<h4>Chapter 869: Encountering a Fiend</h4>


    Three days passed.


    During that time, the storm caused by Xu Qing only got bigger in the Mountain and Sea Region. With the exception of a few random people who isted themselves and didn’t contact anyone else, just about everyone heard about the situation between Xu Qing and Master Stillwinter.


    Among the Firemoon Darkheaven people, Master Stillwinter was universally recognized as the number two chosen. Whether through direct experience or not, all Firemoons knew that he had terrifying battle prowess. Therefore, after hearing about the way Xu Qing was challenging Master Stillwinter, none of them put much stock in his ability toe out on top of a fight. Although Xu Qing was certainly making a dramatic show, it wasn’t enough to change the minds of all those cultivators.


    After all, it was only two months before that word had spread rapidly about Master Stillwinter seeking Xu Qing. Then, an announcement was made that Xu Qing had perished. Although that proved to be incorrect, the fact that he went missing for that period of time seemed to be an indication of how the sh between them ended. How much could have changed in two months?


    But what many people found strange was that Master Stillwinter didn’t respond to Xu Qing’s challenge. In fact, many Firemoon cultivators came to the realization that nobody knew where Master Stillwinter was. That was very thought-provoking, and it didn’t take long before spections began to run wild.


    The more than one hundred Saia and Whitemarsh cultivators that Xu Qing was dragging behind him only got weaker and weaker, while at the same time, they also started wondering what was going on. They had been doing everything they could, and had reached the point where they had sent messages to everyone they could think of. And yet, Master Stillwinter never showed up. In fact, not one person that they messaged ever came to their rescue. That actually wasn’t surprising considering that... these people weren’t idiots. None of them wanted to put their own lives on the line to save people unless they werepletely confident in seeding.


    But eventually, it did happen. At around noon, when the sunlight was brightest in the Mountain and Sea Region, yang energy flourished, and yin-based grues and beasts were normally resting.


    As the bright sunlight shone down, illuminating heaven and earth, Xu Qing suddenly stopped in midair and looked toward the horizon. The over one hundred cultivators behind him instantly ceased their wailing and moaning, and nervously looked in the same direction. Before long, they all caught sight of four beams of prismatic light shooting over the horizon.


    Within each of them was a cultivator with an exceptional demeanor and a powerful cultivation base. Three of them were Saias, and they had murderous looks on their faces.


    The fourth was a Whitemarsh with a powerful fleshly body. He was like a small mountain pulsing with an intense aura of energy and blood. The beating of his heart was like muffled thunder, and imparted the sensation of invincibility.


    Most shocking was that all four of them had extraordinary mounts. The Whitemarsh was riding a huge winged python that waspletely ferocious in appearance. The three Saias all had different mounts. One had the head of a lion and the body of a wolf, and emanated an aura that could stun the soul. The second looked like a turtle, and emanated a boundlessly powerful sensation. Unexpectedly, thest mount looked like an evil ghost. It was pitch ck, blurry, and iparably gruish. The mounts provided significant blessings to all of them. Powerful fluctuations rolled out in all directions, causing the dome of heaven to turn as dark as if it was stained by ink.


    When the captives saw these four cultivators racing toward Xu Qing, their hearts leaped with joy. These four were chosen cultivators from their own species, so it was only natural that they recognized them.


    The three Saias were the strongest representatives of their species in the second round of the Great Hunt. All of them had second-stage Void Returning cultivation bases, yet could unleash battle prowess equivalent to the fourth stage. Although they weren’t as exceptional as Master Stillwinter, they were extremely respected by most species.


    As for the burly Whitemarsh, he had a fleshly body equivalent to fourth-stage Void Returning, and was also a member of the nobility. He was the second-born son of the leader of the Whitemarsh species!


    These four had received messages asking for help. Knowing that Xu Qing was involved, they had joined forces toe deal with him. The fact that they had shown up after all this time seemed to indicate that they were very confident in the chances of sess. The moment they appeared, it was without a moment of hesitation that they shot toward Xu Qing to attack him. They didn’t even exchange any words.


    The first to arrive was the young lord of the Whitemarsh species. The burly young man had a cruel facial expression, and the fluctuations of energy and blood that pulsated off him created an intense pressure. As he closed in, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture and then shoved his hand out. The air around Xu Qing filled with the sharp sound of rifts tearing open. Natural and magicalws shattered, then formed anew in a way that conformed to the Whitemarsh’s dao.


    Next, the third eye on his forehead opened, and it radiated a furious red color that spread out around him. An instantter, the projection of a blood-red giant appeared behind him. The giant had two horrid warhammers that caused wild colors to sh and winds to scream as it smashed them toward Xu Qing. At the same time, the Whitemarsh’s mount opened its mouth in brutal fashion to snap at Xu Qing.


    Further back, the Saia cultivator with the evil ghost mount circled around to cut off Xu Qing’s avenue of retreat. He simultaneously performed a double-handed incantation gesture and started chanting something. Countlessherworld souls appeared, quickly turning into a sea of souls that didn’t just block his path, but also swept out to encircle him.


    As for the other two Saias, one of them appeared above Xu Qing, while the other appeared below him. The one above didn’t unleash a divine ability. Instead, he produced a red candle that he ignited.


    “Godly binding!” he said. Instantly, an image of Xu Qing appeared in the candle’s me.


    The Saia beneath Xu Qing sat down cross-legged and performed an incantation gesture. Instantly, his body decayed as he unleashed a mysterious curse magic. It became a stream of gray light designed to infect the soul. It shot right toward Xu Qing.


    The four acted simultaneously with mountain-toppling, sea-draining force. The Whitemarsh attacked in a way that couldn’t be stopped. The first Saia blocked Xu Qing’s path of retreat. The second used a special treasure to target Xu Qing’s fleshly body and make resistance difficult. And the third Saia used a trump card curse magic designed to corrupt Xu Qing’s soul.


    Of course, the mounts of the three Saia’s alsounched attacks.


    Meanwhile, the clouds seethed on the horizon as yet another figure appeared and raced toward them. This person’s aura wasn’t on the same level as Master Stillwinter, but it was very close. Because he was wreathed in clouds, it was impossible to make out his facial features, but he was clearly very domineering.


    For some unknown reason, as this mysterious neer neared, he suddenly stopped in ce within the clouds. His foot was almost frozen in ce, as if he didn’t dare to proceed any further. Within the clouds, his expression was one of shock and astonishment, and all of his domineering attitude disappeared.


    The moment he stopped in ce, Xu Qing’s eyes filled with gray fog. Then the gray fog erupted from within him, sweeping out to cover a 3,000-meter area and obscure both his over one hundred captives and the four would-be rescuers.


    The descending warhammers were affected, as was the sealing magic. Most shocked of all were the four mounts. They shivered, then suddenly switched sides and attacked their masters with unrelenting ferocity.


    Xu Qing’s expression was calm as he looked up at the Saia cultivator with the red candle. Their gazes met, and Xu Qing shot upward.


    The Saia reeled mentally as the candle in his hand suddenly started burning much faster. It was as if it had been stimted into action, and in fact, over the course of only two breaths of time... it burned out!


    The Saia tried to fall back, but it was toote. Xu Qing appeared in front of him, reached out, and grabbed him by the neck. As an agonized howl echoed out, countless strands of gray fog entered the Saia’s eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, as well as all of his pores. He shivered from head to toe, all while screaming in agony. His cultivation base was rejected, his body decayed, and he was killed in body and soul.


    Xu Qing let him go and vanished. When he reappeared, he was in front of the Saia cultivator who had unleashed the sealing magic. The Saia backed away in terror as he realized that Xu Qing was not revealing Void Returning strength. It was more like Smoldering God! That unexpected twist filled him with the utmost terror.


    “Brother Heavenink,” he blurted, “you—”


    Except, his longevity couldn’t sustain him for long enough to finish speaking. He crumbled into pieces, all while countless soul threads emerged from him.


    Xu Qing vanished again, to reappear in front of the final Saia.


    The Saia shivered and turned to flee. But the gray fog exerted a karmic tug, making it impossible for him to do so. As Xu Qing approached, his eyes went wide with madness and he unleashed his curse power to the fullest extent possible.


    “Die, die, DIE!!”


    Curses streamed out of him, causing his body to wither dramatically. Unfortunately, when those curses entered Xu Qing, they did as much good <i>as as throwing a stone ox into the ocean</i>. Nothing happened. Xu Qing approached him calmly and took his life.


    Finally, Xu Qing turned to the young Whitemarsh lord, who was currently trying to get away.


    With a single step, Xu Qing appeared in front of the blood-red giant. Ignoring the warhammers, he passed the giant and closed in on the Whitemarsh.


    The young Whitemarsh lord was astonished to the core. In fact, he had been shocked from the moment the gray fog appeared and the n they had agreed upon went awry as their fifth member failed to intervene. The fact that the three Saia chosen had died so quickly went to show the massive level disparity. And that crushed him mentally.


    <i>Dammit, dammit, dammit!! Didn’t they say that Master Stillwinter chased this guy away when they fought? He... he’s actually far more terrifying than Master Stillwinter! And that gray fog... it’s from the Ninedawns Forbidden Lands! How can he be using it here? Don’t tell me... that he’s got something to do with the dramatic events that went down there earlier!</i>


    Numerous thoughts ran through his mind as Xu Qing approached. Then the gray fog streamed into him, and all he could do was howl in agony as he was killed in body and soul. The gray fog disappeared. The over one hundred cultivators that Xu Qing had taken captive were no longer useful. They died.


    Sunlight streamed down, illuminating Xu Qing.


    Looking at the distant patch of clouds, he coolly said, “Sir Heavenink.”


    The clouds dissipated, revealing a young Firemoon cultivator. He was in third-stage Void Returning, but had battle prowess in the great circle. He was listed as fourth among Firemoon chosen, and was part of the stewarded nation of High God Starfire. In the past, he had fought Tuo Shishan and defeated him, which went to show the quality of his battle prowess. Right now, he looked extremely respectful as he sped hands and bowed formally to Xu Qing.


    “Greetings, Brother Xu! I, Heavenink, havee here today to give you two gifts. The first gift came in the form of those four flunkies. I hope you enjoyed venting your fury on them. The second gift is information about Master Stillwinter! I secretly carried out my own investigation, all for the purpose of helping you find him, Brother Xu!”


    Sir Heavenink took out a jade slip he had prepared moments ago and respectfully offered it to Xu Qing.