Chapter 1095: Huge Gains

Within the Fifth Celestial Ring, in an unknown region, lay a spirit mine.

Above, the existing barrier still enveloped everything, isolating the inside from the outside and preventing any fluctuations from being detected externally.

The marshy ground was filled with deep craters, scars from Xu Qing's battle with the middle-aged sovereign.

Besides these, countless tiny bubble worlds were in the process of shattering.

As for Xu Qing, he stood in mid-air, his face pale and his body covered in blood and gore.

However, he paid no attention to his injuries. His gaze was fixed on the spot where the middle-aged sovereign's body had been dismembered.

At the same time, he formed hand seals with one hand, maintaining his vigilance and preparing for any other developments.

Should even the slightest anomaly occur, he would strike again with his sword.

Only when he confirmed that the sovereign's aura had completely vanished, and the corpse rapidly dissipated under the sword qi's destructive power, did Xu Qing's mind finally settle.

This battle was not easy.

Perhaps due to the differences in celestial rings and developmental histories, Xu Qing could sense that the sovereign he had just fought surpassed the sovereigns he had encountered in the Holy Land in terms of combat power and techniques.

“There are three possibilities. First, the one I encountered was a special case.”

“Second, the environment of this Fifth Celestial Ring is more perilous than I imagined, making every sovereign here formidable.”

“Third, the sovereigns in the Holy Land have grown complacent from prolonged peace, thus lacking in combat strength.”

The unknown nature of the Fifth Celestial Ring made it difficult for Xu Qing to make an accurate judgment at this moment, but his eyes remained calm, and the murderous aura around him intensified with this battle.

Still in mid-air, he scanned his surroundings. With a single step, he arrived at the spot where the middle-aged sovereign's body had vanished.

A storage bag lay there.

Xu Qing grabbed it. With another flicker, he appeared where the shield and the Ghost Gate had been.

The Ghost Gate technique was a divine ability, and with the sovereign's death, the Ghost Gate had already collapsed and disappeared.

Xu Qing took a look, put away his shield, and then stepped over to the vicinity of the Soul-Reaping Incense.

This incense stick had only burned a little before Xu Qing's Great Emperor Scissors severed its karmic ties, extinguishing it.

“This item is good.”

Xu Qing raised his hand and grabbed; the incense stick swiftly flew to him. He took it, erased all existing imprints, and left his own mark. Then, he looked up at Little Shadow.

Little Shadow's main body was still battling the Glazed Treasure Tree.

Originally, Little Shadow was at a disadvantage and struggling immensely; had it not been for its inherent strangeness and regeneration, it would likely have been destroyed long ago.

Upon the middle-aged sovereign's death, the Glazed Treasure Tree trembled, seemingly losing its support, and Little Shadow seized the opportunity to counterattack.

Amidst the resonating roars, Xu Qing looked at the treasure tree and the identical figure it had conjured, and calmly spoke.

“You should possess a certain level of sentience, so... either I destroy you, or you surrender.”

Xu Qing’s voice entered the battle zone. Little Shadow, invigorated, immediately released emotional fluctuations, assisting Xu Qing in the threat.

The Glazed Treasure Tree trembled, and the conjured figure, sensing Xu Qing's terrifying power, bowed low to Xu Qing after a brief silence, then dissipated.

The main body of the Glazed Treasure Tree also flashed with brilliant light a few times before dimming, ceasing its attacks.

Seeing this, Xu Qing raised his hand and made a grabbing motion through the air.

Immediately, the treasure tree, without any struggle, flew directly towards Xu Qing, allowing him to erase its existing imprints and place new ones.

Little Shadow also returned at this moment, showing deep fatigue.

“Well done,” Xu Qing praised.

Little Shadow instantly perked up. Being praised by Xu Qing seemed to hold immense significance for it, and its mood immediately became joyful.

“Master... I am... useful...”

Xu Qing nodded, his gaze falling upon the Glazed Treasure Tree.

This tree's power was considerable, especially its method of absorbing an enemy's aura and divine ability traces to manifest a figure—a truly remarkable technique.

If used in conjunction with the Soul-Reaping Incense, it could be considered a trump card, unless the opponent possessed a similar countermeasure.

“The gains from this battle are quite substantial, apart from these two treasures...”

Xu Qing looked at the sovereign's storage bag he had acquired.

A hint of anticipation rose in his heart.

“However, before examining this storage bag, there's a small matter that needs to be addressed.”

Xu Qing looked up, gazing into the distance, and spoke calmly.

“If you choose to remain hidden for three more breaths, I will ensure your eternal concealment.”

Xu Qing's voice echoed through the spirit mine. Two breaths later, in the distant marsh, the void twisted, and a figure swiftly emerged from an invisible state.

It was a pale-faced youth with profound terror in his eyes. The moment he appeared, he didn't hesitate, dropping to his knees with a thud and bowing before Xu Qing.

Large beads of sweat streamed from his forehead, and his entire body was drenched in perspiration.

He was a servant of the sovereign killed by Xu Qing.

His cultivation was only at the Spirit Treasure level.

Originally, he was content to be a sovereign's servant. And just now, watching his sovereign take action and Xu Qing being in perilous situations, he had felt a cold snort and disdain in his heart.

However, events unfolded too quickly. After personally witnessing the sovereign's death, he went from shock to bewilderment, then to horror, his mind already reeling.

He dared not move, attempting to use the talisman granted by the sovereign to conceal himself. Although he knew the chances were slim, in that moment of life-or-death crisis, he could only pray to slip through unnoticed.

Now exposed by Xu Qing's single remark, the youth's body trembled uncontrollably as he knelt, continuously kowtowing.

After a glance at the man, Xu Qing did not kill him. In fact, he had already sensed the youth during his battle with the sovereign, and now he had other uses for him.

Withdrawing his gaze, Xu Qing's divine sense spread out, merging into the storage bag in his hand. Upon probing, his eyebrows rose.

The contents were incredibly abundant.

The mere quantity of spirit stones was a considerable surprise to Xu Qing.

They were piled up like mountains.

Their crystalline radiance shimmered, dazzling the eyes.

Soon, Xu Qing discovered that these spirit stones were different from those on the Wanggu Continent; each one surprisingly contained some power of rules.

“Refined from gods? That’s why they contain the rules of heaven and earth?”

Xu Qing took one out and examined it in his hand.

Beyond that, the storage bag contained something even more precious than spirit stones: immortal jade.

It gathered into a long river of immortal qi, flowing within the storage bag.

Xu Qing's mind trembled at the sight.

After careful sensing, he discovered that the immortal jade contained a denser concentration of rules than the spirit stones. Moreover, to Xu Qing's perception, this immortal jade felt almost like the primordial source energy he had absorbed when making a wish long ago.

It was merely relatively thinner.

The fact that it could achieve this was astonishing.

“Such items reveal that this Fifth Celestial Ring is more complex than I had imagined.”

“This person was truly wealthy.”

Xu Qing murmured to himself. Even he, despite numerous instances of killing and seizing treasures, was still astonished by this storage bag.

His anticipation grew stronger, and his divine sense quickly moved past the spirit stones and immortal jade to perceive the other items in the storage bag.

Soon, he saw numerous bottles and jars, all containing pills.

Their grades varied.

Many of them, Xu Qing could initially judge with his knowledge of medicine, were highly effective pills. Some were even beyond his understanding.

After a brief inspection, Xu Qing's mind was continually stirred by the contents of the storage bag. His divine sense now spread widely, searching for jade slips, ancient texts, and magic treasures.

Unfortunately, while there were magic treasures, their quality was significantly inferior.

This was understandable; after all, given the sovereign's cautious nature, any usable magic treasures would have been taken out during the previous battle.

For instance, the Soul-Reaping Incense and the Glazed Treasure Tree.

However, two items still caused fluctuations in Xu Qing's divine sense.

Soon, a scroll of beast hide shimmering with black light and a token flew out of the storage bag, floating before Xu Qing.

He first examined the beast hide.

This beast hide was only palm-sized. Within its black glow, countless dense imprints were visible, shimmering and moving intertwined, like living beings.

After a glance, Xu Qing pondered, then his spiritual sense suddenly entered the beast hide, sweeping over the imprints, carefully perceiving them.

A moment later, Xu Qing's expression changed.

“Forty-Nine Formation Taboos!”

The origin of this beast hide was unknown, but it recorded a divine ability technique called the Forty-Nine Formation Taboos.

This reminded Xu Qing of the middle-aged sovereign's Thirty-Three Formation Taboos.

This formation taboo possessed immense power. It could gather the power of heaven and earth's laws, unleashing countless formation taboos, proving highly effective in both offense and sealing.

Its drawback was that each activation required prior accumulation of the formation taboos.

As for its advantage... when activating this method, after speaking forty-nine words, it could unleash an invisible burst, making it impossible to guard against.

Furthermore, this divine ability's required words could be reduced with deeper comprehension and cultivation.

The deceased middle-aged sovereign had evidently cultivated it to the "thirty-three" stage.

According to the description within the beast hide, if one could cultivate it to the final stage, the activation of the formation taboo could be shortened to any two words, and it wouldn't be limited to the cultivator; it could even be triggered by an enemy speaking those words.

The reason for two words is that formations are divided into yin and yang, and taboos into life and death; they cannot be singular.

Holding the beast hide, scenes of the middle-aged sovereign unleashing his formation taboos flashed through Xu Qing's mind, and a sudden thought emerged.

“This divine ability is interesting; it can be integrated into speech. So, what if the two final words this divine ability shortens to are my name?”

“As long as someone calls out my name, I could instantly unleash the formation taboo. This would make it even more invisible.”

After pondering, Xu Qing felt that this idea was not unfeasible.

If it truly integrated with his name, it would be genuinely impossible to guard against.

For example, if an enemy cursed him, the formation taboo would descend the moment the words were uttered.

Or, if someone with ill intent asked for his name, the killing formation would directly descend the moment he answered.

“Used properly, it's also a trump card!”

Xu Qing's eyes gleamed with strange light. After some thought, he put away the beast hide, planning to incorporate the cultivation of this divine ability into his daily practice.

Next, his gaze fell upon the token.

This token was peculiar, and its malevolent aura was incredibly strong; even floating in mid-air, it caused the surrounding temperature to drop.

Its color was crimson, as if stained with fresh blood.

The back was blank, while the front bore the totem of an eye.

Xu Qing stared. This token could be said to be the most unique item he had found within the sovereign's storage bag.

He therefore did not touch it. After examining it, he suddenly turned his head, looking at the youth kneeling nearby, who dared not leave, and spoke calmly.

“Your life and death depend on your value.”

“Tell me, what is this item?”

Xu Qing's voice reached the youth's ears. The youth, suppressing his fear of life and death, looked up at the token and replied with a trembling voice.

“Senior, this is... a Provisional Immortal Capital Token.”

Xu Qing's expression remained calm, but upon hearing the words 'Immortal Capital,' his mind sharpened.

“Continue speaking.”

The youth took a deep breath. Facing someone who could slay his master, he dared not conceal anything. Even though he knew the other party wanted to extract information about his celestial ring, he couldn't afford to care about much else.

So, he meticulously explained everything, even revealing the history of the Fifth Celestial Ring to explain the Immortal Capital Token and to satisfy Xu Qing.

As Xu Qing listened, his thoughts gradually became clearer.

Firstly, this was indeed the Fifth Celestial Ring, and there was indeed a place called the Immortal Capital.

Once, the Fifth Celestial Ring was permeated by deities until the Immortal Capital rose, suppressing them and destroying all things related to deities.

Furthermore, with the intervention of the Supreme Immortal Venerable within the Immortal Capital, the starry sky was filled in, and the Immortal Capital was erected precisely in the center of the Fifth Celestial Ring.

From then on, it became supremely sacred.

Around the Immortal Capital, all the filled-in universes no longer held the concept of a starry sky; instead, they became land, serving as residences for cultivators.

As years passed, the number of cultivators here reached an astonishing level, with countless sects and numerous clans.

And almost all cultivators harbored a dream in their hearts.

That was, to ascend to the Immortal Capital!

Once achieved, it was like a carp leaping over the dragon gate; thereafter, one's identity, status, and future would be entirely transformed.

The people of the Immortal Capital were the true masters of this Fifth Celestial Ring.

However, the Immortal Capital remained high above, isolated from the outside world.

“Everyone desires to ascend to the Immortal Capital, and the method to ascend is through contention!”

The youth spoke in a low voice. As he mentioned the Immortal Capital, a light of longing instinctively flickered in his eyes.

“The reason it's contention is because periodically, the Immortal Capital initiates a great hunting competition!”

“The Immortal Capital disperses ten thousand provisional tokens, allowing hundreds of millions of cultivators throughout the Fifth Celestial Ring to vie for them.”

“The process is incredibly brutal, and the slaughter is astonishing.”

“Because holding one of these ten thousand provisional tokens merely grants eligibility. The final number of those permitted to ascend into the Immortal Capital varies by ranking: at most, around a thousand individuals, but sometimes only the top hundred!”

“Senior, the token in your hand is one such Provisional Immortal Capital Token!”