Ever since entering Forbidden by the Immortal, Xu Qing had been longing to absorb the mutagen here. Back when he had experimentally absorbed some in the presence of his Master, he had benefited a lot from only a moment before he suppressed his instincts and stopped. It had made him like a hungry person, filling him with longing. Yet he had forced all of those feelings down.

There hadn’t been any doubt that if he let loose and absorbed the mutagen, it would attract, not only the attention of the mutant beasts, but also the human cultivators nearby. Besides, absorbing a lot of mutagen while the god of Forbidden by the Immortal was still present would have been risky. Then the red moon showed up, and that added additional variables that made the situation too difficult to control.

He did have the violet crystal to offer some degree of protection, but it couldn’t solve all problems. And it didn’t seem like a good idea to become overreliant on the violet crystal, especially in situations that weren’t really life-threatening. But now, there were no such obstacles.

During the fighting, Crimson Mother’s true form had absorbed all of the magenta flesh, as well as the mutant beasts that it produced. What was more, the fact that Forbidden by the Immortal was crumbling meant that the human cultivators weren’t going to be paying such close attention to everything.

An unprecedented opportunity had arrived.

Without the slightest hesitation, Xu Qing started absorbing mutagen. In the blink of an eye, mutagen swept toward him like tidal waters, streaming into his pores and filling him. He felt completely at ease as every fiber of flesh and drop of blood participated. In the shortest of moments, a vortex sprang into being around Xu Qing.

As rumbling sounds echoed out around the cross-legged Xu Qing, he heard the Captain speaking to him.

“Little Junior Brother, I can sense through the rifts in the sky that the cultivators on the other side are repairing the canopy of heaven. Given their speed, I’d say we have the time it takes an incense stick to burn. I’ll stand as dharma protector for you, and also keep all fluctuations masked. Hurry up!”

There was no way for Xu Qing to respond at the moment. Inside of him, the golden threads spread, and they absorbed the nutrients like dry, cracked ground absorbing water. All he could do was nod faintly.

The mutagen was different from before. Previously, it just had the aura of the local god, but now it also had the aura of Crimson Mother. And because Crimson Mother’s true self had passed through, the mutagen was even stronger than it had been. To any other person, it would be extremely poisonous, and they would need to immediately consume medicinal pills to stave off mutation. .𝒎

Generally speaking, Xu Qing had to be careful when absorbing the mutagen of other gods. But that wasn’t the case with Crimson Mother’s mutagen. Because he had his violet moon godsource, there was hardly anything more suitable for him than the red moon. Therefore, he rapidly absorbed all the mutagen available. As he sucked it in, streams of golden god vitality proliferated within him.

His taboo poison core, his violet moon heavenly palace, and his Ghost Emperor mountain all needed god vitality to exist, and thus, they shivered, becoming like black holes that gobbled it up.

It created a repeating cycle within Xu Qing. The first step was the mutagen entering him. Then the golden threads created god vitality. That was the second step. As every stream of god vitality was snatched up, that made the third step. And every step of that cycle required him to absorb more mutagen.

The taboo poison core, violet moon, and Ghost Emperor mountain were like three furnaces, constantly burning madly, and the force with which they sucked in the golden threads seemed to spread outside of Xu Qing.

As a result, mutagen surged toward him with even greater speed. The vortex around him soon spread 300 meters, only to keep growing. It eventually reached 1,500 meters. 2,400 meters. 3,000 meters! That entire area was a spinning vortex. It was shocking to the extreme! Boundless mutagen rushed toward him in wave after wave, creating seemingly unstoppable momentum.

Now that there was no god in Forbidden by the Immortal, it was almost as if Xu Qing himself had become the lord of the place.

Off to the side, the Captain, who was nearly overwhelmed, looked on with wide eyes.

“Off the charts!” he murmured. Gritting his teeth, he pushed down onto his forehead with both hands, causing blue light to surge from within him. Frigid coldness spread out in all directions, linking with the vortex around Xu Qing and bolstering the concealing effect. In any other location, a bolstering like that wouldn’t have worked well. It would have stood out like a bright torch on a dark night. But a torch in the middle of a sea of fire wouldn’t attract much attention. Forbidden by the Immortal was in such chaos that it was just like that sea of fire.

Thus it was just as the Captain had said. As long as they didn’t stick around for too long, they would be safe.

Xu Qing knew that time was of the essence, so he wasn’t holding back. As he absorbed the mutagen, god vitality flourished within him.

The golden threads felt wonderful. And they had grown larger than before, by double. As golden light flowed across him, countless magical symbols appeared on his skin, all of which pulsed with holiness. It was almost as if he was no longer a mortal. Instead, he pulsed with the aura of a god. 𝘪𝑎.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Seeing that change in Xu Qing, the Captain started salivating, and his nose twitched.

Smells even better than Ning Yan!

The Captain’s eyes glittered.

I wish I could have a bite. Just one little bite….

The Captain swallowed, only to find himself salivating even more.

As the Captain vacillated inwardly, Xu Qing’s taboo poison core absorbed so much god vitality that, for the first time, it experienced a transformation. Popping sounds rang out from the pitch-black gold core, and cracks appeared on its surface. As they spread out and became more numerous, fluctuations of awakening began to spread out. Nearby, the violet moon heavenly palace and the Ghost Emperor mountain, though slightly slower, also exhibited similar signs of transformation. Half an incense stick’s worth of time passed, whereupon the taboo poison core was almost covered with cracks. Then, a loud pop rang out as the outer shell collapsed.

A black imp emerged from within. It looked exactly like Xu Qing, and was the dao soul form of his taboo poison core. After flying out, the black imp opened its mouth and devoured the shattered shell of the taboo poison core. A tremor passed through it, and then it erupted with such a terrifying taboo poison power that it was obviously an entire level higher than before.

It pulsed with black light that spread out over Xu Qing’s sea of consciousness and filled his body.

The Captain, who had been paying close attention to Xu Qing the entire time, noticed the change.

A different flavor? It seems more delicious, but I can also tell that if I ate it, this current life of mine would be over. W-w-what… what poison is that?

As the Captain’s eyes widened, and his heart pounded, Xu Qing’s aura once again climbed higher. This time, the source of the increase was the violet moon heavenly palace!

Previously, Xu Qing had used his taboo poison power and his own mutagen to suppress the projection of the red moon in his sea of consciousness, thus taking some godsource. Because it had then become a part of Xu Qing himself, it became violet in color. From ancient times until now, it was rare for such things to happen. And normally speaking, it happened only when one high-level god devoured another.

Back then, the red moon had sensed some of hēr godsource go missing, and had briefly awoken. Despite being on guard, not even the omniscient and omnipotent god had been able to pick up on any clues about what happened. That godsource had vanished without a trace. Hēr first inclination was to believe that some other god was responsible.

Now, inside of his violet moon heavenly palace, the godsource that had once belonged to the red moon was rapidly transforming. Within the violet moon, it became something else. Out from within the violet moon stepped a figure in a long violet robe, with long violet hair. Though it somewhat resembled the god in the red moon, its face was the same as Xu Qing’s!

This was Xu Qing’s violet moon dao soul! The moment it appeared, he made a beckoning gesture toward the violet moon behind him. The moon then transformed into a symbol that settled on his forehead. He then walked to the far end of the heavenly palace, where he sat down on the throne there, then gazed out of the sea of consciousness at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing looked back with divine sense. When he looked at each of the dao souls, it made him feel like he was staring at himself. That sense of linked self made Xu Qing realize that the essence that had once belonged to the red moon truly had become a part of him, and was now growing. If it kept growing, and things continued as expected, then in the years to come, he might eventually push the violet moon dao soul to the highest level. At that point, īt could theoretically usurp the red moon, and become a High God in its own right.

When that happened, Xu Qing might be able to change all living beings, ensuring that, in their memories, there was never a red moon. They would believe… that the violet moon was the only true existence starting in ancient times.

Master was right. Gods… are just like us, except they exist on a much higher level. They can be supplanted!

As that realization hit him, he continued with the absorption work. After the dao souls of his taboo poison core and violet moon heavenly palace formed, Xu Qing had seven in total! Four of his other dao souls were from his four life lamps. And he also had one that was the manifestation of his imperial-class technique, Golden Crow Assimilates Myriad Spirits. Adding in the taboo poison and violet moon, it meant he had the power of seven dao souls. His battle prowess was now vastly superior to before. In fact, it wasn’t even possible to compare the current version of himself with the one that entered Forbidden by the Immortal.

And yet, things weren’t over yet.

As the Ghost Emperor mountain continued to absorb the god vitality, and as the incense stick’s worth of time reached its end, the heavenly palace rumbled, and the Ghost Emperor within it shook violently. The old body cracked, and finally crumbled, and a dao soul emerged. Just like the nirvanic rebirth of a phoenix, a new life was born out of death. The eighth nascent soul had formed!

Eight-soul power erupted from Xu Qing, causing him to tremble. As his aura skyrocketed, his eyes opened. The first thing he saw was the vast devastation in Forbidden by the Immortal. The second thing he saw was the Captain, looking at him with a face full of conflict and regret.

“Eldest Brother?” Xu Qing asked, surprised.

“You smell better, little Ah Qing. But there’s too much poison in you to make you taste good….” The Captain sighed.

Face completely expressionless, Xu Qing ignored the Captain and got to his feet. “Stow it, Eldest Brother. We need to go.”

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