Chapter 1335: Freedom

Chapter 1335: Freedom

With a wave of Erniu's hand, that mysterious and radiant cluster of light charged straight toward Xu Qing.

And Erniu's voice, immediately following that instant of passionate surging, abruptly grew faint.

Upon the left hand of the Emperor of the Brilliant Heaven which he possessed, the blue color rapidly receded at this moment; at the same time, the divine might upon the Emperor of the Brilliant Heaven erupted with extreme violence.

It sought to utterly suppress and erase Erniu from that position.

At the critical moment, the illusion of thick earth upon Seventh Master shone even more brilliantly, enveloping all directions to delay the awakening of the Emperor of the Brilliant Heaven by isolating the external anomalies.

As for Xu Qing, at the exact instant that radiant cluster of light came flying over, he raised his right hand.

Within his palm, amidst the flesh and blood, a shard of a mirror emerged!

It was a diamond-shaped mirror, its surface overflowing with shifting light, capable of reflecting all things in the world entirely within itself.

Furthermore, an aura of constitutional law that surpassed a Summer Immortal, already reaching the level of an Immortal Sovereign and even higher than that of an ordinary Immortal Sovereign, circulated within it.

Causing immortal intent to permeate the entirety of the Brilliant Heaven.

This object came from Immortal Sovereign Miming!

It was the personal constitutional law that Miming had bestowed upon Xu Qing before he departed from the Fifth Star Ring!

If anyone else were to use this constitutional law, the effect would be ordinary.

But Xu Qing was different.

He had once projected himself into Miming's memories, becoming the Miming of history and walking through the most important period of Miming's life.

That experience made Xu Qing, to a certain extent, the only person within these upper thirty-six Star Rings who could display Miming's constitutional law almost completely.

This was also currently the most powerful treasure upon his person, aside from the divine eye lampshade given by Grandmaster Bai.

At this moment, as the mirror shard within his palm gleamed, the color of the sky above the entire Brilliant Heaven changed, and the earth churned.

The constitutional law from Miming carried its terrifying status, suppressing everything.

Particularly the returning Emperor of the Brilliant Heaven.

The instant that mirror surface reflected him, the colossal body of the Emperor of the Brilliant Heaven shook violently.

Then a fierce trembling ensued, and within the mirror surface in Xu Qing's palm, golden mist gathered with rapid speed, gradually outlining a blurry humanoid form.

Standing to the side, Seventh Master watched this scene, his mind similarly shaken.

He sensed the extraordinary nature of the mirror within Xu Qing's palm, and moreover, he discerned that the blurry figure within the mirror surface was actually the divine soul of the Emperor of the Brilliant Heaven!

Even within it, a true name was faintly visible!

"This mirror... seems to possess a unique power to suppress gods!"

Seventh Master murmured in his heart.

Meanwhile, Xu Qing noticed Seventh Master's expression and naturally understood the thoughts in his mind.

Seventh Master did not know Immortal Sovereign Miming's method of ascension.

Minging's ascension relied on the primordial mother planet of the Fourth Star Ring, merging with the mother planet through a process of living entry; he first borrowed the power of the mother planet to attain the status of Divine Sovereign and left behind a true name, then transitioned from a god to an immortal.

This method allowed Miming to be both a god and an immortal!

Therefore, he possessed a special suppression over gods.

Afterward, Xu Qing had also analyzed that ascension; relying on a primordial mother planet was inherently an astonishing status, and the starting point was exceptionally high.

Yet Miming's ultimate choice actually carried a lingering regret.

He had only briefly merged with the mother planet.

He had not truly devoured the mother planet!

Otherwise, everything would have been rewritten in an even more terrifying manner.

But he also understood that this method... presented too many impossible obstacles.

Whether it was the prevention by the Divine Reverends of the Fourth Star Ring, the ultimate rejection by the primordial mother planet of the Fourth Star Ring, or Miming's own endurance of the sacrificial offering and the risk of merging wills—a deviation in any single one would cause the ritual to fail.

It was like walking a tightrope!

Thus, Miming ultimately chose the most secure method with the highest success rate, dispersing on his own after merely borrowing the merger to ascend.

After these thoughts flashed through Xu Qing's mind, his gaze fell upon the Emperor of the Brilliant Heaven below.

The eyes of the Emperor of the Brilliant Heaven were now closed once more, but her aura fluctuated intensely, and as her body trembled,

She clearly wished to struggle, yet the suppression of the constitutional law from Miming rendered all of her resistance completely futile.

Even if he were at his peak, he would be unable to contend with the current Miming, let alone now when he was in the midst of returning and had lost the source light enshrined by his clan!

Therefore, he could only allow the mirror shard within Xu Qing's palm to forcibly extract his divine soul.

During this process, Erniu was incomparably exhilarated; he could feel that the rejection and resistance toward him from this body he possessed were rapidly decreasing.

Thus, without the slightest hesitation, he initiated the fusion once more.

In the next instant, upon the left hand of the Emperor of the Brilliant Heaven, the blue color that was about to recede just moments ago flashed with intense brilliance, rapidly spreading toward the body of the Emperor of the Brilliant Heaven.

In an instant, it reoccupied half of the body, advancing toward the other half with the momentum of a breaking bamboo!

Yet the resistance from the Emperor of the Brilliant Heaven, even up to this point, still displayed a stubborn intent; though it was difficult to resist Miming's mirror, faintly, signs of a mutual destruction also emanated.

It seemed that even if she failed, she had no wish to give up her divine body!

Seeing this, a cold gleam flashed in Seventh Master's eyes, and he was about to strike.

But Xu Qing, gazing at the Emperor of the Brilliant Heaven below, suddenly spoke.

"If a method of deceptive distraction is overdone—and affects my Senior Brother's fusion, then I will assume you intend to make the fake act real."

The moment Xu Qing's words came out.

The shaking of the body of the Emperor of the Brilliant Heaven came to a sudden halt.

Xu Qing's voice continued.

"Borrowing the hand of my Eldest Senior Brother, using a special guidance, a special location, and a special method to form a special ritual—all for the sake of returning."

"Everything appears completely normal and logical; in fact, had an accident not occurred and I had not returned, you would indeed have succeeded."

"However, I do not believe you cannot sense the affairs of the outside world."

"Nor do I believe you are unaware that with your original plan, according to current developments, even if you truly return, you would find it difficult to escape the fate of being suppressed."

"Since that is the case, yet you still struggle with all your might—"

Xu Qing's eyes held deep meaning as he stared at the remains of the Emperor of the Brilliant Heaven.

"You wish to use the karma between me and my Master to utterly dissipate here, thereby returning in another manner,"

"Within another Star Ring—"

"Fearing that others might see through it, you struggle with all your might to put on a display, yet at the same time within your heart, an unwillingness truly exists, so you want to use this opportunity to have both!"

As Xu Qing spoke, he looked at the mirror in his hand; although the soul and true name of the Emperor of the Brilliant Heaven were within it and appeared integrated with one another, through the constitutional law of the mirror, Xu Qing could perceive that a nearly imperceptible sliver of rejection existed between this true name and the divine soul!

This true name... did not belong to the Emperor of the Brilliant Heaven!

“Senior Li Zihua never returned. I wonder—was his departure from here all those years ago, his journey to Wanggu, and everything that followed… also meant to help you escape prison!”

Xu Qing spoke calmly. He hadn’t been entirely certain before, but everything he’d experienced since entering Huangtian—and especially what he’d witnessed within the Mirror of Mingxian’s Law—had solidified his conviction.

Most importantly, he refused to believe that this once-radiant Sovereign Emperor of Huangtian was some ordinary fool who’d left himself no contingency.

His voice echoed across the land.

Below, the closed eyes of the Huangtian Sovereign Emperor suddenly snapped open.

Golden light erupted from his gaze, locking onto Xu Qing.

Xu Qing turned toward Seventh Master and murmured softly, “Master, may this disciple take full charge of matters here?”

Seventh Master gave a slight nod, already guessing Xu Qing’s decision.

Xu Qing bowed respectfully, then looked down at the Huangtian Sovereign Emperor.

“All those years ago, I still owe Senior Li Zihua a debt of gratitude. And since your true name was taken by him—surrender your resistance and fulfill my senior brother’s wish.”

“I shall let you go!”

“From this day forth, you are forbidden from setting foot in the Ninth Star Ring—even half a step—and it shall no longer concern you in any way!”

Xu Qing’s voice boomed like heavenly decree, resonating through heaven and earth.

“To gain, one must first relinquish.”

The Huangtian Sovereign Emperor fell silent.

Xu Qing’s words had laid bare the entire scheme. Indeed, at first, the Sovereign Emperor had intended to use that greedy man to achieve his return.

But the changes beyond had caught him off guard—though not enough to throw him into panic.

For he still possessed other means.

Both Li Zihua and Chi Mu had, in truth, departed Huangtian with his tacit consent.

And after their departure, he’d interfered no further. All who left shared but one belief:

To rescue him.

Among them, Li Zihua—through his own brilliance—had advanced furthest.

All that remained was for him to sever every connection and karmic tie with Huangtian here, willingly allowing all traces of himself to be erased. Then, success would be assured.

Yet deep within, a sliver of unwillingness still lingered.

After several heartbeats,

a sigh drifted from him into the air.

At last, he released that final thread of reluctance and closed his eyes once more.

He surrendered.

In that instant, within the mirror resting in Xu Qing’s palm, the soul’s silhouette fully manifested—

completely severed from its original body.

Down below, Er Niu’s fusion accelerated abruptly. In barely more than ten breaths, it had spread through the Sovereign Emperor’s entire form.

Then began the deep slumber—the profound merging.

Glancing at his senior brother, Xu Qing saw he would need time before awakening. Raising his hand, he grasped the mirror shard tightly.

In the next moment,

the Huangtian Sovereign Emperor within the shard shattered—his soul and true name both erased utterly.

All karmic ties—to Wanggu, to Huangtian—were severed completely.

Every trace vanished.

Across both Wanggu Continent and the world of Huangtian, every living being’s memory of the Huangtian Sovereign Emperor was silently wiped clean.

No one remembered. No one could recall.

He was free.

Just as Xu Qing had said: to gain, one must first relinquish.

By abandoning everything here, he had bought himself freedom.

“Freedom, indeed,” mused Seventh Master inwardly. “Back then, we fought so long—we won, yes—but in truth, this place was never truly unified. The existence of Huangtian always kept it from belonging wholly to Houtu.”

Seventh Master felt a quiet sense of closure. This resolution had drawn a final line beneath the past.

“That light of Huangtian—”

Seventh Master looked toward Xu Qing.

Xu Qing raised his right hand and took hold of the luminous strand hovering before him. After a moment of concentration, he spoke softly:

“Master, senior brother will need some time before he awakens.”

“And this light… it is most peculiar. It holds the secrets of Huangtian—and its will.”

“I wish to absorb it here, and see—what this secret truly is!”