420 Taboo Ground
The sound of the flute drifted.
Several days later, the Eight Sects Alliance gradually entered Xu Qing’s sight.
The afterglow of dusk fell over the Eight Sects Alliance, which was riddled with holes. Although the river was no longer pitch-black, and the aura of immortal Qi was once again emanating from it, the damage to the land was not something that could be dispelled in a few days.
From afar, the buildings that were being repaired looked like slowly healing wounds on a human’s body.
Foggy anomalous substances rose into the sky from everywhere.
All of this turned into grief that filled the entire city, telling of the disaster that happened that day.
The anomalous substances were much less than when the god’s gaze had come out of the wooden box, but it affected a large range. Thankfully, the swift and violent invasion had been stopped. However, the pain from it would not be gone for a long time.
This calamity not only affected the Seven Blood Eyes, but also the entire Eight Sects Alliance. Although there were not many deaths, the impact was huge.
Xu Qing’s magic warship descended from the sky.
Looking at everything in front of him and the listless people, he looked away.
When he returned to the Seven Blood Eyes, he saw the sad Sixth Peak highnesses, the silent cultivators of the various peaks, and the ruined mountains.
Xu Qing fell silent.
He walked over and joined in to help.
Time slowly passed. In the blink of an eye, more than ten days had passed.
During this period, Xu Qing didn’t see Xue Lianzi or Old Master Seventh. He saw the captain, Second Senior Sister, and Third Senior Brother. Their expressions were filled with complicated emotions.
This was especially true for the captain. He knew the relationship between Xu Qing and Lord Sixth. He silently patted Xu Qing’s shoulder and sighed softly.
Xu Qing remained silent.
After more than half a month of restoration, eighty to ninety percent of the anomalous substances in the Eight Sects Alliance had dissipated. The rest would take a long time to completely resolve.
The various sects had no choice but to recover their spirits. The Eight Sects Alliance had also made a unified decision regarding the handling of this matter.
They sent a report to the Sword Holding Court, asking them to raise Illuminate’s danger ranking to level 1. They also asked the Sword Holding Court to increase the efforts in capturing Illuminate.
Furthermore, the Eight Sects Alliance announced that they would fight Illuminate to the death.
Even though they had witnessed the horror of the gaze in the wooden box, if they didn’t even dare to express their hatred, the Eight Sects Alliance wouldn’t need Illuminate to take action. Its internal structure would collapse first.
This was their stance to the outside world. As for their internal situation… Soaring Cloud Ancestor was stripped of his Senate qualifications. Although the Soaring Cloud Sword Sect was still one of the Eight Sects Alliances, all of the benefits they received would be reduced to the lowest for the next hundred years..
This was a severe punishment for the Soaring Cloud Sword Sect which would last until they killed Saintly Star and his father.
As for the Taboo magic treasure of the Soaring Cloud Sword Sect, its power had been reduced by half. This was because the Taboo Tree that had fallen into the Seven Blood Eyes had been successfully suppressed by Old Master Seventh and Xue Lianzi, turning into half a Taboo Treasure of the Seven Blood Eyes.
The 137 sects in the Eight Sects Alliance began to use all their intelligence departments to search for Illuminate members. The wooden box also attracted the attention of the entire Yinghuang Province.
In hindsight, the gaze in the wooden box… might not be the gaze of the fragmented-face of the god, but something similar.
However, there were too few clues to infer anything.
One thing was for sure. Although it was powerful, it was not so powerful that it could not be completely resisted. What was most terrifying was the mysteries behind this matter.
Illuminate… had indeed mastered a portion of the power of the god.
At this moment, Xu Qing chose to leave the Seven Blood Eyes. He wanted to make a trip to the Sea Corpse Race’s territory, which was where the Seven Blood Eyes’ Taboo magic treasure was located.
He would go there and open his 121st aperture.
Before this, Xu Qing wasn’t too obsessed with whether he could open the 121st aperture. But now, things were different.
If he wanted to accomplish what he had thought when he returned, he had to become stronger, and it had to be extreme strength.
Before he left, he saw Old Master Seventh in front of Lord Sixth’s grave.
Old Master Seventh sat in front of the grave with a pot of wine in his hand.
In Xu Qing’s memories, Old Master Seventh had always been calm. There was deep wisdom in his eyes, as if everything was within his control. However, this time, Old Master Seventh in Xu Qing’s eyes was different from before.
His hair was a mess, his eyes were bloodshot, and his face was filled with self-blame. Chaotic energy fluctuations spread out from him, as if… he were choosing to make a breakthrough.
However, it was obvious that breaking through wasn’t that easy. After hearing that Xu Qing was going out, Old Master Seventh turned to look at Xu Qing. With a wave of his hand, another Purple Sky Infinite Crown appeared in his hand. After handing it to Xu Qing, he took out a black jade and gave it as well.
The black jade was like a dried blood clot, emitting an aura of bizarre entity. Its effect was similar to the Life Substituting Ghost Baby.
“Fourth, I don’t ask for anything else. I just hope that you and your senior brothers and sister can be safe. Your Lord Sixth has left, I don’t want to see you guys leaving before me.”
“The world is unpredictable. I’ve calculated everything, but I couldn’t calculate this. How could this be…”
As he spoke, Old Master Seventh sighed softly and passed another jade slip to Xu Qing. This was a token to enter the Taboo ground of the Seven Blood Eyes. It also contained some general knowledge about the Taboo.
Xu Qing’s eyes were a little red as he silently received it. After bowing deeply, he turned to look at Lord Sixth’s grave. The image of the head in Night Dove’s hand appeared in his mind, and his heart once again ached.
After a long while, Xu Qing lowered his head and bowed heavily to the grave. After that, he looked at his master and saw the self-blame on his master’s face.
“Master, let’s avenge Lord Sixth.”
Old Master Seventh’ gaze became profound. He raised his head and looked into the distance, gradually revealing an extreme sharpness.
“Definitely!”
As he spoke, Ding Xue’s aunt walked over from off in the distance, a look of concern on her face. Xu Qing clasped hands and bowed, but didn’t disturb her. He turned and transformed into a beam of light that shot off into the distance toward the Forbidden Sea, toward the Sea Corpse Race.
Due to the anomalous substances, the alliance’s teleportation arrays were unstable during this period of time. Hence, Xu Qing chose to travel on the magic warship.
In the sky above the sea, he saw a person.
Dressed in a long purple dress, the beautiful and flawless figure was none other than Purple Mystic Fairy.
She stood there and stared at Xu Qing.
Xu Qing lowered his head and bowed.
“Greetings, Senior.”
Purple Mystic Fairy didn’t say anything. Xu Qing waited for a long time before cupping his fists again. Then, he left. When he was 1,000 feet away, Purple Mystic Fairy suddenly spoke.
“It happened so suddenly that I didn’t have time to do anything.”
Xu Qing halted as he turned and spoke softly to Purple Mystic Fairy.
“Thank you.”
This time, Xu Qing didn’t address her as senior.
After speaking, he shot into the distance. Looking at Xu Qing’s back, a look of heartache appeared on Purple Mystic Fairy’s face. After a long time, she sighed softly and a cold light filled her eyes.
“Illuminate!”
Several days passed in the blink of an eye.
Xu Qing’s speed was extremely fast. He rode the wind and waves on his magic warship and slowly saw the island of the Sea Corpse Race and the huge statues standing on the island.
There was also an ancient bronze mirror floating above the statues.
As the mirror slowly rotated, a terrifying divine will spread out in all directions. Anyone who approached would be sensed by the mirror.
Ever since the Seven Blood Eyes had set up a base here, all the nearby islands were in the range of the Taboo magic treasure. As a subordinate race, the Sea Corpse Race’s every movement would be examined. There was no chance for them to be disloyal.
The Seven Blood Eyes had also arranged for some disciples of the various peaks to take turns in staying here. There were also peak lords who took turns to maintain the Taboo. Currently, the Third Peak’s Peak Lord was stationed here.
At that moment, as Xu Qing got closer, the divine sense of the artifact spirit within the mirror landed on Xu Qing. A cold intent filled his entire body and Xu Qing calmly took out his token.
The Taboo ground was not a place where one could come and go as one pleased. Even as a highness of the Seven Blood Eyes, he did not have the qualifications to come here on his own. Only with the approval of Old Master Seventh or Xue Lianzi would he have this qualification.
The divine sense landed on the token Xu Qing took out and disappeared soon after. The sea in front of him instantly churned and spread out violently, forming a path.
Xu Qing’s magic warship sped through the sea route. On both sides were sea walls that were dozens of feet tall.
He looked at all of this and realized how terrifying the Seven Blood Eyes was. However, it was still inferior to that light he had heard from the sect disciples.
Xu Qing approached the shore. He kept the magic warship and stepped into the territory of the Sea Corpse Race.
The purple ground was covered in strange vegetation. Lingzhi-like vegetation was still everywhere. Many glowing dandelions drifted in the air, making for a beautiful scene.
Huge jellyfishes floated in the air. One of them flew over quickly and flung out a tentacle to welcome Xu Qing.
There were tens of Seven Blood Eyes disciples on the jellyfish. All of them were Foundation Establishment cultivators. When they saw Xu Qing, they clasped hands and bowed.
“The Peak Lord has already received the decree from the sect and arranged for a few Dao Protectors to wait at the Taboo ground. However, this matter is not urgent. We were ordered to come and fetch Your Highness.”
Because Old Master Seventh was the Sect Leader, Xu Qing’s identity was both the Seventh Peak’s highness and the Seven Blood Eyes’ highness. Coupled with his reputation in the Alliance, it was only natural for these fellow disciples to be respectful.
Xu Qing’s expression was solemn as he cupped his fists in return. Following the jellyfish’s tentacle, he stepped onto the jellyfish and headed towards the Taboo ground of the Seven Blood Eyes.
This was the third time Xu Qing had come to the former territory of the Sea Corpse Race. The first time, he had done a big thing with the captain here. The second time, he had passed by the place. This time, he had come here with a purpose.
Looking at the peculiar surroundings, Xu Qing suddenly thought of the princess of the Sea Corpse Race. He had forgotten about this matter previously and didn’t ask the captain about it.
“How is the Sea Corpse Race now?”
“Your Highness, the Sea Corpse Race has fully attached themselves to us. Our Seven Blood Eyes have placed a soul seal on their ancestor and all their clansmen. At the same time, our sect has the right to activate the conversion technique. The new blood of this race are also branded with soul seals.”
“The sect will not interfere in their other matters. They still have their royal family and order, retaining their autonomy.”
“However, the succession of the throne requires our sect’s approval. The previous king and their ancestor were taken away by Ancestor Xue Lianzi. Now, the new king we support is ruling the clan.”
Xu Qing did not ask any more. Very soon, the group of them arrived at the location of the Seven Blood Eyes’ Taboo.
The 14 ancestral corpse statues that towered into the clouds exuded an aura that shook the heavens and the earth. They also contained the aura of ancientness and the passage of time.
Compared to them, cultivators were like ants. Among them, five statues seemed to have no end to them.
Beside the 14 statues were Seven Blood Eyes buildings. A large number of disciples were stationed here to guard the Seven Blood Eyes’ Taboo.
Xu Qing’s arrival attracted the attention of many people and they lowered their heads to pay their respects.
“Your Highness, do you want to rest first or go immediately?”
Xu Qing stared at the gigantic ancient mirror floating in the air above the statues. He drew in a deep breath and slowly spoke.
“I would like to go immediately!”