Chapter 1035: The Final Battle

Qingchuan Jie.

Amid the cheers, the Guardian Stone Lion bearing Qing Wang slowly descended to the ground, brushing aside the dust that filled the air.

Holding the head of the Black-Qing Weird, Qing Wang's expression was calm, yet an inexplicable tremor stirred in his heart.

Earlier, he had clashed fiercely with the Black-Qing Weird, fighting with full force, almost holding nothing back.

Within Qing Guo, he, Qing Wang, was the strongest being—this was the power of the imperial bloodline! This was the power of belief of tens of millions in Qing Guo!

Therefore, Qing Wang believed he must win, and that he had to win!

Yet the danger of the process had made him think several times that he was about to lose. In the end, he suddenly caught a flaw in the Black-Qing Weird, and with a light stroke, severed its head, cutting off its vitality.

Just like that… it was taken down?

But the Black-Qing Weird's aura had truly been severed, with no issues at all. Even the panic and terror of the Wu Yu Race's king above didn't seem feigned. The clouds parted, revealing the night sky with its shattered Blood Moon, as if hinting at something.

"The King returns triumphant!"

"The King has won! His Majesty has won!"

"Long live His Majesty! His Majesty is invincible!!"

The crowd raised their arms and cheered, and even the elders of the four races collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

The king of the Wu Yu Race was trembling all over, his face full of disbelief, not daring to move rashly.

The Black-Qing Weird… is dead?!

The clouds parted, the night brightened. Apart from the flaw of the Blood Moon cracked across the sky, tonight's upheaval in Qing Guo seemed to have drawn to a close.

The only fly in the ointment was that the vines, which had originally only spread within the Imperial Palace, had now extended their reach from the Imperial Palace to all of Jingcheng.

Within Jingcheng, now resembling ruins, vines grew tall everywhere, bearing blood-colored fruits in abundance. Trees laden with Blood Infant Fruits filled the entire city—so numerous that they could even make up for the population lost tonight.

But no one dared treat these Blood Infant Weird as ordinary humans.

If not for the need to handle the aftermath, they would likely have already begun the plan to clear out the Blood Infants.

Fang Yue and Captain Wu stood around Feng Wang, scratching their heads. Although the person was right before their eyes, they had no clue how to awaken and rescue An Dong'er and the others.

"Mo Qing's Mo Immortal Formation? I never thought I'd live to see this formation come into being."

The descending Qing Wang crushed the head of the Black-Qing Weird in his hand with a single grip, then, taking in the current chaos of Jingcheng, his expression darkened slightly as he landed beside Fang Yue and the others.

Everyone around dropped to their knees in unison; only Fang Yue and Captain Wu stood facing Qing Wang directly.

"Please, Your Majesty, save my friend's life! Though she appears as Feng Wang on the outside, her true body is that of a woman—it's my friend's body…" Fang Yue pleaded without hesitation, explaining the situation.

Qing Wang's knowledge and strength far surpassed his own; perhaps among those present, only Qing Wang had the ability to save An Dong'er's life.

"Please… Your Majesty, save her."

Captain Wu's expression was somewhat strange as he spoke stiffly.

He didn't understand what was going on with his Phoenix power, but it likely had some connection to the current emperor.

Qing Wang first glanced at Captain Wu, then said with a complicated expression: "I truly never imagined, after all these years, I could still see you awakened in reincarnation… Brother Qing Hun, is revenge really this important?"

Brother?

The current Qing Wang is calling me brother? He's my younger brother?

Captain Wu was stunned, completely bewildered, and the next instant, a voice only he could hear rang by his ear.

"It seems you haven't awakened your memories yet. Qing Hun, if you wish to know your origins, go to Jiu Yuan—that is the homeland of our entire Phoenix race, and the beginning of everything."

As the voice faded, Qing Wang no longer looked at Captain Wu, but instead came to Fang Yue's side, extended a finger, and tapped Feng Wang's forehead.

The Phoenix race?

Jiu Yuan?

No no no, I'm clearly a native of Mo Cun, I have every memory from childhood onward! These absolutely cannot be false! My feelings for Mo Cun are absolutely not false either!

Captain Wu's brows furrowed tightly, completely unable to believe Qing Wang's words, his thoughts falling into chaos.

While Captain Wu was pondering these questions, Fang Yue noticed that with Qing Wang's tap, Feng Wang's body began to swell and grow. Once it had expanded to look like two twin gourds stuck together, Qing Wang suddenly sliced it clean in two with a swift motion.

"Her body can no longer be considered an ordinary body, but a mixture of multiple products. In a sense, apart from her soul, this mass can no longer be called human. It is something stranger. If you wish to end this farce, you must either kill the main body of the Mo Immortal Formation—that is, this woman—or let her, through her own will, end this transformation."

Of the two separated halves, one still looked like Feng Wang, while the other had transformed into An Dong'er's appearance.

And Qing Wang's faint killing intent was focused on An Dong'er; clearly, Feng Wang was not his target.

Fang Yue's face changed, and he immediately sensed the shift in Qing Wang's attitude, hurriedly stepping in front of him.

"You're going to kill her?"

"I am going to end the farce in Jingcheng."

"Wait! Didn't you say she could end this transformation through her own will? Once she wakes up, I'll have her stop producing Blood Infants!"

Qing Wang, upon hearing this, looked at Fang Yue with a strange expression.

"Do you know what it would take to achieve that?"

Fang Yue looked confused—wasn't this simple? Just deal with Feng Wang, then awaken An Dong'er's consciousness, and everything would be fine. But Qing Wang's next words struck Fang Yue with immense shock.

"You may not understand what the second method implies. The current Mo Immortal Formation is actually running rampant; it has no actual controller, only an absolute core. The first method I mentioned is naturally to destroy the core to break the formation. The second method is actually to have this woman absorb the power of the entire formation, becoming the core while also becoming the true controller of the formation. This means she might become… a Transcendence-level Weird!"

A Transcendence-level Weird?!

Fang Yue's eyes went wide, and he stood rooted to the spot in a daze.

"H-how could this be? Why would she become a Transcendence-level Weird after absorbing the power of the Mo Immortal Formation?"

"What do you think the true purpose of the Mo Immortal Formation is? Everyone becoming an immortal has always been just a facade. When Mo Qing discussed this formation with me back then, the obsession in his eyes, that madness, pointed toward the Transcendence realm! If the Mo Immortal Formation can succeed, then its hidden ultimate goal could naturally also come true!"

Fang Yue clenched his fists and asked through gritted teeth: "If she becomes a Transcendence-level Weird, can she still maintain her own consciousness?"

Qing Wang smiled.

"How many people the Mo Immortal killed, that many people's memories she must bear! Such a vast number of memories flooding into her mind, filling her consciousness, tearing her soul apart—do you think she would still be herself? Could she maintain her sense of self? Only Transcendence can let her survive, and after Transcendence, she will no longer be herself."

Madness!

A mad formation! Mad people! A mad everything!

"Mo Qing!" Fang Yue silently gritted his teeth in his heart, emotions complex.

"Step aside. For the sake of all living beings, I must grant her death. Otherwise, the Mo Immortal Array will spread and strengthen—not just Jingcheng, but the entire Qing Guo, even all of Qingchuan Jie—will suffer this calamity. While this Transcendence-level Weird has yet to be truly born, crush it in its cradle—that is the true Dao of the world, that is… the Dao of all living beings!"

Reason told Fang Yue he should abandon An Dong'er.

But he truly could not bear to watch An Dong'er die before his eyes without doing anything.

The Mo Immortal Array was spreading; vines were creeping toward the towns surrounding Jingcheng. If this wasn't stopped soon, more cities, more people, would become like Jingcheng—every moment, every second, someone would die.

But…

"Isn't there… another way to stop this? You are the Qing Wang—the supreme, omnipotent ruler of Qing Guo!"

The Qing Wang looked at Fang Yue's pained hesitation and vaguely saw his former self—but alas, the words "all under heaven" were too heavy. He had long passed the stage of pity and doubt.

Had Meiyu Xianzi not revealed some secrets about the refugees before her death, he would have long since lost patience explaining so much to Fang Yue.

Now, he must do what must be done.

Separating An Dong'er was only to better locate the core of the Mo Immortal Array—not to save her.

He raised his hand and brought it down swiftly!

"Wait!"

"Stop!"

Fang Yue and the Captain shouted simultaneously—but it was too late. The Qing Wang's right hand had already pierced through An Dong'er's chest.

Chii!

Blood sprayed out, splattering onto Fang Yue and the Captain's faces.

All the effort they had poured into saving An Dong'er vanished in this instant.

The person they had tried to save died right before their eyes—killed by the Qing Wang's righteousness!

"How could you!" Fang Yue's eyes turned bloodshot. He rushed forward, shoved the Qing Wang aside, and hurried to check on An Dong'er—but she lay like a corpse, twitching twice, then fell utterly silent, as if forever at peace.

"You dared kill her!!"

The Captain's dead-fish eyes were bloodshot, his pupils blazing with golden light. The Phoenix Cry erupted like a furious battle cry as he slammed a punch toward the Qing Wang—but the latter had already stepped back, watching them coldly.

"You two have served Qing Guo. I'll overlook this once. Next time you dare attack me, I won't show mercy—not even you, Qing Hun. Do you still wish to sleep through another few hundred years of reincarnation?"

"I don't understand what you're saying. I only know you killed An Dong'er! She was one of the last villagers of Mo Cun! If you can't even protect a single villager of your own Qing Guo, what right do you have to speak of all living beings? You're not fit to be king! I know I can't beat you—but from today on, as long as you remain in Qing Guo, I will never set foot in it again!"

The fractured moonlight of the Blood Moon shone on the Captain's bald head, adding a ruthless edge; the phantom phoenix behind him seemed to grow clearer.

"You're closer to awakening."

The Qing Wang shook his head slightly, ceased speaking to them, and rose into the air, flying toward the battlefield where the Four Elders and the King of Wu Yu were fighting.

The King of Wu Yu had been utterly suppressed; the moment the Hei Qing Weird fell, his heart had already shattered.

In battles at this level, once the heart is broken, defeat is near.

The Qing Wang's approach became the final straw.

The King of Wu Yu roared—a Mo-level Weird—yet under this crushing pressure, he turned and tried to flee.

But the Four Elders immediately blocked him, locking him in fierce combat.

Fearing the Emperor would blame them for taking so long and forcing him to intervene, the Four Elders grew frantic and intensified their assault.

The Emperor had already dealt with the Transcendence-level Weird long ago—even seemingly cleared the vines beneath Jingcheng—yet here, they still hadn't subdued a Mo-level Weird. How could they not panic?

"Your Majesty, please leave this Weird to us!"

"Your Majesty, it's at its last breath—trust in our strength!"

Hearing the Four Elders' voices, the Qing Wang shook his head slightly. The urgent matter was not about credit or blame—it was about quelling the chaos in Jingcheng.

He accelerated, about to plunge into the battle between the Four Elders and the King of Wu Yu—when suddenly he froze, as if sensing something, his eyes widening as he spun around toward the rear…

"Impossible! This aura is…"

"Hehehehe. Turning the impossible into possible—that is what true transcendence means, Brother Qing."

A wisp of black smoke rose from the shattered fragments of the Hei Qing Weird's crushed skull, coalescing before the Qing Wang into a solid human form!

"Hei Qing Weird!"

"Heavens, that's Hei Qing Weird!"

"Wasn't it killed by Your Majesty?!"

Those below were terrified, not daring to move.

The Four Elders, locked in battle with the King of Wu Yu, were also startled, distracted. Their final coordinated killing technique, moments from completion, now revealed a fatal opening.

The King of Wu Yu seized the opening, barely escaping—and burst into roaring laughter, the sound thunderous, echoing through the night sky.

"Hahahaha! Hei Qing Weird, I knew you wouldn't die so easily!"

His morale surged. He abandoned all thought of flight, focusing entirely on the four before him. His mindset shift restored his power to peak levels—the Four Elders immediately felt crushing pressure.

Meanwhile, the Qing Wang still stared in disbelief at the Hei Qing Weird.

"It managed to perform a Golden Cicada Shell-Stripping right here in Qing Guo, under my very nose… This is what a Transcendence-level Weird is… Truly beyond ordinary understanding—even when life is severed, it can still reappear."

"Hahahaha! Qing Wang, killing me isn't that easy! And… do you think I merely escaped?"

As he spoke, golden flames erupted across the Hei Qing Weird's entire body!

The moment this new flame power appeared, it pressed down heavily on the Qing Wang!

That flame… was no ordinary thing!

"Ready to feel the true spirit-fire of Foundation Establishment?" the Hei Qing Weird cackled, charging toward the Qing Wang.

The Qing Wang's expression hardened. He immediately began countering, gradually drawing the battle away from the Four Elders and the King of Wu Yu.

Everything seemed to return to square one—but this time, things were different.

This time, the Qing Wang was being overwhelmed by the fully unleashed Hei Qing Weird!

"Guardian Stone Lions!"

"Roar!!"

The grotesque stone lion leaps into the air!

The three sides clash together, yet Qing Wang has already been fully suppressed by the Black Qing Gui; especially that True Spirit Fire, which makes even the Nation-Protecting Stone Lion wary, not daring to take it on lightly.

While the chaotic battle raged above Jingcheng, beyond Qing Guo — looking out across the entire Qingchuan Jie — beams of light shot up into the sky, streaking toward the cracked Blood Moon high above!

Those lights, like meteors, adorned the night sky, as if wanting to do something about the cracked heavens.

"Shang Qing Tian — Dan Yang Zi, willing to mend the heavens as stone!"

"Liao Yu Sect — Ye Shang Ming, willing to mend the heavens as stone!"

"Xie Shen Fu — Ju Ying Ye, willing to mend the heavens as stone!"

A battle, independent of this small nation of Qing Guo, concerning the entire Qingchuan Jie, seems to unfold within this reversed-flow meteor shower.

Next chapter: Grand Finale

(End of this chapter)