Chapter 1279: God's Navel Cord

“This… is unprecedented!”

Xu Qing gazed at the Aurora Young Master, who stood bathed in the surging sky, radiating the might of heaven and earth. As he gained inner clarity, a sense of profound mystery arose within him regarding the Immortal Venerable's grand scheme.

In truth, another individual had attempted something similar, though Xu Qing had not witnessed it personally. Xu Qing thought of Li Zihua! That individual seemed to have traversed a similar path, yet their impact was clearly incomparable to the Aurora Young Master's. Moreover, many unknown details surrounded that event.

Xu Qing murmured to himself. The clarity that emerged after the mist dissipated now echoed with ripples as the Fifth Star Ring's fortune arrived.

The sky was turning silver! This was the fortune of all beings in the Fifth Star Ring. It had descended into the Fourth Star Ring's memory-space, entering the fissures and spreading beyond the Original Mother Star. It imbued the void with silver, completely changing the color of the Original Mother Star's sky. Ultimately, it transformed into a long river of fortune, pouring down from the horizon! It came to retrieve the sun and moon, and to empower the Aurora Young Master!

From a distance, this silver river of fortune appeared vast, boundless, and world-shaking. Within it, the phantoms of all beings from the Fifth Star Ring, the illusions of countless cultivators, the cosmic starry sky, and numerous heavens-beyond-heavens were visible. They were calling out to Aurora! This silent call manifested as tangible, glowing fish, swimming within the river. The trails they left behind reflected fragmented immortal scripts. They descended towards the Aurora Young Master, and centered around him, a massive silver vortex formed. The vortex roared, expanding rapidly, instantly covering the entire Original Mother Star, enveloping everything within and without. In this manner, it entered the memories of the gods of the Fourth Star Ring. Immediately, a profound sense of tremor spread throughout the entire Fourth Star Ring.

The next instant, the souls of the Fourth Star Ring's gods surged, statues trembled, and cracks appeared everywhere across the boundless starry sky. Streaks of crimson essence, like divine blood, seeped from these cracks, spreading across the star sea.

The Aurora Young Master, who caused all of this, now stood on the Original Mother Star, within the vortex of fortune descending from the Fifth Star Ring, and spoke softly. “Divine source is born of heaven; the immortal path is sought within oneself.” As his words echoed, the countless immortal scripts within the fortune vortex around him shone intensely, autonomously purifying the alien substances and divine essence emanating from the Aurora Young Master. During this purification, trembling sounds, like the snapping strings of an ancient zither, were emitted. These sounds also materialized, and after being tainted by divine essence, they spontaneously wove themselves into burning lamps of divine fire. This was the source belonging to the Aurora Divine Master! They were countless, dense, and boundless. The moment they formed, they began to shatter!

In the blink of an eye, tens of millions of divine lamps shattered into dust. This shattering was like a severing! It was as if a blade had cut through the unseen connection between the Fourth Star Ring and the Aurora Young Master! The fortune of the Fifth Star Ring pierced into the Aurora Young Master's spine. This was the divine vein bestowed upon him by the Fourth Star Ring after he ascended to Divine Master there. Now, this divine vein was being torn and its resonance with the Fourth Star Ring's divine path was severed by the power of the Fifth Star Ring's fortune. The effect on the Aurora Young Master was evident: the divine patterns appearing all over his body were visibly dimming.

The moment this occurred, a wailing roar emanated from the depths of the Fourth Star Ring's starry sky. It was the furious roar of the collective divine will of this Star Ring, also known as its divine path. It would not allow this to happen! Within this roar, countless divine voices echoed! “Forbidden!” “Forbidden!” “Forbidden!” These divine voices descended, flowed through the memories of the gods, surged into the Original Mother Star, and crashed against the river of fortune arriving from the Fifth Star Ring. Instantly, the Fifth Star Ring's river of fortune was as if kneaded by an invisible giant hand, solidifying into amber glowing with crimson light.

This change began in the void outside the Original Mother Star, rapidly spreading to the sky. Looking out, the sky also turned amber. This expansion, following the river of fortune, also enveloped the Aurora Young Master. It solidified the fortune vortex and, here, awakened the will of the Mother Star, causing the Original Mother Star to rumble. The will was revived! As the earth churned, the Aurora Young Master's reversal was directly interrupted!

The Aurora Young Master's expression twisted instantly. The divine patterns that had been fading on his body now clearly re-illuminated. Moreover, within each pattern, the divine thoughts fluctuating in the Fourth Star Ring's divine path were strikingly reflected. These divine thoughts were about to, with a single surge, completely dispel the Fifth Star Ring's fortune. But how could the Fifth Star Ring's fortune retreat? In the next instant, the amber shattered, and fortune descended once more! It collided with the Fourth Star Ring's divine path in an unprecedented manner.

As neither side yielded, the divine path spread, forming the laws of the Fourth Star Ring, which descended upon various divine dynasties. The next moment, all Divine Masters of the Fourth Star Ring emerged from their respective divine dynasties. When Aurora became a god, they could choose to observe. But now, this abandonment of godhood for immortality had affected the Fourth Star Ring's divine path, so they had to intervene. Yet, just as these Divine Masters were about to step onto the Original Mother Star... towering figures appeared before them, blocking their path! These figures... emanated an aura comparable to Divine Masters, forged from immortal might. They were the Immortal Masters of the Fifth Star Ring!

Meanwhile, outside the Supreme Divine Court of the Fourth Star Ring, the old man in straw sandals had also arrived, gazing at the Divine Court without a word. And the Divine Court... remained silent.

On the Original Mother Star. The Aurora Young Master looked at the sky, his eyes interwoven with gold and silver. “You won't let me leave?” He raised his right hand and pressed it down onto the Original Mother Star below. With this press, the Original Mother Star rumbled, and heaven and earth underwent a drastic change.

A phantom river became visible, manifesting in the depths of the Original Mother Star. Within that river, true names flowed. Among those countless true names, one name shone with extraordinary brilliance at this moment, remarkably prominent! It was the true name left by the Aurora Young Master previously: Mi Ming! Mi, unseen. Ming, sun and moon!

Back then, the Aurora Immortal Master took away the sun and moon of the Fifth Star Ring and placed them within his son's name. And his son... not long ago, placed the sun and moon of the Fifth Star Ring, in the form of a true name, into... the divine path river of the Fourth Star Ring! Like burying a nail! Now, with his press, this nail... began to erupt! The sun and moon appeared!

This scene was like opening a gate for the Fifth Star Ring's fortune, leading to the depths of the Fourth Star Ring's divine path! Amidst the roar, the Fifth Star Ring's fortune surged directly through this sun-and-moon gate opened by the true name! It transformed into boundless immortal lightning, churning the river of true names! Each bolt of lightning enveloped materialized fortune, accompanied by the heroic spirits of the Fifth Star Ring! The fallen immortals Xu Qing had once paid respects to at the Nine Shores Heaven-Beyond-Heaven Immortal Stele, their imprints now within the fortune, arrived with the lightning. Striking towards the true names! This was the true return of the sun and moon!

The Fourth Star Ring's divine path immediately twisted, causing a world-shaking upheaval. As one waned and the other waxed, the Fifth Star Ring's fortune surged violently! The solidified amber instantly shattered, and the fortune vortex around the Aurora Young Master rotated once more! The transformation from god to immortal continued. Tens of millions of divine lamps in all directions instantly extinguished again. Strands of divine essence rapidly separated from the Aurora Young Master's body, and even the black crystal fragments covering him became blurred. The aura of a deity was weakening, while the might of an Immortal Master was erupting.

Furthermore, during this process, as the Fifth Star Ring's fortune continuously poured into his spine, a massive change occurred within the Aurora Young Master's body. His divine bones were shattering piece by piece, replaced by newly grown bones, lustrous as jade. The surface of these new bones was covered in intricate immortal patterns, which, upon closer inspection, revealed themselves to be a miniature star map of the Fifth Star Ring, radiating incredible power and boundless might. These were Star Ring Bones. Only Venerables possess them! Only Immortal Venerables or Divine Venerables could imprint the star map of their respective Star Rings at the moment of their ascension. Yet, at this moment, they were forming within the Aurora Young Master! However, his method differed from that of the Venerables. He used the Fifth Star Ring's fortune as fire, the Fourth Star Ring's divine path as fuel, coupled with the Supreme Divine Guidance, forging them by combining the powers of both Star Rings! It was tantamount to extracting the power of two Star Rings and converging it into one individual! And notably, the Fourth Star Ring was the primary source of extraction!

Consequently, the wails of the Fourth Star Ring's divine path once again echoed throughout the starry sky. Indeed, the Fourth Star Ring's divine path was currently enduring an unprecedented catastrophe. The fortune from the Fifth Star Ring was pervading its every aspect, both internally and externally. Moreover, the Aurora Young Master was like a massive breach, separating and tearing apart its rules. This made its struggle more intense than ever before!

The next instant, outside the Original Mother Star, a gigantic star-gate, suffused with the profound essence of ages, suddenly opened. An inexplicable aura emanated from within. This aura was similar to that of gods, yet not quite the same. It seemed far more ancient! Beyond this star-gate, ancient statues, shrouded in grey mist, were revealed. Their age was incredibly remote, as if... they did not belong to this era. Perhaps, their age even surpassed that of the first deity born on the Original Mother Star! At the same time, looking further through the star-gate, beyond the statues, indistinct remnants of long-extinct ancient stars could be seen within the mist. As for what lay deeper, it was impossible to discern! Only symbols, radiating from within, could be seen spreading outwards. These symbols shimmered with a grey light, imbued with unparalleled mystery. They were marks never before seen by either gods or cultivators! Upon appearing, they assembled into a broken iron chain, heading towards the Original Mother Star. Wherever it passed, the starry sky seemed unable to bear the strain and collapsed. Even the memory void where the Original Mother Star resided could not withstand it... and also began to fragment! Even the Divine Masters and Immortal Masters currently in confrontation were moved. This was the Fourth Star Ring's divine path's last resort, a self-salvation unleashed in its ultimate extremity! It had opened a certain door!

And just then, within the Fourth Star Ring, the Supreme Divine Court, which had remained silent and issued no decrees or made any moves regarding the Aurora Immortal Master's ascension to godhood, his promotion, or his shift to immortality, suddenly rumbled. At that instant, it thundered, shining with boundless divine light. From within that divine light, the Divine Venerable emerged! “The divine umbilical cord, the boundless terminus... it has finally opened!”