Chapter 943: The First Step Completed

After his spectral transformation, Xu Qing's right hand became transparent, yet five drops of blood formed a pentagonal pattern within it. Even the spectral transformation could not conceal these five drops of blood. This showed their extraordinary nature.

Inside the altar, the moment Xu Qing's right hand reached out, the Violet Profundity Superior Azure Lamp trembled violently, rising on its own and flying towards him.

But at that very moment, the five surrounding coffins suddenly vibrated, each emitting a royal bloodline aura that merged with the flames, transforming into a gigantic golden hand! It fiercely grabbed at the ascending Violet Profundity Superior Azure Lamp!

Simultaneously, roars unlike human voices emanated from within the coffins, and their lids trembled, as if about to be thrown open! Moreover, the power of the joyous flames here instantly erupted with even greater intensity!

The terrifying high temperature and the divine presence capable of suppressing souls caused Xu Qing's semi-transparent, spectrally transformed right hand to immediately ignite! The Great Profound Heavenly Armor and his divine flesh could not withstand this heat at all; in an instant, his right hand visibly began to turn to ash! Only the divine authority within him could endure slightly longer, but it could not alter the process of his right hand's destruction!

Seeing his right hand about to be annihilated like a moth drawn to a flame, Xu Qing did not hesitate or slow down in the slightest. He activated the five drops of fresh blood within his ravaged arm! Amidst the burning flames, these five drops of blood suddenly fell towards the five coffins on the altar! A purer and more ancient royal bloodline fluctuation erupted within these five drops of blood! It formed a bloodline suppression.

The golden hand formed by the coffins' aura was unable to resist at that moment; it was penetrated by the five drops of blood, which then fell onto different coffins! The instant they landed, the five constantly trembling coffins suddenly paused, their roars vanishing instantly as they fell silent! At the same time, the golden hand formed by their aura froze in mid-air!

As for Xu Qing, his right hand, largely destroyed by now, had already grasped the approaching Violet Profundity Superior Azure Lamp. He yanked it fiercely outwards! The lamp finally flew out of the rift!

The moment it left the altar, the five coffins resumed trembling, their roars returning with an intense sense of endless unwillingness! However, the five drops of blood that had fallen onto them now shone brightly, suppressing them once more!

Simultaneously, Xu Qing's right hand turned to ash, but his left hand instantly rose to catch the lamp he had pulled out, and his body rapidly retreated! All of this sounds lengthy in description, but in reality, from the moment Xu Qing cleverly rushed into the flames until his current rapid retreat, it all happened in a flash!

Little Shadow finally couldn't sustain itself, rapidly dimming, collapsing into countless afterimages that scattered in all directions! The divine vine, too, reached its limit, largely withering as it pulled back! Consequently, the pulling force dissipated, and the flames immediately returned from their tilted state to normal!

Even more furious roars emanated from the five coffins within the flames, and under such intensity, the coffins themselves began to crack! An unstable fluctuation rose outside the altar! Losing the crucial lamp was equivalent to losing the integration of the immortal. Without it, the violent divine aura had no neutralization, and thus… the ritual naturally experienced a backlash! The terrifying pressure within the flames intensified even further!

The Eleventh Prince watched this scene and burst into laughter! The assembled officials fell silent! The old eunuch watching let out a mournful cry!

Xu Qing, however, paid no mind to these reactions. As his figure swiftly retreated, he put away the Violet Profundity Superior Azure Lamp that permeated the rift. Simultaneously, under the unique properties of his divine body, his lost right arm began to regrow amidst the tearing pain of flesh and blood!

Although a sense of weakness was inevitable, he finally felt a wave of relief. His mind recalled the plan for retrieving the lamp, discussed months ago in his Upper Spirit Manor, a plan he had deliberated with Zi Xuan. Zi Xuan had proposed the idea, and together, they refined it.

Zi Xuan's perception of the lamp was remarkably accurate. Especially in the years Xu Qing had been away from the Imperial Capital, Zi Xuan, though seemingly in seclusion, had in fact used many secret techniques to gather more information! Those five drops of fresh blood were precisely Zi Xuan's primal blood, specifically prepared for the five coffins. With this blood, the coffins could be suppressed for a short time! This would allow the lamp retrieval process to proceed more smoothly!

At the same time, they had also discussed other steps. However, the flames of godhood rendered too many methods ineffective, so Xu Qing could only risk a desperate attempt! Yet, after retrieving the Violet Profundity Superior Azure Lamp, a strange intuition spontaneously arose in Xu Qing's heart!

“It seemed like a desperate gamble, but the process seemed… too smooth!”

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes, put away Little Shadow and the divine vine, and continued to retreat!

At this moment, as Xu Qing retreated, roars surged from the lamp-less altar. The next instant, the coffins collapsed and exploded! But before any skeletal figures could rush out, the golden flames encircling the altar violently rolled back! The backlash had occurred! The high temperature within erupted instantly, sweeping through everything inside amidst a resounding roar! The five coffins bore the brunt, instantly turning to ash under the divine fire's backlash. Their skeletal remains suffered the same fate, as did the altar itself! Everything, under the backlash of these golden flames, turned to dust…

The golden flames, now without nourishment, gradually dispersed and extinguished! The aura of godhood permeating in all directions also dissipated, and the world returned to normal! Thus, it had failed.

The Eleventh Prince's laughter echoed in all directions, filled with intense satisfaction, and he then looked towards the Human Emperor! At this moment, the human officials inside and outside the Ancient Sovereign Star felt complex emotions. They were all somewhat relieved, yet an unceasing anxiety about the future couldn't help but grow in their hearts!

But the next instant, the Eleventh Prince's laughter abruptly stopped, and a sense of unease rose within him! Because he saw no ripple of emotion on the Human Emperor's face. At this moment, the Human Emperor, still largely bound by unbroken chains, remained utterly calm even after witnessing the failure of his godhood ritual!

The Eleventh Prince's unease intensified; just as he was about to speak… But just then, the ash formed from the altar and corpses incinerated by the divine fire actually rushed towards the Human Emperor, arriving in clusters and sheets before him in an instant! With a single inhale from the Human Emperor, this dust fell into his mouth, swallowed by him!

The firmament rumbled, and the earth trembled! The Ancient Sovereign Star itself began to shake at this moment! The churning of destiny was incredibly violent. An aura of godhood, countless times more intense than before, astonishingly erupted once more from its dissipated state! However, this time the eruption's source was no longer the altar that had turned to ash, but… the entire Ancient Sovereign Star itself. The Ancient Sovereign Star was actually burning. Golden flames, far denser and incomparable in intensity to before, roared as they burned with the Ancient Sovereign Star as their core! The entire Imperial Capital trembled, and the entire Imperial Capital Domain fluctuated! Truly… this godhood ritual, reappearing at this moment, was far too terrifying!

All of this caused a shift in the hearts of all human officials inside and outside the Ancient Sovereign Star. But what stirred everyone's minds the most… were the battling Flame Suppressing King and the old eunuch! These two, who had been locked in a life-and-death struggle, now retreated amidst the roars. The Flame Suppressing King appeared beside the Eleventh Prince, his expression unchanged! Meanwhile, the old eunuch returned to the Human Emperor's side! Standing behind the Human Emperor, he spoke respectfully!

“Congratulations, Your Majesty, the first step of the godhood ritual has finally been successfully completed!”

Upon these words, silence fell in all directions! At this moment, everyone understood that the old eunuch's previous words and actions, attempting to stop Xu Qing, had clearly been nothing more than an act! The key to this play was the godhood ritual that Xu Qing had destroyed. Now, the eruption of the entire Ancient Sovereign Star clearly indicated that the destruction of the pentagonal altar was not only part of the Human Emperor's plan but also… a true part of the godhood ritual itself.

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes. Although his previous actions seemed perilous, he had always had a feeling that things were going too smoothly! Looking back now, his feeling was correct! However, this did not affect his decision. He would not participate in or judge the affairs here! Retrieving the Violet Profundity Superior Azure Lamp was enough! Xu Qing retreated a bit further, then simply sat down cross-legged!

As for the Human Emperor, the chains on his body continued to break. His expression remained unperturbed; he merely gazed calmly at the Eleventh Prince, whose face had greatly changed, and spoke blandly! “Is there anything else?”

The Eleventh Prince's face was pale. As he watched all this, a grim look appeared in his eyes. Beside him, the Flame Suppressing King spoke hoarsely! “Ning Chang, there's no need for such an expression. This matter was already within our expectations!”

Hearing this, all unusual expressions on the Eleventh Prince's face vanished instantly, and he began to smile! “Although it was within expectations, I still hoped such a situation wouldn't arise. But then again, he is the Human Emperor. No matter how much I deliberately tried to show emotional fluctuations, he remained calm from beginning to end. It's quite boring!”

“However, at this point, I don't need to exaggerate my emotions anymore!” The Eleventh Prince spoke with a hint of regret, then bowed to the Human Emperor! “Imperial Father, you wish to see my preparations? Then… just watch!”

After speaking, Ning Yan suddenly raised his hand, slapped his forehead, and directly spat out a mouthful of fresh blood! At the same time, with a wave of his hand, eleven small bottles appeared out of thin air, each shattering to reveal that they all contained fresh blood! Together with the blood he spat out, there were a total of twelve clumps! The moment they appeared, royal bloodline fluctuations surged skyward within these twelve clumps of blood!

As soon as this blood appeared, the First Prince, Fourth Prince, Fifth Prince, and Tenth Prince, who had retreated to the edge of the Heavenly Altar, all had their expressions change. They sensed in these blood clumps their own fresh blood! It wasn't just them; at this moment, the princes and princesses who hadn't entered the Ancient Sovereign Star also had a similar sensation!

“This is the blood of all my brothers and sisters that I’ve secretly collected over the years, including my own!” The Eleventh Prince spoke softly! “Today, with the blood of the Human Emperor's descendants, I shall open a vortex of destiny, bypass the great human formation, circumvent the limits of the Imperial Star, and form a gate of heaven and earth.”

The Eleventh Prince formed hand seals with both hands, then sharply swung them, and instantly these twelve clumps of blood all rose into the air, forming a gigantic crimson vortex in the mid-air above the Ancient Sovereign Star! Amidst deafening rumbling, a pulling force emanated from within the vortex, as if it had opened a passage. A terrifying aura was descending from within!