Also submerged by the river of time were the living beings in this place. If one had a pair of God's Spirit Eyes, then at this moment, they would be able to see the islands and the withered statues of rulers in the river of time, as well as countless cultivators.
They were all submerged in the river, motionless. Their time had been frozen at the moment before. They were neither alive nor dead; they existed with the river of time.
However, nine cultivators were missing. The five heirs weren't there, and Li Xueshan, Shenque Zi, Chen Erniu, and Xu Qing were nowhere to be seen.
The moment the Clear Time Gate opened, they'd been sent to the past of the Red Moon Divine Son by Princess Ming Mei's forbidden art. They were scattered at different points.
To ensure that all nodes could be destroyed, the time each person was sent to was arranged according to their cultivation.
For example, the time the captain was sent to was when the divine son broke through to the Nascent Soul stage.
Li Xiaoshan was sent to when the divine son broke through to the Spirit Treasure stage. As for Shenque Zi, he was sent to when the divine son broke through to the Inner Spirit stage.
It was the same for Xu Qing. The time he was sent to was when the divine son broke through to the Nascent Soul stage. Only by killing the divine sons at all of the nodes could the ceremony fail and the divine fire burn.
Now, the reason why the Son of God at each node was the initial node of a major realm was because of the requirements of the ceremony. What he needed was the power of time produced when all his brothers and sisters broke through a major realm. The power of time produced by the breakthrough was the first step of his ceremony.
The second step was a continuous breakthrough from weak to strong. Like a rolling snowball, he'd explode from the Qi Condensation stage at the fourteen nodes, gathering an invincible aura. In the end, he'd replace the ceremony with the power of time gathered by his brothers and sisters.
The final step was to successfully become a god. This method was different from the Crimson Mother's ceremony, but it was equally mysterious. No ordinary person could do it.
Unfortunately?
The appearance of the heirs caused an accident in the divine son's ceremony.
At that moment, the heavens and earth rumbled. Ancient scenes could be seen in the surging waves of the river, including the heirs and the captain.
One of the waves disappeared into the river. As soon as Qing Zheng appeared, he immediately circulated his cultivation. He was on high alert, and his eyes shone brightly as he looked around.
This was an unfamiliar world. The sky was clear and cloudless. The blue sky was like satin, giving people a new and pleasant feeling.
The wind that blew carried with it the fragrance of plants and trees. It also gave off a feeling of lightness. When it landed on one's body, it was full of gentleness as if it could seep into one's heart!
The land was covered in lush greenery. At the same time, dense spiritual energy permeated the air. Looking from afar, the spiritual energy in some places had transformed into mist, making this world resemble the Immortal Plane. A large number of spirit beasts could be seen running through the mountains. There were also immortal birds circling the sky, letting out loud cries.
There was also a long river on the ground. The river water was clear and the fish were plump. The entire world was like a peach garden. It was a place that Xu Qing had never seen before.
The world he was in was filled with Gods and Spirits, and the Spirit Qi had been mixed with poison. Living beings were as miserable as animals, but this place was completely different. He, Xu Qing, raised his head and looked at the sky.
In the sky, there was a behemoth that existed eternally in his memory. In this world, there was no God's Mask Fragment that had yet to arrive.
This node?
The entire Ancient Gaze Continent had yet to experience a calamity, and Ancient Emperor Xuan You was still ruling over the entire Ancient Gaze Tribe.
"At a time like this, Teacher is one of the Ancient Gazing Races," Xu Qing murmured as he walked forward.
He wanted to find the Divine Son who'd broken through nearby. As he walked forward, immortal birds danced in front of him. However, they quickly took to the air again and circled around Xu Qing, looking at him affectionately.
The same was true for the spirit beasts on the ground. When they saw Xu Qing, they let out cries of their own accord, as if they were worshiping him.
Xu Qing's heart stirred when he saw this. He thought of the outside world. At a time like this, everything was different.
The green mountains and clear waters, and the spirit beasts and immortal birds, were all serene. Xu Qing looked around. He really wanted to go farther and see this world that hadn't experienced a calamity.
However, he knew that the most important thing right now was to kill the Divine Son. Xu Qing took a deep breath, then sped forward.
Without the metal sphere, Xu Qing moved with astonishing speed, leaving behind afterimages. He spread out his divine sense to search for the Divine Son, and the shadow beneath his feet quickly spread out to search for the Divine Son.
After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Xu Qing turned his head and looked east.
"Over there!" He sensed the fluctuations of the Spirit Trove.
Without the slightest hesitation, Xu Qing whistled through the air toward the east. He quickly traversed five hundred kilometers, and an enormous basin came into view.
The basin was fifty kilometers wide, and looked as if it had been smashed by a giant rock from outer space. Vertical scars could be seen all around, and in the center of the basin was an enormous black rhinoceros.
It was incomparably huge, and possessed the power to swallow mountains and rivers. Its entire body emanated terrifying fluctuations, and it raised its head to the sky and let out a deafening roar.
Was the sky rippling because of this?
Ripples formed, and auspicious light fell from the sky, enveloping the rhinoceros. Was it because of a golden cauldron?
He could faintly make out a secret trove within the rhinoceros's body.
The rhinoceros immediately sensed Xu Qing's arrival. It turned its head and spat out a cloud of mist from its nostrils.
Xu Qing paused and looked at the rhinoceros. In his eyes, the rhinoceros was illusory, and a black-robed youth sat cross-legged in its depths. He was handsome, but his expression was cold, and his entire body emanated a dangerous aura.
A river of time flowed around him. This was Princess Mingmei's forbidden technique.
"Ant," said the black-robed young man calmly. He lifted his right hand and pointed a finger at Xu Qing. The black rhinoceros roared again, and Xiao Si's body grew larger and larger until it was 30,000 meters tall. It left the young man's body and shot toward Xu Qing like a black shooting star.
Heaven and earth trembled as waves of terrifying aura erupted from the rhinoceros's body. Its momentum was like a rainbow, and it seemed capable of destroying everything in its path.
A mountain-toppling, sea-draining might closed in on him in the blink of an eye. It was an emperor-level cultivation method, and its power surpassed any emperor-level cultivation method Xu Qing had ever encountered.
Xu Qing's eyes shone with a sharp light. He'd just broken through to the Nascent Soul realm and entered the Spirit Treasury realm. If it were anyone else, he'd be confident, but this was the son of a ruler.
Even though his opponent's cultivation was the same as his own, Xu Qing wasn't the slightest bit careless. However, he didn't cower, either. Instead, his eyes blazed with the desire to fight.
He wanted to know who was stronger between him and his opponent, after all the accumulated knowledge he'd accumulated so far …. Now that his desire to fight erupted, Xu Qing formed an incantation gesture with his right hand and pointed.
Suddenly, the Golden Crow totem on his body began to boil. With a shrill cry, the Golden Crow rose from his body.
A thousand tails spread out in all directions, and its black body exuded an astonishing might. Flames ignited around it, spreading out like a sea of fire as it charged toward the rhinoceros.
The flames burned, and the sea of fire surged. In the blink of an eye, they collided. The sea of fire roared in all directions, but the black rhinoceros's aura was astonishing.
It slammed into the Golden Crow, but what awaited it was its thousand tails whistling through the air like blades. The Golden Crow opened its mouth and inhaled, using the Myriad Spirit Refinement Art.
The black rhinoceros's entire body shook. Sitting cross-legged in the basin, the fourth son of a ruler frowned and snorted.
"Dammit!"
As soon as he spoke, the black rhinoceros's entire body emitted a pitch-black golden light that transformed into a black hole. It threw its head back and roared, shaking the Golden Crow. The sky trembled as a white moon formed in the sky, connecting with the black rhinoceros. It destroyed everything in its path, and the Golden Crow had no choice but to retreat. This was the essence of a fourth-level cultivation method.
It was known as the Rhinoceros Moon Sky. Generally speaking, there weren't many people who could use an emperor-level cultivation method to such a degree, especially when he was only in the Spirit Treasury realm.
But in the next moment, Xu Qing calmly formed an incantation gesture with his finger. The retreating Golden Crow's body withered, and its flesh and blood dissipated. A black spear emerged from its body.
When the spear appeared, the sky changed colors. Thunder rumbled like the roar of the heavens, as if it wouldn't allow the spear to descend into the world.
But it still did. The fourth son's expression turned serious, and he looked surprised. The black spear descended upon the rhinoceros with world-destroying might.
Even though the white moon had descended to block the attack, it was still useless. In the next moment, there was a deafening roar. As the ring-shaped impact violently rolled back, the white moon shattered into pieces. The spear pierced through everything and ruthlessly pierced into the rhinoceros's body. It fell from between the rhinoceros's brows and pierced through its entire body, falling to the ground.
Xu Qing strode toward the fourth son.
At the same time, the fourth son's expression turned cold.
"How interesting!"
As his voice reverberated, the Vajra Sect's Patriarch's deep voice rang out in Xu Qing's mind. "According to my many years of reading novels, anyone who speaks in such a pretentious manner is obviously a great villain. They are destined to fail. We'll win for sure.
The Vajra Sect's ancestor felt helpless. He was worried that if he didn't show his face, he'd become cannon fodder. That was why he'd racked his brains to highlight his importance.
Xu Qing ignored him. He stepped forward and charged toward the basin with astonishing speed. The fourth son was just as fast.
He rose into the air, dodged Xu Qing, and grabbed at the sky with his right hand. He grabbed something and tore it apart.
A crack appeared in the sky, and endless black fog poured out. At the center of the fog was a black rattle-drum. One side of the drum was engraved with images of evil spirits, while the other side was engraved with images of tens of thousands of creatures. It looked extremely bizarre.
It slowly descended, and the fourth son grabbed it in his hand. It emitted an ink-like aura that corroded everything.
Even the spiritual energy in the area was affected and distorted. With a gentle shake of his hand, the sound of the drum spread in all directions.
Wherever it spread, everything withered. That was a poison curse.
"Interesting!" Xu Qing said calmly as he looked at the drum. His eyes were pitch black.
The Vajra Sect's ancestor took a deep breath. He wanted to remind Xu Qing, but he quickly changed his words.
"These words are obviously different coming from Master's mouth. Even his aura is different. We have to break tradition and win!"