Xu Qing didn’t feel any reason to be worried about his Eldest Brother’s safety. In all the time he had known his Eldest Brother, he had never seen an instance in which Erniu suffered. It was always other people who did the suffering. Among his victims was a godly entity from the Forbidden Sea, the three soul fragments of the Ghost Emperor, and most impressive of all... Crimson Mother and even the broken face of Eminent Desolation. Erniu had bitten chunks out of all of them.
From Xu Qing’s perspective, it seemed completely impossible that his crazy Eldest Brother would somehow meet misfortune in one of the Immortal Skills Halls in the Devilbird holy land. After all, his Eldest Brother had gone to the Immortal Skills Hall on purpose, and before leaving, he had seemed solemnly confident.
What was more, Xu Qing was going as an emissary of the tenth Imperial Sovereign, to bear witness to the event and see what the fuss was all about. In the past, he was always going on big jobs with his Eldest Brother. This was his first chance to go watch things play out as a spectator.
That said, I should do my best to keep things from getting out of hand. Given what the empress had asked of him, he felt like it was his responsibility to make sure his Eldest Brother didn’t cause too much of a scene. But when he thought about how much his Eldest Brother tended to stir up trouble, he felt a bit less confident. I can at least try to convince him to keep a low profile.
Feeling a bit better, he sped on his way. About four hours later, as he flew over the horizon, he saw the city where he and his Eldest Brother had parted ways some time ago. The eastern Devilbirds’ Immortal Skills Hall was located about 500 kilometers north of that very city.
Xu Qing didn’t pause for a moment. He flew over the city, crossed those 500 kilometers, and arrived at a white lake! Very much like the western Devilbirds’ Immortal Skills Hall, this hall was built on a lake. The difference was that one lake was black and the other was white.
This one was called Deceive Life Lake. In the middle of the lake was a palace that looked like a temple. It was pitch black and made of jade, making the contrast between it and the lake very striking.
The lake in western Devilbird lands had been full of immortal adepts seeking enlightenment. This one was different. Perhaps the place was emptier, or perhaps it was because of the ceremony that was about to take place. Either way, there were no immortal adepts seated in meditation. The place looked empty. The black Immortal Skills Hall itself looked to be in bad shape, and the damage didn’t look old. In fact, it looked like it had been inflicted recently.
Taking it all in, Xu Qing crossed the lake and stopped in midair above the Immortal Skills Hall. Keeping his hands clasped behind his back, he said, “Would the immortal adept in charge here please come out to see me immediately?”
His voice boomed like thunder, causing the air to ripple and distort, and sending waves rolling out over the lake.Eight figures flew out from the Immortal Skills Hall and toward Xu Qing. The person in the lead was a middle-aged immortal adept. When he looked at Xu Qing, his pupils constricted, and he suddenly assumed a much more respectful posture. Stopping a few dozen meters away, he bowed deeply.
“Well met, Fellow Daoist Blood Dust. We offer respectful greetings. We were busy with other guests that had just arrived, and thus neglected to receive you promptly. Please don’t take offense, Fellow Daoist.”
The immortal adept seemed very sincere. As for the others gathered behind him, they had very serious looks on their faces as they ducked their heads and bowed.
The reason for their attitude was that Sir Blood Dust’s reputation had skyrocketed recently in the Devilbird holy land. News about his challenges to the western Devilbirds, and especially his fight with Sir Westdevil, had already spread far and wide. When you added in the fact that he was backed by the tenth Imperial Sovereign, it ensured that the struggling Immortal Skills Hall wouldn’t dare to be negligent when dealing with him.
Xu Qing kept his expression neutral as he nodded his head. When the middle-aged immortal adept saw that Xu Qing didn’t seem offended, he breathed an inner sigh of relief. He had heard about how ruthless Sir Blood Dust usually was, and how deadly his divine abilities were.
Keeping his guard up, he gestured and said, “Please, follow me inside, Fellow Daoist Blood Dust!”
However, that was when Xu Qing turned to look at the horizon.
Looking stunned, the middle-aged immortal adept looked in the same direction. Laughter rang out from that spot.
“Is that Fellow Daoist Blood Dust over there?” A burly man was approaching. He wore a long blue robe and had eyes that flashed like lightning. As he neared, he pulsed with the cultivation base fluctuations of a nine-world Smoldering God, which created massive pressure in the area.
The middle-aged immortal adept quickly bowed. “Greetings, Revered One!”
Xu Qing’s facial expression was the same as ever. Based on Sir Blood Dust’s memories, he knew that this person was the eldest son of the fifth Imperial Sovereign. His name was Lin Kun.[1]
However, Sir Blood Dust and Lin Kun never had much dealings, and Lin Kun had obviously not given him much thought. But things were clearly different now.
Xu Qing clasped hands and bowed slightly.
Lin Kun neared, laughing heartily. “There’s no need for such formality, Fellow Daoist Blood Dust. I heard all about your heroic actions among the western Devilbirds, and I was cheering you on the entire time!” It was hard to say how sincere Lin Kun was being. Both his facial expression and his wording seemed very cordial. “Now that I can lay eyes on you in person, I can tell you really are a hero!”
It was only natural that a person’s true intentions couldn’t be determined by just looking at their facial expression. As such, Xu Qing wouldn’t form a good opinion based on only a few words. He shook his head.
“It was all due to the protection of an Imperial Sovereign,” he said. “Your humble servant is a mere follower of an Imperial Sovereign. Granted, I earned some prestige. But if you had been in my shoes, Fellow Daoist Lin, you would probably have become even more famous.”
Lin Kun smiled even more broadly in response to Xu Qing’s sincerity. He then went on to say a few more things, hidden within which were some probing words.
Xu Qing had plenty of experience in this kind of thing. He engaged in conversation naturally, not making any mistakes, and even managing to cleverly praise Lin Kun. On the surface, at least, it seemed that the two of them were getting along very well. And thus, the middle-aged immortal adept led them into the Immortal Skills Hall.
On the way, Lin Kun looked at the damage that had been done to the Immortal Skills Hall. Smiling, he looked at Xu Qing.
“Brother Blood Dust, while you were over in western Devilbird lands, some big things happened here at the Immortal Skills Hall. The apprentice of the former grand immortal adept returned. Her name is Yue Dong. She wanted to take over as the new grand immortal adept. However, several of the famous elders opposed her, and the friction got really intense.
“Yue Dong has some serious skills, and is also very charismatic. Not only did she win over quite a few of the other immortal adepts, but also, she got outside help. She somehow managed to convince the young lord of the Yun Clan to help her kill some of the elders!
“Given how things were playing out, Yue Dong was on the track to victory. And if she won, she would have become the grand immortal adept. But at the most critical point of the fight, the grand elder came out of several years of secluded meditation. He immediately stepped in, stopped the fighting, arrested Yue Dong, and calmed everything down.”
As they walked along, Lin Kun made his explanation and also kept an eye on Xu Qing to gauge his reaction.
Upon hearing Yue Dong’s name, Xu Qing’s eyes turned cold.
Lin Kun smiled faintly. “Brother Blood Dust, I heard that you and Yue Dong hate each other. Maybe you won’t be able to strike the killing blow yourself, but at least you’ll be able to witness the end of her life. Hopefully that will ease some of your frustration.”
Xu Qing shook his head. “No. I hope she comes out on top. If she does, then I’ll have the chance to personally kill her. It doesn’t sit well with me to let others do things in my stead.”
Lin Kun nodded. He could sympathize with such sentiment, and in fact, if he were in Sir Blood Dust’s shoes, he would feel exactly the same. If he had an enemy he simply wasn’t strong enough to get revenge on, it wouldn’t be worth worrying about. But if he did have the means to get revenge, then doing it personally would be the best.
They continued to chat as the middle-aged immortal adept led them down a long corridor in the Immortal Skills Hall. Eventually, they reached a circular arena. It was magnificently constructed, being filled with carvings of ancient mutant beasts. It also had portraits of outstanding heroes who wielded immortal skills in the time of Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity.
And in the middle of it all was a woman suspended in midair by means of six iron chains, arms and legs splayed so that she resembled the character 大. She was none other than Yue Dong. Her hair was disheveled, she was soaked with blood, and she wasn’t moving. She had so much blood on her it seemed like she probably didn’t have any left inside to bleed out. She looked like she hardly had any breath in her.
Arrayed around her were ten huge thrones. Each one was made from immortal jade, making them look like scintillating treasures, or like ten beautiful suns.
Six of the thrones were already occupied by cultivators. Some were men and some were women. Most shocking was that all of them were nine-world Smoldering Gods. They were all emissaries of Imperial Sovereign mountains.
When Xu Qing and Lin Kun entered, the six of them looked over. And they focused... on Xu Qing. Each individual knew what they were thinking, but no one else did. None would reveal any facial expression unless it was on purpose. Most looked calm, although some nodded at him.
Xu Qing reacted in kind. Then he and Lin Kun flew over to sit, each one of them on one of the thrones.
Xu Qing sat on the tenth throne. As he did, he looked at Yue Dong. The moment he did, he could tell that Erniu was fine. After all, he was well aware that Erniu had an endless supply of blood. How could he possibly bleed out?[2]
Is Eldest Brother deliberately trying to make the enemy think he’s weak? Or is he trying to gain leverage somehow? I guess it doesn’t matter. Presumably, he’ll wait until just the right moment to turn things around. The reason for all of this is definitely to make sure this grand elder is convinced that Eldest Brother can’t do anything to turn the situation around. I just wish I knew the details of the plan. I wonder what Eldest Brother is going to do next?
As Xu Qing was wrapped up in such thoughts, Yue Dong shivered slightly. It was as if she realized something was going on, and was trying to wake up. Unfortunately, her wounds were so severe that it wasn’t even possible for her to open her eyes.
Time ticked by. Eventually, the emissaries from the other two Imperial Sovereigns arrived and took their places.
Then the officiator emerged. He was an old man wearing a black robe, with long white hair. What was more, he was so withered he almost looked like a skeleton. Strangely, he was backed by projections that resembled himself as a middle-aged man, a young man, and a boy. His true form carried a huge magic staff, and he pulsed with terrifying fluctuations that reminded Xu Qing of the majesty of the sea. This old man was different from any other Smoldering God he had ever encountered. What was more, he also pulsed with fluctuations of immortal skills.
His arrival caused the entire arena to quiet down. Everyone, including Xu Qing, looked at him with serious expressions.
“In compliance with the ancient decrees,” he said in a hoarse voice, “when a new grand immortal adept appears, all the Imperial Sovereigns will come to bear witness. That is why you have been invited here today.”
With that, he raised his magic staff and pointed it at Yue Dong. “Yue Dong betrayed the dao of the immortal skills. Thus, I invited everyone here, not just to bear witness to the rise of a new grand immortal adept, but also, to watch as she is stripped of her Six Thieves immortal seal. I hereby request that the emissaries of the Imperial Sovereign mountains take out their command medallions. The immortal assimilation ceremony is about to begin!”
1. Lin Kun: Lin is #18 on the list of 100 common Chinese surnames. It also means “woods, forest.” Kun is one of the Eight Trigrams that symbolizes earth, and is generally associated with yin and feminine things. Madam Deathblade says that this is a “handsome and ordinary-sounding name.” ☜
2. I was initially inclined to render Yue Dong like this: ‘Yue Dong,’ considering that ‘she’ really isn’t Yue Dong at all. However, that quickly got too complicated. So going forward in this scene, I’ll just render the name as Yue Dong even though we all know she’s really Erniu. This is the same way I’ve been handling Lu Lingzi who is really the empress. ☜