Chapter 512: Crimson Mother of the Red Moon!
Kong Xianglong quietly left the sword pavilion with the bag of holding.
The first glimmer of dawn was visible outside as Xu Qing watched him leave. Then he stood there looking into the sky and thinking about the wish box from that mission.
“The smell of osmanthus flowers,” he murmured. He remembered checking the wish box, and he remembered the faint scent of osmanthus inside. [1]
Muffled thunder could be heard in the sky; it was the rainy season in the county capital. Before long, heavy rain blocked the rays of the sun, and everything turned gloomy. It gave early risers the strange sensation that evening had already fallen before noon had even come.
Xu Qing went back into his sword pavilion. Sitting down cross-legged, he settled his thoughts and started meditating.
His cultivation base was close to the very peak of Gold Core. All he needed was one additional heavenly palace to reach the great circle. After everything he had experienced on the battlefield, that heavenly palace was almost fully materialized. It wouldn’t be long now.
As for what to put inside of it....
Xu Qing took a moment to sense The Emperor’s Sword.
If I can’t think of anything else, then I’ll use The Emperor’s Sword.
Taking a deep breath, he continued working on breathing exercises.
In that manner, half a month flew by.
During that time, Xu Qing almost felt like he had been forgotten.
He didn’t leave his sword pavilion, and almost no one came to visit. With Seventh Prince in charge of the county capital, everything had changed. It was common to see warrior cultivators from the imperial capital on the streets. The city was under military control now, and species from all over Sea-Sealing County were coming to pay respects.
The three palaces had been reorganized. With the three commanders-in-chief Seventh Prince had assigned to take over for the palace lords, they were now essentially a wing of the army. Imperial swordsages from the swordsage headquarters in the capital were now in charge of most of the departments. It was the same with the other two palaces.
Military law was even more strictly enforced. There were quite a few people who were executed publicly for breaking such laws. And they weren’t just people from Sea-Sealing County. There were even officers and soldiers from the imperial capital who were punished! Kong Xianglong discussed the matter with Xu Qing, and clearly he had mixed emotions.
Seventh Prince issued a directive to all sects and organizations in Sea-Sealing County. It was very strictly worded and clearly was not supposed to be questioned. It required all sects to perform military service, and also required the sects to permanently hand over control of their taboo treasures. The directive caused quite a stir. However, there wasn’t anybody willing to defy the orders. The nonhumans reacted similarly. In the end, they had no choice but to comply; they sent half of their supplies as tribute, and joined the allied army, which meant they had to go to war on behalf of humankind whenever requested.
Under the leadership of Kong Xianglong, the Corrections Division was being rebuilt. However, it wasn’t located in the same place as before. It was now in the Swordsage Palace.
Although there was a lot Xu Qing didn’t know, one thing he did know thanks to his experience of sealing that finger, was that the clone definitely feared the red moon. That much was obvious from how īt had reacted to the essence of his violet moon.
Obviously there were different levels of gods, and the red moon was stronger than the god in Forbidden by the Immortal! That said, just the term ‘god’ was enough to shake any cultivator to the core.
Xu Qing was on the list of people to enter Forbidden by the Immortal first. Kong Xianglong, the Captain, and most of the other Sea-Sealing swordsages were also included.
At the moment, Xu Qing was walking down the street in the county capital on the way to purchase some medicinal pills. He was also trying to establish communication with the finger in D-132. He was hoping to get some more information about Forbidden by the Immortal. After all, considering there was still a war going on, it seemed like a strange time to open the place.
Unfortunately, the god’s finger hadn’t really woken at all since īt went to sleep, and calling out to īt didn’t usually provoke any response. After buying the medicinal pills he wanted, Xu Qing thought about using the violet moon to stimulate the finger. However, before he could do anything, the finger shivered and started to wake up voluntarily.
The reason was because Xu Qing had just spotted a certain person.
Zhang Siyun.
Although his white swordsage uniform was inherently impressive, he himself was sallow, with bloodshot eyes. Overall, he looked bedraggled.
As Zhang Siyun walked down the street, he spotted Xu Qing. In the past, his heart would have filled with hatred as a result, but this time he just averted his gaze and walked off quickly in a different direction. He was being followed by a few people Xu Qing didn’t recognize. Apparently, they were keeping an eye on him.
Xu Qing didn’t react visibly to what he saw. However, inside, his heart surged with waves of astonishment, the reason being that the finger was shouting into his mind.
“The Crimson Mother parasitized him! That’s a doppelg?nger of the red moon! Crimson Mother isn’t awake now, but that won’t last long. Why aren’t you running??”
The god’s finger seemed extremely nervous and alarmed, far more so than Xu Qing was.
Xu Qing was breathing heavily, but his mind remained focused. It was a surprise to find that the god’s finger was obviously thinking very clearly this time. īt wasn’t muddled like before. Suppressing his shock, he calmly projected a message with divine will.
“Didn’t you say Crimson Mother isn’t awake?”
“It’ll happen soon! The awakening will happen soon! Er, hold on. Somethings off here.... He has a human spell formation inside of him? You humans are actually taking the initiative to help Crimson Mother possess him?? In less than a month, Crimson Mother will wake up in his body! Just what are you humans trying to accomplish? This is High God Crimson Mother we’re talking about!!!”
The god’s finger sent a stream of divine sense out, which helped Xu Qing to scan the area. Upon noticing the excavation work at the Corrections Division, īt started trembling violently.
“That’s an Immortal Estate! And it’s almost open!! A doppelg?nger of Crimson Mother? Opening an Immortal Estate? At the same time...? Y-y-you... you humans are actually trying to feed me to Crimson Mother!!”
1. I linked to the wish box chapter already, but here it is again in case you’re interested in checking the osmanthus reference. Chapter 419. ?
2. The opening of Forbidden by the Immortal was previously mentioned in chapters 355 and 358. ?