The Stars Beyond

Chapter 526: No Regrets

In the depths of the universe, the most intense confrontation after the collapse of the transcendent era was unfolding.

Qi Tian seemed to be standing in hell, surrounded by broken limbs and debris. The earth was black and dark clouds were pressing down. The end of this darkness was nowhere to be seen.

He was like a demon emerging from hell, his once clear celestial aura was completely gone. Dressed in a black armor, covered in blood, he exuded a fierce and murderous aura.

He turned the cosmic void into a battlefield of hell, the Ascension Banner in his hand blurred, transforming into a black longsword. Dark light surged, ghostly heads rolled, and behind him lay a sea of corpses and blood.

Wang Xuan gazed at these visions.

Were they events that Qi Tian had experienced before?

The surging transcendent material, the mighty rules, burst forth at that moment between the two great masters. With the power of the treasure, Wang Xuan broke through the black hell and charged out, leaving behind a trail of blood.

At that stage of the battle, both of them were gasping heavily as they were already heavily wounded. Qi Tian stood in the dimly lit area, as if he had chased out from the exit of hell. His eyes were deep and slightly sinister, as if he wanted to devour spirits.

Qi Tian’s mind couldn't calm down. As his fellow from the future seemed to grow stronger as the battle went on, releasing some unpredictable potential. Both Wang Xuan’s spirit and body were undergoing qualitative changes.

Wang Xuan was covered in wounds, bones exposed in many places. After breaking through Qi Tian's Nirvana Art of the Hell Phoenix, the two had been fiercely battling for a long time, and he had paid a great price because of it.

He left behind a trail of blood in the air as he moved forward. It would be a series of bloody footprints if it were on solid ground. He didn't hold back, unleashing the power of the three light spots corresponding to his spirit, body, and inner landscape. However, he dared not release them all at once.

He feared damaging his own foundation, so he gradually opened the doors of his spirit, body, and inner landscape, letting them step into the present world one by one. So, the feeling he gave to Qi Tian was that he was constantly growing stronger as time passed.

Both of them were breathing heavily, of course, it was transcendent material. They were inhaling and exhaling primordial energy, colorful, with silver substances, purple substances, and rare and precious substances from higher spiritual realms.

"Ah..." Qi Tian suddenly let out a long howl, like the cry of billions of ghosts in hell, shaking the transcendent world and impacting the present world. It was a spiritual storm.

He merged with the Ascension Banner, empowering this spiritual technique infinitely, forming a black torrent that swept across the starry sky.

Behind him, endless fierce ghosts and various monsters appeared. Standing at the center of hell, he roared to the sky, and various ghostly creatures started following him, unleashing a spiritual storm together.

Wang Xuan's expression changed slightly. Many secret techniques came to mind. The first thing he thought of was a secret diagram, the Hundred Battles Diagram of the Immortal Court. It instantly appeared in his mind. Accompanied by a grand spiritual fluctuation, he began to resist the spiritual storm of the hellish ghosts.

Endless immortal light bloomed, Wang Xuan's body was like the sun in the sky. His spirit was exceptionally brilliant, illuminating a magnificent scene of the Hundred Battles Diagram of the Immortal Court. Countless immortals gathered, gods lined up, weapons in hand, suppressing downwards, and the spiritual attacks of the immortals erupted.

Boom!

At the same time, Wang Xuan struck the lid of the furnace with the furnace body, as if he was beating an immortal drum. He was shattering the black hellish diagram and countering the onslaught of the spiritual storm.

This was a confrontation on the spiritual level, as if two battlefields were bordering each other. The Immortal Court and hell were connecting, immortals and endless ghosts were fighting, and the flames of war were soaring.

In the end, the endless ghostly shadows and the pervasive immortal light all collapsed and exploded in the terrifying spiritual fluctuations enhanced by the treasure of the two men.

At that moment, Qi Tian stood in the dark, as if he were really standing at the exit of hell. He was gathering the scattered spiritual storm and turning it into terrifying black arrows.

"Plucking the Heartstrings of the Heavenly Arrows!" he muttered to himself. This seemed to be an ancient incantation that empowered his secret technique. Seven black spiritual arrows took shape, with the light of his heart as the bowstring he shot the arrows out continuously!

Each arrow was empowered by the Ascension Banner, it was incredibly powerful. All of the arrows were carrying the power of rules and tearing apart the void of the real world.

Wang Xuan's mind trembled, swiftly evading, holding the lid and body of the furnace to block the seven black arrows. But he had a premonition that there was still danger even if he wasn't hit.

Sure enough, after he shattered one of the black arrows with the furnace lid, the dispersing black light still invaded. It targeted his spirit and was unstoppable.

As early as when Qi Tian displayed the spiritual storm and evolved the boundless scene of hellish ghosts, he was preparing for the present moment. What he actually wanted to display was the Heartstrings of the Heavenly Arrows.

Wang Xuan remained calm. His spiritual sense increased several times in an instant. The first thing that came to his mind was the Spirit Coffin Grand Technique. With a bang, empowered by the treasure, his spirit also emitted a light.

Now, he was controlling the arrows, using his own spirit as a source to counter-invade the black arrows. In the end, it was still an attack in the spiritual domain.

The black arrows and Wang Xuan's spirit light intertwined and were devouring each other. They occasionally shattered, and occasionally condensed into various spiritual scenes.

With a loud roar, in the end, a spiritual thunder erupted there causing both of them to stagger backward. Both of their secret techniques failed.

"Kill!" Qi Tian shouted and rushed directly towards Wang Xuan. Although he was holding the banner, he was actually using the All-Spirit Fist. He replaced the fist seals with the banner and blasted forward.

It could be seen that as his body stretched, one shadow after another emerged. Their blood was surging, as if sharing a long life with him.

They were the Golden Crow, the Heavenly Phoenix, the Taotie, the Vermilion Bird, the White Kirin, and others. Even the Immortal Officials were with him, punching out fist seals together to attack Wang Xuan.

The All-Spirit Fist wielded the power of the bloodline of the strongest races in the heavens, and the fist seals were boundless. Qi Tian had lived from ancient times to the present and mastered many incredible secret techniques.

Wang Xuan's heart moved. He had also read this scripture, but the records were incomplete. They were only considered fragments. The scripture mentioned that this kind of martial arts technique was very terrifying, and today it was fully displayed by Qi Tian.

In response to this, Wang Xuan used the Ascendent Fist from the Golden Bamboo Slip. It was not weaker than the opponent's method, it burst out fiercely using the furnace lid and furnace body instead of fist seals.

In an instant, light and rain pervaded the area, as if someone was tearing apart the sky, and the light of immortal ascension surged.

The two fought to the death, each of them shaken to the point where their bones cracked, their flesh torn, and the blood of transcendence continuously splattered in the starry sky. The battle was exceptionally fierce.

The overwhelming blood surged between the two, and in this special era, the performance of their physical bodies was already extremely terrifying.

The three light spots of Wang Xuan entered the present world, and he felt his old spirit in intense pain, as if it was about to be torn apart, and the flesh seemed to be split open. The inner landscape was the same.

However, his cultivation did increase significantly, making Qi Tian feel the pressure. Could this newcomer who had been suppressed by him before now turn the tables?

Boom!

Qi Tian activated the Ascension Banner and controlled the spiritual imprint left by Jiang Siyuan to interfere with the Life Essence Furnace. It proved to be effective at that critical moment.

Wang Xuan staggered, the furnace body in his hand trembled violently, almost causing him to suffer a loss. The Ascension Banner brushed against his body and chopped down, almost hitting him. There was only a thin line between being hit and being shattered.

Even so, the residual fluctuations emitted by the treasure still tore large pieces of flesh from him, exposing some white bones. The scene was bloody and terrifying.

"Furnace, steady yourself. After I slay the dragon, we'll part ways if you want to leave!" said Wang Xuan while body was covered in blood, once again turning into a blood man.

Chi!

A purple sword light slashed over as Jiang Qingyao controlled the Purple Celestial Dao Sword!

Boom!　

The Ascension Banner swept across, hitting the broken sword, and terrifying treasure fluctuation erupted, causing fragments of rules to scatter everywhere.

"Don't come any closer, I can hold him off!" Wang Xuan shouted. After unleashing the potential of the three light spots, his current strength surpassed that of Celestial Sword Maiden. He feared for Jiang Qingyao's safety. After all, her cultivation level was lower than Qi Tian's in the realm of Earth Immortals. She would die if she were hit by the Ascension Banner.

The Life Essence Furnace clashed with the Ascension Banner. Wang Xuan and Qi Tian fought for their lives with their blood splattering across the starry sky. When the furnace body shook once again, Wang Xuan almost had another accident. His face grew grim, this treasure was too difficult to handle.

In the distance, inside the spaceship, everyone remained silent and were quietly observing the battle. The shadow couple's hearts were tensed up. Wang Xuan's repeated accidents made the scene too thrilling to watch.

At this moment, Fang Yuzhu, who was reciting the Guiding Scripture suddenly stopped. Around her, the Divine Ascension Bamboo was still swaying, dripping golden liquid.

On the altar, the scattered bones showed signs of life. Most importantly, the almost extinguished fragmented spirit flickered with flames. It was truly revived.

"Siyuan!"

"Jiang Siyuan!"

Several people exclaimed together, feeling curious, admiring, sympathetic and indifferent. But some, including the Sword Maniac, disregarded the person.

"Am I... in a dream?" asked Jiang Siyuan. After his revival, his spirit was wavering. He looked at Fang Yuzhu with a distracted expression, then sighed softly and looked around.

He knew that he had revived and saw the unforgettable beautiful face of his youth. Jiang Siyuan felt surprised and recalled many past events.

As for the other people, he had seen the portraits of a few individuals, but he didn't recognize most of them. However, they were all formidable, probably even more powerful than he was in his prime.

"Siyuan, you're awake. Don't think too much. Rest well, everything will be fine," said Fang Yuzhu, comforting him.

Jiang Siyuan nodded. The blurred figure of his spirit was extremely weak, and it could extinguish at any moment. Over two thousand years had passed, but the jade face in front of him left him feeling unsettled, he was unable to calm his heart.

Back then, he had willingly fought for her with all his might, even dying twice. Although he accidentally revived, the latter half of his life had been spent in suffering between life and death. He had been enduring hardship until today.

However, as time passed, life changed, and the emotions of youth gradually faded. He was a strong-willed cultivator, a gifted genius of his time. There was nothing he couldn't let go of, time could fade everything.

Back then, he already knew that Fang Yuzhu's pursuit in this life was the Great Dao. From the moment he expressed his feelings and was politely rejected, he understood that his role in this life was only to stand behind her, observing whether she could succeed in pursuing the Dao.

He understood that she wanted to break through the barriers that even the mythical ages couldn't overcome. She wanted to dispel the cold winter, and truly illuminate the eternal night of the transcendent world.

After so many years, he was no longer young. It had been over two thousand years. What couldn't he let go of? He had already made up his mind since his escape from captivity, and living a difficult life in seclusion.

He was not unaware that Fang Yuzhu had already become unmatched in the Immortal Realm, personally putting an end to the era of ancient emperors to avenge him. But he didn't convey any message, never attempted to contact her again, and didn't have anyone send her a letter. Until recent years, as his condition worsened and the flame of his life was about to extinguish, he only wished to quietly finish his life in a solitary place.

He knew that Fang Yuzhu was aiming for the Great Dao. He didn't want to cause her any trouble.

He also looked back. In that era, with his talent, he would have undoubtedly become a peerless transcendent if he had more time. He could perhaps even surpass all the experts of the world.

Did he regret it? He had asked himself that too. If he could live his life again, what would he choose? Would he still risk his life to save Fang Yuzhu?

Jiang Siyuan believed that his former self from that era would probably make the same choice. Despite being rejected, he still didn't want her to die. He couldn't help but sacrifice himself to save her.

"Who hasn't been reckless in their youth, thinking they can change the whole world? That was the expression of my sincere emotions at the time. Regardless, I would have acted back then, without regrets." These were his inner thoughts. He had no regrets about the past. Life always moves forward. That was his most genuine choice back then.

As if recalling something, he looked at Fang Yuzhu and said with a voice, "No matter when, never trust the evil spirits. Even in the face of certain death, never make a deal with them."

"What have you been through?" asked Fang Yuzhu, looking at him. The present Jiang Siyuan and the former charismatic figure who once looked down on the world seemed like two different people.

"An evil spirit saved me when I still had a glimmer of hope, but just then, the Life Essence Furnace passed by and we returned to the mortal realm together..."

The contract with the evil spirits, eating people without spitting out their bones, was impossible to escape. Once signed, one's soul would no longer belong to oneself in this life. He would become a prisoner, lost, and even eaten up.

Even if the evil spirit itself met with an accident and died, the signer would still find it difficult to escape and would still be plunged into endless darkness.

When Jiang Siyuan understood all this, it was already too late. But he also waited for an opportunity. When the evil spirit was dying, he resisted with all his might, even at the cost of destroying his own cultivation. He abandoned the treasures, and escaped from that strange place.

His glory, his life, his foundation of Dao, they all nearly collapsed completely. But in the end, he managed to break free from everything arranged by the evil spirits with great determination and returned to himself, but the price was too great.

He looked at Qi Tian who was standing beside and was lost in thought. Then, he gazed at the six treasures, discerned the fundamental issue, and couldn't help but look towards Qi Tian, saying, "You brought me out and extracted some of my spiritual imprints. Are you intending to control the Life Essence Furnace?"

Next, he looked at everyone present, quickly understanding the situation, and said, "Taking some of my spiritual imprints, wanting to control my former treasure, to assassinate that young man?"

He sighed lightly, "If I've caused trouble for future generations, for all of you, then let me return, back to tranquility."

His fragmented spirit began to dissipate into light, it was about to scatter and vanish. He was already in the twilight of his life and did not want to burden anyone.

Back in the days when he overlooked the world and shone brightly in the Immortal Realm, he could calmly let go of life and death. Now, in this era, with his remnant spirit wavering, he didn't want to burden anyone! He dissolved into light and was about to fade away.

"No!" shouted Fang Yuzhu.

......

In the depths of the universe, Wang Xuan seized the moment of silence from the Life Essence Furnace and burst forth with all his might. His three light spots broke free completely. He was in excruciating pain, bloodied, feeling like his former self was being torn apart. But indeed, he had become very powerful. Had he perfected the Fourteenth Stage?

"Die, Evil dragon!" shouted Wang Xuan.