Chapter 1718: Dead Xi Huang

Now, only one final threat remained. The elites of the western nations were currently searching for the Black Water Heavenly God’s hideout. They intended to slay the Black Water Heavenly God while it was severely injured and truly end the threat of Black Water once and for all.

Of course, none of this had anything to do with Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou. While this was going on, they had already arrived at Xi Huang.

Tackling the Black Water Heavenly God was just a side quest. Hunting for the evil suppressing spiritual treasure was their main quest.

It was too bad the Black Water Heavenly God didn’t know about this. Otherwise, he would have thrown up a couple more pints of blood and suffered greater injuries.

After passing through the western regions, Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou traveled in the direction of the sunset for three days and nights. Then, without any warning whatsoever, they arrived at a barren wasteland.

People liked to enjoy certain places as wastelands, but they weren’t true wastelands. For example, the land past the western nations were mostly hot, dry deserts that were hostile toward most life, but they could still see some grass growing out of the ground, and there were even animals running here and there. It all proved that the land was still alive; that it still had a spirit. Its barren appearance was just one of its many, many expressions.

However, the land before them was completely devoid of flora, fauna, and even life. The earthly veins were completely silent, and the earthly qi was completely gone. It felt as if the entire place was dead.

There was no doubt about it. This was Xi Huang, the mysterious Xi Huang.

“This land is dead.”

Ye Qing was practicing the “Earthly Sovereign Scripture”. So, no one was more sensitive toward the land and the earth than him. He could sense that the land before his eyes—Xi Huang—was a dead land in every sense of the word, so much so that it didn’t even have any earthly vein or earthly qi.

If the land was dead, then nothing could thrive. It was only natural that no life existed in this place.

“Let’s go.”

The duo set foot inside Xi Huang. From the outside, Xi Huang looked like nothing special besides the fact that it was completely dead. However, as soon as they crossed the threshold, they were greeted by a fantastical sight that made them feel like they had stepped into another world.

There were two celestial bodies in the sky of Xi Huang. The sun hung in the east, and the moon in the west. The blend of sunlight and moonlight was unexpectedly gorgeous. The temperature was neither hot nor cold either. It was just right.

However, this warmth lacked the vibrance of spring or the spirituality of life. There was only plain, empty warmth.

Besides that, the route behind them had disappeared without warning. It had been replaced by the endless expanse of death that was Xi Huang. In other words, they could no longer return where they came from.

“I’m not picking up anything.”

Instead of hunting for the evil suppressing spiritual treasure immediately, Ye Qing used King Taishan to probe his surroundings. Maybe they could get lucky. Alas, he found nothing.

“I guess we have to look for it ourselves.”

Ye Qing had anticipated this and so wasn’t too disappointed. He waved his hand while declaring, “Go.”

Dozens of people suddenly appeared behind his back. They then scattered in every direction.

Black Mountain and Flying Dragon were among these people. The rest were the divine envoys of the Black Water Divine Sect.

Xi Huang was exceedingly huge, and they were on a time limit. There was little chance the two of them could find the evil suppressing spiritual treasure by themselves.

Luckily for them, there was a solution to this: manpower. Since the Black Water Divine Sect so kindly donated its members to him, Ye Qing decided to make use of them including Black Mountain and Flying Dragon. He had converted them all into his Heavenly Demon Dependents beforehand.

Although dozens of people seemed like a drop in the sea that was Xi Huang, one must remember that every single person here was an elite. Black Mountain and Flying Dragon were champions, while everyone else was at least a Trueman or a Grandmaster. No one was better suited for the task than them.

With their aid, it was a lot easier to search for the evil suppressing spiritual treasure than otherwise.

“We should go too.”

After Black Mountain, Flying Dragon, and the divine envoys were gone, Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou also split up and searched in different directions.

Thanks to Ancestor Black Robe, they knew that there was no danger in Xi Huang. They knew the way to leave Xi Huang, so there was no need to stick together for safety reasons.

Besides that, they only had nine days—not even that if they factored the time it took to leave Xi Huang into the equation—to finish their search. They could not afford to dilly dally. That was why Ye Qing stopped conserving his strength and pushed Flowing In The Six Places to the max, crossing many kilometers in one step while scanning everything within dozens of kilometers of him.

At the beginning, the celestial bodies that hung eternally in the sky, the gorgeous blend of sunlight and moonlight, the comfortable but unfeeling warmth and more felt quite novel to Ye Qing. But as time passed, he realized that the scenery and even the sensation never changed for even a moment. Over time, what he once thought was a gorgeous scenery was beginning to wear on his nerves.

Five days passed in the blink of an eye. Ye Qing alone had covered millions of kilometers of land. All of them together, they had searched over tens of millions of kilometers of land. Despite this, they did not find anything even resembling a clue that might lead them to the evil suppressing spiritual treasure, much less the treasure itself. Hell, they did not even find a spot that looked incongruous or out of place. Wherever they looked, it was the exact same wasteland and desolation.

Besides that, they never found something resembling a border or an endpoint. It was as if Xi Huang was truly infinite and endless.

Ye Qing finally understood that Ancestor Black Robe was being literal when he said that Xi Huang was endlessly vast.

“What a pain!”

Ye Qing was currently floating in the sky and looking down on the endless land beneath him with clear fatigue on his face.

Five days of non-stop searching at full power was exhausting even for a powerful Sage like him.

Worse, he still hadn’t found anything.

“Three more days. If there is still nothing after three days, then I will leave.”

He did not dare to ignore Ancestor Black Robe’s advice. The old man was far stronger and experienced than him, and even he lost his way and “died” in Xi Huang because he did not leave when it was time to leave. Naturally, he did not dare to tempt fate.

It would be a shame to miss out on the evil suppressing spiritual treasure, but more than the treasure, he cherished his life.

Ye Qing rubbed his forehead and took a small break. Then, he began his search once more.

Another three days came and went, and still no one had found a clue. King Taishan had not sensed anything either. So, after a quick discussion with Feng Qingyou, they decided to leave Xi Huang.

Sometimes, things do not turn out the way you want. That was just how life was.

After they met up, they flew down the path between the sun and the moon.

The way to leave Xi Huang was very simple. Simply travel between the sun and the moon for five thousand kilometers, and one would leave Xi Huang.

Neither Ye Qing nor Feng Qingyou knew why this was the case, but Ancestor Black Robe was the one who told them about this solution. They simply needed to do as he said.