Chapter 1185: A Gift at the God Blood River

The spirit tide in the Fallen Immortal Moors had not yet fully disappeared. And that was because the good fortune and destined opportunities of the immortal palace were not over. It was only over for the first five worlds. The Quasi-Immortals were still attempting to get into the sixth world.

Therefore, when Xu Qing reached the horizon, he hovered in the air looking back at the immortal palace. He could just barely make out a sound like crashing waves. A tremor passed through him. Because of his ownership of the immortal palace, he knew what had just happened.

Someone just entered the sixth world!

His eyes glittered brightly. Only someone with Lower Immortal battle prowess could step into the sixth world. There were destined opportunities for Lower Immortals in the immortal palace.

Either some unknown Lower Immortal got into the immortal palace, or... one of the Quasi-Immortals experienced a breakthrough. It’s too bad that, though I own the immortal palace, my cultivation base limits me, and my canon isn’t sufficient. I really have no way to get into the sixth world.

He shook his head sadly, but at the same time, wasn’t anxious. Now that he owned the place, all he had to do was wait until he did qualify, and he could come back and enter.

Once my immortal embryo is complete and I’ve gained enlightenment of my tenth extreme, I can return. I wonder what the sixth world is like....

Taking a deep breath, he shot off into the distance. Soon he was outside of the Fallen Immortal Moors.

The star chart in the sky that showed all the Immortal Capital permission medallions was gone. The crimson aurora was back. However, because the third round of the trial had begun, cultivators with permission medallions could now sense each other even more keenly than before. What was more, it was now possible to access the star chart in the permission medallion at any time!

It was now the perfect time to fight and rob others! That was why the third round was such a brutal affair. Of course, there were ways of masking one’s permission medallion, though not many people knew how. Clearly, Sir Star Ring was one of them.

Xu Qing found that out quickly when he sent his divine will into the medallion and couldn’t find the star representing Sir Star Ring anywhere on the star chart. It actually wasn’t a big surprise to him. Sir Star Ring wouldn’t make a mistake as obvious as that.

Xu Qing, meanwhile, could use the aura of the violet crystal to cover his permission medallion and keep it hidden. That would ensure that things would go smoothly.

And now to start tracking him down....

Xu Qing’s eyes glittered. He lifted his hand, and the scrap of Sir Star Ring’s energy that Xu Qing had extracted from space-time appeared. It seemed to pulse as he absorbed it into his divine will. A moment later, he knew which direction to go in, and he flew off.

Time went by. Xu Qing could move very quickly. Unfortunately, so could Sir Star Ring. Sir Star Ring’s cultivation base surpassed Xu Qing’s. However, using his substitution secret magic to avoid death had weakened him. As a result, Sir Star Ring was limited, and couldn’t put very much distance between himself and Xu Qing. Nor could he prevent Xu Qing from locking onto him and tracking him down. Thus, three days passed.

As Xu Qing continued his pursuit, a majestic desert eventually appeared within his senses.

It was... the Desert of Time. This was his third time seeing this desert. The first was when he had been traveling with Yunmen Qianfan. The second time was in the reflection of history, when he was with Immortal Lord Aurora. This was his third time.

Xu Qing landed at the edge of the desert, his heart astir as he stared at it for a short time. Then he walked inside. The sandy wind screamed along, as if it were telling an ancient story. The sand churned as if it were preparing to open the curtain.

As Xu Qing walked through the desert, he could sense the space-time fluctuations, and could hear the story being told. He proceeded on his way. His canon was now advanced enough that he could clearly see the space-time in the desert.

In fact, he was easily able to find the exact spot that Immortal Lord Aurora had taken him to. He stopped walking. He gazed about....

In the reflected history he had experienced, this place had once been the location of a beautiful, colorful sea of flowers. The flowers looked like dancing butterflies, or perhaps like graceful immortal cranes. And every single one exuded a fragrance like perfume.

They... had been planted personally by Immortal Lord Aurora. It was because his wife... had loved orchids. On this very spot, Immortal Lord Aurora had told his son... that he should come back every year to plant more flowers. Eventually, the entire Desert of Time would become a sea of flowers. But now....

Xu Qing saw no life here. The sea of flowers had long since ceased to exist. Yet Xu Qing smiled. And that was because he saw more than the lack of life. Right in the middle of the spot where the sea of flowers had long since withered away, he could see two little flowers that had been planted recently.

The two little flowers were alive and growing. They swayed in the wind, and when they rubbed against each other, they let off a fragrant aroma. Xu Qing could envision Young Lord Aurora and Immortal Fairy Spirit Phoenix, right here, planting the two flowers. And he could hear the voice of Immortal Lord Aurora, echoing out of the reflection of history, and drifting along with the wind into Xu Qing’s ears.

“Remember to come back here every year and plant some more orchids for your mother. Let’s make sure this place always stays a sea of flowers.”

Xu Qing squatted down, extracted a flower seed from space-time, and planted it. He bowed.

He was certain that more flowers would appear in the years to come. And eventually, the sea of flowers would come back, and the Desert of Time would become the Flower Sea of Time. The gentle light from the crimson aurora shone down onto the orchids. The light from above wasn’t golden like it had been when Xu Qing visited as Young Lord Aurora. But there was still a dreamlike romance to the place.

And there was a fragrance that lingered on Xu Qing. Perhaps that fragrance provided a blessing, because only three days after leaving the desert, Xu Qing found a cave in the wilderness where the wounded Sir Star Ring was hiding.

Sir Star Ring was hurt so badly that he couldn’t keep up a sustained flight from Xu Qing. He had eventually been forced to hole up in this place, surrounded by protective spell formations, and focus on healing. Sadly for him, Xu Qing showed up and interrupted him. And thus, fighting broke out in the wilderness.

Xu Qing had been able to ‘kill’ Sir Star Ring even when he was at his peak, so there was little need to mention how it turned out now that Sir Star Ring was so badly wounded. The fight was quick and violent. It didn’t last long. And it ended with Sir Star Ring dying a second time!

But this time, it caused Xu Qing to frown deeply as he looked at the spot where Sir Star Ring was crumbling into ashes.

He came here and purposely waited to die.... He wanted to use this opportunity to prevent me from tracking him.

The energy Xu Qing had taken from him was now gone. And there was nothing left in space-time for him to make up for it. He now had no way to lock onto Sir Star Ring, and no way to track him down.

Well, that’s just what I would expect of the number one Shining Star. Despite the predicament he’s in, he managed to shake my pursuit.

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Xu Qing looked off into the distance.

However.... He still needs to get back to the east. And if he wants to leave the western planetary system, he can pick from different paths. But there’s only one that could be considered the safest....

Xu Qing’s eyes glittered as he looked in the direction of the God Blood River. One of the unique things about the God Blood River were the ferry pilots. If you could get onto a ferry boat, then according to the rules of the ferry pilots, you were completely and utterly safe. And the person responsible for your safety was the ferry pilot.

It didn’t matter who was chasing you, once you were under the protection of a ferry pilot, no one could do anything to you. At the same time, you could use the time spent on the journey to focus on healing and recovery. For the most part, it was only possible to cross the river three times in your life. For the majority of cultivators, crossing one or two times was the limit of what they could accept.

If I can realize that, so can others.

After some thought, Xu Qing started moving in the direction of the God Blood River. One reason was that he was convinced Sir Star Ring was going in the same direction. Since he had lost track of his quarry, it seemed logical to try to intercept him. If it didn’t work... he would just have to wait until later to kill him. They would definitely run into each other eventually.

Another reason he wanted to go to the God Blood River was that Immortal Fairy Spirit Phoenix had mentioned leaving a gift for him there. Xu Qing had some speculations about what that gift was. But he wasn’t completely sure.

If I’m right about the gift... it’ll be kind of funny if Sir Star Ring actually does choose the river.

With his decision made, he sped off into the distance.

Half a month passed.

Soon Xu Qing arrived at the banks of the God Blood River. The God Blood River was very long, but there was actually only one spot on this branch of it where you could board a ferry boat.

For aeons, the banks of the river had been in contact with the water, and thus, the river banks were as red as blood. It was for the same reason that the wooden pier was also red and corroded. The wind itself sounded like moaning ghosts that could shake one down to the soul.

Xu Qing walked down the crimson river bank and onto the rickety pier. He heard the sound of the wind, and smelled the blood on the air. The river looked like a huge sea of blood. It wasn’t possible to see the other side of the river. All he could see was endless waves, and the river glittering beneath the light of the aurora.

Beneath the crimson sky, and surrounded by what sounded like the wailing of ghosts and howling of wolves... an ancient, pitch-black boat floated across the ghastly river of blood toward him.

The seething river became calm for the boat. The raging wind became docile. It approached as silently as an evil ghost. It neared the pier, and neared Xu Qing.

It was a lone ferry boat. And in the ferry boat... there was no ferry pilot. There was only a woven rush raincoat, a bamboo hat, and a jade slip.

When Xu Qing looked at the jade slip, it shattered, and the voice of Immortal Fairy Spirit Phoenix filled the area.

“This is my gift to you. There is no karma. There are no restrictions. I have already severed all the karma and removed all the restrictions. I’ve also assumed responsibility for the ferry pilot mission. This ferry boat was constructed personally by my father, and it belongs to you. With it, you can cross the river... without giving up any longevity.”