Chapter 1283: This Is... the First Gift!

Chapter 1283: This Is... the First Gift!

Above the primal homeworld, rune-etched chains shimmered with ashen light.

It was a radiance that extinguished all existence—gods and cultivators alike, divine authority and mortal law, cosmic rules and fundamental principles.

Before it, everything stood on an inferior plane.

This light, seemingly drawn from the umbilical cord of divinity itself, could shatter the very logic binding the Thirty-Six Ascendant Star Rings.

Thus, to resist it with mere ascendant power demanded overwhelming quantity—to grind it down through sheer mass.

Only a force truly equal in nature could meet it on equal terms and cancel it out.

This explained why even the Young Lord of Aurora, having gathered the fortune of the Fifth Star Ring into a blade, could not sever the chain—only momentarily halt its descent.

Yet the Young Lord of Aurora proved worthy of his title as a peerless prodigy. The instant he saw the rune-chain fall, he had already discerned the true method of resistance.

That true countermeasure... lay within his own divine core!

It was a godhead imbued with the Mandate of Fate from Shanghuang—a relic once stolen by the Sovereign God himself.

And because Shanghuang existed in a state halfway to godhood, this divine core actually held power equal to, or even surpassing, that of the rune-chain.

Hence, using such a core to bear the chain’s force was undoubtedly the optimal choice.

But the Young Lord of Aurora sought more than merely resisting through his divine core.

He aimed, through the resonant clash between core and chain, to sever the threads binding him—both to the core and to himself!

Those were the karmic threads linking him to Shanghuang!

Now, with eyes swirling with the combined might of godhood and immortality, he leapt into the air, unleashing power never before witnessed.

The Fourth and Fifth Star Rings, drawn into his body as a vessel and then expelled with devastating force, erupted into a longblade woven from intertwining gold and silver.

Again, he struck at the divine rune-chain!

At the moment of contact, heaven and earth trembled; the starry void roared. Both the primal homeworld and the surrounding void surged with violent ripples, as if a cataclysmic storm swept across all creation.

Once more, the divine path of the Fourth Star Ring wailed in sorrow.

Simultaneously, the fortune of the Fifth Star Ring churned violently.

And once again, the rune-chain’s descent halted—but though partially neutralized by the divine path and fortune, much of its ashen light still flowed along the blade,

rushing instantly into the Young Lord of Aurora’s body, unleashing utter annihilation within him, tearing through his being like a tidal wave of ruin.

His entire frame shook; blood streamed from his seven orifices—but his eyes burned with ruthless resolve.

In the next heartbeat, his divine core blazed forth with golden radiance, colliding directly with the invading ashen light.

Both forces shuddered upon impact.

And in that trembling, the karmic threads tethering the core to the Young Lord quivered—several strands seeming on the verge of snapping.

At this critical juncture, the Young Lord of Aurora hesitated not a moment—he struck again!

Heaven and earth rocked; blade-light exploded with each swing of his arm.

Third strike! Fourth! Fifth!

Each blow shook the chain, rattled his divine core, and stretched the karmic threads to their absolute limit.

By the ninth strike, madness flared in his heart. His left hand burst open with golden brilliance; his right hand blazed with ultimate silver radiance.

Then, both hands moved as one—he seized the rune-chain before him, face twisted into a snarl, and let out a guttural roar that echoed simultaneously through the Fourth and Fifth Star Rings.

Within him, his divine core thundered in response, igniting a flame that surged from his palms into the rune-chain!

Instantly, the chain ignited, the fire racing along its length.

Yet it did not melt immediately—instead, it glowed with ashen light, locked in furious mutual erosion with the flame.

And amid this grinding conflict, every karmic thread between the Young Lord and his divine core showed signs of imminent collapse.

Then, in the next instant, the divine core and the runes reached a critical threshold—

Both erupted in violent resonance!

The core thundered, rapidly shrinking until only a sliver remained—the size of a fingernail.

Yet the terror radiating from it now surpassed its former glory.

As if, through its battle with the rune-chain, the core had been purified—

its impurities cast out, leaving only the purest essence of Shanghuang’s half-divine might: a supreme godhead!

At that same moment, the karmic threads binding the core to the Young Lord began irreversible rupture—most snapping in an instant!

On the severed ends flashed visions of the Young Lord’s ascension to Sovereign God—

visions now fading away along with his divinity.

Outside, the rune-chain too had finally been worn down beyond endurance by the flame—and now...

it blazed furiously!

Visibly burning to ash before all eyes!

And each drifting speck of ash rang out with a sound like shattered bianqing chimes, echoing through heaven and earth.

Amid this, a sound like rushing rivers rose around the Young Lord—

the flow of newborn immortal essence.

Terrifying immortal power, befitting a Sovereign Immortal, raced along the Fifth Star Ring’s stellar diagram etched onto his Dao Bones, blazing silver wherever it passed.

This power began reshaping his form—slowly stripping away his divine visage, restoring his mortal cultivation physique.

Humanity surged forth; divinity receded at breakneck speed.

Even his hair shifted from gold to white, gradually glowing like the Milky Way itself.

The aura of immortality soared to its zenith.

Thus, the heavens roared, the divine path wailed, and the fortune of the Fifth Star Ring surged magnificently.

And then, the newly ascended Sovereign Immortal of Aurora did something no one expected—he raised his right hand, still flowing with the fortune of the Fifth Star Ring, and pointed toward Xu Qing, who watched from afar...

Suddenly, decisively!

“Xu Qing! You first sustained the Aurora Immortal Palace—and even Tianwaitian itself—through your succession, thus deserving the nurturing fortune of this epoch’s founding. Later, as True Lord, you gained the right to wield fortune’s blessing!”

“You further aided the Fifth Star Ring and me in achieving this pinnacle!”

“Today, I bestow upon you two gifts.”

“This... is the first!”

“And it is also I, Mi Ming, newly ascended Sovereign Immortal, assuming stewardship of the Fifth Star Ring, proclaiming my first celestial decree!”

“Fortune of the Fifth Star Ring—go!”

As Mi Ming spoke, his decree—supreme and absolute—caused the gathered fortune of the Fifth Star Ring to erupt, splitting off a portion that transformed into a dragon of fortune, surging straight toward Xu Qing.

The instant loomed nigh, and amidst the quickening of Xu Qing’s heartbeat, this great dragon of fortune unleashed a roar that resonated throughout the Fifth Star Ring, plunging directly... into Xu Qing’s body!

Xu Qing’s cultivation, at this very moment, erupted with a thunderous crash!

The nourishment of fortune contained the purest primordial essence, and furthermore, it held the collective will of all living beings, acting as though a decree bestowed by rules, a confirmation granted by laws, accompanied by the edict of Mi Ming’s identity.

It rendered everything legitimate and rightfully earned!

Thus, it transformed into this unparalleled, supreme serendipity!

Consequently, within a single instant, a heaven-shaking roar echoed inside Xu Qing’s body, and under this nourishment of fortune, his cultivation directly broke through the mid Quasi-Immortal realm, becoming... late Quasi-Immortal!

An astonishing aura erupted from his person, sweeping across the surroundings, while his cultivation... under the continuous influx of this rainbow torrent of fortune, kept ascending!

For in Xu Qing’s case, ever since he comprehended the Ninth Extremity—the constitutional law of parallel universes and overlapping epochs—he already possessed the prerequisites for the peak Quasi-Immortal stage.

All that he lacked was primordial essence!

This was precisely the reason he had been constantly searching for primordial essence before.

However, the amount of primordial essence required for advancement during the Quasi-Immortal stage was simply too immense, and his own absorption rate posed an obstacle as well, which was why his progression had been somewhat slow.

Yet now, under the auspices of such a grand fortune, it was equivalent to replenishing everything he had previously lacked all at once, and with the blessing of destiny, his absorption was no longer constrained.

Thus, in the very next breath, the aura upon Xu Qing’s body roared once more, abruptly stepping from late Quasi-Immortal directly into the great perfection of the Quasi-Immortal realm.

Which was to say... the peak of the Quasi-Immortal stage!

It was even overflowing!

Continuously raising the upper limit of this realm, it reached an ultimate extreme that no one had ever attained before!

A terrifying pressure rose from Xu Qing with earth-shattering force, transforming into a power like crashing waves and toppling mountains, emanating an intent that could obliterate all eight directions.

This sort of grandeur surpassed all peak Quasi-Immortals throughout antiquity and the present age!

Even some Summer Immortals were somewhat inferior to him in terms of mere aura!

This was Xu Qing’s... breakthrough after a long period of accumulation!

Furthermore, a brilliant silver hue began to form!

This color, which inherently belonged to Summer Immortals, flowed across his entire body in an instant, finally gathering within his eyes to congeal into a pair of silver pupils!

At this moment, he possessed silver eyes and black hair...

His cultivation was not that of an Immortal, yet it already surpassed the Immortals!

The only thing lacking was the Tenth Extremity!

Which was the constitutionalization of law!

Once Xu Qing gained enlightenment regarding it, his cultivation could instantly break through, truly stepping into the ranks of the Summer Immortals in terms of realm!

That was also the day he had previously set for himself to return to Wanggu!

Faced with such a creation of destiny, intense waves of emotion surged within Xu Qing’s heart.

He took a deep breath, sensing the terrifying fluctuations inside his body, and having recognized his future path, he raised his head to look at the Aurora Young Master in midair.

He clasped his hands and bowed deeply!

In midair, seeing Xu Qing successfully break through, the Aurora Young Master felt highly pleased and laughed heartily.

He no longer held anything back; inside his body, the final thread of karma connected to the divine divinity... snapped directly at this instant!

It was no longer connected to him in any way.

And the aura of an Immortal Sovereign upon his person erupted completely without reservation at this moment, climbing to the absolute pinnacle, causing the Fourth Star Ring to tremble and the Fifth Star Ring to cheer and resonate!

His form also completely reverted to his original human appearance!

He had truly returned to being himself!

He had completed the entire process of transitioning from an Immortal to a god, becoming a Divine Sovereign, and then changing from the divine path back to the Immortal way.

He became the Fifth Star Ring’s... Immortal Sovereign!

The Immortal Sovereign Mi Ming!

At the same time, though his relationship with the Fourth Star Ring appeared to be severed, in reality, it still existed.

The name of the Sun and Moon left within the River of True Names would endure through eternity.

This caused the Immortal Sovereign Mi Ming to be like an unprecedented nail, deeply driven into the rules of the Fourth Star Ring!

Unshakeable.

It was as though he had eternally left behind his own constitutional law.

Indelible.

He would be the first existence within the Fifth Star Ring who not only possessed the blessing of the Fifth Star Ring’s fortune but could also shake the divine logic of the Fourth Star Ring!

Achieving the status of... the strongest Immortal Sovereign within the two great star rings!

To say he was a half-step Immortal Revered would not be an exaggeration!