Chapter 1213: Relics of the Fourth True Lord

Chapter 1213: The Relic of the Fourth True Sovereign

Within the Huntian Cosmos dwelled the Huntian Imperial Clan.

This clan was blessed with extraordinary talents. Their skin shimmered half crimson, half azure; each clansman bore four heads—one facing forward, backward, left, and right. Their stature was awe-inspiring: newborns stood already a hundred zhang tall, adults began at a thousand zhang, and some even soared to ten thousand zhang in height.

Moreover, compared to other races, their numbers were equally fearsome.

Their cultivation required no manuals or techniques. Merely by instinct—guided by soul and bloodline—they absorbed the primal essence from the upper planetary rings.

All this stemmed from their origin: a True God!

Thus, in ancient times, this clan unified the entire Huntian Cosmos and wielded influence far and wide. Within the divine hierarchy of the Fifth Star Ring, they held esteemed status among its many rings.

But… as war erupted between Immortals and Gods within the Fifth Star Ring, and as the gods were suppressed while immortals rose to dominance, every glory belonging to this clan faded into history.

Their True God was sealed away.

Because they had chosen neutrality during the conflict—and were among the earliest to surrender—they were permitted survival after the war. They were even granted stewardship over the Huntian Cosmos and bestowed the title of “Imperial Clan,” a mark of honor.

Similar imperial clans abounded throughout the Fifth Star Ring—all awarded such titles for meritorious service.

Yet, for such clans… certain bloodline restrictions remained essential.

Consequently, their original dual hues became monochrome; their four faces reduced to two.

Their towering heights were redefined—capped now at a mere hundred zhang!

Cultivation changed too.

The severance of ancestral inheritance stripped them of innate gifts. Forced to abandon divine paths, they turned instead to breathing in spiritual qi, constrained from ascending to immortality—and utterly forbidden from godhood.

Generation after generation passed. Even their dual-faced trait gradually vanished, reproduction faltered, and their population dwindled steadily.

Eventually, most members of the so-called Huntian Imperial Clan stood only about ten zhang tall, bearing but a single face.

Until… the dimming of the Aurora Immortal Palace.

With that celestial realm losing its master, the Huntian Imperial Clan glimpsed a sliver of hope. Some among them underwent ancestral reversion—regaining dual faces—and one rose to become emperor anew.

Now, deep within the Huntian Cosmos, outside the colossal Huntian Imperial Palace, Xinghuanzi stood amidst starry void, his body wreathed in chains of cosmic order, gazing coldly toward the distant palace.

His expression was icy, his eyes sharp as blades.

Surrounding him were countless Huntian clansmen—each ten zhang tall, clad in black armor, emanating thick waves of killing intent as they glared at Xinghuanzi.

Between Xinghuanzi and the palace stood three imposing figures.

Each towered seventy to eighty zhang high—one gripped a long spear, another cradled a pagoda in his palm, and the last unfurled behind him an enormous banner.

The aura radiating from them unmistakably marked them as quasi-immortals!

Such a sight would be unthinkable elsewhere beyond the heavens.

Alien races were barred from achieving immortality—even quasi-immortality was strictly forbidden!

Yet these three not only exuded quasi-immortal energy but also carried palpable divine fluctuations, as though cultivating both immortal and divine paths simultaneously.

At this moment, locking gazes with Xinghuanzi, the one bearing the great banner spoke in a raspy voice:

“You have clashed with us three many times before—each encounter ending in stalemate. Why persist?”

“Your faction has surely gathered sufficient primal essence here. Knowing our clan holds exemption from conscription, you still force your way through… isn’t that excessive?”

“The Huntian Imperial Clan has its limits. We advise you… do not court your own ruin!”

Xinghuanzi’s face remained impassive. He had lingered here long enough, cutting down foes until halted precisely at this point.

Any one of these three—he could confidently slay alone.

Even two together—he could annihilate, albeit at great cost.

But all three, perfectly coordinated? That rendered further advance impossible.

Hearing their words, he replied in a voice colder than ice:

“Whether my gathering is sufficient… concerns me not.”

“Your clan breaking limits… concerns me not. Your ascension to immortality or godhood… likewise irrelevant. Who shields and supports you from the shadows… also none of my concern.”

“Nor does your so-called exemption decree matter.”

“I seek only… that clod of earth enshrined within your palace!”

Xinghuanzi raised his hand, pointing toward the distant palace.

As his finger extended, the palace blazed with light—and a lump of yellow earth floated forth into the starry void, radiating terrifying authority of Heavenly Principles!

“You desire this?”

A low, mocking voice echoed from within the palace.

Inside, the Huntian Emperor—standing a full hundred zhang tall, entirely crimson, with two faces front and back—let out a soft chuckle.

“The relic of the Fourth True Sovereign… cannot be given to you.”

With a casual wave of his hand, the earth imbued with Heavenly Principle returned swiftly into the palace.

Then, his voice rang out again, laced with frost:

“Drive him off.”

At those two words, the three blocking Xinghuanzi erupted with overwhelming power—not merely displaying immortal might, but now revealing divine presence even more clearly.

They stepped forward toward Xinghuanzi.

Simultaneously, the surrounding clansmen intensified their killing aura. As their energies intertwined, eighteen colossal phantom warriors materialized around Xinghuanzi—each wielding massive halberds.

Every phantom stood ten thousand zhang tall, unleashing cataclysmic waves of force as they swung their weapons in unison, crashing down upon Xinghuanzi like mountains collapsing into seas.

Thunderous detonations shattered the void.

Faced with such adversaries, murderous intent flared in Xinghuanzi’s eyes—but his body inevitably retreated. Still, in his entire life, he had tasted defeat only once. Even now, surrounded by overwhelming foes, his fighting spirit burned fiercely.

Instantly, the chains of cosmic order encircling him expanded outward. His Balance Edict erupted forth as well, enabling him—alone—to contend against them all.

For a time, neither side gained advantage.

Those eighteen phantoms and three quasi-immortals could not suppress Xinghuanzi!

This was precisely where Xinghuanzi’s true strength lay.

His Order Edict could impose rules upon himself and enemies alike; his Balance Edict forcibly equalized disparities in power.

The stronger his foes grew, the more his Balance Edict amplified his own strength accordingly.

When Xu Qing once fought him, even he had needed simultaneous eruptions from multiple selves across parallel universes just to disrupt Xinghuanzi’s balance.

Such was Xinghuanzi’s formidable might.

From within the palace came a voice of admiration:

“You must surely be the strongest among this batch of Provision Gatherers. At such a young age, possessing such combat prowess—you are indeed a prodigy! Should you ascend to immortality someday, you will undoubtedly become a peerless warrior among immortals!”

“No wonder you covet the relic of the Fourth True Sovereign… Your Edicts truly resonate with his legacy. Yet balance, in truth, cannot endure forever.”

Thus, for you, the art of combat you have devised for yourself lies in harnessing your own equilibrium to manifest your utmost power.

Alas, your greatest strength lacks a firm foundation—yet if Heaven’s Principle were to grant it to you, that missing piece would be perfectly fulfilled.”

Xinghuanzi remained silent.

Once, he had possessed it…

And still, that voice echoed on.

“Giving it to you is not impossible. Swear alliance with my Hun Tian clan; become our honored guest elder and fight for us thrice—and then… the relics of the Fourth True Lord shall be yours!”

At these words, Xinghuanzi suddenly lifted his head, fixing the imperial palace with a cold gaze—as though regarding mere insects.

“A lowly alien race, steeped in bloodline sin—how dare you presume to ally with me?”

His words ignited fury in every Hun Tian clansman nearby; their killing intent surged even fiercer.

Within the palace, the Hun Tian Sovereign chuckled softly.

“I am unworthy?”

Raising his right hand, he pointed outward with effortless grace.

At that gesture, the starry void beyond the palace twisted violently, blurring into indistinctness, as if all color were forcibly stripped away—leaving only black and white.

Amidst this monochrome expanse, an enormous ink-wash finger materialized from nothingness, descending with overwhelming force toward Xinghuanzi.

Wherever it passed, the void shattered and the stars withered.

Xinghuanzi’s expression turned grave in an instant. He retreated swiftly, fingers weaving incantations, ready to unleash his full might—

But just then, a familiar voice reverberated through the starfield.

“He speaks truth—you truly are unworthy.”

With the voice came crimson light: endless rays of red piercing through the black-and-white void, flooding the desaturated realm with sudden, vivid scarlet!

That red resolved into seaweed fronds—twenty in all—whipping together at blinding speed to form a single whip, which lashed out abruptly at the colossal finger.

A sharp crack split the air.

An unstoppable force erupted, shattering space itself. Cracks spiderwebbed across the starry sky; the ink-wash finger faltered, then dissipated.

The eighteen towering statues surrounding them trembled violently before crumbling into fragments.

Three mighty Hun Tian cultivators recoiled in alarm, yet still suffered the backlash—blood gushing from their mouths.

Inside the palace, the Hun Tian Sovereign—who had been composed moments before—now wore a look of profound gravity on both his front and back faces. His divine sense surged outward, coalescing above the palace into a colossal visage that stared intently at the immense seaweed now manifesting in the starfield…

And at the black-robed youth standing atop it.

The young man stood with hands clasped behind his back, eyes like distant stars, expression serene.

The seaweed—the Hun Tian Sovereign recognized it instantly.

And precisely because he knew what it was, his inner turmoil swelled immeasurably.

“Jia-29… has actually followed this man here!”

“And this one’s aura clearly surpasses even that Order Enforcer. Could he be the true leader among these schemers?”

Separated by different Outer Heavens, news from the Nine Shores Outer Heaven had not reached him swiftly.

As he gazed upon the scene, Xinghuanzi’s heart did not calm at Xu Qing’s arrival—in fact, it churned with greater unrest.

For he saw clearly…

“Xu Qing has grown stronger!”

Indeed, Xu Qing was stronger.

On his journey here, he had continuously absorbed Source Essence stored across other timelines. Now, he stood merely a hair’s breadth away from perfecting the Immortal Embryo’s Illusory Truth, Unbreakable Return to Oneness.

This advancement in both cultivation and Immortal Embryo had amplified the potency of his Authority, allowing it to unleash far greater power.

Now, standing atop the seaweed, he glanced at the Sovereign’s colossal visage and spoke calmly:

“Hand it over.”