Chapter 1270: Came? Came

"The Profound Ghost God Refining Art! This secret technique is incredibly domineering, capable of forcibly refining the essence of true gods!"

Xu Qing looked up, gazing in all directions, and the fog in his heart, as if a wind had swept through, finally dispersed somewhat.

He then put away the divine art and switched to a common collection method, attempting it on the divine corpse to make a final confirmation.

The result matched his judgment: he found nothing.

"It's exactly as I thought!"

"To collect a true god's essence, one either needs the suppressive power of the Aurora Heaven Beyond Heavens, or it's only possible after their cultivation realm has significantly declined, like the Goddess."

"Furthermore, of those two, one had mostly returned but was incomplete, and the other had been severely wounded, making it difficult to recover her realm."

"As for this divine corpse, after death, its essence became dim, devoured by Origin Aberrations and absorbed by the Mother Star... Therefore, ordinary collection methods yield nothing. Only the Profound Ghost God Refining Art, with its domineering nature, can plunder a small amount."

"With this method, I can counteract the absorption of my essence here, allowing me to stay for a longer duration."

"However, the Immortal Venerable's goal cannot simply be to have me absorb divine corpses here to improve my cultivation and realm!"

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes. In his view, the Immortal Venerable's layered plans must involve profound schemes.

"Most likely, I'm just one part of his plan, or perhaps an auxiliary!"

"And staying here is merely the foundation..."

"In other words, regarding the Immortal Venerable's plan, I don't need to overthink it. If I simply proceed, perhaps its true purpose will reveal itself to me unexpectedly."

"But this feeling is very unpleasant!"

Xu Qing fell silent. He disliked having his destiny manipulated, even if the manipulator was an Immortal Venerable.

Yet, introspection showed that ever since he arrived at the Fifth Astral Ring from the Ancient Continent, although everything was indeed due to his own efforts, the unseen gaze of the Immortal Venerable had undeniably spared him a great deal of trouble.

Xu Qing had felt this throughout his journey.

He sighed softly, then transferred a portion of the absorbed essence to the Mud Fox, ensuring that both could counteract the depletion in this place. After that, he sat cross-legged and absorbed with all his might.

Several days later, as the divine corpse fully sank beneath the glacier, Xu Qing's body flickered under the blue gaze of the Origin Aberrations, and he ascended into the sky.

He sped through the air above the Primitive Mother Star.

"The refined essence is enough to keep me and the Mud Fox safe for the next few days..."

"Next, I might as well explore this place more extensively."

"If I can find a way out, that would naturally be best."

"As for the Immortal Venerable's plan... I'll consider it a repayment."

"However, until the Immortal Venerable's plan manifests, cultivation must remain my priority."

Having made his decision, Xu Qing, while speeding through the air, also transferred a portion of the essence into the Goddess's body.

"The Goddess... cannot die yet."

"Because dying here, she would be valueless."

In Xu Qing's mind, even if she were to die, she must provide him with sufficient benefit to make her death worthwhile.

Thus, time flowed, and half a month passed.

Since the Primitive Mother Star had no distinction between day and night, with perpetual eerie green moonlight, Xu Qing calculated time according to the Ancient Continent's standards.

During this half-month, he witnessed divine corpses repeatedly falling from the sky. Most disintegrated into dust mid-air, but a few, those who had reached the Divine Platform realm, did not fully decompose, becoming remnants that landed on the glaciers and slowly sank.

"It seems the Goddess did not conceal anything on this point... Deities below the True God realm, after divine decay, also return here to become nourishment."

"Only true gods' corpses can fall completely intact."

"Therefore, rather than calling this the Primitive Mother Star, it's more like a Corpse Star, akin to the Underworld."

Xu Qing gazed at a God of Divine Fire whose body turned to ash in the sky, muttering to himself.

Behind him lay a collapsing glacier, beneath which countless Origin Aberrations stared fixedly at him.

Through the Origin Aberrations, a divine temple could be faintly seen at the very bottom of the glacier, illuminated by fragmented moonlight filtering through the ice.

After a moment, Xu Qing retracted his gaze, looked at the glacier, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

In these two weeks, he had explored not only the surface of the glacier but also beneath it, finding three locations of divine temples.

Without exception, endless corpses and countless Origin Beasts surrounded each temple.

Xu Qing, regardless of the essence consumption, unleashed his combat power and forced his way in. Inside all three temples, he found bronze gates.

Unfortunately, no matter how he tried to activate them, all three bronze gates, like the first one he encountered, remained unresponsive.

"It seems that the temple gates, while a way to enter this place, are not an exit."

Xu Qing made this determination, then scanned the Origin Beasts, forming another judgment in his mind.

"There must be some connection between the temples and the Origin Beasts."

Xu Qing had no answer to this question yet, so as he pondered, his body flickered, and he ascended into the sky once more, moving away.

He needed to find the fallen divine corpses to replenish his own and the Mud Fox's lost essence, thereby gaining more time.

He had spent the past half-month doing exactly this.

Although he hadn't seen another true god's corpse like the first one in the past two weeks, there were still scattered remnants.

Even though they couldn't provide abundant essence like a true god's corpse, allowing him to sustain himself for several days at once, absorbing many remnants could still barely replenish his supply.

This enabled him to continue exploring the area.

Thus, days passed again. Xu Qing's exploration range on the Primitive Mother Star grew ever wider with the continuous replenishment of essence. However, on the glacier's surface, nothing had changed.

It remained black and boundless.

Other than the Origin Aberrations beneath the glacier and the occasional remnants falling from the sky, there was nothing else.

The entire world seemed to contain only him as a normal life, eternally flying between heaven and earth.

Until... one day, as Xu Qing's senses were becoming numb from the unchanging environment, he, who was speeding through the sky, suddenly paused, his gaze fixed on the distance.

In that instant, his eyes gleamed sharply.

"That is..."

At the limits of his vision, a massive crack had appeared on the black glacier!

Like a grand canyon, it was a shocking sight.

This was the first time Xu Qing had seen a different geographical feature in this month!

This discovery invigorated Xu Qing. He accelerated, transforming into a streaking meteor in the air, instantly traversing the void, and reappearing above the canyon!

Looking down, the canyon was so vast it seemed like a scar on the earth. Its length and depth both exceeded the range of Xu Qing's perception.

What was even more astonishing, even causing Xu Qing's mind to churn...

Was that within the canyon, on both ice walls, countless bronze gates were embedded from top to bottom.

Some gates were sealed within the ice, some were partially exposed, and a few were fully revealed.

If it were just this, it wouldn't have shaken Xu Qing's mind. What truly made his pupils contract was the sight of unique Origin Aberrations sitting cross-legged outside the fully revealed bronze gates!

These Origin Aberrations didn't just have blue arms; their entire bodies were covered in blue ice, making their appearance extremely close to the one inside his Senior Brother.

"No, the one inside Senior Brother is deep blue, while these... are light blue!"

The moment he saw these Origin Aberrations, Xu Qing's vigilance surged intensely.

He had fought these Origin Beasts more than once and knew their characteristics and how troublesome they were. This was also his first encounter with Origin Beasts that were entirely light blue.

And there were so many of them.

Almost simultaneously with Xu Qing looking at them, many of these Origin Beasts, sitting cross-legged outside the bronze gates, raised their heads, their blue eyes coldly staring at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing made no rash moves. As for the Origin Beasts, they also made no other movements, simply watching Xu Qing.

After a while, Xu Qing slowly retreated, and some of the Origin Beasts withdrew their gazes.

"They can't get out..."

Combining this with his previous experiences, Xu Qing made a judgment: he also knew that entering this canyon would be extremely dangerous.

"But why are they all sitting outside those fully revealed bronze gates?"

Xu Qing frowned. After a moment, he simply sat cross-legged in the air, silently observing while confronting the Origin Beasts.

Several days later, a strange phenomenon occurred within the canyon, completely resolving Xu Qing's doubts.

One of the many bronze gates located below slowly began to open.

Divine whispers echoed from within as the gate opened.

"Kanshān... Kanshān..."

It was a divine sound, containing the power of the Astral Ring. The moment it emanated, it drew in exotic matter from all directions, transforming into illusory, intertwined divine symbols.

They floated out from within the gate!

And headed directly towards the Origin Aberration outside the gate!

This divine symbol exuded boundless ancientness and contained unimaginable mystery. A mere glance made Xu Qing's mind tremble, prompting him to immediately retreat a little.

As for that Origin Aberration, its eyes glowed with intense blue light, and it let out overwhelming roars and growls.

It was as if this divine symbol was a tribulation it had to face. Amidst its roars, it became frantic, charging directly towards the divine symbol.

Under Xu Qing's direct observation, the Origin Aberration and the divine symbol instantly collided.

Immediately afterward, the divine symbol emitted golden light, and the Origin Aberration burst forth with blue radiance. They seemed to be devouring each other.

However, it was clear that compared to the golden light, the blue radiance was like boiling water against snowflakes. No matter how brightly the blue light shone, it ultimately couldn't resist, finally being completely submerged and obliterated by the divine symbol's golden light.

And then... seemingly having absorbed everything from the dying Origin Aberration, bones, veins, and eventually flesh began to spread outward from the divine symbol as its center...

Finally, it transformed into a divine body!

Life force was boundless!

That was a newly born god!

The aura of a true god emanated from this divine body, and before it could awaken, it was suddenly sucked into the adjacent bronze gate.

It vanished.

Xu Qing clearly witnessed this scene, and his mind was completely stirred at this moment.

"This is the process of divine reshaping in this place!"

"So, reshaping requires an Origin Aberration whose entire body is made of blue ice as a vessel, and what floated out from the opening gate... must be the true name!"

"The true name imprints, transforming into a new god. This process cannot be altered by the Origin Aberration in the slightest; it's like fate!"

Xu Qing's heart rate accelerated in response.

"Then I also entered through a bronze gate, was it by means of a true name?"

Xu Qing felt some hesitation about this. Simultaneously, looking at the Origin Aberrations and bronze gates below, he couldn't help but think of his Senior Brother!

"In that case, Senior Brother's situation... when viewed this way, is extremely unique!"

"Every time he unleashes his power, an Origin Aberration appears from his chest, and it seems that aberration is inherently one with him!"

"Moreover, Senior Brother also possesses an aura of immortality and indestructibility!"

Xu Qing's thoughts raced, recalling everything about his Senior Brother's past. At the same time, in the distant sky, a divine corpse, as if having undergone a long journey, finally arrived here.

It manifested in the celestial dome.

And began to fall towards the ground!

During this process, it did not decompose!

It was a true god's corpse!

The moment he saw the corpse, Xu Qing immediately put aside all his thoughts, his eyes gleaming with a strange light.

Refining remnants provided a limited amount of essence replenishment after all.

Far inferior to a true god's corpse like this one!

So Xu Qing's body flickered, and he sped like a hungry wolf towards the direction where the corpse was falling.

Simultaneously, within the falling divine corpse, Immortal Phoenix Fairy opened her eyes.

"Husband, we've arrived."

Beside her, the Aurora Young Master's eyes opened and closed. His expression was calm, and he was about to speak, but the next instant, his previously serene demeanor suddenly turned strange.

"Hmm?"