Outside Of Time

The Dao Child's spell was mysterious. It was almost impossible to guard against such a position swap technique for the first time.

As for the other party's chuckle, Xu Qing heard it and remembered it.

However, now wasn't the time to think about these things. The burning corpse was rapidly pouncing over.

Xu Qing was very clear that there was naturally a reason why this burning corpse was entangled with the Dao Child.

As such, he didn't dare to be careless. He retreated and performed a series of hand seals with both hands, forming waves in the surroundings that whistled toward the burning corpse and blasted it away.

At the same time, the shadow instantly formed the coffin and fused into Xu Qing's body as he retreated.

A loud sound echoed in all directions, and the sea waves swept out, drowning the burning corpse.

At that moment, Xu Qing had also fused with the shadow. His entire body was black and a sharp glint appeared in his eyes. He didn't choose to rush over but retreated again.

His speed instantly soared, reaching the peak of the five Heavenly Palaces. He quickly punched.

Almost at the instant his fist landed, the waves in front of him collapsed from an internal eruption.

The seawater formed by the spell rumbled and shot in all directions as a burning figure rushed out.

That figure was too fast and Xu Qing couldn't see it clearly at all. He could only vaguely sense that the other party was stepping on the spreading waves and had arrived in front of him in the blink of an eye.

It was the burning corpse with a baleful glint in its eyes.

Amidst the deafening roar, the burning corpse punched Xu Qing's right fist.

Xu Qing felt an astonishing force erupting from the other party's fist, forming waves of impact that landed on his entire body. Even with his current physical strength, he couldn't resist it.

His body rumbled as he was sent back again, directly smashing on the mud wall, forming a deep crater.

"It's indeed the combat strength of six palaces!"

"However, it didn't chase after Zhang Siyun, which means that it lacks intelligence and only has instincts like a wild beast. However, as long as it has instincts, everything is fine!"

"It is only targeting me now. After I punched, it was clearly faster than me but it still punched my fist. This proves that the thinking of this corpse is simple."

Xu Qing's breathing hastened slightly as he quickly analyzed.

He could sense how terrifying this burning corpse was. Its spells were okay, but the most astonishing thing was its body.

This physical strength had already reached six palaces. Even though Xu Qing had fused with the shadow and possessed an extreme peak five palaces physical body, he still couldn't counterattack.

He couldn't even see the other party's movements clearly.

However, the environment here limited the burning corpse's movement range. The range of this deep pit wasn't very large. As long as he limited the range of possible attack direction to the front only, no matter how fast the burning corpse was, Xu Qing had a way to counter it.

As such, he didn't attempt to dodge. That would only cause him to be attacked from all directions.

He retreated rapidly and entered the mud wall. There was a mud wall behind him and there were mud walls on both sides. Only the space in front of him was empty.

At the same time, the Poison Restriction Pill in the Third Heavenly Palace in his body shook rapidly. Endless poison erupted from it and spread through Xu Qing's body, gathering in front of him.

The instant Xu Qing entered the mud wall, the burning corpse roared again. Red flames spread out from its entire body, transforming into a ghastly mouth formed by flames that fiercely pounced upon Xu Qing.

Xu Qing didn't dodge. He leaned against the mud wall and curled up into a ball, blocking with all his might like a hedgehog.

As the flames spread out, the aura of the burning corpse skyrocketed. An afterimage appeared as it arrived in front of the mud wall and punched Xu Qing.

Xu Qing's countenance turned pale. The mud wall behind him collapsed and his body was pushed in by the great force. However, the burning corpse also retreated. Other than madness, for the first time, it looked wary.

Its right arm was currently rotting!

There was also a bolt of red lightning that instantly arrived when it retreated and pierced through its body, causing the burning corpse to let out a roar. Red lightning bolts swam in its body and wherever they passed, its flesh and blood would turn into crystals that emitted extreme cold air.

After the red lightning completed this attack, it quickly returned to the location where the mud wall had collapsed, revealing the iron stick inside. It floated in front of Xu Qing.

Xu Qing spat out a mouthful of blood. The black color of his entire body was rapidly gathering at his glabella, transforming into the shadow's eyes.

The shadow stared fixedly at the corpse.

Under the shadow eye was Xu Qing's calm face. Fighting intent rose in his eyes as he stared at the burning corpse.

He knew that his physical strength was inferior to the other party's, his spells were inferior, and his speed was inferior. However, he didn't give up. He first used the mud wall to limit the range of the attacks.

This made it so that the other party's attack could only come from the front.

Of course, this was also because Xu Qing judged that this burning corpse didn't have the intelligence of a cultivator. That was why he used this battle method.

Also, his Poison Restriction Pill was a trump card that far surpassed his physical strength, and the poison was all gathered in front of him. As long as the other party attacked, it would be poisoned. What he needed to do was to endure the attacks and wait for the poison to corrode it.

The deep pit turned quiet. The burning corpse stared fixedly at Xu Qing with an irritated and wary expression. The rotting on its right hand was spreading.

In the end, its violence suppressed its fear. With a sway of its body, the combat strength of the six palaces erupted again, forming flames that drowned Xu Qing. It rushed out again and headed straight for the mud wall.

In an instant, a rumbling sound echoed out, mixed with roars.

A moment later, the burning corpse retreated at an astonishing speed and floated in the air.

At that moment, its right arm had completely melted and even its body was being corroded by the poison. Although its expression was crazy, it was obvious that it was even more wart. There was also a hint of horror.

As for the mud wall in front of it, Xu Qing's seven orifices were bleeding. The purple crystal in his body rapidly circulated to heal him, allowing him to last longer.

In front of him was a dense poison that corroded the surroundings and emitted anomalous substances.

Xu Qing didn't care about these. At that moment, he stared at the burning corpse with intense killing intent in his eyes.

However, he still didn't move. He lifted his right hand inside the mud wall and gestured at the burning corpse.

"Come, continue."

The burning corpse instantly became irritated and roared. However, the hesitation and wariness in its expression were still intense.

When Xu Qing saw this, he pressed his hands against the mud wall beside him. When he stood up, the power of the Poison Restriction suddenly spread out and he assumed an attacking posture.

He didn't know why Zhang Siyun, who clearly had the combat strength of six palaces, would be entangled with this burning corpse for so long. However, he understood wild beasts and knew that they were easily scared at this time.

This was especially so for wild beasts that relied on their instincts to move.

Therefore, rather than continuing to pester it, it was better to let the other party leave on its own.

Almost at the instant Xu Qing attacked and the power of the Poison Restriction spread out, the fear in the burning corpse's eyes grew even more intense and its body instinctively retreated.

Finally, it let out a few roars and rushed upward, choosing to leave.

Xu Qing spat blood and looked up. He then stared coldly at the bottom of the deep pit. The coldness in his eyes intensified.

He knew that the Dao Child was very strong and might even be related to the red moon, so he knew how dangerous it was.

However, Xu Qing was unwilling to leave just like that.

"This is the territory of the Absolute Beginning Separation Pillar, the Sword Holding Court. If the other party really has a bizarre entity and it appears here, someone will naturally deal with it. Although there's danger… if I don't even dare to take a look and search for an opportunity, I might as well return to the Nanhuang Continent!"

At that moment, the time limit for the end of the assessment was approaching. Determination appeared in Xu Qing's eyes. With a sway of his body, he headed straight for the bottom of the deep pit at full speed.

On the way, he spread out his Poison Restriction in all directions. This was to chase away the burning corpse that might follow him.

Just like that, as he continued deeper, he saw joss papers again!

Joss papers floated out of the deep pit and fluttered in the surroundings.

Xu Qing's eyes narrowed. He simply stuck close to the mud wall and cautiously crawled down.

Time flowed by and very soon, there was only an hour left until the end of the assessment. Most of the disciples chose to crush the jade talismans and leave.

There weren't many cultivators left in the deep pit, and there were even fewer at this depth. There were only Xu Qing and the Dao Child.

As they went deeper, there were more joss papers here and the stench became even stronger. The coldness and anomalous substances became denser and the sound of singing became clearer.

After the time it took for an incense stick to burn passed, Xu Qing, who was sinking continuously, suddenly stopped.

He didn't move at all and leaned against the mud wall. He narrowed his eyes and hid himself as he looked at the area thousands of feet below.

He saw a strange building.

It was a wooden hut.

It was a wooden hut that was filled with dilapidation, as though it had experienced countless years and was decaying.

The wooden hut was shaped like a pentagon.

There was a gray iron chain at each corner that was connected to the mud wall in the distance.

Under the hanging of the five iron chains, the wooden hut hung in the air.

A weak red light emitted from the oil lantern at the window of the hut.

Through the window and the decaying gaps above, one could see a figure of a woman in a red costume.

She sat by the window and stretched out her jade-like hand, scattering joss papers outside. The joss papers were then swept up by the cold air.

Xu Qing saw the joss papers, the hand, and the oil lantern that emitted a red glow.

The moment he saw the joss papers, he knew the origin of the joss papers he had seen on the way. The instant he saw that hand, his heart instinctively palpitated intensely.

However, the instant he saw the oil lantern, everything transformed into an intense shock in his mind.

This was because that oil lantern… was actually a life lantern!

At this moment, the sound of singing rose faintly from the wooden hut, echoing in the dark and narrow pit.

"Wandering in this life, buried for the rest of my life. Who is waiting in the cycle of reincarnation…"

Her voice was poignant, feminine, and cold.

He didn't know who she was singing for.

Maybe it was Xu Qing, maybe it was the Dao Child who was also here, or maybe it was an unknown existence in the depths of the deep pit.

* * *