Xu Qing sat cross-legged in the back room of the Green Spirit Pharmacy, his mind linked with the golden crow nascent soul. As of this moment, he was the golden crow.

Upon entering the pearl, he found himself in a strange dimension. Everything was blurry and filled with roiling mist and muffled thunder. Then, only a moment after he arrived, the mist parted to reveal a huge face rushing toward him.

It was none other than Guru Blackeyes. His eyes were crimson and bursting with madness. After being sealed in the pearl, he had experienced unending torment that made him wish he could die. He had assumed that his life would be like that forever going forward. But then, the terrifying Smoldering God had unexpectedly told him that he would have ten chances to devour a golden crow and thus free himself. He had no choice but to believe the Smoldering God. Therefore, as soon as he laid eyes on Xu Qing, he didn’t hesitate for a moment to unleash his cultivation base, causing a full secret trove to appear.

“Hurry up and die!” he howled. “Hurry up and die ten times!”

Then he lunged toward Xu Qing with his mouth wide to devour him.

Xu Qing fell back, his golden crow body flaring with unending heavenfire. However, given he was facing a Spirit Trove cultivator with a complete secret trove, there was no way that heavenfire could mount any sort of effective defense.

Guru Blackeyes exhaled, and in the blink of an eye, the golden crow’s flames were swept aside. Then Guru Blackeyes’ face grew larger until it filled the entire dimension. His forehead touched the sky, his chin touched the ground, and his mouth opened wide, closing in on Xu Qing like a black hole.

From a distance, Xu Qing as a golden crow looked like a bird from the mortal world, completely incapable of fighting back. As his vision grew dim, he felt intense pain in his soul. The golden crow collapsed, and as Xu Qing lost consciousness, he heard a voice.

“Nine more times….”

Back in the Green Spirit Pharmacy, Xu Qing opened his eyes as he sat cross-legged in the back room.

“It happened in an instant!” he murmured, scowling. His golden crow was still there. It hadn’t been devoured. But his soul, which had just recovered, was inundated with intense pain.

Xu Qing took out one of the divine soul pills and consumed it. Closing his eyes, he meditated for about two hours. After he was fully recovered, he looked at the pearl in his hand and thought about the experience of directly facing a Spirit Trove expert.

This isn’t going to work. How am I supposed to transform the golden crow to be able to avoid being devoured?

A thousand thoughts ran through Xu Qing’s mind. Eventually, he sent his consciousness back into his golden crow nascent soul.

The golden crow can assimilate myriad spirits. It can become a sun…. The former isn’t going to help much. But the latter….

Xu Qing thought about all of the suns he had seen close up.

Back in Daybreak Prefecture in Sea-Sealing County, I got to see a sun close up for the first time. Granted, it was only the dead remains of a sun…. Later, here in the Moonrite Region, I saw four artificial suns. Little Roundy was the first. The one with eternal power was the second. The round ring was the third. And the ancient sphere was the fourth.

After some more thought, his eyes glittered.

Wait, there was another. When I gained enlightenment of the golden crow, there was that young man depicted in the carvings in the dragon chariot. What if I transform the golden crow into a sun? Return it to its original essence….?

Xu Qing felt a lot of pressure. If he wanted to do this, he needed to deeply consider how to use the golden crow.

The night passed.

The following morning at dawn, the sky was still dark, just not as dark as at night. As the Green Spirit Pharmacy opened for business, Xu Qing made his second attempt. As the golden crow, he entered the pearl. Instantly, the strange dimension unfolded in front of his eyes. He started backing up.

The mist in front of him seethed, and Guru Blackeyes’ rushed toward him as a giant face. Just like last time, he rapidly grew bigger until he filled the dimension. Then he rushed toward Xu Qing, bursting with destructive power as he opened his mouth wide.

This time, just before he devoured Xu Qing, the golden crow emitted a piercing cry as it exploded into four chunks of flesh.

The first of those chunks rippled into the shape of a door frame, within which was a spring. As the spring bounced up and down with increasing speed, it ignited and became a sun. The second part became a round ring which started spinning around rapidly until it caught fire. The third piece of flesh became a sphere which also burst into flames.

These were the three suns that Xu Qing had seen at the Yin Sacrifice River. The suns rushed toward Guru Blackeyes’ gaping maw. As they burned with intense heat, they suddenly self-detonated.

A massive boom filled the entire dimension, and Guru Blackeyes’ giant face stopped moving briefly. Though that face briefly caught fire in a few places, it returned to normal very quickly.

However, Xu Qing had successfully avoided being devoured, at least temporarily. The final chunk of flesh wriggled wildly as it transformed into a young man. His face was as fair as jade, and he wore an imperial robe and crown. He was surrounded by heavenfire, and a dragon chariot formed beneath him. Looking very imposing, he prepared to launch an attack. Before he could, the entire dimension seemed to collapse. The sky seemed to become the top jaw, and the ground was the bottom jaw, and when they snapped shut, everything turned black.

Back in the Green Spirit Pharmacy, Xu Qing opened his eyes and coughed up a mouthful of blood. There was a voice ringing in his ears.

“Eight more times!”

Expression grim, Xu Qing consumed another pill and then analyzed his defeat.

There’s absolutely no way a three-tribulation Nascent Soul cultivator could ever beat a Spirit Trove expert. It doesn’t matter that the latter is sealed in a pearl and restricted. The difference between the two levels is something that’s fundamentally impossible to surpass. But the Heir Apparent is right. I clearly haven’t come to a deep understanding of my nascent souls. For example, the golden crow…. After transforming it into a sun, it’s clearly on a much higher level than before.

Xu Qing could sense that he was exploring the right direction.

In that case, how do I dig down to an even more profound level? What is the golden crow made from? And substructurally speaking, what exactly is an imperial-class technique?

Xu Qing was just about to send his mind back into the golden crow to do further study when Ling’er excitedly ran into the back room.

“Big Bro Xu Qing,” she said in a whisper, “today’s the day you’re supposed to release your new pill!”

Xu Qing’s eyes went wide. He’d already forgotten about the new pill. The Heir Apparent had changed everything. Instead of a quiet life, things were now moving ahead at breakneck speed. That said, he’d already finished concocting all the pills he needed, and they were even more effective than he’d hoped they would be. They significantly reduced the curse.

Xu Qing nodded at Ling’er, took out the mirror, and then brought her with him as he went to the Moonrebel Congregation.

The Moonrebel Congregation was like a boiling cauldron of voices. Ten days had passed in which everyone was talking about how Grandmaster Pill Nine was going to release a new medicine called a cursequelling lozenge, all while Grandmaster Saintlowe was going to release his own pill on the same day. Everyone in the Moonrebel Congregation was caught up in the hubbub.

Tens of thousands of statues hovered in the air above the Moonrebel Congregation, all waiting for Xu Qing and Grandmaster Saintlowe to arrive. Though each statue looked different, collectively, they shone with dazzling light, like magnificent devils. A constant buzz of conversation rippled through the air.

“I had no idea there would be such a clamor of activity. I’m also really curious to see how things play out between the two grandmasters.”

“People’s expectations are too high for the painquelling lozenge and the so-called cursequelling lozenge. I guess it’s understandable. Overall, I don’t believe in this Pill Nine fellow.”

Among the countless discussions, there were obviously altercations between supporters from either side.

“Grandmaster Saintlowe is a person of virtue and prestige. Countless people have benefited from his grace. His dao of alchemy is incomparable. How could some random alchemist like Pill Nine possibly compare to him?”

“A person of virtue and prestige? Cut the crap! Saintlowe’s medicinal pills are outrageously expensive. I once had to spend a year of income just to buy one of them!”

“Such impudence! If you hadn’t purchased that pill, you’d be a corpse right now! Yet you dare to spout such absurd rhetoric?”

“Exactly! Grandmaster Saintlowe is my personal benefactor! Anyone who says anything bad about him is an enemy of mine!”

There was a lot of arguing. Overall, it seemed that about eighty percent of the people supported Grandmaster Saintlowe, which meant that in many cases, the supporters of Grandmaster Pill Nine were drowned out. However, there were two of Grandmaster Pill Nine’s followers whose voices were so loud they couldn’t be drowned out.

One of them was Xu Qing’s burly neighbor. Glaring at the crowd, he spoke in a booming voice that thrummed with gratefulness.

“Grandmaster Saintlowe might be able to save a person’s life. But he leaves them destitute afterward! All of us live bitter lives, and we struggle just to stay alive! We shouldn’t have to suffer exploitation like that!

“But take a look at Grandmaster Pill Nine. He clearly bemoans the state of the universe and pities the fate of mankind. He has a heart of mercy! All he charges for a painquelling lozenge is a hundred drops of godservant blood. Is that because he doesn’t know how valuable painquelling lozenges are? He absolutely does know! But he can’t stand to see us in pain! That’s why he charges such a low price. He wants to help us relieve our bitterness!”

Meanwhile, not far away, another statue spoke in a piercing voice.

“You bunch of idiots! You’ve been scammed into poverty by that brat Saintlowe, yet you insist on kissing his stinky feet! While Saintlowe bathes in wealth, you lot are like obedient children!”

The statue that was speaking was very thin and held a precious bottle in his hands. His face was black and had six eyes, all of which glittered with scorn. That was especially true when he said ‘obedient children.’ The statues listening to him bristled with anger at the sarcastic insult. The six-eyed statue actually seemed pleased at how angry everyone was getting. 1

“What was that, you obedient little children? Say it again, grandpa couldn’t hear you, you bunch of brainless Little Spriteys.”

That got everyone even angrier. Although none of them understood what ‘Little Spritey’ meant, they could tell it was some sort of insult.

Meanwhile, some of Grandmaster Pill Nine’s most ardent followers and supporters started gathering around the six-eyed statue, forming something almost like a home base. They had found their pillar upon which to rely.

When the burly neighbor saw that, his eyes gleamed with admiration. He recognized the six-eyed statue as someone who had frequently come to Grandmaster Pill Nine’s temple. However, he had never spoken to him. Never could he have guessed that the statue would be able to speak in such an incisive manner. Seeing that this six-eyed statue was a kindred spirit, he resolved to make friends with him.

Right at that moment, the entire Moonrebel Congregation suddenly trembled. The mountain shook and the temples vibrated as a shocking pressure descended from above.

All of the arguments ceased as everyone looked up.

1. We learned the identity of the six-eyed statue in chapter 585. ☜

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