Flute music floated with the wind.

Days later, Xu Qing finally caught sight of the Eight Sect Coalition. The afterglow of dusk highlighted the dilapidated megacity. The river water was no longer black. Once again, it pulsed with strong immortal energy. But the gaping wounds left behind by the catastrophic event could not be erased in a matter of days. Even from a distance it was possible to see construction work everywhere. It almost looked like a human body being patched up by a surgeon. Mutagen-filled smoke still curled up into the sky. It created a picture of grief that bore testament to the catastrophe which had struck.

Although the mutagen levels had dropped since the light of the god’s gaze emerged from the wooden box, it still hadn’t been fully dispelled. Thankfully, it was being dealt with. Sadly, though, the mental pain and anguish that resulted could not be easily removed.

Catastrophe had not just struck Seven Blood Eyes. Though the other sects had not experienced many casualties, they were still deeply affected.

As Xu Qing’s dharmaship dropped out of the sky, he took everything in, including the listless eyes of the citizens. And then he retracted his gaze and headed to the Seven Blood Eyes headquarters. Upon arriving, he saw the grieving highnesses of the Sixth Peak. He saw the dejected cultivators from the other peaks, and he saw the extensive damage to everything. Keeping silent, he joined the recovery effort.

In the blink of an eye, more than ten days passed. During that time, Xu Qing didn’t meet with Sir Bloodsmelter or Master Seventh. He did see the Captain, as well as Second Elder Sister and Third Elder Brother. Each one had mixed emotions in their eyes. That was especially true of the Captain, who knew of Xu Qing’s special connection to Master Sixth. Clasping Xu Qing’s shoulder, he sighed.

Xu Qing kept his silence.

After half a month, eighty to ninety percent of the mutagen had been purged from the Eight Sect Coalition. The rest would slowly be removed in the coming days. Despite the sorrow the various sects had experienced, spirits were slowly lifting. In terms of how to deal with the overall situation, a decision had been reached.

The Eight Sect Coalition submitted a formal petition to the Swordsage Court, asking them to treat the Torchlight threat as a top priority. They also asked the Swordsage Court to step up their efforts to hunt down Torchlight criminals.

In addition to that, the Eight Sect Coalition publicly announced that they would not rest until Torchlight was wiped out. Though they had witnessed the terror of that wooden box, if they didn’t express their intent to get revenge, the coalition wouldn’t need to wait for Torchlight to wipe them out. They would fall apart naturally.

Internally, there was more…. Patriarch Soaring Cloud was ousted from the senate, and though the Soaring Cloud Sword Sect was still allowed to remain as a member of the coalition, for the following century they would receive the lowest percentage of resources. The sect leader was also punished severely along with the sect. And the only way for the sect to restore its previous standing was to see Master Shengyun and Chu Tianqun dead.

The Soaring Cloud Sword Sect’s taboo treasure was only half as effective as before. That was because the tree which had been placed in Seven Blood Eyes had been successfully suppressed by Master Seventh and Sir Bloodsmelter. As a result, Seven Blood Eyes now controlled half of the taboo treasure.

Going forward, all 137 sects that made up the coalition would put all of their resources into searching for Torchlight operatives. As for that wooden box, all of the important people and organizations in Emperor-Receiving Prefecture were concerned about it.

After further analysis, it became clear that the wooden box… didn’t actually contain the gaze of the broken face of the god. It just resembled that gaze. As for the details about how it worked, not enough time had passed to gather enough clues. But one thing was certain; that item was a huge threat, and no one had any idea how to defend against it. There was obviously some mysterious explanation, except, the lack of information just made the thing seem even more terrifying.

Torchlight… really did command some of the power of a god.

Now that the coalition was back on its feet, Xu Qing decided it was time to leave Seven Blood Eyes and take a trip to the Seazombie ancestral land to see the taboo treasure, where he hoped he could open his 121st dharma aperture. Before, he had not been dead set on opening that 121st dharma aperture. But now, things were different. He would stick to his plan that he had come up with. He needed to get stronger, and to reach every limit he could reach.

Before leaving, he went to Master Sixth’s grave, which was where he saw Master Seventh, who stood there with a jug of alcohol in his hand.

To Xu Qing, Master Seventh had always seemed calm and leisurely. His eyes were sharp and intelligent, as though he always had everything under control. But this Master Seventh looked different. His hair was disheveled and his eyes bloodshot. His face seemed full of guilt. Chaotic fluctuations rolled off of him, as if he were trying to achieve a breakthrough, except the process wasn’t going well.

When Master Seventh heard Xu Qing approaching, he looked over his shoulder. A new Violet-Heaven Supreme-Limitless Crown appeared in his hands, which he handed to Xu Qing, along with a piece of ink-black jade. The jade looked like a chunk of dried blood, and it emanated a very gruish aura. It seemed to be something similar to the lifeswapping ghost doll.

“Fourth Sib, I’m not going to make any dramatic demands of you. But I hope that you and your Elder Brothers and Elder Sister… can stay safe. I can’t stand parting with Master Sixth, and I don’t ever, ever want any of you to leave me. The world is fickle. Oh so fickle. I thought I’d planned for everything, but I had no way to plan for this. How could things have ended up this way….?”

Master Seventh sighed. Then he handed another jade slip to Xu Qing. It was an authentication device for the Seven Blood Eyes taboo treasure, which included all the details of how to operate it.

Xu Qing took it quietly, then bowed to Master Seventh. Finally, he looked at Master Sixth’s grave. After a moment, he bowed deeply to the grave, then turned to his guilt-ridden Master.

“Master,” he said softly, “we will avenge Master Sixth.”

Master Seventh’s gaze suddenly grew deep and meaningful. Then he looked off into the distance, his expression fierce.

“Definitely!”

As the words left his mouth, Ding Xue and her aunt appeared in the distance, both of them looking concerned. Not wanting to cause any further disturbance, Xu Qing clasped hands, then became a bright beam of light that shot in the direction of the Forbidden Sea, and beyond, the Seazombie ancestral land.

Because of the mutagen influx, the coalition’s teleportation formations weren’t stable, and thus Xu Qing decided that traveling by dharmaship was the best option.

Just as he reached the shore, he saw someone floating high in the sky up ahead.

She wore a plum-colored gown, and was flawlessly beautiful. She was none other than Arch-Immortal Plumdark.

Hovering there, she looked at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing ducked his head and bowed.

“Well met, Senior.”

She didn’t say anything in response. He waited for a long moment, then clasped hands again before continuing on his way. However he only got about 300 meters before Arch-Immortal Plumdark spoke.

“Everything happened too quickly. I didn’t have a chance to interfere.”

Xu Qing stopped in place, then turned.

“Thank you,” he said softly. He didn’t address her as Senior.

With that, he shot off into the distance. Arch-Immortal Plumdark watched him go, her expression loving and tender. Then she sighed, and her eyes became incredibly cold.

“Torchlight!” she growled.

Days passed in the blink of an eye.

As Xu Qing sped across the Forbidden Sea on his dharmaship, he eventually caught sight of the Seazombie ancestral land on the horizon. As he got closer he saw the enormous statues, above which floated the enormous bronze mirror. As it slowly rotated, it emanated a terrifying divine will that anyone who got close enough could sense.

After this location became the home of Seven Blood Eyes’ taboo treasure, the entire island became affected by it. The Seazombies still lived there, but their every move and action was overseen by the treasure, so there was no chance they could even think about being disloyal. Seven Blood Eyes had arranged for disciples from all the peaks to serve here in rotation. Peaklords would come as well. In that manner, the taboo treasure was constantly guarded. Right now, Master Third was on duty.

As Xu Qing neared, the spirit automaton in the mirror sent out divine will to scan him. Coldness swept over him as he produced his identity medallion. The land on which the taboo treasure stood wasn’t a place that anyone could visit. Even the highnesses of Seven Blood Eyes couldn’t come close without permission. And of course, that permission could only be given by Master Seventh or Sir Bloodsmelter.

After the divine will scanned the identity medallion, Xu Qing was approved. Instantly, the sea ahead of him surged, rising up on either side to create a path. Xu Qing proceeded forward on his dharmaship, 30-meter-tall walls of water on either side of him. All of this gave Xu Qing an even greater sense of how terrifying the taboo treasure was. Of course, it couldn’t compare to what he had heard from other disciples about the beam of light that wreaked havoc on the sect.

Upon reaching the shore, Xu Qing put away his dharmaship and stepped onto what had once been the home turf of the Seazombies. The ground was violet, and covered with all sorts of strange plants. The gigantic mushrooms were still everywhere, and the air was full of glowing dandelion wisps. It was very beautiful. He saw huge jellyfish floating in the air, one of which extended its tentacles down invitingly. Atop the jellyfish were a few dozen Seven Blood Eyes disciples, all of them in Foundation Establishment. When they laid eyes on Xu Qing, they all bowed respectfully.

“Master Third received the orders from the sect, and has already arranged for dharma protectors. They’re waiting by the taboo treasure. But there’s no hurry, Your Highness. We’re here to escort you there at your leisure.”

Because Master Seventh was now the sect leader, Xu Qing counted as a highness of the Seventh Peak, and also a highness of Seven Blood Eyes in general. Add in the prestige he had earned in the coalition, and all of these fellow disciples were being extremely respectful.

Xu Qing somberly returned their salute, then walked up the jellyfish tentacle to stand atop it. Then it moved in the direction of the taboo treasure.

This was Xu Qing’s third time coming to this place. The first time was when he and the Captain went on that daring escapade. The second time was when he passed through. This third time was an official visit.

Looking around curiously, Xu Qing suddenly thought back to the Seazombies’ Third Princess. It had been so long since those days that he’d almost forgotten about her, and hadn’t thought to ask the Captain what happened to her.

“What have the Seazombies been up to recently?”

“Your Highness, the Seazombies are fully loyal to Seven Blood Eyes now. The souls of their patriarch and top leaders were sealed by the sect, and their zombification techniques are now under our control. Although they’re allowed to continue to grow as a people, their souls must all be sealed.

“Other than that, we don’t interfere with their daily affairs. They still have full autonomy in terms of their government and general society.

“That said, their royal succession hinges on sect approval. What’s more, their previous king and patriarchs were taken away by Sir Bloodsmelter, and a new king and royal clan were put in place.”

Xu Qing didn’t ask any more questions. Before long, they reached the location of the taboo treasure.

Fourteen enormous zombie statues rose high into the sky, emanating an aura that could shake heaven and earth. They also seemed to thrum with a sensation of ancient time. Compared to the statues, cultivators seemed like tiny ants. And that was especially true of five of the statues, which were so big it was hard to see the tops of them. At the base of the statues were buildings constructed by Seven Blood Eyes, which was where the disciples on guard duty stayed.

Xu Qing’s arrival attracted a lot of attention, and everyone bowed in greeting.

“Your Highness, do you want to rest first? Or would you like to begin right away?” 𝙚𝙙𝙤𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝒎

Xu Qing looked up at the statues and the mirror. Taking a deep breath, he said, “If it’s no trouble, I’d like to start immediately!”