OUTSIDE OF TIME

Chapter 1358 Sword Slashing the Altar

As soon as this altar appeared, the sky seemed to shatter!

Outside the Ancient Sovereign Planet, the anxious ministers were shaken. The churning in their hearts could be said to be earth-shattering.

There were also some who revealed looks of disbelief, as though they had been struck by lightning.

“That’s the coffin of the past human emperors!”

“This… this is indeed a ritual to become a god!!”

A storm brewed in everyone’s hearts.

To all the races in Wanggu, gods were life-and-death enemies!

Wanggu suffered sorrow because of the gods, and living beings withered because of the gods.

Countless years had passed, many races ultimately chose to bow their heads, willingly submitting to servitude, and also gained benefits, becoming powerful races.

Flame Moon Mystic Heaven was one such example.

However, slaves were slaves!

The human race… This race that had unified Wanggu many times and had their own pride had never lowered their heads from the start.

Generations of human emperors didn’t lose their hearts no matter how difficult the situation was.

They insisted on Mystic Nether’s teachings, on the Holy Land’s oral decree, and on the tradition of the Summer Immortal.

Although studying gods was inevitable, and it was also because of this that there was the train of thought of Divine Fusion, but fundamentally, there was an irreconcilable conflict between cultivators and gods.

This was because this was the difference in Dao!!

Becoming a god was unacceptable to the human race, and no human emperor had chosen it.

This was about holding firm, it was about principles, it was also about bottom lines, and moreover, it was the shared understanding of generations of people throughout the Grand Imperial Capital Region, from young to old.

However, now, the aura of the divine fire was clearly sensed by everyone, especially the appearance of the shrines and the names on the spirit tablets.

One could imagine that four of the five coffins must contain the corpses of the past human emperors!

Human Emperor Mystic War clearly wanted to borrow the power of the corpses of the past human emperors to achieve his goal of becoming a god!

In the hearts of those old ministers, this was absolutely unacceptable. It could even be said that this would be an even greater sin than the Eleventh Prince committing regicide!

Though past emperors had also pursued power in their lifetimes, their contributions were immense.

After their deaths, they should not have been disturbed. Yet now, they were being treated as fuel for the ambitions of future generations. This action could only be described as a departure from the path of humanity, a great act of treachery!

Hence, cries of sorrow rang out from outside the Ancient Sovereign Planet.

“Your Majesty, you can’t do this!”

“We are the descendants of cultivators. We walk the path of cultivation, not the path of gods!”

“If our emperor chooses to become a god, will our human race… still be human?”

“If the emperor becomes a god, not only will we lose our bottom line, but the holy land will also feel disappointed when they sense the events here…”

“Your Majesty, please think twice!!”

“The gods are our enemies. If the emperor becomes a god instead… what’s the point of us holding on for generations? What’s the point of the help the holy land has silently given us all these years?”

Not only were the old officials outside the Ancient Sovereign Planet crying out in grief, but even the hearts of everyone who was allowed to watch the ceremony were filled with waves.

The altar raised by the Eleventh Prince stirred up a tsunami of thoughts!

Except Xu Qing!

He didn’t care if the Human Emperor wanted to become a god. This was because his attention couldn’t be diverted at all the moment the altar appeared. It was all on the lantern in the center of the altar!

With just a glance, he immediately knew that this lantern… was his goal in coming here.

That was Zi Xuan’s life lantern!

Clear Purple Mystic Lantern!

The cracks that filled the lantern caused Xu Qing to feel intense uneasiness the instant he noticed them.

His breathing hastened slightly as he had a premonition.

‘This ritual… is currently in operation!’

‘That lantern… is burning its origin. Once the origin is exhausted and the ritual succeeds, the lantern will shatter. If that’s the case…’

At this instant, Xu Qing’s eyes revealed a soul-stirring glint.

At the same time, the Eleventh Prince’s words echoed in all directions.

“Human Emperor Mystic War is deranged. He disobeyed the teachings of the ancient sovereign and the words of the holy land. He refined the holy bones of the past human emperors and turned them into fuel for his attempt to become a god!”

“This path deviates from the Immortal Dao and betrays the human race!”

“Mystic War has disrespected the ancestors and brought troubles to the commoners!”

“The heavens can testify and the fortune can sense it. Is such a person… worthy of being the human emperor?!”

The Eleventh Prince’s voice was earth-shattering and every word caused waves among the human officials. At the same time, his gaze suddenly turned and landed on Xu Qing.

“King Zhen Cang, I know you need that lantern!”

“Do you want to see this lantern shatter or barge in and break this ritual to retrieve it?”

Xu Qing didn’t say anything and took a step forward.

At this moment, the expression of the old eunuch who was fighting King Zhen Yan in the air changed drastically. He wanted to stop him but was stopped by King Zhen Yan.

Hence, he shouted sharply.

“King Zhen Cang, the Human Emperor’s actions have a deeper meaning. Don’t be bewitched by a renegade. Step back!”

What responded to him was Xu Qing’s cold gaze and footstep.

With a step, the world rumbled. The aura in Xu Qing’s body erupted violently and tens of millions of soul threads spread out with rumbling sounds, forming his great world.

There was also the sound of a sword hum coming from his body, causing the sky to churn. A huge sword shadow suddenly formed in the sky of the Ancient Sovereign Planet.

Seeing this, the Eleventh Prince laughed.

However, just as he smiled, Xu Qing turned his head and coldly glanced at him.

This glance caused the Eleventh Prince’s heart to suddenly tighten.

Xu Qing ultimately didn’t speak and retracted his gaze.

As for why the other party knew that he needed this lantern, he didn’t have the time to get the answer now.

To a certain extent, this matter allowed him to find the Clear Purple Mystic Lantern faster, but the scheme in it was obvious.

However, none of this was important at the moment.

The instant Xu Qing’s footstep landed, he sped toward the altar.

He didn’t want to help the Eleventh Prince or participate in the Human Emperor’s matters.

However, he had to take that lantern away, even though this was the Human Emperor’s ascension ritual!

At the next instant, his figure appeared outside the altar and rushed toward the sea of fire. At the same time, the shadow of the Emperor Sword tilted from the sky.

The sword slashed at the altar!

The expression of the old eunuch changed drastically. He wanted to stop it but was unable to do so. As for the others on the Ancient Sovereign Planet, they were all hesitating.

If this ritual wasn’t a god-ascension ritual, they would naturally stop Xu Qing.

But now…

Everyone remained quiet.

The shadow of the Emperor Sword that had a majestic aura swept up the power of fortune and emitted a sharp edge. It landed with an aura that could tear through the world and destroy everything.

The Eleventh Prince laughed loudly and looked at the Human Emperor who had been silent since the altar rose.

“Father, you’ve lost your way!”

The Human Emperor still didn’t speak. Although the iron chains on his body were still breaking, he didn’t seem to care at all. At that moment, his gaze landed on Xu Qing outside the altar.

It wasn’t just him. At this moment, everyone outside the altar was the same.

Under the attention of everyone, the shadow of the Emperor Sword finally slashed at the flames outside the altar.

The flames suddenly churned and gathered together, forming a huge face.

This face was of Mystic War!

The moment it appeared, it charged toward the Emperor Sword.

An earth-shattering explosion occurred.

The sword shadow dissipated and the face disappeared.

The flames churned as though they were blown by a strong wind, swaying intensely.

Xu Qing didn’t stop at all. He took this opportunity to increase his velocity explosively, turning into an afterimage as he headed straight for the altar.

However, the instant he got close, countless figures appeared in the flames outside the altar.

Among those figures were humans, nonhumans, ferocious beasts, and even gods.

These were all formed by the lingering auras from the corpses of the past human emperors.

The instant they formed, the auras of these flaming figures soared explosively as they headed straight for Xu Qing.

However, at this moment, the Clear Purple Mystic Lantern in the middle of the altar suddenly trembled slightly. It was as though Xu Qing’s appearance had caused it to resonate in some way.

Hence, those figures rushing toward Xu Qing were also affected and their velocity instantly slowed down.

A strange glint flashed in Xu Qing’s eyes and his velocity soared again. The great world formed by 40 million soul threads provided him with almost endless power. The nihility land in his body also shone with divine authorities.

Black fog churned behind Xu Qing and Ming Fei roared.

The Purple Moon rose above Xu Qing’s head. Nether Firefly emerged and dyed his hair purple.

There was also the power of misfortune that spread out at this instant. Even the lifeless fiery figures couldn’t escape the envelopment of misfortune.

Grand Mystic Heaven’s armor also emerged. There were also nine lanterns spinning around him. Each of them protruded a sinister dragon head and let out a soundless roar.

At the same time… Xu Qing’s right hand turned translucent. He directly reached into his chest and grabbed at his illusory sea of consciousness, entering the nihility land. He then pushed open the repository gate where the Emperor Sword was.

Inside, it fused with the emperor soul and grabbed the Emperor Sword!

The Emperor Sword rumbled but didn’t resist.

This was because after Xu Qing met the Great Emperor after returning, following the Great Emperor’s words, to a certain extent, he had already acknowledged that Xu Qing had relied on his own will to master the Emperor Sword.

The constraints were gone.

Hence, in theory, as long as Xu Qing’s strength was enough, he could truly take out the Emperor Sword and hold it in his hand.

However, it was clearly still not enough at this moment.

However… although he couldn’t take out the Emperor Sword’s true body, he still grabbed a wisp of sword qi and took it out.

The instant this wisp of sword qi was taken out, it immediately transformed into a sword shadow.

It was exactly the same as the sword that had emerged in the sky earlier, but it was more condensed and sharper.

At that moment, as Xu Qing held it, killing intent flashed in his eyes.

It headed straight for the figures whose velocity had greatly decreased.

From afar, Xu Qing’s aura was like a dragon!

A rumbling sound suddenly rang out.

Wherever the Emperor Sword passed, one figure after another would immediately collapse. There was also the might of divine authorities spreading out, suppressing the surroundings. At the same time, a vine lashed around Xu Qing.

It wasn’t attacking those figures but devouring the flames here!

As it devoured, it emitted joyous emotions.

Little Shadow wasn’t willing to be left behind. It quickly spread out and jumped in the flames. It was like a fish in water in this sea of fire.

This scene caused everyone’s hearts to rise and fall.

This was the first time Xu Qing had erupted with all his combat strength under the gazes of everyone in the human territory!