Chapter 1103: Darkness as Before

Chapter 1108: Darkness as Before

"Southern Domain ranking, one thousand one hundred forty-fifth place..."

Beneath the aurora in the sky, Xu Qing's figure streaked past like a long rainbow.

However, his expression was solemn. He didn't feel relieved after killing the middle-aged cultivator; instead, his vigilance grew stronger.

This was because after activating the Provisional Immortal City Token and integrating it into his body, he had truly entered the hunting trial of the Immortal City.

He profoundly felt the danger and the ever-present crisis that could descend at any moment.

Everything was due to the increased sensing range between tokens.

This Provisional Immortal City Token was very special. Without integrating it, one would not possess sensing capabilities. Even if other Provisional Immortal City Tokens were nearby, one's divine sense wouldn't be able to detect them in the slightest.

To detect other Provisional Immortal City Tokens, there was only one method: integrate one's own token.

One had to use the power of their own token to sense others.

To some extent, this Provisional Immortal City Token was both a qualification and a specific sensing tool.

Before he killed the middle-aged cultivator, Xu Qing had integrated his own Provisional Immortal City Token, and its sensing range was 100,000 li.

Within 100,000 li, he would immediately detect the presence of any other Provisional Immortal City Tokens.

He had initially thought it was the same for everyone else.

However... as he killed the middle-aged cultivator who also held a Provisional Immortal City Token, Xu Qing noticed that not only had his ranking improved, but his Provisional Immortal City Token also seemed to have changed.

It was as if it had evolved from the first stage to the second.

The most direct manifestation was that its sensing range for other Provisional Immortal City Tokens had increased tenfold.

Reaching a range of a million li.

This was the source of Xu Qing's solemnity.

"I only acquired one more, yet the specific sensing range of the Provisional Immortal City Token increased so much."

"It can be concluded that absorbing more Provisional Immortal City Tokens will cause the sensing range to skyrocket again."

"What about others...?"

Xu Qing's pupils contracted slightly. This outcome was not favorable for him.

This meant that the more one killed, the more tokens one obtained, and the larger one's sensing range became.

Thus, advantages and disadvantages in sensing range would naturally emerge.

The strong would become stronger, and the weak weaker.

It was conceivable that a situation would arise where an enemy with more tokens could detect Xu Qing from a great distance, while Xu Qing's own range would show no trace of them.

This was extremely lethal in a hunt.

Possessing more tokens also meant the opponent had a higher Southern Domain ranking and, naturally, formidable cultivation.

Furthermore, as time passed and more strong cultivators emerged, the sensing range would reach a terrifying degree.

Making escape impossible and evasion futile.

"No wonder my ranking jumped so much after killing just one."

"It's likely that after the second phase began, killings like mine are erupting across the entire Southern Domain."

"This is the second phase of the Immortal City Trial Hunt..."

"It certainly lives up to the name 'hunt'."

Xu Qing murmured.

Through the increased sensing range of the Provisional Immortal City Token, Xu Qing clearly and deeply felt the cruelty and intensity of this hunt among the Provisional Immortal City Tokens.

His judgment regarding the Immortal City's ruthless selection process also found its basis.

Evidently, the Immortal City was not offering these spots for hothouse flowers; they wanted wolf kings, true prodigies forged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Therefore, although the differing sensing ranges seemed somewhat unfair, viewed from another perspective, it was still fair.

The initial system was fair.

As for how to proceed, that depended on each individual's capability.

Life and death were unpredictable.

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes, licked his lips, and a cold glint appeared in them.

He suddenly felt that this was also quite interesting.

At least it made him feel immense pressure.

This was not Wanggu Continent. Here, he had no master to save him, no Empress to help, and no Senior Brother to assist.

Even the Mud Fox was weakly sleeping in this Fifth Star Ring, which repelled deities.

"Everything must depend on myself."

"I must face the consequences of every decision alone."

Xu Qing's vigilance reached its peak. He then narrowed his eyes, cast aside all thoughts, and sped forward.

At the same time, he began to assess the gains from his previous battle.

The authority manifestation of the Five Elements Extremity was one gain.

"My authority isn't just the Five Elements; it also includes space and time. However, manifesting the authority of these two still requires more refinement and exploration."

"Next is the erasure of authority, and the Dao marks generated by the Immortal Art of Six Delusional Lives."

"So, to be precise, if all are manifested as authority, then I possess nine authorities."

"Therefore, my next cultivation path involves, on one hand, elevating the Five Elements authority, and on the other, extensively exploring time and space to try and deduce my eighth extremity."

Xu Qing pondered for a moment.

As for other gains from this battle, such as the token's enhancement, that was the second.

And the third major gain... was a storage ring.

The imprint on it had dissipated with the death of its original owner, so Xu Qing, upon taking it out and sweeping it with his divine sense, smoothly examined the entire storage ring.

It must be said that those who could reach the Dominator realm within this Fifth Star Ring possessed abundant resources.

Of course, Xu Qing had also generally guessed the reason.

The guardian of the spirit mine, due to prolonged guarding, essentially had all their belongings with them.

As for the second one killed by Xu Qing...

Those who dared to integrate the Provisional Immortal City Token were naturally prepared for future bloodshed. Such individuals were either extremely confident or ready to risk everything.

The former was hard to say, but the latter would definitely carry their precious items with them.

This storage ring was an example.

Inside, whether spirit stones or immortal jades, there was an enormous quantity.

However, there was only one treasure: a severely damaged compass, clearly having suffered great harm and still undergoing repairs.

Despite this, Xu Qing still gained something.

That was pills.

The middle-aged cultivator's priority was preparing pills.

Thus, there was an abundance of pills.

But clearly... Xu Qing's previous actions involved suppressing with authority and sealing the opponent with space, and the battle was very fast.

Therefore, even if the pills were taken out, they couldn't reverse the situation in a short time.

After examining and discerning the pills, Xu Qing put away the ring and sped across the sky at full speed.

Just like that, time passed.

Soon, five whirlpool days passed.

Perhaps because this area was a remote part of the Southern Domain, or perhaps because Xu Qing, despite speeding, vigilantly avoided all detected dangers, he did not encounter anyone else during these five days.

This slightly eased the constant sense of crisis he had been feeling.

Finally, before the aurora in the sky formed a new whirlpool, during the brief descent of night, Xu Qing found a desolate mountain, carved out a cave dwelling within it, and sat cross-legged inside.

Outside, it was night.

Inside the cave dwelling, it was also pitch black.

Sitting in the darkness, silence enveloped him.

Xu Qing gradually merged with the darkness, concealing his aura, and cultivated silently.

Understanding his Dao, exploring his path.

Time flowed in the darkness, and outside, aurora whirlpools appeared one after another.

Another seven whirlpool days passed.

Inside the dimly lit cave dwelling, Xu Qing slowly opened his eyes.

The silence remained, and the darkness was as before.

"It feels like... I've returned to my childhood."

Looking around, Xu Qing murmured in his heart.

And this feeling of being alone in a vast world, like walking through a perilous forest, was not unfamiliar to Xu Qing.

Every day of his childhood had been spent like this.

After leaving Peerless City, his experiences until truly becoming Seventh Master's disciple were essentially living on the edge, like an assassin, disliking being seen.

Even when walking, he would choose to move in shadowed areas.

Because darkness could protect him, allowing him to feel as if he had merged into it, becoming a part of the darkness, and thus concealing himself.

Just like now.

It was the appearance of the Thunder Team back then that gave him a long-lost sense of kinship.

It was the arrival of Senior Brother that brought a ray of sunshine into his life.

It was Seventh Master's acceptance as a disciple and protection that made him feel the guardianship of an elder.

It was Ling'er who allowed his heart to relax.

It was Zixuan who gave him a nervousness he couldn't tell if it was infatuation.

It was the old palace master of the Sword-Wielding Palace in Fenghai County who made him understand the nature of a Sword-Wielder.

It was the Empress who showed him that even deities possessed humanity.

It was the Sword-Wielding Great Emperor who made him realize that a person could live a lifetime remembered in such a way.

These were all parts of his growth, enriching his experience, filling his life, becoming an inseparable part of him, and shaping him into who he was today.

And now, having gathered all his experiences, he had come to this unfamiliar Fifth Star Ring, once again alone, once again facing dangers from all directions.

"This, too, is my experience."

Xu Qing instinctively touched the spot on his body where the iron skewer used to be.

His hand touched empty air.

As if sensing his emotional fluctuations, Little Shadow subtly emanated its presence, and even the Divine Vine extended a thin tendril from Xu Qing's body, gently brushing against his cheek.

The Divine Vine, along with the Fragmented Pagoda, had been severely damaged during their journey through the Primordial Sea and had not yet recovered.

Sensing their presence, Xu Qing smiled, then prepared to close his eyes and continue cultivating.

But just then, his eyes snapped open instantly, turning to gaze far to the south.

His expression also became instantly vigilant.

Within the sensing range of his Provisional Immortal Token, a star representing a token suddenly appeared in the direction he was looking.

This person seemed to have been passing by, but the moment they entered Xu Qing's token's sensing range, they changed direction and began rapidly approaching Xu Qing's location.

"This person has the same token sensing range as me!"

A cold glint flashed in Xu Qing's eyes.

Countless thoughts immediately surged in his mind.

"I cannot flee now. If I move, the opponent will immediately realize that I have the same token sensing range as them."

"In that case, for me, it would be a gamble."

"Gambling on whether the opponent will continue to pursue. If they don't, then fine, but if they do, a battle is inevitable."

"Thus... it would be too passive!"

"Therefore, feigning ignorance and setting up the surroundings to make this a suitable battlefield for me during the opponent's approach is the best choice!"

Upon this thought, Xu Qing made a decisive move, waving his hand to retrieve the Forty-Nine Array Restrictions from Ling Feng, the guardian of the spirit mine.

He was still exploring this item and had figured out some aspects, so it was perfect to use for setting up.

Additionally, Little Shadow beneath him, guided by Xu Qing's divine sense, began to spread outwards.

Next, Xu Qing seized the time to deploy numerous other arrangements.

While making the power of the earth here denser, vegetation was also moved over.

During this time, he also took out an incense stick, placed it in front of him, ready to be lit at any moment.

Finally, after making all preparations, Xu Qing, with a wave of his hand, took out the Glazed Treasure Tree. Facing himself, he activated it, and his own aura emanated from it.

Soon, the Glazed Treasure Tree swayed, conjuring a figure identical to Xu Qing, even possessing the same aura.

"Sit cross-legged here."

Xu Qing spoke calmly.

The figure nodded and immediately sat cross-legged.

Xu Qing, meanwhile, sank into the earth, merging with it. He did not put too much distance between himself and the illusory figure, because doing so would reveal that the token was not actually there.

With little distance, their auras naturally overlapped.

Having completed everything, Xu Qing's eyes blazed with killing intent as he waited silently.