Xu Qing stopped in his tracks as great waves rose in his mind.
The scream of the god's finger contained fear toward its guess. After all, it was in a deep sleep most of the time and didn't know about the matters in the external world. It only learned of these things after probing right now.
However, Xu Qing was well aware that there had already been rumors about the opening of the Immortal Forbidden when he first arrived in the capital over a year ago, but ultimately, nothing came of it.
Hence, he had many doubts about the opening of the Immortal Forbidden during this war.
Now, the words of the god's finger seemed to enlighten Xu Qing. The broken threads instantly connected and he gained a clearer understanding.
This realization caused his breathing to become hurried. He hurriedly left the city and returned to his Sword Pavilion. He then sat down and began to organize his thoughts.
The god's finger was still mumbling. Clearly, it was deeply shocked by the human race's audacious action.
As Xu Qing continued to organize his thoughts, a complete outline appeared in his mind after a while.
"The first thread is Zhang Siyun… Back then, in the Absolute Beginning Separation Pillar, the captain and I were at a height of 30,000 feet. From the mark of the dead cultivator from the Divine Realm, we sensed the Red Moon to varying degrees."
"The captain obtained the aura, and I… obtained the divine source!"
Xu Qing mumbled. These things were what he had confirmed through numerous incidents.
"Zhang Siyun also reached 30,000 feet, so he can naturally sense it. Back then, after Zhang Siyun was heavily injured and fell down from the height of 30,000 feet and narrowly escaped death, I felt intense palpitations at night."
"From that moment on, I realized that the Red Moon was looking for me. However, I wasn't sure what changes Zhang Siyun had undergone. Now, it should be at that time when Zhang Siyun was parasitized by the Red Moon!"
A dark glint appeared in Xu Qing's eyes as he recalled everything back then. He then thought of the emperor's heart inquisition.
"Is it possible to conceal this during the emperor's heart inquisition? If Zhang Siyun was really parasitized by the Red Moon back then, why did the emperor confirm that everything was normal, letting him come to the county capital?"
After Xu Qing thought about it, he combined it with what the god's finger had said. The human race was helping speed up the awakening of the Red Moon in Zhang Siyun's body. Hence, he came to a realization.
"I should have known back then."
"This matter can be easily confirmed!" Xu Qing took out the command sword, wanting to transmit his voice to the Great Elder of the Sword Holding Court in the Yinghuang Province to ask. However, after taking out the command sword, his expression was a little gloomy.
"I forgot that after the Palace Master left, I no longer have the right to casually transmit my voice across provinces."
Xu Qing sighed softly. However, this matter was fine. Although he didn't have the authority, he could rely on military contributions to exchange for such cross-province voice transmissions. Xu Qing had a huge number of military contributions, so he quickly exchanged for the right to make a call and asked the Great Elder of the Yinghuang Province's Sword Holding Court about Zhang Siyun.
If it was anyone else who asked, even if it was Kong Xianglong, the Great Elder would ignore them.
However, Xu Qing had a different status in the eyes of the Great Elder.
Hence, very soon, Xu Qing learned everything.
"During the emperor's heart inquisition back then, I already knew that a god had parasitized Zhang Siyun. However, I didn't know which god it was, and because it was a serious matter, I immediately reported it to the Palace Master."
"After that, I continued to pay attention to this matter. The Palace Master told me once that as long as Zhang Siyun is still a Sword Holder, he won't allow anyone to use him as bait!"
"Moreover, the main body of the emperor's statue is in the Imperial City, so the Imperial City also knows about Zhang Siyun."
The aged voice of the Great Elder echoed in Xu Qing's mind. After saying this, his tone was a little solemn and contained concern.
"Xu Qing, Fenghai County is different from before. I've also heard that the Immortal Forbidden is about to be opened. Back then, many people didn't agree with this and even the County Governor and Deputy Governor objected. However, the decree came from the Imperial City and we can't resist it. We could only delay it slightly, and this delay wouldn't continue for long. After that, when the war arrived, no one mentioned it. I don't know why you're asking about this, but you… must be cautious."
Xu Qing could sense the concern in the Great Elder's voice. He then asked about the impact of the escape of Spirit Venerable Nether Fairy on the Yinghuang Province's Sword Holding Court.
"This falls on my shoulders. I failed to adequately oversee Nether Fairy, resulting in her escape and our inability to deliver her to the Prince to restrain the awakening of the Ghost Emperor. Now, Nether Fairy is nowhere to be found, along with the two souls and seven spirits. The situation in Yinghuang Province carries significant peril, causing even the Prince to hesitate in his arrival…"
The Great Elder coughed and sighed in self-blame.
Xu Qing felt a little strange when he heard this. After thinking about it carefully, he felt that there was a high chance that the Great Elder had taken the initiative to release the Nether Fairy. It was also possible that she hadn't gone missing at all.
At the thought of this, Xu Qing's heart relaxed slightly. After the conversation ended, his eyes gleamed.
"The opening of the Immortal Forbidden is of great significance. Hence, a year ago, the County Governor, Deputy Governor, and the Palace Master weren't very supportive. But now, the County Governor, the Palace Master, and many others have fallen. Only the Deputy Governor is still around."
"As for Zhang Siyun, he no longer has the protection of the Palace Master, so someone wants to send him into the Immortal Forbidden and awaken the Red Moon in his body, turning him into a Red Moon clone to devour the god in the Immortal Forbidden?"
"But why do this? What's the benefit of doing this to the Imperial City?" Xu Qing lacked relevant clues and couldn't analyze the answer.
As for the god's finger, after muttering to itself, it retracted all its aura and hid itself tightly. The fluctuations of its slumber disappeared as though it had entered a state of death.
