Chapter 798: For the Gods, Drawing Boundaries

Xu Qing knew his strength. He was no match for Bai Xiaozhuo, who had reached the Grand Perfection of Guixu. Unless he used the Ancient Sun. But that would cause too much widespread damage. The entire Imperial College space might collapse, and the imperial capital would fall into catastrophe. Moreover, Xu Qing felt Bai Xiaozhuo wasn't worth using the Ancient Sun to kill.

Therefore, the Ancient Sun primarily served as a deterrent and for self-preservation. If the Imperial Sword could move, everything would be simple. Xu Qing felt regret. Since the Imperial Sword was currently inert, to kill Bai Xiaozhuo, Xu Qing knew he could only rely on a strategy of using minimal effort to achieve maximum impact: he would expose Bai Xiaozhuo's identity and destroy him in the name of humanity.

As for the Raven, it was far from the right time. With Xu Qing's current influence, it wasn't enough to completely shake a Grand Tutor. So, he sat cross-legged on the white dao platform enclosed by the formation, looking up at the battle in the sky, alongside the Sect Master of the Heretic Immortal Sect, Chen Daoze, and numerous students below.

Compared to Xu Qing's outward calm, the Fused God Sect was filled with endless complexity, fear, and apprehension. Even the Heretic Immortal Sect Master felt a surge within him; he never expected that the Fused God lineage's true intent was to illuminate Bai Xiaozhuo. This revelation also showed him a ray of hope. He knew very well that after this battle, the rise of the Heretic Immortal lineage would be unstoppable. The Fused God lineage would crumble, and all its students and high-ranking members would undoubtedly be rigorously monitored to uncover any remaining followers of the Illumination. All of this was brought about by the ancestor Xu Qing, who was beside him.

Amidst these swirling thoughts, the Heretic Immortal Sect Master glanced at Chen Daoze, who subtly nodded back. The Heretic Immortal Sect Master's resolve strengthened. He turned to Xu Qing, his eyes showing deep respect. However, Xu Qing's attention wasn't on his surroundings; all his perception was focused on the battlefield.

This was a rare opportunity to observe a battle, allowing everyone to gain a deeper understanding of the Guixu realm. For Xu Qing, the significance of observing this battle was particularly profound, because it was also a battle between Immortal cultivators and Divine cultivators. Even though the level displayed wasn't at the Divine Embryo stage, the actions of multiple Guixu Fourth Stage cultivators still blurred the sky.

Therefore, those without a certain level of cultivation only saw lightning, thunder, and dimly visible suns and moons, hearing only roars and witnessing chaos. But for Spirit Depository cultivators, they could see more. They could perceive the changes between rules and laws in the sky, and even sense rules materializing into laws, forming ancient phantoms that constantly shook the divinity from the Illumination side.

This was a form of "Dao observation," where the manifestation of battlefield rules varied depending on individual experiences and cultivation focus. What one person saw clearly, another might not, and vice versa. So, the Imperial College students held their breath, each engrossed in their own insights. Only those who reached the Guixu cultivation level could truly perceive the entire battle's phenomena, witness all the rules and laws manifesting, and see countless Great Daos flowing.

In the eyes of Guixu cultivators, the sky battle was like a re-enactment of an ancient war, filled with thunderous roars. Each syllable contained the Great Dao, continuously reverberating and shattering the void, causing cracks to appear in the Imperial College space. Upon closer inspection, these cracks also exhibited changes in rules, shaking one's mind while instinctively prompting deep thought. However, all this was merely the surface. The true essence could only be understood by those at the same level or higher in cultivation.

Xu Qing's cultivation hadn't reached that level, but he was different from others. He was both an Immortal cultivator and a Divine cultivator. Therefore, the battlefield appeared differently in his eyes compared to others. What he saw was a vibrant tapestry interwoven across the sky, like a flowing, abstract painting. Within this painting, Bai Xiaozhuo, appearing god-like, was sometimes clear, sometimes blurry, each flicker occurring in a different location.

The Imperial College Headmaster, who was fighting him, possessed terrifying cultivation. Augmented by the royal bloodline, he was three parts stronger than a normal Guixu Grand Perfection cultivator. Each of his attacks conjured millions, even tens of millions, of Great Daos, and with the Golden Dragon's movements, all rules changed according to his will. At times, he transformed into a dazzling sun; at others, an ancient war chariot for murderous collisions; sometimes, never-before-seen giant beasts exhibiting bizarre paths, suppressing Bai Xiaozhuo from all directions.

Around them, the sect masters of other lineages, though varying in strength, were equally astonishing. They fought the five Fused God puppets from other races in a chaotic battle, each sustaining injuries. Grand Perfection Guixu cultivators were considered peak existences in any race. In some races that did not possess Divine Embryos, they were even like gods. Thus, some strange characteristics naturally manifested in Grand Perfection Guixu cultivators.

For example, their falling blood instantly formed a lake of blood on the ground. The reverberations of the battle could shatter an entire area of land. However, the strong formation here operated at full capacity, protecting the students within and largely preventing their insights from being interrupted.

Xu Qing, too, was gaining insights. As he watched intently, thoughts surged in his mind, and combining them with his own understanding, he gained deeper knowledge of Immortal cultivation and Divine cultivation.

"Divine cultivation... it's not hard to understand. The magical techniques feel instinctive, as if this world exists for them. Within this world, they are completely free and unfettered.""Immortal cultivation, a completely different practice. They also use the power of this world, but their method differs from Divine cultivation. They use rules and laws as threads to manipulate the power of heaven and earth.""It's like enslaving heaven and earth.""By means of the Heavenly Dao..."

Xu Qing's eyes gleamed with a strange light as thoughts continuously flowed through his mind. He saw many things in this battle that warranted deep consideration. "Once the Heavenly Dao emerged, it was like binding heaven and earth, setting boundaries for the deities." Xu Qing felt a shock within him. He didn't know if his guess was correct. But based on his current judgment, it was logical. If this were true, it would explain why the earliest ancient immortals, after conquering the Desolate Ancient Continent, established a Heavenly Dao belonging to divine cultivation. The Heavenly Dao existed to allow future cultivators to practice better. This also explained why the cultivators' cultivation system required the nurturing of a Heavenly Dao within the Spirit Depository. Constantly supplementing the Heavenly Dao would allow this world to remain perpetually in the hands of cultivators.

"If my guess is true, then this is an unprecedented, astonishing scheme, integrating the means of controlling the world into the cultivators' cultivation system!""Such methods, such grandeur, and such a grand vision!"Xu Qing took a breath, feeling a sense of admiration for those earliest ancient immortals. He then looked up at the sky. He couldn't see the 'broken face' from the Imperial College's perspective, but this didn't affect Xu Qing's internal analysis.

"Each time the 'broken face' opens its eyes, a Heavenly Dao falls. The moment all Heavenly Daos are extinguished, the Desolate Ancient Continent will once again become a world of gods!""Moreover, though the Desolate Ancient World is vast, it is but an insignificant part of this starry sky. What lies beyond the Desolate Ancient World?"This was the first time Xu Qing had imagined what lay beyond the Desolate Ancient. Sacred lands existed there, and even farther might be where Li Zihua went, the location of the Purple Moon Star.

Xu Qing closed his eyes, using his mind to sense the Purple Moon Star. It was very, very far away. And just as Xu Qing closed his eyes to perceive, a new change occurred on the Cangku battlefield. This change came from Bai Xiaozhuo. His body shimmered out from a higher part of the sky. The moment the Imperial College Headmaster attacked, Bai Xiaozhuo raised both hands and his head, as if worshipping the highest point of the firmament!

"The Extreme Yang Qi of the Two Poles merges with the Ancient Eye of the God-Fusion, becoming the light of the starry cosmos shining upon Desolate Ancient, projecting into his God Transformation Domain!""Revere the Great Sun Lord, the divine Illumination of all heavens in the universe!""Descend here!"As his words rang out, the Imperial College space roared, and the imperial capital's heavens and earth shook. An utterly terrifying, indescribably vast power descended from the void, arriving at the imperial capital and looming over the Imperial College's sky.

In an instant, a phantom, blurry image appeared in the Imperial College's sky, replacing its heavens, its Dao, and everything else there. Within that image, towering monstrous trees emitting dense divine fluctuations could be vaguely seen, as well as bizarre beasts with strong divinity, and tall, indescribable ancient temples exuding an aura of age.

One could see frozen seas, gaseous mountains, humanoid strange clouds, and fairytale-like living humans, spirits of the sun and moon, and some giant birds whose wings blotted out the sky as they whistled past. They were enormous and varied in form, with twisted tentacles coiling around their bodies, constructed from mysterious and resilient materials. This was a world brimming with stars and mystery. It was incredibly bizarre and fantastical. And in its deepest part, an astonishingly massive being, tens of thousands of miles wide, like a terrifying, world-shaking sphere, could be seen.

This sphere was entirely black, covered with countless tentacles, constantly writhing. A half-closed eye on it gleamed with strange light, seemingly capable of observing time and space. A low, resonant sound emanated from within the sphere, like thunder rolling through clouds. And as it writhed, the entire world trembled, the earth shook, the oceans churned, and the sky burned.

Furthermore, countless faces appeared on the surface of the black sphere, all chanting words similar to Bai Xiaozhuo's: "Divine might boundless!" Just the sight of this image caused countless students in the Imperial College to cough up blood, and some even showed signs of abnormal transformation. The imperial capital was similarly affected; for a moment, the entire imperial capital of the human race was engulfed in a strong and tyrannical alien substance.

Countless people erupted in an uproar, their hearts filled with terror. The expressions of all major forces changed dramatically. The Human Emperor stood up, and his thirteen Heavenly Kings individually showed shifting expressions, their auras rising. Xu Qing's expression instantly became solemn as he stared intently at the projected world above Bai Xiaozhuo. He had felt a similar place and a similar aura once before.

Within the imperial capital, in the ancestral hall of the Worldly Oblivion Tower, the clay fox statue enshrined in the deity niche suddenly trembled, its head instantly coming to life. Its eyes snapped open, gazing towards the Imperial College. "An unfamiliar divine realm, a god born within it!" "No, this god! Something is wrong!"

At the same time, an astonishing aura suddenly erupted from the Great Emperor statue standing directly in front of the Imperial Palace's Rainbow Bridge. The Great Emperor's eyes slowly opened, revealing ancient wisdom and tenderness, accompanied by a creaking sound. The Emperor's head slowly turned, finally looking towards the Imperial College. At this moment, a low voice, surpassing heavenly thunder, faintly echoed: "The sword hangs in the azure sky, you move to test it."