Xu Qing had no way of knowing how forlorn Erniu felt. For the past half a month, he had been dutifully carrying out the empress’ orders. He had challenged all of the Smoldering Gods among the western Devilbirds. Of course, his challenges didn’t involve fighting them. They involved defending against them.

As that half of a month went by, word spread far and wide about Sir Blood Dust being able to use the Netherlotus secret magic of Grand Emperor Netherflame. As a result, Sir Blood Dust became well and truly famous in the Devilbird holy land.

Some people were a bit suspicious about how he acquired Grand Emperor Netherflame’s secret magic. But then they considered that he was Lu Lingzi’s attendant, and the only person Lu Lingzi had brought to the western Devilbirds. Given that, it seemed obvious that the secret magic must have been given to him by Lu Lingzi.

Xu Qing continued with his challenges. He went from the ninth Imperial Sovereign mountain to the eighth. Then he proceeded toward the seventh.

There were a lot of cultivators gathered by the seventh mountain, most of them western Devilbirds, although there was also a contingent from the east. When Xu Qing arrived, it caused quite a commotion. Some people denounced him, others welcomed him joyously. Either way, there was quite a buzz. Of course, that made quite a contrast to the mountain itself, which was dead silent.

Everyone watched as Xu Qing approached the mountain itself. He said the same thing as before, then sat down cross-legged at the bottom of the staircase, his defenses active as he waited for someone to meet his challenge. This time, things went differently than from before.

Given all the public discussion about the matter, there were some Smoldering Gods who, whether of their own volition or because they were following veiled suggestions, finally chose to break the rules and do something. The time had come to end this outright humiliation of the western Devilbirds.

Almost exactly as Xu Qing sat down, a cold snort echoed out from the seventh Imperial Sovereign mountain.

“Enough of your arrogance, Sir Blood Dust!”

A figure appeared, shooting from the top of the mountain down toward Xu Qing. He looked like a young man, and he had seven major worlds glittering radiantly around him. They created a mountain-toppling, sea-draining pressure that could crush anything in its path, and it was weighing down right on Xu Qing.

The young man didn’t hesitate for a moment. Eyes glittering coldly, he lifted his right hand and pushed it toward Xu Qing. A huge palm formed in front of him, filling the sky. It also descended toward Xu Qing. Although this was a Smoldering God palm attack, it was actually very different from the palm attack that the other Smoldering God cultivator had used on Xu Qing some time back. It was much more clearly visible, with obvious palm prints on it. There wasn’t anything about it that could be said to be blurry. And most importantly, it had natural and magical laws that were exponentially more terrifying than any Xu Qing had encountered.

Most astonishing... was that it contained fluctuations of authority! They were gruish fluctuations, and though they were clearly coming from the seven-world young man, if you looked closely, you would realize that the true origin was the palm. Astonishingly, visible on the palm was a diaphanous glove.

It was... an Imperial Sovereign treasure! What was more, it pulsed with power that surpassed that of an Imperial Sovereign!

A Smoldering God would obviously have to pay a high price to get such a treasure. Yet right now, the seven-world young man’s eyes shone with determination as he seemingly threw caution to the wind and unleashed all of the power of his cultivation base to activate the glove.

The illusory palm erupted with a terrifying aura, crushing everything around it as it bore down on Xu Qing. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at the incoming palm. Inside of him, The Emperor’s Sword vibrated. With a thought, he could send it out to slash the palm apart.

But he didn’t do that. He had been prepared all along for something like this to happen. He had actually planned for the enemy to break the rules of the challenge at some point. There was no need for him to do a thing. He would be able to handle anyone under an Imperial Sovereign. Besides, Xu Qing was convinced... that the empress actually

wanted

someone to attack him with Imperial Sovereign power. The challenges he had been making were really just the introduction to the main event.

The empress had come to the western Devilbirds to see Grand Emperor Devilbird. However, the Grand Emperor was taking his time agreeing to the meeting, and obviously, was using the opportunity to probe for information.

Maybe the Grand Emperor would make the empress wait for a day. Maybe a month. Maybe indefinitely. That was why the empress hadn’t chosen to accept challenges from other Imperial Sovereigns, but rather, gave the responsibility to Xu Qing. That was because... the empress didn’t like being in a passive position. Shē liked having the initiative. How to make a move. When to make a move. The methods and rationale behind making a move. Shē liked to be in control of such things. All of this was for the purpose of getting Grand Emperor Devilbird to issue orders for a meeting.

Xu Qing could pick up on all of these clues. And the western Devilbirds weren’t fools, so they likely could reach the same conclusion as him. Therefore, after this cultivator appeared with an Imperial Sovereign treasure, it wasn’t necessarily possible to tell immediately whether he had ill intentions or not. There was the distinct possibility... that an Imperial Sovereign was actually behind this. Perhaps that Imperial Sovereign was actually helping the empress, by providing a reason for hēr to take the initiative.

When the hand with the Imperial Sovereign glove was only about 300 meters away from Xu Qing, the palm shivered and lurched to a halt in midair. Then, just as Xu Qing had predicted would happen, Lu Lingzi appeared right beneath that palm. With a slight wave of his hand, he completely dispelled the power of the attack.

Everything went silent. Xu Qing stood and bowed to Lu Lingzi. The seven-world young man was inwardly relieved, and quickly inclined his head and bowed.

The gaze of Lu Lingzi looked at the Imperial Sovereign mountain ahead, and though he didn’t say anything, a great pressure began to build up in the area.

All of a sudden, a majestic figure materialized atop the mountain. It was an old woman with cold eyes that were currently fixed on Lu Lingzi. The ground trembled.

Two types of Imperial Sovereign power pulsed from those auras and gazes. And when they clashed, the air shattered, causing rifts to open up everywhere, and sending screaming winds out into a huge vortex. Innumerable bits of rubble floated up into the air, and the Imperial Sovereign mountain rocked back and forth.

The confrontation immediately attracted the attention of the other Imperial Sovereigns in the west. Numerous streams of divine will surged into the area, further increasing the space-time chaos. Threads of natural and magical laws appeared and shattered constantly. A stifling sensation weighed down on all of the cultivators present, who were shaken to the core.

Then, the empress spoke with Lu Lingzi’s voice. “Sir Blood Dust, produce the command medallion I gave you.”

Xu Qing immediately complied and held the medallion overhead. The empress waved a hand, causing the medallion to release a bit of Imperial Sovereign aura. Everyone could immediately sense that the medallion contained the might of an Imperial Sovereign.

“Did you ever use that medallion when exchanging pointers with the western Devilbirds?” shē asked.

Xu Qing didn’t hesitate to respond, “Never.”

“Did you kill anyone when exchanging pointers?” shē continued.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Xu Qing shook his head. “I just tried to quickly determine who would achieve victory and who would be defeated. I never put anyone in danger.”

The empress’ gaze shifted to the seventh Imperial Sovereign mountain. Sounding very cold, shē said, “This competition between western and eastern Devilbirds was merely an exchange of pointers between members of the same species. Just as our ancient teachings assert, there must be fairness and balance in all things.

“Sir Blood Dust had an Imperial Sovereign treasure, but never used it. Exchanging pointers is about determining victory or defeat. It’s not about a duel to the death. With the exception of the first fight, Sir Blood Dust never even made a move on anyone.

“However, the western Devilbirds secretly prepared an Imperial Sovereign treasure to use. Had I not personally interfered, it’s entirely likely Sir Blood Dust would have lost his life. What’s the meaning of this? Why did you possibly treat a fellow member of your species in such a ruthless way?”

The streams of divine will from the other Imperial Sovereigns seemed to go still. Lu Lingzi’s words had really caused the atmosphere to become tense. That was when a calm voice drifted down.

“Come to my dao altar to see me, Lu Lingzi.”

The chaos in space-time was quelled. The collapsing natural and magical laws went back to normal. The tense atmosphere faded away. All of the Imperial Sovereigns revealed themselves as shadowy projections and quickly bowed to the wing-shaped dao altar off in the distance.

The words that had just been spoken came from Grand Emperor Devilbird.

The empress looked up with a very calm expression, then took a step forward. Shē had achieved hēr objective.

The Imperial Sovereigns all exchanged glances, then dissipated. The old woman who had come out from the seventh Imperial Sovereign mountain also disappeared. The only person left behind was the young man who had attacked Xu Qing. He clasped hands, bowed to Xu Qing, then turned and left.

Xu Qing remained behind at the foot of the mountain. He had done his job and didn’t need to make any more challenges.

So now what…?

A thought occurred to him.

I’m here in the lands of the western Devilbirds, and have the empress backing me up. I caused a bit of a stir just now. Given how things have played out, I suppose... there’s a certain location I ought to explore.

He hadn’t forgotten the information his Eldest Brother had given him about the two Immortal Skills Halls in the Devilbird holy land.

Five Dogs Six Thieves....

He had already mastered Six Thieves Deceive Life, which came from the eastern Devilbirds. As for Five Dogs Cleave Immortals, it came from the western Devilbirds. Normally speaking, studying it in detail would be extremely difficult. But now....

Given how famous the empress has become, and considering the reputation I’ve built in the last half month, I might as well go take a look!

After making some plans to ensure that he didn’t slip up and reveal his true identity, he flew up into the air. As the numerous cultivators in the area looked on, he flew off into the distance.

He was heading... in the direction of the western Devilbirds’ Immortal Skills Hall! It wasn’t very far from the seventh Imperial Sovereign mountain, and was located in a lake called Immortal Cleaving. The lake was pitch black, while the Immortal Skills Hall was crafted from pure white stone. It was exquisitely constructed, and cast flowing light in all directions. The contrast it created with the lake made for a very gruish sense of peace.

At the moment, there were a few hundred cultivators seated on the surface of the lake. They included men and women, old and young. All of them wore white clothing and had their eyes closed as they practiced cultivation. The fluctuations of an immortal skill were very prominent.

When Xu Qing arrived, he realized immediately that these people were the immortal adepts of the western Devilbirds!

His arrival did not attract any notice. After looking around, he focused on the pure white Immortal Skills Hall in the middle of the lake. Clasping hands, he bowed.

“I am Sir Blood Dust,” he said, “here representing an Imperial Sovereign to take a look at Five Dogs Cleave Immortals!”