Chapter 1051: Engrave Your Fate

Across 100,000 *li* of land, a fierce black sea of flames raged, its immense heat distorting the heavens and earth, forming a self-contained seal.

Furthermore, atop this 100,000-li plain, seven great worlds belonging to the Western Devil Son overlapped, forming a seven-tiered prison. Empowered by this fusion, it became the strongest manifestation of the Western Devil Son's eerie authority: the Seven Hells Demonic Realm. Demonic flames blazed furiously, as if intent on incinerating the prisoner trapped within the realm, utterly destroying their physical form and spirit.

Meanwhile, the Western Devil Son sat cross-legged outside the Demonic Realm. Behind him, a demonic shadow mirrored his posture, also sitting cross-legged, but its form was much more ethereal. As for the Western Devil Son himself, his expression was withered, and his aura weak. This was the cost of his Demonic Transformation assimilation and the price for unleashing the Seven Hells Demonic Realm.

Yet, at this moment, he paid no heed to these costs. His sole focus was on refining Xu Qing. Xu Qing's elusiveness was truly frustrating; it felt as if all his concentrated power was striking cotton. Despite only needing a few more blows to gravely wound him, Xu Qing's movements were unnervingly deceptive and his agility monstrously abnormal, allowing him to appear silently anywhere around him. If that were all, it wouldn't be so bad, as he wasn't without defensive measures. However, Xu Qing's dissolving ability was equally nauseating; every touch would erode his aura, traces, defenses, and even his life force.

At any other time, this wouldn't be an issue, but with his Demonic Transformation unable to last much longer, this fighting style filled him with extreme frustration. His killing intent intensified ceaselessly. Therefore, he unleashed his trump card without hesitation, determined to negate Xu Qing's advantages and shift the battlefield to his favor. This was precisely the case now. His demonic energy roared, continuously strengthening the realm. The object he had just thrown down now struck and pierced the Demonic Realm, causing the refining demonic flames within to surge instantly.

Inside the Demonic Realm, a faint glow appeared in Xu Qing's eyes. He paid no attention to the red candle behind him frantically devouring the surrounding demonic flames, nor did he mind the increasingly potent aura of recovery emanating from it. At this moment, his entire focus was concentrated on the carving knife before him, forged from the authority of fate. Although this was truly his first time unleashing the power of his divine authority over fate, his previous research and the Empress's guidance had given Xu Qing a preliminary understanding of his divine authority over fate.

He took a deep breath and raised his right hand, grasping. Instantly, the carving knife before him trembled and shot towards Xu Qing. The moment it landed in his hand, it emanated vast and astonishing fluctuations that affected all directions and distorted the realm. Outside, the Western Devil Son couldn't see clearly either. A sense of alarm rose within him, and he gritted his teeth, burning his vital essence to intensify and accelerate the refining process.

As for Xu Qing, his expression became resolute at this moment. His heart ceased beating. His world transformed into black and white. Black represented time, white represented space. And between these two, countless gray lines stretched: the destinies of all beings. Xu Qing's emotions, too, grew infinitely calm as his heart stopped, devoid of the slightest ripple, as if his humanity had completely vanished from him at that moment. All that remained was divinity. This divinity held no pity, no concept of life or death; it held only the mastery of fate.

"Western Devil Son!" Xu Qing called out the name with the might of divine authority. The moment the sound spread, the Western Devil Son outside trembled, an inexplicable sensation of dread making his breathing quicken.

Inside the Demonic Realm, as Xu Qing called out, the countless gray lines he saw vanished instantly, leaving only a single one floating before him. It continuously twisted and magnified, ultimately revealing the Western Devil Son's past, present, and future before Xu Qing's eyes. The past was marked, the present was still developing, and the future was predetermined. Countless scenes of the Western Devil Son's future appeared before Xu Qing. He understood that all these futures were possibilities.

If he were a regular cultivator, he would choose one and make it the sole future. But Xu Qing's mastery over fate wasn't about influencing fixed destinies; it was about creating variables. Thus, he infused his will into the carving knife in his hand and etched the first stroke before him. This stroke required no artistic talent, for whether the drawing resembled reality or not was irrelevant. What mattered was the thought in the mind of the one wielding the carving knife.

Xu Qing's first thought: "This person must die." So, the scene formed by his first stroke depicted the Western Devil Son's death. He died gruesomely, decapitated, his flesh withered and dry. This was the outcome. Then, Xu Qing raised his hand and etched his second thought, adding to this outcome: "His corpse severed by the Emperor's Sword!"

As the carving knife descended, the scene displayed before Xu Qing showed the Emperor's Sword appearing behind the Western Devil Son's decapitated body. The moment the scene appeared, Xu Qing's body jolted, his mind reeled, and he spat out a large mouthful of blood. The entire Demonic Realm trembled at that instant. An immense, invisible terror descended. It was the alteration of fate!

Because, before this, among the countless predetermined futures of the Western Devil Son, although death was present, there was no scene of him dying by Xu Qing's hand, much less dying beneath the Emperor's Sword. These outcomes simply hadn't existed. But now, with Xu Qing's etching, as it was imprinted upon the Western Devil Son's gray thread of destiny, his future gained an additional path: the only future related to the Emperor's Sword. This meant that as long as the Emperor's Sword appeared, no other outcome for the Western Devil Son's future was possible.

This was the power of a god. This was divine authority! But the cost was immense. Merely etching the scene caused Xu Qing's internal organs to churn and his soul to sting. After spitting out a mouthful of blood, he seemed unable to stop, continuously coughing up seven or eight more. Even his formidable physical body showed signs of weakening. A sense of profound weakness surged from the depths of his soul, spreading throughout his sea of consciousness.

Yet, at this very moment, the hidden chamber where the Emperor's Sword resided within him erupted. The already open chamber door now gushed forth a torrent of sword qi. Within the Emperor's Sword's hidden chamber, the Emperor's Soul merged with the Emperor's Sword. After being nourished until now, with the roaring sword qi and the violent shaking of its blade, it burst forth. Leaping past the chamber door, soaring through the sea of consciousness, traversing between reality and illusion, it erupted from within Xu Qing's body.

In an instant, the Demonic Realm trembled. The power of the Emperor's Sword suppressed everything, soaring directly towards the realm's firmament. Empowered by the Emperor's Soul and by fate, it was invincible! With one strike, it shattered the realm! It lunged towards the Western Devil Son, whose expression had changed like never before.

The Western Devil Son's mind roared, his entire body's flesh seeming to scream. An intensely strong sense of crisis made him suddenly retreat, raising his hand to block without hesitation. He commanded the Demonic long spear to strike at the Emperor's Sword. The moment sword and spear clashed, the spear shattered, disintegrating! Pierced by the Emperor's Sword, it continued its charge towards the terrified Western Devil Son, aiming directly for his neck!

Just as it was about to land, at this critical, life-or-death moment, a low roar escaped the Western Devil Son, a cry of unwillingness to be controlled by fate. An ancient bell-like clamp appeared, enveloping the Western Devil Son before clashing with the Emperor's Sword. With a deafening boom, cracks appeared on the bell, but it did not explode. It successfully blocked the Emperor's Sword!

Inside the Demonic Realm, Xu Qing, sitting cross-legged, continuously spat out large mouthfuls of blood, one after another. This was the price of bearing fate! He had to bear the consequences of the fate he etched. Along the path where this fate unfolded, he had to endure all the backlash caused by the opponent's actions that defied this destiny. If he could ultimately bear it, the fate would manifest. If he could not, the fate etching would fail, and the etcher would pay an even heavier price. Just like Xu Qing now, his soul was weak, and the cracks that had once vanished from his physical body had reappeared. There was, after all, a gap in combat power between him and a genius like the Western Devil Son. To slay him was astonishingly difficult.

In mid-air, the Western Devil Son's breathing was ragged as he stared intently at the Emperor's Sword outside the bell. Upon realizing his ancient treasure had successfully resisted, his sense of dread finally diminished. Following this was the coldness in his eyes. "You're not Blood Dust Son!" he exclaimed. "This Martial Sword isn't from my race. This power... it affects my destiny. This is the power of a god!"

The Western Devil Son's eyes flashed with realization, followed by a surge of ecstasy. He had vaguely guessed Xu Qing's identity, which in turn made him suspicious of Lu Lingzi. This matter was monumental. For him, even if his guess proved false, it would be harmless. But if it were true, he would gain far greater military achievements than those from the battlefield! So, he shifted his body, seeking a way to escape the battlefield. At the same time, he took out a jade slip with his left hand, intending to transmit this information to his master.

But just as he retreated and took out the jade slip, an unexpected anomaly, also not present in his original destiny, suddenly occurred. The Heavenly Demon that had floated directly behind him, formed after he comprehended his authority years ago and accompanied him through countless battles, suddenly diverged in its actions from the Western Devil Son. This was the first time it had done so since its manifestation. It lowered its head, looking at the Western Devil Son, whose back was turned to it. A glint of avarice appeared in its eyes. Then, it lunged!

The Western Devil Son's mind reeled with a tremendous roar at that instant. Too late to transmit his message, he turned his head, his face filled with disbelief. He tried to dodge, but it was already too late. The suddenly rebellious Heavenly Demon directly pounced onto him. A shrill wail immediately erupted tragically from the Western Devil Son's mouth. He wanted to struggle, to counterattack, to suppress it, but against the Heavenly Demon, which was almost of the same origin yet clearly far more powerful, all his efforts were futile. He could only let the Heavenly Demon frantically devour him from within.

Down below, within the Demonic Realm, Xu Qing's face was pale, his body weak, and his soul withered, yet a cold glint appeared in his eyes. There was no surprise. If the Western Devil Son's gray thread of destiny before him were magnified countless times, one would see that within the fate scene etched by Xu Qing, the Heavenly Demon's betrayal had also appeared! Because, what Xu Qing had etched before were not just two thoughts. There was a third thought. That thought was the Heavenly Demon's betrayal!

Xu Qing was well aware of his own combat strength. To utterly slay a prodigy like the Western Devil Son was too difficult. However, just because he couldn't kill him didn't mean the opponent couldn't die. Therefore, the true fate of death he etched for his opponent was not the Emperor's Sword, but the Heavenly Demon's backlash! It was like using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds.

Hence, in the scene of the outcome he etched with his very first thought, the Western Devil Son was not only decapitated but also had a withered body, as if his life force had been drained. This outcome could clearly be achieved in two ways: decapitation by the Emperor's Sword, and the withered body, as if devoured, by the Heavenly Demon's betrayal. Therefore, with his second thought, Xu Qing stated, "His corpse severed by the Emperor's Sword." What was severed was the corpse! Because Xu Qing couldn't bear the fate of a solo kill by the Emperor's Sword. But he could bear the fate of instigating the Heavenly Demon's betrayal.

Indeed, after he spat out another mouthful of blood, outside the Demonic Realm, the Western Devil Son's screams suddenly ceased. His body instantly withered, all life absorbed by the Heavenly Demon within him. This included the bell that had blocked the Emperor's Sword. With nothing left to obstruct it, the Emperor's Sword rushed through, severing the head from the body of the now-cadaverous Western Devil Son! It was identical to the scene Xu Qing had etched with his first thought! "The one who killed the Western Devil Son was not me," Xu Qing thought. "It was his Heavenly Demon."

Xu Qing stood up, and the surrounding Demonic Realm collapsed and disintegrated.