wailing ghosts and howling wolves echoing in all directions, the lake churned. A longsword formed of lake water emerged from the surface, slashing fiercely toward the fog where Xu Qing stood.
Its speed was extremely fast, stirring up countless raindrops, breaking the void, shattering the air, and carrying with it the intent of extermination.
At the same time, the black rune began to burn. Green flames rose and augmented it, wanting to forcefully activate.
The talismans on the long street also erupted and rolled up even more.
As for Xu Qing, his body was bent and trembling intensely in the foggy storm. He let out a roar that didn't sound human at all.
An indescribable intense pain swept through his body and soul like the world was collapsing. It tore through his god's body and emitted even more pitch-black poison mist.
In the blink of an eye, seven more chains on his body broke.
14 nails that were suppressing his soul were forced out as well. Amidst popping sounds, they rolled back and shot out, piercing through the fog and heading straight for the water sword outside the fog.
Sounds of collision rang out as the 14 nails pierced through the water sword, heading toward the black rune and the long street talisman.
In an instant, they penetrated through them.
The black rune was riddled with holes, and a corner of the talisman was destroyed. The damage to them caused the sealing power of this space to decrease sharply. At the next instant, the fog churned violently.
Amidst the rumbling sounds, the remaining iron chains, lake threads, and nails were shattered or forced out.
The broken water sword continued to be pierced through. Finally, when it entered the fog, it shattered.
At this moment, the last iron chain, the last strand of lake thread, and the last nail shattered one after another and the fog suddenly erupted.
The fog rapidly contracted inwards. As it expanded and contracted, it revealed an earth-shattering figure.
Ancientness, darkness, and slaughter were the first impression this figure gave off.
His entire body was shrouded in black armor, with no visible skin, not even on his skull, which added to his terrifying appearance. What was particularly eerie were the flames burning in the sockets where his eyes should have been.
The coldness it emitted was enough to make one's heart palpitate.
There were also wisps of black fog that curled up from the armor and rapidly gathered behind it. In the blink of an eye, they transformed into a black cloak that seemed to be able to blot out the sky.
The cloak swayed with the vortex in the sky, covering this space. Decay and poison spread endlessly.
It looked like a demon.
This was Xu Qing's second stage of god form after layering two divine sources. In this state, it was as though everything would wither and perish in front of him.
This Yin-Yang Water Evil Array was no exception.
Xu Qing took a step forward and appeared in front of the black rune. He lifted his pitch-black right palm that didn't look like a human hand and grabbed it.
The black rune burned intensely and emitted black smoke that transformed into black dragons and roared at Xu Qing. However, the moment they got close, their roars turned into screams.
In Xu Qing's current state, the poison spreading from him had reached its peak, capable of corroding everything it touched. Those black dragons were invaded, gradually dissipating under the poison's relentless corrosion.
The pitch-black helmet covered Xu Qing's expression, and only his exposed eyes emitted eerie flames. He ignored the screaming black dragons and grabbed the black rune with his right hand, squeezing it ruthlessly.
With a cracking sound, the rune collapsed and the black dragons in the surroundings turned into black blood that landed in the lake.
Xu Qing knew that he couldn't maintain his current state for too long. Hence, after crushing the rune, he lifted his head and coldly looked at the end of the long street.
On the talisman long street that was riddled with holes, a figure appeared.
This figure looked bizarre. It wasn't made of flesh and blood but was a black paper effigy.
It stood on the upturned street of talismans. Its drawn eyes revealed a hint of coldness as it stared at Xu Qing and slowly spoke.
"I obey the Ghost Fiend Dark Art, rivers, sun, moon…"
Xu Qing instantly rushed out with a terrifying aura, heading straight for the paper effigy.
The paper effigy calmly fell backward and lay on the talisman. It fused with it and continued speaking.
"…mountains, seas, and stars are within my grasp. I bring forth light and darkness at will. The curse is swift and absolute!"
The instant Xu Qing arrived, the sound dissipated. As for the talismans, they churned intensely and erupted at the same time from both ends, rapidly rolling toward Xu Qing.
It was like a huge wave that emitted a terrifying pressure.
Seeing this, Xu Qing lifted his right hand and ruthlessly pressed down on the ground.
The moment he hit the surface of the water, the area trembled violently. Everything in the surroundings was decaying and being invaded.
The lake water instantly turned dark and the rules here were forcefully tainted.
Everything became a part of the Poison Restriction and was controlled by Xu Qing to erupt in unison. The vortex in the sky also descended at this moment and fused with the fog of the Poison Restriction, suppressing the street talismans.
A roaring sound rang out in all directions like a large bell. There was also the sound of a mirror shattering echoing. The seal from the Yin Yang Water Fiend was isolated and shattered.
In Xu Qing's eyes, the world returned to normal.
The street was still the street.
The rain was still falling.
Only pieces of dark joss paper fell from the sky and melted into the rain. Xu Qing caught one of them.
His body also returned to his normal form at this moment. The instant he removed his god form, blood flowed out of his mouth.
At that moment, whistling sounds rang out from afar. Although the battle had happened in an independent space, it was very difficult for its energy to remain hidden in the Imperial City. Now, it had been discovered.
Xu Qing didn't move. His vigilance was still there as he looked ahead. At the same time, he took out a jade slip and began to transmit his voice.
Very soon, figures appeared one after another. They were all Sword Holders who were patrolling this place. Hence, they rushed over immediately. When they saw Xu Qing and the black joss paper falling in the surroundings, their expressions changed. After looking at each other, they knew that this was a major matter!
After all, this was the Imperial City. An assassination attempt here was an incredibly serious matter, especially since the target of the assassination was Xu Qing!
This matter had worsened.
Hence, they immediately began to collect traces here.
Not long later, two rainbows flew over from different directions. After they emerged on the long street, they headed straight for Xu Qing.
One was Zi Xuan, and the other was Li Yunshan.
Seeing the two of them, Xu Qing heaved a sigh of relief inwardly.
Li Yunshan's expression was gloomy as he checked his surroundings. Zi Xuan's expression was filled with anger. After she arrived and confirmed that Xu Qing was fine, her expression softened a little. Li Yunshan was about to speak.
Xu Qing shook his head.
"Let's talk when we get back."
Li Yunshan nodded. Under their escort, Xu Qing quickly left and returned to Ning Yan's residence safely.
The moment he returned, the captain, who had disappeared for a few days, had also returned. His expression was solemn as he looked at Xu Qing with Zi Xuan and Li Yunshan.
"This was a trap set up in advance."
Xu Qing stoically spoke.
"Meng Yunbai invited me to the Mortal World Tower. He knows my whereabouts and is one of the suspects."
"In the Mortal World Tower, the imperial son of the Star Emperor Supreme Sect had an indistinct conflict with me. He might also be one of the suspects."
"Also, everyone I met on this trip, including Huang Kun, is a suspect."
"However, these are all on the surface. There might be other parties in the dark who attempted the assassination for different purposes. For example, the Seventh Prince has a motive."
"The assassin is a dark paper effigy. He doesn't have life and is more like an incarnation. His cultivation level is Nihility…"
"Also, the spell is called a Dao curse and contains the feeling of Ghost Fiend. However, it's too obvious and someone might be framing them."
"Also, there are a few suspicious points about this assassination. Firstly, how did they dare to assassinate me in the Imperial City? If I die, it won't be a good thing for the various parties in the Imperial City. However, the various parties clearly sensed it too slowly."
"Secondly, the assassin seems powerful but according to the understanding of all parties, they clearly know that I have the Sun of Dawn and also know of my battle accomplishments. They shouldn't have only dispatched such an assassin."
"Thirdly, during the battle, I had a feeling that the other party was more like a sacrificial soldier and wanted me to detonate the Sun of Dawn. However, it's very difficult to tell if this feeling was intentionally evoked by the other party to mess up my thoughts."
…
After Xu Qing told them all the details and suspicious points about this assassination attempt, he lifted his right hand. There was a piece of dark joss paper in his palm.
"In the end, this assassination gave me the feeling that it wasn't to really kill me but to make me a chess piece and take the step the person behind the scenes wants."
