Chapter 274: Brutal Lands
Before coming to the coalition, Xu Qing had read about the Three-Spirits Dao-Suppressing Mountain in the sect files.
“For 500,000 kilometers around the Dao-Suppressing Mountain, skeletons litter the landscape, and bones stick up out of the ground like a forest. Flayed skin and melted hair cover everything underfoot, turning it black.
“As far as the eye can see, blood and gore cover the lands, creating a horrendous atmosphere. Bones can be seen piled up everywhere and instead of fruit hanging from trees, you will see severed heads, still alive, and howling in endless pain and torment as blood drips from them to the ground.
“There are mountains of corpses and seas of blood. The stench is horrendous in this hell on earth. Within the territory of the Dao-Suppressing Mountain are 137 nations, made up of both humans and nonhumans that are kept for food. When a nation is devoured, another is put in its place.”
That was the description of the Three-Spirits Dao-Suppressing Mountain found in the files of Seven Blood Eyes.
Those brutal lands bordered the Eight Sect Coalition, and were also near the sea, separated only by the Supreme Arbiter Salvation Mountains.
Xu Qing knew why the sect had picked this spot to occupy. For one thing, it was connected to the coalition as a whole. Though it was near the Dao-Suppressing Mountain, the coalition was also one of the top forces in the Emperor-Receiving Prefecture. If the Dao-Suppressing Mountain invaded, it would lead to full-scale war.
Another reason the sect had chosen this spot was that it was close to the Everlasting Immortal Profundity River, and the spirit energy was strong. That, in turn, would help Seven Blood Eyes to purge the mutagen from within them.
Most relevant was the canal that now made its way through the city, which would provide strong immortal energy to both sides of the canal. The tributary of the Everlasting Immortal Profundity River belonged to the coalition, but according to the negotiated agreement, the canal belonged to Seven Blood Eyes. Although the area occupied by Seven Blood Eyes was now wildly valuable, before the Everlasting Immortal Profundity River tributary filled up, it had been worthless.
At least, those were Xu Qing’s speculations. He hadn’t been present at all the meetings, nor had he even qualified to participate in the discussions between the sect leaders and patriarchs, so he couldn’t be sure.
But he was already wary about the Three-Spirits Dao-Suppressing Mountain. And it reinforced the fact that the coalition was no paradise. Things seemed very nice here, but it was all built on strength. Nothing was truly certain, but one thing was for sure: if you weren’t strong, then your paradise would disappear, and you would become food for someone else.
The sunrise and sunset can be changed dramatically, much less the nice conditions here. Xu Qing looked away from the direction where the Three-Spirits Dao-Suppressing Mountain lay, and contemplated how weak he was. Once the construction is complete, I’ll ask Master to give me some new divine abilities to study. I need to get stronger!
Eyes shining with determination, he took a deep breath and continued to keep an eye on the surrounding area.
Days passed. Construction work went on constantly. Roads were paved, buildings went up, and spell formations were put into place. The hard work of the Seven Blood Eyes disciples and mortal citizens ensured that the city was rapidly taking shape.
More and more disciples and mortals arrived on a daily basis. The previously empty city was already starting to thrum with life.
The seven mountain peaks were brought in and set up in the city center. Of course, Seven Blood Eyes wasn’t going to abandon South Phoenix. They brought in seven new mountain peaks from the nearby Mountains of Truth, which ensured that the grand spell formation continuously functioned. Although there weren’t as many disciples in the old capital city as before, now that Seven Blood Eyes was a supervisory sect, it wouldn’t be difficult to recruit more cultivators from South Phoenix and the Forbidden Sea.
Life went on.
Now that Seven Blood Eyes was a member of the Eight Sect Coalition, they needed to make sure that their leadership positions matched those of the other sects. For instance, all coalition sects had a sect leader, a position that Seven Blood Eyes never had. Now it did.
There was no debate over Master Seventh becoming the new sect leader. As for the position of Seventh Peak peaklord, it was taken by Master Seventh’s daoist partner, who was Ding Xue’s aunt. [1]
The current elders were given the new title of dharma protector. Going forward, only Nascent Soul cultivators could be elders. At the moment, only the peaklords were in that level. From that it was obvious that Seven Blood Eyes wanted its peaklords to all be in the Spirit Trove level.
After the matter of titles and positions was handled, Seven Blood Eyes was officially a member of the coalition. That said, there were sundry other matters to handle, and everyone in the sect was incredibly busy.
Everyone had at least one or two different responsibilities.
The sect didn’t want disciples to feel pressure regarding their cultivation, so they distributed a lot of resources, and also issued missions with enticing rewards. Because they weren’t deadly missions, people were very excited to accept them and earn the rewards.
Xu Qing’s second assignment was to work with some fellow disciples to shove as much mutagen-filled water out of the port and back into the Forbidden Sea. That, in turn, made it possible for other disciples to start building the harbors in the port. Xu Qing had never gone back to South Phoenix after being part of the delegation. He had made a big scene when they debarked, and had then defeated Sima Ru in battle. Everyone felt shaken because of that. As a result, he was exactly like Master Shengyun back in the day, a shining beacon that attracted attention.
Though no official announcement had been made in the coalition, everyone knew that he was now the number one chosen. Of course, many people were curious about him. Because of that, as Xu Qing worked with the other disciples, implementing the technique to drive out the mutagen from the port, quite a few coalition disciples from other sects were present, watching. To them, the fact that Seven Blood Eyes was joining the coalition was a huge deal, so it was only natural that they would want to take a look at the top disciple from there.
Many of them were female disciples, and as soon as they caught a glimpse of Xu Qing, their eyes lit up, and they began whispering amongst themselves.
The Seven Blood Eyes disciples took it as a matter of course. This kind of thing had been happening a lot lately. They just carried on, sighing and occasionally looking up at Xu Qing.
Xu Qing ignored all that, and focused on the technique to keep the water out of the port. He was coming to discover that his assignments in the sect all came with opportunities to refine his cultivation techniques. For instance, pushing the seawater out required using the Seaforming Scripture, and also allowed him to feel the full pressure of the Forbidden Sea pushing against him. It took full concentration, otherwise he would be sent tumbling backward.
The effort touched on maintaining stability and forcefulness with dharma force. The pressure of the seawater was like an enormous grindstone constantly polishing him. As Xu Qing came to realize how he was benefiting, he focused even more on doing a good job.
As he was in the middle of this type of cultivation, Ding Xue arrived.
She wore a simple blue garment decorated with floating clouds. Her hair was bound in a ponytail, and she had a sword strapped to her back that was decorated with flying phoenixes, and inset with jade. She looked valiant and formidable as she walked through the sea breeze. However, her slightly flushed face and completely innocent gaze made her seem unusually charming. [2]
She looked curiously at the female disciples gazing at Xu Qing. And then, after he finished his work and settled down cross-legged to catch his breath, she approached and said, “Big Bro Xu Qing.”
He opened his eyes, noted her presence, and nodded.
“Big Bro Xu Qing, I learned some new things about plants and vegetation lately. I concocted a bottle of hundred-spirits immortal grass serum, and when I took a sip, I thought it tasted great. But... the medicinal efficacy doesn’t seem very high....” Upon seeing Xu Qing frown in response to her words, she quickly added, “Big Bro Xu Qing, my uncle is so busy nowadays, and so is my aunt. And my grandpa never sees anybody. You’re the only one who can help me, Big Bro Xu Qing. If you just have a minute, could you please give even a tip or two to little old Xue’er?”
Ding Xue was charming, and she had a lovely voice that currently sounded a bit coquettish.
When she mentioned those the three people, Xu Qing really had no choice but to nod in agreement. [3]
Ding Xue’s eyes brightened, and she took out a bottle along with a healthy stack of spirit notes.
Upon seeing the spirit notes, Xu Qing felt a bit less irritated at having his cultivation interrupted. Taking the bottle, he examined it briefly. Given his understanding of plants and vegetation, he could tell immediately that it wasn’t poison. He took a sip.
“Not bad.”
Ding Xue’s face brightened even more. Being very circumspect, she asked a few more questions, then turned to leave. As she did, she glanced at all the nearby female disciples from the other sects in the coalition, and she snorted inwardly.
Those damn floozies. How dare they try to steal Big Bro Xu Qing from me. They were too far away to hear what we were talking about, so all they saw was me giving Big Bro Xu Qing a medicinal serum, and then him drinking it.
This is the way to show who’s the boss! Although, these people aren’t worth worrying about. I already took care of Gu Muqing; she’s in seclusion trying to reach Foundation Establishment. My biggest enemy right now is Yanyan!
The mere thought of Yanyan caused Ding Xue to grind her teeth. As she tried to think of a way to get rid of Yanyan, Zhao Zhongheng was stomping toward her from a short distance away.
He was an important person too, though not on the same level as Xu Qing. He hadn’t given up on Ding Xue, and was convinced that one day she would turn around and realize that the person she was waiting for had been there behind her all along. The mere thought of that caused him to shiver, and then look even more determined than ever.
Xu Qing noticed what was going on. He was no longer a foolish kid, new to the sect and ignorant of the things that happened between men and women. He knew what the feathered tents in the scavenger basecamps were, and knew why many people frequented them. He had grown up, and along the way, had learned a lot from Huang Yan and Third Elder Brother. That said, such matters still didn’t interest him much.
Ignoring the scene between Zhao Zongheng and Ding Xue, he focused on cultivation and pushing the seawater out of the port.
Days passed. After the port construction was complete, Xu Qing didn’t get any new assignments. Therefore, he sent a voice message to Master Seventh.
“Master, I want to know more about the coalition chosen. Why do they stay at the four flame level and not move on to Gold Core? Also... I feel like I don’t have enough magical techniques. I’m hoping you can help me understand more about all that.”
Only a moment later, Master Seventh replied. “Come see me.”
Eyes lighting up with anticipation, Xu Qing hurried to the Seventh Peak. Master Seventh was now the sect leader, but he still chose to put Sect Leader Palace there. After arriving at the summit, Xu Qing saw Ding Xue’s aunt, who was Master Seventh’s daoist partner. She was angrily storming out of Sect Leader Palace.
“Well met, Mistress,” he said, clasping hands.
She stopped and looked at him, her expression softening. “Hello, Little Fourth. Ding Xue told me how seriously you’ve been taking your cultivation, and what good character you have. I know that you always take good care of her, even when she’s stubborn. And you never refuse her requests. You’re a really good kid.” Raising her voice, she continued, “Unlike someone who’s lived for so long yet hasn’t said a single kind or gentle thing ever! He deserves to be alone!” She was obviously still angry. However, she still took out a violet bottle and handed it to Xu Qing. “This is a myriad-spirits recuperation pill. Give it to your Master when you head in. I’m not in the mood.”
With that, she left.
Xu Qing looked curiously at the medicine bottle, then walked into Sect Leader Palace. Master Seventh was there, looking very tired as he worked at painting the wall. He was creating a map of the Emperor-Receiving Prefecture. There was one spot on the map that attracted Xu Qing’s attention. It was on the mainstem of the Eternal Millennium, some distance away from the Supreme Arbiter Salvation Mountains, where the river reached the sea.
In that spot, Master Seventh was painting a person seated in meditation!
1. We saw Ding Xue’s aunt very briefly in chapter 245, and before that, she had a speaking role in a scene in chapter 166. ☜
2. Ding Xue was previously mentioned in chapter 226, and her last onscreen appearance was in 199. ☜
3. I probably don’t need to remind you, but Ding Xue’s aunt is the new peaklord of the Seventh Peak. Her uncle is Master Seventh, and her grandfather is Sir Bloodsmelter. ☜