Chapter 672: One Hide, One World

Time had flown by. Looking back, two years had passed since Xu Qing and the captain's party first set foot on this spiritual preserve.

In these two years, an immense amount had transpired, not only for Xu Qing but, more significantly, for this vast region. Few could have predicted that the Nascent Soul cultivator who arrived two years prior would ignite such an unprecedented storm within the Festival Moon Domain. In fact, the storm's genesis was in the Sea of Heavenly Fire. Amidst this tempest, two foreign nations in the Sea of Heavenly Fire crumbled. The storm then swept across the northern lands, dramatically altering the skies and earth in its wake. This was followed by the Heavenly Ox Mountains shaking the Divine Dream and the Bitter Life Desert sending shockwaves in every direction.

During this period, Dan Jiu of the Moon-Defying Palace rose to prominence, and the God-Slaying Platform kindled a nascent spark. Finally, after two years of meticulous preparation and relentless effort, the storm, now fully matured, burst forth from the gates of the Moon-Defying Palace's highest sanctuary.

It was a full-scale eruption.

In that instant, the Festival Moon Domain underwent a profound transformation: the heavens and earth shifted, mountains and rivers quaked, rivers churned, and winds and clouds surged. A profound sense of revival surged from the hearts of all beings. This opened gate existed both within the heavens and earth and within the hearts of all living beings. Just as on that pivotal day when the image of the God-Slaying Platform appeared in everyone's minds, the gate of the Moon-Defying Palace's supreme hall materialized in the minds of all beings. The moment it swung open, boundless light poured forth, illuminating the heart of every living creature. It dispelled despair, pierced through the void, reignited the will of hope, and fanned the faint sparks of rebellion back into a flame.

In the eastern part, beyond the Sea of Heavenly Fire, the sacred city, which Xu Qing had once helped the human race secure, now lay in ruins. Beneath these desolate remains, a subterranean grotto concealed Duanmu Zang and his surviving people. The entire grotto was cloaked in a chilling silence, shrouded by numbness and despair. Duanmu Zang lay there, gravely ill, awaiting the inevitable embrace of death. A potent curse permeated his body, and countless visible signs of decay marred his flesh.

But at that very moment, his eyes snapped open. Every human within the grotto underwent a drastic change in expression, and gasps of astonishment echoed. They had all witnessed the image in their minds! Duanmu Zang's breathing quickened. As a cultivator of the Moon-Defying Palace, he instantly grasped the profound significance of the bronze gate's emergence, a revelation that already left him utterly stunned. Yet, what truly defied belief were the two figures that appeared within the gate as it opened in his mind. One of those figures felt incredibly familiar to him.

"Xu Qing!"

Simultaneously, in the northern reaches of the Festival Moon Domain, a colossal array enveloped the boundless glaciers, its vastness immense. This array's primary purpose was containment, and countless Red Moon cultivators encircled its periphery, diligently reinforcing it and sealing off all access. Within the array, astonishingly, stood hundreds of thousands of resistance fighters, led by the Third Palace Lord of the Moon-Defying Palace, a figure of equivalent standing to the Fourth Palace Lord. Following the defection of the First and Fifth Palace Lords, the only remaining resistance forces in the Festival Moon Domain that continued to persevere were those here and in the Bitter Life Mountains.

These hundreds of thousands of resistance fighters were already at their last gasp. With the Moon-Defying Palace sealed, they had lost all contact with the outside world and any means of retreat, leaving them trapped and awaiting the Red Moon Star's inevitable arrival. Originally, they had been on the verge of losing their fighting spirit, their exhaustion eclipsing any will to survive. Yet, at this very moment, with the appearance of the image in their minds, a thunderous roar erupted within the hearts of all hundreds of thousands of resistance fighters, igniting a tumultuous outcry.

The Third Palace Lord, a middle-aged man, abruptly rose to his feet, his breathing ragged, and let out a stunned cry.

"The Gate of Moon-Defying!"

The identical scene was playing out across various regions in the western and southern parts of the Festival Moon Domain. At that moment, countless resistance cultivators, whether concealed or dispersed, felt a tidal wave of emotion surge through their minds. Their sheer numbers far exceeded those of the resistance armies gathered in the Bitter Life region and the glaciers. After all, the Festival Moon Domain was immense, and the Red Moon Temple had not pursued these scattered and hiding cultivators, valuing them as potential sacrifices. These cultivators comprised various races, including some whom Xu Qing and his companions had previously encountered, such as Yunxia Zi, who had admired Wu Jianwu. Yet, regardless of whether they were Moon-Defying Palace cultivators or not, their minds resonated with a powerful hum in that instant.

For this was the first time the Moon-Defying Palace's supreme hall had been opened in this epoch! Especially at this most critical juncture, its opening was akin to sunlight piercing through oppressive dark clouds, a beacon of light descending upon a shadowed land! It was a world-altering event.

At this very moment, within the Red Mother's Mortal Transformation skin in the Bitter Life Mountains, dazzling light radiated in all directions. The minds of all cultivators present reeled, and the Moon-Defying Palace cultivators, in particular, instinctively fell to their knees. Even the Fourth Palace Lord breathed heavily, gazing at the bronze gate with a heart stirred by monumental waves. Even more astonished than them were Ning Yan, Wu Jianwu, Li Youfei, and Old Ancestor Mo Gui, who stared, somewhat transfixed, at the two figures emerging from within the bronze gate. As for You Jing, she furrowed her brow, her gaze at Er Niu filled with distaste. Having not seen him for some time, her mood had been consistently calm, but now, at this very moment, irritation welled up within her. What irritated her even further was the sound of Er Niu's voice echoing from within the bronze gate.

"Haha, this Palace Lord arrived just in time."

The colossal bronze gate in the sky now stood fully agape. Bathed in its brilliant light, Xu Qing and the captain stepped forth. The instant they emerged, even as the captain's words still reverberated, Xu Qing's expression shifted. He felt a profound augmentation. This augmentation originated from the Moon-Defying Palace, and concurrently, an astonishing power, subtly radiating from the Palace, surged through the opened gate and into his body, nourishing his entire being. This force was incredibly vast, seemingly accumulated over countless eons, imbued with the power of belief and carrying an intricate karmic link. In an instant, Xu Qing gained a clear understanding. This was the Moon-Defying Palace's profound endowment, an infusion of power signifying his ascension as a Lord of the Moon-Defying! It could be accepted or declined. However, accepting it meant shouldering the karmic burden of the Moon-Defying Palace, its sacred mission, and the immense responsibility for the Festival Moon Domain.

Upon sensing these implications, Xu Qing's steps faltered. Simultaneously, the captain, detecting the change, paused as well, his eyes glinting with an unusual brilliance. They exchanged a glance.

"Will you accept?" the captain asked, his eyes sharp.

"I accept!" Xu Qing affirmed with a nod.

The captain burst into laughter. Together, at that very moment, he and Xu Qing embraced this profound karmic burden. The instant their intentions solidified, this powerful endowment surged into both their bodies.

Xu Qing's entire body trembled as an instantaneous heat coursed through him. The accumulated endowment from the Moon-Defying Palace, gathered over boundless eons, directly flooded his Golden Crow Nascent Soul. In an instant, the Golden Crow manifested, emitting a resonant cry. Its tails, one by one, surged in length, ultimately reaching a thousand. It broke through the Fourth Tribulation and immediately ascended to the peak of the Fifth Tribulation, reaching Great Perfection for a Nascent Soul. A black long spear materialized within its form, exuding a terrifying aura and world-destroying power, akin to a scorching sun capable of incinerating all. Xu Qing's overall aura surged abruptly, growing increasingly potent.

His breakthrough was far from over. In the next instant, his Ghost Emperor Mountain materialized—a colossal peak, thousands of feet tall, standing amidst the void. Its eyes opened and closed, radiating the fluctuations of a Nascent Soul at Great Perfection, and exuding an unparalleled sense of the earth's profound immensity. Next, Ding Yi San Er, fueled by the Moon-Defying Palace's endowment, also broke through. The sealing power within it was terrifying, and as the artistic conception of oblivion became more pronounced, the prisoners within Ding Yi San Er also underwent transformations. They were, arguably, the only living entities among all of Xu Qing's Nascent Souls, possessing the very essence of life. Xu Qing's combat prowess surged dramatically.

Then, a roar reverberated as the Azure Dragon burst forth from Xu Qing's body, circling in mid-air, dancing in tandem with the Golden Crow. Its Heavenly Dao fluctuations caused the surroundings to tremble. It, too, achieved a breakthrough, with rules and laws manifesting externally around its form. The endowment, amassed over countless ages, remained immensely potent even at this juncture, erupting within Xu Qing's body and capable of nourishing even the Poison Taboo Nascent Soul. Consequently, Xu Qing's eyes quickly turned pitch black as the power of his Poison Taboo Nascent Soul proliferated. It broke through the Fourth Tribulation and entered the Great Perfection of the Fifth Tribulation, forming a vast black curtain that enveloped Xu Qing's head and spread out like the very sky. The Nascent Soul formed from the light of the morning glow followed swiftly, its transformations boundless, seemingly embodying the instantaneous flow of all things and all laws. An ethereal stream of time also encircled Xu Qing, each aspect undergoing its own breakthrough.

Concurrently, Xu Qing's Sundial Life Lamp materialized, its gnomon rotating to bestow an augmentation upon him. The aura of Great Perfection emanating from it was truly earth-shattering. Lastly, his Purple Moon transformed into a sea of blood, within which a crimson moon undulated, becoming ever more tangible. All these transformations caused Xu Qing's aura to surge to an astonishing degree. Combined with the Moon-Defying Palace's augmentation, it instilled in everyone present a sense of overwhelming power that was difficult to directly behold.

Even more terrifyingly, a faint, illusory phantom of a Secret Treasury gradually emerged behind Xu Qing! This Secret Treasury, acting like a colossal, rumbling vortex, was also the primary absorber of this profound endowment. The aura emanating from within it transcended all others, terrifying to the extreme. Though indistinct, its internal structure was awe-inspiring, a layout magnificent enough to move the world, truly peerless. Within its confines, the Golden Crow soared as the sun in the heavens, while the Purple Moon ascended as the moon. The Poison Taboo transformed into a celestial canopy of clouds and mist, and the Ghost Emperor Mountain forged the very earth. The stream of time coalesced into water, and the Heavenly Dao Azure Dragon exhaled and inhaled fundamental laws. The morning glow shimmered, shaping all creation, and Ding Yi San Er embodied all living beings. Moreover, the sundial rotated, setting everything within this Secret Treasury into motion, manifesting scenes of day and night, shifting winds and clouds, and the passage of eons where oceans become land. Though still illusory, the sheer scale of this Secret Treasury's structure was immense, akin to an entire world.

This was the first Secret Treasury Xu Qing had prepared for himself, his very own Innate Secret Treasury! While currently a vague prototype, its eventual success promised to shake all races to their core. Naturally, such a profound Secret Treasury demanded a terrifying amount of sustenance.

Not only Xu Qing, but the captain also experienced this surging endowment; its effects on him were equally pronounced. Leveraging the power of the Moon-Defying Palace, the captain burst into laughter as he ripped open two seals, his aura directly ascending to the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul realm. He even managed to tear open half of a third seal, and the faint fluctuations of a Spirit Treasury began to emanate from his being.

At this point, the endowment concluded. It wasn't due to insufficient accumulation from the Moon-Defying Palace, but rather the profound foundations of both individuals. Their need for nourishment far surpassed that of ordinary cultivators and could not be singular. Had it been otherwise, Xu Qing's Secret Treasury would have struggled to form, and the captain's seals would have remained unbroken. They required diverse forms of power, rendering excessive absorption from the Moon-Defying Palace unproductive.

Immediately afterward, under the gaze of countless observers, a tribulation cloud astonishingly began to form within the Red Mother's Mortal Transformation. The rumbling thunder reverberated in all directions. Even beyond its confines, the very sky mirrored this phenomenon, as vast expanses of tribulation clouds gathered. The ultimate life tribulation of the Nascent Soul realm had arrived. Should he successfully overcome it, Xu Qing would firmly establish himself at the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul. Furthermore, due to the manifestation of his illusory Secret Treasury, he would bypass the nurturing stage entirely and directly step into the Spirit Treasury realm!