Chapter 1199: Primordial Star Nail

Chapter 1199: Primordial Stellar Nail

The Ink Earth was like a black hole.

Yet it was not the same.

Within it, there were no swirling vortices, nor any force of suction.

It resembled merely a hole in the starry sky—neatly circular, precise.

Where it led, or how deep it truly went, few knew.

Only its outer boundaries could be clearly perceived by Xu Qing’s divine sense—

Vast as an entire star domain.

Compared to the Mo Yang cosmos, this expanse was modest; yet standing at its edge, one still felt overwhelmed by its boundless immensity.

Especially those wisps of primal essence drifting out—mist-like, gossamer-thin—lending the Ink Earth’s void an air of profound mystery.

Now, within this enigmatic abyss, Xu Qing moved like a fish swimming through darkness, struggling forward with great difficulty.

Behind him trailed the Mud Fox, whose divine power radiated outward, reinforcing Xu Qing even as they mutually supported each other.

Every ten zhang, they alternated roles: first Xu Qing surged ahead, then the Mud Fox took the lead.

Ten zhang was the limit—not because of gravitational pull, but because deeper within, a repulsive force grew stronger with every descent.

Alone, Xu Qing had once tested his limits and found ten zhang to be his utmost.

Now, through their coordinated efforts, they surpassed that boundary—but only briefly. After several exchanges, as the repulsion thickened, progress became increasingly arduous for both.

At last, at two hundred zhang deep, they could go no further.

It seemed this depth marked the absolute threshold for quasi-immortals.

And from the unfathomable depths below, a strange scent drifted upward—faint, elusive.

Like rust… tinged with something metallic, almost bloody—impossible to identify precisely.

“This place feels wrong…” murmured the Mud Fox at the two-hundred-zhang mark, its expression shifting as it scanned the surroundings and peered into the endless dark below. “This smell… I seem to have some ancient memory tied to it…”

Beside it, Xu Qing’s body crackled audibly—the sound of flesh compressed under immense pressure. Though his constitution was formidable, his physical form had only reached the Illusory Truth stage.

Thus, against the black hole’s repulsive force, he struggled to endure, wrapping himself in his own constitutional aura to gradually erode its effects.

Yet two hundred zhang was but a sliver of the Ink Earth’s true depth.

Still, the concentration of primal essence here was slightly richer than above.

“Though we cannot probe deeper,” Xu Qing mused, narrowing his eyes, “fishing here will yield better results. And at this depth, even Kun Wu—though also a quasi-immortal—likely lacks the constitutional strength to reach this point.”

With that, he signaled the Mud Fox to stand guard while he floated cross-legged in midair, drawing forth a fishing rod. With a flick of his wrist, the line shot downward, sinking into the abyss beyond.

“Kun Wu’s fishing rod is indeed exceptional…”

Holding this thought, Xu Qing stilled his mind and waited patiently.

Meanwhile, the Mud Fox kept watch, brows furrowed in deep recollection.

It was certain it had never been here before, nor did it possess any human memories of this place. Yet the familiarity stemmed from something else—from the moment of its ascension to divinity, when countless fragments of cosmic knowledge and divine cognition had flooded its awareness.

Time flowed on.

Half a month passed.

As the Mud Fox’s memories grew clearer, Xu Qing’s angling—thanks to their advantageous position—finally bore fruit on this day.

The fishing line trembled.

Xu Qing’s eyes snapped open.

There, far below in the black void, hovered a luminous orb—no larger than a human head, shimmering with iridescent hues that cast light into the surrounding darkness, making it strikingly visible.

Though it appeared as pure radiance, it was in truth liquid—clinging tightly to the hook. As the line vibrated and Xu Qing gave a sharp tug, the glowing fluid surged upward, drawn swiftly toward him.

The moment it neared, waves of dense primal essence rippled outward. Merely sensing it caused the nascent immortal embryo forming within Xu Qing’s body to stir violently.

His eyes gleamed.

Beside him, the Mud Fox felt an instinctive yearning well up inside.

Primal essence—the foundational power of the Thirty-Six Upper Star Rings—was the origin of gods and the substance of stellar rings. Whether divine authority or a cultivator’s dominion, both ultimately derived from this source.

Even divine cores and constitutional laws owed their existence to it.

It was indispensable in constructing the Upper Star Rings—and the finest nourishment for shaping one’s immortal embryo, even advancing it to full immortality!

But the Mud Fox understood: this treasure was infinitely precious to Xu Qing. So it suppressed its desire.

In the next instant, Xu Qing reached out and seized the iridescent liquid orb. After a brief pause, he clenched his fist.

Instantly, the orb reshaped itself, flowing along his arm until it enveloped his entire body. His soul-manifested Illusory Truth form now acted like a sponge—

Absorbing rapidly.

As the liquid diminished and its glow faded,

the moment it vanished completely, Xu Qing’s aura erupted thunderously. His Illusory Truth body continued undulating, now just a hair’s breadth away from reaching the Indestructible Realm.

He opened his eyes, assessed his state, then raised his hand. From his palm emerged the small white vial once given to him by Evil Spirit Child. With a wave, the bottle crumbled into ash, disintegrating as if unraveled by unseen forces.

And with its dissolution, the liquid within revealed itself before Xu Qing—

Again, the size of a human head.

Again, shimmering with five radiant colors.

Again—primal essence!

“Exactly the same…” Xu Qing narrowed his eyes, hesitated no longer, and grasped it firmly.

Once more, the scene repeated itself.

As his Illusory Truth form absorbed the essence, his aura intensified further, his physical strength climbing steadily—until finally… Xu Qing blazed with incandescent radiance.

A deafening roar echoed like heavenly thunder.

Inside his Illusory Truth shell, his true flesh began to blur—growing translucent, as if melting, undergoing some profound transformation!

The path to Illusory Indestructibility began with the soul projecting outward, forming an illusory vessel that concealed the true body within. Over time, this illusory form gradually replaced the original flesh.

Upon mastery, the hidden true body would dissolve entirely—shifting from solid to ethereal, becoming pure soul!

This stage was called Indestructible.

Yet it was not true immortality.

For at this level, both body and soul had been reforged, interchanging seamlessly—soul within body, body within soul—laying the groundwork for complete fusion.

Thus, in battles between equals, mutual annihilation became nearly impossible; only a higher-tier force could deliver final death.

And now, Xu Qing stood on the very cusp of this realm.

His concealed true body grew ever more transparent—until at last… it inverted completely, turning from real to unreal. True flesh became soul. Illusory truth became reality!

Inner truth, outer truth—both are real!

In the next instant, Xu Qing’s aura surged upward; his Xian shimmered, coursing through his entire being, inside and out.

His eyes snapped open.

Within their calm depths lay a sharpness that radiated outward—an unspoken authority, for true awe often springs not from wrath but from the gaze alone.

Beside him, the Mud Fox trembled inwardly.

At this moment, Xu Qing felt far stronger to Him than before.

“The next step,” Xu Qing murmured, “is the final merging of Illusion and Truth—the complete fusion of inner and outer realities, transforming the body into… a Celestial Embryo!”

“But it will require… more Source Essence.”

Xu Qing probed his own condition. A rough calculation told him he would need roughly a hundred more clumps of Source Essence, each as large as those he’d already absorbed.

With this thought, he lowered his gaze toward the abyss below, preparing to test whether his newly strengthened flesh could carry him deeper still—but the Mud Fox raised a hand, halting him.

Xu Qing turned, meeting the Mud Fox’s eyes.

The Mud Fox’s expression was grave—a rarity for one such as Him.

Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed.

“While you were cultivating,” the Mud Fox said slowly, “I kept recalling the moment I ascended to godhood—the knowledge I gained then, the divine truths revealed to me… At last, within that ocean of inheritance, I found an answer that resonates with this place.”

“To be precise,” He continued, voice low, “it is the scent of this place that feels familiar.”

“This… is the rust of Primordial Upper-Star Iron.”

“In the records I received long ago, the Thirty-Six Ascendant Star Rings are not fixed in size. Every vast epoch, they expand instinctively, swelling outward.”

“That expansion is their nature.”

“And during these expansions, cracks occasionally form at certain points.”

“Whenever such fissures appear, the supreme deity of that ring expends immense effort to forge a nail from an exceedingly rare substance—and drives it deep into the rupture to halt its spread, allowing it to heal gradually.”

“That rare substance… is called Primordial Upper-Star Iron.”

The Mud Fox’s eyes swept the surroundings.

“The scent lingering here must be the breath of that very iron.”

“Therefore…” Xu Qing spoke slowly.

“Therefore,” the Mud Fox affirmed, “this ink-black void resembling a black hole—unless I am mistaken—was once a site of such a crack in ancient times. To prevent its spread, the Sovereign of the Fifth Star Ring drove a nail into this very spot!”

“And now… that terrifying nail—capable of withstanding the shattering force of a star ring and halting its fracture—has been removed!”

“But such a substance cannot endure forever without periodic return to this place for nourishment.”

“Thus, the so-called strategic resource of this Moyang cosmos—the very reason for its uniqueness—is almost certainly tied to its role in nurturing that Primordial Upper-Star Nail!”

“As for what lies below…”

The Mud Fox looked down into the pitch-black chasm.

“Perhaps only the Sovereign truly knows what lies behind the Ascendant Star Ring, pierced by that nail.”

“We have neither the right nor the power to know.”

“That is why I wonder,” the Mud Fox added, growing even more solemn, “why a cosmos so vital—anywhere among the star rings—for nurturing the Primordial Upper-Star Nail… would be given to us so freely.”

“So…” He paused meaningfully. Though He did not say it outright, suspicion already threaded His words.

Instinctively, He sensed some unseen force had set this in motion.

“One more thing,” the Mud Fox whispered. “When the Primordial Upper-Star Nail was removed, no sacrifice was needed. But… when it returns, every living being in this cosmos shall become… offerings.”