Xu Qing fell silent. He knew the source of Kong Xianglong's loneliness and bleakness.
After hearing the analysis from his master in the forbidden land, Xu Qing also had similar feelings in his heart. The Palace Master, the County Governor, and even the entire Fenghai County, were all just pawns in a greater scheme.
The Palace Master clearly understood all of this before he went to the battle and died.
However, throughout his life, he wielded his sword with unwavering loyalty to the human race, traversing through eventful years. Therefore, the Palace Master had no regrets sacrificing himself for the sake of the human race.
The only thing he was worried about was his homeland, his grandson, and the young warriors under his command. Therefore, after deducing certain things, he chose to sacrifice himself in order to do everything possible, without jeopardizing the overall situation, to save Fenghai County.
'As long as the Fenghai stands, I have no regrets about this sacrifice.'
Xu Qing recalled this sentence many times. It contained the determination in the Palace Master's heart before he jumped toward his death.
And this was indeed the truth. After the Palace Master died, the Seventh Prince's army arrived and resolved everything, becoming the heroes of the human race.
Kong Xianglong also realized these things and remained silent.
However, in the end, his choice was similar to his grandfather's.
He chose to wish the human race a great victory in this war.
This way, his grandfather's death would be even more meaningful.
Xu Qing sighed softly and silently left with the captain for the Sword Pavilion.
The captain didn't speak on the way. When they returned to the Sword Pavilion, the captain patted Xu Qing's shoulder.
"Little Qing, you…"
Xu Qing lifted his head and a dark glint appeared in his eyes as he suddenly spoke.
"That's not right!"
The captain's gaze froze.
"Master's judgment isn't wrong but there should be more than this… I've seen that white jade hand before!" Xu Qing recalled carefully and was increasingly certain of this matter.
The captain said nothing.
In the Immortal Forbidden, they had seen two white jade hands, one big and one small. The small white jade hand was something their master had obtained from studying the god specimen. As for who the big white jade hand belonged to, it was self-evident.
However, he didn't say anything from the start because he was worried that Xu Qing would be agitated.
Xu Qing didn't continue, and sat there with no expression on his face.
The captain sighed. Master had told him some things, so he could guess the waves in Xu Qing's heart, and accompanied him silently.
When the sky outside gradually brightened and he saw that Xu Qing was still silent, the captain coughed and spoke in a low voice.
"Junior Brother, why do you think Master isn't here yet?"
Xu Qing shook his head.
"Junior Brother, with my understanding of the old man, I suspect that the old man should be beside us."
As soon as the captain said this, Xu Qing lifted his head. There were some fluctuations in his eyes.
"Believe me, Little Qing, Master likes to peep. I experienced it firsthand when you weren't in the sect. I suspect that our Master might have been waiting for us here in the Sword Pavilion, or perhaps he is using some means to sense our presence."
At first, the captain only wanted to find a topic to talk about. However, as he spoke, his eyes widened. He vaguely felt that what he said made sense. He took a deep breath and suddenly stood up, looking around.
"Master, Master, come out. I see you!" The captain bowed excitedly toward a corner.
Xu Qing was puzzled. His previously slightly turbulent mood was also suppressed by the captain's words and actions as he looked at that corner.
However, no matter how the captain bowed, nothing changed.
The captain blinked and turned in another direction, continuing to bow.
"Haha, Master, I actually didn't see you. I just felt an additional aura here. You know that I'm very sensitive to this."
The direction the captain bowed to was still quiet as before.
Xu Qing had a strange expression. The captain revealed a surprised expression. After some thought, he suddenly looked at Xu Qing.
"Junior Brother, do you still have the mask Master gave you?"
Xu Qing took a deep breath and had a guess. He immediately took out the translucent mask that contained an immortal art and respectfully placed it to the side. He then stood up and bowed.
The captain also had a solemn expression as he cupped his fists and bowed.
After that, they waited for a long time but there were no changes to the mask. Hence, they looked at each other.
"Eldest Senior Brother, maybe you are thinking too much…"
"Believe me, I know Master too well."
The captain had an extremely confident expression. However, time passed, the sky outside changed from morning to noon and then to dusk, but there was no change in the mask, and they hadn't received any voice transmissions from their Master.
Xu Qing looked at the captain.
The captain looked at the mask and gritted his teeth.
"Junior Brother, I have no choice. I can only take out my trump card!"
After saying that, under Xu Qing's attention, the captain coughed dryly and spoke loudly.
"Junior Brother, let me tell you a secret. Do you know why I'm so keen on helping female cultivators resolve the problem of getting too many gifts? That's because many years ago, there was an old man we both know. You know who he is, so I won't tell you. In short, this old man went to deliver a gift to a female cultivator. After he finished giving it, he actually brought me to take the gift…"
"Shut up!" Before the captain could finish speaking, a low shout that seemed to contain anger from embarrassment rang out from the translucent mask.
Xu Qing gasped. The captain quickly gave Xu Qing a smug look. After that, he put on a long face and knelt in front of the mask.
"Master, you scared me to death. I was worried about your safety. I really had no choice but to do this. Now that I know that you're fine, I'm relieved."
"Shut up! I'm running for my life!!" Old Master Seventh roared from the mask.
Xu Qing's expression instantly turned solemn. The captain's expression also changed and he immediately fell silent. Worry involuntarily rose in the hearts of the two of them. They didn't say a word and waited silently.
The wait was very torturous and Xu Qing was extremely worried. The captain's face at the side was also filled with solemnity and there was a hint of malevolence.
The night passed. When the next morning arrived, the mask moved slightly and floated up from the ground. Under Xu Qing and the captain's nervousness, Old Master Seventh's hoarse voice rang out.
"I've finally escaped. Isn't it just a spike? Is there a need to search like this?"
Hearing Old Master Seventh's words, Xu Qing and the captain finally heaved a sigh of relief.
"The two of you, find a time to return to the Seven Blood Eyes in the near future. I've gained a lot this time. After refining that spike, I can get a big treasure for each of you. This is a divine spike, a true godly item. Moreover, it's from a special physique!"
"Hmm… Don't come back too quickly, or else you'll expose us. How about this? You guys come back in a month. By then, the refinement will be almost over."
"Also, I can't be distracted during this period of time, so don't cause trouble. Also, Eldest, swallow this mask and hide its aura!"
"Let's do this for now. I am going to look for a place to enter seclusion. We'll talk about it when you return to the Seven Blood Eyes."
After Old Master Seventh finished speaking, the mask slowly landed on the ground and remained motionless.
"Eldest Senior Brother, about Master…" Xu Qing fell silent and looked at the captain.
The captain smiled and stepped forward to pick up the mask before stuffing it into his mouth. As his throat squirmed, he swallowed it forcefully. After burping, he winked at Xu Qing.
"The old man can still explain these things. It means he's alive and kicking."
"Don't worry, Master isn't as good as me when it comes to doing big things, but when it comes to running away… I've never seen anyone better at it than him. Think about it, who the hell can comprehend concealment ability after studying a god specimen that contains the power of time?"
The captain also sighed with emotion. He didn't lie to Xu Qing. He really believed that their master was fine.
After saying that, he looked at the sky outside. Just as he was about to speak, his voice transmission jade slip vibrated.
Xu Qing immediately looked over. After the captain took it out, his eyes lit up. He instinctively licked his lips and chuckled at Xu Qing.
"Little Qing, I'll leave for now. Taotao is looking for me."
With that, the captain hurriedly left for the Observance Palace. On the way, he even took out a peach. After taking a bite, he raised his hand and looked at the eye growing in his palm.
He used it as a mirror and looked at his appearance. After confirming that he was still so outstanding, his eyes lit up and he sped up.
As he watched the captain's figure disappear, a sense of blessing emanated from Xu Qing's gaze. He then withdrew his gaze and looked at the empty Sword Pavilion. The inner turmoil that had been stirred by the Illuminate's matter had now subsided and turned into tranquility.
"In a month, when I return to the Seven Blood Eyes, I have to talk to Fairy Zi Xuan."
After the Bottle of Time fused into Xu Qing's Heavenly Palace, a sigh had echoed in his mind. After a long time, he closed his eyes and was about to cultivate, but soon, he opened his eyes and took out the plain pill bottle Kong Xianglong had given him.
Previously, outside the deep pit, when the captain swallowed the pills, the medicinal fragrance released was mixed with some other smells. Xu Qing felt that it was a little familiar at that time, as though he had smelled it somewhere before.
However, he didn't sense it in detail as he was telling the truth to Kong Xianglong.
Now that he had calmed down, he recalled this matter. Although he didn't think much of it, due to his cautious personality, he still opened the pill bottle and placed it in front of him to sniff it, wanting to confirm what medicinal herb it was.
"There are many medicinal herbs…" Xu Qing fell silent. In order to search for that smell that seemed to be familiar, he took a few more sniffs and identified it carefully.
Not long later, Xu Qing finally locked onto that familiar smell from the many scents.
This smell was extremely light. Before Xu Qing obtained the god's body, he wouldn't have been able to sense it. Only with his current body could he vaguely smell it.
"This is… the smell of osmanthus?"
Xu Qing mumbled. However, at the next instant, his pupils contracted and he suddenly lowered his head, staring fixedly at the pill in his hand. A look of disbelief appeared on his face and his breathing became unprecedentedly hurried.
"The smell of osmanthus!"
Lightning seemed to rumble in Xu Qing's mind. In order to confirm that he hadn't smelled wrongly, he simply crushed a plain pill and placed the powder in front of his nose, carefully distinguishing it.
The smell of osmanthus became clearer and clearer.
Xu Qing was stunned for a long while. The medicinal powder on his palm scattered down.
"This is the smell that was in that empty wish box…"
Xu Qing's emotions fluctuated intensely. He found the source of the familiarity. Back then, when he and Kong Xianglong were on a mission, he had held the empty wish box in his hand.
At that time, the smell emitted by the box was the smell of osmanthus. It was exactly the same as the smell in the plain pill!!
Over the years, plain pills had become a necessity for all the cultivators and mortals in the entire county capital!
Hundreds of millions of people had eaten it!
