Setting out to sea

"What's the matter!"

Lin'an had just fallen asleep when she was woken up by his noise. She turned over in annoyance, twisting her slender waist, her tone both charming and languid.

She slumped against him, hugging Xu Qi'an Qi'an's strong waist.

I'm going out for a bit, you go to sleep first.

Xu Qi'an removed the two snow-white, lotus-root-like arms.

"Where are you going!"

Lin'an snapped awake, sat up, and glared at him fiercely with her peach-blossom eyes.

Her body was white and delicate, like a flawless piece of jade, with large patches of hickeys remaining on her chest.

Even her alluring, slender waist was adorned with a few strawberries.

"I just had a nightmare. I suspect there's something wrong with the seal on the Confucian Sage; I need to go check it out."

Xu Qi'an pinched her rather plump cheeks.

After they got married, Lin'an wouldn't discipline him on ordinary days, but he had to sleep with her at night and pay her taxes.

They didn't give Xu Qi'an the opportunity to stay out all night.

Upon realizing it was important, she didn't ask any more questions, but simply frowned.

After offering a few words of reassurance to Lin'an, Xu Qi'an got out of bed, quickly put on his robe, dressed neatly, and then collapsed into a shadow, disappearing from the room.

The night was deep, a full moon hung in the sky, casting its pure white light, and the stars were few and far between.

Outside Jingshan City, silver waves surged on the sea, and the sea breeze carried the sound of the waves crashing.

Inside the ancient and enormous palace, Salen Agu opened his eyes, remained silent for a moment, took a step, and went directly to the altar, to the sculpture with the crown of thorns on its head.

At the other end of the altar, next to the statue of the Confucian sage, stood a young man in blue robes.

"As expected, the Witch God has broken free of the seal once more."

The young man stared at the crack on the Confucian sage sculpture, which extended down to the lower abdomen.

"I suppose the Gu God is almost there by now," he added.

Salun Agu laughed:

"You came here so late at night because of a warning sign from fate?"

There was no gloating in his tone, only indifference.

As the Witch God continues to revive, the Witch God Cult grows increasingly powerful.

I view everything with indifference.

Xu Qi'an did not answer him, shifting his gaze from the Confucian sage sculpture to the shaman god.

The sorcerer stood quietly in the night, showing no reaction to the arrival of the first-rank martial artist.

"How arrogant!"

Xu Qi'an sighed.

Salun Agu said slowly:

"You don't have time. At the latest by the end of the year, the Witch God will break the seal and return to the world. The Gu God will do the same, and the Buddha will come before them."

"Xu Qi'an, without a Super-Rank expert Great Feng oversee things, the Central Plains, which holds the essence of human destiny, will ultimately be divided up by the Super-Rank experts. You can't stop it. Even if you become a half-step Martial God and join forces with Shen Shu, how can you possibly stop three Super-Rank experts?"

"Moreover, there's the 'Wilderness' overseas, eyeing us covetously, and its gatekeeper is still in our hands."

Xu Qi'an remained silent.

After a while, he said to himself with a self-deprecating smile:

I thought you would try to win me over.

Salun Agu shook his head slightly:

"I will not win over those who are destined to die. You embody half of the Great Feng's national destiny, making you 'food' for the Super Ranks to fight over. Perhaps you will perish before the Great Feng."

He spoke calmly, as if stating a fact.

A gust of wind blew by, and the rain condensed into the shape of Nalan Tianlu. The rain master looked at Xu Qi'an with pity:

"You'll probably be the shortest-lived first-rank martial artist in history."

The figures of two spiritual masters appeared in the distance, looking at Xu Qi'an with either mockery or ridicule.

Xu Qi'an glanced at Salun Agu, Nalan Tianlu, and the two Spiritual Masters, then looked at the statue of the Witch God.

"Pooh!"

He spat in a blasphemous manner and strode away.

"Come on if you dare! I'll be waiting for you in the Central Plains!"

Xu Qi'an soared into the air, piercing the sky amidst a deafening sonic boom.

Southern Frontier.

In the Abyss, a deafening roar echoed through the night sky as Xu Qi'an, like a supersonic fighter jet, fiercely plunged into the Abyss from high above.

He carried kinetic energy capable of collapsing a mountain, creating a massive airflow, and plunged into the abyss. When he was less than three zhang away from the Confucian sage statue, he stopped, defying the principles of mechanics.

All inertia and kinetic energy converge in an instant, and the airflow subsides.

The moment Xu Qi'an landed, he immediately examined the Confucian Sage sculpture and found that, unsurprisingly, the crack had spread to the Confucian Sage's abdomen.

"The situation is dire. The damage to the sculpture in the Abyss is similar to that of the one in Jingshan City. Does this mean that the Witch God and the Gu God are not far apart in strength?"

He found amusement in analyzing the subtle clues leading to the discovery of the extraordinary item.

"At the latest, by the end of the year, Super Item will break the seal."

Xu Qi'an stared at the statue of the Confucian sage, remaining silent for a long time.

There is no high-ranking official in charge in the Central Plains, and the supervisor, who is suspected of being the gatekeeper, is sealed away. We don't know what he is planning, and we can't contact him.

At this point, he could no longer rely on anyone, and there were no powerful figures he could cling to, because unknowingly, he had become the strongest figure in the Central Plains.

Even though his advancement speed was already very fast, it was still like a mantis trying to stop a chariot when he wanted to fight against the Super Grade.

A huge sigh echoed in the abyss, and Xu Qi'an's figure had already disappeared.

Inside the palace, in the imperial study.

The night was pitch black, and the torchlight outside moved slowly as the imperial guards on duty walked past the Imperial Study.

Li Lingsu yawned, glanced at Xu Qi'an sitting on the large chair opposite her, and whispered:

"Why have you summoned us here in the middle of the night?"

To his left was the Flying Swallow Heroine, the Blue Lotus Daoist, and Li Miaozhen, the former Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Sect; to his right was Jinlian, the white-haired leader of the Earthly Sect, dressed in a black Daoist robe.

Then, in order, came the tall and imposing, ugly-handsome Asuluo; Chu Yuanzhen, with a wisp of white hair on his forehead and carrying a Law Artifact on his back; and Hengyuan, wearing a white-haired robe and with a bitter and resentful expression.

Lina, entering the Imperial Study for the first time, looked around curiously.

This was the first time all members of the Heaven and Earth Society had gathered together since Xu Qi'an's wedding.

The others remained silent, watching Xu Qi'an and waiting for him to explain.

"I've been to Jingshan City and the Southern Frontier Abyss," Xu Qi'an sighed.

"The cracks in the Confucian sage sculpture have widened again; by the end of the year at the latest, the masterpiece will reappear in the world."

The members of the Heaven and Earth Society looked at each other, unconsciously straightening their backs and their faces becoming solemn.

At the latest by the end of the year, a great calamity will descend.

This is not good news, no, it should be said to be extremely bad news. Li Lingsu's expression changed slightly.

"And you have absolutely no clue how to advance to the Martial God realm."

"I'm sitting behind the big desk," Huaiqing said in a low voice.

Her words exacerbated the anxiety of the Heaven and Earth Society members, causing them to frown.

"Even if one were to advance to the half-step Martial God realm, it would be impossible to stop three Super Grade beings."

Master Jinlian sighed.

"And then there's the 'wilderness' overseas; if it wants to devour the Supervisor, it must first destroy the Great Feng."

Asuro reminded him.

Then nobody spoke, completely killing the conversation.

This is a dead end, even more unsolvable than the situation when the Supervisor was sealed away and the rebels in Yunzhou swept through the country.

At least back then, there were ways to break the deadlock, such as Luo Yuheng, Asuluo, and Xu Qi'an's power of all living beings.

However, now, in battles involving the super-grade level, the extraordinary only have an entry ticket and cannot influence the overall situation at all.

What should I do?

Even with intelligence as high as Huaiqing's and exceptional talent as Chu Yuanzhen's—and aside from Lina, all the members of the Heaven and Earth Society were quite intelligent—they just couldn't come up with a way to break the deadlock.

In the face of absolute power, any scheme is Evil Dao.

Xu Qi'an broke the silence and said:

"One must take things one step at a time. My current goal is to advance to the half-step Martial God realm. I will set sail tomorrow and return in three months at most. Whether I have advanced to the half-step Martial God realm or not, I will come back in three months."

Song Qing had already deciphered the array left behind by the supervisor and had carved it into an array plate, which he then handed over to Xu Qi'an.

Once he can find a suitable target to "devour," he can summon the array plate to assist him in refining the target's life essence.

Xu Qi'an continued:

"We still don't know what the great calamity is, but knowing who the enemy is is enough. Shen Shu and I will handle the Super Grade; you don't need to worry about it."

"But the extraordinary achievements of Buddhist School and the extraordinary achievements of the Witchcraft Sect are something you need to shoulder."

"Brother Chu, I hope that when I return, you will have already embarked on your own path and advanced to the extraordinary realm. Asuluo, you are only one step away from the first rank. How to break through and which path to choose is up to you."

"Master Jinlian, you have returned to your peak, reaching the Great Perfection of the Second Rank. Is there any hope for you to transcend the tribulation? Also, Master Hengyuan, don't waste your 'Slaying Thieves' title. If you don't know how to refine or use it, you can ask Asuluo for guidance."

"Gentlemen, time is limited, so improve yourselves as soon as possible."

"If I still cannot advance to the half-step Martial God level in three months, I hope everyone can leave Kyushu and seek refuge at sea."

"As for the Holy Son, the Heavenly Sect has sealed off the mountain, isolating itself from the mortal world. As the Holy Son of the Heavenly Sect, you should still be able to return. You can take your beloved and seek refuge on the mountain."

Having said that, even Li Lingsu lost interest in joking around and nodded silently.

Xu Qi'an stood up and bowed to the crowd:

See you in three months!

The members of the Heaven and Earth Society silently rose and whispered:

"Take care of yourself!"

The next day.

In the palace of the Hundred Thousand Mountains, within the Ten Thousand Demon Queen.

A silver-haired enchantress with a graceful figure and an infinitely beautiful back view sat in front of her dressing mirror, charmingly drawing her eyebrows, and giggling:

"Overseas maps? What kind of things are these? We Demon Race don't have the habit of drawing maps."

Nine fluffy fox tails trailed on the ground, like beautiful white dresses.

Xu Qi'an, standing a few feet behind him, frowned, thinking to himself, "Are you kidding me? We clearly agreed on this when we contacted each other through Fu Xiang."

The nine-tailed celestial fox turned around, her long, slender legs pressed together perfectly, and smiled seductively:

"My lord will personally accompany you on this sea voyage!"

"Xu Yinluo, you're lonely on your journey. This lord can even serve you in bed to help relieve your boredom."

Her smile seemed to be able to seduce and bewitch.

P. S.: Typos will be corrected later.