Bitter fighting was playing out in the Bitter Life Mountains. Deaths occurred constantly. Meanwhile, the sea of blood had dried up, leaving behind a huge basin. Heavenly fire continued to spread.

Thanks to the blessing from the domain treasure, the statues of the Moonrebel Congregation were augmented with astonishing battle prowess. When one of them died, the Moonrebel Congregation would tremble, and the cultivator who had died would emerge from the mirror again to start fighting.

Even when the cathedral cultivators used their curse magic, it did no good. With the Moonrebel Congregation around, the curse was temporarily suppressed. As a result, the tide of battle favored the Moonrebel Congregation.

The more than twenty ancient cultivators who had been unsealed were all chosen members of this epoch. All had gruish techniques, and were abundantly familiar with carrying out slaughter. All were mighty enough to surpass enemies in the same cultivation level as themselves, and as a result, wherever they went, the cathedral forces were forced into retreat.

There was immense pressure weighing down on the pontiff. He was up against the two strongest cultivators of all. And the nonhuman Madam Godfinch was especially difficult to deal with, as the flames she released were sublime to say the least. What was more, they constantly changed colors, and every time they did, they released astounding mightiness. Her attacks could immolate heaven and earth, and contained the power of a Smoldering God. Even the pontiff was taken aback. If she had been alone, the pontiff could have handled her.

But Li Xiaoshan was there as well, and that really put the pressure on. He didn’t use his saber constantly. He would race around the pontiff, his saber whistling through the air as he picked up speed. Then he would occasionally launch an attack that would shatter the air and release a terrifying beam of saber light.

The pontiff was really starting to get alarmed. “This fight needs to end!”

Eyes narrowing, he lifted his right hand and pointed out with his index finger. The illusory world behind him shot forward to block the saber. Then, rumbling sounds echoed out as the pontiff made a grasping gesture with his left hand.

Instantly, Crimson Mother’s mortal husk appeared again. Hēr presence caused heaven and earth to ripple and distort.

The battlefield was shaken, and Xu Qing’s gaze shifted. The main thing he had been preparing for was this. Now that the mortal husk was back, Xu Qing tapped into his powers of command. The Captain did the same. As the Archbishops of Moonrebel, both of them had a measure of control over the huge mirror, which started shining brightly. The light spread out to fight back against the power of Crimson Mother’s mortal husk.

Every clash released deafening booms and gale force winds. Cultivators on both sides of the conflict had no choice but to fall back in the face of the brutal shockwaves.

Xu Qing’s eyes shone with killing intent, and he was about to release more of the domain treasure’s might, when suddenly, a new type of wind appeared. It smelled like blood, and as it seeped across the battlefield, a bizarre and gruish voice spoke into the ears of everyone present.

“There was once a big dolly….”

It was the godchild, and he sounded gruishly childish. This wasn’t Xu Qing’s first time hearing this rhyme. It was the same thing he’d heard when they rescued Fifth Sister.

The line which had made the deepest impression on him was the last one.

“Fourth dolly’s lost and won’t come back again!”

As the rhyme drifted out, the dome of heaven seemed to reverse itself again. It became crimson, as if a lake of blood were being projected into the sky. The lake of blood seethed, as if some terrifying entity were inside of it, about to crawl out. A terrifying aura settled onto the battlefield.

Xu Qing and the Captain both reacted with shock. That was more the case with the Moonrebel cultivators. All of them felt deep astonishment, even the top experts who had just been unsealed. Li Xiaoshan’s saber trembled slightly in his hands. Madam Godfinch’s fire flickered. All of them looked with incomparable seriousness at the lake of blood in the sky.

In sharp contrast, the cathedral cultivators breathed sighs of relief. The only one who didn’t was the pontiff, who frowned. It was impossible to determine what exactly he was thinking. Then, a sound emerged that drowned out the nursery rhyme as it exploded thunderously.

It was a heartbeat.

Thump-thump. Thump-thump!

The moment the sound rang out, a large number of Moonrebel cultivators screamed in agony as their statues suddenly exploded. It was as if the sound itself could wipe out anything and everything.

The lake of blood overhead seethed more violently as a huge black hand slowly stretched out, covered in tentacles. It was accompanied by a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering mightiness. The hand had seven fingers with razor-sharp nails at the end. As the tentacles swayed back and forth, they shattered the sky around them. And though it seemed like the hand was descending, the reality was it was actually growing larger. There was no way anyone could fight back against this or stop it.

The huge hand caused the mutagen levels to rise dramatically, and forced everyone to back away. Eventually, the massive, god-like hand closed around the cathedral forces. That included the pontiff and Crimson Mother’s mortal husk. The hand grabbed them and then sucked them inside.

After, it slowly retracted into the lake of blood, taking the cathedral cultivators with it. Its coming had been unstoppable. And it left unhindered.

Xu Qing, the Captain, and everyone else could only watch wide-eyed as the huge hand disappeared in the blood. After, a pair of golden eyes appeared in the lake water, staring coldly down at the lands below, then shifting to gaze at the canopy of heaven. Finally, the golden eyes closed, and the lake of blood vanished.

The battle was over. The sky returned to normal, and the mightiness of the god’s hand vanished. But the hearts of the onlookers continued to pound out of instinctual fear because of the golden eyes.

Who was that…? That was the question almost all of the Moonrebel Congregation cultivators were thinking. They all knew the answer, yet they couldn’t believe it was true.

“The godchild…” said Li Xiaoshan in a hoarse voice.

“In my day, the godchild wasn’t so terrifying,” Madam Godfinch said with a frown. “I get the sense that he’s immeasurably close to becoming a god.”

Silence reigned.

They had won a victory. However, the arrival of the godchild’s hand left everyone feeling unprecedentedly powerless. Eventually, their gazes naturally shifted to Xu Qing and the Captain. It didn’t take long before their expressions became those of disappointment and helplessness. Two Archbishops of Moonrebel had appeared, but compared to those from the past… they were just too weak.

One was in Spirit Trove, the other Nascent Soul. How could people with cultivation bases like that serve as the Archbishops of Moonrebel? How could they lead the Moonrebel Congregation cultivators on a path to defy the heavens….

That wasn’t even to mention the fact that the red moon was already half risen, which meant that Crimson Mother would arrive in less than two months. When shē started hēr session of devouring, all living beings would have no choice but to wallow in bitterness and hopelessness. Even if these two did have command power as Archbishops of Moonrebel, there was no way their cultivation base was high enough for them to win the hearts of the people. And thus, as the moments ticked by, the Moonrebel cultivators looked away from Xu Qing and toward Fourth Vice-Bishop, Third Vice-Bishop, Li Xiaoshan, and Madam Godfinch.

That included the unsealed chosen. That group had mixed feelings when it came to the position of archbishop. In the final analysis, they didn’t think that Xu Qing and the Captain qualified.

Looking at Xu Qing, Third Vice-Bishop said, “Many thanks, Archbishops. You pulled me and my subordinates into the Moonrebel Congregation just in time. However, I would like to ask for an additional blessing. Send us back to the northern ice plains. There are commoners there who deserve to be accompanied in their last moments of life.”

Xu Qing didn’t reply.

Taking a few steps forward, Fourth Vice-Bishop frowned and said, “Third Vice-Bishop, the Moonrebel Congregation has filled the archbishop position. It’s the perfect time for us to rise to prominence. You—”

“Do you have hope, Ol’ Fourth?” interrupted Third Vice-Bishop. He sighed. He looked exhausted. “Given the cultivation base of the two archbishops, they might qualify to fill the position, but they can’t resist the red moon. What’s more, we have no idea who these two archbishops even are. Maybe they aren’t even from our region.”

Many Moonrebel cultivators looked on, feeling very confused.

Third Vice-Bishop turned again to Xu Qing. “Archbishop, please unleash the blessing. If you’re not willing, then I’d like to be sealed.”

From his wording and attitude, it was obvious that he wasn’t going to defy Xu Qing, but at the same time, didn’t approve of him. Behind him, his hundreds of thousands of subordinates all bowed their heads. They had followed him this far, and they would continue to follow him going forward.

Seven or eight of the unsealed cultivators stepped forward and echoed similar sentiments.

“I feel the same.”

“Archbishop, the critical moment is almost here. Is there any point to all this?”

Li Xiaoshan seemed like he wanted to say something, but in the end, he looked at Xu Qing and the Captain and simply sighed. Their cultivation bases were just too low.

Madam Godfinch looked on with no facial expression. She said nothing.

Fourth Vice-Bishop struggled to control his breathing. Then, he walked over to Xu Qing and stood by his side.

Other Moonrebel cultivators did nothing. All were hesitant, and were still waiting to see how things played out.

Seeing that, the Captain’s eyes shot up and he opened his mouth to speak. But before he could, Xu Qing stepped forward and looked at Third Vice-Bishop.

“You’re right, my cultivation base is too low. And I am an out-of-region cultivator.”

His words caused an immediate commotion among the Moonrebel cultivators. How could the local cultivators possibly accept that some outsiders had won the spot of Archbishop of Moonrebel?

“So, you really aren’t from this region,” Third Vice-Bishop said.

“It doesn’t matter what region he’s from,” Fourth Vice-Bishop said, his expression somber and his voice full of determination. “That’s not important. He saved us in the middle of a deadly crisis. And he is an archbishop!”

Third Vice-Bishop shook his head. “I don’t need you to explain things to me. This is about strength. He doesn’t meet the standard and he doesn’t have a sufficient reputation. I refuse to acknowledge him, nor do my subordinates. In fact, I think a lot of fellow daoists in the Moonrebel Congregation feel the same. I would rather feel regret than follow a lost cause.”

He shook his head again and turned and started walking back to the Moonrebel Congregation. His subordinates followed him. Many other Moonrebel Congregation cultivators sighed in their hearts and did the same thing.

Rather than spend their final two months of life hopelessly following a Spirit Trove cultivator, they would spend their final moments in peace and quiet. They weren’t fools, and they knew that they couldn’t remain safe by staying sealed in the Moonrebel Congregation. If that were a possibility, then there would be a lot more people from past epochs besides Madam Godfinch. Obviously, only archbishops qualified to do that.

The atmosphere grew more tense as more people started walking back to the Moonrebel Congregation. Among them were some of Grandmaster Pill Nine’s followers, including the statue of the heroic young woman. They hadn’t spotted the grandmaster among the pillars, which indicated to them that Grandmaster Pill Nine had perished.

However, just as everyone started walking back to the Moonrebel Congregation, Xu Qing spoke in a calm voice.

“You think my cultivation base is too low? I can accept that. But you also said I don’t meet the standard, and that my reputation is insufficient…. So let me ask you something. Considering that I unsealed the Heir Apparent from the bottom of the Heavenfire Sea, and also woke up Princess Brightblossom in the northern ice plains, does that meet the standard? If not, then how about freeing Princess Fifth from Mount Eternal Centipede? Or going to the ancestral land of the Doorites to release Eighth Highness? Does that meet the standard?”

All of the cultivators who had been walking toward the Moonrebel Congregation shivered and looked anxiously over their shoulders at Xu Qing.

Third Vice-Bishop stopped in place. Eyes shining, he looked at Xu Qing. “I had my speculations about why you appeared here in the Bitter Life Mountains. So, you saved some of the children of the Imperial Sovereign. You’ve performed an immense service for this generation. But that still doesn’t give you the power to rally supporters behind you. It doesn’t meet the standard.”

Hearing that, Xu Qing waved his hand, causing his disguise to vanish, thus revealing his true features.

“A few months ago, in the Land of God Decapitation, I stoked the fires of resistance. I called for people to not abandon hope. My sparks lit a wildfire. Does that meet the standard?”

As the words left his mouth, ripples flowed through the dome of heaven as the majestic God Decapitation Altar appeared behind Xu Qing. It was magnificent and astonishing.

Third Vice-Bishop’s pupils constricted. All Moonrebel cultivators’ faces flickered with emotion. As they looked at Xu Qing’s face, and then the God Decapitation Altar, they thought about the images they had witnessed those months ago. Xu Qing was definitely the person from the broadcast!

“It’s him!!”

“The one who called us to action was actually the archbishop!”

“This…. That broadcast was what lifted us out of despair!”

A buzz of conversation filled the air.

Next, the Captain spoke. “Interesting. You say we don’t meet the standard? Our reputation is insufficient? Considering that in my past life in this region, I actually took a bite out of Crimson Mother, does that meet the standard? I was once the Grand Dancer, but I betrayed the red moon. Does that meet the standard? The Red Moon Cathedral dismembered me and scattered my corpse. They built church temples on my organs. Does that meet the standard?”

The Captain’s words provoked a similar buzz as Xu Qing’s words. It was as if hundreds of thousands of lightning bolts were crashing down in the area.

Everyone was shaken to the core. The Moonrebel Congregation cultivators were visibly astonished, and were having trouble breathing stably. Even Third Vice-Bishop was shaken. Li Xiaoshan, Madam Godfinch, and the unsealed chosen were all moved.

Finally, Xu Qing looked out at the Moonrebel Congregation.

“Given that I stole some of Crimson Mother’s red moon godsource, and took it for my own, does that meet the standard? I concocted countless pills for you Moonrebel cultivators, thus helping you to alleviate the suffering of the curse. Does that meet the standard? And what’s more, you said I don’t have a sufficient reputation…. Considering that I’m Pill Nine, does that meet the standard?”

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