Chapter 1226: Time Amber

Xu Qing's childhood was tumultuous, marked by countless hardships, yet he survived them all through sheer perseverance and an unyielding will to live.

These experiences forged his cautious nature and his retaliatory approach, while also cultivating a cold indifference towards killing. Nevertheless, his yearning for knowledge and his aspiration for beauty became an inextinguishable light within him.

However, his heart had become self-locked, not easily opening up to the outside world.

His life thereafter had its twists and turns, as well as smooth periods, but overall, its trajectory was significantly better than his childhood. His heart, too, slowly began to open.

Yet, along this path, though flowers bloomed, there was also wilting.

As Xu Qing grew older, he gradually opened his heart and embraced the world, allowing many figures to enter it...

His heart stirred with ripples.

And there was also a storm of what could be called ultimate fury!

The first time he felt such anger was upon the death of Captain Lei.

Later, it was the murder of Master Bai.

Subsequently, it was when Sixth Master's head was thrown before him by his own brother, and he learned the truth about Peerless City.

As for the fourth time, it was the fall of the Sword-Wielding Emperor.

Now, it was the fifth time.

Everything in the illusion, upon waking, appeared to have many flaws. But while he was within it, his senses were completely different; it was as if he had truly experienced everything, feeling the profound pain and spiritual emptiness after all his familiar people had vanished.

As Xu Qing awoke now, this feeling intensified; the stronger the pain had been then, the more overwhelming his rage was now.

Therefore, facing the voice of this true god, who had not yet fully returned and was still in the process of returning, Xu Qing offered no verbal response.

The aura emanating from him, the bloodshot in his eyes, and the intense fluctuations radiating from his entire body had transformed into an ultimate killing intent. This intent permeated every part of him, fusing into his Immortal Embryo and the Aurora Immortal Palace.

It burst forth!

The starry sky rumbled, and ripples appeared even in the Beyond the Heavens. In this starry expanse, Xu Qing's supreme Immortal Embryo, with the fully manifested Aurora Immortal Palace within it, unleashed world-shaking power, suddenly crashing down upon the half-human, half-spider god!

The booming sound surpassed anything heard before.

The Aurora Immortal Palace shimmered with endless immortal light. The moment it descended, the true god, in the process of returning, tried to dodge, but...

At this moment, being in the process of returning, the god was extremely weak.

At the same time, the backlash from its Divine Persona art brought it severe pain at the soul level, and its wails were utterly uncontrollable.

Furthermore, the suppression from the Beyond the Heavens was not something a mere weak true god could resist.

These factors combined rendered its dodge unsuccessful.

The vast and astonishing Immortal Palace directly smashed onto its body.

With a single strike, the true god's entire body trembled violently, its body uncontrollably sank, golden blood spurted out, and cracks appeared on its physical vessel. Greater pain swept over it like a storm.

It wanted to retaliate.

But in the next instant, Xu Qing, in his peak fury, would not give it a chance.

The Aurora Immortal Palace's light flared again, its dazzling radiance shooting into the starry sky, drawing in more power, and once more... crashed down!

Booming sounds, accompanied by the true god's shrill cries, echoed through the space.

The true god, still in the process of returning, had more cracks on its physical body, especially its half-spider form, which was now on the verge of shattering, emanating dense primeval essence.

But it was still struggling, attempting to conjure a divine art using the dispersed primeval essence.

But Xu Qing had already narrowly escaped death before, so how could he not be wary? At this moment, with a single step, he had already entered the Aurora Immortal Palace, sitting down cross-legged in its main hall.

The Aurora Immortal Palace, ethereal in the outside world, was real here in the Beyond the Heavens.

Sitting within it, wielding its authority, Xu Qing at this moment was the master of the Beyond the Heavens.

Although his cultivation was insufficient and his methods lacked effective ways to restrain a true god, the Immortal Palace itself was the best weapon!

He didn't need divine abilities. At this moment, no Dao art could allow Xu Qing to fully vent his inner rage more completely; only pure violence could.

Thus, with a thought, the Aurora Immortal Palace aimed at the returning true god and smashed down again!

Once, twice, thrice...

Xu Qing was unleashing his fury!

The deafening rumbling sounds drowned out the true god's shrill cries.

The cracks on its body had become dense, and finally, amidst its wails, its half-spider body shattered and broke into pieces.

The remaining half-human body now had significantly weaker light in its eyes.

However, the pain of its soul and body were not the most feared sources for this true god at this moment.

What it truly feared was... the black hole below!

That was a cage formed by the power of the entire Beyond the Heavens, a prison of oblivion. Once it fell into it, returning in this lifetime would be nearly impossible!

With each repeated smash from the Immortal Palace, its body was continuously being pushed closer to the black hole.

At this critical juncture, the light in its eyes suddenly flared intensely, transforming into golden flames. These flames spread from its eyes, not to incinerate its surroundings, but to flow throughout its entire body.

It was, astonishingly, choosing to burn itself!

To self-destruct!

Because if its vessel was destroyed, it would mean a failed return, but similarly, it would also erase all its traces!

In this way, it would not be without the possibility of returning in the future.

But if this vessel remained and was suppressed within the black hole, then it would truly have no chance.

So at this moment, without hesitation, it not only burned its vessel but also incinerated the half of its Divine Persona that had returned to its body, aiming to shatter even its Divine Persona.

Even if it would pay a huge price for this, requiring eons to recover.

But for a god, the one thing it never lacked was time.

It could continue to wait!

And its self-incineration was incredibly decisive and swift, almost impossible to stop.

In the blink of an eye, it was about to burn itself completely, and this moment was also its point of ultimate weakness.

But it underestimated Xu Qing!

Xu Qing, sitting cross-legged within the Immortal Palace, stared intently at the true god choosing to burn itself, the coldness in his eyes remaining intense.

He knew that true gods were indestructible.

Therefore, his current move was naturally not to kill it; he wanted to make it endure extreme suffering!

So, how could he allow it to truly depart and return...?

You don't get to end it just because you want to!

In the next instant, Xu Qing suddenly raised his right hand, and a Daoist incantation emerged from his mouth.

"Seal!"

The azure sky trembled. The boundless expanse, countless stars, galaxies, and universes, at this moment, under Xu Qing's Immortal Palace authority and his mastery over the Beyond the Heavens, were instantly sealed!

This Beyond the Heavens was instantly isolated, completely severing inside from out! Turning this Beyond the Heavens into a vast prison!

However, the Beyond the Heavens was part of the Upper Planetary Ring, and true gods were indestructible. The return and departure of their true names was the Upper Planetary Ring's own favor bestowed upon deities, like fish swimming through the sea.

Thus, this isolation was not absolute; it was like a fishing net that, though cast down, still had openings.

However, Xu Qing's methods would naturally not be limited to just this.

At the same time, another item on Xu Qing's person suddenly flew out of the Immortal Palace! Floating in the starry sky outside the Immortal Palace!

It was an hourglass!

That was the spatial-temporal supreme treasure he had obtained from the mirrored history of the Aurora Immortal Palace!

It contained an hour that transcended this space-time!

It could forcibly add an extra hour to any duration of time.

And it could not be erased!

It existed beyond space-time, beyond time itself!

Unrestricted by any space-time!

It could be used freely by one who mastered the laws of space-time, at will, whether for normal flow, acceleration, or deceleration.

The limit, however, was one hour!

After appearing, with a 'crack,' the hourglass shattered. The grains of sand within it, emitting multicolored light, suddenly scattered, at the very moment the burning true god's body and Divine Persona were about to dissipate...

These scattered sands enveloped it!

Forcing it to endure an extra hour!

An hour devoid of any karma and not belonging to this space-time!

Its effect, under Xu Qing's control of spacetime laws, was to forcibly prolong its departure and self-incineration, making them extremely slow.

Turning that instant into this extra hour in the present world!

If the closing of the Beyond the Heavens was like a fishing net falling into the sea, then the appearance of these temporal sands was like making the fish trying to escape the net slow down!

Causing its departure to no longer be swift!

Prolonging its weakened state even further!

This scene caused ripples in the starry sky. Vague thoughts of true names, filled with disbelief, echoed in the ethereal.

Xu Qing also stood up from within the Immortal Palace at this moment. With extreme coldness in his eyes, he stepped out, appearing in the starry sky, before the true god, who was in a state of ultimate weakness and whose single instant was now prolonged into an hour.

"You enjoy others' pain?"

Xu Qing slowly spoke, uttering his first words since their encounter began.

His words were laced with ice.

"Then, you might as well taste it too."

Xu Qing raised his hand, and a massive ice coffin suddenly appeared.

This coffin emanated coldness and shimmered with nine colors.

It was precisely the ice coffin Xu Qing had obtained from the Hunyuan Imperial Clan, the very ice coffin of the Aurora Young Master from back then!

This ice coffin was something the Aurora Immortal Lord and his wife had prepared for their child, having once sealed the Aurora Young Master within it, keeping him in an infant state.

What was frozen was not just the physical body, but also the soul, and even time itself.

After all, it was an item belonging to an Immortal Lord, its power naturally astonishing.

At this moment, Xu Qing took it out. With a raise of his hand, the coffin shot directly towards the burning true god, enveloping it, and as the coffin lid crashed down, the freezing was complete!

This sealed the burning true god, which had not yet fully completed its return state, within.

Sealing time along with it!

In this way, to some extent, this true god was solidified in its returning state.

Unable to truly leave and unable to truly return.

Like... a piece of temporal amber!

From then on, it would be immersed in endless burning pain, trapped in an eternal loop of suffering.

The indestructibility of a true god was no longer the Upper Planetary River's blessing upon it, but had become a curse!

At the same time, in this state, an unending flow of primeval essence continuously emanated, like spirit stones!