Chapter 521: A Hand To Create All Things (part 1)
When Xu Qing saw how bright the Captain’s eyes were shining, he was just about to nod in agreement when a cold snort suddenly swept over them.
“Check what out? And since when did I become ‘the old man’?”
Xu Qing inhaled sharply, and the Captain’s face fell. Both of them turned to look in the direction of the familiar voice.
The air there rippled as Master Seventh suddenly appeared.
“This is today’s second lesson,” Master Seventh said coolly. “Sometimes, what you can see with your eyes isn’t real. Going forward, you should move a good distance away before discussing business.” Visit no(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience
Xu Qing bowed his head and said nothing. The Captain appeared to be on the verge of tears. How could he ever have guessed that his Master, who had very obviously left, would actually be hiding nearby?
“Anyway,” Master Seventh continued, “I was thinking about how Fourth Sib’s cultivation base is on the verge of a breakthrough, so I came back to provide a reminder. Fourth Sib, it shouldn’t be hard for you to break through from Gold Core to Nascent Soul. However, in the Heavenfate Nascent Soul level, cultivation involves provoking five instances of heavenfate tribulation. Each one will make you a lot stronger.”
Xu Qing nodded. This information conformed to what he had already learned in the past.
“However, the increase of battle prowess in the Nascent Soul level is of secondary importance. Of more importance is using those tribulations to build up heavenfate for use later in the Spirit Trove level. Based on my experience, if you deploy multiple nascent souls in each tribulation, then despite the fact that tribulation will be more powerful than normal, the resulting success will bring in more heavenfate. If you encounter good fortune in Forbidden by the Immortal, that’s fine, but don’t provoke any tribulation. I’ll explain more about the details later on.”
At that point, Master Seventh gave one final glare at the Captain, then turned and vanished.
Xu Qing, meanwhile, considered the advice, which contained some new information.
As he did that, the Captain blinked a few times, grabbed his arm, and pulled him a good distance away.
There, he breathed a sigh of relief. “Master really does treat us well, wouldn’t you say, little Ah Qing? I definitely received some enlightenment during today’s lesson.”
“Me too,” Xu Qing said convincingly.
The Captain nodded. “We’ll probably never be able to pay back Master’s love. Not in this life anyway!”
“The two of us need to work as hard as possible,” Xu Qing said solemnly, “so that one day in the future, we can keep Master safe!”
The Captain’s face lit up. “That’s right, little Junior Brother! We definitely need to make that our goal!”
The Captain and Xu Qing continued walking along, all the while exchanging such words. A few hours later, they looked at each other.
“Forget those things,” the Captain said, sitting up suddenly. “They’re not important to us right now. I just got a new idea, little Ah Qing!”
Xu Qing looked away from the crystals and at the Captain. “You’re still thinking about that palace?”
“Of course! We’ve seen a lot of palaces over the past few days, and the ones that aren’t guarded are complete trash. The ones that have a single guardian statue are better. But this is the only one we’ve found with four guardian statues! Compared to a sleeping god, it probably doesn’t count for much. But since we’re here, we need to do our best to get some good stuff!”
The Captain licked his lips as his eyes glittered with a crazy look.
Xu Qing thought back to the palace and the four flesh-covered statues that guarded each of its sides. The statues were alive, and only small portions of them had dissipated. The fluctuations they released were completely terrifying. The palace they were guarding was unusual in appearance because of its square shape. Also, Xu Qing remembered that the roof had countless finger-width ventilation holes in it. The strange thing about those holes was that the encroaching flesh clearly avoided them. Xu Qing had no idea what might be inside the palace. His shadow couldn’t get inside; he’d tried, and something inside the palace prevented surveillance.
“After the red moon awakens and devours the sleeping god, it should be a lot easier to get inside. Does it have to be now?” Xu Qing looked at the Captain.
“When that happens, a lot more people are going to be inside exploring,” the Captain replied. “At that point, even if we get what’s inside, we might not be able to keep our hands on it. And once the palace starts crumbling, we’ll be out of time. Besides, little Ah Qing, my intuition is telling me that the treasure inside there is incredible!”
The Captain licked his lips.
“My plan is simple, little Ah Qing. In a moment, we’ll head over there again. Just like last time, you absorb the surrounding mutagen and get the attention of the statues. Once the four of them are chasing after you, I’ll go in and loot the place!”
“Last time you couldn’t even get the door open,” Xu Qing pointed out. On the previous attempt Xu Qing had put himself in danger to create the distraction, except the Captain didn’t work hard enough to get inside.
Eyes bloodshot, the Captain gritted his teeth and said, “It’ll be different this time. I have a new way to open that door!”
Seeing how determined the Captain was, Xu Qing finally nodded. “I’ll give you thirty breaths of time.”
“No problem!” Grabbing Xu Qing by the arm, he dragged Xu Qing in the direction of the palace hall.
Making sure to stay concealed, they headed toward the square-shaped palace hall. After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, they arrived. Seeing the four, flesh-covered statues, and sensing their terrifying fluctuations, caused both Xu Qing and the Captain to breathe a bit more heavily. After exchanging a glance, they split up.
Xu Qing quickly loosened the restrictions on his absorption powers, causing the surrounding mutagen to rush toward him. When it entered him, it created a pleasant, even intoxicating sensation. His soul felt like it was floating, and his fleshly body was getting stronger. On an instinctive level, he wanted that mutagen to just keep pouring into him. People without great willpower would find it hard to avoid becoming lost in the sensation. Thankfully, Xu Qing had the perseverance to remain cool and collected. As he absorbed the mutagen, the golden threads within him trembled with longing. Slowly but surely, Xu Qing felt himself transforming.
Meanwhile, the four statues outside the palace hall slowly looked up. The flesh-covered faces’ features flickered, and their eyes glowed red. Then they all started moving at the same time.
Xu Qing quickly took out the mask from his Master. Speeding along, he kept absorbing mutagen, all the while counting down in his head. After a bit more than ten breaths of time had passed, he felt a sudden sensation of critical catastrophe from above. Without any hesitation, he put the mask on his face, then threw himself down onto the flesh-covered ground and burrowed inside. There, he remained unmoving. The mask covered all traces of his existence.
Intense rumbling sounds echoed out, and terrifying fluctuations spread everywhere. The statues were clearly searching for him.
However, Xu Qing had the mask on and he wasn’t moving. In that state of concealment, the four statutes didn’t even recognize his existence. He and the Captain had tested out how the mask worked with the statues. As long as they were a distance from the hall, it worked normally. But if they were close to the hall, they would eventually sense him. That was a big difference from the other guardian statues they had encountered at other palaces. And it was one way that this palace hall was very unique.
Hopefully the Captain makes it work.