Chapter 852: The Pain Will Stop in a Moment
Though the voice was grand and majestic, it also was a touch languid. It was as if there were invisible hooks in the sound of it, which latched onto the hearts of cultivators and made them feel limp and numb both inside and out. The numbness came from the soul. To them, it felt as if their souls had been taken away, leaving them indescribably relaxed. Some were weak in willpower, and ultimately passed out and lay twitching on the ground.
The stronger ones were able to weather the ripples that filled their hearts and minds. After all, they revered gods, so what was happening right now was just considered fate as far as the Firemoon cultivators were concerned.
What was more, this was High God Starfire alone, and the words spoken did not contain much substance. This was just how gods could act. Then, a cold snort echoed out from Starfire, negating the effects of the spoken words. It was like a bucket of cold water poured into the hearts and minds of everyone present.
“Let the teleportation begin!”
All hearts trembled as they recovered. Then thunderous rumblings filled the canopy of heaven. They grew louder and louder until they reached the point of being able to sunder the heavens and crush the earth. Rumbling echoed out, accompanied by rolling shockwaves that quickly turned into a huge vortex. The vortex rotated as it seemingly peeled away sections of the air to reveal a beautiful, seven-colored tunnel made of natural laws.
On the other side of that tunnel was a majestic land full of mountains, rivers, strange plants and flowers, and energetic beasts. It looked like a wilderness. It was also filled with the cries of beasts. This was... the location of the second round of the Firemoon Darkheavens’ Great Hunt. It was the Mountain and Sea Region.[1]
Seven-colored light erupted from the vortex, forming countless strands that descended into the city below to snatch up all the cultivators who qualified to participate in the second round.
Grand Prince. Tuo Shishan. Master Gravesparrow.... All participants were covered by the seven-colored light. That included Xu Qing and Fan Shishuang, who were outside of the city.
Three breaths of time passed, and then the teleportations began. Seven-colored light glittered brightly in the city. Any who looked up would clearly see numerous seven-colored flowers blooming in the sky. Every pulse of light would involve people being teleported away. This was an entropic teleportation, which meant that any cultivators who planned to meet up with companions would have to find each other in the Mountain and Sea Region.
Seven-colored light swept over Xu Qing and he vanished into thin air. Hundreds of thousands of cultivators were whisked away into the beautiful image formed by the light.
Moments later, the seven-colored flowers became fewer and fewer. More than half of the cultivators who had been in Heavenfire City were now gone.
God Mountain no longer trembled. The only sound to be heard was a soft laugh from Starfire, which echoed out into heaven and earth.
***
The Mountain and Sea Region was shaped roughly like a bottle gourd. There was no flat land within it, only endless mountains covered with rainforest.
The general environment, plus the year-round warm weather, and the fact that the area was sealed to outsiders, ensured that the Mountain and Sea Region was full of life. It was the perfect habitat for beasts to live and multiply. It was also home to numerous beasts that could only be described as fantastic oddities. That was especially true considering... that the mutagen here was very strong. It filled everything, affecting not just the animals, but also the plants.
The entire Mountain and Sea Region was essentially one huge forbidden ground. However, it hadn’t been created by the broken face of the god, but rather, by the Firemoon Darkheaven people. Because of being sealed most of the time, it contained plenty of living things that were extremely rare in the outside world. There were also ancient things that wouldn’t have been possible to preserve in a normal setting.
***
In the highlands of the Mountain and Sea Region, where the rainforest was thick and dark, there was a rotten, gnarled tree that was as dark as night. As it swayed back and forth, vines suddenly shot out from it to snag a white-colored deer from off in the distance. [2]
The white deer struggled in vain. Vines wrapped all around it, pulsating as they absorbed its life force. The white deer let loose a few cries of anguish and pain. It was a miserable sight, as the deer’s eyes clearly contained the longing to live.
White deer weren’t very common in the Mountain and Sea Region. They were a symbol of beauty, and perhaps because of that, they were a common prey. However, there wasn’t much about them that was inherently valuable, so no one bothered trying to breed them. As a result, their numbers had dwindled over the years.
As the cries of the white deer shook heaven on high, seven-colored light sprang into being in the air next to the gnarled tree.
A figure emerged, clad in a black robe. The moment he appeared, the tree shivered and then went still. The white deer also shivered, and instinctively stopped crying out. However, it was soon moaning softly as it clung to life.
The figure who had appeared next to the tree heard the white deer and turned to look at it. He approached it. It only took two steps for him to be standing right above the deer. His mere gaze caused the vines wrapped around the deer to crumble into ash.
The black-robed figure squatted, reached out, and gently stroked the deer. Sadly, despite the vines having been removed, the white deer was too badly injured. It couldn’t even stand. It could only express gratitude by the look in its eyes. However, the pain that wracked it made it impossible for it to stop shivering. The sensation of death was spreading through it.
“The pain will stop in a moment,” the black-robed figure said softly. He stroked the deer even more gently than before. His comfort caused the deer to struggle less. More gratitude appeared in its eyes. Eventually, it stuck out its tongue and licked the figure’s sleeve.
After it was completely relaxed, the black-robed figure put his hand gently on the deer’s neck and then snapped it. The pop rang out without any sounds of pain. The white deer spasmed once, and then it was dead.
The black-robed figure slowly stood and looked off into the distance. As rays of light filtered through the tree canopy, his features gradually became clear. He was a young man with his hair bound in a topknot, with a black headband strapped across his forehead. The headband matched his black robe as well as his black boots. From head to toe, he emanated a very cold aura.
Just barely visible around him were a host of blurry, crimson figures that almost looked like they were made from blood. They also emanated the stench of gore.
Any Firemoon Darkheaven cultivator present would recognize this person. His name resounded with such fame that he surpassed Tuo Shishan and Fan Shishuang. Back when Grand Prince introduced the Firemoon chosen to Xu Qing, he had spent extra time introducing this young man.
Master Stillwinter was in third-stage Void Returning, ranked second in their echelon, and was part of High God Sunfire’s stewarded nation. His personality was cold and apathetic, and he was known to be vicious and merciless. He’s killed dozens of cultivators from other species, and refined them into blood clones that accompany him wherever he goes.
He had mastered many techniques. In fact, he even successfully fought a Smoldering God prisoner. Granted, the prisoner was on his last legs, but in the end, he was still a Smoldering God....
Even Fan Shishuang would be wary when facing him. On the three occasions in which the two of them fought... Fan Shishuang lost every time. In fact, on the last occasion, if it hadn’t been for this generation’s Sir Firedark interfering and mediating, Fan Shishuang would have been in danger of losing his life.
Tuo Shishan had fought him as well, and had only lasted ten breaths of time before being crushed. It was one of the biggest regrets in his life, as that was the day he failed to win the Firedark daoist name. It was the biggest defeat he had ever endured on his path of cultivation.
Master Stillwinter looked back down at the corpse of the white deer and softly said, “You don’t feel pain when you’re dead.”
Then he turned and walked off. A few paces away, he seemed to recall something.
“Spread news. If anyone sees Xu Qing, I want to be informed of his location.”
Master Stillwinter calmly continued on his way. He needed to kill Xu Qing because King Brightsouth had asked him to, and had offered a very attractive deal to make it happen. For him, it would come down to convenience. If he ran into Xu Qing, he would kill him. But he wasn’t going to waste time looking for him.
As far as Master Stillwinter was concerned, it wouldn’t be anything challenging. Sir Firedark was the only enemy he wasn’t confident in being able to kill. The others he could cut down with ease.
Meanwhile, some of the blood-colored figures around him bowed at the waist, then vanished as they left to deliver his message. The other blood clones continued along with him.
***
In another location in the highlands of the Mountain and Sea Region, in the very middle of the rainforest, Xu Qing moved along in the concealment of invisibility. He was being careful not to release any of his aura. He was obviously very used to moving around in rainforest environments, and dealing with mutagen. He actually liked places like this.
The Captain had not been teleported with him, but Xu Qing wasn’t worried about the Captain. The Captain surely had his own ways of getting to the Mountain and Sea Region.
Eldest Brother said he arranged for me to get a hillworm.... But I can’t place all my hopes in his hands.
He had already abandoned any thoughts of going to the Ninedawns Forbidden Lands, which was located roughly in between the highlands and the lowlands. That legendary holy beast had only once been successfully tamed, and Xu Qing didn’t think there was anything special about himself that would break that trend. He would rather search for other beasts than waste his time trying to find a ninedawns.
I guess I should hunt for a hillworm!
Xu Qing’s eyes glittered profoundly. That seemed like the best method to ensure he met up with the Captain as quickly as possible. It would also increase the chances of him successfully getting a hillworm.
He quickly reviewed the jade slip information about hillworms and their behavior.
They live in the northwest of the lowlands. I guess the first thing I need to do is get my bearings.
Xu Qing blurred into motion, disappearing into the rainforest.
***
Three days later, Xu Qing had passed through enough animal habitats to be able to determine his location. Now that he knew which way to travel, he started moving at top speed toward the spot where the lowlands turned into the highlands.
I should get there in about five days. I can skirt the Ninedawns Forbidden Lands. From there, it should only take about half a month to reach hillworm territory. There’s going to be a lot more fighting and killing here in the Mountain and Sea Region. I need to be on the watch, especially for... Fan Shishuang!
Xu Qing’s expression was grim. If it hadn’t been for the start of the second round, he and Fan Shishuang would have begun to fight fiercely.
Xu Qing was already feeling wary of Fan Shishuang. There weren’t many opponents Xu Qing had faced in life that he wasn’t confident in being able to kill, but Fan Shishuang was one of them.
1. It’s also worth noting that the Classic of Mountains and Seas is a bestiary that describes strange lands and strange beasts. ☜
2. As was mentioned, the region is shaped like a bottle gourd, which is essentially like two circles, one smaller than the other. The parts of the region are said to have an ‘upper’ section and a ‘lower’ section that are described as being circular. I’m going to render these as highlands and lowlands, and though it doesn’t specifically say it, I think the idea is that the highlands correspond to the top part of a bottle gourd, which would have a smaller circle, with the lowlands corresponding to the bottom part, which would have a larger circle. ☜