Someone who didn’t understand enough about the nuances of human nature and godly nature wouldn’t be able to say something as marvelous and imaginative as Erniu had just said.
In fact, it actually interrupted Xu Qing’s train of thought. Now that his human nature had returned, he was no longer as coldly rational as he had been before. Therefore, Erniu’s words struck him to the core.
After all... an ordinary person would never consider such a possibility. Regardless of how one took the empress’ words, they seemed attentive and full of concern. They seemed to be a reminder that Xu Qing and Erniu didn’t need to do anything risky to further the war effort, and instead, should focus more deeply on cultivation. But Erniu clearly didn’t take hēr words at face value.
All of a sudden, Xu Qing felt compelled to give a bit of a warning. “Eldest Brother, lower your voice... the empress might not have really left yet.”
Looking stunned, Erniu scanned the surroundings. After laughing heartily, he loudly said, “I’m just joking around! Um... so, Feng Lintao’s soul has a legacy in it, eh? Allow me to check and see exactly what legacy it is!”
Erniu whipped out Feng Lintao’s soul and glared at it.
Feng Lintao shivered as he looked up at Erniu. He was only getting more nervous by the second. After all, he was a paranoid person, and people like that often have very fertile imaginations. He was already starting to think of all the heinous methods that someone might use on him to get his legacy. Maybe they would soulsearch him. Maybe they would assimilate his soul. Maybe they would insert his soul into the fleshly body of an animal and then torture him.... Such thoughts became like tidal waves that slammed into him repeatedly. In fact, Erniu had only glared at him for a short time, and hadn’t even said anything, when Feng Lintao took the initiative to start speaking.
“I offer many thanks to you for rescuing me, Fellow Daoist Erniu, oh great benefactor. I, Feng Lintao, have no true way to repay you other than humbly offering to give you my legacy!! My legacy comes from the founder of the Fardark holy land. In other words, he was Grand Emperor Fardark of yesteryear!
“The legacy seems illusory, but the reality is that it’s not completely illusory. It comes in the form of a sealing mark, and if you gain enlightenment of it, it will turn into a dao lineament of authority!”
Feng Lintao didn’t dare to be duplicitous. It wasn’t lost on him that, from the moment he came to Revered Ancient, his every interaction with Erniu and Xu Qing involved extreme bad luck. In fact, he had nearly died numerous times thanks to them. Right now, the only thing that he was concerned with was staying alive.When Erniu saw how straightforward and cooperative Feng Lintao was being, he blinked a few times. Then he started getting suspicious. Looking very malevolent, he narrowed his eyes and started squeezing down on Feng Lintao in soul form.
As pain swept through Feng Lintao, he started to get more anxious. “Wait a second, Fellow Daoist!” he said ingratiatingly. “I haven’t finished yet! In order to activate this legacy, you have to meet three specific requirements.
“The first is that you need to nourish yourself over time with a lot of blood and souls. I’ve accomplished that task already, Fellow Daoist Erniu, so you don’t need to worry about that. I can help you in that regard.
“The second requirement is to enter a state of frigid coldness in which you don’t have even a tiny scrap of heat within you. As far as that goes, I’ve already set the stage for the two of you, Fellow Daoist Erniu. That’s why we’re here in the north of Revered Ancient. We’re surrounded by ice plains, so all you have to do is dig down far enough to find the perfect spot.
“The third requirement is to have some holy fardark nectar. That’s the reason why I went to Fardark County back then. I’m more than happy to help you with the third requirement, Fellow Daoist Erniu. That’s how I’d like to thank the two of you for your assistance.”
There was no denying that Feng Lintao was well-spoken. The more he talked about offering help, the more Erniu felt at ease. It was now becoming apparent that Feng Lintao really was being sincere.
Finally, Erniu cleared his throat. “Set your mind at ease, Little Fengy. I, Lord Ox, am not the type of person who enjoys ruthlessly putting people to death. You did well in this whole thing. You just wait until we finish the main course. We’ll definitely leave behind some leftovers for you.”
With that, Erniu loosened his grip to ease some of Feng Lintao’s pain. He even used his other hand to gently stroke Feng Lintao a bit.
His words and his actions caused a tremor to pass through Feng Lintao. Then he quickly made sure to look as if he were emotionally touched....
At the same time, Xu Qing went over to the unconscious Yue Dong.
Before leaving, the empress had mentioned an immortal skill, which was the same one Xu Qing had personally experienced. Although it didn’t work on him, it was obviously formidable and also very gruish. Not only could it create emotion puppets that could be controlled from afar, but also, it could stir the seven emotions and six sensory pleasures, and use them to create an explosive curse. It could be very damaging and even fatal. An immortal skill like that could naturally be considered extraordinary.
As Xu Qing stood above Yue Dong, his eyes glittered with a seven-colored glow. It was daybreak light, spreading out to make a copy. Unfortunately, the gruish nature of immortal skills was now made fully manifest, as the daybreak light failed to make a copy!
Xu Qing’s eyes glittered faintly as he extended his right index finger and touched Yue Dong’s forehead. A moment later, he frowned. He couldn’t sense any traces of any immortal skills inside of Yue Dong. Either the immortal skill didn’t exist, or it was impossible to find. The only other option seemed to be a soulsearch. However, Xu Qing got the feeling that the soulsearch would fail, and the immortal skill would disappear along with Yue Dong when she died. 𝐫άΝȯ𝐛È𝙎
All of a sudden, Xu Qing found himself thinking of that time he, Master Seventh, and his Eldest Brother went to the Immortal Skills Hall and got those masks. He touched Yue Dong’s face, but felt nothing out of the ordinary.[1]
She’s not wearing a mask. Don’t tell me this Six Thieves Deceive Life immortal skill is actually even more unique than I assumed?
As Xu Qing contemplated the situation, Yue Dong shivered and suddenly opened her eyes. She was now awake. Glaring venomously at Xu Qing, she said, “Are you looking for my immortal skill? You won’t find it! And I’m not going to give it to you!”
She sneered, and the venom in her eyes grew more intense.
“You will give it to me,” Xu Qing said coolly. “Little Shadow?”
The shadow rippled out from beneath his feet, pulsing with fluctuations of excitement. Apparently, it had been waiting for a moment like this for a long time. It was finally its turn to prove its worth. Sparing no effort, Little Shadow spread out. And as Yue Dong looked on in shock, it covered her.
Chewing sounds drifted out. Then Yue Dong started panting for breath. She wanted to fight back, except that Xu Qing tapped her, and she deflated like a popped balloon. Having no strength to fight back, she could do nothing as Little Shadow devoured her shadow. She could sense an incomparably malevolent and cold power spreading through her, filling her mind and body.
Shortly after, Little Shadow’s possession technique worked!
Yue Dong’s breathing evened out, and her facial expression became one of fervor. Kowtowing to Xu Qing, she loudly said, “Greetings, milord!”
The venom in her eyes had been replaced by terror.
Off to the side, Feng Lintao witnessed what was happening, and his eyes went wide. Inside, he was feeling immeasurably lucky. From what he was seeing, this was far worse than when Yue Dong herself took control of other people.
“Talk,” Xu Qing said calmly. “Where’s the immortal skill? And what’s your true objective?”
The fervor on Yue Dong’s face grew more intense, and she seemed to get incredibly excited. However, the terror in her eyes remained. However, she couldn’t stop herself from saying, “Milord, her immortal skill isn’t in her soul, nor in her fleshly body. Instead, it’s in a memory. I have no way to get it out. That memory has been sealed by her Master, and if I even touch it, I’ll vanish like smoke in a breeze.
“That said, I can force her to use the immortal skill in front of you.
“As for her objective, she wants to use the authority from Feng Lintao’s legacy to seal the immortal skill. In that manner, she can be like the turtledove occupying the magpie’s nest , fuse with the immortal skill, and turn it into a new type of authority! If she succeeds, then the skill of Six Thieves Deceive Life will break through the inherent barriers of immortal skills and unleash limitless potential!”
When Little Shadow finished speaking, Xu Qing looked at Erniu.
Erniu chuckled darkly as he stroked Feng Lintao’s soul. “Your Fardark legacy is very interesting, Little Fengy. Why didn’t you explain those details earlier?”
Feng Lintao shivered and quickly replied, “I was planning to get into that right now, Fellow Daoist Erniu! It’s like this: when my legacy becomes authority, it manifests in a most mysterious and profound way. It’s a sealing mark! Simply put, it’s an empty shell of authority that can seal any power and turn it into a true type of authority. However....”
Feng Lintao suddenly seemed hesitant. “Fellow Daoist Erniu. Fellow Daoist Xu Qing. Based on what that whore Yue Dong said, it should be possible to seal her immortal skill with the authority of my legacy. However, it will only make one instance of authority. Whoever absorbs it and creates a dao lineament, it will be powerful, but also permanently attached to whoever absorbed it.”
Feng Lintao looked cautiously at Xu Qing and Erniu. Truth be told, he was extremely leery about trying to manipulate the situation. However, that didn’t mean he had really given up. In fact, he had actually embedded some seeds of a scheme within his words. All cultivators longed for authority, and that wasn’t to mention that they were now talking about an authority based on an immortal skill. But if only one instance of authority could be created, who would get it? Feng Lintao bowed his head.
Unfortunately, though Feng Lintao’s trick might work on random, ordinary people, there was no way it would be successful on Xu Qing and Erniu.
An instant later, a groan erupted from Feng Lintao’s mouth as his plan failed.
Xu Qing paid him no heed, and just took the shadow-wrapped Yue Dong off toward the north.
Erniu squeezed down hard on Feng Lintao's soul. Smiling enigmatically, he said, “Sorry, Little Fengy. You lost the privilege of getting leftovers.”
With that, Erniu leaped into the air and followed Xu Qing north.
Half a month passed as Xu Qing and Erniu left the east of Revered Ancient and entered the frozen north.
***
In the distant Imperial Region of humankind, in a restricted area in the imperial capital, the empress sat cross-legged in meditation. Streams of white light swirled around hēr, and were slowly converging in front of hēr to form the outline of something.
Gradually, that outline came to look like a person! It looked exactly like the apprentice of the Grand Emperor, Lu Lingzi! Whether it was his aura, the karma, or the fate, he looked completely and utterly like the real Lu Lingzi.
The deal between Lu Lingzi and Empress Summer Departure involved more than just a fishing expedition targeting the Lan Clan. It also involved Lu Lingzi’s name. He had provided everything about himself. He had given up everything. And it was all to sever his connections to his holy land. Then he had found a safe place to hide, a place where no one could find him. That was where he would start his godly ascension ceremony.
The empress had taken all of that, and thus, became him. An instant later, ‘Lu Lingzi’ opened his eyes and looked off into the distance.
That gaze emerged from the restricted area, pierced through the spell formation, and went north. After locating the auras of Xu Qing and Erniu, ‘he’ looked in the direction of the Devilbird holy land.
All variables have been negated. The Devilbirds... are going to change dramatically very soon.
1. They went to the Immortal Skills Hall in chapter 519. ☜