The light beam directly collided with the incoming whale. The whale collapsed loudly, but it didn't scatter. Its remaining strength was still like waves crashing down with a boom.
The merfolk youth's body trembled and he retreated, spurting out fresh blood. Taking advantage of the time when the blue light slowed down the strange shadow, he revealed a savage expression and was about to open his storage bag.
However, at this moment, the shadow that pervaded his body erupted forth once again, wrapping around his hands once more. After stopping his movements, it continued to rapidly spread throughout his body.
This scene completely shocked the merfolk youth. Right then, a black-colored cold light whistled over from the darkness and headed straight for his forehead.
Behind this cold light, he saw a figure, a gray figure charging from the water screen ahead!
The figure was as fast as a bolt of dark lightning.
The figure was a young man. His black hair fluttered in the wind and he had no expression on his face. Only the light in his eyes revealed incomparable coldness amidst the calmness.
Around him, the wind swirled as though it had turned into a sickle and there was an emissary of death beside him. With a sinister smile, the emissary lifted its black cloak and followed the young man.
"It's you!!" The merfolk youth recognized Xu Qing. In this life-and-death crisis, he suddenly spat out a stream of silver light.
This silver light grew and instantly transformed into a huge flying wheel that whistled toward the black iron stick. The loud sound of weapons colliding rang out.
Because the force contained was too great, both the flying wheel and the black iron stick were deflected during the collision. The collision and the deflection of the weapons couldn't stop the exchange of gazes between the merfolk youth and Xu Qing.
The instant their gazes met, Xu Qing directly approached. At the same time, the cheeks of the merfolk youth swelled up abruptly, transforming into sharp thorns that seemed to grow on his face. This made him look sinister. He then quickly spat out a blue pearl.
"Die!" The merfolk youth let out a low roar. The blue pearl instantly erupted with an even more astonishing beam of light, directly enveloping the nearby Xu Qing.
He was very confident that under his innate divine ability, unless one was a Foundation Building cultivator, even if they were at the Perfected Qi Condensation Realm, very few people would be able to survive. The corners of his mouth curled into a sinister smile and he was about to continue suppressing the strange shadow on his body.
However, at the next moment, his expression changed drastically following the rumbling from the blue beam of light ahead. He even looked horrified.
Ahead, a gigantic figure stood up facing the light.
That figure's entire body was pitch-black, and it had a single horn on its head. It was as diabolic as a malicious ghost, and its entire body was covered in rows of sharp spikes, looking like the leader of ghosts.
It faced the blue light and let out a soundless roar. It then lifted its large hand and grabbed the light.
It was... kui shadow!
Under the shadow of this gigantic black-colored kui, Xu Qing continued to charge toward the merfolk youth with an expressionless face.
There were many wounds on his body that were caused by the beam of light, but they were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye. The killing intent in his eyes completely erupted at this moment.
Be it when the merfolk youth tried to snatch the credit or the fight in the shop, Xu Qing didn't go all out. His shadow didn't move, his shadow didn't transform, and his recovery ability didn't appear.
His true power and lethality was only revealed at the instant he went in for the kill.
"Qi and blood turning into shadow! And your cultivation! Impossible, your recovery ability, this..." The merfolk youth's expression revealed unprecedented horror. The life-and-death crisis transformed into horror in his eyes, and his words became incoherent.
He wanted to open the storage bag and take out the jade slip to send a voice transmission for help. However, at this moment, the shadow seemed to be alive and could sense his thoughts. It bound his hands tightly, causing him to be unable to lift them or take out any items. Also, Xu Qing didn't waste any time and was already approaching. A cold light flashed in his right hand and a dagger appeared.
Looking at the dagger, the merfolk youth let out a crazed roar. He couldn't care less about the shadow wrapping around his neck at this moment, nor did he have the time to care that the areas that were covered by the shadow were being corroded intensely. At this critical moment, his body suddenly swayed.
He quickly lifted his legs, and they turned blurry in an instant, transforming into a black fishtail that blasted out with all its might toward the incoming Xu Qing. At this moment, his bloodline talent erupted completely, and an illusory merfolk figure formed outside his body, merging with his tail to form a powerful attack.
Xu Qing's expression didn't change at all, and his speed also didn't slow down. He instantly closed the distance and punched out with his left hand. The shadow behind him roared and also fused into it, landing at the same time.
Skin ruptured and flesh broke.
The huge fishtail directly shattered into pieces, and the mermaid phantom also exploded from the impact.
The ground in the surroundings trembled violently, and a mournful cry came out from the mouth of the merfolk youth. However, the water curtain in the surroundings was too thick, and his voice was firmly sealed within the alley.
"Curse!!" Amidst the blood-curdling screeches, the eyes of the merfolk youth who had lost the lower half of his body turned red. As he roared, the flesh and blood of his broken fishtail seemed to have gained life and started burning. They then gathered from all directions toward where Xu Qing was at an extremely fast speed, enveloping him in an instant.
Although the speed of convergence was fast, it wasn't faster than Xu Qing's speed. Almost at the instant the flesh and blood enveloped him, his body left behind an afterimage that was enveloped by the mermaid's blood and flesh curse due to his extreme speed.
As for his true body, it appeared behind the merfolk youth. Before the flesh and blood of the fish tail could catch up, a cold dagger had already landed in front of the merfolk youth's neck while he was still in shock.
"Xu Qing, I..."
The merfolk youth trembled, and his voice was sharp and hurried. However, he didn't have the chance to continue speaking. After he said those three words, the coldness on the dagger spread...
Xu Qing ruthlessly sliced. He didn't have the habit of listening to last words.
The familiar sound of cutting echoed.
Fresh blood instantly gushed out, and the merfolk youth's body twitched intensely. He was like a fish whose neck had been chopped off on a chopping board.
His eyes were wide open and he wanted to turn his head, but he was unable to do so. After a few breaths of air, before his consciousness dissipated, he finally saw Xu Qing's face above him.
"My clothes got dirty because of you," Xu Qing said softly. This was the only thing he said from the start to the end.
"You..."
Fresh blood was still seeping out of the merfolk youth's neck. He slowly stopped breathing. His eyes, which were still open, contained lingering longing for the world as well as disbelief. It was as though he had never expected that he, who was like heaven's chosen, would actually die here.
He breathed his last.
Xu Qing's expression was calm. He removed the runic treasure on his leg that boosted his speed and picked up the storage bag that the merfolk youth had no chance to open. He turned and walked out of the alley. The shadow on the merfolk youth's corpse quickly retreated and returned below Xu Qing's feet.
Even when he reached the entrance of the alley, Xu Qing's footsteps didn't stop, nor did he turn his head to take a look. He merely lifted his right hand and grabbed backward.
The water curtain that sealed the alley trembled intensely and began to move.
From big to small, from the outside to the inside, with the merfolk's corpse as the center, it compressed at an astonishing speed. Finally, with a bang, all the pressure from the surrounding water curtains gathered on the merfolk youth's corpse.
Amidst this sound, the merfolk's corpse and the minced meat in the alley completely disintegrated. There was nothing left, and his body and soul were destroyed.
Xu Qing walked away.
The water curtain slowly cascaded down, turning into water droplets that landed in this quiet alley, washing away everything.
It cleaned the ground of all the blood and dirt. The rising sun in the distance shone on the puddles which refracted a dazzling light.
From dusk until dawn, it was only an instant to the sky. It was the same for humans.
It was like life and death.
