Beyond the borders of the Three-Spirits Dao-Suppressing Mountain, a dilapidated dharmaship flew through the sky. From the way it wobbled, it seemed like it might fall out of the sky at any moment. It looked to be in very bad shape. From its hull to its deck, it was so full of holes it seemed just on the verge of collapsing. It gave off the sensation that whoever was flying it had no money to fix it, and had no choice but to keep using it as-is. Even more ridiculous was that every so often, random parts would fall off of the dharmaship and drop to the ground below.

It was, of course, Xu Qing’s dharmaship.

Yanyan looked over the railing at the Captain, who was busy working on the side of the ship. Frowning, she said, “Big Bro Xu Qing gave control of the dharmaship to you because he trusts you. When he sees what you’ve done, he’s going to be pissed.”

As the Captain used a paintbrush to paint what appeared to be a crack on the dharmaship, he replied to Yanyan without even looking up. “Yanyan, I have to offer you some constructive criticism. How come you’re so impolite? Everything is about you, you, you. You really don’t have any manners, do you?”

Yanyan glared coldly at him, and the perverse energy within her started to build. She knew full well that the Captain’s cultivation base was so high he could easily crush her. But only someone with a cultivation base that surpassed her grandmother’s would strike fear into her heart. From the time she was small, she had made it a practice of skinning alive anyone who criticized her. Other than her Big Bro Xu Qing.

“What are you glaring at?” the Captain said. Looking annoyed, he returned her glare and continued to criticize her. “I’m telling you, silly girl, it’s important to understand manners. Got it? Xu Qing calls me Eldest Brother. But what about you? Since Xu Qing calls me that, so should you. That’s the most appropriate form of address to be used by any female companion of Xu Qing. Right now, only you have that honor, right? Now, admit your mistake.”

“Huh?” Yanyan was taken aback, but after blinking a few times, her face suddenly turned red, and the perverse energy vanished. Sounding very meek, she said, “My mistake, Eldest Brother.”

“That’s better!” the Captain said, smiling broadly. Looking very pleased with himself, he waved the brush around a few more times to add some more details. “Now, you start painting the other side. That little punk Ah Qing was keeping his dharmaship too pristine. It’s not befitting of the traditions of the Seventh Peak. We need to help him out in that regard.” From a distance, the paint job on the dharmaship really made it seem like it was on the verge of falling apart. “Dharmaships are most effective when they look a bit beat up.”

After a bit of hesitation, Yanyan took a paintbrush and started working. “I don’t understand, Eldest Brother. Why are you randomly throwing mechanical parts overboard every so often? And what’s with the smoke?”

“It’s called ‘fishing,’” the Captain explained somberly. “We’ve spent a lot of spirit stones keeping this thing flying. And since we’re not on official sect business, we have to pay for all that. Therefore, we need to do some ‘fishing’ to make up for it. Yanyan, I have to offer some further constructive criticism. Xu Qing is always throwing money away, but you shouldn’t be like that. You need to be frugal! Got it? I’m just helping Xu Qing save money!” .𝗰𝗼𝗺

Yanyan nodded thoughtfully and committed the advice to heart.

“Besides,” the Captain continued, “we’re heading toward the northern tundra. Along the way we’ll pass through Emperor-Receiving Prefecture’s forbidden ground. And we’ll also have to pass the mainstem of the Everlasting Immortal Profundity River. It’s going to be dangerous. Disguising the dharmaship like this will make it less attractive to any powerful experts who notice it.”

The Captain applied a few final details, then vaulted onto the deck and looked around in satisfaction at his masterpiece. “Not bad. Not bad at all! It looks great like this!”

Yanyan took in the dilapidated dharmaship and still didn’t look completely convinced. She was about to ask more questions when all of a sudden, the Captain’s expression flickered and he looked in the direction of the cabin. His expression became extremely somber, and an icy coldness suddenly swelled within him. Faces appeared in his pupils, and in the blink of an eye, he started emanating a terrifying aura.

A moment later, the door to the cabin exploded, sending shrapnel out in all directions. Along with it came a roar like that of a wild beast, filled with madness and hunger. A wizened, skeletal hand suddenly latched onto the doorframe, and then a skeletal body lurched forward. It was Xu Qing. His clothing was now pitch black, and was covered with rotten flesh and blackened blood. Because of that, he stank. What was more, his sunken face made him look like an evil ghost.

The crazed look in his eyes caused Yanyan to shiver.

Meanwhile, the Captain could tell exactly what was going on. When he got really hungry, this was what he was like.

“All you did was reach the three-palace level. Did you really have to go all out like this?” The Captain rushed forward and offered a supporting arm to Xu Qing.

Yanyan was about to come to help as well.

.

However, the Captain said, “Stay back, Yanyan. His mind is unstable now. He obviously ate something he wasn’t supposed to eat, and is now extremely low on life force. He’s totally starving.”

Looking like he knew exactly what he was doing, he kept supporting Xu Qing with one arm, and used the other to take a chunk of flesh out of his bag of holding. He shoved the flesh into Xu Qing’s mouth.

Xu Qing swallowed it and closed his eyes. After a few breaths of time passed, he opened his eyes. Though they were still bloodshot, the crazed look was gone, and had been replaced by clarity.

“Thanks, Eldest Brother,” he said in a raspy voice. “Got any more?”

“Nope. That was my last snack…. What you need to do now is go kill a bunch of living things and absorb their life force. How’d you end up like this?”

“I ate a little thingy,” Xu Qing replied. The sensation of intense hunger was rising again, causing him to pant for breath. The taboo poison pill that he had inserted into his third palace had been so lacking in spirit nature that, upon awakening, he had turned into a virtual black hole, swallowing everything around it.

Though Xu Qing had anticipated something like that would happen, and had prepared for it, what was unexpected was that he would lose so much life force during the integration process. As a result, he just wasn’t ready for what happened when the pill awoke.

It wasn’t all bad, and in some ways, could be considered a destined opportunity for him. It meant that as long as he could give enough life force to the pill, then he could truly restore the pill. Once restored, it wouldn’t be empty. Rather, it would have a boundless foundation that would cause Xu Qing’s battle prowess to soar.

This third palace of his was different from all the various other types of palaces that had been seen from ancient times until modern. It would be incredibly powerful, and abounding in mystery. All it required was life force.

Except that Xu Qing could tell there was more to the story. Fully restoring the pill didn’t just require life force. It also required a lot of mutagen. That left him feeling shaken, as it made him realize… that he could absorb mutagen! Technically it was the third palace and the poison pill that would do the absorbing, but for all intents and purposes it was him.

After the broken face of the god arrived, it was only mutated life forms, and some of the new species, who could do such a thing. Ordinary cultivators didn’t have that ability. That was because mutagen was actually the aura of a god. In fact, some people even called it ‘god power.’

Voice hoarse, Xu Qing said, “Eldest Brother, how far away are we from the nearest forbidden region?”

Seeing how nervous Yanyan looked, he gave her an encouraging nod. He had no intention of disregarding the people close to him.

“We’re about half a month from Forbidden by the Sword here in Emperor-Receiving Prefecture. But if you can’t wait that long, we could find some nonhuman sect or nation….” The Captain was obviously worried, and his words made it clear how little he cared about nonhumans. To the Captain, Xu Qing was far more important than any nonhumans. If they had to be eaten, then they would be eaten.

Xu Qing shook his head. “I can last for half a month.”

Though nonhumans would have life force and a bit of mutagen, the mutagen within them couldn’t possibly compare to those in the forbidden regions and forbidden grounds. Based on what he could sense within himself, he felt that the best option was a forbidden ground.

“In that case, let’s go to Forbidden by the Sword. That’s the only forbidden ground in Emperor-Receiving Prefecture, and it’s just as famous as Forbidden by the Phoenix in South Phoenix, and also Forbidden by the Zombie. According to the intelligence reports I’ve seen in the coalition, the emperor in Forbidden by the Sword has been dormant for many years. However, there have been indications that the emperor might awaken. We’ll need to be careful and not do anything to stick out too much.”

As he offered his explanation, the Captain tapped into his cultivation base and took control of the dharmaship. It instantly pulsed with a frigid energy, then started to accelerate, turning into a beam of light that shot off into the distance. The wind blew past the dharmaship’s defenses, causing a whistling noise to echo out around it.

As they moved along, Xu Qing sat cross-legged on the deck, working hard to control his hunger. At the same time, he worked on acclimating himself to the new poison core in his third heavenly palace. He could tell that though he wasn’t in an optimal state, his battle prowess was much higher. In fact, if he added in his imperial-class technique, he could already unleash four-palace power. For most Gold Core cultivators, the absolute limit they could reach was six palaces.

Now I just need to wait for my poison core to fully awaken, and then I can start thinking about how to finish my fourth palace.

Soon, the hunger within him started to get so intense that his eyes became bloodshot, and he had trouble breathing steadily. Abandoning thoughts of his cultivation base, he focused on maintaining control.

Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior and the shadow had long since gone into hiding, fearful of attracting Xu Qing’s attention. Right now, Xu Qing was like some ravenous beast that struck terror into them.

At first, Yanyan was terrified of Xu Qing’s aura and his skeletal appearance. But gradually she couldn’t hold back from approaching him. When she got close, Xu Qing looked up, his bloodshot eyes scanning her throat before he forced himself to look away.

“Big Bro Xu Qing, you… can take a bite if you want. I’m not scared of pain.” She bit her finger and, trembling, held it out to him, her eyes shining with anticipation.

He looked at her for a moment, then just closed his eyes.

Looking a bit disappointed, she pulled her hand back then walked off to the side and sat down.

The Captain looked over his shoulder as he piloted the dharmaship. He saw her offer her finger, and he saw Xu Qing ignore her. He also saw the disappointment in her eyes and couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous.

Back when I got hungry like that, there was never a girl who offered her finger to me. What gives? Little Ah Qing doesn’t have a romantic bone in his body. If it was me, I would have taken a nice big bite.

As time passed, Xu Qing endured, and Forbidden by the Sword got closer. Eventually, Xu Qing started to shake physically, and could tell that he was about to lose control of the deep hunger within him. That was when the pitch-black forest of Forbidden by the Sword appeared up ahead.

Before they were even inside, Xu Qing’s sharp senses detected the very strong mutagen. He opened his eyes, and they shone with crimson light.