Chapter 1020: Immortal Arts Six Thieves Recklessly Arise

Xu Qing stood calmly in the snowstorm. He raised his right hand and gently grabbed towards the spot where Lan Yao had vanished. He seized the void there, retrieved the traces, and recalled the sounds that had once emanated from that spot, drawing them back from all directions.

This process, while seemingly just an application of the Divine Authority of Sound, actually required a higher level of control to achieve. Although Xu Qing's Divine Authority of Sound had absorbed the Musician Authority of the sun and seized the Authority of the Spirit Sound Forbidden Lord, it still hadn't reached the point where he could plunder sounds from time itself.

However, he possessed a sundial.

The heavens and earth rumbled. A phantom image of the sundial appeared at the spot where Lan Yao had vanished. Its gnomon rotated, reversing time in that small area until Lan Yao's figure reappeared, and the only words she had spoken echoed once more:

"You seek death."

The moment these three words reappeared, Xu Qing seized them. The sundial then blurred, and everything returned to normal. Yet, within Xu Qing's divine perception, that sentence, those three words, became an imprint. He channeled it into his Divine Authority.

At that moment, Feng Lintao's voice, along with the howling wind, reached Xu Qing's ears. He also heard his Eldest Senior Brother's somewhat mocking tone and the sound of snowflakes falling across the sky. Furthermore, all sounds from the snowfield—including those of exotic beasts, cultivators, and the entire world—emerged in Xu Qing's divine perception at that instant.

Using this imprint of sound, and with his inherent qualification over sound, he began to inquire. He asked the wind if the sound could be heard. He asked all things if the sound existed. He asked the heavens if the sound was remembered. He asked the earth where the sound's trace led.

The wind, blowing across thousands of miles, told him where it was heard. All boundless things revealed where the sound traveled. The sky, sensing his inquiry, showed him where the memory pointed, and finally, the snow-covered earth revealed its whereabouts.

It was in the north.

Countless images and sounds—of the world, mountains, rivers, and all things amidst the snowstorm—flashed through Xu Qing's divine perception until he located a specific ice mountain. The ice mountain was shrouded in mist, and within it was an ice cave where Lan Yao and Yue Dong sat cross-legged.

Almost the instant Xu Qing's divine perception locked onto them, Lan Yao's body trembled. Yue Dong's eyes snapped open, her expression shifting, and she quickly formed a hand seal, pointing a finger. Immediately, a wave of emotion surged within Xu Qing, disrupting his thoughts, disturbing his Authority of Sound, and shaking his mind.

He severed it instantly. But he was still a step too late, for from the locked image, Xu Qing heard it—Lan Yao's heartbeat!

This sound, combined with the previous imprint, was enough!

"Found them!" Xu Qing spoke softly, raising his right hand and grabbing towards Second Bull. Second Bull chuckled, similarly raising his hand to seize the trembling soul of Feng Lintao. Then, the two individuals and one soul vanished instantly. Enveloped by Xu Qing's Divine Authority of Sound, they merged into the void, into all sounds. Wherever there was a trace of presence, it became his teleportation point.

And so, in an instant, Xu Qing, Second Bull, and Feng Lintao's soul traversed an immense distance, appearing at the border between the Blazing Moon Profound Heaven Clan and the Northern Ancient Realm. There, the snowstorm was even more severe, and the ground was no longer snow mountains but rather jagged ice peaks. The cold was biting, as if all life here was to be sealed away.

Within these ice peaks, one suddenly crumbled, shattering into pieces. From within, two figures rapidly flew out, their expressions grim, as they sped away into the distance. It was Lan Yao and Yue Dong. Behind them, Xu Qing stepped out from the collapsing ice peak, heading directly for the two women. He had appeared within the echo of Lan Yao's heartbeat, descending into that ice peak.

He saw Lan Yao, and he saw Yue Dong. Lan Yao was as before, though her face showed considerable panic. As for Yue Dong, amidst the snowstorm, her figure appeared even more graceful. Silver wings on her back shimmered, reflecting the snow. Her skin was fair and flawless, like jade. She wore a black robe embroidered with gold, enhancing her ethereal, fairy-like appearance, as if she were smoke or mist. Her eyebrows were light and slender like distant mountains, and her eyes were clear and bright. Yet, in her eyes, which resembled calm water, there was no serene glow, but rather a hint of sinister light.

It must be said that both women possessed extraordinary beauty. In the eyes of a lustful person, a single glance might stir an unusual sensation. However, despite their beauty, in Xu Qing's perception, attractiveness was irrelevant. The people in his eyes were only divided into friends or enemies. These two were enemies.

Therefore, the moment he appeared, Xu Qing showed no hesitation. His body shone with light, and a great sun rose in his sea of consciousness. He seemed to transform into the sun itself, radiating endless light and heat, carrying terrifying pressure as he approached the two women.

In this critical moment, Lan Yao's face turned pale, but the sinister glow in Yue Dong's eyes became even more striking. She quickly formed a hand seal and pointed rapidly at Xu Qing. With that single point, Yue Dong's ability was finally fully revealed to Xu Qing. It was a technique that manipulated destiny through emotions. To some extent, this was indeed a form of authoritative power, and a very unique one.

As it erupted from Yue Dong, Xu Qing bore the brunt of it. His emotions instantly fluctuated, as if an invisible hand had reached into his mind, stirring up his surprise, fear, sorrow, and despair in an instant. It was like massive waves churning, threatening to engulf everything. Even more astonishingly, there was also anger within it. This anger was like an origin point. It was an anger co-empathetic with Yue Dong, originating from Yue Dong herself. Using this as a breach, it aimed to shatter Xu Qing's mind and sea of consciousness. Once it broke through, Xu Qing's inner world would be imprinted with Yue Dong's thoughts, and Yue Dong's face would be woven into his threads of destiny—as if being parasitized.

Had this been before Xu Qing's battle with Fu Xie, facing Yue Dong's ability would have certainly been difficult for him, requiring a multifaceted approach to try and resolve it. Indeed, Yue Dong's method was incredibly hard to guard against and extremely troublesome. But now, Xu Qing's Authority of Erasure was the perfect counter to Yue Dong's ability.

The next instant, Xu Qing's right eye, imbued with the mark of erasure, suddenly shone. It was as if an invisible, colossal hand, transformed into a force beyond rules and laws, erased everything. It erased all fluctuations in his emotions. As he instantly recovered, an ancient pair of scissors also appeared above Xu Qing's head. Crafted from bronze, it exuded a primitive aura, covered in rust as if it had endured the trials of ages. The blades pointed at Yue Dong. He made a fierce cutting motion through the air towards Yue Dong. A "snip" sound echoed mysteriously across the icy plain. It severed emotions, severed destiny, and severed all threads. As if a fierce wind swept through, causing the ice peaks to sway. It shattered Yue Dong's technique!

Yue Dong's body shuddered, her eyes filled with bloodshot veins. The broken technique caused a severe backlash, her internal organs churned, and she spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. Her expression grim, she grabbed Lan Yao's arm and retreated at full speed. As she retreated, a light of teleportation flashed on her body, as if she intended to escape.

But at that moment, from the void behind her, Second Bull's figure silently emerged from concealment, licking his lips, and suddenly unleashed his power. Second Bull's outburst shook the surrounding snowstorm, taking control of all the frigid cold in the area. And so, at that moment, cracking sounds emanated from the sky as it began to freeze solid. The void, at that instant, also solidified. Only Second Bull glowed with blue light. Countless twisted, overlapping faces appeared in his eyes, and a blue bony hand stretched out from a rift in his chest, reaching towards Yue Dong and Lan Yao with coldness, greed, and madness.

Xu Qing, too, stepped forward at that moment. One in front, one behind, they were about to deliver a fatal blow.

But at this precise moment, a rune flashed on Yue Dong's brow. That rune... Xu Qing recognized it. It was the mark of an Emperor-tier formation she had displayed when she tried to seal Feng Lintao that day. This mark flashed on her body, transforming into layers of ripples, like flowing water, rapidly covering her entire being. It then spread outwards from her, forming a protective barrier, resisting the combined might of Xu Qing and Second Bull.

A deafening roar instantly shook the heavens! Second Bull's eyes flickered. His body was rapidly pushed back by the recoil, but he forcibly twisted, charging forward again... directly at the formation, continuing his assault. Xu Qing narrowed his eyes. Although his steps halted and his body was swept back a few paces as if by a gale, the next instant his figure vanished, merging into sound. He reappeared above Yue Dong's formation, a great sun blazing, descending to suppress it. A thunderous roar reverberated in all directions!

The Emperor-tier formation was remarkable, managing to block all of Xu Qing's and Second Bull's attacks. However, this formation clearly couldn't last long, and Yue Dong, trapped within, couldn't endure indefinitely either. At this moment, her entire body vibrated violently, and she spat out blood again. Her once beautiful face now contorted into a malevolent grimace. This formation, while her protection, had also become her cage. Facing Xu Qing and Second Bull's assault, it was clear that the moment the formation vanished would be her moment of life or death.

In this critical juncture, Yue Dong's face was grim. After her cold gaze swept over Xu Qing and Second Bull, she suddenly raised her right hand and slammed it down onto the ground. With that slam, the icy glacial earth outside the formation shattered. Figures, one after another, surprisingly rushed out from beneath the fractured ice. These figures were powerful individuals from the Blazing Moon's affiliated clans in the area. Each of them now displayed hatred and fury. In their threads of destiny, Yue Dong's face was unmistakably present! They were all Yue Dong's emotional puppets. The moment they appeared, they showed no fear of death, charging madly at Xu Qing and Second Bull. They weren't fighting conventionally, but rather... self-destructing, relying on self-detonation, at the cost of their lives, to delay the two.

At the same time, Yue Dong sat cross-legged, manipulating Lan Yao to sit opposite her. She raised her right hand and pressed it firmly against Lan Yao's glabella. It was as if she was extracting something. Lan Yao trembled all over, her expression filled with pain. Yet, from Yue Dong, an aura surged, and especially in her eyes, runic marks were rapidly forming.

As for the outside, with the puppets rushing out and self-destructing, deafening roars shook the heavens and earth. The sky rippled, the ground shattered, and countless more icy currents were swept up by the storm, making the area hazy. Although there were many self-detonations and their power was not weak, they were clearly insufficient to completely stop Xu Qing and Second Bull. Especially for Xu Qing, these self-detonations had minimal impact on his physical body. His body radiated light and heat in mid-air, ignoring everything, and once again slammed into Yue Dong's formation.

As the formation violently rippled, Yue Dong, struggling fiercely against Xu Qing's pressure from within, spoke her first words since the battle began:

"Humans cannot endure long because the six thieves of delusion are born! The eyes delusively see, the ears delusively hear, the nose delusively smells fragrances and stenches, the mouth delusively speaks of tastes, the body delusively acts, the mind delusively ponders, ultimately failing to return to the root! This is the source of the seven emotions and six desires, hence the immortal forbidden art."

Yue Dong's voice was low. The moment her words resonated, seven-colored light emanated from her entire body, forming a seven-hued storm that swept across the heavens and earth.

"Now, I, your disciple Yue Dong, use this art to strip these two of their six desires and separate them from their seven emotions, making them my puppets. The backlash of karma and destiny shall be borne solely by Lan Yao, the daughter of an Emperor's bloodline. 'Immortal Art: The Six Thieves of Delusion.'"

Yue Dong suddenly raised her head. She had unleashed a forbidden secret art, aiming to control Xu Qing and Second Bull right there.