Chapter 1202 - The Primordial Stellar Nail

But there was a difference. Inside, there were no spirals, no force of suction. It appeared merely as a void in the starry sky, a perfectly round hole. Few knew where it led or how deep it truly was. Only the outer boundary could be seen with Xu Qing's divine sense. It was comparable to an entire star region. Compared to the Moyang Universe, this area was not vast, but standing at its edge gave an overwhelming sense of immensity. Especially with traces of primordial essence wafting out, like mist or scattered threads, adding an air of mystery to this black abyss. At this moment, within the enigmatic black abyss, Xu Qing moved like a fish swimming laboriously through the void. Behind him followed a mud fox, spreading divine power to fortify Xu Qing as they lent strength to one another. Every ten zhang, they alternated roles, Xu Qing first leading the charge, followed by the mud fox taking the front. The reason for this was that, in the black abyss, there was not only a lack of suction, but a growing repulsive force the deeper they went. If Xu Qing had been alone, ten zhang would have been his limit during his initial attempts. Relying on the mud fox’s assistance, they breached that limit, yet the intensity of the repulsive force soon made progress difficult for both of them. At two hundred zhang deep, they could go no further. It seemed that this was the limit for quasi-immortals. Simultaneously, a peculiar scent began emanating from the depths. It smelled like rust, mingled with something fishy and indistinct. "Something's off here... This scent... It stirs some ancient memory within me..." At the two hundred zhang mark beneath the black abyss, the mud fox’s expression changed, sensing their surroundings and gazing into the unfathomable depths, speaking swiftly. Next to it, Xu Qing’s entire body emitted cracking sounds, the noise of flesh being compressed. Though his constitution was strong, his physical form had only reached a level of illusory truth. So, in the face of this repulsive force, he struggled to endure, relying on his own constitution to gradually dispel it. For this black abyss, two hundred zhang was merely a fraction of its depth. However, the amount of primordial essence was somewhat greater than above. "Though we cannot delve further, fishing here should prove more effective. And at this depth, even Kunwu, though a quasi-immortal, should find his constitution insufficient to sustain him here." Xu Qing squinted, pondering briefly before signaling the mud fox to stand guard, sitting cross-legged and floating serenely. He raised a hand, casting out a fishing rod, the line plunging deeper. "Kunwu’s rod is indeed something special..." Lost in such thoughts, Xu Qing calmed himself, slowly waiting. The mud fox, while guarding Xu Qing, furrowed its brow, deep in thought. It confirmed that it had never been to this place, nor did it have any memories of it from its human days. Its familiarity seemed linked to the divine understanding and the vast information about the divine it sensed upon becoming a god. Thus, time trickled by. Half a month passed. As the mud fox’s thoughts became clearer, Xu Qing’s fishing from within the black abyss, due to their location, finally saw its first yield that day. The fishing line trembled. Xu Qing’s eyes snapped open. He saw a vibrant, multicolored orb of light! This orb of light appeared below in the abyss, barely the size of a head, yet it illuminated its surroundings, strikingly visible in the darkness. It looked like light, yet was a liquid, clinging to the fishhook, vibrating with the line as Xu Qing flicked the rod upwards, pulling the orb of light liquid up towards him. As it drew near, a dense aura of primordial essence spread outwards. Xu Qing merely sensed it slightly, and his forming immortal embryo stirred in response. His eyes shone brightly. The mud fox beside him also felt a primal longing rise within. Primordial essence was the essence of the thirty-six ascending star rings, the source of divinity, of the rings themselves. Be it divine authority or a cultivator’s power, at their core, they stemmed from this. Even divinity, and the constitution, were of this nature. This made it an indispensable force in forming ascending star rings. It was also the finest supplement for cultivators forging an immortal embryo, even achieving an immortal’s greatness. Yet the mud fox understood that this thing was invaluable to Xu Qing, prompting it to restrain its desires. In the next breath, Xu Qing reached out, grasping the radiant liquid orb firmly, mulling for a few seconds before crushing it suddenly. Instantly, the orb changed form in his hand, flowing along his arm until it inundated his entire body, with Xu Qing’s manifest form of his soul acting like a sponge. Rapidly absorbing. As the orb of light liquid lessened, its glow dimming further. Upon its complete disappearance, Xu Qing’s aura essentially exploded upward, his manifest soul’s body churning with continuous waves, approaching the indestructible state, just a thread away. Xu Qing opened his eyes, perceiving himself, then reached out and grasped. Immediately, the small white bottle given by Evil Spirit Daoist appeared, its body turning to dust and dispersing as if decomposing. As the bottle dissipated, the liquid within was revealed to Xu Qing. It was similarly the size of a head, equally vibrant and multicolored. It was the same primordial essence! "Identical..." Xu Qing squinted, hesitating no longer as he grabbed it. The previous scene repeated itself. As his manifest form absorbed it, his aura grew more intense, his physical robustness climbing steadily until finally... Xu Qing’s entire being radiated boundless light. A sound akin to thunder echoed through him. His manifest form’s real body became illusory, turning transparent, as if melting, or undergoing some transformation of quality! The process of manifest indestructibility starts with the soul emerging outward, forming a manifest form outside, concealing the real form within, progressively replacing it! Achievement in this realm involves dissolving one’s original concealing real form, transforming it from matter to spirit, becoming the soul! This state is termed indestructibility. But clearly, it isn’t true indestructibility. For at this level, body and soul have reshaped, swapping roles, as if the soul holds the body, and the body encloses the soul, providing the primary ground for their eventual fusion. Thus, fights in this realm rarely result in completely annihilating one another, necessitating a higher power to decisively kill. Now, Xu Qing’s cultivation was nearing this stage. His concealing real form grew increasingly transparent until finally... a complete reversal occurred, from matter to spirit, real form to soul, manifest true form to real existence! Internally real, externally real! In the next moment, Xu Qing’s aura surged, constitution shimmering, coursing through his entire being. His eyes opened wide and sharp. A serene gaze, yet exuding an inherent might, often determined by one's eyes. The mud fox nearby quivered within. At this moment, Xu Qing felt significantly mightier than before. "The next step is the final fusion of indestructible manifest, a complete unification of inner real and outer real, transforming the body into... an immortal embryo!" "The needed primordial essence... is far greater." Perceiving himself, Xu Qing reckoned, that to reach that stage, would require roughly a hundred or so such head-sized orbs of primordial essence. Considering this, Xu Qing glanced downward, intending to leverage his now enhanced strength to continue descending, but the mud fox beside him raised a hand, stopping him. Xu Qing turned to stare at the mud fox. The mud fox’s expression was serious, a rare sight for it. Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed. "During your cultivation, I recollected the moment I attained godhood, the understanding and divine information I acquired… Ultimately, within that vast heritage, I found an answer to the familiarity here." "To be precise, it's the scent here that I recognize." The mud fox’s voice was low. "It's the rust of the Primordial Stellar Iron." "In the information I obtained back then, the thirty-six ascending star rings aren’t of fixed size; they expand once every lengthy epoch, enlarging their boundaries." "This is the intrinsic nature of the thirty-six ascending star rings." "And during these expansions, cracks occasionally appear in certain areas during the expanded state." "Every time cracks surface, the supreme deity of that star ring painstakingly creates a nail from an extremely rare substance, anchoring it at the fracture, preventing the crack from widening and allowing for gradual healing." "That rare substance is called Primordial Stellar Iron!" Here, the mud fox glanced around. "The scent permeating here should be from the Primordial Stellar Iron." "So..." Xu Qing began slowly. "So, this black abyss should be the site of an ancient crack. To prevent the crack’s spread, the deity of the Fifth Starring drove a nail right here!" "And now that nail, capable of withstanding the forces that shatter star rings and preventing them from cracking wide open, has been removed!" "However, that kind of substance requires regular nurturing to endure, meant to restore it periodically." "Hence, Moyang Universe’s so-called strategic resource or peculiarity, most likely supports this nail from Primordial Stellar Iron!" "As for what’s below..." The mud fox looked down into the inky depths. "Perhaps, only a deity knows what lies behind the ascending star rings pierced by the nail..." "We, neither have the qualifications nor the capability to understand." "So I’m curious why such a universe vital for nurturing the Primordial Stellar Iron Nail would be relinquished to us on any star ring?" "Hence... I advise against further exploration." The mud fox's expression grew more solemn. Though it did not spell everything out, its words carried a tone of doubt. It inherently felt that there was an unknown force driving this scenario. "Furthermore, while removing the Primordial Stellar Iron Nail doesn't require a sacrifice, its return would see all life in this universe become... offerings." The mud fox murmured softly.