Chapter 1203: One Party Breaches the Agreement

Stepping out of the fire tower, the black heterogenous gods swirling in the void trembled, shaking the starry sky.

The gazes of the immortals and gods on this battlefield all converged upon that crimson giant star.

The stars shuddered.

Then, these gazes shifted, finally falling upon Xu Qing's body, and also upon the cage he dragged out!

Gazes have weight, especially those of gods—more than immeasurably heavy, able to pin the body, crush the soul. At the moment they descended, it seemed they would crush Xu Qing's flesh and soul to powder.

But the immortals' gazes countered all, gathering swiftly while also dispelling the oppressive gazes brought by the divine spirits.

Thus, as Xu Qing advanced, thunder roared around him, the void shattered, at times twisting, at times swaying, at times clear, at times collapsing.

Yet Xu Qing remained expressionless, still dragging the cage forward until he reached the edge of the star, under the gaze of myriad beings, his steps paused, his eyes cold and stern, gazing afar in all directions.

This region lies between the fourth and fifth star rings, once a battlefield, named for the blue star mist… the Azure Shattered Void!

Looking out, one sees the starry sky between black and white, suffused with blue mist, within which float vast quantities of shattered stars, interwoven like the jagged spine of a colossal beast, stretching for trillions of miles within the azure star mist.

And on the surfaces of these shattered stars, grotesque, vein-like vessels crawl, born of the intangible standoff between gods and immortals, seeming to form a pulse, causing the vessels on the shattered stars to flash, making the surrounding starry sky ripple with blood-colored waves.

Splendor and vastness coexist at this moment!

This is the background!

And upon this background, the cultivator army is arrayed, forming dense dots, seemingly following the orbital path of the fifth star ring's stars, forming a celestial chart.

The momentum is immense, the numbers so great that the end cannot be seen at a glance.

Only these dense dots are visible, each one… actually a ten-thousand-strong formation.

And at the center of each formation floats a war drum etched with the Taotie Swallowing Heaven pattern.

At this moment, as Xu Qing paused, the war drum's voice rose like heavenly sound, shaking the void.

As for the other side of this background, within the god race army shrouded in black heterogenous substance, one can see collapsed stars within, their interiors altered, flesh and blood appearing, now inhaling and exhaling the heterogenous substance.

Upon each, many divine spirits reside.

Just as dense, boundless and endless.

Behind them, furthermore, countless altered flesh and blood form immeasurably large ancient bone bows, using the Milky Way as bowstring, now the string drawn… the trembling sound emitted causes the battlefield's atmosphere to fall into stagnation.

Moreover, golden meteors dance on the divine spirits' side, tracing profound trajectories, converging into a divine spirit barrier spanning the battlefield.

Whenever the cultivators' drum sound waves assault the barrier, black hole vortices appear upon it, swallowing the sound waves into distorted light spectra.

The momentum is like a rainbow.

But even more shocking to the immortals and gods is what lies above their heads in endless expanse.

There… the scroll and the divine river are in confrontation.

On the scroll's side stands the towering figure of Immortal Sovereign Zhan Lu, who has unfolded the Eight Wastelands and Six Harmonies, gilded cloud patterns behind him extending into a scroll covering half a star domain, every stroke within manifesting the laws of heaven and earth.

Opposing the black divine river is the phantom of God-Slaying Sovereign Li Zhu, seated upon a throne forged from countless shattered universes.

His fingertips hang down, the divine river slowly freezing.

The exact appearances of these two are rarely seen clearly by anyone, but the pressure and might they emit are unmistakably imprinted upon the perception of all living beings.

And they are gazing!

Their gaze is fixed upon the ancient battlefield core of this exchange site.

There, as their gazes stir, the mist retreats, revealing a vast altar floating in midair!

This altar is composed of three hundred and sixty giant coffins and three hundred and sixty giant timbers.

The coffins are forged of demon copper.

The verdigris coating their surface is peeling away, revealing beneath it the dark red blood sacrifice inscriptions.

Whenever the star mist storm sweeps over, the coffin lids tremble and overflow with black mist, condensing into terrifying, eerie shadows.

The timbers are gathered immortal crystal.

The immortal patterns flowing on their surface gleam with silver light, radiating unparalleled vitality.

Whenever black mist emerges from the coffins, the immortal wood suppresses it, transforming into thread after thread of immortal spirits, which then engage in battle.

This altar formed by them is the trading ground of this exchange!

Gazing upon all this, even though Xu Qing has participated in many wars, he is still shaken by this sight. Thus, as his gaze deepened, he paused for a moment, then lifted his foot.

He stepped out of the crimson giant star, stepped into the starry sky.

The cage dragged behind him traced a dark red trail in the starry sky, advancing toward the altar ahead.

At the same time, on the divine spirits' side, that immense golden barrier surged violently, and within the gaze of countless cultivators, a divine spirit stepped out from within the barrier.

This divine spirit's appearance resembles that of a cultivator, like a middle-aged human male, except his flesh is much taller, standing seven or eight zhang high.

Yet his features are hauntingly beautiful, a head of purple hair that can reach his feet, flowing as he moves, clad in golden divine armor that further accentuates his perfect proportions, highlighting his resoluteness.

As for his realm… clearly limited by the agreement of this exchange.

He is at the peak of the Divine Platform.

At this moment, as he steps out, one can see that around him, as if leashed like dogs, five ragged, yellow-skinned, emaciated elders are led, even their expressions numb.

These five elders each bear countless wounds, their bodies devoid of intact skin, exhausted to the extreme, the fire of their lives dim beyond measure, clearly having suffered torment for years since their capture.

They are precisely the human cultivators to be exchanged, each having once rendered glorious service to the fifth star ring.

This scene, upon entering the cultivators' sight, immediately stirred their emotions, and the war drum sounds grew even fiercer.

And that jade-faced divine spirit, feeling all this, his gaze cold, actually raised a hand and jerked, instantly tightening the rope hanging around the necks of the five human cultivators, causing their bodies to tremble in excruciating pain, as if their necks were about to be severed.

Then, he gazed afar toward Xu Qing.

Instantly, the battlefield's atmosphere surged into intensity.

Xu Qing's eyes also flashed with cold light.

Though he does not know these five lesser immortals, through the Lord's knowledge he learned of their merits, and he also perceived that the jade-faced divine spirit's actions were meant to provoke him.

Thus, as he raised his hand, the cage imprisoning the divine maiden instantly scattered, transforming into binding chains wrapped around her limbs, and then, with a single grasp, he pulled her body toward him, seizing her throat in a grip.

In the presence of the gods, even the Divine Emperor, he began to absorb the source essence!

The goddess trembled all over, awakening from unconsciousness, her expression pained.

The divine spirits' side immediately roared.

The killing intent was extremely intense.

Xu Qing's act of openly absorbing the goddess's source essence was, to the divine spirits, a great provocation!

The jade-faced divine spirit stared at Xu Qing, then released the ropes bound around the necks of the five human cultivators with a blank expression.

Xu Qing likewise released his grip, no longer absorbing, but instead took hold of the iron chain, letting the goddess walk ahead on her own.

Both sides advanced toward the central altar.

With each step Xu Qing took, a splendid Dao lotus blossomed beneath his feet, and his internal cultivation operated at the peak of his current state.

As the goddess walked barefoot, the void beneath her feet continually collapsed, divine blood dripping down yet not dissipating, floating along as if flesh and blood stars were being nurtured from nothingness within it.

But as they proceeded, the goddess grew extremely weak, her steps becoming increasingly difficult; with each step, the shackles wrapped around her ankles would sprout light thorns that stabbed her.

The sound of the manacles, like the cold tones of the Nine Abysses, made her recall the pain of this journey, while her withered long hair seemed to speak of her resentment, continually dissipating into stardust that fluttered down.

As for Xu Qing behind her, his expression appeared calm, but the vigilance in his heart had reached its utmost, prepared for any sudden occurrence.

!

He felt somewhat uneasy.

Though he could sense the countless gazes protecting him from behind, as well as the booming of the drumbeats.

But after discussing with his squad members, he received many possibilities regarding why he was assigned to escort the exchange, among which was one possibility……

"If the goddess knows of the exchange, then given her hatred for me…… would she not make additional demands?"

Xu Qing's gaze fell upon the staggering goddess ahead, and he narrowed his eyes.

Thus, time passed bit by bit, Xu Qing escorting the goddess, drawing ever closer to the jade-faced god of the divine spirits' side and the central altar, entering the meteorite belt.

Until…… when, within this meteorite belt, the distance to the altar remained less than ten thousand zhang.

"Every wisp of my source essence you devour will become a star piercing your fate, becoming your greatest regret and curse in this life!"

The goddess suddenly turned around; the alien quality of this place caused the extinguished galaxy in her pupils to reignite with golden flame.

Xu Qing remained silent, yanking the god-binding chain in his hand; instantly, the immortal spirit inscriptions on the chain flared, forming a force to attract and pull source essence.

The goddess grunted, the source essence on her body seeping out from her wounds as she staggered, stepping onto a small floating meteorite that had come drifting.

The black rock layers of that meteorite suddenly came alive, writhing as they dyed her rust-stained robes ever deeper.

Meanwhile, Xu Qing's Dao robe stirred without wind, forming a counterclockwise spiral nebula vortex around him.

Drawing in the source essence seeping from the goddess's wounds into the vortex, transforming it into light spots that pulsed like moonlight in his eyes.

Then he spoke lightly.

"Noisy."

The goddess stared at Xu Qing, gritted her teeth, and continued forward, wishing to move faster, but the rope bound to her body kept her speed under Xu Qing's control.

Thus, under Xu Qing's pace, the distance to the altar reached three thousand zhang.

At this position, he could clearly see the full appearance of the jade-faced divine spirit, and observe the specific conditions of the five human cultivators.

And his inner unease grew ever stronger.

Thus, Xu Qing's eyes flashed; suddenly he reached out with his right hand, seized the goddess struggling forward ahead, and, ignoring her struggle, grabbed her neck again.

A fierce inhalation!

This time, the degree of attraction and pulling was immense, surpassing before.

Previously, after draining her, Xu Qing would pause, but this time, since the goddess had hardly regenerated any source essence, he drained her instantly—and yet continued to attract and pull.

As if seeking to cut off her lineage entirely, as if about to release her imminently, so he did not care whether it could be sustained.

And this attraction and pulling brought the goddess pain that naturally surpassed before, nearing the breaking point of her mental collapse.

This scene caused the divine spirits' side to surge, countless low roars echoing, countless pressures booming; even at the jade-faced divine spirit's side, his expression tightened as he accelerated forward.

The cultivators' side was likewise stirred by Xu Qing's sudden action.

As the exchange between the two sides showed signs of turmoil, the goddess's struggle reached its extreme—perhaps due to the alien quality of this place, or perhaps due to some unseen aid.

Thus, in this extreme pain, the goddess's struggle suddenly erupted with terrifying power; the shrill sound from her mouth actually shook Xu Qing's hand loose.

Simultaneously, all the iron chains binding Xu Qing to her body were shattered.

Instantly free!

That sensation of freedom left the weakened goddess no time to consider rationality; she surged forward at great speed, turning into a stream of light that plunged into the back of the rapidly approaching jade-faced divine spirit.

Returned to the divine spirits' camp!

Xu Qing's face darkened as he stared at the goddess's retreating figure, then suddenly spoke.

"You cannot escape; we will meet again!"

As Xu Qing's words echoed, the star-eyed goddess's figure, in the stellar radiance suppressing ahead from the divine spirits' side, turned her head, staring fixedly at Xu Qing, her eyes' golden light tinged with blood; she could no longer suppress her inner turmoil, gritting her teeth as she transmitted the words she had long held in.

"Exactly, we will meet again soon!

Xu Qing, I have endured you all this way; you truly thought everything was under your control? How laughable! Do you not know, you are the very target of this exchange, the one I proposed in the agreement between my father god and your immortal sovereign!"

These words, in this special state, Xu Qing could discern truth from falsehood; thus, all emotional ripples on his face instantly vanished, and he spoke calmly.

"So that is how it is."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and waved it; instantly, everything before the goddess's eyes shattered like bubbles.

She, however, remained beside Xu Qing, still gripped by his hand on her neck, still three thousand zhang from the altar!

This scene left her stunned, her heart and spirit overturned by a heavenly flood, her pupils contracting sharply, her mouth uttering sounds of disbelief.

"True god illusion—how could you possess a true god illusion!!"

Xu Qing did not respond; at this moment, raising his hand, he sealed the goddess, and his body suddenly vanished.

At the same time, from the depths of the void, an ancient murmur suddenly echoed, and the ice-sealed divine river at the fingertip of the Execution God Emperor shattered, breaking into countless massive ice blocks that fell toward the entire starry sky.

A transcendent existence beyond time and space descended into each ice block, transforming into divine eyes that gazed upon all.

"Zhan Lu, you have broken the pact."