Chapter 1254: The Nightmare Before the Storm

God Emperor Death Departure and Immortal Lord Deepgloom had agreed to a hostage exchange treaty.... That was not something Xu Qing had anticipated would happen, much less that the Immortal Lord would assign him to be the escort.

As the lieutenant general explained things, a thoughtful look appeared in Xu Qing’s eyes. Previously, he had come to the conclusion that the goddess was important because of the blood of the imperial clan that ran in hēr veins, and how it contained the godhood power of hēr father, God Emperor Death Departure. Capturing hēr could give the Immortal Lord a much deeper understanding of how to deal with Death Departure’s godhood. By extension, that would enable him to gain an advantage in the war. But now... the goddess was being returned.

Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed. He gripped the blade as he listened to the lieutenant general. When it was appropriate for him to speak, he said, “Lieutenant General, is there any chance you know why the exalted Immortal Lord has agreed to a hostage exchange with the god emperor?”

The lieutenant general glanced out at the starry sky briefly. “Because God Emperor Death Departure made a few concessions that we Fifth Star Ring cultivators simply couldn’t reject!”

Xu Qing was instantly curious about what sort of concessions could have been offered that were impossible to reject, and would even prompt the Immortal Lord to give back Goddess Starryeyes.

“To begin with,” continued the lieutenant general, “God Emperor Death Departure offered to return five Lower Immortals who were captured by the Fourth Star Ring but not killed. That was the first concession.

“Of those five Lower Immortals, one was Immortal Lord Deepgloom’s last apprentice, who had patrolled the border with him for 10,000 years. He performed astounding services on the battlefield, and specialized in assassinations. Several years ago, the gods laid a cunning trap that resulted in his capture. All attempts to rescue him failed, and he suffered years of torture.

“The other four aren’t as important, but have still performed amazing services for the Fifth Star Ring. All of them were doomed to be tortured to death, but now we have a chance to get them back. So that’s the first concession offered by God Emperor Death Departure.

“But there’s a second concession, and as I said, the Fifth Star Ring simply couldn’t reject it. Even the Immortal Lord fully approved.... It’s a roaming universe!” The lieutenant general’s eyes gleamed as he looked at Xu Qing. “You’re an ascendee, so though you know a bit about history, your understanding is not comprehensive.

“Countless years ago here in the Fifth Star Ring, during the war between cultivators and local gods, the fighting was intense. The slaughter that was carried out shook the heavens and toppled the earth. In the end, the Immortal Paragon and the God Paragon fought each other, and it nearly destroyed the Fifth Star Ring. Many starry skies were ripped out of place and turned into roaming universes that left the Fifth Star Ring.

“Years later, the Immortal Lords were given a mission to go out, find the roaming universes, and bring them back. The ultimate goal was... to make the Fifth Star Ring whole again! If the Fifth Star Ring were whole, then the natural and magical laws, as well as the destiny aura, would reach the ultimate peak.

“Over the years, most of the roaming universes have been found and brought back. But the biggest of them all has been missing the entire time. Because of that, the Fifth Star Ring has never truly been complete.

“God Emperor Death Departure’s second concession is to return that final roaming universe! If we get it, then the Fifth Star Ring will finally be whole. The natural and magical laws will be complete, and the destiny aura will flourish. It will benefit all living beings. Now, do you really think we could reject an offer like that?”

The lieutenant general looked at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing was visibly moved. And then a seemingly outrageous thought occurred to him. “Don’t tell me that... the Immortal Lord knew all along that God Emperor Death Departure had the roaming universe, and that’s why he captured Goddess Starryeyes?”

The lieutenant general’s eyes glittered with profound light, but he didn’t answer the question. Instead, he lifted his hand to reveal a silver jade stone. It radiated scintillating light, as well as a robust immortal energy. Just barely visible within the jade stone was some sort of mysterious bubble.

When Xu Qing laid eyes on the bubble, he shivered from head to toe. He felt his canon stirring, as well as his immortal embryo. It was as if... that bubble contained the boundless will of the entire Fifth Star Ring. The destiny aura he had acquired seemed to thrum in resonance with it.

“Is that...?” Xu Qing whispered.

“This is a Fifth Ring Immortal Pill! Because it’s so closely linked to destiny aura, only true monarchs can be given them. If an ordinary cultivator consumed it, they would die. But a true monarch can use it to increase their chances of successfully breaking through to Lower Immortal! The Immortal Lord will give this pill to you as a reward after you successfully escort Goddess Starryeyes to the handover!”

Xu Qing looked at the jade stone and struggled to control his breathing. He could feel the destiny aura within him resonating, and felt his immortal embryo trembling. All of that made it very obvious that this pill... would be very useful to him! The lieutenant general was still talking, and his voice seemed to be tinged with a bit of regret.

“Xu Qing, Immortal Lord Deepgloom... cares a lot about you. The army will be present during the handover, and the Immortal Lord will be closely observing. So you shouldn’t be in much danger. In fact, for all intents and purposes, the hostage exchange could be handled by anybody.

“What’s more, regardless of who does it, they’ll receive the gratitude of the five Lower Immortals who we’re getting back. Having good relationships like that will vastly improve the reputation of anyone, and will make that person the envy of the entire army. After this matter, you will have the qualifications and experience necessary to lead an entire army!”

The lieutenant general waved his hand, sending the jade stone flying over to Xu Qing. It stopped in front of him and hovered there.

Xu Qing looked at it, then took a deep breath and said, “The Immortal Lord’s orders are understood and will be followed!”

The lieutenant general nodded, and without another word, he turned and walked into the silver eye. The eye glittered, and the sea of light vanished. Everything went back to normal. Xu Qing was back inside the flame pagoda, as if nothing at all had just happened. The eye vanished.

However, the silver jade stone remained behind, glittering brightly in front of him, pulsing with ringsource and a strong immortal energy. Xu Qing just stood there for a moment analyzing the pros and cons.

This... is not something that happened in the illusion created by the god of pain.... The hostage exchange seems reasonable, but....

He got the feeling things weren’t so simple. Whether it was the Immortal Lord’s scheme, or the deal to return the roaming universe, or everything that led up to the moment.... Everything just seemed to have gone too smoothly.

In fact, it’s going so smoothly... that it almost seems like God Lord Death Departure is taking the initiative to cooperate.

That possibility caused Xu Qing’s pupils to constrict.

Considering this is a God Lord, I could see hīm being in a passive position occasionally. But for hīm to constantly be in the passive position seems very unusual!

Xu Qing frowned. That said, someone with an Immortal Lord cultivation base would see and know things that he himself couldn’t comprehend. When he thought back to the momentum of the war, and considered what an Immortal Lord could do, he had to admit there was the possibility he was overlooking something.

So if both sides are in on this thing, what is the ultimate point?

Even after thinking about it for a while, Xu Qing couldn’t come up with a good theory. He looked at his reward items, then settled his thoughts and sent a message via divine will to Sir Star Ring and the others. Before long, the various dao seeds opened their eyes and emerged from their flame pagodas. Full of anticipation, they proceeded to Xu Qing’s flame pagoda. Upon entering, they saw the reward items.

Sir Star Ring and Zhou Zhengli were the most experienced and knowledgeable, and they looked dazed.

“This is the ringsource and the military credits delivered by the lieutenant general,” Xu Qing said.

They had already agreed how to split up the rewards. Because Xu Qing had led the search and been the one to actually capture Goddess Starryeyes, he got forty percent. Sir Star Ring had participated in the final fight, so he got ten percent. The remainder was split between the other ten ascendees! That was the arrangement for both ringsource and military credits.

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

After the rewards were distributed, everyone left, their hearts filled with excitement. Nobody had any misgivings about Xu Qing getting the biggest share. Having worked so closely with him for so long, they knew that it was only his battle prowess that had brought them to this point.

Xu Qing also felt that the split was fair. Without the help of the other ascendees, it would have been impossible for him to defeat the True God and capture Goddess Starryeyes.

After they were done splitting the rewards, Xu Qing told them about the hostage exchange. He also explained his suspicions and speculations. Everyone else listened with various thoughtful expressions on their faces. This was their custom. When they ran into an issue, they would confer and analyze the situation from different perspectives.

“What Xu Qing says makes a lot of sense. The hostage exchange probably won’t be very dangerous. In terms of the larger picture, my guess is that the Immortal Lord doesn’t want the war getting even worse!”

“If the war expanded, or shifted too much in our favor, the other side might get more God Lords involved. The opposite would be true. And who knows, it’s even possible the Immortal Paragon would have to step in....”

“That would be the final battle!”

“This whole thing is a game being played between an Immortal Lord and a God Lord. And it’s all about momentum....”

“Yes, but there’s something strange going on here. What exactly is Immortal Lord Deepgloom trying to accomplish?”

“Who cares what he’s planning? We should just do it. We two brothers can conquer any obstacle!”

Everyone had their say. Xu Qing listened to all the opinions and considered how they related to his own analysis. Eventually, he looked at Zhou Zhengli. During their time together, Xu Qing had come to trust Zhou Zhengli's judgement.

Zhou Zhengli frowned as he looked back at Xu Qing. After some hesitation, he kneaded the bridge of his nose. “Young Lord, and all you other Fellow Daoists, there’s one possibility none of you mentioned.... What if the hostage exchange is actually part of the ‘lantern’ that’s been lit?”

Xu Qing’s eyes glittered. “If that’s the case, then it would mean the lantern in the eastern theater isn’t shining brightly enough. If the hostage exchange is meant to brighten the lantern, then... there must still be hidden forces at work on the battlefield. And those forces... are in the Fourth Star Ring!”

Xu Qing’s words struck all of them like a tempest.

***

Time passed, and the day of the hostage exchange approached.

Xu Qing and the others had agreed to stay vigilant. Xu Qing was ready. He had taken a few days to get familiar with the new dao weapon. And he had used the ringsource from the red giant to stabilize his place within mid Quasi-Immortal. He was at his peak.

The atmosphere had changed recently. Every few days, army cultivators would cross the starry sky and set up camp around the red giant. More and more cultivators came. Things were getting increasingly tense.

Although Xu Qing and the ascendees couldn’t see what was happening on the front lines, the same thing was happening there. Both cultivators and gods were gathering into larger groups. They were consolidating their battle prowess.

The white and black in the eastern theater continued to intertwine. A storm was coming!

One day, when it was only about two hours before the hostage exchange was to occur, the bleak sound of a horn echoed outside of the red giant. It pierced through the starry sky, reaching the ears of countless cultivators.

Xu Qing opened his eyes. A sea of light glittered in front of him, whereupon a familiar figure appeared, bound tightly with fetters.

It was Goddess Starryeyes! Shē had been treated well in hēr time away from Xu Qing. Hēr ringsource had been largely replenished, and hēr skin was lustrous again. Considering what the Immortal Lord was planning, there had been no need to torment hēr. In fact... hēr perfume was stronger than ever.

Xu Qing looked at hēr. Eyes glittering, he licked his lips.

Goddess Starryeyes looked back at him, her legs trembling. In fact, shē was shaking from head to toe, as if shē were looking at... a nightmare.