Outside of Time - Chapter 1279

Chapter 1257 Nightmare Comes Before the Storm

The Divine Emperor Li Zhu and the Immortal Lord Zhan Lu reached an agreement to exchange hostages…

This was not within Xu Qing’s expectations.

Not to mention, the Immortal Lord had assigned him to carry out the escort.

Therefore, as the General’s voice echoed, a thoughtful look appeared in Xu Qing’s eyes.

According to his previous judgment, the Goddess was important because she contained royal blood and possessed the divine power of her father, the Divine Emperor Li Zhu.

Capturing her would be an opportunity for the Immortal Lord to deeply explore the Divine Emperor Li Zhu’s divine power

, giving him more control and an advantage in the war.

But… now there was an exchange!

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes.

On the crimson giant star, the sea of light surged, enveloping all directions and isolating the fire tower where Xu Qing was located into a separate space.

Within this space, the fire tower was invisible, the sky crimson, converging on the curved blade.

Xu Qing held the curved blade, listening to the General’s words, and after a moment of contemplation, looked up at the General and spoke in a low voice.

“Does the General know why the Immortal Lord made this hostage deal with that God Emperor?”

Upon hearing this, the General looked up at the starry sky, and after a long while, a voice filled with vicissitudes rang out.

“Because the God Emperor of Li Zhu offered several conditions, one of which was one that I, a fifth-ring cultivator, could not refuse!”

Xu Qing pondered, very curious about what kind of condition could be considered irresistible, and that even the Immortal Lord agreed to exchange for a goddess.

“First, Emperor Li Zhu proposed five lower immortals captured by the Fourth Star Ring who hadn’t yet been tortured to death as the first condition for exchange.”

“Of those five, one was the last disciple of Immortal Lord Zhanlu, who had guarded the border with him for ten thousand years, achieving great military merit on the battlefield. He was also responsible for assassinations, but was captured years ago by a divine scheme. The rescue attempt failed, and he has suffered greatly in recent years.”

“The other four, though of lower status, have all rendered numerous merits to the Fifth Star Ring. Any one of them would have been destined to be tortured to death, but now, there is a possibility of survival and return.” “

This is Emperor Li Zhu’s first condition.”

“As for the second condition, it’s what I mentioned before, something that cannot be refused by the cultivators of the Fifth Star Ring, and even by the Immortal Lord…”

“That’s a piece of flying space!”

The General’s eyes gleamed with a strange light as he looked at Xu Qing.

“You ascended from the Immortal Capital, so while you possess some knowledge of history, it’s likely incomplete.”

“The Fifth Star Ring, the war between cultivators and native gods countless years ago, was incredibly brutal. The slaughter was earth-shattering, and the final battle between Immortal Venerables and God Venerables caused the Fifth Star Ring to collapse.”

“Many parts of the starry sky shattered, becoming numerous flying universes, separating the Fifth Star Ring.”

“For many years afterward, all Immortal Lords shared a common mission: to find all the flying universes, restoring the Fifth Star Ring’s…territory to its full integrity!”

“Because only a complete Fifth Star Ring can possess its most abundant rules, laws, and even its inherent fortune.”

“Over the years, the vast majority of flying universes have been recovered, except for the largest one, which remains missing, preventing the Fifth Star Ring from ever being complete.”

“And the second condition offered by the God Emperor of Destruction is precisely that last missing flying universe!”

“Once we obtain it, the Fifth Star Ring’s territory will be complete, all its rules and laws will be restored, its fortune will be even greater, benefiting all living beings.”

“Tell me, who could refuse such conditions?”

The General looked at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing was also moved, an unbelievable thought rising in his mind, which he then voiced.

“Could it be… that the Immortal Lord knew all along that the Flying Universe was in the hands of the God Emperor of Destruction, which is why he captured the Goddess?” The General

‘s gaze was profound, and he did not answer Xu Qing’s question. Instead, he raised his hand and took out a piece of silver jade.

As soon as the jade appeared, it shone with thousands of auspicious rays, its brilliance dazzling, and an extremely rich immortal aura flowed within it.

Faintly, one could also see what seemed to be a mysterious bubble within the jade.

The moment Xu Qing saw this bubble, his mind trembled, and his own constitution fluctuated intensely, as did his Immortal Embryo, as if… that bubble contained the supreme will of the entire Fifth Star Ring,

resonating with the fortune he had obtained .

“This is…”

Xu Qing murmured.

“This is the fifth Immortal Pill!”

“Because it is linked to one’s destiny, only those with the status of a True Lord can use it. Ordinary cultivators who ingest it will be fatally poisoned.”

“Its function is to assist True Lords in breaking through to the Lower Immortal realm, increasing their chances of success!”

“This pill is a reward from the Immortal Lord for your role in escorting the Goddess in the exchange!”

Xu Qing stared at the jade before him, his breathing slightly rapid. He could feel the resonance of his destiny within his body, and he could also feel the tremors of the Immortal Embryo and even the Celestial Realm.

All of this gave him a clear understanding.

This pill… would be of great use to him!

The General’s voice continued, this time tinged with emotion.

“Xu Qing, the Immortal Lord Zhanlu… values you highly.”

“Because there’s a large army arrayed, and the Immortal Lord will be watching during the exchange, there’s not much danger. In fact, anyone could do this kind of hostage exchange.

And whoever completes this task will first receive the gratitude of five lower immortals, gaining immense favor, and secondly, gain greater prestige, enough to command the attention of the entire army.”

“After this, your qualifications will be sufficient; you should be able to lead an army independently!”

As he spoke, the general raised his hand, and the jade containing mysterious bubbles flew towards Xu Qing. It

finally floated motionless in front of Xu Qing.

Xu Qing remained silent, gazing at the object before him. After a long while, he took a deep breath and spoke in a low voice,

“As the Immortal Lord commands!”

The general nodded, said no more, turned, and stepped into the giant silver eye.

With a flash of light from the giant eye, the surrounding sea of light instantly dissipated, and everything returned to normal.

It was still the fire tower; Xu Qing was inside, as if nothing had happened.

The giant eye had vanished.

Only the rewards and the silver jade shone brightly before Xu Qing, radiating primal energy and a rich aura of immortality.

Xu Qing remained silent for a long time, analyzing the pros and cons of the matter.

“This matter… did not appear in the illusion of the God of Pain…”

“And this exchange, while seemingly reasonable,…”

Xu Qing pondered.

He instinctively felt that this matter was not so simple.

Whether it was the Immortal Lord’s prior planning, the exchange of Fei Yu, or every step before…

everything seemed too smooth.

“So smooth… it seems that the God Lord of Li Zhu is actively cooperating.”

Thinking of this, Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed.

“As a God Lord, being passive once can be explained, but if it’s always passive, then it’s definitely not ordinary!”

Xu Qing frowned, but he believed that those who had reached the Immortal Lord level of cultivation could see and know things far beyond his own comprehension. Recalling the course of the war, an Immortal Lord capable of such a plan was more likely to already have a strategy.

“Then, what is the ultimate purpose of this possible arrangement between the two sides?”

Xu Qing pondered for a long time but still couldn’t find an answer.

So he looked at the rewards in front of him, suppressed his thoughts, and spread his divine sense to transmit his voice to Xing Huanzi and the others outside.

Soon, the Dao Seeds who were meditating cross-legged in the other eleven fire towers opened their eyes one by one, most of them filled with anticipation. They all got up and headed straight for the fire tower where Xu Qing was.

The moment they entered, everyone’s eyes were drawn to the rewards.

Even the well-informed Xing Huanzi and Zhou Zhengli were momentarily stunned.

“These are the source materials and military merits sent by the master,”

Xu Qing said slowly.

As for the distribution method, they had already reached a consensus. Xu Qing, as the main force in finding the trail and capturing the goddess, would receive 40% of the total rewards.

Xing Huanzi, having participated in the capture, would receive 15%.

The remaining 45% would be divided equally among the ten people! Both

source materials and military merits would be distributed according to this method.

So, quickly, the source materials and military merits were divided among everyone, and each person took their share, their hearts burning with excitement.

No one had any objections to Xu Qing taking the lion’s share; after all, this was how they had always done things, and Xu Qing’s combat strength deserved these rewards.

Xu Qing also felt this allocation was reasonable, because without the help of others, he alone could not possibly have killed and captured the goddess and the old god.

After the allocation, Xu Qing informed everyone about the Immortal Lord’s decision to exchange, as mentioned by the General, and also shared his doubts and speculations.

Upon hearing this, everyone’s expressions varied, and they fell into deep thought.

This was a habit of their team; when faced with a problem, they would pool their wisdom and consider and summarize from different perspectives.

“Xu Qing’s words make a lot of sense. The risks of this exchange are considerable. As for the background of the exchange, the only thing I can think of is that the

Immortal Lord doesn’t want to escalate the war!” “After all, if the war escalates or becomes severely tilted, one side might have multiple Lord-level beings joining. In that case, our side would have to do the same, and even the Immortal Venerable might eventually descend…”

“That would be the real decisive battle!”

“This is a game between a God Lord and an Immortal Lord, and their game is more about power…”

“However, this matter is somewhat strange. What exactly is the ultimate goal of the Zhanlu Immortal Lord?”

“Whatever it is, let’s do it! We brothers are invincible!”

Everyone spoke up one by one.

Xu Qing listened to everyone’s words and combined them with his own judgment. His heart fluctuated, and then he looked at Zhou Zhengli.

Xu Qing had already figured out Zhou Zhengli’s wisdom along the way.

Zhou Zhengli frowned at this moment, looked at Xu Qing, hesitated for a moment, then rubbed his temples and spoke softly.

“Young Master, fellow Daoists, do you think there’s a possibility… that this exchange itself is actually part of the ‘Light’?”

Xu Qing’s eyes gleamed with a strange light as he slowly spoke.

“If that’s the case, using the left flank as the ‘Light’ isn’t enough. This exchange, which involves both sides, needs to become an even brighter light. Then… the hidden hand is probably not on the battlefield.”

“But… within the Fourth Star Ring!”

Xu Qing’s voice, like a storm, instantly stirred in everyone’s hearts.

…

Time passed, and the day of the exchange mentioned by the General drew ever closer.

During this time, Xu Qing and the others reached a consensus, their hearts filled with vigilance regarding the upcoming exchange.

Xu Qing, too, made preparations, constantly familiarizing himself with the Immortal Lord’s Dao Artifact in the past few days, while simultaneously using the source essence of this crimson giant star to stabilize his newly advanced mid-stage Quasi-Immortal realm,

keeping himself at his peak.

At the same time, he also sensed a different atmosphere outside.

Because outside this crimson giant star, almost every day, legions crossed the starry sky to arrive and station themselves around this star.

Their numbers were increasing.

The solemn atmosphere was also growing stronger.

This wasn’t just the case here; on the front lines of the left flank, unseen by Xu Qing and his companions, the situation was even more dire. Both the divine and cultivator factions were rapidly assembling, their combined forces reaching a massive scale.

Thus, black and white intertwined continuously in this left-wing war zone.

A storm was brewing!

Until, with only an hour remaining before the exchange, a desolate horn sounded from the crimson giant star.

The sound pierced the starry sky, echoing in the ears of countless cultivators.

Xu Qing opened his eyes from his cross-legged position!

Before him, the sea of light shimmered, and a familiar, bound figure emerged from it, appearing before Xu Qing.

It was the Goddess!

She had clearly fared well during her absence from Xu Qing; her own source essence had regenerated considerably, and her skin had regained its luster. After all,

given the Celestial Lord’s stature, even during investigation, she wouldn’t deliberately torment.

Therefore… the fragrance was even stronger.

Xu Qing’s eyes gleamed, and he instinctively licked his lips.

Meanwhile, the goddess, gazing at Xu Qing, felt her legs tighten, her whole body tremble uncontrollably, and her mind reeling violently.

It was as if she were witnessing a nightmare.

(End of Chapter)