Fighting spirit had to be mustered before a war, otherwise there wouldn’t be much momentum, and the will to fight would die out. That’s what was happening in the Moonrebel Congregation right now. The Heir Apparent’s speech, combined with Xu Qing’s words and the Captain’s bravado, stoked the spirits of the hundreds of thousands of cultivators in the Moonrebel Congregation. Determination gleamed in their eyes as they firmly decided to put their lives on the line.

“Kill!!”

It was hard to say who said it first. But soon, everyone was passionately shouting the same thing, from the depths of their souls. It was as if they could wipe away all of the bitterness and defiance of their life by venting that word.

Rationality wasn’t important right now. Schemes and strategies wouldn’t mean much compared to such a fighting spirit. Everyone had become recklessly courageous, and when people like that were furious, blood would spill!

The truth was clear to them now. Crimson Mother was coming, and before, it had seemed like it would end in death for everyone. But now there was hope. And it was a greater hope than had appeared in countless years. As of this moment, even the cowardly would feel the valor of the recklessly courageous.

Besides, how could people who joined the Moonrebel Congregation lack courage and valor? The entrance subtests were specifically designed to weed out people who weren’t truly suitable. Brightly colored light flashed in heaven and earth as the cultivators of the Moonrebel Congregation shouted, their cries imbued with a spirit that could conquer mountains and rivers.

Seeing that, Xu Qing took a deep breath and strode into the Moonrebel Congregation. Together with the Captain, he entered Paramount Temple. As they did, the Mirror of Moonrebel, which served as the canopy of heaven, glittered brightly.

A shockwave rolled out. It was a power in the Moonrebel Congregation that only the Archbishops of Moonrebel could command, to create a region-wide teleportation.

As the teleportation began, the Captain’s voice rang out.

“Let all of the statues… make their way back!”

Outside, one Moonrebel cultivator after another rushed toward the Moonrebel Congregation in statue form. Li Xiaoshan was among them, as was Madam Godfinch and all the other unsealed cultivators.

The Heir Apparent and his siblings didn’t need to go inside. All areas of the region were accessible to them with a mere thought. The ordinary cultivators in the Bitter Life Mountains were not asked to fight. Therefore, as Ning Yan, Ling’er, and everyone else looked on, a ripple passed through the dome of heaven, and the Mirror of Moonrebel vanished.

It was moving in the direction of the Penitence Steppes, and the headquarters of the Red Moon Cathedral.

As the saying goes, speed is a crucial asset in war!

***

The Penitence Steppes were in the middle of the Moonrite Region. They created a vast plain without any mountains. The lands were covered with red grass, and as the wind blew across it, it looked like a crimson sea. In the very middle of the plain there was a large lake. It looked like blood and reeked of gore, making it very reminiscent of the Yin Sacrifice River.

In the middle of that lake was an island, atop which was a giant who could prop up heaven and earth. He had been forced into a kneeling position. However, that posture couldn’t prevent his mighty stature and powerful aura from creating a terrifying, invisible pressure.

Beneath the giant was a temple complex full of many buildings. However, none of that was very easy to see considering the bright red light shining down. It came from the dome of heaven, and the red moon. From a distance, it was possible to see red light covering the entire island.

There was a huge difference between the redness here and that outside. Everything outside was also red, but it was faint. But this area seemed to be the subject of a far more intense red color. Heaven and earth were crimson, and the boundless redness that converged on the island was like a curtain of blood pulsing with the aura of Crimson Mother. There was something else here that was different compared to normal. Usually, the island was filled constantly with the sound of worship, of people singing the praises of Crimson Mother. But now… the place was silent.

There was no chanting or singing. The bright red light had surpassed everything. Then a thunderous rumbling filled the sky, breaking the silence and causing the air to ripple and distort, as if some gargantuan thing was about to be teleported into the redness. But as the red light flickered, the teleportation failed.

A moment later, the Mirror of Moonrebel appeared in midair above the island. As it grew larger and larger, numerous gazes locked onto the island below, filled with killing intent.

Next to it were the Heir Apparent and his siblings. As they stepped out of nothing, their expressions flickered.

“The aura of a god….”

Ninth Sib’s expression was cold as he suddenly raised his right hand. A long, illusory sword formed there. It was pitch black and emanated a baleful aura that made all heaven and earth darken. Stepping toward the curtain of blood, he slashed out with his sword.

The sword seemed like it could slash open heaven. The sky shook, tempests sprang up everywhere, the earth quaked, and the surrounding blood lake sank down. Then the sword reached the curtain of blood. A deafening rumble erupted from the curtain, and caused the blood-colored light it cast to become thin. The might of that sword was shocking to all.

However, only a moment later, it was possible to see through the thinned curtain of blood to what was beyond it. Everyone’s gazes hardened. Beyond the blood curtain was the statue of the Imperial Sovereign, which was now a bit clearer. And surrounding the statue… were innumerable Red Moon Cathedral cultivators.

They weren’t on the ground below. In fact, there was no one on the ground. All of the cultivators from the cathedral headquarters were hovering cross-legged in midair around the statue, almost as if they were guarding it. There were so many of them that it was almost impossible to count how many there were.

The weakest among them had Nascent Soul cultivation bases. There were quite a few Spirit Trove cultivators, and plenty of Void Returning experts. Almost all of them wore the god robes of cathedral cultivators. The pontiff was there, looking out at the Moonrebel Congregation cultivators. These people came from various species and sects that adhered to the Red Moon Cathedral, and were waiting in combat readiness. They were there to stand guard over Crimson Mother’s mortal husk.

The mortal husk had long since been freed. The ugly physical body was like an unraveled intestine that had been wrapped around the head of the Imperial Sovereign, completely covering it.

It twitched and wriggled in a very prescribed motion, almost in accord with the beating of a heart. Pulses of a godly aura emerged from the mortal husk, spreading out. Given that, and the vicious exterior of the husk, it combined with the blood-colored light from the sky to create a very gruish effect.

Looking at the scene, the Heir Apparent said, “Looks like we’re just in time. Fourth Sib is going through with the godly ascension ceremony right now!”

The gazes of the Moonrebel cultivators grew even harder.

In Paramount Temple in the Moonrebel Congregation, the Captain’s eyes glittered. Xu Qing, meanwhile, was frowning. And that was because of what the trembling Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior was telling him.

“Milord, this isn’t good. Based on all of the novels I’ve read, whenever the destined main character is about to achieve a critical breakthrough, the villains will show up. Right now, it seems we’re in the role of the villains. Given what usually happens in novels, the villains never succeed. The destined main character will always break through at the last minute and kill everyone else….”

After hearing the whole explanation, Xu Qing ignored the patriarch.

Outside of the Moonrebel Congregation, Eighth Sib seemed to be getting impatient. “You’re really full of crap, Big Sib. Nobody can see what’s going on in there. What are you talking about? Let’s ** that bitch up!”

Without any further ado, he rushed toward the blood curtain, clenched his right hand into a fist, and launched a blow. Smoldering God fluctuations rolled out everywhere. A world formed. A mighty shout echoed out as the blow landed.

Princess Brightblossom’s eyes glittered with killing intent as she advanced. A river of time appeared, turning into a long spear that she grabbed. She swung the spear, and it stabbed from past into present.

Fifth Sister closed her eyes, causing halos to spring into being over her head, spreading out in concentric circles, then contracting rapidly and unleashing crushing pressure.

The Heir Apparent cast a glare at Eighth Sib, then waved his hand, causing a nail to fly out from within him that emanated the might of a god. It was none other than the Imperial Sovereign’s nail. Destructive power swept toward the curtain of blood, shattering the air as it went.

Ninth Sib didn’t utter a word. But he stepped forward, and black swords made of killing intent appeared around him. Every single one abounded with a baleful aura, and altogether, they created a sky-obfuscating, land-enshrouding rain of swords that shot toward the red light.

On the other side of the curtain of blood, the pontiff’s eyes narrowed, and he quickly performed an incantation gesture and pointed out. All of the cathedral cultivators surrounding him unleashed the power of their cultivation bases to bolster the curtain of blood. It would make sense to conclude that the combined attacks of five Smoldering Gods, the nail of an Imperial Sovereign, and Ninth Sib’s fierce swords, would pierce through any defenses that could be found in this world. But this curtain of blood was unique.

The curtain of blood was a god formation formed by the power of Crimson Mother. It contained the blessing of Crimson Mother, and was considered a reserve power of the Red Moon Cathedral. It was designed to defend against Smoldering Gods, and that was under normal circumstances. Now, when the red moon was in the sky, it was adding a further blessing. What was more, there was a host of cultivators also bolstering it….

And thus, a deafening boom rang out as the curtain of blood distorted. It blocked Eighth Sib’s fist, stood strong against Fifth Sister’s divine ability, and only allowed Princess Brightblossom’s spear to pierce into it a few inches. It similarly held strong against the Imperial Sovereign’s nail.

It was only Ninth Sib’s swords that managed to punch through it. However, in the blink of an eye, the blessing of Crimson Mother caused the blood curtain to repair itself.

The Heir Apparent and his siblings looked on with grim expressions. This wasn’t about them being weak; there was just no way they could easily penetrate the blessings of a god. Tapping into their cultivation bases, they erupted again. Ninth Sib lifted his hand, and a baleful aura converged as he prepared to unleash a trump card.

However, that was when the Captain laughed heartily and strode out from the Moonrebel Congregation into the sky.

“Grandpas! Grandmas! There’s no need for you to waste time on a measly god formation like this. I’m an expert in all of this. Let me handle it! I’ve been preparing for this moment for a long time. Watch and see how I break this god formation!”

The Captain had a proud look on his face and inside he felt very excited. The time has come for me to shine!

Throwing his right hand up, he said, “Little Roundy, Medium Roundy, Big Roundy! Little Boxy, Big Boxy! All Roundys and all Boxys. Listen to my command and get out here!”

As the words left the Captain’s mouth, the dome of heaven trembled, and a host of artificial suns appeared. In total, there were five. Some were big, some were small. They were all unique. Among them were the two that Xu Qing had helped drag onto the shore of the Yin Sacrifice River. 1

Three beams of light appeared on the horizon. Shockingly, they contained three artificial suns, which had left the species that controlled them and screamed toward the Captain in response to his summons. Eight suns could be seen in the canopy of heaven, shining brightly, and burning dazzlingly. All heaven and earth suddenly became immeasurably bright.

“The first thing I did when I came to the Moonrite Region was search for suns. And all of that was in preparation for today!” Looking extremely proud, he shouted, “Little Junior Brother, lend me the sun you have on your belt!”

Xu Qing emerged from the Moonrebel Congregation and looked at the eight suns. Without any hesitation, he took the metal sphere off his belt and threw it up into the air. The moment the metal sphere was off him, his aura soared. From inside to out, he felt incredibly relaxed. At the same time, his gaze glittered brightly. As the metal sphere rose up into the sky and joined the other eight suns, it began to burn, becoming far brighter than before.

Looking very pleased with himself, the Captain waved his hand and sent a strand of hair flying up into the dome of heaven.

That strand of hair came from a High God. As it ascended, it grew larger and larger until it pierced through the nine suns, connecting them like a bracelet.

It was a terrifying bracelet that covered the crimson light in heaven and earth.

Then, it erupted!

1. Xu Qing helped drag the suns out of the river in chapter 593. Incidentally, ‘Big Boxy’ was mentioned in that chapter. ☜

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