Chapter 1324: Spirit Emperor's Suffering

Almost at the moment Xu Qing's words were uttered, the giant serpent before him trembled violently, letting out a soul-piercing hiss.

Echoing in the dark void of the Spirit Abyss, ripples spread outwards in waves, sweeping across all directions.

Simultaneously, within the great world above the giant serpent's head, the Spirit Emperor Eyes that had opened in their respective palaces all constricted. An intense life-or-death crisis caused the soul of the recently awakened Ancient Spirit Emperor to tremble.

It instinctively tried to escape. Instantly, spatial fluctuations appeared around all the Spirit Emperor Eyes.

These fluctuations erupted immediately, engulfing the Spirit Emperor Eyes, which vanished abruptly.

Xu Qing's expression remained calm as he watched, then spoke softly.

“Come back.”

All space had already been sealed the moment Xu Qing arrived.

This included spacetime.

Unless a being's cultivation surpassed his, no life could leave his presence at will.

Thus, under his gaze, and after his words, the vanished Spirit Emperor Eyes reappeared.

They didn't reappear within the great world as before, but instead... emerged directly on the giant serpent's body.

Looking closely, Spirit Emperor Eyes emerged out of nowhere on the rotting giant serpent's body, growing onto its flesh and unable to detach in the slightest.

All of them were now open, revealing intense fear.

They didn't even dare to resist, allowing Zhou Zhengli and Xing Huan, among others, to roam freely within its world.

“Xu Qing, I have not offended you!”

All the Spirit Emperor Eyes transmitted divine thoughts, merging into a sound almost like a divine pronouncement, carrying an inherent majesty.

However, it was tinged with anxiety and nervousness, having lost its former glory.

Outside the giant serpent, in the void, Xu Qing stood, raised his right hand, and grabbed towards the serpent.

With this grab, the giant serpent's trembling instantly intensified to the extreme; its body blurred, and its hissing turned into wails.

Its massive body was even melting.

The Ancient Emperor Eyes appearing all over its body also shrieked, successively detaching from its flesh, and uncontrollably converging towards Xu Qing.

The sensation of death instantly surged to its peak.

The Ancient Spirit Emperor's wails turned into desperate, instinctive pleas.

“Xu Qing, I have helped you before!”

“Even when you were weak, you provoked me multiple times, yet I never truly acted against you!”

Listening to the Ancient Spirit Emperor's wails, Xu Qing said nothing more.

He knew very well that the relationship between himself and the Ancient Spirit Emperor had always been a series of perilous transactions.

The reason the other party hadn't killed him at first was because he possessed aspects that made them wary, and also had a certain value.

That's why there was the subsequent ‘feeding’ and participation in the battle against the Scarlet Mother.

Therefore, his outstretched hand pulled fiercely.

Instantly, a tearing sound, accompanied by the Ancient Spirit Emperor's wails, echoed once more, and all the Spirit Emperor Eyes growing on the giant serpent's body were completely stripped away.

All ninety-nine of them appeared before Xu Qing, forcibly compressed by an irresistible power, causing them to pile together into a ball of eyes.

And the crushing force continued.

“Xu Qing, I even helped your Dao companion!”

“I can help her in the future too. My existence can ensure she won't be afflicted by any curses. I know you can do it, but I can...”

“I can help her substitute for calamities!”

“Our Ancient Spirit race possesses bloodline calamities. I can use myself to substitute for her!!”

All the Ancient Spirit Emperor's eyes rippled, and its converging divine thoughts rapidly transmitted under the powerful external compression.

These words seemed to have some effect; the crushing force slightly eased.

But before the Ancient Spirit Emperor could sigh in relief, Xu Qing's raised right hand suddenly grabbed.

Amidst the Ancient Spirit Emperor's mental roar, Xu Qing's hand had already descended above the Spirit Emperor Eyes, grasping that piece of void.

All the Spirit Emperor Eyes' pupils constricted.

At this moment, a sharp light also flashed in Xu Qing's eyes.

He looked at the void he was grasping.

There, an outsider couldn't perceive a golden thread!

Though called a thread, it was actually a strand of hair.

It existed and yet didn't exist, in an extremely peculiar state, with one end connected to the Ancient Emperor Eyes and the other... extending towards the distant darkness.

“Just as I expected.”

Xu Qing murmured in his heart. He had previously judged that the Ancient Spirit Emperor had managed to survive until now, besides its own persistence, likely due to external assistance.

After all, if one were to choose a chess piece, the Ancient Spirit Emperor's status would undoubtedly be the most suitable.

“As for who is behind this, this strand of hair has already revealed it.”

Xu Qing gripped the peculiar strand of hair, and his divine sense erupted along it, sweeping directly towards the distant darkness.

The dark Spirit Abyss, under his divine sense, became utterly clear, as if celestial fire had descended.

Especially with this strand of hair as a guide, the search transformed into a lock-on.

Thus, in an instant, within Xu Qing's divine sense, he clearly saw a beast-like entity resting in the mist deep within the Spirit Abyss!

It looked like a lizard, golden all over.

It was sleeping.

The moment Xu Qing's divine sense swept over, the sleeping lizard abruptly opened its eyes.

It made contact with Xu Qing's divine sense.

Invisible ripples erupted throughout the entire Spirit Abyss.

Furthermore, infinite cursing power materialized out of nowhere as the golden lizard awakened, churning in all directions.

It was precisely the monstrous beast among the four Divine Venerables outside the Wanggu Continent!

But clearly, what appeared here was only a wisp of its divine sense.

Even so, the void could not withstand its gaze meeting Xu Qing's, showing signs of collapse. Cracks rapidly spread across the entire realm where the Spirit Abyss was located.

Xu Qing paid no mind to this. His expression was cold as he gazed at the lizard from afar.

The golden lizard also looked at Xu Qing with indifference.

“Give me the Ancient Spirit behind you, and I shall depart.”

After a moment, the golden lizard's divine voice echoed, imbued with the power of 'words become law,' influencing will, soul, and everything.

Even Xu Qing's own constitution trembled under these words.

That was, after all, a Divine Venerable's divine sense!

However, Xu Qing was no stranger to Divine Venerables. Almost the instant his own constitution was affected, a lamp flame suddenly ignited before him.

Then, a lantern appeared before him.

Xu Qing held it, raising it high.

Inside the lantern, the Divine Venerable's eye, which had been refined within it, abruptly opened at that moment.

Overwhelming golden light transformed into a substantive sea of light, looking towards the golden lizard through the Divine Venerable's eye.

With this gaze, the void collapsed, all directions crumbled, showing a tendency towards annihilation.

The golden lizard's body rumbled, showing signs of fragmentation, and it continued to retreat. Its expression turned grim, and after its gaze swept over the lantern, it looked at Xu Qing once more.

Then, as it retreated, it broke through the void.

It ultimately chose to abandon its probing, wishing to leave Wanggu and return to its true body.

But...

If it had departed when Xu Qing drew the line, Xu Qing wouldn't have obstructed it. But having been given a chance and then making a choice, if it were to leave unscathed now...

This would cause invisible damage to the credibility of Xu Qing's declaration.

Regardless of any consideration, Xu Qing had to act, to show the external forces the consequences of continuing to remain here.

Thus, Xu Qing, holding the lantern, watched the departing golden lizard and spoke calmly.

“Entropy!”

As soon as he uttered these words, the lantern in his hand suddenly vibrated. Faintly, a heavy breathing sound, seemingly from ancient times, descended into this collapsing void realm.

That was the breath of a Divine Venerable who once belonged to the Fifth Star Ring, remaining in the world.

As the breathing sound echoed, the golden light emitted by the Divine Venerable's eye within the lantern instantly surpassed its previous intensity by countless folds, turning the entire void golden in an instant!

Then, everything in this realm transformed within the golden light.

Whether it was the void or the mist, it naturally included... the golden lizard that was about to depart and return to its true body!

The lizard's body trembled.

It felt... a Divine Venerable's divine authority!

Entropy, as it's known, is the process of all things moving from order to chaos. Using this divine authority, one can alter the entirety of matter by increasing or decreasing it.