Chapter 1015: A Summons from the Empress
Although Emperor Ancient Spirit had been hungry in recent years, it was also for some unknown reason that hē found hīmself being somewhat picky about food. Years ago, hīs eyes would have widened for any type of godliness. After all, that sensation of hunger had been overwhelming, and hē wouldn’t have been picky about anything offered to hīm to devour. It didn’t matter if other people would consider something tasty or not; hē had viewed just about anything and everything as a delicacy. That was why hīs table manners had been so atrocious.
But nowadays... hē wasn't very impressed with this marionette. After all, hīs last meal had consisted of Crimson Mother’s flesh. Compared to Crimson Mother, this marionette was about as fleshy as a mosquito.
And thus, Emperor Ancient Spirit had mixed feelings about Xu Qing. It was true hē had angrily told him not to come back, and was howling furiously inside. But at the same time, if Xu Qing really didn’t come back, hē would actually miss him.
Such complex feelings were a source of irritation to Emperor Ancient Spirit. But hē had already spoken. As the Ancient Spirit world trembled, the emperor summoned a huge vortex right above Xu Qing, Erniu, and Grandpa Ninth. It immediately exerted a huge gravitational force, which tugged them toward the outside world.
Grandpa Ninth didn’t bicker about being unceremoniously kicked out. He took the thirteen streams of imperial energy and wordlessly entered the vortex. Erniu also didn’t mind being ejected. He was actually used to that sort of thing.... Licking his lips, he shot into the vortex.
Xu Qing acted as courteously as always and made sure to bow to Emperor Ancient Spirit before leaving.
“In that case, I won’t bother you any further, Your Majesty. I wish you all the luck in emerging from seclusion as soon as possible.”
It didn’t matter whether Xu Qing was being sincere or not. When Emperor Ancient Spirit heard his words, hē felt a bit irritated, but at the same time, had to admit that Xu Qing had been very polite from beginning to end. It was a clear contrast to the hotheaded Grandpa Ninth, who had drawn his sword hardly a moment after arriving, or that shifty idiot who would make anyone clutch instinctively at their wallet.
“Your Majesty,” Xu Qing added, “the command medallion you gave me stopped working. Senior, if I happen to run into any good gifts in the future, I sadly won’t have any way to send them to you....”
Considering how useful Emperor Ancient Spirit could be in a fight, Xu Qing was loath to lose hīm as an asset.
After a moment of silence, Emperor Ancient Spirit snorted coldly. The gravitational force from the vortex surged, and the force of expulsion from the surrounding world grew more intense.
Xu Qing was a bit disappointed, but didn’t force the issue, and just shot toward the vortex. However, just before he disappeared inside, a command medallion flew over to him. Rumbling sounds echoed out, and the vortex vanished.
The entire world became peaceful and quiet.
The huge eye closed.
***
Emperor Ancient Spirit had ultimately delivered a command medallion. However, what hē hadn’t noticed was that among all the countless skeletal zombies stuck in the muck of the world, there was one whose eyes glittered with blue light. And the bones within that skeletal zombie contained a blue worm.
The worm pulsed with the invisibility power of the Wordless words, which completely covered its aura.
Naturally, it had been left behind by Erniu. In the coming days, that little zombie would slowly start exploring the world and finding whatever treasures it could sniff out....
***
About half a day later, in the sky above the Wood Spirit ancestral land, Grandpa Ninth appeared with Ling’er. After sending the thirteen streams of imperial energy into her, the bloodline curse inside of her was completely suppressed. For the time being, she wouldn't suffer any ill effects. Her cultivation base also received a boost, and she began the transition into Spirit Trove.
Because of her special Ancient Spirit constitution, there was no bottleneck for her to deal with for this cultivation base upgrade. However, she needed to go through a period of deep sleep.
Considering that smoke from the flames of war was spreading over Revered Ancient, the Moonrite Region was the safest place for her now. By now, all the major species in Revered Ancient knew that Li Zihua was on the way, which was why none of the holy lands had caused trouble for Moonrite. Therefore, Ling’er would go back to the Moonrite Region to go into seclusion.
Xu Qing had considered going along. But an imperial edict had come from the capital, and that changed his mind.
“Imperial Tutor Xu Qing is hereby summoned to the imperial capital; furthermore, he will muster the armies of Sea-Sealing County, divide them into three divisions, and dispatch them to the capital one after the other.”
Whether because of the past history of humankind, or because of the empress’s actions when Xu Qing went missing, the advent of the holy lands had brought small-scale war to locations through Firemoon and human territory.
Therefore, Xu Qing had no reason to refuse this summons. After sending Grandpa Ninth off, he turned to his Eldest Brother.
Erniu didn’t care about what Grandpa Ninth did, nor was he particularly concerned about the imperial edict. All of his attention was focused on the worm he had left behind in the Ancient Spirit world. In fact, his eyes were currently shining.
“I can sense it!” he said excitedly. “Hahaha!”
It didn’t take a lot of pondering for Xu Qing to realize what his Eldest Brother had done in Emperor Ancient Spirit’s world. Therefore, he offered a bit of advice. “Eldest Brother, I've been to Emperor Ancient Spirit’s dead world quite a few times.”
Erniu looked at him.
“Before, I never sensed anything unusual. But this time... perhaps it’s because of the changes to my cultivation base, or maybe it’s my fleshly body. But either way, something felt strange.” Xu Qing thought about it for a moment. “It felt like the place we visited now... wasn’t the same place I visited in the past! Actually, now that I think about it, I feel like I had the same sensation each time I went there.
“In other words... I think there isn’t just one Ancient Spirit world! And maybe there isn’t just one of those huge snakes. What's more, in the fog above the Spirit Abyss, my god perception picked up a very ancient aura and gaze. Something deeply malevolent.”
Xu Qing didn’t usually talk so much. But he was worried that, considering his Eldest Brother didn’t have any good intelligence reports, his crazy behavior would get him in trouble. And if he got into trouble, he could go from ‘being crazy’ to ‘acting suicidal.’
Erniu looked thoughtful. “That actually makes sense. If I was Emperor Ancient Spirit, I wouldn’t just have one world. I would have a lot of them, with fake ones and real ones mixed together to confuse people. Alright. I’ll definitely be careful with that worm I left behind.
“But don’t worry, little Ah Qing. There’s definitely treasure back there. Although I don't know exactly what it is, I can sense it.... And that treasure is absolutely going to be useful for the two of us! I just need to find it....”
Erniu instinctively licked his lips.
Xu Qing nodded. He knew that, though his Eldest Brother was crazy, he wasn’t stupid. Therefore, he didn’t say anything else. Instead, he turned his gaze in the direction of Sea-Sealing County.
Using the Sageheaven Pagoda to get back to the imperial capital of humankind wouldn’t be as fast as using teleportation portals. After all, it would involve crossing multiple regions. But there was something he needed to take care of in Sea-Sealing County before going back to the capital.
He didn’t stay in Wood Spirit territory. After saying his farewells, he sent the pagoda speeding toward Sea-Sealing County.
His return was a monumental affair there. Obviously, he had quite a few old friends to catch up with. There was Marquis Yao, Qingqin, his friends in the Swordsage Palace, and also Yao Yunhui....
He could use a teleportation portal there for the journey to the capital, but it would require time to prepare, and would also need to be thoroughly inspected. Sea-Sealing County wouldn’t tolerate even the slightest slip-up when it came to Xu Qing teleporting somewhere.
Therefore, he and Erniu planned to stay the night in Sea-Sealing County. For the first half of the night, a host of county representatives made various reports to Xu Qing. After seeing everyone out, Xu Qing left the county palace.
When he reappeared, he was in the spot where the Corrections Division had once existed. Entering the chasm made Xu Qing feel like he was going back in time to when he was a jailer. He kept envisioning those times, and the person he found himself thinking about the most was Palace Lord Kong Liangxiu.
Eventually, he reached the bottom, where Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity had once kept his palace of operations. That was also where the fish bone god had lived before perishing. Sea-Sealing County now controlled all of it, and had renovated the entire place into a periphery palace.
Some places had been cleaned out, for example, the locations with immortal skills. Those immortal skills were now part of Sea-Sealing County’s reserve powers.
There were other areas that were now taboo locations, for instance, that phoenix palace. As it happened, that was where Xu Qing was going. Eventually, he found himself in front of that very palace. It had once been an extremely mysterious place. Back when he first discovered it, he lost some of his memories. Later, he came to find out that it was where the daughter of Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity had fallen. It was also where the Plumdark Evergreen Lamp was.
Most important... it was where Plumdark was currently accepting her legacy.
As Xu Qing stood outside the palace, he realized he could sense Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior’s aura.
An instant later, the patriarch sent his iron skewer flying out of the roof tiles. Once in the open, Master Freespirit appeared as a projection. He kowtowed to Xu Qing.
“Greetings, Milord!” he said excitedly.
Beneath Xu Qing’s feet, Little Shadow pulsed, and a host of eyes opened as it looked at its old enemy.
“How is Plumdark doing?” Xu Qing said calmly.
“Milord,” he answered smoothly, “after going into the palace, the lady of the house has not emerged. Your humble servant has been standing guard the entire time. I haven’t let anyone even come close. Furthermore, before going inside, the lady said that if you arrived, Milord, you shouldn’t go inside. Give her some time. Whatever troubles she’s dealing with, she’ll handle them on her own. When she succeeds, she’ll come to find you.”[1]
Xu Qing looked at the palace. He couldn’t send his god perception very far inside, but he could sense that the fluctuations were stable. Retracting his god perception, he sat down, closed his eyes, and began to meditate.
The night passed.
Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior solemnly stood watch the entire night. Little Shadow was also completely on guard. Both of them were coming up with numerous ideas about ways to deal with the other in the coming days. That said, when they looked at each other, each had a different facial expression. Little Shadow seemed antagonistic, while Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior was smiling.
Eventually, night faded from the sky over Sea-Sealing County. The sun rose. Xu Qing opened his eyes and looked at the phoenix palace for a short time. Then he left.
About an hour later, various representatives from Sea-Sealing County saw him off. The teleportation portal rumbled to life, and Xu Qing and Erniu disappeared.
1. The form of address Master Freespirit uses for Xu Qing and Plumdark indicates that he views them as being his “lord and lady.” Another more lengthy definition of the address for Plumdark is: “form of address used by the servants when speaking to the principal wife.” ☜