The old innkeeper had made the perilous journey of tens upon tens of thousands of kilometers from Sea-Sealing County to the shores of the Yin Sacrifice River, braving a host of dangers, all to find Ling’er, who he was convinced was starving, exhausted, and freezing to death….

That very same Ling’er was currently seated cross-legged in her room in the Green Spirit Pharmacy. Life had been carefree and without worry recently. She had a bunch of grandpas and grandmas around, always encouraging her cute behavior. Plus she had a great relationship with Xu Qing. Because of all that, she felt like a little princess.

Her tender little cheeks were incredibly charming as she looked down at the bone pill Xu Qing had given her. The fact that the clay fox had taken that pill indicated how extraordinary it was. It was definitely from some almighty member of the Ancient Spirit species. To members of any other species, it wouldn’t be very useful. But to an Ancient Spirit, it was nothing short of a precious treasure.

That was especially true of Ling’er, who had already been blessed by the destiny aura of the Ancient Spirits. Given the short length of time she had been in the Moonrite Region, she didn’t need to worry about the curse affecting her blood. She absorbed the power of the bone pill without facing any obstacles. She was only limited by how much her body was able to absorb.

Given that Xu Qing was standing by as dharma protector, there was no way anything could go wrong.

As she circulated her cultivation base, the bone pill slowly melted, turning into silver streams of energy that she inhaled. Then they spread through her body and caused her cultivation base to surge.

Back when Xu Qing first arrived in the Moonrite Region, Ling’er’s cultivation base was still in Foundation Establishment, and wasn’t very stable. After everything she had experienced, it was now very stable.

Ancient Spirits practiced cultivation in a different way from most other species. They didn’t have to bother with the process of opening dharma apertures and igniting life flames. As Ling’er absorbed the bone pill, her aura started getting closer and closer to the Gold Core level.

Xu Qing was surprised by what he was seeing.

Very similar to the taboo poison pill…. It’s an ancient cultivation method, very different from what people do nowadays.

It reminded him very much of how he’d absorbed that taboo poison pill into himself. The biggest difference was that Xu Qing and the taboo poison pill had different origins, and therefore, him putting it into his heavenly palace was an indirect method to gain an initial measure of control.

Things were very different with Ling’er. As the silver energy poured into her, the bone pill disappeared from her hand. When it reappeared inside of her, it had become an internal core.

All of a sudden, Ling’er’s bloodline power surged, and behind her appeared a female warrior god clad in a suit of armor. The woman was tall and flawlessly beautiful, but at the same time emanated a sense of killing and death. She had a long spear in her hand, and had a dragon and a snake coiled around her. That was the true form of an Ancient Spirit. Ancient Spirits started out as snakes when they were young. After reaching adulthood, they could take human form, and when their bloodline completely matured, they would gain a dragon and a snake to watch over them. Their battle prowess would also become shocking.

Like a demon!

Xu Qing’s eyes shone as he realized that Ling’er’s cultivation method was very similar to the cultivation of various wild animals. It involved cultivating a personal internal core and drawing out one’s bloodline.

This breakthrough was going to be very important to Ling’er, and couldn’t be completed in one short session. It would require a sustained buildup of power. And thus, as Ling’er slowly proceeded with her cultivation, she became a streak of light that shot over to Xu Qing’s arm and became a sealing mark there.

By means of the sealing mark, Xu Qing could sense how Ling’er was doing. After making sure everything was going smoothly, he checked on his nascent souls.

I need to get all of my other nascent souls besides the violet moon one into the position of being able to summon the fifth tribulation. After that fifth tribulation, I’ll be in the great circle of Nascent Soul. Oh, right. I need to go give this kidney to Eldest Brother.

With that, Xu Qing took out the mirror shard and went back to Paramount Temple in the Moonrebel Congregation. As soon as he opened his eyes, he heard the Captain shouting at him.

“I can sense my kidney, little Ah Qing! You have it, don’t you? You must have paid a grievous price for my sake, little Junior Brother. I’ll never forget that!”

The Captain was now visible in the totem on the door, and he looked very excited.

Looking at him, Xu Qing waved his hand to produce the golden kidney, which he sent flying toward the totem. It merged inside, whereupon a very contented sigh drifted out from the Captain.

“I can finally be a complete man again! Little Junior Brother, all of the preparations are in place now. All we have to do is open this door. Don’t worry! We can work together from both outside and inside. By adding in the blood of those god bastards, we’ll definitely be able to bust this thing open!” The Captain was obviously emboldened and excited at having his kidney returned to him. “By the way, little Junior Brother, did you get any clues about who that clay fox is?”

Xu Qing nodded. “It’s High God Starfire.”

The Captain’s eyes narrowed.

Xu Qing then went on to explain the story to the Captain, taking his time but not going too slow, and finishing with an explanation about the clay door.

The Captain listened carefully. “So that’s who we’re dealing with. I never laid eyes on that clay fox in person, little Junior Brother, but based on your description, this extremely amorous High God is almost certainly up to no good.” The Captain licked his lips and continued, “You’ve done too much for me, little Junior Brother. I just can’t bear to ask you to do any more. Therefore… do you mind introducing me to that slutty— er, ahem, I mean to that High God? I can handle her!”

From the Captain’s tone, it seemed he would be willing to do anything for his Junior Brother.

“You said High God Starfire likes primal yang, right? I can give it to her! As the Eldest Brother, it doesn’t matter if we’re talking about friendship or just morality, I have to do my part. Therefore, I’ll do it! I’ll give my primal yang to this High God!” The Captain actually looked a bit angry.

“Thanks, Eldest Brother. I actually did offer to introduce you, but shē said you’re too ugly.”

After all, that had been Xu Qing’s plan from the beginning.

Meanwhile, the Captain’s jaw nearly dropped and he looked hesitantly at Xu Qing, unsure of whether Xu Qing had said that simply as a comeback, or if his story was true. Either way, adding another High God would make the job more complicated, but would also increase the chances of success. Eventually, the Captain cleared his throat and held back from asking further questions.

In the following days, Xu Qing worked on his cultivation and also spent time sending fresh godchild blood into Paramount Temple for the Captain to use. The banging on the door there grew more intense.

The Crimson Mother totem was starting to smoke and turn blurry. If things kept developing as they were, it seemed it wouldn’t be long before the totem was unraveled.

The cultivators in the Moonrebel Congregation had already grown used to the constant noise coming from Paramount Temple. Few people paid much attention to it. As the red moon grew more oppressive, Crimson Mother’s return neared, and the Red Moon Cathedral tightened their net, the resistance forces of the Moonrebel Congregation were in increasing peril.

And then, about ten days later, something momentous occurred.

Second Vice-Bishop perished in battle!

His death was a huge blow to the Moonrebel Congregation. That battle was a blood-soaked affair with innumerable casualties. It led to endless cries of grief, and shook the hearts of everyone. Sir Skysouth, who was also Fourth Vice-Bishop, went to provide backup, yet he was also seriously hurt. In the end, he couldn’t turn the situation around, and had to flee with the scattered survivors.

Before the members of the Moonrebel Congregation could recover from that loss, something even more momentous happened. In fact, it struck the Moonrebel Congregation as a whole like a bolt of lightning.

First Vice-Bishop and Fifth Vice-Bishop betrayed the Moonrebel Congregation and defected to the Red Moon Cathedral! What was more, as part of their betrayal, they used their authority to eject all members from the Moonrebel Congregation, then seal all the entrances so no one could return. It caused a massive uproar. After all, the Moonrebel Congregation itself was the final place that cultivators could run to in an emergency. If they couldn’t seek refuge there, then there was no chance that the Moonrebel Congregation could survive.

Third Vice-Bishop and Fourth Vice-Bishop were still around. One of them was holed up while the other was on the run. But regardless, First Vice-Bishop had the highest level of authority, and thus, there was no way for either of the loyal vice-bishops to unseal the Moonrebel Congregation.

The most relevant factor was that the development created a crisis of faith amongst all the Moonrebel Congregation cultivators. It went without saying that the betrayal of two vice-bishops put the Moonrebel Congregation on very shaky ground. It didn’t matter whether the vice-bishops did it out of expediency or if they had been traitors all along. In the end, the ultimate reason for all of it was that for years, the Moonrebel Congregation’s Paramount Temple had never been opened, and thus there had never been an archbishop. Without a true leader, any organization will be as disunited as anything and everything.

It was the ultimate moment of despair and chaos for the Moonrite Region. And off in the distance, the red moon was already halfway risen. There was no hope anymore, nor any indication that hope was on the way. The countdown had truly begun for everyone.

Meanwhile, the Greenhair Badlands was the only paradise in the region, and was like a bright light shining during a dark night.

Just outside of that light, the seriously injured Fourth Vice-Bishop led his subordinates, as well as the surviving forces of Second Vice-Bishop, toward the desert. There was nowhere else for them to go.

The hundreds of thousands of cultivators that made up the group were all numb and dispirited. Most of them didn’t even care if they died. Exhaustion had become a burden that they simply couldn’t get rid of.

And yet, there were some members of the group who looked in higher spirits than the others. They didn’t seem numb or depressed, but rather, extremely excited. It was as if they weren’t burdened by exhaustion, but instead, were fueled by a brightly burning hope in their hearts. That group was a few thousand strong, and almost seemed like a standalone organization. Their members had both strong and weak cultivation bases, but they all were united.

What was especially noteworthy was that they wore clothing of a different color and cut than everyone else, almost like a uniform. The front of those garments were embroidered with the character Nine. The backs were embroidered with the character Pill.

This group was made up of followers of the legendary and mysterious Grandmaster Pill Nine from the Moonrebel Congregation.

Their leader was a woman with a Spirit Trove cultivation base. Her flowing robe wasn’t enough to hide her attractive figure, and her facial features were so spectacular that she was clearly a peerless beauty. She didn’t have the strongest cultivation base of that group. Yet the Grandmaster Pill Nine followers viewed her as their leader. Obviously she had a high status among the followers.

When she spoke, her voice thrummed with exuberance and heroism. “Just hang on a bit longer, everyone. We’re almost at the Greenhair Badlands! When I listened to the grandmaster’s dao reverberation for two months, I could sense how profound and mysterious he was. The grandmaster uses the green sand as the furnace, the sun and moon as the fire, and the natural laws of heaven and earth as the medicinal ingredients. Then, by tapping into the white wind, he made his new pill.

“The only place you can find that white wind is the Greenhair Badlands. And thus… I’m absolutely certain the grandmaster is in the desert!”

This chaptr is updatd by (f)reewb(n)ovl.com