The fact that Erniu spoke of the dao heart becoming unstable just showed how absolutely determined he was to go to the Devilbird holy land.

All in all, Xu Qing knew that his Eldest Brother’s dao heart was a heart centered around treasure and good fortune. And there was one thing his Eldest Brother said that was completely on point. It had been years since the two of them pulled off a really big job. Besides, a destined opportunity in a Grand Emperor’s secluded meditation facilities, which could increase one’s cultivation base, was obviously something moving even to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing was aware that he had essentially fallen into a rut when it came to cultivation base progress. If he wanted to break through from Void Returning to Smoldering God at this point, it was going to be extremely difficult. The problem was that he had too many types of godly authority. He had over a hundred. Although that would give him incredible battle prowess, it also was holding him back significantly.

The only way to break through into the Smoldering God level would be for him to gain enlightenment of all those types of authority. He would be a type of Smoldering God without parallel in history, surpassing all others in that level. In fact, he would be immeasurably close to the level of an actual god. But... it would take a huge amount of time to succeed.

If times were peaceful, there wouldn’t necessarily be a sense of urgency. But the holy lands had come, and Revered Ancient was embroiled in war. It was impossible to say what the future would bring.... Right now, improving the cultivation base and getting stronger were the most critical things to do as far as Xu Qing was concerned. As Xu Qing considered such things, he looked at Feng Lintao and Yue Dong.

Feeling suddenly flustered, Feng Lintao plastered an ingratiating expression onto his face. Yue Dong was under the control of Little Shadow, and thus inclined her head respectfully.

After some consideration, Xu Qing looked at Erniu and said, “Eldest Brother. If we want to go to the Devilbirds to seize some good fortune, we’ll need to have a good cover identity.”

When Erniu realized Xu Qing wasn’t rejecting his proposal, he immediately started getting excited. Eyes flitting over to Yue Dong and Feng Lintao, he chuckled darkly.

“Don’t we have two identities ready to go right here?”

Feng Lintao felt more flustered.

Yue Dong’s eyes shone with despair, and then increased in venom. Little Shadow had taken control of Yue Dong’s body. But she could still see and hear. And upon realizing that these two individuals were planning to take advantage of all her preparations, and even assume her identity to do so.... Her heart felt like it was ripping apart and bleeding profusely.

Of course, neither Xu Qing nor Erniu were paying any attention to Yue Dong’s feelings on the matter.

Licking his lips excitedly, Erniu said, “Little Ah Qing, do you remember back when we infiltrated the Nightshades? Back then, we assumed the identities of Nightshades using a special type of pill from the Garmentfolk. The shadeheaven demonmoon tablet![1]

“Thankfully, I’m on great terms with the Garmentfolk. Last time I was there, they gave me quite a few things, including some blank versions of those medicinal pills that were never imprinted. Therefore... you can become Yue Dong, and I’ll become Little Fengy! With those assumed identities, how couldn’t things

not

go perfectly in the Devilbird holy land?”

Erniu’s eyes glittered as he thought with deep anticipation about the prospect of Xu Qing transforming into Yue Dong.

Xu Qing, of course, immediately knew exactly what his Eldest Brother was thinking. Therefore, he slowly shook his head. “Eldest Brother, didn’t you just say you’re a fan of Yue Dong? Her plan is totally crazy, which is a perfect match for you. Clearly, it makes a lot more sense for

you

to be Yue Dong, considering how similar your personalities are. Furthermore, you have a lot of experience impersonating female cultivators. Remember that situation with the Seazombie princess? You imitated her in such a lifelike way that I would say your performance was flawless.” [2]

Erniu’s eyes opened into a glare. “I’m the Eldest Brother, little Ah Qing. You are being

far

too hurtful. It pains me!”

Xu Qing clearly wasn’t moved, as he simply looked at Erniu and said, “I suppose we could do it the usual way….”

Erniu gritted his teeth as his heart sank. When Xu Qing mentioned ‘the usual way,’ he was obviously talking about them fighting each other. In the past, he might have felt confident in coming out on top. But nowadays Xu Qing had a completely ridiculous fleshly body. If they had to fight things out... Erniu realized he might die of exhaustion before the fight ended, and what would be the point of that?

The only thing that might change that would be if he released some more seals. Unfortunately... that was something he normally only did when his life was on the line. Opening seals right now could have some very negative ramifications later.

On the other hand, if he agreed to be Yue Dong, then it meant he wouldn’t be able to indulge his desire to see Xu Qing dress up as a woman. It was really a hard decision.

Upon seeing Erniu vacillate, Xu Qing softly said, “There’s another thing to consider, Eldest Brother. The only person who could successfully impersonate someone like Yue Dong is someone who truly understands human nature. It has to be someone who is extremely slick and intelligent, someone who is meticulously conniving, and someone who speaks with airtight logic. Only a person like that could pull off the job without anyone being the wiser.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

“In other words, this is not a job for an average person. I hate to say it, but... I know that no matter how hard I try, I would fail. I need to learn from

you

, Eldest Brother. And

that’s

what I’m hoping to accomplish on this job.”

Erniu’s found Xu Qing’s words to be very pleasing. Sticking up his chin, he said, “You’re actually completely right about that!” Thinking about the good fortune to be had among the Devilbirds, he cleared his throat. “Alright, alright. Fine. You’re the little Junior Brother, and I’m the Eldest Brother. I should let you have your way sometimes. I’ll be Yue Dong. After all, this isn’t my first time wearing women’s clothing. As for you, little Ah Qing, you’ll be my puppet! And this time around, pay close attention and make sure to learn a thing or two!”

Erniu ended by glaring at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing decided to quit while he was ahead. Nodding, he plastered a thankful expression onto his face, then clasped hands and bowed deeply to Erniu. “Many thanks, Eldest Brother. I’ll remember this forever and ever! And I’m definitely going to work very hard to make some progress!” 𝐫Ά₦ọʙƐ𝘚

Although Erniu still had some misgivings, seeing Xu Qing acting like this made him feel a lot better. Waving magnanimously, he looked down his nose and said, “Stand aside and see how things are done. In order to properly use one of the Garmentfolk’s shadeheaven demonmoon tablets, you first need to fuse it with the target, completely covering them to make a set of clothing.

“Then, when you wear that clothing, you become completely undetectable by anyone, as long as you’re careful to steer clear of any Grand Emperors. As for the pill preparation, it should take... about a month.”

Xu Qing nodded. Thinking back to that person, Long Jiu, that they had encountered, he said, “Eldest Brother, since you need a whole month, I’m going to go take care of a few things. I’ll meet you back here in a month.”

Erniu always prepared thoroughly for big jobs, so he simply waved dismissively. “That’s fine. Go do what you have to do.”

With that, he strode over, grabbed Yue Dong and Feng Lintao, and took them higher up in the river to start the process with the pills.

Xu Qing, meanwhile, sped toward the outside world. It didn’t take long to break through all the ice layers and appear in the lands above. A cold wind screamed, carrying with it countless dancing snowflakes.

Xu Qing closed his eyes and cast his senses out. Upon parting ways with Long Jiu, Xu Qing had left a mark on him which made it possible to sense his location. After determining the general direction, he vanished. He traveled via sound.

***

Seven days later, Long Jiu stood atop an expanse of shattered ice, his face pale. He looked neither servile nor overbearing as he clasped hands and bowed to an old man who was a one-world Smoldering God.

“Your humble servant is disciple Long Jiu from the Northfate Kings. Many thanks for the grace of saving my life, Senior! The kindness you have shown me will be forever engraved on my heart. Benefactor, if you ever come to visit the Northfate Kings, you can use this medallion to track me down. Unfortunately, I’m on an important errand right now, and therefore, I must hurry on my way.”

With that, he placed a command medallion down in front of him, took a few steps back, and bowed. Then he sped off into the distance.

The Smoldering God looked at the command medallion with the same expression as Erniu on that day recently....

Up in the canopy of heaven was Xu Qing, his aura concealed as he watched what he was saying. He had tracked down Long Jiu on the very first day he went looking for him. After that, he followed him secretly and learned his routine.

This Long Jiu... had encountered three dangerous situations that could easily have proved fatal if he slipped up in any of them. In each situation, someone eventually came along and saved him. None of the situations seemed to have been set up by him. They all seemed to be random chance. Every time someone saved him, Long Jiu would give them a command medallion.

With each medallion he gives out, his godly authority fluctuations get stronger.... That godly authority is almost mature....

Xu Qing kept his eye closely on Long Jiu as he followed him around. After a few more days of observation, he got some more information.

Why would a godly authority related to good luck manifest on a cultivator who doesn’t have even a hint of godliness? It’s very clear that this godly authority is fragmented. Incomplete. It’s as if some unknown entity has taken the actual godly authority of good luck, broken it into parts, and scattered it. One of those parts is now inside of Long Jiu.

Xu Qing’s eyes glittered.

The only way to know the details would be to get more familiar with the godly authority in him.

Xu Qing took a step forward and then vanished. He continued to secretly follow Long Jiu around for about half a month.

Similar situations occurred with Long Jiu several times. Eventually, he only had a single medallion left. As Xu Qing looked on, he ran into another benefactor. Long Jiu bowed, offered thanks, handed over the medallion, then left. Shortly after, the godly authority fluctuations on him erupted.

They didn’t spread out very far, but they did cause ripples to appear in the sky. An aura of return then rose from Long Jiu, like something calling out to beyond the heavens....

Long Jiu himself didn’t notice that. He just kept going on his way, his flesh clearly withering, and his quintessence fading. It was as if his soul, body, and everything else about him had turned into nutrients for another.

They were threads that began stretching out to the starry sky. All the while, he was unaware of what was happening. His own perceptions were being clouded.

When he lost about half of his total energy, he slumped forward unconscious, a contented look on his face....

Around that time, Xu Qing stepped over to Long Jiu’s side, reached out, and touched his head.

Instantly, Xu Qing could sense something far off in the starry sky. It was like a massive ball of light, growing larger, but at the same time, collapsing in on itself.

The ball of light was emanating a terrifying aura that Xu Qing could identify. It was the aura... of a True God!

Thousands and thousands of threads were rising from Revered Ancient toward it. Every single one was godly authority of good luck. About thirty percent were already out in the starry sky and had connected to that ball of light.

Xu Qing shivered from head to toe. Thankfully, because Long Jiu was unconscious, Xu Qing’s flesh body could sustain the force. He removed his hand from Long Jiu’s head. Eyes glittering, he looked up into the dome of heaven.

Senior Yu Liuchen said that True Gods can’t actually perish. As long as the name of a True God continues to exist, then even after death, that god can return....

This must be a returning True God! Whoever it is, thēy scattered thēir godly authority and sent it to parasitize other living beings. Obviously, it’s still very early in the process. Thēy need thousands of those guiding threads of godly authority to guide the way back. And they need to be mature versions.

Every thread of godly authority that becomes mature, requires the host’s life to be sacrificed. They end up dead like this Long Jiu.

Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed. He looked down at the withering Long Jiu, and sensed the godly authority of good luck within him. Then his eyes gleamed with decisiveness and... craziness.

In that case... I might as well take it from him. It’ll count as saving his life.

1. The Nighshade infiltration arc started in about chapter 440, and that was also where the shadeheaven demonmoon tablets were first mentioned. They were mentioned in a few chapters after that, as well, including chapter 564. ☜

2. Surely none of us have forgotten how Erniu impersonated the Seazombie princess. He disguised himself as her in chapter 183, and events played out for a few chapters after that. ☜