No magical treasure in the world, not even a taboo treasure, could possibly measure up to the light unleashed by the broken face of the god. After all, it was the gaze of a god. No matter what almighty cultivation base someone had, even if they had divine abilities and daoist magics that could transform heaven and earth, none of them… could possibly compare to the broken face of the god in the dome of heaven. It came down to a pressure by a greater level of life, and it hung over the heads of the countless species on Revered Ancient, like a death sentence.
As the wooden box opened, and the shapeless, colorless light emerged, the dome of heaven transformed. The clouds seethed, becoming a sea of fury. The lands below blurred in unprecedented fashion, to the point where nothing could be seen clearly. At the same time, something like chanting could be heard, a sound that could shake the soul, filling heaven and earth, destabilizing the bodies of all beings. It was impossible to say if the chanting was what made the world blur, or if the world twisted and distorted because of the light. Either way, the Eight Sect Coalition was surrounded by the effect; everything blurred and everything distorted.
Then, a strong mutagen like that from a forbidden region suddenly swept forth. It came from the ground, from the river, from even the dust. Every brick and tile, every food item, everything that existed suddenly erupted with streams of dark fog. The clouds above churned as they turned pitch black. Crimson lightning crackled within them, and then drops of blood began to fall as rain.
This was just as if the eyes of the god above had opened and were gazing at the Eight Sect Coalition! 𝘦𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝗇𝓔t
It was unimaginable.
It defied contemplation!
It was completely terrifying!!
Just like the little city Xu Qing had been in back in South Phoenix, the Eight Sect Coalition’s megacity could do nothing as the blood rain fell. The power of a god was majestic, and could change the life course of any and all living beings. They had absolutely no say in the matter. The entire Eight Sect Coalition was rapidly turning into a forbidden region!
All of the sects and groups in Emperor-Receiving Prefecture were shocked to the core when they realized what was happening. The fluctuations emanating from that area were astonishing.
Within the coalition, it didn’t matter if someone was a mortal or a patriarch. They couldn’t flee. In that moment, everything had transformed into despair!
Buildings in the coalition crumbled into ruins. Life force was polluted, and mutation blotches blossomed on the skin of countless people. It didn’t matter how high someone’s cultivation base was, or what they normally did to keep the mutagen within them under control. Right now, that mutagen was raging wildly. It happened to the mortals, and the cultivators couldn’t escape. Not even heaven and earth were spared. The fate of everyone and everything was now being affected.
The megacity turned pitch black, and howls of grief rose up far and wide. It was so shrill and despairing that anyone who heard would feel chills running down their spine, and both their gazes and their souls inside their body went dim.
Some disciples who had high levels of mutagen but kept them under control… suddenly lost control, and either exploded into clouds of gore or turned into blackish violet corpses. Mutations also occurred. Numerous cultivators’ skin cracked, blood oozing out as they transformed into vicious beasts. At the same time, grues popped out of nowhere.
The mere opening of that wooden box threw the entire Eight Sect Coalition into utter chaos. It was like a hell on earth.
Sir Bloodsmelter and Master Seventh both reacted with intense shock, and it was the same with the other patriarchs and matriarchs of the coalition. None of them could possibly have imagined this ever happening; it wildly surpassed anything they could have predicted.
Normally speaking, the patriarchs and matriarchs were incredibly powerful, but right now, they also had seemingly unending mutagen pouring into them, causing them to bleed profusely. They wanted to do something, but when under the gaze of a god, they lost control of their own functions. Mutagen went wild within them, and if they wanted to control it, they had to focus complete attention inward.
Only the coalition president seemed able to deal with the situation. However, he was also trembling, mutagen going wild within him as he looked down at the ground below. His eyes contained a terror that had not been visible there for many years.
“The gaze of the god above? Who… who are you??”
As the blood rain fell down onto the eight shocked sects, the young man in the mask looked up. Drops of the rain fell onto his mask, flowed downward, and then dropped to the ground. His eyes contained reminiscence, and even a bit of regret as he walked through the blood rain.
If one looked closely, it would be possible to see that despite the pouring blood rain and the shocking mutagen, the candied fruit he held didn’t have a speck of contamination. He was protecting it carefully.
As he walked, Night Dove followed, eyes burning with fanaticism and worship. Carrying the box reverently, he hurried along.
The two of them walked the street, and the young man’s gaze dropped to the patriarchs and matriarchs. It eventually stopped on Sir Bloodsmelter and Master Seventh.
“It was reasonable for you people to kill Bai Li. It was also reasonable for me to take the head of his killer, and also watch the performance.”
It was the first time he said anything to anyone in the Eight Sect Coalition. And having said that one thing, he flew up into the sky with Night Dove.
He waved his hand, causing Master Shengyun and Chu Tianqun to tremble. Eyes full of reverence, they approached the young man and followed him.
No one in the Eight Sect Coalition could do anything other than look on. None could interfere. From beginning to end, the young man seemed completely calm and casual. Just like when he had walked on the street, he would go wherever he wanted, and no one could stop him.
Just before going over the horizon, the young man spoke again, his voice soft. Yet it echoed into the ears of the glaring president.
“You just call hīm a god. We call hīm a living god.” [1]
The young man disappeared with Master Shengyun and Chu Tianqun, taking with him the gaze of that god. Without that gaze on the Eight Sect Coalition, the mutagen had no source. The transformation into a forbidden region was halted. That was, of course, the optimal conclusion of this event for the Eight Sect Coalition. If the megacity turned into a forbidden region, the results would have been catastrophic. Because the transformation wasn’t complete, its effects could be reversed.
The blood clouds in the dome of heaven faded, and the patriarchs and matriarchs exchanged complicated, silent glances. Now wasn’t the time to discuss what had happened. They knew that the most important thing was to recover from the event. Without the slightest hesitation, they flew back into the sect and began the work of purging the mutagen and healing the injured.
The Eight Sect Coalition had suffered a grievous blow, and the worst of it had been focused on… Seven Blood Eyes.
At the same time, the name Torchlight was now bound to spread far and wide in Emperor-Receiving Prefecture. All of the great powers would now be aware of it, and even fear it. All of it was because of that box!
It could well be imagined that stories of this event in Emperor-Receiving Prefecture would spread to the other prefectures, until everyone in the county knew. In fact, word might spread even farther. After all… the light in that box was shocking beyond measure.
All people. All species. All organizations. All of them were going to be aware of Torchlight!
There had always been stories about Torchlight. For instance, rumors had circulated that people who joined them could command the power of gods…. [2]
The term Torchlight itself had been the subject of a lot of analysis. An unlit torch was essentially a stick. Like kindling laying on the ground. Only when grasped in the hand would it become a torch. The word ‘torch’ itself implied fire, but also conveyed an element of control. When combined with the word ‘light’, it added a sense of brightness. And thus… they were called Torchlight!
***
As the young man who represented Torchlight took Night Dove, Master Shengyun, and Chu Tianqun away, and as the Eight Sect Coalition immediately began the repair and healing process, Xu Qing was traveling through the wilderness some distance away from the coalition.
He had no idea what was happening back in the coalition. The last thing he remembered was his Supreme-Limitless Crown exploding, and the lifeswapping ghost doll dying three times in a row. Then he teleported away.
When he materialized out in the wilderness, his face was ashen, and his heart was pounding like mad. He knew full well that if someone attacked him at that moment, he would almost certainly die. Though he didn’t see any enemies present, he could sense dangerous auras everywhere.
As fear lingered in his heart, he felt the instinct to rush back to Seven Blood Eyes to help. However, he knew that he was too weak to do anything. His cultivation base wasn’t high enough to matter. Therefore, he didn’t rush back. Instead, he masked his cultivation base fluctuations and put on a disguise. Only then did he start moving back toward the coalition. As he moved, he tried to figure out why all of this was happening. Unfortunately, his transmission jade slip didn’t seem to be working.
He felt very unsettled about that. Days passed. When he was only about a week out from the coalition, he was about to speed out of a forested area when, all of a sudden, he dropped to his haunches and narrowed his eyes.
He saw people up ahead, moving through the moonlight.
In the lead was a cloaked figure wearing a mask that resembled the broken face of the god. He walked casually, almost gracefully, and in his hand he held a skewer of candied fruit that didn’t have a speck of dust or dirt on it. In the darkness of night, the red fruits were very conspicuous. [3]
Next in line were three people. And two of them were Master Shengyun and his father, Chu Tianqun.
1. There are two words used here in Chinese, both of which can simply be translated ‘god.’ They rhyme. I found different explanations of these words, some of them contradictory. My interpretation of them is based on reading into the definitions of both words in Chinese, different articles interpreting their meaning, and more importantly, later information from the story. Essentially, the first refers to “dead” gods, i.e. gods from mythology that are more like characters from stories. The latter, the “living” gods, are actual gods who interact with people in their daily lives. Again, there are contradictory interpretations, and some sources explain the words differently. My version is based on how the term(s) are used in this story 👈
2. Something about Torchlight and gods was mentioned by the Captain in the chapter about Bai Li, 👈
3. In case you missed it last time, here’s what those candied fruits look like. 👈