Chapter 331: Taking Teeth from the Tiger’s Mouth

The last Ancient Emperor of humankind was Dark Serenity, who conquered Revered Ancient. The countless other species that existed at that time had been unable to do anything other than acknowledge allegiance to him. That was the final glory offered to humankind before the broken face of the god arrived.

The other species didn’t dare to be disrespectful at that time, less they face the wrath of the Five Greater Celestial Divisions. The number of nonhumans and evil cultivators who fell to the Five Greater Celestial Divisions couldn’t even be numbered. Even just one of those five divisions could shake heaven and earth, and cause countless species to tremble in fear.

The Swordsage Division was, of course, one of the Five Greater Celestial Divisions.

However, everything fell apart after the broken face of the god arrived. That god’s aura infected everything, dramatically transforming heaven and earth. And Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity could do nothing about it.

In fact, there were many Ancient Emperors and Imperial Sovereigns from the past who awoke from states of dormancy when that happened. Yet they were also powerless to fight back, and could only watch and sigh. Eventually, they were forced to abandon Revered Ancient, taking with them whatever suitable humans that were willing to follow them. Some other species left as well, departing Revered Ancient to create independent locations called holy grounds.

More commonly, species banded together to create what was now something legendary in the Revered Ancient mainland.... The holy lands.

These holy grounds and holy lands existed beyond the dome of heaven. However, though they seemed far away, they actually weren’t an infinite distance from Revered Ancient. They took advantage of the fact that the broken face of the god was fixated on Revered Ancient to live for many years in peace, and even grow and expand. In other words, they had benefited from the pain and suffering of the people who had been left behind.

The countless species of Revered Ancient continued on, living and dying, rebuilding their cities and reestablishing society. And though the modern species did trace their origin to the species of the ancient past, they were now different enough to be considered unique.

Mutagen was integral to all of that.

Although Xu Qing’s journey made it seem like mutagen wasn’t a big factor that cultivators had to consider, the truth was that it was extremely influential to all sects. The bigger a sect or group was, the harder they had to work to deal with mutagen. And when it came to small sects, or the mortals in the world, mutagen was one of the elements that played into either their survival or their death. Not even huge sects and organizations could completely negate issues relating to mutagen. They had to rely on constant cultivation progress to suppress its effects. They couldn’t do anything to get rid of the root cause.

Mutagen was an enormous potential calamity on an individual level. The slightest misstep could cause it to flare up and push a cultivator into mutation. Over the years, humans had come up with all sorts of ways of dealing with mutagen, some more effective than others. Although they couldn’t get rid of it entirely, the big sects and organizations usually didn’t have to deal with full mutation situations.

Yet all cultivators knew that in the end... it was a possibility. And if a cultivator could provoke an explosion of mutagen in someone else, then all others would be weak in comparison.

That was one reason why Torchlight had caused such a sensation in Emperor-Receiving Prefecture. The god above obviously had the power to rapidly push mutagen levels in a cultivator past the sustainable limit, which would cause them to mutate into a freakish monster. Unfortunately, that was just how things were. It was how the path of cultivation worked in the modern era, and there was no other road to follow.

It was only in the holy lands, or perhaps in the legendary imperial capital, where true purity could be found. Either that, or by using certain extremely special techniques that could purify the body. After all, even if someone did attain purity, as long as they breathed air or absorbed spirit power, they would be contaminated again.

That was why cultivators from countless species all dreamed about being taken to the holy lands. But the holy lands were far, far away. Only the great species in Revered Ancient had ways of contacting them. And that connection was why the great species’ societies and institutions had never collapsed.

For example, humans, and their Five Greater Celestial Divisions.

As the afterglow of evening shone down onto the miserable lands below, the Swordsage Court took action.

“Humans still stand strong!” said the middle-aged man, and that was when the true battle began.

Numerous figures of glittering light descended on the Three-Spirits Dao-Suppressing Mountain, pulsing with killing energy. Only the most elite and skilled individuals could become swordsages, and thus, as the slaughter began, the disciples of the Three-Spirits Dao-Suppressing Mountain were instantly thrown into chaos.

The Three Spirits were in bad shape as well. Sword light swept across the first mountain peak. The roaring giant battered at the second mountain peak. And three swords sliced at the third mountain peak.

Heaven and earth shook. Booms rang out right and left. Roars of rage, shrieks of anguish, and the thrum of magical techniques. The sound rose into the sky, causing the clouds above to grow even thinner, and allowing more of the evening afterglow to shine down.

The middle-aged man, who held a leadership position in the Swordsage Court in Emperor-Receiving Prefecture, strode toward the first mountain peak.

The Three Spirits were manifestations of the ghost emperor’s three spiritual souls. The third- and second-ranking spirits were both in the first stage of Void Returning. The highest-ranking spirit, August Spirit Sporelight, had reached the second stage years ago. However, as the sword light closed in on him, the black mist surrounding him didn’t seem capable of blocking it.

Then the middle-aged cultivator arrived, bursting with energy like a river of stars.

Fighting played out high above.

Fighting played out down below.

The battle raged!

***

“Now’s our chance!” the Captain said, jumping up, his eyes shining brightly.

He immediately started racing down the mountain and in the direction of August Spirit Nethersprite’s third mountain peak. In fact, he was apparently in such a rush he forgot to turn around and tell Xu Qing and Yanyan to hurry and follow.

“Come on, let’s go!” Yanyan said.

However, before she could start moving, Xu Qing casually walked up to a withered tree a short distance away. Standing in front of it, he calmly said, “Ready to go, Eldest Brother?”

The ‘Captain’ off in the distance stopped in place, a strange expression on his face. “I’m over here, little Ah Qing!”

Xu Qing ignored him. After looking at the tree for a long moment, he turned to Yanyan. “Would you like to see some very interesting images I have stored on this jade slip?”

Before she could answer, hearty laughter erupted from the tree. Then it blurred as the Captain stepped out into the open, smiling broadly and without a hint of embarrassment. “Hahaha, I was just joking around with you, little Junior Brother. You rascal! How come you’re always so serious? Come come. There’s no time to lose. We need to go get some treasure!”

The Captain burst into motion, and when he passed his clone, he waved his hand. The clone disappeared.

Yanyan’s eyes widened into a glare as she realized that the Captain had been trying to get her and Xu Qing to lead the way. Xu Qing didn’t say anything as he followed the Captain. Yanyan finally snorted coldly, and keeping her glare fixed on the Captain, followed Xu Qing.

Thus, the three of them sped along at top speed. After descending the mountain, they took advantage of the chaos to slip across the battlefield unnoticed.

Along the way, Xu Qing’s eyes turned colder and colder. Because of the chaos of battle, the cities were crumbling, and that allowed him to see more details of what was inside them. There were huge pots used to cook people. There were slabs of bloody flesh hanging from hooks. The ground was purple with gore. And there was an ever-present noxious odor. There were skulls scraped clean of flesh piled up everywhere. And there were also endless cages filled with mortals from all species, just waiting to be turned into food.

Xu Qing hadn’t seen this kind of thing very often when dealing with cultivators. But here... they were everywhere.

The Captain looked at Xu Qing and then, voice grim, said, “Kill whoever you want to kill.”

Xu Qing didn’t respond. However, a moment later he appeared in front of a Three-Spirits Gold Core cultivator with two heavenly palaces, who was just backing away from his swordsage opponent. A dagger appeared in Xu Qing’s hand, which slashed through the throat of the Gold Core cultivator.

A scream rang out and then the head flew into the air. Xu Qing, his face completely expressionless, continued onward. A moment later, he appeared behind another Three-Spirits cultivator, whose throat he viciously sliced open.

As blood sprayed everywhere, Yanyan took action, the perverse energy within her erupting out. She wasn’t in Gold Core, so she targeted people she knew she could kill, ripping them apart and slicing them open.

Seeing that, the Captain didn’t say anything. But as he flew onward, he passed a Three-Spirits disciple who suddenly shivered and froze solid.

Because the three of them were cloaked, they were like assassins on the battlefield. Wherever they passed, death followed. Unfortunately, due to the large numbers of swordsages involved in the fighting, Xu Qing couldn’t resort to using poisons. If he had, the slaughter would have been even more brutal. Before the swordsages arrived, such actions would have attracted immediate attention. But the chaos of the fighting ensured that the screams of those they targeted, and the corpses they left behind, weren’t really noticed.

Xu Qing was the kind of person who kept a clear head at virtually all times, so despite the slaughter he was unleashing, he kept heading straight toward the third mountain peak. An hour passed, and they were getting closer and closer to that peak. As they neared, they were able to see the fight playing out in the air above it.

The shockwaves coming from the first mountain peak were the strongest. The sounds echoing out from the second mountain peak were the loudest. But the third mountain peak was where the most fighting was going on.

August Spirit Nethersprite had split into three versions of herself, each of which was fighting one of the swordsage elders. Shockwaves spread out, causing whipping winds and cracking the lands.

It was in those circumstances that Xu Qing, Yanyan and the Captain slowly got closer and closer to the mountain peak. As they did, the fighting got even more chaotic. Occasionally, the Captain would stop moving and drop down to the ground to avoid attracting attention. Then he would crawl forward on hands and knees, accelerating or decelerating depending on the circumstances.

Xu Qing reacted in the same manner, as if on instinct. Yanyan didn’t have the same instincts, so she reacted slower. However, she was a quick learner.

Using various methods, the three of them continued to make their way through the fighting.

Occasionally they would encounter swordsages who, though they couldn’t see the three of them, noticed clues that they were present. Thankfully the Captain had come prepared, and was able to produce a certain identity medallion. With that medallion, the other swordsages did nothing more than react curiously to their presence.

As the Captain crawled forward, he looked back at Xu Qing with a pleased expression. “Well, what do you think? I told you I came prepared. You know what this is? It’s a swordsage informant’s medallion. I spent a lot to get this thing. In most circumstances it would be useless, but on this battlefield it provides us with the perfect cover.”

Xu Qing blinked a few times then plastered an amazed look onto his face. The Captain seemed very pleased with that.

They faced danger on several occasions, but thanks to the caution of Xu Qing and the Captain, nothing came of any of it.

Another hour passed, whereupon they finally managed to crawl to the base of the third mountain peak. High above in the air, August Spirit Nethersprite’s three clones were locked in vicious combat. From this vantage point it was possible to tell that none of the three clones wore the same outfit she had worn the day she showed up outside Seven Blood Eyes.

“This shrew has so many outfits! We’re about to get rich, little Ah Qing. Rich!!” Eyes gleaming with avarice, the Captain leaped up, no longer cloaked, and bolted toward the mountain.

Xu Qing followed, and Yanyan trailed right behind them. Though Yanyan was slower, she had plenty of magical treasures that boosted her speed and strength. She couldn’t keep up, but was close behind.

From high above, it was just barely possible to make out three figures whizzing through the chaos of battle toward the mansion grotto in the mountain. The Captain’s eyes burned with a crazy look. Xu Qing’s eyes glittered.

“This is totally crazy....” murmured Yanyan, whose heart was pounding.

As she looked at Xu Qing and the Captain, and thought about how they wanted to extract teeth from a tiger’s mouth, she realized... that no ordinary person could possibly do this!

“And it’s so exciting!” Eyes glazing over a bit, she trembled with excitement and pressed onward.