Xu Qing didn't care about the Diamond Sect's ancestor's performance. While suppressing the shadow, he looked at the distant sky.
The scene of him obtaining the shadow for the first time appeared in his mind.
That was in the jungle forbidden zone. When he and the Thunder Team killed the black-scaled wolf pack, the instant a black-scaled wolf died, its shadow spread over as though it wanted to parasitize him.
The purple crystal also underwent a true change at that time, sealing this shadow.
From then on, his shadow mutated.
To be precise, his shadow should have become the carrier of the black-scaled wolf's shadow. The two had fused together.
The fact that the other party could absorb anomalous substances made Xu Qing's cultivation even smoother. His body had become pure. At the same time, the shadow also grew stronger as it absorbed the anomalous substances.
In the following days, other than being a support, there were no other changes to the shadow. After Xu Qing discovered that he could control the shadow, the other party became his hidden trump card.
This lasted until the time when the shadow revealed a hint of spirituality. After that, it was the mute youth's reminder and the act of extinguishing the Spirit Breath Lantern when the other party really woke up on the merfolk island.
From then on, not only did the shadow reveal its spirituality, but it also revealed a certain level of intelligence.
Xu Qing had expected all of this.
His cultivation was stronger than the shadow from the start. Moreover, with the suppression by the purple crystal, although he had some reservations, he still allowed the shadow to become stronger. Following that, the scene of the backlash appeared.
Xu Qing wasn't surprised by the shadow's backlash. This was within his expectations.
What he was surprised at was that the shadow could attract the giant and the dragon carriage. This allowed him to make more guesses at the shadow's origins.
"But no matter what, to me, the disadvantages outweigh the benefits." Xu Qing calmly looked at the shadow as he spoke.
His tone caused the Diamond Sect's ancestor's heart to tremble. The shadow also clearly sensed that something was different from usual. It emitted even more terrified emotions that were extremely intense, as though it was begging for mercy.
"Since that's the case, what's the use of having you?" Xu Qing closed his eyes and lifted his right hand, pressing down on the shadow on the deck without hesitation.
This time around, the purple light didn't spread out to suppress it. Instead, it followed Xu Qing's right hand and directly landed on the shadow's body. At the next instant, the ship rumbled. The shadow couldn't withstand it anymore and let out an unprecedented mournful cry.
There was also a mix of pain and anger that spread out and gushed into Xu Qing's perception.
Xu Qing didn't bother with the emotions and continued to suppress it.
The shadow's miserable wails caused the Diamond Sect's ancestor to be shaken to the core. He instinctively retreated a little. When he looked at Xu Qing, his eyes revealed nervousness.
Amidst the rumbling and screams, the shadow became even fainter. After that, it shattered and transformed from its tree state to an ordinary shadow.
The wails also slowly weakened from mournful to pleading. At the same time, emotions of weakness spread out.
Xu Qing was expressionless and continued to suppress it.
180 times, 240 times, 320 times…
His purple light continued to erupt as it suppressed the shadow again and again. The shadow had already become blurry and its screams became weaker and weaker. Xu Qing's eyes revealed a resolute gaze.
He wanted to completely erase it. As for how he would deal with the anomalous substances after the shadow died, Xu Qing wasn't too worried.
It was a matter of priorities. His purple crystal was the main and the shadow was the secondary.
Although the shadow could absorb anomalous substances, since the purple crystal could seal it, it could also seal other shadow-like creatures. At most, after killing it, he would make a trip to the forbidden zone and find a new seal to replace it.
Hence, even though the shadow was extremely faint now, his suppression continued. The 350th time, the 460th time, the 570th time, the 680th time… The entire process didn't stop at all.
This lasted until the shadow continued to fade and it had no choice but to shrink and gather into a ball, making its color no longer so light but a little denser. Its form changed to that of a small person and it assumed a kneeling posture, continuously kowtowing and begging for mercy.
Xu Qing coldly looked at the shadow person who kept kowtowing, and pressed down again.
It was shattered by a single palm strike.
The screams stopped abruptly.
Xu Qing's expression was calm. He sat under the sunlight and no shadow appeared beside him. However, he didn't care about this strange scene. He stood up and walked to the edge of the magic boat, lowering his head to look at the black sea.
Under the sunlight, if he had a shadow, the location of the shadow should be reflected on the sea that was filled with anomalous substances.
After standing there for a long time, Xu Qing walked back to the bow and calmly spoke.
"Get out here!"
The deck was quiet.
Xu Qing laughed. The cold glint in his eyes appeared once again and the purple light on his chest flickered faintly. The instant he was about to continue using the suppression, the shadow that had collapsed earlier appeared while trembling.
The instant it appeared, it rapidly shrunk and transformed into a small person who quickly kowtowed. Its pleading intent was much stronger than before.
"Too slow." Xu Qing spoke and suppressed it again.
The small person let out a miserable wail as it collapsed.
Xu Qing was expressionless. He closed his eyes and meditated. He sensed that it would be a little troublesome to kill this shadow. Hence, he studied the purple crystal and searched for a way to completely kill the shadow.
Time flowed by and very soon, it was noon. When the sun was at its strongest, Xu Qing opened his eyes and calmly looked at the deck amidst the extreme nervousness of the Diamond Sect's ancestor.
"Get out here."
At the next instant, the shadow condensed at an astonishing speed, as though it was afraid that it would be tortured again if it was too slow.
Although the shadow was very faint, after more than two hours of recovery, it barely had an outline and returned to the shape of a tree.
At that moment, other than pleading, the emotions transmitted through its trembling were ten times more fearful than before.
"You've been by my side for a long time and should know my personality."
Xu Qing coldly looked at the shadow. He wanted to kill it but it would take time to study the crystal. Hence, as he stared at it, Xu Qing slowly spoke after the other party's terror grew increasingly intense.
"I'll give you three months to change my mind about killing you. If you can't do it…" Xu Qing didn't continue.
The shadow trembled and kept kowtowing, as though it was promising.
"Now, tell me, how are you different from before after you advanced?" Xu Qing glanced at the shadow.
"Bite… control…" The shadow tried its best to transmit a message, but it was too weak now. Perhaps it was because of its characteristics, it was very difficult for it to complete the complete expression of its language even after it advanced. It could only try its best to explain.
Xu Qing frowned. The other party's description was too simple. He needed to know exactly what the shadow's ability was after it advanced. This concerned some arrangements in future battles.
"Master, leave it to me!" The Diamond Sect's ancestor finally found an opportunity and hurriedly spoke. Lightning flashed outside his body, causing him to quickly arrive in front of the shadow. He stared at the shadow's hundred or so eyes and asked in a low voice.
"I'll ask. If I am right, blink your eyes. If I am wrong, nod. Now, tell me what is this bite you are talking about. Bite anomalous substances? Bite flesh? Bite shadows?"
The shadow looked at the Diamond Sect's ancestor with an unfriendly gaze. However, it had no choice at this moment. Its description wasn't clear, so it could only listen. Very soon, when it heard the Diamond Sect's ancestor say bite shadows, it hurriedly blinked.
"Bite yourself? Bite others'?
"One bite? All of them?"
"That's called devouring… After devouring, control? Controlling the body? Controlling the soul?"
After some communication, the Diamond Sect's ancestor came to a realization and quickly looked at Xu Qing.
"Master, I understand. What Little Shadow means is that it can devour other people's shadows and control their bodies the moment it completely devours their shadows. However, it can't control Master because there's something that it fears!" After the Diamond Sect's ancestor finished speaking, the shadow clearly revealed an emotion of agreement and quickly nodded.
However, it quickly reacted and shook its head.
In the end, it looked at the Diamond Sect's ancestor in confusion. Clearly, Xu Qing's unprecedented suppression this time had damaged its intelligence. Its intelligence was even inferior than in the past.
"Little Shadow, you have to remember. Blink your eyes when I am right and nod your head when I am wrong. This will make it convenient for me to understand what you are trying to say," the Diamond Sect's ancestor said with a kind expression. One couldn't tell his intentions.
When the shadow heard this, it hurriedly blinked.
The smile of the Diamond Sect's ancestor became even gentler, but he thought to himself, 'Little fart shadow, you still dare to show hostility to me. Let's see how I'll punish you in the future. As long as you're used to my explanation and nod when you're in the wrong, I have too many ways to make you suffer.'
Xu Qing didn't bother with the Diamond Sect's ancestor's thoughts. After hearing about the shadow's ability, he was a little moved.
To him, this ability was very strange. At the same time, Xu Qing knew that the item the shadow feared was the purple crystal.
"Anything else?"
"Eye… observe…" The shadow hurriedly spoke. After saying that, it looked at the Diamond Sect's ancestor.
The Diamond Sect's ancestor explained after another round of communication.
"It also has an ability to hide its eye in someone else's shadow, allowing Master to observe through it."
"Domain…" The shadow spoke again.
The Diamond Sect's ancestor thought about it and asked a few questions. After confirming what the other party wanted to say, he turned to look at Xu Qing and respectfully spoke.
"Master, the shadow said that it can also form something similar to a shadow domain but it can't last for long. However, once it's activated, its ability will increase by a large margin in the domain."
Hearing the Diamond Sect's ancestor's explanation, the shadow clearly felt comfortable. It looked at the Diamond Sect's ancestor and felt that the other party wasn't as hateful as before, so it quickly blinked.
Xu Qing fell into deep thought. The changes in the Diamond Sect's ancestor after the breakthrough could be seen with the naked eye, while the shadow had become more strange after the breakthrough. By coordinating with them, his attacks could become more varied.
After some thought, Xu Qing looked at the sea and recalled the giant and the dragon carriage.
Gradually, he thought of the secret art engraved in the dragon carriage that Elder Zhao had mentioned.
Emperor-level secret art, Golden Crow Refines All Life!
"How can I enter the dragon carriage to learn this secret art…" Xu Qing was tempted. He looked at the sea and pondered. The Diamond Sect's ancestor squatted beside the shadow and persuaded.
"Little Shadow, I know that you actually don't like Master, right?"
The shadow was stunned and hurriedly nodded.
"You shouldn't be like this. This old man has read many ancient books. In them, anyone who rebels won't have a good ending. Of course, I know that you're not convinced. You think that the vast sky is where you belong, so you want to counterattack and kill the great master. Isn't that so?"
When Xu Qing heard this, he looked over.
The shadow trembled under Xu Qing's gaze and nodded carefully.
