Chapter 1278: Empty Ancient, Absolute Present

In the void of the Fifth Stellar Ring, an old man wearing straw sandals gazed at the shimmering dust motes flying from his hands, watching them dissipate and return.

Memories of the past seemed to flow before his eyes.

It was the life of his son, Aurora.

It finally paused on the scene of him tragically smiling and begging for death.

Then, a powerful light shone in the old man's eyes, and an inexplicable pressure emanated from him.

This affected the surrounding void, causing one bubble after another to appear.

Each contained the cycle of life and death, and the rise and fall of fate, ultimately weaving together into a nearly real fairytale.

Then, he raised his aged right hand and clawed forward at the fairytale!

It was as if he intended to draw the figure from his memories, retrieve it from the annals of time, bring it forth from illusion, and transform it from the fairytale into reality.

In the next instant, everything actually came true!

As the bubbles vibrated, the past forms of Immortal Lord Aurora converged, and these bubbles, guided by the old man, began to merge...

But as they converged, the inherent fluctuations of the entire Fifth Stellar Ring suddenly paused, and all beings and things began to tremble unconsciously.

An unspeakable terror began to emerge within the Fifth Stellar Ring.

It was as if a mystery sealed for millions of years showed signs of breaking free...

Thus, the old man's raised hand involuntarily halted.

Finally, he lowered his hand, allowing the soon-to-be-formed Immortal Lord Aurora to dissipate once more.

The fluctuations in the Fifth Stellar Ring also subsided.

Everything returned to its previous state.

Then, he closed his eyes.

Finally, a long sigh filled with regret and pain escaped him.

"I cannot bring you back..."

Murmuring, the old man looked at his palm.

"Give me some time..."

"And what is happening now should be what you wished to see..."

The old man whispered softly, then raised his hand again.

This time, he wasn't pulling anything; instead, he turned his palm towards the Fourth Stellar Ring.

In the next instant, the lines on his palm suddenly burst forth with a gravitational vortex that seemed capable of swallowing entire galaxies.

In an instant, it spread throughout the entire Fifth Stellar Ring.

The entire Fifth Stellar Ring—all the Heavens Beyond Heavens, countless starfields, countless universes, innumerable stars, and even all living beings—at this moment... began to emit their own destiny energy!

This destiny energy continuously rose, like dust flowing into the Immortal Decree Hourglass, collapsing towards the old man's palm along a spiral trajectory.

Furthermore, during this process, countless stars were born, and countless starlights formed.

And all the radiance, between his fingers, transformed into docile silver tassels.

Then merged with the destiny energy, and finally settled in the old man's palm.

The next moment, the old man suddenly clenched his fist!

Instantly, the entire Fifth Stellar Ring, without the knowledge or awareness of any living beings, seemed to transform into a void scroll under this absolute immortal pressure.

All the stars became luminous spots embedded in this void scroll, while countless black holes disintegrated into scattered ashes amidst their lament, forming the patterns on the void scroll.

Trillions of living beings solidified into amber-colored crystals.

This was not destruction, but a process of consolidating destiny energy, which occurs at the moment every Immortal Lord ascends.

And today, the millennia that had been hidden were restored, and karma was released.

Thus, the Nine Shores Era ended.

Thus, the Aurora Era began!

However, Immortal Lord Aurora, who was supposed to ascend, had already fallen. Therefore... the destiny energy of the entire Fifth Stellar Ring, guided by the old man, would fall upon the sole bloodline.

Which was Young Master Aurora.

"I await your return..."

In the void, the old man spoke softly. The destiny energy of the entire Fifth Stellar Ring, gathered within his palm, transformed into an irresistible torrent, piercing through the stellar rings with supreme majesty and pouring into... the primeval mother star of the Fourth Stellar Ring!

Meanwhile, on the primeval mother star of the Fourth Stellar Ring, Xu Qing listened to Young Master Aurora's words and watched the myriad things flourish between heaven and earth. The confusion in his heart regarding all of this was largely dispelled!

"First becoming a god, then a Divine Lord, so what next..."

"Next, it's something perhaps unprecedented across all thirty-six ascending stellar rings... transforming a god into an immortal!" Immortal Phoenix Maiden, standing beside him, spoke softly.

Although he had already guessed it in his heart, Xu Qing's mind was still stirred by enormous waves at this moment.

He had witnessed transformations from path to godhood, and more than once.

But he had genuinely never heard even a whisper of a god transforming into an immortal!

This was related to the environment of the thirty-six stellar rings; after all, gods... were noble!

They neither could nor had the awareness to embark on the path of immortals.

Moreover, there must have been other factors that prevented gods from doing so!

As Xu Qing's thoughts churned, Young Master Aurora, who had ascended to the sky amidst the pulling of countless blood vessels, cast his gaze upon the earth.

Looking at the primeval mother star, feeling the divine source from the Fourth Stellar Ring, and experiencing the richness of divinity, he suddenly smiled.

Although this smile appeared distorted, his words... were earth-shattering!

"The Divine Path... is beastly!"

As he spoke, he raised his right hand, and with a sweep, the blood vessels connecting him to the primeval mother star instantly surged violently.

Deep within the earth's flesh, where the blood vessels connected with the earth's veins, those blood vessels instantly separated, no longer merging, but rapidly returning.

At the same time, the entire primeval mother star roared, and Young Master Aurora's voice reverberated throughout the Fourth Stellar Ring.

"Cultivators seek clarity, transforming from god... to immortal!"

As soon as these words were uttered, the primeval mother star roared, and all civilizations formed upon it, all beings and things, withered in that instant!

Not only the mother star, but also the true gods outside who worshipped here, trembled violently. Even all the gods of the Fourth Stellar Ring felt their divine souls struck by thunder in that instant.

Countless temples collapsed, and countless divine statues crumbled.

Indeed, with a single sound, all things were startled!

Moreover, at this very instant, the sky... changed!

A torrent of destiny energy traveled from the Fifth Stellar Ring, appearing in the Fourth Stellar Ring and on the primeval mother star, replacing the void there!

Looking at the flowing light in the sky, the last wisp of confusion in Xu Qing's heart completely dissipated.

"I understand..." Xu Qing murmured.

This was the Fifth Stellar Ring's true plan, which had been prepared from the very beginning and implemented step by step until now!

The mastermind behind this plan was the Immortal Venerable.

It had always been a setup, never fully executed, because the Immortal Venerable still lacked a necessary condition.

Until, years ago on the Wanggu Continent in the Fifth Stellar Ring, the Immortal Venerable saw Xu Qing and Er Niu.

At that moment, the essential elements for this plan were already in place.

Only then did all the subsequent events unfold.

"It also required a special location: the primeval mother star, the birthplace of the first deity in the Fourth Stellar Ring."

"And a special time: the day Immortal Lord Nine Shores resigned and Immortal Lord Aurora succeeded him."

"Thus, it could truly be completed..."

"Borrowing a god to become an Immortal Lord!!"