Chapter 866: Fifth Secret Trove - Mage Trove

Chapter 866: Fifth Secret Trove - Mage Trove

Seven days passed in a flash.

The big stir in the Mountain and Sea Region ended after the Ninedawns Forbidden Lands was sealed again. The beasts in the region stopped howling. The struggle that had emerged from their souls and blood went away, and they went back to being animals.

However, the Firemoon Darkheaven cultivators participating in the Great Hunt were unable to calm their hearts. All sorts of speculations ran wild among them. Many of them used different ways to confirm the source of the upheaval. And as a result, most of them kept their distance from the Ninedawns Forbidden Lands.

Because the mountains that were Xu Qing’s hiding place were comparatively close to the Ninedawns Forbidden Lands, not many people passed through. Add in the fact that he was well-concealed, and the violet crystal had absorbed the gray fog, it ensured that nobody discovered him.

Seven peaceful days passed in which Xu Qing was fully immersed in working on the Ninedawns mage trove. He wanted complete control of the Ninedawns skulls. They needed to be a part of him, and thus, he had no choice but to make them into a mage trove.

However, it wasn’t exactly a simple process. First, he needed to fully fuse with the nine skulls. And to do that, he needed the foundation of a secret trove in his sea of consciousness to put them in. The foundation was extremely important for this secret trove. For one thing, there needed to be a spot for the skulls. What was more, it would be integral to the fusion process.

After some thought, Xu Qing made a decision. The flesh would be the foundation, and the bones would be the mountain!

During the seven days that passed, he tapped into his own flesh, bringing it into his sea of consciousness to build the secret trove foundation. The process required a huge amount of flesh, so much so that normally speaking Xu Qing would never have been able to meet the requirement.

At a certain point, he thought about the white wind from the Greenhair Badlands in the Moonrite Region. It was a terrifying and chaotic wind that caused random growths of flesh and blood. Back in the Greenhair Badlands, anyone who the wind touched would develop bizarre deformities that could ultimately lead to them becoming a mountain of flesh, then dying. Xu Qing had done a lot of studying and experimentation before ultimately using that wind as the basis for his cursequelling lozenge. One thing he was certain of was that the deformed flesh was part of the body that grew it.

After some more thought, Xu Qing gritted his teeth and took out some pills from his bag of holding that contained the white wind. He consumed them, and almost immediately, chaotic growths of flesh appeared all over him.

Seven or eight arms. Dozens of legs. A few heads. In a very short time, his body became large and bloated. As the flesh grew, Xu Qing carefully cut it off. Thus, the secret trove foundation began to take shape in his sea of consciousness.

The more white wind pills he consumed, the more chaotic flesh grew. It was very dramatic, and on a few occasions it grew so quickly he nearly turned into a mountain of flesh. At the same time, he was assailed by sensations of weakness. Thankfully, the violet crystal was hard at work keeping his strength up.

Ultimately, he built a 30,000-meter-tall mountain of flesh in his sea of consciousness. That was his limit. Every single bit of that flesh belonged to him, and as the foundation of his secret trove, it was naturally part of his essence.

Atop the mountain of flesh were piles of his own bones, nine in total. From the look of it, the nine piles of bones were all made of skulls. He did it that way in imitation of the setup of the cave in the Ninedawns Forbidden Lands.

The land was made of his own flesh. The bone mountains were made from his own bones.

When it was done, he opened his eyes from his position underneath the mountain range that was his hiding place. His face was pale, and he felt very weak. Even his eyes were dull. It had been extremely draining to do this.

But at the same time, light glittered in his eyes.

The foundation of flesh and bone is done. Next, I absorb it!

Xu Qing looked up at the nine lanterns floating around him. Lifting his right hand, he pointed out, and one of the lanterns trembled and flew over to him.

“Mage Life: Lion-Dragon!”

The sensation from the fifth beast caused Xu Qing’s mind to feel like it would split apart. It was just too strong!

Although he still wasn’t sure what any of these beasts could actually do, from their auras, he could sense that they were vastly more terrifying than the ghost chariot he had seen in the past.

Eyes gleaming with determination, he calmed his sea of consciousness, then pointed at the rest of the lanterns. The sixth, seventh, and eighth piles of bones surged with the fire of the underworld as additional beasts appeared.

One of them had the head of a dragon and the body of a turtle. It pulsed with something extremely domineering, to the point where Xu Qing felt like his sea of consciousness might not be able to sustain it.

“Mage Life: Turtle-Dragon!”

Next came a beast with the body of a tiger and the head of a dragon, with a mouth full of huge teeth. The moment it appeared, a sensation of sealing emanated off it, rippling through Xu Qing’s mind and spreading to the outside. The entire mountain range blurred as it entered a state of being sealed. Within that sealed area could be heard an echoing chant.

“Mage Life: Tiger-Dragon!”

Next came a beast that looked like a dragon, except that it was slender and elegant. As it swirled about, it emanated blue light that nourished the sea of consciousness. Xu Qing’s soul felt cool and relaxed, as if it had suddenly been encased in a suit of armor. It was a silent and constant blessing to his soul. His eyes shone brightly as he sensed the blessing, and realized... how astonishingly beneficial it was.

It’s like the blessing of a god!

As he came to understand that, the beast’s voice echoed out softly.

“Mage Life: Graceful-Dragon!”

Next was the final lantern! After absorbing it, the lantern appeared above the ninth pile of bones. The mountain beneath it trembled, and as the underworld flame lit up, a creature appeared with the head of a dragon, the body of a lion, and the tail of a fish.

There was no heaven-shaking, earth-shattering blast of energy. There were no strange and gruish phenomena. But when it appeared, it looked at Xu Qing, and his fleshly body trembled. He felt his previous injuries being completely healed, along with his soul. It was as if they had received the ultimate blessing. What was even stranger was that all the fluctuations that had filled his sea of consciousness faded away. It was as if this beast’s gaze caused everything to reverse.

“Mage Life: Fish-Dragon!”

Ninedawns’ nine skulls had fused with Xu Qing’s flesh. His skulls formed the connection. The ‘mage life’ states had all appeared! Next, the foundation of flesh sank down, and rumbling sounds echoed out as the nine beasts roared in unison, the sound converging as if to light an enormous furnace.

RUMBLE!

The fifth secret trove was complete! The mage trove was finished! The aura of the great circle of Spirit Trove spread out from Xu Qing in all directions.

1. The translator note for this chapter contains information about the draconic beasts in this chapter. I suggest just reading the chapter first, then reading the background info in the note. ☜