The architecture of the Red Moon Temple in the Moon Worship Region primarily featured black design, with tall statues of the Crimson Goddess standing inside.
The combination of those colors, under the dim skies, appeared even darker, giving people a feeling of indescribable oppression.
And the wailing wind howled through the mountains, landing on the Crimson Goddess statues. It caused the two pairs of crescent-shaped earrings hanging from the Crimson Goddess' earlobes to collide, producing a tinkling sound mixed with the heir's voice.
Xu Qing didn't pay attention to the heir's words. At that moment, all his energy was on this Dao Nurturing cultivator who was enveloped by endless lightning.
His mind was calm. His cultivation base erupted completely and the 13 third tribulation nascent souls circulated with all their might. His entire person transformed into a black bolt of lightning that rushed into the lightning pool.
He instantly got close. He raised his right hand and activated the bizarre nether state, turning transparent as he headed straight for the cultivator who had transformed into a treant.
He grabbed fiercely.
"My rules can't be resisted." The treant sneered but didn't dodge. The secret repository in his body rumbled and his right hand burned with red flames. This was formed by the Red Moon's faith.
There were also waves of invisible laws that spread out from his secret repository, enveloping the surroundings, causing this place to contain the laws he had set.
At that moment, he lifted his right hand and grabbed at Xu Qing's arm.
They came into contact in the blink of an eye. There was a gap between Xu Qing's cultivation and combat strength but he possessed the power of the Purple Moon and could offset the divine might from the Red Moon to a certain extent.
However, even so, it was still inferior. Amidst the rumbling, Xu Qing's body trembled. The power of the treant's large hand was like iron pincers, firmly restricting him.
There were also terrifying fluctuations that followed the treant's body and smashed toward Xu Qing. At the same time, the treant chanted an incantation.
It was complicated and difficult to understand but it gave off a bizarre feeling. Cold wind gusted in the surroundings and countless ghosts appeared out of thin air, pouncing toward Xu Qing.
At this critical moment, Xu Qing's decisiveness and ruthlessness were revealed. He actually ignored his right hand that was grabbed and ruthlessly tugged.
With a cracking sound, the joint of his right shoulder was dislocated, allowing him to twist his body. He lifted his right leg and swung it fiercely towards the treant.
The Heavenly Demon Bodies appeared behind him at the same time. There were over a hundred of them and they rapidly pounced over in unison.
The shadow under him also spread out at this moment. The Diamond Sect's ancestor also flew out from the side and stabbed from the side.
All of this took a long time to describe but in reality, it happened in the blink of an eye. In the blink of an eye, the heavenly demon bodies collided with the ghosts. The Diamond Sect's ancestor also pierced into the treant's body. Xu Qing's right foot also landed on the treant's head.
Amidst the rumbling, Xu Qing's expression darkened. His foot actually passed through the treant's head. It was the same for the Diamond Sect's ancestor.
"This isn't the main body!"
At the same time, hundreds of feet behind Xu Qing, the figure of the temple cultivator who had transformed into a treant suddenly appeared. This was his main body.
"It's a pity that you don't understand the rules around Dao Nurturing cultivators." The corners of his mouth curled into a cold smile. He then lifted his right hand and pressed down on Xu Qing who was in the distance.
Immediately, the endless lightning in the surroundings transformed into a large number of lightning snakes that headed straight for Xu Qing from all directions, not giving him the slightest chance to dodge.
The huge arm that was grabbing Xu Qing's right hand transformed into a huge maggot which then suddenly exploded.
Booming sounds surged into the sky. The main body of the temple cultivator moved forward rapidly. With a wave of his right hand, a large number of branches danced, forming a huge battle-ax that headed straight for Xu Qing.
Xu Qing quickly retreated but he was still unable to escape the range of the lightning pool and the maggot's self-destruction. However, Xu Qing was experienced in battle. At that moment, rainbow light flashed all over his body.
At the same time, he pressed his right hand to the ground, twisting his body forcefully. With a cracking sound, despite the intense pain, he managed to reset the dislocated joint.
After that, the morning glow erupted, sweeping outward, dissipating much of the thunderous assault. His shadow rose up around him, forming a cocoon that surrounded him.
In doing so, he avoided the remnants of the force. Amid the echoing sound, the cocoon of shadows fell hundred of feet away, and as it touched the ground, the shadow dissipated, revealing Xu Qing's figure.
The moment he appeared, he looked at the treant cultivator who was approaching him. He counted the time in his heart and the power of the five sundial life lanterns in his body directly erupted.
Time reversal!
In an instant, the sundial life lanterns shone brightly with a devastating radiance, creating a temporal storm that engulfed Xu Qing's entire body. It not only erased his figure from the current location but also placed him back in the position he occupied seven breaths ago when he reappeared.
That location was behind the temple cultivator!
"Time law? Impossible!" The temple cultivator was stunned and his pupils constricted.
This unexpected turn of events was the first to catch him off guard. Despite his superior strength to Xu Qing, their brief exchange earlier had already shown him that the opponent possessed numerous techniques and had a wealth of combat experience. The gap between them wasn't actually that significant.
The reason he looked domineering had more to do with the fact that his opponent was somewhat unfamiliar with fighting against a Dao Nurturing cultivator.
In this process, the sudden display of this technique was undoubtedly a trump card. The temple cultivator instantly realized this and chose not to continue attacking. Instead, he harnessed the power of the rules contained within his own secret repository and prepared to depart from the scene.
However, it was still too late.
Xu Qing didn't hesitate at all. The freezing power of the sundials was activated. All five sundials erupted, forming an extremely solidified might that landed on the temple cultivator.
It froze his time and everything about him.
At the same time, he raised his right hand and a dagger appeared in it, slashing fiercely at the neck of the temple cultivator in front of him.
The moment the familiar sound spread out, in order to terminate with a single strike, the power of the Poison Restriction rose, destroying life force.
The gnomon needles in his body also flew out rapidly, transforming into five rainbows that rushed out and pierced through the body of the temple cultivator.
Booming sounds echoed out as Xu Qing used his full strength.
At the next moment, the head of the temple cultivator flew up. Under the charge of the five gnomon needles, his body shattered into pieces.
After doing this, Xu Qing's breathing became hurried. He glanced at the wreckage on the ground and then lifted his head to look at the heir in the air.
There were also waves in the heir's heart, but he didn't show any expression on his face as he calmly spoke.
"There are still 30 breaths left."
When Xu Qing heard this, his eyes narrowed as he abruptly looked at the wreckage on the ground. With a wave of his hand, flames spread out, enveloping the ground and burning it. At the same time, he rapidly retreated.
However, the instant he retreated, nine red vortexes shone from the place where the temple cultivator had died and headed straight for Xu Qing.
No matter how Xu Qing dodged, it was useless. In the blink of an eye, he was enveloped.
These nine vortexes surrounded and shone. There was also a rumbling sound that erupted, instantly forming an illusory secret repository.
Looking from afar, Xu Qing was in this secret repository!
"Secret Refinement to One!"
The voice of the temple cultivator rang out from this illusory secret repository. A majestic force instantly erupted, transforming into countless nomological laws that formed the sun, moon, and stars. Ice and fire rumbled, transforming into a trap that refined Xu Qing.
The sun and moon fixed the mind, ice and fire refined the body, thunder assisted, and the heavenly wind transformed into might.
Xu Qing's body and soul trembled violently. In his perception, he was clearly still in the same place but he felt like he was in another space.
That sense of oppression and refinement from all directions seemed to want to crush his soul and burn all his flesh and blood.
An intense pain rose as every inch of his body was being torn apart.
Xu Qing sensed everything in his surroundings without any expression.
The heir looked at all of this with a deeper meaning in his eyes as he slowly spoke.
"What you're facing right now is the genuine Dao Nurturing. If you can't break free, you'll be subdued and refined into oblivion."
As the heir's words echoed, the determination to refine soared. One could vaguely see the illusory secret repository transforming into the body of a temple cultivator.
At this critical moment, a cold glint flashed in Xu Qing's eyes.
"So this is a secret repository without the Heavenly Dao."
"Since there's no Heavenly Dao, I'll give you one!"
"Mosasaur!"
