The Grand Imperial Capital Region was vast and seemingly boundless.
Today was the fifth day of the war.
In the northwest border, the human race had built a great wall long ago, separating them from nonhuman races like a giant dragon.
This great wall stretched magnificently from west to north, lying diagonally across the land, its color dark and foreboding.
With the onset of war, all passages in and out were completely sealed. Unless one held a token from a Heavenly King, no one was allowed passage.
As for the territory outside the great wall, it was the territory of the Flame Moon Mystic Heaven Race, but it wasn't the core territory of the Flame Moon Race itself. Instead, it consisted of several regions formed by its affiliated races. After passing through the seven regions, one would reach the core territory of the Flame Moon Race.
The Flame Moon Mystic Heaven Race's territory was really too large.
"Flame Moon and its affiliated races have a total of 87 regions. Although the scope of each region couldn't compare to the human race's Grand Imperial Capital Region, it's still remarkable."
A lazy voice drifted into Xu Qing's ears.
At this moment, thousands of kilometers away from the northwest black city, in the sky, a giant boat pulled by seven dragons roared towards the border with the sound of dragon roars echoing.
There were hundreds of cultivators on the huge boat.
Every one of them was dressed neatly, had solemn expressions and extraordinary auras.
At the forefront stood a man who appeared to be middle-aged. He had a sturdy figure, much taller than the average human, with long jet-black hair tied up with golden ribbons, swaying in the wind
He wore a magnificent brocade robe embroidered with golden dragon patterns, with a white jade belt around his waist, highlighting his noble status.
His features were not delicate, slightly rugged, with thick eyebrows and large eyes, yet thin lips, exuding an invisible dignity. From afar, one might mistake him for the Emperor.
He was none other than the Eldest Prince.
He was also the person who looked the most similar to the Human Emperor in terms of appearance and temperament.
At this moment, he stood at the bow of the boat, gazing into the distance with a solemn expression. His body exuded dense vitality, like a blazing sun, dazzling everyone behind him.
This was the delegation led by the Eldest Prince to negotiate with the Flame Moon Mystic Heaven Race. Alongside the Eldest Prince's own retinue were officials from the Lower Mystic Five Palaces and corresponding guards.
As for the person who had spoken earlier, it wasn't the Eldest Prince but an ordinary-looking guard among the people on the huge boat.
This individual appeared solemn, brimming with vigilance, and exhibited an attitude of readiness to act faithfully and dutifully at any moment. His words were not spoken through his mouth but rather transmitted in his stomach…
Inside his stomach, amidst a crimson aura, Xu Qing sat cross-legged, his face filled with helplessness.
"Eldest Senior Brother, is there a need to go secretly?"
Xu Qing lifted his head and glanced at his surroundings.
A few nights ago, after he left the Mortal World Forgetful Tower, he sent a voice transmission to the captain and told him about his plan. After all, the captain was also going to the Flame Moon Mystic Heaven Race to do something major.
The captain had been able to resolve a major problem because of Xu Qing's effortless act, so when he heard Xu Qing's arrangements, he immediately rushed over quickly to head over with Xu Qing.
However, he had his own plan this time.
"Of course we have to go secretly. Let me tell you, Little Qing, my stomach space is extremely safe and hidden. Moreover, I only allowed you to hide in my stomach because I trust you."
The guard checked his surroundings vigilantly while transmitting his thoughts to his stomach.
"Little Qing, with your identity in the human race, although you won't cause much of a commotion if you go to the Flame Moon Mystic Heaven Race, you have to consider me. I'm different."
"I'm too famous in the Flame Moon. Everyone in the Flame Moon knows me. If I swagger over, I'm worried that we'll be received with extreme enthusiasm. You know that I like to keep a low profile."
Xu Qing nodded. He understood what the captain meant. If he revealed his identity in Flame Moon, he would be beaten to death by many people.
Presumably, in one of his lives, the captain should have done something that infuriated everyone in the Flame Moon Mystic Heaven Race.
This made Xu Qing think of the relationship between the captain and High God Moon Flame…
"Therefore, we have to enter quietly. What do you think of this identity? Don't worry, since I have a way to pass the inspection, I naturally have a way to pass the border defense array. In addition, with the protection of the prince's team, nothing will go wrong."
The captain's voice was smug.
However, Xu Qing became even more vigilant.
Just like that, as the captain spoke, the huge boat the Eldest Prince was on slowly approached the long black city wall. Xu Qing couldn't see its exact appearance but in the captain's eyes, as they got closer, the grandeur of the great wall seemed like a barrier of the heavens.
'It seems to be a little taller than before.'
The captain muttered inwardly before continuing to look solemn.
Not long later, the power of the black city's array spread out and swept toward the giant boat. Even though it was the boat of the prince, in this wartime, it still had to undergo the necessary checks.
The Eldest Prince allowed the power of the array formation to sweep past him. Everyone was the same. As for the captain, he secretly bit down on a drop of blood hidden in his teeth.
The fluctuations of the array formation spread out. After about fifteen minutes, everything was shown to be normal.
The black city's array formation spread out a gap and isolated the left and right, causing this gap to become an independent existence. It was like a gate that led to the outside of the black city.
Even if there were no problems with the array formation's inspection, the Eldest Prince's imperial command didn't allow him to enter or stop at the border. Hence, he could only pass through here and couldn't stay.
There were also auras that locked onto the giant boat.
Under this auras, the seven golden dragons on the giant boat instinctively moved, dragging the boat into the crevice-like gap and heading towards the exit with all their might.
Ten breaths later, when the giant boat left the gap and arrived at the world outside the human race's borders, the pass gate opened by the array formation at the back instantly closed.
Throughout the entire process, no one spoke.
The Eldest Prince didn't even turn his head as he calmly spoke.
"Raise the human race's banner."
As soon as he finished speaking, a huge banner suddenly rose from the boat. It fluttered in the wind and emitted a terrifying might.
That banner depicted the portraits of the past Human Emperors of the human tribe since the Ancient Sovereign Mystic Nether.
Every one of them carried dignity.
The moment it appeared, the world darkened.
At the same time, the seven golden dragons in front of the huge boat let out dragon roars. Their speed instantly soared and they transformed into golden rainbows that disappeared into the horizon.
The journey to the Flame Moon Headquarters was very long and there were many large areas between them. Even though the golden dragons didn't need to sleep or rest and the cultivators on the boat could do without rest too, there were some areas where they had to stop and go through necessary clearance procedures.
If it was anyone else on a diplomatic mission, these processes wouldn't be easy. There could be difficulties or delays, but such things wouldn't happen to the Eldest Prince.
Although his identity wasn't valued highly in the human race, it was different in the Flame Moon Mystic Heaven Race.
With half of his bloodline originating from the Flame Moon Mystic Heaven Race, he would be revered by most of the subsidiary races of the Flame moon.
Hence, after leaving the human race's territory, the aura around the Eldest Prince conveyed a sense of freedom.
After several landings for clearance, the captain found opportunities to depart unnoticed. Eventually after passing through four regions, during a rest stop, the captain concealed his presence and quietly left.
As for any investigation that might have been triggered by his departure, the captain clearly didn't care. He stealthily traveled for several hours, then opened his mouth and instantly expelled Xu Qing's figure from within.
At the moment of landing, he resumed his normal appearance. When he turned around, the captain wore his usual proud expression and spoke arrogantly.
"How is it? Am I reliable this time?!"
"If it wasn't for the fact that I was worried that the Eldest Prince's group would be too conspicuous when they arrived at the Flame Moon Headquarters, I would have followed him all the way."
Xu Qing glanced at the captain and knew what the other party was waiting for. Hence, he gave him a look of admiration.
The captain was even happier and patted his chest.
"Little Qing, let's go. I'll bring you to the forbidden zone. You still don't know the segments of the Grand hunt, right? I know it too well."
"There are three segments. I'll tell you about them one by one later. I experienced these back then."
"I almost became a Mystic Heaven General before. Let's not talk about these trivial matters. Let me tell you, this first segment is related to the forbidden zone."
"As for the qualifications, it's also very simple. The words in the Wordless Stone Scripture can allow us to change our auras. When the time comes, we can just kill two people we don't as if and replace them."
"The reason why I chose this place is also because there's a special forbidden zone in this region that can meet the requirements of the first segment. Come, follow me."
The captain looked as if everything was in his grasp. After saying that, his body swayed and he sped away.
When Xu Qing saw this, he had a different impression of the captain's preparations this time around.
"This time, he's indeed much more reliable."
However, the long-term impression still made Xu Qing skeptical.
It was only after he followed the captain for a few days and saw a red forbidden zone from afar that Xu Qing truly felt that the captain was different this time.
"Do you see that mountain? That's our destination."
The captain licked his lips and a hint of madness appeared in his eyes, heading straight for the blood-red forbidden zone.
Xu Qing followed behind at an equally astonishing speed. The shadow even emitted excited emotions.
With Xu Qing and the captain's current combat strength, ordinary forbidden zones were no longer any obstacles or danger to them. Hence, after entering this forbidden zone, they moved straight towards the depths.
The entire forbidden zone trembled and all the mutated beasts were trembling. There was also a violent aura that formed a red fog that gathered from all directions, forming a sense of rejection, rushing toward Xu Qing and the captain in an attempt to chase them away.
However, as soon as it got close, a blue light flashed in the captain's eyes and the fog instantly froze.
It then sensed Xu Qing. The fog churned and it almost collapsed.
Finally, as though it sensed Xu Qing's shadow, this fog emitted a rumbling sound and instantly rolled back.
Little Shadow suddenly rushed out and chased after it excitedly as if a hunter.
The captain swept his gaze over and chuckled before continuing forward.
Xu Qing also ignored Little Shadow who was chasing after the fog. Little Shadow was the natural enemy of all existences in forbidden zones.
Just as if that, the two of them arrived at the foot of the blood-
red mountain in the forbidden zone after a while.
This mountain looked red from afar but was slightly dark from up close. The redness on it came from countless blood-red mosquitoes on its surface. These mosquitoes had a fierce appearance as they clung to the mountain, giving it its reddish hue.
The appearance of Xu Qing and the captain made these mosquitoes to shiver.
Xu Qing surveyed the surroundings and was about to move the mountain when the captain at the side did something Xu Qing didn't expect.
With a lift of his hand, the captain emitted a strange aura, which surprisingly stirred the mosquitoes, causing them to overcome their fear and unleash their instincts. A group of them buzzed loudly, heading straight for the captain.
Without flinching, the captain allowed the swarm of mosquitoes to cover his entire body, enduring the piercing of their proboscises and the swelling of his body. Then, he spoke to Xu Qing.
"Little Qing, back then, because my body wasn't sturdy enough, I suffered a loss in the first segment of the hunt. Later on, I thought of this method and borrowed the strangeness of these mosquitoes to increase the defense of my body for a short period of time!"
"The first segment of the hunt is called the Sky Collapsing. It tests one's body. Come, you should hurry up too. The more bites you endure, the less you will have to fear the Sky Collapsing."
The captain's voice turned a little weak.
Xu Qing was stunned. He looked at the captain who was rapidly swelling into a mountain of flesh and didn't understand what to say for a moment…
