Xu Qing remained silent.
Through the history pieced together by these memory fragments, he understood why there were so many corpses in the Mountains and Seas Region, and he also grasped the events that had occurred in this race's past.
The premise being that all of this was real.
If this history were indeed true, then the irony compared to the claims of the current Flame Moon Mystic Heaven Race would be extremely strong.
The Ancestral Magus who died in battle to protect the Flame Moon Mystic Heaven Race was hidden in history.
The inheritor of his will, his son Jiuli was vilified and turned into a mount.
The role of the supposed Flame Moon Mystic Heaven's leader who unified the Great Magistrates, the Mystic Heaven Cultivator who could only grow up due to the protection of the Jiuli, became intriguing in this context.
Xu Qing sighed softly.
His heart told him that this was actually true.
Even though it wasn't his race, through those memory fragments, he seemed to have experienced the past years, empathizing with it, and stepping into history.
"So, how did Jiuli perish, what specific actions did that Great Magistrate take, when did the Mystic Heaven Great Magus Race change its name to the Flame Moon Mystic Heaven Race, and… what connection do the Sun, Moon, and Star Gods have with the history of this race…"
"These answers are in the memories of the remaining five skulls."
Xu Qing stared at the mud.
However, now that the brown flame had been extinguished, there was no way to continue burning the Crimson Goddess' flesh. Moreover, after such a consumption, there wasn't much flesh left.
"There are only six pieces left."
Xu Qing mumbled. He sensed the four skulls that appeared in the purple crystal and also sensed his incomparably close connection with this Jiuli Land.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Right now, he no longer needed the bronze incense burner.
The gray fog didn't invade him anymore. With a thought, he could control this gray fog.
In fact, the troubles he faced had also disappeared.
He clearly determined that if he wanted to leave, the gray fog would move with him.
However, there were flaws in this departure.
His cultivation and divine power were still rejected.
Unless he gave up on his cultivation and the power of the gods and accepted the gray fog fully, allowing the gray fog to fuse into his body and soul, sinking to his origin and becoming a part of him.
"At that time, I'll no longer be a god or a cultivator but… a magus!"
Xu Qing lifted his head and looked at the horizon.
He was both unfamiliar and familiar with magi. He was unfamiliar because he had never come into contact with them before, but he was familiar with them because this gray fog was the origin of magi. The four skulls he had fused into were, in a sense, the inheritance of Jiuli.
However, this wasn't the path he wanted to take.
"The Ancestral Magus could only heavily injure that powerful god at the cost of his life."
Xu Qing narrowed his eyes and looked at the mud, thinking of a solution.
He had actually thought of a method, but this method required five skulls to activate.
He was short of one.
After pondering for a moment, Xu Qing suddenly spoke.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})"Little Shadow."
There were no fluctuations under his feet, nor were there any emotions emitted. Little Shadow seemed to be dead.
Xu Qing was calm. He waited for three breaths before speaking again.
"If you don't come out now, you don't have to come out in the future too."
As soon as Xu Qing said this, a faint shadow appeared on the mud under him. Weak fluctuations rippled.
"Go dive 10,000 feet, and form a conduit that I can cast my spell through."
Little Shadow immediately sent anxious emotions. Countless rejections were transmitted to Xu Qing's mind.
"I'll control the gray fog to not interfere with you."
After Xu Qing finished speaking, he waved his hand and the gray fog in the surroundings churned according to his thoughts. The sensation of it being controlled freely was very obvious.
Upon seeing this scene, Little Shadow's anxiety decreased a little. It was the same for his rejection.
"After this is done, I'll give you a piece of Crimson Goddess' flesh."
Xu Qing's voice was calm.
The flesh of the Crimson Goddess was something Little Shadow yearned for extremely. In the past, it could only watch helplessly as Xu Qing absorbed them. It couldn't even smell it.
Hence, after hearing Xu Qing's promise, it clearly hesitated. Its anxiety and rejection decreased again.
"If you don't listen, then there's no need for our master-servant relationship to continue."
Xu Qing's voice contained a hint of coldness that landed in Little Shadow's heart, causing his entire body to tremble. Eventually, under the influence of rewards and life-and-death choices, a sense of determination emanated from its emotional fluctuations.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})In order to survive and for the flesh, it let out a deep roar like a ferocious beast and charged into the mud.
At the next instant, the shadow sank by a thousand feet. The gray fog in the surroundings was about to approach but under Xu Qing's interference, they quickly dissipated. Hence, the Little Shadow's descent was much smoother than before.
Very soon, it arrived at the 8,000 feet mark.
However, here, Xu Qing could clearly sense the sealing power from below.
That power was currently in a deep sleep but he could sense that once his aura came into contact with the seal, it would immediately be suppressed.
Hence, he didn't dare to release his aura too much to interfere with the spread of the gray fog.
Little Shadow's descent gradually slowed down and wails rang out.
However, it was still better than its previous state. Little Shadow used all its strength and risked being invaded by the gray fog to sink to more than 9,000 feet. But here, it looked like it had no strength left.
After all, it had split into too many parts previously and had yet to recover.
Seeing this, Xu Qing suddenly spoke.
"Two pieces of Crimson Goddess' flesh!"
When this voice landed in Little Shadow's mind, it trembled and erupted with crazed emotions. Under such a heavy reward, it was stimulated and ruthlessly rushed down.
With a boom, it directly penetrated 10,000 feet and arrived at the cavern under the marsh.
Here, Xu Qing could no longer interfere. Hence, when the fog swept over greatly, Little Shadow's wails became increasingly tragic.
Xu Qing's expression was solemn. He knew that the opportunity would pass in the blink of an eye. Hence, he didn't hesitate at all. After the Little Shadow pierced through the marsh, he lifted his right hand and Fishing the Moon From the Well was cast.
The ripples of heaven and earth turned into water.
The fifth skull clearly appeared. Xu Qing directly scooped it up.
The moment it was swallowed and sealed in the purple crystal, Little Shadow collapsed.
It looked like it was dead however there was a trace of it crawling out of the marsh thirty feet below Xu Qing and returning.
Xu Qing wasn't surprised by this.
Little Shadow was cunning. Although what it uttered before about it dying was true, there were naturally exaggerations. Hence, Xu Qing didn't believe that it would really risk everything.
Hiding a trace of shadow was within his expectations.
However, Little Shadow was indeed almost at its limit. After this trace returned, it was very dim in the purple crystal and was about to fall into a deep sleep.
However, it struggled and didn't fall asleep immediately. Instead, it instinctively emitted a weak fluctuation of emotions toward Xu Qing, as though it wanted to confirm it.
"Flesh…"
Xu Qing nodded and sensed Little Shadow's state. He comprehended that it wasn't important if he had the flesh or not. In any case, it didn't have the strength to eat it.
However, Xu Qing was a kind-hearted person. He felt that there was a need to comfort Little Shadow.
"I'll give them to you when you wake up."
When Little Shadow heard this, it was satisfied and fell asleep.
As for Xu Qing, he closed his eyes and meditated to recuperate.
A few days later, his eyes suddenly opened, revealing a sharp glint.
Now that he had five skulls, he could use another method to extract the skulls.
This method didn't require melting the marsh to form a tunnel.
Once it was used, it could allow the skulls below to automatically appear in Fishing the Moon From the Well's divine power.
"I will believe in Eldest Senior Brother this once!"
Determination appeared in Xu Qing's eyes. The cultivation base in his body rushed into the purple crystal and the crystal shook fiercely.
Immediately, the purple crystal emitted a purple light that penetrated Xu Qing's body. At the same time, the five craniums inside too appeared in this purple light.
They floated above Xu Qing's head and arranged into a pentagon.
Looking at the five skulls, Xu Qing performed a series of hand seals with both hands and chanted.
Very soon, circles of ripples spread out from one of the skulls, followed by the second, third…
Finally, the five craniums emitted ripples at the same time and collided with each other. It became increasingly intense, forming a black vortex.
Looking at the vortex, Xu Qing let out a shout.
"The soul of heaven and earth, origin descent."
His voice carried an ancientness that echoed through the world.
The moment it was transmitted, the vortex rotated increasingly intensely. Vaguely, four lumps of gray fire appeared in the black vortex as though they were being guided.
Those four lumps of gray fire were the same as the craniums in the purple light!
This spell was none other than the Ruthless Dao of Great Five Bulls Tracing the Origin that Chen Erniu had taught Xu Qing.
The principle was to trace back to the origin and attract items that came from the same source as it.
However, the prerequisite was that he had to have five pieces of the same source first.
At that moment, the instant the four lumps of gray fire appeared, Xu Qing's Fishing the Moon From the Well spell was immediately activated. He grabbed at the vortex and the four lumps of gray fire that were summoned instantly trembled. Three of them left the vortex and were directly extracted.
They were reflected in the water stains on Xu Qing's palm.
Xu Qing was excited. Although he didn't fish out all of them, to be able to fish out three craniums at once was enough to show how astonishing the captain's spell was.
He immediately swallowed the water.
A large number of memory fragments erupted in Xu Qing's mind like a storm, rapidly fusing with the fragments.
The wind of the ages past blew again, like a xun being played, composing a dirge.
The dirge told the tale of the Great Magistrate, who was valued by Jiuli, valued by the clan, and granted the authority to lead the clan within the God Killing Array.
This person was indeed worthy of being a heaven's chosen. Under his leadership, the Mystic Heaven Great Magus Race was united and displayed the momentum of a revival. The new generation too gradually grew and supported him.
This made Jiuli, who was guarding outside, feel gratified. Hence, he no longer paid attention to the clan in the array formation. Instead, he focused all his attention and energy on fighting against the gods.
He had to abide by the will of his father and inherit the spirit of the Mystic Heaven Great Magus Race. He couldn't take half a step back.
Behind him was his race, the clansmen he wanted to protect.
Even if he died in battle in the future, he would have no regrets because he had found an inheritor.
The Great Magistrate he valued and protected was the next Ancestral Magus he had chosen.
Just like that, he, who had nothing to worry about, led the great magi under him and began a long battle of resistance.
As time passed, a blood-red feast prepared by those whom he protected appeared.
