Time passed.

Half a month later, Xu Qing, the Captain, and Master Gravesparrow had crossed the fourth region in their search for Crown Prince Brightsouth. They were now in the third region.

The focal point of the first round of the Great Hunt was God Mountain, and they were now only two regions away from that.

The terrain of the third region was primarily volcanic in nature. Countless volcanoes there erupted year-round, making the environment thick with black smog. Meanwhile, the ‘lands’ were really just endless seas of lava. However, cold winds occasionally blew, which caused solid roads to form. They would only last for a short time before they melted back into lava. However, new roads would continuously appear based on the shifting of the wind.

Because of that general instability, mortals couldn’t move freely through the region. It would be logical to assume that, with terrain like that, the region wasn’t suitable for habitation. But it was actually very suitable as far as the Firemoon Darkheavens were concerned. They considered the harsh conditions to be the perfect way to temper their fleshly bodies on a constant basis. And only tough surroundings like that could mold the hearts of truly powerful experts. That wasn’t to mention that the very name of their species had the character ‘fire’ in it, which indicated their resilience when it came to fire.

In the middle of the third region, where the never-ending eruption of the volcanoes created a thick black cloud cover, the sound of whipping rang out as a bone dragon screamed along. It was moving at incredibly high speed!

Stretching out in front of the bone dragon were hundreds of chains being pulled by Grand Prince and his subordinates. Their clothing was dilapidated, their faces sallow, their bodies emaciated. In most cases, their eyes were full of despair. Any others simply gritted their teeth as they pulled the chariot with all the strength they could muster.

Inside the chariot, Crown Prince Brightsouth smiled and said, “How amusing. Maybe it’s the whipping, or maybe the lot of you just came to your senses and want to reach our destination as quickly as possible…. Of course, there’s another possible reason. Could it be you don’t want that famous human companion of yours to catch up? Overall, you achieved an acceptably fast speed.”

Suddenly, a grim expression replaced his smile, and his voice turned cold. “That said, your attitude isn’t acceptable at all. Right now, I want you to go slow! But you… are going too fast!”

Countless illusory whips appeared in front of the dragon chariot and started lashing the humans.

Blood sprayed out of the mouths of some of them. There were a few who had suffered so greatly thanks to the fast pace and the whips that they breathed their last and collapsed into death.

Some of the corpses fell down into the lava and were swallowed up. Some landed on the solid road below, where they withered up into desiccated corpses. After a certain period of time, the road would disappear, and those corpses would sink into the lava.

The dragon bone chariot slowed down. Humiliation and fury rose up in the hearts of the humans pulling the chariot, and yet, they were helpless to do anything….

The strength of a species was the foundation of everything. The Firemoon Darkheavens were extremely strong, and thus, few other species could maintain any level of dignity in their presence. Falling behind in the race of species was the most fundamental of errors.

Meanwhile, Xu Qing, the Captain, and Master Gravesparrow were racing along beneath the same dark smog cover, some 5,000 kilometers away.

“Crown Prince Brightsouth is being very flashy,” Master Gravesparrow said. “He’s not hiding his tracks at all. Based on the latest news, he was seen recently traveling toward the second region. By now, we shouldn’t be very far away from his dragon chariot.”

The Captain licked his lips. Xu Qing nodded and looked at the clouds stretching off into the distant smog, then down at the lava-covered lands below. The atmosphere here in the third region was hot, making it seem like a steamer basket. Whether it was the fleshly body or the soul, that invasion of heat was incomparably intense.

“Fellow Daoist Xu, are you sure… you don’t want to rethink this? Crown Prince Brightsouth has a shocking cultivation base. People say that he recently broke through from third-stage Void Returning into the fourth stage. He already has an illusory world.

“Also… Firemoon Darkheavens have stronger fleshly bodies than most other species. It’s the same with magical techniques. Because of all that, plus the potential of our cultivation base, we’re virtually invincible to members of other species in the same cultivation level as us.”

Master Gravesparrow had been holding back from giving his opinion during most of the journey, but at this point, he couldn’t hold back.

“Furthermore, his father is King Brightsouth, an almighty expert at the peak of Smoldering God. Rumor has it he’s very close to the peak of the nine-world level. As a single child, Crown Prince Brightsouth was unusually talented and had great privilege growing up. Although he’s not considered the number-one chosen of this generation, he definitely deserves a place in the top ten.

“I’ve never personally seen him in a fight, but I hear stories about him all the time. For example, he’s really skilled in curse magic, forbidden magic, plus god magic. There’s even a rumor saying that he mastered a handful of our Firemoon imperial-class techniques, which are collectively referred to as the Thirty-Six Immortal Constellations!” 1

“Normally speaking, mastering just one of them is equivalent to a peak imperial-class technique among other species. Therefore, Crown Prince Brightsouth is not only terrifyingly strong, he also has an astonishing background…. If you get in a fight with him, you’ll pay a heavy price whether you win or lose. It’s just not worth it….”

As Master Gravesparrow made his heartfelt plea, Xu Qing’s facial expression was the same as ever. Meanwhile, the Captain grinned and handed Master Gravesparrow an apple.

“You’re a good kid,” the Captain said, “very easy to get along with. That said, you’re only taking into consideration Crown Prince Brightsouth’s background. You don’t know about our background. Don’t worry, that so-called King Brightsouth won’t count for anything as long as little Ah Qing is willing to give up his primal yang to—”

Xu Qing turned and gave a look to the Captain.

The Captain chuckled and said nothing further.

Master Gravesparrow reacted with visible surprise. When it came to primal yang… it made him come up with quite a few theories. He glanced at Xu Qing, but didn’t dare to ask any further questions. As he continued to speculate inwardly, their group of three continued to speed through the sky.

Time passed.

Two hours later, they stopped in midair. A moment later, they disappeared, only to reappear on a small path in the lava below. The path had been formed by a cold wind that had recently shifted. The path was already starting to melt, and would soon be gone. There were some withered corpses on the path that were still mostly whole. They were human.

Xu Qing studied the corpses, and the Captain eyed them closely.

“I recognize him,” the Captain said. “He was one of Grand Prince’s personal guards. It looks like he suffered a lot before dying. See the whip marks? He must have been lashed thousands of times…. His flesh and blood, his cultivation base, and even his soul are all in a state of corrosion. He died after he was completely drained and had nothing left to keep him going.”

Master Gravesparrow didn’t dare to say anything.

Xu Qing studied the corpses for a few breaths of time, then collected them up. He turned to Master Gravesparrow.

“They should be close. You don’t need to come along for now. If you don’t mind, please check the area and collect any other human corpses you find.”

Master Gravesparrow immediately nodded.

Without another word, Xu Qing flew up into the air. Then rumbling sounds echoed out as he shot over the horizon at top speed. He moved much, much faster than he had up to this point. Clearly, he had a specific direction to go in and was not holding back.

Blue light flared around the Captain as he followed. Seeing Xu Qing pulsing with killing intent filled him with anticipation.

Little Ah Qing is a born killer. He’s been suppressing it in recent years. Except that’s not a good thing to do long-term. Unleash the killing! Don’t sit around thinking or suppressing. We cultivators need to have a psyche free from all shackles!

About an hour later, a bone dragon chariot became visible on the horizon, being dragged along by hundreds of humans. When Xu Qing saw it, he lowered his voice and said, “Eldest Brother, I want to handle this fight by myself. Let’s see how strong this Firemoon Darkheaven chosen actually is. If I’m not a match for him, then please step in and strip away his mountains.”

The Captain grinned and nodded.

Next, Xu Qing seemed to ignite like a shooting star. As he sped toward the chariot, deafening rumbling echoed out, and the stars seethed. The air shattered as he passed, and the lands shook violently. Millions of soul threads swept out of him. As he closed in, they converged into his first-level god state. His energy then rose to a level equivalent to first-stage Void Returning.

However, things weren’t over yet. The first-level god state was only the foundation; soul threads swept everywhere as the second-level god state started to form. His aura rose higher, until it was equivalent to second-stage Void Returning.

Then, the soul threads converged again as his third-level god state appeared! Battle prowess equivalent to third-stage Void Returning pulsed in all directions. From a distance, it was possible to see a vicious, hulking figure with a blood-red cloak and bones of crystal, surrounded by innumerable blood threads. As of now, Xu Qing looked like a fiendish god.

An illusory violet moon hung behind him, with a sundial on its surface, slowly spinning. Without any hesitation, Xu Qing took out a piece of Crimson Mother’s flesh and devoured it. Inside his body, the flesh exploded, and his god state erupted. Now, it looked somewhat like Crimson Mother, but if you looked closely, you would also sense Li Zihua.

His aura climbed again, reaching… fourth-stage Void Returning! This was Xu Qing’s highest level of battle prowess!

The hundreds of humans pulling the chariot reacted with visible shock. Some of them could even recognize Xu Qing as he was in his god state, and that led to further astonishment. That was especially true of Grand Prince, who was shaken to the core when he laid eyes on Xu Qing. He had never had any dealings with Xu Qing, but had glimpsed him from a distance on a few occasions. It was only natural that he knew exactly who Xu Qing was and what his current mission was.

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Therefore, it was a big surprise to see him here in the lands of the Firemoon Darkheaven people. He was actually somewhat worried, and was about to cry out a warning when countless whips appeared and wrapped around him.

His mouth was sealed tight, as was his divine will. In fact, every method of communication was locked down. Then, laughter rang out from within the chariot as Crown Prince Brightsouth disappeared from inside and materialized in midair. His eyes shone with enthusiasm as he looked at Xu Qing closing in on him.

“I’m surprised you actually showed up. And how unexpected to see you using a magic to transform your state. Very, very interesting.

“It’s normally not worth it for me to pay attention to human chosen. But for someone to kill so many fellow members of my species, and to use divine abilities like that, well I’d say you’re worthy to either pull my chariot or have your head mounted atop it as a prize.”

Then Crown Prince Brightsouth moved directly toward the incoming Xu Qing. Things were really heating up!