The Heavens: A Qing, the Yue Girl at the beginning

"?!" The Black King's emotions were stirred, and he examined the object with vigilance.

The distance between the two sides began to decrease steadily.

A crystal-clear bubble rose in Zhao Qing's palm.

When it first appeared, it was very small, like a drop of morning dew, reflecting the dappled light and shadow of the rapidly enlarging glacier and ocean below.

But in an instant, it began to expand and stretch, as if it contained an entire dream that was growing wildly. In a fraction of a breath, it had become the size of a mountain.

It floated in the violently plunging turbulent currents.

Then, it cracked open with a pop.

The moment it bursts open, the bubble disappears, but more surges out, releasing new dreams—ten, a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand… Transparent bubbles explode, spreading silently.

They overlap and nest, each refracting different light.

Light emanated from the membrane, intertwining and weaving a net that enveloped the battlefield. Wherever the light passed, ripples spread through the space, starlight was stretched into intermittent rays, and the edges of the black dragon's molten gold blood and the suspended blood-bead nebula began to melt, as if cast into a scalding mirror.

Multiple colors are cut, stirred, and released by light, ultimately emitting clusters of strange luster like cold-quenched metal.

It spread silently.

It was soaked in the wind.

It was soaked with snow and sleet.

The snow soaked into the white, barren Queen Elizabeth Islands below. Thus, the frozen fjords fell silent, the snow-covered mountains fell silent, only the mournful howl of the wind sweeping across the ice fields and the distant rumble of ice shelves breaking off and crashing into the sea.

Several harp seals, seemingly sensing something, plunged into the dark waters and dived into the depths, never to resurface.

……

Nidhogg began to notice something amiss inside.

He saw patterns in the wind, veins in the rain and snow, a rhythm of surging undercurrents, and a convergence of some extremely hidden "meaning".

Azure green, firm and strong, seemingly diligent yet clumsy, unyielding and unshakable.

Like the roots of an old bamboo, stretching for thousands of miles yet still connected by sinews and bones; like the gnarled branches of an ancient pine, enduring wind and snow yet only displaying its strength and resilience.

It is no longer a single move or technique, but rather a permeation, an immersion, a "momentum" that, after traversing mountains and rivers and swimming in lakes and seas, merges with the very fabric of this world.

It solidifies between the island's jagged bones, sinks into every crack of the broken ice field, and seeps into the dark, slowly surging cold currents below.

Every snowflake, every gust of north wind, every ray of sunlight became the tentacles extending from this sword intent, the strings resonating within it.

It clings to the inside and outside, filling all directions.

Previously in space, Zhao Qing broke His "move" and cut off the "path" through which the power of words took shape.

Now, on the surface, in this home ground where elements are abundant again and authority can be extended, the opponent is using a more advanced and "disgusting" tactic—breaking the will.

He used his own sword intent to permeate, assimilate, and ultimately usurp the fundamental laws of "flow" and "change" in this world.

The former simply interrupts your spellcasting.

The latter, however, turns every breath you take and every surge of power into a slow form of self-destruction!

If you wish to command the wind beneath this sky, you will find binding threads within it; if you wish to ignite the earth's deep vein fire, you will find seeds of chilling malice hidden within it; if you unleash your spirit to envelop the battlefield, the edges of your thoughts will be painfully pricked by silent, sharp edges, as if walking barefoot on a road paved with shards of glass.

To absorb it is to swallow poison; to circulate it is to set oneself on fire; it is akin to drinking poison, and its ruthlessness is beyond imagination!

It is not through external force that it erodes the very foundation of its own cycle!
Refusing to intervene and standing idly by? That would be tantamount to handing over the vast energy of heaven and earth that you have summoned and mobilized from your home-field advantage, and letting it benefit the enemy! It would be like a power shift!
While Nidhogg was still somewhat shrewd, having successfully constructed his internal spellcasting circuits, stacked multiple layers of conceptual armor, and temporarily stabilized his position, believing he had regained some of the initiative—

Zhao Qing, however, had already expanded upon her previous advantage, having analyzed the opponent's mental commands and turned them into her own.

Using the methods of deception, they actually carried out teleportation!
Seize their power, and nurture my own sword!
This is the perfect embodiment of the "theory of the solvent of heaven and earth"!

……

In the distance, on a huge, cracked ice floe at the edge of the icy sea, Xia Mi stood silently, watching the battle with bated breath. Her gaze pierced through the raging elemental storm and landed precisely on the heart of the battlefield.

In her view and perception, it was not a duel between a person and a dragon at all.

Those were two super monsters, each with a diameter starting at tens of thousands of meters and countless tentacles of energy and rules extending to tens of thousands of kilometers!

It is indescribable and difficult to describe its appearance.

The battle takes place within an ellipsoid centered on both sides, and simultaneously in countless corners of the globe.

Every inch of the world has become a chessboard, bearing the aftershocks of the struggle for control, pulled, torn, and altered by invisible lines.

This is a war fought in parallel between the micro and macro levels, a penetration of will against will, and a coverage of existence by existence.

……

"Roar--!!!"

The furious roar of the dragon drowned out the falling wind and thunder.

Without hesitation, the Black King made a decision in an instant, ceasing most of its frenzied absorption of external energy.

Like a gourmet facing a table of delicacies that has suddenly been poisoned, though unwilling, he has no choice but to abruptly withdraw his outstretched hand, and the torrent of elements surrounding him also pauses.

The immense will converged and condensed, gathering in the void between the two claws: thunder was His furnace, and elements were His ore.

Countless streams of violent air, forcibly stripped and gathered, carrying dark gold fragments peeled from the shattered dragon scales and still-warm lava blood droplets, spun, collapsed, and forged between its claws. Under the casting of the power of authority, the embryonic form rapidly elongated and shaped, transforming into the outline of a scepter.

This is a weapon forging technique: a conceptual weapon that recreates the former Dragon Emperor's power to rule the four seas and the heavens, condensing it within the flowing gold essence.

It initially appeared as a dull, grayish-brown object, but soon, a brilliant, radiant gold emanated from within, transforming into mysterious patterns that coiled and climbed like vines, imprinting themselves on the staff. The staff head naturally contracted and twisted, presenting a ferocious form somewhere between a crown, sharp horns, and an unopened flower bud.

The natural imprints of concepts such as "power," "elemental domination," and "punishment" are all inscribed on this enormous scepter, which is over two hundred meters long, flows with star maps and dragon patterns, and is entwined with wind, thunder, and pure fire.

For countless years, His bones were the most indestructible spears, His scales the most perfect shields, His claws could tear through space, and His breath could incinerate everything.

Alchemical weapons? To Him, they were superfluous burdens.

But at this moment, it is a battle of "words of power".

It is a contest of rules and skills, of weaving and dismantling.

A powerful weapon that can perfectly embody and even amplify the concept of authority, and can directly confront the woman's elusive sword intent, seems... necessary.

The scepter is formed in the blink of an eye.

Immediately afterwards, the airspace within a radius of dozens of miles centered on the black dragon seemed to be covered by an inverted, ever-expanding, pitch-black cauldron. The sky suddenly darkened, as if an eternal night had descended.

Rolling black mist spewed from the tip of the scepter and the wounds on the dragon's body, instantly filling the artificial darkness. From the mist came millions of low, overlapping prayers or curses in the dragon's language.

The space became viscous, like glue.

……

Almost at the same time.

Zhao Qing drew his sword.

She simply made a downward slash.

With this stroke, the void surrounding her, extending for thousands of miles, suddenly "lit up".

No, it's not light.

It is a "sword". It is the 108 sets of the "Qian Yuan Sword Pill Grand Formation" that had long been dispersed into the gale and merged with the void energy, selfless, formless and intangible, now activated at this moment and fully deployed!
"Formation, begin."

The silent decree stirred the pulse that had long been deeply rooted in heaven and earth.

Countless invisible streams of sword intent leaped, transmitted, and intertwined between the nodes, sweeping away the cold winds for three thousand miles, and the biting frost soaked the heavens. Though close at hand, the ends of the earth were at hand; though a mere inch apart, an abyss was formed, suppressing the dragon's roar.

Stars hang low in the azure sky, obscuring the air of war; clouds roll across the vast expanse, washing away the dust and clamor.

The distant peaks echo with the sound of evening reed pipes, blowing dreams into the past and present!
But this is not enough.

The countless, almost invisible "Tai Xu bacteria" also absorbed the primordial energy of heaven and earth that had been gathered into their net, as if they were covered with a very faint, hazy, flowing, glassy halo.

"The heavens display their signs, the earth takes shape, the seven luminaries weave their patterns, and the five elements adorn the land!"

The sound of the Dao was clear and resonant, reaching straight to the heavens.

A magnificent and dazzling starry sky image unfolded behind her!

On the left, the sun blazes brightly, its flames flowing like gold, each ray of light a condensed, intensely refined solar sword aura burning and flowing; on the right, the moon shines brightly, its clear light penetrating to the bone, its boundless coldness containing the soul-freezing Taiyin sword aura.

The sun and moon hang side by side in the sky, transforming into intertwined golden and silver halos, creating a magnificent spectacle of eternal confrontation yet perfect fusion.

Between the sun and moon, in the endless depths of space, the 365 main stars, the 28 constellations of the four directions, countless auxiliary stars, fireflies... all the stars in the heavens light up one by one, following the ancient star map trajectory, and slowly rotate.

Each "star" is a collection of sword intents, each with its own distinct nature, yet all equally sharp and incomparable.

What they cast was not light, but a crisscrossing, all-encompassing "sword energy and starlight," closely connected with the "heavenly net and earthly mantle" below. Unparalleled stellar magnetic energy and primordial torrents were drawn down, hanging like necklaces and waterfalls of light, filling the wilderness with murderous intent and illuminating all directions.

The sword energy of the five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—transformed into five rainbows of white, green, black, red, and yellow that stretched across the heavens and earth.

A sword began to condense within this starry sky dharma image.

It is neither gold nor jade, neither stone nor wood.

It is woven and refined from the light of the "heavenly phenomena" and the form of the "earthly formations," by the Taoist principles of the "seven luminaries" and the "five elements."

At first, it was just a blurry streak of light, but it quickly absorbed the essence of the entire Dharma image and field, becoming clear and solid.

The sword's blade flowed with a magnificent light that could not be described by a single color, as if it contained all the possibilities of color, yet in an instant it returned to a kind of chaotic pure white, and then differentiated into endless colors.

This cycle repeats itself endlessly, reflecting the vast universe.

Birth, growth, transformation, harvest, and storage—this is the realm of "transformation."

The workings of heaven and earth are like sudden changes, yet they are always in motion and constantly shifting. They come and go, sometimes fast, sometimes slow. Of these four aspects, the most important is to maintain the constant.

"No matter how much one fights for power, it all ultimately revolves within the realm of 'power'," Zhao Qingling said calmly, standing in the air.

"Today, I'll show you—"

She pointed her fingers and gently touched the golden scepter with its dark gold luster and the black dragon emperor with its scales bristling behind it.

"What is meant by 'severing power'?"

"What is meant by 'the destruction of the Dharma'?"

As the words fell, the parallel moon and sun in the starry sky suddenly shone brightly, transforming into two vast torrents of silver and gold.
Beneath their feet, the fourteen million sword cores of the Heavenly Net and the Void Sword Domain trembled in unison, pouring into them without reservation the accumulated, purified primordial energy belonging to this world.

The sword trembled slightly, then was gently extended forward.

This delivery, seemingly slow, actually defied the norm of speed changes, as if it was meant to appear in that position, in front of the golden scepter's sharp edge.

The magic sword flies and stabs.

Wherever it passed, it naturally stirred up unimaginable gales and turbulent currents.

Within the storm, there were lightning bolts of various colors—azure, bright purple, crimson gold, dark blue, and pure white—as well as countless streaks of varying thickness and length, which sprang up, spread, intertwined, and vanished, constantly extending and chasing each other!
They leap and lash at the void, spreading out and stretching, trailing long, dazzling, unreal comet tails.

Like a radiant phoenix, guided by the storm, they simultaneously unfurled their sky-covering, burning tail feathers.

In the distance, the elements that had been briefly frozen and suspended by the golden scepter began to tremble, boil, and then... turn against them!

……

Defection? Collision? Disintegration!

The golden scepter held horizontally in front was the first to be affected.

"Crack!"

A crystal-clear cracking sound. The brilliant, vine-like golden patterns on the staff instantly dimmed and faded, almost completely disappearing.

A series of shocking cracks appeared, making it seem as if it was on the verge of collapse! But this was not its main function!

The true target of the magic sword is the dragon claw.

"puff!"

The sound was muffled, yet it seemed to toll the bell of some destiny.

There was no gushing of blood.

The moment the sword tip pierced the body, the dazzling light completely disintegrated, transforming into countless tiny gray streams that dispersed.

Immediately, the black dragon gripped the three toes of the scepter with its right forepaw, and the longest one was severed cleanly at the second joint!

The cross-section is smooth as a mirror, presenting a withered grayish-white color, as if it has undergone hundreds of millions of years of weathering in an instant.

Just like the flesh, bones, and energy channels at the break point, their vitality was "extinguished" by that corrosive sword intent, turning into an inert substance similar to rock or ash.

Reinvented!

This is no longer the kind of "gua sha" that appears intense but only damages the surface of the skin. This time, it's real limb damage!

It means that the extension of its authority has been severed! It means that a portion of the fundamental unit that constitutes its immortal dragon body has been permanently "killed"!

It doesn't sound like much, after all, it's just a toe, nothing compared to the entire dragon body, it's insignificant.

But Zhao Qing certainly wouldn't only have one sword strike.

She can strike one sword after another.

Moreover, more than 90% of the power used came from the opponent.

As long as the Black King's recovery speed cannot keep up with the speed at which the sword strikes, this insignificant toe can extend into a severed hand, spread from the severed hand to the severed arm, and from the severed arm to the torso.

Gradually, inevitably, it took away His magnificent life.

Nidhogg cannot afford such a price.

He was unwilling to gamble on when the next sword would strike.

In terms of attrition warfare? We've already shown signs of failure in this area.

The remaining senses scanned the area and discovered that the thin layer of sky they had passed through during the fall was actually an open "door".

Because the "window" was wide open and responded normally, no one noticed anything amiss at first. But now, the window is closed and the door is shut.

“You won,” the black dragon said coldly, “but you also lost.”

The gold in his pupils faded rapidly, turning into a deep, despairing darkness.

...(End of chapter)