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By means of his shadow, Xu Qing kept an eye on the netherworld void that existed outside of the galleon. It made him think about the terrifying entities that countless cultivators feared when entering Foundation Establishment. When a cultivator ignited their life lamp for the first time, it would attract entities from another world. The Mute had failed during that part of his breakthrough, and had been partially possessed. If it hadn’t been for Xu Qing, the Mute would already have ceased to exist.

From what Xu Qing could sense, the netherworld void outside the ghost galleon was that world.

It wasn’t easy for him to track the passage of time. It was as if each moment lasted for a very long time. Then, out of nowhere, light appeared in the darkness. It was scorching hot, and stretched for 30,000 meters from one end to another, ripping apart the darkness. There in the netherworld was a huge, blindingly bright desert.

The ghost galleon shot into that desert and... disappeared.

Everyone aboard the ship suddenly felt their stomachs lurch as if they were falling.

“You can open your eyes,” Arch-Immortal Plumdark said. The coalition disciples did so. Astonishingly, they were now in a scorching desert.

Heatwaves shimmered everywhere, and the sky itself rippled and distorted. The desert was an endless sea of fire, with stupefying heat radiating down from a red sun in the sky. That sun was much clearer than the sun in the sky over Emperor-Receiving Prefecture. And it was larger. It was almost as if the sun hung directly above the desert they were in. Either that, or the desert... existed very close to the sun itself.

The ghost galleon couldn’t survive in this place, so it faded away, allowing the passengers to drop down.

Arch-Immortal Plumdark waved her hand, and her dragon-shaped flying ship appeared beneath them. They landed on the ship, which then shot through the heat of that sun off into the distance.

The other passengers who had been on the ghost galleon went their separate ways. As for the two swordsages, they produced magical devices which resembled hats, and used them, not to fly off into the distance, but to burrow into the ground. A moment later, they were gone.

“This is the last leg of the journey,” Arch-Immortal Plumdark said. “After traveling for three months through this desert, we’ll reach the borders of the county capital.”

Within that burning heat, Arch-Immortal Plumdark’s voice was like clear water that eased the hearts of the disciples.

Xu Qing took a deep breath, and his eyes glittered. Though this journey was turning out to be relatively short, he had still seen many fantastic things. His eyes had been opened in a way that would never have been possible in Emperor-Receiving Prefecture. And it seemed like he still had only seen a tiny fraction of what the world had to offer.

Half a month later the flying ship reached a place where the fires below started to go out. Soon, they saw patches of hazy smoke. Before long, it was possible to see that the smoke resembled humanoid forms. Though they couldn’t be seen clearly, it was obvious that there were men and women, old and young. It looked like some unique nonhuman species that lived here permanently. The place where the smoke was thickest seemed to be a city of some sort.

Xu Qing almost couldn’t believe his eyes, and most of the other disciples reacted similarly. The Captain was the only one who didn’t seem surprised.

As they passed over the smoky nonhumans, many of them looked up into the sky at the flying ship.

A very serious expression could be seen on Arch-Immortal Plumdark’s face. Then, for the first time on the journey, she floated up off the ship and bowed with clasped hands toward the city of smoke.

“We are human cultivators from Emperor-Receiving Prefecture, escorting swordsages from our sect to the county capital. We’re only passing through, and hope that you Fellow Daoists of the Smokewight people don’t take any offense.”

Xu Qing and the other disciples all followed suit, bowing with hands clasped.

The countless smoky figures below looked at the ship thoughtfully, then returned the salute. Obviously they didn’t plan to cause any problems.

Arch-Immortal Plumdark breathed a sigh of relief. “The Smokewights are the most complex of the species we’ve run into so far,” she explained. “They couldn’t care less about most human sects. However, they do fear the swordsages. Living as they do underneath this burning sun, they’re natural-born assassins. They can merge with any type of energy and are incomparably gruish. If you ever run into them again, be very careful. Avoid doing business with them and getting wrapped up in their karma.”

Xu Qing nodded. Looking down at the city of smoke below, he committed all the details to memory. As the journey continued, they ran into more unusual species.

About a month later, the color of the surrounding desert terrain changed. Instead of being dominated by yellow and red, it slowly turned crystalline....

Because of that, it both reflected and refracted light, creating a dazzlingly beautiful scene. In fact, anyone whose cultivation base wasn’t high enough would eventually be blinded by it.

Now it seemed like the flying boat was flying through a sea of light.

Around this time, Xu Qing yet again caught sight of those two swordsages.

Apparently, this was their main destination. The two of them were on the crystallized land below, within the sea of light, fighting fiercely with invisible foes that surrounded them. Astonishing sword light spread in all directions around them, along with the fluctuations of magical techniques. Standing next to them was the nonhuman girl who had previously been on the back of the female swordsage. The black band covering the girl’s solitary eye had been removed, and she was staring up at the burning sun.

Her eye shone brightly, and she seemed curious. It almost seemed like she was absorbing the sunlight, and as a result, her eye was getting brighter. The two antennae coming off her forehead swayed back and forth creating magical symbols that flowed into her eye. Obviously it was important that the process not be interrupted, as the two swordsages were vigilantly guarding over her.

There were unseen entities that were trying to stop the girl from absorbing sunlight. They seemed to be part of the light, and the only evidence of their presence was the way other streams of light bent and rippled around them.

“They’re lightscrags!” Arch-Immortal Plumdark explained. “Light itself is intelligent, and can manifest as lightscrags. They usually appear in extremely hot environments, and leave almost no trace of their existence. In reality, they’re made from light, which makes them difficult to fight and kill. And they only fade from existence when night falls.”

Down below, the two swordsages were clearly having trouble holding the line. Both of them were wounded.

Xu Qing looked at the Captain.

The Captain looked at Xu Qing.

“Senior,” Xu Qing said, clasping his hands, “one of those swordsages helped the two of us in the past. Can we go down to assist?”

“Do you need any help from me?” she asked softly.

“Eldest Brother and I will be fine. If it turns out we’re not a match for them, then perhaps we can trouble you for assistance?”

Arch-Immortal Plumdark nodded. Xu Qing immediately flew off the ship.

The Captain cleared his throat. “Actually, Senior, it would be fine if you interfered....”

Arch-Immortal Plumdark glared at him. Shrinking back, he quickly flew after Xu Qing.

When the two swordsages saw Xu Qing and the Captain flying down, looks of gratitude appeared in their eyes. That was especially true of the male swordsage who had helped them back in Emperor-Receiving Prefecture.

“Many thanks, Fellow Daoists,” he said. “There are a lot more lightscrags this time than in the past. Thank you for helping us to protect this Lightborn girl.”

Xu Qing nodded. The moment he landed next to the swordsages, he could sense a strong killing intent rushing toward him from within the surrounding sea of light. Eyes glittering, he tapped into the poison core in this third heavenly palace, causing taboo poison to spread out. A moment later, a bloodcurdling scream rang out from the sea of light. Then it was possible to see a shaft of light suddenly turn dark, then disappear.

The two swordsages’ eyes lit up. Meanwhile, the Captain arrived, glowing blue as he sent a boundless frigid will out in all directions. That frigid coldness was terrifying; wherever it went, it brought lightlessness with it, as if it were freezing the light itself. After the light was frozen, it couldn’t move, and therefore, everything around it would turn dark.

It went without saying that the Captain’s terrifying powers of coldness allowed him to surpass Xu Qing in these circumstances.

Their arrival instantly eased the two swordsage’s burden. Before long, the danger had passed. The lightscrags could sense that this fight was too much for them, and they scattered.

“Many thanks to you, Fellow Daoists!”

The two swordsages both seemed to be Gold Core cultivators with three heavenly palaces. Of course, though they were obviously thankful, they were also remaining on guard. That came as pure instinct. In the world in which they lived, people without such an instinct would quickly end up dead.

As for the swordsage who had previously run into them in Emperor-Receiving Prefecture, he was deeply shaken. He had seen many chosen cultivators throughout the years, but he clearly remembered that these two were in Foundation Establishment the last time he saw them. But now they were on the same level as he was. What was more, having seen them fight just now, he knew that they had incredible battle prowess.

Clasping hands formally, Xu Qing said, “We never had the chance to thank you for gifting us that treasure. It was a simple thing for us to help out today.”

The Captain laughed heartily. “That’s right. And considering me and my Junior Brother are also swordsages, how could we not help you?” The Captain was obviously highlighting his and Xu Qing’s status.

Hearing that, the two swordsages were visibly surprised. Both of them produced their command swords, which Xu Qing and the Captain also did. The four command swords glittered with dazzling light. Upon seeing that, the two swordsages relaxed a bit.

“I’m Chen Tinghao,” the male swordsage said. “This is my wife Sun Liying. We really owe you thanks for this. It was obviously careless of us to accept a mission like this.” [1]

Chen Tinghao produced a jade slip which he handed to Xu Qing. “Please take half of the military credits for this mission. Don’t refuse! This is customary among swordsages. We’re all fellow warriors, so consider this a sincere expression of friendship!”

Given his wording, Xu Qing and the Captain couldn’t refuse. After exchanging the jade slip, the four of them chatted a bit while they waited for the Lightborn girl to finish absorbing the sunlight.

Xu Qing and the Captain explained that they were on the way to the county capital to report for duty, while Chen Tinghao and Sun Liying explained some of the information about their mission.

The Lightborn were one of the rare benevolent species that were allies of humankind. They had the innate ability to absorb sunlight with their eyes. Once their eyes were full, they would go to areas with no sun, where they would sell their eyes. Chen Tinghao and Sun Liying had accepted a mission to escort this girl somewhere to absorb sunlight, and had chosen this location as the most suitable.

Eventually, the girl finished with her task, closed her eye, and wrapped the black band back around her head. She seemed to be in a very weak state as she climbed onto Sun Liying’s back.

Because the two swordsages also needed to go to the county capital, Xu Qing and the Captain invited them to board the flying ship.

Once aboard, they offered respectful greetings to Arch-Immortal Plumdark.

She was very welcoming. After all, she would much rather Xu Qing get to the county capital with friends already. Of course, her cultivation base was so high that it wasn’t appropriate for her to entertain Chen Tinghao and Sun Liying. Therefore, she told Xu Qing to take charge, then went below deck.

As the flying ship proceeded on its way, Chen Tinghao continued to show favor by explaining some things about the city to Xu Qing and the Captain.

“The capital is in the very middle of Sea-Sealing County. All the big powers from the various prefectures have subsidiary sects there. However, in the overall structure of the city, they aren’t very important. In fact, you could think of them as being sixth-tier. The tier above them, the fifth, are the various yamens that govern daily affairs in the city. [2]

“Above the yamens are the three great sects and one great clan of Sea-Sealing County. They are the Supreme Void Demonization Sect, the Supreme Ancient Lightning Order, the Blood Chill Society and the Daoist Mansion of Marquis Yao!

“The Daoist Mansion of Marquis Yao, sometimes called Yao Mansion, is the most unique of the group. The patriarch of the founding clan was once one of the thirty-six heavenly marquises, who were blessed with the ‘dao’ character on their uniform by Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity. That’s why, over the years, that clan has always been described using the term ‘dao mansion.’” [3]

As Chen Tinghao went on with his explanation, the flying ship got closer and closer to the county capital.

1. Chen Tinghao and Sun Liying. Chen is #5 on the list of the 100 common Chinese surnames. Ting means “palace, courtyard, court” and Hao means, among other things, “fine (usually to describe long hair)”. Sun is #12 on the list of 100 surnames. Li means many things, including “to stand, to establish, to lay down, at once, immediately” and ying means “cluster of gems”. Madam Deathblade says that Chen Tinghao sounds like a complex name filled with layered meaning. Sun Liying is a typical nice-sounding name for a girl. The word I’m translating as “wife” here is actually a term of endearment used for couples that are romantically connected. When I was in China, I would typically hear this word spoken by people from the older generation referring to their spouse (younger people tend to use a different, more “cool” word that means the same thing). Technically the term could also be used for a lover. Chen Tinghao also uses the word “daoist partner” to describe the two of them. Given the genre and culture implications (plus the way it depicts them here and later), I think they’re supposed to be married, not just lovers. ☜

2. A yamen can be a physical building or something more akin to a department. Either way, it’s associated with the government bureaucracy and/or law enforcement. Here’s the wiki article if you want to learn about real-life historical yamens. ☜

3. Yao is #51 on the list of 100 common Chinese surnames. It also means “handsome, good-looking, beautiful.” ☜