Chapter 1185: Gift on the Divine Blood River

Chapter 1185: A Gift Upon the River of Divine Blood

The spiritual tide of the Immortal-Fall Expanse still ebbed and flowed, not yet fully dissipated.

This was due to the emergence of the Immortal Palace—a stroke of fortune whose blessings had not yet run their course. Only the first five layers had truly concluded.

For those quasi-immortal Sovereigns, it was the Sixth Layer World they longed for, the realm they yearned to step into.

Thus, when Xu Qing ascended to the horizon and stood upon the firmament gazing down at the earth, the Immortal Palace shimmered faintly through the haze before his eyes. The sound of surging waves echoed throughout heaven and earth, stirring ripples within his soul.

Through his authority over the Immortal Palace, an intuitive certainty arose within him: “Someone has entered the Sixth Layer World!”

A strange light flickered in Xu Qing’s eyes.

The Sixth Layer World could only be accessed by those who had attained the combat prowess of a Lower Immortal. And even for such beings, entry into this layer remained a rare opportunity granted by the Palace’s lofty nature.

“Either an unknown Lower Immortal has entered the Palace… or one among the quasi-immortals has broken through.”

“Alas,” Xu Qing murmured, shaking his head without urgency, “though I hold dominion over the Palace, my cultivation remains insufficient—my foundational tier too low—to enter the Sixth Layer.”

Having secured authority over the Palace, however, he no longer needed to wait for specific windows of time. He could return whenever he pleased.

“Once my Immortal Embryo forms and I gain clarity on the Tenth Pole, I shall return once more.”

“I wonder what the Sixth Layer World is truly like…”

Xu Qing drew a deep breath, blurred across the sky, and vanished in an instant. When he reappeared, he stood beyond the borders of the Immortal-Fall Expanse.

Above, the star charts corresponding to the Quasi-Immortal Mandates—recently manifested in the heavens—were already fading, once again veiled by crimson auroras.

Yet with the initiation of the Third Phase, cultivators bearing Quasi-Immortal Mandates now sensed each other far more acutely than before. By merging their divine sense into their Mandates, the hidden star charts would manifest within their minds—an advantage designed precisely for slaughter and plunder.

Such was the cruelty of the Third Phase.

There were ways, of course, to conceal one’s Mandate—but few possessed the skill to do so. Star Ring Zi, however, clearly could.

Thus, even as Xu Qing merged his divine sense into his own Mandate, he found no trace of Star Ring Zi’s corresponding star within the celestial map.

This outcome lay well within his expectations.

Star Ring Zi would never commit such a basic error.

Xu Qing’s violet crystal pulsed within his body, releasing an aura that enveloped his Mandate, cloaking it from detection. Only thus could his pursuit proceed smoothly.

“As for tracks…”

A dark glint flashed in Xu Qing’s eyes as he raised his right hand.

Instantly, the wisp of essence he had plucked from the fabric of spacetime—belonging to Star Ring Zi—rose from his palm, shifting ceaselessly as it merged with his divine sense. Soon, he perceived a direction and shot forth like an arrow.

Time passed.

Xu Qing moved swiftly—but Star Ring Zi, whom he hunted, was equally astonishing in speed.

Though Star Ring Zi’s cultivation surpassed Xu Qing’s, he had already been slain once before. His current form, resurrected through secret arts, remained weakened. Thus, he could neither outpace Xu Qing significantly nor truly escape the lock imposed by that lingering essence.

Three days elapsed in this chase.

Far ahead, an immense desert emerged within Xu Qing’s perception as he raced forward at breakneck speed—the Desert of Time.

This marked the third time Xu Qing beheld this desert.

The first time occurred in the past, beside Yunmen Qianfan.

The second unfolded within mirrored history, accompanied by the Aurora Immortal Sovereign.

Now came the third.

Gazing upon the desert, Xu Qing’s heart stirred. After a moment of silence, he stepped inside.

Winds howled ahead, whispering ancient tales.

Grains of sand swirled through heaven and earth, ready to unveil the prologue of that story.

Walking through the desert, Xu Qing sensed the subtle shifts of spacetime within, listened to the stories carried by the wind and sand, and pressed onward in quiet contemplation. With his current foundational tier, the temporal distortions of the desert revealed themselves far more clearly than before.

At last, the very region where the Aurora Immortal Sovereign had once led him in mirrored history came into view. Xu Qing halted.

Before his eyes…

In that mirrored past, this place had bloomed into a sea of flowers—each blossom uniquely shaped and vividly hued.

Some resembled butterflies dancing midair; others, cranes poised for flight. Every petal exuded its own delicate fragrance. These flowers… had been planted by the Aurora Immortal Sovereign himself.

Because his wife… loved orchids.

Here, too, the Sovereign had instructed his son: each year, plant one more flower, until the entire Desert of Time became a timeless sea of blossoms.

But now…

Xu Qing looked out upon utter desolation.

The flower sea had long since withered away through the passage of ages. Yet Xu Qing smiled.

His gaze did not linger on mere decay—but fixed instead upon two small orchids freshly planted at the heart of the barren field. Amidst the dead flora, these twin blooms swayed gently in the breeze, brushing against each other, releasing their quiet perfume.

Faintly, before Xu Qing’s eyes, figures seemed to materialize—the young Aurora Heir and Linghuang Immortal Lady—planting those very flowers together.

And in that moment, the voice of the Aurora Immortal Sovereign from mirrored history drifted on the wind, echoing softly in Xu Qing’s ears:

“In the future, remember to come here each year and plant an orchid, so this place may forever remain a sea of flowers.”

After a long while, Xu Qing withdrew his gaze, knelt, drew seeds from the threads of spacetime—remnants of flowers long gone—and planted them anew. Then he bowed deeply.

He believed that henceforth, year by year, more blossoms would grace this land, until decades later, the sea of flowers would bloom once more across time itself—and this desert of spacetime would finally transform into a garden woven through eternity.

Even the crimson auroras falling from the heavens softened in that moment, bathing the orchids in gentle light.

Though no longer golden as in days of old, they still imbued the scene with dreamlike romance—and left their lingering fragrance upon Xu Qing’s person.

Whether blessed by that residual scent or not, on the third day after leaving the desert, Xu Qing discovered Star Ring Zi hidden beneath the earth in a remote wilderness, tending to his wounds.

It seemed Star Ring Zi’s injuries had grown too severe to sustain further flight. Forced to halt, he had laid intricate arrays and seals around himself, attempting to suppress his condition.

But alas—Xu Qing’s arrival shattered that hope.

Thus, amidst the wilds, another thunderous battle erupted.

Even at full strength, Star Ring Zi had once fallen to Xu Qing’s blade. Now, wounded and frail, his defeat came swiftly.

Star Ring Zi died—for the second time!

Yet this time, as Xu Qing watched his foe dissolve into ash, his brow furrowed deeply. After a long silence, he whispered,

“He came here deliberately… to die. To sever my lock upon him.”

With Star Ring Zi’s death, the wisp of essence in Xu Qing’s hand dispersed—and all traces of him vanished from spacetime itself.

No path remained to follow. No anchor left to grasp.

“Truly worthy of being the First Star—even cornered as he was, he still found a way to cut my pursuit clean.”

Xu Qing lifted his gaze toward the distant horizon.

“But… you must eventually return to the Eastern Realm.”

“Though many routes lead from the Western Star Domain back east, one path stands out…”

“One that appears, by all accounts, the safest.”

A shadowed gleam flickered in Xu Qing’s eyes as he turned toward the River of Divine Blood.

What made this river unique was its Ferryman.

Once aboard the Ferry Boat, under the Ferryman’s rules, absolute safety was guaranteed—enforced by the Ferryman himself.

Even pursuers would be barred by this sacred covenant.

Moreover, the fare for crossing was only lifelong upon the third voyage; the first two remained affordable for most cultivators. And during the crossing itself, the sanctuary of the boat offered ideal conditions for healing.

“What I have deduced… he surely has as well.”

Xu Qing pondered deeply.

In the end, he chose to head for the River of Divine Blood.

Partly because it truly was among Star Ring Zi’s likely options—and having lost his trail, it made more sense to lie in wait at a single chokepoint than to scour countless others.

If he came—so much the better.

If not… there would always be another day to strike.

They would meet again, sooner or later.

On the other hand, Xu Qing remembered that Linghuang Immortal had once said she’d left him a gift by the Divine Blood River. He had his suspicions about what that gift might be—but he wasn’t certain.

“If it truly is the gift I suspect… then things will become rather interesting if Xing Huanzi chooses to cross the Blood River,” he mused. With this thought, resolve hardened in his heart. His body flickered—and vanished.

Half a month later.

Xu Qing’s figure appeared on the bank of the Divine Blood River.

The river stretched endlessly, yet the ferry point remained fixed—only one such place existed.

Over eons of ceaseless erosion by the river’s crimson waters, the shore had turned deep red. The wooden pier built there shared the same fate: its planks, soaked through with blood and time, exuded decay. When the wind blew, it howled like a chorus of demons, chilling the soul.

Treading upon the scarlet bank and walking across the rotting pier, Xu Qing listened to the wind, inhaled the metallic tang of blood carried on the breeze, and gazed out at the boundless sea of blood before him—its end nowhere in sight.

All he could see were endless waves churning ceaselessly, their crimson hues shimmering in constant harmony with the auroras dancing across the heavens.

And within this eerie, blood-drenched expanse—where sky and water merged into one ghastly red, beneath the wailing gales that sounded like ghosts weeping and wolves howling—a single ancient, blackened boat drifted slowly toward him from the distance.

Before it, the turbulent river grew calm.

Before it, the furious wind turned docile.

Silent and spectral, it approached like a vengeful spirit drawing near—

Until at last, it docked beside the pier. Right before Xu Qing.

It was a ferryboat.

But upon it… there was no ferryman.

Only a straw raincoat, a bamboo hat, and a jade slip.

The moment Xu Qing’s eyes fell upon the jade slip, it shattered—and throughout heaven and earth echoed the voice of Linghuang Immortal:

“This is my gift to you.

“There is no karmic debt, no binding obligation—for I have severed all karmic ties myself, and taken every chain away with me. Even the duty of the ferryman… I have assumed in your stead.

“This is a ferryboat that belongs entirely to you—and bears no mission you must fulfill.

“It was crafted by my father’s own hands.”