Chapter 1269: Excited Er Niu!

Chapter 1269: Erniu’s Excitement!

Within the array formed of Star Ring Grass fragments, Xu Qing stood motionless.

At this moment, he possessed all the prerequisites for teleportation. The Star Ring Grass bestowed by the Immortal Sovereign rested firmly in his hand, and the aura of the little golden mouse swirled around his body.

With but a single thought, he could vanish from this place.

In this state, he lifted his gaze toward the blood-red sky-dome above.

He was waiting—for an answer.

Soon enough, a hoarse voice, tinged with the faintest trace of bewilderment, echoed throughout the small world.

“I do not know…”

“Many years ago, I perished once. When I returned, my memories held both the past of a deity and the shattered recollections of a cultivator.”

“These two strands of memory became entwined, leaving me often lost in confusion.”

“In that haze of uncertainty, a voice would occasionally echo within my mind—arising whenever those two memories clashed.”

“That voice told me it had left a mark within my memories, and that one day, it would use that mark to accomplish something.”

“Therefore, it instructed me not to obsess over what I truly am—but to simply walk the path before me, until I encountered a cultivator whose presence would resonate with that mark.”

“The moment you entered the outer secret realm, I sensed that resonance. I knew… the one I’d been waiting for had arrived.”

“As for your question—I cannot give you a precise answer. I may be a god… or perhaps merely a cultivator.”

“I have no proof to substantiate my words. Thus… whether you believe me or not is entirely up to you.”

“And I shall not conceal this from you: the method I taught you—to absorb Zhen Yi’s divine essence—will stir ripples beyond this secret realm, carrying the risk of being detected by outside forces.”

“But the method is genuine… and so is the absorption.”

Upon hearing this, Xu Qing lowered his eyes to the array beneath his feet. After several breaths, he spoke calmly.

“Give me the method.”

In the next instant, bolts of lightning crackled across the sky-dome, weaving together into a jade slip that descended before Xu Qing.

His spiritual sense swept over it—and immediately, a secret technique named the Profound Abyss Soul Refining Scripture flooded into his consciousness.

The moment he perceived its name, his eyes narrowed sharply—the first two characters stirred something deep within him.

“This method existed within my fragmented memories as a cultivator,” the voice of the Earth True God reverberated through heaven and earth. “Only those bearing the aura of immortality may wield it.”

Xu Qing suddenly asked, “In those fragmented memories of yours… did you ever learn his name?”

“…”

The Earth True God fell silent. After a long pause, it whispered softly,

“No.”

Xu Qing said nothing more. Within his mind, the Profound Abyss Soul Refining Scripture coalesced into countless intricate rune-seals. As his spiritual sense scanned them one by one, silver light flickered in his eyes.

In the next heartbeat, thunder roared behind him—the void trembled—and a colossal Immortal Embryo, vast enough to prop up the heavens, manifested between sky and earth.

All the runes derived from the Profound Abyss Soul Refining Scripture shimmered silver, flowing across the Immortal Embryo’s titanic form until they converged upon its right hand.

That hand reached upward—toward the sky of this small world—and grasped!

Instantly, the firmament shattered. A massive hole tore open as the hand thrust outward.

Meanwhile, in the outer secret realm—where heaven and earth waged furious battle—

Mountains erupted violently, withered trees shot skyward like spears, torrents of crimson rain poured from the heavens, and the enormous black flesh orb quaked intensely.

And at that very moment, every lingzhi mushroom parasol across the realm blazed with silvery radiance.

This light swiftly engulfed the entire secret realm, painting the surroundings silver—and coalescing into a gargantuan silver hand.

It was none other than Xu Qing’s Immortal Embryo hand!

Reaching across space, it seized the black orb hanging in the sky!

Immediately, all the silver runes surged forth from the palm, forming a torrential river of silver that raced toward the black orb. Seizing the critical moment when it battled fiercely against the Earth True God, the silver flood completely enveloped the orb—

And began absorbing it—frenziedly!

In the blink of an eye, terrifying amounts of primordial essence—like raging ocean waves—were sucked into those silver runes and funneled back into the Immortal Embryo. Simultaneously, Xu Qing’s own body rapidly refined the stolen essence, transforming it into immortal qi that nourished his Immortal Embryo!

His cultivation surged forward, climbing steadily toward late-stage quasi-immortal…

High above, the black orb shuddered violently to its utmost limit. Waves of True God-level pressure exploded outward, accompanied by deafening divine cries.

“How dare you!”

The roar shattered the surrounding space, fracturing the secret realm’s heavens and earth with countless fine cracks. At the same time, the orb tore open a fissure in its surface—revealing a golden eye!

It bore no emotion. Thus, while any ordinary cultivator or post-natal deity would have been consumed by towering fury, it remained cold and indifferent.

Yet lack of emotion did not mean it lacked judgment. It understood clearly: during its process of devouring the Earth True God, Xu Qing’s absorption amounted to stealing its very foundation—its future—and even its life itself.

Under normal circumstances, it knew full well that a mere quasi-immortal cultivator should be utterly incapable of such theft.

The root cause of this anomaly lay not only in the uniqueness of the plundering method Xu Qing employed—but far more crucially, in the fact that…

Its greatest rival—the Earth True God—was struggling, resisting, unleashing everything it had left in this final opportunity.

Indeed, the moment Xu Qing began absorbing, every mountain in the land transformed into spine-like blades that pierced the sky with thunderous force, striking the celestial dome.

Even the withered trees burned themselves willingly, empowering Xu Qing’s silver hand with golden radiance to stabilize its divine might and ensure its smooth operation.

Faced with this crisis, the flesh orb in the sky abruptly trembled—its outer layers of flesh instantly shattered and ignited, sacrificing themselves to unleash terrifying power in a sudden explosion.

With this surge, it forcibly dispelled Xu Qing’s absorption!

Though the Earth True God obstructed most of the backlash, the residual force remained horrifying. The instant it struck Xu Qing’s Immortal Embryo hand, the limb exploded into pieces—

Shattering completely.

Countless droplets of True God-grade primordial essence scattered through the air.

Inside the small world, Xu Qing’s vast Immortal Embryo form was likewise affected—it collapsed with a thunderous boom.

Within the array, Xu Qing spat out blood—silver-hued blood, saturated with the True God essence he’d just absorbed but hadn’t yet refined.

His surging cultivation was violently interrupted—and even suffered backlash.

But Xu Qing was ruthless. His eyes flashed with icy resolve. Before the blood could fall, it swiftly vaporized into mist, which he inhaled back into his body in one breath.

Then, veins bulged across his frame as Immortal Embryo energy roared anew—he reassembled his form, raised his arm again, and—with a snarl—thrust his hand outward once more!

Outside, the silver hand reappeared instantly. Another deluge of silver runes cascaded over the black orb, resuming the absorption—

But this time, it was utterly different.

Both speed and intensity had increased immeasurably.

Because this time… Xu Qing chose not to refine the stolen essence at all!

Normally, this process involves simultaneously drawing in and refining the essence, transforming it into immortal spiritual qi to nourish oneself—a complete cycle.

But after what had just transpired, Xu Qing knew clearly that his refinement speed lagged far behind his absorption rate.

This bottleneck slowed down his entire intake of primordial essence.

Yet now, a cold glint flashed in Xu Qing’s eyes—he abandoned refinement altogether, treating himself merely as a vessel, absorbing purely and greedily.

This approach carried several drawbacks.

First, his capacity was limited.

After all, the source was at the peak of True Divinity—if likened to an ocean, Xu Qing was but a lake in comparison.

Second, much would be wasted, and the absorbed essence would be impure.

But Xu Qing no longer cared. When presented with such a rare feast, he intended to devour as much as possible—and if fortune allowed, even take some away!

Thus, steeling his resolve, he exerted every ounce of strength and sucked in with all his might!

In an instant, his body reached saturation—but the absorption continued unabated.

Whatever could be contained, he held; whatever could not, spilled outward!

High above in the heavens, a patch on the black fleshy orb subtly withered. Though small compared to its vast form, this depletion mattered greatly—for the orb was locked in fierce combat with the Earth True God, its ability to counter severely constrained.

Moreover, this flaw acted like a crack in armor, empowering the Earth True God’s retaliation.

After all, neither side held overwhelming advantage over the other.

What tilted the balance further against the black orb was the spillage from Xu Qing’s overflow—

like puncturing a balloon!

All this coalesced into a dire crisis for the entity.

At this critical juncture, the black orb trembled violently, igniting another portion of itself. A rending sound tore through the void, shaking space itself.

It sought to rip open the secret realm’s fabric, dispersing the ambient essence outward.

This served both as creating an exit and alerting the outside world to what transpired here!

It was a desperate measure—the orb loathed inviting greater uncertainty, yet the relentless suction left no alternative.

Only through chaos could crisis be averted.

But… just as the orb prepared to tear open the realm—

Suddenly, the silver runes encircling it shattered spontaneously. Along with them vanished the silver giant hand and Xu Qing’s vast nascent immortal embryo within the minor world.

Xu Qing had deliberately and decisively severed the absorption!

Without hesitation, he activated a teleportation array—and vanished in an instant!

He had agreed to the Earth True God’s bargain, yet true to his nature, he never fully trusted the other’s words.

From the very beginning, he’d never intended to offer complete aid.

His sole purpose was this:

to restore the balance that had once been disrupted here!

Thus, neither party would harbor thoughts of pursuing him!

“Gone?”

High in the firmament, the black orb immediately halted its tearing. As its consciousness shifted, the Earth True God surged forth anew, and the celestial battle raged on without cease.

Meanwhile, at the precise moment heaven and earth roared within the secret realm, the star-ring grass array at Xu Qing’s departure point inside the Earth True God’s minor world began rapidly dissipating.

Yet just as the array neared total dissolution…

A blue worm, no bigger than a finger and bearing a human face, suddenly wriggled out amid a flash of teleportation light.

The instant it emerged, the last remnants of the star-ring grass array vanished completely, leaving no trace behind.

Only the blue worm remained, staring blankly around itself.

“The hell is this place?”

The worm looked utterly bewildered—its human face…

Had Xu Qing been present, he would have been utterly shocked—and overjoyed.

For this was none other than Er Niu!

Er Niu stood dazed for a moment, then his nose twitched. He abruptly turned toward the distance, eyes blazing with intense radiance, and instinctively cried out:

“That’s the flesh-and-blood aura of a Nascent God Peak cultivator!!”

“Holy crap—what kind of place is this…?”

Excitement surged through him. In a blur, he vanished from sight, darting swiftly through the minor world. Before long… he arrived at the battlefield where Xu Qing had clashed with the deities.

Surveying the ground littered with divine corpses—especially sensing multiple Nascent God remains, even including one at the Nascent God Peak—

Er Niu trembled with exhilaration, so overwhelmed he nearly wept tears of joy.

“Could my luck finally have turned?!”

“The moment I appear, there’s a feast like this! Back in Huangtian, that cursed place, I got hunted just for stealing a single Nascent God relic—and here… they’re everywhere, and nobody even wants them!”

“I’m rich!”

Ecstatic, Er Niu lunged forward—though a sliver of wariness still lingered in his heart.

“These gods died only moments ago. Who killed them? And with such brutal efficiency!”

Taking a few days off.

Just landed for Yuewen’s annual conference—requesting leave…