There were many records that contained historical accounts. Due to individual objectives and personal karma, it was common for people to try to cover over things that they didn’t like, to adjust the story to make it more palatable before spreading it further. After enough time passed, it would become impossible for people to know what really happened.

The image that Xu Qing was seeing was something no other living being could see. It had been hidden in time and ravaged by the wind, but now the memories were being sent into Xu Qing’s sea of consciousness, and revealed through the ink there. Normally speaking, the images wouldn’t have been easy to reveal. Whether it was the influence of the killing will, or the fact that the memories had degraded thanks to the passage of time, it was no easy task to pull them all together.

The daybreak light added color to the image, filling in the missing spots, until gradually an outline formed, revealing to Xu Qing’s senses that which had been buried in history.

He saw the Imperial Sovereign. He saw Crimson Mother. He heard the words spoken by the former. He heard the song sung by the latter.

The lyrics soared. They contained heart-wrenching attachment and dedication, the willingness to pursue an ideal no matter what happened. Apparently, compared to that ideal, all other living things were meaningless. Even if everyone alive ended up dead, even if heaven and earth wept in sorrow and agony, they counted as nothing more than nutrients necessary for godly ascension. They weren’t important.

Neither the figure in the green canopy of heaven, nor anything else, could possibly wipe out that hope for godly ascension. She would become a god, and she would stand on the red moon. To reach that goal, she would do anything.

The lyrics of the song reverberated in the image, creating ripples that eventually swept forth, wiping out the voices and blurring everything.

Xu Qing struggled to control his breathing. His chest heaved as he sat there, the image in his sea of consciousness blurred to the point where he couldn’t see what was happening or hear what was being said. Inside his sea of consciousness, the green became white. The red became black. And they swirled together to once again turn into ink. Not even adding daybreak light could make it complete.

As a result, what happened after the part Xu Qing witnessed was not clear. He couldn’t directly observe, but rather, was forced to rely on vague sensations to guess at what was happening. Yet Xu Qing chose not to open his eyes. Instead, he stayed immersed in his sea of consciousness, trying to sense what was happening.

Inside the image, white clashed with black. Water swirled with ink. Just barely, Xu Qing could make out a sky in the image.

Within the white, there’s a green sky….

He could also make out what appeared to be land.

The black soil has become as red as blood…. Heaven and earth are connected by something. It looks like… an altar?

He felt confused. He had long since forgotten about what was happening outside. All of his concentration and senses were focused on the ink and water. Gradually, he saw a majestic altar, slowly becoming clear within the blurriness.

The reality was that the image wasn’t turning clear. Ever since the Imperial Sovereign and Crimson Mother vanished, the ink in Xu Qing’s sea of consciousness had been in a constant state of flux, and had not formed any new images.

But to Xu Qing’s senses, things were rapidly becoming clear. Of course, to say it was happening ‘rapidly’ was subjective. That was because the clarity… was a process.

Everything so far had been the result of Xu Qing’s hard work and determination. If he relaxed his senses for even a moment, that altar would disappear. He needed to keep his heart and soul focused. It was like he was fishing. And yet he still hadn’t managed to hook the fish. His mental faculties were being drained by the ever-building force. Slowly but surely, Xu Qing came to realize that his consciousness was being drained, and that he couldn’t hold out for much longer. And the altar still wasn’t completely clear.

I’m going to fail. I just can’t dredge the altar up out of the ink because… I’m missing a receptacle. A receptacle….

Meanwhile, outside on the stage, as Xu Qing’s session of enlightenment wound down, the rumbling grew fainter, and the quaking sensation died down. The vortex in the sky wasn’t exerting the same influence as before. Things seemed about to end.

Ning Yan and everyone else breathed sighs of relief. The pressure that had been building up over them had been very anxiety-inducing. But now, they could focus on completing the performance.

Inside, the Captain was sighing. Although he had felt from the beginning that it was extremely unlikely Xu Qing would gain enlightenment, after the scene from earlier, he had harbored a bit of hope.

Oh well. Even just the experience will be useful. At the least, he’s become more familiar with killing will.

The Heir Apparent and his siblings were all sighing as well. Hindered by karma, they couldn’t see what was happening in Xu Qing’s sea of consciousness, but they could sense that he was mentally spent. They could also see that Xu Qing’s attempt to gain further enlightenment after the killing will was a failure.

“He’s currently seeking enlightenment of father’s divine ability. The God Decapitation Altar.”

“What a pity….”

“Actually, it’s not really his fault. The vestiges here are too degraded and weak. Otherwise, he might not have failed.”

Despite the fact that Xu Qing had failed, his powers of understanding left all four siblings deeply moved.

Right now, act 2 was playing out in the minds of everyone in the Moonrite Region, and the critical moment was near.

All of a sudden, someone materialized out of thin air next to Wu Jianwu. He wore an extravagant garment, his eyes glittered, and his fair complexion emanated a soft and feminine air, but at the same time, he pulsed with terrifying fluctuations. He was one of the Ancient Emperor’s high-ranking eunuchs, present to read a proclamation. Multicolored light glittered in heaven and earth as the extravagantly clad eunuch extended his right hand and unfurled a scroll made of auspicious clouds.

“According to the dao of Revered Ancient, I, an Ancient Emperor, hereby decree that the felon citizen from Brilliant Heaven has caused calamity and chaos to sundry living beings.

“Moon King Zihua is therefore ordered to act in my stead as the executioner, and take the head of this criminal…. Any resulting karma will be borne by me!”

The voice boomed like thunder into the minds of the people, bolstered by the efforts of the Heir Apparent and his siblings.

After the proclamation was complete, Ning Yan as the Imperial Sovereign turned his gaze to Crimson Mother on the altar. Then he looked at the burly man in golden armor standing behind her.

“Godpriest,” Ning Yan said.

“Here, sir!” the Captain said loudly, one hand on Crimson Mother’s head, the other holding his saber.

“Execute her!”

“Your orders shall be followed!”

The Captain’s eyes shone with cold light as he lifted the saber. Intense hatred flashed in Crimson Mother’s eyes, and she again struggled to free herself. The countless magical symbols on the altar made that completely and utterly impossible.

In the broadcast, the wind screamed as the Heir Apparent and his siblings continued to propagate dramatic effects. After all, the image of Crimson Mother being executed was profoundly significant to everyone else in the region.

In the broadcast, thunder crashed, and countless bolts of lightning smashed down, forming a massive sea of electricity. Princess Brightblossom took action, creating a river of time, the flowing of which caused an ancient aura to spread out and enter the senses of the audience. Eighth Sib wasn’t willing to be outdone, and lent his voice to the thunder. As a result, the emotional fluctuations of all the performers became more intense, and exerted a greater influence. Finally, the Heir Apparent caused suns and moons to appear in the lightning. Countless heavenly bodies flickered brightly, and it was even possible to make out the vague will of a heavenly dao.

The audience was deeply moved by the dramatic scene, and everyone was wondering how it would end.

Then, the Captain’s blade danced!

Blade light glimmered, shining like lightning. It contained suns, moons, stars, and heavenly bodies, as well as a profoundly ancient aura that tugged on the emotions of all onlookers.

Nethersprite’s eyes shone with hatred as she prepared to speak her final lines.

However, right then…

Something dramatic happened!

Wild colors flashed in heaven and earth! Lands shook and mountains were rocked! An intense rumbling sound descended from the sky, like the roar of a dragon filled with the power to dry up rivers and drain seas. Countless rifts opened up in the sky, which then collapsed! Countless rocks tumbled down from above, smashing into the ground. At the same time, a cold light appeared in the canopy of heaven. The ground quaked as countless craters opened up, all while a screaming wind battered down everything in its path.

There was more. A boundless killing intent erupted. These things vastly surpassed any of the effects unleashed by the Heir Apparent and his siblings. The living beings in the Moonrite Region had already been entranced thanks to the effects they had seen so far. But this unexpected upsurge of killing intent caused them to cry out in surprise and alarm.

This killing intent was vastly more intense than anything before. As it exploded into their hearts and minds, it became like tsunami waves that battered their souls. It was realistic in a completely unparalleled way.

Everyone present at the actual performance was also shocked.

Nethersprite’s face went pale as the unprecedented shadow of death suddenly loomed over her. She possessed an undying body, yet at that moment, she felt overwhelmed by the sensation that she was about to die!

Is this really it? she thought, shaking from head to toe.

The Captain’s blade stopped in midair as his heart started racing. Ning Yan, Wu Jianwu, and Li Youfei all felt like their minds were being smashed by lightning.

The Heir Apparent and his siblings all turned to look at Xu Qing.

As of this moment, the same Xu Qing who they had believed to have failed in his enlightenment now had a bottle in his sea of consciousness. It was true that he was unable to dredge up the image out of the ink. But the reason was that he didn’t have a receptacle. And so… he put his timescape bottle into his sea of consciousness. That was what he would use to contain the ink. He planned to take it away.

I can’t dredge it up, so therefore, I’ll take the last remnants that are affecting my enlightenment and completely extract them!

The ink flowed toward his timescape bottle, pouring inside. As it happened, Xu Qing felt the altar getting clearer. The process didn’t take very long. From the moment he focused his attention on the task, it took only a short time for almost all of the ink to vanish into the bottle.

What remained… was a very unique altar!

And that altar was the source of the dramatic things happening outside. Heaven and earth seemed to be crumbling, and the massive vortex in the sky was bringing ruin to everything. Deafening rumbling echoed out everywhere as the area of the first challenge they had passed, the mountain range that tilted up to touch the sky… suddenly exploded.

As the rubble rained down, cold light emerged, and the true nature of the mountain range was revealed in full.

Shockingly, it was an enormous green saber!

This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.