Whenever daybreak light appeared, the spot where it came to exist would produce a seven-colored powder for about ten years. From the very beginning, the light cast by that powder would be weak. It couldn’t be harvested or used, and as time passed, the light would grow weaker. By the tenth year, there was no light, and the powder would cease to appear. That would mark the full end of the phenomena.

These details were actually a big help to Xu Qing.

The important clues he had uncovered didn’t actually come from the records of the more than seven hundred recorded instances of daybreak light appearing. Instead, it came from the god’s finger.

Xu Qing had the feeling that if the god’s finger was able to find some daybreak light that didn’t exist in the records, then it was possible for the conspirator to do the same.

Therefore, he reached out to the sleeping finger in D-132, and roused īt. After some kind communication, and some promises given, he determined where the finger found the daybreak light. It wasn’t easy, as the finger was still very forgetful.

However, during the three days that passed, Xu Qing performed a thorough search of the general area indicated by the finger, and eventually found where the daybreak light came from. It was a remote, subterranean crevice.

Inside that crevice Xu Qing found a puppet that had been destroyed recently and contained scraps of the finger’s aura. It had been crushed into rubble, making it almost impossible to tell what exactly it had looked like when whole. Also present in the crevice was a very faint seven-colored powder that emanated a weak glow. From what Xu Qing could tell, it still had years left before it would dissipate.

The powder was, of course, the special product created by the daybreak light. And it indicated that the daybreak light had come to exist in this spot. After thoroughly investigating the area, Xu Qing came to the shocking realization that the powder… wasn’t the result of a single beam of light.

There were more beams of light that had come to exist in this spot. Based on the powder residue left behind, one of them only had a year or two left before it would dissipate. A lot of that powder was on the puppet.

It seemed clear that the puppet had been left here specifically so someone could check the powder residue levels. It didn’t take much analysis to come to the conclusion that this spot had produced daybreak light about eight or nine years ago!

Yet, Xu Qing knew for a fact that the Swordsage Court records didn’t contain any information about daybreak lighting coming from this spot. Clearly, someone must have taken it the moment it appeared. Furthermore, that indicated to Xu Qing that the palace lord’s theory about the lightmost fatehavoc pill seemed valid.

In other words, it was highly likely that the governor’s death was caused by that specific pill.

With that clue having been secured, Xu Qing left Mount Daybreak with Ning Yan. As for the crushed remains of the puppet, he took those with him as well. Teleportations weren’t possible on Mount Daybreak, so the two of them traveled on foot toward the county capital.

Along the way, Ning Yan repeatedly considered asking Xu Qing some questions. But whenever he saw the steely expression on Xu Qing’s face, his fear took over, and he didn’t dare to speak up. He had very, very mixed feelings about everything.

Back during the Ten Entrails Tree incident, he had been suspicious about what was going on. And he had even speculated about what might really be happening. But those speculations seemed too outrageous, so he’d dismissed them. But when Xu Qing had slapped his belly with what seemed like practiced ease, it had felt like a slap to Ning Yan’s soul. 1

I bet the one who bit me was actually Chen Erniu! What is that guy anyway, a wild dog? And he didn’t just bite me. In the end, he tried to bite the heavenly dao! He deserved to be ripped to shreds down to his head!

Ning Yan felt furious, but also helpless, as he knew from experience that the vines growing out of his belly couldn’t be easily excised. And when he found out that the governor had been killed and the Holytides were invading, he was shocked to the core. Compared to those things, his personal issues didn’t seem very important.

Xu Qing and Ning Yan traveled for three days. Xu Qing moved at top speed. That was the time it took to get out of Daybreak Prefecture, through the intervening prefecture, and back to the territory controlled by the county capital.

At that point, Xu Qing didn’t bother hiding his tracks as he moved. He found the nearest teleportation portal and then used it to get back to the county capital.

Once back, he could see the barely concealed anxiety and confusion on the faces of the citizens.

He immediately checked the latest news. Though the western and northern fronts held strong, the situation was still critical. Sea-Sealing County’s defensive lines could theoretically collapse at any moment. That said, the residents of the capital were in a better state than before. Though they were fearful of what was to come, they also had hope. All the shops were open for business like usual, and everything operated in an orderly fashion. If you didn’t look closely, you might not even know that there was a war going on.

Xu Qing soon came to realize why that was the case, after stepping off the teleportation portal and walking down the street. There were government cultivators on the streets keeping up the morale of the commoners.

“Everyone remain calm and orderly. As the exalted lieutenant governor has already explained, the Swordsage Palace and all human sects and organizations have already gone to the front lines to defend our lands. They’ll keep our Swordsage Palace safe.”

“Our exalted lieutenant governor has explained that reinforcements are already on the way. It won’t be long now before this crisis is resolved, and everything goes back to normal.”

“Uprisings will not be tolerated, nor will any sort of price-gouging. Any violators will be severely punished!”

“There’s no reason to be afraid. The sky’s not falling! Things are still orderly. Over the past few days, hasn’t the lieutenant governor crushed those handful of nonhumans who wanted to cause problems? What’s more, the lieutenant governor has explained that Palace Lord Kong is leading the defenses. We mustn’t allow things to get out of hand here on the interior!”

Xu Qing was moved at how much work the lieutenant governor was doing to keep things orderly. 𝒍𝓲𝒃𝙧𝒆𝒂.𝓬𝙤𝒎

As for Ning Yan, he followed along and felt stunned by what he was hearing.

Xu Qing hadn’t even been back for an incense stick’s worth of time when he received a voice message from the lieutenant governor.

“Xu Qing? I got the dharmic decree from the palace lord. You’re back from the battlefield to help with military affairs here, right? Come see me as soon as you can.”

Xu Qing took a deep breath. He knew that time was of the essence, so he arranged for Ning Yan to stay with the swordsages in the Swordsage Palace, checked in at the Secretariat Division, then went to the Lieutenant Governor’s Mansion.

There were lots of local government cultivators coming in and out. Martial law had been declared, and the lieutenant governor was posting a lot of missions.

When Xu Qing arrived, someone sent word to the lieutenant governor of his arrival, and soon enough, he was whisked inside.

The lieutenant governor seemed a lot more haggard than last time Xu Qing had seen him. And his eyes were a lot more bloodshot. He was currently accepting a handful of medicinal pills from one of his servants. However, he didn’t consume them. Instead, he placed them down off to the side. Normally speaking, when one’s cultivation base reached a certain level, it made it difficult to spot signs of exhaustion on a person. Only in times of incredible stress would such signs be impossible to hide.

Gaze flitting toward Xu Qing briefly, the old servant sighed and said, “Exalted Lieutenant Governor, you’ve been taking care of the entire county recently. You have to keep things peaceful internally, but also have to worry about external affairs. Dealing with internal trouble and outside aggression is extremely stressful. What’s worse, the old injury to your soul is starting to act up again. You can’t just refuse to take medicinal pills at a time like this…. Ai.”

“Enough with that malarkey,” the lieutenant governor said, frowning. “I’m not going to take those pills because, at a certain point, it doesn’t do any good. And I’m perfectly aware of the situation with my old injury. There’s nothing that can be done about it.” He looked at Xu Qing. “Xu Qing, I recently received urgent messages from several Swordsage Courts. There are five prefectures in which the Swordsage Courts were besieged by rogue cultivators. The palace lord was right. The other species really are criminals deserving the death penalty! I’ve sent some of the local government cultivators to try to resolve the situation.

“Furthermore, the palace lord’s dharmic decree indicates that the situation is really bad on the front lines. Casualties are high. They need more troops and more supplies. I’m trying to think of the best way to handle it, but if you have any advice, please don’t hesitate to share. I’ll do my best to make it happen.”

Xu Qing clasped hands and bowed. He knew that the lieutenant governor had a lot of responsibilities. After all, he was essentially accountable for everything happening behind the front lines. Making sure things went smoothly on the interior wasn’t a simple task.

“Many thanks, exalted Lieutenant Governor. Your humble servant is ready to collect some supplies, and also purchase more from the nonhumans in Sea-Sealing County. I just need your approval.”

The lieutenant governor nodded. “We’ve reached a critical moment. Appropriating supplies is going to be time-consuming and problematic. Buying them outright will be much easier. You have my approval. Funds are tight right now, but we can squeeze out some extra money.”

Xu Qing offered his thanks and left. He didn’t waste any time. Returning to the Secretariat Division, he sent out dharmic decrees throughout Sea-Sealing County calling for supplies. He also arranged for people to go visit the Demi-Immortals, who had been isolated in seclusion the entire time, to enter negotiations to purchase supplies.

As his dharmic decrees flowed out, they were received by the hundreds of swordsages left behind.

Back when the palace lord had been around, Xu Qing had been tasked with handling many daily affairs, and had sent down many orders. As a result, no one had any objections now, and the swordsages immediately got to work.

However, Xu Qing still felt anxious about the situation. He knew that his cultivation base wasn’t sufficient to handle this mission. That was especially true considering his journey to Daybreak Prefecture, which had allowed him to see with his own eyes how many nonhumans harbored secret malice toward the swordsages. If he went out to purchase supplies, he would surely meet resistance. And that wasn’t to mention trying to recruit troops for the front lines.

If I want to complete this mission for the palace lord, then I’m going to need help…. I’ll need someone with some impressive battle prowess. Unfortunately, I can’t totally trust the lieutenant governor. As he sat pondering the manner in the Secretariat Division, he looked out at the sky.

It was currently night, and there were a lot of clouds. Though there was no thunder or lightning, fat raindrops were starting to fall onto the limestone tiles outside. And the rain brought a cool wind that swept inside and onto Xu Qing.

Master and Sir Bloodsmelter, as well as Arch-Immortal Plumdark… they’re dealing with Forbidden by the Zombie. They won’t have time to help. I still don’t know where Eldest Brother is. He hasn’t responded to any messages yet.

Even as Xu Qing pondered the matter, he happened to be looking in the direction where the desert met the border of the county capital. There, he’d seen a huge three-headed bird.

“The great bird Qingqin!” Xu Qing’s eyes glittered.

Xu Qing clearly remembered the first time he’d seen Qingqin. It was when he’d first arrived at the county capital. Back then, the huge bird had flown through the sky carrying Ning Yan. Wherever it passed, a tempest sprang up, almost like a tornado connecting heaven and earth. It was a very impressive sight.

Back then, Chen Tinghao had explained that the great bird Qingqin was an ancient mutant beast, with a bloodline going back to primordial times. Supposedly, his ancestor had been a companion of one of the Ancient Emperors. What was more, he was considered a friend of the previous governor. Eight hundred years ago, that governor had returned to the imperial capital and invited Qingqin to come along, but Qingqin had instead stayed in Sea-Sealing County. 2

The current war was beneath Qingqin, and as such, the palace lord had never asked for help.

Based on what Chen Tinghao originally told me, the great bird Qingqin actually likes us humans. Considering how desperate of a situation we’re in, I might as well give it a shot. What’s more…. Xu Qing’s eyes glittered with cold light. If Qingqin refuses, then it will be interesting to find out if the great bird fears the red moon!

Xu Qing couldn’t think of any other options. Considering how badly the front lines needed troops and supplies, he had to resort to an unconventional gambit. Having reached the conclusion that this was definitely the best idea, he immediately went to find Ning Yan. Without a word, he grabbed him and pulled him along.

“Xu… er, Elder Brother Xu Qing, what are you doing?” Ning Yan was already trembling.

“I’m taking you to see an old friend.”

“An old friend?” Ning Yan was stunned. Taking a breath, he cautiously asked, “Is it Elder Brother Erniu?”

1. Ning Yan’s suspicions were first mentioned in chapter 453 and were mentioned again in chapter 457. ?

2. Xu Qing first saw the great bird Qingqin, and heard the story from Chen Tinghao, in chapter 391. ?

Updatd from 𝙞𝙧𝙚𝒂𝙙.𝓬𝒐𝒎