Chapter 459: Transformation into a God

A roar reverberated in all directions.

Xu Qing spat out blood, his face grim, as he continuously retreated—falling back again and again! This was the first time he had encountered his poison-forbidden power being countered. Not neutralized, perhaps, but delayed. When combined with infinite resurrection, this delay would be significantly amplified. Yet, Xu Qing could sense his poison... it was still present! Even when his opponent reversed time for resurrection, the poison remained, ingrained deep in their bones and marrow. This was the terrifying aspect of his poison-forbidden technique. However, with the poison's effects delayed, formidable as it was, Xu Qing knew that if this continued, he might not have the opportunity to wait for the poison to take full effect.

Furthermore, these nine corpses were all immortal. Xu Qing's attacks had no effect on them; it seemed the souls within them were bearing the brunt of everything. This was Chu Tianqun's method for delaying poison. He dispersed his poison among the nine bodies, and then into countless souls. Though the countless souls wailed and cried, Xu Qing sensed their willingness. It was as if Chu Tianqun was their faith, their deity! This was, in fact, one of a deity's true capabilities! Thus, the nine corpses became immortal, and the early Nascent Soul fluctuations emanating from them posed a fatal threat to Xu Qing when all nine attacked together, though one alone would have been manageable.

Seeing the escalating danger, a cold gleam flashed in Xu Qing's eyes. He still had two trump cards unused, but both unleashed their greatest power on their first use, especially the Ghost Emperor Mountain, which only had one chance to materialize.

"The key lies with the souls. Suppressing them is futile; they must either be destroyed or... subjugated!"

With this thought, resolve appeared in Xu Qing's eyes. He suddenly raised his right hand, and in an instant, the Ghostly Seizing Dao Art circulated. His right hand became translucent and forcefully pierced towards his own chest. The cold hand penetrated his body, directly entering his Sea of Consciousness, reaching into the Fourth Heavenly Palace, and seizing the... Purple Moon within!

Activating the Purple Moon's power through the Heavenly Palace was like a small horse pulling a large cart. Though it shared the same origin as Xu Qing, his current strength limited his ability to unleash its full potential. The only way to truly utilize it was to remove it directly and employ it.

As Xu Qing grasped the Purple Moon, veins bulged on his forehead, and intense pain spread throughout his body. Yet, he didn't frown; his eyes remained calm, filled with killing intent, as he pulled fiercely. Immediately, his Fourth Heavenly Palace vibrated as the Purple Moon was forcibly extracted by Xu Qing's right hand and held high.

In an instant, endless purple light erupted directly from between the fingers of Xu Qing's raised right hand, transforming into a vast sea of purple radiance that spread limitlessly in all directions. Wherever it passed, the world turned purple, as if this area was severed from the world, disconnected from the void, becoming... a divine domain to a certain extent. Within this divine domain, the purple light was divine power, and the Purple Moon, its source, was a deity!

The next moment, as the purple light erupted, Chu Tianqun's true body underwent a drastic change in expression, his mind roared, and he cried out in disbelief.

"Divine Authority!"

"This is impossible!!"

As he spoke, he vomited large mouthfuls of golden blood, and blood tears streamed from his eyes as if he were going blind. His body trembled violently, his hands rising uncontrollably to cover his eyes in worship. Simultaneously, his body twisted, and all his flesh seemed to gain its own consciousness, attempting to separate from him. However, as a divine trial body, his own divine power intensely suppressed this, striving to maintain his equilibrium. If he was in such a state, then his disaster corpses were even worse.

The eyes of these corpses all went blind. As their bodies trembled, they knelt one by one, uttering mournful wails, their physical abnormalities becoming incredibly intense, subtly showing signs of mutation. And the human souls within them, invaded by the light, ceased their wailing and crying. Their expressions showed an unprecedented piety, imbued with fanaticism, as they changed their allegiance. One by one, they detached from the corpses and flew towards the Purple Moon in Xu Qing's right hand.

In an instant, these souls flew into the Purple Moon, and without the souls' support, the nine corpses began to show signs of collapse amidst their trembling. Chu Tianqun, too, could no longer delay the poison-forbidden power. The poison throughout his body erupted violently, causing rapid decay.

Killing intent gleamed in Xu Qing's eyes. He was about to continue when, in the next instant, as ripples appeared in the sky, an immense sense of crisis surged within his mind. This crisis surpassed all previous perceptions, soul-stirring and ominous, like a great terror. Xu Qing's expression abruptly changed. The Canglong Heavenly Dao in the sky also emitted a shrill and urgent cry at this moment. Vaguely, an indescribable existence seemed to have detected the Purple Moon's aura from an unknown location, appearing to awaken and search. The color of the sky, at this moment, faintly showed a reddish hue.

Xu Qing's mind instantly recalled the Red Moon, the terrifying deity statue, and the breathing sound he had once heard on the Primordial Sepulchral Pillar. This was, in fact, Xu Qing's biggest worry. He knew the origin of his Purple Moon.

At this moment, without the slightest hesitation, as the anxious cries of the Heavenly Dao Canglong echoed, he immediately placed the raised Purple Moon back into his Heavenly Palace. He also widely retracted his poison-forbidden pellets, using the divine power contained within them to fully conceal the Purple Moon.

Having done this, Xu Qing's body moved with astonishing speed directly towards Chu Tianqun. In the blink of an eye, he was close, a dagger appearing in his right hand, and he slashed again towards the neck of the still trembling, unrestored Chu Tianqun! But the next instant, a golden light erupted from Chu Tianqun's skin, dazzling and blinding, blocking Xu Qing's dagger and creating both an obstruction and a recoil. Xu Qing's body trembled, blood overflowed, and he rapidly retreated.

The moment he fled, Chu Tianqun, badly decayed under the golden light, suddenly opened his eyes. After a deep look at Xu Qing, he unexpectedly raised his head and directly struck his own glabella with a palm. With a boom, his head collapsed, and he died instantly.

Xu Qing's expression was grim. As his body continued to retreat, he quickly looked up at the sky. At this moment, the faint red glow in the sky had dissipated, and the anxious cries of the Heavenly Dao Canglong ceased. This made Xu Qing sigh in relief, knowing that his poison-forbidden power had successfully concealed the Purple Moon's aura. So, with a flicker, he flew into the sky, tearing forcefully with both hands, intending to forcibly break open the confinement here. Although the confinement here was astonishingly powerful, the Heavenly Dao Canglong held a higher status and had already dismantled most of it.

But Xu Qing was actually dissatisfied. He felt that the Canglong Heavenly Dao should be extraordinary, yet it was so slow in breaking through this confinement, even though it was prepared with Chu Tianqun's full power and contained his divine energy. It was still too slow. Canglong felt wronged.

Xu Qing ignored it, putting all his effort into tearing open a crack in the confinement. Just as he was about to teleport, his gaze passed through the crack to the outside, and his heart sank, his movements halting. Outside... was not the same desert as here! Beyond the confinement, there was a world shrouded in mist. Canglong, as if explaining, let out a cry, seeming to tell Xu Qing that this was not its home ground. Xu Qing's eyes narrowed.

"You actually tore it open, but unfortunately... I had already prepared for it. Do you really think this is still the Desolate Ancient Continent?"

"This is the Soaring Smoke Realm, thoroughly refined and controlled by the Misty Smoke Race. It's not a minor world, but a remaining fragment of an ancient grand world, second only to the Desolate Ancient Continent, after it shattered."

"This is a supreme treasure that surpasses forbidden artifacts!"

"I exchanged a hundred drops of divine blood for one activation. To leave, either I die, or you die. Today, only one of us will leave alive."

On the ground, as time reversed, Chu Tianqun's figure reappeared, restored to normal. However, some areas on his face remained decayed even after resurrection. Moreover, some areas emitted a purple light. That was caused by Xu Qing's divine power; even his resurrection couldn't erase it. Thus, this resurrected Chu Tianqun appeared utterly grotesque.

Xu Qing stood mid-air, looking down at Chu Tianqun.

"Then I'll kill you!"

With a flicker, Xu Qing darted straight towards Chu Tianqun.

"Kill me?" Chu Tianqun sneered, sitting cross-legged and forming hand seals. Instantly, golden light appeared around him, enveloping him. At the same time, golden light erupted from his eyes, and his entire body, at this moment, turned completely golden. Even his hair was golden. A strong sense of divinity surged from him. His expression was no longer grotesque but turned indifferent, as if his life level had elevated at that instant, rendering all emotions superfluous to him.

In this indifference, he closed his eyes, ignoring the charging Xu Qing, and began to murmur, his voice like scriptures. A sequence of divine murmurs, like ancient scripture, began to emanate from his lips: "Following the dark lunar path of the transcendent divine prime to the spirit of dark clarity and hope..."

As the voice emerged, this confined world immediately trembled, shaking violently. This was not scripture; this was the murmur of a deity! Chu Tianqun himself was a divine trial body, so he simulated the murmurs he heard with his own divine power and transmitted them into the world. The eight directions twisted, becoming a blur. In that instant, the entire area surged with boundless abnormalities, invading everything, transforming all, and even phantom monstrous beasts appeared out of nowhere.

Xu Qing's mind was strongly shaken, and his body was similarly affected, manifesting abnormalities that did not belong to him. Another sequence of divine murmurs followed: "Obscure sun, lofty essence, virtue, suppressing the Yellow Gate..."

Xu Qing's body crashed down from the sky with a boom, his eyes scarlet. He stared up at the murmuring Chu Tianqun; the opponent's figure was blurred in his vision, overlaid by countless images. Vaguely, an indescribable divine form seemed to be materializing. At this moment, his mind was incredibly chaotic, his breathing hurried, and his body was somewhat uncontrollable. The opponent's voice seemed to have materialized, present everywhere: in his Sea of Consciousness, in his mind, in his spiritual energy, and in his flesh and blood. A tearing pain spread throughout his body. The scene of seeing the deity's eye in the ghost cave beneath the Primordial Sepulchral Pillar reappeared.