Chapter 1329: Benevolent Teacher, Filial Disciple

Chapter 1329: Master's Grace, Disciple's Devotion

Amidst the echoing theatrical song, the Third Senior Brother’s expression grew distant, murmuring softly.

“The Black Pagoda deceived me, made me believe that call came from Ghost Emperor Mountain…”

“Unaware that the true call… originated here…”

“And this Primordial Pillar of Separation and Solitude—I’ve stood here before, yet never felt such resonance as today…”

His voice carried on the wind and snow. Xu Qing understood—the source of it all was the Black Pagoda Divine Sovereign’s power.

He desired the Third Senior Brother’s fusion with the Ghost Emperor.

Thus, not only had he deceived him, but shifted the call itself to Ghost Emperor Mountain.

Though why the Black Pagoda valued the Ghost Emperor remained unclear…

The Ghost Emperor was formidable, yet only to low-tier cultivators. For higher realms, his Spirit-Nurturing cultivation proved insufficient.

“Perhaps… some origin unknown to me binds them…”

Xu Qing pondered, while the Third Senior Brother, as if entranced, continued his murmurs, slowly approaching the ghost cave.

At the cave’s edge, he paused not a moment…

And leapt within.

Xu Qing followed close behind.

Within the pitch-black cave, the opera song grew clearer, mingled with streams of paper money drifting from the depths.

Here, the alien essence swirled with unbearable density.

Yet the Third Senior Brother heeded none of it—let the essence invade, let the paper money whirl about him—as his figure sped deeper…

Faster and faster.

Mirroring the turmoil within his heart.

Lifetimes of waiting seemed to converge upon this instant.

Lost memories, forgotten faces, surged back now—retracing time, replaying through cycles—taking shape within his mind.

Thus his expression grew agitated, his body trembled.

Watching this, Xu Qing recalled another figure from memory.

That man, too, had stood at the edge of the forbidden zone near the scavenger camp in Southern Phoenix Continent, listening to song, gazing at his approaching beloved—wearing that same expression, that same agitation, that same tremor.

“Captain Lei…”

Xu Qing whispered inwardly, silently trailing the Third Senior Brother.

Dispelling alien essence, bolstering his speed.

At last, within the cave’s darkness, a crimson lamp emerged. Nearer it drew… until a wooden hut appeared before the Third Senior Brother’s eyes.

A structure steeped in decay, as if weathered by eons, slowly rotting away.

Its shape was pentagonal.

From each corner hung a gray iron chain, anchored to the distant mud walls.

And at each corner, where chains met wood, lay grotesque corpses.

One, drenched and rotting beyond recognition, draped in tattered black robes, riddled with holes from countless years.

Another, hands pressed to its abdomen, torn wide open—revealing an empty cavity where organs should be.

The third differed: a crimson vine coiled tightly around its neck, throttling it. The corpse’s own hands gripped the vine’s ends, pulling with desperate strength—strangling itself to death.

The fourth and fifth were equally bizarre.

Before the fourth stood a blank tombstone.

Beneath it lay the skeleton of an infant.

As for the fifth… charred by fire, its form… Xu Qing recognized.

Not the corpse he’d seen before, but the one who died here long ago—Grandmaster Daizi.

“Gold for the digger, wood for the hanged, water for the drowned, fire for the burned, earth for the buried.”

Xu Qing murmured softly, then gazed upon the wooden hut suspended midair by five chains.

Within the hut, a faint red glow cast a woman’s silhouette against the window paper.

Through its tattered patches, he saw her—a woman in crimson opera robes, seated by the window, now extending a hand as white as jade to scatter paper money.

Each sheet fluttered like a lost soul, caught by the chill wind, drifting upward.

Then, in one suspended moment, amidst the swirling paper, that outstretched hand froze.

The opera song ceased abruptly.

“You… have come…”

A gentle voice, tinged with bitterness, echoed from within the hut.

The Third Senior Brother trembled, staring at the silhouette on the paper.

“I came—too late—”

He whispered, reaching to push open the hut door, but it did not budge.

“Just sit outside… talk with me…”

The woman’s voice, too, now trembled.

He nodded, settling before the hut, gazing at the shadow on the paper. Memories churned within him, wave upon wave—yet remained stubbornly blurred.

Seven lifetimes of longing, culminating in this one.

Yet he found he remembered only the feeling… not the face.

Xu Qing watched, a sigh caught in his heart.

He knew not the tale between the Third Senior Brother and this cave-dwelling woman, but he understood why she refused true sight.

For the figure on the window paper remained ever-youthful.

While the woman within the hut was already a corpse.

This altar, this ritual, was never about five corpses…

It was six!

She herself was the sixth—the corpse drowned in longing.

Thus they… needed time alone.

Xu Qing averted his gaze, lowering it to the hut’s foundation.

Others saw nothing, but to Xu Qing’s eyes, all lay clear—including the trembling eye at the cave’s very bottom, too fearful to open even a slit.

Once, that eye’s opening had brought Xu Qing crushing pressure, thrusting him to the brink of death. Without aid, he would have succumbed to corruption.

Now, that eye meant nothing to him.

"Thus, it hails from Huangtian."

Xu Qing spoke softly. Upon this eye, he sensed the same bloodline resonance as the Golden Crow Prince.

He raised his hand, fingers curling slightly.

In the next instant, the trembling divine eye shuddered violently, shrinking rapidly until it became fist-sized. It shot forward, landing in Xu Qing’s palm.

The golden eye trembled ever more fiercely.

Xu Qing paid no heed to the divine eye in his grasp. After stowing it away, the alien essence within the ghost cave, bereft of its source, thinned dramatically.

Even the rotting wooden hut slowly regained a flicker of vitality.

Gazing at the figure within the hut, then at Third Senior Brother, Xu Qing began to retreat.

Ascending the path.

As he neared the cave’s exit, Xu Qing paused, glancing back at a section of the rocky wall.

There stood a figure, trembling as it stared at him.

It was the centipede woman who had once saved him.

Xu Qing’s gaze softened. He raised his right hand and swept it through the air. A wisp of immortal essence dispersed, merging into the centipede woman’s body, reforging her foundation.

Her body convulsed violently. When she looked up again, Xu Qing’s figure was gone.

...

Snowflakes continued their silent dance.

Time fell like snowflakes, one after another.

Xu Qing concluded his suppression of Wanggu Continent, no longer appearing readily before others.

Yet humanity’s rise was inevitable. Under the Empress’s leadership, myriad clans pledged allegiance—even those mighty tribes possessing divine beings.

Most of those divine entities chose seclusion.

Only the Yan Yue Xuanti Tribe, invigorated by the return and fusion of the Muddy Fox’s divided spirit with its original form, sprang to life. It soared above sun and moon alike, forging an alliance with humanity.

Aiding humankind in building a new era.

Throughout this process, resistance persisted. The entire Wanggu Continent, riddled like a sieve since the descent of the divine fragments, had been infiltrated in countless ways.

Some infiltrators came from the Ninth Star Ring; others from rings far distant.

Yet under the Muddy Fox’s intervention, all matters resolved smoothly. Even when encountering those linked to forces beyond Wanggu, figures like Zhou Zhengli descended to assist.

Thus, every step proceeded without hindrance.

Wanggu’s unification was now fact.

Amidst all these unfolding events, Xu Qing did not linger long with old acquaintances. Instead, fulfilling Erniu’s eager anticipation, he accompanied him… to the sealed entrance of Huangtian… beneath the human Imperial Capital!

Across Wanggu’s lands, Xu Qing had now swept nearly every region, directly or indirectly, save the Devouring Heaven Domain. All was secure.

Beneath Wanggu Continent lay that place—Huangtian…

The time had come to address it.

Moreover, Senior Brother’s original body resided within Huangtian.

"I tell you, Little Qing," Erniu declared proudly at the sealed entrance, "though you’re formidable, your Senior Brother here is no slouch in Huangtian either!"

No sooner had he spoken than a hand smacked sharply against his head.

"You’re so mighty? Then why didn’t you escape on your own? What’s this nonsense about a divided spirit prancing about!"

Seventh Master shot Erniu a glare.

Seventh Master had joined this expedition to Huangtian.

Ignoring Erniu’s wounded expression, he turned to Xu Qing, his gaze benevolent, filled with paternal pride—as if Xu Qing were his sole disciple in life.

"Dear disciple, I know Huangtian better. Taking you myself will ensure a smoother journey.

Those old fellows back then couldn’t kill that Huangtian Divine Emperor, only seal him away…"

"Likely he still lives. And from my later analysis, that Emperor isn’t quite at the Divine Sovereign level—but perilously close."

Xu Qing nodded, bowing respectfully.

"Many thanks, Master."

"Think nothing of it. Just as I took you to the underground palace long ago, this time I shall guide you to Huangtian!"

Seventh Master waved his hand grandly, his smile growing even kinder.

Beside him, seemingly ignored, Erniu’s heart ached. He blurted out,

"Master! You’re terribly biased! Back at the underground palace, you took both me and Little Qing! Why mention only him now?"

"And… I know Huangtian too! Better than you! Have you even seen that Emperor? Old man, I’ll tell you—I even visited the place where the Emperor was sealed! At that time…"

Erniu’s grievance spilled forth, but before he could finish, Seventh Master delivered a fierce kick, sending Erniu tumbling headlong into the sealed entrance.

"You impudent rascal! Since you love calling me ‘old man,’ stop addressing me as Master! You know Huangtian? Then lead the way!"

Erniu’s wail echoed as his body vanished into the entrance. Seventh Master didn’t spare him a glance. Smiling beatifically, he turned to Xu Qing and took his hand.

"Dear disciple, let us go."