Chapter 1244: Fate Surges

Military merit is the primary assessment for cultivators to advance in the military. It is also the sole currency for exchanging resources in various war zones. Its significance and value are self-evident.

While acquiring military merit on the battlefield isn't extremely difficult, accumulating a million merits is an astonishing feat. To put it simply, it requires killing at least ten Divine Altar realm cultivators, or one peak Divine Altar realm cultivator, to reach that amount. As for ten million... only those who slay true gods can achieve it.

Now, simply providing the whereabouts of the Goddess offers a million military merits, and capturing her alive grants ten million. This kind of reward is extremely tempting to most cultivators. Not to mention, in addition to military merit, there's also Source Energy.

Source Energy is measured in 'fang' (a unit of volume). For instance, the collection mission Xu Qing and his team received from the Procurement Office was for a hundred fang! This shows that the ten fang of Source Energy rewarded for providing the Goddess's whereabouts is equivalent to one-tenth of their team's previous mission reward. And the hundred fang of Source Energy awarded for capturing her alive is, needless to say, astonishing.

So, if the military merits announced in this decree, which spread throughout the entire front line, could excite most cultivators, then the added Source Energy reward could intensely stir the hearts of even the most outstanding cultivators.

What truly moved the peak cultivators among these military elites, and even the quasi-immortal Grand Perfection cultivators within each legion, was... the title of True Lord!

True Lord is an honorific title unique to the Immortal Lord's disciples. It represents status, resources, and even future prospects. This was a clear message to everyone: whoever captured the Goddess alive could become a disciple of the Immortal Lord!

All these combined were enough to send 99% of cultivators into a frenzy. The remaining ones were primarily commanders from various factions who had reached the Lower Immortal realm, as well as guest elders from different legions. Their cultivation was profound, and their status surpassed that of other cultivators. Yet, at this moment, even they showed a strange glint in their eyes. Their hearts surged.

The reason for this was the final reward for capturing the Goddess: an Immortal Lord Dao Artifact! A supreme treasure imbued with the Immortal Lord's power, possessing an Immortal Lord-level aura! Such treasures are extremely rare, almost as scarce as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. Even Lower Immortals yearned for them immensely.

Therefore, the moment this decree was issued, the entire front line of the Left Wing War Zone was thrown into an uproar. Instantly, an unprecedented and comprehensive search effort erupted. All legions, all cultivators, even the corpse-scavenging teams, joined in, putting forth their full effort!

Those in the Lower Immortal realm not only searched personally but also issued orders to their scattered subordinates: report any clues immediately, and great rewards would be promised.

As the cultivators mobilized, on the battlefield where Xu Qing was, the group of ascended cultivators around him also showed a strange glint in their eyes, their hearts intensely stirred. Especially Xie Lingzi; his eyes were even a little red. For him, his incomplete blade was both the source of his power and the root of his restraint. This forced him to constantly suppress it; if he slackened, he would be controlled by the blade, becoming a puppet nurturing it. But once he could become a disciple of the Immortal Lord... everything would change!

Li Mengtu's breathing also quickened slightly. He wanted to escape the karmic ties with his master, the Poison Monarch, and the task within the decree... was his chance.

It wasn't just them; at this moment, Yuan Shansu and other ascended cultivators were also similarly affected. Each of them had struggles and dreams they didn't wish to tell others. Now, there was hope for release from their struggles and for the fulfillment of their dreams!

Qianjun Bi Yi was even more excited. The two brothers were actually much simpler; what they were thinking now was that if they became disciples of the Immortal Lord, then Xu Qing would have to treat them with utmost respect. The thought of this scene filled them with excitement.

Even Xing Huanzi showed a peculiar glint in his eyes. The rewards were simply too generous. At the same time, this bounty also made them realize that their previous judgment was correct. This Goddess was extremely important. This was clearly why she had to be captured alive.

Zhou Zhengli was also greatly tempted, but when his gaze swept over Xu Qing and he saw Xu Qing's unperturbed expression, his heart instantly calmed down. After a moment of thought, he secretly realized something was wrong, so he immediately spoke. "Everyone, don't be rash about this!"

His voice, like thunder, exploded and reverberated in the minds of the ascended cultivators, lingering for a long time. As they gazed at him, Zhou Zhengli's expression was solemn as he spoke in a low voice. "Everyone, given that Goddess's identity and importance, even if she's injured... we absolutely must not underestimate her! Her father god is, after all, the God Lord Lizhu! Goddesses of her kind must have too many life-saving methods, and they don't lack protectors, even if the battle report states that many of her protectors have died... But I still don't believe she has no other contingency plans! So, the greater the reward for this mission, the greater the life-or-death danger it represents!"

As soon as Zhou Zhengli spoke, Yuan Shansu and the others fell into contemplation, while Xie Lingzi's eyes flashed with a sharp glint. "Nonsense! We cultivators defy the heavens; what ever goes smoothly? We must contend; contend with people, contend with heaven, contend with gods!"

Zhou Zhengli snorted. "What we might face is a true god! The slightest carelessness could lead to the complete annihilation of our entire force." Hearing this, Xie Lingzi sneered, his gaze sweeping over the others. Soon, voices from everyone began to emerge, each expressing their own opinion. This was a habit they had cultivated after experiencing various events together. When facing a situation, they needed to summarize everything to make a correct judgment, until finally, the decision was left to Xu Qing.

While they debated whether to participate, Xu Qing remained silent, looking up at the distant starry sky. Within him, the emotional fluctuations from Little Shadow had resonated for a long time... "Master... Master... big!" "Big, fragrant!" Little Shadow diligently conveyed her perception to Xu Qing. An ethereal sense of destiny also rippled within Xu Qing's soul, growing stronger and stronger. From the moment he saw the battle report earlier, Xu Qing had already confirmed that his conjecture was correct: the scene from the God of Pain's True God Art had indeed appeared. There truly was a Goddess on this front line battlefield. And destiny, like a wave, had, as he expected, delivered that Goddess to them...

"Master, not far..." "She's hidden... but the shadow is strong, sensing, locked on!" Little Shadow was excited and thrilled, her emotions surging even more.

Meanwhile, Zhou Zhengli and the others' discussion came to an end. "If you're so afraid of death, why cultivate?!" "While there's danger, if we encounter her, we just need to report it immediately, and that still counts as military merit!" "Everyone, what we're saying now is actually meaningless. The front line is vast; our chances of encountering that Goddess are minuscule." "This is like searching for a needle in a haystack, of course, if we truly do encounter her, it's that Goddess's destiny!" "So..." As they spoke, everyone's gaze fell upon Xu Qing. Zhou Zhengli, after a light sigh, also looked at Xu Qing with fervent anticipation.

Xu Qing turned his head, withdrawing his gaze from the distant starry sky, and looked at the companions who had journeyed with him. "I might have a way to find that Goddess, but this journey will involve deaths." Xu Qing spoke calmly. As soon as he uttered these words, a strange look appeared in everyone's eyes.

Xing Huanzi gave Xu Qing a meaningful glance and spoke indifferently. "Before Zhou Zhengli said what he did, I didn't think we could truly encounter that Goddess." "But he said it... and now you've said it too." "The life and death of this journey are my own choice, and once successful... the gains will be shared among us!"

As Xing Huanzi spoke, Xie Lingzi laughed. "It is my choice as well!" Li Mengtu, Yuan Shansu, and the other ascended cultivators also gave affirmative answers, their thoughts turning.

Lastly, it was Qianjun Bi Yi. Although they were initially excited, Zhou Zhengli's earlier words hadn't swayed others, yet these two brothers, seemingly foolish but shrewd, were convinced. They had already felt an inclination to retreat. But now, seeing that everyone else agreed, they hesitated and immediately exchanged secret telepathic messages. "This Xu guy says he can find her? Is that true or false?!" "He said 'might'! I reckon he's saying it to show off, so if we don't find her, he can explain it away, but if we do, he'll claim it's all thanks to him! Humph, what's the harm in agreeing to such a simple trick?!" "Brother, you're so smart!" The two brothers, with an air of arrogance, immediately sent out a sword hum, indicating their willingness to take this risk!

Seeing that everyone agreed, a decisive glint appeared in Xu Qing's eyes. He turned and swiftly moved, following Little Shadow's guidance and the sense of destiny, directly towards the distant starry sky. Behind him, Xing Huanzi and the others whistled as they followed.

Time flowed on.

Days later.

In the Left Wing front line region, within the starry sky, a relatively small expanse of interstellar gas was drifting. It contained countless dust particles and unknown particles, forming a cloud-like mass, long and elongated in shape, with occasional flashes of electricity both inside and out. Such cloud masses are not uncommon in space. When their internal pressure increases, matter coalesces, and a sudden surge of heat forms, they can give birth to a sun. Simultaneously, they are also the gases dispersed before a sun's death. To some extent, one could say this was the last breath of a dying sun.

At this moment, hidden within this cloud mass were the Star-eyed Goddess, who was being hunted and searched for, and the old deity. They were exerting all their strength to conceal their auras, employing divine methods to hide within the cloud, and absorbing this 'last breath' of the sun to slowly heal their injuries. "This concealment art, coupled with the hidden energy of this place, should be able to mask us for a while, allowing us to rest temporarily. As for the cultivators, unless a Lower Immortal personally enters this cloud, it will be difficult for them to detect us." The old deity spoke slowly. "Luan Xia, have you tried to evoke the God-Emperor through your bloodline?"

The Goddess had been continuously cultivating. Hearing the question, she remained expressionless and did not open her divine eyes, only speaking in a calm voice. "No response." The old deity pondered, and after a while, was about to speak. But the next instant, a golden light suddenly flashed in his eyes, and he turned to gaze beyond the cloud mass. In the starry sky he looked upon, the void was twisted, and circular ripples suddenly appeared from afar, then amidst the layers of ripples, figures of cultivators dramatically pierced through. In an instant, they appeared outside the cloud mass. And then stood there, not departing! There were nineteen people in total. The one at the forefront was precisely Xu Qing!

The moment they appeared, Xu Qing's eyes shone brightly as he looked at the vast cloud mass before him. Simultaneously, inside the cloud mass, the Star-eyed Goddess beside the old deity felt an inexplicable tremor in her heart, and her divine eyes suddenly opened, looking outwards. Vaguely, it seemed as if her gaze converged with Xu Qing's, despite the cloud mass between them. And the guidance of destiny, at this instant, surged powerfully within Xu Qing's heart. There seemed to be a rumble of thunder. Furthermore, within his mind, the emotional fluctuations from Little Shadow reached an extreme of excitement, almost like a shriek. "God... God Lord... bloodline!!"