Chapter 1227: This Illusion, Containing Truth

No entry into life.No escape through death.No means to depart.No way to return.This is the God of Suffering at this moment.

He is frozen within an ice coffin, sealed in time by a spacetime hourglass, and entangled by the karma of the entire Heaven Beyond Heaven. Trapped between returning and leaving, He has become a unique spirit stone, perpetually emitting primordial essence. He can only immerse Himself in the agony of His physical body burning, the reincarnation of His soul being torn apart, and the torment of His divinity and primordial essence slowly being absorbed.

In the starry sky, Xu Qing gazed at the ice coffin before him, his eyes cold. His anger had gradually subsided; for this true god, His current state was already the ultimate torment. Since He enjoyed pain, He should personally savor it.

“It’s a pity I don’t possess the divine authority of storytelling, like Yu Liuchen...” Xu Qing muttered to himself. If he possessed Yu Liuchen's divine authority, he could now exert it, creating one painful story after another for this true god, allowing Him to sink into these tales while frozen and experience even more spiritual torment. This way, not only would this true god suffer more, but also, through those stories, He would emit a greater and more concentrated flow of primordial essence.

“There's no hurry.”

Xu Qing withdrew his gaze, walked a step forward, and sat cross-legged on the ice coffin. His eyes slowly closed as he began to breathe deeply, inhaling through his nose and exhaling through his mouth, allowing all the pores on his body to open—to absorb the primordial essence emanating from the ice coffin. This primordial essence was not only abundant but also exceedingly pure; as Xu Qing breathed it in, it flowed throughout his body. Then, within his body, it merged with his Immortal Embryo, providing nourishment.

In the next moment, Xu Qing’s Immortal Embryo emitted a soft glow, illuminating the dark Heaven Beyond Heaven and causing its countless universes, galaxies, and stars to no longer be as shrouded in darkness as before. They gradually began to recover. Meanwhile, Xu Qing’s Immortal Embryo gradually grew amidst the ripples of this light, as did the Immortal Foundation formed by the Immortal Palace within it.

Thus, time flowed by. Soon, a month passed.

Xu Qing opened his eyes. A dim light flickered in his eyes. After a moment, he lowered his head, gazing at the ice coffin floating in the starry sky, upon which he sat. Initially, the ice coffin emitted an extremely dense primordial essence, but gradually, the flow diminished from a surging torrent to a mere trickle. This was normal. This type of divine primordial stone, formed by crafting, was more designed for long-term, continuous output, not for a sudden burst. Therefore, gradual absorption was currently the optimal method for Xu Qing.

The cultivation over the past month had significantly enhanced him; his Immortal Embryo had become more solidified, and both its pressure and aura surpassed their former levels. Especially with the Immortal Palace serving as his Immortal Foundation, providing augmentation, combined with his identity as the Lord of Heaven Beyond Heaven, Xu Qing’s current aura was increasingly akin to that of an Immortal. In terms of cultivation realm, he was not far from the peak of the early Quasi-Immortal stage. Such a cultivation speed, if seen externally, would be enviable, and was already incredibly rapid. After all, the Quasi-Immortal realm is the process of an Immortal Embryo transforming into an Immortal, and the amount of primordial essence required for this process is terrifying. And an Immortal... is one of the hallmarks of the Lower Immortal realm!

However, Xu Qing still felt it was too slow.

“If only there were a few more divine primordial stones like this...” Xu Qing licked his lips, stood up from the ice coffin, and as he gazed into the distance, he recalled the illusion he had previously immersed himself in.

“That illusion, looking at it now, still feels somewhat unsettling...” A dim light flickered in Xu Qing’s eyes. He remembered that in the illusion, he had cultivated here for ten years, reaching the peak of the Quasi-Immortal stage. Although his memory lacked many details, Xu Qing still remembered the feeling of reaching the Quasi-Immortal peak. Especially...

“If I truly chose to cultivate here for ten years, based on the amount of primordial essence released by this ice coffin, whether my cultivation could reach the Quasi-Immortal peak is debatable, but reaching the late stage should be possible.” “So this illusion itself has a logical basis; it’s not baseless...”

As this thought emerged, a shadow of unease crept into Xu Qing’s heart. He instinctively didn’t want to follow this path, nor did he want to choose to cultivate here. On one hand, he didn’t want to align with the illusion. On the other hand, he felt that cultivating this way was still too slow. Another reason was that Xu Qing clearly understood that to break through the Quasi-Immortal realm and enter the Lower Immortal stage, it wasn't merely about needing primordial essence to transform his Immortal Embryo into an Immortal. He also needed his 'Tenth Extreme' to reach a higher level!

“That is, my Tenth Extreme!”

Regarding the Tenth Extreme, Xu Qing still had no direction; even in the illusion, he hadn't explored it...

Xu Qing pondered. He raised his hand and placed the ice coffin he was sitting on into a black hole within Heaven Beyond Heaven, utilizing the black hole’s gravitational pull to constantly absorb and store primordial essence. Then, lost in thought, he prepared to leave this Heaven.

But just as he lifted his foot to step down, Xu Qing suddenly paused. A strange light suddenly gleamed in his eyes.

“Something’s wrong!” “The me in the illusion seems to have stumbled upon the Tenth Extreme, because when I returned to Wanggu Continent in the illusion, the cultivation I displayed... didn’t seem to be merely Quasi-Immortal.” “As for the specifics, I have no details.”

Xu Qing frowned, his doubts about the previous illusion deepening. But lacking effective information, Xu Qing could only suppress all his doubts again, and with a step, he walked out of the Azure Heaven.

At the same time, outside the Azure Heaven, the hidden immortal perceptions that had arrived all dispersed at this moment. Before leaving, each of them cast meaningful gazes towards Xu Qing, who was walking out of the Azure Heaven. They had remembered Xu Qing, and could not help but remember him. The Lord of the Aurora Heaven Beyond Heaven, a Quasi-Immortal with combat power approaching that of an Immortal, had moreover suppressed a returning true god. This illustrious achievement was enough to make everyone take notice. Subsequently, they departed one by one.

Meanwhile, within the Nine Shores Heaven Beyond Heaven, inside the Immortal Palace, the figure atop the Supreme Immortal Pagoda also nodded slightly at this moment.

“Since he was able to seize this opportunity... and complete the task of gathering resources, then...” “Remaining within the Star Ring no longer holds much meaning.” “Issue an imperial decree to the Resource Procurement Division: have this team of ascenders join the transport team, and together with other teams, personally deliver the collected resources to the battlefield. They are not to return; they are to proceed immediately to the Star Ring God-Sealing Array.”

As the Nine Shores Immortal Lord’s words left his lips, the pagoda where he resided trembled slightly, and immediately, his decree spread throughout the entire Nine Shores Heaven. Meanwhile, inside the Resource Procurement Division, the Poison Monarch was in meditation. In an instant, his eyes snapped open, and he immediately perceived the decree from the Nine Shores Immortal Lord. His expression subtly changed. He looked up, gazing into the distance, remained silent for a long time, and finally let out a soft sigh.

“I wonder if this child is lucky or unlucky...”

The Poison Monarch shook his head. Though he was unwilling at heart, he naturally dared not disobey the Nine Shores Immortal Lord’s decree. He could only sigh and proceed with the arrangements.

At the same time, Xu Qing’s figure left the Azure Heaven, reappearing in the Unbounded Zone where he had previously departed. The prison here had disappeared, but neither the jailers nor the warden, nor Xing Huanzi and the others, had left. All of them were waiting here for the outcome. Although a month had passed, most of them felt reassured. After all, after such a public exposure, the return of the true god could hardly have continued for an entire month. Yet, the moment they saw Xu Qing, a sense of relief washed over them.

Especially after noticing that Xu Qing’s aura was clearly stronger than before, Zhou Zhenglil immediately stepped forward and bowed. “Congratulations, Master! For suppressing the true god, your merits are boundless!”

Hearing this, everyone else quickly bowed. Within their hearts, various emotions stirred. They had personally witnessed Xu Qing’s ascension to Quasi-Immortal, felt the vastness of his Immortal Embryo, and seen him become the Lord of Heaven Beyond Heaven. Moreover, they had sensed power approaching that of a Lower Immortal. At the same time, they had also witnessed Xu Qing single-handedly transporting the true god, and now returning safely. Witnessing someone’s rapid growth step by step, until they reached such a significant height, how could it not fill these proud talents with a myriad of thoughts?

Especially Xing Huanzi, who silently watched Xu Qing, sighing inwardly. The gap was widening. But this thought didn’t linger for long before transforming into his motivation.

As for Xu Qing, looking at the crowd before him, especially seeing that the jailers and warden were still there, his heart also calmed. After all, it was different from the illusion. In the illusion, when he emerged, the jailers and warden were not present.

Yet, this thought had barely surfaced in Xu Qing’s mind, and before he could respond to everyone’s salutations—the next instant, all the ascenders’ identity tokens vibrated, and a decree from the Nine Shores Heaven Beyond Heaven’s Resource Procurement Division resounded abruptly in the hearts of all ascenders.

“Changes have occurred in the war outside the Star Ring; primordial essence is urgently needed. All resource procurement teams are hereby ordered to transport and immediately deliver all collected primordial essence to the front lines without delay!”

The voice of this decree, imbued with authority, caused all the ascenders’ expressions to change.

“Transport it ourselves, and go to the battlefield?”

Qianjun Biyi trembled all over; a storm brewed within the hearts of these two brothers. Yuanshan Su furrowed her delicate brows, Li Mengtu’s expression shifted, and Xie Lingzi’s pupils also constricted. The expressions of the other ascenders also changed to varying degrees. The battlefield, for all of them, had been thought to be a distant matter. But unexpectedly, now... it was so close!

Moreover, with their cultivation levels, on the battlefield, they would be like a drop in the ocean. Life and death could reverse at any moment, catastrophe could strike at any time, and the cultivation of the enemies they would face was not fixed. They might encounter Divine Fire realm cultivators, or Divine Platform realm cultivators, and there was also a possibility of encountering a sudden true god! Furthermore, according to their previous understanding, the war with the Fourth Star Ring was an all-out conflict between Divine Lords and Immortal Lords. It was a war between gods and immortals, a war between factions, and, even more, a war of extermination!

Zhou Zhenglil’s expression turned grim as he looked at Xu Qing. Xing Huanzi’s heart also sank, his gaze falling upon Xu Qing. The other cultivators were likewise affected.

Xu Qing, upon whom all gazes converged, was momentarily lost in thought. He once again recalled the illusion shown by the true god. In the illusion, he had also gone to the battlefield! But the difference was that in the illusion, going to the battlefield was ten years later. Now, it was happening in the present. Ten years ahead of schedule.

“Why exactly did that true god’s illusion occur?” “Was it a coincidence...”

Xu Qing’s eyes darkened.