Chapter 324: Long and Winding Road

At the same time, the strongholds visited by the other three sects were also engaged in similar battles. However, they clearly lacked the strategic planning and coordination of the Seven Blood Eyes. But with the Sword Holders overseeing, the situations were still defused.

Yet, sealing them off proved impossible.

The cadavers at those three locations, after being suppressed, had their divinity strangely surge to its peak. They then self-destructed, turning into ash without leaving any trace, as if intentionally destroyed.

Meanwhile, after the Eight Sect Alliance's operation concluded, outside Yinghuang State, on the road leading to the central county capital in another state within Fenghai County, Prince Zi Qing, clad in black robes and wearing a divine mask, was leisurely walking.

His eyes beneath the mask showed no ripple of emotion, calm as still water. He felt no attachment to Yinghuang State behind him, just as he had felt when he left Nanhuang State and arrived in Yinghuang State.

Behind him was the respectfully following Night Dove.

"Master," Night Dove said, "Of the five voluntary deified test subjects, four were unexpectedly discovered, and one remains hidden."

"Not unexpected," the black-robed youth ahead calmly replied.

"The various abilities and shortcomings exhibited by the four discovered deified test subjects have been recorded and communicated to the fifth subject, providing a basis for their subsequent initiation into the next round of deification."

"However... there was a slight mishap," Night Dove hesitated.

"Tell me," the black-robed youth ahead replied, his expression unchanged, his voice calm.

"The mishap occurred at the Young Master Sect's stronghold. The Seven Blood Eyes seem to have detected our objective."

"Looking at this in context, it seems their goal was specifically that test subject. Its self-destruction also failed; it was sealed. The mastermind should be Lord Seven." As he spoke, a light sweat broke out on Night Dove's forehead.

He had arranged and deployed these four strongholds. Initially, everything was normal. Their discovery, though unexpected, was not unacceptable. But the sealing of a deified test subject was too great a responsibility for him to bear.

The black-robed youth ahead paused.

After a long while, he turned and looked in the direction of Yinghuang State. His eyes beneath the fragmented divine mask were no longer calm as before, but gleamed with a strange light.

"So, that's my younger brother's master. I'd noticed this person before. Now that I see him again, this person... is not simple."

"Unfortunately, matters in Yinghuang State are concluded; otherwise, I would very much like to speak with this person."

The black-robed youth gazed towards Yinghuang State for a long time, then withdrew his gaze and continued walking.

"If it's seized, then so be it. Consider it my gift of gratitude for him taking in my younger brother. Besides... divinity is not something mortals can research or control."

The black-robed youth spoke calmly, walking further and further away.

Night Dove, following behind, let out a sigh of relief. As he continued to follow, he couldn't help but ask a question.

"Master, what exactly is divinity?"

"It's a difference in the level of life, so I cannot explain it to you," the black-robed youth calmly replied.

"You cannot comprehend it, nor can you fathom it. It's like an ant being unable to understand your thoughts; the same applies to you."

"This is an unbridgeable chasm between humanity and divinity."

"Simply put, if a single thought of yours takes three thousand moments, then what a divine being pursues is an infinite number of thoughts in a single instant, each moment producing a depth you cannot comprehend."

"Once achieved, or achieved to a certain extent, then in their eyes, you are not an individual, but countless. Everything about you is transparent. Your past and your future all exist simultaneously in their eyes."

As he spoke, the black-robed youth waved his hand. Instantly, countless images appeared around Night Dove's body. These included his past and future. The innumerable images overlapped. Any mortal witnessing such a sight would surely suffer a mental breakdown, unable to bear it.

Amidst these numerous images, the black-robed youth casually plucked out seven or eight. Each depicted Night Dove's death at the hands of different individuals.

"They can change everything about you, manipulate the tapestry of your fate, in just a single moment." As he said this, the black-robed youth gently squeezed, and the images shattered and dissipated.

After doing this, he raised his head, gazed at the fragmented divine mask in the sky, and let out a soft sigh.

"Therefore, since their emergence, we have instinctively referred to them as deities."

Night Dove trembled involuntarily as he watched the dissipating images. Then, looking at his master ahead, his eyes burned with even greater fervor.

As the sun set in the west, the two figures walked further and further in the direction of Fenghai County's capital city.

Meanwhile, within Yinghuang State, an immeasurable distance from this location, at the Young Master Sect's position, at this moment, with the screeching of the Great Wing, the group from Seven Blood Eyes, having completed their blood-slaying mission, was riding the Great Wing directly towards the Alliance.

As the ripples of teleportation echoed, in the next instant, amidst a change in the heavens and earth, all those from the Seven Blood Eyes vanished.

When they reappeared, they were already above the Seven Blood Eyes' mountain gate. The lingering glow of the setting sun spread across the land, and fell upon these returning Seven Blood Eyes disciples. However, most of them still had lingering fear in their hearts.

The power of deities—though everyone had previously known of its vastness, known that it could change the world and influence everything—these understandings were merely theoretical.

Few knew the specific ways deities manifested their power. They only knew that their aura invaded all living beings, and everything they gazed upon became forbidden zones.

But now, they had learned a little bit of the specifics... and this little bit caused an uncontrollable surge of immense terror in their hearts.

Not everyone was like this, however. There were still a few cultivators who, after perceiving all this, still felt their fighting spirit surge within them. Xu Qing was one of them.

He had seen a deity open its eyes twice. While he was unluckier than others in this regard, he also had his fortunate aspects: first, he didn't die; second, he saw more.

So, after returning to the sect, Xu Qing immediately went to Lord Six's grave. There, he placed Sheng Yunzi's head before the tombstone, then sat down and silently gazed at the tombstone.

As dusk fell, Xu Qing picked up a flask of wine, took a sip, and murmured softly.

"It's not over yet."

"Indeed, it's not over!" The voice that responded to Xu Qing was Lord Seven's, from behind him.

Lord Seven walked over, stood beside Xu Qing, and pressed his shoulder, signaling that he didn't need to rise to pay respects. He then looked at the tombstone and Sheng Yunzi's head below it.

"What the Candlelight will do is intolerable to all races. This matter is merely the beginning. I've discerned hints about the identity of Night Dove's master. Behind this person... lies a divine realm."

"The grand era is upon us," Lord Seven spoke softly, "so those divine realms are once again descending into the human world." Xu Qing remained silent.

After a long while, Lord Seven patted Xu Qing's shoulder again.

"He is no longer your brother." With that, Lord Seven walked away into the distance.

Xu Qing's body trembled.

After a long moment, he turned to look in the direction Lord Seven had departed.

Regarding this matter, he hadn't intentionally concealed it; he simply hadn't wanted to speak of it. But it clearly couldn't be hidden from his master, who had spent all his energy researching the Candlelight during this period.

As night fell, Xu Qing stood up, bowed to Lord Six's grave, and turned to leave.

He walked down the mountain peak, exited the mountain gate, walking alone on the path, and gazing alone at the night sky.

The October wind, carrying a chill, blew in from the sea, falling upon his body, face, and hair.

But Xu Qing didn't feel cold. He watched the crowds on the street, gazed at the scattered lights, until he saw a stall about to close. He recognized the owner.

It was the very breakfast stall he used to frequent back in Nanhuang State. The owner had also come to Wanggu Continent, and was now open all day, not just for breakfast.

Perhaps due to the recent desolation in the Alliance, they closed a bit earlier today. The owner of the stall also saw Xu Qing and recognized him.

"Want something to eat?"

Xu Qing nodded and walked over. As he sat down, the owner happily served him a bowl of beef soup and brought three eggs. Xu Qing took a sip, and the familiar taste brought a smile to his face.

The wind blew, sweeping past Xu Qing, but it no longer mattered.

The soup was delicious. Xu Qing drank it slowly, sip after sip, until not a drop remained. Then he picked up an egg, carefully peeled the shell bit by bit, and ate it.

He didn't particularly enjoy peeling eggshells, but compared to the sense of satisfaction, he meticulously peeled them.

Finally, after finishing his meal, Xu Qing, content, stood up and paid with spirit coins. He clasped his hands in a respectful bow to the owner. Under the owner's awkward gaze, he left and returned to his docked magic vessel.

"Life must go on, there's no rush... Sheng Yunzi was just the first." Xu Qing looked up at the bright moon, a profound light appearing in his eyes. He turned, returned to his cabin, sat down cross-legged, and began to cultivate.

In this battle, he had slain Sheng Yunzi. By devouring his Golden Crow, his own Golden Crow successfully advanced to the second stage, gaining the combat power of an additional palace. This meant that, although he currently only possessed two illusion-to-reality palaces, he could unleash the power of three palaces in combat.

Combined with his other methods, Xu Qing could sweep through opponents among three-palace cultivators. Moreover, once he unleashed his Poison Prohibition, Xu Qing believed that with the protection of his Wuji Crown, as long as a four-palace Golden Core cultivator couldn't break through the Wuji Crown's power quickly, they would ultimately fall to his Poison Prohibition.

"But I must work even harder to solidify my third Celestial Palace," Xu Qing murmured softly, inspecting himself internally. After several instances of using the Ghostly Dao to acquire enemies' Golden Cores, his third Celestial Palace was now half-solidified.

This speed might not seem very fast, but compared to other Celestial Palace Golden Cores, Xu Qing's pace was already extremely rapid. As for Sheng Yunzi, he clearly had other opportunities, which wasn't a conventional speed.

The residual wills contained within the Golden Cores he had acquired could not shake him in any way.

The Ghost Emperor Mountain within his sea of consciousness suppressed everything.

And so, time slowly passed. Soon, a month went by.

In this month, the Alliance had completely erased the last vestiges of the catastrophe. At the same time, they increased their efforts to recruit disciples, adding many new members to the various sects.

Concurrently, the Seven Blood Eyes made steady progress. Furthermore, because Venerable Dongyou accepted Blood Refiner's invitation, not only was Dongyou Island an ally, but she herself also joined the Seven Blood Eyes, becoming an honored elder.

Her addition greatly boosted the Seven Blood Eyes' strength. Coupled with the Seven Blood Eyes acquiring the Blood Tree Forbidden Treasure, all these factors led to a significant leap in the Seven Blood Eyes' standing within the Eight Sect Alliance.

As everything was developing in a positive direction, Xu Qing also successfully solidified 80% of his third Celestial Palace, not far from its final completion.

His emotions had largely recovered, and all matters were buried deep in his heart.

As for the Vajra Sect Ancestor and Shadow, they were also working very hard, doubling their efforts to break through their own limitations.

And just then... another major event occurred within the Alliance!

This incident took place in the Mysterious Nether Sect.

The location was within the Mysterious Nether Sect's forbidden area, where the demonic snake was pinned.

The incident happened on the morning of this day. With an earth-shattering roar that echoed throughout the entire Alliance, the soul of the demonic snake within the Mysterious Nether Sect awakened.

The reason for its awakening was partly due to provocation, and partly because one of its teeth, from its skeletal mouth, had been forcibly broken off by someone using an unknown method.

The perpetrator was caught on the spot, none other than Wu Jianwu of the Seven Blood Eyes.

It is said that when he was caught, Wu Jianwu was still reciting poetry to the demonic snake's soul...

Furthermore, although the person was caught, the "stolen goods" had vanished.

When Xu Qing learned of this incident, he was at a breakfast stall, drinking soup. Yan Yan was beside him, obediently peeling eggshells for Xu Qing, like a young wife.

Not long after, Xu Qing put down his spoon and looked up, seeing a figure hurrying towards him.

It was the Captain.

He arrived quickly, sitting directly beside Xu Qing, looking around furtively with a guilty expression.

"Captain, you don't look well. Did you do something bad?" Xu Qing took a sip of soup and spoke softly.

"Little Ah Qing, don't talk nonsense," the Captain coughed, his expression becoming serious. "I just caught a slight cold because of the chilly weather."

"Oh, right, remember last time I told you I was going to do something big? I'm preparing for a trip. Are you two coming?"