Chapter 1039: Unstoppable Momentum

"Not letting me leave?"

Xu Qing stared at the red candle in the distance, retreating slightly to avoid its light. In a flash, he flew towards the crack he had emerged from earlier, which led to the second layer.

Moments later, he approached. But the crack... had vanished.

"Not only am I prevented from leaving, but even the crack to the second layer has disappeared!""The reason..."Xu Qing's expression darkened. He quickly assessed the situation, pinpointing three possibilities.

"First, it could be the karma generated by that mask – either it cannot leave this place, or its own power is pulling me, preventing me from leaving before I make a wish.""Second, it might be due to the red candle itself. Because of something special about me, it harbors immense malice towards me, wanting to forcibly keep and assimilate me.""Third, it could be the previous divine authority of luck. Although I grasped a trace of this divine authority, it is incomplete, so extreme changes might occur, such as misfortune descending after luck."

Xu Qing sensed the divine authority of misfortune within him, noticing it was more active than usual. However, he couldn't make a complete judgment based solely on this.

"It's also possible that all three reasons are in effect.""So, how do I resolve this?"Xu Qing frowned, his mind racing. Just then, the surrounding chill suddenly converged.

In a blink, Xu Qing abruptly retreated. Cracking sounds echoed. The void where he had just been instantly froze. As Xu Qing's eyes turned instantly black and Little Shadow merged with him, he immediately saw countless shadows whistling from all directions, seemingly controlled, exuding intense malice, and heading straight for him.

The next instant, as the Great Sun rose within Xu Qing, the Profound Yang Immortal Light erupted, scattering countless rays. Wherever it passed, ice shattered, and numerous shadows wailed. In the blink of an eye, more than half of the shadows around Xu Qing vanished.

He swayed and abruptly charged out. However, many shadows remained, still flying from all directions towards Xu Qing.

"There can't be this many."As Xu Qing sped, his Immortal Light spread, engaging in a passive chase within this Realm Source Secret Realm. Meanwhile, the red candle's flame continued to flash repeatedly. Each flash accelerated the transformation of the star paintings in the realm, and the candlelight falling on Xu Qing even caused a burning sensation in his soul.

"These shadows aren't just from cultivators who died here over the years from the Demon Feather Holy Land.""This Realm Source Secret Realm is ancient, predating the Holy Land. Therefore, it must have existed in other worlds before it descended upon the Wanggu Continent, which explains this immense accumulation of shadows!"

A murderous glint flashed in Xu Qing's eyes. The characteristic of these shadows was that they could only be killed if seen. Since Xu Qing could see them now, not only his Immortal Light but also his other methods could eliminate them! Soon, with a roaring echo, massive torrents of strange Immortal Soul Threads surged from within Xu Qing, unleashing an assault alongside divine authority. Wherever they passed, shadows shattered and disintegrated in batches.

However, Xu Qing's sense of crisis did not diminish; instead, it intensified. This was because the burning sensation in his soul grew more severe under the red candlelight. Simultaneously, the star totems, which had become paintings within this Realm Source Secret Realm, accelerated their transformations, appearing like countless drawn eyes, gazing at Xu Qing with endless greed.

Their gazes caused Xu Qing's sense of crisis to surge instantly. Besides the burning sensation, his soul even showed signs of tearing, as if those painted star eyes were emitting a terrifying pull, attempting to draw out Xu Qing's soul. What was even more alarming was that Xu Qing could sense his soul rapidly transforming from its original intangible state into a tangible one. This form was a painting. He was gradually becoming a painting. More precisely, a soul totem painted using his physical body as a canvas!

"My merged state with Little Shadow allows me to see those shadows, enabling me to kill them, but...""Everything has its opposite. While I can see them, my very existence in this state also allows the red candle to see me... thus accelerating the assimilation!""But if I deactivate this current state, I won't be able to see the shadows here, and therefore won't be able to eliminate them."This was a contradiction, like a vicious cycle!

Xu Qing's expression was grim, but he immediately dissolved his merge with Little Shadow. As Little Shadow dissipated and his eyes returned to normal, the sensation of his soul being pulled out finally vanished. However, Xu Qing could no longer see the shadows coming from all directions, making them impossible to kill. He could only dodge at full speed while searching for a way to leave.

Yet, with the red candle present, all of Xu Qing's attempts to leave failed. Every time he tried to activate a token, it was immediately interrupted. Eventually, even without remaining merged with Little Shadow, the red candle's light still caused signs of assimilation in Xu Qing. His physical body remained normal, but his soul gradually became sluggish, and even his thoughts seemed affected, as if his mind was rusting.

Moreover, even the traces of destiny that Xu Qing, in his Blood Dust avatar, had inherited, began to melt in the eerie red candle's flame! He couldn't maintain the Blood Dust avatar state; all his disguises and grafts were melting away.

Adding insult to injury, perhaps the third point of Xu Qing's analysis took effect at this moment: after luck came the misfortune he was so familiar with... Ahead of him, a cultivator appeared. This was the first living person Xu Qing had seen since arriving in this secret realm.

It was a cultivator from the Three Realms of Soul Incarnation. He seemed to have been here for a short time, initially cultivating, but was affected by the drastic changes in the area. As he looked around from his secluded cultivation spot in surprise, he noticed Xu Qing! The moment he saw Xu Qing, the Demon Feather cultivator was visibly stunned, then an incredulous expression appeared on his face, and he blurted out, "Xu Qing?"

With his disguise melting and Xu Qing's significant reputation among humans, it was logical that he would be instantly recognized. After identifying Xu Qing, the cultivator showed no hesitation, immediately pulling out a token and crushing it, intending to leave! A vortex appeared beside him as the token was crushed. Seeing him about to depart, a cold glint flashed in Xu Qing's eyes. Noticing the vortex around the other party, his speed instantly surged to its maximum!

With a roar, he drew near. But the moment he approached, the red candle suddenly flared, instantly obliterating the vortex around the cultivator, interrupting the Demon Feather cultivator's teleportation! This also prevented Xu Qing from using it to escape.

It was unclear whether this misfortune affected Xu Qing, the cultivator, or both simultaneously! After all, Xu Qing himself possessed the divine authority of misfortune. He had no time to analyze the specific reason. Seeing the other party's teleportation interrupted, Xu Qing's expression turned grim, while the Demon Feather cultivator, horrified, retreated rapidly.

However, he had retreated less than ten zhang when his body suddenly trembled, and a dazed look appeared in his eyes. Seemingly controlled, he abruptly looked at Xu Qing with intense greed, no longer fleeing, but instead rushing towards Xu Qing to self-detonate! Booming sounds echoed instantly! Moments later, Xu Qing departed.

A self-detonation from a cultivator of the Three Realms of Soul Incarnation was still unable to harm Xu Qing's physical body. However, for him, who was being gradually assimilated, there was still a tremor in his soul. Fortunately, in the time that followed, Xu Qing did not encounter any more cultivators who had entered this place for cultivation. After all, the amount of battle merit required to enter this Realm Source Secret Realm was immense, so it was unlikely that many cultivators would be present at the same time.

Yet, Xu Qing still couldn't find a way to leave! Even more shadows pursued him from behind. The assimilation also became increasingly severe.

Eventually, Xu Qing could clearly feel that the entire secret realm was exuding intense malice. Even on his path forward, stars or worlds that should have been stable would, under the candlelight, complete their entire existence in an instant and abruptly collapse! Sometimes, stars would suddenly appear in previously empty areas, only to instantly self-detonate! The destructive power formed by all these phenomena made Xu Qing completely defenseless.

What was even more exaggerated was that the red candle's patience seemed to dwindle. After one powerful flare, its flame began to erupt continuously! Like a volcanic eruption, the light, far more intense than before, illuminated the Realm Source Secret Realm with incredible transparency. Heat waves spread similarly, melting everything! Looking around, everything in the secret realm was melting! Stars, worlds, dust! Everything except the red candle itself was burning, and the candle itself was visibly dissipating slightly.

"This is meant to completely obliterate me, leaving no chance of survival!""Unless I can wait for the Empress to detect the anomaly here, or endure until this candle burns out!""With the former, I'd be in a passive state. With the latter, I'm unsure if everything will start anew after it burns out, as it might still be related to the karma from the mask. Most importantly, I can't last that long!"

Having fled until now, and after numerous failed attempts to find a way out, Xu Qing's eyes erupted with murderous intent. He had only one method left. He halted, looking towards the candlelight, his expression resolute. He knew that if things continued like this, his chances of survival were slim!

"Since you won't let me leave and want to assimilate me!"Madness and ruthlessness gleamed in Xu Qing's eyes. He decided to charge at full speed towards the core of this Realm Source Secret Realm, towards the red candle!

His last method carried immense risk, but if successful, any of the three reasons he had considered could be instantly resolved!The mask's karma influencing the candle, preventing him from leaving!The candle's own greed, wanting to assimilate him!Misfortune descending after divine authority of luck!

"Then, I will assimilate you!"With bloodshot eyes, amidst the violent swaying of the red candle's flame ahead and the converging myriad shadows, Xu Qing, like a shooting star or a moth, charged fearlessly towards the candle!