Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed as he turned to look at the Captain.
The Captain looked back at him with an enigmatic smile.
“There are grues in this forbidden region,” Xu Qing said. “But they’re not that bad.”
“Right. Sounds good. I haven’t been to many forbidden regions. I spend more time at sea. I guess this’ll be a good opportunity for me to learn a thing or two.”
As they entered the forbidden region, the two of them dropped the previous conversation topic, leaving it behind as if they had forgotten it. Both of them knew that it was too weighty of a topic for them to be talking about openly. It related to Seven Blood Eyes as a whole. But even just thinking about it, it was obvious there was something very big going on behind the scenes.
After all, the Seazombies currently had nine ancestor statues. But that didn’t mean they had always had nine…. In the ancient past, there had been more of those divine likenesses. However, after certain events unfolded, some of those statues were taken by other species to research. And for whatever reasons, they were never returned. In the end, the Seazombies were left with only nine statues.
It was worth noting that Seven Blood Eyes hadn’t used the Sixth Peak fortress in the war. Furthermore, when Master Sixth exacted his revenge, he only resorted to ordinary tactics. There was deep meaning to be extracted from all that. .
Now Xu Qing understood why the Captain had been so jumpy, and also why he had shamelessly invited himself to come along on this trip. For one thing, the Captain was the type of person who always felt the urge to talk. For him to know a secret like this, but be unable to brag about it, would be too much for him. Furthermore, if he stayed in Seven Blood Eyes, the sect would probably have locked him up in solitary confinement to make sure the secret didn’t get out.
Xu Qing shook his head and chose not to think about the matter anymore. It was too monumental of a situation. Besides, it didn’t have much to do with him personally. The war would end soon, and then things would become clear.
Taking a deep breath, he cleared his mind and walked into the jungle. It was hard to say how many times he had come into this place. He was very familiar with it. Maybe he couldn’t travel about with his eyes closed, but almost. He recognized the different types of plants and vegetation, all of which he had seen before.
He picked up speed as he moved, slipping like a specter through the jungle.
The Captain followed, looking around curiously. He really hadn’t been into very many forbidden regions. The only place he had been into was Forbidden by the Phoenix, next to the sect. He had gone there to seek enlightenment of a divine ability, but had failed to succeed.
Seeing how quickly Xu Qing was moving, he accelerated, making sure to step in the same spots. By observing closely, he started to get an idea of how to move about properly.
I had no idea he knew so many things. The Captain kept his eyes on Xu Qing, and didn’t seem worried at all about the mutagen. The mutagen out at sea was stronger, and Seven Blood Eyes’ techniques to extrude mutagen were very effective. Unless a disciple was stuck in a dangerous location, and was forced to push their mutagen levels to the limit, they usually didn’t even think about it.
Xu Qing wasn’t paying attention to the Captain. He was lost in his memories. Images from times past played through his mind as he got closer and closer to his destination.
Before long, he slowed down and approached a solitary burial mound next to a big tree. There were a lot of weeds growing in the area, but the gravestone was still there, standing straight as before. Two years had passed, almost three, but it seemed people still remembered the things Xu Qing had accomplished here, and had treated this grave respectfully as a result. Maybe they hadn’t cleared the weeds, but at least they hadn’t disturbed it.
All scavengers knew that for someone to get a proper burial after death was considered a blessing. No one would take the risk of desecrating a scavenger grave, especially if there was no profit to be had out of it.
Xu Qing looked at the gravestone, then sat down in front of it, right next to the tree. With the wave of a hand, he cleared the weeds. Then he produced some alcohol, took a sip, and poured some on the grave.
“Sergeant Thunder… Grandmaster Bai is gone too,” he said quietly. Leaning up against the tree, he looked up at the dark clouds overhead.
The Captain didn’t say anything. He looked at the gravestone, and looked at Xu Qing. And he kept his distance. He could tell that Xu Qing needed to be alone.
Leaning against the tree, Xu Qing drank until the sky grew dark. Then he looked out into the jungle and saw… absolutely nothing.
“Sergeant Thunder,” he said quietly, “you once said that if someone hears the Singing and lives, then hears it a second time, they’ll see the person they most want to see…. But there are a lot of people I want to see. If I ever hear the Singing again, I wonder if I’ll see all of them.”
He took another drink. Everything was quiet around him, and as the sky grew dark, the jungle also became pitch black. Xu Qing sat there in silence. After another hour passed, he sighed. After kowtowing, he stood and emptied the bottle of alcohol onto the grave.
“I still haven’t found that lifespan flower.” With one last look at the grave, he turned and walked off. Step by step, he disappeared into the darkness. Before long, he heard the sound of footsteps behind him. It was the Captain.
“If we have the chance one day, Xu Qing,” he said, his voice soft and hoarse, “I’d like to take you to my home. It’s been a while since I paid respects.”
Xu Qing nodded.
As they moved through the dark jungle, no mutant beasts appeared. The beasts could instinctively tell that the two people who had appeared in the jungle on this night were different from the scavengers.
Late in the night, Xu Qing stepped into a canyon. The blood that had been spilled here years ago had long since disappeared in the overgrowth. There were plenty of seven-leaf clovers; clearly, no other scavengers had found this spot and harvested it. He looked over at the crumbled remains of his laboratory, and thought back to all the times he had concocted poison here. His shadow seemed to be trembling with emotion, and Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior hadn’t said much during the entire trip.
After all, the forbidden region had once been home to the shadow, and the larger area around it had once been controlled by the patriarch.
Xu Qing passed through the valley and eventually spotted the temple complex in the distance. It was late at night, but the occasional bolts of lightning provided some illumination. From what Xu Qing could see, the temple complex didn’t look like it had changed at all. Most likely, even if a much greater span of time went by, and generations of scavengers came and went in the nearby basecamp, this temple complex would still be here, unchanging.
Suddenly, the Captain made an exclamation of surprise. “What? There’s actually a Supreme Vastness daoist temple here?”
“Supreme Vastness daoist temple?” Xu Qing asked, looking over his shoulder at the Captain.
“I remember now. A while back, I saw you use a divine ability that resembled a heavenly saber. I remember it looking familiar. Well, now it makes sense. You little punk! You actually gained enlightenment of the Supreme Vastness Solitary Saber, didn’t you?” The Captain’s eyes got wider as he talked, until he looked flabbergasted. “There’s no way. But the more I think back to that saber move of yours, the more it makes sense. Did I get it right?
“My god! That was?the Supreme Vastness Solitary Saber! Do you know what the Supreme Vastness Solitary Saber is? This is incredible!”
Xu Qing looked deeply at the Captain. He knew full well that the Captain liked to be deliberately mystifying, and he also knew that if he asked a question, it was entirely possible that he would somehow end up owing the Captain spirit stones. The best strategy to use on people like this was to not ask any questions at all. If you let them stew long enough, then once you asked for details, they wouldn’t hold anything back.
Therefore, he looked back at the temple complex and started walking. The Captain blinked a few times, then followed. Sighing, he started muttering occasionally.
“Incredible.”
“Wowwww.”
“Absolutely tremendous.”
He continued on in that way until Xu Qing reached the temple complex, and eventually found the very same temple where he had gained enlightenment of the saber move. Entering, he looked at the statue for a moment, then sat down cross-legged in front of it.
In addition to paying respects to Sergeant Thunder, his other reason for coming back was to seek further enlightenment of the heavenly saber move.
“So, it really is a Supreme Vastness daoist statue!” the Captain said. He strolled around the statue, looking at it closely, then peered at Xu Qing sitting in front of it. Smiling mysteriously, he stepped to the side.
And thus, time passed. Soon, it was the next day.
Xu Qing felt a little disappointed. Perhaps gaining more enlightenment of the saber move was going to take more time. Perhaps months or even decades. As the morning sun grew brighter, he got to his feet.
Meanwhile, the Captain was grinning broadly. “Didn’t work, did it? Well, that’s to be expected. It would have been weird if it did work.”
Xu Qing was shocked. “What do you mean?”
“Can’t take it any longer? Just had to ask? Can’t hold it in any more?” The Captain seemed very pleased with himself.
Xu Qing just looked at him, not saying anything further.
The Captain blinked a few times and held his tongue.
After a moment, Xu Qing sighed. “Why, Elder Brother? Can you explain?”
The Captain laughed heartily, then cleared his throat.
“Fine, I’ll explain. However, don’t forget that you owe me 50,000 spirit stones.
“The Supreme Vastness daoist temple has its origin in the Supreme Vastness epoch, in the Supreme Vastness Daoist Empire. Not much is left over from that daoist empire, just some random temples in various forbidden regions. The divine likenesses in those temples all look the same, and some years ago, people realized that they contain a very shocking legacy. It’s an imperial-class technique that can be acquired by any species.
“However, it’s extremely difficult to gain enlightenment of it. It comes down to fate. The saber techniques in each temple are different, and nobody actually knows how many of those techniques any one person can master. As you have proven, it’s possible to gain enlightenment of one. I’ve heard of some people getting two or three, and supposedly it’s possible to get six or seven.
“Regardless, there’s no question it’s a mighty technique. If you can gain enlightenment of three saber moves, then that’s considered quasi-imperial-class. If you get six or seven, that’s true imperial-class.
“This isn’t the only Supreme Vastness daoist temple, of course. There are others. One of them is next to Seven Blood Eyes in Forbidden by the Phoenix. There are some ruins there with a temple in the middle. I even went there once hoping to gain enlightenment, but it didn’t work. Once we’re back in the sect, you should go check it out.”
At this point, an odd expression appeared on the Captain’s face, and he continued, “Another thing. Once someone gains enlightenment in a Supreme Vastness daoist temple, the dao resonance in the statue disappears and doesn’t return for half of a sixty-year-cycle. Only then can someone again seek enlightenment. There was no way you could have achieved any enlightenment last night. It’s not that I didn’t tell you. You didn’t ask! In fact, I was curious about what was going on last night!”
A vein on Xu Qing’s forehead suddenly started throbbing.
The Captain cleared his throat. “Well, it’s not that it’s totally impossible. If you’re in the presence of the statue and kill someone who gained enlightenment from it, then the dao resonance will reappear, and you can immediately seek enlightenment.”
1. This is not the first time we were told that the nine zombie ancestor statues weren’t the only ones. It was also mentioned in