Chapter 1291: Erniu's Big Treasure

Er Niu licked his lips, a wild, eerie flame flickering in his eyes.

At that moment, his body presented a shocking sight. The body beneath his head, which had partially recovered, now rapidly grew at a visible pace as flesh writhed.

The entire process took only about a dozen breaths, and Er Niu's body was fully manifest. An aura surpassing his previous state erupted from this new body. He was no longer merely at the early stage of Dominance, but had reached the mid-stage.

Xu Qing hadn't seen this happen to his Senior Brother for a long time. Witnessing it again, old memories surfaced in his mind. "Senior Brother's cultivation has never relied on practice; instead, it comes from breaking seals," he mused. "However, unlocking each seal requires a price, and the further along he goes, the greater the cost..."

As Xu Qing pondered, Er Niu, now with a complete body, emanated waves of chilling cold that spread in all directions, while a blue light shimmered on his form. Through his flesh, Xu Qing could even perceive another body within his Senior Brother! That body was entirely blue, as if formed from blue ice, filled with an ancient and grotesque quality, strikingly similar to the primeval source aberrations Xu Qing had encountered on the Primordial Mother Star.

Gazing at this body, conjectures about Senior Brother's origin once again arose in Xu Qing's mind. "However, Senior Brother differs from the primeval source aberrations of the Primordial Mother Star," he thought. "He has existed for multiple lifetimes, and after dying in each, he resurrects in a different form in the next. This characteristic is also similar to deities."

With his increased cultivation, Xu Qing could discern more clues. Yet, even so, Er Niu's secret remained largely shrouded in mist to him, only slightly less opaque. "Everything should finally be revealed once we return to Wanggu," he mused.

As Xu Qing contemplated, Er Niu, whose aura and cultivation had both risen, grew even more frenzied. "Let me tell you, Little Ah Qing, I can feel it – there's a supreme treasure in that direction! This is a fated invitation, a destined opportunity. I have a premonition that the treasure is waiting for me. At the same time, this is also a chance for me to unlock a few more seals!"

"After I finish this big task, Little Ah Qing, you like devouring divine maidens, right? No need for outsiders to catch them for you; your Senior Brother here will personally go and capture a few for you. Forget divine maidens, if you like divine sons, I'll catch them too!" Er Niu declared proudly.

What he cared about most was his prestige as Senior Brother. This prestige manifested in two ways: one, being surpassed by his junior brother, and the other... someone actually daring to compete with him over who was better to Little Ah Qing, right in front of him! He couldn't tolerate that!

"Let's go!" With that, Er Niu's body swayed, transforming into a streak of light that shot towards the distance.

Xu Qing smiled and followed. Although he knew very well that within the Fourth Star Ring, where Immortal Venerables reigned supreme and all Immortal Lords had descended, there were no overly mysterious hidden places in any area, except for where the Divine Venerable had departed. At most, there were only those so-called forbidden zones. As Xu Qing's cultivation increased and his experience grew, he had developed his own understanding and judgment regarding the term "forbidden zone."

"Generally, forbidden zones are shrouded in mystery and have ancient origins. However, if they can coexist clearly separated from the outside world for many years and are defined as forbidden zones, then their danger level is likely reciprocal. To the present world, forbidden zones are dangerous; similarly, to the forbidden zones, the outside world is equally dangerous. Otherwise, their scope would not be confined to their respective areas. Of course, there are exceptions... like the Wanggu Continent. But in this Fourth Star Ring, such a place should not exist. However, since Senior Brother wants to go, we might as well take a look."

As Xu Qing proceeded, his gaze fixed forward.

Thus, time flowed by. Several months passed in a flash. Although the destination wasn't extremely far, the Star Ring was vast, so traveling to the place Er Niu sensed still took a long time. Even with the help of long-range transmissions from multiple supply stars along the way, it still took them nearly four months before they finally saw their target.

From a distance, an immense void rift appeared in the deep space. Like a scar across the cosmos, it stretched endlessly, spanning multiple universes. Dense mist permeated the rift, and outside, scarlet dust swirled around it. This was one of the Four Great Forbidden Zones of the Fourth Star Ring. Throughout history, very few intruders had ever returned alive. And none of the deities who perished there had ever returned.

Gazing at the rift, the madness in Er Niu's expression grew even more intense. During these months of travel, he had repeatedly witnessed Xu Qing's status among the cultivators here, countless powerful beings, and numerous battles between cultivators and deities. Moreover, two more divine maidens were actually delivered to them along the way. All of this served as a stimulus, like a whip constantly lashing him, intensifying his madness. The urge to undertake something great also grew stronger.

Now, looking at the distant void rift, Er Niu licked his lips and let out a low growl. "That's it! Little Ah Qing, I can feel it! There's a treasure there, a *huge* treasure!"

Xu Qing said nothing, his gaze traversing the starry sky, falling upon the massive void rift. He pierced through the scarlet dust outside and looked into the depths of the rift. Vaguely, he seemed to see an altar. This sight caused Xu Qing to ponder deeply, and the information he had gathered on the journey about the Four Great Forbidden Zones of the Fourth Star Ring surfaced in his mind.

"The place where the previous generation's Divine Venerable was sealed! He was personally sealed here by the current Divine Venerable of the Fourth Star Ring, eternally imprisoned. At the same time, he was rejected by the new rules of the Fourth Star Ring, woven with divine authority of fate, thus cutting off any possibility of escape."

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes. The information he had obtained was limited to this, without including the underlying causes or consequences. According to Xu Qing's personality, he would not normally venture into a place that sealed a Divine Venerable. However, at this moment... Xu Qing glanced at Er Niu. "Furthermore, I came to this Fourth Star Ring to seek opportunities and re-experience the Pain God's illusion. Although there was no experience of entering this place within the Pain God's illusion, anything is possible..."

Thinking this, Xu Qing suddenly raised his hand and waved it forward. With that wave, a heaven-shaking force instantly emanated from him, pressing downwards. Instantly, the starry sky outside the void rift seemed to transform into a mirror, shattering in a flash. It turned into countless fragments. Also affected was the scarlet haze shrouding the starry sky outside the rift. It, too, appeared to be forcibly stripped away.

Then, Xu Qing raised his right hand upwards, and the shattered starry sky fragments immediately rearranged themselves. During this process, the scarlet haze was forcibly separated and torn apart, eventually revealing hollow passages crisscrossing in all directions before Xu Qing and Er Niu.

"Senior Brother, let's go in, but there are some dangers inside," Xu Qing said in a low voice, staring at the rift.

"..." Er Niu looked at the passages within the mist, and the image of Xu Qing shattering and reassembling the starry sky earlier flashed in his mind, making him feel a little weary. At the same time, he developed an even greater obsession with becoming stronger. So his body swayed... not to rush forward himself, but to quickly approach Xu Qing's side and nod. "You go first."

Er Niu wasn't foolish; he knew that any danger Xu Qing, with his current cultivation, mentioned would undoubtedly be fatal to him. Even if he wasn't afraid of death, it was better to die from overeating than to die on the way to a meal. So, while dignity was important, his junior brother wasn't an outsider. As Er Niu thought this, he suddenly felt less weary.

Hearing this, Xu Qing's expression grew serious. He stepped forward, chose a passage, and headed straight for the rift. Er Niu immediately followed.

Thus, the two of them continuously traversed these passages. Although they encountered some minor obstacles along the way, they resolved them relatively smoothly thanks to Xu Qing's cultivation. It wasn't until several days later that they finally navigated through all the scarlet haze and emerged before the enormous rift!

Standing there, Xu Qing's pupils contracted. His gaze pierced through the mist within the rift, and through the haze, he saw a world existing inside. In that world, an incredibly magnificent altar stood tall. That altar was astonishingly piled high with the bones of countless deities! Vaguely, numerous grotesque insects seemed to be crawling on those divine bones. And upon that piled altar rested a massive bronze coffin!

Countless divine chains extended from the void within the rift, securely locking the coffin. An ancient essence, a primeval feeling, along with endless mystery and majesty, emanated from the coffin and chains, rippling in all directions, as if warning all living beings: this place... is forbidden!

However, this forbidden place was not solely composed of the altar, coffin, and chains; in another direction, there was actually a figure. That figure was not a cultivator; it belonged to a deity. To be precise, it was a corpse. The corpse of a deity. And it was only the upper half!

The moment he clearly saw it, Xu Qing's eyes abruptly narrowed, and his mind churned. He had seen this individual before! "Divine Lord Lizhu!" Xu Qing's mind was shaken. He knew from battle reports that Divine Lord Lizhu had fled severely wounded, but he never imagined that the individual would be here, and... already dead!

Just as Xu Qing's mind was reeling, Er Niu beside him raised his hand, pointing towards a direction within the mist of the rift. His expression was wild with greed as he spoke rapidly. "Little Ah Qing, I can't see clearly inside, but I can feel a big treasure I need in that direction! Can you help me see what good stuff is over there?"

Xu Qing hesitated, on the verge of speaking. The direction Er Niu was pointing to was precisely the corpse...

"What is it?" Er Niu urged.

"That's a deity's corpse," Xu Qing replied, looking at Er Niu.

"A divine corpse? Isn't that a big treasure? What cultivation realm is that divine corpse?" Er Niu asked, somewhat disappointed.

"Divine Lord..." Xu Qing murmured.

The moment those two words left his lips, Er Niu's figure had already transformed into an afterimage, charging into the mist. He had gone completely mad.