Chapter 800: Human Emperor, Please Take a Look

Xu Qing's eyes immediately constricted, but his expression remained unchanged. His body instantly entered the third spiritual state, with a half-formed fourth spiritual state surging within him.

The shadow of the sundial flickered into existence.

The ancient sun bound to him also shone brightly at this moment, unleashing terrifying power that shook the heavens.

At this moment, the Emperor's Sword in the sky was striking towards the black flesh orb emerging from the crack in the divine realm.

The massive hand formed by the Human Emperor's power was also disintegrating due to the divine power of the black orb.

Meanwhile, the oppressive aura from the divine realm instantly spread throughout the Grand Academy, causing most cultivators there to cough up blood, their minds roaring, unable to move.

Bai Xiaozhuo's timing was incredibly precise, and his speed was unmatched. He appeared directly in front of Xu Qing, like a mountain pressing down. His entire body, covered in tentacles empowered by Spirit-Nourishing combat strength, combined with his terrifying divinity, formed a deadly strike.

However, no matter how precise the timing, how swift the speed, or how potent the killing intent, slaying Xu Qing here was an impossible feat.

Bai Xiaozhuo himself knew this, so this seemingly fatal attack actually had another purpose.

He wanted to see who would come to Xu Qing's rescue.

Would it be the Great Emperor, distracting himself from blocking the Lord of the Divine Realm to provide assistance?

Or would it be the third-party force hidden within the imperial capital, as his master had mentioned, or perhaps some other entity?

In any case, Bai Xiaozhuo believed this strike would at least draw out some parties, allowing his master to see the situation more clearly.

Bai Xiaozhuo's judgment was correct; indeed, the moment he neared Xu Qing, the Great Emperor's face, appearing on the ancient imperial star outside the Grand Academy, suddenly showed a sharp glint in its eyes.

Inside the Pavilion of Mortal Affairs and Forgotten Emotions, within the ancestral hall's shrine, the mud fox emitted an eerie light.

Simultaneously, among the students surrounding the Grand Academy's lecture platform, not everyone was paralyzed by the divine realm's power. One student, with a cold glint in his eyes, was about to step forward.

However, there was one faction whose concern for Xu Qing's life and death surpassed all others, reaching an extreme. They would absolutely not allow Xu Qing to be slain in such a manner.

Therefore, their intervention was swifter than anyone else's.

The instant Bai Xiaozhuo approached Xu Qing, a furious roar echoed throughout the Grand Academy, like thunder erupting.

"Stabilize!"

"Retreat!"

"Collapse!"

"Weaken!"

"Solidify!"

"Speed!"

"Indestructible!"

Each of these eight words surpassed heavenly thunder, imbued with the essence of the Grand Dao, like the very voice of the Heavenly Dao. The laws and rules within them were pushed to their utmost, manifesting as the highest level of word-bound magic.

With the utterance of "Stabilize," even Bai Xiaozhuo, empowered by Spirit-Nourishing combat strength, violently shuddered, forcibly halted. The sound of "Retreat" caused his body to involuntarily step back.

As "Collapse" reverberated, Bai Xiaozhuo's entire body rumbled, and a sense of disintegration actually appeared.

However, his divinity forcefully erupted at this moment. Though he himself was affected, the momentum he generated transformed into a phantom finger before him, still pressing towards Xu Qing. Wherever it passed, the void shattered, everything collapsed, and the intent of annihilation was strong.

Yet, this was only for an instant. In a blink, it was weakened by the word "Weaken," its power reduced by more than half.

The subsequent word "Solidify" acted upon Xu Qing, transforming into an incredibly sturdy protective armor, helping him resist the power of Bai Xiaozhuo's finger.

A rumbling sound echoed as the armor shattered, taking the damage on Xu Qing's behalf. Simultaneously, the word "Speed" boosted Xu Qing's retreat speed exponentially, covering a thousand zhang in an instant.

Most notably, the final word "Indestructible" actually contained divinity, derived from the concept of divine indestructibility. It enveloped Xu Qing's entire body, forming a golden radiance that transformed into a solemn face before him, enduring the last residual force from Bai Xiaozhuo's finger.

From afar, Bai Xiaozhuo's transformed finger, after shattering everything, was finally met with a powerful impact from the face's glabella, forcing them to collide.

The next instant, the face disintegrated, and thousands of wails emanated from within as it split apart. However, Bai Xiaozhuo's finger also ultimately ceased its advance and dispersed.

In mid-air, Xu Qing stood there, completely unharmed...

This scene filled all parties with intense surprise. It wasn't Xu Qing's safety that surprised them, but rather the identity of the party that intervened...

"Xu Qing is the Divine Son of our sect!"

A soft, effeminate voice came from the void in front of Xu Qing. The next moment, that void was torn open into a rift, through which a sacrificial altar could be clearly seen.

The altar appeared to be within a heavenly cavern. Through the opening above, the sky and the lingering face hanging in the firmament were visible. The altar itself was vast, with exactly nine hundred and ninety-nine steps, and at its highest point stood a cultivator draped in a black robe.

On the steps below him, countless black-robed figures stood on each tier. Even in the lowest grotto, more black-robed individuals could be seen meditating cross-legged.

Thousands of people were inside, with fresh blood on the ground before them, indicating that they had endured the power of Bai Xiaozhuo's finger on Xu Qing's behalf.

As that declaration echoed, the black-robed figure standing at the altar's summit took a step forward, directly crossing the rift that had appeared in the Grand Academy's void, and walked into the Grand Academy, standing before Xu Qing.

The moment he appeared, Spirit-Nourishing power erupted from him, his aura like a rainbow, capable of swallowing mountains and rivers. Simultaneously, a wisp of the lingering face's aura also emanated from his body.

The arrival of this individual stirred emotion among all parties.

"The Grand High Priest of the Word of Truth!"

It was indeed the Word of Truth that had intervened to save Xu Qing!

This scene caused Bai Xiaozhuo to frown. He hadn't intended to lure out this group of fanatics, who seemed to be on the same path as him but whose core beliefs were fundamentally different.

The Human Emperor, within the projection of the imperial palace on the horizon, also slightly narrowed his eyes. He could have intervened earlier but chose to observe, as he too wanted to see who would come to the rescue.

Thus, at this moment, his feelings were somewhat similar to Bai Xiaozhuo's, yet even more surprised.

As all parties were inwardly startled, the Grand High Priest of the Word of Truth, who had appeared before Xu Qing, raised his head. Within his black robe, his face was invisible, only a pair of red eyes could be seen, staring intently at Bai Xiaozhuo.

"Divine Son, you shall not be touched!"

After speaking, the black-robed figure turned to look at Xu Qing. The red light in his eyes revealed a greedy intent, and a swallowing sound emanated from his mouth.

"Divine Son, this old servant is late. You're not hurt, are you?"

"If you're hurt, it might affect your taste, or if other auras get mixed in, you won't be as delicious."

As he spoke, his swallowing sound grew more pronounced, and similar sounds now came from the countless black-robed figures at the altar within the rift.

One by one, they all raised their heads, greedily looking at Xu Qing through the rift.

The doctrine of the Word of Truth was to seek out those who survived under the lingering face of a deity. They believed such individuals were favored by the lingering face, and thus, were the Divine Sons of the Word of Truth.

By consuming a Divine Son, they believed they would draw closer to divinity.

They had always done this throughout history, but the most common beings they consumed were those who survived a single opening of the lingering face's eye. As for cultivators who survived two such openings, there were rumors that the Word of Truth in other regions had managed to consume them, but the human adherents here had not.

Xu Qing's expression darkened. He hadn't expected the Word of Truth to appear. Their words immediately made him realize that while his divine art's retrocognition had allowed him to investigate the Word of Truth that day, his own affairs had also been investigated by others in return.

This, then, was why this group of fanatics had appeared.

Meanwhile, within the divine realm in the sky, the black flesh orb let out a low growl. Under the threat of the Emperor's Sword, it did not force its way through. It seemed all its previous actions had merely been a test.

Now that it had found its answer, it chose to retreat.

The crack in the divine realm stopped expanding, slowly began to shrink, and gradually blurred.

As for Bai Xiaozhuo, seeing the situation had moved beyond his calculations, he raised his head and looked towards the Human Emperor in the sky.

The Human Emperor was also looking at him, his gaze calm, as if telling Bai Xiaozhuo that he was still watching the unfolding display.

The moment their gazes met, a sentence Xu Qing had said to him that day in Fenghai County, for some reason, surfaced in Bai Xiaozhuo's mind.

"You are not worthy of following Crown Prince Ziqing."

Bai Xiaozhuo closed his eyes.

"He was right, actually, because I... am not pure."

When he opened them again, Bai Xiaozhuo's entire aura had lost some of its weariness and gained a touch of vivacity. His eyes also became clear. He raised his hand and struck his own heart forcefully.

With that strike, his heart, which originated from the divine realm, instantly shattered. Amidst the violent roar, all the divine origin power contained within it erupted simultaneously.

Not a single trace was left behind.

And his body, at this moment, began to burn intensely.

Like a moth drawn to a flame, he displayed the final brilliance of his life between heaven and earth.

This eruption, this burning, brought him to a momentary peak. His aura surged explosively, heterogeneous power diffused boundlessly, and the sense of divinity grew ever stronger.

Under the influence of the heterogeneous power, the firmament above instantly blurred. Amidst the haze, sparks appeared.

They were flowers formed from fire... Heavenly Mandate Flowers!

First there was one, then quickly two, three... In a blink, the entire sky above the Grand Academy was filled with Heavenly Mandate Flowers. Looking out, it resembled a colossal painting unfurled between heaven and earth.

Infinite and uncountable, all formed from golden flames, as splendid as brocade.

And the flowing flames from the flowers sprinkled down, landing on the earth, where fiery blossoms also bloomed. But these were no longer Heavenly Mandate Flowers; instead, they transformed into Other Shore Flowers.

Their color was red.

Boundless... As a gentle breeze swept through, the sea of Other Shore fiery flowers rippled, as if someone were plucking ancient zither strings, emitting the sound of reincarnation.

With Heavenly Mandate above and Other Shore below, a sea of golden-red sparks formed, continuously blooming and erupting. This was divine fire!

There are various rituals for achieving godhood, and what was currently unfolding at the Grand Academy was one of them.

If these fires were to exist eternally, it would mean the divine spark had been ignited!

And Bai Xiaozhuo, amidst this heaven-and-earth flower sea, was now indistinct. To the eyes of onlookers, he appeared in a different form with every blink.

His combat strength, within this heaven-and-earth flower sea, grew increasingly astonishing. Alas, igniting the divine spark was ultimately not so simple to achieve; its difficulty was immense.

The Crimson Moon Divine Son had failed, and Bai Xiaozhuo's attempt... was hastily initiated. The possibility of success was non-existent.

This could be partly seen from the edges of the heaven-and-earth flower sea, where sparks were already showing signs of extinguishing.

Regardless, at this moment, Bai Xiaozhuo's combat strength had reached the pinnacle of his life.

This sight caused ripples in the hearts and minds of all who watched.

The Human Emperor's eyes, perhaps due to the reflection of the sparks, shone with brilliant light.

Amidst this shimmering light, Bai Xiaozhuo's voice, like a divine whisper, echoed throughout the imperial capital.

"Heaven and earth as a furnace, all beings as charcoal; golden and red dual flames, ignite the divine fire. Human Emperor, please bear witness."

The instant his voice resounded, Bai Xiaozhuo moved, sweeping up the Heavenly Mandate Flowers in the sky, the Other Shore Flowers on the ground, and both the golden and red fires, forming a burning meteor that whistled towards the Human Emperor!

Around him, the nine heavens surged with blue clouds, Heavenly Mandate and Other Shore flowers bloomed simultaneously, golden and red flames blazed in all directions, and ten thousand li of dawn light illuminated the scene.