The key to opening the Land of Cruelmurk were the three fish bones!

Xu Qing recognized those bones. They were the same spikes taken by the hand of white jade from within Forbidden by the Immortal. Only now did he realize their function.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the ripples from the three bones created a second canopy of heaven. Black mist swirled, and the soul-shaking wail of ghosts emerged. Within that black, misty painting were innumerable evil souls. When they looked up and saw everything on the outside, the lieutenant governor’s summons became like countless karma threads.

On one end, they connected to the broken face of the lieutenant governor. The other end stretched into Cruelmurk, wherein lurked the souls of the countless dead of Violet and Cyan’s Sea-Sealing County. And those threads began to pull. The evil souls began to follow the karma threads, burrowing out of the second canopy of heaven and looking down on the lands below, and the living beings within them, with open greed.

This was the lieutenant governor’s master plan. This was his offering to his lord and master. It wasn’t just the life force and destiny aura of all the living beings in Sea-Sealing County. It was also… a return of the entire county itself! This was how he planned to atone for his past mistakes.

The living beings of Sea-Sealing County were to be hosts possessed by his true people, who were currently in Cruelmurk. That said, the moment he had planned for never came. The fruit did not ripen. He did not fool the living beings of Sea-Sealing County into making him their governor and freely giving him all the destiny aura of the county.

Therefore, he did not become the protector of his people that he wanted to become, thus ensuring their smooth and unhindered return. He had to forcefully summon the deceased souls. When they appeared, the aura of Revered Ancient would fight back against them, destroying nine out of ten. But there were just too many evil souls. Though large numbers of them would be wiped out, there were still an innumerable amount that could descend on Sea-Sealing County.

That said, the lieutenant governor was the type of person who kept his word. As per the agreement, he would make sure none of Seventh Prince’s people were affected.

Meanwhile, Seventh Prince was flabbergasted. It had never occurred to him that the lieutenant governor would have a plan like this. He had assumed he was going to be dealing with some minor sacrifice. And how could he have ever guessed that the three fish bones would be used for this purpose? .𝒎

“Bai Xiaozhuo!” Seventh Prince said, eyes narrowing. As he stood on the altar struggling to control his breathing, he very nearly took a step forward. This matter was quickly getting out of hand. The commanders-in-chief around him looked at him with glittering eyes. Up in the dome of heaven, the four-clawed golden dragon growled and also looked at Seventh Prince. Down in the crowd, Ning Yan looked at Seventh Prince, his eyes bloodshot. But Seventh Prince looked at the lieutenant governor for a long moment, and then… did nothing.

As an imperial prince, he was privy to many secrets. The way he had grown up had left him with a unique sense of judgment, and as a result, he knew what was going on. He understood that no ordinary type of power could defeat the lieutenant governor right now. A higher level of personhood would be required to vanquish him.

In other words, a Smoldering God or someone like Zhang Siyun. After all, in his current state, the lieutenant governor might as well be a snack for someone like Crimson Mother. Sadly, Crimson Mother was asleep. And after everything that happened with Crimson Mother before, most other gods were in hiding.

Based on the information in various classified files in the imperial capital, Seventh Prince knew that there had been plenty of species throughout the years that made deals with the broken face. However, those deals didn’t involve the opening of the face’s eyes. Throughout all of history, there had only been one instance in which the god’s eyes opened for a person. And that person was the Crown Prince of Violet and Cyan.

If Seventh Prince took action right now, he might be able to prevent a tragedy from ensuing. But the cost to be paid by him would be far, far too immense. He would have to risk his life, and would also have to waste his most valuable reserve powers. 𝘪.𝑐ℴ𝘮

Sea-Sealing County alone wouldn’t be worth going back on his word, risking his life, and losing his best resources. This was not the time and place to lose his reserve powers. As a result, he did nothing. He waited. After everything played out, he would have to scramble to think of how to deal with the aftermath, and turn things to his advantage.

As far as whatever catastrophe struck Sea-Sealing County… amazing things couldn’t be accomplished without a bit of chaos.

In the end, Seventh Prince ignored all of the people that were looking in his direction.

As for Xu Qing, he had never spared a glance for Seventh Prince. He had known all along that it would be naive to expect help from the imperial prince. The four-clawed golden dragon let loose a cry of sorrow, and instinctively looked down at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing slowly lifted his hand, and the fire from the county’s taboo treasure rose off him. It turned into a golden net that climbed into the sky, much the same as it had before when keeping Sea-Sealing County safe. This time, it blocked the souls coming down from above.

“That won’t do you any good,” said the broken face of the lieutenant governor. “Crimson Mother devoured the god of Cruelmurk, leaving the place without anything suppressing it. That’s why this is going to work so smoothly for me. You can’t stop me.”

Xu Qing looked at the lieutenant governor. “Now that you’ve revealed your true form, do you dare allow me to approach you?”

The lieutenant governor looked deeply at Xu Qing. “Unless a god shows up, or perhaps the emperor, then no one exists at a level high enough to do anything to me. I know you always seem to have some trick up your sleeve, but fine. I’ll give you your chance. Let me see what this trump card of yours is. You may attempt to approach me.”

Xu Qing advanced.

Everything blurred. The sky rippled. Even the Void Returning experts were having trouble because of the immense pressure. The two experimental god bodies pulsed with godly might as the blood rain fell. They blocked every attack.

The Captain, who was now behind Xu Qing, suddenly laughed. “Little Ah Qing, if you and Master die fighting the good fight, then I’ll join both of you!”

“Great!” Xu Qing replied softly, without even looking back.

The Captain smiled. Little Junior Brother is rarely impulsive. He probably has a trump card ready to go. But as the Junior Brother, I’m honestly shocked that he would block my path. I’m the Eldest Brother! Hmph!

Ah, whatever. Considering how much he cares about me, I won’t waste time worrying about it. If he doesn’t want me to release my seals right now, fine. But if he ends up failing, he won’t have any logical basis to stop me.

Let me think. If I have to make a move, what pose should I strike? And what should I say? How can I end this life in a really amazing blaze of glory?

After all… who frickin’ knows if I’ll have any lives left this time after releasing the final seal…. The Captain made some calculations on his fingers. Probably not. What a pity. I’m still so young! Lady Peachy is waiting for me, and Lil’ Sis Five Fingers still has her eye on me. Who knows how many other girls might show up in the future. I never even got married….

The Captain sighed.

Meanwhile, Xu Qing was floating up into the air toward the broken face of the lieutenant governor. The closer he got, the harder it became. There was only 300 meters between them, but it was like the difference between heaven and earth.

He progressed 30 meters, and lacerations covered him. Blood oozed out of his mouth, and he staggered in place a bit. Then he waved his hand, and his twelve nascent souls erupted with power, bolstering him. He continued.

After 39 meters, the black umbrella nascent soul dimmed. After 48 meters, the seven-colored wind-chanting nascent soul blurred. After 57 meters, the hellspirit bloodwing nascent soul became hard to see. After 66 meters, the immortal-shredding god-devouring nascent soul distorted.

Xu Qing stopped in place, gasping for breath. It took some struggle, but he looked up at the broken face of the lieutenant governor.

The lieutenant governor was looking back at him. “234 meters to go.”

Xu Qing nodded. The golden crow’s nascent soul form bolstered him, and daybreak light lit his path. He moved on.

The bluegreen dragon appeared, throwing its head back and roaring. He progressed a few more meters.

And thus, Xu Qing’s nascent souls revealed their power. The taboo poison nascent soul. The violet moon nascent soul. The projection of the Ghost Emperor. With all of these blessings, Xu Qing continued onward.

Eventually he reached 90 meters. 120 meters. 150 meters…. The image of the boy appeared, superimposing with Xu Qing. At that point, he passed 168 meters.

“Is that your limit?” the lieutenant governor said from 132 meters away, shaking his head slightly.

Xu Qing’s eyes glittered with cold light. Stretching his hand down toward the ground, he growled, “Come here!”

Down in the county capital, the ground trembled, and countless sword pavilions collapsed, as if a subterranean dragon were on the move. And the source of it all was in the depths of the Corrections Division. Specifically… Forbidden by the Immortal.

While in Forbidden by the Immortal, Xu Qing had already come to realize that after the god there was gone, he could absorb the mutagen that was left behind. That said, he only had limited control, and was also worried that the god’s finger in D-132 would awaken as a result. As a result, he had always restrained himself.

But right now, he had no intention of restraining himself. That was because he was intentionally going to awaken the god’s finger from D-132!

In response to his call, rumbling sounds erupted from Forbidden by the Immortal, filling heaven and earth. The power of the mutagen erupted from the entrance, breaking through all the spell formations, and turning into a black mist that rose from the pit of the Corrections Division. From a distance, it looked like a black dragon racing toward Xu Qing.

It took only a moment for the mutagen to surround Xu Qing, then madly pour into him. An expression of pain covered his face as cracking sounds rang out within him. After a certain limit was reached, he began to grow taller. He was soon 3 meters tall. 6 meters. 9 meters….

Eventually, he was 30 meters tall, like a giant. The air around him distorted, and the aura of a god pulsed off him. Within him, the god’s finger sleeping in D-132, which was in the midst of all the golden threads in him as well as the surging mutagen… suddenly woke up.

The moment īt did, Xu Qing’s entire person pulsed with an even stronger aura of a god. At the same time, something like a howl rang out within him. His eyes changed, turning blank, and his expression became one full of godly might. He shot toward the lieutenant governor.

“Agh! What are you doing?” The finger had been prodded awake, and the first thing īt saw afterward was the broken face of the lieutenant governor. The lieutenant governor’s aura and fundamental personality left īt feeling shaken. What was even more relevant was the second canopy of heaven and the three fish bones from īts true form. Then īt saw everything that was happening in the surroundings. The way everything was distorted and blurry left īt feeling alarmed.

As immense fear rose up within īt, Xu Qing stepped forward 90 meters.

“Do something. Now!” he shouted.

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