Chapter 1267: All the Clues

Xu Qing had a clear goal here, and it wasn’t to kill everyone. It was to escape.

If this True Radiant dwarf wanted to avoid fighting, all it would take was a teleportation. Although Xu Qing usually preferred to wipe out all his enemies, after a bit of consideration, he had to admit that getting out of here was more important. After all, his original plan had been to figure out the best way to get back to the Fifth Star Ring.

There was another reason. In this world, though the True God of these True Radiants was in the middle of assimilating, hē was occasionally lucid. Whenever that happened, it was very unfavorable for Xu Qing, and put him in a lot of danger. In fact, during his earlier attacks, he had attempted to use spatial manipulation magic to carry out his own teleportation. Unfortunately, he had been stymied.

The only way to leave was for this dwarf to open the way. Unfortunately, given the dwarf’s relationship to the True God, Xu Qing wasn’t confident that he could make his escape even if he managed to capture and puppetize the dwarf.

Getting his opponent to back away from the fight seemed like the perfect way to achieve his aim. Therefore, he made sure his words didn’t just target the dwarf, but also... the black tumor in the dome of heaven! Xu Qing had learned long ago that living beings were all different. Some were wise, some were foolish. And everyone had their own perspective and view of things.

Up above, the black tumor wriggled briefly, and then, a vortex appeared alongside it. The vortex pulsed with the spatial aura of the outside....

It was the exit!

As it turned out, the one being that was most interested in preventing a chaotic battle was actually the True Radiant’s True God! Although Xu Qing could be valuable to hīm, the people hē had brought here weren’t even close to being finished with thēir work. So in the end, it made sense to let Xu Qing leave. That would remove many variables, and let hīm focus on the work at hand.

“Ancestral God!” the dwarf blurted anxiously. Hē, of course, did not want Xu Qing to leave, because to hīm, Xu Qing... was too valuable!

Xu Qing’s eyes flitted back and forth. He had suspicions about whether or not this exit was legitimate. However, given the circumstances, he finally decided to grit his teeth and shoot toward it. But then... even as Xu Qing’s incredible speed brought him right toward the exit vortex, something dramatic happened!

The mountains rumbled, and the trees swayed as the local god unleashed an eruption of godly might. The result was that a huge tempest covered the entire exit. Then the exit crumbled out of existence.

As shock waves rolled out, Xu Qing fell back, his expression grim. At the same time, the fluctuations turned into a voice spoken via divine will.

“Young cultivator friend, that exit is a trick! Hē was trying to harm you! If you help me crush this enemy god, then I’ll help you escape!”

No one wanted Xu Qing to leave more than the True Radiants’ True God.

But as for who wanted Xu Qing to stay... the one who desired that the most wasn’t the dwarf. Rather... it was the god below that the True Radiants’ True God had been fighting for years, and was on the verge of being devoured. The chaotic situation at hand was the perfect opportunity for hīm. With Xu Qing here, it was now possible that hē could turn defeat into victory! That was why hē had stopped Xu Qing and also gone all out against the True Radiants’ True God.

The entire world devolved into chaos. The blood rain fell harder. The rumbling grew more intense.

And then a raspy voice spoke from within the blood rain. “Look, hē’s trying to prevent you from leaving. Help me crush hīm and I’ll open the exit for you again!”

Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed. The world trembled as more divine will converged.

“Hē’s lying to you. If you step into that exit, you’re dead beyond the shadow of a doubt. Hē has the upper hand in this fight right now, so there’s no way hē wants anyone on the outside to realize what’s going on. After all, you’re only one minor variable. But if people find out about this situation... there could be a lot more variables!”

“Don’t listen to hīm. If we swapped positions, I definitely wouldn’t let you leave. But if you left right now, it would be a big help to me. I hereby swear an oath on my true name, ensuring that I can’t go back on my word. If you don’t believe me, then just ask hīm if hē’ll swear on hīs true name!”

Both of those things were uttered simultaneously by the two gods. And the god below

didn’t

swear on his true name!

Eyes flashing, the dwarf looked at Xu Qing and urgently said, “Fellow Daoist, I was being rash earlier. There’s no need for us to fight to the death. If you help us, we will abide by the promise of our True God!”

With that, hē looked up into the dome of heaven, bowed, and said, “Ancestral God, please release the Altar Gods. Give me the power to help this immortal cultivator to crush the enemy god. In doing so... we can prevent anything unexpected from happening!”

𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

There was a hidden meaning to hīs words. If the Altar Gods joined the action, then their side would have the upper hand in both offense and defense, and would be in an almost invincible position.

The black tumor up above twitched, and then the handful of Altar Gods connected to it opened thēir eyes. Thēir divine will was returned to thēm as the connection to the black tumor was severed. And then thēy shot downward. It seemed like they really were going to help Xu Qing to crush the True God below.

Most of the Altar Gods weren’t particularly noteworthy. But there were three that had attracted Xu Qing’s attention earlier.

One of them was an evil eye with the pupil of a bronze bell covered in rust. Another looked like an emaciated old woman. And the third was a tree, half of which was covered in blooming crabapples, while the other half was charred and withered.

Xu Qing looked at them with glittering eyes. He had the weapon of an Immortal Lord, but to use it required tapping into the destiny aura of the Fifth Star Ring. Given that he was in the Fourth Star Ring, doing that... would definitely blow his cover. It was time to make a decision, so that’s what he did....

“Fine, all of you, come with me!”

Xu Qing shot down toward the mushroom umbrellas growing on the withered trees!

The mushroom umbrellas, big and small, were covered in crystals. And inside of those crystals was the same thing: an empty minor world. However, the reality was that, though it seemed to fully exist, it was actually in a state between illusion and reality. Normally speaking, there was no way to enter it!

But Xu Qing shot directly toward the minor world and went right inside! This had nothing to do with his canon. Apparently... the minor worlds had opened up on their own!

Xu Qing’s face remained as expressionless as ever.

Behind him, the dwarf saw what had just happened. Eyes glittering, hē secretly sent a message via divine will to the other surrounding gods.

“This minor world is the core of the enemy god. Normally speaking, we can’t get inside of it. But now it’s open.... All of you follow me in and wipe out everything! If an opportunity presents itself to capture that cultivator alive, do it. Otherwise... kill him!”

With that, hē shot inside. The Altar Gods also followed Xu Qing into the minor worlds, followed by all the other scattered gods. Thēy got inside easily! After thēy disappeared, the only ones left behind in the world outside of the mushrooms were the two fighting gods.

The god above then said, “You didn’t dare to swear an oath based on your true name because you feared the possibility of me locating your true name hidden in your god kingdom memories. But now, you’ve actually taken the initiative to open your god kingdom! Every part of the god kingdom that gets destroyed will break down some of the power hiding your true name. If enough is destroyed, I can easily find your true name, devour it, and complete the assimilation process!

“It seems you’re placing all of your hopes on this cultivator. You gambled. You gambled that he would help you, but also gambled that he would be able to destroy the other gods before I destroy the god kingdom and find him! And that gives you more time to fight against me!

“However... that cultivator is no fool. I swore by my true name, but you didn’t. Why would he trust you?”

The god above obviously wanted to break down the enemy’s mental defenses. But down below, the mountains rumbled, and the trees swayed.

“Because there’s something in my god kingdom memories that is very important to him. In fact, it’s more important than your true name oath! I didn’t realize it at first. But after getting a close look at him, I realized what karma was at play!”

The black tumor shrank down a bit, and more blood rain fell.

“You can see that I’m telling the truth. So you’re getting anxious!” The ground trembled. Hīs entire goal was to get hīs opponent anxious. That was when the flaws would be exposed.

***

In the minor world, the sky looked wrinkled, and the lands looked withered. There was no life. There were only ruins that attested to past glory.

Lightning crashed through the sky, and within it was Xu Qing. As soon as he appeared, a wind kicked up.

As it touched him, an image appeared to him. The image depicted the map of a world that had been shattered into millions upon millions of pieces and then put back together into what looked like a complete god kingdom.

The spot where Xu Qing was currently located was identified as just one small part of it! And there was something indescribable calling out to him, coming from a location among all those millions upon millions of pieces that actually wasn’t too far from him!

The moment he sensed it, his gaze hardened. Hidden within him was the Sageheaven Pagoda, which was his ticket to getting back to the Ninth Star Ring. And it was vibrating. The reason for that reaction wasn’t because of the Sageheaven Pagoda itself. Nor was it the sageheaven god vine that was wrapped around it, sleeping....

It was something that Xu Qing had placed into the pagoda after coming to the Fifth Star Ring, because it had been exhausted so thoroughly it needed to sleep. It was the little golden rat! Because of that call, the rat was waking up!

As soon as it started waking, grumbling sounds echoed in Xu Qing’s mind. Xu Qing’s pupils constricted, and then his eyes lit up. A seemingly preposterous idea then occurred to him. Struggling to control his breathing, he came to a decision. Then he shot forward toward the source of the call!

Unfortunately, as soon as he started moving, numerous gods descended. Every single one caused the call to weaken, until there were so many gods that the call disappeared altogether. The god kingdom that had been shattered into millions upon millions of pieces was thrown into complete chaos.

As a result, Xu Qing couldn’t accurately find what he was looking for! His eyes flashed. Obviously... the god below wanted him to kill all of the gods that had come to help the True Radiants’ True God.

This god wanted to make a deal with him.

Coldness filled Xu Qing’s heart. But in the end, he said, “Deal!”

***

In the ruins of one part of the shattered god kingdom... was a massive golden rat chewing on a hemp sandal. It kept an eye on its surroundings, as if it was worried that someone would notice the sandal and take it back. As it chewed on the sandal, it didn’t notice the fragments of hemp that fell down around it, slowly gathering into the shape of a teleportation portal!