Chapter 1253: True Monarch Green Aurora

Six days flew by in a flash. As the day the lieutenant general had mentioned approached, Xu Qing and the ascendees worked on their cultivation in their respective flame pagodas. The ringsource gathered by the red giant wasn’t as pure as that from the goddess, but was still very beneficial as they healed from their injuries. In the six days that passed, most of them ended up recovering fully.

Xu Qing was particularly benefited. The ringsource from the red giant was of great help in pushing his immortal embryo toward completion. It formed a great complement to the ringsource he had collected from the goddess, making it easier to absorb. The advancement of his immortal embryo put him on the very cusp of mid Quasi-Immortal.

As it turns out, cultivation on the battlefield really is more efficient.

Inside the flame pagoda, Xu Qing opened his eyes. They glowed as if heavenly bodies swirled within them, making him seem extraordinarily refined. Combined with his extraordinary good looks, he really embodied the spirit of what it meant to be an immortal.

Sadly… this ringsource is too placid. If I didn’t have the purer kind from the goddess to balance it out, it wouldn’t be as good for healing purposes.

Xu Qing still regretted not being able to make better use of the goddess. It wasn’t that he had never harvested ringsource from a True God before. In fact, he currently had a True God in his heaven beyond heaven, and he would occasionally extract ringsource from it. But Starryeyes’ ringsource was just much more pure.

The daughter of a god emperor. The blood of a God Lord…. They’re really extraordinary.

Just thinking about extracting ringsource from that goddess caused Xu Qing to lick his lips. That pure level of ringsource was really perfect for him! It could even be called incomparable.

Unfortunately, he had already turned the goddess in for the mission, so all he could do was suppress his disappointment and settle down to work on his cultivation. But right then…

A solar flare erupted on the red giant! Intense rumbling sounds echoed out as the boundless sea of light swept out to cover the entire star, sending out infinite glowing light. That light swept over Xu Qing’s flame pagoda, and after it was gone, so was the pagoda.

A boundless power swept through the sea of light, causing a huge silver eye to appear right in front of Xu Qing. The eye opened!

Trembling, Xu Qing stood, his expression solemn as he bowed to the silver eye. “Well met, Lieutenant General!”

The silver eye regarded Xu Qing for a moment, and then that most ancient voice echoed within the sea of light.

“Here is your reward.”

As the voice drifted out, ten pieces of glittering jade drifted out, rectangular in shape and glowing with light. There was also a medallion with military credits in it. The ten pieces of jade pulsed with ringsource, and their swirling light made them look like jewels. The military credit medallion looked ordinary in nature, but its contents were astonishing.

“This is the reward for providing clues leading to the capture of the goddess. Ten portions of ringsource and 1,000,000 military credits!”

Next came 100 pieces of jade and ten military credit medallions. The contrast between the first reward and the second was clear, and the latter simply pulsed with dazzling, multicolored light. If these items were displayed in public, they would cause countless cultivators to go crazy with longing.

“This is the reward for capturing the goddess alive!”

Xu Qing looked at it all, his eyes glittering. Forcing himself to remain calm, he stood there quietly.

“As for the title of true monarch….” The silver eye suddenly seemed to become more solemn. “There are some things you need to understand. Apprentices of Immortal Lords are true monarchs. Here in the Fifth Star Ring, the dao of immortals was established by the Immortal Paragon. By refining countless gods into spirit lineaments and natural law, destiny aura was formed.

“The Immortal Paragon enjoys fifty percent of the destiny aura, while the eleven Immortal Lords have forty percent and the true monarchs get the remaining ten percent! Those who use destiny aura are blessed by the destiny aura, and receive the protection of the star ring.”

Xu Qing’s gaze sharpened. He had known about true monarchs being the apprentices of Immortal Lords. But he didn’t know very much about destiny aura, so this new information was intriguing.

The ancient voice spoke again, and this time it boomed like thunder.

“Xu Qing! This crystal has been provided to you by Immortal Lord Deepgloom. It was formed from the destiny aura of the Fifth Star Ring. Imprint it with divine will, and the star ring itself will bless you with a name!”

Golden threads emerged, combining in front of Xu Qing to form a finger-nail sized golden crystal! It looked similar to the godhood of True Gods that Xu Qing had seen, but there were some differences.

Xu Qing instinctively looked at it, and the moment he did, he felt like he could see the entire Fifth Star Ring spinning. He saw infinite universes, boundless starry skies, and numerous heavens beyond heaven. He was just about to put his mark on the crystal… when all of a sudden, within the Fifth Star Ring inside the crystal, next to the eleven active heavens beyond heaven, light glittered brightly. It came from what had once been the Aurora heaven beyond heaven.

The word ‘Green’ was forming there. Green light erupted from it, sweeping across universes.

The silver eye uttered an expression of surprise. “Is the issue of Aurora Heaven’s title being settled now?”

Xu Qing looked dazed. When he finally cleared his head, he saw that there was an additional word on the crystal.

Green!

Upon seeing that word… it was as if countless species had joined voices to speak a title that echoed in Xu Qing’s ears.

True Monarch Green Aurora!

It was closely linked to Xu Qing’s providence! At that moment, Xu Qing felt a close connection to the Fifth Star Ring appear within himself. He was now more closely linked to the Fifth Star Ring than ever before. Now, wherever he went, he knew that he would be able to sense the Fifth Star Ring calling to him.

This is destiny aura…. Xu Qing thought.

At the same time, his cultivation base received an augmentation from the destiny aura of the Fifth Star Ring, causing him to instantly achieve a breakthrough! Rumbling sounds filled him as his immortal embryo appeared behind him, towering over the red giant. Instantly, a tempestuous vortex formed, as an immortal will glittered into the starry sky. Just like the tempest, his cultivation base raged to new heights.

He instantly broke past the limits of early Quasi-Immortal and entered… mid Quasi-Immortal! The moment he entered mid Quasi-Immortal, he could sense immortal energy as vast as a sea roiling within him. His hair whipped about, and the pressure he radiated vastly surpassed anything from before.

Just barely, he could sense an immortal reserve within him. That immortal reserve was the foundation upon which to control his own fate. As of that moment, Xu Qing’s eyes started shining with silver light! That was one of the hallmarks of immortals!

After Xu Qing was bolstered by the destiny aura, achieving a cultivation base breakthrough, it became possible to see a figure clad in a daoist robe, standing in the huge silver eye in front of him. It was a middle-aged cultivator who seemed threatening without being angry. His daoist robe was blue, he pulsed with an immortal energy, and his eyes seemed to contain universes and star domains.

He was the lieutenant general of the eastern theater. He stepped out into the open and stood in front of Xu Qing, looking at him with glittering eyes.

Xu Qing took a deep breath to calm himself, then prepared to bow.

The lieutenant general shook his head and sent out a gentle force that prevented Xu Qing from bowing.

“You have the title true monarch. If you were a Lower Immortal, I would need to bow to you. And even though you’re not a Lower Immortal yet, we have equal status, so there’s no need for you to bow. When you eventually leave this battlefield, you will be able to select an Immortal Lord as your Master!”

Xu Qing knew that he should follow the rules of the Fifth Star Ring, so he made no further attempt to bow. However, he still made a sincere expression of gratitude. “Many thanks for your support and guidance, Lieutenant General. I, Xu Qing, will never forget it.”

The lieutenant general nodded approvingly. “You earned it and deserve it. Now we come to the final reward for capturing the goddess. The Immortal Lord’s dao weapon!”

Xu Qing’s eyes glittered. This… was what he had been waiting for this entire time! The ringsource and the military credits would be useful. But things like that could be acquired by other means. Even the title of true monarch was really just a change in status. What Xu Qing cared the most about right now was battle prowess! And the dao weapon of an Immortal Lord would definitely improve his battle prowess and make him more lethal! Follow current novls on novel-fire.net

When the lieutenant general saw how focused Xu Qing was on the dao weapon, he smiled faintly. With the wave of his hand, he sent a host of silver streams of light flying out of his sleeve and up into the void overhead.

Xu Qing’s pupils constricted as he looked up. The silver threads entered the sea of light above. A brief rumbling sound echoed out, and then some red dots appeared above. The red dots seemed to blossom, turning into a host of red flowers. Finally, they combined, seemingly filling the entire sea of light, until the dome of heaven was the color of blood.

Immense pressure seemed to form above, and then rifts began to open up. Gradually, the rifts connected and combined, creating a huge, irregularly shaped opening! It snaked through the canopy of heaven for over 3,000,000 meters. Blood-red mist poured down from it like a waterfall.

Within that turbid wave of mist was a blade of bone, ghastly white and pulsing with fiendishness. It looked like an inverted crescent moon, shining like blood! It was covered with countless inscriptions that seemed natural, but at the same time, the work of craftsmanship. Maybe they were both.[1]

As the blade descended, the sea of light in the area shrank down and formed into a vortex.

What was especially bizarre was that the spatial rifts that had opened up, upon being filled with the bright red light of the blade, seemed to transform into thousands upon thousands of writhing karma threads. Their interactions became restraining magical law that controlled the blade light, making it a deadly arc that could sever reincarnation itself.

“This blade was used by Immortal Lord Deepgloom after he and other Immortal Lords joined forces to slaughter the last God Lord in the Fifth Star Ring. It’s a precious treasure made from the fingernail of that God Lord! That God Lord’s godhood was that of slaughter, and thus, this blade… can unleash astonishing levels of slaughter!”

It seemed like the blade could hear his words; as it descended, it vibrated and released a thrumming sound. That mere thrumming sent all starlight tumbling away from it. The sound summoned countless discarnate souls that the blade had destroyed, and they materialized around it like an army of demonic monsters. However, they didn’t dare to wail or howl; they turned into a mottled fog of blood that surrounded the blade.

The edge of the blade sliced space as it passed, leaving behind wounds like those inflicted by a ravenous animal. This was the dao weapon of an Immortal Lord!

Xu Qing was astonished. Acting on instinct, he reached out to grab the blade! The moment his hand closed around the hilt, he felt like he could hear gods howling in the starry sky, a sound which could pierce through all universes. All of a sudden, Xu Qing’s view of the world became the color of rust. A terrifying aura spread out that caused his scalp to go numb.

“You have been given all of your rewards. Half a month from now, an important event will take place. According to the treaty that has been agreed upon between God Lord Death Departure of the Fourth Star Ring and Immortal Lord Deepgloom, there will be a hostage exchange!

“Since you were the one to capture the goddess, the Immortal Lord has decreed… that you will be the one to hand her over, Xu Qing! It will happen on the front lines of the eastern theater. And my entire army will be there to keep you safe!”

1. The characters used to describe this blade are often rendered as machete or scimitar. They literally just mean curved blade, although they could also be rendered in other ways, such as crooked blade or even bent blade. Considering the description of it being like an inverted crescent moon, I feel like it’s supposed to be something akin to a sickle or falx as opposed to a straight-bladed weapon. Here are some examples of what I mean. There is never a super clear description, though, so in the end, it’s up to your imagination. That said… (minor spoilers): later descriptions indicate that the blade is only about 5 inches long, so using something like “scimitar” or “machete” doesn’t seem appropriate. Because of that, I’m going to render it as blade, or occasionally curved blade as a reminder of its shape. ☜