Chapter 1287: One gulp

The true god, whose body was a sphere of flesh and blood oozing slime and emitting virulent poison, witnessed this scene. His flesh began to wriggle faster.

He was about to tear through the void and escape.

But in the next instant, the Xia Immortal Commander’s body flickered. He appeared directly behind the true god. As he raised his left hand, his entire body shone with silver light. The power of a Xia Immortal erupted once more, blocking the true god’s path.

This caused the true god to pause.

“Xu Qing, let’s join forces, we should…”

Before the Xia Immortal Commander could finish his sentence, Xu Qing arrived with the momentum of ten thousand immortals. With a wave of his hand, a fingernail appeared before him.

The moment the fingernail appeared, a terrifying power erupted from within.

It twisted the starry sky and shattered the void. Although the pressure it exuded was not as immense as the previous bridge, it still shocked everyone.

It was indeed a Dao Artifact!

The moment it appeared, it absorbed all the temporal and spatial shadows behind Xu Qing, gathering them into itself. It transformed into a light interwoven with gold and silver.

It shot through the air towards the true god.

Its speed was immense; it reached and pierced through in an instant.

In a flash, the true god’s entire body trembled and visibly disintegrated. All his poisons dissipated, and even the poisonous plums within him became part of the void.

His soul met the same fate!

Annihilated, body and soul!

This scene unfolded too quickly; Xu Qing’s attack was incredibly swift. Both his aura and the terrifying power of the fingernail were earth-shattering.

Even the Xia Immortal Commander was deeply shaken, gazing at Xu Qing…

Her expression hardened.

“This is not merely a Quasi-Immortal… this is clearly a Xia Immortal!

With a Dao Artifact in hand, an ordinary Xia Immortal would need to be cautious when facing him.”

“Especially in his current state, he’s only a hair’s breadth away from breaking through!”

“He possesses everything; his Immortal Embryo is fully formed, and he is on the verge of becoming an Immortal. All he needs is the advancement of the Constitution!”

Having discerned Xu Qing’s state, the Xia Immortal Commander spoke with solemnity.

“True Monarch, please wait a moment!”

Meanwhile, the surrounding gods were all internally roaring, fleeing frantically. The cultivators, having survived the calamity, were immensely exhilarated.

They all bowed to Xu Qing, then chased after the fleeing gods.

The Xia Immortal Commander also went with them.

Without a true god, the remaining divine remnants in this area were quickly cleared by the Xia Immortal Commander and her subordinates.

After completing this mission, the female Xia Immortal returned to Xu Qing’s side, bowing with clasped fists.

“Thank you for your assistance!”

The female Xia Immortal spoke sincerely.

Xu Qing’s expression remained unchanged. After returning the greeting, he conversed with the Xia Immortal.

After understanding the current battlefield situation, Xu Qing bid farewell and departed, seen off by the cultivator and her subordinates.

Watching Xu Qing’s figure disappear into the starry sky, the Xia Immortal Commander’s heart was also stirred.

“The True Monarch’s name, blessed by destiny, and moreover, the younger brother of Immortal Lord Miming… he is truly held in the highest esteem in the current Fifth Star Ring!”

“And his own combat strength is astonishing… next time we meet, he will surely have broken through and become a Xia Immortal.”

Thinking of this, the Xia Immortal Commander suddenly had a thought.

“He seems to have no Dao companion yet…”

Xu Qing was unaware of the female Xia Immortal’s thoughts. At this moment, he was walking through the starry sky, wandering within the Fourth Star Ring.

The deeper he ventured, the more he witnessed the devastation of the Fourth Star Ring.

Fragments of stars and remnants of divine kingdoms were visible everywhere.

The scars of war stretched endlessly across the Fourth Star Ring.

The entire area was desolate.

There was no starlight, nor the golden glow of divine kingdoms.

It seemed that more than half of the Fourth Star Ring had fallen into endless darkness.

Only the supply stars extending from the Fifth Star Ring provided the only light within the Fourth Star Ring. With the cultivators holding the overall advantage in the war, the final mop-up operations were underway.

“According to the commander, the current mop-up war in the Fourth Star Ring is proceeding on two fronts. One front involves the cultivator army continuously compressing the last remaining areas where the gods have gathered.

The other front involves using the supply stars as focal points to clear out the surrounding battlefields and remnants.”

“The former often consists of battle cultivator legions, while the latter… are mostly composed of ‘corpse-touching’ teams working with garrison squads.”

Xu Qing pondered, thinking of Zhou Zhengli and his companions.

“On the way, I could also find their traces through the supply stars.”

Recalling his comrades, a smile touched Xu Qing’s lips.

“I wonder how they are doing now…”

And so, time passed.

Xu Qing wandered within the Fourth Star Ring, searching for opportunities for breakthrough.

During this time, he also encountered some surviving gods.

However, with his current cultivation at the peak of Quasi-Immortal and his combat power capable of engaging a Xia Immortal, he would be fine as long as he didn’t encounter a true god at the peak or a God Lord.

He also used the supply stars to contact Zhou Zhengli. After confirming their location, Xu Qing changed his direction and continuously approached their position.

At the same time, Zhou Zhengli and others, part of the ‘Funeral Procession’ team, had just completed a battlefield mission, earning a period of leave, and were returning to their assigned supply star.

During the period when Xu Qing had gone missing in the Divine Maiden Exchange Battle, Zhou Zhengli and the others had also grown individually.

They participated in the general assault on the Fourth Star Ring, earning a certain amount of battle merits. They also maintained the tradition of the Funeral Procession team, touching corpses on the battlefield while not lacking in live harvesting.

Their cultivation levels had all improved significantly.

Now, not only were all of them Quasi-Immortals, but Star Ring Child had even reached the mid-stage of Quasi-Immortal, not far from the late stage.

As for Evil Spirit Child and Yuanshan Su, they were also on the verge of breaking through to the early stage of Quasi-Immortal.

And Qianjun Piyi, the two of them were in a similar state. Their mindset was better than when Xu Qing was around; that carefree feeling made the brothers immensely proud.

Only Zhou Zhengli’s cultivation hadn’t changed much. However, he was skilled in concealment, so it was difficult for others to directly assess his true state.

At this moment, after returning to the supply star and seeing everyone about to depart, Zhou Zhengli spoke with a smile.

“Everyone, I have good news for you. I’ve contacted the Young Master, and he’s heading towards our supply star.”

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone’s expressions varied.

Evil Spirit Child narrowed his eyes, reining in the rebellious instincts that had grown within him during this period.

Yuanshan Su seemed a bit dazed.

Star Ring Child remained expressionless, but a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

The ones with the biggest reaction were Qianjun Piyi. The two ‘sword-men’ were originally gleefully discussing via telepathy where they would go to play next. Upon hearing Zhou Zhengli’s words, their bodies instantly trembled, and their minds quivered.

Then, they dispersed.

Watching their figures depart from the supply star, Zhou Zhengli’s smile didn’t fade, and a surge of excitement rose within him.

Compared to the others, he and Li Mengtu, who was cultivating outside and hadn’t returned, were the ones who most hoped for Xu Qing’s return. Because their initial allegiance had already yielded the greatest rewards the moment Immortal Lord Miming shocked the Fifth Star Ring.

During this time, he could clearly feel the importance that the cultivators of the Fifth Star Ring placed on them. On the supply star they were on, everything was open to them.

Even the Xia Immortal guarding the supply star was quite polite to them.

All of this made Zhou Zhengli immensely proud of his choice back then.

As for the thoughts of others, Zhou Zhengli understood them well and didn’t pay them much mind.

He knew that all the petty schemes of the others could not bear fruit from the moment Xu Qing aided the Aurora Young Master; they would all vanish like smoke with Xu Qing’s arrival.

So, he watched the retreating figures, chuckled softly, and decided to wait there to be the first to welcome Xu Qing.

At this moment, the departing individuals each took different actions.

Evil Spirit Child immediately entered seclusion, and the broken sword within his body was trembling.

“He’s back. As for what you told me, if you dare to continue, I have no objection, but… do you still dare?”

Evil Spirit Child spoke in a low voice, and the broken sword within him conveyed exasperation.

Meanwhile, the Qianjun Piyi brothers had no intention of playing anymore. They quickly returned to their cave dwelling and immediately began to discuss.

“What do we do… that guy is back!”

“We’re doomed, we’re doomed! We’ve eaten too well recently; our sword bodies are incredibly sharp, he’ll definitely be tempted when he sees us!”

“It’s all your fault, I told you not to eat so much!”

“It’s all your fault, you ate first!”

Amidst the brothers’ intense mutual accusations, Star Ring Child had already left the supply star, transforming into a long rainbow in the starry sky, returning to the secret cave dwelling he had established outside.

It was a fragment of a star, where he chose to cultivate after discovering it.

Now, seated cross-legged, a sharp glint appeared in Star Ring Child’s eyes.

“Although the gap is widening… Xu Qing, I won’t allow myself to fall too far behind!”

Star Ring Child murmured, and as he raised his hand, a large amount of dust appeared out of thin air, gathering before him.

These dust particles were by no means ordinary; each carried an immense weight.

That was Heavenly Principle!

Gazing at these dust particles, anticipation rose in Star Ring Child’s heart.

During this time, through his own efforts and obtained opportunities, he had finally refined more of his Heavenly Principle.

This was his preparation for his subsequent advancement to Xia Immortal.

The path he was taking was different from Xu Qing’s.

Xu Qing had not yet comprehended his own Xia Immortal Constitution, while Star Ring Child already knew that his next Constitution would be the Heavenly Principle.

“It’s almost completely refined. With just a few more days of refining, these Heavenly Principle dust particles can be fully integrated by me!”

“By then, the only thing I’ll lack for advancing to Xia Immortal is the step of nourishing the Immortal Embryo with Source Essence!”

Thinking of this, Star Ring Child’s heart firmed. He formed hand seals and fully immersed himself in the continuous refining process.

But just then, something unexpected happened!

The void in his cave dwelling, without any warning, suddenly twisted, transforming into a large mouth!

This mouth appeared to be formed of greed, like the maw of a mad dog.

The moment it appeared, it unhesitatingly swallowed the Heavenly Principle dust particles before Star Ring Child!

Cleanly, not a single particle remained!

Then it instantly vanished!

Only the lingering sound of a satisfied burp echoed in the cave dwelling.

All of this happened too suddenly.

Star Ring Child was momentarily stunned, his mind instantly churned, his eyes snapped open in fury, and an earth-shattering roar erupted from his mouth!

His cultivation erupted mightily!