Chapter 620: Little Ah Qing, I

Gray winds howled, whipping up countless grains of sand and blowing against the flying ships between heaven and earth.

Despite the protective barriers, the pattering sound of impacts still reached Xu Qing's ears, accompanied by the voices of the Fourth Palace Master and Master Sheng Luo.

At the same time, the other subordinates of the Fourth Palace Master on the flying ship also opened their eyes from their healing meditation and looked toward Xu Qing.

Xu Qing looked toward the Fourth Palace Master.

Back at the edge of the Great Desert, when he first met the other party, he had felt a sense of familiarity rise in his heart.

This feeling was not because they had seen each other's statues within the Counter-Moon Palace.

Statues were different for everyone; even gender and race were hidden beneath them, and unless one possessed the supreme authority of the Counter-Bright Palace, it was impossible to discern them.

Therefore, Xu Qing had remained silent throughout the journey on the flying ship, pondering the source of this familiarity in his heart.

Until this moment, he had found it.

The most distinct feature of this Fourth Palace Master was his rigid seriousness; it seemed that a smile was an expression extremely difficult to appear on his face, and the vertical lines between his brows made this sense of rigidity even more intense.

Xu Qing had seen such a countenance on the Sword-Holding Palace Master Kong Liang of Fenghai County.

Thinking of the Palace Master, even after several years, waves still rose in his heart; the figure of the other party standing outside the forbidden array, blocking the army of the Saint-Lan Tribe, remained eternal in Xu Qing's mind amidst that destruction of ice and fire.

"The place where the Sovereign slew the god was arranged by my Senior Brother," Xu Qing said softly.

He was not lying; it was indeed Chen Chen Erniu who started it, and it was Chen Chen Erniu who brought about the final outcome, though there had been a few accidents in between.

As for the truth of the matter, Xu Qing felt there was no need to tell others.

The Fourth Palace Master's eyes held deep meaning, and he did not ask further; as for Master Sheng Luo, he sighed in his heart, for he did not believe Xu Qing's alchemy attainments could be very high, let alone associate him with Dan Jiu.

Because in his heart, the person who could voice his inner thoughts and the ideals of the alchemy cultivators of the Festival Moon Domain after that alchemy duel must, like himself, have immersed their pursuit of the Dao of alchemy in the passage of time, and would not be so young.

Just like that, with Xu Qing's silence, time passed, and these flying ships crossed the wind and sand, arriving at the Kusheng Mountain Range one day later.

Under the arrangements of the Mo Gui Ancestor, the residency rights for over a dozen mountain peaks were gifted to the Fourth Palace Master, which would be the new home for the cultivators of the Fourth Palace Master's side.

Xu Qing also completed his task, returned to the apothecary, locked the little chicks back in the backyard, sat down in front of the Heir, and took out the unused Spirit-Nurturing Jade Slip, placing it to the side.

The Heir was drinking tea while his gaze swept over the jade slip, and he spoke indifferently.

"Take it; consider it a life-saving item for you."

Hearing this, Xu Qing looked at the Heir.

"Senior, are you going on a long journey?"

"In a while, Third Sister and I are going out to unseal Old Nine. You don't need to assist this time; we already have absolute certainty and are just waiting for the right moment."

Xu Qing nodded and put away the jade slip.

"Furthermore, you must not slacken in your cultivation. As for the matter you asked about regarding your Ding-One-Three-Two, I can tell you now."

The Heir's gaze was deep as he looked at Xu Qing's body.

Xu Qing's spirit lifted, and he listened earnestly.

Seeing Xu Qing like this, the Heir felt satisfied; he had put some thought into pondering Ding-One-Three-Two. He set down his teacup and spoke with an air of detachment.

"Your Ding-One-Three-Two is both a prison and a vessel of destiny, and it contains a god's finger."

"Although this finger isn't much—it looks like just the finger of a lower god's avatar—it is born as a god, which is rare and precious."

"But this also makes your Ding-One-Three-Two complex. I can see that this finger also possesses authority; that is the power of misfortune. But this misfortune does not belong to you. What truly belongs to you is the fusion of Ding-One-Three-Two's destiny and misfortune, transforming into the power of oblivion formed by this cage!"

"This combination of destiny and misfortune is very ingenious. I see traces of human forbidden arrays on it, and even the brushwork of the Sword-Holding Xiangong. If I am not mistaken, its prototype should be the Penal Department of the Sword-Holding Xiangong!"

"It was later generations who, with the help of past records, added innovations to finally shape it."

The Heir's deep voice echoed in Xu Qing's ears. Xu Qing's body trembled, and a sense of respect rose in his heart.

He had not told the Heir much about Ding-One-Three-Two, but the other party had seen through to its essence, causing Xu Qing to stand up and bow.

"Please, Senior, give me your guidance."

The Heir smiled.

"Feel the power of oblivion within it; this is a new authority... and also a direction that the Sword-Holding Xiangong researched during the era of the Profound-Hidden Ancient Emperor."

"That direction was called 'Conception' by some back then."

Xu Qing's heart stirred; he thought of the Taisi Immortal Sect in Fenghai County.

Li Li Zimei had once told him that the cultivation techniques of the Taisi Immortal Sect eventually led to the path of Conception.

Besides that, the patriarch of the Sea Corpse Tribe also walked this path.

And the Taisi Immortal Sect cultivator he had encountered under the Liyou Pillar—the other party's attacks also contained this kind of Conception.

Then there was Qing Qiu; when she unleashed her trump card, what she displayed was also a power of Conception.

Xu Qing had not expected that after such a long detour, his own Ding-One-Three-Two actually contained this ability.

Noticing Xu Qing's expression, the Heir had an epiphany in his heart.

"It seems you have encountered similar cultivators before. This is normal; after all, when the Profound-Hidden Ancient Emperor was still around, the Sword-Holding Xiangong invited many people to participate in order to better research it."

"However, your oblivion Conception is different from the ordinary; after all, it is a product of the fusion of the destiny of all living beings and the misfortune of a god. It is worth your careful study."

"Moreover, the purpose of the Sword-Holding Xiangong's research into Conception back then was to create an ability that could make gods bow their heads."

After speaking, the Heir picked up his teacup. He felt he had found the knack for educating Xu Qing: whatever he understood, he should explain in as much detail as possible, leaving no room for Xu Qing's own comprehension to run wild.

And for things he only half-understood, he should make it sound as profound as possible, finally giving a direction; this was more suitable for Xu Qing's aptitude.

And this direction had to be grand enough; as for whether it could be achieved, that was a matter for the future.

Xu Qing took a deep breath. The Heir's words made Ding-One-Three-Two suddenly clear to him, and he now had a direction. After cupping his fists, he immediately returned to the back room, sat cross-legged, and began to ponder.

The Nascent Soul within Ding-One-Three-Two also opened its eyes, revealing a green glow.

The god's finger, being stared at, instinctively rolled over and continued to pretend to be asleep, but its spirit was trembling.

The other prisoners were the same.

Whether it was the Head or the Stone Lion, they were currently in awe of Xu Qing to the extreme. Ever since arriving in this Festival Moon Domain, they felt Xu Qing was becoming less and less human and increasingly terrifying.

Even the old man Dan Qing was trembling; at this moment, even if he were given a hundred guts, he wouldn't dare to provoke Xu Qing in the slightest.

Xu Qing didn't pay much attention to these prisoners. He overlapped his spiritual sense with the Nascent Soul of his Ding-One-Three-Two and swept over them one by one.

Carrying the line of thought given by the Heir, Xu Qing felt that since the finger served as the source of misfortune and his Nascent Soul as the gathering of destiny, the result of the power of oblivion was actually best manifested in these prisoners.

Thus, in the end, his gaze fell upon the old man Dan Qing.

The old man's face turned pale, feeling a sense of impending doom, and he hurriedly spoke.

"My lord, I feel our Ding-One-Three-Two is still not perfect; it lacks people... lacks a water vat, lacks a scarecrow!"

"That's right, that's right, Boss! Those two are definitely out there causing harm to the world. We are righteous at heart and absolutely cannot allow them to be so indulgent!"

The Head also spoke rapidly.

Xu Qing remained expressionless. He raised his right hand and grabbed; immediately, the old man Dan Qing flew over and landed in the hand of Xu Qing's Nascent Soul. The old man was full of obsequiousness, just about to speak.

"Shut up."

Xu Qing transmitted his spiritual sense.

The old man immediately took out a brush, drew a line across his own mouth to seal it, and then put on a fawning expression.

Xu Qing nodded, raised his hand to press on the old man Dan Qing's forehead, and felt carefully. Not long after, he grabbed the Head and the Stone Lion as well for the same deep-level perception.

Even, for the sake of better research, he simply waved his hand to crush these three into meat paste, staring unblinkingly, focusing on their resurrection.

After repeating this cycle, amidst the pleas for mercy from these three prisoners and the increasingly shivering god's finger, Xu Qing ended his research.

In the back room, Xu Qing opened his eyes, revealing an epiphany.

"The successive wardens of Ding-One-Three-Two mostly died in misfortune, and I have also experienced oblivion many times. These prisoners themselves are a part of misfortune, so to a certain extent, they are neither dead nor alive."

"And the reason I would forget is because I was also tainted by misfortune back then, and with the fusion of destiny, it led to the formation of oblivion."

"Using oblivion to sever cause and effect—this is the core of Ding-One-Three-Two."

Xu Qing pondered. The Nascent Soul of Ding-One-Three-Two within his body flew toward the god's finger and pressed onto its body.

The finger was unwilling, but it dared not resist. And the moment the Ding-One-Three-Two Nascent Soul touched the finger, Xu Qing's main body, sitting in the back room, felt a sense of bewilderment in his eyes.

This bewilderment lasted for quite a while, until he instinctively felt the fluctuations transmitted from the Counter-Moon Palace in the dark, so he took out the mirror given by the Heir and entered the supreme palace.

The moment he stepped in, the Captain's little totem appeared on the gate, emitting a wail.

"Little Ah Qing, something's wrong, this time it's really wrong! During this time, through the Counter-Moon Palace, although I couldn't be precise, I could vaguely feel the traces of all the flesh and blood of my body, but one is missing!"

"I... I... my past life's body seems to be missing a kidney; I can't feel it no matter what!"

"I've tried many times and can't find it. This is impossible; even if it were eaten by someone, it would remain in the bloodline, and I would be able to sense it."

"Now, how is it gone? There isn't a single trace. My kidney... what happened..."