The waves of astonishment smashing at Xu Qing forced him to stop walking. The terrified shrieking of the god’s finger was clearly based on speculation. The finger was asleep most of the time, and had no idea what was happening on the outside. īt could only gain a very cursory surface understanding.

But even when Xu Qing first arrived in the county capital a year ago, he remembered hearing occasional rumors that Forbidden by the Immortal would be opened. Nothing ever came of it. That was one reason why he found it suspicious that it was actually being opened right now, at a time of war. But the explanation provided by the god’s finger now caused everything to click into place. In Xu Qing’s mind, numerous puzzle pictures connected, and he came to a very clear realization. It caused him to immediately leave the capital city, go back to his sword pavilion, and sit down cross-legged to get his thoughts in order. The god’s finger jabbered the entire time, and was clearly deeply shaken by what humans were doing.

Eventually, Xu Qing got all his thoughts in order. Gradually, a general outline of things formed.

It all starts with Zhang Siyun…. Back at the Supreme Beginning Netherflight Pillar, the Captain and I both climbed to 9,000 meters. Because of the mark of the cultivator who died in a god domain, we were both affected to different degrees by Crimson Mother, the red moon. The Captain got the aura, but I also got… the godsource!

These were details that he had pieced together after the fact.

Zhang Siyun also climbed to 9,000 meters, so it’s only natural that he would also be affected. But Zhang Siyun was very seriously injured and fell off the pillar. In fact, he nearly died. Afterward, I felt an intense sensation of dread. 1

From that point on, I could sense the red moon looking for me. Back then, I didn’t realize that Zhang Siyun had changed. But looking back, I’d say that the pillar incident must have been when Zhang Siyun was parasitized!

Eyes glittering, he considered everything he remembered. Then he focused on when the Grand Emperor assessed his heart.

Is it possible to hide things about yourself during the Grand Emperor’s assessment of the heart? If Zhang Siyun really was parasitized by the red moon at that point, why did that assessment go normally for him? He even came here to the county capital.

After some more thought, Xu Qing realized that, based on what the god’s finger had just said, that there were humans helping to speed up the awakening of the red moon within Zhang Siyun, then everything made sense.

They knew from the beginning. And I know just how to confirm that!

He took out his command sword to send a message to the grand elder in the Swordsage Court in Emperor-Receiving Prefecture. But then his face fell slightly.

I forgot. After the death of the palace lord, inter-prefectural communications were restricted.

Xu Qing sighed. There was a workaround. Though he didn’t have the authority to send inter-prefectural messages on his own, he could purchase the right with military credits. And he had a lot of military credits. Therefore, he paid the fee, and before much more time passed, he had sent the message to that grand elder to ask about Zhang Siyun.

If any other person asked the grand elder about the situation, he wouldn’t answer their question. In fact, he probably wouldn’t even respond to Kong Xianglong. But that grand elder thought differently of Xu Qing. The response came quickly.

“Back during the Grand Emperor assessment, I did indeed know that he was parasitized by a god. That said, I couldn’t confirm which exact god it was. Considering how important of a matter it was, I reported the situation to the palace lord.

“I checked in a few times to see what was happening with the matter. At one point, Palace Lord Kong told me that as long as Zhang Siyun was a swordsage, he refused to allow him to be used as bait! What’s more relevant is that the original statue of the Grand Emperor is in the imperial capital. In other words, it’s a given that they know about the situation there.” 2

After providing his explanation, the grand elder’s tone turned serious, and at the same time, caring.

“Xu Qing, things are different now in Sea-Sealing County. I heard about Forbidden by the Immortal being opened. Back when the idea was originally proposed, a lot of people were opposed to it, including the governor and the lieutenant governor. But the dharmic decree came from the imperial capital. You can’t just defy an order like that. They tried to buy time, but that can only be done for so long. Then war came, and nobody wanted to bring up the subject. I’m not sure why you’re asking me about this, but… you need to be careful in everything.”

Xu Qing could sense the concern in the voice of the grand elder, so he responded in kind. Then he asked about the situation with August Spirit Nethersprite, and whether her escape was going to cause problems for the Swordsage Court in Emperor-Receiving Prefecture.

The grand elder cleared his throat, sighed, and then went on to say, “I take full responsibility for that. I wasn’t paying close enough attention, and that led to Nethersprite’s escape. The first thing I brought to the imperial prince’s attention was the potential awakening of the Ghost Emperor. As for where Nethersprite is now, nobody knows. The other two spiritual souls and the seven physical souls all went missing. We’re in such great danger here in Emperor-Receiving Prefecture that not even the imperial prince dares to come here….”

Something about the explanation seemed strange to Xu Qing. After thinking about it, he started to get the feeling that Nethersprite hadn’t escaped after all. The grand elder had probably set her free on purpose. More likely, she wasn’t ‘missing’ at all, and the grand elder had her captive somewhere else. Having reached the conclusion that made the most sense, he actually felt a bit better. After a few concluding messages, he ended the conversation.

The opening of Forbidden by the Immortal is nothing to take lightly. That’s why the governor, lieutenant governor, and Palace Lord Kong were all opposed to it. But now the governor is dead and the palace lord was killed in battle. The only member of the old guard still around is the lieutenant governor.

As for Zhang Siyun, he lost the protection of Palace Lord Kong, which likely means that he’ll be sent into Forbidden by the Immortal to wake up the red moon within him. He’ll turn into a doppelg?nger of the red moon, which will then devour the god in the forbidden ground. Is that what’s going on? But why? How does the imperial prince benefit if that happens?

Xu Qing still lacked enough clues to come to a proper conclusion.

Eventually, the god’s finger finished talking, retracted īts aura, and went into hiding. Even the fluctuations of sleep stopped emanating out, making it seem like the finger was in a state of death. No matter how Xu Qing called to the finger, he got no response.

Regardless of the details, if the red moon wakes up, I’m going to be in serious trouble!

Xu Qing scowled. The only thing he could think to do was flee the county capital so he wasn’t around when Forbidden by the Immortal was opened. However, a moment later, another thought entered his mind.

The best time to catch a big fish is during a big storm! Forbidden by the Immortal is going to be full of all sorts of precious treasures. It will be full of endless good fortune. The danger is the sleeping god. But if the red moon devours that god, then Forbidden by the Immortal will be completely open for exploration.

The red moon is the god of the Nightshades. If the imperial prince really plans to wake the red moon, then he must have an idea of what to do afterward. For one thing, he has to keep himself safe. Plus, he has a lot of people here in Sea-Sealing County. Unless he’s planning to do something really insane, like feeding all of Sea-Sealing County to the red moon as a sacrifice….

In any case, if I can avoid being noticed by the red moon, then entering Forbidden by the Immortal will actually be a destined opportunity for me.

After some more thought, Xu Qing sent a voice message to the Captain. After all, the Captain seemed to be an expert in matters related to gods. Unfortunately, the Captain was still in seclusion, and didn’t respond to the message.

Forcing his mind to still, he decided to simply focus on meditation. He would just wait until the Captain was out of seclusion, and then discuss the matter with him and decide what to do next.

After all, this was simply too dangerous of a situation. If the red moon awoke, trouble wouldn’t just come for Xu Qing. The Captain had previously stolen some of the moon’s aura. Though the moon had never gone looking for the Captain, if the Captain suddenly showed up in Forbidden by the Immortal, it could very well lead to his death.

In that manner, time passed. It got closer and closer to the day Forbidden by the Immortal would be opened.

The old Corrections Division had been almost completely excavated. It was a dark hole in the ground, so deep its bottom wasn’t visible. It pulsed with endless mutagen. The imperial troops had erected special formations to dispel that mutagen, but it was still possible to hear ghostly screams and cries coming from the depths of the pit. It was almost as if there was hell at the bottom. The cries echoed out into the capital city. Everyone could hear them clearly, regardless of whether it was daytime or nighttime. It left everyone feeling anxious and jumpy.

Xu Qing kept his attention focused on that pit. Eventually, when there were only six days left before the opening, he finally got a reply from the Captain.

“Little Ah Qing! Hahahahaha! I used the Righteous Bestowal Edict to safely open one of my most important seals! This way you and I can finally travel the world together!”

The Captain was obviously very excited, which rubbed off on Xu Qing a bit. Xu Qing could sense how happy he was, and thus offered his sincere congratulations. Then he went on to explain everything he had been wrestling with lately.

The Captain’s laughter gradually turned into heavy breathing. When Xu Qing finished, the Captain severed the jade slip connection without saying a single word.

Xu Qing’s expression was the same as ever as he waved his hand. The door of the sword pavilion opened, and he started counting.

“One. Two. Three…. Seven.”

The Captain raced toward him with speed comparable to Nascent Soul. His hair was disheveled and he was gaunt. In the blink of an eye, he was at the door of the sword pavilion. Without any hesitation, he rushed inside, slammed the door, and stared at Xu Qing with a crazy look of joy in his eyes.

“Little Junior Brother, you surely know that since your Eldest Brother just opened some seals, he’s starving. That must be why you arranged for this special gift for me, right?”

Xu Qing looked the Captain up and down. The Captain looked extremely thin, like the ghost of someone who had starved to death. However, his aura was much stronger than before.

Back at the western front, the Captain had only revealed strength comparable to seven or eight heavenly palaces. But based on what Xu Qing could sense now, he was incomparably close to the Nascent Soul level. All it would take would be half a step, and he would be in that level. But there was more. He seemed to have changed on an even deeper level. The Ancient Dao Righteous Bestowal Edict that the Captain had longed for clearly turned out to be very useful. .𝒎

Of course, Xu Qing expected nothing less from the Captain. Therefore, after examining the Captain, Xu Qing nodded.

“That’s right, Eldest Brother. I deduced that this breakthrough of yours was going to be very different. Therefore, I decided to put some thought into some of your most challenging obstacles.”

The Captain threw his head back and laughed uproariously. Clearly, he was very pleased with Xu Qing’s wording and attitude. It really made him feel like the Eldest Brother again. Rubbing his hands together, he started pacing back and forth in Xu Qing’s sword pavilion.

“Okay, little Junior Brother. This is definitely an amazing destined opportunity bestowed by heaven. The red moon is coming. To devour the god in Forbidden by the Immortal no less. And after thēy go at it for a while, the two of us—”

“Can scrape Forbidden by the Immortal clean!” Xu Qing finished with a decisive nod.

The Captain looked at Xu Qing with a very dissatisfied expression. “Little Ah Qing, you’ve been hanging out with that sissy too much lately. What happened to your sense of ambition? How could a crappy place like Forbidden by the Immortal possibly befit people like you and me, who are fathers of a heavenly dao?

“This time, we can take advantage of the moment when those two gods are fighting… to steal a chunk of flesh from the god sleeping in Forbidden by the Immortal! Based on what you’re telling me, that god seems a bit weak. But a god is a god! Then, the two of us can secretly take a bite out of that red moon. If we succeed, just think of how goddamn badass we’ll be!!”

The Captain’s eyes were fairly glowing red.

In response, Xu Qing was breathing heavily, and his eyes were also red. He had also considered doing something like that, but it just seemed so unrealistic. Suppressing the pounding of his heart, he calmly said, “Eldest Brother, there’s no way the two of us could do that on our own. And if we mess up, it will screw up the plans of the imperial capital, which could affect all of Sea-Sealing County. We can’t let ourselves get too greedy.”

The Captain frowned. “I guess that makes sense. In the final analysis, we’re just too weak. Ai. How horrible to have some lovely meat right in front of you, but not be able to eat it….”

The Captain looked almost frantic as he plopped down in front of Xu Qing and let loose another sigh. Then he opened his mouth to speak, only to suddenly smack his own thigh. “I got it! Little Junior Brother, let’s ask Master to join us! Believe you me, the old man was the one to start this whole tradition back when he was young. Otherwise, why else would I be like this? I mean, isn’t he the one who took me along on a bunch of jobs to begin with? Granted, I got impulsive a few times, but in the end, it was really the old man who led me down this most crooked of paths!”

Xu Qing’s eyes were already glittering brightly. The Captain’s eyes were shining with just as much brightness.

“Master?” Xu Qing said questioningly.

“Exactly!” the Captain replied. “I haven’t seen the old man in a while. Last time I asked Sir Bloodsmelter about him, he said the old man just made another breakthrough! Which of course doesn’t make sense. The only way the old man could advance his cultivation so quickly is if he’s secretly eating stuff behind our backs!” 3

The Captain yet again viciously slapped his own thigh, just like a child who had discovered their parents were having a feast in secret.

1. Xu Qing, the Captain, and Zhang Siyun climbed the pillar and encountered the red moon in chapters 361 and 362. It was in 362 that Xu Qing felt dread because of Zhang Siyun. There were further details about the whole situation in the following chapter as well. ?

2. Although the context doesn’t include the grand elder, it was in chapter 413 that Palace Lord Kong said he refused to use Zhang Siyun as bait. ?

3. We have other confirmation that Master Seventh achieved a breakthrough in chapter 501.2 ?

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