Chapter 979: The Approaching Dragon Chariot

Outside the Southern Phoenix Continent, deep within the Forbidden Sea, a massive serpentine sea beast was pursuing its prey in the pitch-black depths of the ocean. Its speed was astonishing. With a wide-open maw, it swallowed its prey whole, then let out a low, satisfied growl.

The deep growl echoed through the seabed. Amidst this sound, Xu Qing's figure suddenly appeared.

The moment he appeared, his body suddenly swelled, as if on the verge of collapsing. But the next instant, as the sealing light on his body shimmered, it returned to its original size.

Xu Qing then spat out seven or eight mouthfuls of blood, barely managing to stand. His face was grim as he lowered his head to gaze at his physical body.

At this moment, his body was covered in cracks, from which immortal silver flowed, making his appearance horrifying. The shattered state of his soul, combined with the weakness emanating from within, severely blurred the world before Xu Qing's eyes, twisting everything.

In this distortion, the deep sea seemed to transform into monstrous specters, revealing their ferocity. But it was only for an instant; Xu Qing forcibly suppressed the dizziness brought on by his weakness. The distortion and blurriness also dissipated.

Yet, the danger had not disappeared. Xu Qing understood that time was extremely precious to him now, so he immediately activated the power of the purple crystal within his body, allowing his recovery to burst forth with full force. At the same time, he took out a large mouthful of the remnant face's blood he had obtained back then and swallowed it.

He allowed this blood to surge through his body. Finally, the deterioration of the cracks on his flesh slowed down.

Without hesitation, Xu Qing immediately took out the Phoenix's feather, intending to send a message again. But the next moment, a sound of shattering once again came from the unseen.

His message was still cut off, unable to be sent. "It's not just a blockade," he thought. "That Sovereign must also possess a supreme treasure that severs all my connections with the outside world!"

Xu Qing's expression was grim. He knew clearly that in such a state, escaping through conventional means was almost impossible. And his physical body wouldn't be able to withstand many more of the opponent's bombardments.

"First, I'll try to find a way to escape," he thought. "If I can't... then time is the most crucial thing for me."

After all, this was the inner sea; the greater the commotion, the greater the possibility of being noticed. As for the seal left by his master, it was for the protection of his soul. If forcibly opened, Xu Qing knew his soul would dissipate due to being unable to withstand the power of the remnant face.

Thinking of this, the intense pain from his soul and body brought back a coldness Xu Qing hadn't felt in a long time, spreading throughout his body. He savored this chilling sensation, once again merging into the sound, heading straight for the direction from which he sensed the dragon palanquin approaching.

"Perhaps with the power of the dragon palanquin, there's a chance to escape," he mused.

Almost the instant Xu Qing disappeared, he heard Fuxie's voice in his ear: "Erase!"

These two words, like a nightmare, echoed. In the area beyond Xu Qing's perception, not only was the sound erased, but countless sea beasts also vanished silently.

Xu Qing's figure reappeared, spitting blood. In the void behind him, Fuxie's figure approached step by step. With every step, the seabed churned; with every step, rules and laws extended according to his will.

Like a celestial execution. "The laws here tell me that when you killed my son, you pursued him in the same way!"

A cold voice spread through the seabed. Before Xu Qing could grasp it, it vanished from his ears, becoming the authority of erasure that acted upon his physical body, causing the cracks on his body to widen once again.

The feeling of imminent collapse grew stronger and stronger. At this critical moment, a blinding light suddenly erupted from within Xu Qing's body. He transformed into a great sun, and amidst this dazzling brilliance, all the light rapidly converged into a single beam.

With a speed exceeding before, like a light shield, he suddenly sped away. In an instant, he vanished without a trace.

"Immortal Light," Fuxie muttered. His figure appeared where Xu Qing had vanished. He gazed into the distance, then shook his head.

"But he's still within my range!" Fuxie murmured. "However, the karmic ties this human is involved with are truly quite numerous."

"So many destinies, subtly affected by his fluctuations, make me feel as if a great disaster would befall me were I to kill him!"

Before Fuxie, the giant, ancient, and weathered scissors reappeared, meticulously cutting off each thread he saw emanating from Xu Qing's body.

Among these, a few, at the moment of being cut, caused the scissors to emit a cracking sound. Their ancientness intensified, and rust even appeared on them.

Clearly, severing these threads exacted a price even on these terrifying and mysterious scissors.

"But likewise, I can feel that if my authority can erase him, then... the power of my authority will be greatly nourished!"

"And his physical body... no wonder my son died because of it."

"Such karma, such flesh and blood, such fortune... carrying poisonous thorns that need to be slowly peeled away before they can be savored!"

"This process cannot be rushed, especially some threads cannot be violently cut; they require special handling."

Fuxie looked thoughtful, taking a step forward like a hunter, enveloping his prey in all his oppressive power.

Tens of thousands of miles away, the moment Xu Qing's figure appeared, the Sovereign's might behind him descended with a roar.

Xu Qing gritted his teeth, once again shining with light and performing a light escape. This light escape was a divine ability from the Profound Yang Immortal Light. While it could extremize speed, it typically required two strands of light to activate.

But Xu Qing only possessed one strand of immortal light, which was normally insufficient to support him in unleashing this divine ability. So he chose to burn his soul threads, using the soul light emitted from their combustion to substitute for the immortal light, barely managing to perform the light escape technique.

This was a desperate measure, and it couldn't last too long. After five or six attempts, whether on the surface or in the depths of the sea, Xu Qing's repeated desperate struggles seemed to be continuously enveloped within an inescapable net.

He was unable to escape or send a message. Even more bizarre, Xu Qing felt his very existence seemed to be in the process of being erased.

Sea beasts seemed unable to perceive him. On the sea surface, he saw islands of other races, boats, and even disciples of the Seven Blood Eyes. Yet, none of them had any awareness of him.

Once, Xu Qing even appeared on a Seven Blood Eyes boat. Though he was clearly standing there, it was as if he wasn't in the same space. They crossed paths, as if he were invisible.

This scene made Xu Qing's heart grow increasingly grim. By the time he appeared in the deep sea, his expression was extremely dispirited, and his sense of weakness was equally profound. Yet he gritted his teeth and continued to rush forward.

His soul threads, after these few activations, had sharply decreased from fifty million to half their original number.

But even so, he still hadn't escaped the opponent's range. When he reappeared, the Sovereign's oppressive power instantly enveloped him from the deep sea behind him.

Fortunately, Xu Qing had also reached his destination. From the seabed before him, a roaring sound echoed—the sound of footsteps.

This sound, ignoring the authority of erasure, was arriving. Terrifying oppressive power and a dreadful aura were spreading wildly through the seabed, causing Fuxie, the Sovereign behind Xu Qing, to cast his gaze towards it.

"It's actually the Dragon Palanquin of the Crown Prince of the Blazing Heaven God Clan, along with his skeletal servants," Fuxie mused. "No wonder they weren't within my perception before; I only noticed them when I looked. The Crown Prince of the Blazing Heaven God Clan..."

"There were records in the clan that in ancient times, this Crown Prince was allowed to transform into the sun, alternating with his sister, who became the moon, to oversee the day and night of the ancient world. Until the Upper Desolation arrived, the siblings perished!"

"His servants also fell, becoming skeletal remains... Is this Dragon Palanquin and these skeletal remains the lifeline you seek?!"

Fuxie spoke calmly. Xu Qing remained silent. The moment he sensed the dragon palanquin, a madness appeared in his eyes. With a sway of his body, black flames appeared, transforming the surroundings into a sea of fire!

He transformed into a colossal Golden Crow. With his claws clutching the musician's severed hand, he sped rapidly towards the dragon palanquin giant.

Xu Qing was gambling. He gambled that his Golden Crow shared the same origin as the dragon palanquin, that the appearance of the severed hand would deepen the karmic connection, and that his approach would not be met with too much obstruction.

The severed hand also opened its eyes at this moment. As its fingers moved, the ethereal sound of "Welcoming the Moon" resonated.