433 Afterglow
This scene caused Xu Qing and the other two to inhale sharply. Although they were already very familiar with this place and had seen a lot on the way here, after personally witnessing the unparalleled viciousness of the three great black mountains, great waves surged in their minds.
The waves in Yanyan’s mind caused her to shudder.
The waves in Xu Qing’s mind made him take out more concealment items that he had obtained since he started cultivating, and activated them all on his body.
As for the captain… he was different from the two of them. The only thing the waves in his mind turned to was an uncontrollable desire in his eyes. He stared at the three thrones, panting.
“Treasure, this is also a treasure!!”
Yanyan’s eyes widened as looked at the captain like she had seen a ghost.
Xu Qing was already used to it and didn’t bother with it. Instead, after thinking for a moment, he gave Yanyan some concealment items.
His actions instantly diverted Yanyan’s attention. She took the items that Xu Qing had given her with a strange light in her eyes. She couldn’t help but raise her finger to bite it again.
“This is a dangerous place. Eldest Senior Brother, when will the Sword Holding Court come?” Xu Qing suddenly asked. His gaze shifted away from the black mountains and landed at the foot of the mountains.
At this moment, they were also on a mountain. The three of them lay behind a huge rock at the top of the mountain and looked into the distance.
The mountain they were on was one of the surrounding mountains. It was not very eye-catching, and was much smaller than the three black mountains. However, it was still enough to observe everything.
At that moment, the three black mountains in the distance were surrounded by thin fog. The fog twisted and flowed in the air, transforming into huge ghost heads that circled around the mountains while making monstrous sounds.
Black cities could be seen on the ground.
These cities were bustling with activity. All sorts of strange cries, ferocious roars, and bloodthirsty laughter spread out in all directions.
They were all disciples of Three Spirits Suppression Mountain. A large number of mortals were treated as servants and food. They lived a life worse than death inside.
As for the disciples of the Three Spirits Suppression Mountain, they were all mixed up. They contained members of myriad races. They were vicious criminals who had gathered here to get the protection of the Three Spirits.
There were also weak cultivators. Most of them were captured or promoted from the mortal world as supplements.
They had already lost their humanity and all that was left was extreme evil.
This was the only way to survive here.
All of this was reflected in the eyes of Xu Qing’s group. The countless demons and monsters were clearly the first obstacle to their journey to Three Spirits Suppression Mountain.
Moreover, there were many experts inside. Just a simple glance was enough for Xu Qing to sense many powerful energy fluctuations.
Fortunately, they had completely hidden themselves, and their cultivation levels were relatively inconspicuous. Therefore, as long as they did not cause any commotion, they would not be detected within a short period of time.
However, this was also because they didn’t get too close. Otherwise, if they got any closer, they would be immediately discovered when they touched the formation of the Three Spirits Suppression Mountain.
The current situation was different from the forbidden land of the Sea Corpse Race. They couldn’t enter openly, so they needed a chance.
“It should be soon. We’re not in a hurry. Let’s hide here and wait.” The captain licked his lips and suppressed the desire in his heart.
Xu Qing nodded and laid there motionlessly. Yanyan took the concealment items that Xu Qing had given her and her face turned slightly red as she moved closer to Xu Qing. When her left hand touched Xu Qing’s body, her delicate body trembled as though she had been electrocuted. Her gaze looked lost.
Xu Qing wanted to step away but at this moment, an energy fluctuation came from afar and swept through the surroundings. Xu Qing didn’t dare to move and maintained his posture.
A moment later, the energy fluctuation swept past and disappeared.
“This is the outer region of Three Spirits Suppression Mountain. Don’t worry, as long as we don’t jump out on our own, this simple investigation will ignore us. It will only examine those at the Nascent Soul realm or above.”
“After all, in the perception of Three Spirits Suppression Mountain, cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage are just ants,” the captain said in a low voice.
Xu Qing didn’t say anything. He took out a few more concealment items and activated them. He then gestured to Yanyan and the two of them moved to another direction.
After years of experience, he knew that the captain was sometimes unreliable.
Seeing this, the captain raised his eyebrows and put on a resentful expression.
“Little Qing, you’ve changed. Why are you sitting so far away from me?”
“Eldest Senior Brother, did Master give you some new treasure?” Xu Qing glanced at the captain from afar.
“How is that possible? The old man is stingy. By the way, Little Qing, do you have any more apples? I’m a little hungry.” The captain’s expression was normal without any flaws.
Xu Qing didn’t say anything and threw a few apples over. However, he didn’t go near the captain. Instead, he scattered poison powder around him.
The captain blinked and sighed.
Yanyan, who was at the side, didn’t understand their conversation and actions. She was very puzzled, but she didn’t ask.
Three days passed.
“Captain, if the Sword Holding Court doesn’t come, we can’t continue waiting like this. Do you have any other options?” Xu Qing asked as he lay on the other side.
“The Sword Holding Court will definitely come!” The captain said with certainty.
“Are you sure?” Xu Qing was surprised.
“Of course. I spent a lot of money to buy the information!” The captain’s eyes revealed a profound look, as if he had the situation in his hand.
Xu Qing thought about it but didn’t say anything.
Several days passed.
Xu Qing silently glanced at the captain. The captain drew in a deep breath and nodded.
“Don’t worry!”
Another seven to eight days passed.
In the past seven to eight days, there had been several crises.
Some of the cultivators from Three Spirits Suppression Mountain were flying through the air or patrolling, and almost noticed them. One of the most dangerous incidents was when a group of disciples from Three Spirits Suppression Mountain whistled past. Some of them seemed to sense that something was off, and looked closely at the mountain they were on.
Xu Qing continued to hide and even used the shadow to envelop himself. Clearly, Yanyan also had her own treasures. Hence, the two of them avoided the probing gazes.
As for the captain, he instantly activated his concealment treasure and turned invisible. Xu Qing lowered his head and looked at his shadow.
In the dark night, the shadow, who was invisible to outsiders, quickly pointed in the direction of a large rock in the distance.
Xu Qing expressionlessly glanced in that direction.
At the same time, at the spot where the shadow pointed, a crack suddenly appeared near the ground where the motionless rock was. This crack was formed by narrowing of the eyes.
“Something’s not right. Did Little Qing sense me? Did the old man tell Little Qing about giving me a clone and illusionary transformation treasure?”
“This kid had become too smart. He’s not fun anymore.” This huge rock was the captain’s concealment.
In reality, this was his main body. The one in the distance… was his clone. His original plan was to wait for the Sword Holding Court to attack and take advantage of the chaos to let his clone follow Xu Qing and Yanyan to scout the way while he followed behind.
This was a much safer plan and he might even be able to secretly obtain better gains.
Back when he was on the merfolk island and in the forbidden land of the Sea Corpse Race, he had done the same thing but failed every time.
In the tunnel to the underwater world of the merfolk island, he followed Xu Qing all the way. In the end, he was hit by the poison scattered by Xu Qing. He even had to take the blame for the Sea Corpse Race’s incident.
This made him very unconvinced. This time, with the treasure given by his master, he felt that he could succeed.
However, Xu Qing’s gaze earlier made him feel a little unconfident.
After some thought, after the group of cultivators left, he changed directions.
Just like that, three days later, on the evening that Xu Qing and the other two had been waiting for almost a month, an earth-shattering bolt of lightning suddenly appeared in the black clouds in the sky.
The lightning bolt was extremely huge and was almost 100,000 feet long. It was as if a crack had been torn in the sky.
The sound was so loud that it was like countless bolts of lightning striking, causing the world to tremble.
After the huge lightning appeared, smaller lightning bolts descended from the sky one after another and struck the ground.
It enveloped this large area, as if forming a lightning realm.
Lightning filled the air, and the place instantly fell into chaos.
The black clouds in the sky shattered. The sound of war drums rang out in the sky, and a sword light flew over from the sky.
This sword light was extremely huge, and was surrounded by thousands of Dao marks. It contained the power to sever the heavens, and emanated boundless might. It was like a heavenly tribulation as it shot… toward the first mountain of the Three Spirits Suppression Mountain!
As the sword fell, the first mountain rumbled violently.
A thick cloud of black fog rose up into the sky and entangled with the sword light. A low shout that shook one’s heart spread out in all directions.
“Sword Holding Elder!”
“The Sword Holding Court accepts the order of the County to suppress the Three Spirit Mountains!” A clear response came from the sword light.
This sudden scene shocked the Three Spirits. At the same time, the ground became even more chaotic.
A pair of large hands reached out from the sky and waved fiercely; a storm exploded and swept in all directions, completely pushing away the black clouds.
What followed were Sword Holders. After they appeared, they turned into rays of sword light and charged towards the ground.
As they descended, the giant that had parted the clouds also landed in the world. It threw its head back and roared as it charged toward the second mountain. With a single punch, the second mountain shook, and huge cracks appeared on the mountain, as if it was about to collapse.
There were also three figures standing on top of the giant’s head. Each and every one of them radiated shocking energy, and their eyes shone with light. As the giant strode forward, the three of them moved at the same time and headed toward the third mountain.
Their sword qi blasted into the third mountain!
In the next moment, booming sounds came from the third mountain. The defense and restrictions around it collapsed along with more than half of the mountain. As the mountain tilted, the pressure that it gave off disappeared.
A huge hole could be seen in the middle of the mountain. Inside was the residence of the Spirit Venerable Nether Fairy.
Spirit Venerable Nether Fairy’s expression changed drastically and she released a ferocious aura.
The skeleton giant from the second mountain also stood up and shouted.
“Sword Holding Court, do you know the consequences of attacking us? We have been acting appropriately and have not overstepped our boundaries. We have also not responded to the Ghost Emperor’s summons. Do you want to force us to integrate into the Ghost Emperor and awaken him?!”
“You’re just sneaky little beings. In the Ancient Sovereign’s era, you were only like bandits. Now that the human race is in decline, you dare to threaten us.”
Up in the sky, a middle-aged man walked over.
He was dressed in an official uniform and a hat with Dao patterns. He had a calm aura and carried an ancient sword on his back.
As he walked over, his clothes fluttered in the wind, and sword qi swirled around him. Shockingly, there were countless shadows of him behind him, each one larger than the last, as if they were connected to the sky.
It was the second stage of Nihility.
Behind him, as the clouds were torn apart, the light of dusk shone on this miserable world that had not seen light for a long time.
Although it was the afterglow, it was still dazzling!
Just like the human race.