Chapter 1116: Can Be Non-Hostile

# Chapter 1121: Not Necessarily Enemies

The Time Desert was ancient.

Even older was the Western Region teleportation array, built by the Dao Immortal Sect.

The entire Western Region was vast. Without such large-scale teleportation arrays, even powerful individuals would spend eons to reach distant locations. Therefore, after the Western Region was leveled and transformed from starlit void into land, the Dao Immortal Sect, which became the orthodox power of the Western Region, executed the Immortal Capital's decree and constructed a total of 108 teleportation arrays across the region. It was precisely for this reason that no family or force in the Western Region dared to cause the slightest damage to these ancient teleportation arrays.

Currently, the teleportation array that appeared before Xu Qing's eyes was one of these 108 formations.

It was composed of thirty-six towering and immense stone gates, standing silently on the desolate plain. Standing before the formation, one could see intricate runes carved on both sides of all the stone gates. They were initially dim, but as Yunmen Qianfan placed immortal jades one by one, the entire formation immediately stirred with fluctuations.

These fluctuations were not outward, but inward!

The surrounding ground trembled, as if an ancient power was being awakened, opening its maw within the earth, ready to devour everything from the outside. Following this, rumbling sounds spread from within the teleportation array. Initially, the sound was faint, but it quickly grew to thunderous proportions, subtly resonating with a tearing sound from the distant horizon.

The air around them seemed to grow heavy.

Xu Qing looked up towards the sky.

Someone was shifting from the void at an astonishing speed!

At the same time, Yunmen Qianfan, oblivious to the arrival in the sky, placed the last immortal jade. Instantly, the runes carved on both sides of the stone gates pulsed with blue light, growing brighter and brighter. However, the light emitted gave Xu Qing a sense of curvature. Even the aurora in the sky, as it flowed here, was affected, appearing bent... as if, at this moment, the location of the teleportation array had become a depression.

All matter passing through this area would be drawn in, causing it to curve. This applied to the Five Elements, space, time, and light was no exception. It seemed nature itself was making way for this mysterious ritual.

Such a formation also surpassed any teleportation array Xu Qing had seen in Wanggu. However, compared to the colossal passage vortex of the Primordial Sea, this place still paled in comparison.

“But the principle is the same,” Xu Qing mused. His gaze fell upon the formation. He was no longer who he was before; now he possessed a deeper understanding of space and time. Thus, as he gazed intently, he clearly felt the spatial and temporal power emanating from within the array. He could also faintly perceive its essence.

“So-called long-distance teleportation actually relies on the method of spatial superposition to shorten distances and even time.”

“It's like having two holes on a sheet of paper. When you fold it, the two holes overlap.”

“Passing through this single hole naturally brings you to the other side.”

“So, if I achieve a deep enough comprehension of space and time, would it mean that this heaven and earth, this star domain, and even this star ring... could all be shifted by my mere thought?”

Xu Qing pondered, but the anomaly in the sky caused his thoughts to pause. Even Yunmen Qianfan, who was about to chant the specific teleportation incantation, now felt the dramatic change in the sky. Her heart trembled as she looked up.

Above the sky, although the aurora was drawn and bent by the formation, within that curvature, a colossal rift was instantly torn open from within the void. With a ripping sound that echoed in all directions, a figure stepped out from within that rift. The moment he appeared, his aura was astonishing; the world changed color, and winds surged. The terrifying pressure of a mid-stage Dominator poured down from the sky like an overwhelming tide, enveloping everything.

It was an old man in a black robe, his sparse white hair fluttering in the wind like withered grass. His face was covered with the furrows of time, and his eyes were deep-set, like two black holes, emanating a chilling, cold light. Standing in the sky, he was coldly staring at Xu Qing.

“Di… Di Ling Ancestor…” Yunmen Qianfan's voice trembled. She instinctively hid behind Xu Qing, quietly revealing the newcomer's identity.

Xu Qing looked up, his expression unchanged. Their gazes met invisibly, causing the void to instantly tear apart. A deafening roar erupted at that moment, and countless lightning bolts spread outwards in mid-air. Their respective pressures were also erupting, intertwining, annihilating each other!

In the next instant, Xu Qing took a step back. Meanwhile, the Di Ling Ancestor in the sky had his robe corners and long sleeves turn to ash. The initial clash between the two was evenly matched.

“You have no intention to fight,” Xu Qing shook his head and spoke calmly.

He had not fought a mid-stage Dominator before, and before arriving in the Western Region, he had estimated his own combat strength to be below that level. However, after coming to the Western Region, during his year of healing, he gained a deeper understanding of his own Dao. Although he had not yet formed the Eighth Extreme, once cultivation reached a certain level, the comprehension of one's Dao would greatly enhance combat power. But at this moment, he felt no battle intent from the opponent.

In mid-air, the Di Ling Ancestor turned his head to look towards the iceberg at the other end of the desert. After a few breaths of silence, he retracted his gaze and spoke in a hoarse voice. “I have obtained that segment of the key.”

“If you and I fight, one of us will surely fall. We have no enmity, so there’s no need.”

“Moreover, that segment of the key can accommodate simultaneous use by both of us. Therefore... I came here to see if you possess the qualifications.”

“We don't have to be enemies. We can also be future collaborators.”

Having said that, the Di Ling Ancestor gave Xu Qing a deep look, then slowly retreated, stepped into the rift, and vanished. From beginning to end, he never once looked at Yunmen Qianfan.

Xu Qing was contemplative. He was unwilling to fight such a powerful expert to the death unless absolutely necessary. Especially at this moment, when the principles of this teleportation array had given him more to ponder. So Xu Qing retracted his gaze and focused on the formation, continuing the train of thought he had paused earlier. For him, comprehending the Dao was the priority.

“I wonder if, when my Eighth Extreme forms, I can reach the stage I envision—to shift a star ring with a single thought.”

But soon, he shook his head. “Perhaps not.”

He recalled what the ferryman on the Divine Blood River had once told him: cultivators at the Quasi-Immortal level would possess a special ability. It was the sublimation of Dao Mark authority, called 'Xian'!

“He once said that a higher level of Xian enveloped the thirty-six ascending star rings, rendering Immortals who were omnipotent in the lower realms unable to act in the ascending realms.”

“Although I don't feel it deeply now and don't understand what Xian is, it's highly probable that once I explore space and time to a certain extent, I will clearly perceive the existence of Xian.”

As Xu Qing pondered inwardly, Yunmen Qianfan, standing beside him, felt her heart completely settle. She knew that this time, she was truly safe. So she took a deep breath, walked a few steps, stood at the edge of the formation, and quietly chanted an ancient incantation. The sound of the incantation echoed across the vast plain, bringing the ritual to awaken the teleportation array's long-slumbering power to its peak.

The runes began to emit even more dazzling light, and the curvature of heaven and earth reached its extreme at this moment. In the next instant, all thirty-six stone gates rumbled. Beams of light shot out from them, converging into a thicker beam that soared straight into the sky. It carved a magnificent trajectory in the night sky, connecting heaven and earth, and engulfed the figures of Xu Qing and Yunmen Qianfan within it.

One day later, outside Black Cloud City.

This city was quite different from conventional cities; it wasn't built externally but existed within a hollowed-out colossal mountain, like a grotto-heaven. A massive light source, formed by arcane arts, circulated within, creating day and night. Its name came from the mountain walls, which were made of dark rock resembling the sky, with undulations that seemed like clouds, appearing as dark clouds under the light source. Therefore, upon approaching a certain distance outside the city, the aurora was also blocked out. At this moment, the city's light source resembled an evening glow, indicating it was likely dusk.

The evening glow from Black Cloud City shone upon Xu Qing and Yunmen Qianfan. Xu Qing's steps were steady, but Qianfan walked slower and slower. Yet, even the longest path eventually ends. Gradually... the city came into view.

Xu Qing stopped.

“The Yunmen family's task was to deliver you here. I imagine your family also has arrangements in Black Cloud City.”

“So, this is where we part ways,” Xu Qing spoke calmly.

Yunmen Qianfan's emotions fluctuated. The journey had been both thrilling and wondrous for her, and though she should have been happy to reach her destination, she felt more melancholy and an inexpressible reluctance to part. “Senior, the Yunmen family doesn't have many arrangements in Black Cloud City. This is mainly where my mother's family resides... I wonder if Senior would be willing to become a guest elder here?”

“Or... if Senior is unwilling, it's fine; you can still reside here. I…”

Before Yunmen Qianfan could finish her words, Xu Qing had already shaken his head. “I have other matters to attend to.” Saying this, he turned and was about to leave.

Watching Xu Qing's retreating back, a deep sense of loss filled Yunmen Qianfan's heart. She bit her lip, then suddenly quickened her pace. “Senior.”

“Thank you for escorting me all this way, Senior. I have nothing to repay your kindness with, but please accept this item.”

“My cultivation is weak, and I cannot assist Senior in combat. However, this jade slip was formed by me using my life source and contains a single divination ability. I hope it can be of some use to Senior in the future.”

As she spoke, she took a jade slip from her bosom and looked at Xu Qing. Xu Qing paused, looked back at her, his gaze falling on the jade slip. He nodded slightly, then raised his hand and grasped it from afar.

Then, enveloped in the evening glow, he walked away.

Behind him, the sound of a zither gradually emerged.

The evening glow was like a dream.

The world of cultivators stretched far and wide.

A lifetime of joys and sorrows.

In the end, everything transformed into a pot of turbid wine.

The moment he stepped out of Black Cloud City's range, as the crimson aurora of the outside world fell upon him, Xu Qing took it out and drank it in one gulp. With one step, he walked towards the sky.

As the music ended, only Qianfan's faint sigh echoed in unspoken words.