Chapter 449: Godchild on the Move
Xu Qing’s words were spoken very naturally. And they didn’t come across like a mere order spoken by an officer to a subordinate. Rather, they were like a casually uttered command from a superior species to a lesser species, in which there wasn’t even the slightest consideration offered to allow for refusal.
When the Captain heard those words, his heart swelled with surprise. He was extremely pleased with how Xu Qing was putting these Black Guard cultivators on challenge.
The Black Guard’s previous attempt to force Xu Qing into a passive position had been a challenge. But Xu Qing’s response was also a challenge.
The moment the words left Xu Qing’s mouth, the surrounding Black Guard cultivators’ expressions flickered dramatically.
Lin Yuandong shivered from head to toe, and despite his best efforts, began breathing heavily. His life lamp had already been turned into a heavenly palace, and was an integral part of him. If it was extracted now... one of his heavenly palaces would be destroyed and he would be left with a near-fatal wound. In fact, it was an injury he might never be able to recover from. In any other circumstance, he would have fought to the death before allowing that to happen. After all, from the time he was very young, Lin Yuandong had been a top chosen cultivator with spectacular natural talent, whether before he joined the Black Guard or after. His father was also extremely powerful. Because of all that, he had been rapidly rising through the ranks of the Black Guard. Being from the second caste, he was considered to have noble Holytide blood. That made him above most other Holytides, and filled him with a sense of superiority that seeped deep into his bones.
But now he felt like little more than a stray dog. He was overwhelmed with a sense of humiliation, and what made it all worse was how casually the words were spoken. Truth be told, it made sense for them to sound natural. It didn’t matter what Lin Yuandong’s status was among the Holytides. That wasn’t relevant when dealing with Nightshades. Though the royal clan had some freedom of speech when dealing with Nightshades, if it was true that this particular Nightshade was a godchild, then not even someone from the royal clan could do anything to defy them.
After all, the Holytides existed because of the Nightshades. It was not a relationship of equals, it was a master-slave relationship!
There was someone else whose facial expression flickered dramatically, and that was Zhou Xingwu. No longer could he maintain the cold expression he had started out with. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Xu Qing, and a thousand thoughts spun in his mind.
The truth was that the royal edict hadn’t specifically mentioned that the two Nightshades had to be brought back to the capital city. That had been his idea.
It just didn’t occur to him that the response would be like this. In the blink of an eye, he was put into a lose-lose situation. He couldn’t just follow a command to extract Lin Yuandong’s life lamp. If he did that, his position in the Black Guard would instantly become untenable, and worse, it would involve deeply offending the provincial governor. After all, the governor wouldn’t dare do anything to anger the Nightshades, but he could still punish Zhou Xingwu.
Unfortunately for Zhou Xingwu, if he didn’t obey the command... then there was no way he could follow through with his threat disguised as an invitation.
Just as he was feeling like he had no options to pick from, Xu Qing’s eyes glittered coldly.
“Hmm?”
Zhou Xingwu’s brow was furrowed with anxiety, and the other Black Guard cultivators were looking at him nervously. They knew that if their commandant really followed through and extracted Lin Yuandong’s life lamp, then all of their lives would be in the hands of the Nightshades.
Lin Yuandong’s eyes were completely bloodshot as he looked at Zhou Xingwu.
In that heated moment, a gentle voice reached them from a short distance away.
“Exalted Godchild.”
It was Duke Heaven Zenith, who hurried over and bowed respectfully to Xu Qing. Then he looked coldly at Zhou Xingwu. As far as he was concerned, this Nightshade godchild was authentic. He needed to be authentic. He had to be authentic. After all, if he was authentic, then it meant the duke’s son really had been blessed into the first caste. Therefore... regardless of anything, until the Nightshade Cathedral made a final decision, he was treating the Nightshades as authentic.
Because of that, he was very displeased with Zhou Xingwu’s actions. That said, because they were both members of the government, he had to do his best to smooth things over.
“Exalted Godchild, unfortunately, that life lamp has been sullied by the child. It’s dirty. That said, the kingdom of Heavengale has other life lamps, unsullied ones, that would probably work well for you. What if you took one of those instead?”
Zhou Xingwu immediately nodded and clasped hands to Xu Qing. “Exalted one, I can get in touch with my superiors right away. The moment you arrive in Heavengale, the lamp can be presented to you.”
Xu Qing’s expression remained very calm. He seemed neither happy nor angry. And yet, that just made the atmosphere tenser.
Off to the side, the Captain looked extremely furious as he barked, “You impudent fools! You think our godchild is going to go on some big journey just for a trifling life lamp?”
Xu Qing had to marvel. The Captain’s words had already crushed any notion about them going to the kingdom of Heavengale.
As for Duke Heaven Zenith, he looked at Zhou Xingwu and intentionally revealed the irritation he was feeling inside.
Zhou Xingwu sighed inwardly. It was now obvious that there was no way he would be able to force the Nightshades to go to the kingdom of Heavengale. At least, not unless he extracted Lin Yuandong’s life lamp right then and there. If he pushed the issue, he would definitely offend the Nightshades. What was more, he could tell that Duke Heaven Zenith wasn’t going to let him do that. That said, he was also a bit puzzled as to why the two Nightshades refused to go to Heavengale. It seemed a bit suspicious.
But in the end, it wasn’t something he needed to worry about. If these Nightshades were imposters, his own superiors could decide what to do. And if they were authentic, then pushing things too far wouldn’t end well for him.
Therefore, he clasped hands and bowed.
“Your humble servant wasn’t thinking clearly. I’ll send word about the life lamp to my superiors.”
Xu Qing glanced at Lin Yuandong, then shook his head.
“I have a lot of life lamps, and not just from Holytides like you people. It’s just that I really want this specific blue life lamp.”
Lin Yuandong shivered, and his expression became one of grief and indignation. He clenched his hands into fists as feelings of anxiety and fury filled him. However, he didn’t dare to vent such feelings. He didn’t even dare to talk back. After all, he was fully aware that if he said something even slightly disrespectful, he would lose a lot more than his life lamp. The feeling of being humiliated by a superior species filled him with burning anger that only got more and more intense as the moments ticked by.
Zhou Xingwu’s brows were furrowed, and his expression was extremely dour.
The Captain swallowed hard, musing that Xu Qing really was going absolutely crazy. If they pushed these people so far that they actually made a move, both of them would be done for.
Zhang San was absolutely right! Little Ah Qing... is way crazier than I am!
Everyone seemed to be standing there, minds reeling, as Xu Qing slowly walked toward Lin Yuandong. As he neared, the might and prestige imparted by the simple word ‘Nightshade’ filled the hearts of all the Holytide cultivators present. When Xu Qing stopped in front of Lin Yuandong, all that Zhou Xingwu could do was look on with eyes glittering coldly. It was impossible for anyone to tell what he was thinking.
Lin Yuandong stood there shivering, sweat dripping down his forehead. He felt fury, but also despair. And then... Xu Qing suddenly laughed.
It was a laughter that instantly cut through all the pressure that had built up.
Xu Qing reached out and gently patted Lin Yuandong’s shoulder.
“Fear not. I was just joking.”
Lin Yuandong stood there, trembling slightly, his face a mask of blank surprise.
Xu Qing shook his head, laughed again, then turned and headed in the direction of the Ten Entrails Tree.
The Captain blinked a few times, then followed Xu Qing. Qing Qiu and Ning Yan were still reeling mentally, but they also followed. The Black Guard cultivators, who had essentially been blocking their way, parted and respectfully bowed as Xu Qing passed.
Once he was gone, the Black Guard cultivators all breathed sighs of relief. Mixed emotions could be seen on their faces. That was especially true of Lin Yuandong, who was still trying to breathe steadily. Moments before, he had felt intense fury and despair. But now everything had been turned around, and his disbelief was turning into gratitude. And within that gratitude was a bit of admiration for Xu Qing’s unpredictable temperament.
What were important people like? They definitely changed from person to person. But in the final analysis, all were people who could effortlessly wrench your mood between happiness and fury. When they were happy, you breathed a sigh of relief. When they were angry, you were terrified. With a word, they could determine both your mood, and your very life or death. That was what important people were like.
The Black Guard cultivators watched Xu Qing leaving, and they couldn’t help but think back to the lessons they had been taught from childhood, that Nightshades should never be spoken to disrespectfully. Previously, that had been head knowledge to them. Now they had experienced it personally. The simplest way to understand the Nightshade Cathedral was that it was so lofty they would never have dealings with it. As they looked at Xu Qing, their eyes filled with the same kind of reverence Lin Yuandong was feeling.
Then Xu Qing’s voice echoed back to them.
“Zhou Xingwu, I expect to see a life lamp in front of me by day’s end. By the way, what are the rest of you all standing around for? Come with me into the depths of Ten Entrails of the True Immortal. Duke Heaven Zenith, you come too.”
“Yes, sir!” Duke Heaven Zenith said. He was absolutely convinced about the authenticity of these Nightshades, and was certain that it meant plenty of glory for his son in the future.
Xu Qing obviously realized that. It was one reason why he had given that blessing. Sometimes, both honor and humiliation could be used to blind people’s loyalties.
“Your orders shall be followed,” Zhou Xingwu said, keeping his head bowed. He obviously felt a massive amount of pressure. After all, he could send a request to his superiors, but that didn’t mean that they were guaranteed to just provide a life lamp.
Regardless, he was deeply struck by the way Nightshades handled things. Therefore, he immediately took out a jade slip and recorded a message onto it. He gave it to one of his subordinates to teleport back to the kingdom of Heavengale to deliver it. Then he led the Black Guard cultivators after Xu Qing and the others, where they took up guard positions. Lin Yuandong worked harder than any of the others, and personally took responsibility for Xu Qing’s immediate area.
The Captain was feeling quite invigorated, and would occasionally glance back and forth between the Black Guard cultivators and the expressionless Xu Qing. As far as he was concerned, this event had been immensely satisfying. A swordsage had actually forced a group of Black Guard cultivators to lead the way and act as personal bodyguards.
Once we’re in Ten Entrails of the True Immortal, any subsequent crises will be a lot easier to handle. Now that the first crisis is out of the way, and we have Black Guard cultivators escorting us, things should be much easier.
And thus, they slowly approached the Ten Entrails of the True Immortal Tree Jungle. It looked different compared to before. All of the ‘eye’ fruits were opened. And as the sunlight shone down, they glowed with mysterious light as they looked coldly at the people approaching.
From a distance, those ten dark-brown branches twisted and wound high into the sky, emanating a terrifying aura that made everyone below feel like ants. The imposing tree influenced the energy, blood, minds, and hearts of everyone who got close to it, filling their hearts with absolute dread.
Looking into the depths of the jungle, the duke said, “Exalted Godchild, when the Ten Entrails Tree blooms, there are many bizarre phenomena. Sir, you really shouldn’t put yourself in danger. Please, safeguard your most godly self by refraining from going in too deep. If necessary, your humble servant and Commandant Zhou Xingwu can help you harvest fruits.”
“What kind of bizarre phenomena?” Xu Qing asked calmly. “Tell me about them.”
Duke Heaven Zenith clasped hands and respectfully replied, “Exalted Godchild, based on the records kept by the thirty-six city-states, when the tree blooms every hundred years, and the fruits ripen, the space-time in the depths of the tree is thrown into chaos.
“Most people who go in there disappear and rarely return. Occasionally, some people who escape will tell about entering a different space and time where they personally witness that Woe-Immortal reaching immortal ascension.”
The duke could understand why the godchild wouldn’t know about these things. After all, to Nightshades, the Eastern Wasteland County of the Holytide Region was a backward and insignificant place. Even if this Nightshade was well-educated and extremely knowledgeable, it made sense that he wouldn’t know small details about places like this.
“In addition, the deeper you go in, the more you have to deal with the curse there. The records indicate that there have even been Void Returning experts who died there.” Open fear could be seen on the duke’s face.