The violet moon trove gate trembled, and the bit of power that was the seed of that trove gate, the supreme yin netherglimmer, vied with the glory of the moon. His violet moon authority, which was born out of the red moon, but now belonged to Xu Qing, provided a linking element. Therefore, though the two moons weren’t the same, because of all the related factors, what he was doing seemed completely and utterly logical.

The instant he sat down and the violet moon trove gate slammed open, all of the supreme yin power from the local moon rushed toward him. There was some brief discomfort, but after that, it was all his!

Whether in terms of absorption method or quantity, Sir Heavenink, Tuo Shishan, and Fan Shishuang were hardly consequential. Even Sir Firedark and the Captain only had the five opened gates and Heavenly Dog. Were there nothing to compare to, it might not have been a big deal. But now it was obvious who was superior and who was inferior.

Xu Qing was seated atop a moon, as if he were the lord of that moon!

Next… both Tuo Shishan and Sir Heavenink began to pay attention with divine will, despite being in the middle of breakthroughs. Fan Shishuang was also absorbing the supreme yin power, but now he was struggling to breathe steadily as Xu Qing’s actions filled him with both alarm and helplessness.

Even the Captain was getting anxious. For one thing, he really needed that supreme yin power. What was more, he was increasingly getting the sensation that his little Junior Brother was stealing the limelight on this big job…. He’d had this same feeling before in the past…. It really felt like a huge challenge to his dignity as the Eldest Brother.

Therefore, he shouted, “Little Junior Brother! My dear, beloved little Junior Brother…. Can you leave a bit for me?”

Even with the Heavenly Dog, the Captain wasn’t able to absorb any of the supreme yin power now. Upon realizing that yelling at Xu Qing wasn’t going to be enough, he gritted his teeth, stood, and raced toward the barrier. As he neared, he began spitting out so much blood it hardly seemed like his own. As it splashed on the barrier, it stained it red and also froze it.

The Heavenly Dog also lunged forward and snapped at the barrier. A crashing sound rang out as the barrier collapsed. The Captain immediately leaped toward the moon.

That said, his original plans hadn’t included this action, and his lack of preparation meant that he was hit with a force of rejection. No matter how many times he got close, he was always pushed away as if by violent storm winds.

“Little Junior Brother….” he yelled.

Xu Qing’s eyes remained closed as he focused on absorbing the supreme yin power. However, he did wave his hand in the Captain’s direction.

It was as if the Captain was an anchor, with an invisible cord linking the two of them. With that help, the Captain struggled against the force of rejection. Flapping like a kite in the wind, he stayed in place and started absorbing supreme yin power. What was more, in the hopes of restoring some of his dignity as the Eldest Brother, he started explaining some things to Xu Qing.

“You listen to me, little Ah Qing. Out of all the people here today, I was the first to get to the emperor’s mausoleum. And I finished setting some things up even before the others arrived. This supreme yin power is nothing. An appetizer, really. When the moment comes, you’ll understand why your Eldest Brother actually came here. The main course is still on the way!”

Xu Qing nodded as his violet moon trove gate kept absorbing the supreme yin power, which caused the heavenly dao aura to grow stronger. As the third trove gate cracked open even more, the power of frigid coldness seethed inside. The embryonic netherglimmer heavenly dao also became clearer and clearer. At the same time, Xu Qing’s aura grew stronger!

As he and the Captain shared the moon, it continued on its path, and the sun began to approach again.

As a result of their efforts, Fan Shishuang wasn’t accomplishing anything. Finally, he gritted his teeth, performed an incantation gesture, and summoned a host of illusory flying swords. The swords slammed into the planet’s invisible barriers. All of them focused on the same spot. He wasn’t trying to break down the barrier, just punch a small hole in it! That would keep him safe but would give him the ability to more easily absorb supreme yin power from outside. Although… it wouldn’t be much. The upside was that Xu Qing got late enough a start that Fan Shishuang had already absorbed nearly the amount he needed.

In contrast, Sir Heavenink and Tuo Shishan were feeling quite relieved. After all, they needed supreme yang power, not supreme yin power….

However, their relief didn’t last for very long. Sir Firedark frowned and snorted coldly as she stepped to the barrier, lifted her right hand, and used the Undying Emperor’s Fist to unleash a blow. The entire barrier shattered into countless pieces. There was no limit to how domineering that fist strike could be. She stepped off the planet in the direction of the incoming sun. However, similar to the Captain, she hadn’t actually come prepared to do something like this.

As a result, the rejection power of the sun pushed her away from it.

But Sir Firedark was Sir Firedark. Despite being pushed away, when she looked at the two people she hated most, she refused to believe that she couldn’t match up to them. Despite the terrifying nature of the rejection force, she advanced with each step she took and each blow she launched. Her fist was both undying and domineering. That was her dao. Advance courageously. Tolerate no resistance!

Deafening booms rang out as, to the shock of Sir Heavenink and Tuo Shishan, she got closer and closer to the sun. Next, she unveiled her five trove gates and her void soil. As her major world appeared, she used the pressure they created… to sit down on the sun.

The Captain looked over with a sour feeling in his heart.

This Sir Firedark is really impressive. Not quite on the same level as me. But maybe the same as little Junior Brother.

Sir Firedark’s actions led to some other developments.

Sir Heavenink wasn’t willing to be outdone, so he took out a bottle made of white jade, opened it, and blew onto the mouth of the bottle. A stream of starlight emerged from the bottle. It wasn’t like the other starlight in the surrounding world. As soon as Sir Heavenink blew on it, the starlight shot toward the barrier. It pierced the barrier, creating a vortex that sucked in any nearby supreme yang power. He was doing the same thing as Tuo Shishan.

They couldn’t do anything about the competition between Xu Qing and Sir Firedark, nor did they want to cause trouble for either of them. Therefore, their best option was to try to get whatever extra scraps of power were floating around.

After all, both had the same goal: to become a Smoldering God.

It would only be possible to continue exploring the emperor’s tomb if they first rose to a higher level. That was what they were all apparently waiting for.

Sir Heavenink, Tuo Shishan, and Fan Shishuang all wanted to become Smoldering Gods. Therefore, they had to wait for the right opportunity to transcend. They had to wait to break open the void soil, make illusion reality, and illuminate their major worlds.

And the Captain was waiting for the opportunity he had mentioned. No one knew exactly what his goal was. However, Xu Qing had been on enough big jobs with the Captain to be able to speculate what it might be.

Sir Firedark was also waiting. There was no way her goal was simply to become a Smoldering God. What the other Firemoon cultivators would consider a destined opportunity in the emperor’s tomb, Sir Firedark wouldn’t consider very important.

As a result, Xu Qing came to the conclusion that everyone else here could be categorized into three levels.

As for him, he was also waiting. He was waiting for his violet moon god trove’s heavenly dao to complete. He was waiting for the same thing to happen to his Emperor’s Sword trove. He wanted all five trove gates to open so he could step into Void Returning. He was also waiting to see what happened with the Captain.

In that manner, time passed.

As the sun and moon orbited, the auras of Sir Heavenink, Tuo Shishan, and Fan Shishuang grew more majestic, and the might of a Smoldering God built up on them. The Captain’s eyes gleamed with mysterious light as something truly crazy grew within him.

Sir Firedark opened her eyes as she sat there on the sun. She wasn’t looking up, but rather, at the planet beneath her.

As for Xu Qing… his violet moon god trove finally emitted a deafening rumbling sound as the violet moon trove gate completely opened! On the other side of the gate was the supreme yin netherglimmer, with a frigid energy that could freeze time itself. Of his five gates, three were open!

Xu Qing’s aura skyrocketed, surpassing anything from before. At the same time, coldness spread to fill him from head to toe, making it seem like he was connected to the moon.

But then…!

Something happened below. There, where the immortal emperor’s coffin rested on an altar in the middle of a patchwork of skin, surrounded by an umbrella, bells, and nine huge starlight dragons…. The sound of a heartbeat rang out.

Thump-thump!

It was louder than thunder, such that even the expression ‘heaven-rending, earth-crushing’ couldn’t quite describe it. It was because heaven had already been filled with the filth of gods, and the lands had degenerated into a kingdom of gods. As a result, this heartbeat sounded like a god. If an immortal domain is filled with filth, then the corpse of the emperor… would have nowhere to run to.

The sound shook the emperor’s mausoleum, filling the tomb, spreading out across the planet, and eventually echoing the length and breadth of the god domain. This… was what Sir Firedark and the others had been waiting for!

Without the slightest hesitation, Sir Firedark shot off of the sun and toward… the gigantic, luxurious, and holy golden umbrella that covered more than half of the lands below! That umbrella was the precious treasure of an immortal emperor. And she wanted it… to be the heaven of her major world! She wanted something to surpass anything and everything from history. She wanted to have a supersized major world!

In a world with lands made from void soil, it would normally be difficult to find a corresponding heaven. This was Sir Firedark’s goal.

She even managed to suppress her hatred and killing intent for the Captain. Screaming forth, she unleashed the Undying Emperor’s Fist to blast herself past one of the starlight dragons that charged toward her. The starlight dragon exploded. Sir Firedark coughed up blood. But that didn’t slow her down. In the blink of an eye, she landed on the umbrella.

The moment she sat down, her five trove gates appeared, void soil descended, and she started assimilating the umbrella. It would serve as her Smoldering God canopy, and would allow her to step right to the peak. Her daring ambition completely surpassed that of Sir Heavenink and the other Firemoons. And there was no one to stop her. It took very little time for her to start fusing with the seven-colored umbrella. Her aura immediately began to rise.

From a distance, it was like a flower of the gods blooming in the emperor’s mausoleum. The flower contained the sun and moon plus 108 planets. Beneath the flower were seven-colored roots… which connected to the coffin, where the heartbeat was coming from!

It was impossible to say whose handiwork had produced the god in that coffin. It was impossible to say who had placed it there as a backup option, or to gain new life….

Right now, Sir Firedark wanted to reach the peak. And that didn’t mean Smoldering God… it meant actual god!