531: Xu Qing takes action

Xu Qing concealed his figure and walked downstream along the Xu River, his steps light, not stirring a single ripple in space.

After walking tens of light-years, the sounds of fighting in the Chaos ahead grew clearer. Looking through layers of mist, he saw more than a dozen alien Dao Ancestors on the river surface siege a colossal creature.

The creature was hundreds of thousands of miles in size, like a moving mountain in the Xu River.

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes, observing closely. The most prominent among the aliens were three Third Step Dao Ancestors.

The one on the left was tens of thousands of miles tall, entirely black, with a black horn on his forehead. The horn was engraved with dense Dao patterns, which glowed faintly with the rhythm of his breathing.

His exposed upper body muscles bulged, each wrapped in a faint black Qi. This was a powerful expert from the Black Horned Beast Race, a race most skilled in Body Refining, whose Physical Body strength ranked among the top ten even among the Tianyang aliens.

The one on the right resembled the Human Race, but had eight pairs of transparent crystal wings on his back, covered with tiny red patterns.

This was a Dao Ancestor of the Sacred Crystal Wing Clan, a race most skilled in speed and spatial secret arts. Ordinary Dao Ancestors simply couldn't keep up with their movements.

The one in the very center was none other than Black Yuán, the Dao Ancestor of the Black Crystal Blood Flame Clan.

At this moment, he had manifested his true form: a black and red glazed giant, with skin like solidified magma, emitting a faint red glow.

A crystal was embedded in his glabella, with a blood-colored flame flickering inside. His size had also surged to tens of thousands of miles tall. Standing with the other two Third Step Dao Ancestors, although his cultivation was considerably weaker, his Aura was not at all inferior.

Besides these three, there were eight other Dao Ancestors surrounding them, some First Step and some Second Step, all members of the Black Crystal Blood Flame Clan.

They had also expanded their bodies to tens of thousands of miles, wielding various weapons, unleashing continuous flame-infused attacks upon the besieged Ancient Ruin Beast.

This Ancient Ruin Beast resembled an otter magnified countless times, covered in short, silvery-gray fur that was smooth and gleamed with a soft luster under the Chaos light.

A golden single horn grew in the middle of its forehead, entwined with a faint white mist—the Aura of the Xu River Origin.

Logically, with its Peak Third Step Dao Ancestor strength, if it wanted to escape, it could completely vanish into the depths of the Xu River, and these alien races wouldn't be able to stop it.

However, on the water surface several light-years away, two First Step Dao Ancestors of the Black Crystal Blood Flame Clan were attacking a smaller Ancient Ruin Beast, only about ten thousand miles in size. Without a doubt, this should be its cub.

It was because it had to protect its cub that this adult Ancient Ruin Beast had lingered.

It had to contend with the attacks of a dozen Dao Ancestors in front of it, while also keeping an eye on the situation with its cub, making it unable to counterattack with full force.

Its silvery-gray short fur was already stained red in several places with blood, and the mist on its golden single horn had also thinned. If this continued, it would eventually be defeated.

Xu Qing withdrew his gaze, then raised his right hand and pointed a finger at one of the Black Crystal Blood Flame Clan Dao Ancestors who was attacking the cub several light-years away.

The moment his fingertip descended, the Chaos above that Dao Ancestor's head suddenly changed.

The originally hazy Chaos Qi was stirred by an invisible hand, converging frantically towards the center, instantly forming a gigantic, ancient finger.

This finger was a million miles long, its surface entwined with a faint Chaos power. Before it even descended, the Xu River below was pressed down tens of thousands of miles, and the surrounding space collapsed in layers.

That Black Crystal Blood Flame Clan Dao Ancestor was raising a long saber to hack at the cub, completely unaware of the danger above his head.

It wasn't until the shadow of the golden finger covered him that he frantically looked up, his eyes filled with terror, but it was already too late. The finger descended with world-destroying force.

“Pfft!”

With a soft sound, that Black Crystal Blood Flame Clan Dao Ancestor was instantly annihilated without even a chance to resist.

“Who!!!”

Black Yuán, the Dao Ancestor's enraged roar, instantly echoed throughout the entire Xu River.

He was originally gathering power, preparing to deliver a fatal blow to the Ancient Ruin Beast. Sensing the demise of a fellow Dao Ancestor, he immediately stopped, his eyes burning with blood-colored flames, staring intently around him.

“Boom!”

A crack opened in the Void Realm, and Xu Qing's figure emerged from within.

He was still dressed as an ordinary Dao Ancestor, in a green Daoist robe, and his figure had not expanded. Standing amidst the tens of thousands of miles tall alien Dao Ancestors, he appeared exceptionally small.

“Human Race!”

Black Yuán's eyes sharply narrowed when he saw Xu Qing's appearance.

But when he saw there was only one person, his eyes couldn't help but narrow further. The wariness in his eyes lessened, replaced by a hint of ruthlessness.

“How dare you kill a member of my clan? You seek death!”

Black Yuán's voice sounded as if squeezed through clenched teeth, and the surrounding temperature abruptly rose considerably.

Xu Qing completely ignored him, raising his hand and striking at another Black Crystal Blood Flame Clan Dao Ancestor who was attacking the cub.

That Dao Ancestor was already somewhat flustered after seeing his companion killed. Seeing Xu Qing's palm strike, he was so frightened that he turned and tried to flee.

But the moment he moved, he found that the surrounding space seemed to be frozen. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move a single step forward.

“How dare you!”

Black Yuán was enraged at the sight. He no longer cared about attacking the Ancient Ruin Beast, abruptly turning and pouncing towards Xu Qing.

His speed was extremely fast. His tens of thousands of miles tall body instantly crossed several light-years. His fist, imbued with black and red flames, smashed towards Xu Qing's back, and the space around his fist was warped by the heat.

But Xu Qing acted as if he felt nothing, continuing to strike at the immobilized Dao Ancestor.

That Dao Ancestor watched helplessly as Xu Qing's palm drew closer, his eyes filled with despair, yet he lacked even the strength to resist.

With a “pfft” sound, Xu Qing's palm directly pressed onto his head. His head exploded, and his tens of thousands of miles tall body crashed heavily into the Xu River, stirring up tens of thousands of miles high waves.

“Ah! I'll kill you!”

Black Yuán had already rushed close to Xu Qing and happened to witness the demise of his fellow Dao Ancestor. Rage instantly clouded his mind.

He unleashed a full-force punch at Xu Qing's back. This punch condensed all his power. Even an ordinary Third Step Dao Ancestor would be severely wounded by this blow.

But Xu Qing merely waved his sleeve casually, as if shooing away a fly.

“Bang!”

A muffled thud echoed as Black Yuán's fist solidly struck Xu Qing's sleeve.

However, the anticipated explosion did not occur. His full-power strike, landing on Xu Qing's sleeve, was like an ant trying to shake a tree, failing to stir even a ripple.

Instead, a tremendous force emanated from the sleeve, surging into his body like a tide.

Black Yuán felt a suffocating sensation in his chest, as if struck by billions of mountains. His massive body flew backward uncontrollably, traveling hundreds of millions of miles through the Chaos, continuously spewing black and red blood along the way.

By the time he finally managed to stabilize himself, he found that his internal organs had all been shattered.

However, such injuries were nothing to a Third Step Dao Ancestor. At this Realm, as long as a trace of remnant soul remained, one could instantly reform their Physical Body.

Yet, his proud Dominator-level Dao showed faint signs of collapse. He had sustained very severe Dao injuries.

“Too weak!”

Xu Qing looked at the flying Black Yuán and said softly, his tone full of disappointment.

He had originally thought that Black Yuán, being a Third Step Dao Ancestor, would at least allow him to stretch his muscles. He didn't expect him to be so vulnerable, unable to even withstand a casual strike from him, which failed to pique his interest in the slightest.

Black Yuán trembled with anger upon hearing Xu Qing's words.

Ever since his Breakthrough to Dao Ancestor, whether within the Black Crystal Blood Flame Clan or among the Tianyang aliens, who hadn't treated him respectfully? No one had ever dared to look down on him like this.