Chapter 1211: Essence of the Ox Gate

Chapter 1211 The Essence of the Ox Gate

A blistering wave of heat rushed over him.

Wherever he looked, in all four directions, there was nothing but scorching fire.

Heaven and earth were bound in a single, vivid crimson, immensely bright, filling his vision with a dazzling glare.

The entire ground beneath him was forged from burning flame, churning with a slow, heavy motion, from which rivers of fiery liquid occasionally surged toward the sky, scattering wildly into the air.

In midair, these torrents would spontaneously burst, shattering with a low rumble and disintegrating into ancient and mysterious runic imprints.

Viewed from afar, it seemed as though an eternal rain of runes was falling upon this place.

Yet, the moment these runes touched the earth, they transformed into stalks of crimson seagrass, striving to take root and grow here, but alas... within that unbearable heat, it was nearly impossible for the seagrass to survive.

More often than not, they were reduced to ash in an instant, falling back into the liquid fire to become part of the blaze once more.

Only through sheer coincidence, or by some infinitesimally small probability, could one or two stalks of seagrass manage to endure.

Growing under the cruelest constraints.

Yet even in the process of their growth, they remained subject to the incinerating heat, so that as Xu Qing's gaze swept across the expanse, he could discern only a scattering of one or two plants.

Even these were withered and parched, poised to turn to ash at any given moment and cease to exist.

"Though this is but a small region of the sun, if one extrapolates from this density, then even across the entirety of this star... the seagrass that manages to survive cannot be many."

Xu Qing fell into contemplation, raising his eyes to gaze into the distance, and after adapting slightly to the temperature of the place, he suddenly spoke.

"In which direction lies the place of confinement?"

He was questioning the great seagrass outside.

After a long silence, a hazy consciousness echoed within his mind.

"The center... the immortal vow, I cannot go deep, the seagrass here... my thoughts, can aid you..."

The consciousness was intermittent and broken.

Clearly, for the astonishing seagrass outside, this sun was an object of dread.

The essence of this dread might have stemmed from the immortal vow it mentioned, or perhaps from something else entirely.

"A means of mutual restraint? Or a deliberate choice?"

Xu Qing was thoughtful, and as he recalled the sequence of events before this, he felt the former possibility was greater, though his wariness of the latter naturally did not diminish.

With a shift of his body, he shot forward through the roaring air.

He wished to see the full expanse of this sun.

And to find the core location where that god was sealed.

Only then would he make his decision.

Thus, time flowed by.

Several days later, Xu Qing's speed gradually began to slow.

Even with his cultivation base, he felt an increasing discomfort in this place, and now, after advancing a certain distance, he found it necessary to halt, relying on the seagrass rooted in the earth to adjust his state before he could press onward.

Finally, after half a month had elapsed, Xu Qing reached his personal limit.

He had no choice but to stop before a single stalk of seagrass.

Fortunately, although he had not truly stepped upon the core of this place, with his divine sense, he could still faintly perceive where the center lay.

The moment his perception probed outward to investigate, Xu Qing's eyes narrowed.

Within his awareness, he "saw" a world-shocking great sword!

The sword was colossal, transfixing the sun from one side to the other.

The portion exposed above the ground was a sword hilt as massive as a giant mountain peak.

One could well imagine that on the opposite side of this sun, the tip of the blade must have pierced through the ground, a sight to strike terror into the heart.

The instant he perceived this scene, a sudden realization dawned within Xu Qing's mind.

"That god is not imprisoned within this sun, rather... He is this sun!"

"This sun is that god!"

"A true god... akin to a high immortal!"

The pupils of Xu Qing's eyes contracted as he slowly lowered his head, staring at the earth beneath his feet and looking at the withered seagrass beside him, his mind churning with emotion.

"And that sword is the source that suppresses this true god, the primary vessel sealing Him!"

"It is impaled here, piercing through the deity, keeping this true god in a state between life and death, so that... He can never rely on His true name to return!"

"As for the seagrass, to the lesser gods dwelling upon its leaves, it is indeed a prison."

"But to this true god, it is merely a jailer!"

"It desires to cultivate by means of this true god even more than I do, which is why it tirelessly disperses its seeds, striving to make the seagrass take root and exist here."

"The purpose is nothing other than absorption! Because those scattered stalks of seagrass are, in truth, attempting to absorb the source matter of this true god..."

"However, due to the environment and the sheer status of this place, its seagrass is too few in number, to the point that the absorbed source matter is also negligible."

Xu Qing pondered for a moment, then raised his right hand, retrieving the wooden slip used for collecting anomalous matter, and pressed it hard against the earth below.

His cultivation surged, erupting in full force.

Yet, unlike his previous experiences absorbing other deities, this time, Xu Qing's harvesting caused no tremors in the ground, and the sun itself remained entirely undisturbed.

Even though a few golden threads formed of source matter rose from the ground in an ethereal, tenuous manner, the quantity was simply too scarce.

It felt as if a heavy, dense obstruction lay between them, ensuring that even if the harvest was not an utter failure, its efficacy was exceptionally poor.

After a long while, Xu Qing ceased his collection and raised his head, his eyes shining with a strange brilliance as he looked toward the mountain-like peak of the sword hilt within his perception.

"This ground is like a shell; trying to harvest source matter here is immensely difficult."

"The place truly suited for harvesting should be where that sword is driven in!"

"There lies the wound of this true god!"

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes and suddenly spoke aloud.

"Therefore, if we truly wish to feast upon it, I need you to go all out... Either you choose to expend all the preparations you made previously, while I leave nothing in reserve, and we gamble together on this single chance to gorge ourselves to our heart's content."

"Or, we can only absorb some of the free-floating source matter."

Having spoken, Xu Qing waited in silence.

After a long interval, the withered seagrass before him suddenly swayed, as if having reached some grim determination, and in a flash, the plant actually reversed its withered state, turning a sudden, brilliant crimson.

Nor was it alone; at this very moment across the sun, every single piece of surviving seagrass altered from its various states of decay, instantly turning a vivid red before rising into the sky.

Seen from afar, they resembled blossoms of red equinox flowers, shifting from all eight directions toward the place where Xu Qing currently stood.

Even though many stalks of seagrass turned to flying ash beneath the onslaught of the flames along the way, they still rushed forward, one after another without pause.

A total, sweeping ascension!

In an instant, the void all around Xu Qing warped and twisted, as stalk after stalk of seagrass materialized out of thin air, converging upon his position with terrifying speed.

Xu Qing did not dodge. He let the seaweed come, layer upon layer enveloping his body. The whole process lasted dozens of breaths.

Afterward, Xu Qing, still standing in place, had already changed beyond recognition.

A suit of crimson armor woven from seaweed now encased him entirely, swelling his height to hundreds of zhang.

There he stood—like a titan.

Boundless vitality erupted from the seaweed, surging into every part of Xu Qing’s body, forming an astonishing shield.

This was the full legacy the seaweed had accumulated over countless years on this sun—through drop by drop, effort after effort!

A sharp glint flashed in Xu Qing’s eyes.

He could feel it—the seaweed was truly giving everything it had.

Without hesitation, Xu Qing activated the Five Phases Conversion, employing the principle of elemental conquest to maximize his resistance. Then he unleashed Temporal-Spatial Edict and layered Cosmos Illusion upon it,

thereby dispersing the oppressive force emanating from the path ahead.

Next, his Immortal Embryo blazed brightly, and like a bolt of lightning, he shot forward.

In an instant, he vanished into the distance—

straight toward the great sword he had sensed moments before!

The closer he drew, the heavier the pressure became, and the flames grew ever more terrifying. Even with the seaweed armor shielding him, it visibly burned away, steadily turning to ash before his eyes.

Xu Qing knew clearly: if relying solely on himself, he could never have reached this far. And once the seaweed dissipated, he feared he would be reduced to cinders in a single breath.

After all—this was the domain of a True God!

Yet none of this could shake Xu Qing’s resolve.

His speed increased further!

Madness blazed in his eyes!

If Er Niu were here witnessing this scene, he would surely praise it greatly, declaring that little A-Qing had truly grasped the essence of Ox Sect mastery.

Thus, time passed.

Finally, through Xu Qing’s frenzied sprint and the seaweed armor’s desperate reinforcement, his figure crossed vast distances and arrived at the core of this sun.

In the distance, the great sword now appeared before Xu Qing’s eyes in its true form.

The moment he saw it, Xu Qing’s breath quickened. His entire body trembled; both soul and flesh teetered on the brink of combustion.

Yet the madness and scorching fire in his eyes burned even fiercer—they could not be extinguished, only intensified upon beholding the sword!

In the next instant, without thought, Xu Qing bit his tongue, spewing forth a mouthful of blood.

He used it to ignite his own potential, then activated Blood Escape Technique and surged forward violently.

Amid thunderous roars, as seven-tenths of his seaweed armor vanished, Xu Qing’s figure finally burst through the extreme heat—and arrived before the colossal sword!

The moment he drew near, his whole body began to burn. Yet he saw clearly what lay before him.

It was a staggering chasm. Along the edges of the sword’s wound, flesh and blood struggled to regenerate, as though trying to heal the gash and expel the blade.

But the sword’s penetration remained utterly unshakable—its presence so absolute that healing had never succeeded since the wound first formed.

Thus, they remained locked in stalemate.

And the instant Xu Qing neared this place, a profound sense of life and death exploded within him.

He knew well: perhaps in the very next moment, the seaweed would give out, and all his defenses would collapse.

But…

amid this mortal peril, he also sensed an overwhelming concentration of Origin Essence—emanating precisely from that regenerating flesh!

In all Xu Qing had ever seen, never had he encountered such density of Origin Essence!

Perhaps only the depths of Ink Soil—where he himself could not yet tread—might rival it.

Such fortune! Such destiny!

Xu Qing’s madness deepened. Instantly, he sent forth a divine thought:

“Fox—be on guard!”

The Fox Beauty Mark on his arm immediately exuded a chill, and Her divine power erupted fully, reinforcing Xu Qing once more.

This bought him precious time—and guarded against any possible malice from the seaweed, whether real or imagined.

Having done this, Xu Qing immediately sat cross-legged, raised his right hand holding the Gathering Bamboo Slip, and pressed it downward.

At once, the earth thundered. Golden filaments erupted directly from the sword-wound—

like geysers!

Gushing forth in world-shaking torrents!

In this moment, Mud Fox was stunned.

The seaweed trembled with excitement.

And Xu Qing—was lost to frenzy!

Taking a day off.

I wrote today, then read it over several times and realized the pace was indeed slow.

I’ve also seen everyone’s feedback about the plot dragging, so I’m reflecting and adjusting.

Starting tomorrow, I’ll focus intensely on this issue.