Chapter 1192: The Tide of Fate Arrives

Military merit is the primary criterion for cultivators to advance in the military.

It is also the sole means of exchanging resources within each war zone.

Its significance and value need no further explanation.

While obtaining military merit on the battlefield is not particularly difficult, achieving one million military merits reverses the difficulty, making it astonishing.

For if one merely counts enemy kills, at least ten Divine Platforms must be slain, or a peak Divine Platform cultivator, to reach that total.

As for ten million… only those who slay a true god can obtain it.

Now, merely providing the whereabouts of the goddess yields one million military merits; capturing her alive grants ten million.

Such rewards are immensely tempting for the vast majority of cultivators.

Moreover, besides military merit, there is also source essence.

The measurement of source essence is in fang.

When Xu Qing and his team were initially in the Provisions Office, the collection task they received amounted to one hundred fang!

Thus, the reward of ten fang of source essence for providing the goddess's whereabouts equals one-tenth of their former team's mission.

As for the reward of one hundred fang of source essence for capturing her alive, its astonishing magnitude goes without saying.

Therefore, if the proclamation spreading across the entire front lines contains military merit that can excite most cultivators, then adding the source essence reward would stir even the elite among cultivators deeply.

And what causes even the peak cultivators among these military elites, and even the quasi-immortal great perfection within each legion, to be profoundly moved is…

The Daoist title of True Lord!

True Lord is a unique honorific reserved for disciples of the Immortal Sovereign.

It represents identity, resources, and future.

This informs everyone that capturing the goddess allows one to become a disciple of the Immortal Sovereign!

Combined, these rewards are enough to make 99% of cultivators erupt in fervor.

The remaining few are basically the various regional leaders who have reached the Lower Immortal realm, and the guest elders of each legion; their cultivation is profound, and their status towers above all cultivators.

Yet at this moment, they too all reveal strange lights in their eyes.

Their inner turmoil surges.

This is because of the final item in the reward for capturing the goddess.

The Immortal Sovereign's Dao artifact!

Imbued with the Immortal Sovereign's power, possessing a treasure of the Immortal Sovereign's level!

Such treasures are exceedingly rare; not quite as scarce as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, but nearly so.

Even Lower Immortals desperately crave them.

Thus, at the moment this proclamation spreads, the entire front line of the Left Wing War Zone erupts in uproar.

In an instant, the search effort, unprecedented in scale, erupts fully.

All legions, all cultivators, even the corpse-searching teams, join in, giving their all!

Those who have reached the Lower Immortal realm not only search personally but also issue orders down the ranks, instructing their scattered subordinates to report any clue immediately, and promising generous rewards.

As the cultivators act thus, on the battlefield where Xu Qing currently is, his retinue of ascenders each reveal strange lights in their eyes, their hearts stirred to the utmost.

Especially the Evil Spirit Child, his eyes even turn somewhat red.

For him, his broken blade is both the source of his strength and the root of his bondage, forcing him to constantly suppress it; once relaxed, the broken blade will control him, turning him into a puppet nurturing the blade.

But if he can become a disciple of the Immortal Sovereign… then everything will naturally be different!

Li Mengtu's side also sees his breathing grow slightly hurried.

He wishes to sever the karmic ties with his master, the Poison Lord, and the mission in the proclamation… is precisely the opportunity.

Not only them, but at this moment, distant mountain cultivators and other ascenders alike act in this way.

Each of them harbors a private struggle and dream they would not tell others.

Now, it is hope for liberation from struggle and fulfillment of dreams!

Qianjun Piyi is also stirred with excitement.

The two brothers are actually much simpler in comparison; their current thought is that once they become disciples of the Immortal Sovereign, Xu Qing must then bow respectfully before them.

Imagining this scene, they grow excited.

Even the Star Ring Child reveals strange lights in his eyes.

The rewards are truly excessively generous.

At the same time, this bounty makes them realize their earlier judgment was correct.

This goddess is of utmost importance.

This clearly is also the reason she must be captured alive.

Zhou Zhengli is also deeply moved, but when his gaze sweeps over to Xu Qing's side and sees Xu Qing's expression unchanged, his heart instantly calms.

After pondering, he inwardly thinks something is wrong, and immediately speaks up.

"Everyone, do not act rashly on this matter!"

His voice like thunder, exploding forth, striking the hearts and minds of all ascenders, lingering long.

Drawing gazes, Zhou Zhengli's expression becomes solemn, and he emits a low voice.

"Everyone, given the goddess's identity and importance, even if injured… we must absolutely not underestimate her!"

"Her father god, after all, is the God-Slaying Divine Lord!"

"Such a goddess must certainly possess numerous life-preserving means on her person, and she is never without guardians; even if the battle report mentions many guardians died in combat…"

"Yet I still do not believe she lacks other hidden strategies!"

"Therefore, for this mission, the greater the reward, the greater the danger to life and limb!"

Upon Zhou Zhengli's words, distant mountain cultivators and others fall into deep thought, while the Evil Spirit Child's eyes flash with a fierce light.

"Absurd, we cultivators defy heaven—what could ever go smoothly? We must fight, against people, against heaven, against gods!"

Zhou Zhengli let out a snort.

"What we face may be a true god! One misstep, and the entire army could be wiped out—it's not impossible."

Xie Lingzi, hearing this, coldly smiled, his gaze falling on the others.

Soon, voices rose from all sides, each expressing their own opinions.

This was a habit they had cultivated after enduring many trials together.

When faced with matters, they needed to summarize everything to make correct judgments, ultimately leaving the decision to Xu Qing.

At this moment, as they debated whether to participate, Xu Qing remained silent, raised his head, and gazed toward the distant starry sky.

His heart, stirred by Xiao Ying's emotional fluctuations, had been unsettled for a long time...

"Master... Master... something big!"

"Something big... fragrant!"

Xiao Ying exerted herself, transmitting her perception to Xu Qing.

The sense of fate in the dark also rippled within Xu Qing's soul, growing stronger and stronger.

From the moment he saw the battle report earlier, Xu Qing had already confirmed his guess was correct—the scene of the Pain God containing the True God's technique had indeed appeared.

On this frontline battlefield, a true goddess truly existed.

And fate, like ocean waves, as he had predicted, brought that goddess here...

"Master, not far..."

"She hides... but her shadow is strong, perception, locked on!"

Xiao Ying's excitement and surging emotions grew ever more turbulent.

No mistake, no error, no shot, no inner, no content, no in, no one, no look!

At the same time, the discussion among Zhou Zhengli and others also reached its end.

"If you fear death so much, why cultivate at all?"

"Danger exists, but if we encounter it, we need only report immediately—it still counts as military merit!"

"Friends, actually what we're saying now is meaningless—the frontline range is extremely vast, our chances of encountering that goddess are minuscule."

"This is truly like fishing for a needle in the sea—of course, if we truly encounter her, it would be her destined fate!"

"So..."

Between words, everyone's gaze fell entirely on Xu Qing; Zhou Zhengli also let out a soft sigh, then looked at Xu Qing with burning fervor in his heart.

Xu Qing turned his head, withdrew his gaze from the distant starry sky, and looked at these companions who had walked the path with him.

"I may have a way to find that goddess, but this journey will cost lives."

Xu Qing spoke calmly.

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes flickered with strangeness.

Xing Huanzi gave Xu Qing a deeply meaningful glance, then spoke lightly.

"Before Zhou Zhengli spoke like this, I didn't truly believe we could encounter that goddess."

"But he said it like this... and you said it too."

"Life or death on this journey is my own choice; once successful... what we gain will be shared by all of us."

As Xing Huanzi's words fell, Xie Lingzi burst into laughter.

"It is also my choice!"

Li Mengtu, Yuanshan Su, and the group of ascenders also successively turned their thoughts, giving affirmative answers.

Lastly was Qianjun Piyi; though they had initially been somewhat excited, Zhou Zhengli's earlier words hadn't swayed others, but these two brothers, great foolishness appearing as wisdom, were persuaded.

Their hearts already held retreat.

But now, seeing everyone else agree, they too began to hesitate, instantly exchanging secret voice transmissions.

"Is this surnamed Xu saying he can encounter her? Really or fake!"

"He said 'or'! I judge he's doing this to show off before people, deliberately saying this—if he doesn't encounter her, he can explain it away; but if he truly does, this guy will claim it as his merit!

Humph, this little trick—what's wrong with us agreeing to it?"

"Brother, you're really clever!"

The two brothers, proud and arrogant, immediately transmitted sword cries, indicating their willingness to embark on this adventure!

Seeing everyone agree, Xu Qing's eyes flashed with resolve, he turned and flickered, following Xiao Ying's guidance, following fate's sensation, straight toward the distant starry sky.

Behind him, Xing Huanzi and others roared as they marched forward.

Time passed.

Several days later.

In the left-wing frontline region, within the starry sky, there was a not-large expanse of stellar astral qi, now drifting.

Within it existed countless dust particles, plus unknown granules, forming cloud-like masses, overall in a long, strip-like shape, with occasional lightning flashes inside and out.

Such cloud masses are not rare in the starry sky; when internal pressure increases, all things condense, and upon forming scorching heat, they can become suns.

At the same time, they are also the exhaled breath before a sun's death.

To some extent, one could say this is the sun's final breath of life.

At this moment, within this cloud mass, the wanted Star-Eyed Goddess and that old god were hidden within.

They exerted all their strength, restrained all their aura, further deployed divine spirit methods, concealed themselves within the cloud mass, and absorbed this sun's final breath, slowly healing their wounds.

"This concealment technique, this place's hidden qi, can likely cover us for a time, convenient for our temporary rest; while the cultivator side, unless a celestial immortal personally enters this cloud mass, otherwise finds it hard to probe."

The old god spoke slowly.

"Luan below, have you ever drawn the God Emperor via bloodline?"

The goddess continued to breathe in and out, hearing the words her expression remained unchanged, she did not open her divine eyes, only a calm voice came from her mouth.

"No response."

The old god pondered, after a long while he was about to speak.

But in the next instant, he suddenly flashed golden light in his eyes, turned his head and gazed far beyond the cloud mass.

The starry sky that his gaze fell upon, there the void was twisted and distorted, ring upon ring of circular ripples appeared suddenly from afar, and then amidst layer upon layer of ripples, there were indeed figures of cultivators shuttling back and forth.

In an instant, they appeared outside the cloud mass.

And then they stood there, not leaving!

Nineteen people in total.

The leader was precisely Xu Qing!

At the moment of appearance, Xu Qing's eyes blazed with sharp light, he looked toward this vast cloud mass before him.

At the same time, inside the cloud mass, the goddess beside the old god, her starry pupils also felt an inexplicable tremor in her heart, her divine eyes suddenly opened, gazing toward the outside.

In a vague way, it seemed as if Xu Qing, separated by the cloud mass, had their gazes meet and converge together.

And the guidance of fate, in this instant, surged intensely in Xu Qing's heart.

As if thunder roared.

Moreover, within his mind and spirit, came from Xiao Ying excitement pushed to the extreme, an emotional fluctuation almost like a scream.

"God... God Lord... bloodline!!"