251 Like a Demon or a Devil
The so-called emperor-level cultivation arts were secret arts created by those ancient kings and sovereigns, and were not handed down to posterity. Among them, some were a complete cultivation technique set, while some were secret techniques.
However, no matter which, their might was extremely astonishing.
Their mysteries and strengths were inconceivable and were naturally incomparably precious.
In addition, emperor-level cultivators were rare, so they became one of the foundational resources of all forces.
However, most of them were basically unable to be cultivated because of the harsh requirements. For example, many of them needed to be combined with the bloodline power of the inheritance. This made almost everyone unable to fulfill the requirement.
Moreover, it was very difficult for other races to cultivate the emperor-level cultivation arts of other species, making it even harder to find a successor.
There were only a few that didn’t require bloodlines and could be cultivated by any species. The value of such an emperor-level cultivation art was the greatest. Any one of them could make people go crazy and helpless.
Madness was due to envy, but helplessness was due to inalienability.
Once an emperor-level cultivation art formed a seed, even if outsiders killed the possessor, they would get nothing.
Even if the possessor described the content of the cultivation art, outsiders would forget it immediately.
Even if they used a special way to preserve the memories, as long as they didn’t have the inheritance seed in their body, they still couldn’t cultivate it.
The inheritance seed was like a certificate. Only those with it were qualified to cultivate.
Golden Crow Refines All Life was like this.
To be precise, Golden Crow Refines All Life wasn’t a cultivation technique but a secret art!
This secret art was astonishingly powerful. According to the information Xu Qing had obtained, after cultivating this secret art to the large success stage, it could allow the cultivator to achieve the Golden Crow Emperor Body.
Once the Golden Crow Emperor Body was formed, the cultivator’s physical combat strength would step into the emperor realm. They could even transform into a Golden Crow and command the nine heavens.
These descriptions and understandings made Xu Qing realize that this Golden Crow Refines All Life was a body-refining secret art.
The cultivation process emphasized natural selection. By refining the origin blood of myriad races and fusing them into their body, they would constantly improve their body, causing it to become stronger and stronger like nurturing a magic treasure until it finally transformed into the Golden Crow Emperor Body.
After all, this was a method created by the Golden Crow. Clearly, in the Golden Crow’s understanding, there wasn’t much concept of good and evil. To it, the strong preyed on the weak and continuously evolved to become the strongest.
As the cultivator continued to absorb the origin blood of myriad races to strengthen themself, they could also snatch the target’s racial talent!
This point was extremely domineering.
However, there were restrictions. If the cultivator wanted to snatch the racial talents, it wasn’t enough to simply refine one member of the race. They had to refine many members of this race, and it was better if the targets had cultivation bases. Only by accumulating like this would they be able to completely plunder the racial talent of that race.
At that moment, Xu Qing leaned against the ship’s wall and closed his eyes. The information he had obtained this time quickly surfaced in his mind. The more he sensed, the faster his heart raced.
A long time later, Xu Qing opened his eyes, revealing a hint of shock.
“Emperor-level body refinement secret art!”
Xu Qing wasn’t unfamiliar with body refinement.
The first cultivation art he came into contact with was the Mountains and Seas Art. This gave him a high lethality when he was in the scavenger campsite. Even when he arrived in the Seven Blood Eyes and saw the terror of spells, he still didn’t give up on body refinement.
This lasted until his Mountains and Seas Art reached its limit after reaching the ninth level.
Even though the Ba shadow behind him was covered in lava and had an astonishing aura, and two molts that looked like they were about to grow horns appeared on its head, in the end, it still didn’t complete the transformation and reach the tenth level.
This had nothing to do with Xu Qing. In reality, because there were no anomalous substances in his body and coupled with the purple crystal, he had already cultivated the Mountains and Seas Art to an unprecedented level.
What made him unable to break through in the end was the level of the Mountains and Seas Art.
After all, this was only a low-level cultivation art that was circulated in the public.
The limitations of this technique caused Xu Qing to have no choice but to stop and use the Sea Transformation Art to break through to Foundation Building.
However, his pursuit of body refinement didn’t decrease. After he stepped into the Foundation Building realm, he had also exchanged for some body refinement techniques in the sect, but their effects weren’t good and they were unable to push the Mountains and Seas Art to the next level.
Now, Xu Qing’s eyes gleamed.
He sensed some of the information of Golden Crow Refines All Life and the Golden Crow’s inheritance seed beside the life lantern. He was eager to give it a try.
“I wonder if my Mountains and Seas Art will be beneficial to cultivating Golden Crow Refines All Life.”
Xu Qing muttered inwardly. He felt that since they were both body refinement techniques, there was a high chance that his achievements in the Mountains and Seas Art would be of some assistance in cultivating Golden Crow Refines All Life.
Right now, however, his injuries were too serious and it wasn’t suitable for him to cultivate immediately. Hence, Xu Qing took a deep breath and endured the intense pain in his body as he began to regulate his breathing. As his magic power circulated, it fused into the purple crystal and he used all his strength to recover from his injuries.
Just like that, time slowly passed.
In the blink of an eye, ten days passed.
During these ten days, regardless of day or night, the shadow emitted extremely loyal emotions. During the day, it blocked the sunlight for Xu Qing and at night, it protected Xu Qing under the sea.
When the Diamond Sect’s ancestor saw all of this, he sneered inwardly and thought to himself, ‘The more you perform at this moment, the more ruthlessly Demon Xu will suppress you. After all, the feeling you give off now is that you won’t become honest unless you are taught a lesson.’
The correct thing to do now wasn’t to express its loyalty so fiercely but to subtly influence Xu Qing.
At the thought of this, the Diamond Sect’s ancestor controlled the black iron stick to head straight for the sky and sweep through the surroundings before returning. It quietly floated in a location where it could observe all the areas around Xu Qing.
In these ten days, although Xu Qing encountered some dangers from sea beasts, regardless of whether it was the Diamond Sect’s ancestor or the shadow, they were completely different from before. Under their attacks, Xu Qing could rest in peace.
As for those sea beasts, Xu Qing didn’t kill them. Instead, he used the shadow as a rope and tied them up before placing them under the sea. He then dragged them like he was rearing them.
With the constant recovery effect of the purple crystal, Xu Qing was much better now other than looking a little pale.
After his magic power circulated in the newly-grown flesh and bones, it wasn’t much different from before he was injured. At this moment, Xu Qing felt that it was time for him to cultivate Golden Crow Refines All Life.
He sat cross-legged and took a deep breath. The moment the sun rose into the sky, Xu Qing lifted his head and began to ponder about Golden Crow Refines All Life that had been completely imprinted in his mind for ten days.
“The nine heavens forge the Emperor’s body, the Golden Crow refines all life. The talents of all races belong to me. My life illuminates the sky!”
Xu Qing muttered. He performed a series of hand seals with both hands and placed them in front of his dantian. His two thumbs interlocked and the four fingers of each hand spread out in a fan shape.
After that, he took a deep breath toward the rising sun in the sky.
In an instant, the sky seemed to blur and distort in Xu Qing’s eyes. A heat that couldn’t be seen but could be sensed by Xu Qing seemed to emit from the sun in the sky and enter his body through his mouth.
The Golden Crow beside Xu Qing’s life lantern suddenly awakened. Its wings suddenly flapped as though they wanted to spread out. It lifted its head and swallowed the burning power of the sun that was sinking in.
Immediately, this fiery power fused into the Golden Crow’s mouth. Its eyes opened slightly but it seemed like it could not open it completely. However, the gap that only opened slightly revealed a resplendent light.
This was the first step in cultivating Golden Crow Refines All Life!
It was to awaken the Golden Crow’s inheritance seed.
The method of awakening was the first mouthful of the sun’s aura and… the nourishment of his blood and qi.
At the next instant, the Golden Crow, which couldn’t completely open its eyes, suddenly sucked into Xu Qing’s body. In an instant, it seemed to have transformed into a black hole that tried to absorb Xu Qing’s entire body.
Xu Qing’s body trembled and his qi and blood churned intensely. Strands of them spread out and headed straight for the Golden Crow. As they fused into the Golden Crow and were absorbed by it, Xu Qing’s body visibly withered.
His firm arms became saggy and his face caved in. His body also shrunk and became thinner, and his clothes were now too large for him.
However, his expression was as calm as ever.
During these ten days, as Xu Qing studied Golden Crow Refines All Life, he already knew about this situation.
He was calm and allowed the Golden Crow fledgling in his body to continue absorbing his qi and blood.
Gradually, his body became increasingly withered and he looked like a skeleton. The Golden Crow’s absorption had also reached a critical moment and it was trying its best to open its eyes.
In reality, the inheritance seed of any emperor-level cultivation art didn’t activate immediately after it was formed. Instead, the cultivator would take the initiative to activate it when they were fully prepared. This was because the power needed to open the inheritance seed was too great.
Generally speaking, very few people could satisfy the seed on their own. They usually needed the help of the faction behind them which would spare no expense to complete the activation.
For example, this Golden Crow Refines All Life. In reality, the qi and blood power needed to activate it was astonishing. Ordinary cultivators couldn’t withstand such consumption at all. Once they failed, they would face the danger of being sucked dry.
It was also because Xu Qing’s body refinement had reached a very high level that his qi and blood were vast. That was why he could last until now. If it was anyone else, they would probably be sucked dry in an instant.
However, even so, Xu Qing showed signs of being unable to hold on. He noticed that almost all of his flesh and blood were shriveled up like a dried corpse. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he circulated the Mountains and Seas Art and the Ba shadow manifested behind him.
As soon as this Ba shadow appeared, it roared at the sky. The lava under its dry and cracked body was boiling. Its aura was astonishing and the power of blood and qi was incomparably dense.
At the next instant, the Ba shadow’s body swayed and its entire body emitted countless fog of qi and blood which quickly entered Xu Qing’s body and surged into the Golden Crow.
The Golden Crow’s body trembled. Under this huge amount of nutrients, its eyes opened slowly. As for the Ba shadow, it withered rapidly. After more than ten breaths of time, the Ba shadow collapsed and transformed into a large ball of qi and blood that surged into Xu Qing’s body.
The Golden Crow trembled and tried its best to completely open its eyes. However, it seemed that even with the majestic qi and blood Xu Qing had gained now, it was still a little short.
This caused the Golden Crow to be just a step away from completely opening its eyes.
A strange glint appeared in Xu Qing’s eyes. Without any hesitation, he lifted his right hand and pressed it on the deck at the side. Immediately, the suction force spread out of his palm and directly spread to the core area of the magic ship, which was… where the flesh of Binding was!
The instant he came into contact with Binding’s flesh, Xu Qing’s body shook. An astonishingly dense qi and blood spread out from Binding’s flesh and crazily surged into his body.
After being swallowed by the Golden Crow, it finally gained the energy it needed. Its eyes opened completely and it let out a cry.
This sound contained the power of the Dao!
After it spread out from Xu Qing’s body, the surface of the sea in all directions fluctuated intensely. Waves rose and fell in all directions with Xu Qing’s magic ship as the center, like a small tsunami!
If one looked at this scene from above, as the waves swept in all directions, it seemed to form a strange painting.
This painting seemed to be of a huge eye.
The eye of the Golden Crow!
As for Xu Qing’s magic ship, it was the pupil of the Golden Crow’s eye.
Although Xu Qing’s entire body was withered, his eyes were bright like the stars. When his messy hair fluttered in the wind, he looked like…
Like a demon or a devil!