Chapter 54: Total Transformation
That night, Xu Qing cultivated the Seaforming Scripture, achieving multiple breakthroughs and eventually reaching the fourth level.
It was a somewhat ridiculous progress speed, and it caused all the surrounding Seventh Peak disciples to be shocked. That said, Seventh Peak disciples were known for keeping their true abilities hidden. Therefore, after realizing that Xu Qing’s boat was new to the area, indicating he was a newly promoted disciple, most of them went back into their own boats and didn’t pay any further attention. Of course, in reality, they were all making inquiries trying to find out more information about who this new disciple was.
It was when the sun finally peeked over the horizon in the morning, casting its light over the sea, that Xu Qing opened his eyes. Violet light spilled out, and it lasted for a few dozen breaths of time before fading away. It left behind a look of shock.
As the night had progressed, Xu Qing’s progress slowed, and he only made one more breakthrough, leaving him in the fifth level of the Seaforming Scripture.
Even still, that level of progress surpassed anything he could have predicted would happen.
The Sea and Mountain Incantation worked together with the Seaforming Scripture…. he thought incredulously.
He looked different compared to the day before. The sharp angles on his face were now a bit softer, and there was something about him that seemed purer. That was the aura brought by the Seaforming Scripture.
Upon sensing the 150-meter spirit sea within him, Xu Qing thought back to the saying associated with the Sea and Mountain Incantation.
Goblins can move mountains, hobgoblins can transport seas.
However, based on his analysis, he was fairly certain his astounding progress had less to do with the Sea and Mountain Incantation, and more to do with the complete lack of mutagen in his meridians. He was like a well-forged receptacle; it simply didn’t make sense to compare him to someone who had just started practicing cultivation.
It was only logical that he blasted through the early stages because of the large amounts of spirit power pouring into him. That also explained why he had slowed down during the last half of the night. There were limits to what that well-forged receptacle could hold.
That said, I did achieve one more breakthrough. There’s a limit to my speed, but I should still be able to advance relatively quickly.
As he pondered everything, his eyes shone. He hadn’t just made progress with the Seaforming Scripture during the night. He had also made some advancement in the Sea and Mountain Incantation.
He was now very close to the eighth level.
Most importantly, each level of the Seaforming Scripture came with magical techniques. Looking down at his right hand, Xu Qing sent forth a thought, and watched as a drop of seawater suddenly formed on his palm. In the blink of an eye, it became a ball of water as large as a human head. Then it transformed into the shape of a flying dagger, then a shield, and then a bird.
The ball of water continued to transform, the amount of water changing depending on what item it formed. Each one was a different weight, and had a different level of power.
Within the jade slip for the technique, there were over a hundred different transformations between all ten levels. They all emanated a frigid coldness as well as the aura of the Forbidden Sea, which would be very intimidating to enemy opponents. But they weren’t just intimidating, they were downright mighty.
The ball of water had so much explosive power in it that he could easily overwhelm any of the scavengers he’d met in the fifth level of Qi Condensation. Based on what Xu Qing could tell, it would take no more than forty of these balls of water to kill the old version of himself in battle.
And right now, with this 150-meter spirit sea, he could create fifty balls of water. When you added in all the transformations, that was a level of power that, even now, could be deadly if someone used it against him, though he would certainly last longer in such a fight than the old version of himself.
Perhaps it was a bit exaggerated, but he had already cultivated the Sea and Mountain Incantation to seventy percent completion, yet he was already as strong as someone in the tenth level of that technique.
In other words, an ordinary person who cultivated the Sea and Mountain Incantation to the tenth level would still have trouble killing a Seventh Peak disciple who’d cultivated the Seaforming Scripture to the fifth level.
This gave Xu Qing an even greater appreciation for Seven Blood Eyes, as well as the fighting abilities of Seventh Peak disciples.
Rogue cultivators aren’t even remotely on the same level as disciples from a sect. Right now, it would only take the new me a few minutes to kill the old version of me.
Although his cultivation base had not grown significantly, his battle prowess had increased a lot. In fact, he felt almost like he was walking a different path than before.
As the dawn sun filtered into his boat, it made his shadow clearly visible on the deck. He looked down at it.
During his night of cultivation, his shadow had absorbed all of the mutagen he had taken into himself. The shadow looked even darker than before, and when you looked at it closely, it resembled a deep abyss.
As Xu Qing stared, the shadow’s arms moved. Then it flexed its fingers before forming a fist, then went back and forth between those two postures. It could also shrink and stretch rapidly in very gruish fashion. After a moment, a wave of exhaustion swept through Xu Qing, but he recovered almost instantly.
After that second phase of the assessment, and my breakthroughs with the Seaforming Scripture, my control over my shadow is increasing dramatically.
With that, Xu Qing looked out at the sun in the sky.
Then he slowly got to his feet, arranged his belongings, and took out his daoist robe. Putting it on the table, he straightened out the folds. Waving his hand, he formed a drop of water, then turned it into a sphere, and finally, transformed it into a mirror. Looking at himself, he saw a delicate and even pretty face, dashing and charming. His skin was smudged, but his eyes glittered like bright stars. After examining himself, a look of determination appeared on his face, and he took off his scavenger clothes, revealing the impressive physique he had developed with the Sea and Mountain Incantation.
Waving his hand at the mirror, he pulled it toward him, while simultaneously transforming it into a rushing stream of water vapor. As it washed over him, it removed all the muck and grime, creating a pool of dirty water at his feet.
It was the first time in about seven years that he had thoroughly washed.
The reason was that his environment had changed. In the slums and the scavenger basecamp, being dirty made him look like everyone else. But here, that look would attract unwanted attention. After what happened on his dharmaboat the previous night, he knew that people would have a hard time believing that he was poor.
He let the water run down his face and hair, revealing his fair skin.
After all the filth was gone, he opened his eyes.𝘦𝘯.𝘰𝘳𝘨
The sun shone through the canopy of his boat, landing on his hair and face, and it seemed to remember him with longing, as if it hoped to never leave him. It felt a bit uncomfortable to Xu Qing, so he backed up into the shadows.
His hair was long and black. He looked like he was about sixteen or seventeen, with dramatically angled eyebrows, black eyes, thin lips and a strong profile. He was tall and slender, like a young eagle that wanted to spread its wings in the night.
He seemed cold, lonely, and intimidating, but at the same time, had a bit of the immaturity of a young person. However, that only served to make him more dashing.
After looking at his hands for a moment, he took the gray daoist robe and started putting on the various pieces, starting with the inner garment. He put on the shoes provided by the sect, then put on the outer part of the robe. Then he summoned another ball of water to clean the bloodstains off the deck of his boat. When he finally stepped out into the open, he looked like a completely different person. He was like a gem that had been covered with dirt, but finally cleansed.
Quite a few of the patrolling guards looked over at him in surprise.
His eyes narrowed at the unfamiliar sensation of the sun shining directly onto his skin. However, he soon opened his eyes wide, realizing that he had to get used to it quickly.
After a while, he took a deep breath and stepped off of his boat. Waving his hand, he sucked the boat back into the bottle and then walked off.
Later today, he had to report in to the Violent Crimes Division.
He also wanted to find a medicine shop in the Port District, as he needed to buy some medicinal plants to make white boluses and poison powder. After all, he had long since run out of ingredients.
Despite how early it was, the port was already busy. Both trader ships and Seventh Peak disciples sailed in and out of the various harbors, creating a very bustling atmosphere. Many shops had already opened their doors, and the pedestrians were hurrying to and fro.
Xu Qing’s physical appearance attracted many eyes. That said, to cultivators, good looks were like a mask. And thus, most people simply glanced at him then looked away.
Xu Qing felt like he was getting used to this place. However, he still preferred to stick to the shadows. As he headed toward the Violent Crimes Division, he looked around to see what shops were open. He saw places that sold weapons and places that specialized in spell formations.
Thanks to the information in the dharmaboat jade slip, he knew that not all disciples could personally upgrade their own boats. Most of them would collect the materials required, then take them to shops run by disciples from the Fifth or Sixth Peak to do the work.
After browsing some of the shops, Xu Qing asked around to determine the exact location of the Violent Crimes Division.
Before long, he found himself in front of a very large building complex. The front gate reminded him of the city magistrate’s manor, but inside, it was a lot bigger. There were dozens of smaller structures inside, and of course, the entire place radiated an intense pressure. The entire complex was pitch black. On either side of the front gate were vicious stone statues that looked like rakshasa demons. [1]
The area around the front gate was icy cold, such that passing pedestrians made sure to avoid it.
There were two young cultivators in gray robes attending the front gate, one male and one female. Both seemed to be in their twenties, and were very good looking. They lounged next to the gate, yawning as if they needed sleep. When Xu Qing approached, they looked up at him.
Xu Qing kept a neutral expression on his face as he approached, stopping a short distance away to clasp hands and bow.
“Disciple Xu Qing from the Seventh Peak, reporting for duty.”
“A newbie?” the young man said, his eyes glittering as he looked Xu Qing up and down. Sensing the extraordinary fluctuations rolling off of Xu Qing, he was about to continue talking when the female disciple pushed him aside and walked right up to Xu Qing.
Flashing a pretty smile, she said, “What business do you have here, little Junior Brother?”
“He said he’s reporting for duty,” the young man said with a deadpan smile. “Why are you asking him what he’s doing here?”
The girl ignored him as she continued to look at Xu Qing.
Xu Qing instinctively took a few steps back. He didn’t like being very close to people, and what was more, he wanted to observe these two for a moment. Most of all, he needed to get a good look at their throats.
1. Here is an artistic depiction of a rakshasa. ☜