Chapter 1271: Borrowing Wish to Chase the Source!

In this moment, as the human cultivators were stirred and the myriad races of Eastern Wanggu were exhilarated, Xu Qing stood in the azure heavens above the human imperial capital, gazing into the distance at the Swallow-Heaven Great Domain.

He slightly lifted his right foot, but… still did not set it down.

Before, there had been an instant when his divine sense, within the Swallow-Heaven Great Domain, made contact with Prince Ziqing, stirring within him a powerful impulse.

To step into the Swallow-Heaven, to step into Prince Ziqing's Upper Realm, and battle his brother from memory, that Prince Ziqing.

To settle all karmic ties.

Yet in the end, Xu Qing still withdrew his foot.

"It is not yet time…"

Xu Qing lowered his gaze slightly; he knew his current state could not be sustained.

The fusion of immortal and divine was merely allowing him to temporarily reach this terrifying condition.

Soon, the divine body and immortal soul would fall into an irreconcilable state.

At that time, separation would be necessary, or else the soul would face assimilation.

Xu Qing also understood this was because his fusion lacked certain essential and supreme rites, thus it could not be considered perfect.

Most importantly, the Upper Wasteland still existed.

His divine body was formed from its flesh and blood, and the source of his divinity likewise came from the Upper Wasteland.

Thus, a short-term fusion with his immortal soul was acceptable, but once prolonged, assimilation would inevitably occur—this too was part of the karmic bond with the Upper Wasteland.

"Such assimilation, once it occurs, is irreversible."

"Therefore… though this fused form has elevated my realm and combat power, it cannot be used deeply."

"Before this problem is resolved, it is unsuitable to battle Prince Ziqing."

Xu Qing withdrew his gaze; even though his cultivation had reached this level, he still harbored no contempt for Prince Ziqing in his heart.

On the contrary, as his cultivation and experience increased, he saw more deeply and thoroughly.

"Prince Ziqing is the Upper Wasteland's chosen one, the one who walks Eastern Wanggu on Its behalf."

"I simply do not know what entanglements exist between him and me, nor why I must wait for my growth…"

Many things, when Xu Qing now looks back, reveal numerous clues and indications.

For instance, why Prince Ziqing repeatedly provoked him.

And how, when the Empress attained divinity years ago, he obtained the fortune of Prince Ziqing's Upper Realm—though this was with his master's aid, without a foundation, it would have been difficult to obtain smoothly.

So why is his foundation tied to Prince Ziqing's Upper Realm?

And the Upper Wasteland's flesh and blood, along with its karma—his capacity to endure them seems to exceed the ordinary.

Regarding Prince Ziqing's Upper Realm, regarding Prince Ziqing, Xu Qing's inner doubts have not diminished in the slightest during his growth; on the contrary, they have increased.

Especially… buried in his heart is a conjecture he does not wish to ponder further.

"Upper Wasteland, Prince Ziqing, and I—what exactly is our relationship…"

Xu Qing recalled the corridor within his soul, and the mysterious seat at its end.

He also recalled Prince Ziqing's strange reaction upon sensing this scene years ago.

"All will be revealed soon… not long after, at the moment I step into the Swallow-Heaven, it shall be made clear!"

Xu Qing drew a deep breath, a resolve forming in his heart.

He suppressed his thoughts of Prince Ziqing, once again gazing into the distance at the Eastern Wanggu continent; there were matters he intended to resolve before battling Prince Ziqing.

"The Eastern Wanggu continent has just endured a great calamity and now needs stability."

"But external forces are numerous… so I will borrow this fusion state, which can barely persist for a few more hours, to root them out one by one, severing their layouts that have plagued Eastern Wanggu for years."

"Let Eastern Wanggu be purer."

Xu Qing's eyes flashed with a dark light as he gazed toward Feng Haijun, and toward… the Wood Spirit Tribe!

His first target for cleansing is the Ancient Spirit Emperor!

As a ruler from an era even more ancient than Emperor Xuanyou, who once unified the Eastern Wanggu continent, the emperor of the Ancient Spirit Tribe.

Clinging to life to this day, Xu Qing does not believe there is no other external force supporting him behind the scenes!

"If there is, I will sever it!"

"If not… the existence of the Ancient Spirit Emperor is also not conducive to Eastern Wanggu's stability."

Xu Qing thought of this, bowed toward Seventh Grandfather in the azure heavens, his gaze sweeping over the Empress and Chen Erniu and others.

"Wait a moment, I will first attend to some matters."

Having spoken, he lifted his head, a chill appearing in his eyes, and spoke softly.

"Zhou Zhengli!"

Not far away, Zhou Zhengli, who had closely monitored Xu Qing's every word and deed, immediately stepped forward and bowed.

"My Lord!"

"You, follow me."

As Xu Qing's words fell, his body suddenly took a step downward; amidst the ripples of the azure heavens, he shifted and departed.

Zhou Zhengli, Xing Huanzi, Xie Lingzi, Li Mengtu, and Yuan Shan Su also rose in succession, following Xu Qing's shift.

With their cultivation, to the lowly cultivators' eyes, the Eastern Wanggu continent—vast as near-infinity—was no more than a slightly larger star.

Thus, in an instant, outside Feng Haijun, in the midair where the Wood Spirit Tribe resided, heavenly thunder rolled.

The sound of thunder exploded in all directions as the heavenly canopy opened and closed.

The Wood Spirit Tribe trembled; all trees opened their eyes, taking human form, and in the Wood Spirit Tribe chief's trembling kneeling, Xu Qing's figure stepped forth from the rift in the heavenly canopy.

Behind him stood Zhou Zhengli and the others.

At the moment of manifestation, Xu Qing did not pause, taking another step.

In the blink of an eye, he appeared at the entrance to the Spirit Abyss, the underground forbidden land of the Wood Spirit Tribe!

The entrance to the Spirit Abyss was a massive cavern, like a heavenly pit, its interior pitch black, with waves of icy breath seeping out, as if it sought to freeze all things.

This was not Xu Qing's first time coming here; now he stood at the edge of the Spirit Abyss of the Wood Spirit Tribe, his gaze falling inward.

Beside him, Zhou Zhengli and the others also stepped forward, Zhou Zhengli's third eye on his brow suddenly opening wide, and after staring, he suddenly spoke.

"Master, below……there is a rotting, struggling giant serpent!"

Xing Huanzi also swept his gaze over and spoke lightly.

"The power of order within has completely collapsed."

"It also contains poison……" Li Mentu smiled.

"Not only these, my sword tells me that below, there still exists evil intent." Xie Lingzi licked his lips.

"Master, where does this place lead to? I do not know." Zhou Zhengli looked toward Xu Qing.

"On the Eastern Wanggu Continent, before the Upper Wilderness descended, there once was a tribe that unified heaven and earth; this tribe was called the Ancient Spirits."

Xu Qing spoke slowly.

"And the Spirit Emperor of this tribe had cultivation of an Immortal; at the end of the dynasty, he gathered the strength of the entire tribe, collected the qi of fortune, and sought to do something related to the Heavenly Dao."

"He wished to seize the Heavenly Dao with his own body, to become the sole Heavenly Dao of Eastern Wanggu."

"Now, upon inspection, he seeks to merge the rules of Eastern Wanggu through this, to enter the Dao, to become an Immortal Sovereign!"

Xu Qing spoke while lifting his foot, directly walking into the Spirit Abyss.

Zhou Zhengli and the others immediately followed, and Xu Qing's voice, in the tumbling darkness of the Spirit Abyss, echoed in their ears.

"In the end, the Spirit Emperor's seizure of the Heavenly Dao failed, suffering backlash from all the Heavenly Dao of Eastern Wanggu, but clearly he chose to let his clansmen share the burden, so that in a single night, the Ancient Spirit Tribe withered, the nation became a dead realm, and most of the clansmen became wailing, suffering ghosts day and night."

"Eternally bearing the torment of the Ancient Spirit Emperor's backlash."

"This Spirit Abyss of the Wood Spirit Tribe is one of the entrances to the Ancient Spirit Dead Realm."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhengli and the others all had their minds stirred.

Their cultivation was only that of a Semi-Immortal, yet hearing Xu Qing's words, it was clear this Ancient Spirit Emperor had once been an Immortal, and this method of seizing the Heavenly Dao, acquiring rules to advance, was also transmitted within the Fifth Star Ring.

However, this is merely one way to become an Immortal, and compared to comprehending the Constitution, this method is obscure.

The drawbacks are too many.

But……advancing to Immortal Sovereign by this method is also unthinkable in the Fifth Star Ring.

"This Spirit Emperor……"

Xing Huanzi wanted to say something, but ultimately shook his head; no matter what, the other had once reached the Immortal realm and deserved respect.

Xu Qing also merely gave a brief report, then fell silent, stepping forward within the Spirit Abyss.

The repulsion emanating from the Spirit Abyss itself, though continuously emitted and quite strong in appearance, before Xu Qing, not even a breeze could be considered.

In but a moment, Xu Qing had already entered the depths.

In this darkness, there appeared before him a colossal entity!

It was a rotting giant serpent, its entire body entwined with a thick intent of death.

A world was being carried upon its head.

This world was hazy, with waves of wailing voices seeping from within, the sound heart-rending, in the void and mist, falling into the ears of Xu Qing and the others.

Once, this giant serpent in Xu Qing's eyes was vast and boundless; merely its pressure made his body and soul tremble.

But now, everything has reversed.

Xu Qing stood in the void, his gaze sweeping over.

At a single glance, the rotting giant serpent shuddered violently, its very body trembling, even beginning to retreat, wishing to flee.

But Xing Huanzi's eyes flashed with cold light, his body surging forward, straight toward the giant serpent.

Zhou Zhengli and the others also each stepped forward; in an instant, aside from Xu Qing, the figures of the others all flew toward the giant serpent.

Within that great world, like meteors, they smashed into the rotting earth!

The booming sound echoed within that great world, the stirred storm sweeping across the eight directions, causing countless ghosts to shatter into pieces in an instant.

Even being entwined by mist, with no sun or moon, only ghost-fire stars in the heavenly canopy, in this moment the mist was torn apart.

Moreover, in the next instant, heaven and earth were transformed into a hazy, pallid starlight; the figures of Xing Huanzi and the others instantly shifted, revealing their power, like heavenly generals, charging wildly toward the eight directions.

Where they passed, the River of the Underworld reversed, mountains of flesh and blood shattered and vanished, the entire world trembling.

And one by one, the eyes of the Ancient Spirit Emperor also, in this moment, opened wide in unison.

As if having slept for an eternity, now awakened by disturbance, they thus roared from their mouths.

"You……"

This roar only transmitted two words, then abruptly paused.

Those opened eyes suddenly contracted.

They felt, in the void of the Outside, that long-haired, flowing figure!

A trace of all the former shock and fear, transformed into surging waves within their divine sense, moreover containing disbelief; these emotional fluctuations and manifestations, in all those opened eyes, instantly became intensely concentrated.

"You……you are……"

Outside the giant serpent, Xu Qing stood there, not first looking toward the awakened eyes of the Ancient Spirit Emperor within the serpent's world, but instead directing his gaze toward the distant black mist depths.

Gazing in that direction, Xu Qing's eyes grew deeper in coldness.

Then he withdrew his gaze, looking toward the front, atop the giant serpent's head, that rotting world.

He spoke lightly.

"Long time no see, Ancient Spirit Emperor."