Chapter 466: Can You Comprehend a Love as Deep as Marrow?

Chu Tianqun bitterly closed his eyes. “It’s over....”

But his eternal rest didn’t come as quickly as he imagined. A few breaths of time passed, and then Chu Tianqun heard Xu Qing speaking in a hoarse voice.

“Do you hate Night Dove and the Crown Prince of Violet and Cyan?” Xu Qing had pulled his foot back.

Chu Tianqun seemed not to have heard. His eyes remained closed.

“You’re about to die,” Xu Qing continued coolly, “but I haven’t killed you yet. What do you think about watching as I go find them? That way, regardless of whether they die, or I die... you’ll have revenge.”

Chu Tianqun slowly opened his eyes and looked at Xu Qing. His life was almost over. Even if Xu Qing didn't stomp his head out of existence, he wouldn’t survive for much longer. The flame of his life force had already gone out.

“In other words, why don’t you tell me where they are?” Xu Qing glanced up at the void beyond.

Chu Tianqun didn’t say anything in response. His eyes faded, and his hair withered and began to collapse into nothing.

A few breaths of time passed. Xu Qing shook his head. Since Chu Tianqun wasn’t saying anything, he didn’t see the need to ask more questions. He lifted his foot again.

“Xu Qing,” Chu Tianqun said suddenly, “do you know how to change the color of the sea?”

Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed as he looked back down at Chu Tianqun.

Chu Tianqun looked back at him. His face was now more than half dissolved, and his voice was extremely faint.

“When you figure out how, you’ll get your answer.”

He closed his eyes, and the rest of his head slowly dissolved, right there in front of Xu Qing. His body, his soul, his everything... crumbled into ash and dissipated into the rubble of the surrounding major world fragment. He no longer existed.

Simultaneously, the surrounding world rippled and distorted, then blurred. After three breaths of time passed, it vanished. It was like an astral teleportation. A desert appeared around Xu Qing. He felt broiling heat everywhere. He sensed a familiar aura. He was back in the Revered Ancient mainland.

The price of one hundred drops of god blood that Chu Tianqun had paid to the Smokewights to gain access to their major world fragment had come with an easy extraction method. Either Xu Qing died, or Chu Tianqun died. Only one person would be able to leave.

Xu Qing looked down at the sand beneath his feet. Then he turned in the direction of the Smokewight lands. Off in the distance, he saw a wisp of smoke that resolved into the vague shape of one of the Smokewights. He simply stood there looking at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing looked at him, cold and expressionless.

A moment later, the Smokewight turned without saying a word, and vanished.

Xu Qing also turned and continued on his way. He moved no more slowly than before. Thus, about two hours later, he reached the end of the desert and the border of the county capital.

When he saw the lush terrain ahead, he couldn’t suppress his injuries any longer. He sagged, coughed up three mouthfuls of blood, and then quickly brought out his dharmaship. Struggling on board, he then sent it racing onward.

He left the desert.

When he’d spotted that Smokewight cultivator, it had taken all of his strength and willpower to prevent from revealing what bad condition he was in.

Whether it was his soul or his fleshly body, he was in extremely bad shape. The battle with Chu Tianqun had been profoundly draining. What was more, the jade-white hand that had stretched out from Chu Tianqun’s forehead and waved three times had burst with killing intent. Without the life-saving jade from his Master and that strange golden light on his wrist, he would have perished.

I have to get back to the county capital as quickly as possible!

He felt weak inside and out, and merely thinking about the fight with Chu Tianqun caused his heart to pound with lingering fear.

Just what is that golden light on my wrist?

Struggling to refrain from passing out, he looked down at his wrist. This wasn’t the first time the golden thread on his wrist had helped him. And every other time, it had been when he faced a deadly crisis. If it was some sort of repayment of a favor, then the favor had been paid many times over.

After some time passed, he pushed such thoughts to the back of his mind. He would get to the bottom of that golden light after he was back in the county capital.

And then there’s the Smokewights.... Xu Qing turned and looked back into the desert. There was something illogical about the whole situation. The Smokewights are native to Sea-Sealing County. Yet they helped Chu Tianqun set a deadly trap for a swordsage. Though they’re free to do that, it’s obviously extremely risky.... Why did they think it was worth it for them?

His internal injuries flared, and he yet again coughed up a mouthful of blood. Feeling weaker than ever, he closed his eyes and focused on recovery.

Four hours later, he found a city with a teleportation portal. Forcing his eyes open, he got off the dharmaship and put it away. Then, his face as ashen as death, he entered the teleportation portal.

In the portal, glittering light flared, and then Xu Qing vanished.

***

Meanwhile, within the region controlled by Sea-Sealing County’s county capital, there was a seemingly endless mountain range. Deep within the primitive landscape there, amidst the verdant trees, was a huge basin. Looking at it from high above, it was filled with innumerable trees, all of which were interconnected by hanging vines. There were also a host of log cabins built in the trees, which formed a sort of village.

Bustling among the cabins were a group of palm-sized, crystalline sprites. They flitted between the trees and cabins, almost like they were playing. When the sunlight shone onto them, they glittered brightly. And because of how they flew and danced, they looked like flowing light. It was exceedingly beautiful. The sound of happy chatting and laughter echoed about.

It was also possible to see certain extremely large trees with faces on them. They emanated gentle auras that spread out and formed a faint mist. Some of the faces were asleep, but others had their eyes open and were kindly watching the sprites. Whenever one of the trees opened its eyes, the crystalline sprites would hurry over and dance about admiringly.

This was the habitat of the Sea-Sealing County’s Wood Spirits.

The Wood Spirits were a very unique species. They existed in two different stages of life. The youngsters were palm-sized sprites who looked almost like they were made of crystal. They were incredibly beautiful. When they existed in that state, they were also a very expensive medicinal ingredient. After they matured, they would fuse with a tree, becoming part of it. After that, they were treants.

Although the Wood Spirits were generally kind and peaceful, the fact that their young were considered medicinal ingredients meant that they generally avoided contact with outsiders. That was the main way they kept their young safe.

In the Wood Spirit’s tree village, there was one extremely ancient and large tree that, though not quite on the same level of existence as the Ten Entrails Tree, was still about 3,000 meters tall, and spread its defenses out over everything beneath it.

If you looked closely, it was possible to see a temple in the middle of that huge tree. More precisely, the tree had grown over the temple, so that the temple was now part of the tree.

Inside of that temple was a statue. It depicted a beautiful woman in a suit of armor, with a dragon and a snake wrapped around her. She held a long spear in her hands, and she emanated a powerful battle spirit.

Behind the statue was a secret staircase that led deep into the earth below.

At the very end of that staircase was an ancient altar. It was octagonal and pitch black, and hung above what seemed like a bottomless abyss, with only the staircase connecting it to anything else.

The innkeeper from Plankspring Way stood trembling at the edge of the altar, his eyes bloodshot. He had just been weeping, and his expression was one of deep anxiety.

“Ling’er! Ling’er, wake up! Don’t scare me like this. You have to wake up....”

He wasn’t looking at the altar. Instead, he was looking at the distant cliff of the abyss, a good 3,000 meters away from the altar. It was just barely possible to see a small cave in the cliff there, inside of which was a skeleton. The skeleton sat cross-legged, and seemed to have seen countless years pass. It was impossible to say how many years ago it had been when the skeleton died.

Also in that small cave was Ling’er, dressed in a white gown, seated cross-legged.

Her face was ashen, and her chin was slick with blood. Even more horrendous was the blood splattered all over her white clothing.

There was a lot of blood. A lot.

She sat unmoving, her eyes closed.

“Ling’er!!” The innkeeper stood at the edge of the altar, shaking, his voice echoing about as he called to Ling’er. A moment later, Ling’er’s eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes. It seemed like it took an incredible amount of effort just for her to do that. Looking in the direction of her papa, she forced a smile onto her face.

“I’m fine, Papa....”

The innkeeper’s heart was racing as he looked at Ling’er with sorrow in his eyes.

“It was that Xu Qing, wasn’t it??” He had brought Ling’er here to accept her legacy. It was something that someone of Ling’er’s species had to experience. Success meant good fortune that would extend the lifespan. Failure meant being cursed to die. Accepting the legacy required an extended period of time. And thus, he had been extremely nervous and protective. Everything had been going well until the day before... when Ling’er suddenly coughed up a huge mouthful of blood. In an instant, she suffered a very grievous injury.

Upon hearing her papa’s words, she suddenly felt a bit nervous, so she quickly said, “Papa... don’t be so critical. Big Bro Xu Qing... has nothing to do with it.... It’s my fault. I’m just so useless....”

“Right, right. I know,” the innkeeper said quickly, his voice trembling a bit. “It has nothing to do with Xu Qing. It’s fine. Papa knows. Papa shouldn’t have blamed your Big Bro Xu Qing. Don’t get nervous. Just take your time to recover. Everything’ll be fine. Once the legacy is over, papa will take you to see Big Bro Xu Qing.”

When Ling’er heard that, a smile broke out on her face. “Are you serious, Papa...?”

“Of course I am!” the innkeeper said with a vigorous nod. “When your papa makes a promise, he keeps it!”

Ling’er’s smile grew brighter. “Papa, you don’t need to worry. I’m going to work hard.... I’ll work really hard.... I’ll definitely succeed with this legacy.”