Chapter 877: Masterless God Domain

Chapter 877: Masterless God Domain

In Heavenfire City at the base of God Mountain, the god’s voice faded away, and the vortex disappeared.

The Firemoon cultivators who had returned via teleportation seemed deeply thoughtful as they looked at Xu Qing. It was the same with the onlookers in the three sub-cities below. They were looking at Xu Qing with surprise and other complex emotions. This was different from Xu Qing becoming the champion of round one. This time, it wasn’t as much of a provocation.

He had recovered Ninedawns and been given boons by the three stewards, which clearly demonstrated Xu Qing’s qualifications. The bloodline fluctuations that everyone felt ensured that the Firemoons were able to overlook the fact that he was human.

As everyone looked on with mixed emotions, Xu Qing descended toward the city.

Seven days to rest and recover. Next, the Great Hunt will resume in a god domain. That’s the main point of this event.

Xu Qing could sense the Captain, but given the situation, he didn’t acknowledge him. Then, just as he was about to disappear into the city, a cold voice rang out behind him.

“Hold on a moment!”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The words were spoken like a command that couldn’t be ignored. In fact, they stirred ripples as the natural and magical laws in the area were affected, and made the air suddenly seem to solidify. It was as if trying to move would provoke calamity from all directions.

Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed as he looked coldly over his shoulder.

The person who had spoken was Sir Firedark. Although the bloodline reaction made Sir Firedark feel slightly out of sorts, he couldn’t suppress his frustration and rage, and thus, they became a powerful force that pushed away everything else.

As Xu Qing turned, their gazes locked.

It was only one look, but it caused the air between them to vibrate as if it might shatter. Natural and magical laws crumbled, turning into threads that conformed to Sir Firedark’s will to surround Xu Qing.

The gray mist around Xu Qing seethed, pulsing with pressure as the Ninedawns skulls’ eyes glowed with underworld light. Xu Qing looked at Sir Firedark with eyes narrowed; the sensation he was getting here surpassed that of Master Stillwinter by a lot.

Sir Firedark’s eyes also narrowed as he realized that this definitely wasn’t the person he was looking for. The person he sought could be described as ‘crafty’ and ‘frigid,’ while this Xu Qing was clearly an expert in the dao of slaughter. He looked away from Xu Qing and sent his icy divine will out over the other returnees.

“Nobody move!”

The returnees reacted with visible surprise. Sir Firedark had a very noble identity, and was considered the most important person among Firemoon Darkheavens of the current generation. Therefore, though his divine will didn’t provoke bloodline fluctuations like Xu Qing, it was still powerful and threatening.

The only person to ignore him was Xu Qing, he turned back around and headed toward the city.

Sir Firedark ignored Xu Qing. His focus was currently on all the other returnees, as he was now certain that the god-damned, good-for-nothing cultivator he was seeking was hiding among them. Therefore, he started inspecting everyone one by one.

In the end, he didn’t find anything. Short of slaughtering everyone, there didn’t seem to be any way to find his quarry.... He was so irritated that he was almost inclined to do that, except it wasn’t realistic.

Suppressing his killing intent, Sir Firedark spun and left.

Xu Qing stopped in place.

“Normally speaking, god domains have a god in charge. But not this one! My clan analyzed the situation thoroughly and came to the conclusion that this particular feature is why the Great Hunt is always held there. Furthermore... there are probably other reasons for everything. Secret reasons.”

Sir Heavenink glanced at God Mountain, then looked back at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing nodded. He understood what Sir Heavenink was getting at.

“It’s not possible for us to dig up any details beyond that. But I can tell you that the next round is going to be very dangerous, but at the same time, will bring astonishing benefits. All of the living beings inside the god domain are treasures. Their souls can be refined into heavenly daos, or be used to nourish either flesh or cultivation base.

“There’s also a big downside. Killing living beings in a god domain will cause you to be marked by a curse. The more you kill, and the higher the level of what you kill, the deeper the curse mark will go. But... because there’s no god in charge, even a deep curse won’t matter much. What’s more, the way they determine who takes first place is how deep the curse marks go.”

Xu Qing nodded. Although he hadn’t specifically experienced what it was like to be cursed because of killing living beings in a god domain, he had dealt with things like that. For instance, years ago in the event at the Supreme Beginning Netherflight Pillar in Emperor-Receiving Prefecture, when he encountered the essence of Crimson Mother for the first time, he had acquired a mark like that. And that mark came because the Ghost Emperor killed a living being from a god domain.

“Anything else?” Xu Qing asked.

Sir Heavenink excitedly went on to explain everything else he knew.

And thus, by the time the two of them arrived at his residence, Xu Qing had quite a thorough understanding of what was to come.

Sir Heavenink took a few steps back, clasped hands, and bowed. “Brother Xu Qing, I hope that you achieve a decisive victory in the god domain. Once you become the champion, you’ll be named Grand Darkheaven!

“Also, Big Bro Xu, please stay on guard against the other degenerate participants. There are a lot of villains with malicious goals, for instance, that stupid cunt Sir Firedark. And if you have anything you need me to do, just say the word. Sir Heavenink will do what needs to be done!”

Sir Heavenink cupped hands again and then hurried off.

Xu Qing watched him go, all while thinking about the wealth of information he had just obtained. Then he stepped inside.

The first thing he noticed was a familiar figure silhouetted against the window.

Xu Qing blinked a few times as he realized that the Captain was about to launch into a performance. Sitting down, Xu Qing took out an apple, started eating, and waited for the show to begin. He didn’t have to wait long before an ancient, desolate, and emotional sigh drifted out into the room.

“Little Junior Brother, you know... your Eldest Brother had it really rough this time around.... I—”

Before the Captain could finish speaking, Xu Qing took out the bone medallion he had received from the Moonfire steward. He tossed it over.

“I get it. Take that, Eldest Brother.”

The Captain spun and caught it. He seemed a bit embarrassed as he looked at Xu Qing, and ultimately decided not to launch into the tragic tale he had been about to tell. But then he remembered his status as the Eldest Brother. Putting a mysterious look onto his face, he lowered his voice and said, “Little Ah Qing, your Eldest Brother won’t take things from you willy-nilly. Allow me to tell you a very, very interesting secret regarding Sir Firedark.”