Chapter 1254: Nightmares Come Before Wind and Rain

Chapter 1254: Nightmares Arrive Before the Storm

The Godslayer Sovereign and the Immortal Lord Zhanlu had reached an agreement to exchange hostages—

This development lay entirely outside Xu Qing’s expectations.

Even less expected was the Immortal Lord’s specific designation of him to carry out the escort mission.

Thus, as the General’s voice echoed around him, Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed in deep contemplation.

According to his prior assessment, the Divine Maiden held value solely because she carried royal blood within her veins—the very essence of her father, the Godslayer Sovereign’s divine core.

Capturing her offered the Immortal Lord a rare opportunity to probe deeply into the Sovereign’s divine nature, thereby gaining crucial strategic advantage in the coming war.

Yet now—an exchange?

Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed further.

Above the Crimson Giant Star, waves surged across the Sea of Light, enveloping all directions while isolating the Flame Tower where Xu Qing stood into a solitary pocket of space.

Within this secluded realm, the tower itself seemed formless; the heavens burned crimson, their radiance converging upon the curved blade in Xu Qing’s hand.

Gripping the blade, listening to the General’s words ahead, Xu Qing pondered silently before lifting his gaze and speaking in a low, measured tone.

“General, do you know why Lord Zhanlu would agree to such a hostage exchange with that Sovereign?”

Upon hearing this, the General turned his eyes toward the starry void. After a long pause, his voice emerged, weathered by time.

“Because the Godslayer Sovereign presented several conditions—one of which our Fifth Star Ring cultivators simply cannot refuse!”

Xu Qing focused intently. He was deeply curious: what condition could possibly be so irresistible that even the Immortal Lord himself consented to trade away the Divine Maiden?

“First,” the General continued, “the Godslayer Sovereign offered five lower-tier immortals captured by the Fourth Star Ring—still alive, though barely—who would serve as the initial bargaining chip.”

“Among them is Lord Zhanlu’s youngest disciple. For ten thousand years, he stood guard at the frontier alongside his master, earning glorious military merits on the battlefield. He specialized in assassination missions. Years ago, he fell into a divine trap laid by the gods, was captured, and all subsequent rescue attempts failed. Ever since, he has endured relentless torment.”

“The other four, though not of equal status, have also rendered countless services to the Fifth Star Ring. Each was destined to suffer a torturous death—but now, they may yet return alive.”

“These constitute the first condition proposed by the Godslayer Sovereign.”

“As for the second…” The General’s eyes gleamed strangely as he looked directly at Xu Qing. “It is precisely what I mentioned earlier—the one condition no cultivator of the Fifth Star Ring can reject, not even the Immortal Lord himself.”

“It is… a Flying Continent!”

Seeing Xu Qing’s puzzled expression, the General added, “You ascended from Xian Du, so while you possess some historical knowledge, it is likely incomplete.”

“Countless eons ago, the war between cultivators and native deities within the Fifth Star Ring reached unimaginable ferocity. Their mutual slaughter reshaped heaven and earth. In the final clash between the Immortal Venerable and the Divine Venerable, the very fabric of the Fifth Star Ring began to fracture.”

“Multiple regions of starry space tore apart, forming numerous Flying Continents that drifted away from the main ring.”

“Ever since, every Immortal Lord has shared a sacred duty: to recover all these lost fragments and restore the Fifth Star Ring to wholeness.”

“For only when complete can the Fifth Star Ring attain its peak—its laws, principles, and fortune fully harmonized.”

“Over the centuries, most of these Flying Continents have been reclaimed—except one: the largest fragment, whose whereabouts remained unknown. Because of this missing piece, the Fifth Star Ring has never truly been whole.”

“And now, the Godslayer Sovereign offers precisely that final, missing fragment as his second condition!”

“Once we reclaim it, the Fifth Star Ring will be restored. All its cosmic laws and principles will be perfected, its fortune magnified—a blessing for all living beings.”

“Tell me,” the General said, fixing Xu Qing with a piercing look, “who among us could possibly refuse such terms?”

Xu Qing was visibly shaken. A wild, almost unbelievable thought surfaced in his mind—and he voiced it aloud.

“Could it be… that Lord Zhanlu already knew the missing Flying Continent was in the Godslayer Sovereign’s possession—and that is why he orchestrated the capture of the Divine Maiden in the first place?”

The General’s gaze grew profound, but he gave no answer. Instead, with a flick of his wrist, he produced a silvery jade tablet.

The moment it appeared, thousands of auspicious rays burst forth, shimmering with brilliant light and exuding an intensely concentrated aura of immortal energy.

Faintly visible within the jade was a mysterious, ethereal bubble.

At the sight of it, Xu Qing’s spirit trembled violently—his Xian Constitution resonated powerfully, as did his nascent Immortal Embryo.

It was as if that bubble contained the supreme will of the entire Fifth Star Ring itself—echoing in harmony with the fortune he had already absorbed.

“What is this?” Xu Qing whispered.

“This,” the General declared solemnly, “is the Fifth Immortal Pellet!”

“Bound intrinsically to the realm’s fortune, it may only be used by those who hold the rank of True Lord. To any ordinary cultivator, swallowing it would mean certain, agonizing death.”

“Its purpose? To aid a True Lord in breaking through to the rank of Lower Immortal—greatly increasing the chances of success.”

“This pellet is your reward from the Immortal Lord—for undertaking the mission to escort the Divine Maiden in this exchange.”

Xu Qing stared at the jade before him, his breath quickening slightly. He could feel the resonance of fortune within his body, the trembling of his Immortal Embryo, the stirring of his Xian Constitution.

All of it coalesced into one clear realization:

This pill would be of immense benefit to him.

The General’s voice resumed, now tinged with quiet emotion.

“Xu Qing… Lord Zhanlu holds you in high regard.”

“There will be legions arrayed in formation during the exchange, and the Immortal Lord himself will be watching closely—so the danger is minimal. Indeed, anyone could carry out such a task.”

“But whoever completes it will first earn the gratitude of those five rescued immortals—a debt of enormous favor—and second, gain widespread renown throughout the entire army.”

“After this mission, your record and qualifications will be more than sufficient… You should be ready to command your own army.”

As he spoke, the General raised his hand. Instantly, the jade tablet—bearing its enigmatic bubble—drifted gently toward Xu Qing, halting just before him.

Xu Qing remained silent, gazing at the object before him. After a long while, he drew a deep breath and spoke in a low, resolute voice.

“I obey the Immortal Lord’s decree.”

The General nodded, said nothing more, and turned to take a single step—vanishing into a colossal silver eye.

With a flash of light from the great eye, the surrounding Sea of Light dissipated instantly, and everything returned to normal.

He was once again inside the Flame Tower—as if none of this had ever occurred.

The silver eye was gone.

Only the rewards—the silvery jade tablet—remained floating before Xu Qing, radiating luminous source-energy and dense immortal qi.

Xu Qing stood motionless for a long time, weighing the advantages and risks of this mission in his mind.

“This matter… never appeared in Pain God’s Illusory Truth…”

“And though this exchange seems reasonable on the surface—”

Xu Qing fell into silent contemplation.

He instinctively felt that this matter was not so simple.

Whether it was the Immortal Lord perhaps laying out a plan ahead of time, and whether his actions were truly for the sake of exchanging for Fei Yu, or even every preceding step taken—

It all seemed to have proceeded far too smoothly.

"So smoothly that—it is almost as if that Divine Lord Li Zhu is actively cooperating."

Thinking up to this point, Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed tightly.

"As a Divine Lord, a single instance of being passive could still be explained, but if it happens every single time, then it is bound to be extraordinary!"

Xu Qing knitted his brows, yet he believed that at the Immortal Lord's level of cultivation, what he saw and knew was absolutely beyond his own imagination; furthermore, recalling the trajectory of the war, an Immortal Lord capable of such a deployment was highly likely to already possess a definitive strategy.

"In that case, what would be the ultimate objective of this layout that likely exists between both sides?"

Xu Qing pondered for a long time, yet he still could not come up with an answer.

Thus, he glanced at the rewards before him, suppressed his thoughts, spread his divine sense, and transmitted his voice outward to Xing Huanzi and the others.

Very soon, within the other eleven fire towers, the various Dao Seeds who were sitting cross-legged in cultivation opened their eyes one by one, their gazes filled mostly with anticipation as they stood up and rushed toward the fire tower where Xu Qing was located.

The moment they entered, everyone’s eyes fell entirely upon those rewards.

Even Xing Huanzi and Zhou Zhengli, who were well-versed and wide-traveled, experienced a momentary daze in their eyes at this very instant.

"These are the source substances and military merits sent over by the General-Lord."

Xu Qing spoke slowly.

As for the method of distribution, they had already reached a consensus previously; as the primary combat force responsible for tracking the trail and capturing the Divine Daughter alive, Xu Qing would receive forty percent of the overall rewards.

And because Xing Huanzi had participated in the live capture, he would receive fifteen percent of the overall rewards.

The remaining forty-five percent would be split equally among the other ten individuals!

Whether it was source substances or military merits, all were allocated according to this distribution method.

Consequently, before long, these source substances and military merits were divided among the crowd, and as each took their share, their hearts burned with fervor.

Regarding Xu Qing taking the lion's share, no one harbored any objections; after all, this was exactly how they had walked the path along this journey.

The distribution had always been this way, and Xu Qing’s combat prowess fully merited taking these away.

In his own heart, Xu Qing also felt this distribution was reasonable, for without the assistance of the others, facing the Divine Daughter and that old god, it would have been impossible to complete the slaying and live capture with his strength alone.

Following the distribution, Xu Qing also informed everyone about the Immortal Lord's decision to proceed with the exchange as relayed by the General-Lord, while also voicing his own doubts and conjectures.

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the crowd varied as they fell into deep thought.

This was a habit of their squad—whenever they encountered a problem, they would gather the wisdom of the collective, thinking and summarizing from different perspectives.

"What Xu Qing says makes a lot of sense; the risk of this exchange should be considerable. As for the background of the exchange, what I can think of is that the Immortal Lord does not wish to expand the theater of war!"

"After all, if the war expands, or if a severe tilt occurs, then one side might be joined by multiple entities at the level of the Lord; if that happens, our side will have to do the same, and in the end, perhaps even the Immortal Venerable might descend—"

"That would be the true decisive battle!"

"This is a game of chess between the Divine Lord and the Immortal Lord, and their match places greater weight on the overall momentum—"

"However, this matter is somewhat bizarre. What exactly is the ultimate objective of Immortal Lord Zhan Lu?"

"Who cares what it is, just do it; we two brothers are invincible!"

The crowd spoke up one after another.

Listening to everyone's words and combining them with his own judgment, Xu Qing’s emotions stirred, and he subsequently looked toward Zhou Zhengli.

Regarding Zhou Zhengli’s wisdom, Xu Qing had already gained a clear understanding over the course of their journey.

Zhou Zhengli was currently frowning, also looking toward Xu Qing; after a brief hesitation, he rubbed the space between his brows and spoke softly.

"Young Master, and fellow Daoists, do you think there is a possibility—that this exchange itself is actually also a part of the lantern light?"

Hearing these words, a strange light flickered in Xu Qing's eyes as his voice slowly drifted out.

"If that is truly the case, using the left flank war zone as a lantern light is not enough; this exchange that draws upon both sides must become an even brighter lantern light, then—the hidden hand to be concealed is highly likely not on the battlefield at all."

"But rather within the Fourth Star Ring!"

Xu Qing’s voice was like a tempest, instantly churning within everyone's hearts.

Time flowed on, and the day of the exchange mentioned by the General-Lord drew closer day by day.

During this period, Xu Qing and the others had reached a consensus, their hearts filled with wariness regarding the upcoming exchange.

On Xu Qing's end, he had also made his preparations, constantly familiarizing himself with the Immortal Lord’s Dao artifact over these few days, while utilizing the source substance of this crimson giant star to stabilize his newly promoted Mid Quasimmortal realm.

Allowing himself to remain at his peak.

At the same time, regarding the outside world, he also sensed a different kind of atmosphere.

Because outside this crimson giant star, almost every single day, legions would cross the starry sky to arrive, stationing themselves all around this star.

Their numbers grew larger and larger.

The solemn atmosphere also grew increasingly dense.

In fact, it was not just this place that was like this; at the absolute front line of the left flank war zone, which was invisible to Xu Qing and the others, it was even more so there.

Whether it was the side of the gods or the side of the cultivators, both were rapidly mobilizing toward each other; the gathered combat strength could be described as gargantuan.

Thus, black and white continued to interweave within this left flank war zone.

It was precisely the impending arrival of wind and rain!

Until, when only a single hour remained before the time of the exchange, the desolate sound of a horn blew across this crimson giant star.

That sound pierced through the starry sky, echoing in the ears of countless cultivators.

Xu Qing opened his eyes from his cross-legged position!

Before him, solar flares flashed within the sea of light, and a bound, familiar figure flashed out from the sea of light, delivered directly in front of Xu Qing.

It was precisely the Divine Daughter!

She had evidently fared reasonably well during the time she was away from Xu Qing; her own source substance had naturally regenerated quite a bit, and her skin had regained its luster.

After all, given the stature of an Immortal Lord, even if an investigation was conducted, they would not intentionally inflict torture.

Therefore—the fragrance was also even stronger.

Thus, Xu Qing’s gaze burned brightly, and he instinctively licked his lips.

As for the Divine Daughter, looking at Xu Qing, her legs tightened, her entire body shuddered uncontrollably, and her mind fluctuated violently.

As if beholding a nightmare.