Chapter 543: Old Haunts, Old Friends, Old Stories (part 1)
Beyond Emperor-Receiving Prefecture, atop the pitch-black Forbidden Sea, there were endless rolling waves and a mist full of cold mutagen. Even in the middle of the day, the burning heat of the sun couldn’t disperse that mutagen, much less illuminate the depths of the sea. That was why, over the countless years that had passed, there were many legends on the Forbidden Sea about godly entities lurking in its depths. Only the species native to the sea, or other high-level cultivators, could possibly know how strong those godly entities actually were, and whether or not it was possible to defeat them in combat.
The broken face wasn’t the only god in existence. In other words... the most terrifying entities in the Forbidden Sea weren’t godly entities, they were actual gods. Gods could sleep in suns and moons. Gods lurked in palaces in places like Forbidden by the Immortal. Gods existed in Cruelmurk. As such, it was only natural to expect gods to be resting in the Forbidden Sea that surrounded the Revered Ancient mainland.
For one thing... the Forbidden Sea was just too immense. The sea region between Emperor-Receiving Prefecture and South Phoenix was massive, and that wasn’t even to mention the fact that the sea extended far beyond South Phoenix.
Truth be told, the areas that surrounded South Phoenix, when compared to the Forbidden Sea as a whole, were essentially coastal waters.
In the past, the Forbidden Sea had been called by a different name. It was the Sea of Endlessness. That name perfectly described the scope and range of the waters. It was almost like an entire world of its own, standing tall alongside the mainland and the dome of heaven. [1]
At the moment, waves roiled on the water outside of Emperor-Receiving Prefecture as a pitch-black dreadnaught screamed through the air overhead. It was Master Seventh’s dreadnaught, which he had lent to Xu Qing for use in Sea-Sealing County. The dreadnaught had a spirit, and thus didn’t need to be piloted. As long as it had a power source, it could be controlled by anyone.
Coming along with Xu Qing were the thousand swordsages from the county capital, as well as Daoist Sima.
Also flying through the air was Qingqin, whose caws echoed out far and wide. No other birds dared to fly too high into the sky, thanks to Qingqin’s presence. They would stay low, where they would occasionally dive into the water and come back up with prey in their beaks. That caused snakeneck dragons to gather. They would occasionally burst out of the water and snatch birds out of the sky, then splash back down.
Xu Qing stood on the dreadnaught’s superstructure, looking down at the sea. He saw the snakeneck dragons and the waves they created, and it made him think back to all the time he had spent out at sea in his early days.
After a time, he focused on the Spike of Misfortune. In the sunlight, the black fish bone spike seemed like a black hole that sucked in all the light around it, all while emanating terrifying fluctuations.
Quite a few of the swordsages noticed, and looked over with serious expressions. Only Xu Qing, thanks to his unique fleshly body that had the same origin as the spike, could hold the thing without feeling uncomfortable because of the pressure.
Looking at the Spike of Misfortune, he said, “Master Freespirit.”
Instantly, the black iron skewer flew out of his bag of holding and hovered in front of him, trembling obsequiously. Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior appeared, clasped hands, and bowed.
“Milord!”
The patriarch was wracked with anxiety, and felt like he was facing imminent catastrophe. In fact, it caused his voice to tremble, and left his heart wallowing in despair. For a long time now, he had been operating under the expectation that if he didn’t work hard enough, Xu Qing would put him to death. Because of his personality, that thought had taken root deep within him, and therefore, whenever Xu Qing experienced a big jump in cultivation base, the patriarch felt jumpy and nervous.
And now, with this fish bone spike out in the open, he was certain his time had come. He had gone all out, yet nothing he had done had enabled him to keep pace with Xu Qing. It wasn’t that he hadn’t been working hard. It was just that Xu Qing made progress too quickly.
“Milord, I’m ready. In all the books I’ve read in my life, the main character always progresses by leaps and bounds, while their followers are ordinary people who can’t keep up. This just goes to show, milord, that you are definitely like the main character in a novel. That’s fine. I understand. I don’t want to drag you down. So I won’t beg or plead. I just hope that, based on all the cautious and conscientious work done by your humble servant over the years, you can make it quick and painless.
“If I do get another life after this one, your humble servant will definitely find an opportunity to be your follower again. After being there to serve your every need, sir, I will gaze up as you reach the pinnacle of the highest heavens.”
The patriarch's face was a mask of sorrow, yet even in that state, he looked at Xu Qing with loyal sincerity. As far as he was concerned, that was his only chance to save himself.... He knew that he was privy to too many secrets. If he was in Xu Qing’s place, the patriarch would be bursting with killing intent. Therefore, he could just do his best to touch Xu Qing’s heart, and hope that Xu Qing would think about all his hard work and not kill him. The best outcome would be for Xu Qing to kindheartedly take the initiative to spare the patriarch.
Xu Qing looked deeply at Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior. He didn’t sense any sincerity from the patriarch. But he had been paying attention to everything the patriarch did over the years, and how much help he had provided. By now, the grudge Xu Qing had developed years ago toward the patriarch had long since faded into nothing.
After all, the iron skewer couldn’t match up to his own cultivation base now. Even though he had ensorcelled it, compared to the Spike of Misfortune, it was severely lacking.
Therefore, Xu Qing had planned to unseal the patriarch and let him go on his way. After all, he understood how karma worked. As for the secrets the patriarch was aware of, Xu Qing had his ways to deal with that.
But after what the patriarch just said, Xu Qing thought for a time, then changed his mind. Eyes hardening, he decided that he should give the patriarch an opportunity.
Though Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior was still feeling nervous, he was actually sighing with relief on the inside. He was convinced that his words just now had been very effective. Obviously, the Fiendish Xu was moved; his silence right now was evidence of that. Because of all the patriarch's hard work over the years, he was considering whether or not to commute his death penalty.
Why is my life so hard? I just want to be free! To keep on living! How come things have to be this difficult?
As the patriarch’s inner fury built, Xu Qing’s eyes glittered with determination. Xu Qing performed a right-handed incantation gesture, causing fire to spring up and envelop the iron skewer. He seemed to be planning to melt the skewer with the heat.
Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior was stunned. “Milord, I—”
“I’m giving you an opportunity. Just hang in here.” Xu Qing’s hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, and his twelve nascent souls all opened their eyes and spat out life flames. He also added in the fire of his five life lamps.
As the patriarch howled, the iron skewer, which he had fused with after two instances of tribulation lightning, started melting into molten iron. That molten iron was Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior’s true form. The patriarch’s screams grew shriller. Terrified, the shadow twitched back and forth, and looked ingratiatingly toward Ling’er.
In that manner, time passed. The patriarch’s screams grew weaker and weaker until they weren’t audible. And the iron skewer melted into a red-hot pool of molten iron.
Next, Xu Qing performed another double-handed incantation gesture, causing the molten iron to fly up in numerous thin streams. They headed right toward the Spike of Misfortune, not to fuse into it, but to fill in the natural striations on its surface. At the same time, Xu Qing mobilized his god vitality, sending out fluctuations that provided an additional blessing. Eventually, the molten iron had filled every striation on the fish bone.
The Spike of Misfortune looked very different now. It had a pitch-black base with red striations. And it pulsed with an aura of death and killing.
Since Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior was already a spirit automaton, he was now half integrated into the Spike of Misfortune. His level of existence was so much lower than the Spike of Misfortune, that normally speaking, he couldn’t possibly serve as its spirit automaton. Only by placing him on the outside, almost like a glove, could he link to the spike and control it.
Although that level of control wouldn’t be perfect, with Xu Qing’s help, the spike could slaughter enemies much more effectively than if it didn’t have a spirit automaton at all.
What was more, the influence of the fish bone of a god would affect long-term transformations on the patriarch. In fact, it was possible that one day in the future, the patriarch could transform into the true spirit automaton of a godly weapon. That process would be very painful, as it would involve a complete metamorphosis that was an even greater torment than what just happened.
What was more, the patriarch would have to survive long-term and refrain from being devoured....
The patriarch was understandably shocked by what had just happened. When he finally recovered from his daze, he was actually very pleased. The process had been painful, and he had no idea how he would survive long-term. But he did know that he had passed a major milestone.
Thankfully I’m very calm and resourceful, otherwise I might not have succeeded!
Rejoicing at heart, the patriarch was about to say something when Xu Qing looked at him encouragingly.
“Master Freespirit,” Xu Qing said, “I’d been planning to give you your freedom. But since you want to be my follower for all eternity, I’ll help you out this one time.”
“Huh?” The patriarch’s eyes went wide, and his heart started pounding. He even shivered. However, he recovered quickly. He’s testing me. It’s a trick! Yes, that’s right. He wants to check how loyal I really am. Very, very cunning!
Convinced that he was right, he loudly said, “Milord! I, Master Freespirit, will loyally follow you, sir. I’ve long since come to the realization that comfort is far more important than freedom!
“These past few years have been the most wonderful in my entire life. The level of comfort I’ve experienced is something I could never part with. Without being able to be your follower, sir, I would feel unending pain and torment. In fact, even just thinking about something like that fills me with grief and despair. I have no desire for freedom, milord. I only want to be by your side. In the end, I far prefer comfort to so-called freedom.”
Ling’er was moved by the patriarch’s speech. Looking at him, she whispered to Xu Qing, “This old guy is really a good person, Big Bro Xu Qing.”
Xu Qing didn’t bother explaining the situation to her. After offering a few encouraging words, he put the Spike of Misfortune away. Then he looked down at the shadow.
The shadow shivered and sent out a host of emotional fluctuations.
“Breakthrough... very soon... wonderful lord and master... amazing lady and mistress... I’m formidable... and useful!!”
The shadow was truly frightened. It had seen the violet crystal in action, and had seen how the god’s finger failed to escape from it. That had filled the shadow with despair, and the longing to simply figure out a way to stay alive. In its anxiety, it could do nothing but spout out everything it knew how to say.
Meanwhile, Xu Qing was thinking of a way to get the shadow to break through to the next level. Before, it hadn’t been possible, but now he was confident he could do it.
Ignoring his shadow, Xu Qing sat down cross-legged and started to meditate. At the moment, he had thirteen heavenly palaces. Twelve of them already had nascent souls, and he had experienced one heavenfate tribulation.
It was only his most recent heavenly palace, the one formed from the hellspirit bloodwing lamp, that didn’t have a nascent soul. However, with the help of his other nascent souls, the nascent soul in that fifth lamp was rapidly forming.
It won’t be long now.
Closing his eyes, Xu Qing focused on cultivation.
1. It was inchapter 82 that we first learned the story of the Sea of Endlessness changing names to Forbidden Sea. ?