Chapter 1107: Diviner of the Divine River

Xu Qing's pupils instantly constricted, his breathing grew slightly rapid, and a profound sense of life-or-death crisis erupted within him.

Before this, when he had integrated the Quasi-Immortal Capital Token, he had merely glanced over all the token holders in the Southern Domain, seeing a myriad of dense star-like imprints. Though their brilliance varied, he had only swept past them with a quick glance. Now, however, the appearance of this one particular star immediately made Xu Qing feel a profound difference. It was merely an imprint, yet it sent a shiver of dread through Xu Qing. Its brilliant light, even from such a distance, penetrated his senses and became dazzling.

This person was extremely powerful. Their cultivation was likely not mid-stage Dominator, but rather late-stage. The one he had just killed had been waiting for this very individual. Considering his previous analysis, Xu Qing felt a lingering trepidation. He could imagine that if he hadn't been decisive earlier, disregarding his injuries to escape the entanglement and delay, and had not killed the young man with the birthmark on his right cheek, then at this very moment, his Quasi-Immortal Capital Token would have been utterly incapable of detecting this scene from tens of thousands of miles away. Furthermore, entangled as he would have been, the opponent would surely have closed in on him. By that time, only death would have awaited him. He wouldn't even have had a chance to escape. But now, though his injuries were not light, at least he wasn't as passive and had more options.

Xu Qing took a deep breath, and without hesitation, unleashed his full speed. He instantly warped towards the distance, sparing no expense, attempting to create as much distance as possible. He knew full well that with his current combat power, he could eliminate an early-stage Dominator; combined with Grandpa Nine's sword qi, if he was willing to sustain injury, he could instantly kill one. However, against a mid-stage Dominator, Xu Qing didn't believe his last remaining sword qi could secure a victory. Not to mention this terrifying entity, suspected to be a late-stage Dominator. Moreover, his current injuries made it unsuitable to continue the fight.

While Xu Qing was fast, his pursuer was even faster. And the pursuer's token perception range must have reached an astonishing extent, far exceeding tens of thousands of miles. Therefore, Xu Qing's every move was clearly within the opponent's perception. Their current speed, in Xu Qing's senses, was like a meteor. The distance between them was visibly shortening. A thunderous sense of crisis erupted from every inch of Xu Qing's flesh, from his soul, and from his subconscious, coalescing into a roaring storm. His blood, his bones, every fiber of his being seemed to become a distinct entity, each screaming warnings of peril.

"My previous move, though decisive, was still too slow in hindsight." Xu Qing's breathing was ragged as he struggled to calm himself. He understood that the more dire the life-or-death moment, the less he could afford to panic. "At my current speed, I will be caught within half an incense stick's time. With the blessing of my authority, I can gain a little more time, but at most, only a single incense stick's worth. An incense stick's time..."

A map he had purchased flashed in Xu Qing's mind, and his divine sense instantly scanned it, immediately locking onto a location: the River of God's Blood! The Ferryman! First crossing costs six days of lifespan and offers absolute safety!

Speeding along, Xu Qing didn't hesitate for a moment. After slightly adjusting his direction, he shot away with a whistle. Simultaneously, he formed hand seals. The next instant, his skinless, fleshy body immediately gushed blood. The blood transformed into a mist, which then ignited directly. This was the Blood Burning Technique, a speed-boosting art Xu Qing had learned from Er Niu years ago. However, this method could not be used often, as it caused considerable self-inflicted damage. But now, in a life-or-death crisis, Xu Qing couldn't afford to care. In the blink of an eye, his speed surged, his teleportation range expanded dramatically, and he vanished from his original spot. When he reappeared, he was already a million miles away.

However... while this was indeed the border between the west and south, that was relative to the entire Southern Domain. In reality, a vast expanse still lay between him and the River of God's Blood. So, upon reappearing, Xu Qing didn't hesitate. With a resounding boom, his body once again erupted in a mist of blood. His body received another boost for teleportation. After consecutively using this technique over ten times, he had teleported more than ten million miles. His injuries worsened, and he felt an intense wave of weakness. Fortunately, it had the desired effect, allowing him to barely maintain the distance between himself and the pursuer at approximately eight million miles. However, this distance, while vast for low-level cultivators, was negligible for a powerful expert.

So, after the Blood Burning Technique could no longer be deployed, Xu Qing's Five Elements arts erupted with a roar. First, water and fire behind him, Yin and Yang clashed, generating an explosive force. Amidst the roar, he leveraged this explosion to create an impact that further boosted his speed. Then, as Xu Qing raised his hand, the earth churned, and towering walls shot up from the ground, reaching sky-high to act as a barrier. In the blink of an eye, the heavens and earth rumbled, and the number of erected walls reached a hundred thousand. It was a vast and astonishing sight.

Next came wind! Xu Qing's authority originally did not encompass wind. However, his previous battle with the young man, combined with the current life-or-death crisis, spurred a surge in his comprehension. The characteristics of wood were similar to wind. Both possessed vitality and variability. Thus... wood energy ascended to the sky, flowing and circulating. This was... wood transforming into wind in the heavens! The next instant, this power boosted him, and Xu Qing's speed surged once more. With such layered augmentations, his speed reached the physical limit, causing the heavens and earth to rumble and generating astonishing sonic booms.

Yet Xu Qing was still not satisfied, because even at his incredible speed, the pursuer had clearly deduced his path and surged forward as well. They had closed the distance between them to five million miles. At this range, Xu Qing could feel an intense malevolent aura behind him and a stinging sensation on his back, as if a scorching sun was about to incinerate everything. The feeling of weakness was momentarily suppressed by the surging crisis. Xu Qing's eyes turned bloodshot as he suddenly unleashed his spatial techniques. Overlapping spaces and grids materialized in the sky. Relying on this method, his speed became even more terrifying, surpassing his physical body's capacity and causing cracks to appear all over him. But Xu Qing no longer cared about these effects. With a roar, he warped another million miles. Simultaneously, temporal techniques enveloped him, covering his entire body, locking the flow of time within him to solidify his flesh and prevent collapse. Behind him, the sky-high walls rumbled, and the fire energy Xu Qing had embedded within them erupted. They sought to create a barrier. Although the effect was limited, even gaining a single breath was incredibly precious to Xu Qing at this moment.

Finally, in this desperate race against time, pouring all his strength into it, Xu Qing, utilizing his extreme abilities, traversed an endless expanse and saw in the distance a vast, boundless river of blood. The river was so immense it seemed to pierce the heavens. It even surpassed the greatest oceans. The scent of blood within it was overwhelmingly strong, pervading all directions.

The instant he saw the river, Xu Qing's vision blurred amidst his weakness and surge of power, but it didn't prevent him from immediately locking onto a black solitary boat docked on the riverbank! The solitary boat looked ordinary, docked at the shore, with a single person seated upon it. This person wore a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat, holding a tobacco pipe and exhaling plumes of smoke. Xu Qing had never seen what a ferry boat looked like; the map only introduced it without specific descriptions. But now, he had no time to verify. The moment he spotted the solitary boat, Xu Qing unleashed his very last Blood Burning Teleportation with a roar. The next instant, his figure materialized directly above the solitary boat.

But just then, a thunderous sense of life-or-death crisis erupted. A terrifying power suddenly surged, engulfing the entire sky, as a figure radiating boundless heat finally caught up. It unleashed a punch towards Xu Qing. The Emperor's Shield instantly appeared. The Emperor's Scissors also shimmered. There was no longer any need to hold back Grandpa Nine's sword qi. The Emperor's Sword was even drawn by Xu Qing. He resisted with all his might.

The might of a late-stage Dominator fully manifested at this moment. The Emperor's Shield rumbled, a glaring crack appeared on it, and it was sent flying backward. The Emperor's Scissors suffered the same fate; already riddled with cracks, they shattered into pieces under this single punch. As for Grandpa Nine's sword qi, though formidable, combined with the shield and scissors, it merely served to weaken the punch's power. When it finally landed, Xu Qing's Emperor's Sword blocked it. With a roar, Xu Qing's body trembled, large chunks of flesh and blood disintegrated, and his body felt as if it were being peeled away. Yet, he did not completely shatter, instead using the force of the impact to fall onto the boat.

The moment he landed, the boat trembled. Xu Qing, lying there, was already at death's door, appearing as if his life force was about to extinguish. Yet, he clung desperately to the Emperor's Sword. The figure in the sky, however, did not stop. It suddenly closed in, raised a hand, and reached out to grab Xu Qing. Xu Qing narrowed his eyes, just about to swallow the object in his mouth.

But just as the hand reached out, the ferryman on the boat, wearing a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat, puffing smoke, gently tapped his tobacco pipe on the boat's deck. Without a sound, the figure that had launched the attack from the sky suddenly trembled all over. Its outstretched right hand instantly blurred and vanished, and its form recoiled, its imposing aura dissipating in mid-air, transforming into a red-haired young man. He looked at the ferryman with apprehension and bowed respectfully.

"Senior, I haven't violated any rules. Although this person is on the ferry boat, he hasn't paid yet. According to custom, he isn't considered a river-crosser until payment is made, and therefore I am allowed to kill him!"

"Nonsense!" the ferryman snorted. These two words, like world-destroying thunder, struck the red-haired youth's ears. He trembled violently, spurted blood, and retreated further.

"My boat, my rules," the ferryman declared. With that, the ferryman slowly turned his head, glanced at Xu Qing, his gaze seemingly casual as it swept over the Emperor's Sword in Xu Qing's hand, then he spoke faintly. "Pay up!"

Xu Qing immediately nodded, offering up some of his life force. The ferryman seemed satisfied. He raised a hand and took a portion of Xu Qing's life force, then stood up and stretched lazily. He produced an oar from seemingly nowhere and dipped it into the blood river. Instantly, ripples spread across the river's surface as the boat pulled away from the bank and gradually moved into the distance.

Only the red-haired youth with a gloomy expression remained in the sky. Staring at the departing boat for a long time, a cold glint flashed in the red-haired youth's eyes as he pondered whether he should also wait for the ferryman to appear, cross the river to the west, and continue the pursuit. However, he decided it wasn't entirely worth it. "For one, it would waste my chance to cross. Also, my clan is in the south; going west and then returning would cost me sixty years of my lifespan... Furthermore, that person's injuries are so severe he's close to his limit. With such wounds, it will be very difficult for him to recover." After a moment, the youth weighed his options, then turned and departed.

Meanwhile, on the blood river, inside the boat, the ferryman's gaze fell upon Xu Qing, who was lying there, and he spoke slowly. "That thing in your mouth, if you'd swallowed it, could have instantly healed your injuries. Yet, you managed to hold back and not swallow it, kid. You went to great lengths to make yourself seem on the verge of death, even without further pursuit."

With his secret exposed, Xu Qing struggled to his feet and bowed respectfully. "Many thanks for your rescue, Senior."

"Shut up. I don't like chatterboxes, especially ones who still reek of a god." The ferryman glanced at Xu Qing's bare shoulder, then ignored him and continued puffing smoke.

Xu Qing fell silent, bowed again, then retreated to the stern of the boat. There, he sat cross-legged and silently began to heal his injuries.