Chapter 842: The Clan Flag of the Sacred Mountain

"What's wrong with him? I didn't even say anything about him." Qiu Quezi was surprised, feeling a little wronged by the sudden harshness. He felt he was merely discussing the rules of the Sacred Mountain and couldn't fathom why Xu Qing's senior brother would react with such intense emotion.

Naturally, he began to speculate.

However, it was clear that no matter how much he imagined, even in his dreams, he wouldn't be able to comprehend Chen Erniu's inner world.

But seeing the Captain's increasingly displeased expression, Qiu Quezi quickly composed himself. He led the way towards the steps behind the four statues known as the Three Gods and One Kneel.

As they passed the statue of the Blasphemer, Xu Qing couldn't help but glance at it a few more times.

Standing beside Xu Qing, the Captain rubbed his nose, looked at Xu Qing, and coughed before transmitting a thought: "Don't look anymore, little Ah Qing. I never imagined that after so many years, that gender-confused, damnable old immortal, Ri Yan, would do such an atrocious thing!"

"It's too much!" the Captain snorted.

Xu Qing silently withdrew his gaze. As they approached the mountain path stairs, he still couldn't suppress his hesitation and transmitted a message to the Captain: "Senior Brother, will the Moon God and Sun God notice you coming here and then swat you to death with a slap?"

The Captain raised an eyebrow. "Otherwise, why would I have placed those characters into the Wordless Heavenly Book, daring to come here?"

"Don't worry, I have a foolproof plan. Ri Yan has been sleeping, and Yue Yan is still digesting the Scarlet Mother's flesh and blood. As for that flirtatious fox, even though her statue is awake, her true form is also dormant. Besides, she enjoys watching a good show and won't expose us easily, so our trip is safe."

The Captain patted his chest. Xu Qing sighed, mentally preparing for any unexpected events, then took a deep breath and stepped onto the stairs ahead.

The moment he stepped onto the stair, Xu Qing's body trembled. One of the more than 1,800 Forbidden Mountains above his head disappeared. That Forbidden Mountain transformed into a long rainbow, descending into the Sacred Mountain and merging with it.

Simultaneously, as a Forbidden Mountain merged, the Sacred Mountain of the Blazing Moon Profound Heaven Clan, now revealed before Xu Qing, underwent a strange transformation. Flags appeared on the Sacred Mountain, unfurling like an intuitive leaderboard, ascending from bottom to top, corresponding to the height of the steps. They were diverse in color and embroidered with various totems.

The flags also varied in size; the higher they were, the larger and more conspicuous they became, visible even from within the Holy City. The most flags, tens of thousands of them, were at the very bottom of the Sacred Mountain. The height of 100 steps served as a watershed, where the number of flags dropped to around 2,000. Looking further up, flags exceeding 500 steps in height formed a second watershed, with only about 300 flags remaining. The uppermost flag was at a height of over 800 steps, immense and extremely eye-catching. A closer inspection revealed that seven or eight out of ten flags above 300 steps belonged to the Blazing Moon Profound Heaven Clan itself.

At the very bottom, among those tens of thousands of flags, another one appeared as Xu Qing's Forbidden Mountain merged. It was a red flag, of normal size, embroidered with mountains and rivers, but they appeared shattered, and the scarlet color, like blood, conveyed a sense of oppression. That was the Flag of the Contemporary Human Race, spontaneously formed within the Sacred Mountain!

The moment it appeared, Xu Qing's gaze instinctively fixed upon it.

At the same time, Qiu Quezi's low voice came from behind Xu Qing: "The first phase of the Grand Hunt concludes by merging a Forbidden Mountain into the Sacred Mountain. With each step, a Forbidden Mountain disappears, forming a clan flag."

"This clan flag will move with the cultivator's progress until the last Forbidden Mountain disappears. At the corresponding height, the flag will stand firm."

"As for the flags on the Sacred Mountain, they only become visible the moment a Forbidden Mountain merges; they are not seen otherwise."

Qiu Quezi also stepped onto the first stair, and as the Forbidden Mountain above his head vanished, another Blazing Moon Profound Heaven flag appeared on the Sacred Mountain. "Normally, one Forbidden Mountain is enough to pass the first phase and qualify for the second phase of the Grand Hunt."

"Only cultivators aiming for first place in this phase will gather more mountains in this section."

"As for the clan flags, they are naturally formed by the Sacred Mountain itself, which can depict unique markers for different ethnic groups based on their characteristics." Qiu Quezi explained in a low voice.

Xu Qing nodded, withdrew his gaze from the Human Race flag, and stepped onto the second stair. The moment he did, another mountain peak above his head disappeared, and the red mountain and river flag rose further and grew slightly larger.

Thus, Xu Qing ascended step by step, reaching the 100th stair. Standing there, the red mountain and river flag had become quite large and conspicuous among the many others. However, as the clan flag grew larger, the shattered appearance of the mountains and rivers on it became even more pronounced and clear. Countless corpses even emerged, revealing a scene of intense devastation.

Xu Qing couldn't help but gaze at it again. After a moment, he withdrew his gaze, then looked up at the flags of other clans above him. Silently, he continued to ascend to 200, 300, 400 steps...

By the time he reached the 500th stair, tens of thousands of flags were below him, while only a few remained above. Such frequent stepping on the stairs made the display of flags on the Sacred Mountain a prolonged spectacle. Especially the red flag of the Human Race, which continuously rose and grew larger, inevitably drew attention.

Consequently, more cultivators in the Holy City noticed this scene. Although many Blazing Moon cultivators were mentally prepared, witnessing it truly stirred their emotions.

"It's Xu Qing!"

"I saw him heading towards the Sacred Mountain earlier!"

"How arrogant! To raise his clan's flag to such a height during our Blazing Moon Profound Heaven Grand Hunt!"

"Hateful! Those clan prodigies didn't even attack him. Only Tuo Shishan merely sealed him. Otherwise, how could this Human Race be so triumphant!"

As the Blazing Moon Profound Heaven cultivators in the Holy City expressed their indignation and their hostility intensified, Xu Qing had already ascended all the way to the 500th stair of the Sacred Mountain. Standing there, he was surrounded by swirling clouds and mist, and very few flags remained above him.

"I can still go up over 1,300 more steps," Xu Qing murmured. His body swayed as he quickly moved further up, soon reaching 600, then 700. When he reached the height of what was originally the highest flag, he didn't pause, sweeping past it instantly. The red clan flag surpassed the Blazing Sun Profound Heaven flag, instantly becoming the highest banner, and it continued to rise as Xu Qing progressed!

900 steps, 1,000 steps...

Rushing all the way, a crimson trail!

This scene was witnessed by more and more Blazing Moon Profound Heaven cultivators. As they watched the continuously rising and growing red mountain and river flag, their hearts churned with increasing intensity, and their sense of humiliation grew stronger. As a superior race, most Blazing Moon Profound Heaven cultivators were inherently proud. However, the stronger their sense of national identity, the greater their inner indignation at this moment.

The sight of the Human Race flag flying high was not only witnessed by ordinary cultivators, but even the high-ranking Blazing Moon officials in the three Holy Cities raised their heads to gaze at the mountain and river flag on the Sacred Mountain. Their expressions varied. One of them, the Blazing Moon dignitary from the palace in the forbidden zone, looked at Xu Qing on the Sacred Mountain, sensed the hostility of his own clan's cultivators, and a full smile formed on his face.

Time passed, and the mountain and river flag's height continued to rapidly increase: 1,200 steps, 1,400 steps, 1,600 steps... Until, above the clouds, at a height of 1,873 steps, the red mountain and river flag roared in the wind. Its thousand-zhang banner unfurled, leading all others, standing alone and preeminent! The feeling of overpowering all others was incredibly strong.

This was an unprecedented first! It was the first time in countless years within the Blazing Moon Profound Heaven Clan that anyone had achieved first place in the first phase of any Grand Hunt. The moment the flag stood completely firm, the three Holy Cities fell into a momentary silence. Countless gazes converged on the Sacred Mountain, falling upon that red mountain and river flag!

Xu Qing also looked at the flag, his expression somewhat dazed, unable to describe the feeling. After a long while, he withdrew his gaze and walked down, step by step. On his way down the mountain, he vaguely heard the uproar and clamor from outside.

Xu Qing paid no attention to these sounds. He continued until he descended the steps and reached the Captain's side. The Captain smiled at Xu Qing, "How did it feel standing up there?"

Xu Qing looked back at the Sacred Mountain and shook his head. "Unfortunately, I didn't reach the very peak."

The Captain burst out laughing. "That's good enough! This has already provoked the hostility and ill-will of all the clans in the Blazing Moon Profound Heaven. After all, you're planting a flag on their Sacred Mountain!"

"The Blazing Moon Profound Heaven Clan's high-ranking officials have achieved their objective. The reason they tacitly allowed your appearance and your killings was to stimulate this generation of their clan's cultivators."

"If a pack of wild dogs wants to become fiercer and ignite their fighting spirit, they naturally need a wolf to provoke them, allowing them to truly burst forth."

"You can imagine that in the subsequent second and even third phases, you will face even more scrutiny."

"So, since that's the case, let's have a good killing spree!" the Captain said with a beaming smile.

"Senior Brother, your analogy!" Xu Qing remarked blandly upon hearing this.

The Captain blinked, feeling smug. He also thought his analogy was perfect.

"Let's go. I just asked Little Sparrow. We'll have a rest period now, waiting for the second phase to begin. During this time, we need to find a place to stay, but prices here are too high; it's not cost-effective."

"Fortunately, the Blazing Moon Profound Heaven Clan provides free cave dwellings for all Grand Hunt participants. We might as well stay there; it's a bargain we shouldn't pass up!"

"Also, this second phase is pretty much as we guessed."

"Hunting within the Mountain Sea Great Domain!"

The Captain licked his lips. "Let me tell you, little Ah Qing, many of the fierce beasts in the Mountain Sea Great Domain are incredibly delicious. I guarantee you'll never forget it after just one taste."