Chapter 1258: Star Ring in a Different Land

The sky, like a smoky-colored curtain, was boundless.

No sun or moon was visible, as if there was no distinction between day and night here. Only three hundred and sixty emerald-colored halos, like bracelets, floated in the dome, emitting a soft light.

This was a star in an unknown universe.

It had seas, land, mountains, and islands.

However, the sea was an ocean of liquid phosphorescence.

The land was a boneyard of stars formed from cosmic dust.

The mountains were heterogeneous manifestations of amethyst.

As for the islands, they were not in the sea, but suspended outside the cliffs of the amethyst mountain ranges.

They were hanging islands woven from light-eating vines along the cliff edges.

These translucent plants, with roots seemingly able to pierce the vacuum and draw sustenance from the unknown, appeared as if out of thin air.

Just like the figure that now appeared out of nowhere on one of these islands.

Dressed in a tattered Daoist robe, with disheveled long hair, a blood-stained face, and a weak aura, the figure, nearly unconscious, suddenly materialized and landed on the vine-woven island.

The moment it touched down, winds from a different space-time spread out from around the figure, causing the vine island to shake violently and visibly corrode.

It ultimately couldn't withstand the force and was pierced through by the figure.

With a crash, the figure broke through the island and slammed into the forest below the cliff.

This forest was vast, but for some reason, all the trees within a hundred-zhang radius of where the figure landed instantly disintegrated, transforming into large clouds of sparkling stardust that rose high, engulfing the fallen person.

Amidst the dust, it was faintly discernible that the figure was not alone; in his hand... he was clutching another person.

Even in his unconscious state, his grip was exceptionally strong, clenching tightly, ensuring the one he held remained unconscious as well.

Soon, silence returned to the surroundings.

The stirred-up dust slowly settled, re-converging to fill the hundred-zhang clearing, making the forest whole again.

The vegetation of this forest was not actually real; it was formed from dust!

They exhaled and inhaled starlight from the cosmos, floating between heaven and earth, seemingly following an ancient law. From this starlight, they absorbed memories, replaying scenes recorded within the starlight within the forest they composed.

Time slowly passed.

The sky gradually began to rain.

However, the rain was not conventional; it consisted of billions of phosphorescent wisps formed in the star's thin atmosphere, drifting down.

From a distance, it seemed as if deities in the void were tearing scriptures into fragmented pages.

These fragments burned between heaven and earth, emitting light that surpassed the firmament, echoing with murmurs of divine sounds.

"Hui Zhu... Hui Zhu..."

As the murmurs spread, blurry figures coalesced from the burning radiance of the fragmented pages, gradually becoming clear.

These figures all had the same appearance.

Their bodies were formed from light, genderless, woven entirely from radiance, with twelve pairs of light wings fanning out behind them into iridescent vortices.

They formed from the firmament, walking in all directions while murmuring.

Wherever they passed, the dust of the earth rose, becoming a wailing wind that stirred up ripples for them.

Amethyst mountain ranges vibrated in resonance, emitting ancient, buzzing sounds like Qiang flutes, playing welcoming music for them.

The liquid phosphorescent ocean also raised countless gelatinous glowing pillars, forming flowing staircases that danced for them.

Even the vine-woven islands saw their plants secrete golden sap, solidifying into hexagonal crystalline prisms that seemed to record cosmic laws. These crystals then ascended one by one, as if offerings.

As for the forest below the islands, it too completely disintegrated at this moment, becoming a swirling sandstorm that prostrated before them.

Amidst this sand, only the fallen person lay motionless.

But soon... the eyelashes of the woman clutched in this person's hand fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes.

After seeing her surroundings, she first froze, then her eyes showed surprise, followed by a swift glance at the person beside her, seemingly with some hesitation and apprehension.

So she didn't act rashly but opened her mouth towards the distant light figures in the firmament, as if to transmit a divine sound.

She was sealed, unable to project her divine sense, but if she could utter a divine sound at this moment, she was confident it would instantly draw the Spirit Gods.

But just as the sound was about to escape her mouth... the hand clutching her neck suddenly stiffened, a powerful force surging within it, re-constricting her throat and preventing any sound from escaping.

The goddess's body trembled. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Xu Qing beside her, who had now opened his eyes.

She dared not struggle, remaining perfectly still.

Xu Qing was expressionless, also motionless.

Only after the light figures in the firmament had completely receded, and everything around them returned to normal, did he look at the goddess, then sharply inhaled.

The goddess despaired. A terrifying suction raged within her body. In an instant, the nascent primordial energy within her was completely drawn out, leaving her limp.

Then, with a raise of Xu Qing's hand, her voice was sealed, other seals were reinforced, and finally, she was restrained as if hog-tied and put away.

Having done this, Xu Qing cautiously spread his divine sense to observe the surroundings.

Gradually, his expression turned somber. After a moment of silence, he spoke softly.

"Thank you."

"No need to thank me, Young Master; we're beyond formalities."

Mud Fox's voice was a bit weak, but the seductive undertone within it remained clear.

She naturally knew why Xu Qing was thanking her: the moment they fell onto this star, upon sensing the anomaly here, she had voluntarily spread her divine aura to shield Xu Qing.

It was also she who perceived the goddess's abnormality and, at the cost of her own divine source, accelerated Xu Qing's awakening, averting the recent danger.

"Next, I'll still need you to continue bolstering me."

Xu Qing said softly, then closed his eyes and began to meditate, starting his recovery.

He had some guesses about their location, but whether it was to pinpoint the exact place or to leave, it all required the support of his cultivation.

Therefore, he understood that the most important task before him now was to restore his cultivation.

His injuries were severe; both the cost of previously using the Dao artifact and the dangers within the spatial turbulence had left him extremely weak.

Fortunately... his primordial energy reserves were sufficient.

The rewards from capturing the goddess were enough to restore his cultivation, not to mention that through the Aurora Immortal Palace, he could continuously absorb primordial energy from the God of Agony, and... the goddess herself.

Especially the latter, which seemed inexhaustible to Xu Qing, both in the past and present, truly a supreme treasure.

Thus, time flowed by.

Half a month passed in a flash.

During this half-month, shielded by Mud Fox's divine aura, Xu Qing absorbed primordial energy within the dust forest, continuously healing. In this time, the forest wove even more ancient scenes, and the firmament experienced another rain.

Observing the light figures with twelve wings, Xu Qing sensed a divine aura within them.

However, they seemed somewhat different from the deities he had previously encountered.

Yet, before fully restoring his cultivation to a certain level, Xu Qing decided not to investigate further and continued healing.

Another ten days passed.

Xu Qing, who had been meditating cross-legged, suddenly opened his eyes, which glowed brightly. His cultivation... had recovered by seventy percent.

The remaining damage was the burden on his soul from wielding the Dao artifact, which would take longer to heal.

But Xu Qing had a feeling that once fully recovered, his soul would be even purer than before, as if tempered.

"Then, let's see where this place truly is!"

Xu Qing raised his head, a sharp glint in his eyes. The next instant, his divine sense, concealed by Mud Fox's divine aura, erupted, sweeping out in all directions, instantaneously covering the entire star and even extending into space.

Dense heterogeneous matter, divine fluctuations.

All of this could not possibly be the Fifth Star Ring.

Although he had made initial guesses and judgments based on the surrounding environment upon waking, after truly sensing the full scope, he still sighed inwardly.

This was an unfamiliar starscape.

Recalling the goddess's surprise upon waking earlier, Xu Qing finally had to conclude that this was very likely the Fourth Star Ring.

As for the star he was currently on...

Xu Qing's divine sense looked down. This star was located at the edge of a dust nebula.

The star itself was emerald-colored. As it slowly rotated, a faint, living-like breath could be heard undulating within its rock layers.

On the surface, there was a crystalline plain inhabited by countless scale-oxen with bat wings.

Their scales were unique, able to resonate with the earth's meridians, and when they flapped their wings, they shed tiny specks of light.

Even stranger, they possessed intelligence, had their own civilization, and formed kingdoms.

They built temples, worshipping their tribal deity and making daily sacrifices.

This deity appeared as a glowing butterfly.

It was not a true god, merely a divine platform. Xu Qing witnessed a dying scale-ox prostrating before the temple, gradually transforming into a glowing butterfly-like creature and merging into the temple.

And this was not the only place where deities resided.

Far from the scale-oxen population, there was a vast fluorescent fungal mat!

They sang in the wind, forming vast underground kingdoms with their mycelia, bathing in celestial fire, burning themselves into rising blue mist.

Within that mist, mist mayflies, feeding on sound waves, floated, and through their transparent abdomens, the deity of their race could be seen seated cross-legged.

Humanoid beings also existed on this star.

They lived in the electromagnetically active southwestern part of the star, building their dwellings on mobile crystal cluster forests.

These forests subsisted by devouring lightning, and the arcs of light emitted when they split were considered divine punishment by these humanoid lives.

Perhaps it truly was divine punishment, for Xu Qing's divine sense clearly perceived that the lightning indeed harbored a divine aura.

Besides all this, what interested Xu Qing the most were the three hundred and sixty emerald-colored halos in the firmament, the source of the twelve-winged light figures... where ancient temples seemed to exist.

However, most of them were dim.

"No true gods... quite suitable for concealment then."

After a long while, Xu Qing retracted his divine sense. After contemplating, he decided to completely restore his cultivation on this star before considering departure.

With a flicker, his body vanished from the dust forest.

When he reappeared, he was inside an amethyst mountain range, where he had opened up a cave dwelling and was meditating cross-legged.

Time passed once more.

Outside, the star rotated, and celestial fire descended periodically.

The scale-oxen performed their sacrifices thirty times, and their tribal deity grew increasingly radiant.

The fungal mat's chanting repeatedly became a requiem of self-immolation in the celestial fire, causing the mist to churn and dance in the sky.

The dust forest continuously manifested starlight memories, weaving them from stardust.

During this period, the forest absorbed from the starlight images of an unknown human civilization.

In the images, a white-haired cultivator, cradling his dying wife, fell into extreme grief and madness, roaring at the firmament, then soaring into the heavens, seemingly battling the Dao of Heaven!

His voice could not be heard, but the madness in the scene dyed the surroundings of the dust forest a bloody red.

As for Xu Qing's cultivation, it had recovered to ninety percent over this month.

And as he was immersed in this cultivation, progressing towards full recovery, on this day...

Deep within the star's underground earth veins, amidst their rhythmic breathing, a strange sound suddenly joined in.

"By order of Emperor Lizhu: A human immortal cultivator has fled with a goddess. To all deities throughout the Fourth Star Ring's countless star systems, whoever locates this person shall be granted one hundred units of primordial essence. Whoever captures them alive shall be granted a Divine Lord Dao artifact!"

Accompanying this sound was a terrifying divine sense, sweeping from the starry sky towards this star!