Xu Qing had never experienced war before but he had seen something similar.
However, the difference in levels was huge.
What he saw was a battle between the small city where the slums were located and other cities. This battle lasted for seven to eight days.
"In that case, how long will the war between the Seven Blood Eyes and the foreign forces last?" The scenes from the merfolk competition appeared in Xu Qing's mind.
The captain was right about one thing. Such a major event wasn't something they should worry about. The important figures of the sect were the ones who would lead everything.
"I will not participate in the war unless the benefits are enough." Xu Qing walked back to the cave abode. When he sat down, he took out the jade slip of the Life Art.
Although the Fiendish Fire Soul Devouring Art was also a cultivation art, it was mostly cultivated through slaughter. To a certain extent, it wasn't much different from a spell. After cultivating it, as the magic apertures were opened, there would also be corresponding spell moves.
As for the Life Art, it was different. It purely relied on cultivators to absorb the spirit energy of heaven and earth to cultivate. It was similar to the Sea Transformation Art and slowly strengthened oneself, grinding open one magic aperture after another.
Xu Qing felt that his previous thoughts were a little wrong. These two cultivation arts could actually be cultivated together. It wasn't important which was the master and which was the supplementary. This was because everything at the Foundation Building realm was about opening the magic apertures to form life fire.
At that moment, he began to cultivate the Life Art.
The next day, when the sun rose, Xu Qing opened his eyes as the sunlight fell like flames.
He calmly arranged his weapons, poison powder, and the talismans he had bought. After that, he suppressed his shadow as usual before opening the cave abode's door. He looked at the blue sky and white clouds in the distance that were illuminated red like a vast stove.
"I have to go out to sea and kill the sea beasts to obtain their souls to open my magic apertures."
Xu Qing stepped into the air. The plesiosaur manifested under him and roared at the sky. Its four flippers swayed slightly, as though the sky was an ocean, and erupted with an astonishing speed as it brought Xu Qing straight toward the horizon.
The black waves surged and ebbed in the Endless Sea.
Compared to the brightness of the sky, this black color of the sea exuded a dense strangeness. It was like ink and because of its depth and unknownness, one couldn't help but feel fear and reverence.
Although this wasn't his first time out at sea, Xu Qing's mood wasn't much different from before. In fact, he was even more cautious.
This was because there were rules in the sect but outside the sect… anything was possible.
As such, Xu Qing didn't fly ostentatiously. Instead, he took out the magic ship and activated its concealment, making it appear ordinary. He then activated its protective barriers.
"The ship is more comfortable than the cave abode." Xu Qing sat on the boat and sighed with emotion. He controlled the magic ship to head straight for an area he had chosen.
He had been to that area before. It was the place where he had encountered the plesiosaur with Zhao Zhongheng and Ding Xue.
This was because his hunting target was… the plesiosaur.
To break through the magic apertures, he needed souls. Since he had decided to use the souls of sea beasts as fuel, the plesiosaur that had shown vicious intent toward him back then would naturally become his first choice.
He was aware that it was impossible for him to encounter the same one. However, that area was frequented by plesiosaurs, so it was a good destination to search for them.
As Xu Qing sailed, he cultivated the Life Art, not wasting any time. He also stored his plesiosaur in his magic aperture.
His plesiosaur's aura was at the Foundation Building realm. If it was allowed to roam outside, Xu Qing was worried that with the cautious nature of the wild plesiosaurs, they wouldn't reveal themselves.
He also saw some boats that weren't from the Seven Blood Eyes. Every time he encountered them, Xu Qing would be on guard. Although he was now at the Foundation Building realm, his vigilance didn't decrease at all.
Most of the people who encountered unfamiliar boats on the sea were the same. Both sides would be on guard against each other until they left each other's range.
Time flowed by. Three days later, Xu Qing finally arrived at that sea area. It was noon and seabirds were flying in the sky, their cries spreading long and far.
Xu Qing sat on the deck and looked at the black Forbidden Sea. He spread out his perception and paid attention to the fluctuations under the sea.
However, there was no sign of a plesiosaur even after he waited for a long time.
Xu Qing fell silent for a moment and restrained the aura of the magic ship. He observed the sky, and a while later, he locked onto a pseudotooth bird circling in the surroundings for food.
With a wave of his hand, the black iron stick instantly flew out of his hand and headed straight for the sky. The pseudotooth bird was shocked and wanted to escape, but it was still too late. Its wings were penetrated by the black iron stick.
Amidst the pseudotooth bird's cries, Xu Qing controlled the black iron stick to bring it over. He made the black stick hold it above the surface of the sea, making it impossible for it to escape no matter how it struggled. Xu Qing waited warily.
Time slowly passed. As the pseudotooth bird struggled and showed signs of weakness, Xu Qing's eyes suddenly narrowed. He sensed an undercurrent surging over from the bottom of the sea. Not long later, a plesiosaur that was even more majestic than last time and was over 3,000 feet long revealed its figure.
Its aura was astonishing, between Qi Condensation and Foundation Building. However, with its enormous body, its combat strength was no longer something that Qi Condensation cultivators could resist. As it got closer, it noticed Xu Qing's magic ship.
However, Xu Qing's magic ship's aura was completely restrained, not revealing anything. It was the same for himself. Hence, after the plesiosaur circled the surroundings, it got close.
It didn't break through the surface of the sea to devour the pseudotooth bird. Instead, it charged fiercely toward Xu Qing's magic ship.
To it, Xu Qing… looked even more delicious than the pseudotooth bird.
Xu Qing didn't bat an eyelid. When the other party got close enough, a chill erupted in his eyes. He suddenly grabbed at the approaching plesiosaur.
Immediately, the seawater around the plesiosaur rumbled and a large hand formed by seawater and Foundation Building magic power rose. It grabbed at the plesiosaur.
The black iron stick quickly penetrated the pseudotooth bird's body and headed straight for the sea. The Diamond Sect's ancestor who wanted to show his worth was currently working extremely hard. He broke into the sea and quickly rushed toward the plesiosaur.
The plesiosaur let out a roar, forming a sound wave that pierced through the seawater and stopped the black iron stick. At the same time, its flippers swayed rapidly, creating a large wave in the sea in an attempt to counterattack the large hand that had grabbed it. It was already alarmed and wanted to retreat.
However, it was too late. The large hand did not loosen up no matter how it struggled. The black iron stick gave off a bright light at this moment; it broke through the sound waves and directly pierced into the plesiosaur's body. It swam rapidly through its flesh and blood, heading straight for its heart.
Xu Qing calmly spoke. The black iron stick trembled. Although it had stabbed into the plesiosaur's heart, it didn't dare to penetrate it and remained motionless.
With its heart pierced, even though it was a very small wound like a needle hole to the plesiosaur, the intense pain still made it roar. It struggled intensely but it could not escape. The large hand formed by the seawater lifted it into the air.
The seawater cascaded down like a waterfall. The plesiosaur's huge body blocked the sunlight in the air, causing the shadow to envelop Xu Qing's magic ship.
Xu Qing lifted his head and looked at the plesiosaur in front of him. He calmly began to perform hand seals. The black fire in the magic apertures in his body slowly rose.
From afar, Xu Qing's entire body was covered in black flames. The rising flames caused terror to appear in the plesiosaur's eyes. It let out an intense roar and struggled even more intensely.
However, it was useless. Very soon, more and more black flames rose from Xu Qing's body. In the end, they spread out and transformed into a demon-like phantom. It let out a sinister laugh as it pounced toward the plesiosaur.
The moment they came into contact, the demon's body instantly spread out along the plesiosaur's body, instantly enveloping it and starting to burn it.
What it was burning wasn't the plesiosaur's body but its soul.
The entire process lasted for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. As the plesiosaur's struggles and roars grew weaker and weaker, the black flames on its body suddenly curled back and fused into Xu Qing's body.
The plesiosaur's body instantly went limp with no signs of life. After losing its soul, its body lost its spirituality and value.
The large hand loosened up and the plesiosaur's body fell into the sea loudly, causing huge waves to rise.
The black iron stick quickly flew out of the plesiosaur's body and obediently circled around Xu Qing.
This was the first time Xu Qing had used the Fiendish Fire Soul Devouring Art. He was inspecting his body, and saw a small ball of white soul shadow with some green in it had appeared in his body.
This soul shadow looked like a plesiosaur.
"It's indeed white." Xu Qing mumbled. According to the description of the Fiendish Fire Soul Devouring Art, the souls of Qi Condensation cultivators were white and Foundation Building cultivators were green. Among them, green souls were suitable for breaking through the apertures while white souls were much inferior.
"I'll give it a try." With a thought, the plesiosaur's soul shadow in his body instantly burned. The flames that rose from it were exuberant. After it completely burned, the flames rushed straight for the third magic aperture Xu Qing chose.
Xu Qing's body suddenly shook and his third magic aperture trembled, as though a crack had appeared. However, in the end, it didn't break open. The plesiosaur's soul power also dissipated.
"It's indeed effective, but the process is too slow." Xu Qing pondered. He felt that perhaps it was because he wasn't familiar with it, so he controlled the magic ship to change to another area and continued to fish for plesiosaurs using the same method.
The pseudotooth bird was only a catalyst. He emitted Qi Condensation fluctuations that lingered under the sea and used himself as bait.
At the same time, he was also prepared to take off immediately if the situation didn't look good. After all, this kind of fishing… had a chance of luring some terrifying existences he couldn't resist.
However, the probability wasn't high. After all, to those existences, the aura of Qi Condensation wasn't fragrant enough.
Three days later, under Xu Qing's continued temptation, the second plesiosaur got close. He repeated the same thing and transformed it into soul power to continue bombarding his third aperture, causing more cracks to appear on it.
Finally, after changing many locations and fishing for more than half a month, after he caught the seventeenth plesiosaur that was comparable to the Perfected Qi Condensation Realm, half of his third magic aperture was blasted open.
"Too slow…" Xu Qing mumbled and frowned. He calculated that at this speed, he would have to spend at least three years at sea without sleep or rest before he could open 30 magic apertures.
He knew that he was being too optimistic. This was because the activation of the magic apertures would be more difficult and required more soul power the further he progressed.
As such, Xu Qing felt that there was a high chance that this time estimation would double. This didn't include returning to the main city or the accidents he might encounter. If he calculated them all, a conservative estimate would be more than ten years.
"I have to think of a way to kill more sea beasts at once!" A cold glint rose in Xu Qing's eyes. Suddenly, his expression changed and he lifted his head to look into the distance.
At this moment, the waves on the distant sea suddenly surged. He could see a megalodon shark speeding inside. The fluctuations of a Foundation Building cultivator were very intense. Behind it, in the sky, a figure stood on a huge ancient bronze sword, chasing after it.
This figure was a youth. He wore the crimson Daoist robe of the Seven Blood Eyes' First Peak. His long hair fluttered in the wind and his expression was extremely cold. His gaze was cold.
At that moment, he coldly glanced at Xu Qing from afar and calmly spoke.
"Calling the wind and summoning the rain is too common. I'll hide it in a star bag."