Chapter 1123: Vast Aurora, Like an Immortal Flood

Li Mengtu spoke each word with great seriousness. His expression was solemn, as if these two sentences held immense importance for him.

This was a conflict of Dao, beyond grudges, transcending life and death.

Indeed, a cultivator's life unfolded in precisely this way: survival in the lower ranks, striving for greater power in the middle, and at the current high-level stage, the Dao itself became the core pursuit.

His Dao could not be sullied.

"Li Mengtu, disciple of the Dao Immortal Sect, under the tutelage of the Vast Immortal Monarch," he declared. "I disdain schemes, and even more so, relying on the power of my family or sect. Today, I will act alone, with all my might, vowing to slay you to complete my Dao!"

Li Mengtu's voice was deep. Standing mid-air, his black robes swayed in the wind, his long hair flowed, and his piercing gaze fixed upon Xu Qing.

Xu Qing remained silent. He had met many people in his life, of all kinds. While individuals like Li Mengtu were rare, they were not unheard of. Yan Xuanzi, for example, was essentially the same as Li Mengtu.

At the same time, he perceived in the other's eyes an absolute determination to contend for the Dao, and so he slowly uttered his reply.

"Xu Qing."

Li Mengtu nodded, saying no more and asking no further questions. The killing intent in his eyes surged instantly as he abruptly raised his right hand, pointed to the sky, and softly commanded, "Lightning!"

In the next instant, a deafening roar echoed from the sky. The sea of lightning that had previously dispersed under the influence of their techniques now reappeared, vast beyond ten or even a hundred times its former scale.

A rumbling sound reverberated in all directions, as streaks of silver swept across the sky. The scope expanded instantly to a million li, then ten million, and continued to spread, seemingly boundless.

The lightning bolts and the spheres of thunder that formed within this vast expanse enveloped the entire sky. Instantly, lightning flashed and thunder roared, the heavens and earth changed color, as if the sky itself was enraged, as if the Grand Dao was bellowing.

The sea of lightning had returned.

Not only the sky, but at this moment, lightning also rose from the earth, and tore through the void. All things, in that instant, generated electricity. Converging, they formed a swirling vortex of lightning spanning tens of millions of li, the sound even more astonishing, like a Heavenly Tribulation descending upon the world!

Its momentum was unparalleled, shaking the world.

This was precisely Li Mengtu's second authority: Lightning! Lightning, master of slaughter!

Amidst the thunderous roars, Li Mengtu, with the boundless lightning as his backdrop, appeared as the lord of thunder in this world. His body, too, sparked with electricity, connecting him to the sea of lightning as he raised a hand and pointed at Xu Qing.

Instantly, the sea of lightning roared, surging and sweeping across the cosmos, hurtling directly towards Xu Qing.

The might of such an authority caused Xu Qing's pupils to contract. He had encountered many rulers, but never one possessing such immense momentum as Li Mengtu before him.

"Truly a Star!"

Xu Qing was solemn, yet there was no hint of retreat in his heart. The opponent had declared this a conflict of Dao... "Then, let's contend!"

A sharp glint shone in Xu Qing's eyes. His entire life, from the moment Unparalleled City vanished, had been a path of contention! Contending for life, for destiny, and even more so, for the Dao of heaven and earth.

Thus, his right eye's pupil blurred, replaced by a Dao mark! The Mark of Erasure erupted from his right eye with a deafening roar, erasing everything it gazed upon!

The ground blurred, the sky twisted, the void rippled, and the roaring sea of lightning hurtling towards him was directly affected!

However, the authority of lightning was ultimately extreme in its destructive power; even the presence of the Mark of Erasure could not entirely dissipate it. Amidst its tumultuous motion, it shone with blinding light, radiating terrifying lethality.

The Dao mark in Xu Qing's right eye instantly dissipated, his pupil throbbed with pain, and blood conspicuously flowed from within. Nevertheless, the power of the Mark of Erasure ultimately caused ripples in the surging sea of lightning.

Its momentum was now diminished, though it still headed directly for Xu Qing. But at that crucial moment, a soaring sword intent rapidly surged within Xu Qing.

It was the Emperor's Sword.

The Emperor's Sword flew out from his crown, and Xu Qing took a step forward, raising his right hand to grasp it directly. The moment he clutched the Emperor's Sword, his aura surged, creating a power that shook the starry sky and caused the overwhelming lightning, which had been crashing down like mountains and seas, to abruptly halt.

With the Emperor's Sword in hand, Xu Qing abruptly swung it forward. The blurred earth emitted a roaring sound, and boundless earthly energy rose, converging within Xu Qing's sword strike. It transformed into a sword of the earth!

Earth Treasury Style!

With one swing, it cleaved the sea of lightning. The power of the earth it unleashed was also like a sea, clashing thunderously with the sea of lightning. A violent fluctuation erupted the moment the two forces collided.

Numerous lightning spheres, piercing through the sword energy, appeared before Xu Qing, rapidly approaching and exploding one after another, causing damage. Xu Qing rapidly formed hand seals, continuously dispelling the attacks, retreating amidst a series of rumbling explosions.

On the other side, sword energy also pierced through the sea of lightning, appearing before Li Mengtu. As it whistled towards him, all the mirrors around Li Mengtu's body shone brightly. While simultaneously deflecting the attacks, he also formed hand seals to resist the sword's might, his body likewise retreating in the process.

From a distance, the scene appeared to be a standoff. In the center, the sea of earth and the sea of lightning contended, while the two individuals beyond these seas both retreated.

However, Li Mengtu, an early-stage Dominator, a Star, hailing from the Li family, and a disciple of the Poison Monarch, possessed methods far surpassing most Dominators. Thus, as he retreated, his eyes suddenly shone with silver light.

Like an embodiment of heavenly might, he spoke: "I ask your soul, who is your master? I ask your spirit, from where do you originate? I ask your body, do you bear hidden injuries? I ask your heart, how many trump cards do you hold!"

This was precisely his third authority: Command of Truth!

This authority allowed him to question the heavens, the earth, the Dao, all things in the world, and all questions. This power was akin to an imposing authority, possessing a deterrent effect, like a gavel striking the table! Under its questioning, all were compelled to state the truth. Refusal would incur Dao punishment. And whether one replied or not, at this moment, they would fall into a state of rigidity—a rigidity encompassing body, soul, and will.

As the command descended, Xu Qing's entire body shuddered. A terrifying deterrent force seemed to settle upon him, stiffening his body, incapacitating his soul, and stirring ripples in his memories of the past.

Almost the instant Xu Qing's body and soul were affected, a cold glint flashed in Li Mengtu's eyes. While retreating, he rapidly formed hand seals.

He wasn't genuinely interested in asking Xu Qing these questions. He didn't care what the answers were. He cared not where the person before him came from, who their master was, if they had hidden injuries, or what trump cards they possessed. What he wanted was the paralyzing effect that accompanied his authority's command, thus creating a decisive killing opportunity for himself!

Now, that opportunity had arisen. So, without hesitation, he immediately unleashed the ultimate killing move passed down from his master!

"Aurora fills the sky, like a celestial deluge!"

His master had several names: Dao Virtue Child, Vast Immortal Monarch, Immortal Flood Elder, and Poison Monarch. These names were not fabricated; to be precise, each name represented a divine ability originating from the Poison Monarch. Among them, the divine ability represented by the name "Immortal Flood Elder" was what Li Mengtu was now demonstrating.

Now, as Li Mengtu performed the hand seals and spoke, the sky shuddered. The scarlet aurora, flowing across the firmament, higher than the sea of lightning, permeating the boundless expanse of the Fifth Star Ring... was actually affected. It was impossible to affect the entirety of it, but for the Fifth Star Ring, where the aurora reigned supreme, even influencing a portion required astonishing means.

At this moment, the aurora rippled! Spanning a hundred li! Then it separated. The scope remained the same. A hundred li of aurora, at this moment, seemed to be manipulated, as if cut, as if broken apart... it actually began to fall from the sky.

Bearing infinite weight and soul-shaking pressure, it descended directly, like a flood, like a waterfall, like a sea falling from the heavens. The crimson light instantly descended, and wherever it passed, the sea of lightning collapsed, and sword intent disintegrated.

With just one strike, Xu Qing's blood and qi surged, his whole body rumbled, he spat out a large mouthful of blood, and his body was driven downwards to the earth by the immense force. His injuries were not light. Despite this, these injuries allowed his body and soul, previously paralyzed by the Command of Truth, to recover.

What met his eyes was the hundred-li expanse of sky aurora, drawn down and pressing towards him, crimson in all directions, like a sea of blood. Li Mengtu, currently a hundred li away, had not approached, clearly indicating that even he was wary of this divine ability to draw down the aurora.

Nevertheless, for Xu Qing, a life-and-death crisis had fully erupted.

At this critical moment, Xu Qing did not hesitate in the slightest. His Five Elements authority erupted with full power in that instant. A year of recuperation and exploration, along with the insights gained from his travels to various places during this time, were fully manifested in this brief moment.

First, the Wood element surged, transforming into countless plants and trees that appeared out of thin air, blotting out the sky and sun, as if turning the area into a wood realm to obstruct the aurora. The wood realm collapsed instantly. As the aurora descended again, Xu Qing formed hand seals. Immediately, all the disintegrated wood element was used to generate fire, causing towering flames to rise and block it once more.

Next, the fire was amplified. After resisting to a certain extent, Xu Qing's thoughts shifted again. Instantly, all the fire element, at its peak, gave birth to earth, forming an earth realm to block the celestial light again. The earth element erupted but did not last long, unable to fully obstruct, and then all of it, at its peak, transformed into metal.

The power of metal surged, seemingly intent on shattering the sky. However, the aurora was astonishing, causing the attempt to break through the sky to fail. So, when the metal element reached its limit, it fully generated water.

The power of water immediately reached an unprecedented level, transforming into a vast ocean around him, spanning tens of millions of li, becoming a sea unimaginable to mortals. As the seawater surged and vast waves rolled, the surface of the water reflected the sky! And since the sky had the descending crimson aurora, the water's surface reflected precisely that aurora, using this to block the attack.

Finally, as the great sea weakened, it regenerated the Wood element. This mutual generation of the Five Elements formed a cycle, ultimately causing the descending aurora to be blocked layer by layer, unable to continue its descent.

At the same time, a fierce killing intent shone in Xu Qing's eyes. He raised his hand, took out the remaining few Life-claiming Incense sticks, branded Li Mengtu with one, lit it, imbued it with the power of time, and then blew on it. Instantly, the incense burned rapidly, vanishing in a flash.

Li Mengtu's expression changed instantly. He spat out a mouthful of blood, involuntarily retreated, and his heart turned gloomy.

Immediately, Xu Qing seized the opportunity, lunging forward with a burst of spatial energy. His speed was terrifying as he shot straight towards Li Mengtu. Simultaneously, the Immortal Art Dao mark rotated within his left eye. The power of the Six Thieves' Misplaced Birth immediately manifested. The Five Dogs Abandoning Immortals technique also erupted. Next, the Golden Crow surged forth to empower Xu Qing, and then the Shadow also darted out to assist him.

Yet, this was still not enough. Without the slightest hesitation, Xu Qing took out the last remaining sword qi from his Ninth Grandfather, and launched it at Li Mengtu!

Li Mengtu's expression grew exceedingly solemn as he rapidly retreated.