473 Fox Hearted
The woman on the centipede let out a shrill cry. With a sway of her body, the centipede’s thousand feet instantly moved rapidly on the mud wall. It wanted to shake off the joss paper but it couldn’t do so.
These joss papers formed inside its body and rapidly spread out through its entire body. It was even about to cover the woman’s upper body.
Evil voices continued to ring out from the faces of those ghosts on the joss papers, spreading in all directions.
“Are you full?”
The sounds were densely packed, as though countless people were screaming.
A malevolent look appeared in the woman’s eyes. After sensing that she couldn’t suppress the joss papers, she controlled her body to burrow into the mud wall. As the mud scattered, her figure burrowed in and disappeared.
At this moment, the joss papers on the faces of the corpses below also flew up one by one and floated into the place where the centipede had gone.
The ghost faces on them laughed as they passed through the mud wall and chased after the centipede.
It seemed like this place was indeed a trap but the target wasn’t Xu Qing but… that strange centipede.
Or rather, the centipede’s appearance attracted the joss papers, causing it to change its target.
Xu Qing wasn’t too sure about the truth and could only make guesses.
He looked at the place where the centipede had left and became even more vigilant of this place. This was because regardless of whether it was the joss papers or the centipede, they both gave him an extremely dangerous feeling.
This feeling had nothing to do with the cultivation base. It was as though these existences themselves possessed a mysterious power.
“It’s a little similar to the red moon… Maybe my Poison Restriction Pill can destroy them, or the purple moon.”
Xu Qing mumbled. However, he didn’t want to expose himself here. While being on guard, he carefully approached the corpses below and kept the scattered fragments in the surroundings as well as the storage bags on those corpses.
As he continued to sink, he opened those storage bags. There were indeed some fragments in each of them, and altogether, there were about a hundred or so.
After putting them away, Xu Qing sank deeper and deeper while maintaining his vigilance.
At this depth, the stench was stronger, the sounds of singing became clearer, the coldness and anomalous substances also became heavier. However, some fragments appeared in the surroundings.
When Xu Qing saw them, he quickly grabbed them.
Just like that, a day passed.
During this time, Xu Qing saw some corpses. Their decay was very serious and he couldn’t tell if they were people who had entered together with him.
Beside these corpses, there were often ghosts that were gnawing like wild dogs.
Moreover, these corpses didn’t have storage bags.
This made Xu Qing even more cautious and his sinking speed slowed down a little.
At the same time, he also encountered many deviant ghosts. For example, there was a giant that was like a mountain of flesh with a huge hole in its stomach that was spitting out soil.
Another time, he saw plants that looked like eyes on the mud walls. They stared at Xu Qing with a sinister expression.
There were also some dancers in beautiful clothes who looked like fairies.
They floated out of the mud walls and danced as they passed through the mud wall at the other end. They looked beautiful but they had no face.
If it was a timid person, their legs would probably go limp from fear and they would want to leave this place.
After all, this place was pitch-black, narrow, and filled with stench. Regardless of whether it was the appearance of the deviant ghosts or the singing voice that was ever-present, it made one’s soul instinctively tremble.
However, Xu Qing was still fine. He had seen too many miserable things in the human world. It wasn’t like there weren’t things more terrifying than this.
When the second day was about to pass, Xu Qing, who had already sunk to an extremely deep level, had already collected more than 200 fragments. This could already be considered the top ranking.
Just as he was considering whether he should continue to sink, the coffin formed by the shadow suddenly appeared on its own. All its eyes opened at the same time and looked at the wall on the other side.
At the same time, there were also intense clear fluctuations that transmitted to Xu Qing.
Xu Qing’s mind stirred. When he lifted his head, the black iron stick flew out and headed straight for the mud wall, instantly blasting open a huge pit, revealing the dying centipede woman inside.
At that moment, her centipede body had completely turned into joss papers. It was shriveled up as though the inner substance had been devoured, leaving only a layer of paper skin.
It was the same for the human body from the eyes down. She lay there paralyzed with a hollow look in her eyes, as though she was waiting for her death.
Xu Qing took a look and retracted his gaze. Just as he was about to leave, a pleading fluctuation came from the shadow behind him.
“You want me to save it?” Xu Qing was surprised. This was the first time he felt such emotions from the shadow.
“Aura… familiar… want…”
Xu Qing fell silent. After a long time, he nodded.
“I can only try.”
The coffin formed by the shadow instantly swayed. Xu Qing took a look and was already used to the other party being led astray by the Diamond Sect’s ancestor.
He walked toward the large pit where the paper centipede was.
When he arrived, the hollowness in the eyes of the woman whose eyes had turned into joss paper rippled slightly, but she couldn’t speak.
Xu Qing calmly walked closer and took a look. The third Heavenly Palace in his body suddenly trembled and the power of poison spread out from Xu Qing’s body, spreading toward the centipede woman.
The poison instantly invaded her.
The woman’s eyes revealed horror. At the next instant, all the joss papers on her body turned into ghost faces in unison and stared fixedly at Xu Qing as they spoke in unison.
However, what came out wasn’t a demonic cry but a shrill cry.
Xu Qing’s poison rapidly permeated the joss papers. Wherever it passed, the joss papers would turn pitch-black and melt. Soon, all the joss papers turned into a black liquid that fused into the soil.
After losing the joss papers, the centipede’s exposed body was also invaded by Xu Qing’s poison.
The area below the woman’s eyes was rotting. When her eyes became even more empty, the third Heavenly Palace in Xu Qing’s body shook.
Immediately, all the poison that was spread out, including the poison in the centipede woman’s body, rolled over and entered Xu Qing’s Heavenly Palace.
After doing this, the centipede woman’s body trembled and she weakly lifted her head. After taking a look at Xu Qing, she instantly left through the soil into the distance.
Xu Qing didn’t care. He stood at the edge of the pit and pondered for a moment. In order to ensure that he could enter the top ten, he felt that it was better to collect more fragments.
Hence, his body leaped and continued to sink. Just like that, another half a day passed and the number of fragments Xu Qing collected reached 243.
There was only half a day left before the time limit for obtaining the qualifications. Xu Qing didn’t plan to continue and prepared to leave.
However, just as he kept the last fragment, his pupils suddenly narrowed.
He saw a living person.
This was the first living person he saw here in this day and a half.
It was the Dao Child of the Grand Affairs Immortal Sect!
This person was further down the deep pit.
There were several caves in the surroundings of that area. At that moment, the Dao Child was constantly flying around the entrances of these caves and fighting against a deviant ghost.
Their speed was extremely fast. As they exchanged blows, low sounds would occasionally echo. However, because the surroundings were special, these sounds didn’t spread too far.
As for the deviant ghost that was fighting against the Dao Child, it was extremely powerful and looked sinister.
It had a human shape but had no skin. Its entire body was dry and cracked, like a burned corpse.
However, its movements were extremely agile and fast, causing the Dao Child to be unable to escape.
Every time the burning corpse attacked, it would set off black fire that burned the surroundings. At the same time, the aura it emitted was also the strongest Xu Qing had sensed on his way.
It had reached the level of six palaces.
This was especially so for the black fire. What they emitted wasn’t high temperature but coldness.
This was the underworld fire. It could burn the soul.
All of this caused the expression of the Dao Child to turn a little ugly. He had been targeted by this burning corpse for a long time. Although he had used a secret art to destroy it many times, the other party would take shape again in the next instant. It was unscathed and was extremely difficult to deal with.
Even when he used some of his soul-destroying trump cards, it was useless. This burning corpse seemed to be undying and indestructible. And the strange power it erupted with every once in a while made him have lingering fear.
“Damn it, I was just a step away from reaching there. How did this five-element corpse escape? Was Grandmaster’s calculations wrong and something happened below?”
The expression of the Dao Child was gloomy. In reality, the reason why he rejected the direct recruitment qualification given by his grandmaster was to enter this ghost cave.
He had long known that the location of the qualification trial this time was set at the ghost cave. His grandmaster had also emphasized that there were things he needed in the upper area of the ghost cave. Whether he could obtain them depended on luck.
In fact, some of the arrangements here were also made clear to him. Hence, after he entered this place, he headed straight here at full speed.
However, in the end, he was stopped by the burning corpse and couldn’t go deeper. This burning corpse was persistent and he couldn’t shake it off. If he forcefully rushed out, it would stimulate the corpse and cause it to reveal an even more astonishing method.
He was also very clear of the origins of this terrifying corpse in front of him and knew that it was anything but ordinary.
“This can’t go on…” As he analyzed how to escape, he suddenly retreated and dodged the burning corpse in front of him. He watched as the burning corpse pounced over again.
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes. Just as he was about to attack, he saw Xu Qing who had just arrived.
There was a distance of more than 2,000 feet between the two of them.
Although the surroundings were dim, they could still see each other clearly. The instant their gazes met, Xu Qing raised his brows and looked at the abyss below. After that, he retreated.
He planned to leave this place and didn’t want to participate.
“It’s you!” However, the instant Xu Qing retreated, the expression of the Dao Child, who was 2,000 feet away, revealed a strange glint.
He didn’t hesitate at all. Even though the burning corpse was rapidly pouncing over, he didn’t care. Instead, he quickly performed a series of hand seals with both hands.
Immediately, the void outside his body distorted and spatial fluctuations appeared. After that, he lifted his right hand and slapped his forehead. In an instant, a crack appeared on his forehead. A palm-sized black ram actually stretched its head out from the crack between his brows and called out to Xu Qing.
Bahhh!
Xu Qing immediately felt uneasy as he retreated. However, he sensed cracking sounds from the void in his surroundings, as though countless pieces of space had shattered. Two of them were picked up and swapped places before reforming.
The world spun. When everything became clear, Xu Qing’s expression was gloomy as he discovered that he was actually at the location of the Dao Child earlier.
As for the other party, he appeared at his previous location. They actually swapped space at this instant and forcefully swapped positions!
At the same time, the burning corpse suddenly got close and pounced toward Xu Qing!
The Dao Child stood at the spot where Xu Qing was previously and chuckled. He borrowed Xu Qing’s help to attract the burning corpses and his speed erupted explosively, heading straight for the bottom of the deep pit and leaving.
Xu Qing glanced at the departing Dao Child with a cold gaze.