Chapter 739: The Majestic Grace of a God
The Holytide Region army was gathered in great numbers at the edge of the fog. War banners snapped. Animals breathed heavily. The cultivators’ energy pulsed. All of it together created an aura that rose high into the sky and caused powerful winds to sweep across the lands. Because of this mighty army, the entire world seemed still and silent.
There were powerful experts in the army from all sorts of sects and species. They were part of Grand Duke Holytide’s forces, as well as the Sea-Sealing County army in general. Hovering in midair, they exuded immense pressure. Among them were Master Seventh, Marquis Yao, and Grand Duke Holytide himself.
Blood-colored light swirled in all directions, becoming a blood-red sea that threatened to overwhelm the fog. Those were the immortal skills.
Xu Qing stood in front of the army, facing the seventeen violet-clad Nightshade high priests, his gaze focused on the old man bowing in front of him.
Xu Qing was naturally familiar with the term ‘Violet Lord.’ And it was very thought-provoking to hear it uttered by a Nightshade priest. Xu Qing’s eyes glittered with profound light as he looked from the bowing old Nightshade to the fog behind him. Xu Qing could sense his own authority there, which caused the fog to fluctuate and churn.
The Nightshades outside of the fog had initiated a ceremony involving Xu Qing himself, and it was almost over.
As the entire army looked on, and the seventeen priests stood there silently, Xu Qing spoke.
“How do you know my official title?” He didn’t beat around the bush. Given his current status, he was qualified to directly ask such questions. There was no need for guesswork.
The old Nightshade priest had a face full of wrinkles, and an expression of full piety. “Crimson Mother perished in a battle of gods,” he said softly. “A new lord was born out of hēr godly corpse. That’s how the reincarnation of gods works.
“When Violet Lord was born, hē became our new lord. Hē seized the authority of the red moon and is to be worshiped by all living beings. From that moment, the moon was no longer red. A violet moon hangs in the sky, and all subservient species and godservants have a new mission as a result. We came to know all of this because of the repeated sacrifices to plead for help from the moon.”
The Nightshade looked up at Xu Qing, his eyes burning with zeal.
“What mission?” Xu Qing asked calmly.
“To assist our lord to return to the heaven of the gods, and to help the violet moon to come to our world. All who provide aid will be given fruit of the gods, but those who perform the most meritorious service will have a place before the gods!”
Xu Qing looked deeply at the old man.
The old man’s expression didn’t change. His face remained wrinkled and full of piety.
Xu Qing looked away from him. Perhaps other people would be fooled by such guileful words, but not Xu Qing. He didn’t believe any of it. He was inclined to believe a much different explanation....
The Nightshade priests knew that they were going to lose this war, and would likely be exterminated. After realizing the truth of the situation, they learned about what happened in the Moonrite Region. Coupled with what they knew about Xu Qing’s background and cultivation level, they realized that their only hope was to surrender. Of course, there needed to be a good story to go along with their surrender. Xu Qing really had changed the red moon litany with the help of authority. In the end, his effort failed, but he had definitely left behind evidence of what he did.
The Nightshades, who for generations had worshiped the red moon and offered sacrifices to Crimson Mother, had likely sensed the change to the litany. That was how they learned about Violet Lord.
To the priests, this ‘surrender’ wasn’t actually a form of surrender. Now as before, they were still servants of a god. As for the mission, it seemed most likely that they had fabricated that on their own. These priests were no fools. In fact, it was entirely possible that the priests weren’t even sure that he was the real Violet Lord.
But that didn’t matter. Crimson Mother had perished, so the most important thing to them was staying alive. And maintaining some dignity while doing it was of utmost importance.
Therefore, Xu Qing didn’t care whether or not the Nightshade priests really believed that he was their Violet Lord. They would change their litany, and going forward, they would convince themselves that he was. After all, there was no one around to argue with them.
Xu Qing’s facial expression didn’t change. Everything was pure speculation, and he had no way to determine what the truth was right now. However, what he did know was that since the Nightshade priests were surrendering in this way, he needed to intimidate them in some way.
That would be simple for Xu Qing. The best way to fool people like this was through direct force from a god. Xu Qing released the power of his authority, sending it into the fog to ensure that the ceremony was completed promptly.
The moment that happened, the seventeen high priests shivered, and the old man looked up with astonishment in his eyes. Rumbling sounds echoed from the depths of the fog. The fog seethed, and chanting sounds could be heard from inside.
“The new moon, lord to me; Revered Ancient’s true trustee; the living hosts suffer; they have a blissful guarantee.
“Give myself to my Lord, no bitterness for me, from bitterness I’m free, undecayed for all to see.”
Along with the chanting came violet light. As it shone, the dome of heaven trembled violently, and then ripped apart as if being torn by two huge hands. Godly might descended.
A violet moon appeared in the sky. īt started blurry, but rapidly became clear, until everyone could see īt. īts arrival caused a huge stir in the Holytide forces, and countless animals trembled.
Even after what happened with King Heaventide, and even knowing īt was an illusion, the arrival of the violet moon still caused everyone present to tremble.
As for the seventeen high priests, all of them immediately bowed to the violet moon above. As the pressure weighed down, everything blurred and shook. Violet light shone from the moon down onto everything below.
The fog rapidly dissipated, revealing what had been hidden beneath it. Not far ahead of the army was an ancient temple. It was majestic, and had clearly seen the passage of many years. For most people present, it was their first time seeing a magnificent temple like this. But Xu Qing and the Captain... had seen a temple like this before! It looked exactly like the Moon Palace! Even the totem on the door looked exactly the same. It was a land-based Moon Palace! And of course, it was considered a holy land to the Nightshade priests. Inside of it was a statue of Crimson Mother.
There were currently over 1,000,000 Nightshade priests prostrated in front of the temple, all of them clad in violet robes, and all of them chanting. As the violet moon descended, their chanting grew louder and clearer, until it was possible to see a stone stele on the moon.
That stone stele shone with violet light, and though its back was blank, the front had writing on it. If you looked closely, you would see that the words were the same as the litany they were chanting!
Both the Holytide army and the Nightshade priests were shaken. Eventually, the violet moon descended as far as it would go, and was perfectly clear. Xu Qing walked toward it. He walked past the seventeen high priests, then ascended into midair toward the violet moon.
Many gasps could be heard as everyone focused on Xu Qing. The ripples and distortions caused by the moon didn’t affect Xu Qing at all. The fact that it looked real but was really illusory didn’t matter to Xu Qing either. This moon had been made by him. Whether it was illusory or real didn’t change anything.
He stepped onto the moon and walked up to the stone stele. Then he looked back down to the lands below, and his gaze was like that of a god. The Nightshade priests all trembled, including the seventeen high priests. Finally, he looked at the old priest.
“Tell me your name.”
The old priest shivered but didn’t hesitate to respectfully reply, “I am the senior high priest of the Nightshades, You Sang.”
Xu Qing waved his right hand, causing the name You Sang to appear on the back of the stele. It was very, very small. It was so small, in fact, that it was about 1/10,000th the size of the stele itself. However, the implication of the name was profound.
The stele vibrated, and the violet moon shook. The priests below were shaken to the core. The million priests prostrated on the ground breathed heavily, and their eyes shone with unprecedented fervor. They looked at Xu Qing, they looked at the stele, and they looked at the name, and their hearts and minds were filled with an indescribable tempest. What was happening surpassed what any of them had anticipated. For the servant of a god to have their name inscribed in a location belonging to that god was the highest honor!
The seventeen high priests who had originally come out of the fog were so deeply shaken that their minds were completely blank. From ancient times until the present, things like this almost never happened.
Most deeply shaken was You Sang, whose face was crimson as he stood there shaking physically. He felt like he was being struck by 10,000,000 lightning bolts. How could he ever have guessed that Xu Qing would do something like this? When he looked at his name on that stele, he felt like he had years ago the first time he offered worship to Crimson Mother. He felt astonishment, reverence, and more than anything else, excitement.
Xu Qing had judged everything correctly. More than anything else, the Nightshade priests just wanted an excuse to surrender.
Many people below didn’t understand the significance. But the old man wasn’t just a priest. He was a high priest, so he understood the significance. Priests needed a god. And Xu Qing met all the prerequisites. As for whether or not Xu Qing was actually Violet Lord, they still had their suspicions. After all, his cultivation base was too weak. But in the end, that wasn’t important.
Thus they came up with their guileful talk of a mission. They were just reacting to the circumstances. None of them could ever have imagined that Xu Qing would ask for You Sang’s name, and then carve it onto that stone stele.
That act shattered all of their preconceived notions. It perfectly conformed to their holy ceremonies, and it told them that... Xu Qing was Violet Lord!
That was when Ningyan strode out from the army. “Assist Violet Lord to return to the heaven of the gods. Help the violet moon to come to our world! All who provide aid will be given fruit of the gods, but those who perform the most meritorious service will have a place before the gods!”
The priests all bowed and loudly said, “Greetings, Violet Lord!”
The seventeen high priests, and the senior high priest, were all shaken to the core as they dropped and prostrated.
“Greetings, Violet Lord!”
As their voices echoed out, the statue of Crimson Mother crumbled to the ground.