Xu Qing had always been indifferent toward enemies.

Chen Feiyuan nodded. Looking at Xu Qing, he sighed inwardly. After his Teacher passed away, Chen Feiyuan had lost any measure of protection he had. To survive the clan infighting that was typical in the Violet Lands, he had mastered the ability to be ruthless and unfeeling.

But Xu Qing had already mastered that when he was a kid. It’s an instinct by now.

Chen Feiyuan had only come to understand that part of Xu Qing when he himself became embroiled in clan power struggles. Chen Feiyuan’s understanding of Xu Qing was informed by many things, such as his actions as the Kid in the scavenger basecamp, the bloodbath with the camp owner, or how Xu Qing slaughtered his way through Seven Blood Eyes. Chen Feiyuan had observed how Xu Qing handled himself, and had been determined to learn from him.

There wasn’t any need for further discussion. Chen Feiyuan took out a transmission jade slip and gave the orders to slaughter the prisoners.

Xu Qing didn’t pay attention to the details. He didn’t stay for long in the Violet Lands. He spent three days catching up with Chen Feiyuan and Tingyu. Then the eight clans gathered again to see him off.

When it came time to part, Tingyu wept. Her frailty had become much more apparent after their Teacher’s death, and that was especially true when it came time to part with people she cared about. The pain she felt was obvious.

Xu Qing could tell that she was no longer the curious and exuberant girl she’d been when they were kids. But as she grew, the camaraderie they’d experienced as fellow disciples was a source of warmth inside of her, which insulated her against the coldness of the Violet Lands, and the dog-eat-dog world she was forced to live in. That’s just how life is sometimes. White hair eventually covers the past. The colder the world is, the more likely that emotions other than love will build up in the heart. And sometimes, those emotions don’t need long periods of time to develop.

With some struggle, Tingyu managed to control herself. She didn’t cry in front of Xu Qing. It was only after he was gone that she fell onto Chen Feiyuan’s shoulder and wept.

Chen Feiyuan looked at the Elder Sister he had grown up with. He could feel her heartache. “Elder Sister,” he said softly, “do you remember what Teacher told us? The world is a tavern for living beings. And the timescape is an old guest….”

Tingyu looked up and softly continued, “As long as we don’t die, we’ll meet again.”

The exact same words could be heard on the dreadnaught as Xu Qing murmured them. The wind stirred his clothes and lifted his hair as the dreadnaught started moving. He was thinking about what Grandmaster Bai looked like when he uttered those words. 1

On his final day in the Violet Lands, he had asked Chen Feiyuan and Tingyu for all the details of what happened before Grandmaster Bai died. For example, he’d asked if Grandmaster Bai had any other friends similar to Master Seventh. He’d inquired about any unusual circumstances leading up to the murder, and whether or not Grandmaster Bai said anything noteworthy.

Chen Feiyuan had little to add. But Tingyu had a good memory, and was able to describe that time period in detail. However, she didn’t mention anything that Xu Qing found relevant. Except… she mentioned that their Teacher had the habit of looking into the sky. It wasn’t something he had always done. He only developed the habit in the year before his murder.

Xu Qing looked up quietly into the sky.

“Beyond Revered Ancient….”

He thought about it for a moment. In the end, he couldn’t come up with an answer to what happened to Grandmaster Bai. He could only bury the matter in his heart.

After leaving the Violet Lands, Xu Qing took a trip to Forbidden by the Phoenix. He wanted to determine once and for all who Huang Yan really was. Upon arriving at the fog-filled Forbidden by the Phoenix, Qingqin let loose a loud caw. However, Flame Phoenix didn’t react.

Xu Qing studied the place for a time, then chose to leave. However, just before passing the border of Forbidden by the Phoenix, he got a voice message from Second Elder Sister.

“Little Junior Brother! I’m in Forbidden by the Phoenix. Guess what? I’m pregnant! However, because of that, I’m having trouble with my next cultivation breakthrough. It’s so annoying. And it’s all the fault of that big fat fatty, Huang Yan. So, so annoying!

“Anyway, Huang Yan is helping me figure everything out, which means we can’t go out and see you. By the way… Huang Yan wants me to tell you that his offer from before is still valid. If you’re feeling down, just come back to South Phoenix.”

After listening to the message, Xu Qing turned to Qingqin.

Qingqin cawed. His expression was one of excitement and curiosity; he could clearly sense that something unusual was going on in Forbidden by the Phoenix.

Is Huang Yan really Flame Phoenix? thought Xu Qing. All the clues indicate that the answer was yes. But when Xu Qing thought back to everything he’d done with Huang Yan, it seemed completely preposterous.

In the end, all he could do was sigh and return to the dreadnaught. With that, he left South Phoenix and crossed the Forbidden Sea. Soon, he could see Emperor-Receiving Prefecture in the distance.

He didn’t spend much time in the Eight Sect Coalition. After a few days, Master Seventh took a contingent of disciples from Seven Blood Eyes and the Dark Serenity Sect, then teleported back to the county capital along with Xu Qing. Plumdark wasn’t with them; she’d gone ahead to select a suitable site for the new sect, and begin the construction work.

The president of the coalition saw them away with a smile. However, there was also something wistful in his expression.

The Eight Sect Coalition still had eight sects. There was no change in that regard. The new Green Dark Sect would be an independent organization. As it expanded and grew in the future, it would surely outpace the Eight Sect Coalition. Master Seventh was the lieutenant governor, and one of the characters from Xu Qing’s name was in the name of the sect. Given that, everyone in the county knew that, though the sect was currently small and weak, given enough time, it would become a superpower.

Thus ended Xu Qing’s travels.

He had visited many places and accomplished many things. He also felt like he was thinking much more clearly now. On the fourth day back in the county capital, he finished his thirteenth nascent soul using the hellspirit bloodwing lamp. The left wing boosted speed, and the right wing augmented attack power. The moment the right wing formed, a sensation of killing and death erupted from the nascent soul. It was far stronger than any of his other life lamps.

After sensing how formidable it was, Xu Qing thought for a moment, then took out a jade slip. Master Seventh had given it to him on their way back. It contained a nascent soul technique that Master Seventh had created just for Xu Qing.

The Daofate Heavenfiend Art.

Similar to the Gruegloom Daoseizing Art, Master Seventh had designed it according to Xu Qing’s personality, temperament, and current capabilities. In other words, it was a one-of-a-kind technique. When Xu Qing thought about how proud Master Seventh was of the technique he had crafted, he felt warmth in his heart. It was only recently that he had come to realize that creating an entire technique was extremely difficult. It required a lot of practice, and also plenty of special materials. And Master Seventh had done that all for him.

Xu Qing studied the jade slip and committed the technique to heart.

Cultivators from all species in the Revered Ancient mainland would experience a big shift in cultivation style when they reached Nascent Soul. It required heavenfate.

Heavenfate was something that only came into play starting with Nascent Soul cultivators. It was different from destiny aura. Specifically, heavenfate was built on a foundation of power from the natural and magical laws of heaven and earth. It could be likened to the musical notes that make up a piece of music, the strokes used to write characters, or the bricks used to construct a building. One of its uses was to nourish and grow the nascent souls. But also it could be stockpiled inside the nascent souls, and then, during one of the five tribulations, could be used to form a secret trove.

The amount of heavenfate you possessed determined your success rate in forming a secret trove. It also formed the foundation of the secret trove. What was more, if you had enough heavenfate, then after you formed a secret trove, any remainder could be added into the secret trove to create natural and magical laws, thus preparing it for the birth of a heavenly dao. Clearly, heavenfate was an absolutely essential aspect to cultivation in the Nascent Soul level. The way to get more heavenfate was to experience heavenly tribulations.

Normally speaking, the first heavenly tribulation wasn’t unusually powerful. But every tribulation after that became increasingly terrifying. It was said that the fourth tribulation was one of complete extermination, and it wasn’t uncommon for people to fail that tribulation. People who had life lamps had a bit of an advantage. If they failed that tribulation, they wouldn’t lose the nascent souls in the lamps. But they would lose the life lamps.

Ordinary nascent souls would be severely damaged, and the cultivator would have to pay a huge price to fix them. In some cases, the nascent soul would even be destroyed permanently. Because of all that, there were many people who didn’t dare to face the tribulations of the Nascent Soul level. They were willing to just stop at that point.

Though it seemed like Spirit Trove cultivators weren’t very rare, one reason for that was the vast size of the Revered Ancient mainland, and its immense population. Every single one of those Spirit Trove cultivators had experienced the life-or-death test of heavenly tribulations.

Of course, it went without saying that immense amounts of research had been done regarding the Nascent Soul ‘heavenfate tribulation.’ And there were obviously sundry methods used to pass them. Some were very effective, but also extremely expensive. Others were less ideal, had harsh requirements, and were essentially theories.

The best chance to pass tribulations was to use one of the secret methods kept by the major sects, or to cultivate an imperial-class technique. Not only would that enable a person to have a much higher chance of success, but also, it would allow them to get more heavenfate.

Of course, many species had even more precious techniques for tribulations. Such techniques would enable the user to pass the tribulation unharmed. However, they had very strict cultivation requirements, and couldn’t be cultivated without the use of various precious materials of heaven and earth. Techniques like that were not widespread. 𝑖𝘦.𝒸𝘰𝑚

What was more, since most species had hierarchical societies, those techniques were usually reserved for the nobility.

Regardless, cultivators needed to actually form their nascent souls before thinking about the tribulations. Whether they formed nascent souls from the spirit power of heaven and earth, by devouring the nascent souls of other people, or by consuming precious materials and medicinal pills, the ultimate goal was to have nascent souls that could pass the tribulations and absorb a lot of heavenfate. In addition to that, special techniques were required.

The Daofate Heavenfiend Art that Master Seventh had designed for Xu Qing was a domineering technique that conformed to the traditions and style of the Seventh Peak.

It was essentially a continuation of the Gruegloom Daosiezing Art, as it focused on devouring. Of course, it didn’t devour gold cores from heavenly palaces, but rather, heavenfate from nascent souls! With it, Xu Qing could take the heavenfate that other people had accumulated after passing their tribulations, and make it his own.

Heavenfate was the best nourishment a nascent soul could get, and thus, this technique didn’t require precious materials. It just required slaughter! It was because the technique focused on heavenfate that it had Daofate in the name.

An odd expression could be seen on Xu Qing’s face when he saw the name. As best he could tell, Master Seventh had added ‘dao’ to the name just to make it sound good. It probably would have been better to call it the Plunderfate technique. 2

The Heavenfiend part of the name was also important. There was a second aspect to the technique; the person who cultivated it could break down the nascent souls they devoured. Some of the heavenfate that resulted would be turned into nourishment. But some of it could be used to create an illusory clone called a heavenfiend clone.

Heavenfiend clones looked like ordinary doppelg?ngers, but weren’t. For one, they could be produced en masse. They would adhere to the original form like souls, and could be sent into battle to protect their true form.

However, the best use of the heavenfiend clones was to pass tribulations! Because heavenly tribulations just got more and more terrifying, and the price to pay for failing was the loss of nascent souls. Meanwhile, the main goal was to gather heavenfate. Therefore… passing such tribulations was essentially a formality. Having a heavenfiend clone pass the tribulation instead was the same thing. If a heavenfiend clone was destroyed, there would be a second to take its place. Then a third…. As long as one of them succeeded, then the heavenfate power could be gathered using the Daofate aspect of the technique.

That was how the Seventh Peak operated, and that was how Master Seventh operated.

Eyes shining, Xu Qing took out three medicinal pill bottles.

1. Grandmaster Bai uttered those words in chapter 29. ?

2. There’s some word play in Chinese that doesn’t exactly translate well, as the character “dao” has the exact same pronunciation as another character which basically means “steal.” There’s an additional line clarifying the use of the “steal” character. Depending on what other characters you add to “steal,” it can have different meanings. It could mean to pilfer, in other words, to secretly steal something. Or it could mean to plunder, in other words, to rob with force. So in Chinese, he clarifies that the “steal” character, as applicable to this passage, is the one from plunder, not pilfer. ?

𝑖𝘦.𝑐𝘰𝘮