Chapter 1352: Eminent Desolation Complete!

This chapter is updated by Novels.pl

Daybreak light descended from heaven, filling the ruins of Peerless City and covering that entire part of the human world. Within that light, the young version of Xu Qing remained motionless, as if time had stopped around him.

In front of him was the adult Xu Qing from the future, shimmering within the resplendent light of daybreak. His long black robe flapped in the wind. Flowing violet hair swayed behind him, each strand of it pulsing with the essence power of an entire star ring.

As he walked forth, the Revered Ancient mainland trembled. The lands shook, the sky heaved. It was as if Revered Ancient was waking up and offering a welcome. It wasn’t just Revered Ancient. Down below, Brilliant Heaven… was doing the same thing! It seemed like… the figure walking out the light had personhood that was the embodiment of Revered Ancient’s essence and Brilliant Heaven’s origin!

Auspicious signs spread in all directions, all while scintillating daybreak formed. All were welcoming him! When the person in the light became clear, rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth!

Heaven-shaking, earth-shattering power erupted from him, and together with the resonance with Revered Ancient and Brilliant Heaven, it became an aura that surpassed that of a Summer Immortal…

It was… Immortal Lord! And this was no ordinary Immortal Lord, this level was the peak of Immortal Lord! Even more astonishing, behind Xu Qing there seemed to be another adult version of himself. It was just like the twin primeval motherworlds!

As he stood there, he looked at the youthful version of himself seemingly stuck within time. Then he looked at Zi Qing off in the distance, looking in his direction. He started walking toward Zi Qing. Step after step he took, surpassing stopped time, walking through the sticky gore and the light and the blood rain. He reached Zi Qing.

Looking at him, Xu Qing said, “Why didn’t Eminent Desolation try to stop me from breaking through?”

Zi Qing was smiling. This version of himself had just awoken. He did not have the same cultivation base as he had in his past life, nor had he reached the same god cultivation level as he had in the Heaveneater Region. Right now, all he had in him was pure godliness. Facing Xu Qing in this way, he was very weak. But he didn’t care. He smiled at Xu Qing, his eyes full of admiration and deep anticipation.

“Before I answer your question, lil’ bro, let me ask you something. Do you know… who you really are?”

Xu Qing looked back coldly at Zi Qing, saying not a word.

Zi Qing’s smile grew broader. “You don’t know… You couldn’t possibly know!” His eyes shone brightly. “I searched for you for years… but even then I never admitted what you were…

“That was even the case after I traveled through the fate of this life many times, and saw things play out in many different ways. Even this day of sacrifice here in Peerless City… In some fates, I ignored you. In others, I took you away. There are even some fates in which I destroyed you.

“That’s why your memories of Peerless City are so fragmented! After doing all that work, I finally picked up on some clues… And yet, I still wasn’t sure. So I finally just let you walk your own path… The first half of your life was clearly visible to me in fate. Your days of slaughter. Getting a Master. All of your different decisions and actions. All of them gave birth to different fates, and I saw it all. I studied each and every one of them.

“Originally, I planned to take you with me to the Sovereign Kingdom of Violet and Cyan to be a sacrifice. Eventually, in the imperial capital of humankind, I saw that chair in the depths of your soul… Did you have any idea, lil’ bro? On that very day, I saw your true fate, and I settled a suspicion that had long bothered me. At the same time, I saw the true linchpin in the destiny I had been plotting over…”

Zi Qing smiled as he explained everything! “And so, I naturally did everything within my power to influence the broken face of Eminent Desolation. I didn’t want him to interfere with you devouring the primeval motherworlds. I wanted you to succeed even more than you!”

Zi Qing laughed loudly, and his eyes shone with even more anticipation.

Xu Qing listened quietly to everything. Noting the anticipation in Zi Qing’s eyes, he said, “Who exactly are you?”

Zi Qing laughed even more loudly. “Who am I…?”

Though he smiled, his expression became far more complex. “I have many identities. I am the Crown Prince of Violet and Cyan. I am the salvation of the destiny aura of humankind. I am the hope of Revered Ancient. I am the reincarnation of some of the will of Brilliant Heaven! But I have another identity that I only understood after I sacrificed myself… I am the broken face of Eminent Desolation!”

Zi Qing’s voice echoed out and shook all heaven and earth.

Although Xu Qing had speculated that this could be, hearing it spoken aloud caused his eyes to harden.

And then Zi Qing kept talking. “To be precise, lil’ bro, I am a possibility that spilled out of Eminent Desolation after he entered the Living God Umbilical Cord and became a half-Living God! He ejected that possibility from the umbilical cord to be born in the star ring in the primeval motherworld of Brilliant Heaven. He was creating hope for himself! It was a safety mechanism in case he died when trying to become a Living God. If that happened, then the possibility could replace him and become the new version of him! And yet, that led to something unexpected happening…”

Zi Qing pointed up toward the dome of heaven. “After he failed, he didn’t actually die. Instead, he came here looking for something! And I became the salvation of the primeval motherworld, born from a convergence of destiny aura! Therefore, he could be me, but I could also be him!”

“He didn’t come here looking for you!” Xu Qing said suddenly.

Zi Qing looked at Xu Qing with his eyes glittering. “Of course he wasn’t looking for me. Just like me, he… was looking for you, lil’ bro! Of course, he and I had different goals. He is barely conscious, and is acting mostly on instinct. Most of the time, all he can manage to do is sleep. And so, I managed to find you first. Then, thanks to my influence, he started to forget about you.

“That is why you were able to survive his gaze on multiple occasions. Now that I’ve cleared things up for you, lil’ bro… it’s your turn! Using the power of the twin primeval motherworlds that you devoured, you must enter that tunnel in your soul, get to the third door on the right-hand side of the chair, and inscribe my name!

“By way of compensation… after I succeed, I’ll lead the broken face away from here, and will leave behind a Revered Ancient that is pure, clean, peaceful, and free of mutagen! At the same time, I will cleanse the Ninth Star Ring on your behalf. I’ll make sure there are no other gods around to threaten you!

“The Ninth Star Ring will be a world of cultivators. And it will be your star ring! In addition, after I succeed, I’ll tell you who you actually are!! I’m the only one who knows that most profound of secrets!! What’s more, after I succeed, I’ll take the sacrificed Peerless City, including your father and mother, out of fate! I will resurrect them so you can be reunited!

“It’s a good deal, lil’ bro. What do you say?”

By the time Zi Qing finished talking, the anticipation in his eyes had reached a peak level of intensity. From all of the varying fates, he had seen the finale, and knew that Xu Qing… would definitely agree! His voice was a godly pact, a part of the natural laws of the Ninth Star Ring. Xu Qing could sense that clearly, and understood that Zi Qing was not lying. He could really do as he said he would do.

Xu Qing looked at Zi Qing, and then he looked at the broken face above.

A moment passed, and he softly said, “Absolutely not! I refuse!”

As the words echoed out, he raised his right hand, then dropped it. To Zi Qing’s astonishment, a terrifying power erupted from Xu Qing’s palm. A force of extermination swept over everything, crushing all in its path as it poured into Zi Qing’s body. It wiped out all godliness there, and severed all karma. Zi Qing’s flesh and blood exploded in all directions.

“All those things you said you’d do,” Xu Qing continued, “are things I already plan to do myself. As far as your desire to possess Eminent Desolation… whether you succeed or fail is all up to your own good fortune.”

Xu Qing waved his hand, causing Zi Qing’s flesh and blood to rise into the sky toward the Broken face.

“Sacrifice!” he said, and heaven and earth trembled!

Zi Qing’s flesh and blood rose.

Xu Qing looked up as they floated ever toward the broken face. Zi Qing wanted to replace the broken face! Xu Qing was absolutely clear about that. Zi Qing wanted his name inscribed on the third door inside Xu Qing. Obviously, that was the most suitable way for him to achieve his goal. It would make his possession attempt easier, and reduce any risks.

And so, Xu Qing chose to refuse. Given Zi Qing’s skill in scheming, he had likely planned for the possibility of Xu Qing refusing. And yet… he did it anyway.

It was true. Zi Qing had planned for that. As Zi Qing’s flesh and blood flew up, dramatic events unfolded! A pillar of black smoke some 500,000 kilometers wide shot up into the air. It headed straight toward the dome of heaven! It was pitch black and filled with a strong, gruish aura. Along with it came a sound like the wailing of ghosts and howling of wolves.

There wasn’t just one such column… In this space-time, all of Revered Ancient was rumbling. One after another, black pillars shot up in different locations and ascended skyward! There were many of them, completely filling Revered Ancient. In total, they numbered 99,999! Their arrival caused the canopy of heaven to shake violently.

The black smoke began to converge, and the sky over Revered Ancient… was stained!

Black smoke covered everything, inundated all things, and made the sky of Revered Ancient… become pure black smoke! As Xu Qing looked on with gleaming eyes, he recognized the power of the Grue World. Before his fight with Zi Qing, he had spoken to Yu Liuchen. During that talk, Yu Liuchen explained how he had sensed the aura of the Grue World in the many stories he had told.

Clearly, the Grue World was part of Zi Qing’s plan!

All of a sudden, Zi Qing’s voice echoed out in heaven and earth. “If I succeed, the world will once again have a Living Grue!”

It was a bizarre voice that caused black smoke to seethe more violently. And then… the smoke exploded, as if the Grue World was being opened! As that happened, countless shadows erupted from within the smoke. They converged on Peerless City!

And they rushed toward Zi Qing’s flesh and blood! They covered the flesh and blood, causing it to corrode and melt, until the only thing left behind were innumerable shadows… that occupied the spot left behind. Then they spread, wriggling into the shape of… a broken face!! The broken face was huge, and it looked very similar to the broken face of Eminent Desolation.

Put precisely, it was the half of Eminent Desolation’s face that had always been missing! The difference was that this face was not formed from flesh and blood, but rather, from black shadows. It was a broken face of shadows! Immeasurably dark, it both existed and didn’t exist!

As Xu Qing looked on grimly, the eyes of the broken face of shadows opened. They glowed red.

He was Zi Qing! The moment his eyes opened, he looked down at Xu Qing, his gaze complicated.

Xu Qing’s choice had come as a surprise, and had forced him to rely on a backup plan. He had opened the Grue World and tapped into its power! It was an option he had prepared, but had hoped to avoid. But now it was happening. All he could do was use the Grue World to produce the karma necessary for this face of shadows.

“That’s fine. I did plot against you first… As of now, our karma is settled.”

With a final hard glance at Xu Qing, the face of shadows that was Zi Qing flashed a determined expression and then shot… toward the dome of heaven! Right toward the broken face of Eminent Desolation. He was going to fly up to that broken face and turn it into a complete face. This was an act of possession!

It was just like the saying from the Grue World… “Like a shadow that exists alongside the gods.” [1]

At the same time as he rose, the countless shadows from the black smoke of the Grue World continued to converge on the broken face made by Zi Qing. As a result, that broken face grew larger and larger. It grew far more majestic.

As Xu Qing watched, the face of shadows reached the highest point in the dome of heaven, right in front of the broken face of Eminent Desolation. And then… it began to fill in the pieces! Astonishingly, a complete face now existed above!

Unfortunately, half of the face was made of shadows, while the other half was made of flesh and blood. Zi Qing was the reincarnation of the broken face, but he wanted to take over as the dominant will. Normally speaking, that would have been almost impossible. That was why he wanted to put his name on the door inside Xu Qing. Considering that the first phase of his plan had failed, he had been forced to use the Grue World, and use the identity of a grue to replace the broken face.

This was… something similar to a Living God. It was a Living Grue! However… it was an extremely dangerous undertaking. The pieced-together face of Eminent Desolation still contained remnants of the original will. And that will was waking up and trying to reject the power of the Grue World that Zi Qing had brought.

The face of Eminent Desolation in the canopy of heaven began to split apart, then stick back together. It descended into a state of chaos and collapse! It was the most critical of moments! The world was affected. Revered Ancient was affected. The Ninth Star Ring was affected. Fate was affected! At the same time… an unprecedented opportunity had arrived!

The lot of you are definitely going to show up! Xu Qing looked on from below, his eyes narrowed.

At almost exactly the same moment that the thought occurred to him… the starry sky beyond Revered Ancient filled with rumbling sounds!

Out there was a huge black pagoda that symbolized endless imprisonment and the destruction of souls. Piercing through the starry sky, it opened a path, shot through space-time, and entered Revered Ancient! And it appeared… right there in the dome of heaven!

At Eminent Desolation’s most critical moment, the pagoda descended! There was more than just a black pagoda. At the same time, an incomparably terrifying aura appeared, like a beast made of undulating mountains, pulsing with a sensation of hunger. What was more, there was a paper person that seemed to be made of joss paper directly from the Yellow Springs.

The former looked cold and apathetic as it shot toward Eminent Desolation. The latter licked its lips, then expanded, turning into countless paper people that all pounced simultaneously!

Of the four gods of the Ninth Star Ring, three had arrived! All of their previous machinations had been attempts to seize the broken face. And they had been carefully waiting for a very long time. It just wasn’t possible to pass up an opportunity like this. It made perfect sense to try to take advantage of the moment to seize an advantage!

But clearly, the four gods of the Ninth Star Ring weren’t unified in this effort… The mother river hadn’t come, but was instead being a spectator.

An instant later, the black pagoda, the huge beast, and the bizarre army of paper people closed in on Eminent Desolation! Taking advantage of the chaos between Eminent Desolation and Zi Qing’s Grue World, the three gods landed in precise locations on the broken face.

The black pagoda looked like an inverted gravestone that plunged right into Eminent Desolation’s forehead! Netherworld light swirled, and sobbing that could cause the soul to run chill rang out. Along with them came a force of absorption full of extreme avarice! What it coveted was the ancient god soul of Eminent Desolation!

The huge beast settled into place behind the shadows, opening a maw that could devour universes. A rank odor erupted along with dripping saliva. Then disgusting chewing sounds could be heard. It was ravenously devouring the energy and blood of Eminent Desolation, which contained neverending life force.

The immense, soundless army of paper people filled the sky like maggots, spreading out to cover the face in general. Their delicate paper arms waved, sending out clouds of bacteria and an aura of decay that targeted specific spots in Eminent Desolation’s fate. Guided by greed, they sought to absorb the profound and mysterious godly authority of fate!

The three gods weren’t holding back any longer, and had fully unleashed their personhood!

The black pagoda was silent and cold. The huge beast was wild and ravenous. The paper person was bizarre and crafty. The three of them used different terrifying godly authorities, unleashing them like an epidemic as they sought to snatch benefits for their own! As they closed in and attacked viciously, Eminent Desolation was thus faced with difficulties internally and externally. Because of that, the attempt by the three gods was already going very smoothly!

However… Eminent Desolation was half a step into the terrifying Living God level. That, plus the invasion of the power of the Grue World, ensured that the three gods had to pay a price for what they were doing. As the three gods went on the offense, a terrifying corrosive power raged against them! The huge beast instantly began to writhe and distort, growing weak as if it was being erased away.

The black pagoda’s impregnable form began to ripple, like a shadow on water that might vanish at any moment. The seemingly weak army of paper people erupted with bizarre pale flames, becoming like a stream of sparks dissipating into the silent starry sky.

Upon witnessing that, the divine will of the three gods trembled. That brief attempt at possession confirmed to them that Eminent Desolation really was like… an arrow that had reached the end of its flight. This was not some sort of carefully laid trap. Therefore, an instant later…

RUUUUMMMMBLLE!

The starry sky shook violently. The barrier of space-time shattered like polished glass, and two incomparably explosive bursts of power descended! Three embodiments of their will descended, along with three forms that pulsed with the power of terrifying destruction!

The forms resembled a huge beast, a black pagoda, and a paper person. Right now, they shone with blinding light that surpassed anything from before. Godly might caused Revered Ancient to groan and tremble, as if the entire starry sky were weighing down on it. This time, they had come in their true forms! Ignoring all obstacles, they emerged from the void, instantly piercing through all dimensions, and shot with extreme precision right into their shadowy clone forms. They fused in an instant! What had already been a terrifying aura erupted like a volcano, and the possession attempts against the dying Eminent Desolation intensified!

As rumbling sounds echoed out, Eminent Desolation’s enormous face trembled. Bone-deep crevices spread rapidly, creating a visual like shattering pottery.

Inside, the god soul’s essence began to collapse thanks to the black pagoda, which started devouring it. The flesh and blood quintessence suffered a similar fate, as the enormous beast chewed and swallowed it… The entire face began to visibly wither, dry up, lose its luster, and emanate an intense aura of decay and death!

Behind the face, the beast’s eyes were red with greed, as if the beast had encountered the most amazing delicacy imaginable.

The horde of paper people acted similarly. The invisible threads of fate grew tighter, and the plundered godly authority of fate caused the pale paper people to wriggle in a bizarre manner, all while vague facial features and skin-like textures began to rise up. It was just barely visible to see inauspicious threads of fate, almost like snakes, coming into existence within the paper people. They were transforming from paper into living things!

From the look of it, they sensed that continuing on in this manner would be extremely risky. And so, the rifts between the shadows and the flesh in Eminent Desolation’s face began to widen. They were choosing to leave.

However, at that exact moment, deep in the void, a rumbling started up that could chill one down to the marrow! The stream of viscous, filthy fluid, golden in color, began to flow like a river from the starry sky and toward the battlefield.

It was the mother river. She had been holding back until she was sure it was safe. And now, she didn’t hesitate to come forth! The sordid river water looked like a collection of millions upon millions of greedy tentacles, with godliness that could erode all things. And it quickly wrapped around the collapsing Eminent Desolation! The trend of collapse instantly stopped!

Next, the viscous mother river seethed as a bizarre face appeared, which was made of innumerable smaller faces, contorted in pain. The face had what appeared to be a mouth with a bottomless throat, which… began to devour Eminent Desolation! God blood, noxious and pulsing with bizarre godlight, began to flow out of Eminent Desolation’s withered face, and then merged into the sordid water of the mother river.

Upon absorbing the god blood, the river began to surge with even greater intensity.

Eminent Desolation had already been weakened, but this fatal blow was like a blast of wind that hit a candle. The aura of death grew even stronger! The mother river was succeeding, and Eminent Desolation’s weakness was on full display. And so, from within the black pagoda emerged a cold, ancient, and emotionless godly will! Behind the pagoda, space-time was once again ripped apart by terrifying power!

Out of it came an ancient bronze pagoda, covered in rust and a host of silently moaning shrines! This was the true form of the black pagoda! Everything from before had been nothing but probing! The moment the true form emerged, the ripping force targeting the god soul increased by hundreds, if not thousands of times over! It seemed like it was capable of extracting all of the god souls that existed in the starry sky!

The huge beast’s eyes shone with increased ferocity at the sight of this. After a short moment of waiting… it lifted its ferocious head and emitted a terrifying cry that could shatter planets!

Roar!

The void behind it collapsed, and a beast emerged, formed from countless wriggling planets, shattered planes of existence, and innumerable black substances! The beast was so enormous that it could easily devour an entire galaxy! Pulsing with an aura that could destroy anything and everything, it opened its mouth and lunged viciously toward Eminent Desolation!

Last was the paper person, who was clearly the most crafty and cautious. Despite the other three gods having appeared in true form, the paper person was still biding his time.

Until… when the three gods’ efforts reached a fever pitch, and Eminent Desolation was so withered it seemed like the end was near…

Pale, eerie lights appeared within the cavernous eyes of the army of countless paper people! Then one of the paper people suddenly ripped open at the chest, and a dizzying and evil prismatic light shot out, within which was a very small paper person that pulsed with a very inauspicious aura!

Instantly, all space around the seven-colored paper person began to rot and collapse. Without any hesitation, he became a streak of evil, seven-colored light that shot forward with unstoppable force, and an eerie power that could snatch fate and tamper with all endings…

It was another fatal blow to the already collapsing Eminent Desolation!

The seven-colored paper person shot forth in a blast of evil light. The black pagoda sucked at the soul. The huge beast devoured the body. And the mother river was going crazy. At that exact moment, the eyes of Eminent Desolation, which had seemed like they would remain in slumber forever, suddenly snapped open!

Within one eye burned endless flames of karma, like scarlet magma from the depths of an abyss. The other eye devoured all streams of light, like a void that could annihilate all things! Then, a voice spoke, like a combination of countless voices, cold enough to freeze space-time. It was like millions upon millions of dying planets that slammed into the senses of all the God Paragons!

“You people… finally came.”

The moment the voice spoke, something very strange happened! It didn’t come from the struggling part of Eminent Desolation’s broken face. Rather, it came from the flesh and blood that fought against it, which was Zi Qing! It seemed that he had been waiting for this very moment!

When the four God Paragons showed up in person to seize the quintessence of Eminent Desolation, and were connected deeply to the body that was the battlefield… Zi Qing chose to unleash the Grue World! The inauspicious smoke of the Grue World suddenly expanded by millions upon millions of times!

It was no longer vague and ethereal. In an instant, it became rotting blood, as viscous as if it were millions upon millions of years old. Moving faster than thought itself, it spread through the dome of heaven! It began devouring everything!

The huge beast’s head bore the brunt. Turbid smoke swept over it, causing its flesh and blood, which was made from planets and planes of existence, to emit deafening hissing noises. And then it began to crumble and melt!

The numerous planets that made up the composite form darkened and began to fall apart, spraying out a noxious liquid that the smoke greedily devoured! It was the same with the black pagoda. Its form, already covered by the howling shrines, was being absorbed by the smoke. The faces contorted, and areas of moldy corrosion spread out over it. The gobbling sounds that the tower emitted when absorbing souls changed, and became screams of terror!

And at the base, the seemingly impregnable pagoda showed signs of melting! The mother river was no more capable of evading disaster! The bizarre, agonized faces emitted soundless screams as the water seethed. And all were forcibly devoured like food by the smoke!

Most bizarre of all was that all the clones of the paper person were shredded apart and began to fall down to the ground. His seven-colored true form suddenly began to darken and dim as the corrosive smoke glittered. The intensity of the danger forced him to fall back and try to manipulate fate to escape. Unfortunately, the fate nodes connected to Eminent Desolation were like fatal fetters!

Smoke followed them backward and started madly infecting his essence! He started twitching and writhing madly as the color bled out, until it looked like an ordinary piece of paper soaked in dirty water.

“Nutrients… more… nutrients!” The deep voice which spoke contained a greedy sound like millions upon millions of bugs rubbing their carapaces together, and it slammed into the minds of the four God Paragons!

The predators had become the prey! They had to flee!

The beast howled with infinite terror, all while madly trying to escape from the vile fate. But the planets that made up the body just continued to flake off! The black pagoda rumbled loudly, the surface shining with deathly light that tried to break free from the corrosion! The mother river seethed, and the distorted faces that made up the river water fled as they consciously wanted to break free from the connection to the smoke!

Things were more direct when it came to the seven-colored paper person, who severed the fate nodes connected to Eminent Desolation, then turned into a tattered, gray figure that shot toward the starry sky!

Sadly, it was too late! The withered, black hair surrounding the face of Eminent Desolation like wriggling mountains, which had been in a passive position up to this point, began to dance madly within the smoke! The hair spread like mad, ignoring how much space needed to be traveled, shooting directly toward the four God Paragons!

They were wrapped up in an instant! The huge beast was tightly bound, and then the hair stabbed into it. A sucking sound rang out that could cause one’s hair to stand on end! Hair covered the black pagoda like spiderwebs, wrapping up all the shrines, then stabbing into the screaming faces and absorbing the soul-sucking power! The waters of the mother river were thoroughly contaminated. The hair rapidly covered the distorted faces and turned into the pure power of godliness absorption! As for the fleeing paper person, the hair grabbed him and viciously dragged him back!

The four God Paragons were simultaneously dragged into the smoke! All were covered. And then an indescribable howl echoed out, only to be covered up by an even more hair-raising sound!

Crunch… chew… gurgle…

They were the sounds of godly bones being shattered! They were the sounds of godly bodies being torn apart! It was the godly essence being ravenously devoured! The sound continued for a time within the smoke.

Eventually, it grew softer and softer, until… everything went deathly silent. Only the smoke remained in the dome of heaven, as if using the plundered life force to spread out in all directions.

Xu Qing watched it all happen with a profound look in his eyes. He didn’t believe that the God Paragons had truly perished. God Paragons were God Paragons, after all. Even if they really had come as their true forms, Xu Qing was convinced that they would have contingency plans in place!

That said, regardless of what they do going forward, they’ve definitely paid an immense price for this. And… who knows whether or not they’ll be able to keep their God Paragon personhood.

Eyes narrowing, he looked from the corrosive smoke down toward his own palm. There was a piece of paper there! It was a piece from one of the many paper persons that had been ripped to shreds.

***

In the vast starry sea of the Seventh Star Ring, an inconspicuous yellow planet started trembling. The surface layers of the planet collapsed, until eventually the entire thing exploded. In the core of the planet… was an egg! The egg also shattered.

A tiny beast crawled out. The aura of a peak God Lord erupted from it, all as it turned to look in the direction of the Ninth Star Ring.

“So it was a trick. However… what I really wanted wasn’t your flesh and blood. It was your memories about treading the Living God Umbilical Cord! As it turns out… that’s what the Living God Umbilical Cord is like…”

***

In the Thirteenth Star Ring, a god rose up into the sky. As an Altar God, it had already reached the peak level possible on this particular planet, and it had been because of a precious treasure acquired years ago. It was a bronze, black pagoda! The pagoda had allowed it to improve with uncanny speed, and had enabled it to win every battle it fought.

Now, it had reached the peak, and was preparing to leave its current planet and strive toward having a god kingdom. It was confident that the black pagoda would take it all the way to the True God level.

However… even as it left the planet, the black pagoda inside of it suddenly shivered, then started absorbing all surrounding things. Before the Altar God could react, it trembled, and was absorbed until there was absolutely nothing left.

It happened in an instant. It didn’t even realize what happened.

All that remained was the black pagoda, which quickly dropped down to the surface of the planet. Then the planet trembled as all the gods there withered and then collapsed into dust. All things were absorbed into the black pagoda.

A deep, godly voice echoed out from the pagoda. “The Living God Umbilical Cord…”

***

Similar things happened in two other mysterious locations.

The paper person hid in a special instance of space-time. It was a scroll painting, and there, the paper person was hoping to recover and get back to his previous level.

Even more mysterious was the location the mother river had set up as a contingency. It was a world in which the mother river could hide very carefully in the word ‘water’ itself. In terms of concealment, the mother river’s contingency plan was the most unique.

***

Sadly… there was an entity in the Revered Ancient mainland that not even the mother river could hope to hide from. The smoke above Peerless City churned. The void rippled. And within that space-time appeared the Mask of Wishes, which Xu Qing had brought with him!

Its entire purpose was to plot against the mother river! It didn’t matter how the mother river had fled into concealment. The mask’s expression distorted into one of pure madness. It was not holding anything back, but instead, was unleashing its aura in a bright conflagration! And then it was able to utilize a mysterious connection to the mother river to be guided by Eminent Desolation!

The moment it happened, the conflagration around it rumbled, breaking open a passage in the void and revealing a dramatic scene. Astonishingly, that scene depicted the mother river’s hiding place! Then, a strand of hair shot down from above, heading right toward the image and piercing into it! An agonized shriek rang out, and the hair retracted.

Within that world, the word ‘water’ had been erased. The moment it happened, the world hiding the mother river filled with ripples. Then a golden mask appeared that had been sealed in the mud of the mother river, as if aeons in the past. Now it was free.

“Mother river, it was years ago that, for the sake of a wish, you sealed me and stole my godly authority. You seized my godhood… But now… the karma is resolved. This is the cost for that wish.”

***

In the space-time containing Peerless City in the Revered Ancient mainland, the smoke in the sky was so dense it wasn’t possible to see the face of Eminent Desolation within it. But this space-time… was already starting to fade away.

Xu Qing knew that his karma with Zi Qing had already ended. It was impossible to say whether or not Zi Qing could succeed. Xu Qing didn’t care anymore.

He looked down at the vanishing space-time flowing every which way… A blood rain was starting to fall. Within the devastation, the story of this space-time was being laid out.

Xu Qing saw the young version of himself awakening within the blood rain. He saw him struggle to his feet and look around blankly. He saw the seven-year-old version of him being bullied and robbed in the wilderness. He saw himself feeling completely and utterly helpless.

Eventually, he saw the young version of himself find an iron skewer in the ruins. The skinny version of himself placed the skewer against his own throat. He closed his eyes, looking numb and ready to let go of everything.

Just when he was about to do it… a girl in a tattered robe walked over and gave him a skewer of candied fruit. Despite the corruption in the surrounding world, the girl’s eyes glittered brightly. The candied fruit caused memories to well up in the young version of himself.

Xu Qing felt bitterness in his heart. He would not forget any of this. The young version of himself looked at the candied fruit, then slowly dropped the iron skewer. He dropped down into a sitting position on the ground… and started crying. That was his youth.

Xu Qing sighed. As space-time vanished, the fragments of time disappeared, he looked around…

He watched himself getting stronger. He watched as something profoundly moving played out. The girl who gave him the candied fruit fell into a pool of blood. The young version of him took the iron skewer and plunged into the throat of a villain. When he pulled it out, blood sprayed all over him. The young version of Xu Qing walked over to the corpse of the girl and looked down at her for a long time.

Eventually, he stooped over and closed her eyes. “I’ll get revenge for you.”

As those words rang out, space-time collapsed. The time that Peerless City existed in shattered like a mirror. Fragments then spread through space-time and returned to the present.

Heaven and earth retreated into the fog of history. The dome of heaven went back to the current time. The lands returned to the Heaveneater Region.

Xu Qing stood once again in front of the imperial palace of the Sovereign Kingdom of Violet and Cyan. Zi Qing was not inside.

Xu Qing looked up. He saw the dome of heaven. And… there was no smoke there. Eminent Desolation was there just like before. But the face was not broken. The face of Eminent Desolation was complete. One part was black shadow. The other part was flesh and blood. Looking closely, it appeared to be… Zi Qing’s face.

There’s one more thing that must be done…

Xu Qing looked down at the palm of his hand. The piece of paper had brought him back to the present. The scrap of paper caused killing intent to bubble in his eyes. He closed his hand into a fist, and the power of canon and statute surged… it locked onto a spot in the starry sky.

“Master Righteous Veil. I’m coming to you to exact vengeance for Grand Emperor Swordsage! I don’t care how many clones you have, or what planes or space-times you hid in. You… cannot escape!” [2]

Xu Qing then stepped out into the starry sky.

1. This saying was originally mentioned in chapter 1341.

2. Master Righteous Veil references: chapters 927, 962.1, 1040, 1064.