Chapter 1214: There Is Ice Here

Chapter 1214: Ice Exists Here

Standing upon the seaweed, Xu Qing spoke these two words with utter calm.

As if ordained by heaven, as if this were only natural.

No additional aura of authority was needed, even though all around him, save for the Star Ring Master, were Hun Tian clansmen.

The calmer he remained, the greater the invisible pressure weighing upon the Hun Tian clansmen present.

For this was the Fifth Star Ring.

Humanity reigns supreme!

Outside the imperial palace, the numerous Hun Tian royal clansmen wore grave expressions.

As if facing a mortal foe, yet their hearts sank low within them.

To them, the previous Star Ring Master had already been formidable; this second arrival now shook their very souls.

Especially that seaweed!

They naturally recognized it as the essence of Prison Jia-29.

That one could command this seaweed, bring it here, and send it into battle… the implications ran deep.

The turmoil stirred within their hearts grew all the more violent.

Especially for these Hun Tian clansmen, long past their former glory, none among them had truly witnessed history with their own eyes.

From the moment this generation drew breath, humanity had been supreme.

Even after the Lingguang Outer Heaven lost its master, deep within their bones, they still held humanity in awe.

Only the Hun Tian Emperor’s authority had briefly suppressed this reverence, yet… such suppression crumbled before humanity’s might.

As now, Xu Qing’s calm, his forceful arrival, and the voice echoing through all directions, made each Hun Tian clansman recall their ingrained awe of humanity.

Some instinctively bowed their heads.

This servility was etched into their blood.

It was also the Fifth Star Ring humanity’s crucial means of controlling alien races.

The colossal face formed by the Hun Tian Emperor observed all this with perfect clarity.

Thus, he fell silent.

Gazing at Xu Qing.

Then… a flash of light from his brow, and a token flew forth.

The token emitted a soft white radiance; its front bore the character "Exempt," its back shimmered with the Lingguang Outer Heaven’s sacred resonance.

"Long ago, our clan was honored by the Lingguang Outer Heaven, recognizing one of its great figures as our sovereign lord, who bestowed this token—exempting us from all levies."

The Hun Tian Emperor spoke slowly.

As his words resonated, the white light from the Exemption Edict suddenly spread, enveloping the palace, sealing it off from the outside.

This imperial palace of the Hun Tian clan, floating amidst the stars, was in truth the entrance to Hun Tian Territory!

Xu Qing had heard of this Exemption Edict from the Star Ring Master before; though unaware of specifics, he reasoned that if granted and now produced by the Hun Tian Emperor, the token held significance.

En route, he had also transmitted a query to Zhou Zhengli.

Zhou Zhengli, ever thorough in gathering intelligence, had shared all he knew with Xu Qing.

Within the Fifth Star Ring, certain clans, for various reasons, received Exemption Edicts from different Outer Heavens; typically, Tribute Collectors encountering such clans would withdraw.

But… Xu Qing’s eyes flashed with a dark gleam. Facing the Edict, he raised his right hand and produced the special mission jade slip given by the Poison Lord.

"By order of the Nine Shores Immortal Lord!

Seek the mystical nine-colored ice capable of extinguishing the Divine Lord’s fire."

Here, Xu Qing fixed the Hun Tian Emperor with a cold stare, speaking softly.

"This matter is of immense consequence. I suspect your clan possesses this substance. I shall now investigate."

As Xu Qing spoke, the special mission jade slip in his hand began to glow, radiating waves of splendor that swept outward. Where this light met the Edict’s white radiance, distortion rippled.

The next instant, the Edict’s white light vanished entirely, no longer shrouding the palace.

The surrounding Hun Tian clansmen might not yet have fully grasped what occurred, but the Hun Tian Emperor’s expression shifted sharply.

This defied all logic.

Normally, their clan’s Exemption Edict would compel a Tribute Collector to retreat. Yet he had never anticipated that this human before him would bear such a mission.

It struck him as absurd!

What was the Nine Shores Immortal Lord, that they would send a quasi-immortal to gather mystical ice capable of quenching Divine Lord’s fire…

He refused to believe it!

Yet the mission jade slip bore a unique seal, undeniably genuine!

Most crucially, the Edict’s reaction confirmed the truth…

This sent colossal waves crashing through the Hun Tian Emperor’s spirit.

For even if his clan held the Edict, its authority was clearly subordinate to a Nine Shores Immortal Lord’s command!

This scene altered not only the expressions of the Hun Tian royal clansmen but also made the Star Ring Master’s eyes narrow as he stared at the mission slip in Xu Qing’s hand.

Clearly, even he was utterly astonished.

Meanwhile, Xu Qing now stepped down from the seaweed, striding toward the Hun Tian imperial palace ahead.

Each step sent ripples through the starry void.

Each advance made the Hun Tian Emperor upon the palace shift uneasily.

After Xu Qing had taken seven or eight steps, the colossal face of the Hun Tian Emperor dissolved. His true form emerged from within the palace, standing amidst the stars.

A hundred zhang tall, crimson-hued body, a grotesque dual face—the moment he appeared, a shocking surge of cultivation power radiated outward, forming an invisible barrier before Xu Qing.

Xu Qing paused, his gaze calm as he looked upon the Hun Tian Emperor.

"Do you intend to obstruct my investigation?"

The Hun Tian Emperor stared back, his voice low.

"My clan possesses no nine-colored ice!"

"Whether it does or not, only an inspection will tell!" This reply came not from Xu Qing, but from the Star Ring Master beside him.

The Hun Tian Emperor fell silent, then sighed. He admitted his miscalculation this time. Raising his hand, he summoned the Fourth True Lord’s relic, which flew from the palace behind him and settled into his palm.

He intended to appease them. Since they sought this item… best to simply hand it over.

Though the relic was immensely precious, compared to what the clan was currently undertaking… it had to be sacrificed.

He was about to speak.

But at that very moment, his expression shifted.

And Xu Qing’s eyes instantly sharpened, turning toward the palace.

At the seagrass, nearly at the same moment as Xu Qing, something stirred; its leaves quivered sharply, its aura turning razor-edged.

Within the imperial palace, ripples of transmission pulsed outward, dispersing like rings upon still water.

Someone was being summoned here!

The Emperor of Hun Tian narrowed his eyes, clenched his right fist, and withdrew the clump of cosmic law soil he had meant to offer, reshaping his words mid-breath.

"An envoy of my master has descended upon our clan."

"Concerning matters here, the Hun Tian lineage shall abide by the Supreme Lord’s decree."

With this, the Emperor turned and bowed deeply toward the palace.

All surrounding kin lowered their heads in reverent obeisance.

Immediately, the transmission ripples intensified, swelling with thunderous resonance as a colossal pillar of light descended from the starry void above the palace, rippling through the heavens.

This spectacle was no stranger to Xu Qing—it mirrored the very transmission that had carried him back to his own cosmos.

In the next heartbeat, as the pillar struck the palace floor, an aura nearly indistinguishable from that of a lesser immortal erupted violently from within.

This presence was unspeakably dreadful, warping the fabric of the starry expanse, saturating all around with dense, suffocating immortal qi.

Every trace of divinity recoiled before this essence.

It was the radiance of an embryonic immortal core.

The arriving figure… stood but a thread’s breadth from transcending fully into immortality!

Xing Huanzi’s expression darkened; Xu Qing’s brow furrowed in thought.

Then, the palace doors all eyes had fixed upon burst open suddenly.

A force capable of parting mountains and overturning seas surged forth.

Like molten magma erupting from a slumbering volcano.

Amidst the roaring chaos, a middle-aged cultivator clad in crimson robes stepped forward, his face cold as winter frost.

Each footfall sent tremors through the cosmos itself.

As he emerged fully, the Emperor of Hun Tian bowed solemnly, his entire clan following in absolute reverence.

"Hail the Supreme Envoy!"

The newcomer’s terrifying aura, amplified by the Hun Tian clan’s submission, coalesced into an overwhelming tide of might.

Simultaneously, the seagrass swayed instinctively, its divine whisper racing into Xu Qing’s mind.

"He bears the scent of the Warden Envoy who sealed the True God’s wound!"

Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed at this revelation.

Meanwhile, the crimson-robed man swept his gaze across the assembly, pausing upon the seagrass with an inscrutable gleam.

Then his eyes shifted to Xu Qing standing before it.

"Are you the one who conspired with this wretched weed to steal my master’s divine grain?"

At these words, the Emperor of Hun Tian, still bowed, blinked slowly, deep in contemplation.

Xing Huanzi’s face turned ashen, his glare fixed upon the cultivator, the Constitution of Order stirring about his form.