Chapter 366: Chapter 313: Mission Complete, Huge Harvest, Empress Wu Zhao’s Demise

Xu Qing had already summoned his golden Magic Sword, the ’Destruction Magic Sword’. It transformed into a dazzling golden Sword Light, slashing straight toward the Angel Sculpture.

BUZZ!

The Angel Sculpture fully awakened, transforming into a towering, illusory Angel. Its twelve wings unfurled, shedding holy feathers one by one. The fall of each feather seemed to herald the withering of a world...

THUD!

CRACK! CRACK!

The golden Magic Sword surged forward with unstoppable force, infused with an indescribable Sword Dao intent. It was as if a supreme Sword Dao master had struck down with a single blow, one that carried an inextinguishable will of destruction.

BANG! BANG! BANG!!!

And so, under Xu Qing’s watchful gaze, the Destruction Magic Sword annihilated the illusion of the Twelve-winged Angel, which burst into a sky full of brilliant light. The golden Magic Sword also dissipated into the air.

BOOM!

Finally, the Angel Sculpture on the altar exploded completely, turning into a cloud of ash that scattered between heaven and earth with a gentle breeze.

Xu Qing let out a long breath. "It’s finally taken care of," he murmured.

Immediately after, Xu Qing unleashed a few more sword strikes, completely destroying the altar. With a wave of his right hand, a ball of fire descended, incinerating the Moon Worship Sect Leader’s body until nothing remained.

Finally, Xu Qing took the Moon Worship Sect Leader’s Storage Ring. It contained a considerable amount of resources accumulated by the Sect Leader over the years.

’Not bad, not bad.’ Xu Qing nodded in satisfaction and quickly left the area.

Time flew by.

「One month later.」

With the help of the Black Mountain Squad and the Moon Worship Divine Kingdom Court, Xu Qing completely annihilated the Moon Worship Divine Sect, pulling it out by the roots.

「On this day.」

「Morning.」

"Thank you for your help, Senior Brother."

"Yes! Yes!"

"Senior Brother, if it weren’t for you, we never would have been able to complete this mission."

"That’s right."

"..."

The junior brothers and sisters of the Black Mountain Squad were moved to tears with gratitude.

"Mm." Xu Qing merely nodded, not saying much else.

"Senior Brother, may we ask your name? And which peak of Shu Mountain are you from? If we have the chance, we must visit you to express our gratitude properly," Huo Que said.

"Yes, Senior Brother!"

"..."

The other members of the Black Mountain Squad all nodded in agreement.

"There’s no need." Xu Qing waved his hand. "Our meeting was a coincidence. You don’t need to visit me to offer thanks."

"Well..." Huo Que hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Alright, then."

「Later, at noon.」

BUZZ!

With a thought, Xu Qing took out his Shushan Outer Disciple Token. He infused it with the Power of Laws, activating the Teleportation Array within and establishing contact with the Shushan Task Tower.

SWOOSH!

A white light flashed. Xu Qing’s figure vanished into thin air. Amidst a powerful spatio-temporal fluctuation, he was teleported away, returning to the Shushan Task Tower.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!!!

Not long after, the members of the Black Mountain Squad also quickly departed.

「Shushan Task Tower.」

「Fifteenth Floor.」

BUZZ!

Xu Qing’s figure appeared.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!!!

Then, a series of images appeared before Xu Qing’s eyes. They depicted his actions within the Moon Worship Divine Sect as the Shushan Task Tower evaluated his performance.

[Mission Complete!]

[Evaluation: Excellent!]

[Summary: Shushan Outer Disciple Xu Qing. Cultivation: Minor Achievement in Perfect Law Realm. Sword Dao Technique: Three Thousand Swords of Shushan. Over nearly two years, he investigated the Moon Worship Divine Country, infiltrated the Moon Worship Divine Sect in disguise, rescued the Black Mountain Squad, destroyed a sect stronghold, and exposed the Moon Worship Divine Sect’s true nature. He then assisted the Moon Worship Divine Kingdom Court in destroying the sect, personally slew the Moon Worship Sect Leader, and single-handedly destroyed the Angel Sculpture.]

[Mission Reward: Ten million Low-grade Law Stones.]

The information appeared. It was the evaluation for Xu Qing’s mission.

Because Xu Qing’s evaluation was ’Excellent’, he was directly awarded ten million Low-grade Law Stones.

"Excellent, excellent." Xu Qing smiled in satisfaction. ’Ten million Low-grade Law Stones. With this many Law Stones, it’s more than enough to accumulate the Experience Points needed to advance my Cultivation to Perfect Law Realm Perfection.’

BUZZ! BUZZ!

Ten million Low-grade Law Stones were deposited into Xu Qing’s Outer Disciple Identity Token.

SWOOSH!

With a thought and a flash of white light, Xu Qing left the Shushan Task Tower. He then used Sword Flight to return to Chixia Peak.

「Within Chixia Peak.」

There were a total of ninety-nine Perfect Daoist Soldiers.

To begin with, the Perfect Daoist Soldiers Xu Qing had refined with the best materials were already at the Third Realm, so their maximum level was Level 40.

A Level 40 Perfect Daoist Soldier was already incredibly powerful, comparable to a being who had condensed a Law Body—in other words, equivalent to someone at Perfect Body Law Realm.

[Perfect Daoist Soldier LV40: 0/Fifty Trillion (A Perfect Daoist Soldier that has undergone thirty-nine upgrades and transformations and has already condensed a complete ’Law Mark’.)]

The corresponding information appeared.

"Mm." Xu Qing glanced at the ninety-nine Perfect Daoist Soldiers guarding Chixia Peak and nodded with a degree of satisfaction.

In truth, Xu Qing’s purpose for creating these Daoist Soldiers was simple: to have them help him gain Experience Points for his items and equipment.

This was because Xu Qing needed to dedicate all his time to improving the Three Thousand Swords of Shushan, leaving him no time to accumulate Experience Points for his other items and gear.

Therefore, having refined so many Perfect Daoist Soldiers, raised them all to Level 40, and had them condense a complete ’Law Mark’, was more than sufficient for his current needs.

Next, with enough Law Stones in hand, Xu Qing no longer needed to go out. He returned to his old routine, practicing the Three Thousand Swords of Shushan on Chixia Peak every day and accumulating vast amounts of Experience Points.

Time flew by. In the blink of an eye...

「Twenty years later.」

DONG! DONG! DONG!!!!

「On this day.」

「The Imperial Palace of the Central Tang Dynasty.」

Suddenly, Xu Qing heard the tolling of a great bell. It rang eighty-nine times, the sound echoing between heaven and earth, even reaching the deepest parts of Shu Mountain.

ROAR!

The next moment, Xu Qing heard a world-shaking dragon’s roar. Under the might of that roar, his very spirit trembled, and even the Power within his body was suppressed.

It could be said that his strength was instantly reduced by ninety percent.

’This...’ Xu Qing was utterly shocked.

He looked up, gazing in the direction of the Central Tang Imperial Capital.

RUMBLE!!!

The world trembled. A mournful dirge filled the air.

Xu Qing saw the Emperor Dragon Qi of the Central Tang Dynasty manifest in the sky above. It took the form of a Nine-Clawed True Dragon that seemed as real as life itself.

The Emperor Dragon Qi was terrifying to the extreme.

’What’s happening?’ Xu Qing wondered, his expression grave.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

The next moment, Xu Qing saw figure after figure streak through the sky from the depths of Shu Mountain, moving with incredible speed toward the Imperial Palace of the Central Tang Dynasty.

In fact, it wasn’t just Shu Mountain.

The other Eight Great Sacred Lands of the Central Tang Dynasty...

They were: the Daoist Sacred Land ’Kunlun Mountain’, the Martial Arts Sacred Land ’Martial Arts Hall’, the Immortal Sect Sacred Land ’Jasper Pool Sacred Land’, the Buddhist Sacred Land ’Western Heaven Paradise’...

Numerous experts from across the Human Realm were gathering.

"Heaven and earth mourn, for Empress Wu Zhao has passed away..."

Inside the Imperial Palace, the Chief Eunuch read the imperial decree.

It turned out that, without anyone quite realizing it, more than sixty years had passed since Empress Wu Zhao ascended the throne. And today, Empress Wu Zhao had died of natural causes...

Naturally, this was an event of monumental importance.

Although for the many experts of the Nine Great Sacred Lands, whose Lifespans were measured in thousands or tens of thousands of years, a mere sixty-odd years was but the blink of an eye.

However, Empress Wu Zhao was, after all, the Emperor of the Central Tang Dynasty. And the Central Tang Dynasty was the number one Dynasty in the Human Realm, responsible for keeping it stable and defending against the invasion of myriad races.

Therefore, Empress Wu Zhao’s funeral had to be held with the highest honors. The Nine Great Sacred Lands naturally had to send high-ranking members to attend, and besides them, other powerful factions were also required to participate.

However, Xu Qing’s status was insufficient. He was just one of Shu Mountain’s many Outer Disciples and had no right to participate in the funeral, let alone enter the Imperial Palace.

And so, one month later, Empress Wu Zhao’s funeral concluded. The new Emperor, ’Li Ji’, ascended the throne, becoming the new ruler of the Central Tang Dynasty. On the very first day of the new Emperor Li Ji’s reign...

「Inside the palace.」

"Shushan Elder Xu Jingtian pays his respects to Your Majesty."

Xu Jingtian had been summoned by the new Emperor, Li Ji. In the hall where they met, there were only three people: the new Emperor Li Ji, Shushan Elder Xu Jingtian, and the Central Tang Dynasty’s Chief Eunuch, ’Zhao Gao’.

One must understand that the Chief Eunuch was, of course, a eunuch who served the Royal Family. Moreover, he was the head of all eunuchs in the Imperial Palace. Zhao Gao’s Cultivation was unfathomably profound and impossible to gauge.

Because of the Emperor Dragon Qi, no member of the Central Tang Dynasty’s Li Royal Family was able to practice Cultivation. At most, they could reach the level of Vajra Indestructible.

Beyond that, they could not advance a single step.

Thus, their Lifespans were at most a hundred years.

But the eunuchs in the palace were different. They served the Royal Family and were able to practice Cultivation. However, they were suppressed by the Emperor Dragon Qi. No matter how high a Realm they reached, they would remain physically incomplete for their entire lives, forever missing the vital part between their legs.

Chief Eunuch ’Zhao Gao’ had served an unknown number of Emperors of the Central Tang Dynasty.

And it was unknown how many he had seen off.

In fact, the Nine Great Sacred Lands were all quite wary of this Chief Eunuch, ’Zhao Gao’.

He was an absolutely terrifying figure.

"Mm." Li Ji nodded slightly. He looked down upon Xu Jingtian from his high seat, his imperial might formless yet ever-present, causing Xu Jingtian’s expression to become quite grave.

"We have heard that some sixty or seventy years ago, your Shu Mountain accepted an Outer Disciple," Li Ji said.

"This..." Xu Jingtian pondered for a moment before replying, "Your Majesty, Shu Mountain accepts far too many disciples. I wonder which one Your Majesty is referring to?"

"Xu Qing!" Li Ji stated.