This was an attack from the Heir Apparent, a Smoldering God! It contained natural laws, magical laws, and the blessing of an ancient heavenly dao, making it capable of crushing all things in heaven and earth, smashing all defenses, and demonstrating a boundless will. It also thrummed with authority that could alter the perceptions of all living beings and achieve objectives by any means necessary. Domineering in a way that couldn’t be matched, it passed with heaven-rending, earth-crushing force, smashing all obstacles and eliciting astonishment from all onlookers.

In the blink of an eye, the finger passed the fleeing forces of Fourth Vice-Bishop and hit the blood-colored face in the forehead.

The face shivered, and its eyes went wide with fury. Howling, it tried to fight back. However, a black shockwave spread out from its forehead, covering the entire face. As it spread, the face shrank down, split apart, and then collapsed into pieces that scattered in every direction. It also kicked up a gale force wind that swept toward the cathedral forces further back. Deafening rumbling sounds rang out as the cathedral forces were sent spinning away. One attack from a Smoldering God had caused godly might to erupt.

Fourth Vice-Bishop and his forces saw that happen and were shaken deeply. Many gasps could be heard. After all, they knew that the pursuing cathedral forces were being led by a fourth stage Void Returning expert, in other words, someone as strong as Fourth Vice-Bishop.

Godheralds such as that were able to guide the tideflow power of the red moon, giving them a terrifying boost to their battle prowess. With that, plus the other assets they could tap into, they could release mightiness that was close to that of the quasi-Smoldering God level. That was exactly what that huge face had been. Yet that face crumbled under a single attack, as surely as if it had been made of wax paper.

Of course, the Red Moon Cathedral was the paramount expression of will in the Moonrite Region, so there was no way that one move like that would completely vanquish their forces. After the church temples were sent tumbling back, the blood-colored light flared again. Blood-colored figures shot out. Taking advantage of the fact that Xu Qing’s jade slip had crumbled, and the Heir Apparent’s attack was gone, they shot toward the desert.

There were fully a thousand cultivators on the move. Unexpectedly, none of them had physical bodies. They were more like blood souls that shot through the air toward the sandstorm. As they closed in, they released the power of Crimson Mother, including god magics designed to infect the desert and allow Crimson Mother’s godly might to enter it.

Seeing that, Fourth Vice-Bishop issued orders that caused the flying ships to turn around. The cultivators aboard them shot out into the open, some of them to facilitate the escape of their fellow daoists, and others to block the blood-colored shadows.

Patriarch Inkrule also sent out orders. The encamped desert cultivators all sprang into action, including some of the Wind Guardians. They released various divine abilities from their species, causing the sandstorm to grow stronger.

Meanwhile, Xu Qing’s eyes glittered coldly. “Your opportunity has come to reduce your sentence.”

He performed an incantation gesture and pointed at the chickens. The chickens responded with ear-piercing cries as their cultivation base fluctuations rolled out and they started growing larger.

Just like the chicken Xu Qing was using as a mount, all of the small chickens transformed into huge chickens. They looked vicious, their eyes gleaming like they were ready to put everything on the line. They shot forward, determined to reduce their sentences, determined to avoid being eaten, and each one determined to outshine all of the other chickens.

In the blink of an eye, the flock of chickens closed in on the blood-colored shadows, and fierce fighting broke out. Intense booms and rumbling sounds echoed out with tempestuous intensity. The blood-colored shadows just kept coming and coming, and the red light spread deeper into the desert. But at the same time, the resistance forces fought back with equal intensity.

The big chickens were putting on an amazing show. All of them were roughly 30 meters tall, and they were putting their lives on the line. As a result, their battle prowess was outstandingly deadly. Wherever they went, they viciously devoured the blood shadows as if they were bugs. They were very skilled at devouring things, as if it was one of their most fundamental instincts. Of course, in deadly fighting like this, it wasn’t possible for them to avoid being injured. But then something very unusual happened.

After the big chickens got hurt badly enough, white light would spread over them, and they would be restored to normal. That was the power of Fifth Sister’s authority.

Xu Qing looked on thoughtfully. The cathedral cultivators were obviously being blessed because of their faith in Crimson Mother, and as a result, had some of Crimson Mother’s godly might. However, the chickens had unwittingly begun to show faith in Princess Fifth, and were thus benefiting from her skills and abilities. That said, her powers weren’t absolute, and thus, some of the chickens lost their lives.

And yet, it seemed that Fourth Vice-Bishop’s previous speculations were correct. Whether it was out of fear of a Smoldering God or something else, the cathedral forces didn’t seem interested in fighting to the death. After enough of the blood shadows collapsed, the rest chose to flee. As the red light disappeared into the distance, the newcomers’ escape into the desert was facilitated.

After it was over, Fourth Vice-Bishop’s resistance army felt waves of gratitude as they realized they really had escaped with their lives. They looked around at the desert cultivators, and then the vicious chickens with their incomparably mighty battle prowess.

Xu Qing stood atop the biggest chicken, ensuring that he stood out to everyone present.

The forces from the Red Moon Cathedral had also taken note of him. After all, he had just used a Smoldering God jade slip. Thankfully, after the God Decapitation Altar broadcast, the Heir Apparent and his siblings had helped Xu Qing disguise himself. After all, that event had been too momentous. Therefore, though he still looked handsome, he wasn’t as eye-catchingly attractive as before, and thus no one thought to connect the two faces. It was the same with the forces under the leadership of Fourth Vice-Bishop.

Face expressionless, Xu Qing smacked the big chicken and sent it toward Fourth Vice-Bishop and his subordinates.

Fourth Vice-Bishop saw Xu Qing off in the distance. Turning to Patriarch Inkrule, he asked, “Fellow Daoist Inkrule, who’s that young man?”

Grandmaster Saintlowe was next to him, also looking at Xu Qing.

Patriarch Inkrule’s heart was pounding. He was only in first stage Void Returning, but this person he was speaking to was in the fourth stage. He wasn’t only a vice-bishop in the Moonrebel Congregation, he was also an important person in the Moonrite Region in general. Back before Patriarch Inkrule worked at the Green Spirit Pharmacy, he would have been extremely nervous in the presence of someone like this. After all, their statuses were just too far apart. But now, things were different. That much was obvious from the way Fourth Vice-Bishop had addressed him. He smiled.

“That’s the young lord of our house.”

Fourth Vice-Bishop nodded. Given the title ‘young lord’ that was used, plus the fact that he had used a Smoldering God jade slip, made it obvious that this young man was deeply connected to the Heir Apparent.

Upon hearing the title ‘young lord’ being used, Grandmaster Saintlowe looked more closely at Xu Qing. In his heart, he sighed, as if he had just thought of something. Clasping hands, he bowed to Patriarch Inkrule.

“Fellow Daoist Inkrule, there’s a small matter I’d like to inquire about.”

“Pray tell, what is it, Grandmaster Saintlowe?” Patriarch Inkrule wasn’t a Moonrebel Congregation cultivator, but some of his subordinates were. From them he had learned a bit about this Grandmaster Saintlowe, and knew that he was a very prominent figure.

“Are there any experts in the dao of alchemy here in this desert? Have you heard of the appellation… Grandmaster Pill Nine?”

Xu Qing was now close enough that he heard the last bit of dialogue. Looking closely at the speaker, he saw a middle-aged man with an extraordinary cultivation base who smelled like medicinal pills. Obviously this person spent a lot of time working on alchemy.

Patriarch Inkrule shook his head. He said nothing about how Xu Qing often concocted pills. He had lived long enough that he could tell when people were prying. As he prepared to answer, he noticed Xu Qing approaching. After bowing politely, he answered Saintlowe’s question.

“There are some alchemist cultivators here in the desert. But few of them are very skilled…. In terms of Grandmaster Pill Nine, I’ve heard that name as well. Grandmaster Saintlowe, are you thinking that Grandmaster Pill Nine might be here in our desert?”

When Xu Qing heard that, he looked at the alchemy cultivator and thought back to the statue of Grandmaster Saintlowe. He also thought about their alchemy battle in the Moonrebel Congregation.

Saintlowe sighed. Given Inkrule’s half-hearted answer, he knew that he had made a misstep. Turning, he nodded to Xu Qing. Meanwhile, Fourth Vice-Bishop had also turned his attention to Xu Qing.

“Well met, Senior,” Xu Qing said with clasped hands. “Your humble servant is here on the orders of the Heir Apparent to receive you. Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Greenhair Badlands.”

Xu Qing’s first impression of Fourth Vice-Bishop was that there was something familiar about him. Then he thought back to all the messages Fourth Vice-Bishop had sent in recent days. Apparently, Xu Qing had hid his identity well enough, as there seemed no clue that Fourth Vice-Bishop suspected him of being Pill Nine. He was right.

Fourth Vice-Bishop had a very high cultivation base, but he wasn’t omniscient or omnipotent. Neither he nor Saintlowe had any clue that the person they sought, Grandmaster Pill Nine, was actually standing right in front of them. However, that didn’t cause them to be any less polite. They might have Void Returning cultivation bases, but Xu Qing represented the Heir Apparent, and therefore, they acted very courteously.

And thus, after Xu Qing extended the formal invitation, they made their way toward the Bitter Life Mountains.

Xu Qing and Patriarch Inkrule boarded Fourth Vice-Bishop’s flying ship. As they sped through the wind and sand, Xu Qing didn’t say much. Patriarch Inkrule was the one to introduce the desert. Naturally, he offered some brief explanations about the wind and the holy land that was the Green Spirit Pharmacy….

Of course, everyone had seen the God Decapitation Altar broadcast. And in the subsequent months, everyone had been talking about how the wind had kicked up in the desert because of that event. And many people had come to assume that the broadcast was somehow related to the Heir Apparent.

However, after hearing Patriarch Inkrule’s explanations, Fourth Vice-Bishop glanced at Xu Qing briefly and then said, “Young man, was the person in the God Decapitation Altar broadcast you?”

Grandmaster Saintlowe, on the other hand, hadn’t been focused on the God Decapitation Altar. He was thinking about the Green Spirit Pharmacy. Looking at Xu Qing, he simultaneously blurted, “Young friend, are you the owner of the Green Spirit Pharmacy? Can you concoct pills?”

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