Chapter 636: An Unusual Role
Xu Qing had experienced god-glimpsing, so he understood some of what was happening.
The illumination provided by the lightning disappeared, and the darkness returned. The agonized shrieks now sounded like they were farther away, evidence that the Heir Apparent and his siblings were moving out into the gloom.
The Captain sighed and looked at the strip of flesh in his hand. He suddenly felt prickling pain, both on his skin and in his heart.
“Little Ah Qing, isn’t this a classic case of evil intentions? I asked them if they wanted to come and they said no! Then I had to use my own fat to make candles and my own skin to make talismans. Do you know... how much all of that hurt?”
Xu Qing nodded and offered some consolation. “You can put them away now, Captain. I doubt we’ll need them going forward. And don’t waste the skin. Who knows, you might be able to stick it back on yourself later.”
Looking miserable, the Captain sighed again as he took back the skin talismans, then kept moving.
The valley was still dark and the surroundings were icy cold. However, there was no longer any danger. Ning Yan and Wu Jianwu were sighing inwardly. It was the same with Li Youfei. In contrast, Nethersprite didn’t seem to care at all about the new developments. If anything, she was excited; as long as Chen Erniu was unhappy, she felt great. In fact, she felt so great she just kept hitting the lantern.
Another two hours went by, during which they simply walked along until they reached the far end of the valley. The moment they emerged from the narrow path, they caught sight of a dilapidated altar.
Back before the altar crumbled into ruins, it had obviously been an incredibly majestic thing. It was fully 30,000 meters across, and roughly 3,000 meters tall.
However, it was now barely more than a pile of boulder-like debris. There were also some statues around the altar. The statues were all 30,000-meters tall, and were in varying states of damage. Though they were clearly very old, they were also quite impressive.
Xu Qing and the others felt like they had entered into a kingdom of giants.
The area was full of extremely strong rancorous aura, as well as baleful energy. It was so intense that it created rippling distortions as they looked around.
Because of that, the sky looked different to Xu Qing. And it was so high above his head that it seemed almost like a heaven beyond heaven.
The rancorous energy and the baleful energy mixed together, making a giant vortex that spun endlessly overhead. Wind. Rain. Thunder. Lightning. Suns. Moons. Stars. Heavenly bodies. The vortex contained boundless magical laws that constantly shifted and transformed, releasing terrifying fluctuations.
Xu Qing looked at the vortex, his heart pounding. He could sense that it contained the fluctuations of a god. It was Crimson Mother’s aura, as well as a majestic might, a tyrannical dao that seemed capable of causing heaven and earth to prostrate in front of it. Xu Qing could just barely make out a roar of rage coming from the most ancient times, mixed with a piercing shriek. It caused blood-colored light to spring up around Xu Qing. His god trove appeared, daybreak light swirled, and taboo poison pulsed, creating a protective barrier. Despite all of that, he coughed up a mouthful of blood and staggered backward.
This vortex is so strong that I doubt even the Heir Apparent would casually step into it....
If Xu Qing was shocked by what he was seeing, it went without saying that the others had similar reactions.
Ning Yan, Wu Jianwu, and Li Youfei were visibly stunned, and were all coughing up blood like mad. Ning Yan’s bloodline had been aroused, and he shone with glowing yellow light. However, not even that was enough to protect him, and he passed out.
Li Youfei shivered. He was in the Nascent Soul level, yet in the presence of this vortex, neither Nascent Soul cultivators nor Gold Core experts were worth much. Blood sprayed out of his mouth and he fell over, injured and unconscious.
Wu Jianwu had an even weaker cultivation base. However, he had a lot of children. In that moment of crisis, he called forth a host of them, who clustered around him and bolstered him with bloodline power. Though he coughed up blood, he actually didn’t pass out.
Nethersprite’s expression was very serious as she looked at the vortex up above. Five secret troves appeared around her, keeping her safe.
The Captain coughed up blood and staggered backward. However, his eyes shone with excitement. Pointing at the crumbled altar, he laughed crazily and said, “See that, little Ah Qing! That’s what we’re here for!
“This is the very spot where the Imperial Sovereign of the Moonrite Region beheaded Crimson Mother before she reached godly ascension! At that time, Crimson Mother was also an Imperial Sovereign!
“Based on all the information I gathered in past lives, I determined that this location contains a convergence of Imperial Sovereign divine abilities in the form of the God Decapitation Altar. That altar right there is where Crimson Mother’s head was taken off. Of course, after that event, shē loathed this place so much that shē destroyed the altar. However, that doesn’t matter!
“It won’t affect my big plan. There are some things I can say here that I wasn’t able to say before. I don’t have to keep them a secret in the fear of arousing the wrong karma and waking up Crimson Mother.”
Xu Qing looked at the Captain, his eyes shining.
“Little Ah Qing, do you know why my script is entitled God Decapitation ?”
Voice calm, Xu Qing said, “Because you’re going to recreate the scene in which the Imperial Sovereign beheaded Crimson Mother!”
He had long since come to this conclusion. However, because the Captain hadn’t brought up the subject, he hadn’t talked about it.
The Captain laughed heartily. “Exactly! I’m going to make it as realistic as possible. Then we’ll film it and process it. Afterward, we’ll use the power of all the artificial suns I’ve collected to broadcast it throughout the entire Moonrite Region!
“One of the artificial suns is in the desert. There are two that I released before coming here, and are already in the canopy of heaven above the Moonrite Region. And there are a few more that I’ve secretly set up in different places.
“Once the filming is complete, it can be broadcast immediately! When that happens, all living beings in the Moonrite Region, regardless of where they are, will be able to look up and see it all play out!”
In concert with the loud rumbling of the vortex, the Captain’s voice seemed extraordinarily grand and lofty.
“Right now, the living beings in the Moonrite Region are wallowing in despair. They need some hope! They need a reason to fight back. And the contents of my broadcast will bring them that hope. It will give them that reason!”
Everything finally clicked for Xu Qing, and he said, “The broadcast will show them that gods aren’t unkillable. They aren’t eternal.”
“Exactly right!” The Captain looked very excited. Obviously, he had been thinking about this moment for a very long time, and had been making a lot of preparations for it. Now, it was finally about to become a reality.
Looking thoughtfully at the Captain, Xu Qing said, “There must be more to it than that, Eldest Brother.”
“You understand me the best, little Junior Brother. Hahaha! You’re right, I have three goals in mind!
“First, to arouse the fighting spirit of the people of Moonrite. It would be too difficult for us to devour Crimson Mother using our strength alone. We need to borrow the strength of the people of Moonrite. Remember, a few sparks can set a grassland aflame!
“Second, only by accomplishing the first goal can I then gather the strength of the people of Moonrite in the same location where I filmed the broadcast. In other words, right here. That’s going to be very useful, although you’ll have to wait to see the details.
“As for the third goal, it’s this: when the living people here see that broadcast, it will plant a seed in their hearts! Furthermore, the experience of being beheaded is one of Crimson Mother’s most painful memories.
“Little Ah Qing, you’ve glimpsed what it means to be a god, and therefore you have a clear understanding of the connections between human nature and godly nature. As a result you must surely understand why Crimson Mother is so hungry. It’s because Crimson Mother... isn’t complete.”
The Captain licked his lips and looked at Xu Qing, the crazy look in his eyes more intense than ever, to the point where the faces were visible in his pupils. What was more, there was a faint sensation of hunger that pulsed uncontrollably in the Captain.
Xu Qing nodded. “Based on what I’ve sensed, I can guess that Crimson Mother has only reached a state of equilibrium. In the final analysis, shē isn’t complete. Otherwise, if hēr human nature was completely erased, shē wouldn’t feel any hunger.”
The Captain smiled malevolently. Even Nethersprite shivered when she saw it.
“Therefore, what we’re going to do is break that equilibrium! Later on, I’ll use sacrificial dance techniques to deliver the recording right to Crimson Mother the moment shē arrives. Hēr most painful memory will be what summons hēr human nature! After all, emotions are one of the manifestations of human nature! Think of them like a see-saw that keeps human nature and godly nature constantly at odds.
“When it all happens, Crimson Mother will go insane. With hēr equilibrium broken, shē’ll have a weakness! And that’s only one part of my larger master plan. When the entire plan is carried out, Crimson Mother... could very well be beheaded again!
“What do you think, little Ah Qing? Is your Eldest Brother amazing, or is he amazing?” The Captain stood there proudly.
Xu Qing was happy to agree, so he clasped hands and bowed.
The Captain felt even more pleased as a result. Laughing heartily, he walked over to Ning Yan and slapped him. Ning Yan coughed up some blood and regained consciousness. The Captain also woke up Li Youfei.
“Little Ningning, take this script. You have one incense stick’s worth of time to memorize your lines. You’re going to play the role... of the Imperial Sovereign of the Moonrite Region!”
Ning Yan shivered from head to toe. Wu Jianwu, meanwhile, was starting to get a bit worked up. Pushing aside his children, he stared at the Captain.
The Captain waved his hand, sending a jade slip flying to Wu Jianwu.
“Little Jianjian, as your dear friend, how could I possibly not know about your biggest dream in life? Well, today, I’m going to make it come true. You are going to play the part of... Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity!”
Wu Jianwu was already getting very excited. The Captain was right that he had long dreamed of being Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity. Of course, that couldn’t literally happen, but being able to play the part of the Ancient Emperor was still profoundly meaningful. And when he thought about how many people would see his performance, Wu Jianwu got even more excited.
The Captain patted Wu Jianwu on the shoulder and gave him an encouraging look. Then he turned to Nethersprite.
“Big Boo— Big Sis Nether, as per our agreement, you’re going to play the role of Crimson Mother.”
Nethersprite glared at him maliciously and let out a cold harrumph. “Give it to me!”
The Captain quickly took out a jade slip and handed it respectfully to Nethersprite. Finally, he looked at Xu Qing. After blinking a few times, he smiled.
“Little Ah Qing, you’re going to play a somewhat unusual role. You’re not going to be a person. You’re going to be... blood. Using your authority, I want you to make sure there’s a lot of blood spraying around when Crimson Mother gets beheaded. It needs to be extremely realistic.”
Xu Qing looked expressionlessly at the Captain.
The Captain cleared his throat. “Although, considering that you are my little Junior Brother, I guess I could give you a second role. That of... the godpriest of the God Decapitation Altar! What do you say?”