The First Star Ring was triangular, but other than that, nothing about it was visible. It was as if it was covered by an infinitely powerful cage that couldn’t be penetrated! The Second Star Ring much clearer. However, the symbol within it was only a vague outline. The same was true for the Third and Fourth Star Rings.
The Fifth Star Ring was different. The symbol of the old man there was extremely clear.
The other star rings had their own terrifying symbols. Some were clear to see, others were outlines. Some were large and some were small.
The mere sight of them all left Xu Qing feeling shaken. After being born again by means of the flesh of Eminent Desolation, he had become vaguely aware of the thirty-six star rings. When he went with Yu Liuchen to the outer sea, and was devoured by the gigantic fish Timeruins, he had met that old man who said he hailed from the Fifth Star Ring.
Xu Qing’s conversation with that old man had expanded his understanding of the wider world he lived in. That was when he came to learn that the universe he lived in was only one of the thirty-six star rings.
However, he learned little more than that. He had only been given surface-level information, not actual images. Nor had he been told which star ring he was in.
Therefore, when this star chart depicting all of the thirty-six star rings appeared in front of him, he was stricken to the core by astonishment, causing his sea of consciousness to tremble. He now knew which star ring he was in. The Ninth Star Ring!
What was more, the Ninth Star Ring had its own powerful forces within it, indicated by the terrifying symbols in the east, west, south and north. Xu Qing wasn’t sure if it was a misconception or not, but it seemed like the huge beast, the golden river, the black pagoda, and the paper person were all facing the broken face. It was as if they were being tugged in that direction.
In terms of which symbols were the most clear among the thirty-six star rings, it could objectively be said that the broken face was second to none. There was no doubt about it. The other symbols in the Ninth Star Ring couldn't quite compare, and the same could be said of the old man from the Fifth Star Ring. In fact, it was true of all of the symbols in all the other star rings.
As for the First Star Ring, it was so blurry that it wasn’t possible to make any determination about it at all. Was something there actually more terrifying than the broken face? There was no way to know.Regardless, as Xu Qing took in the star chart, he felt like his mind was being ripped apart, causing his understanding of the world to expand dramatically. The world lay in front of him. The starry sky was there in his gaze. The star rings were unboundedly majestic.
Compared to them, the Revered Ancient mainland might as well be a grain of sand on a beach. It was completely insignificant. However, because of the presence of Eminent Desolation, that grain of sand... was immeasurably majestic.
After a very long moment passed, Xu Qing inhaled deeply and forced himself into a state of calm.
The broken face is a half-Living God.... That’s why Revered Ancient is immeasurably majestic compared to everything else. In that case, what about the symbols in the four cardinal directions of the Ninth Star Ring. How strong are thēy? God Lords? God Paragons? [1]
I guess the latter is the most likely possibility. So did the broken face originally come from the Ninth Star Ring, or from another star ring? And why are the symbols in the east, west, south and north being drawn toward the broken face...?
The huge beast was unfamiliar to Xu Qing. Nor had he ever seen anything like that golden river. However, he had seen something before that resembled the black pagoda.
It reminds me of that dilapidated pagoda at the bottom of the Forbidden Sea, which later became part of my dreadnaught. The Sageheaven Pagoda.... I wonder if there’s any connection between the two. As for that paper person....
Xu Qing’s eyes glittered as he thought about the day that Grand Emperor Swordsage perished, and the person named Master Righteous Veil![2]
Master Righteous Veil’s methods are somehow related to paper. So could Master Righteous Veil be connected to that paper person somehow?
Eventually, Xu Qing had to suppress all the thoughts bubbling up inside of him. Everything he was seeing was just too monumental, and he needed more time to process it. Obviously, now wasn’t the time or place for that.
Glancing around, Xu Qing scanned the area with god perception. Then he looked off in a certain direction. He had found no trace of the face he had been chasing.
However, this star chart was so precious that it could almost be considered priceless. Xu Qing committed the entire thing to memory, then blurred into motion and widened his search. His instincts told him not to get close to the star chart. If the candle of the first level of the jade slip had such terrifying powers of absorption, then it was a given that he needed to be careful in the second level. It was entirely plausible that this level would have something else that had powers of absorption.
Two hours passed. As Xu Qing continued his search, a vague sense of danger started to build within him. It got stronger and stronger. Eventually, he was shaking with fear. But that just confirmed to Xu Qing that his previous speculation was correct.
I can’t stay here for very long.
He was disappointed to have lost track of that second face, and knew that once he returned to the first level with the candle, he most likely would never find it. In other words, he had failed to achieve his objective in coming here. But Xu Qing also knew that fortune could be a fickle thing.
He had seen one of those faces twice. He had searched twice. And he had failed twice. That seemed to indicate... that those faces had wills of their own, and they didn’t want to be found.
What a pity. Sighing, Xu Qing rubbed the jade bottle in his bag of holding. I hope the white dust I did manage to get will be enough to use for research. ŕＡƝȯꞖĘS̩
Without any further hesitation, he shot back toward the spatial rift.
I can’t stay for too long inside the World Origin Pocket Realm. Better be safe than sorry. I should leave now.
With that, he became a bright beam of light that arrived an instant later at the rift itself. He had left a slip of divine will in the spot where the rift existed so that he could find it easily. All he had to do was pass through the rift, and he would be back in the level of the candle flame.
However, right when he was just about to go through the rift, he suddenly sensed an aura behind him that was familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. The moment he sensed it, his cultivation base erupted. Two types of authority flared, and he spun in place to look out into the void.
Some distance away, he saw ripples spreading out. The moment he spotted them, he could see that there was something right in the middle of the ripples.
It was a mask! And it looked exactly like the face that Xu Qing had personally seen twice. This time, however, it had materialized in the form of a mask. From the look of it, this was its true form. It was facing Xu Qing, as if inspecting him. At the same time, it was swaying back and forth like grass in the wind, as if it were just waiting to speed off into the distance.
Xu Qing’s guard went up and he refrained from taking action. He just waited in front of the rift, watching.
When I went looking for it, it hid from me. But when I gave up, it appeared.
An incense stick’s worth of time passed. Neither party moved an inch. They just inspected each other. The mask had stopped swaying back and forth. Apparently, the fact that Xu Qing held back from taking action caused it to lower its guard.
Eventually, Xu Qing narrowed his eyes and began to devise a plan about how to get the mask. Almost as if it had sensed his thoughts, the mask blurred as if it was about to disappear.
Xu Qing frowned and cast aside any thoughts of making a move on the mask, and instead focused on the concept of not searching for it.... In fact, he even went so far as to abandon any sort of desire for the mask.
The moment he did that, the mask went from blurry to clear again. It looked at Xu Qing for a moment. And then its lips moved as it spoke in an emotionless voice.
“What is your wish?”
Xu Qing’s sense of vigilance grew. Considering he had no idea what this mask was, there was no way he was going to reply to it. He had seen many gruish things in his life, and as a result, he knew that there were certain things that were best left unsaid. As Xu Qing thought about that, the mask seemed to decide that, since he wasn’t responding, it would leave, and it started to blur again.
Eyes flashing, Xu Qing suddenly said, “I wish for....”
When those three words left his mouth, the mask became crystal clear again. As it looked at him, he backed into the rift. He vanished. When he reappeared, he was no longer on the level with the star chart. He was back on the level with the red candle.
Heat and light battered against him. Ignoring that, he looked at the rift to see if the mask would follow him. Before long... ripples pulsed out of the rift, followed a moment later by the mask.
It looked at Xu Qing. It seemed to be waiting for him to finish explaining his wish.
Eyes narrowing, Xu Qing shot off into the distance, all while keeping an eye on the mask.
The mask seemed to hesitate briefly before chasing after him. Perhaps it was because of what he had said. Perhaps because he had not actually stated his wish, some karma had developed.
The mask didn’t flee. It kept following him. It lasted for about half an incense stick’s worth of time. At that point, Xu Qing suddenly reversed momentum, shooting backward toward the mask. And thus, before the mask could successfully blur away, he grabbed it. There it rested, looking at him, apparently waiting for him to finish stating the contents of his wish.
No expression could be seen on Xu Qing’s face as he casually put the mask into his sleeve. He didn’t feel comfortable putting it into his bag of holding, as it was a living thing. And sealing it might be taken as a malicious act that could break the equilibrium he had created. What was more, based on the little test he had just carried out, he got the feeling that the mask would stick with him until he finished stating his wish. And thus, his sleeve seemed like the most suitable storage place.
As for what the mask was, and the karma of the wish, and even the white dust, Xu Qing decided that it would be best to try to learn more about them only after he left the World Origin Pocket Realm. Seeing that he had accomplished his main goal, and that staying in this place meant risking absorption, he took out his World Origin Pocket Realm entrance medallion and triggered the exit function.
Unfortunately, the moment he did, the distant red candle flared brightly, and the light seemed to focus direction on him. Whether it was because of that light or because of some other reason... the medallion didn’t do anything!
Xu Qing looked at the red candle off in the distance.
Is the candle preventing me from leaving because I have the mask? Or was it something else that caused it to start shining more brightly...? Maybe it’s all just a coincidence.
He tried to use the medallion again, and again, the candle flared. Nothing happened. Something malicious seemed to be going on, and it caused Xu Qing’s expression to turn grim.
1. God Lords and God Paragons were explained in chapter 901. ☜
2. Grand Emperor Swordsage perished in chapter 961. Because of the way the structured, it might not have been obvious that the paper person was Master Righteous Veil. But that detail is there to see if you go back to the chapter. Master Righteous Veil was mentioned in chapter 927 and . I originally rendered his name as Master Deluo, but eventually consulted the author about it, after which I settled on Righteous Veil. For more information about that, check the footnote in chapter 927. ☜