Chapter 876: A God’s Tacit Approval
Boundless fluctuations rolled through the sky above Heavenfire City and God Mountain. Bolts of lightning shot left and right, forming unusual supernatural phenomena. The intense rumbling left all the cultivators present feeling shocked. At the same time, the bloodline reactions of the Firemoon cultivators were getting more intense. All of them were visibly taken aback.
Although the subsidiary species didn’t experience any reaction in their blood, when they saw what was happening with the Firemoon cultivators, they started to get even more surprised.
Up in the sky, Sir Heavenink wasn’t the only one who was bowing. Next to him, Fan Shishuang did the same. As the figure emerged from the vortex, more than half of the round two participants instinctively bowed their heads. That included Tuo Shishan and all the other chosen. Sir Firedark’s expression flickered as he looked at the vortex.
As for the Captain... he looked around and sighed inwardly as his heart filled with a prickling sensation, along with deep incredulity.
The cultivators in Heavenfire City were stunned. All of them now knew that the other participants were waiting for the person who was currently emerging from the vortex. As everyone watched, the vortex spun, and the figure inside strode out, becoming clearer and clearer. Gray fog was like a sea spreading out through the air and filling heaven and earth. There was something wild and ancient about it, and it even kicked up a massive wind. Because of the bloodline reaction of many of the onlookers, the gray fog echoed with a sound that resembled the howl of a god.
Soon, the Ninedawns skulls became visible around the emerging figure, surrounded by fog as they looked down at everything below. All Firemoon cultivators felt their blood reacting dramatically. It didn’t matter the level of cultivation base involved. All cultivators of that species were unable to control the tug they felt from their blood.
There were some older Firemoon experts who saw the nine skulls and were so stunned their jaws nearly dropped. They couldn’t prevent the shock from being visible in their eyes.
“Are those...?”
“This....”
The subsidiary species saw the nine skulls in the fog, and their expression flickered. Many had speculations about what they were seeing, but the one explanation that made sense seemed completely unbelievable.
Before they could do anything to confirm their speculations, the vortex rumbled loudly again. Fog poured out of it, spreading in all directions. The nine skulls emerged, becoming visible to all. There was an ox-dragon, jackal-dragon, phoenix-dragon, roaring-dragon, lion-dragon, turtle-dragon, tiger-dragon, graceful-dragon, and fish-dragon. Nine of them swirled around, emitted powerful roars.
Ninedawns, who had been confined for countless years of time, was now appearing in the world again! The antemage aura and the blood of the Darkheaven Archmages became an origin power that existed at the highest level.
All of a sudden, the souls of the Firemoon cultivators began to tremble, and their blood filled with a very intense sensation that made them want to bow down to the nine heads. The subsidiary species did not have any bloodline reaction like that, but their speculations were seemingly proved true.
The level of incredulity at play was monumental. The legends surrounding the Ninedawns Forbidden Lands, plus the sight of the Firemoon cultivators bowing, were so shocking that all of them chose to bow their heads. As of this moment, it didn’t matter the level of cultivation base or the personal status or identity involved, everyone was bowing their heads.
That was also when the figure finally emerged from the vortex. As he appeared in the dome of heaven, those bowing to him finally saw who he was.
He had long hair flowing behind him like the River of Time. His eyes were like spirits in the starry sky, twinkling with countless heavenly bodies. His facial features existed at a higher level than all other life forms, and provoked shock as deep as the blood.
He was none other than Xu Qing!
The moment he appeared, the Ninedawns skulls’ roars grew more intense, and they began swirling around him to form nine lanterns made of flesh! Xu Qing sensed the connection of a shared origin between himself and the nine heads. Instead of looking at everything below, he turned to look back at the vortex.
It had already begun fading away as he emerged. He could sense the Mountain and Sea Region on the other side of the vortex, and the numerous beasts there. An idea had just struck him.
If I’m out here, but I unleash the Ninedawns aura, I wonder if I can summon things from the Mountain and Sea Region.
If he did that in the lands of the Firemoon Darkheaven people, though, it could have severe ramifications. For now, he buried the thought.
As of now, no one was paying attention to anything other than Xu Qing and the nine lanterns floating around him.
Sir Firedark’s mind was spinning, and he was breathing heavily. He didn’t want to bow his head, but his blood was driving him to. Veins bulged out on his forehead as he resisted the urge, but in the end, he had no choice but to bow his head.
Silence reigned in heaven and earth, but inaudible rumbling filled the hearts and minds of the bowing cultivators. It wasn’t just the cultivators in the area who were affected. As the Ninedawns aura spread, all Firemoon Darkheavens, regardless of where they were, felt their blood seething.
Meanwhile, as Xu Qing appeared outside of God Mountain, and everyone bowed to him, three shadowy objects appeared, pulsing with majestic energy.
They were three incomparably majestic tents! [1]
Each one was like an entire city.
The first pulsed with astonishing flames and contained the power of a sun. It was surrounded by a sea of fire, through which it was possible to see an enormous golden tent that was virtually a palace.
The second was surrounded by moonlight, and emanated frigid coldness. The moonlight around it was like a mysterious veil creating a shimmering barrier, through which was visible a tent that resembled a moon palace.
The third glittered with starlight, and was surrounded by a void that was like a starry sky. And at the end of that starry sky was a palace formed from starlight.
These three palatial tents corresponded to the three stewards of the Firemoon Darkheaven people, who were like emperors or kings that ranked only beneath their three gods. Among the Firemoon Darkheavens, their authority was supreme. They consisted of: Steward Heavencloud, who served High God Sunfire; Steward Silvercreek, who served High God Moonfire; and Steward Deepspirit, who served High God Starfire!
When they appeared, all of the Firemoon Darkheavens and the subsidiary species bowed even lower. Although they were only projections, the fact that the tents of all three stewards appeared at the same time was unusual. Normally speaking, they only came out for important ceremonies.
As the three majestic tents appeared in projected form, they descended in unison. At the same time, three terrifying gazes emerged from them and locked onto Xu Qing. They were clearly examining him critically.
Xu Qing, meanwhile, looked at God Mountain. He was aware that no one on the outside was aware of him acquiring Ninedawns. But the three gods certainly knew. However, from beginning to end, the three gods hadn’t intervened at all, which was what led to him coming out of the vortex in the manner that he did.
Couple that with the situation in the cave underneath the Ninedawns Forbidden Lands, and it gave Xu Qing a fairly good idea of what was going on. The three gods tacitly approved of Ninedawns coming out into the world. In fact, it even seemed likely that they wanted someone to bring Ninedawns out....
Though he couldn’t be sure of the reason, the arrival of these three majestic tents seemed to confirm his theory.
First to act was Steward Deepspirit, servant of High God Starfire. Starlight glittered around the tent as the gaze from within went from being critical to profound. Then, a calm voice echoed out.
“Ninedawns, as a sage of the Firemoon Darkheavens, I hereby bestow upon you a starglory robe of this tent!”
Out from Steward Deepspirit’s illusory tent flew a long robe of starlight. It was exquisite as it floated out to appear in front of Xu Qing. It almost looked like a map of the starry sky, as it contained the glittering radiance of unending heavenly bodies. All cultivators below, be they Firemoons or from subsidiary species, found this very meaningful. Starglory robes were profoundly significant on a symbolic level. Whoever wore such a robe had the right to seek an audience with Steward Deepspirit at any time. Throughout the history of the Firemoon Darkheaven people, few people had ever been given a starglory robe. Those who had were all extremely exceptional.
Xu Qing clasped hands and bowed. He knew his own limitations, and also knew how terrifying the Firemoon Darkheaven people could be. Therefore, he had no intention of acting arrogant because of Ninedawns.
After Steward Deepspirit, the next to speak was Steward Silvercreek, who served High God Moonfire. His voice was as cold as ice as he said, “You are bestowed with a silvercreek moon god medallion.”
A gray identity medallion flew out from the tent, pulsing with moonlight and a mysterious will. It was actually a bone medallion, and the moment it appeared, the Captain’s eyes went wide as he stood there in the crowd, and he struggled to control his breathing.
Xu Qing again clasped hands and bowed.
Next, fire pulsed around the tent of Steward Heavencloud, who served High God Sunfire. Streams of fire came out, converged, and turned into a shortsword. It emitted dazzling sword light as it floated over to Xu Qing.
Next, a stentorian voice erupted from within the tent. “You are bestowed with a heavencloud solarflame sword.”
A robe. A medallion. A sword.
The symbolic significance couldn’t be underestimated. And the fact that they had all been given at once defied description. There was no need to announce who had taken first place in round two. The appearance of Ninedawns and the actions of the three stewards said it all.
The projections of the three tents faded away into nothing.
At that point, the voice of a god echoed out from God Mountain.
“In seven days, the final round of the Great Hunt will begin.”
As the voice echoed out, the vortex in the sky disappeared. The second round of the Great Hunt was now over.
***
In another area in Firemoon Darkheaven territory, high above the sky, illusory ripples spread out as a massive floating city appeared. Within the city were no less than 10,000 buildings, all of which glittered like stars. There were innumerable living beings in the city, which emanated terrifying fluctuations. In the case of some, their mere energy would be enough to cause all light to dim in heaven and earth.
In the middle of the stars was a huge tent made of starlight. It was the tent of Steward Deepspirit, who served High God Starfire. Inside the tent was a figure seated cross-legged, who was currently looking in the direction of God Mountain.
Ninedawns is finally out in the world. The three gods tacitly approve. This kid is tied to some major karma....
1. The tents here are not like camping tents, but more like Mongolian yurts. To be clear, there is a specific word for ‘yurt’ in Chinese, and it’s not used here. But if you do some image searches in Chinese for the term used here, virtually all of the results are yurts. There are many kinds of yurts, with some of them essentially being permanent structures.Here are a few examples from my Baidu image search. ☜