Chapter 1253: Extreme Azure True Lord

Chapter 1253: Supreme Azure True Sovereign

Six days passed in the blink of an eye.

As the date foretold by the Grand Commander of the Crimson Star drew near, Xu Qing and his companions were each deep in cultivation within their respective Flame Towers.

It had to be admitted—the source essence contained within this crimson star, though far less refined than that of the Divine Maiden, was gentler in nature and proved immensely beneficial for their healing.

Over these six days, the lingering injuries they had sustained along their journey, which had been gradually improving, were now almost entirely healed.

Xu Qing felt this transformation most acutely. He discovered that the crimson star’s source essence was also remarkably effective for shaping his Immortal Embryo. Its gentle quality balanced the potent, concentrated essence he had harvested from the Divine Maiden, making absorption far smoother—and even brought his Immortal Embryo to the very threshold of Mid-stage Quasi-Immortal.

“Indeed,” Xu Qing murmured inwardly, “cultivation truly accelerates on the battlefield.”

Seated within his Flame Tower, Xu Qing opened his eyes from meditation. A faint, profound radiance flickered within his pupils—as if countless stars flowed through them—imbuing him with an extraordinary aura.

Combined with his already peerless beauty, an unmistakable air of celestial grace now emanated from his very being.

“But alas…” he sighed softly, “the source essence here is too mild. Unless I acquire another source as pure and unique as the Divine Maiden’s to balance it, this place is better suited for healing than advancement.”

At the thought of the Divine Maiden, a lingering sense of regret stirred within him.

He had absorbed the essence of True Deities before—indeed, one such deity remained imprisoned within his Heaven Beyond Heaven, constantly supplying him with essence. Yet even that True Deity paled in comparison to the purity of the Divine Maiden.

“Daughter of the Divine Emperor, scion of the Sovereign Bloodline… truly extraordinary,” Xu Qing mused.

Memories of harvesting the Divine Maiden’s essence flashed through his mind, and he unconsciously licked his lips.

Her essence was, without question, the most perfect source he had ever tasted—utterly peerless.

But the Divine Maiden had already been handed over. Suppressing his regret once more, Xu Qing prepared to close his eyes and resume cultivation—when suddenly…

Another solar flare erupted across the crimson star!

A thunderous roar shook heaven and earth. In an instant, an endless sea of light swept across the entire star, submerging everything beneath its blinding radiance, as if the world itself were drowning in brilliance.

At the same moment, Xu Qing’s Flame Tower—engulfed by this luminous tide—vanished without a trace, erased as though it had never existed.

From the heart of the light surged an immense force, replacing the tower with a colossal silver eye—

which now opened directly before Xu Qing.

His heart jolted. Instantly rising to his feet, his expression turned solemn as he bowed deeply toward the enormous silver eye.

“I pay my respects, General!”

The silver eye gazed upon Xu Qing in silence for a long while. Then, a voice imbued with the weight of ages echoed through the sea of light.

“The reward for your great merit has arrived.”

As the words resonated, ten rectangular slabs of golden jade shimmered into existence, radiating resplendent light. Beside them hovered a military merit token.

The golden jade exuded dense source essence, interwoven with mysterious, shifting glimmers—clearly treasures of immense value.

Though the military token appeared unassuming, its significance was evidently profound.

“These are Tenfold Source Essences and a token bearing one million merits—the reward for uncovering the Divine Maiden’s whereabouts!”

The ancient voice paused briefly.

Then, one hundred identical golden jade slabs and ten more military tokens materialized, joining the earlier rewards in midair, coalescing into a dazzling, multicolored radiance.

Out in the wider world, such treasures would drive countless cultivators mad with greed.

“This is the reward for her live capture!”

Xu Qing stared at the floating bounty before him, his eyes alight with wonder—but he said nothing, merely quelling the surge within his heart and waiting patiently.

“As for your True Sovereign title…”

The voice from the silver eye grew graver.

“There are certain truths you must understand. All disciples of the Immortal Lords bear the title of True Sovereign.”

“In our Fifth Star Ring, long ago, the Immortal Venerable pioneered the Immortal Path, refined ten thousand deities, forged Spirit Marks, and embodied the laws of existence—thus forging destiny itself!”

“Of this destiny, the Immortal Venerable claimed fifty percent; the Eleven Immortal Lords, forty percent; and all True Sovereigns share the remaining ten percent.”

“Those who possess it are blessed by destiny and subtly shielded by the Star Ring’s will.”

Xu Qing listened intently. He already knew that disciples of Immortal Lords were True Sovereigns—but his understanding of destiny had been shallow until now. As these words sank in, his mind churned with new insights.

Then, the aged voice boomed like thunder:

“Xu Qing!”

“This crystal was petitioned for you by Lord Zhanlu himself—it is forged from the destiny of the Fifth Star Ring. Imprint your spiritual will upon it, and the Star Ring shall bestow your name!”

The proclamation echoed like divine decree, shaking the heavens.

Immediately, golden threads wove themselves from empty space, swiftly intertwining before Xu Qing into a crystalline shard no larger than a fingernail.

It resembled the godcores of True Deities he had seen—but was clearly something else entirely.

Instinctively, Xu Qing focused his gaze upon it. The moment his eyes met the crystal, his mind reeled—he saw within it the spinning Fifth Star Ring, an infinite cosmos, vast starfields, and towering Heavens Beyond Heaven. His spirit trembled, and he began to imprint his consciousness—

—but suddenly, within the crystal’s depiction of the Fifth Star Ring, beside the eleven Heavens Beyond Heaven, the former Aurora Heaven Beyond Heaven flared brilliantly.

A single character—Qing (Azure)—coalesced within that heavenly realm.

Then, azure light erupted from within, surging across the universe.

A soft, surprised murmur issued from the silver eye:

“A Supreme Heaven-bestowed name… already preordained?”

Xu Qing’s vision blurred for a moment before clearing. When he looked again at the crystal, a single character now gleamed upon its surface:

Qing.

The instant he saw it, a deafening chorus of worship—from countless races across the cosmos—exploded in his ears, converging into a single, resounding title:

Supreme Azure True Sovereign!

The title fused seamlessly with his life fate.

And in that very moment, a connection—akin to shared origin—sprang up between Xu Qing and the Fifth Star Ring, binding them together with unbreakable intimacy.

He felt that no matter where he might be, so long as his heart stirred, he would hear the call of the Fifth Star Ring.

“This… is destiny,” Xu Qing whispered inwardly.

And in that same instant, empowered by the destiny of the Fifth Star Ring, his cultivation surged forward!

His body roared like thunder, drums shaking the heavens. Behind him, his colossal Immortal Embryo manifested, towering over the crimson star, stirring vortexes and storms alike. Celestial radiance blazed across the starry void.

His cultivation exploded upward like a tempest—

shattering the limits of Early-stage Quasi-Immortal and leaping straight into… Mid-stage Quasi-Immortal!

The instant he stepped into the mid-stage of the Quasi-Immortal Realm, Xu Qing distinctly felt an immortal, spiritual aura like a vast sea surging and churning within his body.

His long hair danced wildly, and the pressure emanating from his entire being surpassed what it had been before by far too much.

Vaguely, it seemed to carry a trace of immortal charm!

This immortal charm felt like the very foundation for controlling one's own destiny, causing silver light to suddenly flash and swirl within Xu Qing's eyes at this moment!

That was one of the hallmarks of an immortal!

At the same time, following Xu Qing's breakthrough in cultivation under the blessing of destiny, a figure clad in a Daoist robe emerged within the colossal silver eye that towered before him.

It was a middle-aged cultivator whose expression carried an innate authority without anger, dressed in a blue Daoist robe, his entire body radiating a dense immortal qi, while his eyes contained the rotation of universes and starry domains.

He was none other than the Commander of the Left Wing Frontline.

He took a step forward, standing right before Xu Qing, gazing at him with piercing eyes.

Xu Qing took a deep breath, suppressing the ripples in his heart, and was about to bow.

The Commander shook his head, and a gentle force rippled out, making it impossible for Xu Qing to continue his bow.

"You possess the Dao title of a True Monarch. If your cultivation were at the True Immortal level, even I would have to bow upon seeing you. Even though your cultivation has not yet reached that level, you still stand as an equal to me in status, so there is no need to bow."

"Furthermore, after you leave the battlefield in the future, you will be qualified to choose any Immortal Lord to be your master!"

Hearing this, Xu Qing knew that everything in the Fifth Star Ring operated under strict rules, so he desisted from bowing, yet his expression of gratitude remained sincere.

"Thank you for your promotion and guidance, Commander. I will keep this matter close to my heart!"

The Commander nodded slightly, his eyes holding a look of appreciation.

"You fought for this yourself; it is well-deserved."

"As for the final reward for capturing the Divine Daughter alive, it is an Immortal Lord Dao Artifact!"

Xu Qing's eyes shone brightly. The thing he had been waiting for all this time... was precisely this final reward!

The previous source substances and military merits, though useful to him, were not irreplaceable. Even the title of True Monarch was merely a leap in status.

What he truly cared about was his own combat strength!

And an Immortal Lord Dao Artifact would be a devastating weapon to elevate his combat prowess!

Discerning Xu Qing's obsession with Dao artifacts, the Commander smiled faintly. With a wave of his hand, countless silver lights instantly flew out from his sleeves, turning into threads that rushed straight toward the void above.

Xu Qing looked up, and in the next breath, his pupils contracted.

He saw that the void above, which was saturated with a sea of light, instantly began to roar as those silver threads merged into it. Bloody light appeared at multiple points.

One by one they expanded, like flowers bursting into bloom.

They became clusters of red flowers.

Eventually, they connected with one another, seemingly polluting the sea of light and forming a blood-colored firmament!

Within the celestial canopy, an internal pressure seemed to expand, causing spatial rifts to tear open. These rifts extended and intertwined with each other, actually converging into a massive, irregular gap!

Winding across the sky, it spanned a full million feet.

A bloody mist poured down along these gaps like a waterfall, resembling turbid waves.

And amidst these churning, turbid waves, a section of a bone saber, stark white and breathing out a ferocious malignancy, slowly descended.

Its shape was like a crescent moon hanging upside down, radiating a bloody light!

Upon it were countless runes and patterns, which seemed both natural and added later on, or perhaps both, inextricably bound to one another.

As it descended, the surrounding sea of light actually collapsed into a vortex.

What was even more bizarre was that those torn spatial rifts, dyed by the crimson saber aura, transformed into tens of thousands of writhing threads of karma.

They interlaced into various conflicting laws, and under the command of the saber aura, they seemed poised to become a fatal arc of light capable of severing samsara.

"This saber is a supreme treasure that Immortal Lord Zhanlu, after attaining the Dao in the past, forged from the fingernail of the last Divine Lord of the Fifth Star Ring whom he slew alongside several other Immortal Lords!"

"That Divine Lord possessed a divine throne of slaughter, hence this saber... possesses terrifying killing intent!"

The Commander spoke slowly.

As his voice echoed, the scimitar descending from the firmament to the space in front of Xu Qing seemed to sense it; the blade shuddered, releasing a resonant cry.

The moment this sound arose, the starlight swept backward.

Countless residual souls annihilated by this blade were summoned forth by the saber's cry, manifesting in the void as demons and ghosts.

Yet, they dared not utter the slightest wail, merely turning into a mottled bloody mist that swirled around the blade.

And wherever the tip of the blade gently grazed, space was not merely sliced open, but permanently erased as if devoured by a ferocious beast.

It was, indeed, an Immortal Lord Dao Artifact!

This scene caused Xu Qing's heart to shake violently.

Instinctively, he raised his hand and grabbed the scimitar before him in a single motion!

The moment he gripped it, he felt as though he heard a low growl from a deity that shook the starry skies. The sound pierced through all universes, dyeing the world before Xu Qing's eyes into the color of rust.

It exuded a terrifying aura that made Xu Qing's scalp tingle.

At the same time, the Commander's voice continued to drift through the air.

"All rewards have been given to you."

"And next, half a month from now, a major event will take place!"

"Divine Lord Li Zhu of the Fourth Star Ring and our Immortal Lord Zhanlu have reached an agreement to exchange hostages!"

"As for the person escorting the Divine Daughter to the trade, the Immortal Lord has personally decreed... that you, Xu Qing, shall continue to take charge!"

"The location is the frontline of the Left Wing War Zone. Our entire army will be present to guard the formation for this trade!"