Outside of Time - Chapter 1281

Chapter 1259 One Party Breaches Contract

The moment he stepped out of the Fire Tower, the divine energy permeating the black anomaly shook the starry sky.

All the gazes of the immortals and gods on this battlefield converged on the crimson giant star.

The star trembled.

Then, these gazes shifted, finally landing on Xu Qing, and also on the cage he had dragged out!

Gazes have weight, especially the gaze of gods, which is incredibly heavy, capable of suppressing the body and soul. The moment it landed, it seemed to crush Xu Qing’s body and even his soul to dust.

The gazes of the immortals, however, countered all, rapidly converging while simultaneously dispelling the oppressive gazes of the gods.

Thus, as Xu Qing moved forward, thunder roared around him, the void shattered, sometimes twisting, sometimes shaking, sometimes clear, sometimes collapsing.

Xu Qing remained expressionless, continuing to drag the cage forward until he reached the edge of the star. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he paused, his eyes cold and sharp, gazing into the distance.

This region, located between the fourth and fifth star rings, was once a battlefield, named for its blue star mist… the Azure Shattered Sky!

Looking out, one sees a starry sky between black and white, permeated with blue mist, within which float countless broken stars, intertwined like the jagged spine of a colossal beast, stretching for trillions of miles within the azure star mist.

The surfaces of these broken stars are strangely covered with vein-like patterns, seemingly pulsating from the invisible confrontation between gods and immortals, causing these veins to shimmer and ripple with crimson light in the surrounding starry sky.

Brilliance and vastness coexist in this moment!

This is the background!

Against this background, a vast army of cultivators forms a dense array of dots, seemingly following the orbital path of the stars in the fifth star ring, transforming into a celestial map.

The sheer scale and sheer number of them stretch as far as the eye can see.

Only these densely packed dots are visible; each one… is composed of a ten-thousand-strong square formation.

At the center of each battle, a war drum emblazoned with the Taotie Devouring Heaven pattern floated.

With Xu Qing’s pause, the sound of the drums resounded like celestial music.

On the other side of this backdrop, within the divine army shrouded in black anomaly, collapsed stars could be seen, their interiors mutated, flesh and blood emerging, consuming the anomaly.

Each star was teeming with countless gods,

densely packed and boundless .

Behind them, countless mutated flesh and blood formed colossal ancient meteor bows, their strings drawn from the Milky Way. Now, the strings were drawn… the reverberating sound causing the atmosphere of the battlefield to freeze.

Furthermore, streaks of golden meteors danced among the gods, tracing mysterious paths and converging to form a divine barrier spanning the battlefield.

Whenever the war drums of the cultivators attacked, black hole vortexes appeared on the barrier, swallowing the sound waves into distorted spectral rays.

The momentum was overwhelming.

But what truly shocked the immortals and gods was the boundless expanse above their heads.

There… the scroll and the divine river were locked in a standoff.

On one side of the scroll was the majestic figure of the Immortal Lord Zhanlu, who had spread across the eight directions and six realms, with gilded cloud patterns extending behind him into a scroll covering half a star field, every stroke of which was a manifestation of the laws of heaven and earth.

Opposite him, in the black divine river, was the phantom of the Divine Lord Lizhu, seated on a throne forged from countless shattered universes.

His fingertips drooped, and the divine river slowly froze.

Few could clearly see the exact appearances of these two, but the pressure and aura emanating from them were clearly imprinted in the perception of all living beings.

And they were gazing!

What they were gazing at was the core of the ancient battlefield of this exchange land.

There, the mist receded with their gaze, revealing a vast altar suspended in the air!

This altar was composed of three hundred and sixty giant coffins and three hundred and sixty giant logs.

The coffins were made of demonic bronze.

The green rust covering the surface was peeling away, revealing dark red blood sacrifice inscriptions beneath.

Each time the star mist storm swept through, the coffin lid trembled, releasing black mist that condensed into terrifying, eerie shadows.

The wood was a collection of immortal crystals.

The immortal patterns flowing on its surface shimmered with silver light, radiating unparalleled vitality.

Whenever black mist appeared from the coffin, the immortal wood would suppress it, transforming into wisps of immortal spirits to fight against it.

This altar, composed of them, was the place of this exchange!

Watching all this, even Xu Qing, who had participated in many wars, was still shocked by this scene. His gaze deepened, and after a moment’s pause, he took a step forward.

He stepped out of the crimson giant star and into the starry sky.

The cage trailing behind him drew a dark red trajectory in the starry sky as he walked towards the altar ahead.

At the same time, on the side of the gods, the enormous golden barrier fluctuated violently, and before the eyes of countless cultivators, a god emerged from within the barrier.

This god’s appearance resembled that of a cultivator, like a middle-aged human male, only much taller, standing at seven or eight zhang (approximately 33-40 meters).

His face was exquisitely beautiful, with long, flowing purple hair that reached his feet, billowing as he moved. His golden divine armor further accentuated his perfect proportions and resolute strength.

As for his cultivation level… clearly due to the agreement of this exchange,

he was at the peak of the Divine Platform realm .

As he emerged, five ragged, emaciated, and even numb-looking old men were seen leading him like dogs on leashes.

Each of these five old men bore countless wounds, their bodies riddled with injuries, extremely haggard, and their life force dimmed considerably, clearly having suffered greatly in the years since their capture.

They were the human cultivators to be exchanged, each having rendered outstanding service to the Fifth Star Ring.

This scene, witnessed by the cultivators, immediately stirred their emotions, and the sound of their war drums grew even louder.

The jade-faced deity, sensing all this, coldly raised his hand and yanked, instantly tightening the ropes around the necks of the five human cultivators. The five trembled in agony, as if their necks were about to be severed. Then

, he gazed at Xu Qing.

Instantly, the atmosphere on the battlefield intensified.

A cold glint appeared in Xu Qing’s eyes

as well. Although he didn’t recognize the five lower immortals, he knew their battle exploits from his master, and he also realized that the jade-faced deity’s actions were a provocation.

So, with a wave of his hand, the cage imprisoning the goddess dispersed, transforming into chains binding her limbs. Then, with a grab, he pulled the goddess’s body towards him, seizing her by the neck.

Before the eyes of all the gods, even the God Emperor, he began absorbing source essence!

The goddess trembled, awakening from her unconsciousness, her expression one of agony.

On the divine side, a

deafening roar erupted. The killing intent was intense.

Xu Qing’s act of publicly absorbing the Goddess’s essence was a grave provocation to the gods!

The jade-faced god stared at Xu Qing, then expressionlessly released the ropes binding the necks of the five humans.

Xu Qing, in turn, released his grip, ceasing his absorption and instead holding the chains, allowing the Goddess to walk ahead.

Both sides proceeded towards the central altar.

Wherever Xu Qing stepped, radiant lotuses bloomed with each step, his cultivation reaching its peak.

The void beneath the Goddess’s bare feet continuously collapsed, divine blood dripping but not dissipating, floating along the way, seemingly giving birth to stars and flesh from nothingness.

However, as she progressed, the Goddess grew increasingly weak, her steps becoming more difficult. With each step, the chains binding her ankles sprouted painful spikes of light.

The clanking of shackles, like the chilling sounds of the underworld, reminded Him of the pain of the journey. His withered hair, seemingly a testament to his resentment, dissipated, turning into stardust and falling softly.

As for Xu Qing behind him, his expression appeared calm, but his inner vigilance was at its peak, prepared for any unexpected event.

He was uneasy.

Although he could feel the countless protective gazes behind him and the booming of drums,

among the many possibilities he and his team had discussed regarding why he was sent to escort the exchange, one possibility stood out…

“If the goddess knows about the exchange, given her hatred for me… will she make additional demands?”

Xu Qing’s gaze fell on the goddess staggering ahead, his eyes narrowing.

Time passed slowly. Xu Qing, escorting the goddess, and the jade-faced god from the divine side, drew closer and closer to the central altar, entering the asteroid belt. Until

… when they were less than ten thousand feet from the altar within this asteroid belt…

“Every wisp of my essence you devour will transform into a star piercing your destiny, becoming your greatest regret and curse in this life!”

The goddess suddenly turned around. The strange energy here reignited the golden flames in the extinguished galaxy in her pupils.

Xu Qing remained silent, pulling on the Prisoner’s Lock. Instantly, the immortal runes on the chains shone brightly, forming a force that drew in essence.

The goddess groaned, her essence dissipating from her wounds. She staggered and stepped onto a small, floating meteorite.

The meteorite’s black rock layers suddenly seemed to come alive, writhing and further staining her rust-stained robes.

Xu Qing’s robes moved without wind, forming a counter-clockwise nebula vortex around him.

It drew in the essence overflowing from the goddess’s wounds, transforming it into moonlight-like shimmering spots in his eyes.

Then he spoke softly ,

“Noisy.”

The goddess glared at Xu Qing, gritting her teeth as she continued forward. She wanted to go faster, but the rope binding her controlled her speed.

And so, following Xu Qing’s rhythm, the distance to the altar reached three thousand feet.

From this vantage point, he could clearly see the entire appearance of the Jade-Faced God and the specific conditions of the five human cultivators.

His inner unease grew even stronger.

Suddenly, Xu Qing’s eyes flashed, and he grabbed the struggling goddess in front of him, pulling her close by the neck despite her struggles.

He sucked hard!

This time, the suction was far greater than before.

Previously, after draining her completely, Xu Qing would slow down, but this time, the goddess, whose source essence hadn’t regenerated much, was instantly drained, yet he continued to suck her.

It was as if she were about to be exterminated, as if she were about to be released, so he didn’t care about continuing.

This suction inflicted greater pain on the goddess than before, almost pushing her to the brink of mental collapse.

This scene caused turmoil among the gods, countless low roars echoing, countless powerful pressures rumbling. Even the Jade-Faced God’s expression hardened, and he accelerated his advance.

The cultivators, too, were shaken by Xu Qing’s sudden action.

Seeing the exchange between the two sides falter, and the goddess’s struggle reaching its peak, perhaps due to the unusual environment or some unseen force, the goddess’s

struggle in extreme pain suddenly unleashed terrifying power. Her shrill cries actually shook Xu Qing’s hand away

, shattering all the chains binding her.

Instant freedom!

That feeling of freedom left the weakened goddess no time to consider the rationality of her actions. She moved swiftly forward, transforming into a stream of light and disappearing behind the rapidly approaching jade-faced deity.

Back in the divine camp!

Xu Qing’s expression was grim as he stared at the goddess’s figure, suddenly speaking.

“You can’t escape. We will meet again!”

As Xu Qing’s words echoed, the star-eyed goddess turned back amidst the starlight suppressing the deity, staring intently at Xu Qing, her golden eyes tinged with bloodlust. Unable to suppress her emotions any longer, she gritted her teeth and uttered the words she had long held back.

“That’s right, we’ll meet soon!

Xu Qing, I’ve tolerated you all this way. Did you really think you couldn’t control everything? How laughable! Do you know that you are the one to be exchanged? You were the one I proposed in the agreement between my father and your immortal lord!”

In this special situation, Xu Qing could tell the truth from the falsehood in these words. All the emotional turmoil on his face vanished instantly, and he spoke calmly,

“So that’s how it is.”

As he spoke, he waved his hand, and everything before the goddess’s eyes shattered like bubbles in an instant.

She was still beside Xu Qing, still being choked by him, still three thousand feet away from the altar!

This scene stunned her, her mind reeling. Her pupils contracted sharply, and disbelief uttered from her lips.

“True God Illusion! How could you have a True God Illusion?!”

Xu Qing didn’t respond. With a wave of his hand, he sealed the goddess, and his body vanished into the distance.

At the same time, from the depths of the void, an ancient murmur suddenly echoed. The divine river frozen at the fingertips of the God Emperor of Destruction shattered, transforming into countless enormous ice blocks that fell across the entire starry sky.

Some being beyond time and space descended into each ice block, transforming into the eyes of a god, gazing upon everything.

“Zhanlu, you have breached the contract.”