Chapter 526 - 396: Finding the Key, Obtaining True Points, Enemies on All Sides (Part 2)
"Who would have thought!"
The Three-Eyed Celestial Venerable snorted coldly. "The few of us searched here for so long, yet we couldn’t find a single clue about the ’True Path Key.’"
"And now..."
"It’s been found by a member of the Human Race who just recently stepped into the Eighth Realm: Dao Realm."
"Fortune is truly fickle."
BZZZT! BZZZT! BZZZT!!!
The pitch-black radiance dissipated.
In its place, an extremely majestic pagoda materialized, appearing before the eyes of every living creature and releasing an incredibly terrifying aura of temporal immortality.
"!!!"
Everyone’s pupils constricted.
SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!!!
More and more living beings and races gathered, but only six among them had stepped into the Immortal Realm: three Forbidden Immortal Life forms and three other Immortal beings.
Beyond them,
all the other gathered creatures and races were at the Eighth Realm.
"That is..."
"The Time Treasure Tower! It’s the Time Treasure Tower!"
"This..."
"The one who found the True Path Key is actually Sect Leader Xu."
*GASP*...
Quite a few of the surrounding creatures and races recognized him.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!
The Time Treasure Tower trembled slightly, its power suppressing all surrounding fluctuations. Amidst surging streams of light, Xu Qing stood calmly beneath it.
He was indeed holding a purple key—the very True Path Key that countless beings had been searching for.
Now,
it had been found by Xu Qing.
"Sect Leader Xu is unharmed!"
"It’s true!"
"That was an attack from a Forbidden Immortal Life, but Sect Leader Xu managed to block it."
"..."
The many creatures and races in the area exclaimed in shock.
After all,
Xu Qing’s Cultivation and Realm had only just entered the Eighth Realm: Dao Realm. He was merely at the Initial Realm Fourth Heaven, while his enemy was a Forbidden Immortal Life.
What’s more, the Three-Eyed Celestial Venerable had ambushed him.
And yet,
Xu Qing was completely unscathed; the powerful Time Treasure Tower had blocked the entire attack.
’He’s actually fine.’
The Three-Eyed Celestial Venerable was stunned for a moment, his expression one of astonishment. He sized up the Time Treasure Tower, then turned his gaze to Xu Qing, his eyes revealing his shock.
After all,
the Three-Eyed Celestial Venerable had just used his full power, not even hesitating to expend some Immortal Substance. He was certain Xu Qing would have been utterly annihilated.
Then,
the True Path Key would have become ownerless.
At that point,
they could have fought over ownership of the key.
But in the end,
the Three-Eyed Celestial Venerable never imagined that his full-power strike would leave Xu Qing completely unscathed, failing to harm him in the slightest.
Furthermore,
the terrifying aura of temporal immortality radiating from the Time Treasure Tower sent a shiver of dread through even the Three-Eyed Celestial Venerable, leaving him utterly aghast.
"Xu Qing!"
BOOM!
At that moment, another of the three Forbidden Immortal Life forms spoke. This one was from the Dark Forbidden Land, and its true body was a black gourd.
Evidently,
this Forbidden Immortal Life had achieved Certification from its original form as an Innate Spirit Gourd. To survive and wait for the Only True Path to open, it had crippled its own power and sealed itself away in the Dark Forbidden Land.
Basically,
the Immortal Life forms from the Dark Forbidden Land all knew Xu Qing, as well as Chen Wangu and his companions.
"So it’s you."
The Gourd Daoist naturally recognized him as well.
Finally,
there was the last Forbidden Immortal Life, who hailed from the Ancient God Forbidden Land. Most Immortal Life forms from the Ancient God Forbidden Land were, in fact, Chaos Innate Demon Gods in origin.
This one was a Chaos Innate Demon God: the Dao Tree Demon God.
As for the other three Immortal beings,
they came from the Spirit Race, the Divine Race, and the Immortal Race.
Additionally,
among the Immortal Race, in fact,
an Undying Immortal existence—one who had surpassed the Eighth Realm—was also known as a Primordial Great Luo Saint.
"Heh."
Xu Qing’s expression was calm. He surveyed the crowd, then glanced at the True Path Key in his hand. He knew he had become everyone’s target.
However,
Xu Qing felt no fear whatsoever.
"An Immortal being, and yet you ambush me."
Xu Qing’s gaze fell upon the Three-Eyed Celestial Venerable. He shook his head, his tone indifferent. "Utterly shameless."
"Hmph!"
The Three-Eyed Celestial Venerable snorted. "Hand over the True Path Key at once, and I might grant you a chance to live."
BZZZT!
But in response, Xu Qing offered no reply. Instead, under everyone’s watchful eyes, he simply sat down cross-legged beneath the Time Treasure Tower.
"Hm?"
"Sect Leader Xu, what is he doing?"
"This..."
Everyone was stunned, their expressions filled with astonishment.
"Insolent!"
The Three-Eyed Celestial Venerable’s expression darkened.
BOOM!
The Three-Eyed Celestial Venerable attacked again. A pillar of dark light descended, once more striking the Time Treasure Tower. It created a series of ripples but failed to shake the pagoda in the slightest.
’Upgrade the Carefree Sword Dao!’
BZZZT!
Right then, Xu Qing began to break through right in front of everyone. His consciousness connected to the Encyclopedia of All Things; he had obtained 100 True Points from the True Path Key, which was more than enough to raise his Carefree Sword Dao by several Levels.
After all,
if Xu Qing were to fight, he would have to face six Undying Immortal beings all by himself. Even with his numerous Supreme Treasures and the power of his True Technique,
when the time came,
it would likely be an incredibly difficult battle.
Therefore,
Xu Qing decided to first raise his cultivation. With a higher Cultivation, he would be able to unleash even greater Power from the Time Treasure Tower, the Carefree Sword, and his True Technique.
...
[Upgrade Successful!]
[Carefree Sword Dao LV5: 115/16 True Points (Cultivation has broken through to the Initial Realm Fifth Layer Heaven.)]
...
[Upgrade Successful!]
[Carefree Sword Dao LV6: 99/32 True Points (Cultivation has broken through to the Initial Realm Sixth Layer Heaven.)]
...
[Upgrade Successful!]
[Carefree Sword Dao LV7: 67/64 True Points (Cultivation has broken through to the Initial Realm Seventh Layer Heaven.)]
...
[Upgrade Successful!]
[Carefree Sword Dao LV8: 3/128 True Points (Cultivation has broken through to the Initial Realm Eighth Layer Heaven.)]
...
In the blink of an eye,
in just a matter of seconds,
his Carefree Sword Dao had risen a full four Levels, from Level 4 to Level 8. Consequently, Xu Qing’s Cultivation Realm also soared from the Initial Realm Fourth Heaven to the Initial Realm Eighth Layer Heaven.
He was now only one Level away from the Initial Realm Ninth Layer Heaven.
"What?"
"This..."
"How can his Cultivation rise so quickly? This... this is..."
"My heavens!"
"I can’t believe it!"
"In such a short time—less than a minute, for sure—he went from the Initial Realm Fourth Heaven to the Initial Realm Eighth Layer Heaven."
"So it’s possible to raise one’s Cultivation like this?"
"..."
Everyone had just witnessed Xu Qing’s breakthrough with their own eyes. He was raising his Realm with every few breaths, a feat that completely defied their imagination.
It was safe to say,
none of them had ever seen anything like it.
*Phew...*
"Was that a real breakthrough? Or is Xu Qing’s true Cultivation actually much higher, and he was just hiding it until now? Otherwise, how could he break through so fast? It’s unbelievable... incomprehensible."
"..."
Even more creatures and races began to form all sorts of wild speculations.
"What’s the difference between the Initial Realm Fourth Heaven and the Initial Realm Eighth Layer Heaven?"
The Three-Eyed Celestial Venerable shook his head, a contemptuous look on his face. "In our eyes, anyone beneath the Undying Immortal Realm is just an ant. We can crush them with a single finger."
"The only reason you’re not dead is because you possess a powerful Supreme Treasure."
"However..."
"You’re not the only one with a Supreme Treasure."
BOOM!
As soon as he finished speaking,
the Three-Eyed Celestial Venerable waved his right hand, once again releasing an immense fluctuation of Immortal Power. Countless black flames coalesced in his hand, forming a Three-Pointed Double-Edged Saber that was pitch-black and wreathed in dark fire.