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nChapter 1578: Shedding Skin

nEditor: Atlas Studios

nAt the border between the Southern and Western Starfields of the Fifth Star Ring.

nUnder the crimson aurora in the sky, the sticky rain scattered down, enveloping the surroundings.

nStrong wind blew violently, causing sticky rain to dry rapidly and turn into glue. The sealing power rose greatly.

nIn fact, the edges had completely glued together.

nEven the void couldn’t escape. It was as though this space was about to become one under this glue.

nIts might was astonishing, and its lethality was bizarre and terrifying.

nXu Qing was within its range.

nAll around him, the sticky rain had enveloped him, creating rapidly solidifying sticky threads that connected with the earth, the void, and all directions.

nThey clung tightly to his skin.

nThe surrounding glue was accelerating in its solidification, growing thicker and denser.

nIf he couldn’t escape quickly, once this place completely dried, he would become trapped like an amber-encased object.

nHe wouldn’t be able to break free anymore.

nHowever, Xu Qing didn’t look anxious.

nHe already had a way to break this glue trap.

nSo his focus at this moment was not on the battle itself but on the external factors beyond this fight and the thoughts of the youth before him.

nWhile this might seem unrelated to the battle, it was actually the core of this battle.

nNormally, one wouldn’t act so recklessly at the beginning of the second stage of the hunt.

nAfter all, such actions would be more harmful than beneficial.

nIf he was injured, it would be dangerous for him to progress further in the hunt.

nDue to the injuries, the situations he would have to face afterward would become even more challenging.

nMoreover, Xu Qing’s token was only at the second level and wasn’t enough for others to persist in obtaining it.

nAccording to the youth’s combat strength, he should be able to obtain other tokens easily.

nIt wasn’t worth going all out like this.

nThis wasn’t the doing of a smart person.

n“So, something is very wrong.

nII

nAfter these thoughts flashed through Xu Qing’s mind, he glanced at the distant sky.

nThe guess in his mind became more and more confirmed.

nDetermination rose as well.

nThe sticky rain that was rapidly drying due to the violent wind had already turned into glue. It was sealing the surroundings.

nII

nCan’t worry about too much now. Even if it means suffering some injuries, I must end this battle quickly.”

nA dark glint flashed in Xu Qing’s eyes. With a thought, all the blood in his body circulated faster.

nThen, with a sudden shudder, under his control, his own blood burst forth from every pore on his body.

nThe blood spread rapidly, forming a dense mist that enveloped the surroundings.

nBlood mist spread out, moistening the world.

nThis method was something Xu Qing had learned from that middle-aged city lord. By using his own blood as a catalyst, infused with his will, the blood mist spread in all directions, merging with the rapidly drying adhesive rain.

nThe lost moisture in the drying rain was instantly replenished.

nAs a result, the process of the adhesive rain solidifying slowed down considerably, turning the rain into a crimson substance.

nThe drying process, which should have been quick and deadly, was now hindered.

nThis adhesive rain art was indeed peculiar and powerful, but it had a fatal flaw.

nThat was, its stickiness could only truly erupt and become glue after it was dried.

nThis flaw was clearly known to the youth, so he rarely used this technique in front of his enemies.

nMore often, he employed it as a hidden method or as a surprise attack.

nNow, he had resorted to it because he didn’t want to engage Xu Qing in a direct battle, intending instead to stall for time.

nSeeing that Xu Qing had identified this flaw and even found a way to counter it, the young man with the birthmark on his right face looked grim, though not entirely surprised.

nIn his understanding, this enemy before him was terrifying in both intellect and reflexes—a formidable opponent.

nHe didn’t think he could seal the other party easily using the glue method.

nHence, although he still felt some regret, he didn’t hesitate and retreated. At the same time, he performed a series of hand seals with both hands. The color of the sky changed and a storm brewed.

nHe didn’t hesitate to expend his own cultivation, bolstering his wind authority to enhance his sweeping technique, attempting to achieve a balance against Xu Qing’s countermeasures.

nOne aimed to dry everything out, while the other sought to keep it moist.

nIt didn’t matter as long as it reached the balance…

nIn that case, even if it didn’t form a seal, this stalemate had already reached the effect of sealing and stalling.

nEspecially with the glue covering his opponent’s body—though it had gained moisture from the blood mist and hadn’t fully solidified, the stickiness still remained.

nThe constraints continued.

nThis method demonstrated that the young man’s talent and tactics were exceptional. Under normal circumstances, his plan would likely have succeeded.

nHe had even prepared a countermeasure against Xu Qing’s Fishing the Moon From the Well technique. So, upon arrival, he first unleashed the five-colored painting, intending to exhaust Xu Qing’s spatial technique.

nIn his understanding, such a spatial technique would be difficult to perform multiple times.

nWhether it could be used repeatedly or not, making the opponent expend their energy was never wrong.

nMoreover, the adhesion of his glued world included space. It had a certain level of resistance to spatial techniques.

nII

nIf he still managed to break through it, then at worst, I won’t continue this battle. In any case, I’ve already told that person the location of this place. If he arrives too late, there’s nothing I can do.”

nAt the thought of this, the youth augmented the wind while emitting the authority of fire. He retreated and made all the preparations.

nHowever… an unexpected scene that caused his heart to tremble suddenly appeared at this instant.

nXu Qing, who was bound by countless sticky threads from, actually emitted an earth-shattering sword energy at this instant.

nThis sword energy… came from the Emperor Sword.

nIt wasn’t to cut the sticky threads in the surroundings. This was because under the youth’s continuous replenishment, it would be difficult for the Emperor Sword to break them all in an instant. It would be another stalemate.

nHence, this sword might erupted from Xu Qing’s body.

nWhat it cut off was… Xu Qing’s skin!

nIn the blink of an eye, the sharp power from the Emperor Sword instantly wrapped around Xu Qing’s flesh.

nIt completely separated the skin from his body!

nAt the same time, the sword light gathered in front of him and erupted outwards.

nImmediately, Xu Qing’s body seemed to have split into two.

nA long mark started from the top of his head and slashed across his forehead, face, chest, and even his entire body…

nHis skin was like a piece of clothing that directly split open.

nA bloody flesh figure with no skin rushed out at this moment!

nHis speed was extremely fast. The instant he appeared, before the sticky threads in the surroundings could entangle him, he activated his spatial art.

nAt the next instant, Xu Qing directly teleported out.

nSeeing this fleshy figure rushing out, the pupils of the youth with the birthmark on the right side of his face constricted fiercely. His mind rumbled as intense horror rose.

nHe had seen ruthless people before but this was the first time he had seen someone as ruthless as this person in front of him.

nHe actually cut off his skin!

nAmidst the shock, the youth retreated crazily. An intense life-and-death crisis erupted in his heart like never before, causing his breathing to become hurried. This was because he understood that the other party’s goal couldn’t be just to escape.

nHowever, although he sensed danger and quickly retreated, it was still too late!

nAlmost at the instant Xu Qing rushed out, the Dao of Space erupted.

nIt formed grids and overlapped, transforming into sealing power that suppressed the youth.

nThere was also an ancient Sundial that appeared behind Xu Qing. As the gnomon on it circulated, the Dao of Time descended.

nIt used the Time Statis power!

nUsing space to suppress his escape route.

nUsing time to condense time.

nThese caused the youth’s body to pause in mid-air!

nHis body and soul paused. His space was locked and his time was condensed.

nNext… was the sword energy.

nThe second of the three streams of sword energy from Ninth Grandpa erupted from Xu Qing.

nThe color of the sky changed and the wind blew.

nThe sword energy rushed out and slashed at the youth.

nThis youth wasn’t ordinary. Even though his time was fixed and the space was locked, at this critical moment, his body emitted the aura of self-destruction.

nHe wanted to borrow the might of self-destruction to shake space and time and escape from this stillness.

nImmediately, Xu Qing’s spatial grid rumbled and shattered. The Sundial on his back swayed and cracks appeared on it.

nIt was as though it was about to collapse.

nAfter all… his opponent was a Ruler infinitely close to the mid-stage and a heaven’s chosen who had developed his authority to the extreme.

nAt this moment, a cold glint flashed in Xu Qing’s eyes. Even though the space was trembling and there were more cracks on the Sundial, he still didn’t put it away. Instead, he continued to activate the sword energy.

nAt the next instant, sword energy swept out.

nThe world lit up like heavenly lightning.

nWith a boom… the sword energy directly landed on the youth’s forehead and rushed into his body, destroying everything.

nHis body and spirit were destroyed!

nAll of this took a long time to describe but in reality, it happened in the blink of an eye.

nIn that instant, Xu Qing’s qualifying token’s perception range suddenly increased to five million kilometers.

nHe didn’t have the time to check these as he spat out a large mouthful of blood.

nHis entire body was badly mangled.

nWhat was difficult in this battle wasn’t fighting but an instant kill that ended the battle quickly.

nEven though he used space and time, the other party almost broke free. If it wasn’t for the space and time restrictions, there was a high chance that Xu Qing wouldn’t have succeeded even if he suddenly used the sword energy.

nIf he failed and the other party escaped the fatal danger, it would be almost impossible for him to end the battle quickly again.

nXu Qing took a deep breath. At that moment, he didn’t have the time to treat his injuries. After quickly tidying up the battlefield, he endured the intense pain due to having no skin and the backlash from the damage to time and space.

nWith a sway of his body, he headed straight for the distance.

nI!

nThis battle shouldn’t have been so tragic.

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nAs he sped forward, Xu Qing thought to himself with regret. If it weren’t for the opponent’s unusual behavior, he wouldn’t have needed to pay such a heavy price and resort to using the second of his three sword energies to end the battle swiftly.

nNow, there was only one stream of sword energy.

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nMoreover, Ninth Grandpa’s sword energy has a limit and can kill early-stage

nRulers. However, looking at these two times, it can’t kill mid-stage Rulers…”

nXu Qing fell silent. After that, he activated the purple crystal and swallowed a large number of medicinal pills to speed up the recovery of his injuries.

nHe was recuperating as he sped. He also sensed his surroundings and pondered over the scenes after he arrived at the Fifth Star Ring.

nThe Fifth Star Ring was an unified star ring!

nThis was completely different from the Ninth Star Ring where the Wanggu was located.

nBack then, Xu Qing had seen the Ninth Star Ring through the map in the Demon Feather holy land. There were many forces inside and they all surrounded the Wanggu fragmented-face.

nAs for the Fifth Star Ring, it had been unified.

nThe gods inside were captured and forbidden from moving.

nAll races cultivated.

nMoreover, it adhered to the principle that cultivators were supreme.

nHence, there were many experts.

nNow, even though Xu Qing was only in a remote corner at the southern and western border, he had already encountered several Rulers. This alone was enough to reveal the vast and magnificent landscape of the Fifth Star Ring.

nTo Xu Qing, this was a challenge but also an opportunity.

nEver since he arrived at the Fifth Star Ring, he had experienced several battles with experts.

nEvery time, Xu Qing would gain new comprehension. While he had a better understanding of the Ruler level, he also gained more and more understanding of his Dao.

nThe battle with the guardian of the spirit mine, Lingdu, made him understand that what limited the strength of his Dao wasn’t just his cultivation but also his imagination.

nThe five elements were vast and there were endless changes.

nAfter that, his battle with the city lord verified this point, allowing him to understand that his Dao could transform into authority.

nToday’s battle with this youth allowed Xu Qing to see what kind of might it would have after developing his authority to a certain extent.

nIn the other party’s hands, the single authority of wind could actually shake the five elements.

nMoreover, it could also combine with external objects to achieve an effect similar to the third authority.

nAll of this stirred Xu Qing’s heart.

nHe originally wanted to continue this battle because in his judgment, although the battle with that person was intense, it was also a form of tempering for him.

nHowever… all of the other party’s reactions indicated that danger was approaching.

nAn hour later, Xu Qing’s judgment was confirmed.

nThrough the perception of the qualifying token, he saw that a shining star had appeared five million kilometers away!

nThis star was resplendent, surpassing everything Xu Qing had seen before.

nThe moment he sensed the star, an intense life-and-death crisis rose in Xu Qing’s heart.

nMoreover, the other party seemed to have locked onto this place long ago and was rushing over with an imposing aura.

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