Chapter 731: The Extremely Experienced Grandpa Ninth

Chapter 731: The Extremely Experienced Grandpa Ninth

At first, Xu Qing didn’t feel inclined to answer Sir Dust-Sun’s question. But then he noticed the look on Plumdark’s face, and he thought about everything this ‘president’ had done. He also noted the expressions on the faces of the other Sea-Sealing County cultivators present.

Voice cool, he said, “A Dawning Sun.”

Every person present in that hall in the Governor’s Mansion reacted with open shock. Sir Bloodsmelter. Plumdark. All the Sea-Sealing County cultivators. Numerous gasps and expressions of disbelief appeared.

“Dawning Sun?”

“Th-that... that....”

There was a minor uproar. And yet, the ear-piercing exclamation of Sir Dust-Sun drowned them all out.

“DAWNING SUN?? Y-y-you...” A tremor passed through Sir Dust-Sun. At first, he didn’t believe it. But then he thought about that destructive blast, and what he had witnessed in the final moments, including that terrifying heat. And in the end, he couldn’t fool himself.

Then he thought about the fact that he had been located in Seventh Prince’s imperial capital.... He thought about the nearly 1,000,000 loyal subordinates Seventh Prince had gathered there, along with sects from throughout the region who had sought asylum with him. He thought about Seventh Prince’s personal staff, and all the countless ways he had prepared over the years....

Sir Dust-Sun shivered uncontrollably from head to toe, and goosebumps broke out all over him as his heart raced. It was easy to imagine the detonation of a Dawning Sun affecting the entire imperial capital. The deaths and other casualties had to have been terrifyingly severe.

And though Sea-Sealing County was responsible, the fact was that his own blood-red vortex had been a major factor. Actually... if people started naming him as an accomplice, claiming that his ‘surrender’ had really been part of a complex plan to humiliate Seventh Prince, then it would be completely believable.

There was no question that Sir Dust-Sun would be in a very tenuous position going forward. King Heaventide’s wrath would be vented on him without question. Most importantly, what if Seventh Prince perished...?

“How could you dare do such a thing?” Sir Dust-Sun shrieked. “And how did you get a Dawning Sun??”

He had completely lost his composure, and was looking at Xu Qing with disbelief, all while mountain-toppling, sea-draining terror battered him from inside. Blood sprayed out of his mouth and he staggered backward, his heart full of overwhelming bitterness. He felt humiliated, wronged, and worst of all, helpless. All of his own plans had worked out very smoothly. But in the end, the unthinkable happened.

“I was just testing you out! But you... y-you actually unleashed a Dawning Sun?” More blood sprayed out of Sir Dust-Sun’s mouth.

There was something else in his heart that he wanted to say, but couldn’t. Xu Qing, if you wanted to use a Dawning Sun on me, that’s one thing. But how could you possibly use one on Seventh Prince? Now that you have, do you really think you can avoid trouble? Why...?

His thoughts led him only into further bitterness. Thanks to his true form crumbling, his cultivation base was in severe decline. He had dropped from third-stage Void Returning down into the second stage, and even that second stage was unstable. His aura was in such chaos that he was actually in between the first and the second stage. What was more, he wasn’t going to be able to sustain himself in that position for very long.

Therefore, it was without the slightest hesitation that he turned to flee. It didn’t matter that he could technically start fighting right now if he wanted to. His cultivation base declined, and Xu Qing’s ruthlessness filled him with fear. It was a fear that came from his bones and his soul. He was worried about a second Dawning Sun. And he was worried... about Qingqin in the sky, as well as Sea-Sealing County’s taboo treasure. After seeing how much his cultivation base had dropped, he knew that this day was the biggest crisis he had ever faced.

The moment he turned to flee, Sir Bloodsmelter lunged forward, joined by Plumdark. Qingqin let loose a loud caw from the sky, and sent down a fearsome energy that locked down on Sir Dust-Sun and his surroundings. Qingqin was descending.

“Smoldering God...” Sir Dust-Sun said, his mind crumbling. He looked at Xu Qing, then looked at Plumdark, his eyes pleading. “Junior Sister, for the sake of us being fellow disciples, and out of respect for our Master, let me off the hook, just this one time....”

Plumdark said nothing. She just shook her head.

Despair and madness filled Sir Dust-Sun’s eyes as he prepared to self-detonate and end things in mutual destruction.

“Strip it away!” Xu Qing said calmly.

Heaven and earth rumbled as another huge hand formed. It grabbed Sir Dust-Sun, who screamed as his body shattered, and spirit energy poured out of him. As of that moment, his cultivation base had been stripped away. Left behind was only a puddle of blood and gore. And a soul.

“Let the flesh be the candle. Let the soul burn.”

In response to Xu Qing’s words, Sir Dust-Sun’s flesh rippled, squished together, and then took the shape of a candle made of bloody flesh! The candle lit up, using the soul as the wick. Agonized screaming rang out from the burning flame of the candle.

Xu Qing picked it up, turned, and walked over to Plumdark. He held the candle out to her.

After a brief moment of hesitation, he said, “A gift for you.”

Plumdark looked at Xu Qing feeling slightly surprised. This wasn’t the way he usually did things. But that was fine. An unusual feeling rose up in her. She accepted the candle, her eyes shining brightly. Her plan was to place the candle above the outer door of her mansion grotto, to serve as a lamp that burned day and night.

The hall was completely silent save for the screaming coming from the candle.

Sir Bloodsmelter’s eyes gleamed with praise as he looked at his grand-apprentice. He was truly impressed with Xu Qing, who reminded him a lot of himself when he was young, and knew what ‘blood-red romance’ was all about.

As everyone looked on, Xu Qing turned to the sky and bowed.

Simultaneously, he heard the cold voice of Ninth Sib speaking into his mind.

“Some enemies need to be put to the sword. But when someone makes a move on your woman, killing them too quickly can be unsatisfying. Instead, torment them brutally, and ultimately, offer them as a gift. That’s the way to move a woman’s heart. I have experience in this. Back in the day, I helped quite a few people in this same way.”

An odd expression could be seen on Xu Qing’s face. He had never heard Grandpa Ninth talk so much, nor could he have guessed that the ice-cold Grandpa Ninth would have such experience.

All he could do was nod. But then he noticed the look in Plumdark’s eyes, and realized that Grandpa Ninth was clearly right. That said, he still felt the best thing to do was kill your enemy as quickly as possible, and not drag things out.

This’ll be the only time, Xu Qing thought.