Chapter 1013: A New Ruler in Spiritsound
The sun rose into the sky, lighting up the night, illuminating the Spiritsound forbidden ground, filling everything with brightness and heat. Though it was not the same as a real sun, and could not nourish all living beings in Revered Ancient, as far as this forbidden ground was concerned, the rising sun that was Xu Qing was more than enough to suppress everything that was within his gaze.
Within that gaze was the forbidden ground, which was currently rumbling loudly. And the river water within it was seething violently. Overhead, the dome of heaven rippled and distorted, all while the ground underfoot blurred dramatically.
The moment the sun rose, Xu Qing was the lord of this place. The mutagen native to the Spiritsound forbidden ground tried to struggle. Fluctuations rolled out, and endless howls filled the air, including those from the marionette with the broken flute.
The marionette tumbled backward, eyes full of madness, shrieking and howling in defiance. He wanted to fight back, but the light from the immense sun made that completely impossible. At that critical moment, he put the broken flute to his mouth and blew, causing an ear-piercing sound to pierce through the air. That was his attempt to fight Xu Qing.
It was somewhat effective in dimming the light of the sun. However, it only lasted for an instant before everything went back to normal. And all that was left behind was despair. The marionette’s mind was muddled, but right now, he gained a moment of clarity, and his face became a mask of bitterness. He knew that his success came from this forbidden ground, but he also knew that this forbidden ground had limited his growth.
As the marionette wallowed in bitterness, the flute music shattered. The flute trembled, and several horrifying cracks spread out through it. Loud cracking sounds rang out from the marionette as a network of cracks spread out over him as well.
Immortal light flowed out, shining on everything from the sun that was Xu Qing. Then, most of the marionette crumbled into fragments, while the portion that remained was smashed out of the air by the pressure. A boom rang out as he landed right on the spot where the enormous tree had stood. He struggled mightily, but it was to no avail, as if a gigantic invisible mountain was on top of it. He couldn’t even rise to his feet.
The mutagen in the forbidden ground was suppressed along with the marionette. The river went still and all living things prostrated.
Only Xu Qing was still in motion, striding over the horizon until he was right above the marionette. He looked down at him.
The marionette could barely look up. When he opened his mouth, nothing came out except the rough swoosh of wood shavings scraping against each other. Then the clarity in his eyes faded away, replaced again with chaos and madness as he glared at Xu Qing.
Voice calm, Xu Qing explained the truths he had come to realize. “When you realized that you couldn’t rely on the forbidden ground to grow stronger, and that you would be forced to wait for the gaze of the broken face, you got impatient. You decided that you might as well take a risk and try to free yourself from the restrictions of the forbidden ground.
“Thus, you possessed Li Zimei. At the same time, you paid a steep price. The process caused your mind to flee, resulting in your devolution into chaos.”
The marionette responded by struggling to free himself.
Xu Qing shook his head and looked over to the unconscious Li Zimei and Qing Qiu.
Qing Qiu seemed to be doing well. Xu Qing had arrived with time to spare to help her. Though she had lost some life force, her foundation had not collapsed, and she could be saved.
But Li Zimei... was struggling to breathe. Her soul had suffered immense damage, and looked like it was about to rot away completely. Plus, Lord Spiritsound had halfway succeeded in possessing her.... That possession was a tribulation, but at the same time, had kept her alive. If Lord Spiritsound died, then the half that had been possessed would disappear, and Li Zimei’s spiritual souls would leave, and her physical souls would dissipate.
If this situation had occurred before Xu Qing faced Floating Fiend, then he wouldn’t have been able to reverse things. Without help from Empress Summer Departure or his Master, he would have been forced to just watch Li Zimei die, unable to change her fate.
But right now, he did have a way to change things.
The dao lineament of the authority of erasure in Xu Qing’s right eye glittered. At the same time, he waved his right hand and pulled a needle out of nowhere. It glittered with frigid light. That needle looked completely ordinary in nature. But the moment it appeared, a host of projections appeared around it.
That needle came from Floating Fiend’s son. In the Vivifiend holy land, it had been a legacy treasure handed down by a peak Grand Emperor. And it had the power to stitch karma. It could be used on its own, although the results would be crude. However, when it was combined with the authority of erasure, the results could be considered perfect.
Because of the authority of erasure, Xu Qing’s view of the world was completely different from that of an ordinary person. He could see the numerous threads of karma. Earlier, he had severed the threads connecting Li Zimei to the marionette. However, that was a temporary thing. Those threads hadn’t ceased to exist. And now, they were already forming anew. If they were permanently and completely severed, then given Li Zimei’s weakened state, she would die immediately.
Therefore, before preparing to sever Li Zimei’s karma, he needed to connect her karma to something else that would keep her alive. And the best karma available was right in front of him. Xu Qing’s gaze took in the forbidden ground around him.
After some thought, he waved his hand, and the needle glittered as it shot toward Li Zimei, then began whizzing about her as the stitching began. It was taking the karma between Li Zimei and the forbidden ground and stitching it tight.
At the same time, Xu Qing called out a pair of rusty shears, which appeared above the marionette’s head. Then, Xu Qing used his authority of erasure to control it, causing it to snap closed loudly.
A loud snipping sound rang out. The karma between the forbidden ground and the marionette was thus severed. The marionette spasmed and released a howl of anguish.
However, given the level of Xu Qing’s cultivation base, that severing couldn’t be absolute. It was only temporary. The severed threads immediately tried to start connecting again. Thankfully, the needle was already stitching the karma threads together between Li Zimei and the forbidden ground. As the needle sped around, it caused a host of afterimages to build up.
The process repeated several times over. He continued to sever karma threads with the shears, while simultaneously stitching Li Zimei and the forbidden ground together with karma threads. Eventually, they were inextricably linked, at which point, the marionette’s karma had been permanently and completely severed!
The marionette shivered from head to toe as more cracks spread out over him. Black blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he fell unconscious. The broken flute hanging from his neck faded into nothing.
Meanwhile, Li Zimei’s aura skyrocketed as she became one with the forbidden ground. The extreme damage to her soul also began to heal.
Branches snaked out, spreading in all directions, and surrounding Li Zimei, converging to form an enormous tree. Li Zimei was sucked into the tree until only her face was visible. However, this time, her face wasn’t twisted and distorted. It was tranquil.
In the spot where her chest was, there appeared a broken flute. That was the symbol of rulership over the Spiritsound forbidden ground.
At a glance, Xu Qing could tell that though Li Zimei was currently asleep, once she woke up, she would become... the new ruler of Spiritsound. She would be Lady Spiritsound.
“Li Zimei, I hope you do really well in life. Forever. Always.”
He was returning the same well wishes to Li Zimei that she had given to him years ago.
When the words reached Li Zimei’s ears, she shivered slightly despite being asleep. Then her eyelashes fluttered, and though she couldn’t open her eyes, tears leaked down her cheeks and onto the ground. Perhaps when she woke up, the spot where the tears had landed would be full of little flowers that would preserve the memories of this moment forever.
Xu Qing left. He took the sleeping marionette with him to give as a gift to Emperor Ancient Spirit.
With the wave of his hand, Xu Qing pulled Qing Qiu floating up into the air. Along with her, he flew up to the Sageheaven Pagoda floating above.
Once inside, he turned and looked off into the distance. Dozens of figures were approaching from over the horizon.
They included the grand elder from Emperor-Receiving Prefecture’s Swordsage Court, representatives from Sea-Sealing County, as well as top experts from the Church of Departure and the Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society. Even just seeing the Sageheaven Pagoda from a distance provoked reactions of shock from them. Then they spotted Xu Qing. The Swordsage Palace grand elder immediately bowed formally.
“Well met, Your Excellency!”
The people sent from Sea-Sealing County to help out didn’t include anyone Xu Qing recognized. They were nonhuman cultivators who had been recruited recently. Though none of them had ever seen Xu Qing in person, all of them had seen images of him. The moment they laid eyes on him, they reeled in astonishment, and immediately bowed.
The experts from the Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society and Church of Departure also offered greetings. The representatives from the former were visibly nervous, while the latter seemed concerned.
Among the people from the Church of Departure was someone Xu Qing had seen before. He was Qing Qiu’s older brother. Because he was in the Junior generation, he was located in the back of the group. The mere sight of Xu Qing left him shaken to the core. After all, he had heard a lot about Xu Qing from his little sister, and how she had once called him Big Bro Kid. Of course, he knew all about who Xu Qing was, and how important he was. He had heard the stories, which were already becoming legends. But to see him in person now was a totally different matter. He just couldn’t stop thinking about that dirty kid he’d seen so many years ago in the scavenger basecamp. It was impossible to predict what would happen with the passage of time. Back then, he’d hardly spared a passing glance for Xu Qing. But now, didn’t hesitate to incline his head and bow at the waist.[1]
***
Shortly after, Xu Qing went back into the pagoda.
The people from the Church of Departure took Qing Qiu with them, saying that they had a secret magic that would speed up her recovery. They also respectfully told Xu Qing that though the teachings of their Church of Departure had previously been closely related to the holy lands, a new way of thinking had taken hold, and thus, going forward they would steadfastly side with Revered Ancient. As for Qing Qiu, she would become a holy daughter of the Church of Departure in the east of Revered Ancient, and would receive the legacy of their Arbiter of Destiny.
Xu Qing decided to let the Swordsage Palace deal with the problems with the Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society. They would be put on trial, and if it turned out that they had colluded with Lord Spiritsound to set him free, then they would be severely punished.
In formal and respectful fashion, everyone waited as the pagoda glittered with seven-colored light and disappeared over the horizon. Then they went their separate ways, all of them thinking different things.
Night returned to the dome of heaven.
The Spiritsound forbidden ground filled with mutagen once more, and barely discernible flute music drifted out from the huge tree in the middle of it.
***
Two days later, the clouds parted as the Sageheaven Pagoda appeared in the sky above an area filled with massive trees. It was the ancestral land of the Wood Spirits in Sea-Sealing County.
The moment the pagoda appeared, terrifying pressure radiated down. The Wood Spirits’ chief, grand elder, and other powerful experts rose up into the air suspiciously. Then Xu Qing emerged from the pagoda. After him came Grandpa Ninth and Erniu.
When the Wood Spirits’ chief and grand elder saw it was Xu Qing, they breathed sighs of relief and bowed in greeting. After a brief reunion, Xu Qing explained his reason for coming.
When Xu Qing requested access to the subterranean tunnel leading to Emperor Ancient Spirit, the Wood Spirits immediately parted to make a path for him. Soon, Xu Qing and the others were walking down the dark passageway.
Once inside the cool, damp cave, Grandpa Ninth expressionlessly stepped forward. Xu Qing followed him. Erniu kept pace curiously. It was his first time here. Together, the three of them jumped over the edge and shot down.
An aura of death rose from below, cold and sinister. It was accompanied by mysterious cries that one would expect to hear in the Yellow Springs. They were constantly hit with a force of expulsion.
To the three of them, though, none of those things were worth mentioning. All of them exuded pressure that destroyed the aura of death, suppressed the howls, and shattered the force of expulsion.
The bottom grew nearer and nearer.
"What a lovely place, little Ah Qing!” Erniu said, his eyes shining as they sped along. He licked his lips. “However, in terms of karma, this place exists outside of the influence of the heavenly daos. It’s not part of reincarnation. The only thing here is death.... This place has nothing going for it except that it’s the perfect hiding spot! Also... I can smell the aroma of treasure!”
Erniu was going to keep talking, but then they reached the bottom. Upon piercing through it, they entered a world of illusions. There was mist everywhere, making it difficult to see very far.
Of course, Xu Qing was a very different person compared to the last time he was in this place. When he sent his god perception out, he was easily able to identify the path he had walked in the past, as well as the enormous snake.[2]
Erniu just kept smacking his lips in excitement.
Grandpa Ninth looked cold and apathetic, and didn’t say a word.
After an incense stick’s worth of time passed, Xu Qing’s god perception picked up something unusual.
“Hmm?” He stopped moving and turned to look in that direction. He had just noticed a very faint trace of something that glittered briefly. It was something ancient, hidden, and full of malevolence.
“Nothing worth worrying about,” Grandpa Ninth said coolly.
Erniu also looked in that direction, then licked his lips dramatically.
Xu Qing looked away and kept going forward.
Shortly after, they reached their goal. It was a gargantuan, decomposing snake that pulsed with a strong aura of death. Resting atop the head of that dead snake was a major world, blurry and filled with anguished howls that filled Xu Qing’s god perception. His eyes flashed as he vanished. When he reappeared, he, Erniu, and Grandpa Ninth were above the world that existed atop the snake’s head.
“This is the place!” he said, leading the way inside.
Eventually, a heaven-rending, earth-crushing rumbling sound echoed out as they broke through the world barrier.
The aura was familiar. The sky had no sun or moon, only ghostly stars that cast dim light. The ground was made of decomposing flesh. There were no mountains or trees, only endless death.
This was the Ancient Spirit world!
The moment the three of them arrived, a huge eye opened above an imperial palace made of flesh.
“Dammit! What are you doing here again??”
1. We originally met Qing Qiu’s brother inchapter 29 . ☜
2. Xu Qing first went to this world inchapter 468 . He went back inchapter 535 and alsochapter 693 . ☜