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Chapter 810: Erniu’s Determination

“What? The only... I mean, come on! Master! He... he cheated!”

“For countless years in Deep Earth,” the palace lord said softly, “exceptionally talented people have come to the conclusion that all techniques have an origin. And if someone occupies that origin, cultivating the technique to the limit will be very difficult. Of course, they’re not aware of the existence of the immortal essence. That’s just the result of their own personal speculation and analysis. Their speculations are correct. But also incorrect.

“The techniques of Deep Earth really do have an origin. And rarely are they solely connected to a single person. But if that does happen, and if they’re connected deeply enough, the immortal essence will respect that, and will leave that mark in place for later generations of cultivators to study.

“That’s what Xu Qing has done.”

The palace lord’s voice seemed less empty than before, and instead had a touch of admiration in it. With a gentle wave of her hand, she sent the candle flame spinning back to the candles. She also sent the imperial energy back into the frescoes. The only thing left remaining was the faint echo of her words.

The butterfly had regained her composure. After the explanation from her Master, she also felt admiration. Feeling slightly flustered, she prepared to give voice to her feelings.

That was when Xu Qing’s eyes slowly opened. There was no blankness or confusion in them. They were bright and clear, with a hint of violet still present, and something in his pupils that was reminiscent of starlight. Or perhaps it really was starlight.

“Many thanks, Palace Lord!” Xu Qing said, clasping his hands and bowing with deep respect.

“There’s no need for that,” the palace lord responded. “Placing your soul seed in the immortal essence was a virtuous deed for Deep Earth. Going forward, your soul seed will be stripped of its will and turned into a technique to be disseminated in the countless worlds in Deep Earth. Hopefully it will add a bit of colorful variety to the Deep Earth techniques.

“This virtuous deed of yours resulted in you gaining enlightenment of a divine ability from the immortal essence. As the saying goes, every sip and bite is pre-ordained. Consider it karma. Now, do you have any questions for me?”

The palace lord was speaking more directly than before, a direct result of her admiration for Xu Qing.

Xu Qing thought for a moment, then looked at the nine paintings above the altar. “Palace Lord, I would very much like to know about the time when the Revered Ancient mainland was founded. The venerable Summer Immortals who created the heavenly daos... where did they go? Given how much time the broken face of the god has been around, why haven’t they returned?”

The palace lord sighed. “No one knows exactly where the six surviving Summer Immortals are. There’s only some cursory information in the records of the Summer Immortal Palace. Some of them went into the depths of Brilliant Heaven. Some are in Deep Earth, recovering and healing. I don’t know anything more than that. Too much time has passed at this point.”

The palace lord’s voice seemed particularly emotional at that point. After she finished speaking, she started fading from view. The butterfly, sensing her Master’s dip in mood, also began to fade from view.

After a moment of thought, Xu Qing realized that it was time to go.

After bowing again, he turned and walked to the entrance. Before walking out, he looked over his shoulder one last time at the ancient temple.

What caught his attention wasn’t the fading palace lord, nor was it the altar. Instead, it was the fresco depicting the first emperor, who was also the first Ancient Emperor. It was the young man looking up at the starry sky.

After taking one final look, Xu Qing left the ancient temple. The moment he was outside, five-colored light swirled around the temple, and then it popped like a bubble. After it was gone, it seemed as if it had never even been there to begin with.

Looking back, Xu Qing saw nothing but empty space. It was as if the entire thing had been a dream.

The sun was just about to peek over the horizon. The dome of heaven was about to awaken, turning from dark to light. The scarlet glow of morning was incomparably beautiful. A faint mist clung to the lands, like fine gauze that made everything seem mysterious and unknowable.

When the sun rose and light spilled onto the lands, the mist evaporated. Sunlight reached Xu Qing. The night had passed. He looked at the red sun. As he exhaled, his breath turned into steam, and he thought about that fresco that he had examined twice. That very first Ancient Emperor of humankind, that young man... had seemed somehow familiar when he looked at him for the first time. Upon leaving, the feeling felt even stronger.

It’s like I’ve seen him before....

With such thoughts on his mind, Xu Qing walked through the morning sun to Ningyan’s mansion.

About two hours later, the sky was bright, and Xu Qing reached the lake outside the mansion. Xu Qing absentmindedly stopped walking and looked at the water, and suddenly realized why that person seemed familiar.

He sort of looks like Master.

Xu Qing slowly walked across the lake and into the mansion. He wasn’t sure what his Master looked like as a young person. But the young man in the fresco had eyes that looked very similar to his Master’s eyes.

Even as he pondered that, the Sea-Sealing County cultivators who had all been waiting for him in the courtyard burst into cheering. Ningyan was there, as was Kong Xianglong and Wu Jianwu. So was Palace Lord Li Yunshan, who had led the group here from Sea-Sealing County. Plumdark was back, a smile on her face. The Captain was even there. He had his arm thrown over Wu Jianwu’s shoulders and was whispering something in his ear when he saw Xu Qing and smiled.

They were cheering because of the revelation of Xu Qing’s status in the Xeno-Immortal School, and the victory in the dao debate. They were also cheering because of how Xu Qing had executed Seventh Prince and ensured that Bai Xiaozhuo was dead.

There were no greater villains to Sea-Sealing County cultivators than Seventh Prince and Bai Xiaozhuo.

Xu Qing was a bit taken aback to see so many familiar faces all cheering. A lot had happened over the course of the last day. In fact, he was only just now realizing that... only one night had passed since the dao debate. His experience in the Summer Immortal Palace, and the sensation of the passage of ancient time inside the temple, had affected his perceptions. As a result, he had lost track of the actual passage of time. He quickly suppressed the sensation. Smiling, he bowed at the waist to the cheering crowd.

Kong Xianglong was the first to rush forward, his eyes red and puffy. Stopping in front of Xu Qing, he prepared to drop to his knees. Xu Qing prevented him.

Kong Xianglong hesitated, then threw his arms around Xu Qing and embraced him. “Thank you, thank you, thank you....”

Li Yunshan seemed just as emotional as he walked up to Xu Qing and bowed deeply. “Thank you, Region Lord Xu. By executing that Bai traitor and killing Seventh Prince, you wreaked bloody vengeance on behalf of Sea-Sealing County. Palace Lord Kong is definitely watching from the netherworld. Finally, he can rest in peace!”

All of the swordsages bowed. Ningyan bowed more deeply than anyone else, although his excitement came for different reasons. Seventh Prince’s death, and Xu Qing’s awe-inspiring performance, also brought glory and honor to Ningyan.

Xu Qing returned all of the salutes. Then, as the Sea-Sealing County cultivators continued to revel in excitement, he walked over to Plumdark.

In the morning light, Plumdark’s face was like a hibiscus, her eyes were like glistening water, and her lips were like vermilion. She was as gentle and refined as flower blossoms drifting onto a stream. Her plum-colored gown made her seem graceful and gentle, like an immortal strolling through the mundane world. She was truly as beautiful as a blooming violet.

“Where were you last night?” she asked with an enigmatic smile. Looking him up and down, she continued, “I sense the dust of antiquity on you. And also the faint aroma of pollen.”

Xu Qing opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, the Captain, who had been listening in, loudly said, “Get over here, little Junior Brother! I have some big news for you. Really big news!”

He rushed over and, before Xu Qing could say anything, grabbed Xu Qing’s arm. Pulling him away, he looked at Plumdark and said, “My dear Arch-Immortal sister-in-law, the two of you will have plenty of time to catch up later. It wasn’t easy for me to get back here, so allow me to share this very important news with little Ah Qing!”

With that, he dragged Xu Qing away.

Xu Qing wasn’t sure what to do other than let the Captain pull him off. It didn’t take long for them to reach a private chamber, where the Captain performed an incantation gesture to seal the area. Then he looked excitedly at Xu Qing.

“What do you think, little Ah Qing? Do I react quickly or what? Let me tell you, I could smell that pollen on you from the moment you arrived. Oh, you! You’re just too young and inexperienced. Remember, next time you have a snack on the side, remember to clean up afterward! Luckily, I was here to help out, but I won’t necessarily come running every time this happens, right?”

Xu Qing really wasn’t sure what to say in response to that. Looking at the immeasurably smug Captain, he asked, “Where have you been all this time?”

“Doing something big, what else?” The Captain sat down, stretched out his legs, and took out a peach. After tossing an apple to Xu Qing, he started eating. “You listen to me, little Ah Qing, although you did something pretty impressive, it only affects the imperial capital, nothing else. You just wait until this big job of mine is finished. I guarantee your jaw will hit the ground.”

Xu Qing was used to this sort of situation, and knew exactly what the Captain wanted to hear. Plastering a very curious look onto his face, he said, “What’s the job?”

The Captain immediately perked up and leaned a bit closer to Xu Qing. Lowering his voice, he said, “I’ve been in that branch of the Star Emperor Preeminence Sect. You know, the one where I went in and stole something? Well, the night we went there, I actually didn’t manage to get my hands on what I wanted. But I couldn’t just give up. So I came up with a method of infiltrating the sect.

“As of now, I’m an outer sect disciple. My assessment is coming up very soon, and I’m very confident that, once I pass it, I’ll become an inner sect disciple! At that point, I can work things out to get close to my target!”

Hearing all of that sparked some actual curiosity in Xu Qing. Whatever the Captain was after, he had obviously done a lot of work to get to it, which seemed to indicate it was something very special.

“Eldest Brother, what exactly are you trying to steal?”

“The Wordless Book of Stone!” the Captain said, his eyes gleaming with longing. “That mysterious young woman I was working with wanted the same thing. And though it seemed like she succeeded, the reality is that she’s an idiot. What she stole was nothing but an empty shell. A piece-of-crap rock. What I want are the words in it!”

“Wordless Book of Stone?” Xu Qing looked at the Captain.

“Yeah, that’s right. The Wordless Book of Stone.” The Captain smiled enigmatically.

Xu Qing thought about it for a moment and then nodded.

Staring at Xu Qing with keen anticipation, the Captain said, “Aren’t you going to ask me why something called the Wordless Book of Stone has words in it?”

Xu Qing already knew the answer, but seeing the look on the Captain’s face, he decided it was best to play along. “I was just about to ask that.”

The Captain laughed heartily.

“The title of the Wordless Book of Stone,” he said mysteriously, “is made up of four words. That dumb girl just stole the shell, so she has no idea that the four words already gained intelligence and escaped. They’re hiding in the top level of the Magic Legacy Pavilion, in some random jade slip. Only by becoming an inner sect disciple can I go to the top floor of the Magic Legacy Pavilion to find them!

“Those four words are related to god domains. It doesn’t matter what god domain you’re talking about, they work there. And according to what I heard, it won’t be long now before the Firemoon Darkheavens open a god domain for their Great Hunt!”

Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed.

Looking even more smug, the Captain continued, “So what do you think? Amazing, right? Otherwise, why would your Eldest Brother work so hard and spend so much time wracking my brains to figure out a way to infiltrate the Star Emperor Preeminence Sect? I really put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into this whole thing.

“That said, it’s not a big deal. It’ll all be worth it in the end. My assessment is in one month. At that point, I’ll definitely get into the inner sect. Afterward, I’ll take a trip to the Firemoon Darkheavens and use their Great Hunt to get into that god domain!”

In both wording and expression, the Captain was clearly full of determination.

“God domain? Great Hunt?” Xu Qing asked. Although he knew a bit about the Firemoon Darkheaven people, he didn’t know much about how god domains connected to their Great Hunt.

“Just wait until I succeed, then I’ll tell you all the details.” The Captain took a bite of his peach, then stood and wiped the dust from his rear end. “Well, time to leave. I just came back to tell you to get nice and ready. Going forward... wish me luck!”

The Captain took a deep breath and prepared to leave.

As for Xu Qing, he hesitated briefly, then asked, “Is it really that hard to just get a jade slip from the Magic Legacy Pavilion?”

The Captain didn’t seem pleased to hear a question like that. “You’re really off your game right now, little Ah Qing. This is the Star Emperor Preeminence Sect we’re talking about! Granted, it’s a branch division. But the Magic Legacy Pavilion is a core element of their sect. They have a real monster there guarding the place. Outsiders are absolutely not allowed inside. Otherwise, I would already have completed the heist, and wouldn’t need to go to all this trouble.”

Thinking of Chen Daoze, Xu Qing took out a jade slip and sent a message via divine will....

“What are you doing?” the Captain asked curiously.

“Just wait a second, Eldest Brother,” Xu Qing said calmly. “Let me see if I can help you get this done a bit more quickly.”

The Captain looked stunned.