The flames were incredibly unique. Despite intending to avoid them after sensing their terror, the flames still touched him, causing some to burn within him. This combustion triggered a change in the purple crystal.
The purple crystal unexpectedly emitted a pulling force, actively absorbing the flames that had fused with his body. Soon after, a faint light seemed to radiate from within.
In that instant, the light illuminated Xu Qing's sea of consciousness. Though it lasted only a moment, he noticed that his first lantern, the large black umbrella, was missing its tip, as if it had melted away!
This was the reason why Xu Qing's eyes revealed a strange glint earlier. At that moment, a wave of thoughts surged within him, but the situation was not appropriate to examine it closely. Therefore, once he returned to the camp, Xu Qing immediately entered seclusion to study this matter.
Meng Yunbai had come to visit and Fairy Liuling had also invited him.
However, they were all tactfully rejected by Xu Qing. On one hand, he didn't have time and on the other hand, he didn't want to participate in any matters of the Imperial City.
He and Kong Xianglong had reported the matter of the private banquet to Li Yunshan after they returned. The other party's judgment was the same as theirs and even saw things more clearly.
"Looks like other than participating in the Holy Wave Race's return ceremony, the Seventh Prince intentionally invited us here to see the true purpose of Princess Anhai's sudden visit."
"Xu Qing, you did the right thing by killing Luo Jinsong. He deserves death for humiliating the old Palace Master! I'll report this matter to Marquis Yao. With his methods and the righteousness we occupy, it won't cause trouble."
These were Li Yunshan's exact words after he found out about the banquet.
On the seventh day, the Holy Wave Race's return ceremony began.
This ceremony was grand. Someone from the Imperial City read the imperial decree, the true bodies of the four great monarchs of the Holy Wave Race arrived, and the projection of the ancestral emperor descended.
When the projection appeared, the colors of the sky and earth changed, winds roared, and the entire Ten Guts Tree region became incredibly oppressive.
That was the pressure from the Soul Accumulation.
In fact, even time and space seemed to turn chaotic in this short period of time, and this was only a projection of the Soul Accumulation.
It gave Xu Qing the feeling that he had met a god but there were differences that he found difficult to describe.
"Soul Accumulation… Indescribable and returning to nothingness, it embodies formlessness and imagelessness, an elusive state. Its beginning or end cannot be seen."
At the venue of the ceremony, Li Yunshan spoke softly with a rueful expression.
Xu Qing looked at the sky.
In the sky, he saw the four monarchs of the Holy Wave Race and behind them, a blurry but vast figure that seemed to support the world. He couldn't see its head or feet. It seemed endless and omnipresent.
The Holy Wave Race's ancestor emperor didn't stay for long. After hearing the imperial decree, his body dissipated into the world.
The imperial decree gave extremely high recognition and praise to the Holy Wave Ancestor, restoring the ancestral title and conferring upon him the title of 'Grand Duke Holy Wave'
As for the name of the Holy Wave Large Region, it didn't change. It was just that there was only half of the original area. The remaining part was named the Deep Blue Large Region.
This region didn't include Fenghai County. It was under the control of the Seventh Prince's army and served as a military command center. Princess Anhai was appointed to assist in governance and administrative matters.
With this, the ceremony was finally over. Xu Qing and the others also chose to return to Fenghai.
However, before they left, something happened. The Seventh Prince returned the three provinces that belonged to Fenghai County in advance. At the same time, he also gave four more provinces to Fenghai County, allowing Fenghai County to have 17 provinces from now on.
The Seventh Prince was the one who took the initiative to propose this matter, and Princess Anhai also approved of it.
At the same time, Guanyue County, which was covertly taken over by Fenhai, smoothly transitioned its control to the Deep Blue Large Region.
Xu Qing wasn't very clear about what exactly happened. Although he guessed that there would be an exchange after Marquis Yao told him about the matter of Guanyue County back then, Xu Qing didn't know what was involved in the process.
This was a choice that could only be made by those at the level of Marquis Yao and Old Master Seventh.
However, he could more or less see some of the future situation from the imperial decree.
In the Deep Blue Large Region, the military and political administration were separated due to the presence of Princess Anhai.