Ding Xue immediately took out a jade slip and looked at Xu Qing.
The moment Xu Qing gave the signal, she would transmit her voice to ask for help.
Xu Qing listened attentively. After waiting for a long time, the exact same voice from before appeared a second time.
"Father, hurry up and go home…"
The voice was still filled with deep longing that could be felt by others. It seemed to come from the secret passage but it gave people the feeling that it was coming from right beside their ears. They could easily imagine the scene in front of them.
Xu Qing was silent. He didn't sense any dangerous fluctuations in the secret passage and similarly didn't sense any coldness of the bizarre entity. However, he still instantly ignited his life fire and activated the Mystic Brilliance Form.
In the past month, this was the first time Xu Qing had activated his Mystic Brilliance Form in front of Ding Xue. The dangers he had encountered previously could be resolved by his ordinary form.
As his auras erupted, Ding Xue and Zhao Zhongheng both took a deep breath and instinctively retreated a little. Their eyes instantly stung and they didn't dare to look straight at him.
Ding Xue was still fine. Although she couldn't open her eyes, the surprise in her heart was more than shock. However, Zhao Zhongheng's expression changed. The construction in his heart almost collapsed again.
'Who said that the one standing in the light is the hero? My sincerity is different from the others!' Zhao Zhongheng's breathing was hurried as he encouraged himself.
Xu Qing didn't know what Ding Xue and Zhao Zhongheng were thinking at this moment, and he didn't care. Now that the Mystic Brilliance Form had been activated, he didn't hesitate at all. He rushed into the secret passage.
Xu Qing moved extremely fast. Wherever he passed, there would be popping sounds and a series of echoes in the narrow secret passage.
At the same time, he also sensed that the corpse poison in this place was indeed rapidly dissipating, as though it was evaporating after death.
Xu Qing arrived at the end of the secret passage. His gaze was like lightning as he rapidly observed his surroundings.
This place was like a simple hiding place.
There was a figure of the Sea Corpse Race in the corner. He looked like a human old man and was already dead.
There were several shocking wounds on the corpse, especially the location of the dantian, which was badly mangled. The injuries there were the most fatal and almost penetrated his body. This corpse was the source of the anomalous substances and corpse poison.
Even though he was dead, the lingering power emitted by his body was still very strong. Xu Qing swept his gaze over and judged that this person at least had a ball of life fire when he was alive.
This Sea Corpse Race member had clearly suffered serious injuries from the extermination of his vitality on the merfolk island. He insisted on hiding here and was no longer able to escape or recover. In the end, he died silently.
He shouldn't have died long ago. That was why the anomalous substances spread out when the secret passage was opened.
His expression was also a little different from the Sea Corpse Race cultivators Xu Qing had seen. Although his face was gradually rotting, one could still faintly see the confusion he had when he was alive.
He was holding a small bronze bottle tightly in his hand.
It was as though this was his most precious item before he died.
This small bottle was very old and had already been opened. The voice Xu Qing had heard earlier rang out from it.
"Father, hurry up and go home…"
The voice was very weak and filled with longing.
As for the old man from the Sea Corpse Race, he seemed to have opened the bottle before he died. As he gradually entered the embrace of death, he kept listening to this voice over and over again.
This voice probably belonged to his closest kin.
Xu Qing's gaze swept past the bottle and observed his surroundings. Just as he confirmed that there was no danger here, footsteps rang out from behind him.
The people who came were Zhao Zhongheng and Ding Xue. After Xu Qing entered the secret passage, they waited for a while and sensed that there was no movement inside. Hence, Ding Xue was anxious and quickly ran in. Zhao Zhongheng could only follow.
Upon noticing that Xu Qing was fine, Ding Xue heaved a sigh of relief. Only then did she observe her surroundings. After seeing everything clearly, she looked at the bottle in the hand of the corpse and exclaimed.
"Sound-catching bottle!"
Ding Xue, who had an astonishing background, clearly had knowledge that exceeded that of ordinary cultivators. She recognized the origin of the bronze bottle at a glance. Hence, after noticing Xu Qing's gaze sweeping over, she hurriedly informed him.
"The sound-catching bottle is an ancient item and is very rare. Its value is priceless to some people but worthless to many. This is because its function is very simple. It captures sound. After covering it, you can open it at any time and hear the captured sound."
"The sound is extremely real. It can even be said to be the original sound. This is its queerness and preciousness but it can't last permanently. After opening for a long time, the sound will slowly dissipate and needs to be captured again."
Ding Xue looked at the Sea Corpse Race member and then at the sound-catching bottle that he held tightly in his hand as though it was a treasure. She seemed to understand something.
"The Sea Corpse Race consists of members of various races who were revived in a unique way after they died. Once they become a member of the Sea Corpse Race, they can only retain some memories of when they were alive."
"However, this memory is useless because the nature of the Sea Corpse Race is cruel. The moment they revive, it's equivalent to severing ties with their previous lives. Very few people keep the things they were fond of when they were alive."
"If this bottle is his, then this Sea Corpse Race cultivator is really abnormal. He actually retained the thing he had when he was alive. This bottle should be something he misses and an obsession."
"As for the voice in the bottle, maybe it was of his child? But no matter how he was when he was alive, he is now a member of the Sea Corpse Race."
Ding Xue's tone was filled with uncertainty. Clearly, she wasn't too sure if the truth was as she had judged.
