Chapter 63: Aqing
Upon learning that an immortal beast was ahead, the two and the seal no longer charged recklessly but carefully approached.
Jiang Li saw a deformed blue ox the size of a hill sleeping under a tree. A bronze bell was tied around its neck, and it had four eyes, four horns, an obese body, and a grotesquely swollen belly. Its skin was stretched to the point of splitting, oozing thick pus. It was incredibly ugly.
What was even more disgusting was that various malformed beasts constantly emerged from the cracks in its skin. These newborn beasts, unable to open their eyes yet, instinctively licked the pus flowing from the deformed blue ox. In an instant, they grew from Qi Refining Stage beasts to Foundation Establishment Stage beasts and then left.
“This… This is the source of these beasts!” Ming Zhong whispered angrily, staring at the deformed blue ox with bloodshot eyes. His fingernails dug into his palms, and he wished he could kill the monstrosity on the spot.
“This is Master’s Aqing!” Yin-Yang Heaven Seal exclaimed in shock. Although its appearance had drastically changed, it still recognized the ox as the Dao Ancestor’s mount. “Aqing, it’s me, Yin-Yang Heaven Seal! Where is Master?”
Moo—
The deformed blue ox was startled awake, its eyes bloodshot and filled with madness.
It stomped irritably, crushing the beasts that had been drinking its pus without a second thought. It had no concern for them—its eyes were fixed solely on the two people and the seal.
Especially that talking seal!
“It’s the Dao Ancestor’s mount?” Jiang Li had seen paintings in the Dao Sect depicting the Dao Ancestor riding an ox to ascend. Man and ox had become immortals together. Yet no matter how he looked at it, he couldn’t reconcile the grotesque creature before him with the ethereal blue ox from those paintings.
The deformed blue ox charged forward, and Yin-Yang Heaven Seal, without any hesitation, chose the most brute-force approach—it slammed into the ox’s horns with its seal body, producing a dull thud.
“Aqing, calm down!”
The deformed blue ox completely ignored Yin-Yang Heaven Seal’s words, and beast and seal wrestled violently, leveling everything within hundreds of miles.
Jiang Li protected Ming Zhong, who couldn’t even see the battle clearly—only the delayed sounds of impact, the ox’s enraged bellows, and Yin-Yang Heaven Seal’s furious shouts reached his ears.
The deformed blue ox spewed a beam of light, carving a path of destruction thousands of kilometers long, shaking the entire land.
Yin-Yang Heaven Seal took the attack head-on, emerging battered and covered in dust.
“Aqing, don’t force me! You know my abilities! I can control your karmic ties!” Yin-Yang Heaven Seal roared. Ming Zhong had never seen Yin-Yang Heaven Seal so enraged before—it had always just bickered and played around with him.
“Karma? Why can’t I see your karma?” Yin-Yang Heaven Seal was stunned. The blue ox was undoubtedly the Dao Ancestor’s mount, a beast born in the Nine Provinces. Even after ascending, its karma should still be visible.
Yet now, not only could it not control the ox’s karma, it couldn’t even see it!
For a split second, Yin-Yang Heaven Seal lost focus, and the deformed blue ox sent it flying. When it flew back, ready for another three hundred rounds of battle, it found Jiang Li had taken its place, standing off against the monstrous ox.
The moment they clashed, Jiang Li felt an overwhelming force surpassing the Tribulation Stage. It was undoubtedly an immortal beast.
He activated Heaven and Earth Dharma Form, compressing his body until he became a hundred-meter-tall giant, matching the ox in size.
Two additional arms sprouted from his back. With all four hands, he grabbed the ox’s four horns and hurled it, sending it crashing into the massive tree it had been sleeping under.
A tattered ring was dislodged from the tree, catching Jiang Li’s attention.
He caught it and felt traces of immortal energy seeping out. As soon as the energy touched the outside world, it transformed into an immense amount of spiritual energy.
“This is… a storage ring specifically for storing immortal energy?” Jiang Li had heard Immortal Changcun mention that before descending to the mortal realm, immortals would prepare a special storage ring filled with immortal energy. These rings could only store immortal energy, but the quantity was immense—enough to sustain an immortal for thousands or even tens of thousands of years.
This was his first time seeing one in person, so he was a bit uncertain.
Jiang Li suspected that the abundance of spiritual energy in this area was due to this ring.
He even had a bolder guess—the spiritual energy of the entire continent might be coming from this ring!
“You’re bad people trying to steal Master’s ring! Give it back!” The deformed blue ox rolled back onto its feet and spoke in human tongue.
“So you can talk? You really are the Dao Ancestor’s mount?”
“You’re bad people trying to steal Master’s ring! Give it back!”
“You’re bad people trying to steal Master’s ring! Give it back!”
“You’re bad people trying to steal Master’s ring! Give it back!”
The deformed blue ox kept repeating the same phrase.
Jiang Li could tell—it had already been corrupted by the Outer World Demons and had completely lost its mind. The words it spoke were merely a lingering obsession, which was why it could only repeat them.
“Who’s trying to steal Master’s ring?! Aqing, answer me!” Yin-Yang Heaven Seal thought the ox still had some sanity left and urgently questioned it.
“It’s useless. This is no longer the Aqing you knew,” Jiang Li shook his head. Using all four arms, he pummeled the ox.
But even when he shattered its horns, the ox still kept repeating the same words:
“You’re bad people trying to steal Master’s ring! Give it back!”
Jiang Li finally understood—Aqing had guarded this ring for thousands of years, waiting for the Dao Ancestor’s return. It had survived by relying on the immortal energy inside the ring.
Fortunately, it had never left this place. If it had gone near human territory, humanity would have long been wiped out.
A raging immortal beast—there were few methods in the Nine Provinces that could stop it.
Jiang Li pinned the ox down as Yin-Yang Heaven Seal slowly floated in front of its eyes. In a complicated tone, it murmured, “Aqing…”
It still remembered that day—gentle willows swayed, a warm breeze blew, and a brook babbled. Aqing had been sleeping under the willow tree, while Master rested against its side, holding Yin-Yang Heaven Seal and smiling thoughtfully.
Yet when they met again, everything had changed. Aqing had gone mad. Master had disappeared. And it was left alone.
Yin-Yang Heaven Seal’s reflection was visible in the ox’s eyes. Tears mixed with blood dripped onto the ground, making a sizzling sound upon contact.
“Kill… me…” The ox’s weak, broken voice trembled.
“Aqing, you’ve regained your senses?” Yin-Yang Heaven Seal was overjoyed.
“You’re bad people trying to steal Master’s ring! Give it back!” Aqing roared, then once again, in a pleading voice, said, “Kill… me…”
Yin-Yang Heaven Seal sighed deeply, knowing that Aqing was in unbearable pain and longed for death.
It asked Jiang Li to end it quickly.
Jiang Li waved his hand, severing Aqing’s head.
Even in death, beasts continued to crawl out of its body. Left with no choice, Jiang Li burned the corpse to ashes.
He had thought the Outer World Demons could only corrupt mortals. He never expected even immortal beasts could be tainted.
The ox’s body had clearly been modified by the Outer World Demons. Jiang Li sensed countless different beast bloodlines within it—birds, beasts, all manner of creatures. If not for its immortal beast physique, the conflicting bloodlines would have killed it long ago.