Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 1214: There’s Ice Here

Xu Qing said the words very calmly from atop the kelp leaf. It almost sounded like his voice aligned with the principles of nature, making what he said completely and utterly reasonable. There was no need for any additional prestige. It didn’t matter that the only people present other than Sir Star Ring were the Helioterrans. In fact, the calmer he seemed, the greater and more intense the pressure felt by the Helioterrans.

This was the Fifth Star Ring. And humans reigned supreme!

Outside of the imperial palace, the members of the Helioterran imperial palace had grave expressions on their faces. A powerful enemy had arrived, and their hearts were sinking. They had already been convinced that Sir Star Ring was extremely strong. But now a second powerful expert had shown up, and they were shaken deeply.

Then there was the kelp plant! They were all fully aware that this was the true form of prison A29. The fact that this person had brought the kelp plant with him, and that it would fight for him… was profoundly significant.

They were all shaken with deep intensity. The Helioterrans were no longer glorious like they used to be. What was more, not one living member of their species had even witnessed that previous glory.

The current generation had all been born under the rulership of humankind. It didn’t matter that the Aurora heaven beyond heaven didn’t have a lord. In their bones, these nonhumans felt reverence for humankind. Because of the majesty of the Helioterran emperor, they temporarily managed to suppress that reverence. But in the end… the pressure from a truly powerful human expert was too much for them.

Xu Qing’s calm but forceful arrival, and the words he spoke that still echoed in their ears, caused all of them to once again recall their reverence for humankind.

Some of them instinctively bowed their heads. Deep in their blood, they were servants. Forcing nonhumans into servitude was an important tool used by humans in the Fifth Star Ring.

The Helioterran emperor knew that with absolute clarity. He said nothing. He looked at Xu Qing. And then… his forehead glittered as a command medallion flew out of it.

The medallion shone with gentle white light. Carved on its surface was the word ‘exemption,’ while the other side was inscribed with ‘Spiritlight.’

“Years ago,” the emperor said, “our species was viewed with favor by the Spiritlight heaven beyond heaven when we recognized one of their great leaders as our lord. Thus, we were given this medallion that provides exemption from any type of order or tax.”

The white light from the exemption medallion spread out over the imperial palace, which served as the entrance to the Helioterrans’ ancestral lands! The white light covered that entrance and cut everything off from it!

Xu Qing had heard about the exemption medallion from Sir Star Ring, but didn’t know much about it. But the fact that it was a gift, and that the Helioterran emperor had used it in the way he did, indicated that the medallion was very meaningful.

Along the way, he had asked Zhou Zhengli about it. Zhou Zhengli had already researched the matter deeply, and had been happy to offer Xu Qing a full explanation. There were some species in the Fifth Star Ring who, for various reasons, were awarded with exemption medallions. Normally speaking, when Acquisitioners encountered such species, they had no choice but to leave them alone.

However… Xu Qing’s eyes glittered as he looked at the exemption medallion, then pulled out the special mission jade slip that Lord Poison had given him.

“I’m here on orders from Immortal Lord Nineshores. My mission is to find a mysterious nine-colored ice that can extinguish the flame of a God Lord.” Looking coldly at the Helioterran emperor, Xu Qing continued, “This is a very important matter, and I suspect that your species has information. I’m going to perform an inspection immediately.”

The special mission jade slip glittered with pulses of light that swept out. When it contacted the white light from the exemption medallion, that light rippled. Then the white glow from the exemption medallion vanished. It no longer covered the imperial palace.

The surrounding Helioterrans were so taken aback that they couldn’t react. The emperor’s face fell; this completely surpassed anything he could have guessed would happen.

Normally speaking, all a species had to do was produce their exemption medallion, and the Acquisitioners would have to back down. How could he ever have predicted that this human would be on a mission like this? It seemed outright absurd to him! How could Immortal Lord Nineshores task someone with mere Quasi-Immortal battle prowess with collecting a type of ice that could extinguish the flame of a God Lord…?

In fact, he refused to believe it! And yet, the mission jade slip’s unique mark was truly one-of-a-kind! Most importantly, the reaction of the exemption medallion was clearly true and real….

The Helioterran emperor’s heart was pounding. That was because, even though his species had an exemption medallion, it obviously couldn’t defy someone on a mission directly from Immortal Lord Nineshores!

It wasn’t just the emperor and the rest of the Helioterrans who were visibly taken aback. Sir Star Ring’s gaze hardened as he looked at the mission jade slip Xu Qing was holding. Even he was caught by surprise by this turn of events.

Xu Qing stepped off the kelp leaf and strode toward the imperial palace. His every footfall caused the starry sky to tremble.

As he neared, the emperor’s face twitched. By the time Xu Qing had taken about seven or eight steps, the enormous projected face of the emperor had vanished, and he had emerged from the palace in his true form. He was 300 meters tall, crimson, with two gruish faces. And he pulsed with terrifying cultivation base fluctuations that formed an obstacle in front of Xu Qing.

Xu Qing stopped in place and looked at the Helioterran emperor. “You’re preventing my inspection?”

Eying Xu Qing, the emperor grimly said, “My species has no nine-colored ice.”

“The inspection will prove that either true or false!” The person to speak those words wasn’t Xu Qing. It was Sir Star Ring.

The emperor only sighed. He knew that he had miscalculated. With the wave of his hand, he caused Fourth True Monarch’s inheritance to fly out of the palace and land on his hand. His hope was to patch things up. If these people wanted this item, then… he might as well just give it to them. It was a precious treasure, but compared to what his species was really up to… it was better to just relinquish it. He was about to open his mouth to speak, when all of a sudden his face twitched.

Xu Qing’s gaze turned sharp as he looked in the direction of the imperial palace. At almost the exact same instant, the kelp sensed the same thing, and began to sway and emanate a threatening aura.

Teleportation fluctuations had suddenly begun to roll out from inside the palace. Someone was teleporting in!

The Helioterran emperor’s eyes narrowed and he waved his hand. The clay with heaven’s principle that he had been about to hand over returned to him, and he suddenly decided not to say the words he had been about to say.

“An emissary from our species’ patron is arriving. We’ll have to wait and see what the Helioterran patron says about all this.”

With that, the emperor turned and bowed in the direction of the palace. All of the other Helioterrans did the same.

The teleportation fluctuations grew stronger. Rumbling sounds echoed out as a huge pillar of light shot down from the starry sky and into the palace, sending out numerous shockwaves.

Xu Qing wasn’t unfamiliar with this type of teleportation. It was the same variety that had brought him from his own universe.

As the light descended, an aura very close to that of a Lower Immortal spread from the palace. The terrifying aura caused the starry sky to fold over itself as immortal energy took hold everywhere.

Anything related to gods would be rejected by this immortal energy. It was the result of an immortal embryo. This newcomer… was on the very cusp of transforming their immortal embryo and turning it into a mature immortal!

Sir Star Ring’s expression became very serious. Xu Qing frowned.

Everyone watched as the main door of the imperial palace swung open. Mountain-toppling, sea-draining force rippled out. It was like a volcano erupting with lava.

A middle-aged cultivator appeared, clad in a crimson robe, with a cold expression on his face. His every step caused the starry sky to tremble.

As he strode out into the open, the Helioterran emperor bowed deeply, and all of the other Helioterrans prostrated with deep respect.

“Our respects, Emissary!”

The terrifying aura of the emissary, plus the worshipful attitude of the Helioterrans, made for a very majestic scene.

The swaying kelp plant instantly sent a message to Xu Qing via divine will. “That guy has the same aura as the warden that sealed the True God’s wound!”

Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed.

The man in the crimson robe looked around with an indescribably majestic gaze. When he noticed the kelp, his eyes glittered. Then he shifted his attention to Xu Qing.

“So, it was you that colluded with this traitorous plant to steal my Master’s god fodder?”

The Helioterran emperor blinked a few times.

Sir Star Ring’s expression turned grim, and the chains of order began to swirl around him.