Chapter 455: Consummate Amazing Good Fortune!!
A rift was opening in the dome of heaven, like a distant, heavenly eye! What was inside the rift was blurry and difficult to see clearly. But out of it leaked the heaven-shaking, earth-shattering power of magical laws.1
As a jailer from Unit C, Xu Qing had experienced months of the magical laws in the minor world there. As a result, he was very sensitive to magical laws. Beyond that, his heavenly dao bluegreen dragon was trembling and emitted a sensation of familiarity. [1]1
It was as if the dragon and that heavenly eye had the same origin!1
Mind reeling, Xu Qing looked at the dancing Captain. Though his white robe covered him completely, his dancing posture made Xu Qing feel like he was looking at an actual Woe-Immortal.0
Don’t tell me Eldest Brother was a Woe-Immortal in a past life? Ten Entrails of the True Immortal... is proving to be a totally different job than anything else Eldest Brother has planned! 5
Numerous thoughts were running through Xu Qing’s mind.0
Off to the side, Qing Qiu was absolutely stupefied as she watched everything playing out. What was happening now surpassed just about anything she could remember in all the years she had lived. She had been captured by Nightshades and forced to serve as a handmaiden. But then the two Nightshades slowly started to view her with less suspicion, until they treated her more like an honored guest. Then she watched them enter the depths of Ten Entrails of the True Immortal, until… they offered a sacrifice to heaven right in front of her. Sacrifices to heaven were not something that just anybody was capable of. What was especially noteworthy were that the numerous Woe-Immortal projections were all centered on the Nightshades.5
Meanwhile, Ning Yan was completely flabbergasted.5
As the Captain danced, the surrounding hundreds of thousands of Woe-Immortals accompanied him, and the Ten Entrails Tree swayed vigorously. Then, at a certain point, an anguished howl echoed out from the very top of the tree.1
“Cover me, little Junior Brother!” the Captain said.5
Without any hesitation, Xu Qing flew past the Captain and took a position in front of him. Expression serious, he sent out a mental command to the Nightshade divine likeness, which started speeding toward him.2
“His eyes are his weakness,” the Captain said anxiously. “Target the eyes!”0
A figure descended from the very top of the tree, moving with stupefying speed.0
As it approached, and Xu Qing got a glimpse of it, rumblings of shock filled his mind.0
This was no living being. It was a Woe-Immortal zombie, and it didn’t look like a human. Woe-Immortals had a totemic mark on their forehead that resembled writhing entrails or perhaps a snake. Taken in as a whole, the mark also resembled an eye.0
However, that wasn’t the most relevant thing. What really caused Xu Qing to reel was the general appearance of the Woe-Immortal. The zombie’s body was shriveled and emaciated, and emanated a strong aura of death. Its belly had been ripped open, and rotting entrails draped out of it. But based on how well Xu Qing knew the Captain, he could tell... that this Woe-Immortal’s facial features were very similar to the Captain’s! Especially noteworthy was the intense frigid energy that pulsed out from it in all directions. Xu Qing was also familiar with that coldness; it bore about an eighty percent similarity to the Captain’s.29
Though Xu Qing was stunned, there was no time to think about the situation. As the zombie raced toward him, its lower half vanished, becoming like a spinning wind that helped it accelerate even faster.7
As an intense sensation of crisis filled Xu Qing, the Nightshade divine likeness arrived and took a defensive position in front of him. A massive boom echoed out in all directions, followed by an intense shockwave.0
Xu Qing shook from head to toe and coughed up a huge mouthful of blood. As he tumbled backward, he saw the huge statue blocking the path of the zombie. The zombie attacked it with devastating force.0
However, the Nightshade divine likeness stood in place as solid as a mountain.0
The zombie howled as it fought, pulsing with Spirit Trove fluctuations as it tried to force its way past the Nightshade divine likeness. However, the giant statue flickered with black light as it used both hands to stave off the zombie. It didn’t move an inch.5
There was a temporary deadlock, but that didn’t mean Xu Qing had time to catch his breath. Similar howls erupted from the other nine main trunks as figures appeared atop them as well. All started moving in the direction of Xu Qing and the Captain.0
Xu Qing’s expression flickered and his hands blurred in an incantation gesture. All of a sudden, a second, third, and fourth Nightshade divine likeness flew toward him. They came from three of the other thirty-six city-states, which had connections to the other three royal dynasties. Though Xu Qing had never visited those other city-states, thanks to his connection to the statue from Heaven Zenith, he had expanded his ability to issue commands.4
These four statues were his trump card for this job in Ten Entrails of the True Immortal.0
The other three statues went all out to defend him. However, it was obvious they wouldn’t last for very long. Thankfully, the Captain’s offering was nearly over.0
As the crazy look in the Captain’s eyes grew extremely intense, a scene played out that got Xu Qing’s heart pounding.1
The Captain waved his hand, causing numerous chunks of flesh to appear, all of them different sizes and colors. However, every single one of those chunks of flesh emanated shocking fluctuations of godliness. Xu Qing recognized one of those chunks of flesh. It was from Joine of the Merfolk. [2]9
There were a total of thirty-three chunks of flesh, all with different auras that indicated they came from different godly entities. However, there was more.3
Next, the Captain took out nine black bottles which he smashed, causing nine drops of godly blood to fly out. Xu Qing recognized one of those blood drops. It had the aura of August Spirit Nethersprite. [3]4
After that, the Captain smacked his forehead, causing himself to vomit up a clump of black clay. The clay rapidly swirled into the shape of a palm-sized statue. It resembled... a zombie ancestor divine likeness from the Seazombies! Things still weren’t over though. The Captain continued to vomit, until there were eight additional small statues present. All of them looked different, and none had the aura of the Seazombies.9
Thirty-three chunks of godly flesh. Nine drops of godly blood. Nine astonishing divine likenesses.14
After accomplishing all of that, the Captain’s eyes radiated a fanatical look as he shouted, “Wake up, son! Time to eat!”23
He waved his hand again, and all of the items he had just produced rose up and converged on each other, forming into a huge sphere of flesh that shot toward the rift in the sky.0
The Captain bowed deeply at the waist, as did the hundreds of thousands of Woe-Immortals around him.1
The sphere of flesh disappeared into the rift.0
Chewing sounds echoed out, and then a heaven-rending, earth-crushing rumbling emerged from the rift. It was opening further! This time, the rift opened until it was thousands of meters across!! And now it revealed more of what lay beyond.0
Inside the rift was a void, and inside that void was some colossally monstrous entity. It wasn’t possible to see its entirety, but it was possible to see a vaguely humanoid shape. What was more, that humanoid shape’s belly had been ripped open.0
Just looking at it caused Xu Qing’s eyes to sting so badly he feared they might collapse. Only by infusing them with the power of his taboo poison and violet moon did he prevent them from being destroyed. That said, they still leaked blood.0
Next, the zombies that were fighting the Nightshade divine likenesses all turned and bowed toward the dome of heaven.0
Xu Qing simply watched, stunned. At the same time, the prostrating Captain looked up and saw the figure stirring beyond the rift, and his eyes filled with an absolutely crazy look. He laughed.0
“This is the biggest thing I’ve done in this life, little Junior Brother! And it’s all thanks to you! Without you, I would never have reached this point. The Holytides guard this place too tightly. I definitely would have failed, and then it would have taken another hundred years to get things ready again.4
“Now, I can finally tell you everything! Do you know what that is?” He pointed up into the sky. “It’s a heavenly dao! The Revered Ancient mainland has 100,000 heavenly daos, and every single one has complete power over a certain area. Above those heavenly daos are 99 ancient heavenly daos from remote antiquity!3
“What you’re looking at isn’t one of the 100,000 ordinary heavenly daos, nor one of the 99 ancient heavenly daos.0
“The Woe-Immortals are an amazing species that existed since the dawn of time. Their method of immortal ascension involved removing their entrails, and there’s a reason for that. They were one of the original 3,173 species of Revered Ancient. Each one of those species existed in a different time, but they all had the same mission!0
“And that was... to create heavenly daos!1
“Over 3,000 species, all scattered in different time periods, and all of them attempting to create a total of 100 ancient heavenly daos for Revered Ancient!0
“No one even knows how many epochs passed during which that was the state of affairs. Among the more than 3,000 species that existed before the Woe-Immortals, there was another species called the Ancient Spirits. Emperor Ancient Spirit came close to succeeding in that task, but ultimately failed, and the resulting backlash nearly wiped out his entire species. [4]0
“Later, the broken face of the god arrived, and calamity struck. The mission those more than 3,000 species had been working on for so many years faced an unexpected twist. The Woe-Immortals were the most recent successors of the mission, and had been building atop the failure of the Ancient Spirits. They were very, very close to succeeding!4
“The final step was to take the ten entrails of the final pureblooded member of their species who reached immortal ascension and put it into the body of that heavenly dao. They would become the entrails of the heavenly dao, connecting it permanently to the Revered Ancient mainland. Once that connection was made, the heavenly dao would awaken!0
“That final missing step that the Woe-Immortals couldn’t complete is what I’m going to finish today!3
“The 99 ancient heavenly daos of Revered Ancient don’t have senses. They don’t have an objective consciousness. They exist in a state of chaos. This 100th ancient heavenly dao is the same. However, once it awakens, its consciousness will be in the control of whoever created it!11
“From ancient times until now, the more than 3,000 species involved in the mission are all considered fathers. Unfortunately, most have ceased to exist. As for us... since we put our own entrails into the Ten Entrails Tree, once the heavenly dao puts that tree into its body to become whole, then we will have accomplished that final step. As investors in that heavenly dao, we will become fathers to it!25
“What do you think, little Junior Brother? Does this count as heaven-shaking, earth-shattering consummate amazing good fortune?”8
The Captain threw his head back and laughed maniacally.4
Xu Qing was still reeling.2
Meanwhile, a deafening rumbling erupted from above, a hand as pure as snow-white jade emerged, emanating a shockingly fragrant aroma. Innumerable magical laws swept out from the hand, spreading far and wide. In the blink of an eye, they covered all of Eastern Wasteland County. Mountains, rivers, plants, vegetation, terrain features, all living beings. Everything was within it. The hearts of countless living beings raced as the massive hand descended, then grabbed the Ten Entrails Tree and wrenched it up!0
As the tree rocked, Xu Qing and the others staggered. That said, the trembling of the tree couldn’t compare to how much Xu Qing’s heart was pounding.0
The Captain’s words were still echoing in his mind.0
Investors in a heavenly dao? Become fathers of a heavenly dao? 0
Xu Qing could hardly control his breathing.6
Off to the side, Qing Qiu and Ning Yan were equally astonished. Then, in almost the same moment, they moved to rip open their bellies and place their entrails on the tree.1
“Too late!” the Captain said. He laughed heartily. “You should have listened to me before. It’s too late now.” The Captain looked very excited. “ Little Junior Brother, although this 100th ancient heavenly dao is finally awake, it still needs more time. Probably years. But in the meantime, we’ll still benefit from being the fathers of a heavenly dao! 4
“Compared to this, that sissy Kong Xianglong’s jobs don’t count for squat! He went scrounging around for days just to get a few military credits. They could go around doing that for a lifetime and never match up to this!” 38
The Captain’s words resonated with pride and complacency.7
1. Xu Qing’s bluegreen dragon became an ‘embryonic heavenly dao’ in chapter 437. Interestingly, that was the very same chapter in which the Captain teased the details of this entire big plan. ☜
2. The Captain got a chunk of Joine’s flesh in chapter 125. ☜
3. The Captain got Nethersprite’s blood in chapter 338. ☜
4. The Ancient Spirits were previously mentioned in both chapter 430 and 431. Emperor Ancient Spirit was mentioned in 431. The story in those chapters differs slightly from the story here. There are many ways to reconcile how the stories are different. That said, this is a good spot to remind everyone that the author is not averse to seeding the story with misinformation, especially when it comes to ‘ancient history,’ and especially when random characters are talking about lore. Just because some character recounts a story of ancient history doesn’t mean it’s canonically accurate. I’m not saying that ALL dialogue by characters is flawed. I’m just saying that you need to take everything with a grain of salt. I cannot even count how many times I’ve seen comments in ISSTH, AWE, and now this story where readers obviously took every word written in every chapter as absolute canon, when that’s definitely not the case. ☜