Chapter 618: A Chicken Ascends to the Sky, Ten Thousand Men Cannot Block It

As soon as the words "atone for your crimes through service" were uttered, dozens of these little chicks flapped their wings and leaped up, emitting clucking sounds with eyes full of infinite longing.

They had gone mad.

In order to snatch this opportunity, they even wrestled with each other after jumping up, scattering chicken feathers all over the ground.

Xu Qing frowned.

Instantly, these little chicks all quieted down; regardless of what cultivation base they previously possessed, upon realizing their situation, understanding that there were four Spirit Severing experts here, and guessing Xu Qing's status, they dared not show the slightest bit of negligence.

Though their grief and indignation were intense, to survive, they had no choice but to bow their heads.

Seeing them quiet down, Xu Qing raised his finger and pointed a few times, selecting over thirty from the more than one hundred chicks.

"Which of you is the fastest?" Xu Qing asked.

Immediately, one of the little chicks jumped up abruptly, its clucking sound filled with longing.

Xu Qing nodded, took out the jade slip given by the Heir for controlling the chicks, and pointed while forming a seal; a white light instantly flew out from the jade slip and headed straight for that chick.

The next moment, the chick's entire body shuddered and its form changed—not into the body of a cultivator, but rather the chicken body expanded and grew, reaching a full ten zhang in size, becoming a large chicken.

Its cultivation base also recovered, and a fluctuation of the second-tier Void Returning realm erupted from within its body, with the power of the Red Mother permeating it; this person... was none other than a divine messenger of the Red Moon Temple.

Xu Qing's eyes revealed a strange look, but thinking that it was raised by Fifth Granny, he felt no surprise, so he flickered his body and stood directly on the back of this large chicken.

"You all follow behind." Speaking to the other chicks and undoing some of their seals, Xu Qing calmly issued his decree.

"Depart!"

That second-tier Void Returning large chicken dared not resist; Fifth Granny's restriction meant that if he even raised a sliver of rebellious intent, he would wish he were dead, so he hurriedly nodded and leaped into the air.

They headed straight for the sky, and as for the other chicks, they all flew out rapidly at this moment, following behind; just like this, a flock of chicks sped along, emitting whistling sounds within the gray storm as they flew toward the edge of the desert.

Their speed was so fast they traversed the void.

In just a few hours, they flew from the Kusheng Mountain Range to the edge of the desert.

From afar, one could see that at the edge of the desert, a large number of simple sand houses had been built; those stationed here were all cultivators of the desert, numbering nearly ten thousand, led by Ancestor Mo Gui.

Upon noticing the flock of chicks flying in from the sky, the cultivators here were all suspicious, and Ancestor Mo Gui was the first to rush out.

He recognized these chicks, and upon flying into mid-air and seeing Xu Qing's figure clearly, Ancestor Mo Gui's heart shook.

"It is this Young Master!"

As a clerk at the medicine shop, he naturally knew Xu Qing's status in the shop and had also seen the Heir's guidance many times, so he understood perfectly that this person was the owner of the medicine shop, and the relationship between him and the Heir was like that of master and disciple.

Therefore, he hurriedly spoke in a loud voice.

"Greetings, Young Master!"

As he spoke, Ancestor Mo Gui cupped his fists in a bow in mid-air.

Xu Qing nodded and returned the gesture with cupped fists.

"Greetings, Senior."

Although the other party's identity was that of a medicine shop clerk, Xu Qing knew that this was all because of the Heir, not himself, and compared to those little chicks, the fact that Ancestor Mo Gui could be spared by the Heir meant there must be some connection.

Facing Xu Qing's return of the salute, Ancestor Mo Gui felt moved; he could be shameless in the medicine shop, but now with so many people here, most of whom were his subordinates, he actually cared about his dignity.

And Xu Qing's return of the salute made him feel very comfortable, and naturally, a sense of closeness arose.

"Young Master, what is the purpose of your visit this time?"

"The Heir has ordered me to come and receive the arriving cultivators of the Reverse Moon Hall."

Xu Qing looked up into the distance; outside the gray wind, the world was blood-red, as if stained by fresh blood, and in this blood-colored world, a large number of black dots were appearing on the horizon at this moment.

They were speeding toward this place.

On the horizon outside the desert, those small black dots that appeared were flying ships.

They were the Fourth Hall Master and his subordinates, who had been fleeing all the way under the pursuit of the Red Moon Temple.

The thousand flying ships were mostly dilapidated, and the cultivators within were even weaker than they had been half a month ago; the exhaustion was the same, and the eruption of their injuries combined with the anxiety in their hearts left everyone drained of all strength.

Behind them was a sky full of red light, and at the front of the formation, the Fourth Hall Master had a pale complexion and severe injuries; the subordinates behind him were also at the critical point of life.

"Fourth Hall Master, this is the last Curse-Descending Pill. Although the elixirs from Master Dan Jiu are provided free of charge, there are too many people in need and the quantity is limited, and in the end, I am not as good as Master Dan Jiu; even though he gave me the pill formula, I am unable to refine it."

Behind the Fourth Hall Master, a first-tier Void Returning middle-aged man took out a pill bottle, handed it over, and spoke in a hoarse voice.

Hearing this, the Fourth Hall Master looked at the elixir and spoke in a low voice.

"Sheng Luo, you have done your best."

"You all should divide it and take it; I can still hold on."

That first-tier Void Returning middle-aged man was none other than Master Sheng Luo.

Hearing the Fourth Hall Master's words, Sheng Luo lowered his head.

Because of the obstruction of the storm, he could not see Xu Qing and the others, seeing only a vast expanse, so he spoke softly.

"Master Dan Jiu has not replied to any of my messages; I think it must be inconvenient for him to reveal his identity. I hope he is well..."

Sheng Luo nodded, his expression revealing some complexity.

"There is a rumor that Master Dan Jiu is in the desert ahead... Fourth Hall Master, the Holy Land of the desert has also sent information through the Reverse Moon Hall, allowing us to enter; the entry point provided is right here."

"However, behind us..." Sheng Luo turned his head and looked behind them.

Behind them, the crimson of the world was like viscous fresh blood, churning continuously, and one could vaguely see multiple huge temple organs within it.

Along this journey, they had encountered several interceptions by the Red Moon Temple; each time was a bitter battle, and the casualties were increasing, which was also the reason why everyone's injuries were becoming more and more severe.

And every time they shook them off, it was often not long before the Red Moon Temple would catch up again.

At this moment, the pursuers of the Red Moon Temple appeared once more.

"It does not matter. To the Red Moon Temple, this suppression is not actually taken very seriously; after all, the Red Mother will descend in less than ten months. If too many of us die, there will be more Red Moon-affiliated forces to fill this void."

The Fourth Hall Master's voice carried exhaustion as he spoke slowly.

"Therefore, the Red Moon Temple is actually quite fearful internally, and their will is not unified; some favor games, some favor laissez-faire, and some favor suppression."

"And if you carefully recall this journey, it is actually us who have been driven along the whole time."

The Fourth Hall Master sneered.

"Some forces in the Red Moon Temple hope we come here and then survive until the Red Mother descends."

"There are other forces that uphold the concepts of the previous eras of this vast region, believing that delicious food should be walked around a bit more; only when it is active will it be more exquisite, and the more it struggles, the tastier it often is."

"For us, it is a life-and-death resistance, but for the high-level officials of the Red Moon Temple, this is perhaps just a game."

"But because of the Heir's appearance, some forces in the temple have become vigilant; they are the main force launching the suppression."

Sheng Luo was silent; he had also noticed this phenomenon along the way, and not just him—the various Void Returning cultivators on these flying ships had also sensed it, only now it had been pointed out by the Fourth Hall Master.

"Do not think too much. Regardless of what happens ten months from now, at least... we are living for freedom today."

The Fourth Hall Master took a deep breath and waved his hand; instantly, the speed of all the flying ships surged, heading straight for the desert storm ahead, getting closer and closer.

But just at this moment, the blood light behind them suddenly shone brightly, and while surging outward, it actually manifested into a giant blood-colored hand, covering the sky and earth, grabbing toward them.

A cold glint flashed in the Fourth Hall Master's eyes, and his cultivation base erupted with a boom; instantly, the world changed color, and illusory small worlds appeared in the firmament, which, after merging with each other, formed an illusory great world.

This was the manifestation of the fourth-tier Void Returning realm! Although that great world was illusory, it was magnificently shocking, blocking the incoming blood-colored hand.

At the same time, all the cultivators on the flying ships also erupted with their own power, forming ten thousand techniques that converged together, adding color to that great world and making it look more real.

There were also those dozen or so Void Returning experts, all of whom unleashed their cultivation bases—some first, second, or third-tier—forming the pillars of the great world and giving it their all.

A deafening roar erupted in an instant; winds rose and clouds surged, setting off astonishing waves, and as they surged in all directions, that blood-colored palm was torn to pieces.

But the Fourth Hall Master's illusory great world also collapsed, and everyone spat out blood; however, the flying ships they were on used this impact to gain even greater speed, scattering like celestial flowers, each rushing toward the desert storm.

And the storm connecting the sky and earth in the desert suddenly emitted a gap amidst this endless whistling, as if two giant curtains were moving to the sides, the revealed gap growing larger and larger, like opening a door.

Inside the door, one could see Ancestor Mo Gui and Xu Qing, as well as the ten thousand cultivators from the desert.

The two sides looked at each other, and just as the Fourth Hall Master's side was about to rush in, the red light in the distant sky erupted again; dozens of temple-carrying masses of flesh within it did not approach but stopped, yet each emitted a thick blood light, manifesting into a giant face in the sky.

This face was the face of an alien creature covered in scales; it looked coldly at the desert and charged directly over, as if it wanted to enter the desert along with the Fourth Hall Master's fleet of flying ships.

But just at this moment, Xu Qing patted the large chick beneath him.

The large chick trembled and carefully rushed out; after bringing Xu Qing into mid-air, Xu Qing ignored the flying ships of the Fourth Hall Master's side whistling past him and raised his right hand, his palm facing the giant face outside the storm.

In his hand was a jade slip.

At this moment, he squeezed it fiercely.

The jade slip shattered instantly, and a Spirit Severing fluctuation erupted from within, forming a giant vortex in front of Xu Qing.

As it rotated with a rumble, bolts of lightning roamed within it, and then a giant finger that shook the heavens and earth stretched out directly from the vortex.

Looking from afar, it was as if rocks were piercing the sky and waves were crashing against the shore; that finger was imposing enough to challenge the heavens and swallow the mountains and rivers, descending with a single point toward the approaching face.