Setting Out

Starlight glittered, boundless and resplendent, like an exquisite painting. The stars seemed within reach, while purple-blue rivers of stars flowed past, cascading down streams of star power, peaceful and sacred.

Xu Changqing's white hair flew as boundless Saber Intent tore through that world, piercing straight through a hazy barrier and carrying him into the Starry Sky, where countless stars gleamed.

The surroundings were not dark. Starlight was everywhere. Brilliant rivers of stars passed beside him, while stars trailing feather-like radiance drifted by.

The boundless universe, the dazzling Starry Sky—the stars that had been out of reach in his childhood could now be touched with a hand. The sun he had once feared could now be shattered with a single slap.

"Perhaps this was the beauty brought by cultivation: seeing the things one admired during the Mortal Period, seeing the colossal objects one had once feared, and experiencing the thrill of smashing the sun with one palm," Xu Changqing murmured.

He found his former thoughts laughable. Back then, when he learned that this was the Covering the Heavens World, the era of the Ruthless Great Emperor, he had not wished to contend with others. He had only wanted to live out a peaceful hundred years.

Now, he possessed the cultivation of a Half-Saint and had gained the mighty power to cross the Starry Sky. Though he could not travel too far, he could at least gaze directly upon this universe.

"I have no coordinates, so I can only wander aimlessly," Xu Changqing muttered. There was no other way.

As for where the Human Ancient Path that young man had mentioned was, how would he know? He had never seen it.

There was no helping it. He could only wander aimlessly.

Even if he encountered an irresistible calamity in the Starry Sky, he would accept it.

Sometimes, luck was also a form of strength. If one's luck was bad, those meant to die would still die.

Without looking back, Xu Changqing transformed into a brilliant streak of light, becoming a comet in the dark universe as he charged recklessly onward, utterly fearless.

Boom, boom, boom...

He had no idea how many stars he smashed apart or how many rivers of stars he pierced through along the way. He did not know how long this journey had taken him.

Whenever the Spiritual Energy within him ran dry, he would sit cross-legged on a star in the universe and take out the Divine Medicine left to him by the Quasi-Emperor to replenish his energy.

Countless stars intersected with one another. At times, he passed through lifeless dark regions; at times, he crashed into black holes; at other times, he saw broken skeletal stars. He stopped at each one, savoring their unique allure.

Xu Changqing did not neglect the curiosity about the Starry Sky that he had possessed as a mortal simply because he had grown stronger. Instead, he fulfilled the dream he had once held.

He wondered what it would be like if he could cross the Starry Sky.

Now, he knew. The Starry Sky was not as beautiful as people imagined, nor was it quiet. When great stars revolved, they emitted piercing rumbles and grinding sounds, while meteors gathered into rivers and cut through the dark universe.

As for those glittering rivers of stars, some of them caused him pain the moment he touched them. He had no idea what substance they were made from.

Inside black holes, light particles filled every corner. All kinds of matter gathered together before exploding and turning into terrifying rays.

"Though the Starry Sky looks wonderful, once one enters it, one falls into danger. No wonder those Dao Slaying Experts did not choose to travel through the Starry Sky alone, but instead followed coordinates onto the Starry Sky Ancient Road."

Xu Changqing had no idea how many years he traveled. He lost all sense of time. In the Starry Sky, there was not even any distinction between left, right, above, or below. Everything was chaotic.

However, he could feel his strength steadily increasing.

He had completely digested everything in his mind. With only a little effort, he could break through into the Saint Realm.

In the deep, icy universe, there were no stars, no rivers of stars, and even meteors were rare.

Yet what surprised Xu Changqing was that he saw gray mist gathering before him, vast as an ocean.

His divine senses even told him that it carried greedy emotions.

Prey was lying in ambush for him in the darkness!

"Any living being that can appear in the Starry Sky must be extraordinary," Xu Changqing thought. Without hesitation, he drew his Bone Saber.

The Bone Saber was over one and a half meters long. Its body was milky white, its edge dark red, and it gave off a faint scent of blood.

No one knew how many living beings this saber had slain or how much Divine Body essence it had absorbed. It had become incomparably hard.

Ahead lay a pitch-black universe without the slightest trace of light.

Whoosh!

An immensely powerful storm blew in, sweeping through the Starry Sky and instantly blasting the surrounding gray meteors into powder.

Xu Changqing stood in the Starry Sky, so tiny he was like a cell, too small for his form to be seen. Yet this wild gale could not harm him.

Roar!

A great roar rang out. A thick stench of blood swept over with the gale, blowing Xu Changqing's white hair upright and making his black robes snap loudly.

Within the universe, where darkness, depth, and cold coexisted, rows of white gleams suddenly appeared. One glance was enough to make Xu Changqing tense.

He saw two rows of boundless teeth, as well as scarlet eyes larger than the sun, greedily staring at him.

This was a colossal living being!

It was the first time he had ever seen a creature so enormous.

In the dark universe, two rows of teeth resembling the Great Wall glimmered, while strange and enormous eyes stared at the tiny Xu Changqing.

Roar!

The massive creature unleashed a deafening beastly roar that made the Starry Sky tremble.

Yet it was precisely that roar that allowed Xu Changqing to sense that this creature's realm was not high. He immediately relaxed.

He could not see what the monster actually looked like. He only knew that it was huge, with a pair of terrifying eyes and two rows of sharp teeth that gleamed with cold light like the Great Wall.

"A mere creature at the Dao Slaying level dares to howl before me?" Xu Changqing said coldly. Then he merely raised the Bone Saber in his hand and slashed fiercely toward those scarlet eyes.

Screech!

An unmatched white saber radiance split open the dark universe, illuminating the region as if someone had ascended into immortality. Flecks of feathers drifted through that radiance, breathtakingly beautiful.

Splurt!

As a Half-Saint, Xu Changqing naturally killed the colossal creature in a single move.

Silver liquid flowed out like a river. It was the huge creature's blood, carrying a thick bloody stench as starlight spread from within it.

"I haven't eaten meat in a long time." Xu Changqing put away his Bone Saber and approached the enormous creature. When he saw its smooth, delicate skin, his heart stirred.

The creature had no scales at all. Its skin seemed coated in oil, sleek and shiny. Its head resembled that of a tiger, though it looked even more frightening.

Its massive body lay curled in the universe like a giant dragon, blood slowly flowing from it.

Even a single strand of fur was countless times larger than Xu Changqing.

To prevent this creature from having any powerful backers, Xu Changqing chose to cut off a portion of its flesh and leave immediately rather than linger.

He was very cautious.

Boom!

The moment he stepped forward, a golden pillar shot toward him from behind.

Golden divine radiance pierced through everything, tearing through the void as it arrived directly behind Xu Changqing. Wherever the divine light passed, a massive rift appeared.

A cold gleam appeared in Xu Changqing's eyes. With a snort, he turned and raised his palm. A flat white wall appeared before him.

Boom!

A tremendous explosion erupted, like the universe itself exploding. All kinds of blazing energy scattered in every direction, brilliant as fireworks bursting in the pitch-black night sky.

At that moment, Xu Changqing saw an enormous blue battleship slowly emerge from a black hole. Three objects as sharp as blades appeared first, followed by the entire splendid blue metal hull.

"Not bad. You actually blocked a casual strike from a Saint-grade Battleship. You seem to possess an extraordinary physique."

A language Xu Changqing could not understand came from the enormous battleship, but through the vibrations of spiritual sense, he naturally grasped its meaning.

Xu Changqing neither fled nor spoke. He simply stood quietly in the dark universe, confronting the approaching battleship.

He could sense a threat, but it was not fatal.

"A Saint-grade Battleship? That means this battleship possesses the combat strength of a Saint. But unfortunately, a dead object is still a dead object. If it were a true Saint facing me, it might pose some fatal threat. But a dead object cannot."

Xu Changqing assessed his own combat strength. Back in the Dragon Transformation Realm, he had already been able to enter the Forbidden Domain.

At the Immortal Platform, he had been able to freely wield the combat power of the Eight Prohibitions. Now, with the power of a Half-Saint, along with his comprehension and physique, he could easily enter the Divine Prohibition Domain.

A Saint? Unless they were a Heavenly Pride-level powerhouse, they were not worth noticing before him.

"My first move after crossing the tribulation will be to use you as practice."

"If there are living beings here, then there may be a life-bearing star domain not far away."

P.S. I've been working hard on practice questions these past few days. The exam is on Friday.

If I pass, there will be a burst of updates. For now, only two updates.

I'm a little nervous, so I'll post a chapter first to calm myself down.