Chapter 1209: The Essence of the Niu Sect

A wave of heat assailed him!

Wherever he gazed, all was scorching fire.

The sky and earth were a fiery red, incredibly luminous and dazzling to the eye!

The entire ground was composed of scorching flames, slowly churning, with occasional jets of fiery liquid shooting skyward, scattering outwards.

Mid-air, they would spontaneously explode, scattering with a roar, transforming into ancient and mysterious runic symbols.

From a distance, it seemed as if an eternal rain of runes was falling here.

However, once these runes landed on the ground, they would transform into stalks of red sea grass, attempting to grow here. But alas, in that intense heat, the sea grass could barely survive.

Often, in an instant, they would turn to ash, falling into the fiery liquid and becoming part of it.

Only by chance, or through an extremely rare occurrence, could one or two stalks of sea grass manage to survive here.

Struggling to grow.

Yet, even during their growth, they would still face intense burning. Thus, as Xu Qing's gaze swept across the surroundings, he could only spot a scattered stalk or two.

And they were in a withered state, likely to turn to ash and vanish at any moment.

“Although this is just a small area of the sun, extrapolating from this quantity, even the sea grass that has survived across the entire sun... is probably not much.”

Xu Qing pondered, then looked up towards the distance. After slightly adapting to the temperature, he suddenly spoke.

“Which direction is the place of imprisonment?”

He was inquiring of the sea grass from outside.

After a long moment, a vague will echoed in his mind.

“Center... Immortal Oath, I cannot go deep. The sea grass here... my thought, it can assist...”

The will was intermittent.

Clearly, for the astonishing sea grass from outside, this sun caused it apprehension.

The essence of this apprehension might stem from the Immortal Oath it mentioned, or perhaps something else.

“A means of checks and balances? Or intentional?”

Xu Qing mused, recalling the previous scenes. He felt the former was more likely, though his vigilance against the latter naturally did not diminish.

So he shifted his body and shot forward with a whistle.

He wanted to see the full extent of this sun.

And find the core place where that deity was sealed.

Then make his decision.

Thus, time passed.

Days later, Xu Qing's speed gradually slowed.

Even with his cultivation, he felt increasingly uncomfortable here. At this point, every time he advanced a certain distance, he had to pause and rely on the sea grass present on the ground to adjust himself before he could continue.

Finally, after half a month had passed, Xu Qing reached his limit.

He had no choice but to stop before a stalk of sea grass.

Fortunately, although he hadn't truly set foot on the core of this place, with his divine sense, he could vaguely perceive where the center was.

The moment his perception reached it, Xu Qing's eyes narrowed.

In his perception, he 'saw' an astonishing great sword!

This sword was colossal, piercing through the sun.

The part exposed from the ground was a hilt resembling a colossal peak.

It could be imagined that on the other side of this sun, there must be a sword tip piercing out of the ground, a truly world-shattering sight.

The moment he perceived this scene, Xu Qing suddenly had an epiphany.

“That deity is not imprisoned within this sun; rather... It *is* this sun!”

“This sun is that deity!”

“A true god... like a Lesser Immortal!”

Xu Qing's pupils contracted, and he slowly lowered his head, gazing at the ground beneath his feet and the withered sea grass beside him, his mind wavering.

“And that sword is the source of the true god's suppression, and the main body of its seal!”

“It is impaled here, piercing through this god, keeping the true god in a state between life and death. Thus... It cannot return by relying on its true name!”

“As for the sea grass, for the deities on its leaves, it is indeed a prison.”

“But for this true god, it is merely a jailer!”

“It desires to cultivate using this true god even more than I do, which is why it persistently scattered its seeds, allowing sea grass to take root and exist here.”

“Its purpose is absorption! Because those scattered sea grasses are actually attempting to absorb the primordial essence from this true god...”

“However, due to the environment and status here, its sea grass is too scarce, resulting in only a small amount of primordial essence being absorbed.”

Xu Qing pondered for a moment, then raised his right hand, took out the wooden slip for collecting alien essence, and pressed it downwards onto the ground.

His cultivation surged in, erupting fully.

Unlike when he previously absorbed other deities, this time, Xu Qing's collection did not cause any tremor in the ground, and the sun itself remained as usual.

Even though a few golden threads of primordial essence seemed to rise faintly from the ground, the quantity was simply too small.

There seemed to be a heavy obstruction, making the collection's effect not very good, even if it wasn't a complete failure.

After a long moment, Xu Qing stopped collecting. He raised his head, gazing at the location of the colossal sword hilt in his perception, his eyes glinting with a strange light.

“This ground is like a shell; collecting primordial essence here is extremely difficult.”

“The truly suitable place for collection should be where that sword is impaled!”

“That place is this true god's wound!”

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes and suddenly spoke.

“So, if we truly want to feast, you need to go all out... Either we choose to expend all your previous preparations, and I will also spare no effort, and we will gamble on this opportunity, to devour to our hearts' content.”

“Otherwise, we can only absorb some scattered primordial essence.”

After Xu Qing finished speaking, he waited silently.

After a long moment, the withered sea grass before him suddenly swayed, as if having made a decision. In an instant, the sea grass surprisingly reversed its withered state, turning crimson.

Not only it, but at this moment, all the surviving sea grass on this sun changed from their various withered states, instantly turning crimson, then ascending into the air.

From a distance, they resembled red spider lilies, moving from all directions towards Xu Qing's current location.

Even along the way, many stalks of sea grass turned to ash under the impact of the flames, yet they still pressed forward, one after another.

Rising en masse!

In an instant, the void around Xu Qing distorted, and stalks of sea grass appeared out of thin air, rapidly converging towards him.

Xu Qing did not dodge, allowing the sea grass to approach, layer upon layer enveloping his body. The entire process lasted for dozens of breaths.

Subsequently, Xu Qing, standing in place, had undergone a drastic transformation.

A set of crimson grass armor, composed of sea grass, covered his entire body, causing his height to surge to several hundred zhang.

Standing there, he resembled a giant.

Vast vitality erupted from these sea grasses, surging into Xu Qing's entire body, forming an astonishing protective shield.

This was the sea grass's entire accumulated foundation over countless years on this sun, built through every bit of effort and repeated attempts!

A sharp glint flashed in Xu Qing's eyes.

He could feel that the sea grass was indeed staking everything.

Thus, without the slightest hesitation, he activated the Five Extremes Transformation, using the method of Five Elements mutual restraint to gain extreme resistance. Then, his Temporal-Spatial Constitution erupted, and the universe overlapped into illusion.

Using this to disperse the oppressive aura from the path ahead.

Next, his Immortal Embryo shone, and he shot forward like a bolt of lightning.

Instantly, he vanished into the distance.

Heading straight for... the location of the great sword he had just perceived!

The closer he got, the heavier the oppressive aura from this place became, and the flames grew increasingly terrifying. Even with the sea grass armor covering Xu Qing's body, it visibly burned, continuously turning to ash.

Xu Qing knew very well that if he relied solely on himself, he wouldn't be able to reach this point. And once the sea grass dissipated, he feared his entire body would burn to ash in an instant.

After all, this was a true god!

But none of this could deter Xu Qing.

His speed was even faster!

Madness gleamed in his eyes!

If Er Niu were here and saw this scene, he would undoubtedly praise it greatly, believing that little A'Qing had mastered the true essence of the Niu Sect.

Thus, time passed.

Finally, amidst Xu Qing's frantic, full-speed dash and the sea grass armor's desperate support, his figure traversed a vast distance, appearing at the core of this sun.

In the distance, the great sword truly appeared in Xu Qing's sight.

The moment he saw the great sword, Xu Qing's breathing quickened, his entire body trembled, and both his soul and flesh were on the verge of combustion.

Yet, the madness in his eyes, and the scorching flames, could not burn it away in the slightest; instead, it intensified upon seeing the great sword!

The next instant, Xu Qing, without hesitation, bit his tongue and spat out a large mouthful of fresh blood.

He used this to stimulate himself, and with a blood escape technique, he suddenly surged forward.

Amidst a roar, after seventy percent of the grass armor outside his body had vanished, Xu Qing's figure finally burst forth from the extreme heat, arriving before the colossal sword!

The moment he got close, his entire body began to burn, and he clearly saw the area.

It was an astonishing chasm, where one could see flesh and blood attempting to grow from the ground along the sword's edge, seemingly trying to heal the wound and push the great sword out.

However, the sword's penetration was incredibly firm and unyielding, rendering this recovery impossible to complete since its inception.

Thus, they remained in a stalemate.

The moment he approached this place, Xu Qing's heart also surged with a sense of life and death.

He knew very well that perhaps in the next instant, the sea grass would give way, and all his resistance would collapse.

However...

Amidst this life-or-death crisis, he also sensed an incredibly dense primordial essence, located within that flesh and blood!

The density of this primordial essence was unprecedented in Xu Qing's experience!

If truly compared, perhaps only the depths of the Ink Earth, which he couldn't penetrate, would be similarly dense.

Such an opportunity, such a stroke of fortune...

Xu Qing's madness deepened, and he immediately transmitted a divine thought.

“Fox, be on guard!”

The fox beauty's mark on his arm immediately radiated a cool sensation, and her divine power erupted fully at this moment, empowering Xu Qing once more.

This bought him time, while also guarding against any potential malice from the sea grass, whether it existed or not.

Having done all this, Xu Qing immediately sat cross-legged, raised his right hand, held the collecting wooden slip, and pressed it downwards.

Immediately, the ground rumbled, and golden threads of essence burst forth directly from the sword wound.

Like a geyser!

Surging forth spectacularly!

At this moment, the Mud Fox was in shock.

The sea grass was excited.

Xu Qing was in a frenzy!