Chapter 1201: Compared to Many, More Truly Human

The stone tablets merely trembled. Hundreds of galaxies remained, yet no light shone. It seemed Xu Qing's words, in this Fifth Star Ring, were far from resounding enough to cause a stir.

Simultaneously, as the stone tablets vibrated, wisps of divine consciousness emanated from each of these galactic tablets, echoing ethereal sounds.

"Absurd!""Gods are gods!""How can they be human!""Regardless of their innate nature, even acquired gods, the moment they choose the path of divine cultivation, must lose all their humanity!""What you perceive and feel is merely a false persona created by gods during their cultivation to better advance!""You are not the first to be deceived by gods, nor will you ever be the last.""Young man, I advise you… do not be deceived by them!""Throughout history, all who befriended gods ultimately regretted it immensely!""Now, retract your words, and this old man's relics can be yours!"

One after another, these divine thoughts transformed into lingering echoes within the star domain, continuously reverberating, settling into Xu Qing's mind and consciousness.

Xu Qing remained silent. A reminiscent look appeared in his eyes. He was pondering, he was judging. The buried immortals here were no longer mere souls; what emanated from them could not truly be called divine consciousness. It was the persistent obsession of immortals who had died in battle. Their entire lives, from birth to death, were spent battling gods; their stance never wavered. Thus, for them, gods… could be generalized!

Xu Qing, at one point, had shared their views. Until he witnessed the Empress's transformation into a god. That changed his worldview! So, Xu Qing spoke calmly.

"Esteemed seniors, in my homeland, there are sacred lands and rampant gods. My family, my childhood, were tormented by the gods' alien qualities… Yet, the sacred lands were merciless, abandoning humanity and fleeing Wanggu."

"They stood aloof, indifferent to the life and death of humanity, attempting to continue exploiting and manipulating events from behind the scenes."

"Meanwhile, humanity gradually declined. Several Human Emperors poured their hearts and souls into protecting it, and a Great Emperor even wielded a sword, forcefully sustaining its defense with the might of vast mountains and rivers."

"Yet, humanity struggled to rise."

"Countless humans… became food for other races, suffering terribly. I witnessed these scenes, far more tragic than exchanging children to eat."

"The entire race gradually crumbled in darkness, ceasing to be a true race, slowly fading into complete oblivion."

"At that moment, one person emerged from the catastrophe, from the very brink of destruction."

"She is the Empress of humanity in my homeland! However, all her thoughts were severed, all her paths broken. Only two choices lay before her: either the race would perish, or she would become a god!"

"Ultimately, she chose to become a god!""All the infamy caused by defying sects, abandoning principles, and violating ancestral teachings—she bore it!""She said, if the sacred lands wouldn't care for humanity, she would. With her own strength, she would ensure the continuity of humanity's legacy in Wanggu!""She said, if heaven and earth took pleasure in humanity's suffering and offered no blessings, she would. With her own being, she would usher in an era of peace for humanity in Wanggu!""She said, from then on, she would not seek her own eternity, but only the glorious prosperity of humanity for ten thousand generations, restoring the brilliance of Wanggu's great race!""She said, she did not wish to become a god alone; she wanted to bring all deceased Human Emperors with her, to become gods together.""She said, thereafter, five Human Emperors would become Corpse Gods, lacking sentience but possessing divine might, embodying human thoughts, guided by human destiny, safeguarding our human foundation, and striking fear into other races.""She said, she would be a Human God, protecting our race, bringing peace for ten thousand generations!""Finally, she said, for the karma her actions incurred, and the ancient catastrophe they brought forth, she… would bear it alone!"

Xu Qing's voice echoed through the star domain, sentence by sentence. Every sentence held his memories, every word represented his emotions. With these words, with his voice, he described the scene of the Empress becoming a god, which he had witnessed, to all the heroic spirits.

Finally, Xu Qing looked up, gazing at the stone tablets. He spoke in a deep voice.

"Such a god, in my opinion, is more human than many humans!""I also know that not all gods are like this.""But humans also have good and evil.""Among gods, too, there are such beings; regardless of their number, they do exist.""Therefore, this junior will not change his conviction!"

Xu Qing bowed his head and made a deep bow!

After this bow, a chilling aura emanated from all the galaxies within the star domain. All the stone tablets ceased vibrating, and the inscriptions on them vanished. No relics, no inheritances—not a single one flew towards him! They did not agree with Xu Qing's words, and no ethereal thoughts were transmitted any longer.

After a long while, Xu Qing silently turned away. This time, he gained nothing, but Xu Qing held no sense of loss or gain. Life is a path one must walk oneself, and scenery is something one must see for oneself. Only by constantly moving forward and experiencing all the landscapes can one's perspective gradually be shaped. Views on life, understanding of the world, perceptions of all living beings—ultimately, these converge to form one's unique thoughts. This is what it means to be human.

From then on, Xu Qing would still kill gods, plunder them, and remain cold-blooded. However, for some gods, like the Empress, he would fight for them! Because in his heart, the Empress was not a god. She was human. More human than many humans.

With these thoughts, and no regrets in his heart, Xu Qing calmly stepped forward, heading towards the colossal gate. He was preparing to leave, return to Moyang, and await his reception. However, just as he approached the colossal gate, about to step through, suddenly… the gate rumbled, shaking violently. A chilling aura of solemnity and death emanated from within the gate.

Xu Qing's footsteps halted. As he looked, his eyes suddenly narrowed. Outside the colossal gate, someone was coming! There wasn't just one arrival, but hundreds. Each of them wore special armor, covered in bloodstains—some from gods, some their own. Beneath their visible weariness lay a deeper sadness. They walked silently. In the middle of the procession, carried by over a dozen cultivators, was a colossal coffin. A flag of the Fifth Star Ring draped over the coffin.

Witnessing this, Xu Qing quietly stepped back, remaining silent on the side. The group of cultivators paid no mind to Xu Qing; they advanced sorrowfully until they were far away. From their retreating figures, Xu Qing could clearly sense that even in their sadness, an instinctive killing intent lingered. That solemn killing intent wasn't something formed from cultivators fighting each other; Xu Qing was familiar with that kind of grimness. It was the intimidating power of soldiers, forged only after being steeped in the aura of battlefields! They had come from the battlefield!

And the being within that coffin… Xu Qing already had his answer. Inside, it had to be the skeleton of an immortal. An immortal who died in battle, being sent for burial! Xu Qing grew solemn.

He watched them depart, saw them pause in a void, deliver the coffin, all kneeling and sadly singing an ancient dirge. The dirge was like a soul-guiding melody, like an ode. Within the song, stars appeared in the void, growing in number, like grains of sand, like soil, burying the coffin. Gradually, it was submerged. The myriad stars became the earth, ultimately forming a galaxy, and a stone tablet appeared.

The cultivators slowly rose. As the leading cultivator raised his hand, they all shouted in unison. "Immortal Lord, may you partake!" Their voices echoed, a mixture of farewell and fervor, for a long time… The military cultivators turned and departed solemnly.

Witnessing all this, Xu Qing did not immediately return. Instead, he walked to the galaxy where the heroic immortal was buried, bowed deeply, and looked at the stone tablet.

"Life is like a dream, time like a song. The starry sea, a place where all must eventually part.""I am Immortal Lord Lingke. I extinguished true gods, drank their blood, left my mark, and usurped their nest, to see what the future holds… When He returns, will He be Him, or will He be me!""If it is He, my skeleton will emit golden light; future generations can erase it to sever that true divine thought. If it is me… then silver light will burst forth, and I shall slay a god once more!"

This particular one seemed very different from what Xu Qing had seen before. He appeared to be trying to use the true gods' indestructible nature to perish together with them! Xu Qing's eyes gleamed with curiosity. Just as he was about to examine it closely, a sigh echoed behind him.

Hearing it, Xu Qing turned and saw a hunched old man walking through the starry sky. It was precisely the gravekeeper from the altar outside the colossal gate. He walked step by step, stopping before the stone tablet.

"The war has entered its next phase.""There will be more heroic spirits here now, and this one, whose name I have heard, dedicated his life to exploring the principle of true gods' immortality." The old man sighed.

Xu Qing stepped back a few paces. Hearing this, he pondered, then bowed and asked a question. "Senior, what is this war?"

The old man turned and looked at Xu Qing, his eyes profound. "The world's trials and tribulations, when they fall upon all beings, are inherently equal. If one side feels nothing, it means someone has surely shielded them from the struggles that should have been theirs."

"Immortal Lord Zhanlu is that person. He presides over the frontier, resisting invasions from the Fourth Star Ring. That is the War of the Star Rings, a conflict between gods and immortals." Having spoken, the old man withdrew his gaze and looked into the distance.

Then he raised his hand and took out a bronze bell without a clapper. The bell appeared ordinary, but the moment it emerged, it stirred ripples in the starry sky, and faint, unusual brilliance flowed within it.

"Once, a friend of mine died in battle at the hands of a God Lord in the Fourth Star Ring. He perished, but his treasured artifact, though melted, did not disappear; it became this form. It contains a trace of a God Lord's power. He asked me to find someone destined to receive it and give it to them."

Xu Qing's eyes narrowed as he looked at the old man. The old man waved his hand, letting the bell float beside him, then turned and walked away into the distance. But a voice echoed through the starry sky.

"I heard your words.""This old man admires that Human Empress.""And this world is complex, just like human nature, so don't concern yourself with others' opinions.""I believe that if my old friends here were still alive, with their wisdom, they would understand.""However, now they are only left with obsession and an absolute resolve against gods.""You are excellent; you shouldn't leave empty-handed.""This item is for you."

The old man walked far away, his figure gradually disappearing, with only his last words drifting gently.

"Such gods… I have encountered them… more human than many humans."