Xu Qing stared at Saintly Star.
He admitted that the other party was very strong and was the strongest enemy he had encountered since he stepped onto the path of cultivation.
This was even after he used his shadow to cover the other party's magic aperture, causing his combat strength to be reduced by one fire.
Otherwise, Xu Qing knew that he wasn't a match.
Even with one less fire, the other party's methods were still abundant. His emperor-level cultivation art was astonishing and he had countless divine arts. His life lantern's defense even blocked Xu Qing's poison.
'If I obtain his life lantern, my body will also be protected and my defense will be even more perfect!'
Xu Qing's killing intent grew even stronger as he stared at Saintly Star's neck and the life lantern canopy above his head.
When Xu Qing looked at Saintly Star, Saintly Star was also staring at Xu Qing. Among the cultivators of the same realm he had fought in the Yinghuang Province, Xu Qing could basically be ranked among the top three.
He had not expected to meet such a person in a small place like the Nanhuang Continent.
"It seems that the ancestor is right. A great era has arrived and it contains great opportunities. Heaven's chosens appear frequently and demons rise everywhere. Once I fuse Xu Qing's life lantern into my body, not only will I be able to instantly increase my combat strength by another life fire, but the more important part is the Heavenly Palace."
"The value of the life lantern is not only reflected in the Foundation Building realm but also the Heavenly Palace Golden Core Realm! Once I fuse with his life lantern, the moment I break through to the Golden Core realm, with the two life lanterns, I can first project two palaces in the life fog."
"One palace means the power of six fires. As soon as I step into the Golden Core Realm, I will possess the power of at least 12 fires. After nurturing my cultivation for a period of time and opening the true first Heavenly Palace, I will be able to obtain the power of 18 fires!"
"There's also his emperor-level cultivation art. If I kill him and devour his Golden Crow Refines All Life, my Miemeng's chances of entering the second level will be even greater!"
"Advancing an emperor-level cultivation art is extremely difficult. Even the descendants of those ancient sovereigns and rulers were unable to advance their emperor-level cultivation arts to the second level at the Foundation Building realm. In fact, it was very difficult for them to advance their cultivation arts even when they reached the Golden Core realm. If they succeed, the enhancement from an emperor-level cultivation art will no longer be the power of one life fire but six fires like the Heavenly Palace!"
"If I succeed, the moment I step into the Golden Core Realm, I will possess the power of 18 fires. Moreover, I'll be able to reach 24 fires very soon. With such combat strength, I'll be the undisputed number one heaven's chosen of the Yinghuang Province. I'll then use this identity to join the Sword Holder. My path will soar and I'll be able to reach Fenghai County!"
Saintly Star and Xu Qing occupied two sides of the sky. On Saintly Star's side, rainbow light filled the air, causing the ground to turn colorful.
At Xu Qing's side, the surroundings were pitch-black. Black flames burned the sky, emitting rumbling sounds. The two of them stared at each other from afar and could see the rising killing intent in each other.
At the next instant, they moved at the same time.
From afar, it looked like two different skies were colliding.
It was Miemeng and the Golden Crow, these two legendary divine birds, emitting cries as they tried to devour the other.
It was two canopies erupting with their respective divine lights.
It was a life-and-death battle between the young ruler and the young ancient sovereign.
The sounds spread in all directions, and the sky changed colors!
As the sky seemed to be about to explode, Xu Qing and Saintly Star each attacked with all their might. Their bodies trembled violently and they had no choice but to retreat.
"Damn it, if my six-fire combat strength was still here!" Saintly Star's expression was gloomy. The life fires in his body burned as he tried his best to expel the black shadow on the 120th magic aperture.
However, no matter how intense his flames were, the shadow persisted. It was desperately blocking the magic aperture that was like a volcano mouth, preventing the magic power in it from spreading out at all, causing Saintly Star's fourth ball of life fire to be unable to form.
The killing intent in Saintly Star's eyes intensified. As he retreated, he saw Xu Qing's body sway in the distance and approach him with sharp killing intent.
A hint of determination appeared in his eyes. He bit the tip of his tongue and spat out blood.
"Ghost Cloth, seal the body and soul!"
As he chanted, the mouthful of blood instantly grew to a thousand feet in the blink of an eye and formed a blood-colored robe that swept toward Xu Qing.
Xu Qing's eyes narrowed. The Golden Crow behind him let out a cry and the black flames spread out. However, the blood robe actually didn't care about the damage and spared no expense to forcefully arrive and wrap around Xu Qing.
A sealing power erupted from it, causing Xu Qing's body to involuntarily stop in mid-air.
A cold glint flashed in Xu Qing's eyes. The Golden Crow behind him cried and the life lantern canopy above his head burned, wanting to disperse the power of the seal.
At this moment, Saintly Star lifted his right hand and formed a seal.
"Heavenly Blood Sword!"
In an instant, his right hand turned red and the qi and blood in his entire body churned. A blood light erupted from the top of his head and headed straight for the sky.
Upon closer inspection, there was a flying sword in the blood light!
The sky trembled as though dragons were swimming in it. Amidst the majestic rumbling, the entire sky turned blood red as though it was enveloped by a blood-colored curtain.
In the blood-colored sky, a huge sword tip appeared. The range of this sword tip was a thousand feet. After it appeared, it suddenly sank, revealing an even more majestic sword body.
There were a large number of marks on the sword and countless broken limbs.
As soon as this sword appeared, the sky seemed to shatter. At the same time, the blood light around the sword transformed into a sea of blood that formed a huge vortex.
A terrifying force erupted from within, gathering at the tip of the large sword. Amidst the shocking sight, the blood-colored large sword descended vertically upon Xu Qing!
It was extremely fast and arrived before Xu Qing in an instant. Xu Qing wanted to dodge, but the blood robe used all its strength to restrain him even though it was burning!
A sense of danger stirred in Xu Qing's mind. He looked at the large sword and used the protection jade given by Lord Sixth without any hesitation.
The large sword landed and pierced into the protective barrier.
Rumbling sounds rang out like thunder, resounding through the clouds.
The protective power rapidly weakened and Xu Qing's body trembled intensely as he was pushed down by the astonishing force from the large sword.
A cold glint flashed in Saintly Star's eyes. He waved his hand at Xu Qing.
"Soul Shaking Demon Suppression Sword!"
A second blood light rose from the top of his head. It also had a flying sword that started growing rapidly, forming a second blood-colored sword in front of him!
This sword was the same length and shape as the falling sword from the sky. The marks on it were the same as well. However, it didn't descend from the sky but transformed in front of Saintly Star. It slashed toward Xu Qing like the autumn wind sweeping away leaves!
The second large sword swept through everything in its path like it was cutting butter. Wherever it passed, all the buildings instantly collapsed and the ground caved in as though it was being pressed.
A force that could overturn mountains and seas exploded at this moment. Xu Qing's expression darkened. The second sword arrived before him and slashed at his barrier.
When the large sword in front of him collided with his barrier, both swords erupted with terrifying power, causing Xu Qing to suffer injuries even though he was inside the barrier.
However, the killing move from Saintly Star wasn't over. Almost at the same time that the Heavenly Blood Sword and Soul Shaking Demon Suppression Sword were displayed, he put his palms together and pointed at Xu Qing.
"Northern Ghost Inquires the Heaven Sword!"
As soon as he finished speaking, ghosts appeared in the blood-colored vortex in the sky above Xu Qing. These ghosts were strange in that they didn't have faces and were all carrying swords on their backs.
They gave off cold presence and even emitted sharp sword qi. After they appeared, they immediately descended from the vortex and surrounded Xu Qing.
A total of eight ghosts had their backs facing Xu Qing. As Saintly Star let out a low shout, the eight sword ghosts moved in unison. They grabbed the swords on their backs and turned around, slashing at Xu Qing!
The sword qi churned like the sea and slashed out eight times at Xu Qing!
The speed of these eight swords was too fast. They were sudden like the rainstorm and also like bolts of lightning that instantly landed on Xu Qing's barrier.
At this moment, a total of ten swords were attacking the barrier. After the consumption in the Starfish Island and persisting for so long, Lord Sixth's defensive jade was finally exhausted and the barrier collapsed.
As it dissipated, more than half of the ten swords dissipated. However, some sword qi still entered Xu Qing's body and headed straight for his life fires.
Xu Qing's expression was gloomy. Although he finally burned the blood robe outside his body completely with the help of this collapsing force, the sword qi inside his body still caused him to cough out a mouthful of blood.
Seeing Saintly Star approaching, the aura in Xu Qing's body became unstable. He didn't hesitate and quickly retreated. The life fires in his body flickered as he used all his strength to suppress the sword qi.
All of this took a long time to describe but in reality, everything happened in the blink of an eye. As Xu Qing retreated, Saintly Star caught up to him in the blink of an eye and was ready to attack.
However, Xu Qing suppressed the sword qi in his body at this moment and turned around, his eyes revealing ruthlessness.
He ruthlessly swung his right hand at the approaching Saintly Star. Immediately, the mosasaur manifested behind him in all its majesty. The moment it appeared, it pierced through Xu Qing's body and devoured the approaching Saintly Star.
Saintly Star's expression darkened. He spread out the protective barrier of his life lantern and resisted with all his might.
The mosasaur collapsed but it still caused Saintly Star to take a few steps back. Ripples spread on the life lantern's defense like water. However, Xu Qing's counterattack wasn't over. Almost at the instant the mosasaur was destroyed, the magic ship appeared.
He didn't use its divine attack. If he did that, the power would be scattered which wasn't suitable for this situation.
As soon as the magic ship appeared, Xu Qing controlled it to collide with Saintly Star. There was also the power of self-destruction.
Saintly Star had just destroyed the mosasaur when the magic ship appeared before him. He didn't have time to dodge as Xu Qing's magic boat directly self-destructed. A deafening boom rang out in all directions and the divinity contained in the magic boat and its own power transformed into terrifying energy fluctuations that spread out.
Saintly Star trembled and his expression was sinister. However, he was still sent back by the impact and his life lantern's defense fluctuated intensely.
As he was sent back, Xu Qing performed a series of hand seals with both hands. A purple heavenly saber suddenly formed in the sky above his head and slashed down.
It wasn't over. Xu Qing finally activated the poison he had set up in the surroundings. It instantly enveloped the surroundings and targeted the life lantern's defense, forming a corrosive power that rapidly weakened it!
The reason why he was willing to exhaust Lord Sixth's protection jade earlier and waited until now was all to stall for time as he thought of ways to shatter the life lantern's defense!
Otherwise, with the life lantern's protective barrier still around, this battle wouldn't be easy.
Hence, he needed time to add more poison and adjust its effects, allowing the poison that permeated this place to be more effective in corrosion. Only then could he unleash its strength the instant it was stimulated!
As the heavenly saber slashed down, the poison intent erupted.
