Chapter 984
The Empress Arrives!
The Emperor of Abundance is gone; it's a real shame.
But when fellow villagers meet, things always turn out this way.
But things must go on.
After dealing with the incident involving the Abundant Emperor, Fang Qing did not linger, as another place was experiencing a major disturbance.
After navigating through layers of turbulent spacetime currents and energy storms, Fang Qing arrived near his destination.
It was a huge, independent plane, entirely fiery red, like a burning heart or nest. It was tightly attached to the depths of the boundary's massive spatial structure, constantly absorbing the violent energy erupting from the boundary and converting it into its own nourishment and defensive power.
The crystal wall system of the plane is a translucent fiery red color, covered with complex honeycomb-like patterns, radiating astonishing heat and spatial fluctuations.
Even more astonishing is that in the center of this fiery red nest plane, a creature of unimaginable size, resembling a silkworm or worm magnified billions of times, is slowly wriggling.
Its body almost spanned the entire interior space of the plane, and every slight movement caused a slight tremor in the plane.
Its head was raised high, and a huge mouth like an abyss opened, spewing out terrifying flames that made the surrounding space boil—the Void Flame!
This void flame is a destructive fire produced when the laws of space are compressed, heated, and twisted to the extreme. Its power far exceeds that of ordinary elemental flames. It can not only burn matter and energy, but also directly destroy spatial structures and scorch the very essence of the soul.
A towering pillar of flame swept out, leaving behind black marks in the void that could not be healed for a long time.
At this moment, an earth-shattering battle is raging outside the fiery red lair.
Tens of thousands of cultivators, like countless ants, surrounded the entire plane. Among them were experts at the Great Sage level, as well as powerful Heavenly Realm experts with formidable auras.
They formed arrays of varying sizes according to their different factions, and countless beams of light from supernatural powers and magical treasures bombarded the crystal wall system of the fiery red plane like a storm, attempting to break through it.
However, the crystal walls of that plane were exceptionally tough and could automatically absorb boundary energy to repair themselves. Furthermore, the ancient divine insect would occasionally spew out "empty flames" that swept across the sky. With each sweep, a large number of cultivators who could not dodge in time or whose defenses were insufficient would fall from the sky with screams, like dumplings being dropped into a pot. They would either be burned to ashes or torn apart by spatial rifts, creating an extremely tragic scene.
"So many people!"
Fang Qing's eyes flashed as he concealed himself in a spatial fold and scanned the entire area.
He saw many powerful and commanding figures, many of whom he had even heard of in the records or recent intelligence of Wangu Hall.
The Diabolo Emperor is said to be a hollow divine bamboo that attained enlightenment and was proficient in spatial and musical supernatural powers. He established the "Diabolo Dynasty" in the Myriad Realms King Map, and his influence was considerable.
The Queen Mother of Wings is of mysterious origin. She has a pair of enormous wings on her back that seem capable of obscuring the stars, and she commands a large number of avian demon cultivators.
The Xuanming Empress, a peerless empress who was already famous in a star field tens of thousands of years ago, cultivated the "Xuanming True Scripture" and controlled the power of extreme cold and death. She disappeared after entering the King's Map, but unexpectedly reappeared here. Her strength is unfathomable.
Master Po Jun, a ruthless figure from the same era as Empress Xuanming, slaughtered countless people with his "Po Jun Killing Blade," exuding a murderous aura. He also disappeared for many years.
These people were all powerful overlords who had been operating in the Myriad Realms King Map for a long time and were renowned for their prestige. They each led their elite troops and launched a fierce attack at all costs, even using the lives of low-level cultivators to deplete the power of the divine insects and the defense of the plane.
Clearly, they shared the same goal—the ancient divine insect in its nest, or more precisely, the eggs it was about to lay.
Although the ancient divine insect was incredibly powerful, its aura revealed an undeniable weakness and exhaustion, and strong life fluctuations were surging in its abdominal region.
It is laying eggs!
Moreover, judging from the excitement and longing emanating from the Space God Worm larvae, the number of eggs laid this time is likely to be quite considerable.
"I see."
Fang Qing understood.
The Primordial Divine Insect is a wondrous creature from the void. Its adult form possesses terrifying strength, but its egg-laying period is when it is at its weakest.
These overlords seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and joined forces to seize the divine insect eggs. Even obtaining just one egg and hatching a larva would be an astonishing fortune that could change their destiny.
At the heart of the battlefield, the fiercest battle took place between two people—Empress Xuanming and Venerable Pojun.
Empress Xuanming wore an ice-blue imperial palace dress. Her face was peerless, yet as cold as ancient ice. Her body was surrounded by Xuanming cold air that could freeze the soul. With a wave of her jade hand, countless ice crystal spears and death waves swept in all directions, freezing cracks in the approaching Void Flame.
Master Po Jun was a giant with bulging muscles and a fierce expression. He wielded a Po Jun Killing Blade that was a hundred feet long and dark red. Wherever the blade passed, the killing intent solidified, cleaving through the void and even causing some of the void flames to roll back.
Although the two were also attacking the dimensional crystal wall system, they were more focused on restraining each other and vying for the best breakthrough position and opportunity.
Each clash between them caused the surrounding space to collapse on a large scale, far surpassing the power of the previous battles between the Abundant Emperor and the King of Langya. It was so powerful that even gods and Buddhas retreated and ghosts and spirits fled in terror.
These two have been stuck in the Myriad Realms King Map for tens of thousands of years. Although their realm has been suppressed and they have not been able to break through, their accumulated foundation, combat experience, and adaptation to the laws of this place have already reached a terrifying level, and their strength far exceeds that of their counterparts outside.
However, this did not hinder Fang Qing's plan.
His goal was also the eggs of the divine insect, but his methods were completely different from those of these people.
He approached the crystal wall system of the fiery plane silently. When he was still hundreds of feet away from the crystal wall system, he activated the Pure Land of the Gods with all his might, compressing its range to the extreme, forming a thin but tough holy light membrane that covered his entire body.
At the same time, he communicated with the spatial worm larvae within his body and the twenty-eight ancient serpent talismans of the Supreme Emperor, simulating his own spatial fluctuations and aura to be almost identical to the surrounding environment, and even to some of the fluctuations emitted by the ancient worm.
Then, like a parasite, he gently affixed the light membrane formed by the "Pure Land of the Gods" to the scorching crystal wall system of the fiery red plane.
Something magic happened.
The high temperature naturally emanating from that crystal wall system and the occasional sparks of air flames that splashed over were absorbed into the light membrane of the Gods' Pure Land the moment they came into contact with it, just like water droplets merging into the ocean!
The "Pure Land of the Gods" itself has the characteristics of purifying and transforming alien energy. In addition, the spatial worm larvae's affinity for spatial energy and the devouring power contained in the Ancient Serpent Talisman of the Supreme Emperor make this absorption and transformation extremely efficient.
Not only that, Fang Qing also tried to let a wisp of chaotic true energy seep through the light membrane, like roots slowly penetrating into the interior of the crystal wall system, and began to draw on the enormous energy contained in the plane itself. This fiery red plane has been parasitizing the boundary point for a long time, absorbing a massive amount of spatial energy and primordial purple energy, and it is itself a huge energy treasure trove.
At this moment, Fang Qing was like a tiny creature parasitizing a giant beast, hiding himself while greedily absorbing the host's nutrients.
Neither the earth-shattering battle outside nor the restless ancient divine worm inside the plane noticed the existence of this "parasite".
Time passed by, bit by bit.
The battles outside grew increasingly fierce, and the crystal walls of the plane began to show minute cracks under countless attacks, but they were slowly repaired by the replenishment of boundary energy.
The battle between Empress Xuanming and Master Pojun has reached a fever pitch. Both of them are injured, but they still fight to the death.
Inside the plane, the aura of the ancient divine insect grew weaker and weaker, while the life fluctuations in its abdomen reached their peak.
finally--
hum!
A powerful spatial ripple erupted from within the plane!
Immediately afterwards, hundreds and thousands of fist-sized, crystal-clear ruby-like light spots gushed out from the abdomen of the divine insect like a fountain, scattering into every corner of the plane!
Divine Insect Eggs!
And there were hundreds of them!
In that instant, all the cultivators who were besieging outside went berserk, and their attack power increased several times over.
Empress Xuanming and Venerable Po Jun simultaneously abandoned each other, unleashing their strongest power as they charged towards a relatively weak crack in the crystal wall. This occurred at a critical moment when everyone's attention was focused on the divine insect egg.
Fang Qing, who had been lying motionless on the crystal wall system like a stone, moved!
He had already locked onto the trajectory and landing point of all the divine insect eggs by using the permeating chaotic true energy and sensing the spatial divine insect larvae!
"Right now."
Fang Qing gave a low shout in his heart, and his figure seemed to merge into space, instantly disappearing from the original spot. The next moment, he appeared inside the plane, in the central area where the hundreds of divine insect eggs had just spewed out and had not yet completely dispersed.
"Devouring Domain, withdraw!"
Fang Qing fully activated the twenty-eight Ancient Emperor Serpents, and an invisible, terrifying suction force, seemingly capable of devouring all the heavens and myriad worlds, erupted from him! This suction force was not directed at matter, but rather acted directly on space itself and objects with a natural affinity for space!
The hundreds of divine insect eggs that had just sprung out and were still radiating intense spatial energy were caught in an invisible giant net, momentarily halting. Then, like swallows returning to their nests, they transformed into streaks of red light and converged on Fang Qing at an astonishing speed.
With a wave of his hand, the chaotic inner world opened up like a bottomless pit, swallowing up all these priceless divine insect eggs.
The whole process was lightning fast. From the moment Fang Qing appeared to the moment he collected all the insect eggs, it only took a breath or two!
"Who goes there?!"
"You're asking for death! How dare you snatch food from a tiger's mouth!"
"Leave the divine insect eggs behind!"
The Xuanming Empress, Po Jun Shangren, and the leaders of the other major forces outside had just broken through a crack in the crystal wall system and hadn't even had time to rejoice when they witnessed this scene that made their eyes widen in horror.
The cooked duck was stolen at the last minute, pot and all!
Especially for Empress Xuanming and Venerable Pojun, they paid a huge price, fought desperately, and were about to succeed, only to have their prize stolen by some unknown brat. How could they tolerate that?
"You little thief! Prepare to die!"
Master Po Jun had the most fiery temper. Seeing the insect eggs being collected, he was so angry that he almost exploded. With a roar, the hundred-foot-long "Po Jun Killing Blade" in his hand erupted with a monstrous blood light, carrying a fierce killing intent that could destroy everything. It slashed down at Fang Qing through the cracks in the shattered crystal wall.
Wherever the blade flashed, space shattered inch by inch, forming a terrifying trail of death!
Although the Xuanming Empress did not speak, the coldness in her eyes could almost freeze stars. With a flick of her jade hand, endless Xuanming cold energy condensed into a "Xuanming Ice Soul Divine Spear" that seemed to be able to pierce through the nine netherworlds. It silently pierced Fang Qing's back. Before the cold energy even arrived, the space around Fang Qing began to freeze and become brittle!
The two masters' furious attack was three times more powerful than when they fought each other before, clearly intended to instantly kill Fang Qing, the "troublemaker".
However, faced with this combined attack that would make any Heavenly Realm expert's scalp tingle, Fang Qing simply turned around calmly.
He didn't even adopt a defensive stance; with a slight thought, the twenty-eight Ancient Serpent Talismans of the Supreme Emperor trembled slightly within the chaotic inner world, and an invisible devouring field instantly spread around him.
The crimson blade light, upon entering the field, seemed to vanish into thin air, its speed drastically reduced. The violent killing intent and destructive energy contained within it were frantically absorbed by that invisible devouring force, and the blade light immediately dimmed and shrank at a visible speed.
The silent "Mysterious Netherworld Ice Soul Spear" was even more bizarre the moment it came into contact with the field.
The Xuanming chilling energy at the tip of the spear, powerful enough to freeze a soul, was forcibly absorbed and transformed by the "devouring" field.
The penetrating power inherent in the spear was guided by Fang Qing's exquisite spatial folding technique to the empty space beside him!
As a result, when Master Po Jun's seemingly earth-shattering strike landed on Fang Qing's head, it was reduced to a faint wisp of air.
The Ice Soul Spear of the Xuanming Empress grazed Fang Qing's clothes and exploded into a cluster of ice flowers in the distance.
"what?!"
Both Po Jun Shangren and Xuanming Nudi exclaimed in shock, their faces filled with disbelief.
Their all-out attack was so easily neutralized by the opponent?
"The Great Dao of Devouring?! You...you actually possess such profound Devouring power?!"
Empress Xuanming, with her vast knowledge, immediately saw through the situation. For the first time, a violent emotional fluctuation appeared on her cold face—a complex expression that mixed shock, greed, and extreme fear.
The Devouring Dao is one of the top Daos in the heavens. When cultivated to a high level, it can devour all things in heaven and earth, which is terrifying. This seemingly young cultivator in front of us has actually entered the Dao and seems to have received some extraordinary inheritance or treasure!
Master Po Jun was both shocked and furious, but his ferocity only intensified. Unconvinced, he brandished his sword again: "Playing tricks! I'll chop you down!"
"Noisy."
Fang Qing frowned slightly. He took a step forward, his figure traversing space like a ghost, and appeared directly in front of Po Jun Shangren.
With his right fist clenched, he unleashed a simple straight punch!
This punch, seemingly simple, actually incorporates the vastness of chaos, the rotation of the five elements, the alternation of yin and yang, and the domineering and unparalleled "devouring the heavens" true meaning brought by the Ancient Serpent Talisman of the Supreme Emperor!
The space around the fist collapsed and annihilated silently, forming a tiny black hole vortex!
Sensing a deadly threat, Master Po Jun roared and held the "Po Jun Killing Blade" horizontally in front of him. The blade blazed with blood-red light, transforming into a blood-red shield.
"clang--!!!"
The fist collided with the blade, producing a deafening roar!
However, the anticipated energy explosion did not occur.
The moment the blood-red shield made contact with the fist, it was as if it had met its nemesis. The blood-red light and killing intent on it were frantically devoured and disintegrated by the black hole vortex around the fist.
With a crisp snap, the "Po Jun Killing Blade," which had accompanied Po Jun for tens of thousands of years and drunk countless lives, broke in two.
"puff!"
Master Po Jun was struck as if by lightning, spitting out blood. His right arm, which was holding the knife, along with half of his shoulder, was reduced to dust by the terrifying force of devouring and shock. He screamed and flew backward, his aura instantly weakening to the extreme, his eyes filled with boundless fear and horror.
One punch! Just one punch!
He then severely injured the infamous Po Jun Shangren and destroyed his divine weapon.
This scene completely stunned everyone present. Even the "King of Diabolo" and the "Mother Wing Master," who were just about to make their move, stopped in their tracks, their faces filled with shock.
Fang Qing's gaze shifted to the Xuanming Empress on the other side.
Empress Xuanming trembled slightly. Facing Fang Qing's calm yet all-consuming gaze, she felt as if she were being stared at by an ancient ferocious beast, her very soul trembling. Her strongest attacks were ineffective against him; even the Venerable Po Jun had been severely injured by a single punch… How could she possibly fight back?
In the blink of an eye, this once proud and arrogant empress, who had ruled a star field, made a decision that surprised everyone.
She withdrew all her hostility and coldness, and a smile that could melt glaciers, a smile that was both gentle and charming, bloomed on her peerless face as she gracefully bowed to Fang Qing.
“Young Master’s divine might is unparalleled. I am Xuanming, and I have offended you in the past. I hope you will forgive me. Now that you have obtained the divine insect egg, it is the will of Heaven. I dare not have any more delusions. I only ask... I only ask that you take me in. I am willing to serve you as your servant, without any disloyalty.”
Her voice was soft and melodious, a stark contrast to her previous cold and ruthless empress persona.
The room fell silent upon hearing this.
Countless cultivators stared in disbelief, almost thinking they had misheard.
The mighty Empress Xuanming, a ruler from tens of thousands of years ago, actually offered to be a "slave" to this young man of unknown origin?
Fang Qing glanced at the empress and chuckled, "Servant? Not necessarily. However, I do need a maid to serve tea and water, and make the bed. Would you be willing?"
Empress Xuanming's smile remained unchanged, but instead became even more alluring as she gracefully bowed once more: "Xuanming is willing. It is Xuanming's blessing to serve you, young master."
"Excellent, truly excellent!" (End of Chapter)