Chapter 1109: The First Divine Being

**Chapter 1114: The Primal Deity**

The vast river of divine blood surged with mighty waves.

The river was wide, stretching boundlessly as far as the eye could see, seemingly connected to the horizon. Its immense presence inspired awe.

It was hard to imagine how many deities must have been slain to gather such a vast amount of divine blood, forming a river of such terrifying scale.

Especially under the celestial aurora, the crimson river water shimmered with a dim glow, like countless blood-hued gems dancing on the surface.

It seemed to vie for brilliance with the aurora.

Together, they formed a magnificent and stirring tableau.

This profound tableau held the weight of history, witnessed the transformation of the world, carried the tales of gods and immortals, and was a testament to the shift in the Fifth Star Ring's configuration.

Its significance was profound.

Within this blood-colored tableau, a lone boat cut through the waves, steadily moving forward.

The boatman's voice echoed across the heavens and earth.

Every phrase, every word, resonated like thunder in Xu Qing's mind, akin to the profound sounds of the Great Dao.

“The Sole Immortal Venerable.”“The Fifth Human Ancestor.”

All these words rapidly converged in Xu Qing's mind, eventually forming the image of an old man.

This old man was the one Xu Qing had seen in the map from the Demonic Feather Sacred Land, sitting cross-legged in the Fifth Star Ring, and also the individual he had encountered in the outer sea of Wanggu Continent.

“Senior, why was the Immortal Venerable… called the Fifth Human Ancestor?”

After a moment, Xu Qing took a deep breath and quietly asked.

The boatman picked up his pipe, took a puff, exhaled smoke, and spoke calmly.

“The thirty-six ascending star rings belong to the Upper Realm. Below each of them are varying numbers of descending star rings, which are the Lower Realms.”

“Some of these descending star rings have names, while others do not.”

At this point, the boatman glanced at Xu Qing, a look that seemed to carry profound meaning.

“The Lower Realm of the Fifth Star Ring is one that has no name. Long ago, when the deities of the Fifth Ascending Star Ring dominated, its descending star ring was known as the Fifth Lower Realm.”

“Within it, myriad races existed, enslaved by the deities. Each race had to worship the gods to survive.”

“Then came wars, resistance, suppression, and uprisings. Realms collapsed, and battles were fought against the gods.”

“Each time, they failed. After every failure, the Fifth Realm was completely erased, starting anew, continuing to serve as sustenance for the deities.”

As the boatman's voice rose and fell, his words seemed to become symbols of time, weaving a long river of history that flowed into Xu Qing's understanding.

“Until the very last time, under the leadership of the Human Emperor of the Fifth Realm, an unprecedented brilliance erupted, pushing this war between Immortals and Gods, between lower and upper, to its absolute peak.”

“During the war, as the Human Emperor of the Fifth Realm ascended to the Immortal Venerable level, an unforeseen event occurred with the original Divine Venerable of the Fifth Star Ring, ultimately overthrowing the Fifth Star Ring and changing its configuration.”

“It was for this reason that he was called the Fifth Human Ancestor.”

After speaking, the boatman looked up at the sky, his expression tinged with emotion.

Xu Qing listened in silence. History, in many ways, often showed similarities.

For instance, this Fifth Star Ring was, in some aspects, very similar to Wanggu Continent.

However, it was clear that development here had been much smoother.

“What about the other ascending star rings…” Xu Qing instinctively asked.

“Most of them failed. Only one place could have succeeded, but due to some unforeseen circumstances, it also failed.”

The boatman's voice held a hint of reminiscence as he shook his head.

“Because the thirty-six ascending star rings do not belong to cultivators, nor to Immortals. This place… is the domain of gods.”

“On the two paths of God and Immortal, Immortals… have limits, falling one step short of gods.”

The boatman's tone became somewhat subdued.

“To be precise, Immortals, once they reach the Immortal Venerable level, find no further path. For countless ages, the Immortal Venerables of the Fifth Star Ring have always been halted there.”

“As for gods… beyond the Divine Venerable, there are Deities!”

“Deities are not legends; they genuinely exist.”

“Though only one has appeared throughout history, this one is known as the Primal Deity. It is said that their appearance created the ascending and descending realms.”

“Whether this creation narrative is true or false is hard to discern. History is too ancient, and there is no conclusive proof.”

The boatman's words shocked Xu Qing even more profoundly than his previous remarks.

“That Primal Deity…” Xu Qing's breath quickened. Before he could finish speaking, the boatman already knew what he wanted to ask.

“They went to an unknown place and never returned.”

“Countless epochs have passed since then, and no second Deity has appeared in the thirty-six ascending star rings, until Desolation in the Ninth Star Ring.”

“They were the most hopeful candidate to become a Deity after the Primal Deity. Fortunately, they ultimately failed.”

“Otherwise…”

The boatman did not elaborate on the consequences, but Xu Qing could already imagine them.

If Desolation had succeeded, the divine power throughout the thirty-six ascending star rings would have surged immeasurably, and Immortals… would have lost any possibility of continued existence.

Xu Qing fell silent, processing the words from the ferryman before him.

Throughout this day, the other party had revealed much, from the core and divisions of the Dominator realm, the abilities of Quasi-Immortals, to the entire worldview, seemingly without any concealment, telling him everything.

This approach clearly went beyond the ferryman's usual duties.

The other party had no reason to tell him these things.

Recalling the ferryman's actions earlier, when he was being pursued…

It would be unrealistic for Xu Qing not to have some conjectures by now. Many thoughts had already formed in his mind.

He suspected that the ferryman before him… had ties to Wanggu.

Whether he was from Wanggu or acquainted with cultivators from Wanggu, Xu Qing couldn't deduce. However, he noticed the ferryman's gaze sweeping over his sword multiple times.

After a moment of contemplation, Xu Qing suddenly spoke.

“Senior, do you know of Wanggu…”

The boatman narrowed his eyes but remained silent.

Xu Qing waited for a long moment, sighing inwardly.

Although the other party didn't respond, the lack of response itself implied an answer.

“Senior, Wanggu has undergone drastic changes…”

The boatman still said nothing, puffing on his pipe and exhaling smoke.

Xu Qing fell silent.

He chose not to press further.

Just like that, time swiftly passed, and the sixth day… gradually arrived.

The fee for crossing the river was six days of the passenger's life, as the crossing time was a fixed six days.

Now, as the sixth day drew to a close, the vast river of divine blood came into view of its end.

That was the Western Star Region of the Fifth Star Ring.

As they approached, the river water grew calm, and the waves gradually subsided. Only the boat remained steady. Several hours later, as the sixth day was about to end…

They finally reached the western bank.

The soil here differed from the swamps of the southern region. No swamps were visible; the ground was reddish, seemingly infused with fire energy.

“Disembark. If you cross the river a second time, the fee will no longer be six days of your life, but sixty years.”

The boatman spoke calmly.

Xu Qing took a deep breath, stood up, bowed once, and without another word, he stepped off the lone boat, landing on the bank.

Standing on the western land, Xu Qing turned to look at the boat.

On the boat, the boatman, clad in a straw cape and wearing a bamboo hat, was puffing on his pipe, the exhaled smoke making his figure even more indistinct.

Recalling the past six days, Xu Qing lowered his head and bowed again.

“Thank you, Senior.”

Although the other party had not responded to his inquiries or spoken further during these last few days, the information he had previously shared held immense significance.

It was akin to directly opening Xu Qing's understanding of the world.

Therefore, by Xu Qing's way of thinking, this was a great kindness.

His bow was exceptionally sincere.

After bowing, Xu Qing turned and swiftly departed into the distance.

Not until Xu Qing's figure vanished from the bank did the boatman, still in his lone boat on the River of Divine Blood, slowly raise his head and look in the direction Xu Qing had gone.

“Sword Wielder, has that stubborn fellow fallen…?”

He murmured, his tone filled with recollection.

After a long moment, he let out a soft sigh.

“Wanggu… it’s been a long time since I heard those two words. And my name, I'm afraid the myriad races of Wanggu have long forgotten it… erased from history.”

As he murmured, the boatman raised his right hand and looked down at his palm.

Within his palm, runes resembling human faces shimmered, emitting an eerie aura.

If Xu Qing had been there, he would have instantly recognized them…

Those shimmering, face-like runes were none other than… Immortal Arts!

Meanwhile, in the mid-air of the Fifth Star Ring's western region, Xu Qing, having left the bank, heard a sigh of relief from the Mud Fox as he sped along.

“That person earlier… was a bit scary. I felt like the moment he saw you, he had the urge to drag me out and thoroughly torment me.”

“Xu Qing, this place you’ve come to is no fun at all!”

The Mud Fox's heart pounded, especially when recalling the River of Divine Blood, which made its heart tremble even more.

“Never mind, never mind, I’ll just go back to sleep…”

The Mud Fox mumbled, rapidly retracting its aura once more.

Seeing Starflame like this, Xu Qing didn't know what to say. He had already warned it earlier that the place he was going might not welcome deities.

But clearly, Starflame hadn't believed him at the time.

“Later, it might get even more dangerous…”

Xu Qing hesitated, but ultimately reminded it again.

Instantly, the Mud Fox's aura became even more intensely restrained.

Such a posture was rarely seen in Wanggu. One could imagine the extent of the ferryman's deterrence on Starflame.

As Xu Qing pondered, the ferryman's figure couldn't help but surface in his mind.

“Who exactly is he…?”

Xu Qing murmured.

There was no answer to this question.

After a long moment, Xu Qing took a deep breath, buried the matter in his heart, and brought forth the map and information of the Western Star Region in his mind.

The Western Star Region, compared to the other three regions, was generally weaker. Especially the orthodox Dao Immortal Sect of the west, which seemed somewhat in decline.

The fundamental reason was the Western Heaven Patroller, whose mentality was extraordinary and detached, caring little for the sect's development or external opinions.

Most cultivators in the entire sect appeared nonchalant.

However, precisely because of this, there were more family powers here than in the other three regions. They competed with each other, gradually encroaching and growing stronger.

As he looked at this information, Xu Qing thought of the star of the west.

As the weakest among the Eight Great Stars, this individual was a disciple of the Dao Immortal Sect's Heaven Patroller.

“Li Mengtu…”

“His family has a unique characteristic: all direct descendants have the character 'Tu' in their names.”

“He is in the early stage of the Dominator realm, possessing four authorities. His personal combat strength, combined with the strange magic inherited from his family and the cultivation from his master, includes a record of slaying a mid-stage Dominator.”

Lost in thought, Xu Qing gazed at the land and sky of the western region.

“This place is much more peaceful than the southern region, suitable for healing, but not for challenges and self-improvement.”

“However, for me right now, finding a place to recover from my injuries as soon as possible is the priority.”

“As for what comes next… I’ll act according to the circumstances.”

Determination flashed in Xu Qing's eyes. His body swayed, and he swiftly moved forward.