Chapter 1295: Li Zhu Revives

Chapter 1295: Li Zhu Awakens

The scene unfolding on Wanggu Continent in the Ninth Star Ring instantly sent a jolt of dread through the ancient Divine Sovereign resting within the sarcophagus atop the Rift Altar in the Fourth Star Ring.

At His exalted station, a single thought sufficed to unravel cause and effect.

“Shang Huang is drawn to these two!”

Within the coffin, the old Sovereign’s expression grew graver than ever before. A primal instinct from deep within His divine soul surged forth—a visceral premonition of life and death—swelling into a cataclysmic tide ready to shatter heaven and earth.

It was overwhelming, absolute.

In that moment of crisis, the Sovereign did not hesitate for even an instant. In a flash, He concealed every trace of His presence.

Even His divine consciousness vanished utterly—erased from time, space, causality, and every conceivable dimension where He might leave a mark.

As if He had never existed at all!

Yet even this was not enough to ease His unease. Simultaneously with His self-erasure, He issued a residual decree toward Li Zhu, the Divine Lord who was in the midst of returning:

“Expel these two immediately!”

This divine edict carried unfathomable power. The very instant it rang out, Li Zhu—who was still mid-return—felt His reintegration violently disturbed.

It was as though an invisible hand had bestowed upon Him higher authority and sacred rank, forcibly completing what would have otherwise required far more time.

Moreover, the divine sound itself served as an anchor. Though Li Zhu had lost His physical body—the usual marker for return—He now needed no fleshly vessel; through this resonant decree alone, He could manifest anew!

Thus, in the next heartbeat, the void where Li Zhu’s corpse once lay exploded with thunderous force!

From nothingness emerged a skeleton woven from divine will as bone and sacred resonance as flesh—an obsidian-golden frame materializing directly out of emptiness.

Suspended midair, beneath a rotting ceremonial headdress, two crimson points flared to life in its eye sockets.

Terror incarnate descended upon the rift.

Every speck of dust within the chasm trembled.

Beyond the rift, the fate-thread of the Fourth Star Ring flowed invisibly inward, resonating with the newly formed entity.

But—it possessed no mind!

Despite reaching such heights of cultivation, before the Sovereign’s intervention, it remained but a puppet, bound by residual will, compelled to obey the decree.

Now fully manifested, those crimson eyes snapped toward Xu Qing.

Within its chest cavity, an inexplicable rhythm stirred, pulsing in time with its gaze.

The void roared!

Caught off guard by this sudden turn, Xu Qing’s spirit clenched tight. His internal organs quaked under the skeletal figure’s resonant pressure, blood rising hot in his throat.

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Beside him, Er Niu’s body detonated with a thunderclap—shattering instantly into countless blue worms, which then fragmented again and again without end. Amid each collapse, terror gleamed in their tiny eyes.

Though this account seems long, all of it transpired in the blink of an eye.

Disaster struck with terrifying speed!

At the critical moment, Xu Qing unleashed his full cultivation without reservation. His Immortal Embryo flared, his Heavenly Constitution spread wide, and even his True Name shimmered into manifestation.

Yet still, his body convulsed violently, spewing blood as his very flesh threatened to invert upon itself.

The might of a Divine Lord was simply too overwhelming.

But silver light blazed in Xu Qing’s eyes. With a sweep of his hand, his Dao Artifact ignited—a curved, claw-like nail hurtling straight toward the skeleton.

And the moment that artifact launched, Xu Qing roared inwardly without hesitation:

“Detonate!”

At his command, the nail erupted with blinding radiance, flooding the entire rift with incandescent brilliance—then, within it…

A world-shattering wave of annihilation detonated!

He had sacrificed his Dao Artifact in exchange for a momentary barrier!

In that sliver of time, the artifact’s self-destruction warped reality within the rift, unleashing a devastating shockwave that swept outward like collapsing mountains and surging seas.

Xu Qing trembled anew, coughing up more blood—but seized the opening. Reaching out, he pressed his palm against the disintegrating Er Niu.

His Immortal Embryo energy surged forth, briefly stabilizing Er Niu’s form and restoring his human shape.

Then, gripping Er Niu’s arm, Xu Qing channeled his cultivation recklessly, trading everything for ultimate speed—and shot backward like a comet.

His retreat was so swift that the void beneath his feet cracked inch by inch.

Countless strands of silver light bled from the rift, coalescing into layered barriers imbued with quasi-immortal might, flashing toward the newly emerged skeleton.

Meanwhile, the floating remains of Li Zhu continued transforming. Beyond the glowing crimson eyes, His entire frame turned golden.

Across His body, ten billion divine rings began to emerge—each one mirroring a shattered cosmos.

Together, they formed His divine essence!

Gazing impassively at the fleeing pair, Li Zhu lifted His right foot and took a single step forward.

The moment that foot landed, every star ring around Him shattered explosively. Golden mist poured forth from within, gathering into a vast sea of gilded fog that swept past Xu Qing’s barriers, surging relentlessly toward them.

Its purpose was not merely expulsion—it sought to seal the rift’s entrance the very instant they escaped.

Far away, nearing the rift’s threshold, Xu Qing’s pupils contracted to pinpricks. Within that golden mist, he clearly saw living beings wailing in agony.

They were Li Zhu’s own subjects—citizens of His divine realm.

Now, they were being sacrificed.

As the golden fog churned, it birthed a horrifying gale that struck Xu Qing and Er Niu first—forcing more blood from their mouths and propelling them ever closer to the rift’s edge.

“How come… it feels like this guy’s trying to help us out?”

Er Niu, dangling from Xu Qing’s grip, licked blood from his lips and suddenly grinned.

“But… so this is what a Divine Lord is like? Damn impressive!”

As he spoke, madness flared in Er Niu’s eyes. He tore open his own chest—revealing his heart.

Covered in eerie sigils, it pulsed with deep-blue luminescence.

Faintly visible within each rune and every thread of blue light were countless minuscule entities resembling Spirit Sources.

As if the patterns and glow themselves were entire worlds—and this heart, containing infinite realms, resembled a grand cosmos unto itself.

“Little Qing,” Er Niu snarled through gritted teeth, “rip it out and throw it at him!”

Xu Qing’s gaze sharpened. Having fought alongside his senior brother for years, he knew every part of Er Niu’s body could be weaponized—even his skin had been used before, with spectacular results.

Without hesitation, Xu Qing thrust his left hand into Er Niu’s chest, seized the pulsating heart, and yanked it free.

Blood vessels tore; crimson spray erupted. Er Niu screamed, his vitality plummeting instantly, his form dissolving uncontrollably—

shrinking into a tiny blue worm that burrowed into Xu Qing’s hair, panting heavily yet eyes gleaming with fierce delight.

And there, in Xu Qing’s grasp, the heart continued beating—vibrantly alive, radiating astonishing power.

In an instant, Xu Qing flung the still-beating heart in his hand backward with all his might, hurling it into the surging golden sea of mist.

Wherever it passed, the void itself froze into crystalline shards; the moment it struck the golden mist, the entire sea transformed abruptly, as if seized by an encroaching frost.

A deep blue radiance erupted wildly, blanketing everything in its wake.

Within the mist, the skeletal figure striding forth continued to shatter ice with each step—yet its entire form was already steeped in that eerie blue glow.

Its body visibly succumbed to the creeping azure ice, freezing solid before one’s very eyes.

Then, from its hollow eye sockets, it fixed a distant gaze upon Er Niu nestled among Xu Qing’s hair.

Scarlet light flared violently within those sockets—it raised a hand, poised to strike—

But in the next heartbeat…

Catastrophe erupted without warning!