Chapter 1350: Purple Mystery Awakens

Time flowed on, and twenty years passed. In these two decades, the entire landscape of Wanggu Continent underwent earth-shattering changes.

Under Xu Qing's growing renown, the Empress expanded her territory, advancing triumphantly and restoring the human domain to its extent during the reign of Emperor Dongsheng. This was just the directly controlled area; if indirect control was considered, humanity had, within these twenty years, become the foremost race in Wanggu, occupying more than half of the continent.

The remaining regions were centered around the deities and ancient myriad races. Regarding humanity, these forces, though wary and unwilling to provoke, were also reluctant to easily submit. When the three factions found themselves in a stalemate to a certain extent, Ling'er emerged from the Moon-Sacrifice Grand Domain. Accompanied by the Young Lord and others, she, by virtue of her ancient spirit bloodline, offered the ancient myriad races in those regions a way to yield. For various reasons, they were unwilling to bow to humanity, but it was different for the ancient spirit bloodline. In the perception of these ancient races, while the races of Wanggu were known as the myriad races, in reality, the "myriad races" simply referred to humanity plus the foreign races. The Ancient Spirit Race, which had unified Wanggu before Emperor Xuanyou, belonged to the foreign races. Therefore, submitting to the ancient spirit bloodline aligned with their wishes.

Thus, the only obstacle to Wanggu's unification remained the deities. Matters concerning deities were best resolved by the deities themselves, so the Empress traveled to Nanhong Prefecture, paying respects outside Xu Qing's cultivation vessel and explaining her intentions.

The sea glittered with reflections, and as the cultivation vessel swayed, Xu Qing, seated cross-legged inside, did not open his eyes. Nor did he emerge from seclusion. Instead, he raised a hand and waved it outwards. A streak of light flew out of the vessel, gathered on the harbor before the Empress, and transformed into a clay statue. This statue was a fox. As the wind blew, the clay statue emitted a brilliant glow, transforming from mud into skin and flesh, its colors becoming increasingly vivid until it became a corporeal body. Amidst a delicate peal of laughter, the enchanting clay fox, in all her captivating beauty, reappeared in the world.

"Sister, long time no see. And thank you for coming to find me, otherwise, this heartless one would have forgotten all about me," the clay fox said with captivating eyes, covering her mouth with a soft chuckle. The Empress frowned but said no more. After bowing towards Xu Qing's cultivation vessel, she turned and departed. The clay fox's laughter echoed as she turned to gaze in the direction of the distant Fiery Moon. Intense expectation filled her eyes. "Sun, Moon, Stars... it's time to change their order." With that, the clay fox took a step, returning to Wanggu. Her first stop, naturally, was the Fiery Moon Profound Sky Clan. The moment she descended, the sacred mountain of the Fiery Moon Profound Sky Clan suddenly trembled, and muddy rain began to fall from the sky. As the rain poured down, the hearts of all members of the Fiery Moon Profound Sky Clan were filled with dread. Simultaneously, an overwhelming divine might, carried within the muddy rain, descended upon the sacred mountain, reverberating as a divine voice.

"Fiery Moon, Fiery Sun, come see me!" The sacred mountain boomed, and the figures of the Sun God and Moon God appeared within, their expressions rippling with emotion, as they rushed towards the firmament. Yet, they could not reach their destination. The Moon God took seven steps, then fell silent mid-air, and lowered her head. The Sun God, enveloped in brilliant light, transformed into a great sun, attempting to force his way through. However, he only managed to advance a few steps further than the Moon God. The great sun he had become directly turned into a muddy sun. He too fell silent, casting a meaningful glance at the clay fox standing above the celestial canopy, then lowered his head. The clay fox's laughter resonated everywhere. Sun, Moon, and Stars had become Stars, Moon, and Sun.

Afterward, her divine form descended upon the domains of various deities, presenting them with two choices through powerful means: either be annihilated and have their origins extracted, or choose to become a subordinate deity. In this way, the deities were unified. Even if there were some powerful deities, deeply hidden and in slumber, whose strength surpassed that of the clay fox, Seventh Master was always present. During Xu Qing's twenty years of seclusion, Seventh Master resided in Huangtian and ventured out twice. The first time, he annihilated an ancient relic among the myriad races who had survived through special means. The second time, he suppressed three half-step True Gods. Under his intervention, the foreign races, deities, and humanity, at least overtly, no longer had fatal conflicts. Under the control of Ling'er and the clay fox, they allied with humanity, acknowledging humanity's status. Thus, humanity finally achieved unification.

Subsequently, the Empress represented humanity, Ling'er represented the myriad races, and the clay fox represented the deities. The three parties together formed an accord named 'Jinggu' (Pure Ancient). They jointly purged all secret places on the Wanggu Continent, pursuing clues and hidden operatives that had extended into Wanggu from beyond through various means. In this manner, time flowed once again. Another twenty years passed. Xu Qing had been in seclusion for forty years now.

In these subsequent twenty years, humanity's status had become completely stable. Emperor Lixia had also become Ancient Emperor Lixia. The development of humanity progressed similarly. Were it not for the remnants of the face still in the sky, constantly unsettling the beings of Wanggu, it could already be described as a golden age. As for Ning Yan, he had grown remarkably over these years. Under the Empress's careful tutelage, he now genuinely possessed the qualities of a Crown Prince. Besides Ning Yan, several other individuals also carved out their own distinct paths during this time.

For example, Wu Jianwu had surprisingly created his own Dao tradition, primarily focused on hatching beasts. Although his own cultivation was limited, the beasts that had always accompanied him back then were now extraordinary. There was also Kong Xianglong, a descendant of the old Palace Master of the Sword Holding Palace in Fenghai County. He had completely inherited Kong Liangxiu's will, becoming the acting Palace Master of the Human Sword Holding Palace, wielding the sword for humanity. He only needed to reach sufficient cultivation to be formally appointed. Each of them was treading their own path, setting their own sails.

The general trend of Wanggu was similar. Under the joint maintenance of the human, divine, and foreign factions, external clues hidden within Wanggu had largely been uncovered and meticulously recorded. It seemed there were no longer any secret places left in all of Wanggu, except for one location: the Heaven-Devouring Grand Domain, the location of the returning Ziqing Nation! Neither the foreign races, nor the deities, nor even humanity had ever stepped foot there. Even Seventh Master only gazed at it from afar, ultimately choosing to depart. Thus, that place became the only anomaly on the Wanggu Continent.

No one entered, and the beings within the Heaven-Devouring Grand Domain never emerged. It seemed everyone was waiting. Until, two years later, at the port of Seven Blood Eyes in Nanhong Prefecture, the cultivation vessel that had been anchored there for forty-two years silently vanished. Only the rippling seawater remained.

Meanwhile, in the Huangtian world, at the moment the cultivation vessel disappeared, a figure appeared beside Er Niu's sleeping body. Seventh Master, cross-legged before his master's tomb, didn't notice a thing. The figure didn't disturb him, merely gazed at Er Niu. Then it vanished. The next instant, this figure materialized outside the human imperial capital, before the statue of the Sword-Wielding Great Emperor. No one saw it, nor did anyone sense it.

Xu Qing stood before the Sword-Wielding Great Emperor, gazing up at the statue. At this moment, dressed in black robes with purple hair, he looked no different from forty-two years ago, except that the spiritual aura in his eyes seemed even more profound. He stared at the statue for a long, long time, then bowed deeply. Next, he turned his head and looked towards Fenghai County.

"She's about to wake up..." Xu Qing murmured softly, a gentle smile appearing on his face, as he took a step towards Fenghai County.

Concurrently, beneath Fenghai County, within a vast underground palace, light slowly ignited in a Phoenix Hall. It was the glow of the Zixuan Upper Green Lamp. Illuminated by the light, a woman could be seen seated cross-legged in the tranquil hall. She wore a flowing purple silk dress, its skirt spreading around her like light clouds, gently swaying with the subtle breeze within the room, as if a faint, hidden fragrance permeated the air. Her face was elegant, her skin whiter than snow. Her slightly upturned eyebrows seemed to conceal endless emotions, yet also exuded an aloof, otherworldly charm. She sat perfectly still, cross-legged on a meditation cushion, her hands naturally resting on her knees, fingers long and slender, as fair as scallion stalks. From afar, she appeared like a breathtaking painting. It was as if, until this moment, time itself had paused for her, intending to forever immortalize this exquisite scene.

Until... the next instant. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and she slowly opened her eyes, looking towards the hall door. Stars seemed to twinkle in her gaze, simultaneously agile and profound, illuminating the world. And the hall door, at that moment, was gently pushed open from the outside.