In a location not very far from the border of the inner sea, the Sageheaven Pagoda had lurched to a halt as it flew through the sky.
Huge waves were surging out from one specific point, like a tsunami, as a statue that seemed as tall as the sky itself rose up from the water. The statue shone with dazzling golden light.
This was an actual god. The god towered over the ocean with such immense height that Xu Qing’s pagoda looked like a tiny toy in comparison. Astonishingly, the statue looked like a fox. It was not made of clay, but rather, hard stone that was as red as flame. The fox actually looked very realistic. What was more, shē didn’t pulse with the godfire of a Flawless God like before. No, this was the power of... an Altar God!!
To be precise, shē was halfway into the Altar God level, but was so strong that shē had the battle prowess of an Altar God. In response to the mere presence of an Altar God, brightly colored light flashed in heaven and earth. Terrifying godly might caused the dome of heaven above the sea to spin, creating a huge vortex. The vortex in the sky spun clockwise, while the sea churned counter-clockwise. As a result, everything in between the two vortexes rippled and distorted.
The fox started laughing.
Inside the pagoda, Xu Qing opened his eyes. He sighed in his heart. He had long been avoiding High God Starfire. And he definitely had not intended to run into hēr here. But there was no way of getting out of the situation now. So he stepped out of the pagoda. Hovering in the air, he looked at the majestic statue, clasped hands, and bowed.
“Well met, High God.”
It was no surprise to him that Starfire was just on the cusp of being an Altar God. After the ceremony the three gods had accomplished, it was a given that thēy would eventually become Altar Gods. What was more, they had fought many battles after the holy lands came. Though Grand Emperor Swordsage had ultimately absorbed the people of the holy lands when using his sword against them, they released power from the starry sky that the three gods could use to get stronger.
“What’s wrong, you charming rogue? You don’t seem too happy to see me. I’ve been really worried about you lately. In fact, I’ve been thinking about you all the time.”
Starfire’s flirtatious voice seemed to caress his ears and stroke his heart. As shē spoke, the statue shrank down to the size of an ordinary person. The stone turned into flesh, and within moments, shē was a bewitchingly charming woman, looking through the bubble that surrounded the pagoda and smiling enigmatically at Xu Qing.
Xu Qing wasn’t sure how to respond, so he chose not to say anything.
Seeing him like that caused High God Starfire to lick hēr lips. It was almost as if shē could see through his clothing as shē looked him up and down. Hēr eyes glittered charmingly and shē took a deep breath.
“Ah, whatever, you heartless rogue,” shē said in a tender voice. “Who out there went and made your primal yang so fragrant and sweet? Even when I’m angry at you, just looking at you... takes all the anger away. Now, tell me, are you really going to the outer sea?”
Xu Qing was used to the looks Starfire gave him, so it didn’t affect him. He nodded.
“What a coincidence,” Starfire said, blinking a few times. “I just so happen to be taking a trip to the outer sea as well. Why don’t we go together? Incidentally, why do you seem so leery? You won’t open that bubble, and you won’t come out either? What, you think I’m going to eat you or something? I’ve helped you a lot over the years, yet you’re treating me like a stranger!”
Anger flashed in Starfire’s eyes.
Xu Qing knew that he didn’t have any choice here. Starfire really had helped him a lot over the years, and what was more, shē was an ally to humankind. Sighing inwardly again, he waved his hand to dispel the bubble. Putting the Sageheaven Pagoda away, he approached Starfire.
“That’s better!” Then shē extended hēr hand so quickly that he couldn’t avoid it. Shē pinched his cheek and laughed happily. Then, looking much more pleased than before, shē took Xu Qing in the direction of the border.
It wasn’t very far away. In the blink of an eye, they were at the spot where the inner sea became the outer sea.
The color of the water was clearly different between the two. On one side it was violet. On the other side it was black. And in that spot where the violet and black met, there was a boat.
Seated cross-legged in the boat was a scholarly, middle-aged man, who was currently fishing. It was none other than Yu Liuchen. Hē didn’t look up at Xu Qing and Starfire when they arrived. In contrast, a serious expression appeared on Starfire’s face upon seeing hīm. Thēy were both gods, but the difference between the two was like the difference between heaven and earth.
After all, Yu Liuchen was getting close to being a True God.
Starfire realized that instantly. Taking a step forward so shē was in front of Xu Qing, shē bowed to Yu Liuchen.
Yu Liuchen’s expression remained placid. “You’re blocking my line of sight.”
Saying nothing, Starfire stepped to the side.
Yu Liuchen slowly looked up at Xu Qing.
Xu Qing stepped forward and bowed respectfully. “Well met, Senior.”
Yu Liuchen didn’t say anything at first. Hē studied Xu Qing for a moment, then looked up at the dome of heaven.
“Did he smile in his final moments?” Yu Liuchen asked.
Xu Qing knew that the ‘he’ Yu Liuchen had just mentioned was obviously Grand Emperor Swordsage. Xu Qing didn’t know the whole story about the history between Grand Emperor Swordsage and Yu Liuchen. But he had witnessed their interaction back in the battle in the imperial capital, and knew that Yu Liuchen had come to deliver a final sword to Swordsage. Based on everything that had played out, it was clear that Swordsage and Yu Liuchen were friends.
Originally, Xu Qing had assumed that it was virtually impossible for an immortal to be friends with a god. But the empress had become a god. And just now, Starfire had stood protectively in front of him. Because of things like that... Xu Qing had his own understanding of gods.
“He did,” Xu Qing replied softly. “He smiled with happiness and contentment.”
Yu Liuchen just sat there quietly for a moment. Then hīs gaze shifted from the sky and back to Xu Qing. Hē snorted coldly. “For the sake of that showboating attention-seeker....”
Yu Liuchen tugged on hīs fishing pole, causing a three-headed, nine-colored fish to fly up into the air. The freakish fish instantly exploded, and its blood then swirled into a sphere.
“There was a little showboater named Xu Qing who went out for training. A few years later, the showboater came back safely.”
That was Yu Liuchen’s story. And it was a blessing. When hē finished telling the story, it entered the sphere of blood, which wriggled and briefly shone with nine-colored light. Then the sphere collapsed, turning into dust that dissipated into heaven and earth.
Xu Qing felt something warm flowing through him. With a grateful look in his eye, he bowed at the waist.
Yu Liuchen looked away and continued fishing.
Shortly after, Starfire indicated that they should continue on their way. Passing Yu Liuchen, they left the inner sea. The moment they entered that other heaven and earth, Xu Qing sensed chaos and violence in the wind. They had arrived at the outer sea.
“I almost can’t believe hē gave you a blessing, you little rogue,” Starfire said. “That blessing is nothing short of profound. After all, hē’s going to become a True God any day now. Keep that blessing close to you at all times. When hē eventually does become a True God, you’ll essentially have the protection of a True God with you.”
From the frown on Starfire’s face, shē didn’t seem very happy. However, that didn’t stop hēr from explaining to Xu Qing how valuable the blessing was. Of course, the reason shē wasn’t happy was that, now that he had that blessing, shē couldn’t see his body like she had been able to before....
“Alright, where are you really planning to go?” shē asked. “I might not know the details, but your final destination obviously isn’t the outer sea. And I can sense that you have a travel medallion on you. Very few people know the truth about the outer sea. But it’s a given that we gods know the details.
“That said, using the outer sea to get to another star ring isn’t exactly easy. Maybe you do have a travel medallion, so you can bypass the cultivation base restriction. Unfortunately... just having a travel medallion doesn’t inherently mean your journey will go smoothly.”
Starfire looked meaningfully at Xu Qing.
He thought for a moment and opened his mouth to speak.
But Starfire interrupted him with a laugh. Not giving him the opportunity to say anything, shē licked hēr lips and said, “With me around, things are a bit different. If you want to use the outer sea to get to another star ring, you first have to open a passage. There are two ways to do that.
“One is by means of a special ceremony that requires the cooperation of at least three Altar Gods. You would also need a lot of godly entities to serve as nutrients. I could help you do that. Obviously, I’m half a step into the Altar God level, and my two sisters are the same. It would be difficult, but we should be able to open a passage for you. Unfortunately, that would be very draining, so you would need to think of a way to pay me back, right?”
Starfire seemed even more flirtatious than before.
Xu Qing, meanwhile, kept his expression the same as before. “What’s the second option?”
Starfire’s eyebrows shot up. “The second way? You can burn some star ring hemp to open a passage. Star ring hemp is cultivated for the specific purpose of opening passageways! On the outside, it looks like an ordinary plant. But it actually contains starlight. Unfortunately, star ring hemp is just about extinct, and there definitely isn’t any in Revered Ancient. The only way to get even a tiny bit of it would be to trade with other star rings. And that’s why you’re going to have to go with the first option.”
Xu Qing quietly pulled a piece of hemp out from his bag of holding. Starfire’s eyes went wide. That hemp had come from the sandal of the old man he had met in the outer sea, and was the same hemp Xu Qing had first seen in the mouth of that golden rat.[1]
Back when he got the travel medallion at the Summer Immortal Palace, he had asked how to use it. The explanation had been the same as Starfire’s just now. He had shown the palace lord the hemp, and she had confirmed that it really was star ring hemp. He had been about to explain that moments ago when Starfire interrupted him.
As Starfire stared blankly at the hemp, Xu Qing ignited it. A moment later... smoke rose up into the sky.
Despite how tiny the flame was, it let off massive amounts of smoke, which filled the sky and then settled down on the surface of the water. The water seethed. As it did, thirty-five vortexes appeared, all of them spinning and letting off ancient auras that shook everything dramatically.
1. Xu Qing saw the sandal and got the hemp in chapters 1003 and . ☜