Chapter 441: A Shocking Kneel

It was midday, the sun was intense, and a northern wind ruffled everyone's hair.

Xu Qing stood on the unfamiliar land, and like Qing Qiu, he turned to look back at Fenghai County. After a moment, he withdrew his gaze and calmly surveyed his surroundings.

This was his instinct; whenever he arrived at an unfamiliar place, his first task was to familiarize himself with the environment.

As far as the eye could see, the dark brown earth was full of gravel. Mountains undulated in the distance, but there was little greenery, and occasionally, patches of half-melted snow could be seen.

In fact, the world here was not much different, as the Saintlan and human races were fundamentally very similar, except for the Black Sky Blood in their veins.

While Xu Qing observed the surroundings, the Captain glanced at the Saintlan youth and nodded, acknowledging his words.

The Saintlan youth's eyes were now even more fervent, and with a sincere expression, he spoke to Xu Qing and the Captain once more.

"Thanks to your assistance on this journey, my Lords," he said, "otherwise, I fear my caravan would not have returned intact. I humbly request you two esteemed Lords to honor my nation, Tianding, with your presence, allowing me, a humble subordinate, to extend our hospitality."

"Furthermore, in my homeland," he continued, "the True Immortal Ten-Intestine Tree's Dao Fruit is about to form. The next few months will be very lively, and some strange phenomena will appear. While not as significant as what you might be accustomed to, it is considered one of the wonders of the Saintlan Domain."

"As for what the esteemed Lords require, after you honor my nation, Tianding, with your visit, my Lord King will surely gather it for you."

After speaking, the Saintlan youth stepped back a few paces and bowed respectfully to Xu Qing and the Captain.

Xu Qing pondered, then glanced at the Captain.

The Captain narrowed his eyes, a meaningful look in them. After exchanging glances with Xu Qing, he calmly spoke to the Saintlan youth.

"Very well," he said.

The Saintlan youth looked delighted and excited at his words, then ordered the caravan to proceed.

Soon, as the sound of whips echoed, the caravan sped forward.

The Captain and Xu Qing did not need to return to their hiding place. They were now riding on four-legged beasts, both wearing black robes to avoid direct sunlight.

Qing Qiu, like a servant, followed behind them with her head bowed, suppressing the murderous intent in her heart.

In human territory, the Saintlan race was not authorized to use teleportation arrays, making travel long. But here it was different; their caravan soon reached a public Saintlan teleportation array.

Here, the caravan from Tianding Nation quickly entered the teleportation array. With the hum of the array, the four-legged beasts vanished one by one. It took a full half-hour for the entire caravan to be transported to the western region of the Great Barren Eastern Prefecture.

This was the location of the True Immortal Ten-Intestine, and the territory of thirty-six city-states.

As soon as they appeared, Xu Qing's gaze sharpened, looking to the west.

It was relatively dark there.

In the blurry distance, several colossal trees, winding like intestines, seemed to shoot into the sky. They intertwined at the very top, forming a massive, umbrella-like canopy.

Spanning half the sky, it was incredibly vast.

Beneath the canopy, the covered area was dim; sunlight struggled to penetrate. Only countless floating human-shaped lanterns served as light sources, allowing for normal life there.

This scene was astonishing.

Within this vast area, permeated by lanterns, besides dense jungles, there were also numerous small city-states, built in a circular pattern around the colossal tree.

Each city had its own distinct color; some were monochromatic, others multicolored.

While all this was imbued with exotic charm, the astonishing pressure from the distant colossal tree also spread in all directions like a tide, overwhelming the minds of all who came here, both in perception and sight.

"My Lords," said the youth, "this is the True Immortal Ten-Intestine, where my nation, Tianding, is located. That entirely white city ahead is my nation, Tianding."

"I have already informed the King, and they must be preparing a surprised welcome for you," he continued. "Lords, please."

The Saintlan youth's eyes were still fervent, unchanged and undiminished. As he led Xu Qing and the Captain forward, he enthusiastically began to introduce things.

"My Lords," he explained, "this True Immortal Ten-Intestine Tree is said to have formed from the last pure-blooded member of the Erxian Clan achieving immortality. It has existed for an extremely long time..."

"Every hundred years," he continued, "this tree blossoms and bears fruit, which is why we transport mica."

"These fruits are extraordinary," he added, "they are extremely rare materials for artifact refining..."

While he introduced these things, the caravan proceeded. Gradually, a white city appeared before everyone's eyes. Although it was a city of a small nation, its scale was vast, similar in size to the main city of the Seven Blood Eyes sect.

Outside the city, many cultivators were already waiting.

There were hundreds of them, many at the High Palace Golden Core stage, and many Nascent Soul cultivators. Especially the middle-aged man at the forefront, clad in royal robes, with three hidden treasures manifested behind him, emitting astonishing cultivation fluctuations.

Seeing this scene, Qing Qiu's breathing quickened slightly, and her spirits darkened further. She knew her hope of escape was almost gone.

Xu Qing and the Captain remained outwardly calm. Meanwhile, the Saintlan youth, looking at his homeland, his expression filled with emotion and affection, continued to speak respectfully as they advanced.

"My Lords," he explained, "it is precisely because the Dao Fruit from my homeland is extremely valuable that at this time, many despicable foreigners try to infiltrate this place using various methods."

"Humans are particularly numerous here," he continued. "They either secretly infiltrate, or disguise themselves as other races to trade. Sometimes, they even transform into our Saintlan race."

"Our thirty-six city-states have compiled records," he said. "Among those who have disguised themselves as Saintlan, there have been over nine hundred such instances, and over seven hundred instances of secret infiltration. Those foreign races resort to all sorts of methods to obtain the fruit." He added with a laugh, "Oh, and My Lords, did you know that those who have disguised themselves as Black Sky race to come to our thirty-six city-states of the True Immortal Ten-Intestine have appeared about thirty times throughout history?"

The Saintlan youth spoke with a smile, crushed a jade slip, and instantly vanished. He reappeared in the distance outside Tianding Nation, standing before the Spirit Hoard King.

His smile remained, but the fervor in his expression was replaced by deep mockery. As he stood there, he slowly spoke to Xu Qing and the Captain with a grin.

"Esteemed Lords, welcome to our Tianding Nation," he said. "So... are you disguised as humans, or as another race?"

"The moment I first saw you, I sensed something was off," he revealed. "This whole thing was too coincidental. It just so happened that I knew there were Black Sky race members active among your human race, and it just so happened that I encountered you being pursued."

"You wanted to trick me, to make me bring you to the Saintlan race," he continued. "As a humble subordinate facing esteemed Lords, naturally I had to agree. Though there were some twists along the way, I successfully tricked you into coming here."

"This means that I, a prince of a small nation, didn't go out in vain. Father King, shouldn't this be counted as a meritorious deed for me?"

The Saintlan youth's smile was seemingly innocent. As he spoke, many Saintlan cultivators from Tianding Nation around him smiled, looking at Xu Qing and the Captain with mockery.

The Spirit Hoard King burst into laughter, looking at his son with approval.

This sudden turn of events greatly surprised Qing Qiu. Her eyes narrowed as she stared in astonishment at the two Black Sky race members before her.

She had originally thought these two were genuinely from the Black Sky race, but now, everything had reversed, catching her completely off guard.

But she soon noticed that the two Black Sky race members showed no significant change in expression, which made her heart stir.

Qing Qiu was right; Xu Qing's expression was calm, without any change.

Although the Captain's face was grim, he showed no extreme reaction. He merely gazed coldly at Tianding Nation ahead and spoke calmly.

"The Saintlan race has quite some guts," he said. "Summon your Grand Tutor and Sacrificer here."

The moment the Captain's words left his mouth, the people of Tianding Nation still sneered. The King narrowed his eyes, and the prince beside him, who had tricked Xu Qing and the Captain, chuckled upon hearing this.

"My Lords, you seem a bit forgetful," the prince said. "Didn't I just tell you? Our thirty-six city-states have recorded over thirty instances of people disguising themselves as Black Sky race members throughout history. How do you think we discovered them? Since you're still being stubborn, then... I'll just make you reveal your true forms."

"Originally, out of consideration for our journey together, I was going to let you save some face," he added. "But no longer."

The youth looked like he enjoyed playing games. After speaking, he waved his hand, and instantly, the white city behind him rumbled. A colossal black statue actually rose from within the city.

This figure was over thirty zhang tall, its form exactly that of the Black Sky race.

It was clad in armor, its arms crossed over its chest, a moon totem carved on its forehead, emitting an astonishing aura.

After ascending from within the city, it instantly floated towards the outside, standing aloft in the sky as waves of pressure enveloped all directions.

"I respectfully request the Black Sky Divine Statue to verify this person's identity!" roared the Saintlan Prince of Tianding Nation, his expression turning ferocious amidst his laughter as he pointed at the Captain.

As his finger dropped, the colossal Black Sky Divine Statue emitted a dazzling black light from its entire body, slowly turning its head and looking down coldly at the Captain.

After one glance, as the Captain's body slightly trembled, a booming sound, like thunder, emanated from the statue's mouth.

"Confused faith, mixed lineage, not of the Black Sky race," it declared.

The moment the statue's voice rang out, all Saintlan cultivators outside Tianding Nation instantly erupted with murderous intent. The Saintlan Prince's laughter grew more triumphant, and contempt appeared in his eyes.

"Are you still being stubborn?" he taunted.

"And you!"

"I respectfully request the Black Sky Divine Statue to verify this person's identity!" the Saintlan Prince said with disdain, raising his right hand and pointing at Xu Qing.

The next instant, the lofty Black Sky Divine Statue, carrying supreme majesty and boundless indifference, looked down at Xu Qing from mid-air. But... after one glance, to everyone's astonishment, it began to tremble.

The trembling was extremely violent, even affecting the black light emanating from its body, causing the light to fluctuate more intensely at that moment.

Until in an instant, this black light suddenly surged, exploding outwards in all directions, like a sea of black light wildly engulfing the surroundings.

Wherever it passed, the world twisted.

Immediately after, this incredibly noble statue, standing tall in the sky, instantly descended to the ground.

To the stunned and disbelieving Saintlan race members around, the statue took great strides, immensely agitated, rushing to Xu Qing's front, and with a thud, directly knelt down.

Its eyes revealed an unprecedented fervor, and it emitted a world-shaking cry, like a roar.

"Greetings, Master!!"