Chapter 1165

The troops scattered, and his heart stirred.

The two brothers exchanged glances, then simultaneously turned their gaze toward Xing Huanzi.

Seeing that Xing Huanzi remained expressionless yet had chosen to face away from the meteorite where Xu Qing stood, acting as his Dharma protector, the two brothers immediately straightened up.

Sword qi surged into the sky in an instant.

They had actually transformed into two ancient-looking immortal swords, gleaming in the starry sky, their tips pointing in all directions, appearing as loyal guardians of their master.

Witnessing this, Zhou Zhengli smiled, his eyes revealing envy and affection.

As for Xie Lingzi, he let out a cold snort inwardly, muttering that these two swords must have been cultivated to the point of damaging their minds, wondering how such a person could be taken as a disciple by a lesser immortal and yet reach the same height as himself.

Though he snorted inwardly, seeing Zhou Zhengli look at him, Xie Lingzi narrowed his eyes, thought for a moment, and then simply closed his eyes.

Seeing this, Zhou Zhengli continued to smile, his gaze sweeping over and landing on Yuanshan Su in the distance.

Regarding Yuanshan Su, he actually held her in high regard in his heart; though she seemed to have little presence, far inferior to Xie Lingzi and Xing Huanzi, in reality, her combat prowess was anything but ordinary.

Whether from past understanding or her performance in the Aurora Immortal Palace's mirror image,

it all indicated that this woman was not simple.

Even when deducing the events of the Aurora Immortal Palace, one could find that, excluding Xu Qing, she was the one who survived until the end.

Moreover.... she was still a female cultivator.

A beautiful female cultivator.

Such a person, in Zhou Zhengli's view, was not impossible to become a true phoenix,

so his gaze carried a hint of respect.

Yuanshan Su remained silent, choosing to act as Dharma protector.

Only then did Zhou Zhengli withdraw his gaze, while the other talisman users, seeing that the strongest among them had settled their attitudes, and that Xu Qing had gained some recognition in their hearts after these events,

quickly suppressed any other thoughts they might have truly harbored.

Together, they protected the Dharma.

Thus, time passed.

The immortal aura emanating from Xu Qing grew stronger and stronger, eventually spreading through the starry sky, resonating with the cosmic laws drawn to it.

Simultaneously, his immortal embryo, like a dharma manifestation, took form externally.

Reaching a height of a hundred zhang, comparable to a divine spirit.

Sitting cross-legged on the meteorite, it was immensely vast.

The terrifying aura erupted, shaking all things, forming a starry storm that rumbled across the four directions.

Causing the surrounding cultivators to immediately retreat, avoiding the storm while closely observing.

The promotion of a master to quasi-immortal has always been a grand affair since ancient times.

After all, quasi-immortal.... is still an immortal!

With the character "immortal," it is destined to be extraordinary.

Thus, although most of the people present had sufficient understanding of the master's promotion, they still stared unblinking at this moment.

Because.... by observing a cultivator's promotion to quasi-immortal, one can basically judge how far their future path can go.

Although not absolute, at least there is a range.

"The key to promotion to quasi-immortal is the Nine Releases One Immortal Foundation!"

Xing Huanzi sensed Xu Qing's promotion, his expression carrying a hint of scrutiny; he wanted to see how this Xu Qing, who had made him taste defeat for the first time in the Immortal Capital and even slain his former self, would fare in his quasi-immortal promotion.

"Nine Releases is the limit—how many can he achieve?"

As Xing Huanzi pondered, the same speculation arose in the hearts of everyone present.

Especially Zhou Zhengli.

He could say he was the one among them who valued this most.

After sensing the thoughts of the crowd, Xie Lingzi suddenly spoke.

"Everyone, why don't we make a bet on how many releases Xu Qing can achieve? Zhou Zhengli, since you hold him in such high regard, will you take the bet or not?"

Others had varied expressions; Xie Lingzi blinked, then laughed. "Although I haven't yet promoted, I also understand that at the moment the Sovereign breaks through into quasi-immortal, one must externally project their immortal embryo. Ordinary quasi-immortals can only project three times; reaching five times is already rare; achieving seven times makes one a heavenly pride. As for eight times, they are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns; as for nine times.... those who can complete it are surely lesser immortals!"

"I don't know, Fellow Daoist Yuanshan, how many releases did you achieve?" Xie Lingzi looked toward Yuanshan Su.

"Eight!" Yuanshan Su spoke lightly.

Upon hearing this, Xie Lingzi laughed and then turned his gaze to Xing Huanzi.

Xing Huanzi paid no heed.

Xie Lingzi also didn't mind, turning his head to face Zhou Zhengli.

"Naturally, nine." Zhou Zhengli smiled and spoke.

"Let's wait and see." Xie Lingzi smiled.

Li Mengtu, standing nearby, seeing this, furrowed his brow, about to say something, but the next moment, after some thought, he glanced at Zhou Zhengli and suddenly spoke. Compared to the number of releases, the most important thing is actually that one immortal foundation!"

"Releases determine the richness of the immortal embryo, while the immortal foundation determines how far the immortal path can go!

Every cultivator promoted to quasi-immortal needs an immortal foundation, serving as the basis for forming a true immortal afterward!" "This basis cannot be false; it must be substantial, so it cannot be shaped by one's own constitution, and while some have prepared early, others seek greater.... I don't know what Xu Qing's immortal foundation is. Li Mengtu's words echoed in the starry sky.

Hearing this, everyone fell into thought.

For them, this final immortal foundation concerns the future, naturally making it extremely important.

Even Xing Huanzi, who did not participate in these discussions or bets, now gazing at Xu Qing within the distant storm, found his mind involuntarily recalling his own promotion.

Back then, he originally could have achieved nine releases, but his conflict with Xu Qing prevented him from completing the fifth layer world.

After stumbling and hesitating, he could only choose to promote externally.

Achieving eight releases.

Although he ultimately gained the final release through rebirth after death, perfecting his immortal, recalling it still stirred his heart. "However, my initial choice of the fifth layer was not solely to rely on its environment to achieve nine releases; my purpose was that final immortal foundation. I chose the path of the Fourth True Monarch, so in the fifth layer world, I found his skeleton and incorporated it as my immortal foundation."

What will Xu Qing's immortal foundation be?" Xing Huanzi recalled the bell Xu Qing used in battle earlier, and that sharp iron pin. And though the myriad troops scattered, the sword body trembled, quietly retreating a little, then feeling unstable, so he retreated again. They suddenly felt a little afraid.

At the very moment they retreated, suddenly, amidst the storm center surrounded by everyone, Xu Qing, sitting cross-legged on the meteorite, had his body suddenly roar. A deafening sound spread in all directions, and the hundred-zhang immortal embryo identical to himself that he emitted suddenly blazed with light. "It has begun!"

Li Mengtu's heart pounded with anticipation, and everyone stared intently.

In the next instant, the light blazed blindingly; Xu Qing's hundred-zhang immortal embryo seemed to contain a torrential power, terrifyingly erupting outward.

The booming sound shook the heavens.

His hundred-zhang immortal embryo swelled tenfold, suddenly reaching a thousand zhang in size, its aura shocking the eight directions, the oppressive presence making hearts tremble.

This is the first release!

Without ending, immediately following, the thousand-zhang immortal embryo roared again, with fluctuations more terrifying than before, rising and swelling, its size again tenfold, becoming ten thousand zhang!

Then came the third release, a hundred thousand zhang!

After that, the fourth release, a million zhang!

Still continuing, the later power not only did not diminish, but became richer and more abundant; in the next instant, a body of ten million zhang, enough to make many feel a sense of gigantophobia. "Xu Qing's external release is tenfold!"

"Tenfold... generally speaking, it's only two or three times, yet he is like this!"

"And now, it is already the fifth release!"

"Although it is the fifth release………it is likely far beyond the ultimate limit of quasi-immortals!"

Everyone's thoughts surged……and the external release continued!

In an instant, the sixth release erupted, forming a body of a hundred million zhang.

This suffices to show Xu Qing's foundation.

Everyone retreated in succession; looking at Xu Qing's immortal embryo now, it truly resembled a deity, sitting cross-legged in the starry sky, giving a sense of sanctity, the roar of mind and spirit involuntary.

Until the seventh release, it burst forth with a boom.

The eighth release came in an instant.

A body of a hundred billion zhang!

Its size, though still not comparable to a star system, but.. stars orbited around it, already like grains of rice.

As for those ascended ones, they have long since retreated to boundless distances, gazing at Xu Qing's immortal embryo in the starry sky, each experiencing intense mental and spiritual fluctuations.

Xie Lingzi was already stunned.

Zhou Zhengli was excited, with a strange light blazing in his eyes.

Xing Huanzi, his expression still relatively normal, but his pupils had already contracted.

Yuan Shan Su fell silent.

As for the others, at this moment their hearts were also in turmoil.

And just as everyone here was shaken to varying degrees, Xu Qing's external release momentum paused slightly.

But only slightly, then.... -sound of heaven-splitting earth-shaking roar exploded the starry sky, Xu Qing's already terrifying immortal embryo released again!

The ninth release!

The starry sky darkened.

-A venerable being comparable in size to a star system, vast and boundless, stood in the starry sky

Stars around it were no longer the size of grains of rice, but like dust. Look for books search Xiuting

Among the crowd, many lost consciousness.

Until the next instant, this immortal embryo as large as a star system instantly shrank, its shrinking speed so fast that afterimages appeared in the starry sky; finally, this immortal embryo returned to normal, merging with Xu Qing's true self, indistinguishable. This is its true form, and the external release……is the range of the immortal embryo's power

That is to say, at this moment, Xu Qing's divine sense……is comparable to the size of a star system

"Never before.." Xing Huanzi murmured, his scalp tingling slightly.

Others were also dazed.

"Wrong, normally speaking, it is absolutely impossible to be like this, this tenfold external release…. and having reached the extreme, not a single trace is recorded in the classics!""Even if Xu Qing's foundation is again profound, it is impossible to achieve this!"

"This has exceeded the normal range!"

"There must be other causes and effects!"

Xing Huanzi, as the former First Star and originating from the Xing Huan Tower, his experience is by no means ordinary; after a brief daze, he immediately sensed something amiss.

He acknowledged there was a gap, but did not believe the gap would be so great!

And in the next instant, his mind and spirit trembled, and a guess suddenly arose in his mind, and this guess also made him suddenly turn his head, looking toward Zhou Zhengli.

Xie Lingzi also came to his senses, Yuan Shan Su and others also felt inner turmoil, and in unison looked toward Zhou Zhengli.

They recalled the words Zhou Zhengli had spoken between them!

At this moment, Zhou Zhengli was excited.

"It is because, this place…is the Extreme Light Heaven Beyond Heaven!"

"It is because, he and the Extreme Light Heaven Beyond Heaven, share a great cause and effect, someone…once gave this Heaven Beyond Heaven to him!"

"So……it is this ownerless Heaven Beyond Heaven, and it is cheering!"

……

At this moment, in the fourth Xing Huan, this divine spirit-permeated place, there is a boat sailing through the starry sky.

The boat is extraordinary, able to isolate divine spirit thoughts, and the two people inside are themselves astonishing cultivators, so as long as they are careful, there is no hindrance in this fourth Xing Huan.

"He obtained it.

Inside the boat, a gentle voice sounded.

The speaker is none other than the Extreme Light Young Master, and the woman beside him is his wife, Ling Xianzi; upon hearing her husband's words, Ling Huang Xianzi smiled.

"I saw at the time that what you gave him was not merely an immortal palace.

The Extreme Light Young Master gazed at his wife beside him, his eyes filled with affection.

"Such great grace, a single immortal palace is insufficient; I also gave him that Heaven Beyond Heaven."