Chapter 1036: Your Majesty, I Need Pocket Realm Entry
The eastern Devilbirds originally had nine Imperial Sovereign mountains.
After Grand Emperor Netherflame’s tenth apprentice Lu Lingzi returned, the Lan Clan fell into decline. As a result, many of the resources previously controlled by the Lan Clan came to belong to Lu Lingzi.
In fact, the tenth Imperial Sovereign mountain wasn’t very far away from Lan Clan territory. The mountain towered high into the clouds, making its majesty visible from a great distance away. The pressure of an Imperial Sovereign pulsed out of it, weighing down on everything in its vicinity. It suppressed heaven and earth in all directions.
As a result of its presence, there was a massive vortex in the sky, which had been spinning endlessly for a couple of months now. It emanated loud rumbling sounds, and was filled with endless bolts of lightning.
Fifteen hundred kilometers away from the base of the mountain was a perimeter that stretched around the entire mountain, creating something like a forbidden region. On the other side of the perimeter, there were already large numbers of Devilbird cultivators gathered. There were well over ten thousand of them, and they seemed to be engaged in various types of meditation, all focused on the mountain itself.
From a high vantage point, the crowds were numerous as they covered the lands. Some of them were rogue cultivators who had previously been affiliated with Lan Clan organizations. Right now, they were hoping to become subordinates of this tenth Imperial Sovereign.
In the Devilbird holy land, whenever a new Imperial Sovereign showed up and created a mountain, things like this would happen. New Imperial Sovereigns didn’t just get personally stronger. They would also expand their influence, and use their newfound power to recruit large numbers of followers.
As a result, streams of cultivators were arriving at the tenth Imperial Sovereign mountain on a daily basis. Given the couple of months that had passed, the crowd was sizable. After all, being the subordinate of an Imperial Sovereign would make a cultivator completely different. And given that there was a war going on, who wouldn’t want the added level of safety of being protected by an Imperial Sovereign?
However... up to this point, the new Imperial Sovereign Lu Lingzi hadn’t actually recruited anyone. In fact, he hadn’t even called his previous subordinates to any sort of meeting.
As of now, there was only one person who had entered the enormous mountain, and that was Lu Lingzi himself. There were so many cultivators at the foot of the mountain that they had created a small city where people would trade goods and information while they waited to become disciples of the Imperial Sovereign.
As time passed, the city became an increasingly bustling place. However, none of the cultivators present dared to cross the perimeter into the forbidden region that surrounded the mountain.
When Xu Qing arrived looking like Sir Blood Dust, he looked at the bustling scene fifteen hundred kilometers away from the mountain. After taking in the city and all the local cultivators, he didn’t hesitate for a moment. Flying at top speed, he headed toward the forbidden region. At first, few people noticed his presence. But when he zipped through the city and crossed the perimeter, many gazes shifted in his direction. Nothing happened beyond that.
In the two months that had passed, there had been other cultivators besides Xu Qing who approached the mountain in the hopes of getting an audience with the Imperial Sovereign. However, every single one had been ignored, and had eventually crossed back over the perimeter to wait. Therefore, nothing happened other than some people looking over at Xu Qing.
Xu Qing ignored the gazes. Face completely expressionless, he approached the mountain, then stopped and hovered in midair. His eyes glittered profoundly for a long moment before he took a deep breath. Looking very determined, he bowed formally, then spoke in a voice that boomed like thunder and attracted a lot of attention.
“Sir Blood Dust here, seeking an audience with the Imperial Sovereign!”
This was a bit of a test. If it worked, then maybe he could achieve his goal with words. If it didn’t work, then he would have to try another angle. Enough time passed for an incense stick to burn. Even then, there was no response from the Imperial Sovereign mountain.
Many of the people who had turned to look at Xu Qing shifted their gazes away. There was a bit of discussion.
“Some people just don’t get it.”
“That’s Sir Blood Dust, right? Does he really think his cultivation base and battle credit are enough to attract the attention of the Imperial Sovereign?”
“We’re obviously all sitting around waiting. But he just has to go and offer greetings. And why is he talking so loud...? If I were the Imperial Sovereign, I definitely wouldn’t want to be disturbed like that.”
“If you want to become the subordinate of an Imperial Sovereign, you need to prove your sincerity! That’s why the best tactic is to just wait patiently. Eventually, that will prove to the Imperial Sovereign that you really are sincere.”
In the end, most people just shook their heads and turned their attention elsewhere. As far as they were concerned, it would only be a matter of time before Sir Blood Dust retreated in dejection.
Xu Qing turned a deaf ear to all the chatter. Looking just as calm as before, he stayed in place and maintained a deep bow. There, he waited.
This time, another incense stick’s worth of time passed. At this point, hardly anyone was paying attention at all, and the city had gone back to its previous bustle.
But then... Xu Qing spoke again.
“Sir Blood Dust here, seeking an audience with the Imperial Sovereign!”
As the words echoed out, people once again looked over, and this time there were quite a few irritated expressions.
A buzz of discussion rose up again.
However, only an instant later, the cultivators present stopped talking, as something dramatic suddenly happened. The Imperial Sovereign mountain rumbled loudly! The entire thing started shaking back and forth! At the same time, the lightning in the vortex above began to increase in intensity, to the point where it was spilling out of the vortex. The sound of it was absolutely deafening.
Then, an enormous pair of eyes appeared in the vortex. The eyes were silver, and were incredibly cold as they looked down on the lands below.
Every single person looking on was shocked to the core, and, acting on pure instinct, ducked their heads and bowed.
A majestic will filled the area, its terrifying pressure causing the ground to quake. Countless cultivators struggled to breathe, all while reeling in shock. Then, Lu Lingzi’s voice spoke coldly from within the Imperial Sovereign mountain.
“Enter.”
The word boomed louder than heavenly thunder, becoming an infinitude of sounds that slammed into the ears of those present and shaking them down to the soul.
As everyone trembled in astonishment, Xu Qing took a deep breath and strode forth. As everyone looked on, he flew to the Imperial Sovereign mountain. Shortly after, he disappeared into the mountain.
The cultivators in the area watched it play out, astonished, various emotions playing out on their faces, and their eyes burning with passion. It was a complete surprise to all of them that Sir Blood Dust had been summoned. And yet, the end result was that people started to get excited. After all, once a first person had been summoned, it meant that there would likely be a second person summoned after that. And that meant that the long wait would soon be paying off.
Meanwhile, the developments were very thought-provoking to Xu Qing, as his first test had provided a preliminary explanation to some of his questions. After reaching the mountain, he sped right toward the summit.
Before long, he caught sight of a hall. It wasn’t fancy and extravagant. Instead, it seemed utilitarian. It rested at the very summit of the mountain, and its entrance was open. Upon getting close, he saw that there was a person inside, located at the position of honor, resting cross-legged in meditation.
It was none other than Lu Lingzi.
Xu Qing ducked his head, stepped forward, and stopped just outside the entrance. There, he bowed at the waist. He didn’t say a word.
A moment passed, whereupon Lu Lingzi opened his eyes. They didn’t contain even the slightest hint of emotion.
“What do you want?” The voice seemed to thrum with natural laws, as if when this person spoke, their words would be enforced to the letter.
Reacting instantly, Xu Qing said, “Imperial Sovereign, I would like to request that you grant me entrance into the World Origin Pocket Realm.”
Lu Lingzi’s facial expression didn’t change at all. Looking at Xu Qing, he said, “Present your battle credit.”
Shaking his head, Xu Qing calmly said, “I have no battle credit.”
He really didn’t have any. After checking the mission jade slip, Xu Qing had identified all sorts of missions that were there for the taking. Unfortunately, the vast majority were related to the war. And most involved fighting and killing top experts among humankind. As for those missions that weren’t related to the war, they all required significant investment, would take a lot of time, and didn’t provide much battle credit as a reward.
Meanwhile, getting into the World Origin Pocket Realm required a vast amount of battle credit. In fact, it required so much battle credit that collecting it via missions would take months at the very least. Given all that, Xu Qing felt that, rather than go do missions, it made more sense to just go directly to Lu Lingzi and ask permission. That seemed a lot simpler.
After all, he and Erniu had analyzed the situation well enough to have some suspicions about Lu Lingzi’s identity. If he really was Lu Lingzi, then the fact that he had become an Imperial Sovereign based on his own personhood indicated he wouldn’t reveal his true karmic connections. In that case, it would have been very unlikely that he would summon Xu Qing into his presence just based on a simple request for an audience.
But if this person wasn’t actually Lu Lingzi, then that meant... he was either the empress or someone very close to her.
And that gave Xu Qing the impression that he probably could gain entry to the pocket realm. That was what led to the current situation. As of right now, he still wasn’t really sure if the Lu Lingzi in front of him was the same Lu Lingzi he had encountered before.
Could he actually be the empress...?
Because of that lack of clarity, he was taking things slowly.
A powerful will spread out, enveloping the entire Imperial Sovereign mountain. The vortex in the sky spun, shaking the mountain as a sealing barrier was created.
Upon hearing Xu Qing’s response, Lu Lingzi thought for a moment, then said, “You have no battle credit to get into the pocket realm, yet you boldly demand entrance. You’ve got guts, Xu Qing. In fact, you’ve got more guts than your Elder Brother!”
Hearing his secret identity spoken out loud caused Xu Qing to blink a few times. And for him to be described as ‘having guts’ was very meaningful. He looked up at Lu Lingzi.
“Your Majesty....” After saying those two words, Xu Qing said nothing further.
A moment later, as the immense pressure continued to weigh down, Lu Lingzi spoke again.
“Where’s your Elder Brother?”
Xu Qing blinked and then answered truthfully. “He went to the Immortal Skills Hall.”
Lu Lingzi thought for a moment, then snorted coldly and waved a hand. A command medallion flew out to Xu Qing.
Xu Qing grabbed it. It was an entrance medallion to the World Origin Pocket Realm.
“Many thanks, Imperial Sovereign!” Xu Qing bowed, then turned to leave.
“Don’t stir up too much trouble!” said Lu Lingzi.
Xu Qing stopped in place, nodded, then continued on his way. After he was gone, Lu Lingzi kneaded the bridge of his nose.
At least Xu Qing knows how to mind his p’s and q’s. But that Elder Brother of his... is always getting up to mischief.