As the jade slip floated over, Xu Qing looked at it coldly. He didn’t reach out to grab it. Instead, he sent a soul thread over to pierce into the jade slip and shatter it. Most people who saw that would tremble inwardly thinking that it was a display of overt killing intent.

But Sir Heavenink was a top chosen. The reason he hadn’t attacked Xu Qing earlier was because he had picked up on certain clues that caused him to hold back. He was perceptive. And thus, he maintained a very respectful attitude.

“That thug Master Stillwinter had originally been aiming to tame a hillworm,” he said. “But then something unexpected happened, and about a month ago he went to the Ghost Chariot Wildwood. Based on the information I was able to dig up, quite a few cultivators have gone after ghost chariots. And that includes the followers of that bastard Fan Shishuang. But when you add the brutal beast Master Stillwinter into the picture, that changes things.

“That villain Fan Shishuang is a real schemer, and he made a lot of secret preparations for this Great Hunt. Because of that, when that sissy Master Stillwinter went into the Ghost Chariot Wildwood, he never came back out. It seems likely to me that those two jokers locked horns and got stuck at an impasse.”

Sir Heavenink didn’t hide anything. He explained everything he knew, and continuously managed to use insulting terms for both of the cultivators who had previously attacked Xu Qing. In fact, he didn’t repeat any of the insults even once. He was clearly working very hard to make sure he put himself on Xu Qing’s side.

Of course, the reason he knew so much about the situation was that he had previously been planning to go into the Ghost Chariot Wildwood. He had been hoping to seek an opportunity once Master Stillwinter and Fan Shishuang were injured and tired.

After finishing his explanation, Sir Heavenink did one more thing to play things really safely. Having heard that Xu Qing was a godherald of the Starfire Temple, he released some of the aura of that very temple.

Xu Qing’s expression remained placid. Though he had used the soul threads to destroy the jade slip, he had also extracted the information from it by means of the soul thread. For all intents and purposes, it was the same as what Sir Heavenink had just divulged verbally. Whether it was his verbal attacks or the aura of the Starfire Temple, his intent was clear. Xu Qing obviously picked up on the fact that he was trying to present himself as an ally.

Eyes gleaming with profound light, Xu Qing looked Sir Heavenink up and down. He really had no reason or justification to kill him considering everything so far. From beginning to end, Sir Heavenink hadn’t done a single thing that could be considered courting death.

Therefore, Xu Qing chose not to bicker with him over anything. He started moving. He passed Sir Heavenink, and in the blink of an eye, disappeared over the horizon.

After he was gone, Sir Heavenink breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at the spot where Xu Qing had disappeared, he felt relief at having survived, but also other conflicting emotions.

When this Xu Qing fought Master Stillwinter, I don’t think he was intentionally holding back. He probably wasn’t a match for Master Stillwinter. But in the two months that have passed, he experienced a cultivation base breakthrough. He’s the kind of chosen who causes heaven-shaking, earth-toppling transformations when he achieves breakthroughs.

As for that gray fog…. I bet the dramatic events in the Ninedawns Forbidden Lands were connected to him. And if he was able to bring the gray fog out of the Ninedawns Forbidden Lands, and even control it perfectly….

Sir Heavenink knew what that implied, and it caused a lot of speculations to rise up within him.

Don’t tell me… that he tamed a ninedawns!

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Sir Heavenink inhaled deeply. He was starting to get the feeling that in the final rankings of this Great Hunt, the number one spot wouldn’t be taken by a Firemoon cultivator.

He already took first place in round one. And he’s probably going to take first in the second round. If he does the same in the third round…. Grand Darkheaven!

Sir Heavenink reeled mentally. It had been a very, very long time since the Grand Darkheaven appeared in the Firemoon Darkheaven people. In fact, the last time was ten thousand years in the past.

If the Grand Darkheaven appears this time….

Sir Heavenink’s mind was racing. Eventually, his eyes shone with determination, and instead of going off in a different direction, he shot after Xu Qing.

“Brother Xu!” he shouted. “Master Stillwinter is just as devious as Fan Shishuang! I’d say there’s a good chance the two of them will join forces. I’d be happy to join you if that would help! It could save you some trouble!”

Xu Qing’s eyebrows shot up as he looked back at Sir Heavenink. Meanwhile, he received a projected warning from Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior.

“Milord, something’s fishy about this ruffian. He’s definitely up to something. I suggest you cut down this snake right now!”

Xu Qing ignored him. After a final glance at Sir Heavenink, he neither refused his offer nor accepted it. Turning, he continued on toward the Ghost Chariot Wildwood.

Sir Heavenink’s spirits lifted when he saw that Xu Qing wasn’t rejecting him. In the hopes of creating an even better impression, he then went on to explain even more about the Mountain and Sea Region. Much of it was information that couldn’t even be purchased on the outside, and was new to Xu Qing. For example, he learned about the characteristics of some of the unusual beasts, hidden dangers that could be encountered in the rainforest, and other such things. And thus, the two of them got closer and closer to the Ghost Chariot Wildwood.

***

In the Mountain and Sea Region’s highlands, in the part of the rainforest occupied by the hillworms, a months-long chase was still playing out. It was different from the 5,000-kilometer chase in which Master Stillwinter pursued Xu Qing. Instead, this entire chase took place in hillworm territory.

The quarry was the Captain. The pursuer was Sir Firedark.

The Captain had used some outrageous methods to lead Sir Firedark in circles, all while shouting very licentious things.

“Aren’t you tired yet? All I did was interrupt you when you were taming a beast! Who cares if you’re neither a man nor a woman? What’s your problem??

“My goodness, can you just stop chasing me? Look, I can introduce you to a daoist partner! How about that?

“Listen, I have a little Junior Brother….”

Behind the Captain, Sir Firedark unleashed an attack that was comparable to the might of a Smoldering God, which blotted out the sky and caused immense pressure to weigh down.

Rumbling booms echoed out as heaven and earth shattered. The Captain was ripped to shreds, but a moment later, a blue worm popped out of the mud. Moments later, the Captain was back in one piece and fleeing.

The reality was that the Captain’s attitude didn’t match the words coming out of his mouth. Things had not been going well for him over the past few months, and he was starting to fear that he had reached the end of the line.

Why hasn’t little Junior Brother shown up?

***

In the lowlands of the Mountain and Sea Region, two figures sped through the sky toward a dark section of the rainforest.

“Brother Xu, that’s the Ghost Chariot Wildwood. It’s inhabited mostly by fierce and brutal grues that most people can’t even defend against.

“It’s also the primary habitat of the ghost chariots. They actually prey on grues. They have terrifying battle prowess, and some of them are even as strong as Smoldering Gods. Because of that, coming here to try to tame infant ghost chariots is actually very risky.”

Xu Qing looked at the jungle up ahead. All of the plants and vegetation were black. Even the sky was filled with dark clouds, within which crackled red bolts of lightning. There was something very sinister about this part of the rainforest. From the outside, it was possible to sense something tugging at your soul, as if the jungle was a whirlpool.

There were some cultivators present, but they were wandering around numbly like the walking dead.

“Those are cultivators who died here recently. After their souls were devoured, their fleshly bodies were resurrected, whereupon they wandered around looking for their souls…. Eventually, the plants and vegetation will cause their fleshly bodies to decompose and turn into nutrients.”

The fear in Sir Heavenink’s voice was clear. “By the way, this place is huge. That son of a bitch Master Stillwinter and that asshole Fan Shishuang have been inside for a while now. They’re basically hiding in the shadows while we’re out in the open. Things could get difficult.”

Sir Heavenink looked at Xu Qing out of the corner of his eye and noticed that Xu Qing was just hovering there. He blinked a few times, then took out a stick of incense which he lit. “Don’t worry, I came prepared. Any cultivator who wants to come here and tame a ghost chariot will get some incense like this. It’ll protect your soul to a certain degree so that you can enter the Ghost Chariot Wildwood safely. I have seven or eight sticks after this one. That should be more than enough.”

Xu Qing looked away from the Ghost Chariot Wildwood to Sir Heavenink. “You can stop digging for information.”

Sir Heavenink smiled woodenly. The truth was that though it seemed like he’d been providing a useful introduction to the area, the reality was that he had been digging for information. He wanted to find out if the beasts in this area would prostrate to Xu Qing like all the others.

Xu Qing ignored Sir Heavenink. He was aware that he couldn’t hide the fact that he had succeeded in the Ninedawns Forbidden Lands. It was only a matter of time before everyone found out. What was more, he also wanted to find the extent of what he could do thanks to ‘taming’ Ninedawns.

Looking at the terrifying Ghost Chariot Wildwood, Xu Qing coolly said, “Ghost chariots. Come here!”

As the words left his mouth, he unleashed the aura of Ninedawns.

The clouds shattered and lightning crashed, sweeping down to create a web of electricity. The plants and vegetation in the dark jungle trembled and bent over as if bowing. The grues howled in agony, and the zombie-like cultivators dropped to the ground and lay there unmoving. The ground began to tremble as the entire Ghost Chariot Wildwood seemed to come alive.

Next, a host of heaven-shaking, earth-shattering auras spread out from the darkness of the jungle. An instant later, numerous vicious-looking ghost chariots charged out into the open.

There were well over a hundred of them, some large and some small. Their cultivation bases ranged from Spirit Trove to Void Returning, and they roared as they raced straight toward Xu Qing. They crushed everything in their path, and their eyes shone with underworld light as they stopped in front of Xu Qing and dropped to the ground. It was as if they had met their monarch.

Their auras spread out, combining to create a dust storm that filled the area.

Meanwhile, Xu Qing stood in front of them, his expression placid.

Sir Heavenink was stunned to the core. But what was truly astonishing was that things weren’t over yet.

As the ground shook, three terrifying Smoldering God auras erupted from within the rainforest. An instant later, three profoundly ancient and enormous ghost chariots appeared in the air. They looked in Xu Qing’s direction.

Sir Heavenink gasped, and his hair stood on end as beads of cold sweat broke out all over him.

Then Xu Qing spoke again. “Show me the outsiders.”

The ground shook as all of the plants and vegetation in this section of the rainforest suddenly bent down and to the side.

As a result, all of the Firemoon cultivators who had been hiding in the jungle were revealed. All were trembling and had looks of disbelief on their faces. The events playing out completely surpassed anything they could have imagined, to the point where it seemed like they were witnessing something from myth or legend.

Some distance away were two cultivators who were facing off and were about 3,000 meters apart from each other. They were none other than Master Stillwinter and Fan Shishuang. Both were visibly shocked as they slowly turned to look at Xu Qing.