In the lands where the east met the north, far beneath the glaciers, everything was pitch-black.
Successive sheets of ice formed the sky over the river, the water of which was bone-penetratingly cold. Considering that the air was also freezing, it was no surprise that the surface of the river was constantly freezing up.
However, the water was unusual, and had the aura of a god in the form of mutagen. It also had ordinary spirit power. Because of the varying interactions between all those things, the freezing point varied wildly. The further down one went, the more the freezing point surpassed understanding.
Even though Xu Qing and Erniu couldn’t sense even a bit of heat, and had to rely only on their cultivation base to keep themselves alive, the river water still didn’t freeze solid.
As they got deeper, the cold got more intense.
When they were down to about 30,000 meters, Xu Qing stopped briefly. If he went further down, his fleshly body would be able to sustain the cold, but his soul would start to feel the pressure. That said, it would definitely last until at least 60,000 meters.
Unfortunately, Feng Lintao and Yue Dong were at their full limit. If he continued, the two wouldn’t be able to unveil the immortal skill or the legacy.
In contrast, Erniu’s miraculous nature was fully on display. He... wasn’t being affected at all! In fact, Xu Qing got the feeling that Erniu felt more comfortable here than he did outside of this coldness.
Upon noticing Xu Qing looking at him, Erniu proudly said, “Your Eldest Brother will always be your Eldest Brother.”
Xu Qing’s look of admiration made Erniu feel incomparably pleased. However, he also knew that Feng Lintao and Yue Dong couldn’t go any further down.Erniu and Xu Qing exchanged a glance, and in doing so, confirmed with each other that this was the place to activate Feng Lintao’s legacy.
Erniu waved his hand, causing Feng Lintao’s soul to appear in the ice river.
Feng Lintao immediately began to tremble, and it was obvious that he was already starting to freeze. An intense sensation of deadly crisis filled him, prompting him to unleash every scrap of soul power possible to fight back against the cold. The results were minimally effective.
Eventually, Feng Lintao had no other choice than to float up until he was higher than 9,000 meters before he was able to stabilize himself and stop the freezing process.
“So useless!” Erniu snapped with a frown.
Feng Lintao felt more than a little humiliated. He wanted to point out to Erniu that he was in soul form, without a fleshly body, which meant that he was obviously much weaker than he should be. And he wasn’t in this situation out of choice. It was because of everything that happened with the fishing expedition.... What was more, the way the two of them had sealed him along the way made him even less strong.
But in the end, he didn’t dare to give voice to all of that. Burying such feelings deep inside, he plastered an ingratiating look onto his face. Truth be told, what really worried him was the possibility that, after he handed over his legacy, he wouldn’t be valuable anymore.... And if he displeased his captors now, then it was entirely possible that they would put him to death then. He had put a lot of thought into how to extricate himself from the current situation. But in the end, he hadn’t come up with any solid plan.
Seeing Erniu and Xu Qing looking at him like tigers eying prey, Feng Lintao trembled inwardly. Not daring to be uncooperative, he cleared his thoughts and turned to Xu Qing.
“Fellow Daoist Xu Qing, going forward, I’ll act in complete sincerity and wholeheartedness. I won’t hide anything. I won’t try to pull any tricks. I’ll do everything possible to produce my legacy and help the two of you seal authority.
“I have no demands. I don’t even expect to get my freedom. I just want to stay alive. You can even enslave me if you’d like. That’s fine! And therefore, Fellow Daoist Xu Qing… I trust you! And I just hope you can promise me one thing!”
Feng Lintao wasn’t finished, nor had Xu Qing responded to him.
But Erniu, feeling a bit miffed, jumped in by saying, “What’s that supposed to mean? You don’t trust me ?”
Feng Lintao shivered deeply and was about to offer an explanation when Xu Qing started talking.
“I’ll do everything in my power to get you back to humankind when this is all over. As for whether you live or die afterward, that’s going to be up to the empress.”
Xu Qing’s words caused Feng Lintao to calm down a bit and even breathe an inner sigh of relief. If Xu Qing had offered some long and glib response, it might have had the opposite effect. But his response seemed succinct and sincere.
Feng Lintao’s eyes filled with determination, and he didn’t make any more requests. He quickly performed a double-handed incantation gesture and then touched his forehead. His soul body shone with dazzling light, making him seem like a star within the pitch-black river. ŕÂＮȰＢƐ𝘚
Strands spread out, floating around his soul form, connecting with each other to make the shape of a flower. The flower even emanated a strange fragrance. It started expanding....
A primeval aura began to build on it. It was... the aura of a Grand Emperor. In the outside world, that aura would have been illusory. But here in this icy river with frigid surroundings, it was corporeal.... It became a ring made of countless sealing symbols, surrounding Feng Lintao and rotating constantly. The aura shone onto the flower. In the end, the ring, like the external manifestation of the flower, turned into a flower itself!
The sealing marks that made up the flower all pulsed with a sensation of a gathering dao. Close examination would reveal that the sealing marks were all empty, without any will, nor any sort of magical technique. All they had was the pure accumulation of a foundational dao.
“That is the manifestation of Grand Emperor Fardark’s authority. It’s empty, and can seal any appropriate magical technique or divine ability, and thus turn it into authority! It won’t work with all magical techniques. And every failure will cause the legacy sealing symbols to disappear forever. Therefore, succeeding on the first attempt is the best outcome.”
As Feng Lintao spoke, he grimaced. Clearly, manifesting this legacy in these surroundings caused him a lot of pain. “Fellow Daoists, I can only last for the time it takes an incense stick to burn! Quickly, decide which magical technique you want to seal!”
Xu Qing looked at Erniu. At this point, they could proceed with Yue Dong’s immortal skill....
“Yue Dong was working on her plan for a long time,” he said quietly, “and definitely made preparations to ensure she would succeed.”
Erniu’s eyes narrowed. “Something just occurred to me, little Ah Qing. Was Yue Dong’s plan really just to turn that immortal skill into authority...? Given all of our dealings with her, I get the feeling that her plan was probably much more complicated. Do you think it’s possible that there is more to her plan...? Maybe sealing authority was only the first step for her.”
Xu Qing considered the possibilities. For one thing, he thought back to how Yue Dong and Lan Yao had been working together. If Yue Dong wanted Feng Lintao for that purpose alone, then there didn’t seem to be any need to bring in the Lan Clan and Lu Lingzi. She surely could have come up with some way of avoiding dealing with the Lan Clan, but still getting Feng Lintao’s legacy. But she chose the path that would actually bring great benefit to the Lan Clan if she succeeded.
“She definitely had another objective!” Xu Qing said.
He and Erniu exchanged a glance. Then Xu Qing waved his hand, causing the shadow-wrapped Yue Dong to appear in the river.
Yue Dong shivered from the cold, and her eyes overflowed with venom. However, with Little Shadow controlling her, she couldn’t fight back. And Little Shadow could also force her to speak.
“Milord, this woman’s memories don’t contain any other purpose. Turning the immortal skill into authority was her only objective.”
Xu Qing looked coldly at the hate-filled Yue Dong. “Force her to use her immortal skill,” he said coolly. “Use the legacy authority to seal the immortal skill, and nothing else!”
Little Shadow complied. Yue Dong’s hands flashed as she unleashed the immortal skill of Six Thieves Deceive Life. As seven-colored light glowed, the venom in Yue Dong’s face turned into anxiety. However, there was nothing she could do other than watch her fleshly body act beyond her control to activate the immortal skill.
Soon, she was shimmering with seven-colored light, which created a dazzling sea around her and covered over the flower outside of Feng Lintao. Within the empty marks, color began to appear. Seven-colored light built up, until finally Little Shadow forced Yue Dong’s two hands up to sever the light.
The seven-colored light was ripped away from Yue Dong. All of it poured into the legacy flower of Feng Lintao, filling the sealing marks, and causing the flower itself to shine with seven colors.
Feng Lintao looked at the flower with mixed feelings. He felt the impulse to take it for his own. But an instant later, Xu Qing appeared behind him, and Erniu appeared in front of him. Xu Qing looked on coldly. Erniu smiled enigmatically. And then Feng Lintao had no choice but to put away such thoughts.
“Fellow Daoists,” he said sincerely, “the bestowal of holy fardark nectar will provide stability. That nectar is hidden in my soul. Being in this current state, no outsider could extract it. It would influence the formation of the authority. Therefore, I hereby request that you release the seals binding me so that I can take it out.”
Feng Lintao worked hard to make sure his expression was one of full sincerity. This was his final trump card. Unfortunately, he had made a very big miscalculation.... Xu Qing also had holy fardark nectar. And he had a lot more than Feng Lintao did....
Xu Qing pulled out a bottle, uncorked it, and then poured out ten times as much holy fardark nectar than Feng Lintao could have. There was plenty for the seven-colored flower, as the flower rapidly solidified and went from being illusory to being completely real.
Xu Qing reached out. Cracking sounds rang out as the flower separated from Feng Lintao and flew to Xu Qing. He grabbed it.
When Feng Lintao saw this scene play out, his heart lurched. So much....
He could instantly speculate about what was going on. Back in the Fardark Cistern, there hadn’t been nearly that much fardark nectar. Obviously Xu Qing must have taken it away earlier! His mind and heart reeled as countless emotions swept through him. In the end, he had no choice but to suppress them. He put away his humiliation and bitterness, and forced a fawning expression onto his face. Right now, all of his hope rested in the seven-colored flower.
The flower pulsed with a majestic aura, and the sensation of a great dao accumulation. It was becoming true authority. Right now, it was masterless, and thus, whoever fused with it would gain a dao lineament. Good fortune like this, if made public, would cause innumerable cultivators to descend into madness. Even gods would be moved.
But there’s only one available...
If Feng Lintao had the option, he would fight with his blood brother to get something like this, much less a fellow disciple. But what happened next caused his heart to pound.
Xu Qing took the seven-colored flower and tossed it to Erniu. Erniu took it, examined it, and then looked at Feng Lintao. Feng Lintao’s ingratiating expression grew stronger.
Erniu grinned. “I’m going to show you a little magic trick, Little Fengy. To be honest, this magic trick is only possible due to your great generosity.”
As Feng Lintao looked on in confusion, Erniu glanced at Xu Qing. It was on the journey to this place that he had figured out a way to deal with the fact that there would only be one portion of authority.
Xu Qing waved his hand, causing his sageheaven god vine to appear and fly over to Erniu. Erniu threw out his own sageheaven god vine. The two god vines had once been part of the same whole. Later, Erniu cut that whole into two halves. Now that they were close together again, they fused, once again becoming whole.
As Feng Lintao reeled in shock, Erniu took the seven-colored flower and tossed it toward the god vine. The god vine opened its mouth and devoured the flower. An instant later, seven-colored light flowed across the vine, turning into a dao lineament that covered the entire thing. After, the vine split into two parts again.
One merged with Xu Qing, the other with Erniu. Both of them shivered and closed their eyes, whereupon their auras started to climb.
The immortal skill of Six Thieves Deceive Life had been perfectly split in half!
Feng Lintao’s heart sank, all while filling with a sensation of extreme helplessness. Off to the side, Yue Dong’s eyes shimmered with similar emotions. As of this moment, for the first time in their lives, these two people were completely in sync.
In the end, they couldn’t change a thing. Both were shaken for a few dozen breaths of time. Then Xu Qing and Erniu both opened their eyes at the same time. Both immediately turned to look at Yue Dong.
“Oh, so that’s how it is,” Erniu said. “So you hid your true objective within the immortal skill. It was hidden so well... that without forming authority, it would be extremely difficult to uncover.
Xu Qing’s eyes flashed. “No wonder Little Shadow couldn’t find it in your memories....”
Yue Dong really did have a much more complicated plan. And that plan was the reason why she had chosen to cooperate with the Lan Clan. In a critical moment, she had taken that concept out of her own memories and transferred it to the immortal skill, thus preventing Little Shadow from detecting it.
Now, with Xu Qing and Erniu working together with authority, they figured it out.
Assimilating Feng Lintao’s legacy and using it to turn the immortal skill into authority was actually only the second step in Yue Dong’s plan. The first step was working with the Lan Clan to draw out the Grand Emperor’s apprentice, all while conspiring to seize Feng Lintao’s legacy. The second step was to absorb Feng Lintao, and turn Six Thieves Deceive Life into authority.
The third step was her true objective. Her agreement with the Lan Clan was that, after the Grand Emperor’s apprentice had his devil-eye extracted, she would get his fleshly body to turn into an emotion puppet. Then she would use that puppet to work with the Lan Clan to get close to the Grand Emperor’s secluded meditation facilities. The ultimate objective was to abscond with the supposedly perished Grand Emperor!
It was impossible to say what tricks the Lan Clan had up their sleeve to make them fully confident in succeeding. But they had revealed to Yue Dong that the Grand Emperor wasn’t ‘suspected’ to be dead. He really was dead. However, the secluded meditation facilities had been tightly sealed. The dao accumulation and cultivation base the Grand Emperor had left behind, if absorbed, could be used to advance by leaps and bounds in one’s cultivation. If things went as planned, she would be able to do just that.
Meanwhile, the Lan Clan would acquire the Grand Emperor’s other legacies and his remaining cultivation base. Then, Yue Dong could use her authority to seal the Grand Emperor’s corpse, and refine it into a Grand Emperor zombie puppet.
It was a complicated plan, with plenty of opportunities for either side to scheme against each other. After all, Yue Dong only had limited usefulness in the entire thing. But in the end, the Lan Clan still chose to work with her....
Of course, not all the details were visible to Xu Qing and Erniu. And they had no idea where such details were hidden. Perhaps they were in the emotions of some other person, or perhaps they were with the Lan Clan.
Regardless, even Erniu still found the plan to be a completely crazy one. It was actually quite moving to him.
“This Yue Dong is totally crazy! I mean, completely daring! I have to say... I’m a fan!” Eyes shining, he turned to Xu Qing. “Little Ah Qing, since Yue Dong is obviously connected to us by destiny, and since we’ve already reached his point in her plan, I say, why not help her finish things up? If we don’t, our consciences will definitely start bothering us.
“Besides, if that Grand Emperor’s secluded meditation facilities really have some dao accumulation and cultivation base that can be considered a destined opportunity and good fortune, then we might as well give it a shot. After all, cultivating the ordinary way is just too slow!
“There will be dangers, but it’s been a long time since we pulled off a really big job. If we back down now, then our dao hearts are definitely going to become unstable!”
Erniu licked his lips as a crazy look overtook his eyes.
Deathblade's Thoughts
This nearly 1,500 characters longer than average.