Chapter 445: The Personhood of a God
Outside the main gate of the duchy of Heaven Zenith, everything was absolutely silent. The Holytide cultivators all stared with eyes that were initially blank with confusion, then wide with shock. It didn’t matter what level of cultivation base was involved. It didn’t matter how much they had suspected Xu Qing and Chen Erniu. All of them could see their Nightshade divine likeness on its knees trembling, and they all heard what it called out. Massive waves of shock smashed into their minds, causing many jaws to drop.
The Spirit Trove duke stood there with his head spinning. He felt like he had a tempest in his heart, sweeping over his sea of consciousness, and even causing his three secret troves to twist and distort.
Most flabbergasted of all was the young Holytide who had escorted Xu Qing and Chen Erniu on their journey. As an earl of the duchy of Heaven Zenith, he had always taken pride in his own wisdom, and had intentionally pretended to be foolish while on the road. He had been very proud of how he turned the tables on these two scam artists. But then everything got switched around, and he still didn’t know how to react. His eyes were the widest of all, and his brain felt like it was being struck by millions of bolts of lightning.
“Th-that... that.... That’s not possible! That’s our... Nightshade divine likeness!”
As he stood there trembling, he was struck with the intense sensation that none of what was happening was real.
Not every one of the thirty-six city-states qualified to be sent a divine likeness from the royal dynasty above. There were only four who had statues like that, and each was a representative of one of the four royal dynasties of the Holytides that administered this region. As such, it was a given that this young earl knew exactly what the Nightshade divine likeness represented. It represented the Nightshade species as a whole! And if a divine likeness that represented the Nightshades actually dropped to its knees, that alone would have been outrageously shocking, much less the title used by the statue....
Titles like that were similar to magical laws or heavenly daos. And as the sound of the statue’s voice continued to echo out, it seemed like all heaven and earth would transform as a result.
Qing Qiu was also deeply shaken as her previous line of thinking was thrown into chaos. At first, having the two Nightshades exposed seemed to indicate that they were humans in disguise. That would have explained with about eighty to ninety percent accuracy why they didn’t kill her. Yet before she could even wrap her mind around that theory, everything changed again. And it wasn’t some minor shift in the situation. It was a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering transformation that changed everything.
The words “Your Majesty” were deeply meaningful, and just thinking about them would cause someone to reel in shock.
All eyes had come to focus on Xu Qing, who stood there expressionlessly. Those eyes abounded with amazement, confusion, astonishment, and complete disbelief.
Even the Captain, who had planned things out in a fair amount of detail with Xu Qing while they were traveling, was completely taken aback by the seemingly outrageous development.
Only Xu Qing remained completely unfazed. Of course, no one present had any idea what was going on in his heart and mind. After all, he had long since developed the ability to keep a calm facial expression no matter what happened.
It didn’t take much time on the road for him and the Captain to realize that something was going on with the young Holytide. Considering how weak his cultivation base was, it seemed strange that he would be so willing to probe them for information. After all, even if he managed to expose them as imposters, it would have ultimately resulted in his death. Even more so, the fact that he came from a ‘lesser species’ just further emphasized how unreasonable his actions were. On the other hand, if he had just immediately believed their story, that would also have seemed fake.
That was why the young Holytide had dug for information. It wasn’t because he wanted to find out the truth, but rather, because he was worried it would be strange if he didn’t. It was essentially reverse psychology.
Xu Qing and the Captain had picked up the clues and realized what he was doing. Xu Qing was the one who came up with a contingency plan.
During the three days in which he studied that Nightshade eyeball, he didn’t just learn about Nightshade magical techniques. He also saw the influence his violet moon heavenly palace had on the eyeball. That was when he came to the realization that after he disguised himself as a Nightshade, he had something that even real Nightshades would show great respect to. That was because the Nightshades exercised faith in the red moon. And the violet moon in Xu Qing’s fourth heavenly palace was originally an embodiment of the power of the red moon. In other words, it had the personhood of a god in it. In some respects, Xu Qing and the red moon were the same.
That was why this Nightshade divine likeness addressed him as ‘Your Majesty.’
Even cultivators who were very pious in their devotion to the red moon would have a hard time noticing any difference. The reason was that the source of Xu Qing’s power really did have the personhood of a god in it. Only the red moon itself would be able to tell the difference.
As everyone reeled in shocked silence, anger crept onto the Captain’s face. Voice cold, he said, “You Holytides really have a lot of gall! Who do you people think you are? What makes you think you qualify to test a godchild of the Nightshades? If you end up spoiling the plans of our greater species, then not even death will be a sufficient punishment!” [1]
In response to the Captain’s words, the kneeling Nightshade statue erupted with black light, as well as a shocking baleful aura. Turning, it looked at the people from the duchy of Heaven Zenith.
Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed slightly as he realized that he could actually give orders to this statue, and it would obey.
As the Captain spoke and the statue emitted its baleful aura, gasps rang out from the duchy of Heaven Zenith. Then the duke hurried forward, clasped hands, and bowed deeply to Xu Qing.
“Oh greater species, please accept the greetings of a lesser species cultivator!”
Still reeling with shock, the other cultivators gathered at the main gate also clasped hands and bowed. “Greetings, oh members of the greater species!”
The young earl flopped to the ground, trembling. “Greetings, oh members of the greater species!”
He was so flabbergasted he wondered if he was dreaming.
When Qing Qiu saw all of this happening, she was also left reeling. At the same time, intense killing intent filled her heart as she realized how important this specific Nightshade was that stood in front of her.
If I could kill him.... She bowed her head so that no killing intent could be revealed in her eyes.
Xu Qing strode forward to the divine likeness. Hopping onto its head, he sat down cross-legged.
“You guessed correctly. I really am in disguise.”
As his words echoed out, the gathered cultivators bowed their heads.
“I’m disguised as… an ordinary Nightshade.”
As he spoke, his fourth heavenly palace pulsed, causing the divine likeness to rise from its kneeling position. As it emanated shocking might and a black glow, winds screamed in the area.
The Captain also stepped forward and then flew onto the statue’s head, where he stood behind Xu Qing, glaring down.
Next, the statue flew into the air, where it stared down at everything below with a tyrannical glare. It became hard to see Xu Qing and the Captain clearly, as if they were part of the night darkness beneath the giant overhead canopy.
Down below, the Holytide cultivators were all shaken. As for the duke, he was slightly hesitant, but at the same time, knew he had no choice but to offer obeisance.
“Greetings, Godchild!”
All of the Holytides bowed in unison.
Loudest of all was the young earl, whose eyes shone with fanaticism. He was a Holytide, a species that had once been human. Because of that, this young earl of Heaven Zenith had some bit of humanity left in him. And it was a common human trait to transform negated suspicion into deep faith.
Xu Qing and the Captain didn’t leave Heaven Zenith. The duke invited them to stay. They didn’t feel the need to go into detail about the ‘misunderstanding,’ and the Holytides didn’t dare to ask them about it.
On the way into the city, the Captain asked some questions about Ten Entrails of the True Immortal, which was when they found out there were nine more days until the harvest began.
Eventually they reached the ducal palace complex, where Xu Qing and the Captain were given residences. The divine likeness didn’t leave. Instead, it hovered in the air above Xu Qing’s palace residence, obviously standing guard.
The Captain demanded that Qing Qiu dress like a handmaiden and serve in that role. Qing Qiu gritted her teeth but had no choice other than to comply.
There was no way to hide the fact that a Nightshade godchild had come. It was too momentous of a situation. The other city-states soon caught wind of what was going on, and though they were shocked, they couldn’t help but be a bit suspicious.
Thus, three days passed.
During that time, Xu Qing focused his energy on studying the divine likeness. Of course, the Captain couldn’t hold back from asking what exactly was going on with the statue kowtowing to Xu Qing. When they were planning things along the way, Xu Qing had mentioned something about the aura of the red moon, but had not explained about his violet moon.
“Hey, I have some of that red moon aura,” the Captain said, sounding a bit disgruntled. “Hold on, why didn’t that thing kowtow to me? It even said my faith is weak and I have a mixed bloodline. What nonsense!”
After a moment of thought, Xu Qing explained about the symbol Arch-Immortal Plumdark had given him.
The Captain sighed enviously, then reflexively pulled out a peach and started eating it.
Qing Qiu couldn’t hear what the two of them were talking about, but she could see the peach, and it caused her eyes to go wide. Before she could look any closer, the peach vanished, and the Captain looked somberly toward the outside of the hall.
The duke had come with his son to pay a formal visit.
“Oh exalted Godchild, the thirty-six city-states would like to invite you to a banquet.”
“The exalted godchild isn’t interested!” the Captain replied coolly as Xu Qing sat cross-legged next to him, not saying a word.
Hearing that, Duke Heaven Zenith bowed his head to hide his reaction. Then he respectfully continued, “Your humble servant shouldn’t have been so rash as to presume you would be interested. I’ll notify the other city-states. Incidentally, the ducal preceptor has returned and has requested an audience.”
“Request denied,” the Captain said.
The duke kept his head bowed as he stood there for a long moment. Then he spoke again. “My wayward son Mu Ye offended you, oh exalted one. Your humble servant has already punished him, but what further orders might you have, exalted one?” [2]
Inside the hall, the Captain’s eyes narrowed at the hidden meaning in the words. He looked at Xu Qing.
Xu Qing’s expression remained calm as he looked outside the hall toward the kneeling duke, and his son the earl, who had kept his head bowed the entire time.
“Mu Ye,” said Xu Qing, “didn’t you mention wanting a Nightshade blessing?”
The young earl looked up, his eyes burning with zeal. Then he quickly kowtowed. Duke Heaven Zenith kept his head bowed so as not to reveal any reaction.
Xu Qing didn’t feel like beating around the bush, so he just directly stated his demands. “To compensate for my blessing, I want two shadeheaven demonmoon pills and 10,000 dao fruits from the Ten Entrails of the True Immortal Tree.”
He knew he had to maintain his act perfectly. If he pushed things too far, it could be bad. That said, there were always going to be twists and turns to deal with. One thing was certain: he couldn’t afford to underestimate anyone. This young earl had already shown he was a schemer. And there was little need to mention the duke or the other cultivators from the duchy of Heaven Zenith.
Xu Qing knew that directly telling these people what he wanted, coupled with his outright rejection of the banquet invitation, would result in a lot of speculation. And that was exactly what he wanted. As Ghost Hand had taught him, all matters had to be handled with nuance. Intentionally leading people to the wrong conclusion would sometimes make your story a lot more believable.
Thus, as the duke frowned very slightly, Xu Qing continued speaking. “Mu Ye, step forward.”
The duke was shocked. As for Mu Ye himself, he struggled to control his breathing. Eyes shining with zeal, he humbly stepped into the hall and knelt in front of Xu Qing.
“Godchild!” he said loudly.
Xu Qing extended his hand, and his fourth heavenly palace trembled as a stream of unique mutagen from his violet moon converged on his index finger. Then he touched the young earl’s forehead.
A tremor passed through Mu Ye, and his cultivation base surged. A violet glimmer appeared in his eyes, and an aura that was extremely similar to that of the red moon erupted around him.
There was also something holy about it. As a result, Mu Ye no longer looked at Xu Qing with fanaticism. Instead, there was raw piety in his eyes as he prostrated himself on the ground.
“Your Majesty!”
The sight of this happening filled the duke with shock, and his expression flickered wildly.
Given the level of his cultivation base, he wasn’t able to see deeply into Xu Qing. But he could see into his own son. And when he sensed that his son had been filled with a Nightshade aura, his spirits lifted. When that aura entered the flesh and became part of the cultivation base, it would bless the subject with a portion of Nightshade innate abilities. He had heard of some members of the nobility receiving such blessings in the royal dynasty above. Except, this blessing... seemed superior!
Among the Holytides, who had a caste-based society, the blessing of that aura indicated a massive rise in status and position!
As the duke looked at Xu Qing in absolute astonishment, Xu Qing looked back at him.
Xu Qing said nothing, but his actions spoke volumes. His refusal of the invitation showed what he wanted. And his request for those items had been an order! This was how the Nightshades did things. The act had not been pushed too far.
1. This isn’t the first time ‘godchildren’ were mentioned. They also came up in chapter 361. ☜
2. Mu Ye: Mu is a surname which also means “tree, wood.” Considering this is a noble family that lives beneath a giant tree, it seems likely the surname is supposed to be at least reminiscent of that tree. Ye means “business, occupation, job.” Ye does not rhyme with the English words “he, bee, tree.” It’s more akin (in rhyme) to “heh, bleh.” To hear it pronounced by Google, go here. When I asked Madam Deathblade for her reaction to this name, I didn’t give her any context, and she said it sounded like the name given to the son of a “lumber industry executive” who wanted his son to achieve great things. Considering the local culture is all centered around the gigantic tree, her guess seems spot on. ☜
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