Chapter 1212 - Divine Provisions

In the starry sky, Xu Qing transformed into a shooting star, whistling forward. Wherever he passed, waves surged, twisting the starlight. This was a natural reaction brought by his cultivation, as well as the inherent might of the Immortal Embryo. To some extent, it was already akin to the divine beings. This was an inevitability upon reaching a certain level of cultivation. Just as there are many ways for the weak to be fragile, the end of strength for the strong often converges into one. At this moment, having locked onto his direction, Xu Qing did not deliberately push his speed to the extreme. While feeling his own Immortal Embryo, he also sensed this universe along the way, perceiving this Outer Heaven. "Although everything that happened within the Land of Fallen Immortals is a reflection of history, yet..." "Thousand Army's recognition of a master has continued into the present, Li Mengtu's poison edict has also found some source... and Mud Fox, previously outside the Ink Earth, also manifested the Hundred Palaces." "All these indicate that the experiences in the mirrored history did indeed change the present world, albeit the traces are faint and not significant." "But in that mirrored history, I have obtained access to the Aurora Immortal Palace!" "And for the Immortal Palace, concerning the Outer Heaven, it is the center, even supreme, so what appeared in the Land of Fallen Immortals was merely its arrival under the spirit tide. As for where the Immortal Palace truly resides, it is most likely still within this Outer Heaven." "Therefore, with my access to the Immortal Palace, in this Outer Heaven..." Xu Qing's eyes shone with curiosity, this was what intrigued him the most at present. So, along the way, he also attempted to spread his divine sense, trying to perceive. But unfortunately, perhaps due to the passage of time, or perhaps due to the Immortal Palace's dormancy, Xu Qing did not gain anything. After a long time, he sighed inwardly, temporarily giving up, and sped up his rush. His destination was Prison No. 29 of the Alpha Sector. It was the largest divine beings' prison in the entire Huntian Universe, and also the most apparent mine with the most source materials. As the captain of the Provision Envoys, naturally, Xu Qing could cut the best piece of the cake first. As for his so-called subordinates, their life and death were of no concern to him. How they obtained the source essence within this Huntian Universe, whether by collecting it from other prisons or gathering it from foreign tribes, Xu Qing equally did not care. Even if those people encountered obstacles during their collection or conflicts with the foreign tribes here, there were always others willing to handle these issues to obtain more source essence. Unless faced with extreme circumstances, Xu Qing had no intention of participating. His purpose was crystal clear: "Absorb source essence, enhance the Immortal Embryo!" Xu Qing's eyes shone with determination, and his speed increased. Several times, he utilized the teleportation arrays here, and finally, after ten days, he crossed half of the Huntian Universe and arrived at his destination! It was a red starry sky! The red did not come from starlight but was emitted by a gigantic and astonishing red Seaweed, vast in its scope. It possessed nineteen leaves! Each leaf was long enough to encircle a star. As for the junction of these nineteen leaves, which was the root of this Seaweed, it consisted of countless thin threads. These threads entwined a tremendously large sun, delving into it and continuously absorbing nutrients for its survival. Gazing at this Seaweed before him, Xu Qing's eyes glinted with a deep light. "Such a celestial plant... I wonder if my divine vine will also grow to this extent in the future." Xu Qing sensed his own Star Tower, and the divine vine fused with it was still in slumber. However, judging by its aura, it seemed not far from awakening. Afterward, Xu Qing withdrew his senses and looked at the Seaweed in front of him. He could clearly see that on the nineteen leaves of this Seaweed, there were numerous spots of varying sizes. "Each spot is a small world, and also a prison!" "And the largest prison is within that sun." Almost as Xu Qing observed, the red glow of the Seaweed flashed once, followed by a terrifying divine sense spreading out from within it, locking onto Xu Qing. That kind of terrifying presence made Xu Qing feel as if he were facing an immortal. Xu Qing's eyes narrowed, realizing that this Seaweed, apart from being a prison itself, also bore the mission of suppression. Thus, he took out his Provision Envoy medallion and the mission jade slip, and spoke in a deep voice, "By the decree of the Nine Shores Heaven, I come to collect the primordial essence here!" The divine sense of the Seaweed instantly enveloped Xu Qing, sweeping over his identity medallion and mission jade slip. After a moment, as if confirming something, the divine sense lazily withdrew, and a leaf slowly rose, landing in front of Xu Qing. Taking a look at the leaf, and then another at the sun shrouded by the roots of the Seaweed, Xu Qing pondered for a moment, then stepped forward, heading straight for the leaf. Fixing his gaze on a spot within, he approached swiftly. This spot grew larger in Xu Qing's eyes, eventually becoming a world, while he himself traversed the void, pierced through barriers, and amidst the reverberating roar, descended. He landed on a piece of black earth. This place exuded decay, imbued with death, appearing boundless in Xu Qing's eyes. All around, there was no wind, no spirit, no foreign matter; everything was desolate and deathly silent. Glancing around, then at the ground, Xu Qing's expression remained unchanged as he lifted his foot and stomped down hard, his mouth uttering a faint sound, "Awaken!" At the moment his foot fell, the ground roared. This place birthed wind, birthed spirit, birthed foreign matter, stirring a storm. This storm rose from the earth, sweeping in all directions, carrying black soil across the sky, instantly submerging Xu Qing's figure. If at this moment, one were not standing on the ground, not within the storm, but gazing down from a supreme position above, one could clearly see... on the ground, a long scar appeared. From this scar as the starting point, the earth's soil was upheaved, surging like ocean waves, spreading in one direction. Subsequently, a massive single eye, veined with blood, appeared on the ground. It opened! This black earth had actually buried a closed eye, and now, with Xu Qing's footstep, this slumbering eye was forced to open. Thus, the storm arose, and Xu Qing, within the storm, remained motionless, standing precisely atop the pupil of this gigantic eye! It stared at Xu Qing, eyes revealing indifference, free of joy or sorrow, as a divine voice echoed, "Descendant, slave." "Xu Qing's expression remained unchanged. This was an eye of a flawless divine being. 'So-called flawless is merely relative,' he remarked calmly. Xu Qing gazed at the divine eye beneath his feet, speaking with a tranquil demeanor. Once, in the Ancient Continent, Xu Qing had encountered similar eyes of divine beings. Each time he saw one, his body trembled, his mind roared, and a dense foreign energy burgeoned within him. Under the gaze of such an eye, it seemed as if all his flesh would separate, desiring to break free. This was the chasm caused by the difference in the level of life itself. Yet now, he gazed calmly, unchanged, while the divine eye he stared at gradually twisted and blurred, blood streaks increasing. Not to mention that this being was no longer what it used to be; even if it had returned to its peak, it would still be as it was now before Xu Qing. Xu Qing raised his right hand, and the medallion representing his status as a Provision Envoy flew out. This medallion served as both a symbol of identity and a special tool for collecting primordial essence. Holding this medallion, Xu Qing pressed down from mid-air. The distortion of the divine eye grew more intense, accompanied by a faint growl rising up like a tidal wave. Strands of golden primordial essence were seeping from this eye, each extraction causing the divine eye immense pain. Until after a while, when forty-nine strands had been drawn, the divine eye turned gray, seemingly reaching its limit, slowly closing and slipping into slumber. But Xu Qing frowned. 'The quantity is too little.' The primordial essence before him was only the size of an infant's fist, and its purity was far inferior to that produced by the Ink Soil. Hence, the amount needed for absorption naturally had to be greater. With this thought, a cold glint flashed in Xu Qing's eyes. He did not withdraw the identity medallion but instead pressed it down with force from its previous suspended state, directly onto the divine eye that was about to close. Tightly adhering! In the next moment, the divine eye widened abruptly, showing for the first time a different fluctuation in its expression. It was the fear that all sentient beings have towards death! Yet this fear did not last long, as Xu Qing, at any cost, extracted more strands, causing a burst of golden threads to explode from the eye instantly." This was no longer merely extracting elemental essence; it was siphoning life itself! Thus, the roar turned into a wail, and before long, the wail too came to an abrupt halt. Vanishing along with it was the eye of this divine being, reduced to ashes, body and soul obliterated. Its death contributed even more elemental essence. Gazing at the essence before him, Xu Qing felt the mark of the Mud Fox on his arm tremble. Therefore, Xu Qing released some of the extracted essence, sending it toward the mark. "Do you want it?" The trembling of the Mud Fox paused, and in the next instant, the mark exuded a suction force, absorbing the essence swiftly. Following this, a soft voice echoed in Xu Qing's mind. "Thank you, young master. You are truly kind." Xu Qing maintained a calm expression, standing motionless as he too began to absorb. As the essence merged into his body, his Immortal Embryo radiated brilliantly, and his aura steadily ascended until, after a moment, a gleam flashed in Xu Qing's eyes as he licked his lips. "Too little, still need more..." Saying this, he flickered and darted toward the next small world where a divine being was imprisoned! Thus, time flowed on. Xu Qing's figure appeared in various divine small worlds on this leaf, each divine being sacrificing its life to contribute essence. This made Xu Qing's Immortal Embryo glow ever more resplendently. For Xu Qing, leaving these divine beings for future extraction was not the optimal choice. Moreover, the mission jade slip did not stipulate leaving any alive. Hence, his collection became increasingly thorough. Meanwhile, other ascenders were also employing their own methods, in different locations, striving with all their might to collect elemental essence. Part of it was for the mission, but more so... for their own cultivation! As far as the eye could see, if one's stance were different, then observing them, they indeed resembled wolves and jackals.