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In the Moonrite Region, the entire island that housed the Red Moon Cathedral’s headquarters trembled as intense winds swept out in all directions. The source was none other than the statue of Imperial Sovereign Li Zihua. The statue, which had been forced to remain in a kneeling position, started shaking. Dust and rubble poured off of the statue as cracks spread out to cover its surface.

At the same time, the white motes that represented the hope power of all living beings continued to pour into the statue, awakening its flesh and blood. The trembling of the statue grew more intense.

The Heir Apparent and his siblings sat in cross-legged positions surrounding the statue. Their foreheads all split open, and drops of blood slowly emerged.

All of those drops of blood had the same origin, and as they entered the statue of their father, the signs of awakening grew more prominent. Clearly, waking up the Imperial Sovereign was no simple task.

In response to the words of Xu Qing and the Captain, a fawning expression appeared on Ningyan’s face. Subconsciously, he was imitating his father’s court eunuchs.

However, inside, he was incensed.

I’m a damn prince! These people are going way overboard! Big Bro Xu is a bit more tolerable. After all, he wasn’t aware of my true identity. And he even saved my life before. He’s always treated me fairly well. But not that infernal, goddamned Chen Erniu! He knew all along who I really am, yet he still dares to treat me like this? You just wait! Once I’m back in the Imperial Region, I’ll definitely show you how awe-inspiring an imperial prince can be!

As Ningyan fumed inwardly, the Captain narrowed his eyes and smiled woodenly.

“What’s going on, little Ningning?” he said coldly. “Why do I get the feeling you’re cursing me inwardly?”

Ningyan shivered. Bowing obsequiously, he shook his head and said, “There’s no way, Elder Brother Erniu! My debt to you is as weighty as a mountain. Forget about talk of kneeling. If you asked me to toss my head to you, I’d do it without even thinking about it. The highlight of my entire life has been getting involved with you, Elder Brother. Nothing has been more wonderful than the feeling of flying free.”

Ningyan had never excelled at brown-nosing. But after coming to the Moonrite Region, things had changed….

Xu Qing glanced at Ningyan and thought back to the first time he’d laid eyes on him at the Supreme Beginning Netherflight Pillar, and how stubborn he had seemed. That stubbornness had long since disappeared…. 1 f𝗿𝐞ewebno𝚟𝗹.𝗰𝐨m

Though Xu Qing hadn’t been completely sure of his identity, he had known he had a special bloodline. Also, given how the Captain had dragged him along on so many important tasks, it was obvious there was something unique about him. Given all his previous speculations, Xu Qing wasn’t surprised at all to hear the truth revealed by the Captain.

Ningyan didn’t dare to dally. Hurrying up to the statue of Imperial Sovereign Li Zihua, he dropped to his knees and kowtowed. “Oh venerable Senior, I am a 3,915th generation descendant of Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity, Guyue Ningyan. I hereby kowtow to offer you never-ending peace!” 2

The fawning expression had already left Ningyan’s face, to be replaced with something far more solemn. His voice also seemed different from before, deeper and full of more dignity. As he knelt, he kept his back perfectly straight, and also circulated his cultivation base, making it just possible to hear a sound like the cry of a dragon.

Though he was still dressed like a shop worker, he now seemed fundamentally extraordinary. Eyes glimmering with determination, he reached out and sliced his forehead, drawing out a drop of blood. The air behind him churned as figures became visible there, every single one clad in imperial robes, with imperial crowns on their heads.

Xu Qing did a double take, and the Captain blinked a few times but said nothing.

Looking profoundly majestic, Ningyan looked at the statue of Li Zihua and said, “I have come to the Moonrite Region on the orders of the human emperor to assist you in waking up, Imperial Sovereign. Therefore, please… return to us!”

As Ningyan solemnly kowtowed, the drop of blood flew out, sucked in all of the projected images of the emperors, then shot up and fused into the forehead of the statue.

The statue trembled even more violently, and the sensation of awakening grew stronger. That drop of blood contained the power of the human emperor’s bloodline, and was supreme among all humans.

Things weren’t over yet, though. As the statue of Li Zihua trembled, Wu Jianwu refused to be outdone. With a flourish of outstretched arms, he said, “Oh innumerable descendants of the son of heaven; return from all prefectures to your father’s side!”

As his words echoed out, bloodline fluctuations rolled out in all directions as a host of animals flew to Wu Jianwu’s side. There were bears, tigers, turtles, dogs, and all sorts of other animals. Including a parrot. Ultimately, dozens of them gathered around, sending out powerful fluctuations as they looked at Wu Jianwu.

“I risk my life, the heavens to defy; children, venerate the Imperial Sovereign on high!”

Unfortunately, most of Wu Jianwu’s animal children just looked back at him in confusion. Despite how long they had been following him around, few of them could actually understand what he said.

Eyes flickering with displeasure, Wu Jianwu looked at the parrot.

Standing with back ramrod straight, the parrot loudly squawked, “Kneel! And call out!”

The animals all dropped to their knees and howled as loud as they could. They were using their voices, and their bloodline status, to try to call out to Imperial Sovereign Li Zihua. More rumbling echoed out from the statue, and more cracks spread out over its surface. Rubble rained down, and the sensation of awakening grew stronger.

Wild colors flashed in heaven and earth, and the distant red moon seemed to shiver. And yet, the sensation of awakening was not complete, and was also unstable, shifting back and forth between strong and weak.

Seeing that, the Captain’s eyes glittered.

“People of the Moonrebel Congregation, the time has come to accomplish your mission. The Moonrebel Congregation contains some of the Imperial Sovereign’s divine will from before he died. That divine will became hundreds of thousands of temples. Now, let all of the statues… make their way back! Help me, little Ah Qing!”

They seized control of the Mirror of Moonrebel. Xu Qing didn’t hesitate to join in. Both of them were required to fully operate the mirror; it wouldn’t work with one of them missing.

As that power was released, the Mirror of Moonrebel shifted to face the statue of the Imperial Sovereign. The light of the mirror shone on the statue, and it transformed. It seemed to turn into a mountain covered with countless vortexes. Every single one of the vortexes contained the faint image of a temple.

The Moonrebel Congregation cultivators took deep breaths. Eyes shining with determination, they let themselves be filled with the willingness to wake up the Imperial Sovereign as they flew toward the vortexes.

This time, they weren’t returning to the temples in the Moonrebel Congregation. Instead, they were returning to the temples in the vortexes surrounding Li Zihua.

In the blink of an eye, countless Moonrebel cultivators vanished, only to reappear inside Imperial Sovereign Li Zihua. As the statues materialized, they sat down cross-legged, circulated their cultivation bases, and sent power into the statue.

They were now the power source to fuel the awakening of the statue. As the power of the cultivation bases combined, the sensation of awakening grew stronger and more stable.

The momentum of awakening became a cycle. It was like a flame that was fully ignited. As long as it kept burning, it would scorch all of heaven and earth.

The Heir Apparent and his siblings all looked excited. They could see what was going on.

“Now all we need is the final link,” the Captain said, nearly out of breath as he looked at the red moon on the horizon. “In only two days, the red moon will appear in full. At that time, the red moon power being released will be at the peak.

“That peak level of red moon power, plus the aura of Crimson Mother, will be profoundly stimulating to the statue. When that time comes… the venerable Imperial Sovereign will erupt with the power of awakening, and will… return!

“What we need to do is keep calling out to him. Make sure the will of the Imperial Sovereign is constantly being woken up. Do not let the flames be extinguished!”

The Heir Apparent nodded, closed his eyes, and continued calling out in his heart.

Princess Brightblossom and the other siblings all did the same. The hundreds of thousands of Moonrebel cultivators also called out in their hearts. What was more, thanks to the Mirror of Moonrebel, the scene playing out was already visible to all living beings in the Moonrite Region.

The scattered cultivators from the Red Moon Cathedral were in a state of complete terror. But to the bitter survivors who still clung to life, all of it represented an unprecedented level of hope. And thus, throughout the Moonrite Region, it was possible to hear people calling out at the tops of their lungs.

“Return, Imperial Sovereign!”

“Return, Imperial Sovereign!!”

“Return, Imperial Sovereign!!!”

The voices swelled, growing louder and louder, filling heaven and earth in the Moonrite Region. Xu Qing’s heart pounded as he looked at the red moon on the horizon, and then the statue of Imperial Sovereign Li Zihua.

Turning to the Captain, he said, “Eldest Brother, do we have enough backup for when Crimson Mother comes? I still have one helper to call on….”

“You mean that slutty fox?” the Captain asked, looking around proudly at his handiwork. Then he turned to Xu Qing and blinked a few times.

Xu Qing shook his head. “Another one.”

Surprised, the Captain looked closely at Xu Qing for a time. Looking conflicted, he finally lowered his voice and said, “Little Junior Brother, the truth is that I don’t really know if we have enough backup. If you can get some more help, that would be great. I’m just worried that if we have too much backup, it will be difficult to split up the rewards later.”

Xu Qing shook his head. “The rewards aren’t important. What’s important is killing Crimson Mother! Besides… considering how many people are already around, my helper won’t push things too far. And if we don’t get help….” Xu Qing looked at the Captain.

The Captain licked his lips and said, “What are you waiting for, little Junior Brother? Make your request!”

Xu Qing nodded and took a jade slip out of his bag of holding. The jade slip almost seemed alive, and felt slick in his hand, almost as if it were made from flesh and blood. It emanated an ancient aura, as if it had the personhood of a god in it. Despite the chaotic fluctuations in the area, as soon as it was in the open, it pulsed with something very domineering.

The Captain looked at it, and then his eyebrows shot up and he laughed.

Without the slightest hesitation, Xu Qing crushed the jade slip. Mysterious light exploded out of it and covered Xu Qing.

Then he vanished.

1. Ningyan attacked Xu Qing during the pillar-climbing event in chapter 359. We did not know his name at that time. He was originally introduced without a name in chapter 357. In the original introduction, he was said to have a nose ring. ☜

2. Ningyan is in the same generation as Seventh Prince, whose name is Guyue Zhang’an. Guyue Zhang’an mentioned his generational standing in 510, and it was reiterated in chapter 530. In my original translation, I mistakenly interpreted Seventh Prince to be the 3,915th descendant, as opposed to him coming from the 3,915th generation. I’ve since fixed the previous instances. ☜