Chapter 1318: Xu Qing's Strongest State to Date

At this moment, Wanggu churned.Heaven and Earth changed color.

The divine river, flowing across Wanggu's firmament, instantly appeared, unleashing an immense divine might that boomed through the minds of all beings across the entire Wanggu Continent. They uncontrollably lost all thought, left only with blank minds and an instinctive trembling of body and soul. Even the gods were no exception; every single one bowed their heads at this moment. This was an absolute suppression originating from a higher level of life!

Furthermore, endless anomalous matter emanated from the vast divine river, which had manifested between heaven and earth, threatening to engulf all of Wanggu.

But all of this happened in an instant. Because, in the firmament, the Upheaval Remnant Face, suspended high above, slightly turned its head!

In the next instant, the golden giant eye, which had terrified and horrified all beings within the divine river formed from the drop of water, unhesitatingly chose to close. It rapidly reined in ninety-nine percent of its aura. Even as a Divine Venerable, it dared not expose itself further! It dared not manifest its true form! Even its divine consciousness dared not descend excessively! It only dared to send out a mere wisp!

And this wisp of divine consciousness, at the moment the eye closed, used the drop of river water to send forth a figure!

This was a blurred, entirely blue figure. The moment it appeared, terrifying pressure erupted from it. Although this pressure was not as immense as that from the divine river's eye, it was still astonishing. However, compared to the previously manifested Divine Venerable, it simply failed to pique the Remnant Face's interest. Even though this being, sent by the Mother River, was a Divine Lord!

The moment it materialized, it condensed into a colossal fist and, without hesitation, almost frantically, struck towards the Human World Sword. The instant they made contact, heaven and earth boomed. The Human World Sword trembled, forced to retreat under the terrifying, overwhelming power unleashed from the fist.

The fist, after a tremor, violently exploded outwards. It formed a blue ocean of infinite power, sweeping in all directions, shattering the void, and segmenting space-time, all with the sole purpose of... blocking Xu Qing.

Furthermore, after its divine power transformed into an ocean and enveloped Xu Qing, the Divine Lord sent by the Mother River ignored the Human World Sword and ceased its assault on Xu Qing. It abruptly retreated, seizing the weakened Ancient Immortal, and made straight for the firmament. Its speed was incredible, heading directly for the edge of the firmament. Its mission was to retrieve this chess piece of the Mother River! Beyond that, it had no other thoughts. It dared not make too many moves here, nor did it wish to linger.

Although it didn't understand why the Mother River gave it this task. After all, the chess piece had already failed and severed its connection with Wanggu, rendering it valueless. Yet, the Mother River took a huge risk, willing to project and send a wisp of divine consciousness to transport it here, ensuring it would bring the cultivator back. It did not know the reason, only that it must obey. For it could not resist the will of the Mother River, even if this task filled it with a primal fear.

"Fortunately, the Mother River only allowed me to manifest thirty percent of my true form."

As these thoughts arose in its mind, it had already carried the Ancient Immortal to the edge of the firmament. During this process, it glanced at the Upheaval Remnant Face. Just one glance caused its divine soul to tremble uncontrollably. So it accelerated, using the Mother River's power to instantly break free from Wanggu's seal and enter the starry sky, speeding away into the distance! It did not want to remain in terrifying Wanggu for even a single breath. It didn't even want to be near it.

"Once I'm out of Wanggu's range, the Mother River can directly draw me back..."

While all of this takes time to describe, it transpired in mere flashes of lightning.

The moment the Divine Lord sent by the Mother River flew into the starry sky, Xu Qing's Divine Edict erupted across the firmament of Wanggu Continent. The divine ocean around him was instantly disintegrated, breaking into fragments and droplets, finally transforming into mist that dispersed in all directions. Within the thinning mist, Xu Qing stood suspended, looking up at the firmament. All the thoughts in his mind were now completely aligned.

On his path of return, he had encountered unknown adversaries, and without thorough preparation, a smooth return would have been exceedingly difficult. Such encounters had also raised endless questions in Xu Qing's heart. In particular, though the enemies on the way had concealed their tracks, Xu Qing's perception allowed him to discern some clues. Therefore, after his arrival in Wanggu, the conflict with the Ancient Immortal wasn't merely a battle of techniques, but a war of constitutional principles.

One purpose was to utterly push the opponent to their limit, forcing them to sever their karmic merit with Wanggu, thereby ensuring no further connection between them and Wanggu. The other purpose was for Xu Qing to ascertain whether a higher-level power existed behind the opponent. This probing was also prompted by the enemy attacks during his return journey. The unknown enemies' clear objective was to kill him, and upon realizing they couldn't, they chose to delay him.

Considering all this, Xu Qing harbored strong suspicions that the calamity in Wanggu was highly unlikely to be merely the descent of an Ancient Immortal. If there truly was a mastermind, failing to pinpoint them precisely would only lead to greater hidden dangers in the uncertain future. Thus, the preceding series of doctrinal conflicts unfolded.

It was only at that last moment, as the Ancient Immortal severed his karmic merit, lost his immortal position, and faced death, that Xu Qing finally sensed the subtle disturbance behind the opponent. Therefore, the Human World Sword struck down without hesitation, and finally revealed that drop of river water! These thoughts flashed through Xu Qing's mind, transforming into an even more astonishing cold glint in his eyes.

"So, it was you!"

His previous conjectures could only narrow the scope to a Divine Venerable in the Ninth Star Ring, but he didn't know which one specifically. Now, he understood the source.

"As for the Divine Lord you sent, it's merely a clone..."

Xu Qing looked up at the starry sky, his body swayed, and he transformed into a silver long rainbow, whistling towards the firmament. His speed was astonishing; in an instant, he reached the edge of the firmament, and his calm voice echoed throughout Wanggu.

"Divine Body, return!"

His words shook the world, resounding in all directions, forming countless thunderous echoes that continuously boomed...

Within Fenghai Commandery, inside the underground palace, outside the Phoenix Hall, a figure who had been sitting cross-legged with eyes closed, suddenly opened its eyes wide at this instant! Golden divine radiance, characteristic of a god, overflowed from those opened eyes. It was none other than Xu Qing's divine body!

Astonishing divine might erupted in a torrential surge. Then, the divine body, expressionless, abruptly stood up and transformed into a brilliant golden long rainbow, shooting forth! It pierced through the underground palace, burst from the earth, and to the shock of countless cultivators in Fenghai Commandery, this golden long rainbow sped towards the firmament!

The golden light and the silver rainbow ascended from two different locations, finally converging at the edge of the firmament, to the astonishment of all powerful beings in Wanggu. Without hesitation, they directly... merged into one!

Gold and silver intertwined in an instant! Light, like an ocean, filled the sky. Furthermore, a divine spark appeared within this fusion. That was... the Divine Spark of Destiny! Using the Divine Spark of Destiny as its power, empowering the divine body, immortal and god... merged at this very moment!

Finally, they broke through the firmament and appeared in the starry sky beyond Wanggu! Transforming into a... unique and divine figure! The divine body was imprinted with numerous divine authorities, and these authorities were woven together, with the Divine Spark of Destiny at their core!

The aura of the Xia Immortal emanated from its soul, coiling around its form, creating constitutional patterns. Each pattern encompassed space-time, parallelism, and unity! Reflected in its eyes, the left shone with brilliant flowing silver, and the right with dazzling golden light! Accompanied by long hair resembling a purple galaxy... The divine might of a Divine Lord shook all directions. The pressure of an Immortal Lord filled space-time.

Thus, an Immortal God was formed, astounding heaven and earth, drawing the attention of all supreme beings in the Ninth Star Ring! This was now Xu Qing's ultimate form!

"You cannot escape!"

In the starry sky, Xu Qing, now a merged Immortal God, slowly turned his head, his gold and silver eyes gazing into the distance, towards the direction where the Divine Lord had fled.

With a single step, he pursued!