The moon hung bright over the spot where the Ten Entrails Tree had once stood. The dark sky surrounding it formed a very clear contrast. But there were also clouds, and as they crept in front of the moon, that clear contrast was obscured. As a result, the banquet in the palace was slowly being covered by a stream of darkness.

In turn, that dark stream was muddying the waters that lay between Sea-Sealing County and the Holytide Region.

It would have been within the rights of Xu Qing and Kong Xianglong to say the very things Zhang Qifan had just blurted. After all, they had fought in the war, and had been present for all the chaos. They were eyewitnesses. But now was definitely not the time for Zhang Qifan to be saying such things. Although he was from Sea-Sealing County, he hadn’t experienced any of those things personally. He was like an outsider who aired someone else’s grievances, then joined forces with them in opposition to the same adversary.

This entire situation had obviously been planned ahead of time. However, it seemed certain that this was not the original plan.

Xu Qing had obviously turned things around by keeping Kong Xianglong from losing his temper. That had forced the hand of the enemy, who had scrambled to adjust by having an outsider jump in and take over the script lines that they had expected to be spoken by Kong Xianglong. The hope was to get the scene back in line with what had been originally expected. The person behind all of this obviously didn’t care how it affected Sea-Sealing County.

It was a clear attack aimed at… Seventh Prince.

Xu Qing knew that, and so did everyone else at the banquet. Granted, there had been many words of praise showered on Seventh Prince earlier. But language is one of the most unpredictable things in heaven and earth. When you believe what someone says, you give them all the power.

Kong Xianglong looked at Xu Qing. No change in expression could be seen on Xu Qing’s face. It was almost as if he hadn’t heard anything Zhang Qifan just said. He just turned and started walking off.

Kong Xianglong did the same. Though Kong Xianglong seemed like the kind of person who focused more on brawn than brains, the reality was that he was capable of deep thinking. He just didn’t have a lot of practice at it. That was why he had been slow to react earlier. Now it was obvious to him that Sea-Sealing County was being used to fan the flames with Seventh Prince. And he wanted no part of it.

What Sea-Sealing County needed right now was stability. That was the most relevant thing to consider. Secondary to that was that playing games with the imperial clan could turn lethal very quickly. Although it could also result in turning weapons of war into gifts of jade and silk, those who ended up stuck in the middle rarely had good fates in the end. You could be an important asset in one moment, and then be discarded a moment later.

Everyone in the banquet was surprised to see the two of them ignoring what was happening, and even going so far as to leave. Meng Yunbai’s eyes glittered, and he smiled. Princess Anhai showed no reaction at all. Seventh Prince took a sip from his drinking vessel, his facial expression the same as before.

Meanwhile, an almost undetectable flicker passed through Zhang Qifan’s eyes. Face a mask of fury, he flicked his sleeve and turned to walk off.

But then, the blunt and straightforward Luo Jinsong narrowed his eyes. A flush was creeping up his neck, and blue veins bulged, making him look very unsophisticated. Shooting to his feet, he unleashed explosive Nascent Soul fluctuations, which became like a tempest around him. A shadowy figure appeared behind him, clad in battle armor and pulsing with a baleful aura. There were twelve totemic designs on the armor, and shockingly, each one resembled Luo Jinsong’s face. Even more astonishing, the fluctuations coming from each face contained heavenfate; clearly, all of them had passed a heavenfate tribulation. He took a step forward, which propelled him with lightning speed toward Zhang Qifan.

“How impudent!” he raged, reaching out with both hands.

Meanwhile, Zhang Qifan turned around. Pulsing with killing intent, he pulled a long, blood-colored sword out of thin air using his right hand, while simultaneously using his left hand to perform an incantation gesture and touch his forehead. Demon energy pulsed out of him. Two leathery wings appeared on his back, and his entire body seemed to wither until it looked like a corpse. Scowling viciously, he lifted his blood sword and prepared to clash with Luo Jinsong.

Simultaneously, three other banquet attendees became blurs of afterimages as they shot toward Zhang Qifan.

It was a case of four against one. There was no need to speculate what would happen. In the blink of an eye, blood sprayed out of Zhang Qifan’s mouth. His blood sword exploded, and he staggered backward toward Xu Qing and Kong Xianglong.

Kong Xianglong frowned. Xu Qing looked completely calm. Ignoring what was happening, they kept walking. Xu Qing could tell that this entire thing was an act, and it wasn’t a very good one.

But then, Luo Jinsong laughed coldly and said, “Kong Liangxiu might have seemed like he performed some important services, but given the way things ended, he obviously got greedy and made his move too soon. If he’d just stayed calm and lasted for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, he would have still been alive when His Majesty Seventh Prince arrived with the relief troops. You can’t blame others for his death!”

Xu Qing stopped walking, and a cold gleam appeared in his eyes.

Next to him, Kong Xianglong was already seething. Turning, he glared at Luo Jinsong.

“Shut the ** up!” he growled. He couldn’t hold it in any longer. The humiliation had gone too far. Taking out his command sword, he took a step forward.

But then Xu Qing’s hand clamped down onto Kong Xianglong’s shoulder.

Kong Xianglong was in the pseudo-Nascent Soul level, and was only a few months away from a breakthrough. Given that, he wasn’t in the position to fight Luo Jinsong, who was an actual Nascent Soul cultivator.

Xu Qing stepped past Kong Xianglong, moving with incredible speed to appear right in front of Luo Jinsong. His eyes were as cold as ice. Palace Lord Kong’s name and honor were inviolable. That was Xu Qing’s bottom line. Palace Lord Kong was also a soft spot for Sea-Sealing County in general. Anyone who touched that soft spot would have to pay the price. It didn’t matter if that person was the descendant of a heavenly marquis.

Xu Qing’s heart was filled with killing intent. He wasn’t going to wait until later to kill this person in secret. In some cases, killing someone in secret was the best thing to do. But in other situations, killing them out in the open was the best way to send a message.

Of course, Xu Qing knew that killing Luo Jinsong here wouldn’t be easy. There would be people inclined to interfere. Therefore, he needed to end things quickly and efficiently.

Clenching his right hand into a fist, he launched a blow at Luo Jinsong’s chest.

Luo Jinsong’s gaze sharpened. Xu Qing’s speed and aura were both fear-inspiring. But Luo Jinsong didn’t show even a shred of cowardice. Grinning fiercely, he unleashed all of the power of his energy and blood, causing a blood mist to erupt from him and form an illusory projection. His baleful aura grew more intense, his muscles bulged, and his entire body became covered with vicious-looking blue veins. He had an innate ability that gave him a huge boost to his fleshly body. As his energy and blood raged, he grew in size, rapidly reaching a height of six meters. His arms were thicker than Xu Qing’s torso as he reached out to grab Xu Qing’s incoming fist. Meanwhile, his other hand swept out as if to grab Xu Qing bodily.

But then Xu Qing’s entire body turned semitransparent. He did nothing to stop Luo Jinsong’s hands from getting close to him.

Then those hands clamped down… onto nothing!

When using his Gruegloom abilities, Xu Qing could turn his entire body semitransparent, which allowed things to pass right through it. In that state, his speed wasn’t reduced at all.

Luo Jinsong’s face fell as he realized he’d made a mistake, and it was too late to fall back. However, he still managed to react. Eyes flaring with anger, he roared at Xu Qing’s incoming form.

Meanwhile, red light erupted from his blood clone as it took a step toward Xu Qing. That light became like a sea of blood that weighed down on Xu Qing with immense pressure. But a fraction of a moment later, golden light glittered as Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior appeared, controlling the Spike of Misfortune and sending it stabbing right toward the blood clone. The Spike of Misfortune cut like a hot knife through butter, piercing through the sea of blood and slashing open the clone.

Because of that opening, Xu Qing in his Gruegloom form was able to accelerate rapidly and then pass through Luo Jinsong. When he came out the other side, he had a nascent soul in his hand!

It was one of Luo Jinsong’s nascent souls!

Xu Qing tightened his hand, and the nascent soul screamed before collapsing. The heavenfate within it swept into Xu Qing’s hand and entered his body, becoming nourishment. What remained of the nascent soul in his hand was pitch black. It continued to crumble in on itself until it turned into a shadowy form that pulsed with a cold, vile aura as it floated behind Xu Qing.

It was his first heavenfiend clone. 𝑖𝘦.𝑐𝘰𝘮

Luo Jinsong shivered violently from head to toe. Eyes shining with astonishment, he suddenly coughed up a huge mouthful of blood and staggered forward. At the same time, his flesh started turning black, with many spots starting to visibly decay.

“This….”

He seemed to have something to say, but before he could, Xu Qing stepped forward in his illusory form, and then appeared in front of Luo Jinsong.

Somehow, he had a dagger in his hand, and he swept it right through Luo Jinsong’s neck.

The head tumbled through the air!

It landed on the ground with a thump, then rolled to a stop in front of Seventh Prince and Princess Anhai. The eyes were wide open and full of disbelief, as if, even in the moment right before death, he couldn’t believe what was happening. Clearly, there wasn’t a huge difference between Luo Jinsong’s cultivation base and Xu Qing’s. What was more, Luo Jinsong had a fleshly body blessing. So how could he have literally lost his head so quickly?

And then the poison ravaged his head, turning it into a black sludge. His body was also melting.

Xu Qing didn’t skip a beat, though. Without pausing for a moment, he sent the dagger stabbing toward Luo Jinsong’s poisoned and decapitated body.

The moment the dagger made contact with the headless body, the corpse’s chest split open, and red fire erupted from within. The fire pulsed with a stupefying aura that made it clear it wasn’t something from the mortal world, and it caused rippling heat waves to spread out as it shot toward Xu Qing. 𝘪.𝘤𝑜𝘮

At the same time, an ordinary-sized person stepped out from Luo Jinsong’s chest, holding a cosmic teapot that was pitch black and covered in golden striations. The fire was coming from inside that teapot. 1

1. There is no indication what this ‘cosmic teapot’ looks like. However, when I put the Chinese term into search engines, the results were all teapots. Here’s a cool version that seems like it could fit in the story (except it’s a different color). ?

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