Chapter 1345: Slicing Open a Door!

During Xu Qing’s years on Mount Daybreak, he had used certain methods to send his god clone out of the Revered Ancient mainland. At the same time, he had used Immortal Lord Mi Ming’s canon to create a mirror image of the clone. Naturally speaking, it had required the help of Mi Ming himself in order to keep the whole matter secret.

There had been two purposes. One was to prevent Zi Qing from taking control of the clone and using it for hīs own purposes. Another was to provide a trump card for Xu Qing. The idea was to take advantage of a moment when Zi Qing seemingly achieved success, only to allow Immortal Lord Mi Ming a moment to attack hīm!

After all, the broken face of Eminent Desolation was very close to Revered Ancient, and that was a very dangerous circumstance. In the Ninth Star Ring, God Paragons didn’t dare to get too close, and God Lords had limits. Powerful experts from other star rings who wanted to come to Revered Ancient had the aura of those other star rings on them, and that put them at great risk.

In other words, Immortal Lord Mi Ming would have only one chance to launch an attack; he couldn’t get involved in a protracted fight. And thus, a whole series of developments led to the current situation.

“Sadly....” Xu Qing sighed inwardly. That said, he had considered that this would happen, so he quickly cleared his thoughts. Eyes flashing coldly, he took a step that placed him just outside of the hall. Another step... took him inside.

Zi Qing was still seated on the Dragon Throne, golden blood smeared on hīs mouth. Xu Qing stepped toward hīm.

Xu Qing was like a spear that could pierce heaven and earth, moving with unstoppable momentum as he shot... directly toward Zi Qing. However, as he neared, Zi Qing’s eyes suddenly radiated golden light. All of a sudden, hē shot to hīs feet and shoved hīs hand up toward the sky. At the same time, hē spoke in a godly voice!

“God!”

The moment the word left hīs mouth, all of the Revered Ancient mainland trembled. Intense fear exploded into the hearts and minds of all living beings.

The reason was that the broken face which took up half the canopy of heaven shivered and turned in the direction of the Heaveneater Region. Strands of hair shifted as the face moved, like rotten vines following destructive orbits. Hīs sickly gray skin, which looked like soil that had been frozen for millennia, suddenly filled with cracks. Then, hīs eyelashes, which resembled long, rusted strips of iron, fluttered.

Heaven and earth trembled. All breathing in the world ceased.

In the grand hall in the Heaveneater Region, Zi Qing stood in front of the Dragon Throne. As Eminent Desolation’s eyes twitched, an astonishing godly might erupted from hīs carrier... and exploded out into the world! A violent tempest swept out, shaking the hall so violently it shattered, becoming ash that drifted out everywhere. It abounded with force that could not be resisted!

As it neared Xu Qing, he lurched to a halt before being swept aside. He tumbled backward several hundred meters. When he finally skidded to a halt in standing position, he coughed up a mouthful of blood, then looked up into the sky.

As he did, he saw that, high in the canopy of heaven, Eminent Desolation... was opening hīs eyes!

The earth trembled. Heaven distorted. Within those eyes, there were no irises. Instead, there was a shattered sea of stars. It was as if millions upon millions of stars were burning in hīs eyes, which caused golden light to spill out. Where it passed... the clouds became like sticky tar, and the lands below became a spider web of cracks. Space-time distorted.

This was not even a complete opening of the eyes. And yet within the Heaveneater Region, all cities trembled, like potter’s clay under the force of an enormous hand. Corpses floated up into the air, their greenish-black skin erupted with tongues of fire. Where the palace had existed, there was now just dust. Zi Qing stood there, long hair whipping about, eyes shining the color of gold.

It seemed that, to hīm, cultivation base level didn’t matter. Hē was like a vessel to contain Eminent Desolation’s will. As a result, hīs gaze was no longer gentle like before. And hīs face had turned cold and apathetic. It was as if, right then and there, hē had ceased to be the Zi Qing that Xu Qing was familiar with.

“Look down!” hē said in a cold voice that lacked even a hint of emotion.

The moment the words rang out, Eminent Desolation’s eyes opened! The pupils seethed like vortexes of primal-chaos, and with every pulse, all light in heaven and earth was absorbed. When the vortex was spinning fast enough, a beam of dark golden light became a pillar that enveloped the entire Heaveneater Region!

Plains seethed. Soil, rubble, and corpses collapsed into particles. Only some glittering crystalline fragments retained their original form, but they didn’t seem like they would last for long. Animals and grues were ripped to shreds and became nothing but dust. This was not some ordinary destruction. This was a multidimensional infection.

As the broken face looked down, the border between reality and illusion was broken. The boundary between the living and the dead began to blur. Gradually, figures started to become visible.

The true focus of Eminent Desolation’s gaze... was the Sovereign Kingdom of Violet and Cyan, the palace and... Zi Qing, the Crown Prince of Violet and Cyan! Within Eminent Desolation’s gaze, Zi Qing watched... as a god descended.

Then, hē lifted hīs hand and pointed at Xu Qing. The movement of hīs finger caused ripples to spread in all directions, and caused the forming figures to instantly become very clear. Astonishingly, they were... projections of gods! Most were from antiquity, and had actually been devoured by Eminent Desolation!

Though thēy had perished, thēy remained within the gaze of Eminent Desolation. And as soon as Zi Qing moved hīs hand, thēy manifested. Among them was the very same God Paragon Xu Qing had seen in the bronze coffin in the Fourth Star Ring! Thēy did not have life force power, but thēir instincts ensured that thēy could still unleash intense mutagen invasions.

As soon as thēy appeared, mutagen surged dramatically. Then the projections raced toward Xu Qing, with the goal of infecting him to the core.

This was not Xu Qing’s first time dealing with the eyes of Eminent Desolation, but it was the most intense of all those instances. In the past, Eminent Desolation’s eyes had opened, not intentionally, but instinctively. But this time, there was a will behind the opening of the eyes, and that was why the gaze contained innumerable projections!

It was true that Xu Qing’s canon and statute had reached the level of an Immortal Lord. His own cultivation conformed to that of immortals. But when hit with Eminent Desolation’s gaze, he still started to turn greenish-black. Filth swept through his body, and boundless mutagen burrowed into him. His canon and statute were affected as the fate power of Eminent Desolation tried to transform them forcibly.

All of a sudden, Xu Qing was struck with an intense sensation of deadly crisis. His eyes were deeply bloodshot, and every scrap of his flesh seemed like it had become independent of him, and wanted to peel off on its own.

At that critical moment, Xu Qing raised his right hand and pushed it off into the distance.

“Mirror of Revered Ancient!”

The moment the words rang out, the crystalline shards that had shattered... suddenly vibrated, then rose into the air and flew toward Xu Qing. An instant later, they appeared all around him! They were the fragments of the shattered Mirror of Revered Ancient!

As they glittered, the captured destiny aura of the Sovereign Kingdom of Violet and Cyan they contained spread outward! That destiny aura then bolstered Xu Qing!

However, that alone was not enough to resist the gaze of Eminent Desolation. And so, without any hesitation, Xu Qing unleashed the strongest trump card he had. It was a bronze lamp! Inside the lamp was the eye of a God Paragon, and right now, it was open!

A golden gaze poured out like a flood, and combined with the bolstering of the destiny aura from the Mirror of Revered Ancient, it was enough to resist the numerous figures in Eminent Desolation’s gaze.

Rumbling sounds echoed out, and Xu Qing trembled. Thankfully, the feeling of his flesh peeling off, plus the injuries caused by the mutagen invasion, were all alleviated slightly. The gaze of the God Paragon shining out from the bronze lamp formed a protective barrier around Xu Qing. It neutralized Eminent Desolation’s gaze, and blocked the advance of the projected figures.

However... Eminent Desolation was far, far stronger than a God Paragon. Even though the eye of the God Paragon had been augmented by Grandmaster Bai, and despite the blessing of the Mirror of Revered Ancient and the destiny aura, there was no way to fight back completely.

Golden cracks were already spreading rapidly through the god’s eye.

At the most I have ten breaths of time before the bronze lamp shatters! That... should be enough time!

Xu Qing didn’t hesitate for a moment. He released the bronze lamp, allowing it to float on its own. Then he dropped into a cross-legged position, all while his hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture. A fierce will suddenly erupted. It was... a sword will!

Before coming to this fight, Xu Qing had made copies of many things back on Mount Daybreak! He knew full well that during this battle, Zi Qing would likely call on Eminent Desolation, and that it was possible Eminent Desolation’s eyes could open. Therefore, he had tried to think of every possibility, then prepare a unique and special way of fighting back.

When Eminent Desolation’s eyes opened on Peerless City and Supreme Ancient City, I didn’t die. It was after those things happened that I discovered the violet crystal, so my survival doesn’t have anything to do with the crystal. The true reason has to be something to do with Zi Qing.

Unfortunately, I have two sets of memories about Peerless City. In one memory, I didn’t die. But in another, I did. There’s something very suspicious going on! Therefore... there must be some other factors explaining why I survived!

I’ve come to understand every aspect of my cultivation up to this point, with two exceptions. One is the violet crystal. But I’m not going to worry about the crystal for now. That leaves only one mystery!

On two occasions in the past I sensed that there’s a mysterious tunnel in my soul, filled with innumerable doors. And at the very end of it, almost impossible to detect even now, is an untouchable chair! I have the feeling that chair... is the way I can fight back against Eminent Desolation!

The moment that thought went through Xu Qing’s mind, his eyes flashed with determination. Reaching up with his right hand, he smacked his palm viciously onto the top of his head.... Instantly, sword energy emerged from that spot, turning into The Emperor’s Sword! He grabbed it, and then used the sword... to slash at his own forehead! Instantly, his skin was sliced apart... opening a huge wound!

Zi Qing, who stood within the gaze of Eminent Desolation, looked on with a grim, cold look that quickly turned into amazement.

“You’re... cutting yourself apart?”