Chapter 1014: A Fair Trade
“The Ancient Spirits,” Grandpa Ninth said calmly, looking around at the world of death with its dusky dome of heaven. “Before the time of Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity, this species conquered Revered Ancient! As a people, they were known for being skilled at warfare. They are born as snakes, but can take human form later, whereupon they live life accompanied by dragons and snakes. Ultimately, they can master the Ancient Spirit Battle Body. Back when they ruled Revered Ancient, they dominated all other species, forcing them to bow their heads. At that time, humans were weak and fragmented.”
As Grandpa Ninth strode forward, his footfalls caused the dome of heaven to tremble, and sent rumbling sounds through the lands. Countless deceased souls fled, and the zombies in the mire trembled. Grandpa Ninth surged with energy as he moved forward, and it contained something that didn’t belong to Revered Ancient, just barely discernible. And it seemed to be calling out to something from the outside world.
Xu Qing and Erniu followed him.
Erniu glanced around curiously, and would occasionally squat down and scoop up some soil, or reach out to grab a deceased soul. His eyes shone more and more brightly with every moment that passed. He was obviously very interested in this place.
Meanwhile, Xu Qing had an attentive look on his face as he paid close attention to Grandpa Ninth. Although he was somewhat familiar with the Ancient Spirit people, he also knew that considering Grandpa Ninth had lived before the time of Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity, he obviously had a much better understanding of historical matters like this.
What was most interesting was that strange aura from Grandpa Ninth that didn’t seem to conform to Revered Ancient. In the past, Xu Qing wouldn’t have had any idea what to make of it. But considering that his right eye contained the authority of erasure, he was now able to see karma. Because of that, he could tell that this aura coming off Grandpa Ninth was karma from beyond the heavens.
Eldest Brother once said that Senior Li Zihua was on the way back here.... Considering that, I bet Grandpa Ninth’s aura is guiding him here.
Meanwhile, Grandpa Ninth continued speaking. “Although the Ancient Spirits were strong, their period of rule was like a flash in the pan. It was only a short time after reaching the highest of heights that their emperor went crazy. He converged the power of his species, and their destiny aura, to conspire against the heavenly daos.
“He tried to possess the heavenly daos. To combine them all into one body and make himself the most powerful, and only, heavenly dao in Revered Ancient.
“Had he succeeded, then his will would have been the will of Revered Ancient. His dao would have been the dao of Revered Ancient. He would also have surpassed the founders of Revered Ancient, those who originally created the heavenly daos. The Summer Immortals. And then, the fate of Revered Ancient would have been centered on one single person.
“The Ancient Spirits would have ruled Revered Ancient forever, and would have suppressed all other species for all eternity. And the emperor would have been able to break through that bottleneck of the Summer Immortal and walk his own path of immortals.”
There was a gleam of admiration in Grandpa Ninth’s eyes, although it wasn’t because he looked up to Emperor Ancient Spirit personally, but rather, because he appreciated the ambitions and choices of a powerful expert.
“Someone like that—” Grandpa Ninth suddenly stopped in place and looked out into the void, his eyes flashing with the desire to do battle. Lifting his right hand, he clenched his hand into a fist in the direction of the canopy of heaven.
Meanwhile, Erniu yanked a zombie out of the ground and shoved it into his bag of holding. When he noticed how seriously Xu Qing was taking everything, he cleared his throat and tried to look as much as possible like an erudite Eldest Brother.
Imitating Grandpa Ninth as best he could, he coolly said, “It was essentially treasonous! That’s why the chances of success were so remote. In the end, Emperor Ancient Spirit failed, and suffered a backlash from all of Revered Ancients’ heavenly daos. The blood of his entire species was cursed.
“At the most critical moment, Emperor Ancient Spirit used his terrifying cultivation base to bring the majority of his people into his major world in the hopes of protecting them from the catastrophe. But all that did was make it even more difficult for them to avoid the curse.
“Then the emperor perished, and his major world withered. It became a world of death. All of the Ancient Spirits inside of it died. Of course, the end result of the curse was more terrifying than people just being killed.
“All in all, that curse came from all of the heavenly daos of Revered Ancient. Because of it, the dead Ancient Spirits turned into deceased souls that wailed in agony both day and night. The withered and dead world became the Deceased Kingdom of Ancient Spirits, which ended up buried forever in the subterranean depths of the Revered Ancient mainland, and where the torment of the curse was never-ending.
“At the same time—”
Before Erniu could show off any more of his dazzling knowledge, Grandpa Ninth reached up toward the dome of heaven. As he did, the sky trembled, and thunder boomed. Thousands upon thousands of lightning bolts shot toward Grandpa Ninth, illuminating the entire world. They converged within his palm to form a huge sword made of lightning. The arrival of that sword caused wild colors to flash in heaven and earth. A powerful aura and terrifying fluctuations erupted from Grandpa Ninth. And then... he slashed the sword toward the sky.
Boundless sword energy raged. An angry howl ripped through the air as the sword slashed through the sky, opening up a massive rift. Wind poured out of the rift, blowing in all directions. On the other side of the rift, Xu Qing saw something familiar.
It was an imperial palace. In the depths of the imperial palace was a mountain made of flesh, above the summit of which was a huge eye. The eye was open, and it shone with golden light as it looked angrily out of the rift.
Hē was looking at Xu Qing, whom hē had not seen in a long time. However, what hē was most interested in seemed to be that heaven-sundering, earth-ripping sword, and the baleful figure who wielded it. Hē recognized that person! Back in the fight with Crimson Mother, hē had noticed Li Zihua’s ninth son. And during that fight, the ninth son’s astonishing sword moves had been moving even to hīm.
Before Xu Qing was able to say anything, Grandpa Ninth stepped through the rift and appeared right above Emperor Ancient Spirit’s huge eye.
“What incredible gall!” Emperor Ancient Spirit shouted angrily, hīs voice thrumming with the natural laws of the dead world.
All of a sudden, the world’s dark sky grew darker, and the lands quaked even more violently. Countless deceased souls and countless zombies began to gather. The Yellow Springs river appeared. This was the will of this entire world! And it was being guided by Emperor Ancient Spirit.
But there was more. There was something akin to cultivator authority and godly authority, flickering within Emperor Ancient Spirit’s eye. It was an ability unique to hīm. Because of it, an enemy hē looked at would have light injuries turn into serious ones. And serious injuries would become fatal and deadly. What was more, within the Ancient Spirit world, there were eyes above ninety-eight other imperial palaces. All of them opened, looked at Grandpa Ninth, and unleashed their power.
Grandpa Ninth's expression didn’t change at all. His gaze remained cold. However, his fighting spirit seemed to increase, as if he were getting ready for battle. Things were really heating up, and it seemed like fighting really might break out at any moment.
That was when Xu Qing stepped out of the rift. Flanking Ninth Sib, he respectfully said, “Grandpa Ninth, allow me to mediate here. His Majesty Ancient Spirit isn’t a stranger. There’s no need for conflict.”
Grandpa Ninth glanced at Xu Qing and frowned. But in the end, he grudgingly agreed.
Having placated Grandpa Ninth, Xu Qing turned to Emperor Ancient Spirit and bowed. “Well met, Your Majesty!”
Emperor Ancient Spirit’s heart was pounding, and countless curses were building up within hīm. Hē wanted to let loose an enraged roar. But after looking at Xu Qing, that rage turned into pure astonishment.
His fleshly body....
All of Emperor Ancient Spirit’s pupils constricted. Previously, hīs attention had been focused on Ninth Sib. But after looking at Xu Qing, hē noticed his terrifying fleshly body.
“Senior,” Xu Qing continued, “I happened upon a destined opportunity a while back, and transformed my fleshly body. I can explain all the details to Your Majesty later. Today, I came for those streams of imperial energy.”
Xu Qing was already eyeing the thirteen dragons made from the destiny aura of the Ancient Spirits.
“You can’t have them!” Emperor Ancient Spirit said, glaring.
Xu Qing’s expression didn’t change. Actually, he wasn’t surprised at all that Emperor Ancient Spirit had reacted in this way. After all, he had negotiated with hīm on occasions before, and on the way here, he had come up with a plan along with Erniu and Grandpa Ninth.
Smiling, he softly said, “Your Majesty, I came here on a mission for the Empress Summer Departure of humankind. Although Your Majesty is in seclusion here, you must have sensed the fluctuations of our empress becoming an Altar God.”
As he spoke, he released some of the destiny aura of humankind, causing that power to surround him. He also waved his hand, causing his clothing to change to that of the official garment of the imperial tutor.
Then, Erniu played his appointed role as he loudly said, “The person you’re speaking to is King Skycrusher, who is also the tutor of the crown prince, officially appointed by the empress of humankind! He’s also the Grand Darkheaven, duly ordained by the three gods of the Firemoon Darkheaven people!”
All of a sudden, ragged breathing echoed through the dead world, all while Emperor Ancient Spirit’s eye trembled imperceptibly. Although hē hadn’t personally witnessed the empress reach godly ascension, hē had felt it happen. It would be impossible for hīm to claim that the development didn’t frighten hīm. That said, hē still felt defiance in hīs heart. And the feeling of having hīs dignity challenged prompted hīm to say something in response.
Xu Qing glanced at Erniu.
Erniu smiled, looked at Emperor Ancient Spirit’s eye, and loudly continued, “Little Junior Brother, I know you and Emperor Ancient Spirit are old friends. That’s why you don’t want to act like a bully. Obviously, you could always call on help from our venerable Master. With his Summer Immortal personhood, he was easily able to reshape your fleshly body, so it only makes sense that he could crush this entire world with a single palm strike!”
Emperor Ancient Spirit was stricken to the core with shock.
Around this time, Grandpa Ninth, who hadn’t said anything for a while, impatiently said, “This is a waste of breath. My father is almost back. If you don’t give us the imperial energy, I’ll take it with force. You’ll end up wounded, and then, on the day my father returns, he’ll kill you so thoroughly you’ll never be resurrected or reincarnated.”
Grandpa Ninth released a burst of the aura from beyond the heavens, and it was very strong. In fact, it formed the vague image of a blood-red planet speeding through a starry sky. The sense of pressure it emanated caused Emperor Ancient Spirit to reel even more dramatically.
However, the dignity hē had once possessed made it impossible for hīm to accept being blackmailed. Hē started to breathe even more heavily.
Xu Qing could see that the crucial moment had arrived. Taking a few steps forward, he clasped hands and bowed to the huge eye.
“Your Majesty, I wasn’t able to finish what I was going to say earlier. I'm not just asking you to give me thirteen streams of imperial energy. I want to offer something as a trade.”
With that, Xu Qing waved his hand and produced the marionette from the Spiritsound forbidden ground. He offered it to Emperor Ancient Spirit.
“This spirit was the lord of a forbidden ground. I hope Your Majesty enjoys it.”
He placed it on the stairs leading up to Emperor Ancient Spirit.
Emperor Ancient Spirit didn’t say anything. Inside, hē was cursing up a storm. It was obvious to hīm that these three people had planned this entire performance. However... whether it was Empress Summer Departure, Xu Qing’s Master, or Li Zihua, hē knew hē couldn’t afford to provoke any of them. What was more, hē had hīs own secret plan underway, and if an Altar God showed up, it could all be revealed and ruined. Emperor Ancient Spirit struggled to suppress hīs irritation. Glaring at Xu Qing, hē sent out a gravitational force that sucked the marionette over to hīm .
Crunching sounds rang out as hē vented all of hīs frustration into the chewing. After a dozen or so breaths of time passed, the thirteen streams of destiny aura roared and shot toward Xu Qing, Erniu, and Grandpa Ninth.
Along with them came an irritated growl from Emperor Ancient Spirit.
“Get out of here! And never come back!”