After Old Master Seventh told him how to use it, under Xu Qing's gaze, the captain thought about it and said two words.
"Heavenly Dog!"
The next moment, the captain shuddered, and a large amount of red mist emanated from the mask, enveloping his entire body. As a tremendous aura descended, those mists actually transformed into a giant red dog.
It was salivating with extreme greed. Its eyes were red, and its heavy breathing was horrifying.
It looked as though it was extremely hungry and wanted to devour someone.
When Xu Qing instinctively took a few steps back, the heavenly dog that the captain had transformed into let out a roar, shaking the entire temple and rapidly dissipating. When the captain's figure reappeared, he took off the mask.
The process of taking it off wasn't particularly smooth. One could see countless red threads between the mask and the captain's face.
It took a certain amount of strength for the captain to remove the mask.
However, he wasn't nervous at all. Instead, he revealed excitement and surprise.
"Master, this immortal art is perfect. It comes with a storage space. If the thing I eat can't be digested, it can still be stored. It's very suitable for me!"
When Xu Qing heard this, he nodded in deep agreement.
Old Master Seventh also laughed.
"It does suit you."
With that, Old Master Seventh raised his right hand and grabbed at the top of the temple. Immediately, another human skin mask was grabbed by him.
This was the face of an old man. It was filled with sorrow and wrinkles. Different from the heavenly dog immortal art from before, this human skin mask didn't have any thoughts of struggle or malice.
It was quiet and there was a faint sigh that echoed in all directions.
Old Master Seventh sensed it and shook his head slightly.
"Fourth, your senior brother's heavenly dog and this mask are the ones with the highest cultivation levels here. Unfortunately, this one isn't quite suitable for you, which is a pity. I'll give you a different one, but the other ones aren't of as high rank as these two."
When Xu Qing heard this, he looked at the human skin mask.
"Master, what immortal art is this?"
"Compassion."
Old Master Seventh sighed and lifted his head to look at the other masks. At the thought that the eldest's mask was so good, he felt that it would be inappropriate if Fourth's mask was inferior.
When the captain heard this, he stepped forward and handed the heavenly dog mask to Xu Qing.
"This is for you. Haha, Junior Brother, although this immortal art is not bad, it's not of much use to me."
Xu Qing knew that this was the captain's good intentions and his heart felt warm. He rejected it and looked at his master.
"Master, what's the specific effect of the immortal art, compassion?"
"When you wear this human skin mask and activate the immortal art, compassion, you can share half of the damage and pain endured by the person you look at."
After Old Master Seventh finished explaining, he continued to search for other skin masks, wanting to find an immortal art that was suitable for Xu Qing.
When the captain heard this, he laughed.
"Master, what else is there to choose? This is so suitable for me. I'm a very compassionate person."
Old Master Seventh didn't listen to the captain's nonsense, but he knew the recovery speed of his eldest disciple's body. He also knew that although the two of them usually tricked each other, their relationship was very deep.
He was about to speak when Xu Qing suddenly spoke.
"Master, this technique is actually more suitable for me."
"Little Qing, are you compassionate?" The captain was surprised.
Old Master Seventh also revealed a curious expression.
"I have a friend. It's very compassionate." Xu Qing added with a serious expression.
"Its appearance is also very suitable."
After Xu Qing finished speaking, the D132 Heavenly Palace body trembled. The lifeless and bored head inside instantly disappeared. Xu Qing moved it outside the Heavenly Palace and threw it to the ground.
After being suddenly taken out of the Heavenly Palace and thrown to the ground, the head rolled a few times, feeling a little stunned.
"What's going on?"
Before it could see its surroundings clearly, Xu Qing stepped on it, crushing it.
The captain and Old Master Seventh were equally stunned.
"Your friend?" The captain glanced at the bloody mud on the ground.
When Xu Qing nodded, the piece of flesh and blood mud quickly gathered. Very soon, the head appeared again. It looked at Xu Qing with a long face and wailed.
"Lord, what did I do wrong? I didn't curse you today."
Xu Qing was expressionless. With a wave of his hand, he sent it into the Heavenly Palace. He then looked at the captain and master with strange expressions as he spoke seriously.
"It's my friend. Very compassionate."
The captain blinked. Old Master Seventh coughed and passed the benevolent face in his hand to Xu Qing.
"Since Fourth's friend is so benevolent, it's indeed very suitable!"
Xu Qing took the human skin mask and thought about it before speaking in a low voice.
"Master, I still have a few friends who are also benevolent. Since each person can obtain one mask, can they also obtain immortal arts similar to benevolence here?"
When the captain heard Xu Qing's suggestion, his eyes lit up. As for Old Master Seventh, he fell silent. After a long time, he looked at the faces in the surroundings and finally shook his head.
"Based on my many years of experience and the things I have gone through, I have learned an important lesson: moderation is key in everything."
"Especially with these immortal arts, each one carries great consequences and manifests in mysterious ways. The curses and unpredictable methods involved are best avoided, and it's advisable not to acquire too many of them."
"Even if every one of your friends took one, in the end, their karma will still be gathered on you, Fourth."
"Especially if the mask is taken by nonhumans. It may bring about greater karmic consequences or trigger hidden curses that are unknown to us. It's best to exercise caution in such matters."
"So, I suggest that the next time you visit a similar place, you can guide someone who you find displeasing to try the mask first, in a similar manner. If that person doesn't die and no subsequent calamities occur, then you can proceed to take the masks safely."
