Chapter 444: A Shocking Kowtow
It was noon, and the sun was very bright. A north wind blew, stirring the hair of everyone present.
As Xu Qing stood on the unfamiliar soil, he did the same as Qing Qiu and glanced back at Sea-Sealing County. After a moment, he looked away and studied his surroundings. It was an instinct for him now. Whenever he ended up in an unfamiliar setting, he would always familiarize himself with his surroundings as quickly as possible.
The soil was made of brown sand, and there were mountains in the distance. There wasn’t much in the way of greenery, with melting white snow visible in many places. Truth be told, there wasn’t much difference compared to what Xu Qing was used to. After all, Holytides and humans were fundamentally very similar, with the main difference being the Nightshade blood in the Holytides.
As Xu Qing scanned the surroundings, the Captain nodded in response to the young Holytide.
The young Holytide looked more fanatical than ever. With a very serious facial expression, he looked at Xu Qing and the Captain and said, “It was a true honor to be of some help to the two of you. Without you, I wouldn’t have survived the return trip. Your humble servant can only beg that the two of you deign to come with me to the duchy of Heaven Zenith and let me show you the true hospitality of a lesser species.
“My hometown is by the Ten Entrails Tree, which is about to bear dao fruit. The coming months are going to be very exciting, full of supernatural phenomena. Granted, it can’t compare to anything from your superior species, but it’s still one of the most fantastic events in the Holytide Region. Whatever things you need once we reach Heaven Zenith, our duke can definitely arrange to get them for you.”
With that, the young Holytide stepped back a few paces, then clasped hands and bowed.
Xu Qing seemed to be mulling over the proposition, as was the Captain. The Captain narrowed his eyes and looked deeply at the young Holytide.
Xu Qing did the same, then coolly said, “Alright.”
The young Holytide looked absolutely delighted, and quickly yelled out for the caravan to start moving again. Soon the sounds of cracking whips filled the air as the caravan sped along.
Now that Xu Qing and the Captain didn’t need to stay in hiding, they rode on the fourleggers. In order to stay out of the sunlight, they both put on voluminous black robes. Qing Qiu was like their servant, behind them, her head bowed as she struggled to keep her killing intent buried in her heart.
In human lands, the Holytides weren’t allowed to use teleportation portals, which meant that journeys there took a long time. But in their own lands, things were different. Before long, they had reached a public teleportation portal complex.
There, the Heaven Zenith caravan began teleporting to its next destination. It took about an hour for the entire caravan to reach the western part of Eastern Wasteland County. This was the location of Ten Entrails of the True Immortal, and also the thirty-six city-states.
Once they materialized, Xu Qing looked to the west. It was dark there.
He could just barely make out a huge tree with trunk-like branches that resembled entrails, stretching high into the sky. The branches intertwined, creating a huge canopy over the lands that resembled an umbrella. It filled the greater part of the sky, and was boundlessly majestic. That canopy was so thick the sunlight couldn’t penetrate it, therefore, there were humanoid-shaped lanterns beneath it that cast light. It was a very astonishing scene.
The area lit by the lanterns was massive. It contained a vast jungle, at the edge of which were numerous walled cities built in a roughly circular configuration around the massive tree. Every city had its own color scheme. Some were monochrome, others were multicolored. It created a very exotic atmosphere. At the same time, astonishing pressure from the giant tree weighed down everywhere.
“Exalted ones, this is Ten Entrails of the True Immortal, where the duchy of Heaven Zenith lies. See the pure white city up ahead? That’s Heaven Zenith. I’ve already notified the duke of your impending arrival, and he was delighted. They should already be preparing a welcoming banquet. After you, exalted ones.”
The fanaticism in the Holytide’s eyes hadn’t changed one bit. As he led Xu Qing and the Captain along, he enthusiastically offered a more detailed introduction.
“Exalted ones, the Ten Entrails Tree is said to be the embodiment of the last pureblooded Woe-Immortal to reach immortal ascension. It was a very, very long time ago.... Every hundred years, the tree will produce a huge crop of fruit. That’s why we had to bring this shipment of cloudmother stones here. The fruits are amazing, and they’re considered one of the most marvelous materials you can use in equipment forging....”
As he went on with the introduction, the caravan got closer and closer to the white city.
Though it was only considered a small nation, the city itself was quite large, similar in scale to the Seven Blood Eyes capital city.
There were quite a few cultivators waiting outside of the city. They numbered in the hundreds, with Gold Core cultivators present and even Nascent Soul experts as well. Toward the front there was even a middle-aged man in a royal robe who had three secret troves on display, as well as shocking cultivation base fluctuations.
Qing Qiu struggled to breathe steadily as her mood got worse and worse. She knew that, as of now, she had almost no hope of escaping.
Xu Qing and the Captain showed no visible reaction. As for the young Holytide, he looked at his hometown with a mix of sorrow and familiarity. As he led the way, he continued to offer introductions.
“Exalted ones, because the dao fruits of my hometown are so valuable, we usually get a lot of foreign rats who try to sneak in here around this time. Of course, humans make up the majority of such infiltrators. Sometimes they just sneak in. Other times they disguise themselves as nonhumans. They’ve even been known to come in looking like Holytides.
“The thirty-six city-states here keep records about such things. Over the years, there have been more than nine hundred occasions in which our enemies disguised themselves as Holytides. And there have been over seven hundred instances in which they just snuck inside. Foreigners will use just about any means necessary to try to steal those fruits.
“By the way, exalted ones, I’m not sure if you’re aware of it, but there have been more than thirty times when a foreigner has snuck into one of the city-states here disguised as a Nightshade.”
All of a sudden, the young Holytide snapped a jade slip. He vanished, only to reappear a moment later just outside the duchy of Heaven Zenith, right in front of the Spirit Trove duke.
He was still smiling, but instead of reverence, his expression was one of derision. Grinning at Xu Qing and the Captain, he said, “Oh two exalted members of the greater species, I welcome you to our kingdom of Heaven Zenith. So... are you humans dressed up as Nightshades? Or are you from some other species?
“I could tell there was something wrong about you two from the first moment I saw you. It was too coincidental. As it happened, I was aware that there were Nightshades operating in human territory. Then lo-and-behold, we ‘just so happened’ to run into two Nightshades being chased by swordsages.
“You wanted to trick us into bringing you into Holytide territory. As a humble member of a lesser species, it was only natural that I would volunteer to help. And despite a few unexpected situations, I managed to completely fool you. It was not in vain that an earl like myself went on this journey. Father, would you say this counts as a big service on my part?”
The young Holytide earl was grinning from ear to ear. Many of the other surrounding Holytides from Heaven Zenith were also looking at Xu Qing and the Captain with mocking grins. The Spirit Trove duke gave a hearty laugh and shot a look of praise in his son’s direction.
The sudden development caught Qing Qiu by surprise. Eyes narrowing, she looked suspiciously at the two ‘Nightshades’ in front of her. She had assumed all along that the two of them were real Nightshades. But now everything had turned around, and it was beyond her ability to predict. And yet, she quickly came to realize that the two Nightshades hadn’t reacted at all to the development. That was yet another shock.
Qing Qiu’s observation was astute. Xu Qing hadn’t reacted in even the slightest way.
The Captain’s expression was steely, yet he also hadn’t reacted at all. Looking coldly at the duchy of Heaven Zenith, he said, “You Holytides have really got some gall. Bring your ducal preceptor out right now to be sacrificed!”
In response, the Holytides continued to smile coldly. The duke narrowed his eyes.
As for the young earl, he grinned and said, “Exalted ones, the two of you are apparently a bit forgetful. Don’t you remember what I just told you? From ancient times until now, our thirty-six city-states have recorded over thirty instances in which we caught enemies disguised as Nightshades. Did you really think we wouldn’t be able to tell? Since you’re refusing to admit to the truth, I guess I’ll just force you to reveal your true form! I’d originally planned to give you a bit of face due to the friendship we struck up on the road. But now, I take that back!”
Looking like he was having the time of his life, the earl waved his hand, instantly causing the white city behind him to vibrate.
A huge black statue rose up from the middle of the city. It was more than ninety meters tall, and looked exactly like a Nightshade. It wore a suit of armor, had its arms crossed over its chest, and had a moon tattoo on its forehead. What was more, it emanated stupefying fluctuations. After it rose into the air above the city, it floated past the walls, pulsing with immense pressure.
“Please, oh great Nightshade divine likeness, check the identity of this individual!” The earl of Heaven Zenith grinned viciously as he pointed at the Captain.
In response, the huge statue emanated dazzling black light, as it shifted to look coldly at the Captain.
Its gaze caused the Captain to shiver. Then the statue spoke in a voice that boomed like thunder.
“Weak faith. Mixed bloodline. Not a Nightshade!”
All of the Holytide cultivators erupted with killing intent. Then, the earl cackled complacently.
“Still not going to admit it?” he asked scornfully. “And you! Please, oh great Nightshade divine likeness, please check this individual!” He pointed contemptuously at Xu Qing.
The huge Nightshade statue solemnly looked down at Xu Qing. And then... to the shock of everyone present, it started trembling. The trembling grew more intense, until it affected the black light shining off the statue. It made it more intense! In the shortest of moments, the black light expanded so dramatically that it became a pitch black sea. Heaven and earth distorted in all directions.
Next, the consummately majestic statue suddenly dropped to the ground.
To the shock of the surrounding Holytides, the statue strode over to Xu Qing, fell to its knees, and kowtowed. Eyes filled with incomparable fanaticism, it cried out, “My respects, Your Majesty!!”