Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 1202: Seeing A God Again

What Xu Qing saw on his way out of the Daoforge Universe was a little interlude and nothing more. Sir Star Ring showed up, and thus, Xu Qing didn’t end up revealing himself. Hordeslayer, Rampart, and even Sir Star Ring himself, were merely passing travelers to him. At the very most, he might end up taking the two swords if the need arose one day.

However, the three evil cultivators Hordeslayer and Rampart had run into were of note to Xu Qing. Two were Imperial Sovereigns, and one was a Quasi-Immortal. It was obvious how greedy and domineering they were.

Xu Qing had never been under the illusion that everyone with a high cultivation base had some sort of transcendent personality. In the chiliocosm of worlds, there was no end to the cultivators that existed. Powerful experts were as numerous as clouds in the sky, and it was only natural that they would have all sorts of personalities.

And of course, they would act differently and hold themselves to different standards. Some people were sinister, some were extraordinary. There were broad-minded people like Grand Emperor Swordsage, and of course, there would be greedy and evil people like those he had just seen.

It was the same even in the Quasi-Immortal level. People were people, and they all had different personalities. There were many Quasi-Immortals in the Fifth Star Ring, largely because of the different environment.

It wasn’t like the Revered Ancient mainland, where life was tough and the resources were scarce. In Revered Ancient, Quasi-Immortals and even Imperial Sovereigns were as rare as phoenix feathers or qilin horns. The higher you climbed, the more mountains you encountered. The further you traveled, the more scenery you saw.

It was just how things worked. When all was said and done, personality was largely the result of one’s experiences. There were some people who lived for thousands or tens of thousands of years, and who experienced all the joy and sorrow of life, that eventually became numb, blank, and returned to their primal state. Otherwise, it would be hard to escape the colorful reality of human nature.

Of course, in some cases, one couldn’t just take things at face value. In the end, Xu Qing wasn’t surprised at all to find some powerful experts, and even a Quasi-Immortal, who would try to rob others in public. But what he did find surprising was who those three people were.

Acquisitioners… for some war…?

Xu Qing was lost in thought as he left. What was especially noteworthy was the mention of war.

They acquire resources for war…? What war is the Fifth Star Ring fighting? Maybe with another star ring?

Xu Qing thought about it for a moment. There were some things that you wouldn’t be able to see clearly until you reached the proper vantage point and had a wide view. Up to this point, Xu Qing had not been aware of any war being fought by or in the Fifth Star Ring. However, listening to the conversations of the other cultivators had given him an idea of what was going on.

“I suppose things will be made clear in the Reception Universe.”

With such thoughts in his mind, he crushed the immortal slip for the Heroic Immortal Tombs, and vanished in a teleportation.

The starry sky blurred.

***

The Heroic Immortal Tombs didn’t just exist in the Nineshores Heaven. Similar things existed in all of the heavens beyond heaven. From ancient times until now, whenever immortals fell in battle, they would be buried somewhere. In some cases, their corpses were interred intact. In the vast majority of cases, their remains were mangled. In some cases, the only thing left behind was a grave marker.

The Heroic Immortal Tombs were located in the Heroic Immortal Star Domain in the Immortal Eulogy Universe. It was isolated by unique barriers, and the only entrance was an immense ancient door made of bronze. Outside of the door was a black stone staircase of the most ancient construction.

Seated right in front of the door at the top of the staircase was an old man in a black robe. He was nothing special to look at, and his aura was imperceptible as he sat there motionless.

When Xu Qing materialized, he was on the stairs outside the door. He looked up at the huge door, and then at the old man, and his heart trembled. There was a strong feeling of death coming from the old man, as well as a sensation of lonely bleakness.

The sight caused his canon to ripple, as if it were being drawn to the old man. At the same time, a host of information filled him. He suddenly got the feeling that this old man shouldn’t exist, and yet did exist. The feeling grew very strong before vanishing.

After hesitating for a moment, he bowed. Then he walked up the stairs and disappeared into the door.

After Xu Qing was gone, the old man opened his eyes. He lifted a flagon of alcohol and took a drink. Looking at the door, he hoarsely murmured, “Nobody has come for a while now. That’s good. There have been few memorial services, but that just means not many people have died in the war recently. That’s excellent…. All of you are long gone. Why did you leave me behind guarding your tombs here in the mortal world…?”

The old man’s eyes seemed to fill with reminiscence.

Upon stepping through the door, the starry sky again blurred to Xu Qing, and when things became clear, he was looking at a host of galaxies. They were tombs!

In the Heroic Immortal Star Domain, each galaxy was a tomb. Each one had a stone stele above it inscribed with writing. In some cases, the writing told the life story of the individual interred therein. In other cases, there were only a few words written down. In the case of the latter, it was usually an epitaph explaining the ideals of the buried individual.

There weren’t many galaxies; there were only a bit more than a hundred. That said, this was a place of buried immortals. In other words, from ancient times until now, there had only been a bit more than a hundred Lower Immortals who had perished in battle in the Nineshores Heaven.

Xu Qing knew that history went back for countless years. But to walk through that huge door and see all these galaxies, and the stone steles above them, left him feeling deeply shaken.

He could just barely make out a sound like a sigh, echoing through the starry sky. It was like the battle cry of a valiant warrior, drifting amongst the galaxies. It was like a blessing from the aeons, lingering among death.

They had defended their home. They had defended their people. They had fought heroically for humankind and their star ring! They risked life and limb with no thought given to their personal interest.

Even though Xu Qing wasn’t native to the Fifth Star Ring, he felt his mood sinking. He couldn’t help but feel deep reverence for the heroism these people had shown. The stone steles he was looking at became inscribed on his heart.

After a moment passed, he began to pass amidst the swirling stars and look at the stone steles.

“I practiced cultivation for 9,000 years. I hailed from Grand Immortal Mountain, practiced cloud cultivation, and when I became an immortal, I was given the title immortal monarch. During my life, I cut down seven True Gods. I couldn’t be prouder.”

“I was a rogue cultivator who refused to give up. I eventually rose to the level of immortal, and in the star ring war, I participated in the God Lord Siege. Though I died, I had no regrets.”

“Spirits become gods. Beasts become specters. Ghosts become freaks. In that case… what is an immortal? When a human becomes a mountain, all to defend humankind, well that person is an immortal!”[1]

“I lived for too long and began to lose my humanity. I could not kill any True Gods, but I wanted to accomplish something, so I went hunting. I planned to kill as many Altar God chosen as I could, and sever the lineage of whatever gods I found!”

“Later generations of cultivators shall not come to offer respects empty-handed. I require the blood of gods! Offer some to me!”

As Xu Qing went from stone stele to stone stele and read the script, he felt like he heard people laughing heartily. In other cases he heard weeping or even insane babble. It was like a great river of history flowing past him.

The stone steles and their inscriptions linked past, present, and future into an indelible marking. Anyone who came here would be moved.

It was pure poetry. The green mountains are full of loyal bones, the annals of history record the mighty deeds. The spirit of the heroes fills heaven and earth. The illustrious names will be spoken of throughout the ages.[2]

Eventually, Xu Qing settled down cross-legged in the middle of the starry sky and looked around at all the stone steles.

“Seniors, I am Xu Qing. I’m not a native of the Fifth Star Ring. But I promise I won’t let you down. Is there any of you willing to give me some of your inheritance? I promise to never give up on my ideals.”

The response was silence. Nothing stirred.

Xu Qing settled his energy, cleared his mind, and began to seek enlightenment. Nothing happened. He frowned, and after some thought, decided not to seek enlightenment. Instead, he let his thoughts expand. Gradually, he began to recall the past.

His youth had been a struggle. After growing up, he faced endless slaughter. He faced the evil of the gods. He encountered the wrath of the gods. But when the empress reached godly ascension, he gained an understanding amidst the confusion.

And that was when he realized what the real question was. It was as if a voice was asking him.

What are the gods?

In the past, Xu Qing had been able to answer succinctly. But now that he thought about the question again, and considered Empress Summer Departure, he suddenly spoke in a calm voice.

“The vast majority of gods are sons of bitches like they’ve always been! But there are some of them who are still human!”

The stone steles began vibrating.

1. This entire passage is full of wordplay that doesn’t translate perfectly. He basically takes two-character descriptions of things like gods, ghosts, etc. and breaks them up into their component characters to describe them. The point of the last part is something Er Gen readers have seen before in other novels. The character for immortal 仙 has the character for person/man/human on the left 人 and the character for mountain on the right 山. In this particular passage, the 人 character is associated specifically with the word for humankind or humans as a species. ☜

2. As far as I can tell, this poem is an invention of the author, although it contains some common poetic phrases. ☜