Chapter 1345: Desiring to Open the Door

During his years on Chaoxia Mountain, Xu Qing had quietly sent his divine avatar out of Wanggu Continent using his own methods, simultaneously employing Sovereign Mimming’s power to create a mirrored image.

This undertaking was naturally aided by Mimming, which allowed for a certain degree of concealment.

The purpose of doing this was twofold.

One was to prevent the divine avatar from being controlled and exploited by Crown Prince Ziqing.

The other was Xu Qing’s plan to use this as one of his trump cards, waiting for a critical moment when Crown Prince Ziqing would believe he had succeeded, thereby creating an opportunity for Sovereign Mimming to act!

After all, with the Remnant Face of the Primeval Wilderness present, approaching Wanggu was extremely dangerous. For powerful cultivators native to the Ninth Star Ring, Divine Venerables dared not draw near, and Divine Sovereigns were already at their limit.

As for powerful cultivators from other Star Rings, the risk of coming to Wanggu would be even greater due to the differing aura of their native Star Ring.

Therefore, Sovereign Mimming would only have one chance to strike, and she could not prolong the battle.

This led to the series of events that had just unfolded.

"What a pity..."

Xu Qing felt a hint of regret, but having anticipated such a situation, he quickly reined in his emotions. With a cold glint in his eyes, he took a single step and appeared outside the great hall.

Taking another step, he strode directly into the imperial palace hall.

He landed with a sudden step, facing Crown Prince Ziqing, who was still seated on the dragon throne, a trace of golden blood at the corner of his mouth.

His entire being was like a long spear poised to pierce heaven and earth, rushing with devastating force directly towards Crown Prince Ziqing.

But just as Xu Qing approached, a brilliant golden light suddenly erupted from Crown Prince Ziqing’s eyes. He rose from his seated position and raised his right hand, pressing it towards the sky.

From his lips, a divine sound emanated!

"Deity!"

The moment this word echoed from Ziqing's lips, Wanggu Continent was violently shaken.

All living beings of myriad races instantly felt a tremor in their hearts and instinctively looked up.

For above the firmament, the half-face spanning half the sky now trembled, and surprisingly began to turn, facing the Devouring Heaven Domain.

Its drooping, withered hair, with the trembling and turning of the face, dragged paths of world-destruction through the void, like decaying vines.

Especially its greenish-gray eyelids, at this instant, surprisingly began to crack like permafrost of ten thousand years.

Then, its eyelashes, like rusted iron bars, seemed about to open!

Heaven and earth trembled.

The world itself seemed to hold its breath.

Within the Devouring Heaven Domain, in the imperial hall of the Upper Kingdom, Crown Prince Ziqing, who had risen from the dragon throne, now became a vessel for an astonishing divine might. As the Primeval Wilderness’s eye trembled, this power violently erupted outwards from his body!

Like a sweeping storm, it passed through the hall, causing it to rumble, instantly shatter, and scatter into dust.

It contained an irresistible force!

Xu Qing, who had been approaching, suddenly halted mid-stride, then was swept away by this force, forced to retreat.

He managed to stop hundreds of feet away, then, after spitting out a mouthful of blood, he suddenly looked up at the firmament.

The moment Xu Qing looked up, the eye of the Primeval Wilderness, high in the firmament, subtly opened and closed!

The world boomed.

Heaven and earth warped.

Within that eye, what surged was not an iris, but shattered galaxies.

It was as if billions of stars were burning within its eye, transforming into golden light that streamed through the slits of its eyelids. Wherever this light passed, the clouds in the firmament boiled into viscous tar, and the mountains and earth cracked with spiderweb-like fissures.

Space-time itself was twisting.

Under the residual gaze of this not-yet-fully-opened eye, all cities within the entire Devouring Heaven Domain trembled, showing signs of dissipation like clay kneaded by a giant hand.

Inside them, corpses strangely floated, their bluish-black skin oozing an eerie glow like phosphorescent fire.

At the location of the former great hall, amidst the dissipating dust, Crown Prince Ziqing stood, his long hair fluttering, his eyes blazing with dazzling golden light.

His cultivation level seemed to have become irrelevant to him.

He was like a vessel, embodying the will of the Primeval Wilderness.

This transformed his gaze, which was no longer gentle as before, and his expression, which became entirely cold and indifferent.

It was as if, at this moment, he was no longer the Ziqing Xu Qing knew!

"Descend!"

The cold, emotionless voice echoed through heaven and earth.

The moment it was uttered, the eye of the Primeval Wilderness in the sky suddenly opened wide!

What swirled within its pupil was a chaotic vortex, each contraction devouring the light of heaven and earth.

When the vortex reached its critical point, a dark golden pillar of light violently descended, engulfing the Devouring Heaven Domain!

The plains it touched instantly boiled; soil, shattered stones, and corpses decomposed into primordial particles within the light pillar. Only some shining fragments, for reasons unknown, still persisted, though it seemed they would not last much longer.

Fierce beasts, and even anomalies, instantly shattered into dust, scattering with the wind as stardust.

This was not simple destruction, but a dimensional contamination.

Under the gaze of the remnant face, the boundary between reality and illusion was utterly shattered, and the line between the living and the dead blurred.

Vaguely, wisps of figures surprisingly materialized within the gaze!

And the true focal point of the Primeval Wilderness’s gaze was the land of the Ziqing Upper Kingdom, its great hall, and… Crown Prince Ziqing!

Standing within the Primeval Wilderness’s gaze, he was... a Divine Manifestation.

He then raised his hand and pointed at Xu Qing.

At the motion of that finger, the surroundings warped, and the figures that had appeared within the gaze instantly became clear.

Those were, astonishingly, projections of deities!

These deities mostly hailed from ancient times; they were all gods devoured by the Primeval Wilderness!

Though fallen, they had been preserved within the Primeval Wilderness’s gaze, and now, under Crown Prince Ziqing’s pointed finger, they materialized one after another.

Even among them was the Divine Venerable Xu Qing had once seen inside the bronze coffin of the Fourth Star Ring!

Although they no longer possessed their living power, their inherent divine nature still made them immensely potent sources of contamination.

As they appeared, an alien essence surged intensely at that instant, spreading overwhelmingly.

These projections then swept directly towards Xu Qing.

They sought to corrupt Xu Qing entirely.

This was not the first time Xu Qing had faced the eye of the Primeval Wilderness, but it was certainly the most intense.

Previously, when the Primeval Wilderness’s eye opened, it was purely instinctive, devoid of conscious will.

This time, however, it contained both will and countless projections!

Even though Xu Qing’s divine constitution had reached the level of a Sovereign Immortal, and he cultivated as an Immortal, under the gaze of the Primeval Wilderness, he still appeared bluish-black.

His body was being defiled; an endless alien essence was penetrating his form.

His divine constitution was being influenced; the power of destiny from the Primeval Wilderness sought to forcibly alter it.

Almost instantly, Xu Qing felt an extreme life-or-death crisis. His eyes turned crimson, and every inch of his flesh developed an independent consciousness, attempting to separate from him.

At the crucial moment, Xu Qing suddenly raised his right hand and pressed it towards the distance.

He uttered a low cry.

"Mirror of Wanggu!"

The moment these four words were uttered, the shining fragments within the Devouring Heaven Domain that had been desperately holding on under the Primeval Wilderness’s gaze trembled in unison, then all soared into the air, whistling towards Xu Qing.

They appeared all around Xu Qing!

These fragments were, astonishingly, the shattered pieces of the Mirror of Wanggu after its collapse!

Now, shining individually, they released the sealed destiny of the Ziqing Upper Kingdom contained within them!

They empowered Xu Qing with the destiny of the Ziqing Upper Kingdom!

This alone was clearly insufficient to resist the Primeval Wilderness’s gaze, so Xu Qing, without hesitation, drew forth his strongest trump card!

It was a bronze lamp!

The Divine Venerable’s eye within the lamp suddenly opened wide at that moment!

The moment the Divine Venerable’s eye opened wide, golden light erupted from within like a torrent. Bolstered by the destiny of the Ziqing Upper Kingdom released by the Mirror of Wanggu fragments, it invisibly countered the Primeval Wilderness’s eye and the countless surrounding projections.

Amidst the booming, Xu Qing’s body trembled, but the sensation of his flesh wanting to separate and the tendency of his body to be contaminated by the alien essence were somewhat alleviated.

The gaze emitted by the Divine Venerable’s eye within the bronze lamp formed a protective barrier around Xu Qing.

It neutralized the Primeval Wilderness’s eye and blocked the projections rushing from all directions.

However, the might of the Primeval Wilderness transcended that of all Divine Venerables. Even with Grandmaster Bai’s blessing, and the empowerment of the Mirror of Wanggu and Ziqing’s national destiny, this Divine Venerable’s eye ultimately could not fully resist.

Golden cracks were now rapidly spreading within the divine eye.

"The bronze lamp will collapse in at most ten breaths!"

"But... that should be enough time!"

Xu Qing did not hesitate. Releasing the bronze lamp to float freely, he immediately sat down cross-legged. As his hands formed incantation gestures, a sharp intent emanated from his body.

It was... sword intent!

Xu Qing had simulated this battle countless times on Chaoxia Mountain before arriving.

He naturally knew that his battle with Ziqing would inevitably draw the attention of the Primeval Wilderness, and that its eye might even open.

Therefore, he had exhausted all his efforts, specifically for this purpose, to find a unique method of counter-attack.

"I did not die in Peerless City or Primordial City, even when the Primeval Wilderness truly opened its eye. The purple crystal was something I discovered afterwards, so the reason for my survival is unrelated to it."

"The relevant factor has some connection to Crown Prince Ziqing."

"However, in my memories of Peerless City, there are two distinct scenarios: in one, I did not die, while in the other, I perished."

"This is not right!"

"Therefore... it's also possible that I survived due to other reasons!"

"And throughout my cultivation journey, I have achieved internal and external clarity. Only two uncertainties remain: one is the purple crystal, an external object that I can temporarily set aside. Besides that..."

"There is only one!"

"I have twice perceived, in the deepest part of my soul, the existence of a mysterious long corridor, innumerable doors, and even deeper, a seat that remains unexplorable and cannot be actively manifested to this day!"

"This might be my... only way to resist the Primeval Wilderness!"

These thoughts flashed through Xu Qing's mind. With resolute eyes, he raised his right hand and fiercely pulled at his spiritual core...

Instantly, sword qi burst forth from his spiritual core, transforming into the Emperor’s Sword.

Xu Qing grasped it and, with a single stroke, sliced it across his own brow!

This created an enormous wound that penetrated through the upper and lower layers of his skin!

This sight caused Crown Prince Ziqing, even while under the Primeval Wilderness’s gaze, to narrow his eyes. His indifferent expression, at this moment, showed a touch of strangeness.

"You intend to... cleave yourself open?"