Chapter 552: When Striving Against Heaven, the Days Do Not Pass (part 1)
The map in the jade slip given by the Captain had obviously not been created with this part of the Moonrite Region in mind, as it wasn’t very detailed. It just gave a general overview of the area.
However, it did indicate that neither member of the Twofold Alliance was human. The alliance was made up of two species called the Mirrorlings and the Skyfaces, respectively. The cultivators asking for Xu Qing’s travel permit were Mirrorlings.
Mirrorlings were literally mirrors. As youngsters, they were simply small mirror fragments, but as they matured, they grew much larger. They were categorized as a grue species, and had come into existence after the broken face of the god arrived. They were hermaphroditic, and could reproduce rapidly. What was more, they had an innate ability that allowed them to exercise a measure of control over an enemy by trapping their reflection in their mirror bodies. They were also fond of enslaving members of other species and parasitizing them. However, enslavement required a powerful version of their innate ability that only the nobility had.
At the moment, Xu Qing’s path was being blocked by these Mirrorlings. However, they were mere patrolling guards with cultivation bases equivalent to Foundation Establishment, which was roughly the same as the cultivation base Xu Qing was revealing as part of his secret identity.
That was why they felt confident in blocking his path and openly revealing their malicious intentions. Apparently, if Xu Qing didn’t quickly prove that he was somehow important, then they would attack and kill him. After all, in their eyes, humans were an inferior species.
Xu Qing looked with cold, expressionless eyes at the Mirrorlings, noting their malicious gazes and committing that to memory.
That said, he didn’t attack. After all, this was their territory. Looking them over and noting his reflection on their mirror bodies, he took out the Yin-Yang Betwixt Flowers Sect jade slip the Captain had given him, and tossed it toward them. He was curious to see how they interacted with other physical objects.
As the jade slip sailed through the air, the reflection of Xu Qing in one of the Mirrorlings reached his hand out of the mirror. When inside the mirror, that hand looked exactly like Xu Qing’s. But outside the mirror, it was a bundle of black energy that grabbed the jade slip and inspected it.
After the Mirrorlings realized who he was, as indicated by the identity slip, they seemed to frown. The malice and greed in their eyes didn’t completely disappear, and they continued to measure up Xu Qing. Clearly, they didn’t want to just let him go on his way.
Xu Qing’s eyes glittered coldly as he faced off with the Mirrorlings.
After a long, tense moment, the Mirrorlings exchanged glances and ultimately decided to hold back. Apparently, the threat of the Yin-Yang Betwixt Flowers Sect was real. The Mirrorling guards dropped down, sank into the ground, and disappeared.
Xu Qing watched with great curiosity as they sank into the black soil.
Why do they merge into the soil?
The jade slip map didn’t give any details about that behavior.
Putting his curiosity aside for the moment, he consulted the map again, then proceeded into the territory of the Twofold Alliance.
The soil here was black like everywhere else. However, the dusky sky looked different from the sky in Lesser Shrine. It was brighter. Perhaps that was because it was closer to the Heavenfire Sea. Furthermore, there were no more corpse pits.
Instead, as Xu Qing traveled, he spotted villages and cities. They were very different from human villages. Mirrorling cities were mostly made from mudbricks, and resembled large, earthen castles. Xu Qing saw quite a few such cities. Even the largest of them resembled sprawling fortresses. They all seemed like bleak and rough places.
The Mirrorlings were a quiet species. Xu Qing didn’t hear any chatting, laughter, nor did he spot much activity. He just saw their mirror-like bodies walking or flying about. Apparently, they weren’t a very talkative species, and did most of their communication nonverbally. It was almost a given that a species like that would be xenophobic.
Xu Qing attracted no small amount of attention. Malicious gazes locked onto him from all sides. However, nobody made a move on him.
The Mirrorlings didn’t have a lot of cultivators. The majority of their species were mortals. The mortals didn’t have complete mirrors as their bodies. Instead, they were cracked. Most had only seven or eight cracks, while others had so many cracks their mirror bodies weren’t reflective at all. The latter were the weak ones who abounded with auras of death. In terms of the specific shapes of their bodies, some were humanoid, while others looked like animals. All of them were scruffy and dirty. There were even some who seemed to be made up of countless smaller mirror fragments all clumped together.
At a certain point, Xu Qing spotted humans. All of them were extremely weak, and clearly occupied a very low standing in the Mirrorling cities. Those who spotted Xu Qing looked at him with dull, empty eyes.
Xu Qing just looked back at them. There was nothing he could do to change their situations. Although these lands weren’t very far from human territory, especially now that the Holytides had returned to the fold, it was separated only by the Yin Sacrifice River. However, there was nothing humans could do to break the curse of this region.
It was the same with humans in many other regions. When Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity conquered the Revered Ancient mainland, humans proliferated in all the regions. Later, Emperor Eastglory’s huge defeat resulted in countless humans being isolated and unable to rejoin humankind. As the generations passed, some of those isolated humans rose to prominence, but generally speaking, they devolved into being lesser species. Some of them thought of themselves as humans, but given that tens of thousands of years had passed, many of them had either forgotten who they were, or had experienced such a change in their bloodline that they might not even be considered human anymore.
That said, there were some who looked with longing in the direction of the human Imperial Region. Unfortunately, because of the great distance involved, the curse, and all the complicated situations that existed between the various regions, it was only the most powerful experts who could dream of making that journey. The vast majority of mortals would never be capable of it. All they could do was wait. Wait and hope that one day a human emperor would rise up, conquer Revered Ancient, and give them the chance to once again be part of humankind. After the tens of thousands of years that had passed, though, that hope had grown very weak.
Even Ling’er sighed at what she was seeing. After all, the Ancient Spirits were in a similar situation. They had been waiting for an even longer time, all in vain. Though Emperor Ancient Spirit still existed, what Ling’er had experienced in the Spirit Abyss left her feeling very suspicious. She wasn’t even sure if that Emperor Ancient Spirit was the same one who had actually led the Ancient Spirits to conquer Revered Ancient.
Xu Qing continued silently on his way. Eventually he left Mirrorling territory and reached Skyface lands. This species lived in a mountainous region with very few open spaces. They were also categorized as a grue species. Unlike the Mirrorlings, they had flesh and blood bodies. However, all members of their species wore masks. Or perhaps the masks were their faces.
Everything else about them looked similar to humans, although they were taller and larger. On average, they would reach a height of about three meters. As for the masks on their faces, they didn’t have the same facial features as humans. Instead, the masks featured complex designs.
They were even more malicious than the Mirrorlings. And as Xu Qing traveled along, he saw that they were very active.
Because of the aura Xu Qing exuded, most of the Skyfaces restrained their malice. However, there were a few foolish ones who caused problems. Xu Qing ran into some ambushes as he made his way through the mountains. They played out as expected.
The Skyfaces had large cities that matched their tall frames. And those cities reeked in such a way that humans couldn’t tolerate it. Because the Skyfaces lived in that environment, they were used to the smell and didn’t even notice it.
Xu Qing didn’t see any humans. However, he did see a restaurant in one of the cities. The proprietors were an old man and woman whose masks made them seem very kind. However, hanging in the front of their shop were slabs of meat. From the bones, it was possible to tell that some of the meat came from humans, while some was Skyface flesh. In this place, the weak were devoured. Truth be told, situations like this existed everywhere. Even back in South Phoenix, cannibalism was practiced in the lower rungs of society. [1]
“What a chaotic world...” Xu Qing murmured. He eventually reached the border of Skyface territory.
Beyond it was his destination, the Heavenfire Sea. Xu Qing saw endless red lava, atop which burned eternally indestructible flame. It was a massive place. Even when Xu Qing flew high up into the sky, he couldn’t see the end of it. The sky above reflected the sea of flames, making everything bright. And the heat pulsed out endlessly.
Rumbling sounds echoed out from the sea of flames. Occasionally, the lava would form bubbles which, when they popped, created flower-like explosions of sparks.
After taking in the scene for a time, Xu Qing shot forward through the exploding sparks. He didn’t intend to immediately absorb the fire. He wanted to make some observations first, then find a suitable location for an extended session of cultivation. After all, he had no idea if trying to melt his life lamps might cause something unexpected to happen, and thus attract unwanted attention.
There were actually quite a few cultivators in this area. The fire here could be harvested and taken out of the region, as long as you had an extraordinary method to store it. And it could be very useful in both alchemy and equipment forging. As a result, it was a valuable trade item. There were also some cultivators who specialized in the dao of fire, and could use it in their cultivation.
Because of that, Xu Qing spotted both outsider cultivators and locals. Most were on their own, but others were in groups of three to five. All were on guard, and would react viciously if anyone got close to them.
Overall, he saw more Mirrorlings and Skyfaces than any other species. Given that they lived so close to the Heavenfire Sea, it was only natural that they could endure the heat much more easily than other species, and also use it to become stronger.
Xu Qing found that there were some unique places where cultivators would use geomantic compasses to search for something.
Obviously, there was a lot about the Heavenfire Sea that Xu Qing didn’t know. Asking around wasn’t an option, so he decided that his best bet was to just observe what was happening. As he sped along the sea of flames, he moved quickly, but not too quickly. After three days had passed he still couldn’t see the other side of the sea.
This place is huge. It’s going to take a long time to explore it....
During the three days that passed, Xu Qing figured out what the cultivators were doing with the geomantic compasses. They were looking for a specific type of white crystal. It was a naturally occurring substance in the sea of flames, and seemed to be like spirit stones. They were obviously valuable, as they were relatively rare, and had to be pulled up from within the lava. It was only possible to find them by using a geomantic compass.
Xu Qing observed the process from afar a few times. That said, everyone present was both vigilant and hostile. Xu Qing knew what was proper, and didn’t get very close to any of them.
He flew a few more days until he was deep within the Heavenfire Sea. Fewer and fewer cultivators were present. Eventually, Xu Qing changed his mind about what to do here.
I might as well do some tests right now!
Looking down at the fire, he waved his hand to put some extra protection around Ling’er.
Knowing that Xu Qing was about to work on his cultivation, she said, “You’re going to do great, Big Bro Xu Qing! My innate ability is starting to work now, so I’ll help you keep an eye out for any bad guys in the area!”
Xu Qing grinned. Here he was in strange, grim lands, but with Ling’er to keep him company, he didn’t feel lonely at all.
Nodding, he made some final preparations. Then, eyes shining with anticipation, he headed directly toward the sea below.
1. I doubt hordes of readers are hungering for the South Phoenix cannibalism link (pun intended haha), but it was discussed and even depicted inchapter 100 . ?