Chapter 602: Time, Just Right

On the Red Moon Temple plaza, nine brilliant, star-like vortices surrounded Xu Qing, emanating refining power.

Sun, moon, ice, fire, thunder, and heavenly wind all erupted simultaneously at this moment.

Furthermore, the blurred figure of a massive Treant, a thousand zhang tall, appeared outside the secret treasury formed by these nine vortices, standing conspicuously on the plaza.

The aura of Dao Nurturing was fully unleashed.

The heavens and earth changed color, winds and clouds swirled backward, and colossal roars, like heavenly thunder, echoed from all directions.

However, as soon as Xu Qing's words resonated, all of this was shaken by a dragon's roar.

The dragon's roar resonated with the sky, causing fish-scale-like ripples to appear across it.

It shook the heavens and earth, causing the ground to tremble and churn.

A colossal Azure Dragon emerged from Xu Qing's body, first its tentacles, then its immense head, and finally its astonishing physique.

Growing larger and larger, it eventually leaped out, fully manifesting within this illusory secret treasury, roaming in all directions.

Its pale blue body, sharp teeth, and astonishing dragon fins exuded an unparalleled divine aura, while a unique Heavenly Dao essence spread from it.

A sense of exhilaration was infused in its roar, palpable to those who heard it, as if for the dragon, this moment was like returning to the ocean, its most suitable place to thrive.

Its emergence caused the secret treasury to tremble, and the rules and laws contained within it instinctively chose to obey, as if soldiers encountering their general.

The sky churned, and heavenly thunder roared.

The temple cultivator, manifested outside the secret treasury, changed expression drastically at this moment, his eyes filled with disbelief and horror.

"Heavenly Dao?"

A huge wave surged in the temple cultivator's mind. He couldn't imagine why the Heavenly Dao, which he had yearned for but failed to form, would appear on a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Moreover, judging by its fluctuations, it didn't originate from a small world but was born within the Ancient Continent itself.

This was even more outrageous.

The temple cultivator's mind was reeling, and the next instant, a strong sense of unease and dread arose within him.

"A Dao-nurturing cultivator's secret treasury, though seemingly powerful before forming its own Heavenly Dao, is most vulnerable to being occupied by another's Heavenly Dao..."

"This place was originally nurtured for the formation of the Heavenly Dao..."

The temple cultivator's body trembled, and his blurred figure immediately formed a hand seal. The nine brilliant vortices that formed the secret treasury within him rapidly dimmed. They swiftly shifted from a closed, refining state, attempting to open and expel Xu Qing and the Heavenly Dao, but it was too late!

The Azure Dragon had already arrived, cheering as it began to take control of all the subservient rules and laws within the secret treasury.

Xu Qing's eyes gleamed with intensity. He resisted with all his might, delaying the intention to expel him.

At this moment, he had no intention of leaving.

He raised his hands and vigorously waved them.

"Azure Dragon, take control!"

As Xu Qing's words spread, the Azure Dragon roared, expanding its body even further. Countless threads of light, visible to the naked eye, radiated from its form, connecting to the entire secret treasury.

The nine brilliant light clusters were its main targets.

Countless threads shot towards those light clusters. Although they disintegrated upon contact, the threads originating from the Azure Dragon were endless.

Especially since the Azure Dragon had suffered severe injuries before and had been hungry for a long time, always in an underfed and overdrawn state, it went wild at the sight of such a feast.

Greed appeared in its eyes as it opened its mouth wide and relentlessly bit and devoured. Its body color rapidly changed from pale blue to deep blue.

Cracking sounds echoed, and the secret treasury trembled with increasing intensity.

What pained him even more was that the Providence he had painstakingly accumulated in this secret treasury over many years was now being greedily absorbed by the Azure Dragon, which seemed delighted. Its divine aura intensified, its aura surged, and its color changed again, revealing a silvery hue.

Although not much, this touch of silver gave a sense of a Spirit Treasury.

Observing this scene, the Prince in the sky showed a profound expression.

However, the temple cultivator's cultivation was, after all, superior to Xu Qing's. Seeing this, he too felt a surge of madness in his heart.

"You want to devour my secret treasury? This is your chance, but it's also mine! If I refine you and your Heavenly Dao, everything will change hands, and then today... will be the day I activate my first complete secret treasury!"

The temple cultivator roared inwardly. His illusory body suddenly contracted, splitting into nine parts, which then enhanced his nine vital vortices. This caused the power of his secret treasury to surge, suppressing the Azure Dragon's takeover of its rules and laws, and he resumed refining.

After all, this was his secret treasury, nurtured for many years. Although the Azure Dragon had a significant advantage within it, due to the disparity in cultivation, there was still a slight gap; at this moment, it had only integrated about 20%.

Now, with the temple cultivator's full effort, the integration trend was blocked and even began to reverse.

"Six more breaths."

The Prince, standing mid-air, spoke calmly.

Almost the instant his words were uttered, Xu Qing gave a deep look at the Heavenly Dao Azure Dragon. He felt that after the Azure Dragon had integrated 20% of the temple cultivator's secret treasury and devoured so much of the Providence painstakingly accumulated by the opponent, it had grown immensely.

"That's enough. Even self-destruction would be worth it!"

Xu Qing reined in his greed. He understood that the Prince's words were likely not false; if indeed a hundred breaths passed, only despair awaited him.

And given his nature, he was unwilling to place his safety at the whim of others.

Furthermore, with the temple cultivator's refining, the Azure Dragon's consumption would be difficult to continue. Therefore, a quick resolution remained his top priority.

All these thoughts flashed through Xu Qing's mind in an extremely short time. Then, without hesitation, he issued the command for the Azure Dragon to self-destruct.

The Azure Dragon trembled, letting out a helpless wail. Then, its body violently shook, and to the horror of the temple cultivator, terrifying fluctuations instantly surged from its form.

The fluctuations grew stronger and stronger, until finally, amidst a colossal roar that echoed through heaven and earth, the Azure Dragon, now greatly nourished, instantly self-destructed.

Deafening booms reverberated.

Agonized screams rang out, from the Azure Dragon, from the temple cultivator, and a stifled groan of pain from Xu Qing.

It wasn't just the Azure Dragon that self-destructed; the temple cultivator's secret treasury did too. Due to the intricate connection between the treasury and the Azure Dragon, six of the nine brilliant vortices instantly shattered under the roar.

The remaining three also dimmed, rapidly converging to form the temple cultivator's body. He spat out mouthfuls of blood, his face filled with panic, as he hastily retreated.

As for the Azure Dragon's body, only its head remained; the rest had disintegrated and shot out in all directions.

However, this remaining head was predominantly silver. Though it emitted a sense of weakness, it was much stronger compared to before. Amidst its wails, it transformed into a silver ray and returned to Xu Qing's body.

Xu Qing, too, was severely injured. Both his previous wounds and the consumption from being refined left him in considerable pain. As the Azure Dragon was his vital spirit, the backlash from its self-destruction surged through Xu Qing's entire body like a tide.

Blood seeped from the corners of Xu Qing's mouth, and multiple parts of his body burst open. The poison restriction within him spread throughout his body, and he charged directly towards the temple cultivator whose secret treasury had collapsed.

He caught up in an instant, lunging forward. The poison restriction enveloped his target, his dagger in hand, and in a flash, he darted through, severing the head!

This extreme exertion caused more blood to spray from Xu Qing's body. He was panting, his vision blurring, but he gritted his teeth, lifted his head, looked at the Prince in the sky, and spoke hoarsely.

"The timing was just right!"

Almost the moment Xu Qing's words were uttered, the perception-altering power that enveloped the temple vanished. Everyone's senses returned to normal, and as if sensing something, they abruptly turned their heads to look at the plaza.

There was nothing there.

The deceased Dao-nurturing temple cultivator was gone, and Xu Qing had also vanished.

Only the ripples in the sky and the fractured ground bore witness that everything before had truly occurred.

However, in everyone's memory, the ground here seemed to have been broken all along, and they ignored the changes in the sky.

Thus, everything in the temple returned to normal.

Meanwhile, in the sky outside the temple, the Prince walked ahead with his hands behind his back. Xu Qing, his body trembling, fought to stay conscious, supported by Shadow and the Vajra Sect Ancestor, following behind.

"In this battle, you revealed many problems."

The Prince spoke calmly.

Xu Qing remained silent.

"Whether a secret treasury forms a Heavenly Dao or not is similar to the show-off state before the Foundation Establishment realm. So, you should know that the person you fought could be easily defeated with a single slap by a true Spirit Treasury cultivator."

"Yet, you took a hundred breaths and were severely injured yourself."

"Therefore, your first problem is a severe lack of combat experience against Dao-nurturing cultivators. You haven't adapted to fighting those who possess rules and laws."

"This person's rules and laws were actually very ordinary and simply displayed."

"Your second problem is that you haven't linked together all the miscellaneous abilities you possess to form your own killer moves."

"And the third problem: you haven't deeply explored the true functions of the abilities you possess."

"Overall, your methods are too singular."

"You have likely fought many times against individuals with higher cultivation than yours in the past, but you never actually achieved victory as the weaker party; you simply fought with your absolute strength."

"This won't do."

As the Prince spoke, he glanced at the swaying Xu Qing, then waved his hand. The world spun, and their figures reappeared outside a pharmacy in the earthen city.

"You must truly achieve victory as the weaker party to be considered qualified."

Xu Qing, following behind, spurted blood the moment he stepped in. His body could no longer hold on, and he fell, lapsing into unconsciousness.

Vaguely, he seemed to hear Ling'er's startled cry, mixed with the complaints of a parrot.

"Grandpa, grandpa, you're finally back! A few days ago, I went out to play and encountered a group of mysterious people who plucked all the newly grown feathers from my body again..."