Chapter 1578: Shedding Skin

Editor: Atlas Studios

At the border between the Southern and Western Starfields of the Fifth Star Ring.

Under the crimson aurora in the sky, the sticky rain scattered down, enveloping the surroundings.

Strong wind blew violently, causing sticky rain to dry rapidly and turn into glue. The sealing power rose greatly.

In fact, the edges had completely glued together.

Even the void couldn’t escape. It was as though this space was about to become one under this glue.

Its might was astonishing, and its lethality was bizarre and terrifying.

Xu Qing was within its range.

All around him, the sticky rain had enveloped him, creating rapidly solidifying sticky threads that connected with the earth, the void, and all directions.

They clung tightly to his skin.

The surrounding glue was accelerating in its solidification, growing thicker and denser.

If he couldn’t escape quickly, once this place completely dried, he would become trapped like an amber-encased object.

He wouldn’t be able to break free anymore.

However, Xu Qing didn’t look anxious.

He already had a way to break this glue trap.

So his focus at this moment was not on the battle itself but on the external factors beyond this fight and the thoughts of the youth before him.

While this might seem unrelated to the battle, it was actually the core of this battle.

Normally, one wouldn’t act so recklessly at the beginning of the second stage of the hunt.

After all, such actions would be more harmful than beneficial.

If he was injured, it would be dangerous for him to progress further in the hunt.

Due to the injuries, the situations he would have to face afterward would become even more challenging.

Moreover, Xu Qing’s token was only at the second level and wasn’t enough for others to persist in obtaining it.

According to the youth’s combat strength, he should be able to obtain other tokens easily.

It wasn’t worth going all out like this.

This wasn’t the doing of a smart person.

“So, something is very wrong.

II

After these thoughts flashed through Xu Qing’s mind, he glanced at the distant sky.

The guess in his mind became more and more confirmed.

Determination rose as well.

The sticky rain that was rapidly drying due to the violent wind had already turned into glue. It was sealing the surroundings.

II

Can’t worry about too much now. Even if it means suffering some injuries, I must end this battle quickly.”

A dark glint flashed in Xu Qing’s eyes. With a thought, all the blood in his body circulated faster.

Then, with a sudden shudder, under his control, his own blood burst forth from every pore on his body.

The blood spread rapidly, forming a dense mist that enveloped the surroundings.

Blood mist spread out, moistening the world.

This method was something Xu Qing had learned from that middle-aged city lord. By using his own blood as a catalyst, infused with his will, the blood mist spread in all directions, merging with the rapidly drying adhesive rain.

The lost moisture in the drying rain was instantly replenished.

As a result, the process of the adhesive rain solidifying slowed down considerably, turning the rain into a crimson substance.

The drying process, which should have been quick and deadly, was now hindered.

This adhesive rain art was indeed peculiar and powerful, but it had a fatal flaw.

That was, its stickiness could only truly erupt and become glue after it was dried.

This flaw was clearly known to the youth, so he rarely used this technique in front of his enemies.

More often, he employed it as a hidden method or as a surprise attack.

Now, he had resorted to it because he didn’t want to engage Xu Qing in a direct battle, intending instead to stall for time.

Seeing that Xu Qing had identified this flaw and even found a way to counter it, the young man with the birthmark on his right face looked grim, though not entirely surprised.

In his understanding, this enemy before him was terrifying in both intellect and reflexes—a formidable opponent.

He didn’t think he could seal the other party easily using the glue method.

Hence, although he still felt some regret, he didn’t hesitate and retreated. At the same time, he performed a series of hand seals with both hands. The color of the sky changed and a storm brewed.

He didn’t hesitate to expend his own cultivation, bolstering his wind authority to enhance his sweeping technique, attempting to achieve a balance against Xu Qing’s countermeasures.

One aimed to dry everything out, while the other sought to keep it moist.

It didn’t matter as long as it reached the balance…

In that case, even if it didn’t form a seal, this stalemate had already reached the effect of sealing and stalling.

Especially with the glue covering his opponent’s body—though it had gained moisture from the blood mist and hadn’t fully solidified, the stickiness still remained.

The constraints continued.

This method demonstrated that the young man’s talent and tactics were exceptional. Under normal circumstances, his plan would likely have succeeded.

He had even prepared a countermeasure against Xu Qing’s Fishing the Moon From the Well technique. So, upon arrival, he first unleashed the five-colored painting, intending to exhaust Xu Qing’s spatial technique.

In his understanding, such a spatial technique would be difficult to perform multiple times.

Whether it could be used repeatedly or not, making the opponent expend their energy was never wrong.

Moreover, the adhesion of his glued world included space. It had a certain level of resistance to spatial techniques.

II

If he still managed to break through it, then at worst, I won’t continue this battle. In any case, I’ve already told that person the location of this place. If he arrives too late, there’s nothing I can do.”

At the thought of this, the youth augmented the wind while emitting the authority of fire. He retreated and made all the preparations.

However… an unexpected scene that caused his heart to tremble suddenly appeared at this instant.

Xu Qing, who was bound by countless sticky threads from, actually emitted an earth-shattering sword energy at this instant.

This sword energy… came from the Emperor Sword.

It wasn’t to cut the sticky threads in the surroundings. This was because under the youth’s continuous replenishment, it would be difficult for the Emperor Sword to break them all in an instant. It would be another stalemate.

Hence, this sword might erupted from Xu Qing’s body.

What it cut off was… Xu Qing’s skin!

In the blink of an eye, the sharp power from the Emperor Sword instantly wrapped around Xu Qing’s flesh.

It completely separated the skin from his body!

At the same time, the sword light gathered in front of him and erupted outwards.

Immediately, Xu Qing’s body seemed to have split into two.

A long mark started from the top of his head and slashed across his forehead, face, chest, and even his entire body…

His skin was like a piece of clothing that directly split open.

A bloody flesh figure with no skin rushed out at this moment!

His speed was extremely fast. The instant he appeared, before the sticky threads in the surroundings could entangle him, he activated his spatial art.

At the next instant, Xu Qing directly teleported out.

Seeing this fleshy figure rushing out, the pupils of the youth with the birthmark on the right side of his face constricted fiercely. His mind rumbled as intense horror rose.

He had seen ruthless people before but this was the first time he had seen someone as ruthless as this person in front of him.

He actually cut off his skin!

Amidst the shock, the youth retreated crazily. An intense life-and-death crisis erupted in his heart like never before, causing his breathing to become hurried. This was because he understood that the other party’s goal couldn’t be just to escape.

However, although he sensed danger and quickly retreated, it was still too late!

Almost at the instant Xu Qing rushed out, the Dao of Space erupted.

It formed grids and overlapped, transforming into sealing power that suppressed the youth.

There was also an ancient Sundial that appeared behind Xu Qing. As the gnomon on it circulated, the Dao of Time descended.

It used the Time Statis power!

Using space to suppress his escape route.

Using time to condense time.

These caused the youth’s body to pause in mid-air!

His body and soul paused. His space was locked and his time was condensed.

Next… was the sword energy.

The second of the three streams of sword energy from Ninth Grandpa erupted from Xu Qing.

The color of the sky changed and the wind blew.

The sword energy rushed out and slashed at the youth.

This youth wasn’t ordinary. Even though his time was fixed and the space was locked, at this critical moment, his body emitted the aura of self-destruction.

He wanted to borrow the might of self-destruction to shake space and time and escape from this stillness.

Immediately, Xu Qing’s spatial grid rumbled and shattered. The Sundial on his back swayed and cracks appeared on it.

It was as though it was about to collapse.

After all… his opponent was a Ruler infinitely close to the mid-stage and a heaven’s chosen who had developed his authority to the extreme.

At this moment, a cold glint flashed in Xu Qing’s eyes. Even though the space was trembling and there were more cracks on the Sundial, he still didn’t put it away. Instead, he continued to activate the sword energy.

At the next instant, sword energy swept out.

The world lit up like heavenly lightning.

With a boom… the sword energy directly landed on the youth’s forehead and rushed into his body, destroying everything.

His body and spirit were destroyed!

All of this took a long time to describe but in reality, it happened in the blink of an eye.

In that instant, Xu Qing’s qualifying token’s perception range suddenly increased to five million kilometers.

He didn’t have the time to check these as he spat out a large mouthful of blood.

His entire body was badly mangled.

What was difficult in this battle wasn’t fighting but an instant kill that ended the battle quickly.

Even though he used space and time, the other party almost broke free. If it wasn’t for the space and time restrictions, there was a high chance that Xu Qing wouldn’t have succeeded even if he suddenly used the sword energy.

If he failed and the other party escaped the fatal danger, it would be almost impossible for him to end the battle quickly again.

Xu Qing took a deep breath. At that moment, he didn’t have the time to treat his injuries. After quickly tidying up the battlefield, he endured the intense pain due to having no skin and the backlash from the damage to time and space.

With a sway of his body, he headed straight for the distance.

I!

This battle shouldn’t have been so tragic.

ii

As he sped forward, Xu Qing thought to himself with regret. If it weren’t for the opponent’s unusual behavior, he wouldn’t have needed to pay such a heavy price and resort to using the second of his three sword energies to end the battle swiftly.

Now, there was only one stream of sword energy.

n

Moreover, Ninth Grandpa’s sword energy has a limit and can kill early-stage

Rulers. However, looking at these two times, it can’t kill mid-stage Rulers…”

Xu Qing fell silent. After that, he activated the purple crystal and swallowed a large number of medicinal pills to speed up the recovery of his injuries.

He was recuperating as he sped. He also sensed his surroundings and pondered over the scenes after he arrived at the Fifth Star Ring.

The Fifth Star Ring was an unified star ring!

This was completely different from the Ninth Star Ring where the Wanggu was located.

Back then, Xu Qing had seen the Ninth Star Ring through the map in the Demon Feather holy land. There were many forces inside and they all surrounded the Wanggu fragmented-face.

As for the Fifth Star Ring, it had been unified.

The gods inside were captured and forbidden from moving.

All races cultivated.

Moreover, it adhered to the principle that cultivators were supreme.

Hence, there were many experts.

Now, even though Xu Qing was only in a remote corner at the southern and western border, he had already encountered several Rulers. This alone was enough to reveal the vast and magnificent landscape of the Fifth Star Ring.

To Xu Qing, this was a challenge but also an opportunity.

Ever since he arrived at the Fifth Star Ring, he had experienced several battles with experts.

Every time, Xu Qing would gain new comprehension. While he had a better understanding of the Ruler level, he also gained more and more understanding of his Dao.

The battle with the guardian of the spirit mine, Lingdu, made him understand that what limited the strength of his Dao wasn’t just his cultivation but also his imagination.

The five elements were vast and there were endless changes.

After that, his battle with the city lord verified this point, allowing him to understand that his Dao could transform into authority.

Today’s battle with this youth allowed Xu Qing to see what kind of might it would have after developing his authority to a certain extent.

In the other party’s hands, the single authority of wind could actually shake the five elements.

Moreover, it could also combine with external objects to achieve an effect similar to the third authority.

All of this stirred Xu Qing’s heart.

He originally wanted to continue this battle because in his judgment, although the battle with that person was intense, it was also a form of tempering for him.

However… all of the other party’s reactions indicated that danger was approaching.

An hour later, Xu Qing’s judgment was confirmed.

Through the perception of the qualifying token, he saw that a shining star had appeared five million kilometers away!

This star was resplendent, surpassing everything Xu Qing had seen before.

The moment he sensed the star, an intense life-and-death crisis rose in Xu Qing’s heart.

Moreover, the other party seemed to have locked onto this place long ago and was rushing over with an imposing aura.

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