Chapter 1251: Renown in the Starry Universe

Chapter 1251 Fame Across the Stars

A crisp crack echoed beneath his grasp.

The Stargaze Goddess’s jade neck, crushed by Xu Qing’s fingers, flesh purpling,

bones splintering within as divine blood seeped from her lips.

Her gaze dimmed; her very essence seemed to gutter toward extinction before she lapsed into unconsciousness.

Yet as a goddess, her bloodline and prime cultivation ensured she would not fall so easily.

And for Xu Qing, a living goddess held far greater worth.

Thus, as her neck shattered, the sealing power suffusing her erupted fully,

fusing with the fractured bone and flesh.

Moreover, the surrounding Netherworld and its terrifying Underworld, bereft of their anchor,

blurred and dissolved at that instant.

With their dissolution, Xu Qing’s Immortal Embryo, no longer isolated, surged within him,

bolstering the seal into unbreakable permanence.

Only then did Xu Qing’s spirit ease slightly.

Mud Fox’s voice, sweetly cloying, now coiled through his mind.

“Ah, a goddess indeed! Truly, a goddess with a broken neck is the finest sort.”

“Master, after all I’ve endured—plucked and plundered without complaint—

might you not grant me this goddess? Let me… *refine* her.”

Mud Fox’s eagerness was palpable; the thought of taming a goddess inflamed her delight.

Little Shadow, too, stirred with restless hunger.

It wished to devour…

Xu Qing ignored them both. His gaze swept over the goddess,

then the hand gripping her throat unleashed a sucking force.

A living siphon of primordial essence!

Instantly, the unconscious goddess convulsed, trembling violently as essence was wrenched from her core,

rushing through her neck, up Xu Qing’s arm, and into his own being.

Its purity was peerless, laced with the faint aura of an Emperor’s divine blood,

rendering its concentration staggering.

To Xu Qing, this goddess—once a True God—was an unparalleled essence stone.

Before turning her over, he would siphon her dry.

Absorbing steadily, he flicked his sleeve, gathering the wounded Xing Huanzi.

He channeled a portion of the stolen essence into her,

stabilizing her grievous wounds. Then Xu Qing strode away,

bearing Xing Huanzi, vanishing in an instant.

…

Days later, across the Fifth Star Ring’s Left Wing War Zone,

tidings swept like a tempest through every legion,

roiling the hearts of countless cultivators.

The Goddess had been captured!

By the Corpse-Stripping Squad of the Nian Lin Army—Xu Qing’s team!

Now, shielded by the Nian Lin Army’s full might,

they escorted the goddess toward the Crimson Star’s frontline commander’s stronghold.

This news detonated. Had a Lower Immortal or legion commander seized her,

the Left Wing might have merely nodded.

But the *Corpse-Stripping Squad*?

The shockwaves were immense.

For that squad, infamous and lowly ranked among frontline troops,

had now claimed this monumental feat.

Perplexity and disbelief flooded the legions,

spurring frantic inquiries into the squad’s origins.

What the Nian Lin Army revealed ignited fresh uproar.

“A squad formed of Ascenders?”

“The first—and only—team to transport essence across the Flesh Grinder’s heart?”

“Reduced from nearly a hundred to nineteen through life-and-death trials?”

“Having once captured a Divine Platform peak?”

“Becoming corpse-strippers yet excelling in slaughter beyond soldiers?”

“Dubbed the Funeral Squad?”

Each revelation deepened the gravity of listeners,

revealing the squad’s terrifying prowess.

Especially knowing they’d suffered near-total injuries, seven dead—

respect bloomed amid the awe.

Amid this rising reverence, more details surfaced.

“According to squad member Zhou Zhengli, during the goddess’s capture,

they endured a True God’s self-destruction!

Their captain, Xu Qing, seeing his comrades grievously wounded,

burned with murderous fury—for each was a brother he’d trust with his life!

His eyes bloodshot, voice raw, he swore not for bounty, but vengeance!

A noble cause, a leader’s burden!

Already wounded, he sprinted across ten thousand stars,

pursuing the goddess at any cost, capturing her alive,

weeping as he honored the fallen—giving their sacrifice meaning!”

“Further, Zhou Zhengli disclosed astonishing truths about Captain Xu Qing…”

“This Xu Qing, peerless in talent, transcendent in bearing,

a heart wholly devoted to the Immortal Path,

the undisputed first among the last Ascender cohort!”

“Recognized by the Aurora Immortal Palace, silent for eons!”

“While gathering supplies, he quelled a Divine Prison rebellion,

subduing a resurgent True God—all as a Quasi-Immortal!”

“Each deed breathtaking: merciless to foes, gentle as kin to allies!”

These final revelations detonated anew,

propelling the already seismic event to greater heights.

For days, the entire Left Wing frontline knew of this squad—

especially Captain Xu Qing.

Every cultivator, verifying the truth,

whispered regardless of private thoughts:

“This Xu Qing *deserves* the title of True Lord!”

Thus, at a cosmic relay array along the path to the Crimson Star,

a multitude gathered, eager to glimpse the goddess,

to witness the squad’s arrival.

The array, ringed and watched by legion cultivators,

loomed like a celestial palace adrift in starless void,

radiating awe.

Pillars of luminous crystal, like sky-piercing columns,

upheld its vaulted dome.

Now, it thrummed.

Surrounding cultivators watched, eyes alight with wonder.

They knew: the Nian Lin Army approached.

Soon, the hum swelled to a roar; space around the array rippled like water struck by stone.

Beams of light erupted from all directions of the starry void, hurtling like meteors with the force to rend darkness, striking the teleportation array with pinpoint precision.

They intertwined and fused above it, instantly forming a colossal spiritual vortex!

Crackling lightning flashed within the vortex, its thunderous roar like the stampede of ten thousand hooves, deafening.

Until the next instant, when this sound echoed through the cosmos and the array’s radiance blazed at its zenith, figures abruptly materialized from within.

Tens of thousands!

All soldiers of the Nianlin Army.

Their expressions grave, they soared outward the moment they appeared, securing the perimeter. Meanwhile, within the array, a group clad in Corpse-Robbing robes—shielded layer upon layer by the soldiers—

finally came into view of the gathered onlookers beyond the formation!

Twelve in total!

Though pale-faced and radiating weakness, each emanated an ironclad resolve in that instant, their aura of slaughter instinctive.

They drew every eye.

And most striking of all… was the one leading them!

A youth, tall and straight, long hair streaming, his features so exquisitely beautiful they would dim even the fairest female cultivators, his demeanor icy, his gaze holding a light that chilled the marrow.

In his hand, he gripped a dying deity.

By human standards, this deity was also beautiful, its eerie style striking with visceral force, though its skin was withered parchment, its spirit dimmed.

It appeared utterly drained…

The Stargaze Goddess!

Pulses of primordial essence rippled ceaselessly from her, flowing unbroken into the hand clutching her throat.

Throughout, her unconscious body trembled, her expression contorted in agony.

This sight, witnessed by the assembled beyond the array, sent immense ripples through them.

“Is that Xu Qing?”

“Is he… harvesting primordial essence?”

“By the look of it, seems he’s… harvested all the way here? Ruthless!”

“This… truly befits the Corpse-Robbers!”

Most observers wore strange expressions, yet none could deny Xu Qing’s brutal image—harvesting as he marched—was seared into their minds.

“This man is not to be trifled with!”

“His squad is indeed extraordinary!”

Their thoughts and gazes now settled upon Zhou Zhengli, who sensed them trailing Xu Qing.

Though blinded, timely aid and the Goddess’s primordial essence had allowed him to reforge his soul.

Fortune had favored misfortune; his soul had ascended a level.

Sensing the surroundings now, Zhou Zhengli’s lips curved in a smile.

“Seems my earlier reports worked well. Now no one dares risk snatching the credit, and the Young Master’s prestige has surged!”

“Thus, the rewards from above will not only come, but likely exceed expectations…”

“After all, in war, all sides need a paragon.”

“The Young Master fits perfectly.”

Satisfied, Zhou Zhengli gazed ahead at Xu Qing, especially at the Goddess he’d carried by the throat.

“I must admit, the Young Master’s cunning is astonishing…”

“This harvest before ten thousand eyes secures essence while silently declaring her his captive!”

“Only then does my orchestration amplify his effect so perfectly.”

“Pity, had I not feared overstatement backfiring, I’d have spread word of the Immortal Lord’s attention, the Immortal Venerable’s hopes…”