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Chapter 971 Crimson Goddess’ Mortal Shedding
The sky over the Moon Worship Region was dim, and it was pitch black during the night. There were no stars, and there was no sun or moon to be seen.
It was as though someone had covered the sky with a black curtain, shrouding all things and obscuring the eyes of living beings.
At this moment, in the pitch-black night sky, there were hidden ripples spreading out.
Within these ripples was a huge artificial sun. It was the little dumpling.
The ruler’s heir refused to use Wu Jianwu’s bear as a mount, so the captain took out the little dumpling.
The heir was quite satisfied with this artificial sun. Hence, after using his ability to conceal it, the group of them headed toward the Bitter Life Mountain Range in the sun.
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But now, in this artificial sun, the atmosphere was incomparably oppressive.
Ning Yan sat upright but he couldn’t help but tremble. He had been trembling for more than half a day. Even though all the flesh in his body was in pain, he still couldn’t help it. That feeling of being a mortal facing a ferocious tiger made him unable to calm his mind even when he meditated.
It was the same for Wu Jianwu. He was trembling and didn’t dare to breathe loudly.
As for Li Youfei, he was even more tense. His nervousness and fear had already transformed into a surging tide after he vaguely guessed the old man’s cultivation level, drowning him until he felt suffocation.
This suffocating feeling caused his reverence for Xu Qing to surpass the past and reach the peak.
He felt that the master was indeed a master. Not only did he have a mysterious background, but his actions also exceeded his imagination. He had also heard of the name of this cultivation level ‘Soul Accumulation,’ but from childhood to adulthood, he had never seen anyone with this level of cultivation, let alone encountered them.
He hadn’t even seen a single strand of hair.
At the thought of this, Li Youfei instinctively looked at Xu Qing.
Xu Qing’s location was beside the heir. Almost no one dared to sit there. Xu Qing originally didn’t want to, but after the heir sat there, he waved at him.
Hence, Xu Qing could only brace himself and sit down.
The captain also dared to stay there. At this moment, he was constantly fanning the crown prince. The fawning expression on his face never disappeared.
“Elder, what do you think of the wind? Do you want me to increase it a bit more?”
The heir nodded.
The captain went all out.
Xu Qing sat beside the heir and his hair fluttered slightly. He glanced at the captain who was working hard and gave him an encouraging look.
When the captain saw this, he put even more strength. The heir who had transformed into an old man lowered his head and looked at the surrounding ground.
Previously, this was the residence of the captain, Ning Yan, and Wu Jianwu. With three grown men living together, it was inevitable that it would be a little messy and dirty, especially with Wu Jianwu’s descendants.
The captain noticed the old man’s gaze and was about to speak when Ning Yan, who had been trembling the entire time, instantly pounced over and quickly cleaned up the ground.
His movements were so fast that a deep look appeared in the captain’s eyes.
Ning Yan didn’t bother with the captain’s gaze. He understood that the old man might be his future backer and his savior who could bring him out of this bitter life. As long as he served this elder well, Erniu wouldn’t dare to provoke him.
Hence, he frantically wiped it clean. After he was done, the crown prince revealed a satisfied expression.
Ning Yan quickly recalled the faces of some people from his memory, imitating their actions by placing his hands in front of his sleeves and forming a smile on his face.
“Sir, if there’s anything you’re not satisfied with, just tell me. I’ll clean it up immediately.”
Looking at Ning Yan’s appearance, reminiscence appeared in the crown prince’s eyes. It was as though Ning Yan’s actions reminded him of some old friends. Hence, the gaze he used to look at Ning Yan became much gentler.
“The density of your bloodline is not bad. If you continue to refine it, your future will be limitless.”
When Ning Yan heard this, he was excited and hurriedly thanked the heir for his guidance.
This scene was noticed by Wu Jianwu and he became anxious. However, at the next instant, the parrot beside him suddenly flew out. After it arrived in front of the crown prince, it carefully probed and landed on the crown prince’s knee.
Wu Jianwu’s heart skipped a beat. He felt that this parrot had a death wish.
However, the crown prince didn’t mind. Instead, he took a few more glances at the parrot and laughed.
“Your bloodline is even more interesting.”
Seeing that the old man didn’t chase it away, the parrot was a little excited. It lifted its head and looked proudly at everyone as it spoke.
“You guys are nothing when the grandpa is here, come before grandpa quickly!”
As soon as this nonsense poem was recited, Wu Jianwu gasped. His mind was trembling, afraid that he would be implicated. This was the first time the heir laughed.
“Back then, your ancestor didn’t have the habits of this ancient sovereign.”
When the parrot heard this, it hurriedly spoke.
“The ancestor is nothing. Grandpa is the most important, grandpa is the best, long live grandpa.”
The heir smiled and lifted his hand to stroke the parrot’s bald head. Clearly, he liked this parrot.
As for the parrot, it was incomparably obedient and allowed the prince to touch it. It was feeling extremely smug. After a long time, its small eyes swept over and it looked at Ning Yan.
“Little Ningzi, hurry up and wipe this place clean. Why are you so blind? You have to remember that in the future, wherever my grandfather is, there can’t be the slightest trace of dirt!”
Ning Yan lifted his head and glanced at the parrot. The parrot disdainfully swept its gaze over.
Ning Yan fell silent and continued to wipe.
The parrot quickly checked on the heir and discovered that the other party didn’t stop it. It grew bolder and turned its head to look down on the captain.
“And you, whoever-you-are-niu, what’s wrong with your fan? Haven’t you eaten? You’re too weak, and we’re too slow. Use one hand to fan my grandpa, and the other to fan the sun to make it burn more thoroughly!”
The captain paused and looked at the parrot.
The parrot lifted its head, still disdainful.
The captain narrowed his eyes and was about to speak when the heir suddenly spoke.
“The person who came to the Heavenly Fire Sea back then was you, right?”
The captain’s heart skipped a beat and he hurriedly shook his head.
“It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me.”
The heir’s gaze was deep. He glanced at the captain and didn’t continue asking.
The captain heaved a sigh of relief. He waved his left hand and hurriedly took out another fan.
“Little parrot is sensible. You’re right, I’ll fan the sun.”
As he spoke, the captain moved his hands. In an instant, the speed of the sun increased by a lot.
Seeing that Chen Erniu had submitted to it and the heir was even helping to chastise the other, the parrot’s heart was filled with excitement, and its courage grew immensely.
It felt that this was its moment of glory and also the peak of its bird life. Hence, it summoned its father over to massage its grandfather. After that, it glared at Xu Qing angrily and prepared to take revenge.
“And you, Little Qing, the road ahead is long. You should dance for my grandfather and make him happy.”
When Ning Yan and Wu Jianwu heard this, they secretly looked over. The captain, on the other hand, had a spurious smile on his face.
Xu Qing was expressionless from the start. At this moment, he glanced at the parrot.
The parrot lifted its head and let out an arrogant voice.
“What are you loo
 ga?!”
Before it could finish speaking, it fell to the ground with a plop and spat out a mouthful of blood as it cried out involuntarily.
“Why is there still poison!”
Xu Qing’s expression was calm. He ignored the parrot and looked at the heir, respectfully speaking.
“Senior, I wonder what you meant by the Red Moon foundation being somewhat related to me.”
The heir glanced at the parrot and smiled as he touched its body. Shortly after, a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes and he turned to look at Xu Qing.
“This is the trump card my master prepared for me, a type of god’s curse poison.”
Xu Qing knew what the crown prince’s gaze meant, so he explained.
When the heir heard this, he had a spurious smile on his face. His transformed demeanor made him appear amiable, as if he were an elder visiting his junior.
Xu Qing’s expression became increasingly respectful.
A long time later, the crown prince’s hoarse voice echoed in the sun.
“You once told me that the Crimson Goddess is our common enemy. I don’t know what your master’s plan is, but no matter what, if you want to target the Crimson Goddess, you have to first get rid of the Red Moon Shrine.”
“The last time I went to the Red Moon Shrine, other than some personal reasons and plans, I investigated the foundation that the Crimson Goddess left for the shrine.”
The heir looked at Xu Qing.
Ning Yan and Wu Jianwu pricked up their ears. The captain blinked.
“I once told you that although the influence of the heavenly law prevented you from hearing too much, you should still remember that I told you that before the Crimson Goddess became a god, she was killed by my father.”
As soon as the heir spoke, other than the captain and Xu Qing, everyone’s hearts trembled violently. Their expressions changed drastically and they instinctively felt horror.
This was especially so for Li Youfei. As a native, his mind suddenly rumbled when he heard this explosive information.
“As for the foundation that the Crimson Goddess left for the temple, it was the skin that she shed when she transformed from a mortal into a god back then!”
“It contains the dense primordial power of the Red Moon. It is the core of the Red Moon Shrine. With it, the temple won’t be destroyed.”
“This is because outsiders will be assimilated if they get close and lose themselves, becoming believers of the Crimson Goddess. Even the temple cultivators don’t dare to touch it and can only worship it.”
“Even the divine son has to ask the Crimson Goddess for permission before he can use it. However, the Crimson Goddess is in a deep sleep and can’t respond.”
“Only you
 might be able to.”
The crown prince’s gaze was deep as he spoke softly.
Xu Qing fell into deep thought. The captain’s brows rose slightly and the heir didn’t speak anymore.
Just like that, days passed. Although they were already used to the heir’s presence, Wu Jianwu, Ning Yan, and Li Youfei were still nervous and didn’t dare to relax.
Only the parrot, whose poison had been suppressed by the crown prince, perked up again and strutted around. However, it seemed to have developed a deep fear of Xu Qing.
It seemed to have no recollection of previous interactions with other people. It continued to be demanding and bossy, which frustrated Ning Yan and occasionally amused the captain.
However, with the crown prince around, it wasn’t good for him to flare up. The parrot wasn’t stupid either, so when the crown prince was resting, it wouldn’t leave his side at all.
Seeing that he didn’t have a chance, the captain engraved this matter in his mind and began to busy himself with his matters.
He would often take out a mirror in front of Xu Qing and enter it when the heir was resting, returning quickly.
Every time when he did that, he would look at Xu Qing proudly, wanting to see surprise on Xu Qing’s face.
Xu Qing remained silent every time. However, the captain’s gaze was frequently on him. So he sighed inwardly and asked the words the captain wanted to hear.
“Eldest Senior Brother, what have you been doing these few days?”
The captain chuckled. He had been waiting for these words.
“Little Qing, you’ve been in the Bitter Life Mountain Range for quite some time. I refuse to believe you didn’t know. You’ve been feeling troubled, which is why you took so long to ask me, right?”
“Haha, your guess is correct. I entered the Moon Rebel Hall.”
The captain patted Xu Qing’s shoulder with a look of understanding.
“I understand. Little Qing, you should have tried it in the Bitter Life Mountain Range but you were stuck in the second stage, right? You have the authority of the Red Moon on you, so it’s impossible for you to pass.”
“It’s a pity that you can’t see the scenery of the Moon Rebel Hall. Let me tell you, something major has happened in the Moon Rebel Hall recently!”
“An Alchemy Master has appeared!”
The captain spoke to Xu Qing in a mysterious and low tone.
“No one knows the origins of that Alchemy Master, but let me tell you, with my efforts, Master and I are already best friends.”
Xu Qing hesitated. He wasn’t sure if the captain was talking about him or not. Just as he was about to ask, the captain spoke proudly.
“Let’s not talk about this first. I’ll tell you the story of Master and me later. Let’s get to the main point. I’ve recently accepted a mission in the Moon Rebel Hall. We can complete it along the way in the next few days. The reward is extremely generous. With the old sir here, what are we afraid of? So, I’ve been searching for more missions these days!”
Xu Qing understood the captain’s habit of using all the resources around him and wasn’t surprised. Hence, he asked.
“What mission?”
The captain whispered.
“There was an unlucky cultivator from Moon Rebel Hall who tried to cultivate a Hundred Poison Immunity Body. In the end, he was poisoned and was in seclusion. He hasn’t been able to move for a long time.”
“This cultivator tried his best but couldn’t neutralize the poison. The poison should be acting up and he’s about to die, so he revealed his location and issued a distress mission in the Moon Rebel Hall.”