When the black pearl was thrown from the black wooden ship, Xu Qing sensed a trace of fluctuations of the anomalous substances of the Sea Corpse Race in the sky.
This allowed him to make a judgment that these three ships most likely belonged to the Sea Corpse Race.
Xu Qing didn't have any good impression of the Sea Corpse Race, and he had killed too many of their people.
What happened today was an undeserved calamity for him. Although the black pearl couldn't cause him any harm, it was actually very powerful.
It was comparable to the full-strength attack of a life fire cultivator!
The rune sealed inside was even more profound.
The scene he had seen earlier appeared in Xu Qing's mind. The rune only flashed for a moment but it actually allowed the black bead to teleport and appear on his magic ship.
That was why Xu Qing was unable to react in time.
"If the might of that pearl reaches two or even three fires… It is a treasure!"
Coldness rose in Xu Qing's eyes.
He understood that for a cultivator to casually throw out such a one-time-use treasure, either their cultivation base wasn't simple, so they had too many treasures.
Or, their cultivation was ordinary but their identity was extraordinary.
He felt that the probability of the latter was higher.
"They should have Dao Protectors."
Xu Qing didn't retract his gaze. The magic ship that looked like a sea lizard sped under the sea, chasing after the black dots formed by the three ships in the sky.
Before he knew if there were higher-level experts on the ship, Xu Qing didn't plan to act rashly.
He was used to lurking and silently observing. At that moment, he was like a hunter, searching for the weaknesses of his prey and judging their strength.
At the same time, among the three black wooden ships in the sky, the white-robed Sea Corpse Race member at the front sighed.
He stood at the edge of the ship and looked at the sea below with frustration.
He could faintly sense an aura locking onto their three ships.
This aura… was very familiar to him.
"Brother Xu Qing, don't be unhappy. I'm already very low-key. Just now, I planned to throw three divine lightning down but I only threw one…"
The third princess secretly glanced at the white-robed Sea Corpse Race member. Seeing that the other party was ignoring her, she took a few steps forward and grabbed the white-robed person's arm, shaking it a few times.
"Alright, alright. I won't throw anything randomly on the way, okay? Brother Xu Qing, don't be angry. Why are you frowning? What are you thinking about?"
When the white-robed Sea Corpse Race member heard the name Xu Qing, he sighed again and turned to look at the third princess.
"I'm thinking about how to persuade that guy to not kill you. I'm also thinking about how to make that guy not know what I secretly did. Otherwise, he might flip out."
"Brother Xu Qing, I don't understand what you're saying…"
The third princess's smile was pure and sweet.
The white-robed Sea Corpse Race member waved his hand and couldn't be bothered to say anything else.
He sighed inwardly. He had discovered that contribution points were hard to obtain, so he tried to resort to dubious methods. Hence, he accepted this mission to find the third princess and successfully found and attracted her.
As long as he sent her back to the Sea Corpse Race, not only would his contribution points be enough to exchange for a high-level corpse heart, but he could also go to the Sea Corpse Race's ancestral vault to complete his second plan after obtaining the third princess' trust.
Moreover, he had already finished most of his plan. He was only less than a month away from entering the Sea Corpse Race's territory.
However… this princess of the Sea Corpse Race insisted on throwing such a divine lightning pearl.
Just as White Robe was sighing with emotion, he suddenly exclaimed softly and stared at the sea.
He sensed that Xu Qing's aura had actually loosened and given up on following them.
"What's going on? Did this kid's personality change? Or is there something more important?"
White Robe was surprised. He observed for a long time until the black wooden ship got far away. Another three days passed before he finally confirmed that Xu Qing hadn't followed.
"Strange."
Although he was curious, White Robe heaved a sigh of relief. He wasn't afraid that Xu Qing would find out about his plan to head to the Sea Corpse Race. He was just feeling guilty about impersonating the other party's identity.
'It doesn't matter. I did this to find him a Dao companion. That's right, I did good. As a superior, I care about my subordinate's personal life and personally went out to find a female companion for him. He should thank me for this!'
White Robe coughed. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that it made sense. However, he still sent out the order to speed up.
However, the sea lizard magic ship Xu Qing was on… was still following!
It was just that the shadow was covering the magic ship.
Three days ago, when Xu Qing locked onto the ships and chased after them, he sensed that he had been discovered. Hence, he pretended to leave. In reality, he secretly controlled the shadow to envelop the ship and completely fused the ship's aura with the anomalous substances in the Forbidden Sea.
After that, he continued to follow and observe. This time, he didn't feel that he had been discovered.
This matter also allowed him to probe some information. For example… there was a high chance that there were no Golden Core cultivators in these three black wooden ships. In fact, there shouldn't even be any three fires cultivator.
Otherwise, when the other party sensed his aura three days ago, they would have immediately attacked him. How could they let him leave?
During these three days, Xu Qing also observed other things. Firstly, he saw through the concealment of the appearance of the three ships through his meticulous observation.
Secondly, the other party's speed increased.
All of this combined made Xu Qing 80% certain that there were no experts who were too confident in their cultivation bases on these three ships.
"Since that's the case…"
Killing intent flashed in Xu Qing's eyes. On one hand, he was very angry because of the black pearl from before. On the other hand, since Xu Qing had seen the nutrients needed to open his magic apertures, there was no reason for him to let them go.
In addition… his Golden Crow Refines All Life's progress was delayed by the other party. They had an obligation to help him complete the last nourishment for Golden Crow Refines All Life.
Only then would it be fair and reasonable.
On the third night, when the sky was pitch-black and the moonlight was dim, Xu Qing stood under the sea on the magic ship and performed a series of hand seals with both hands before pressing down fiercely.
The magic ship buzzed. The sea lizard's wings spread out and its hundreds of feet long body headed straight for the surface of the sea.
The instant it broke out of the sea and flew into the sky, the sea lizard opened its mouth. The golden light on its entire body flickered and gathered before shooting out of its mouth.
This golden beam of light was an attack condensed from the divinity contained in the sea lizard magic ship.
As soon as it appeared, the sky changed color and the wind and clouds stirred.
The dark night sky shone with the astonishingly fast and dazzling golden light. It headed straight for… the second of the three black wooden ships!
The golden light immediately reached its target. No matter how the ship's defense was, it was useless. In the blink of an eye, the golden beam pierced through the barrier and struck the ship.
The entire ship trembled intensely. When its shape was twisting, the surface of the sea erupted again. A huge mosasaur that was more than 3,000 feet long broke out of the sea and roared at the sky, crashing fiercely toward the first black wooden ship at the front!
At the same time, Xu Qing's figure also leaped up from the magic ship. The life lantern in his body was ignited. The flames on his entire body overflowed into the sky and his speed instantly reached the extreme. He headed straight for… the last ship!
As for the shadow and the Diamond Sect's ancestor, they sped toward the second ship that was bombarded by the divinity attack.
All of this took a long time to describe but in reality, it happened in the blink of an eye.
In an instant, the sky rumbled endlessly. Xu Qing immediately reached the third ship.
The moment he got close, he slammed into the ship's defense.
Cracking sounds spread in all directions and densely-packed cracks appeared in front of Xu Qing. After that, the barrier shattered into pieces and Xu Qing barged in.
There were more than 30 Sea Corpse Race members on this ship. Among them, other than an early-stage Foundation Building cultivator who had formed a life fire, there were two Foundation Building cultivators who hadn't formed their life fire. The rest were all at the Qi Condensation Realm!
At this moment, these people's expressions were filled with horror and their movements were extremely slow. Even the life fire in the early stage Foundation Building cultivator's body was ignited just now.
Xu Qing coldly swept his gaze over and didn't stop at all. He took a step forward and arrived in front of the Foundation Building cultivator of the Sea Corpse Race who had ignited his life fire.
The instant the terror and despair appeared in the other party's eyes, Xu Qing had already pressed his palm on the other party's brows.
The Fiendish Fire Soul Devouring Art circulated!
With a cry, the totemic tattoo on his back transformed into countless phoenix feathers and enveloped the early stage Foundation Building cultivator. In the blink of an eye, as the two cultivation arts circulated at the same time, the Sea Corpse Race's body withered rapidly.
His soul was extracted and his origin blood was also refined.
It was a ball of dark blue blood. When the phoenix feathers around Xu Qing fought to devour it, Xu Qing's body suddenly trembled. The place where the totemic tattoo was branded on his back emitted an intense heat.
Xu Qing's mind stirred. Before this, his Golden Crow Refines All Life was only a strand away from completing the second stage of the inheritance seed. Now that it had swallowed the origin blood of the Sea Corpse Race, the inheritance seed was finally activated!
At the next instant, a cry that seemed to be able to pierce through the nine heavens rang out from behind Xu Qing. The phoenix feathers in his surroundings instantly burned, transforming into black flames that gathered behind him.
Countless phoenix feathers and countless black flames gathered behind Xu Qing, forming a majestic sea of fire. This sea of fire was hundreds of feet tall and the light illuminated everything here.
The cry rang out again. This time, it was even clearer. It was formed from the black sea of fire.
The instant it spread out… this black sea of fire suddenly rose into the sky and erupted. A black divine bird took shape inside and soared into the sky!!
It was as though it was born from flames, as though it had been formed over time. An ancient intent erupted from its body, causing the night to feel like it was about to boil!
From afar, this divine bird had the head of a crow, the body of a crane, the tail of a phoenix, and had three legs!
As it rose into the air, black flames flowed past its body and gathered at its tail, connecting with the sea of fire, forming a shocking fan-shaped fire!
It was extremely beautiful and filled with profundity.
At the next instant, the black Golden Crow spiraled and headed straight for Xu Qing, who was standing in the air.
As it cried, it got close to Xu Qing and circled around him with an intimate feeling, as though it was dancing.
Wherever it passed, the tail flames would form waves of fire, reflecting Xu Qing's face clearly. It then moved below Xu Qing.
At that moment, almost every Sea Corpse Race member on the three ships in the sky was shaken to the core. When they looked at Xu Qing, their eyes felt an unprecedented piercing pain.
It was as though Xu Qing had become an existence that couldn't be looked at directly amidst the cries and encirclement of the black Golden Crow!
