Chapter 175: Where the Sun Reclined
Xu Qing gritted his teeth. Now wasn’t the time to sit around hesitating. The question was whether or not the music from the countless ghosts haunting the night would work on the giant. If it didn’t, then Xu Qing would have to think of a way to make his escape. Even if it was effective, he had no idea how long it would take to work.
Therefore, he waved his hand, causing the recording bottle to shine with glittering light. The same sound from before echoed out.
Xu Qing held his breath and looked at the giant and the dragon chariot.
The giant didn’t seem affected by the sound at all, and continued to stride closer and closer to Xu Qing.
2,700 meters. 2,400 meters. 2,100 meters.
Xu Qing reeled as the pressure grew greater, weighing down on him, pushing down onto his lungs so hard he struggled to breathe.
Don’t tell me it’s not going to work.
Xu Qing looked at the dragon chariot and was now able to see the engravings even more clearly, including some written text. The text was hard to make out, but from what Xu Qing could tell, it contained holy content written by a king or emperor.
I can’t give up now!
But then he coughed up a mouthful of blood and, looking regretful, sighed and prepared to leave. If the recording bottle wasn’t going to work, there was no point in staying around. If the giant got any closer, then it would be difficult to get away safely.
However, just as Xu Qing was about to start moving backward, his pupils constricted.
The giant, which was only about 1,800 meters away, suddenly stopped moving. Then it tilted its chin up, revealing the black holes that were its eye sockets. It seemed like it was listening to something.
Xu Qing’s eyes went wide, and his heart started pounding.
Then the giant subconsciously took a half-step forward, bringing it within 1,500 meters.
At that point, the pressure had reached a terrifying level. Xu Qing’s mind spun and blood oozed out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior was moaning from the pressure, and the entire dharmaskiff was creaking as though it might not hold out.
Thankfully, after the giant took that final half-step, it didn’t move at all. It just stood there like a marionette with its strings cut. Then, the black holes that were the giant’s eyes seemed to quiver, as if emotions did exist on its previously expressionless face.
As for Xu Qing, a crazy look appeared in his eyes as, without the slightest hesitation, he shot up into the air, putting away his dharmaskiff, but keeping the recording bottle out. Then he dove into the water and started moving toward the giant and the dragon chariot 1,500 meters away.
As he got closer, cracks spread out across his skin, wounds that immediately oozed blood. His soul trembled as though it might collapse, and his life flame whipped about as if it were being battered by a fierce wind. In fact, an ordinary life flame would have been extinguished. But Xu Qing had a life lamp, and because of that foundation, the flame couldn’t easily be put out. In that critical moment, Xu Qing waved his hand, and a huge black umbrella appeared over his head. As soon as the umbrella appeared, black fire flowed out to surround him. As that protection surrounded him on the outside, the violet crystal regenerated him from the inside. But Xu Qing wasn’t paying attention to such things.
Accelerating, he sped past the 1,500-meter-mark as he headed closer to the listening giant. Xu Qing was roughly at the level of the giant’s waist. Compared to the giant in size, he was like a fly that could be killed with a single swat of the hand. An extremely disturbing sensation filled him.
The closer he got, the more clearly he could see the rotting flesh of the giant. And he could smell its stench. Furthermore, it was now possible to see the shocking wounds that covered it. From the nature of the wounds, it seemed they were made when the giant was trying to protect someone important. Seeing all this, Xu Qing was deeply moved.
His plan was working!
However, despite the external protections, and the violet crystal restoring him from the inside, his body was still teetering on the verge of collapse. And all of it was simply because of the aura exuded naturally by the giant. The two of them were poles apart.
Xu Qing moved in a blur toward the giant, and more specifically, the bronze dragon chariot. Closer and closer he got, until he was right in front of the imperial carriage. Though it was covered in rust, it still exuded the sensation of a monarch. Though it was dilapidated, its carvings were incomparably extravagant. Though it was a remnant of the ancient past, it still felt like something imperial.
Now, Xu Qing could clearly see the engravings, and they were instantly branded into the depths of his soul!
At the same time, he was filled with the urge to offer obeisance. That said, the sensation of danger coming from the giant prompted Xu Qing to ignore that urge. With that, he stepped forward onto the bronze dragon chariot.
This was where the sun reclined!
This was where an emperor sat!
This was a place ordinary individuals would never get close to in an entire lifetime.
The dragon chariot was so enormous that, as Xu Qing stepped onto it, he felt like he was entering a palace. In fact, opposite of him, there was an enormous imperial throne. Everything around him was decorated with auspicious designs. He saw broken lampstands. And even more shocking was that, on the walls were scribbled rows of text. They seemed to have been written in a hurry, perhaps by someone about to die, but not willing to let their legacy disappear.
As Xu Qing looked at the text, his mind felt like it was being struck by a hundred thousand lightning bolts which then coursed out with destructive power into every corner of his body. He shook violently as his eyes filled with blinding, golden light that gradually took the shape of a golden crow, its wings held tightly to its sides as it shot up to the highest heavens. The golden crow was so large that, even though its wings weren’t spread, it filled half the sky, and its golden light made it seem like a god. Its aura surpassed anything Xu Qing had ever encountered. Both Joine and Flame Phoenix would seem like peasants in comparison. This was the imposing grandeur of an emperor or sovereign!
Whether it was the Seven Blood Eyes sea annals, or what Third Elder had told him, or what Xu Qing himself was able to see by looking at the images, they all indicated the same thing.
The sun of this world was an entity like an Ancient Emperor. The sun was not human, but rather, a divine bird. A golden crow! Hē would leave with the sunrise and return after the sunset. The sun’s light warmed the lands before, and though it might not encompass all of Revered Ancient, at the very least, hē was a god to all living beings.
Xu Qing was shaken to the core, waves of shock battering him, his soul trembling, and his fleshly body quivering. It was a sensation difficult to put into words. He felt almost like he was inside of something not really true, like a myth. Like he had entered a world of the ancient past, before the broken face of the god arrived. And he was standing high above as all living beings offered worship to the sun’s imperial carriage.
A whole series of feelings struck Xu Qing to the core. And the image he was seeing, of the golden crow flying to the highest heavens like an emperor and like a sovereign, was so clear he was able to see the feathers of its wings, which were still held tightly to its sides. All of the feathers rippled, thrumming with something like a dao resonance.
It was the same type of feeling he got back in the forbidden region by the scavenger basecamp, when he entered that temple and saw the golden statue wielding a saber. That saber strike had left him shaken, and had served him as a trump card ever since. However, his level had been too low at the time, and thus, he didn’t have a full understanding of the move. In turn, that meant he couldn’t unleash its complete potential.
And yet, that also went to show that Xu Qing’s ability to obtain enlightenment surpassed that of ordinary individuals. In terms of aptitude, he was outstanding in Seven Blood Eyes. That said, if you included all of the countless species and sects in the Revered Ancient mainland, there were plenty of people who surpassed him. But for him to have acquired a saber move with dao resonance while in the Qi Condensation level proved that he had unusual powers of understanding.
Those powers of understanding were on full display again, as he immersed himself in the sight of the holy golden crow. He watched hīm fly to the highest heights. He watched hīm pierce the sky. He watched hīm rebuke the heavens.
Outside of Xu Qing’s life lamp, an illusory figure appeared. As it became more and more clear, it came to resemble a golden crow. The image became rapidly clearer. In Xu Qing’s eyes, he was watching the divine bird, the golden crow, emanating golden light that shone onto all heaven and earth. Then it spread its wings wide and flapped them.
Heaven and earth seemed like they might collapse, as intense rumbling sounds echoed out everywhere. It was like countless lightning bolts crashing at the same time, and it filled Xu Qing with profound astonishment. Though he felt like his mind was about to collapse, the golden crow outside of his life lamp coalesced even faster. At the same time, immense amounts of information flew from the golden crow he was seeing and into his mind.
That information was like a tempest, raging so wildly that Xu Qing had no time to ponder it. He was shaking, veins bulging out on his forehead, his eyes bloodshot as he accepted a new legacy.