Xu Qing dazedly followed Old Master Seventh into the jungle.
Old Master Seventh clearly said that he had a game of chess to finish, but he walked relaxedly.
However, every step he took covered a very far distance and Xu Qing was also guided by his momentum as he shuttled through the jungle.
Xu Qing looked at Old Master Seventh's back view and recalled the scene of the three Golden Core guardians of the Soaring Cloud Sword Sect dying with a wave of the other party. He was somewhat in disbelief.
As such, he remained silent.
"You dealt with Grandmaster Bai's matter very well." A moment later, Old Master Seventh's calm voice arrived.
"It's what I should do," Xu Qing said in a low voice.
"You've also done well in the matter of the Sea Corpse Race."
"It's the capt… It was done by the eldest highness." Xu Qing said after hesitating briefly.
"The matter with Night Dove was also dealt with nicely."
"I was just doing my best." Xu Qing lowered his head.
"However, you were too rash in dealing with Saintly Star." When Old Master Seventh said this, a ruined city faintly appeared in front. It was the city where Xu Qing and Saintly Star were fighting.
Xu Qing didn't speak.
"You should have called your senior brothers and senior sister, and killed him together. That way, you wouldn't have been so seriously injured." Old Master Seventh's tone was filled with dissatisfaction.
Xu Qing hesitated for a while but he felt that what Old Master Seventh said made sense, so he nodded.
Seeing that Xu Qing was so obedient, Old Master Seventh was very happy. He turned and looked at Xu Qing, his eyes revealing admiration.
"Get closer. Aren't you afraid of nothing? Why are you standing so far away."
Xu Qing hesitated and slowly walked closer, standing beside Old Master Seventh.
Old Master Seventh looked at Xu Qing's height and there was a hint of reminiscence in his eyes. He smiled as he recalled the image of the small and skinny figure in the scavenger campsite who carefully avoided the mud on the ground after changing into new clothes.
"You have grown."
Xu Qing abruptly lifted his head as he had an answer in his mind.
Old Master Seventh didn't continue talking about the past and brought Xu Qing into the ruined city. Xu Qing also didn't ask and silently followed.
From afar, the old and the young walked in these desolate ruins. The dim yellow sunlight here made them look like they were walking through time.
"This is an ancient city that has witnessed history and is buried in it."
Old Master Seventh's voice echoed in this ancient city, carrying a hint of etherealness.
Xu Qing looked at Old Master Seventh and waited for him to continue.
"Legend has it that this city is the residence of the peerless crown prince of the Purple Green Kingdom, who was known as the number one talent of the human race after the appearance of the god's fragmented face."
"It's said that the crown prince was a true peerless talent. He had the bloodline inheritance of the ancient sovereigns and rulers and suppressed everyone in his era."
"Some people said that he was born with the fate of the human race. When he was born, an auspicious sign descended from the sky and transformed into nine golden dragons to accompany him for the rest of his life."
"Some said that the vast world of the Wanggu Continent created its own savior, gathering the power of the world to bring him to this world."
"It's recorded in the history books that the moment he was born, wails rang out from all the forbidden regions in the Wanggu Continent. Strange blood flowed and spread outside the various forbidden regions."
"There are also people who said that he survived the opening of the god's eyes five times in his life and obtained the god's blessing."
"Even the holy lands were alarmed. They came to receive him several times but he rejected them."
"However, such a peerless human ultimately died in battle on the land of the Purple Green Kingdom. It's said that all the people who participated in the killing back then were extremely powerful people."
When Xu Qing heard this, his emotions fluctuated. This matter was a little different from what he understood about the Purple Green Kingdom. What he had learned was that the eight families had rebelled and overthrew the royal bloodline. From then on, the Purple Green disappeared and was replaced by Purple Earth's eight families.
Noticing Xu Qing's expression, Old Master Seventh smiled.
"I'm not talking about the Purple Green of the Nanhuang Continent but the Purple Green that was hidden in history - the Purple Green Kingdom that had the ability to truly rule the Wanggu Continent after Mystic Nether. It's a pity that very few people know about it now. All races, including the human race, either of their own initiative or passively, chose to erase the records about this great kingdom and no one mentioned it again."
"As for the Purple Earth's eight races, what they overthrew was only a small country that was formed by the insignificant remnants of Purple Green."
Xu Qing drew in a deep breath.
"The peerless crown prince of the Purple Green Kingdom died in battle in the Nanhuang Continent. Countless years later, there was a small city where he died. However, eleven years ago, the god opened His eyes and the entire city disappeared."
"Some say it's his curse."
Xu Qing remained silent.
Not long later, they arrived in front of the Daoist temple amidst the ruins. This place was a mess and the ground was covered in traces of intense battle. After looking at this place, Xu Qing looked at Old Master Seventh.
"Didn't someone say that you lack divine arts? Go and comprehend it. Hurry up, I still have to go back and play chess." Old Master Seventh knocked Xu Qing's head.
Xu Qing's heart skipped a beat. This sentence was said by Saintly Star during the battle with him.
Xu Qing glanced at Old Master Seventh and nodded as he walked into the Daoist temple. He then sat down cross-legged and silently stared at the statue.
A long time later, he stood up and looked at Old Master Seventh outside.
"What's wrong?" Old Master Seventh asked.
"It can't be comprehended during the day and needs moonlight." Xu Qing hesitated for a moment before answering honestly.
Old Master Seventh mumbled something that Xu Qing couldn't hear clearly. After that, he waved his hand and clouds instantly filled the sky of the Dao Temple. In an instant, black clouds lingered, blocking out the sunlight and covering the surroundings, causing the area with the Dao Temple as the center to turn pitch-black.
In this pitch-black darkness, a mirror appeared in the black clouds. There was actually moonlight in this mirror. As the mirror rotated, a wisp of moonlight landed, illuminating the Daoist temple and the statue.
At the next instant, saber shadows formed around the statue.
Xu Qing's thoughts churned. He looked at Old Master Seventh and took a long breath.
He had seen Lord Sixth make a move before, but he felt that Lord Sixth definitely couldn't create this scene that seemed to be switching the sun and moon with a wave of the hand.
This reminded Xu Qing of the tradition of the Seventh Peak.
'Old Master Seventh is definitely not a Nascent Soul cultivator!' Xu Qing knew that this was a precious opportunity. He retracted his thoughts and stared at the saber shadows around the statue and gradually, a purple illusory heavenly saber appeared above his head.
He began to comprehend.
As he comprehended, Old Master Seventh stood outside the Dao Temple and looked at the surrounding battlefield while muttering.
"He indeed has few divine arts and spells… but has a lot of miscellaneous stuff."
"Although his battle tactics are still immature, it's already quite good considering his age."
Just like that, time flowed by.
On the Forbidden Sea, sword light towered into the sky.
Streams of sword qi whistled toward the Seven Blood Eyes. The Soaring Cloud Ancestor's anger and killing intent filled the air. The Soaring Cloud Sword Sect disciples behind him were also following with a ferocious aura.
Within the Phoenix Forbidden, it was completely peaceful.
Night fell.
Xu Qing's comprehension continued. The moonlight released by Old Master Seventh was even brighter at night, causing the appearance of saber shadows to be much more frequent than before. Moreover, they were much clearer in Xu Qing's eyes.
His comprehension speed was clearly astonishing. The purple saber shadow above his head rapidly condensed, from 10% to 50%, 60%, 70%…
When the night passed and morning arrived, Xu Qing's entire body trembled. A sharp aura erupted from his body and the purple saber shadow above his head reached perfection.
It was no longer illusory but was like a true heavenly saber, emitting a terrifying sharpness.
The moonlight formed by Old Master Seventh's wave of his hand clearly possessed the power to heal; Xu Qing had completely recovered over this period of time.
His missing fingers had grown back and his aura reached an unprecedented peak.
He stood up. The combat strength of the six fires created a majestic storm in the surroundings.
Old Master Seventh took a look and his eyes were filled with satisfaction as he slowly spoke.
"Even outsiders know, you don't have to hide in front of me anymore."
Xu Qing didn't speak. After a moment of silence, a beam of black light and a rainbow light spread out from the top of his head.
The black light transformed into flames, forming a black canopy that emitted black flames.
The rainbow light flowed out and the sound of wind rang out in the surroundings, transforming into a rainbow canopy that shone with resplendent light.
Two canopies appeared.
At the same time, they illuminated the surroundings.
Even though there was the morning light, Xu Qing's body shone brightly.
"Let's go. Calculating the time, the guests should be here soon." Old Master Seventh smiled faintly and flicked his sleeve. Immediately, the surrounding space changed. It was as though clouds were shuttling through, and the shadow of the world was swaying inside.
Xu Qing looked at these and once again sensed the power of Old Master Seventh's cultivation. As his breathing hastened, his surroundings returned to normal. He was no longer in the Phoenix Forbidden ruins but in the pavilion at the top of the Seventh Peak.
The sea breeze blew over, bringing with it the familiar humidity.
The hustle and bustle from the main city also spread in the wind, as though countless people were whispering. This scene caused Xu Qing to feel a little dazed, especially since in front of him, other than Old Master Seventh, there was a familiar figure.
The other party wore a gray robe and looked to be middle-aged. He had a smile on his face as he stood up from beside a chessboard.
Xu Qing recognized this person. He was the person who had given him the token at the scavenger campsite back then.
"Old Master Seventh." The gray-clothed servant first bowed to Old Master Seventh before nodding at Xu Qing.
"Are the guests here?" Old Master Seventh's gaze landed on the chessboard.
"They are almost here," the servant said respectfully.
"Mm, bring the kid to take a bath first. He has gotten quite dirty." Old Master Seventh flicked his sleeve and walked out of the pavilion.
The word 'kid' caused Xu Qing to retract his gaze. The scene in front of him also made the guess in his mind increasingly clear.
"Kid, I'll take you to the bath. Next is not only your major event but also Old Master Seventh's major event. It's also the Seven Blood Eyes' major event," the servant said meaningfully and handed Xu Qing a jade slip.
"After bathing, walk out of the hall and step onto the mountain stairs. You can then look at this jade slip."
Xu Qing took the jade slip and fell into deep thought. He didn't ask further and politely bowed before leaving with the servant.
After thoroughly washing his entire body, he was given a new Daoist robe. There were also some maids who arrived and waved some special incense around him.
Xu Qing wasn't used to it but he didn't refuse.
When some maidservants behind him tied his hair up, the captain stuck his head out of the door and winked at Xu Qing.
A servant walked over with a purple Daoist crown.
This crown flowed with light and was extremely exquisite. It emitted a terrifying pressure and there was a faint shadow of a mutated beast lingering inside. Upon closer inspection, this beast had the body of a nine-headed snake. It was a strange existence that appeared during the end of the competition in the merfolk islands.
After looking at it for a long time, one would feel as though they could hear the roars of ferocious beasts. It was mystical and extraordinary!
"Damn, this is the Purple Heaven Infinite Crown that has half of a Nascent Soul's soul sealed inside. The old man is biased. I wanted this thing for a long time but he didn't give it to me!" While the captain's eyes were widening brightly, the servant placed the crown on Xu Qing's head.
At that moment, Xu Qing was wearing a purple gold-patterned robe and the Purple Heaven Infinite Crown. There was a faint canopy above his head. Coupled with his appearance, he gave off an extraordinary and peerless feeling.
The surrounding maids all revealed strange gazes.
Just as the captain was about to speak, a solemn voice rang out from the outside.
"The Dao is originally invisible, formless, and indescribable. It can't be understood without the scriptures. The Dao is deep and profound. It cannot be understood without a teacher."
"Today, my Seventh Peak will impart the Dao and teachings to Xu Qing, so we are here to report to Ancestor!"
The solemn voice spread through the sky.
