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Xu Qing stared in the direction of the county capital, his heart pounding with astonishment.

“The governor perished...?”

Xu Qing had glimpsed the governor from afar on a few occasions in the Swordsage Palace, but had never interacted with him. That said, he had heard a lot about him. He knew that it was only because of the governor that Sea-Sealing County remained whole, and that the Holytides had never managed to devour it or rip it apart.

This governor had served in Sea-Sealing County for eight hundred years. Though he hadn’t done anything to expand his territory, he did maintain a balance. He was cautious and conscientious, and had kept Sea-Sealing County in human control the entire time. It had always had thirteen prefectures, which was a rare thing. Over the past thousand years, the other six counties controlled by humans had all lost prefectures.

Today, the governor perished.

Xu Qing didn’t know the details of what happened, nor did he have any idea what was happening in the county capital. But as various emotions swept through him, he thought about Arch-Immortal Plumdark, Kong Xianglong, and the others he knew there.

He quickly took out his command sword and transmission jade slip. Before he could even send messages to inquire about what was happening, both devices started vibrating as messages poured in.

“Xu Qing, are you at the Corrections Division? Are you okay??”

“Xu Qing, the governor just died! There was no sign it was going to happen. He just died, out of nowhere!”

“Xu Qing, where are you? The Corrections Division collapsed!!”

“Countless prisoners have broken free! The county capital is in chaos!”

Messages were flooding in from Kong Xianglong, Sir Mountain-River, and many others Xu Qing considered to be friends, as well as from other swordsages he knew, and of course jailers from the Corrections Division.

A tremor passed through Xu Qing, starting in the depths of his heart, rapidly spreading to his extremities, and turning into a rumbling sound in his mind.

The Corrections Division collapsed? Xu Qing almost couldn’t believe it. Hefting his command sword, he sent an inquiry to Kong Xianglong.

The response came almost immediately. Kong Xianglong’s voice was tinged with grief and indignation as he said, “Xu Qing, the Corrections Division exploded! The prisoners are currently fleeing. They’re everywhere. Tons of them. Unit D. Unit C. Unit B. The palace lord, the deputy palace lord, and the honor guards are currently using the county capital’s taboo treasure to fight with the clone of a god that was imprisoned in the Corrections Division.”

Xu Qing was about to ask some follow-up questions when his transmission jade slip vibrated and a voice message came in from Arch-Immortal Plumdark.

“Xu Qing,” she asked, her voice quavering, “where... where are you? Are you well...? I’m at the Corrections Division and you’re not here....”

Given how shaken she sounded, Xu Qing immediately responded and let her know he was fine. Hearing that, she breathed a sigh of relief and seemed about to ask him some more details.

However, he was so flustered he ended the conversation and then sent a voice message to Kong Xianglong. “Kong Xianglong, you need to know that—”

Before he could even finish the message, Kong Xianglong sent his own urgent message.

“Xu Qing, if you’re not here in the county capital, then find a hiding spot and stay away. Don’t come back, at least for a few days. Prisoners are fleeing from the Corrections Division, and you’re a jailer. There are going to be villains on the roads, so be careful. By the way... something even bigger has happened! I just got news that a huge Holytide army just showed up on the border of Sea-Sealing County. This entire thing was premeditated! Xu Qing, war’s about to start!”

Kong Xianglong sounded anxious, but by the end of his message, his voice was decisive.

Xu Qing was still reeling. This turn of events was completely unexpected. All he could do was try to calm down. He took a deep breath, dropped to the ground, and found an underground area to hide. There, he took steps to conceal his aura.

He wasn’t very far from the county capital. Given the level of his cultivation base, he could make the trip in about an hour. And that meant that it wouldn’t be long before prisoners from the Corrections Division could arrive. Although the prisoners were all in a very weak state, when those from Unit C were back in the open, without the heavenly daos of the minor world suppressing them, their battle prowess would quickly return. Kong Xianglong was right. He needed to stay hidden and wait for a few days before going back.

Sea-Sealing County is going to be thrown into chaos.

Next he took out his transmission jade slip and sent a voice message to the innkeeper to let him know what was happening, and also to have the Wood Spirits be on guard. Next he sent a message to the Captain.

The Captain didn’t respond. Xu Qing frowned. After some thought, he messaged Qing Qiu. She didn’t respond either. Sighing, he put away the jade slip and sat down cross-legged to try to settle his thoughts.

In that manner, a day passed.

At a certain point, his command sword vibrated, and the exhausted voice of the palace lord echoed out.

“All swordsages in the vicinity of the county capital are hereby given notice to return at once. Report by this evening! Furthermore, I have three important updates.

“One: the governor is dead.

“Two: the prisoners in the Corrections Division have all escaped. On your way back, take extra precautions to avoid any dangerous situations.

“Three: the Holytides have invaded Sea-Sealing County with a large army. According to our intelligence reports, the Holytides’ ancestral emperor has awakened and given orders to wage war.

“Swordsages... war is upon us.”

Xu Qing put away the command sword, organized his bag of holding, and did a quick check to make sure he was in condition to travel. Then, his eyes gleamed with cold light as he flew up into the air and started traveling.

It was currently noontime. The dome of heaven looked different than it had the previous day. Something like a net seemed to be spreading across the sky. It glittered like gold as it expanded to cover the canopy of heaven. It emanated pulsing pressure, and as soon as Xu Qing was out in the open, it flickered as if noting his presence and making a record of it.

Looking thoughtful, Xu Qing shot toward the county capital.

Along the way, he kept his guard up. Before long, he was near the capital, which was when he got another message from Kong Xianglong.

According to Kong Xianglong, the chaos in the county capital had been temporarily quelled by the lieutenant governor and palace lords of the three Greater Celestial Divisions. Because war was coming, and the Swordsage Palace held primary responsibilities for matters of war, the palace lord had been appointed as the acting governor.

Two dharmic decrees had been issued earlier in the day.

The first was the one summoning all swordsages back to the capital. The second was that the entire county was being locked down and the capital’s taboo treasure activated. The huge net in the sky was the manifestation of that taboo treasure.

Xu Qing looked up at the golden net, put his command sword away, and then continued on his way. Shortly after... the county capital became visible up ahead.

It looked completely different than before.

The floating city was full of cracks and crevices. It looked heavily damaged. What was more, the three palaces of the Greater Celestial Divisions were also in extremely bad shape. Most shocking of all was the situation on the ground. The gaping pit where the Corrections Division existed had collapsed in on itself, and the opening was now plugged with rocks and debris. Numerous massive fissures snaked out from it in all directions. For all intents and purposes, the Corrections Division didn’t exist anymore.

There were many more swordsages present on patrol duty, as well as guards from the county capital. They were keeping a close eye on everything, looking somber and desolate, but at the same time, full of grief and anger.

There was mutagen present, as well as the lingering fluctuations of magical techniques. Because such things had not yet been purged, the air rippled around them.

Xu Qing was in a grim mood as he entered the county capital. More than a few swordsages noticed him and put their guard up. Some even scanned him with divine will. When they realized who he was, they made way for him.

Xu Qing headed to the Corrections Division first.

Some of the jailers had already carved out a narrow pathway leading down inside. Upon noticing Xu Qing, they nodded in greeting. None spoke. They looked like wild beasts on the lookout to devour someone, who then spotted one of their own kind.

Xu Qing quietly walked past them and went through the narrow passage. Once inside, he saw that the cell blocks were all in ruins.

Eyes turning colder and colder, he eventually found his way to D-132. The door was busted open, and the inside was full of rubble. The cells were all destroyed, and the prisoners were gone. The boy was also missing. Xu Qing inspected the area and eventually found a spot in the back corner where there was a pile of broken bamboo slips. Every single bamboo slip contained the same basic information…. Xu Qing collected the fragments, then continued down to Level 89.

There, he looked at the mural. The minor world... had been destroyed.

“You’re here,” a hoarse voice said from some nearby rubble.

Xu Qing spotted Ghost Hand sitting there, his body riddled with wounds. He was surrounded by empty alcohol jugs. He had one remaining jug in his hand as he looked at Xu Qing. He chuckled bitterly.

“They escaped. Every single one of them. Well, I killed a few. But not enough....”

Xu Qing approached and studied Ghost Hand’s injuries. They were serious. His cultivation base was even fractured. Sensing the strong aura of death on him, Xu Qing took out some medicinal pills and put them off to the side.

“I’m not dead yet, Xu Qing. Say, have any alcohol?” Ghost Hand tossed the empty alcohol jug to the side, where it clattered off into the darkness.

Xu Qing nodded. Taking out a jug from his bag of holding, he handed it over.

Ghost Hand accepted it with a trembling hand. Opening it, he took a long drink. Afterwards, he coughed hard, and his face flushed in an unhealthy way. Taking a few gasping breaths, he looked at the shattered mural.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to die this easily,” he said. “Remember, Xu Qing, I’ve been powering up my sword for hundreds of years now, and I still haven’t used it.... There were just too many of them escaping. My sword is meant take down a single enemy. So I wasn’t going to waste it on something like this.

“I’m saving it for the sake of Unit C. I’m going to use it on the cretin that destroyed the Corrections Division.... Until I do that, I’m not going to die.” His voice became increasingly filled with determination.

Xu Qing clasped hands and bowed. Then, feeling very conflicted, he left.

***

Far from Sea-Sealing County, in the depths of the Holytide Region, there was a very special plain that wasn’t part of any county. It was in the very middle of the Holytide Region, and was considered a holy land to the Holytide species.

It was pure white, not because there was snow there, but because there was sand. Each grain contained powerful spirit energy.

There were countless statues present, humanoid in shape, and pulsing with ancient auras. They were the personal guard of Grand Duke Holytide, who had betrayed humankind years in the past. In the years since that event, the cultivators of the guard legion had turned into statues that stood over that white plain. Ironically, the entire place seemed like sacred ground.

The source of that sacredness was a temple in the middle of the plain, which was also pure white. It was the Holytide’s ancestral temple, which was where their ancestral emperor slept.

There were currently four hulking figures outside the temple, prostrated and unmoving.

All four of them wore imperial robes and had imperial crowns on their heads. They were the four emperors of the Holytides’ four royal dynasties. Emperor Heavengale was one of them. [1]

“Your Ancestral Highness,” he said respectfully, “we’ve done everything according to plan.”

Next to Emperor Heavengale was Emperor Redspirit, who said, “Your Ancestral Highness, the Redspirit Army has entered Sea-Sealing County. Regarding the matter of the Nightshade godchild, we’ve uncovered as many clues as we can, and await your decision.”

After a long moment of silence from the temple, an ancient voice echoed out from inside.

“Shelve the godchild matter for the time being. Focus on important things!”

“Your decree shall be obeyed, Ancestral Emperor!” The four emperors ducked their heads and kowtowed.

1. Emperor Heavengale appeared “onscreen” in chapter 458. ☜