Ripples spread through heaven and earth, going out in all directions.

Xu Qing, meanwhile, was surrounded by countless wisps of gray fog. It was the essence power of the mages, and was the only reason he could stay so close and also watch what was happening.

However, after only a quick glance, he turned back around and kept going. From a distance, it was possible to see the gray fog swirling around him, blessing him and augmenting his speed. Around ten breaths of time later, Xu Qing vanished over the horizon.

There was about thirty percent less fog in the area. More precisely, about thirty percent of the fog in the central area ended up leaving, as though it possessed a life of its own. It went with Xu Qing, making it seem as if the fog in the Ninedawns Forbidden Lands had been split into two portions.

About four hours later, the fog on the border of the Ninedawns Forbidden Lands seethed and parted. The actual border was now visible to the outside world. Soon, a huge ball of fog shot out from inside. The fog was terrifying, and was so dense that it was like a huge gray vortex. The cultivators in the area who could see it were completely stunned. The vortex of fog was nothing short of stunning. From the time the Ninedawns Forbidden Lands formed until now, it was the first time the fog had ever gone past the border.

There was a figure in the vortex. It was none other than Xu Qing. He had successfully emerged from the Ninedawns Forbidden Lands!

Those who entered the place were forever bound by the karma of the gray fog. As a result, they could never leave. But Xu Qing came up with the idea of… taking the fog with him. As for the tumultuous upheavals deep inside, he didn’t have time to consider their ramifications. The moment he appeared outside, he accelerated and shot off into the distance.

He desperately needed to find a place to hole up and recover from his injuries. At the moment, he wasn’t able to bring the gray fog inside of him, which made it very eye-catching. If things proceeded in this manner, he would have a hard time concealing himself. Given his current state, he would be in a very bad position if he ran into Master Stillwinter or one of the other major chosen. He needed more time to be able to absorb the gray fog.

Dropping down out of the air, he slammed onto the ground and pierced down beneath the surface, taking the fog with him. When he passed the 3,000-meter point, there was no longer any trace of the fog outside.

He finally breathed a sigh of relief. That said, he knew this location wasn’t completely safe, as he was still quite close to the Ninedawns Forbidden Lands.

Gritting his teeth, he continued onward under the ground. About a day later, he found a good hiding spot. It was a mountain range in the depths of the rainforest. The mountains were a good place to conceal the gray fog, and also formed a natural protective barrier. Xu Qing carved out a cave under the mountains and settled down cross-legged.

There’s no point in trying to find a different hiding spot. I need to stay out of sight of the other Great Hunt participants, not the three gods. If the three gods want to find me, it doesn’t matter where I’m hiding in the Mountain and Sea Region. Thēy’ll find me.

After weighing matters up, he closed his eyes and let the violet light from the violet crystal spread through himself.

The time had come to focus on recovery. Three days later, Xu Qing opened his eyes, and they glittered with a lingering violet glow. His external injuries were all healed, but his internal injuries were still in the process of recovering. He had sustained some very serious wounds; even the violet crystal needed time to fix them. That said, his battle prowess was in good shape.

Next up, I need to bring the gray fog into the violet crystal….

Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed. He was fully aware that the gray fog hadn’t followed him, but rather, Ninedawns’ nine skulls. After some thought, he sent his mind into the violet crystal in the hopes of having it absorb the gray fog.

Considering it involved deeply studying the nine skulls, it wasn’t something that happened quickly. But as he proceeded with his work, the gray fog slowly started to seep from the surrounding soil and into the violet crystal. Bit by bit, it entered his chest. It was a slow process.

Two days later, the violet crystal glittered brightly. He opened his eyes.

It took effort, but I got my mark onto all nine of the skulls. Now they’re unified, and also, they aren’t working against me!

He put his right hand in front of his chest.

“Mage essence!”

As the words left his mouth, violet light flared around him, within which were nine skulls. They looked vicious, but at the same time, were exuding a sensation that made them seem like they had the same essence as Xu Qing.

“Return!”

He performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, then pushed it out.

The gray fog meandering around him suddenly stopped moving. Then it went crazy, piercing madly through the soil toward the nine skulls.

The fog diminished. Gray flesh started to build up on the nine skulls. Ultimately, as the fog continued to pour into the nine skulls, something big happened. They… became lanterns of flesh! They were gray in color, and the ‘flesh’ that covered them was actually gray fog. As they slowly rotated around Xu Qing, they also flickered with violet light.

Xu Qing looked around at the nine lanterns made from the Ninedawns skulls. He could sense that they had the same essence as him, although the connection to him was weak, as though it might be wiped away at any moment.

In the final analysis, it was because they were sealed in the violet crystal. It wasn’t that they were truly fused with him. In other words, they weren’t completely his.

They’re still partially foreign to me….

At the same time, thanks to having all nine skulls, the memory fragments within his mind were now complete. He now had a complete picture of that part of ancient history. For the most part, it all conformed to his previous speculations. It was a story of betrayal and backstabbing.

The memory fragments didn’t contain any details about what happened later in history. After all, the memories in the skulls ended with Ninedawns’ death. The memory fragments didn’t explain why the grand steward had done what he did. Nor was there any explanation about when the three gods of sun, moon, and star showed up, or why.

Given the clues he had, it was hard to even speculate what happened. Perhaps the three gods and the spider god were once part of the same faction. Or maybe they came along later and just took over.

Regardless, there was likely one particular day in which God Mountain appeared in the dome of heaven over the territory of the Darkheaven Archmage people. The mountain descended, and three gods emerged, mighty and glorious. Because of thēir arrival, the Darkheaven Archmages changed into the Firemoon Darkheavens. And then history led them to their current heights of glory.

Given how things ended up, Xu Qing could only come to the conclusion that this species had both upsides and downsides.

Regardless of the downsides, in the end, the species survived and eventually rose to prominence.

Regardless of the upsides, the betrayal that had played out in the past was both tragic and sorrowful. That was especially true considering that, in the modern era, Ninedawns had been vilified and said to be the grand steward’s mount. And the beasts that had descended from the slain archmages suffered a similar fate.

The fact that later generations had fabricated their own version of history left Xu Qing sighing deeply.

Only those who survive qualify to write history. And thus, the grand steward made himself look like the hero. Apparently, the gods were willing to go along with that.

Xu Qing thought about how he’d witnessed those three gods suppressing the spider god shrine. And then he thought about the enigmatic smile on the face of the Captain back in the city when Xu Qing had been doing research into the Ninedawns Forbidden Lands. Back then, the Captain had pulled a shrimp apart into two pieces. Now Xu Qing understood. The shrimp represented a blind person, unable to see the truth of a completely fabricated story. 1

Xu Qing shook his head.

As for when the three gods showed up, and whether or not thēy were connected to the larger conspiracy, it was frankly irrelevant to Xu Qing right now.

Right now, the most important thing… is that I have to take the Ninedawns skulls sealed in my violet crystal and convert them into battle prowess, or improve my cultivation base! I need to truly fuse with them!

Xu Qing already had an idea of how to do that.

I currently have three god troves, one Emperor’s Sword secret trove, and one incomplete trove that’s in the great circle. Previously, I could form it by entering a state like Crimson Mother. But that comes with potential calamities.

Right now… if I could turn Ninedawns into a secret trove, then I could solve all my problems. Ninedawns reached the peak of the dao of mages. Considering how seriously the spider god took him, it was obvious that his personhood must not have been any weaker than Crimson Mother’s. In fact, it was probably higher.

It would make perfect sense to use this for my fifth secret trove. In that case, it would be a mage trove! With it as a mage trove, it would obviously be completely part of me. I wouldn’t need to worry about losing it. And the Ninedawns fog could be a great asset to use!

Xu Qing’s eyes glittered mysteriously.

The intensity of the mage essence fog made it obvious that it rejected gods and cultivation base alike. It was extremely domineering. Having reached this point in his train of thought, Xu Qing rose to his feet, his expression serious. Turning in the direction of the Ninedawns Forbidden Lands, he bowed deeply at the waist.

That bow was for karma, and it was an expression of respect for true glory.

Then Xu Qing sat down, closed his eyes, and got to work!

***

Some distance away in the depths of the Ninedawns Forbidden Lands, the three shrines had completed their task. Thus, they faded away, and the marsh went back to normal. Fog swirled, covering everything.

Beneath the muck, the spider god’s sealing marks were stronger than ever, and the last scraps of energy that had been released were about to fade away. The bone ash mountain was back to normal. It was as if nothing had happened.

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However, in the depths of that mountain, a sigh echoed out. There was a figure hidden in the depths of the bone ash.

He was extremely ancient and unmoving, almost like a corpse. But just now, his eyes had opened.

Were any Firemoon Darkheaven cultivator there to see him, they would be completely and utterly astonished. He looked exactly like… the very same grand steward who had perished many, many years ago!

1. As I mentioned in a footnote in chapter 846 when the shrimp thing happened, in Chinese, the word for ‘shrimp’ and ‘blind’ are pronounced exactly the same. In this passage, an additional character is added to the ‘blind’ character to create the common word for ‘blind person.’ ☜