Chapter 549: Little Ah Qing, Are You Ready For a REALLY Big Job?
Located between the Holytide Region and the Deep Blue Region was the spot where the Ten Entrails Tree had stood.
Currently, the Sea-Sealing County fleet was flying away from the Ten Entrails Tree area back home through the Deep Blue Region. Numerous massive flying ships roared through the sky.
The imperial edict did not contain any stipulations directly benefiting Sea-Sealing County. However, the ‘checks and balances’ placed on Seventh Prince, and the arrival of Princess Anhai, changed Sea-Sealing County from a relatively insignificant place to something quite the opposite.
The prince and princess seemed to be playing some game with the goal of recruiting Sea-Sealing County onto their side to help in their struggles against each other. Although that might seem dramatic to mortals, when it came to people of their standing in the imperial clan, such recruiting efforts only held so much weight.
As far as why Seventh Prince handed over four additional prefectures, there was clearly more going on than what was on the surface. There was no way either the prince or princess would allow Sea-Sealing County to become too important. But as long as the county didn’t do something foolish, then they would have plenty of time to settle down and recover.
And that was just what Sea-Sealing County needed.
Xu Qing breathed a sigh of relief. He was currently seated cross-legged in a private cabin in the dreadnaught. He had just finished a session of cultivation, and as he exhaled, the energy swirled around in front of him. It was like smoke containing incredibly high heat, which raised the temperature of the private cabin until it was like an oven. Xu Qing looked at the smoke, felt the heat, and his eyes glittered.
I never could have guessed that I would get something like this back at the Ten Entrails Tree!
His heart was racing. The source of his excitement was the fire from the cosmic teapot. After several days of study, he had confirmed that the fire was harmless to him. But more relevant was that it could melt life lamps! When he sucked the fire into himself, the violet crystal would automatically absorb it. And then, the most fantastic thing would happen. The violet light that then shone onto Xu Qing’s sea of consciousness would cause the life lamps there to start dissolving!
That process didn’t involve destroying the lamp. Instead, it changed its form. In all of his practice of cultivation up to this point, he had never seen anything like this happen. His understanding had always been that life lamps were completely indestructible. That was what all the information he had ever read about life lamps also indicated.
“Light from beyond the heavens?” he murmured. He couldn’t be absolutely certain about that assessment.
The information about that Imperial Sovereign of antiquity who had acquired light from beyond the heavens, all it said was that he used that light to melt life lamps and then make them completely his own.
In any case, Xu Qing had never encountered any situation like this. The focus of his research so far had been checking to see if the life lamps would actually be destroyed when dissolved.
They wouldn’t!
He extended his hand, and on the tip of his finger was a red crystal.
He had already confirmed that when a life lamp was melted, it would turn into an unfathomable substance in his sea of consciousness. When it then entered his bloodstream, it would change his blood into something different. At the same time, impurities would be released. It was as if the red crystal contained the dissolved blood that couldn’t be absorbed by his own bloodstream.
Xu Qing wasn’t sure what the red crystal could be used for. But he could sense that it contained the aura of a life lamp. It glittered with bright light and intense heat. Xu Qing put the red crystal away, and his eyes shone with anticipation.
With enough of this kind of fire, I can bring out more light from my violet crystal, melt all of my life lamps, and absorb them into my bloodstream. And when that happens... I might be able to, with my own will, create a personal life lamp!
It seemed possible on a theoretical level. That said, it was different from what that Imperial Sovereign of antiquity had done, which was putting blood into the life lamps to make them his own. Xu Qing was doing the opposite. He was melting the life lamps, and putting them into his blood to make them his own.
Although it seems possible in theory, I have to do more experimentation. And I also need a lot more of that fire!
He looked down at the cosmic teapot. There wasn’t an infinite amount of fire in it. After his experimentation, less than half was left. He had also done some asking around, and had eventually got some information from Palace Lord Li Yunshan himself.
“It’s heavenfire that can be found on the border between the Moonrite Region and the Mountsouth Region!
“The Mountsouth Region is an administrative enclave of the Firemoon Darkheaven people. It’s in the southern part of their territory, and holds much strategic value. There’s a continental sea there along the border between the two regions, made, not from water, but from fire. That fire is astonishingly powerful, and the deeper you go into the sea, the more terrifyingly destructive it gets.
“However, that sea of flames isn’t natural. It came from heaven. In the middle of Heavenfire Sea is a rift in the sky, out of which pours an endless flow of flames. It’s like a waterfall that feeds into the sea below.
“Heavenfire is unique in that, if it leaves that area, it gradually turns into normal fire, unless you have some special item that can preserve it. Obviously, this cosmic teapot is just such an item. But it can’t preserve the fire for too long.”
Xu Qing was more familiar with the southern parts of Revered Ancient. But he had looked at maps in the past. To the northwest of Sea-Sealing County was the Deep Blue Region. Due north of that was the Holytide Region. To the west of the Holytide Region was the Yin Sacrifice River. Beyond that river was the mysterious Moonrite Region. In the northeastern part of that region was the regional border connecting to the Firemoon Darkheavens.
“The Moonrite Region...” Xu Qing murmured, his eyes shining. He opened the door of his private cabin, and the cold wind dispersed the heat from inside.
It wouldn’t be long before they reached Sea-Sealing County, and then, the county capital. After stepping out onto the dreadnaught’s superstructure, he found Kong Xianglong sitting there looking out at heaven and earth. He glanced at Xu Qing.
“Did it work out?”
Xu Qing grinned and nodded. He sat next to Kong Xianglong and looked in the direction of the Moonrite Region. Eyes shining, he took out his transmission jade slip and sent a message to the Captain.
“Eldest Brother, how’s your search for information going? I have some news on my end.”
It didn’t take long before the jade slip vibrated. When the Captain spoke, he sounded very relaxed and incredibly pleased.
“I got back a few days ago. I’ve been waiting for you to get back from visiting our son.”
“Good. I’ll be back in the county capital in about four hours.”
They didn’t get into any particulars via voice message. But Xu Qing’s chest felt tight with anticipation. Kong Xianglong looked at him quizzically.
“Xu Qing, are you and that extremely dubious Eldest Brother of yours going out on another big job?”
Xu Qing patted Kong Xianglong’s shoulder. “Want to join us?”
Kong Xianglong inhaled sharply, looked around suspiciously, and then shook his head. “I’m afraid your Eldest Brother would sell me out. Haven’t you noticed how Ning Yan looks at your Eldest Brother nowadays? He seems scared to death.”
It made complete sense to Xu Qing. However, he had the feeling Ning Yan wasn’t going to be able to get out of this mission. He was just too useful as a tool.
The fleet made a few more teleportations, and about four hours later, arrived at the county capital.
As soon as he stepped off the dreadnaught, he got messages from the Captain urging him to meet up. Therefore, Xu Qing sent a message to Master Seventh to let him know he’d returned, then hurried, not to the Swordsage Palace, but to a particular restaurant where the Captain had said to meet.
Upon entering the establishment, he saw Li Shitao walking out of the Captain’s private room. She smiled at him and, without a word, left.
Xu Qing blinked a few times and then walked into the room. The table was filled with food and alcohol. The Captain sat on the far side nibbling on a peach. Looking up at Xu Qing, he proudly said, “Ai, little Ah Qing. I finally understand how frustrating your life must be. People, am I right? When you’re too outstanding, the girls are just too forward. It’s really annoying.” He reached up and rubbed his cheek with his sleeve. His cheek looked clean, but he seemed to be trying to tell Xu Qing that there had previously been a hickey there. “I mean, it’s just lunch, right? Why do I have to come to provide company?”
The Captain sighed.
An odd expression could be seen on Xu Qing’s face as he looked at the food on the table. Every dish had spirit ingredients, and everything was obviously very expensive. There were two sets of dishware, one of which was untouched, while the other was piled with food. Obviously, one person had been plying the other with food. As for who had done the plying, well, that didn’t matter to Xu Qing. As long as the Captain was happy, that was all that mattered. He quickly plastered an envious look onto his face.
The Captain seemed extremely pleased with that expression. After taking a few more bites of his peach, he dragged Xu Qing over to the corner of the room, where he waved his hand to set up a warding spell.
Looking very somber, he said, “Little Ah Qing, are you ready for a really big job?”
Hearing that, Xu Qing knew that with the Captain’s prelude out of the way, the truly astonishing information was about to be revealed.
As such, Xu Qing put a similarly somber expression onto his face and nodded gravely.
The Captain was delighted at how well Xu Qing was cooperating. Clearing his throat, he lowered his voice and said, “The reality, little Junior Brother, is that you should be the governor already! But your cultivation base is too low, and thus, you can’t accept the position. How could we possibly just let Marquis Yao take charge of our stuff? And that’s when I started thinking of how we could get both of our cultivation bases to advance by leaps and bounds! And guess what? I thought of a way!”
Raising his eyebrows, Xu Qing said, “What way?”
With a very proud expression, the Captain looked up into the sky and said, “We’re going to... devour the red moon!”
Xu Qing thought for a moment, then stood up to leave. He wasn’t interested in pointlessly seeking to die. The Captain was crazy, and that was a condition Xu Qing couldn’t cure him from. Master Seventh would have to take over.
Seeing that Xu Qing was about to leave, the Captain anxiously jumped up and blocked his path. “Hey, hey. Just wait and hear me out!”
Xu Qing looked expressionlessly at the Captain. Going to Moonrite Region sounded interesting, but he didn’t want to become food for Crimson Mother. After all, Crimson Mother was a High God whose mere doppelg?nger had devoured the god sleeping in Forbidden by the Immortal. Xu Qing figured he would have to be crazy to present himself on a platter to Crimson Mother.
“Just think about it, little Junior Brother. The red moon is sleeping! The timing here is like a gift provided by heaven. If we devour hēr successfully, or even just devour a little bit, we could instantly reach Spirit Trove! In fact, I bet that only a few bites might take us all the way to Void Returning!” The Captain’s eyes were completely bloodshot as he looked at Xu Qing with that familiar craziness. “Little Junior Brother, did I ever take you on a big job that didn’t work out?”
Xu Qing hesitated. “Eldest Brother, did you ever do anything like this in one of your previous lives?” [1]
1. The Captain actually already gave the answer to this question in a passing comment inchapter 524.2 . Whether Xu Qing forgot about that, or didn’t forget about... you can make a judgment call on that yourself.... ?