Chapter 1041: One Way Forward
Chapter 1041: One Way Forward
"It won't let me go?"
Xu Qing glanced at the red candle in the distance. He took a few steps back to avoid its light. With a flicker, he flew toward the crack leading to the second layer.
A moment later, he approached the crack, but … the crack had already disappeared.
"Not only am I not allowed to leave, even the crack leading to the second layer has disappeared."
"The reason is …"
Xu Qing wore a gloomy expression.
He quickly came to a conclusion and eventually came to three conclusions.
"First, it's the karma caused by the mask!
Either it's unable to leave this place, or it's its own force that prevents me from leaving before I make a wish. "
"Second, it's because of the red candle itself!
Due to the uniqueness of my body, it's full of malice toward me, trying to force me to stay and assimilate. "
"Third, it's because of the Divine Right of Fortune!
Even though I have a slight grasp of the Divine Right, it's still incomplete, so there might be some extreme changes, such as misfortune coming after luck? "
Xu Qing sensed the Divine Right of Misfortune in his body and noticed that it was more active than before.
However, it was still not enough to make a conclusion.
"It's also possible that all three of the reasons are taking effect!"
"Then, the way to resolve it …"
Xu Qing frowned as he quickly pondered. At that moment, the cold aura in the surroundings suddenly gathered. Xu Qing's body was knocked backward in the blink of an eye.
Cracking sounds reverberated in the air, and the space where he had been was instantly sealed by ice.
As Xu Qing's eyes turned pitch-black and merged with the shadow, he immediately saw countless shadows rushing toward him from all directions as if they were being controlled. They were emitting strong malice toward him.
Following this, as the sun rose from Xu Qing's body, the Mystic Sun Immortal Glow burst out and shot in all directions. Wherever it passed, the ice shattered and the shadows wailed in agony.
In the blink of an eye, more than half of the shadows around Xu Qing were gone.
His figure flickered as he dashed forward.
However, there were still many shadows that were flying toward Xu Qing from all directions.
"It's impossible for there to be so many of them!"
Xu Qing's Immortal Glow spread as he sprinted forward. He was passively chasing after the shadows in the World Origin Secret Realm. Meanwhile, the flame of the red candle was still flickering.
Every time it did, the stars in the painting changed at an accelerated rate. At the same time, when the candlelight landed on Xu Qing's body, it actually caused his soul to burn.
"These shadows are not only from the cultivators of the Demon Feather Holy Land who have died here over the years!"
"This World Origin Secret Realm is much older than the Holy Lands. Therefore, before it descended on the Ancient Gazing Continent, it must have existed in other worlds. That's why … there are so many shadows!"
Killing intent flickered in Xu Qing's eyes. The unique characteristic of these shadows was that they could only be killed if they could see them. Therefore, to Xu Qing, since he could see them now, it wasn't just his immortal light that could kill them. He could also use other methods to kill them.
Soon, as the rumbling echoed, a large number of foreign immortal soul strands surged out of Xu Qing's body like a torrent. Together with the Divine Authority, they began to attack.
Wherever it passed, the shadows collapsed in batches.
However, not only did Xu Qing's sense of crisis not lessen, it even intensified.
That was because the burning sensation from his soul had become even more intense under the red candlelight.
At the same time, the star totems in the World Origin Secret Realm began to change faster. They were like eyes that were drawn, revealing endless greed as they stared at Xu Qing.
Their gazes caused Xu Qing's sense of crisis to instantly soar.
In addition to the burning sensation, there were even signs of his soul being torn apart. It was as if the eyes in the star totems were releasing a terrifying suction force that wanted to suck Xu Qing's soul out.
Not only that, what made Xu Qing's heart sink was that he could feel that his soul was rapidly changing from formless to corporeal.
This shape was a painting!
He was gradually turning into a painting!
To be more precise, it was a soul totem that was drawn with his body as a canvas.
"My state of fusion with Little Shadow allows me to see those shadows, so I can kill them, but …"
"All things are relative. When I see them, my existence also allows me to be seen by the red candlelight … That's why the assimilation is accelerating."
"However, if I remove my current state, I can't see those shadows, so I can't kill them!"
This was contradictory, like an endless cycle.
Xu Qing's expression was unsightly, but he immediately removed his fusion with Little Shadow. As Little Shadow faded away, Xu Qing's eyes were no longer pitch black, and the feeling of his soul being pulled out of his body finally disappeared.
However, Xu Qing couldn't see the shadows coming from all directions, so he couldn't kill them. He could only dodge them at full speed and try to find a way to leave.
However, as long as the red candlelight was present, all of Xu Qing's attempts to leave failed.
Every time the command medallion was activated, it would be interrupted.
In the end, even though he didn't continue to fuse with Little Shadow, the red candlelight still caused Xu Qing to show signs of being assimilated.
His fleshly body was normal, but his soul was gradually becoming rusty. Even his thoughts seemed to be affected, as if rust had appeared in his mind.
Not only that, but the Scar of Fate that Xu Qing had transformed into Master Blood Chenzi was also melting in the strange red candlelight.
He couldn't maintain his Master Blood Chenzi state. All of his concealment and grafting were melting.
When it rains, it pours. Perhaps this was the third point of Xu Qing's analysis. After the good fortune came the familiar misfortune …
A cultivator appeared in front of him!
This was the first time Xu Qing had seen a living person after coming to this secret realm.
It was a cultivator from the Three Worlds Soul Accumulation. It seemed like he hadn't been here for long. He was originally comprehending, but he was affected by the upheaval here. He flew out of seclusion and looked around in surprise when he noticed Xu Qing.
The moment he saw Xu Qing, the Dark Feather cultivator was stunned. Then disbelief appeared on his face and he blurted out.
"Xu Qing?"
The concealment had been removed, and Xu Qing was very famous in the human race, so it was only natural that he would be recognized instantly. After recognizing Xu Qing, the cultivator didn't hesitate in the slightest. He took out a medallion and crushed it, intending to leave.
As the token moved, a vortex appeared beside him.
Seeing that he was about to leave, a cold light flashed in Xu Qing's eyes. He noticed the vortex around him and his speed exploded to the limit.
There was a loud bang as he closed in.
But the moment he closed in, the red candle suddenly lit up and wiped out the vortex around the cultivator, interrupting the Dark Feather cultivator's teleportation.
It also made it so that Xu Qing couldn't leave.
He didn't know if this misfortune was acting on Xu Qing or that cultivator, or if it was happening at the same time.
After all, Xu Qing also had the misfortune divine power …
Xu Qing didn't have time to analyze the specific reason. Seeing that the other party's teleportation was interrupted, Xu Qing's expression became ugly. The Dark Feather cultivator was terrified and quickly retreated.
However, he didn't even get thirty meters away before a tremor ran through him. His eyes filled with confusion, as if he were being controlled. He looked over at Xu Qing, greed in his eyes, and instead of fleeing, he began to self-detonate.
Rumbling sounds filled the air.
A moment later, Xu Qing left.
The self-detonation of the Three Worlds Soul Accumulation couldn't shake his body, but for him, who was gradually being assimilated, his soul still trembled.
Fortunately, Xu Qing didn't encounter any more cultivators who came here to comprehend.
After all, it took a lot of battle merits to enter the secret realm, so it was impossible for there to be many cultivators here at the same time.
However, Xu Qing still couldn't think of a way to leave.
There were even more shadows chasing after him.
The assimilation was also becoming more and more serious.
In the end, Xu Qing could clearly sense that the entire World Origin Secret Realm was exuding a thick malice. In fact, as he moved forward, there would be planets or worlds that were in a state where they shouldn't have been able to collapse, but were instantly destroyed by the fiery light.
There would also be stars that would suddenly appear in an empty space and then explode in an instant.
The destructive power formed by all this made it impossible for Xu Qing to guard against it.
What was even more exaggerated was that the patience of the red candle seemed to be running out. Thus, after an intense flicker, the flame actually continued to explode.
Like an erupting volcano, the light was much more intense than before, illuminating the entire World Origin Secret Realm. The heat wave was the same, melting everything.
As far as the eye could see, everything in the mystic realm was melting.
Stars, worlds, dust …
Apart from the red candle, everything else was burning. As for the candle itself, it was visible to the naked eye that it had dissipated a little.
"This is to completely exterminate me, leaving no chance for me to live."
"Unless I can wait until the Empress notices the abnormality here, or wait until the candle burns out."
"The former puts me in a passive position. As for the latter, I'm not sure if everything will start over after it burns out. After all, it could be the karma created by the mask!"
"Most importantly, I can't hold on for that long."
Xu Qing, who had been running for so long, had tried many methods to no avail. Killing intent erupted from his eyes. He only had one method left!
Thus, he paused and looked at the candle flame with a resolute expression.
He knew that if this continued, he would be doomed.
"Since you won't let me leave and want to assimilate me …"
Xu Qing's eyes were filled with madness and ruthlessness. He simply charged at full speed towards the core of the World Origin Secret Realm, where the red candle was.
His final method was extremely risky, but if it succeeded, any of the three reasons he had thought of, no matter which one it was, could be resolved in an instant.
The karma of the mask affected the candle, preventing him from leaving.
The candle coveted him and wanted to assimilate him.
After the Divine Right of Luck, bad luck would descend.
"Then, let me assimilate you!"
Xu Qing's eyes were bloodshot. As the flame of the red candle swayed violently and countless shadows gathered, he was like a shooting star, like a moth, flying towards the candle … with an indomitable will!