Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 1210: Accepting Bribes

When perspectives differed, so did attitudes and actions. It wasn’t a simple matter of good or evil. After all, good versus evil often played out even among members of the same species.

There was little need to mention hatred, fury, or ambivalence toward nonhumans. After all, their ancestors were gods. If the immortal revolution hadn’t occurred in the Fifth Star Ring, then they would be the ruling class. Humans would be slaves that they could take advantage of at will.

But the gods had been either slaughtered or rounded up and imprisoned. So the nonhumans were like fish on the chopping block. In some ways, it was like reincarnation.

It wasn’t possible to say who was wrong or right. It was only possible to say… that regardless of which species was in question, and regardless of whether it was immortals or gods, perspective determined everything. The weak were doomed to be devoured by the strong. Those who fell behind would lose the right to continue onward.

Cultivators did not live the way the gods had lived in the past. But that was a fundamental magical law of the higher star rings, or perhaps, of all living beings in general. Victims wouldn’t always be victims. And the victimizers wouldn’t always be victimizers. In the end, everything was cyclical.

It was a truth Xu Qing had come to understand back in the Revered Ancient mainland.

After everything he had experienced in the Fifth Star Ring, he understood more than ever how to deal with the gods here. It was all according to the laws that bound everything. It was just like the discarnate wills of obsession in the Heroic Immortal Tombs. That was how the Fifth Star Ring treated the gods, as well as the nonhumans.

In the end, it was the same with Xu Qing. And yet, based on his judgment, among all of those apathetic gods, there were some that were more human than most humans.

Unfortunately, these imprisoned gods were not among them. Xu Qing wasn’t some sort of loving philanthropist who would take time getting to know each and every god before deciding what to do with them. He had no qualms about draining the pond to get at the fish, and thus, it didn’t take long for him to reach the last minor world on the leaf.

The environment consisted of a viscous black sea. The sea was calm, but did not seem auspicious and peaceful. The water stank, and powerful mutagen roiled in all directions.

A head was buried in the seafloor. It looked like the head of a bird, covered with tentacles that constantly excreted a viscous fluid. Over time, that fluid had turned into a black sea.

When Xu Qing arrived, the mutagen kicked up into a frenzy. Huge waves rolled across the surface of the sea, and the head below looked up, eyes opening. Golden light shone up through the sea as the head looked up.

A strange sound that could shake the mind and heart filled Xu Qing’s ears. It became a host of thoughts that weren’t his own, growing in his head. As the intangible thoughts formed and took shape, they became strands of excreted black fluid that wrapped around his head.

The mutagen became a tempest that raged toward Xu Qing. The waves grew larger, and the entire world began to spin. The sea became the sky. The sky became the earth below.

And then… the black sea began to pour down like rain. And thanks to the power of the inversion, the head broke free! The world blurred as rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth.

A few breaths of time passed, whereupon a dense immortal energy erupted from the chaotic blur. Mountain-toppling, sea-draining force spread out, crushing everything and driving everything away.

Everything then became clear and bright. The mutagen began to dissolve within the immortal energy. The viscous sea vaporized. Xu Qing became clear.

He reached out with his right hand and grabbed a head that was vastly larger than his own body. His five fingers stabbed into the flesh of the head. Though there was a huge disparity in size, there was only one source of terror, and it was the head!

Īt was trembling! Golden strands of ringsource were extracted, and poured into the medallion in Xu Qing’s hand. Eventually, an anguished howl echoed out. The god’s head trembled, turned gray, and collapsed into dust.

Xu Qing hovered alone in midair, his gaze sharp as he looked around.

The marks sealing this place are on the verge of fading away…. That’s why the god was able to take the initiative. But the sealing mark wasn’t touched by the god. It seems to have been affected by something else. Something was helping īt break down the seal. It was giving īt a chance to break free of the prison. Was it nonhumans? Or was it… the jail itself accepting bribes?

Xu Qing had been a jailer in the past, so he knew full well how jailers could shamelessly seek personal gain.

He pondered that for a time, his eyes narrowing. Then he flew out of the minor world and appeared out in the starry sky. He looked at the red kelp plant. He closely examined the other leaves.

The kelp plant swayed.

Finally, Xu Qing said, “The gods in the other leaves are almost all dead. You… ate them, didn’t you?”

The swaying kelp leaves suddenly began drifting rapidly toward Xu Qing.

Xu Qing didn’t move a muscle. “The leaf you offered to me was prepared in advance for collection purposes, so that no one would realize you had been accepting bribes. Am I right?”

A terrifying will built up, aggressive and full of astonishing pressure. Cracking sounds echoed out in the surrounding starry sky, all while gruish symbols floated up, locking the place down.

Eyes narrowing, Xu Qing continued, “I have a good relationship with Young Lord Aurora. Check my aura. You’ll find I have command over the Aurora Immortal Palace. Immortal Lord Nineshores cares a lot about me. Surely you can sense the aura on this object.” Xu Qing took out the wooden slip that was the authentication token for the God Blood River ferry boat. “I’m also the 1st place ascendee. If I perish here, you’ll never get away with it.”

The kelp plant hesitated, and the terrifying will reached out to the wooden slip. The terrifying will trembled. The stream of will left the slip and surrounded Xu Qing. It checked him more thoroughly.

Xu Qing’s facial expression remained the same as usual. After the mirrored history of the Aurora Immortal Palace concluded, everyone else experienced lingering effects in the real world, and there was no reason to assume he wouldn’t.

Though he had not been able to sense the Aurora Immortal Palace in this heaven beyond heaven, he got the feeling it was because the immortal palace was in concealment. He might not be able to sense it, but that didn’t mean that this kelp plant, which was native to this heaven beyond heaven, couldn’t sense it.

In other words, he was trying to use a roundabout method to confirm his own identity! It wouldn’t matter if he failed, as his biggest protection was Immortal Lord Nineshores, as well as the fact that he was the 1st place ascendee.

And thus, he submitted to the inspection.

Moments later, he could sense great fluctuations in the will of the kelp. In fact, the actual plant itself was visibly shaking. Xu Qing’s eyes gleamed. He had guessed correctly!

The kelp trembled, and its aura became chaotic, as if it had come to a decision. Thanks to the deep inspection the kelp had just carried out, it realized that, hidden within this human was the ability to command the Aurora Immortal Palace. There was obviously some major karma at play. The command wielded by this human scared it.

And the reason was that it was subservient to the Aurora Immortal Palace! Although the Aurora heaven beyond heaven had no master now, the kelp’s status was the same as ever. And its actions really did constitute a crime. It was faced with a difficult choice….

However, that was when Xu Qing spoke again. “You’ve been keeping an eye on this god prison for countless years. Nobody will fault you for having an occasional snack when you get hungry.”

The kelp froze.

“And considering the food is almost gone, the fact that you left a whole leaf is really an expression of loyalty!”

The will of the kelp surged.

“After all, I came late. That’s not really your fault.”

The leaves on the kelp plant swayed back and forth, and the pressure reduced significantly. As far as it could tell, this human wasn’t joking around. He was being completely serious.

“Therefore, let’s just forget about the past. And now, I want to ask you a question. Do you… want to eat thāt?” Xu Qing pointed at the sun wrapped up in the roots.

The kelp leaves all twitched, and then divine will echoed around Xu Qing, like a deep voice.

“Yes!”

Xu Qing nodded. “Let me in. Protect me. And I’ll see… how we can split whatever’s inside!”

The kelp hesitated and checked Xu Qing’s aura again. Then the roots shifted aside to reveal a path. Before it was completely open, the kelp suddenly sent out its divine will to scan the area. It had sensed something.

“There’s no need to be nervous,” Xu Qing said calmly. “It’s a friend of mine. Let him in.”

The kelp seemed to consider his words, then created an opening in the sealing barrier.

Zhou Zhengli shot inside. He quickly looked around. Then, acting as if nothing unusual had just happened, bowed to Xu Qing.

“What is it?” Xu Qing asked.

“Young Lord,” Zhou Zhengli said respectfully, “some of the others have had no trouble collecting ringsource. Others ran into trouble, but everything has been easy to resolve.

“Unfortunately, something unusual happened with the Helioterran imperial clan. That’s why your humble servant has come. Young Lord, can you use your status here in the Aurora heaven beyond heaven… to crush those fools who think this place really has no one in charge??

“Of course, if you’re not inclined to help, your humble servant can always go ask Sir Star Ring to handle the situation.”

Xu Qing looked at him. There was no doubt that Zhou Zhengli was very intelligent. If it weren’t for the fact that Xu Qing knew he could turn into an adversary at any time, he would probably be very pleased with how he acted.

“Have Sir Star Ring deal with it,” Xu Qing said.

“Yes, sir, Young Lord Aurora!” Zhou Zhengli backed up and then hurried away.

When he was gone, the kelp re-sealed the area.

Xu Qing turned back to the roots. “Alright. Open it up. I’m hungry, and I bet you’re hungry too.”

Without any hesitation, the kelp continued to open the path into the depths of the sun. Eyes glittering, Xu Qing stepped onto the path!