Chapter 1253: Time Has Come

Inside the Scarlet Giant Star, within the Flaming Pagoda, an immortal and a god, their destinies intertwined once more.

Xu Qing's eyes gleamed with a strange light, while the goddess's spirit was filled with despair. She had expected the human, whom she loathed to the core, to say something upon seeing her. So, instinctively, she wanted to speak first. "You..." But before she could finish, Xu Qing, wasting no time and uttering no words, raised his right hand. With a grab, the Star-Eyed Goddess's body was pulled by an immense force, instantly flying towards Xu Qing, where he seized her in a familiar grip. He gripped her by the neck!

Almost at the moment of contact, the goddess's inner terror erupted, and Xu Qing instinctively began to absorb her divine essence. Strands of divine essence continuously poured into Xu Qing's right hand, as the goddess's entire body trembled and the sensation of her soul being pulled away resurfaced. It integrated into his body, nourishing his immortal embryo, his soul, and his entire being. This long-lost sensation made Xu Qing's mood delightful. He had often reflected upon and savored the taste of the goddess during this period. Now, tasting it again, the circulation of his cultivation accelerated, and the silver light in his eyes shone even brighter.

As pain revisited the goddess, not only were her physical sensations intense, but her divine soul was even more so. The reality of being plunged back into a nightmare overturned the composure she had painstakingly regained. Thus, resentment reappeared, tens, even hundreds of times more intense than before. Xu Qing was familiar with this gaze. He ignored it, continuing to absorb.

After half an hour of absorption, the goddess's skin, which had just regained some luster, became shriveled again. The divine essence she had accumulated within her also vanished once more. Her condition was utterly weak. Only then did Xu Qing stop absorbing, somewhat satisfied. He released his grip, allowing the goddess, soft as mud from exhaustion, to collapse before him.

The goddess was weak, but her inner resentment was even stronger. She stared intensely at Xu Qing, but soon took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and when she reopened them, her resentment had vanished, replaced by bitterness. "I have met your Immortal Lord, and you have obtained what you desired. Now that an exchange has been chosen, I understand your reluctance. So, you absorb my essence, and I am powerless to resist. After all, gods and immortals are inherently opposed. If your immortals were to fall into our hands, they too would not escape torment. I can understand all this; it's a matter of stance. You and I have no personal grievances. Ultimately, I was captured by you because my divine arts were not proficient!" The goddess spoke hoarsely, with a hint of self-mockery, as if in the days she had been sent to the Immortal Lord, she had come to understand many things.

This was the first time Xu Qing had seen such a display from the goddess since capturing her. He glanced at the goddess. The goddess was calm, showing an air of frankness.

Looking at the goddess, Xu Qing suddenly spoke. "You used to show unmasked resentment because you were in despair, believing you would surely die. Now you begin to mask it because hope is within reach. You don't want to take any risks, so you're afraid of provoking me into directly killing you, thus turning your hope back into despair." As Xu Qing's words fell, the goddess's pupils constricted. And Xu Qing's voice continued to calmly echo. "The exchange is imminent. I know, and you know, that I cannot kill you. So there's no need for you to feign weakness like this. Compared to this state, I'm more accustomed to your resentment. And what you'll do after you return, I don't need to spell it out; you won't let this matter go. However, your words have reminded me..."

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes. As he raised his right hand, the power of Extreme Gold suddenly shone, appearing in the void and forming golden threads. Then, the power of Wood spread, reinforcing them. Next, Water, Fire, and Earth — all three powers emerged simultaneously. Using the Five Extremes Dao, he transformed them into a void cage! Furthermore, time served as a seal, and space as a cause, settling around the four directions, making the cage even more profound. Finally... Xu Qing's Time-Space Constitution also descended at this moment. It added a lock to this cage!

With a rumble, it enveloped the goddess, imprisoning her within this illusory cage. After doing this, Xu Qing felt it wasn't enough. So, with a wave of his hand, the Heavenly Principle emerged, adding weight and materializing the cage. Then, as the goddess's expression changed, Xu Qing formed a hand seal and pointed to his glabella. Immediately, his immortal embryo manifested, emitting a vast immortal aura, from which the Aurora Immortal Palace emerged. It overlaid the cage!

With booming sounds reverberating, the goddess's expression changed completely. But all this was not the end. After the Eight Extremes Dao that formed the cage, Xu Qing's Ninth Extreme, the Parallel Constitution, suddenly appeared. It caused everything to overlap, transforming dozens of different spatiotemporal powers into chains that suppress gods, flying out from nothingness directly towards the goddess. As her agonizing cries echoed, these dozens of chains from different times and spaces actually pierced through the goddess's scapulas, lifting her bodily!

The Star-Eyed Goddess wanted to struggle, but each time she did, immortal runes lit up on the chains. This created an intense stimulus, turning the turmoil within the goddess's heart into a storm. It tore away her facade, causing the endless resentment, which could have filled an abyss, to erupt anew. "Xu Qing, I swear I will kill you! Not just you, but all your family, all your bloodline, all your friends—they will all die horribly because of you!!"

Xu Qing remained expressionless, watching the provoked goddess and observing the essence within her body. He soon discovered that the essence, which had been depleted, had reappeared under this stimulation. He nodded in satisfaction, raising his hand to absorb again.

This scene made the goddess realize that Xu Qing's previous actions were solely to provoke her into regenerating essence. Such an act also reawakened her terrifying memories of being escorted by Xu Qing. Her cries grew sharp with agony. "You are a nightmare! You are not an immortal, you are a demon!!"

"I'm very curious about the true reason behind your divine essence, which seems to regenerate endlessly within your body." After emptying the goddess of her essence once more, Xu Qing spoke calmly. His fingertip unconsciously traced the goddess's pale nape. A faint glint appeared in his eyes, and immediately a wisp of divine sense seeped through his finger into the goddess's body. It traversed her flesh, bones, even her divine soul, and the divinity hidden within her divine soul...

Xu Qing had attempted this method before, but failed due to his cultivation level. Now, his cultivation had improved, and the goddess had been sent to the Immortal Lord. Xu Qing believed there was a certain probability that the Immortal Lord's probing would have left traces. So he wanted to try again to see if he could find these traces and uncover the goddess's secrets.

And this time... he clearly felt it was much smoother. His divine sense quickly entered the goddess's divine soul and saw the fragmented traces there. Previously, during Xu Qing's earlier probes, this area had been extremely solid, utterly untouchable. But now it was riddled with holes! This made Xu Qing's divine sense flow in smoothly. It quickly spread to the depths, where he vaguely perceived a crystalline body that seemed neither illusory nor real, neither solid nor insubstantial! It somewhat resembled materialized luck, but also didn't. Mystery coiled within it, but it was also riddled with cracks... Although it appeared on the verge of collapse at any moment, Xu Qing, by merely sensing it, felt as if he had seen everything in the Fourth Star Ring. Terrifying pressure, a vast aura.

This sight shocked Xu Qing's mind, but after a moment of hesitation, he was decisive. His divine sense sharply pierced into it! The crystalline body suddenly vibrated violently, and an indescribably vast power erupted within it, sweeping outwards as if to destroy everything. Xu Qing's divine sense immediately collapsed, and his finger recoiled from the goddess's nape.

At the same time, the goddess, as if spurred by this stimulation, generated new strength. She suddenly turned her head, her pupils transforming into burning nebular vortices. "How dare you steal the divine authority my Father God bestowed upon me!" This voice was like thunder, not the goddess's original voice, but a divine sound formed by the convergence of countless voices. The moment it was uttered, nine golden lightning bolts suddenly split the surrounding void and shot towards Xu Qing. However, upon touching Xu Qing, an ancient will emanating from the goddess shattered the lightning. Afterward, the goddess herself withered, barely clinging to life.

As for the will emanating from her, Xu Qing instantly recognized it; it contained a vast immortal aura, surpassing that of a Lower Immortal. "That's a seal left within the goddess, originating from the Immortal Lord!" Xu Qing looked thoughtful, lowering his gaze to his recoiling right index finger. On his fingertip, there was a small black spot, in the process of dissipating. If one were to magnify it, one could see that this black spot was composed of countless dense, dark-golden patterns. Vaguely, it seemed as if countless stars were annihilating and regenerating within this black spot.

Gazing at the black spot, a strange light gleamed in Xu Qing's eyes. "This is the secret to her endless divine essence."

Meanwhile, outside... As the exchange time approached, the voice of the General Lord echoed in the minds of all cultivators. "The hour has arrived. The army departs!"

As the voice resounded, the Scarlet Giant Star let out a roar that shook the starry sky! It... began to move! Surrounded by thousands of legions, dense and numerous, it moved forward together. The scene was vast, its momentum shaking heaven and earth. The starry sky rippled, the universe trembled, and the star regions distorted. A massive star-region-level teleportation, at this very moment... suddenly commenced.

This grand exchange, with its immense spectacle, was to take place in the left-wing battle zone between the Fourth Interstellar and Fifth Star Rings. The chosen location was filled with shattered stars and countless meteorites. Furthermore, stellar explosions born from dust constantly spread throughout this area. Besides, black and white churned in this endless region. Within the black area, countless deities were visible, their emitted alien essence solidifying the blackness. Numerous divine authorities converged, forming a weight that seemed unbearable for the starry sky, causing cracks to appear below. On the white side, armies gathered, radiating a solemn killing intent and exploding with immortal aura. Their numbers were vast and dense; each individual was solemn, each brimming with fierce killing intent. Not just the left-wing front lines had gathered here, but the entirety of the left-wing army, and even forces from the central wing. Even True Monarch Jidao, the chief disciple of Immortal Lord Zhan Lu, and the returned Ling Ke... were among them!

Above the armies of both sides, black and white intermingled, with thunder and lightning constantly roaring. Vaguely, two figures capable of suppressing everything appeared indistinctly within, their might unparalleled.

And just as both sides stood in silent confrontation, ripples appeared in the starry sky on the cultivators' side, and the Scarlet Giant Star, along with the armies surrounding it, suddenly... teleported in! The moment the star appeared, it instantly drew the gaze of all immortals and gods!

Meanwhile, inside the Flaming Pagoda of that star, Xu Qing, who was sitting cross-legged, heard a solemn voice. "Xu Qing, bring the goddess out!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Qing calmly stood up. He raised his right hand and grabbed the air, causing the chains formed by his Constitution to fall into his grasp. Dragging the cage... he walked out of the Flaming Pagoda.