Chapter 874: The Last One
Lingering fluctuations rolled through the dome of heaven, causing the clouds to ripple endlessly. From a distance, it looked like fish scales, as if some literal gargantuan fish was swimming through the sky like water. It was unsurpassably shocking.
In front of the massive fish was Xu Qing, seated cross-legged, his long hair drifting around him as he emanated an ancient aura. He closed his eyes as he hovered there motionless. Surrounding him was roughly half of the image of an antemage. It was slowly fading away into the sky, disappearing into the distance along with the massive fish.
Everything down below was silent. The observing cultivators were overwhelmed with astonishment. They had just borne witness to a battle in which the Master Stillwinter, listed second in the echelon of the Firemoon Darkheaven people, had perished! They couldn’t stop themselves from trembling physically.
When Xu Qing showed up, the ghost chariots bowed to him and the vegetation parted. That alone proved to them how powerful he was. In their hearts, they had all been absolutely convinced that Master Stillwinter was just as powerful. Yet from the beginning of the fight until the end, Master Stillwinter’s tactics had been effectively useless. He had been outmaneuvered so badly that many of them experienced a misconception, and started to think that Master Stillwinter had actually been weak!
But misconceptions were just that: misconceptions.
Master Stillwinter hadn’t been weak at all. It was just that he had been facing off against someone that was far, far too strong!
That said, though Master Stillwinter’s defeat shocked all of them, there was a limit to that shock. There was no way that an event like this could leave them truly destabilized on a deep level. But what was destabilizing was that as the gray fog around Xu Qing faded away, they were able to glimpse the disappearing figure behind him!
That was obviously a source of deep shock, as they recognized that gray fog as coming from the Ninedawns Forbidden Lands. Though none of them recognized the figure, their bloodline contained an indescribably familiar resonance, as if... they were looking at their ultimate origin.
Even as that sensation took hold within them, Xu Qing slowly opened his eyes. At the same time, the mage mark on his forehead flickered, and the antemage figure behind him pulsed with an even stronger wild and ancient aura.
All of the cultivators trembled as they felt the urge to offer worship, coming from their blood, souls, and instincts. That included Fan Shishuang and Sir Heavenink.
The prostrating ghost chariots were all wailing and howling. The sound drifted out, filling heaven and earth with a sensation of grief that affected the emotions of everyone who could hear it. And that sensation was amplified by the sight of the figure in the sky. It was like wailing that came from their souls and blood.
Some of the cultivators dropped to their knees to kowtow. When Sir Heavenink did so, others followed his lead. Even Fan Shishuang felt an indescribable tug of emotion that caused him to bow his head and then kowtow reverently. The three ancient ghost chariots with Smoldering God fluctuations were no longer studying Xu Qing suspiciously. They bowed their heads.
Seeing that, Xu Qing understood why the legends claimed that a person would come from Ninedawns and would be worshiped by the Firemoon Darkheaven people. It was built into their blood.
Sadly, I’m only half-fused.
Xu Qing cast his senses into his fifth secret trove, the mage trove. There, in a land created by his own flesh, were ninety-five god monuments, currently being melted by lanterns of flesh and a gray fog. In midair in the mage trove were nine mountains. Previously, nothing had existed in the middle of those mountains, but now there was a colossal figure.
It was an image of half of an antemage. He floated cross-legged, pulsing with a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering aura. What was more, he clearly possessed life force, and was even doing breathing exercises. Every time he inhaled, the mage trove would shrink down. At the same time, the ninety-five god monuments in the lands of flesh would emit streams of golden smoke that would float over to be inhaled.
They were nutrients that constantly bolstered the mage trove. Then the antemage would exhale, and the mage trove would tremble and expand. It became a cycle. With the god monuments and antemage present, the mage trove seemed almost like it was alive!
Xu Qing took it all in before focusing on the half-antemage. He felt anticipation. Eventually, he returned his attention to all the bowing figures. He stood. As he did, fluctuations of teleportation began to build up in the Mountain and Sea Region. It was an indication that the second round of the Great Hunt was going to end soon.
After a moment of reflection, Xu Qing shot over the horizon. When he was gone, the rainforest went back to normal. The ghost chariots ceased their howling and returned to whence they’d come.
The cultivators’ faces were ashen. Hearts filled with astonishment and other complicated emotions, they left the area. They needed to take advantage of what time was left to get a mount.
The last to leave were Sir Heavenink and Fan Shishuang. They exchanged a glance, and then Sir Heavenink stuck his chin up, clasped his hands behind his back, and left.
Ultimately, Fan Shishuang was hovering in midair alone. Ninedawns... out in the world.... This hasn’t happened from ancient times until now....
Fan Shishuang took a deep breath, suppressed the shock in his eyes, and left.
***
Time passed. There were two days left until the second round ended, and Xu Qing was currently in an unfamiliar area.
It was the Hillworm Jungle.
This was the spot where Xu Qing and the Captain had agreed to meet up.
Hovering in midair, Xu Qing looked at the dense jungle in front of him. He could sense the Captain’s aura, but didn’t see him anywhere. Finally he took out a jade slip and sent a message. He got no response.
I see signs of a fight....
After some thought, he entered the jungle. As he did, the plants bent to the side to make a path for him. Expression placid, he proceeded for a while before finally stopping and turning to look at a fruit tree.
The tree emanated a cold aura.
That’s Eldest Brother’s frigid energy.
Xu Qing walked up to the tree, reached out, and touched it. At the same time, he released both his Ninedawns aura and his divine sense.
Open your memories.
The memories of the plants and vegetation in the Hillworm Jungle became like threads that weaved together into a composite net. Gradually, images formed in Xu Qing’s mind.
He saw the Captain fleeing as someone chased him. He also saw them fighting here in the Hillworm Jungle, both of them using a variety of techniques. In the end, the Captain fled off into the distance, leaving the Hillworm Jungle with the other cultivator in pursuit, pulsing with determination and a baleful aura.
Xu Qing opened his eyes calmly. He wasn’t worried about the Captain.
Granted, Xu Qing already realized who was chasing the Captain. It was the chosen ranked first in the Firemoon echelon. Sir Firedark.
Except....
Eldest Brother was tangling with him for quite a while, but survived. There’s no way he’ll die. It looks like Sir Firedark hates Eldest Brother down to the depths of his bones. Eldest Brother must have really done a number on him.
Xu Qing did some calculations and came to the conclusion that this round of the Great Hunt was about to end.
Over the past few days, teleportation portals had been powering up all over the Mountain and Sea Region.
“No more than two days,” he murmured.
Based on what he’d learned about the second round, once the teleportations began, all the participants would be sent back to God Mountain.
The Captain figured out how to get in here, so he surely has a way to teleport away. And that means he’ll be leaving soon too.
Xu Qing felt better when thinking about it that way. That said, considering his close relationship with the Captain, it seemed best to spend the next two days looking for him.
Floating up into the air, he picked a direction and started moving. Whenever he lost track of the Captain’s aura, he would send out divine sense and the Ninedawns aura to check the memories of the rainforest. Then he would adjust his path and start moving again.
Unfortunately, time was very limited. Even after searching for two days, he didn’t actually find the Captain. Over the past two days, the teleportation fluctuations in the Mountain and Sea Region had become increasingly prevalent. At one point, Xu Qing even saw a Firemoon cultivator racing along in the distance, only to vanish via teleportation.
It’s starting. At that point, he found a mountain where he settled down cross-legged to wait for teleportation. As time ticked by, the sound of rumbling filled the Mountain and Sea Region. It became deafening, like the enraged roar of a god.
Teleportation fluctuations filled the region like invisible waves.
The first to be taken away were the cultivators who hadn’t acquired mounts. Next came those with weak mounts.
If one could stand in a position to observe the Mountain and Sea Region as a whole, it would be possible to see cultivators everywhere being caught up by the teleportation fluctuations. But there was one person who remained in place despite all of the teleportations.
Several hours later, when all of the other Great Hunt participants were gone, he was still there.
Frowning, Xu Qing looked up into the sky.
Rumbling filled heaven and earth. Because Xu Qing was the only person left in the region, the teleportation fluctuations all focused on his location. Up above him, they converged, creating a huge vortex that resembled a black hole. However, no matter how loudly it rumbled, it didn’t affect him. It couldn’t teleport him away.
It was a bit of a surprise.
If it can’t take me away, then I guess I should take the initiative to enter!
Eyes narrowing, he stood and approached the vortex!