The influx of 59 portions of soul power instantly caused Xu Qing's entire body to rumble. 59 magic apertures in his body started circulating intensely as they continuously suppressed these souls.
Because there were too many of them at once, it would take some time to refine them. Hence, Xu Qing immediately sat down and focused on absorbing them.
Old Master Seventh swept his gaze across the surroundings and curled his lips.
"Just these small fries are a little boring."
As he spoke, he flicked his sleeve and an ordinary-looking magic ship appeared in the air. The shape of this magic ship was somewhat similar to Xu Qing's ship, but from the outside, it looked even more tattered.
However, intense divinity circulated on it.
Ding Xue was also lying on the deck of the magic ship. Clearly, when Xu Qing rushed out to fight against the old man, Ding Xue had already been taken away by Old Master Seventh.
She had just woken up and her face was still filled with confusion. When she lowered her head and saw Old Master Seventh outside the magic ship, she was stunned.
"Uncle-in-law?" After that, she saw Xu Qing sitting cross-legged and meditating beside Old Master Seventh. She noticed that Xu Qing's forehead was covered in sweat and his body emitted invisible flames that kept rising. Ding Xue's expression was hesitant.
"Uncle-in-law, what happened? You… Why are you here too? Also, what's wrong with Brother Xu Qing?" Ding Xue blinked. She made a bad guess and this guess instantly caused her face to turn red.
'No way. Was uncle-in-law following us all the way? Wouldn't that mean that all my previous actions have been seen…' Ding Xue's face turned even redder. The feeling of her relatives seeing her acting coquettishly made her feel embarrassed and angry.
Seeing Ding Xue like this, Old Master Seventh laughed. He had indeed seen it clearly.
Hearing Old Master Seventh's laughter, Ding Xue blushed and stomped her feet, pouting coquettishly.
"Uncle-in-law!"
"I didn't see anything." Old Master Seventh coughed. He, who didn't have any children, doted on his niece-in-law very much.
Amidst his laughter, Old Master Seventh flicked his sleeve and swept Xu Qing onto the magic ship. After casually throwing Xu Qing to the side, Old Master Seventh raised his right hand and a soul pearl appeared in his hand. Just as he was about to speak, he discovered that Ding Xue was looking at Xu Qing with a pained expression.
The expression on her face was clearly one of heartache for Xu Qing being casually thrown aside by him.
"His skin is rough and his flesh is thick. He's fine." Old Master Seventh was a little depressed.
"Uncle-in-law, Brother Xu Qing is still young and is still growing. Please be gentler to him next time, okay? When I get back, I'll say more good things about you to aunt." Ding Xue ran to Old Master Seventh's side and held his arm.
Old Master Seventh looked at Ding Xue and then at Xu Qing, who was still refining the souls. He let out a long sigh. He vaguely understood the daily feelings of his eldest disciple.
He shook his head helplessly and pressed the soul pearl in his hand against Ding Xue's forehead, patting it gently.
"Alright, alright, alright. Hurry up and cultivate. This soul pearl can help you to form one fire as soon as possible."
"Thank you, uncle-in-law." Ding Xue became happy. She found a place near Xu Qing and sat down cross-legged. She closed her eyes and cultivated, her heart filled with joy.
Old Master Seventh turned his head and looked at the two people sitting there. His heart was filled with emotions. After a long time, he turned his head and stood at the bow of the ship with his hands behind his back. As he looked into the distance, his gaze swept across the surroundings. He let out a cold snort and controlled the magic ship to sail forward.
After the magic ship left, the void distorted and two blurry figures in golden robes appeared. Sword qi permeated their bodies, carrying a sharp intent, but their expressions were filled with bitterness.
"This sect master of the Seven Blood Eyes…"
"With him around, we cannot make a move. He didn't attack the two of us this time because of the Alliance and also because he wanted us to report this scene back. This is his warning."
The two of them came from the Soaring Cloud Sword Sect.
"This Xu Qing is already extraordinary to begin with and with such a background… he'll be harder to deal with in the future, especially after this incident. We'll never know if such an expert is still hiding behind him when he's alone in the future."
The two of them looked at each other and shook their heads before leaving.
After they left, a few more auras permeated the surrounding void and transformed into several figures. They stood there silently while being wary of each other.
Different from the two people earlier, they weren't cultivators of the Alliance but rogue cultivators. This time, they had received news that Xu Qing, who had two life lanterns, had gone out, so they rushed over to see if they had a chance to plunder.
However, they knew Xu Qing's background, so they only watched and didn't act rashly. The scene after that completely frightened them. Right now, their thoughts were the same as the two Soaring Cloud Sword Sect cultivators.
"This is the Seven Blood Eyes' attitude…"
"A warning to everyone."
"There's also the protection of the Alliance that the Eight Sects Alliance announced some time ago. The price to kill Xu Qing is too great."
"Although the life lantern is good, I only have one life."
Everyone dispersed while having different thoughts. As they left, the rumors about this matter slowly spread.
This was the protection Old Master Seventh gave Xu Qing and also a warning to others.
Just like that, time flowed by. Seven days later, at dusk, Xu Qing opened his eyes.
The moment he opened his eyes, the 60 magic apertures in his body emitted shocking flames and a thunderous boom echoed in his mind.
Right now, half of the 120 magic apertures were suppressing souls. Under this continuous suppression, his cultivation base had clearly improved a little. Even the flames had changed. There was an additional ferocity in the fiendish fire. That was the intense resentment produced by the burning souls.
This was the Dark Soul Fire.
This fire could affect emotions. When this fire burned the enemies; in light cases, their emotions would fluctuate intensely, and in serious cases, their souls would be injured and collapse.
"How do you feel?" Old Master Seventh, who was standing at the bow, turned his head and glanced at Xu Qing.
"Thank you, Master!" Xu Qing stood up and cupped his fists.
"From now on, it will be much safer for you to go out again. In that case, I'll bring you to do the second thing. It's also the main reason for this trip."
"I'll teach you… a Golden Core cultivation art."
When Xu Qing heard this, his eyes narrowed.
"However, it is not ready yet. You don't have to be anxious. I still need to ponder over this cultivation art." After Old Master Seventh finished speaking, he glanced at Ding Xue, who was still cultivating at the side. He raised his right hand and waved it, creating a protective barrier around her before walking out of the magic ship.
"Follow me."
Xu Qing immediately followed and left the magic ship with Old Master Seventh, heading toward the mountain range below.
Although this place wasn't the Grand Affairs Misfortune Passing Mountain, it was still filled with mountain forests. Many pitch-black mountain peaks emitted a sinister aura, especially right now in dusk.
There was a sect between the mountain peaks.
This sect wasn't small. Its range enveloped three mountain peaks. Many disciples were shuttling between the mountains.
"This is the Heavenly Spirit Sect, a medium-sized sect. It isn't a sect of the Alliance. Its strength is average but there's a cultivation art in this sect that's a little peculiar." As Old Master Seventh spoke, he brought Xu Qing straight to the sect.
Xu Qing's expression was a little strange. His master had ignored the sect's array formation defense and directly entered the sect. All the disciples on the way ignored them as though they couldn't see them.
After Old Master Seventh's gaze swept over, he brought Xu Qing straight to the sect's Scripture Library. The two Golden Core old men guarding the library also didn't notice anything and allowed Xu Qing and Old Master Seventh to walk past them. They stepped into this pavilion and entered the highest level that ordinary disciples couldn't enter.
All the restrictions here were useless in front of Old Master Seventh, as though they couldn't detect him at all. Old Master Seventh very naturally grabbed cultivation art jade slips that were floating in the air and checked them one by one like he was in his study.
Xu Qing glanced at Old Master Seventh but didn't speak.
"What are you waiting for? You have to study seriously. Back then, I got this spell specially for the sake of learning." Old Master Seventh glared at Xu Qing and lectured.
Xu Qing nodded seriously. He then grabbed a jade slip and focused on reading it.
Just like that, the two of them, master and disciple, immersed themselves in their studies on the top floor of the Heavenly Spirit Sect's Scripture Library. Old Master Seventh was very serious, and Xu Qing was even more serious, especially after he saw a few jade slips that recorded information of plants and vegetation in the Yinghuang Province.
A few days later, Old Master Seventh finished reading all the jade slips here and sighed with emotion.
"Not bad, not bad. As expected, the Heavenly Spirit Sect has its profundities in the control of magic power. It's a pity that it's too inferior in other aspects."
Xu Qing also nodded, seemingly unsatisfied. Although there was a lot of plant knowledge recorded here, the description wasn't incisive enough. However, it still benefited him greatly and he grasped more knowledge of changes in vegetation.
"It's the same for its pharmacopeia. This sect should have produced cultivators of the Dao of Medicine in the past. It's a pity that very few people studied it in the future, so there are fewer notes and supplements to those books." Xu Qing sighed.
Old Master Seventh nodded, his eyes revealing admiration.
"You like to study. This is a good habit." As he spoke, he placed his hands behind his back and brought Xu Qing out of the Scripture Library.
On the way, Xu Qing hesitated for a moment.
"Master, I really like to learn. I wonder if Master can teach me this spell that is specially used for learning…"
Old Master Seventh glanced at Xu Qing and the admiration in his eyes deepened. He then nodded in satisfaction.
"With your current cultivation base, you can't grasp it yet. After you reach the Nascent Soul realm, I'll teach you this method specially used for learning."
"Let's go to the other sects to take a look. In order to create a Golden Core cultivation art that belongs to you alone, I've researched for a long time. This time, I have marked several sects to learn their cultivation arts and make adjustments."
"So, you have to work hard in the future!" With that, Old Master Seventh walked out of the sect.
Xu Qing nodded heavily and followed behind. He stepped into the air with Old Master Seventh and returned to the magic ship.
On the magic ship, Old Master Seventh called out to Xu Qing.
"We cultivators don't forget to be grateful when learning. You have to remember this. Come, let us pay our respects to this sect. This can be considered returning the favor of reading the scriptures. This way, when we become enemies in the future, we can fight and kill in peace." As he spoke, Old Master Seventh cupped his fists and bowed to the sect below.
Xu Qing was solemn. He felt that his master's actions were indeed methodical. Hence, he memorized this etiquette and cupped his fists to bow to the sect below.
After that, they left.
Their arrival was silent.
Their departure was also silent.
Very soon, the magic ship disappeared in the horizon. A few days later, it stopped outside another sect. Old Master Seventh brought Xu Qing down the magic ship with determination to learn. They went to this sect's Scripture Library.
They continued to study.
Just like that, time flowed by. The magic ship continued to head west of the Grand Affairs Misfortune Passing Mountain.
They would occasionally stop on the way, one sect after another…
"Learning is endless. Fourth, you're not bad. Back then, I brought your ignorant and incompetent third senior brother for this experience. However, he doesn't like to learn at all. Also, it's the same for your eldest senior brother. Back then, he kept thinking about the sects' treasures."
"Fourth, you're still the most similar to Master!" Old Master Seventh was in the Scripture Library of the 47th sect they went to. When he saw Xu Qing focused on reading, he praised him from the bottom of his heart.
Xu Qing wasn't arrogant or rash.
After hearing his master's words, he put down the jade slip in his hand and thought for a moment before speaking softly.
"Master, is there a sect in the Yinghuang Province that mainly focuses on the Dao of Poison? I want to go there and study."
