A few days later….

It was a scorching day in the Firemoon Darkheavens’ fifth region. Blinding light shone down on an endless desert. These vast, desolate lands were filled with dunes, which were like waves of sand that went over the horizon. They sometimes resembled the spines of sleeping dragons. Shimmering heat waves rose up everywhere in this climate that was so hot it felt suffocating.

Off in the distance, a sandstorm brewed, complete with screaming winds. There were also mirages everywhere that seemed to contain hidden hope. But what primarily prevailed was… deathly silence. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

It was just like the deathly silent people moving within the sandstorm. There was an enormous, blood-red chariot screaming through the tempest, some 3,000 meters from front to back. The chariot itself looked like the head of an enormous dragon, with the spine drifting behind it. As a matter of fact, this chariot actually was crafted from the bones of a dragon. And every single bone was covered in sealing marks that pulsed with a terrifying aura.

Astonishingly, more than 300 forbidden mountains orbited above the dragon chariot. The interior of the skull was decorated lavishly, and someone was lounging inside. It was a young Firemoon Darkheaven cultivator.

He wore a white robe embroidered with golden thread that emanated boundless nobility. And yet, all of that was like a foil to the young man wearing the clothing. He had a beautiful face, eyes that glittered like stars, and an aquiline nose. The aura that surrounded him made it obvious that this young man was very important.

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Wherever he went, it wasn’t just the subsidiary species who would prostrate to him. Most Firemoon Darkheaven cultivators would also bow their heads. He had such a high status that one word from him could result in an entire species being wiped out. At the moment, he seemed to be in a very good mood. He rested his head in one hand while fiddling with a jade slip in the other, all while smiling broadly.

After a while, he looked out in front of the chariot and said, “We’re going too slow.”

At the front of the dragon chariot were hundreds of black chains that burned with fire that could immolate souls and flesh. Each of the chains was stretched tight, and at their ends… were hundreds of human cultivators! Their clothes were in shambles, and they were wan and emaciated. Their eyes revealed the humiliation in their hearts, yet they had no choice but to drag the chariot behind them.

In the very front of all the humans was someone taller and burlier than the others. He once wore a yellow robe, but it had been ripped nearly to shreds. His lips were smeared with blood, but his eyes gleamed with determination. Gritting his teeth, he pulled his chain along with everyone else.

Thanks to their efforts, the dragon chariot sped through the sandstorm.

If the human emperor or any of his officials were here, they would be able to instantly identify the humans pulling the chariot. They were the members of the diplomatic mission that had been sent to talk to the Firemoon Darkheaven people.

The young man in the front… was none other than Grand Prince.

“We’re still going a bit too slow, Guyue Zhonghui,” said the young man lounging inside the dragon skull. He spoke neither quickly nor slowly, and yet his words were as cold as ice. “At this rate, how long is it going to take you to pull this cart of mine to God Mountain? I already told you that if you got me to God Mountain fast enough, I would help you out by asking my father the king to cast a vote in your direction. To speak up for you. But this speed is really not making me happy.”1

The hundreds of humans pulling the chariot bowed their heads to suppress their humiliation and helplessness. Grand Prince didn’t say anything.

After a few breaths of time, though, Grand Prince suddenly lurched forward. The chain stretching over his shoulder bit into his flesh, but the chariot sped up.

The other humans gritted their teeth and also pulled harder, causing the chariot to speed up even more. Unfortunately, the harder they pulled the chariot, the more torment they endured, and the greater the weight that pulled against them. Sadly, as cart-pullers, they had no options or rights.

As the dragon chariot zipped through the desert, the intense heat beat down on Grand Prince and the others, further burning away their dignity.

“That’s better,” the young man said with a chuckle. “You should know that from the moment you refused to forsake your status as a human, your mother’s people gave up on you. Among all the Firemoon Darkheavens, only I took an interest in you, and that’s why you have this chance. Therefore, Guyue Zhonghui, you really need to do well.”

The humans didn’t say anything. Grand Prince didn’t say anything.

Continuing to fiddle with the jade slip, the young man in the chariot said, “By the way, I heard that one of you humans killed a bunch of Great Hunt participants in our eighth region. And they were very ruthless. A few of the victims worked for me.”

Grand Prince was visibly surprised, as were the other humans. This was their first time hearing about what happened.

The young man in the chariot smiled and waved his hand. Instantly, an additional several hundred chains appeared in front of the chariot, which began to sway back and forth like whips. Booms rang out as the chains struck the cart-pulling humans. Quite a few coughed up blood, although not Grand Prince.

“But that’s fine. For every one he kills, I’ll just whip you a thousand times! That will make things a lot more interesting, don’t you think?”

The sounds of whipping continued as the dragon chariot moved onward. After leaving the desert, it reached a verdant stretch of land.

There were also cultivators visible in the distance. Whether those cultivators were Firemoons or other nonhumans, whenever they caught sight of the dragon chariot, they either dropped to their knees to kowtow or bowed deeply at the waist.

The young man continued to smile. As everyone bowed and cheered, he laughed and said, “Say, Guyue Zhonghui, when that human kid finds out you’ve become a cart-puller, do you think he’ll come looking for you? If he joins my team of cart-pullers, I bet I could get to God Mountain in just a few more days.”

Grand Prince’s expression flickered, and the other humans struggled to breathe steadily. Because of the lack of detailed information, they had no idea who this human was, nor could they even begin to guess. However, there was no way they couldn’t detect the malice in the young prince whose chariot they were pulling.

The young man’s jade slip glittered again as he sent out the details of his travel itinerary. Then he stretched and went back to whipping the humans. Many Firemoon cultivators were able to see what was happening. What was more, the young man intentionally sent out messages explaining his position. Therefore, news quickly spread.

A few days later in the sixth region, Xu Qing walked out of a mountain range with his black spear in hand. The number of resentful souls attached to the spear was now greater than before. He was surrounded by the strong smell of gore.

The Captain was smiling broadly as he occasionally checked his bag of holding. He seemed pleased with his gains.

Meanwhile, Master Gravesparrow was following them, and he had long since turned completely numb. During the time spent traveling, he had learned a lot more about these two humans. The one called ‘the Captain’ looked like an ordinary person but used a gruish magical technique to turn nonhumans into fruit that he would eat.

Master Gravesparrow hadn’t had any choice but to sample a few of the nonhumans, and found that the flavor… wasn’t that bad. He had outright refused to eat members of his own species.

In a world inhabited by gods, it wasn’t surprising that the Firemoon Darkheavens had similar techniques that he had seen before, so that wasn’t what shocked him. Rather, it was the fact that this ‘Captain’ referred to the other human as ‘little Ah Qing.’ He had known people proficient in slaughter, himself included. But this ‘little Ah Qing’ carried out slaughters that shocked him to the core. Unless he encountered Whitemarshes, he rarely took the initiative to attack. In fact, he didn’t even try to steal mountains from people he saw. There was no need.

The hundreds of mountains orbiting overhead were enough to strike fear into the hearts of most cultivators. There were always vicious cultivators who would use a variety of methods to try to kill him. But their fate was always to end up as corpses, and have their souls extracted and forbidden mountains taken. In fact, that was exactly what happened in the mountains they had just traversed.

Things like that happened constantly on their journey, and as a result, Xu Qing’s forbidden mountain count increased constantly. It was as if there was a massive vortex building, with Xu Qing in the middle of it.

As Master Gravesparrow had come to find out, one reason for that vortex was that Xu Qing and the Captain were not very happy with the Whitemarshes. What was more, for humans to act like they were acting in Firemoon Darkheaven territory attracted a lot of attention.

The Captain didn’t seem to care, and Xu Qing’s facial expression never changed.

At first, Master Gravesparrow didn’t understand their attitude. But after thinking about it, he came to a realization.

This guy wants to become a darkheaven general! If it works, he could resolve the situation with humans! No wonder he’s killing so many Whitemarshes. I bet if some Saias show up, he’ll cut them down just as quickly.

Upon thinking about all of that, Master Gravesparrow decided that, in order to prevent any misunderstandings, he should relay some newly acquired information to Xu Qing.

“Fellow Daoists, um… I just got some news that I thought the two of you might want to hear. It’s about your Grand Prince.”

Master Gravesparrow looked at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing put away his black spear, glanced at the hundreds of forbidden mountains overhead, then started walking. “Go ahead.”

Lowering his voice, Master Gravesparrow said, “Grand Prince and his entire retinue were captured by the crown prince of King Brightsouth. Apparently they made some sort of deal that led to Grand Prince and his people pulling a dragon chariot by hand…. Firemoons everywhere are talking about it.”

Xu Qing didn’t react visibly, and the Captain didn’t seem very surprised. Master Gravesparrow had mentioned this situation before. What was more, if some deal had been struck, then it had nothing to do with the two of them, and there was no need for them to take action.

Master Gravesparrow hesitated, then explained everything he knew. “Fellow Daoist, some of the cultivators you killed were subordinates of King Brightsouth’s heir. So he made a public announcement that for every Firemoon cultivator you kill, he’ll whip Grand Prince and the other humans a thousand times. In addition to that, he’s publicly revealed his travel itinerary.”

Xu Qing stopped walking. The Captain’s eyebrows shot up. Now the matter did relate to them.

“He intentionally revealed his travel itinerary?” Xu Qing asked, looking at Master Gravesparrow over his shoulder.

Master Gravesparrow felt pressure just from Xu Qing’s gaze. Taking a deep breath, he nodded. “It’s definitely intentional. He’s in the fourth region right now. Fellow Daoist, he obviously wants you to come to him. Crown Prince Brightsouth has a very high standing among us Firemoon Darkheavens. His father is King Brightsouth, who is the king legate to Steward Heavencloud of the Sunfire Temple. The steward values him a lot, and whether it’s his cultivation base or his power and influence, they’re all sky-high….”

“How many mountains does he have?” Xu Qing asked.

“Supposedly more than 400,” Master Gravesparrow replied.

“Lead the way,” Xu Qing said, his eyes glittering coldly.

Off to the side, the Captain grinned.

Master Gravesparrow shivered and considered trying to persuade Xu Qing to change his mind. But when he saw the coldness in Xu Qing’s eyes, he just nodded.

Three beams of light shot off toward the fourth region.

1. Guyue Zhonghui: I’ve already explained Guyue several times. Zhonghui: Zhong means “loyal, devote, honest.” Hui means “brightness, splendor.” Madam Deathblade thinks the name sounds noble and honorable. ☜