The canopy of heaven trembled as the sound of thunder rolled out. The sky filled with dark clouds that grew thicker and thicker with every moment that passed. Winds screamed in the Greenhair Badlands, growing stronger and stronger until their whimpering turned into the wailing of ghosts and howling of wolves.

Immense pressure weighed down from above, settling not just onto Xu Qing and his location, but the entirety of the Greenhair Badlands. Rumbling sounds seemed to descend from the highest heavens, causing all living beings in the desert to feel jumpy with fear.

All of the organizations in all of the mountains, including those in the Bitter Life Mountains, trembled with anxiety. Even people in the Red Moon Cathedral looked up into the sky.

“What’s going on?”

“Something’s strange about the sky….”

Chen Fanzhuo sat cross-legged in his sect, his heart pounding. As he looked up into the dark sky, a very uneasy sensation filled him. That said, he wasn’t sure exactly what was going on.

There was someone else who suddenly felt uneasy. It was Sir Tree-Dao, who was currently serving tea to an old man in a black robe. It was a ceremony of apprenticeship. Sir Tree-Dao’s hand was trembling so hard that some tea actually spilled. The old man in the black robe looked up into the sky, a suspicious expression on his face.

The number-one rogue cultivator in the Bitter Life Mountains, Patriarch Inkrule, was seated cross-legged in meditation. All of a sudden, he looked up into the dome of heaven, an incredibly serious expression on his face.

Everyone reacted similarly, even the species that guarded the desert and normally lived under the sand.

There was little need to mention the people located in midair in the sun, just overhead the location that was causing all of the dramatic upheavals. Ning Yan shivered. Wu Jianwu gasped. Li Youfei seemed stunned.

And the Captain looked down with an expression of anticipation on his face. The Heir Apparent said it right. Ever since Xu Qing was named as the future governor of Sea-Sealing County, the old man has been putting safety first. That said, things don’t need to be as dramatic as the Heir Apparent makes them out to be. Little Ah Qing’s dao heart is already forming. Give it a few more years, and he’ll naturally develop his own personal dao. He actually doesn’t need pointers from anyone. Although, for little Ah Qing, this is for the best.

Down below, the Heir Apparent, in his grandpa form, floated up into the air with his hands clasped behind his back. As the rumbling sounds grew more intense, lightning arced through the air, dancing every which way.

The affected area grew even larger. It started at 3,000 meters but soon reached 30,000 meters. And it kept going, until eventually it covered the greater part of the Greenhair Badlands. That led to no small amount of astonishment among the living beings that inhabited the desert. Before any of them could check closely about what was happening, a roar echoed out like the angry cry of a god. Countless crashes of thunder were accompanied by innumerable lightning bolts which spread out to cover the desert.

Then they slammed down onto the surface of the desert! There were no less than 3,000 bolts of lightning. All of them landed in different spots, then shot through the sand in Xu Qing’s direction. They were like 3,000 lightning dragons, streaking forth with astonishing power.

When the Captain sensed what was happening, his eyes went wide and he gasped. Even he found the development astonishing.

“This is going to kill little Ah Qing!” he blurted, and was about to fly out to help.

The Heir Apparent turned and looked at him. “Calm down!”

The Captain stopped in place, his expression flickering.

The 3,000 lightning dragons rumbling toward Xu Qing, converging around him, shattering the land in his area. When they met each other and became one, a wild, deafening sound wave swept through the Greenhair Badlands. The sand surrounding Xu Qing’s subterranean location shattered violently.

Then a miserable shriek rang out inside the artificial sun, drawing the attention of Ning Yan and the others. The godherald that Xu Qing had been absorbing started glittering with electric light, until finally exploding and transforming into a diamond-shaped piece of wood that fell to the ground.

Before anyone could react to his sudden death, a huge shockwave swept across the lands, shattering everything for 250 kilometers in every direction. When it was over, a massive, 500-kilometer chasm was visible below. In the middle of it lay a 15-meter-tall figure, scorched, blackened, and unmoving. It was impossible to tell if the figure was dead or alive.

“Not very impressive. Of the 3,000 lightning bolts, you only sustained a few hundred.” The Heir Apparent shook his head. With the wave of his hand, he pulled the scorched figure up to him, then returned to the artificial sun.

Back inside the sun, Ling’er’s eyes were puffy and red as she rushed over.

“Big Bro Xu Qing!” Seeing Xu Qing injured and gasping for breath, Ling’er started crying. Wrapping her arms around him, she looked at the Heir Apparent. “Grandpa, you….”

Ning Yan and Wu Jianwu hardly dared to breathe, and as they looked at the unmoving Xu Qing, their hearts started to pound.

“He’s not going to die,” the Heir Apparent said coolly. Then he noticed that Ling’er was crying, and his heart softened a bit. “This was a type of tempering. That Red Moon Cathedral godherald sustained most of the tribulation. When your Big Bro Xu Qing reached his limit, the godherald shared the burden….”

When the Captain heard that, and then looked at the spot where the godherald had vanished from existence, his heart pounded. Duskmurmur Extirpation Command.

At that point Wu Jianwu and Ning Yan realized what happened, and both of them inhaled sharply.

That was especially true of Ning Yan, who was privy to many secrets. Thinking back, he recalled a very ancient ceremony that he’d read about in certain ancient records.

“The Duskmurmur Extirpation Command!” he murmured. Thanks to his studies, he knew all about the technique called the Duskmurmur Extirpation Command. Few people nowadays had heard of it or knew how to use it. But back in the days of Ancient Emperors, it was well-known as a very ruthless technique.

The ‘duskmurmur’ was a type of vicious tree that existed in the ancient past. Every few thousand years, that tree would have to pass a tribulation. Whenever that tribulation came, numerous top experts would suddenly drop dead in random locations. After a lot of research, people came to realize that all of those events were connected. The experts who died replaced the duskmurmur tree in death, allowing the tree to pass the tribulation. Gradually, people figured out the details of the ceremony.

In the time of Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity, only chosen cultivators from the imperial clan, under the direction of older members of the clan, would use the technique on nonhumans in order to pass tribulations. The most shocking thing about the Duskmurmur Extirpation Command was that after the person facing the tribulation reached their limit, and experienced what should have been their own death, the effects would be passed on to another cultivator, who could be turned into a piece of wood. The curse power that filled the wood, once released, would contain shocking power.

With such thoughts on his mind, Ning Yan looked at where the godherald had died, and to his astonishment, saw the piece of wood there.

Meanwhile, outside in the dome of heaven, everything was going back to normal. The black clouds were dissipating, and all shockwaves had died down. Although the area affected by the lightning was only about 500 kilometers, the event had actually affected the entire Greenhair Badlands. Innumerable mountains there were shaken, including those in the Bitter Life Mountains. Within all those mountains, intense exclamations of shock could be heard everywhere.

Numerous figures flew up into the air, sending out divine will to check the area. Feelings of terror and vigilance abounded.

“What almighty entity is facing tribulation?”

“It doesn’t seem like tribulation. More like somebody refining something!”

Speculations and theories exploded in the Greenhair Badlands. Even the Red Moon Cathedral was shaken, and immediately began trying to figure out what caused the situation. No such efforts amounted to anything. However, the effects were profound and far-reaching to the local cultivators.

The number one rogue cultivator, Patriarch Inkrule, hovered in midair in the Bitter Life Mountains. As he stared up into the dome of heaven, he thought to himself, Momentous events are in store for the Greenhair Badlands….

Similar thoughts occurred to many top experts. The black-robed old man with Sir Tree-Dao finally accepted the cup of tea.

“For the time being, don’t leave the Bitter Life Mountains,” he said. “I have a bad feeling about this. Did you stir up any trouble lately?”

Sir Tree-Dao immediately shook his head. “Master, I’ve been in these mountains this entire time, working on establishing my new sect headquarters. I definitely haven’t stirred up any trouble.”

The black-robed old man nodded.

***

Xu Qing, who had caused all of the commotion, struggled to open his eyes. He could sense how weak he was, but at the same time, felt shocking power flowing through him. His thirteen nascent souls had all reached the three-tribulation level. His battle prowess had increased significantly, such that any Nascent Soul cultivator who encountered him would feel despair and shock.

As of now, Xu Qing could definitely fight against any expert in the early part of the dao begetting phase.

Even the weakest dao begetting experts were vastly superior to Nascent Soul cultivators. And the strong ones would be very close to the true Spirit Trove level. All they would have to do was form a heavenly dao, and break through from the illusory to the corporeal to have a true secret trove.

As Xu Qing focused on recovery, three days passed.

The Bitter Life Mountains were now visible in the distance.

When Ling’er saw that her Big Bro Xu Qing really was okay, she breathed a sigh of relief in her heart. At that point, she returned to her previous vivaciousness, and started explaining more about the Green Spirit Pharmacy to the Heir Apparent.

“Grandpa, our medicine shop is really beautiful. I personally decorated everything. It’s very warm and comforting inside, and I take time every day to clean the entire place. You won’t find even a speck of dust anywhere.”

Ling’er’s enthusiasm had rubbed off on Ning Yan and Wu Jianwu. Even the Captain couldn’t wait to see the Green Spirit Pharmacy. Li Youfei was also excited. Last time, he’d had no choice but to flee from the medicine shop. But this time, things were different. As far as he was concerned, even someone like Patriarch Inkrule counted as nothing more than a joke.

The Heir Apparent smiled. He really was feeling very happy. In the past, his lofty position made it difficult for him to experience the happiness of mortal life. Nor had he experienced anything like a true family. Later, he was suppressed in the Heavenfire Sea and endured unending bitterness. Even after his return, he had spent most of his time recovering. Now he felt like he was spending his time with a group of children. All of them went around calling him grandpa, and though he hadn’t given voice to how he felt, the truth was that it filled his heart with warmth.

Hearing how happy Ling’er was caused him to smile and nod. However, when he looked outside, a strange expression filled his eyes. “Ling’er, is your medicine shop in the mudbrick city up ahead?”

“That’s right, grandpa! That’s the city! We’re finally home!” Ling’er’s eyes shone with anticipation.

As the artificial sun got closer and closer to the Bitter Life Mountains, Xu Qing continued to recover. As of now, he could stand with Ling’er’s help. As he looked toward the mudbrick city off in the distance, he sighed inwardly. His travels had taken him away for more than half a year.

All of a sudden, his gaze hardened. Up ahead, he sensed nothing but ruins. Then a rumbling sound echoed out from the mudbrick city. Dust and rubble flew everywhere as the last of the buildings there collapsed.

Xu Qing couldn’t have been more taken aback.