Chapter 1246: Battle with the True God

This was not Xu Qing's first time seeing a true god, but it was his first encounter with a true god in the genuine sense.

The God of Suffering, Bimolth, whom he had encountered previously, was still in the process of returning and thus incomplete. Many details of a true god had not been fully manifested by Bimolth, such as a divine temple, the god residing within, and a complete divine persona.

"The true form of this being is the god within the temple. Its body is almost broken at the waist, clearly indicating an attack from Immortal Lord Lingke. This god... has been severely wounded!"

Xu Qing suddenly retreated, his eyes sharp, locking onto the divine temple. The other Ascension Realm cultivators around him also unleashed their cultivation, all following suit.

At this moment, the divine temple rumbled, emitting brilliant golden light. Although the temple was largely dilapidated, the divine might emanating from the god within was as vast as the sea. As the deity emerged, it erupted outwards with a deafening roar.

This might was overwhelming, carrying an annihilating force, forming a storm of divine breath. It swept across all directions. The starry sky twisted, the void shattered, and Xu Qing and his group felt their minds intensely churn.

A tremor, seemingly from primal instinct and the soul, uncontrollably surged, becoming seeds of fear deeply planted in their consciousness.

Then, as the divine sound echoed: "Fear!" With the divine sound, the seeds instantly grew, flowered, and bore fruit, spreading fear throughout their bodies.

The next instant, everyone spat out fresh blood, and strange mutations occurred. Their bodies grew scales, arms became elongated, faces twisted, and fangs emerged from their mouths. Their appearances were forcibly transformed into that of the deity!

Furthermore, within their minds, as the fear blossomed, the sensation of terror churned like an overwhelming sea. It seemed poised to corrupt even their souls. Once completed, though not complete annihilation of body and spirit, it would be almost the same, because what remained would no longer be them, but rather followers and vessels for that true god!

This was the formidable power of a true god. But clearly, the severe wounds from Immortal Lord Lingke and the suppression by immortal spiritual essence left this true god in an extremely poor state, merely maintaining its current existence. If it were suppressing ordinary cultivators, it might have been fine, its weakness not so apparent. But Xu Qing and his group were far from ordinary individuals.

So, the moment the true god's power spread and erupted, Xu Qing and the others each unleashed their trump cards. Whether it was Li Mengtu's potent venom after ascending to Quasi-Immortal, the mysterious broken blade in Evil Spirit Child's hand, or Zhou Zhengli's Eye of Foresight, all demonstrated their utmost defensive capabilities at this moment. Xing Huanzi, Yuan Shansu, and Qian Jun Biyi also gave their full effort, suppressing the mutations.

Moreover, their formation did not descend into chaos; instead, they orderly encircled Xu Qing. The defenses formed by their individual trump cards were not merely for self-protection. They spread out, layering upon everyone, almost merging into one, completely enveloping Xu Qing, who was protected at the center! It was as if layers of barriers formed outside Xu Qing's body! This meant Xu Qing, within the barriers, didn't need to consider defense. The only thing he needed to do... was attack!

This was the combat strategy they had devised on their journey. Xu Qing was the strongest among them, so the core of their battle plan was to empower Xu Qing.

So, the next instant, even as their bodies mutated, their souls faced corruption, and their consciousnesses were permeated with fear, yet they continued to exert their full protective efforts. Simultaneously, within Xu Qing, his Immortal Embryo manifested with a roar.

The colossal body of the Immortal Embryo instantly spanned all directions, standing firm in the starry sky. Within it, the Aurora Immortal Palace shone brightly. The Immortal Embryo's hand also rose, abruptly descending towards the divine temple.

The starry sky trembled, and pressure surged anew. The massive Immortal Embryo hand descended with astonishing momentum in an instant. But just as it was about to touch the divine temple, the true god within the temple had already emerged. Its twisted body, almost broken at the waist, was utterly bizarre. It raised a long, slender arm and abruptly pointed at the approaching Immortal Embryo hand.

The true god's power erupted once more. Under that single point, Xu Qing's Immortal Embryo rumbled, becoming blurred. Alien matter rapidly proliferated within it, quickly decomposing, and before it could fully descend, it had already collapsed. The resulting backlash and severe injuries instantly surged into Xu Qing, then were distributed among the group. Consequently, each of them spat out blood, their auras violently fluctuating.

Xu Qing's eyes were bloodshot, and he re-converged his Immortal Embryo.

The true god, with a flicker of its body, directly vanished, reappearing startlingly before the group, pressing its slender hand forward. The sense of fear surged once more, accompanied by the true god's might, which descended invisibly like an overwhelming mountain. Rumbling sounds instantly echoed.

Xu Qing and the others turned pale, blood stained their bodies, their forms withered, and their souls twisted, undergoing severe corruption. All their various defenses were dissolving. Li Mengtu's venom continued to thin. Zhou Zhengli's eye had already shattered. Xing Huanzi's iron chains continued to crumble. Qian Jun Biyi even let out a wail. Even two other Ascension Realm cultivators had reached their limit, their life flames almost extinguished. Yet, they persisted, regardless of the cost, even activating secret techniques to forcefully stimulate themselves.

This scene caused the true god to frown. Its state was extremely poor; its previous few actions had been forced. And while these individuals before it weren't Lesser Immortals, they were all Quasi-Immortals, and each was extraordinary. Especially the person they were protecting, whose Immortal Embryo power, though negligible to the god at its full strength, was now perceived as a danger in its weakened state. Furthermore, time was another point of immense concern for it. This battle had to be concluded quickly.

So, the true god's gaze swept across, looking at the goddess in the distance who had been observing the battle all along.

"Luanxia, join me!"

Xing Mou heard this and raised her foot, but just as it was about to land, a faint glow flickered in her eyes. Although her foot still landed, it was not forward, but rather a few steps back. Beneath her feet, a divine teleportation array faintly appeared. This array was even activated!

Her gaze fell upon Xu Qing, the one who made her feel the most apprehension, and she suddenly spoke. "This array will be complete in twenty breaths!"

As these words came out, Xu Qing suddenly looked up, his eyes narrowed, recognizing the goddess's determination. It wasn't just him; Zhou Zhengli, Xing Huanzi, and the others, amidst their mutations, their pain, their soul's corruption, and their extreme persistence, also looked up, each frowning.

Xu Qing sighed lightly. Most of the group, except Qian Jun Biyi, felt regret. This was because they had a plan on the way here: working together, they could unleash an attack considered their strongest trump card! This was a killing blow, but they only had one chance! Therefore, for them, the best progression for this battle would have been for the goddess to also join, fighting alongside the true god. That way, they wouldn't waste this killing move. But the goddess was so resolute; even in their current state, where the goddess could instantly obliterate them by collaborating with the true god... She still wouldn't join! And their current state wasn't feigned; they truly couldn't hold on any longer...

Xu Qing immediately made a decisive choice. Killing intent suddenly erupted in his eyes. The previously collapsed Immortal Embryo, as his cultivation surged, reformed once more. And this time... not only did the Aurora Immortal Palace shine within it, but there was also an iron skewer! It radiated sharpness from within the Immortal Palace!

Furthermore, there were the Constitutions of everyone else! Xing Huanzi's Order and Balance, combined with Heavenly Law, all settled upon this iron skewer. Zhou Zhengli's Eye of Foresight became a stream of light, coiling around the skewer. And Li Mengtu, Yuan Shansu, Evil Spirit Child, and all other Ascension Realm cultivators' unique Constitutions transformed into streams of light at this instant, coiling around it together. And Qian Jun Biyi transformed into an immortal sword, fusing with the iron skewer. Collecting the might of all Quasi-Immortals, the iron skewer shone with a light that brightened even the starry sky. Furthermore, nourished by Xu Qing's Immortal Embryo, the skewer's power was world-shattering.

And it wasn't over... The next instant, within the Immortal Embryo, the Azure Heaven descended!! As that patch of Azure Heaven appeared, the starry sky rumbled, and even the true god's expression changed. And vaguely, a vortex could be seen in the Azure Heaven, and within the vortex, a coffin surprisingly rose! Inside the coffin lay none other than the God of Suffering! Its divine might was also drawn out and integrated into the iron skewer. For a moment, the iron skewer displayed on the battlefield erupted with earth-shattering momentum.

And it still wasn't over. The next instant, Xu Qing's Spacetime Constitution overlapped and emerged, and amidst the rumbling, images from countless slices of spacetime all projected the scene of the iron skewer gathering momentum. So, looking around, in the numerous spacetimes surrounding Xu Qing, an iron skewer shockingly appeared in each! Over a hundred iron skewers, as Xu Qing's killing intent intensified, with a wave of his hand, instantly pierced through their respective spacetimes and converged on this battlefield! One hundred skewers became a single nail!

Then, this nail, carrying ultimate power, imbued with the strength of the entire group, empowered by nineteen Constitutions, by the power of the aurora, and by the momentum of the Azure Heaven, abruptly shot towards the true god! It couldn't be described by speed, because the moment the nail charged forth, what the group actually witnessed was merely an afterimage from the past. What happened in the present and future was that this nail had already been driven into the true god's body! It pierced deeply into the already severely wounded part of its body, near its almost broken waist!

A piercing shriek rose overwhelmingly. The true god trembled, all divine might within its body instantly spiraled into chaos, its divine temple collapsed, and its divine persona dimmed in an instant. Divine blood gushed forth. But it was a true god after all. The trump card unleashed by Xu Qing and the others, though powerful, made it exceedingly difficult to kill a true god, even one extremely weakened and severely injured. Unless, like the God of Suffering, it was in the process of returning, because by disrupting that return, victory could be achieved.

Therefore, the explosion of this nail did not cause the true god to perish. But... its true god state was directly shattered! Its aura sharply diminished, and its realm plummeted! As a result, the power of its divine art of fear also greatly diminished, causing the abnormalities on everyone's bodies to instantly reverse.

All this, though taking long to describe, happened in the blink of an eye. At this moment, as the piercing shriek echoed, the old god, whose realm had fallen, showed intense killing intent in its eyes, poised to counterattack. But at that very moment, its pupils suddenly contracted, and its body abruptly retreated. Because... in the distant starry sky, streaks of cultivators' auras were rapidly approaching. It was the Thought Scale Army, who had received Xu Qing and the others' earlier message. They were arriving!

Seeing this, the old god dashed straight for the teleportation array where the goddess was. But... almost the instant it retreated, Goddess Xing Mou, standing within the teleportation array, suddenly spoke in a cold voice. "Self-destruct and kill this person! Your resurrection will be your own, and my Father God will personally guide you! This is my promise to you, made with my own bloodline!" Xing Mou raised a hand and pointed at Xu Qing!

The old god's body suddenly paused.