Chapter 1184: First Star: Xu Qing

Chapter 1184 First Star: Xu Qing

Indeed, not far.

At the moment Star Ring Master was slain within the Fifth Layer World,

before the Welcome Platform at the entrance of the Immortal Palace…

a blurred figure appeared there.

This place was one of three paths into the Immortal Palace.

Xu Qing had once glimpsed a bridge shrouded in mist from afar.

Now the mist churned violently.

After manifesting, the figure abruptly retreated,

and within moments stood upon the Welcome Platform.

The moment his foot touched the bluestone,

he staggered, spewing a mouthful of blood.

His chest heaved, breath ragged,

his expression bearing the shadow of narrow escape.

It was Star Ring Master.

Yet now his aura flickered erratically,

his body radiating profound weakness.

Half his form shimmered between illusion and reality.

"Xu Qing…"

Star Ring Master’s expression darkened.

His body blurred as he shot toward the Immortal Palace exit.

In the next instant, he vanished beyond its threshold.

As he flew out, he saw several figures seated in meditation

beyond the Land of Fallen Immortals.

A swift glance revealed Li Mengtu and Zhou Zhengli among them.

Almost as his gaze fell upon them,

the cultivators seated there sensed his presence.

Especially Li Mengtu and Zhou Zhengli,

who instantly lifted their eyes toward Star Ring Master.

Li Mengtu’s pupils contracted sharply.

Zhou Zhengli wore a contemplative expression.

As for Star Ring Master, he paused not a moment.

He stepped into the void,

strode toward the horizon,

and vanished at full speed.

Only when he reached the edge of the Land of Fallen Immortals

did he turn back,

gazing distantly toward the Immortal Palace.

His half-illusory form, too,

gradually solidified with each breath,

becoming wholly real.

This was his life-saving technique,

a secret art of the Star Ring Tower.

Through the path of sacrifice,

he shaped his own stellar tower,

then used it to substitute his life.

Thus, mortal peril could be averted.

Over the years, he had forged seven such towers.

"Never imagined I would expend one here…"

Recalling the scene in the Fifth Layer World,

dread rose within him.

He had to admit one truth:

in mastery of Constitution…

the other surpassed him by far.

"Whether in slaughter or concealment,

his Constitution is terrifying!"

"To suppress him,

my Constitution must ascend

to extinguish every spacetime he commands.

Otherwise…

killing him would be nigh impossible."

"Unless…"

A glint of shadow flashed in Star Ring Master’s eyes.

"I know a way,

beneath the ebb and flow of Heavenly Principle,

to find his true hidden form!"

"This man’s greatest weakness…

is his true self!"

"His cultivation is Sovereign,

his immortal embryo still forming.

So if one can locate his true form

hidden across other spacetimes…"

"Then there remains a chance…

to cut him down!"

Star Ring Master fell silent,

then shook his head slowly.

Theory, after all, remained theory.

To accomplish it…

he knew his present self could not.

He drew a deep breath,

and in a flash, disappeared.

He could not be certain if pursuit would follow,

yet the sense of peril clung to his heart.

He understood: he must flee this western starfield swiftly,

returning east as fast as possible.

Only there would the danger lift.

Meanwhile, within the Fifth Layer World of the Immortal Palace,

Xu Qing gazed at the wisp of essence in his palm.

With a pinch, he sealed it within spacetime,

then lifted his eyes to sweep across the quasi-immortal emperors around him.

Without a word,

his form blurred as he stepped forward.

His silhouette instantly dissolved.

But the next moment,

he reappeared, clear and distinct.

"The Sixth Layer… truly cannot be ascended."

That step had tested his ability to enter the Sixth Layer World.

Though he knew the Immortal Palace’s Sixth Layer

was reserved for those with Lower Immortal might,

having reached the Fifth, he naturally had to try.

Now confirmed,

he took another step—not toward the Sixth Layer,

but back toward departure.

In an instant, his form vanished.

He reappeared upon the Welcome Platform at the Immortal Palace entrance.

"This Immortal Palace opportunity…

ends for me now."

Standing on the Welcome Platform,

Xu Qing raised his head toward the Immortal Palace.

Memories of this journey flooded his mind,

scene after scene,

like the churning of a river of time,

stirring silt from its bed,

flowing before his eyes.

For a moment, Xu Qing seemed to see a youth in white robes.

Standing at the past end of the River of Time,

holding marriage papers,

beside a maiden in bridal silks.

They gazed at him, smiling faintly,

then clasped hands in a bow.

That smile held unspoken histories—

Perhaps youth, perhaps hardship,

perhaps beauty, perhaps pain.

And the river’s ripples disturbed the scene.

Xu Qing turned his head,

seeing himself standing at the present end of the River of Time.

Then, with a gentle smile,

he returned the bow toward the river’s distant shore.

Yesterday’s storms, today’s echoes.

The water dispersed.

The stirred silt became starlight,

then faded away.

Xu Qing straightened,

stepped down from the Welcome Platform,

and with one stride…

reached beyond the Immortal Palace exit.

Standing within the Land of Fallen Immortals,

the long-absent crimson aurora bathed him from the heavens.

All scenery before him glowed the familiar dusky red.

Yet now, it was different.

To him, the light had softened.

It carried paternal love.

Xu Qing closed his eyes,

sensing it silently.

After a long while, when he opened them,

he saw the crowd gathered outside the Immortal Palace:

Earth Spirit Ancestor, Li Mengtu, Zhou Zhengli,

and other cultivators unknown to him.

These were all who had returned from the Immortal Palace.

Most remained here, waiting for the moment

when the Palace finally dissolved—

the ebb-tide instant—

to cultivate and deepen their insights.

For them, this journey had ended at the Third Layer World;

gains were modest.

Clearly, however, Li Mengtu and Zhou Zhengli

were not among those waiting.

Li Mengtu now looked at Xu Qing,

his expression complex,

opening his mouth as if to speak.

Perhaps everything in the Fourth Layer World

had affected him deeply,

for when he gazed at Xu Qing,

he still felt himself to be Zhong Chi…

Beside him, Zhou Zhengli remained far more composed,

untroubled by the mirrored history of the Fourth Layer.

For him, the priority was seizing opportunity,

rekindling past bonds,

ensuring this connection transcended the mirror,

enduring into the future.

Especially after witnessing Star Ring Master’s hasty retreat—

clearly wounded—

this resolve had hardened within him.

Thus, as his eyes met Xu Qing’s,

Zhou Zhengli hurried forward.

Stopping before Xu Qing,

his posture mirrored the Fourth Layer World exactly—

profoundly respectful.

He bowed deeply.

"Master."

"Congratulations, Master,

on your cultivation breakthrough,

your ascended realm,

becoming First Star of the Fifth Star Ring!"

Xu Qing regarded Zhou Zhengli.

"This is no longer mirrored history."

Zhou Zhengli shook his head.

"What bows Zhou is not the Aurora Master."

Hearing this, Xu Qing’s gaze toward Zhou Zhengli

deepened with meaning.

Beside them, Earth Spirit Ancestor swiftly approached,

bowing deeply before Xu Qing,

his voice trembling with emotion.

"Elder’s return lifts this junior’s burden.

Having owed Elder my life before,

I have long worried for your safety within the Fourth Layer World."

"These past days, anxiety gnawed at me,

frustrated my cultivation proved too weak

to aid you within the Fourth Layer,

to serve you faithfully."

"Only yesterday,

a sudden enlightenment eased my heart."

"My realization: Elder’s genius soars beyond heaven,

foresight profound, plans meticulous,

no contingency unforeseen.

Though the Fourth Layer’s storms rage fierce,

all surely unfolded as Elder intended."

"I need only wait outside,

for the final outcome must be auspicious,

all things fulfilled!"

"Lastly, gratitude for Elder’s life-saving grace within the Palace,

congratulations on Elder’s triumphant journey,

and blessings upon Elder’s stellar path ahead—

may heaven and earth shine upon it!"

Earth Spirit Ancestor’s voice rang out loud.

It drew Zhou Zhengli’s gaze sideways for the first time.

It made Xu Qing’s shadow tremble beneath his feet.

Even the heavens seemed stirred

by Earth Spirit Ancestor’s words.

The crimson aurora flared brighter still.

Rolling thunder, as if from beyond the sky,

boomed without cease—

affecting not only this sky…

but the entire western firmament,

rumbling even in the southeast and north.

The sky of the Fifth Star Ring

was as if lifted by an invisible hand,

revealing the starry void,

revealing the stars themselves.

Their light varied—

some dazzling, some dim.

Each corresponded precisely

to a specific cultivator of the Fifth Star Ring!

They were…

reflections of the quasi-immortal starlight tokens!

This sight instantly altered the expressions of all gathered

beyond the Land of Fallen Immortals.

Every head turned upward.

Not only theirs—

at this moment, nearly every cultivator across the Fifth Star Ring

did the same.

For…

"The Immortal Capital Trial’s third phase—

the final stage—has begun!"

Zhou Zhengli murmured, eyes alight.

This phase meant slaughter and elimination.

Its arrival signaled the final choice.

Then, every cultivator bearing a quasi-immortal starlight token

saw their token blaze with light.

Xu Qing was no exception.

His radiance shone brilliantly,

mirroring the stars above,

as the world filled with drums of war.

Boom. Boom.

Echoing like celestial thunderclaps.

Cultivators who had been refining their arts beyond the Expanse of Fallen Immortals now shifted their expressions, rising swiftly to vanish in all directions. Zhou Zhengli drew a deep breath and bowed once more to Xu Qing.

"Young Master, your path to the Celestial Capital is now set in stone. I must strive harder, that I might stand beside you within its hallowed gates once the trial ends. Henceforth, all who bear the Celestial Capital Token shall fix their gaze upon this sacred test."

With those words, Zhou Zhengli’s form shimmered as he shot toward the starry void.

As Zhou Zhengli vanished, the surrounding cultivators dispersed until only Li Mengtu remained, approaching with deliberate slowness.

"As for Thousand-Army Repulsion... those twin blades fled faster than any once they emerged... yet I sense their aura remains unchanged from the Fourth Layer World. I believe the master-binding ritual will indeed ripple into our realm." "The decree within me has also shifted."

"As for Malevolent Spirit Prodigy, I did not see him—he must have been the first to emerge and departed early." "And Yuanshan Su... I saw her flee in haste, her expression shadowed with turmoil."

"I... I must also seek trials to elevate my Preliminary Celestial Capital Token’s rank. Young Master... would you... care to join me?" Li Mengtu stammered, his words laced with hesitation.

Xu Qing smiled faintly, then shook his head. Raising his right hand, he revealed the pulsing aura of the Starcircle swirling within his palm. Li Mengtu’s gaze sharpened.

"You intend to..."

"The Starcircle holds something of mine. I shall reclaim it." Xu Qing spoke calmly, stepping toward the horizon.