Chapter 1658: Number One Star: Xu Qing

Editor: Atlas Studios

He was indeed not far.

The moment Star Ring was killed in the fifth realm, at the entrance of the Immortal Palace, in front of the Immortal Welcoming Platform…

A blurry figure appeared there.

This place was one of the three paths leading into the Immortal Palace. Xu Qing had seen it from a distance before; it was a bridge shrouded in fog.

At this moment, the fog churned, and after the figure materialized, it abruptly retreated, appearing on the Immortal Welcoming Platform in an instant.

As it stepped onto the bluestone, the figure stumbled, coughing up a mouthful of fresh blood.

Its chest heaved, breath quickened, and its expression carried the look of one who had narrowly escaped disaster.

He was Star Ring.

However, his current aura was fluctuating heavily and his body emitted a sense of weakness. One could even see half of his body intertwined between illusion and reality.

“Xu Qing…”

Star Ring’s expression was gloomy. With a sway of his body, he sped toward the exit of the Immortal Palace.

At the next instant, he left the Immortal Palace.

The moment he flew out, he saw several people sitting cross-legged and meditating outside the Land of Immortal’s Fall.

With a quick glance, he saw Li Mengtu and Zhou Zhengli.

Almost at the same time that his gaze landed, the cultivators sitting cross-legged also sensed it, especially Li Mengtu and Zhou Zhengli. They immediately raised their heads and their gazes landed on Star Ring.

Li Mengtu’s eyes narrowed.

Zhou Zhengli fell into deep thought.

Star Ring didn’t stop. He took a step into the void and stepped onto the horizon, speeding away.

He used his fastest speed.

It was only when he reached the edge of the Immortal’s Fall that he turned his head and looked in the direction of the Immortal Palace.

As for his half-ethereal, half-real body, it gradually shed its illusionary state with each breath, becoming fully tangible.

This was his life-preserving technique, a secret art of the Star Ring Tower.

Through the Dao of sacrifice, he could shape his own Star Tower, which he could use to substitute for his death.

This could resolve the life-and-death crisis.

Over the years, he had molded seven of these Star Ring Towers.

“I didn’t expect to lose one here…”

Reflecting on the scene in the fifth realm, Star Ring felt a surge of wariness. He had to admit one thing: the other’s understanding of Ordinance surpassed his own by a fair margin.

“Whether it’s killing, hiding, or even his Ordinance, all of them are honed to a terrifying level!”

“Therefore, if I want to suppress him, I need to strengthen my Ordinance to the point where I can destroy all the space-times he controls. Otherwise… it will be almost impossible to kill him.”

“Unless…”

A dark glint flashed in Star Ring’s eyes.

“I need to find his hidden true body under my Heaven’s Law!”

“This person’s greatest weakness… is his true body!”

“His cultivation is at the Ruler Realm and his immortal embryo is still in the process of forming. So, as long as I can find his true body…”

“Then, it’s not like I don’t have a chance to kill him!”

Star Ring fell silent and finally shook its head.

Theory, in the end, was just theory.

Star Ring knew that the current him couldn’t accomplish it.

Hence, he took a deep breath and disappeared.

He wasn’t sure if the other party would continue to pursue him, but the sense of danger in his heart still existed.

Hence, he knew that he had to leave the Western Starfield and return to the East as soon as possible.

Only when he reached the East would the crisis be averted.

…

At the same time, in the fifth realm of the Immortal Palace, Xu Qing looked at the wisp of aura in his palm and squeezed it, keeping it in space-time. After that, he raised his head and swept his gaze across the Quasi Immortal Great Emperors in the surroundings.

He didn’t say anything and took a step forward.

His body instantly turned blurry.

However, at the next instant, his figure became clearer from the blurry state.

“I indeed can’t go up to the sixth realm.”

He was trying to enter the sixth realm.

Although he knew that the sixth realm of the Immortal Palace was a place that only Lower Immortals could enter with their combat strength, since he had already reached the fifth realm, he naturally had to give it a try.

After verifying it, Xu Qing took another step forward. This time… he didn’t insist on heading to the sixth realm but returned.

His figure instantly disappeared.

When he appeared, he was already on the Immortal Welcoming Platform at the entrance of the Immortal Palace.

“The fortune from the Immortal Palace this time has ended for me.”

Standing on the Immortal Welcoming Platform, Xu Qing looked at the Immortal Palace.

The series of experiences appeared in his mind. The scenes were like the churning of the river of time, stirring up the sand at the bottom of the river and flowing in his eyes.

In his daze, Xu Qing seemed to have seen a youth in white.

He stood at the end of the river of time, holding the marriage contract. Beside him was a young girl in a wedding dress. The two of them looked at him and smiled at him before bowing together.

That smile contained an indescribable past.

Perhaps it was youth, or suffering, or beauty, or piercing pain.

The waves of the flowing water stirred up the scene.

Xu Qing turned his head and saw himself standing at the other end of the river of time.

After that, he smiled lightly and bowed toward the other end.

The storm yesterday echoed today.

The flowing water dissipated, and the sand turned into starlight that gradually disappeared.

Xu Qing stood up and walked down the Immortal Welcoming Platform. With a step… he reached the exit of the Immortal Palace.

The moment he stood at the Immortal’s Fall Land, the red aurora that he had not seen for a long time landed on his body. All the scenery in front of him was as dim red as ever in the aurora.

However, it was different from before.

This light became gentler to him.

It contained fatherly love.

Xu Qing closed his eyes and silently sensed. After a long time, when he opened his eyes, he saw everyone outside the Immortal Palace.

The Earth Spirit Ancestor, Li Mengtu, Zhou Zhengli, and some cultivators he didn’t know.

These individuals were all returnees from the Immortal Palace. The majority of them had chosen not to leave, opting instead to remain in this place. They waited for the moment when the entire Immortal Palace would come to an end, dissipating like the retreat of the tides, hoping to use this final surge to cultivate and gain new insights.

After all, for most of them, this trip was only up to the third realm. Although they had gained something, it wasn’t much.

However, it was obvious that those who had such plans didn’t include Li Mengtu and Zhou Zhengli.

The former looked at Xu Qing with a complicated expression. He opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something.

It was as though everything in the fourth realm had a deep impact on him, causing him to feel that he was still Zhong Chi when he looked at Xu Qing…

As for Zhou Zhengli, who stood beside him, he was clearly much calmer than Li Mengtu and didn’t bother contemplating the mirrored history and the present.

For him, the priority was seizing the opportunity to continue a previous connection, ensuring it wouldn’t fade within the mirror world but would instead persist into the future.

This intention only solidified further in his mind after he witnessed the obviously wounded Star Ring hastily departing just moments before.

Hence, the moment his gaze met Xu Qing’s, Zhou Zhengli quickened his pace.

When he arrived in front of Xu Qing, his posture was exactly the same as in the fourth realm, incomparably respectful.

“Young Master.”

“Congratulations, Young Master. Your cultivation base has broken through and your realm has climbed. You are now the number one star in the Fifth Star Ring!”

Xu Qing looked at Zhou Zhengli.

“This is no longer the mirrored history.”

Zhou Zhengli shook his head.

“The one who convinced me wasn’t Young Lord Aurora either.”

When Xu Qing heard this, he looked at Zhou Zhengli with a profound gaze. Earth Spirit Ancestor quickly arrived and bowed deeply to Xu Qing, speaking excitedly.

“With your return, Senior, this junior’s anxious heart can finally be at ease. Previously, having been saved by you, I was constantly concerned about your safety within the fourth realm.”

“During these days, I felt restless and filled with worry, regretting that my own cultivation was insufficient to enter the fourth realm to assist you, to be of any service by your side.”

“Only yesterday did I finally gain a bit of insight that allowed me some peace of mind.”

“What I came to realize was that, with your extraordinary talent, far-reaching vision, and meticulous planning, every move is within your control. Though the fourth realm may be fraught with turbulent waves, surely they were all foreseen by you.”

“All I need to do is wait here patiently, because the outcome will undoubtedly be one of great fortune and success.”

“Lastly, my deepest gratitude for saving my life within the Immortal Palace. I celebrate your triumphant journey there and wish that your path among the stars will continue to shine brilliantly across the heavens!”

The Earth Spirit Ancestor spoke loudly.

This caused Zhou Zhengli, who was at the side, to glance sideways for the first time.

It also caused the shadow under Xu Qing’s feet to sway.

Even the sky seemed to have stirred because of the Earth Spirit Ancestor’s words.

The red aurora shone even more brightly. Waves of thunder that seemed to come from the sky rumbled endlessly. In fact, it didn’t only affect the sky here…

The entire western sky was rumbling.

It was the same for the east, south, and north.

The sky of the Fifth Star Ring seemed to have been parted by an invisible hand, revealing the starry sky.

Those stars had different lights. Some were resplendent, and some were dim.

Moreover, they corresponded to the specific cultivators in the Fifth Star Ring!

That was… the reflection of the qualifying tokens!

This scene instantly caused the expressions of everyone outside the Immortal’s Fall Land to change and they all raised their heads.

It wasn’t just them. At this moment, the vast majority of cultivators in the entire Fifth Star Ring were the same.

Because…

“The third and final stage of the Immortal Capital’s hunt has begun!”

Zhou Zhengli’s eyes gleamed as he spoke in a low voice.

This segment was slaughter and elimination!

Its arrival represented the final choice!

After that, the token light on all the cultivators with the Immortal Capital Qualifying Tokens shone.

Xu Qing was no exception. The light was dazzling. At the same time as the starlight shone, drumbeats of killing intent spread in the world.

It echoed like thunder.

The expressions of the cultivators who were originally cultivating outside the Immortal’s Fall Land changed. They immediately stood up and left.

Zhou Zhengli took a deep breath and bowed to Xu Qing again.

“Young Master, entering the Immortal Capital is a sure thing for you. I still have to work hard and strive to be able to meet with you… in the Immortal Capital after the hunt ends!

Everyone with the Immortal Capital’s token will focus on this trial.”

With that, Zhou Zhengli’s body swayed as he headed straight for the starry sky.

Seeing that Zhou Zhengli had left and most of the people in the surroundings had left, Li Mengtu slowly walked forward.

“Um… Qianjun and Piyi, after those two swords came out earlier, they ran faster than anyone else… But I could sense that their aura wasn’t much different from what I felt in the fourth realm. I anticipate that the master recognition established there will have an impact in the present world.”

“The Ordinance on my body is also different.”

“As for Xie Lingzi, I didn’t see him. I think he was the first to come out, so he left early.”

“There’s also Yuanshan Su. I saw her leaving quickly with a complicated expression.”

“I… I’m also going to temper myself and increase my qualifying token’s ranking. Young Lo… Do you want to join me?”

Li Mengtu’s words were a little awkward.

Xu Qing smiled when he heard this. After that, he shook his head and lifted his right hand. The aura of Star Ring flowed in his palm.

Li Mengtu’s gaze froze.

“You want to…”

“There’s something on Star Ring that belongs to me. I’ll go and retrieve it.”

Xu Qing calmly spoke and walked toward the horizon.

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