As Xu Qing floated out, the bloodbeasts on the battlefield got antsier. Emotions of struggle and fear became more apparent on them. They roared instinctively, and the rows of spikes covering their bodies bristled and stood on end. Countless blood-red pupils constricted, and some even prostrated on the ground, trembling.

This was the result of the suppression by the red moon authority, which was akin to a bloodline function. In the past, only Crimson Mother and the godchild could exercise control over the bloodbeasts, and spur them to action with orders. No other person could do so, not even the pontiff.

But Xu Qing was here, and he qualified to do what only Crimson Mother and the godchild could do. Back in the Greenhair Badlands, Xu Qing had done testing. Now that his cultivation base was higher, and he had a one-trove cultivation base, his red moon authority was even more encompassing, making it even more obvious that he was in a superior position.

As Xu Qing left the Mirror of Moonrebel, innumerable droplets of blood swirled out around him to form a blood-colored vortex. As it rumbled, a superior aura spread out through all heaven and earth. All of a sudden, the blood-red color staining the lands ceased to be a protection and blessing to the cathedral cultivators. Instead, it became a source of boundless terror and confusion.

Not all cathedral cultivators had heard about Xu Qing. In fact, the majority had no idea who he was, and therefore, weren’t aware of the significance of his presence.

As a result, the fact that Xu Qing was emanating a crimson glow, and an authority that seemed comparable to the personhood of the godchild, left those cultivators reeling in astonishment.

Countless expressions of shock were visible on the battlefield. The cultivators of the Red Moon Cathedral could sense the faith within them stirring dramatically, telling them that the person in front of them was actually the object of their faith. It was a preposterous sensation, and instantly sent the hearts of the cathedral cultivators into chaos.

Compared to them, the bloodbeasts, who had much simpler minds, and acted primarily based on instinct, the effect was even more dramatic. The bloodbeasts settled down and offered allegiance. One by one, they bowed their heads deferentially to Xu Qing. Looking around, it was possible to see countless bloodbeasts in all directions prostrating, either on the ground or while floating in the air.

The bloodbeasts had poured out of the ground like fiendish monsters from hell. However, right now, it didn’t matter how bloodthirsty, violent, or hungry they were… they all instinctively bowed in worship as if they were facing a monarch or king.

The object of their worship, Xu Qing, hovered outside the Mirror of Moonrebel, his hair swaying in the wind. His handsome facial features were cold, making him look like a perfectly sculpted statue. Combined with the blood-colored vortex…. Out of nowhere, people started saying the same thing.

“Godchild?”

Right now, Xu Qing really did seem exactly like a godchild.

The pontiff stared at Xu Qing with a very serious look, his eyes glimmering with killing intent.

Xu Qing ignored him. He hovered, silently looking around at all the bloodbeasts. Then he sent out some divine will to mark all the nearby cathedral cultivators.

“Devour them.”

In response, all the bloodbeasts looked up at the surrounding cathedral cultivators, even the pontiff. Eyes lighting up with blood-colored light and madness, they charged, roaring.

The tide of battle instantly changed. Chaos broke out, filled with screams, shouts, and howls of rage.

The Moonrebel forces obviously experienced a surge in morale. With the bloodbeasts on their side, much of the pressure on them was relieved, and thus, they quickly reformed ranks and then pressed the attack.

However, that was when muffled booms reached everyone’s ears. They came from Crimson Mother’s mortal husk, which was now rapidly shrinking. Then it was just barely possible to make out an anguished scream. There had clearly been a development in the fighting in the husk.

To the cathedral cultivators, it was a case of adding hail to snow. All of them reacted with visible consternation.

As for the pontiff, his eyes finally gleamed with determination. The reality was that he had no interest in personally fighting. Back in the Bitter Life Mountains, he had a full taste of the tactics of the Moonrebel Congregation, and they left him feeling very fearful. What was more, Madam Godfinch’s words had unsettled him. That was especially true considering what she said about the eyes. It didn’t matter that Madam Godfinch seemed to be in a bad position in the fighting; that still didn’t make the pontiff any less eager to get close to Xu Qing.

And that was because the young man standing near Xu Qing was the very same person Madam Godfinch had mentioned, in other words, the previous owner of the eyes.

Of course, after returning to the headquarters, he had done a bit of research into the details. But the Moonrebel Congregation had acted too quickly, and the godchild had chosen to attempt his breakthrough. As a result, the pontiff didn’t have time to get the information he sought. Most importantly, because of a unique magic he had, he had overheard what that person just said to Xu Qing via projection….

Unfortunately, he had no other choice right now other than to act. That said, he didn’t actually move from where he stood. Remaining in position, he lifted his right hand and pointed at the dome of heaven.

“Heavenfire Sea!”

As the words left his mouth, rumbling filled the sky as he began an astral redirection. The sky rippled like water, and then became like a canvas being pulled to the side. That caused the sky over the Heavenfire Sea to move into a position over the island. In the blink of an eye, a massive rift opened up, and endless heavenfire poured out like a waterfall. As it fell, the pontiff controlled it, causing it to form into a gigantic finger that shot toward the Mirror of Moonrebel.

It was a case of ‘moving heaven’!

However, the might of the pontiff was not yet fully revealed. Looking coldly at Xu Qing, and the Captain next to him, the pontiff performed another incantation gesture. Instantly, something very dramatic happened in the northern ice plains. Everything began to get cold as layer after layer of ice from the north was teleported onto the island. Then, a massive finger of ice stretched up from the ground toward the Mirror of Moonrebel.

It was a case of ‘shifting earth’!

The pontiff’s eyes narrowed. With the Heavenfire Sea overhead and the northern ice plains underfoot, he reached out with a snatching gesture. A boundless wind sprang up in heaven and earth. It stoked the heavenfire, causing the sea of flames to surge wildly. And it swept over the icy plains, causing frigid energy to proliferate. The boundless wind converged around the pontiff, where it created a tempest that connected heaven and earth. Then, filled with the power of both ice and fire, it swept toward the Mirror of Moonrebel like a huge finger.

It was a case of ‘chasing the wind’!

People reacted with visible shock as the pontiff then waved his hand in the direction of all the Moonrebel cultivators, including Xu Qing and the Captain. That action caused the Moonrebel cultivators to shiver. Though none of them were obstructed in any way, the shadows beneath their feet, because of the illumination of the heavenfire, faded into nothing. All of the shadows were being seized, and then dragged to the pontiff’s right hand, where they made a black cloud. From there, they spread out to form an enormous shadow finger that jabbed toward the Mirror of Moonrebel.

It was a case of ‘clutching at shadows’!

Moving heaven and shifting earth. Harnessing the wind and clutching at shadows! From this it was possible to see the power of a Smoldering God! 1

The only exception was with Xu Qing, whose shadow remained beneath his feet, struggling visibly.

“Hmm?” The pontiff’s gaze sharpened. However, now wasn’t the time to be paying attention to things like that. The four fingers he had summoned rumbled toward the Mirror of Moonrebel with the power to destroy the heavens and extinguish the earth.

When that attack hit, the Mirror of Moonrebel might survive, but it would significantly affect the Moonrebel cultivators. It took only a brief moment for a deadly crisis to form.

And yet, at that very moment, the Captain laughed. Striding forth with an excited expression, he licked his lips.

“Hey, Eye Thief! You finally made a move, you patchwork freak! Did you really think I wasn’t aware that you were eavesdropping on my conversation with my little Junior Brother? I did that on purpose. You see, I wasn’t waiting for your mere presence. I was waiting for you to use your divine ability!

“You’ve been influenced by my eyes! What you’re seeing, and how you react to it… is exactly what I wanted you to see.”

Laughing heartily, the Captain strode forward with a crazy look building on his face, as if he was about to take complete control of the battle situation. Raising his right hand, he pointed toward the empty sky above.

“Nose. Neck. Get over here!”

The moment the words left his mouth, wild colors flashed in heaven and earth. The air rippled as a huge nose appeared, along with a neck. They were both covered with countless sealing marks, and they even had church temples on top of them. As soon as they were summoned, the church temples collapsed, and the sealing marks exploded. Then the nose and the neck sped toward the finger made from the Heavenfire Sea… and slammed into it.

A boom rang out as the fiery finger stopped in place. Meanwhile, the Captain laughed crazily.

“Get over here, head!”

A huge head appeared out of thin air. It did not have any eyes, ears, nose, or mouth, nor any hair. As soon as it appeared, it thrummed with mighty energy as it shot toward the finger of ice.

“Arms. Legs. Body. Also my five yin organs and six yang organs! Past-life god body, return!”

The pontiff’s expression was one of madness as he heard the Captain’s cries. In the shortest of moments, the shattered remnants of the Captain’s past life body popped out of thin air. Among them were two golden kidneys, one of which was the very same one Xu Qing had helped him retrieve from the clay fox. As the pieces reappeared, they shot toward the remaining two fingers made of wind and shadows.

Next, the Captain looked at the pontiff, his eyes gleaming with a strange look.

“Left ear!”

Intense rumbling sounds could be heard as a huge ear popped into being. Next, the Captain waved his hand, causing a blue coffin to appear. Inside of it was a corpse, which was the very same one he and Xu Qing had retrieved at Mount Heavenly Ox. All of a sudden, the corpse stepped out of the coffin, whereupon it melted into the shape of a right ear! 2

In his past life, the Captain had managed to get a mouthful of Crimson Mother’s blood. As a result, Crimson Mother detested him and had his body dismembered and turned into the foundation of the Red Moon Cathedral’s church temples. Previously, there had been no way for the Captain to control those body parts. All he had been able to do before was get help from Moonfire to get one of his ears.

It was only recently that, by means of the blessing of the Moonrebel Congregation’s power, he was able to sense the location of all his organs and body parts, establish contact with them, and summon them to him. All of these things, from getting the artificial suns to becoming the Archbishop of Moonrebel, had been part of his plan. Now, everything was coming together.

The Captain watched excitedly as his past-life body arrived. Then he pointed at the pontiff, who was uneasily backing away in the opposite direction.

“Now, where are you, my mouth? I want you to devour this Eye Thief right now!”

A sound like heavenly thunder echoed out as a huge mouth appeared in the canopy of heaven. As the Captain’s laughter rang out, the mouth shot toward the pontiff. The mouth opened ridiculously wide as it loomed over the pontiff.

The pontiff breathed heavily in alarm.

Meanwhile, the Captain’s eyes looked crazier than ever. “Okay, you damned Eye Thief. Yesterday, you stole my eyes. Today, I’m going to take away your body!”

1. The four different it was a case of explanations collectively form two different idioms. The first two moving heaven and shifting earth is actually a variation on a more common idiom which is moving heaven and shifting the sun. The other idiom is chasing the wind and clutching at shadows. The figurative meaning of the idioms is not really relevant here, as they are being used literally, sort of like if there was a literal rolling stone that refused to gather moss, thus harkening to a rolling stone gathers no moss. ☜

2. You may or may not remember that when the Captain told his version of the story of his past life in chapter 598, he mentioned that he cut off one of his ears and left it behind. That explains why that ear was in a coffin and not used by the Red Moon Cathedral to put a church temple on. ☜

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