Chapter 16: Time Stands Still

Qu Yi attacking Gongye Ming immediately made Qiu Yan realize this was an opportunity. The Spatial-Time Transformation Array could not only seal Qu Yi but also Gongye Ming—after all, by sealing Qu Yi, his cultivation would remain stagnant. Thus, during the Divine King Reincarnation Battle, Qu Yi’s body would appear automatically on the battlefield at his current strength, making it easier for the Divine Emperor to kill him with a single strike.
Qiu Yan certainly wouldn’t miss this chance and promptly gave the order. The eight Divine Kings—Qiu Qi, Tian Jian, Bai Lan, Sang Rui, Gongye Zhong, Jin Chengrui, Yu Enheng, and Yan Que—heard Gongye Ming’s call and, without hesitation, flew to eight different directions, each drawing out a top-grade innate spiritual treasure.
“Qu Yi, you won’t escape today,” the eight Divine Kings shouted coldly.
In an instant, they raised their top-grade innate spiritual treasures, radiating formidable presence and cold expressions, all showing resolute determination. These eight treasures were the Heaven-Subverting Hammer, Yin-Yang Ruler, Divine Tomb Halberd, God-Destroying Sword, Five Elements Wheel, Desire-Breaking Hook, Golden Lotus Throne, and Seven-Tone Golden Spear. Each possessed the power to destroy an entire realm, and together, they terrified even the Divine Kings.
Qu Yi had been attacking Gongye Ming, forcing him to continuously draw on the primal energy of the Ze Dui Divine Realm, nearly tearing apart Gongye Ming’s protective energy. Yet, Qu Yi still hadn’t managed to strike Gongye Ming’s body, only to now face attacks from the eight Divine Kings.
“Activate the Spatial-Time Transformation Array!” the eight Divine Kings shouted fiercely, their expressions wild.
The Spatial-Time Transformation involved using the eight top-grade innate spiritual treasures to transform solid space into time stasis—a technique only a Divine Emperor could comprehend.
Seeing the eight Divine Kings’ actions, Qu Yi merely frowned but didn’t immediately dodge. With a sinister smile, he continued attacking Gongye Ming.
“Gongye Ming, you won’t escape this time. I’ll avenge the Weapon God for him,” Qu Yi shouted coldly, intensifying his attacks.
The spatial energy supported by the billions of beings in his internal world was unleashed in full force, causing a massive spatial collapse. The intense suction force shook Gongye Ming’s body violently, and he frantically absorbed the primal energy of the Ze Dui Divine Realm to barely resist the collapse.

“Qu Yi, your intentions are good, but if you think you can kill me, you’re far too naive. The power of the Origin Pearl is beyond your comprehension. Even if all its essence is absorbed, it will still ensure my safety,” Gongye Ming shouted coldly.

The Origin refers to the source of the universe. As long as the universe endures, the Origin Pearl will not vanish. Naturally, as its master, Gongye Ming’s life is tied to the Origin Pearl, allowing him to remain immortal.

Qu Yi merely smiled faintly and said coldly, “Gongye Ming, you still know too little about the universe. Do you really think possessing the Origin Pearl means you’ll never die? The universe will continue to function without you. You’re just a cultivator. Do you think that by reaching the level of a Divine King, you can rest easy and look down on everything?”

Upon hearing these words, Gongye Ming’s body trembled involuntarily.

What each Divine King feared most was exactly what Qu Yi had said—could the Origin Pearl truly make them immortal?

Their conversation lasted only a short while. Qiu Qi, Tian Jian, Bai Lan, Sang Rui, Gongye Zhong, Jin Chengrui, Yu Enheng, and Yan Que—these eight Divine Kings quickly cast their spells and set up the Spatial-Time Transformation Array.

“Space lockdown!”

“Time reversal!”

“The universe falls silent; eternal time stops at this moment!”

The eight Divine Kings shouted coldly before tossing out their top-grade innate spiritual treasures. These eight treasures emitted brilliant light, weaving together to form a vast light network that instantly enclosed Qu Yi and Gongye Ming.

“Qu Yi, see how you escape this time!” Qiu Yan laughed arrogantly once the array was set up.

Seeing this, the other Divine Kings also laughed wildly, as if a heavy burden had been lifted. All they had to do now was wait for the Divine Emperor to deal the final blow to Qu Yi.

The eight top-grade innate spiritual treasures floated in the air, absorbing the elemental energies of space like eight stars, maintaining the stability of the lockdown.

Inside that sealed space, Qu Yi and Gongye Ming continued to fight, unable to move a muscle, as if time itself had stopped, freezing them in that moment forever.

Seeing Qu Yi trapped, Qing Wu became extremely anxious and shouted, “You bastards! If you dare harm Qu Yi, you won’t survive!”

As soon as the words were spoken, Qing Wu Gui’s aura changed drastically—he became like an embodiment of murderous intent, every movement radiating deadly force, causing sections of space to collapse and vanish.
“Bad news—Qing Wu Gui’s murderous intent seems to be breaking through again,” realized Qiu Meng, Tian Yu, Chai Ying, Jing Miao, and Sang Xue, the five Divine Kings surrounding him, their faces showing fear.
Qiu Yan also noticed this and shouted, “Hmph! Now there’s only you left, Qing Wu Gui. Still trying to resist to the death? How reckless!”
In an instant, all twenty-three Divine Kings surrounded Qing Wu Gui simultaneously, wielding their divine weapons. Pieces of space shattered and rushed toward him, aiming to kill him in one strike.
Although Qing Wu Gui wasn’t bound by spatial rules, if the surrounding space collapsed, he couldn’t control those fragments to attack the Divine Kings. Thus, he was furious but his attacks were weak and ineffective against their bodies.
Yet, the twenty-three Divine Kings couldn’t harm him either.
“Qing Wu Gui, let’s stop here. Qu Yi isn’t dead—he’s just sealed by us. During the Divine Kings’ Reincarnation Battle, Qu Yi will go to the battlefield automatically, and then you’ll be able to see each other again,” Qiu Yan said after several failed attacks.
Continuing like this would only waste spatial energy, and the Divine Kings naturally didn’t want that.
Qing Wu Gui glared coldly at Qiu Yan and snapped, “If you want to fight, then fight! If you want to end this, end it! If you don’t remove the formation this time, I’ll keep attacking you until you never find peace.”
The twenty-three Divine Kings were furious but helpless. Since Qing Wu Gui wasn’t constrained by spatial rules, persisting in attacking them would be a real headache.
“Hmph! If you want to fight, go ahead. But we won’t stay on Nan Yin Island any longer. If you insist on continuing, we’ll enter the spatial chaos,” Qiu Yan said cheerfully, his eyes gleaming.
The other twenty-two Divine Kings immediately understood and laughed.
Although Qing Wu Gui wasn’t bound by spatial rules, his attacks relied on weak spatial energy. In the spatial chaos, it was the strength of each Divine King’s spatial energy that mattered—and Qing Wu Gui was inherently disadvantaged.

“You truly are despicable! Give me just a little more time, and I will surely find a way to kill you all. No matter which realm I enter, I will hunt you down one by one.” Qing Wu Gui understood Qiu Yan’s meaning and shouted with a grim expression.

The twenty-three Divine Kings merely smiled faintly before entering the spatial turbulence and leaving Nan Yin Island immediately.

Qing Wu Gui did not chase after them. He stood quietly in the air, watching that space where time had stopped, staring at Qu Yi and Gong Ye Ming for a while.

“Qu Yi should be fine. He possesses the power of the universe; he shouldn’t be trapped by such a space. Why can’t we see him breaking through the space to come out?” Qing Wu Gui murmured suddenly, his face filled with confusion.

Just then, Zong Jing, Xu Miao, Qian Mao, Qi Shen, and Wu Yuan suddenly appeared, having just returned from the lower realms.

“Qu Yi…”

“Qu Yi is trapped by the space?”

“It’s not just spatial confinement; it seems this space is in a state of time stagnation.”

In an instant, all five exclaimed in shock, their bodies filled with anger as they looked at Qing Wu Gui, waiting for an answer.

“The Eight Realms Divine Kings have come again. They set up a spatial-time transformation array, trapping both Qu Yi and Gong Ye Ming in this space,” Qing Wu Gui said coldly, his eyes glowing with murderous intent.

Actually, when Qing Wu Gui was surrounded by the twenty-three Divine Kings earlier, his killing intent surged again, as if it was about to reach another level. But when the twenty-three Divine Kings retreated, Qing Wu Gui failed to seize that opportunity to break through, so he couldn’t chase after them.

Upon hearing this, Wu Yuan went wild with rage and shouted, “I’m so angry! These Eight Realms Divine Kings really don’t know when to back off. They dare to attack Nan Yin Island in secret. I won’t spare them. Qing Wu Gui, let’s go to the eight divine realms, find those Divine Kings one by one, and kill them all!”

Zong Jing immediately grabbed Wu Yuan and shook his head, saying, “Wu Yuan, calm down first. With the Origin Beads in their hands, even if you go after them, you won’t be able to kill them. Why waste time? Right now, Qu Yi is only trapped in this space. I have a feeling that this might be an opportunity for him. So, let’s continue our activities in the lower realms. Once we obtain the faith power of one realm, we’ll all have complete spatial power. Then we can attack the Eight Realms Divine Kings together and eliminate them all at once.”

Zong Jing, Xu Miao, Qian Mao, Qi Shen, and Wu Yuan used the boundless stars to travel to the lower realm, each taking control of one realm. Now, they only need to spend time guiding the cultivators there to believe in them, so that they can rapidly enhance their strength.
Wu Yuan calmed down, though his expression remained furious. It seemed that if even one Divine King appeared before him, he would surely bite that Divine King to death.
“I agree with Zong Jing’s words. You should go to the lower realm and manage it well. Only when all of you have improved your strength can no matter what the Eight Realms’ Divine Kings do, they be able to harm us,” Qing Wu Gui said calmly, looking at Qu Yi in the space.