Chapter 171: The Sun's Sitting Place

Xu Qing gritted his teeth, his gaze resolute. He felt he could no longer wait and needed to consider if the sound of the 'Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts' would be effective against this giant. If not, he had to prepare for an early retreat.

If it were effective, whether it would take immediate effect or require some time was unknown.

Therefore, Xu Qing immediately waved his hand. The Sound-Capturing Bottle instantly gleamed, and the sounds within it reappeared, scattering across the sea. Xu Qing held his breath, staring intently at the palanquin-bearing giant beneath the sea.

At this moment, the giant showed no abnormalities under the sound from the Sound-Capturing Bottle. It continued its massive strides, seemingly locking onto Xu Qing's position, drawing closer and closer. Nine hundred zhang, eight hundred zhang, seven hundred zhang...

Xu Qing's mind reeled; the oppressive aura grew increasingly potent. His entire body felt squeezed, his lungs unable to expand under the pressure, making breathing difficult, and his eyes bloodshot.

"Is it not as I imagined?" Xu Qing thought as he watched the approaching palanquin. Now, he could not only see the murals more clearly but also faintly discern some inscriptions carved within the palanquin.

Although the inscriptions were blurry, they exuded a sense of divinity to Xu Qing, like imperial handwriting—magnificent and inherently regal.

"A bit unwilling," Xu Qing muttered, spitting out a mouthful of blood. A profound sense of regret appeared on his face as he sighed, preparing to retreat. Since the Sound-Capturing Bottle was ineffective, continuing to stay would become increasingly perilous once the giant drew closer. Just as Xu Qing was about to fall back, his eyes suddenly narrowed.

The palanquin-bearing giant, now over six hundred zhang away, paused its steps for the first time. Its chin lifted, revealing vacant, black-hole eyes, and it tilted its head, as if listening intently. Xu Qing's eyes widened, his mind shaking intensely. The palanquin-bearing giant instinctively took another small step forward, finally reaching five hundred zhang.

At this distance, the oppressive aura was terrifyingly immense. Xu Qing's mind roared, blood seeped from his seven orifices. The Diamond Sect Ancestor let out a wail, his body rigidly pinned to the deck by invisible pressure. At this moment, the entire dharma boat creaked, seemingly on the verge of collapsing from the strain.

Fortunately, after the giant paused, its legs did not move this time. Only its head, like a puppet, rotated continuously, eventually settling into a tilted posture, as if listening carefully. Gradually, ripples appeared in its black-hole-like eyes, and a hint of bewilderment emerged on its expressionless face!

"It works!" Xu Qing exclaimed without hesitation. A hint of madness appeared on his face as his body, in its bizarre state, shot forward. As he burst out, he didn't forget to retract the dharma boat, releasing a surge of magical power to lift the Sound-Capturing Bottle, leaving it suspended in mid-air.

With a boom, his body plunged into the sea, rapidly surging towards the giant's palanquin five hundred zhang away.

As he drew closer, cracks instantly appeared on Xu Qing's body. These cracks rapidly spread across his entire form, turning into wounds from which blood spurted. His soul also trembled, as if on the verge of collapse. The flame of his life within him flickered violently, like a strong wind threatening to extinguish it.

Had it been an ordinary life flame, it would have been forcibly extinguished by this oppressive aura. However, Xu Qing's life flame was placed on his 'life lamp,' having taken root, it would not easily die out.

Moreover, at this critical juncture, Xu Qing waved his hand, and a massive black umbrella instantly appeared above his head. As soon as the black umbrella emerged, it resembled a canopy, streaming black flames that enveloped Xu Qing.

The external oppressive aura seemed to dissipate somewhat at this moment. This allowed Xu Qing's entire body to relax, while the recovery power of the purple crystal fully activated, healing his body.

However, Xu Qing paid no mind to these things now. His speed surged, and while the giant was tilting its head and listening, he directly crossed the five hundred zhang range, appearing beside the giant. Xu Qing's position was at the giant's waist. Compared to the giant, his body was like a fly next to a human, seemingly able to be swatted dead with a mere palm. Thus, the sense of breathtaking peril was extremely strong in Xu Qing's heart.

At such close proximity, he even saw the giant's decay and smelled the stench of a corpse. At the same time, he noticed that the giant's body was covered in shocking wounds. These countless wounds seemed to have formed as a result of it using its own body to block all harm, protecting something vital. All of this moved Xu Qing. His previous plan was clearly correct.

Therefore, even with the protection of the canopy and the purple crystal's recovery, his body continued to crack, seeming on the verge of collapse. Yet, ultimately, he was only facing the oppressive aura, the passive aura emanating from the giant, not its active attack. The difference between the two was like heaven and earth.

In a flash, he whistled past the giant, rapidly rushing towards the tall bronze imperial palanquin ahead. He drew closer and closer until, in the next instant, Xu Qing's figure finally surged to stand before the tilted imperial carriage.

Though permeated with rust, the carriage still exuded an imperial aura.

Though heavily damaged, the carvings remained incredibly luxurious.

Though buried for eons, the emperor's dignity had not faded.

At this moment, it imprinted itself clearly upon Xu Qing's eyes, branded itself onto his heart, and etched itself into his soul!

A sense of reverence erupted in his heart. However, the feeling of crisis from the giant forced Xu Qing to ignore everything. At this moment, he lifted his right foot, taking a step, and in an instant, propelled his body into the bronze imperial palanquin. This was where the sun had rested! This was where an emperor had once sat!

This was a place ordinary people could never approach in their lifetime! The palanquin was so vast that the moment Xu Qing stepped inside, he felt as if he had entered an enormous palace. He saw a massive imperial throne occupying half the space. He saw countless auspicious totems all around.

He saw broken lampstands scattered across the floor, and, on one side of the palanquin's inner wall, countless densely packed, crooked runes. These runes conveyed a sense of haste, as if left behind just before death, unwilling for their legacy to vanish.

The moment Xu Qing looked at them, his mind felt as if a hundred thousand heavenly thunderbolts had simultaneously exploded, creating an earth-shattering roar that tore through everything, filling every corner of his being. As his body trembled violently, countless dazzling lights appeared before his eyes. These golden lights continuously converged, transforming into a Golden Crow with folded wings, soaring towards the nine heavens. This Golden Crow was so immense that even without spreading its wings, it still occupied most of the sky. Its entire body shimmered with golden light, like a deity, and its aura surpassed every existence Xu Qing had ever witnessed. Whether it was Ju Ying or Yan Huang, they seemed like mere subjects before it! Its demeanor was lofty, like an emperor or a sovereign!

The records in the Seven Blood Eyes Sea Annals, the information given by the Third Elder, and the totems Xu Qing had seen outside the palanquin—all conveyed the same message to him.

The sun of this world was a vast existence, akin to an ancient emperor. Its true form was not human, but a divine Golden Crow! It rose at dawn and returned at dusk, its light illuminating the earth. Perhaps it didn't cover the entirety of Wanggu, but at least within the range of its radiance, it was the deity of all living beings.

At this moment, Xu Qing's mind roared, churning up monstrous waves. His soul trembled, and his physical body shivered. He had an indescribable feeling—an unreality of having stepped into a myth.

It was a sense of trance, stepping into the ancient eons before the fragmented face of the deity had appeared. Moreover, it was a profound shock to be standing inside the imperial palanquin of the sun, a place once lofty and worshipped by all beings.

This series of sensations profoundly impacted Xu Qing's spirit, especially what he was witnessing: the emperor-like Golden Crow soaring directly towards the nine heavens. As it ascended, its wings remained folded, yet he could see every feather trembling, containing an ineffable 'Dao Rhyme.'

This feeling was similar to what Xu Qing had experienced years ago when he saw the golden statue descending with a saber in the temple within the forbidden zone of the Scavenger Camp.

That saber strike from years ago had profoundly shaken him. To this day, the Heavenly Saber remained one of his trump cards. However, at that time, his cultivation realm was too low, and he only grasped a fraction of its essence.

Therefore, he couldn't fully unleash its power.

Nevertheless, this also indirectly showed Xu Qing's extraordinary comprehension.

His aptitude might have been excellent within the Seven Blood Eyes, but looking across the countless races and sects of the entire Wanggu Continent, there were many who surpassed him in pure aptitude.

Yet, Xu Qing could perceive the 'Dao Rhyme' of that saber strike even while in the Qi Condensation realm, which was proof of his extremely high comprehension.

At this moment, his comprehension fully manifested within Xu Qing. He was completely immersed in the sight of the divine Golden Crow before his eyes. He watched it soar directly to the heavens, watched the firmament split open, and watched it command the skies.

Outside Xu Qing's life lamp, a faint ethereal silhouette materialized. Its form rapidly solidified from blurriness, subtly forming the outline of the Golden Crow he was witnessing. This outline was quickly becoming clearer.

Until, as Xu Qing watched, the divine Golden Crow, which had bathed heaven and earth in golden light, suddenly spread its wings and flapped them vigorously. This was its first flight!

Heaven and earth roared, seemingly unable to bear the strain, showing signs of fracturing. A deafening, earth-shattering sound erupted, like countless thunderbolts exploding simultaneously, also stirring colossal waves within Xu Qing's heart. His mind felt as if it would burst. The Golden Crow outline outside his life lamp changed rapidly, forming even faster. Simultaneously, a vast amount of information dispersed from the Golden Crow he was witnessing, surging into his mind and merging into the outline beside his life lamp.

This information, like a storm, contained too vast a scope for Xu Qing to even begin to examine. At this moment, his body trembled, veins bulged on his forehead, and his eyes were bloodshot as he endured. This was a legacy.