Chapter 1201: Nightmare Comes Before Wind and Rain

The agreement to exchange hostages between the Slaughter God Emperor and the Clear Dew Immortal Sovereign has been reached……

This was not within Xu Qing's expectations.

Moreover, there is no need to mention that the Immortal Sovereign has designated him to carry out the escort.

Therefore, as the Sovereign's voice echoed, Xu Qing's eyes showed a hint of contemplation.

According to his previous judgment, the importance of the Goddess lies in the fact that her body contains imperial bloodline, possessing the divine power of her father, the Slaughter God Emperor.

Capturing her would, for the Immortal Sovereign, be an opportunity to deeply probe the divine power of the Slaughter God Emperor.

This would allow him to have greater assurance and thus gain an advantage in the war.

But……now there is actually an exchange!

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes.

On the Crimson Giant Star, at this moment the sea of light surged with waves, enveloping all directions, while simultaneously isolating the fire tower where Xu Qing was located into a separate space.

Within this space, the fire tower became intangible, the firmament crimson red, gathering upon that curved blade.

Xu Qing held the curved blade, listening to the Sovereign's words ahead, after contemplation he raised his head to look at the Sovereign and spoke in a low voice.

"Sovereign, do you know why the Immortal Sovereign wishes to conduct this hostage exchange with that God Emperor?"

Upon hearing this, the Sovereign gazed at the starry sky, and after a long while, a voice filled with vicissitudes sounded.

"Because the Slaughter God Emperor has put forward several conditions, one of which is a condition that the cultivators of the Fifth Star Ring cannot refuse!"

Xu Qing focused his mind, he was very curious, what exactly is this condition that can be called impossible to refuse, and which also makes the Immortal Sovereign agree, willing to exchange the Goddess for it.

"First, the Slaughter God Emperor proposes to use the five lesser immortals captured by the Fourth Star Ring, who have not yet been tortured to death, as the first exchange condition."

"Among these five lesser immortals, one is the final disciple of the Clear Dew Immortal Sovereign, who guarded the borders together with the Clear Dew Immortal Sovereign for ten thousand years, once achieved great military merit on the battlefield, and was in charge of assassination; many years ago, he was captured by the divine spirit side through a scheme, and after failed rescue attempts, he has suffered torment all these years."

"The other four, though their identities are not as prominent as his, have also all achieved numerous military merits for the Fifth Star Ring; any one of their fates was originally destined to be tortured to death, but now there is a possibility of survival and return."

"These are the first condition proposed by the Slaughter God Emperor."

"As for the second condition, it is what I previously mentioned, impossible for the cultivators of the Fifth Star Ring to refuse, and even the Immortal Sovereign agrees……"

"That is a flying realm!"

As the Sovereign spoke to this point, a strange light flashed in his eyes, and he looked toward Xu Qing.

"You ascended from the Immortal Capital, so while you have some knowledge of history, it is likely not comprehensive."

"The war countless years ago between the cultivators and the native divine spirits of the Fifth Star Ring can be described as extremely tragic, their slaughter enough to overturn heaven and earth, and ultimately the battle between the Immortal Venerable and the God Venerable was even more so, causing the Fifth Star Ring to collapse."

"Many places in the starry sky were torn apart, forming several flying realms, which were separated from the Fifth Star Ring."

"Since then, for many years, all Immortal Sovereigns have shared a common mission: to find and recover all the flying realms, so that the Fifth Star Ring……may have complete territory!"

"Because a complete Fifth Star Ring, the rules and laws contained within it, or perhaps the fortune, will only then reach its peak."

"Over these years, the vast majority of flying realms have been recovered, except for one largest flying realm, which has left no trace, causing my Fifth Star Ring to always remain incomplete."

"And the second exchange condition offered by the Slaughter God Emperor is precisely that last missing flying realm of the Fifth Star Ring!"

"Once we obtain it, the territory of the Fifth Star Ring will be complete, all aspects of rules and laws will be perfected, fortune will flourish, benefiting all beings."

"You say, who could refuse such a condition?"

The Sovereign looked toward Xu Qing.

Xu Qing was also moved, a startling thought arose in his mind, and he voiced it.

"Could it be……that the Immortal Sovereign already knew that flying realm was in the hands of the Slaughter God Emperor, and thus had the matter of capturing the Goddess?"

The Sovereign's gaze was deep, and he did not respond to Xu Qing's inquiry, but instead raised his hand and took out a piece of silver jade stone.

As soon as the jade stone appeared, thousands of auspicious colors burst forth, brilliant light flashed, and moreover, an extremely rich immortal spirit aura flowed within it.

Faintly, one could still see within the jade stone, as if there existed a mysterious bubble.

At the moment of seeing this bubble, Xu Qing's mind and spirit were shaken, his own constitution strongly fluctuated, the immortal embryo was likewise, as if……that bubble contained the supreme will of the entire Fifth Star Ring.

And it resonated with the fortune he had obtained.

"This is……"

Xu Qing spoke softly.

"This is the Fifth Immortal Pill!"

"Because it is connected to fortune, only those with the identity of a True Lord can use it; ordinary cultivators who swallow it will die from deadly poison."

"Its function is to assist True Lords in breaking through to Lesser Immortal, increasing the success rate!"

"This pill is given by the Immortal Sovereign to you as a reward for carrying out the escort of the Goddess exchange!"

Xu Qing stared intently at the jade stone before him, his breathing also became slightly hurried, he could feel the resonance of fortune within his body, and also feel the trembling of the immortal embryo and even his constitution.

All this allowed him to form a clear understanding.

This pill……is of great use to him!

And the Sovereign's voice continued, this time carrying some emotion.

"Xu Qing, the Clear Dew Immortal Sovereign holds you……in high regard."

"Because there are great armies arrayed, and the Immortal Sovereign will also be watching during the exchange, so there is not too much danger, and indeed one could say that this hostage exchange matter is actually something anyone could accomplish.

And no matter who it is, upon completing this task, they will first receive the gratitude of the five lesser immortals, gaining great favor, and secondly, they will gain even greater fame, enough to be noticed by the entire army."

"After this matter, your qualifications and experience will be sufficient, and you should be able to independently command an army!"

During the speech, the Sovereign raised his hand, and immediately the jade stone containing the mysterious bubble flew toward Xu Qing.

Finally, it floated motionless in front of Xu Qing.

Xu Qing remained silent, gazing at the object before him, after a long while he took a deep breath and spoke in a low voice.

"I obey the Immortal Sovereign's decree!"

The Sovereign nodded, said no more, took a step, and walked into the silver giant eye.

As the giant eye's light flashed once, the surrounding sea of light vanished in an instant, and everything returned to normal.

It was still the fire tower, Xu Qing inside, as if nothing had happened.

The giant eye had already disappeared.

Only those reward items, and the silver jade, shone before Xu Qing, radiating light, emitting source substance and thick immortal spirit aura.

Xu Qing fell silent for a long time, analyzing the pros and cons in his heart.

"This matter... did not appear in the Pain God's illusion."

"And this exchange, though seemingly reasonable, but..."

Xu Qing pondered.

He instinctively felt this matter was not so simple.

Whether the Immortal Sovereign had planned it in advance, and whether the act was to exchange Feiyu, or even every previous step...

Seemed too smooth.

"So smooth that... it seems the one who left the God-Slaying Sovereign, as if actively cooperating."

Thinking of this, Xu Qing's eyes narrowed.

"As a God Sovereign, being passive once can still be explained, but if passive every time, then it certainly is not ordinary!"

Xu Qing furrowed his brows, but he believed that having reached the Immortal Sovereign level, what he saw and knew were absolutely beyond his own imagination, and recalling the war's progression, an Immortal Sovereign capable of such a layout was more likely to already have a strategy.

"Then, what would be the ultimate purpose of this possible mutual layout by both sides?"

Xu Qing pondered for a long time, still unable to find an answer.

!

Thus he glanced at the reward items before him, suppressed this thought, spread his divine sense, and sent a voice transmission to the Star Ring Child and others outside.

Soon, in the other eleven fire towers, the seated cultivators all opened their eyes, mostly with anticipation, rose up, and rushed straight to the fire tower where Xu Qing was.

Upon entering, everyone's gaze fell entirely on those reward items.

Even the well-traveled Star Ring Child and Zhou Zhengli had their eyes dazed at this moment.

"These are the source substance and military merit sent by the Lord."

Xu Qing spoke slowly.

As for the distribution method, they had already reached a consensus beforehand; Xu Qing, as the main force in tracking traces and capturing the Goddess alive, would receive forty percent of the total reward.

And Star Ring Child, for participating in the capture, thus received one and a half tenths of the total reward.

The remaining forty-five percent would be evenly divided among the other ten!

Whether source substance or military merit, all followed this distribution method.

So soon, these source substances and military merits were divided among everyone, each taking their share, and each heart burned hot.

No one had any objection to Xu Qing taking the lion's share, after all, this was how it had been all along, distribution had always been this way, and Xu Qing's strength deserved these.

Xu Qing also felt this distribution was reasonable, for without others' help, facing the Goddess and that old God, with his own strength alone, it would be impossible to accomplish the slaying and capture.

And after the distribution, Xu Qing also informed everyone about the Lord's statement that the Immortal Sovereign had decided on the exchange, while also voicing his own doubts and guesses.

After hearing, everyone's expressions varied, falling into deep thought.

This is their team's habit: when encountering problems, gather everyone's wisdom, think from different angles, and summarize.

"What Xu Qing said makes sense; the risk of this exchange should be considerable; as for the background of the exchange, what I can think of is that the Immortal Sovereign does not want to expand the war!"

"After all, if the war expands, or appears severely tilted, then one side might bring in multiple Lord-level beings, in which case our side would also have to do so, and perhaps even the Immortal Venerable might descend..."

"That would be the true decisive battle!"

"This is a game between the God Sovereign and the Immortal Sovereign, and their game weighs more on momentum..."

"But this matter is somewhat strange; what exactly is the ultimate purpose of Zhan Lu Immortal Sovereign?"

"Never mind what it is, just do it—we two brothers, unstoppable!"

Everyone spoke in turn.

Xu Qing listened to everyone's words, combined with his own judgment, his emotions fluctuated, and then he looked toward Zhou Zhengli.

Regarding Zhou Zhengli's wisdom, Xu Qing had already made it clear along the way.

Zhou Zhengli at this moment furrowed his brows, likewise looked toward Xu Qing, hesitated for a moment, then he rubbed his glabella and spoke softly.

"Young Master, and fellow Daoists, you say—could there be a possibility... that this exchange itself is actually part of the beacon fire?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Qing's eyes flashed with strange light, and he slowly transmitted his words.

"If true, using the left war zone as a beacon fire is not enough; we need to make this exchange that moves both sides become a brighter beacon fire; then... the hidden hand, most likely, is not on the battlefield."

"But rather... within the fourth star ring!"

Xu Qing's voice, like a storm, instantly surged in everyone's hearts.

Time passed, day by day approaching the exchange day spoken of by the Lord.

During this time, Xu Qing and the others had already reached a consensus; regarding the upcoming exchange, their hearts were filled with vigilance.

Xu Qing here had also made preparations, continuously familiarizing himself with the Immortal Sovereign's Dao artifacts these days, while using the source substance of this scarlet giant star to stabilize his newly ascended mid-stage False Immortal realm.

Keep himself at peak.

At the same time, regarding the outside world, he also felt a different atmosphere.

Because outside this scarlet giant star, almost every day, legions crossed the starry sky to come, stationed around this star.

Their numbers increasing.

The solemn atmosphere also grew denser.

Even not only here, in the frontline of the left war zone that Xu Qing and the others cannot see, it is even more so; whether the divine side or the cultivator side, both are rapidly gathering forces, amassing combat power that can be called immense.

Thus black and white, in this left war zone, continue to intertwine.

Precisely, the wind and rain are about to come!

Until, with only one shichen left before the exchange time, a desolate horn sounded, blowing upon this crimson giant star.

That sound pierced the starry sky, swirling in the ears of countless cultivators.

Xu Qing opened his eyes from cross-legged sitting.

Before him, the light sea's flares glittered, and a bound familiar figure flashed out from within the light sea, sent before Xu Qing.

It was the Goddess!

It was clear that during the time it had left Xu Qing, it had fared well, its source substance having proliferated on its own, and its skin had regained its luster.

After all, with the demeanor of an Immortal Sovereign, even in investigation, it would not deliberately torment.

Thus... the fragrance grew even stronger.

Xu Qing's gaze sharpened, and he instinctively licked his lips.

As the Goddess gazed at Xu Qing, her legs tightened, her whole body trembling uncontrollably, her spirit and mind violently agitated.

As if seeing a nightmare.

(End of Chapter)