Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 1227: Xu Qing’s Fury!

The wind in the Revered Ancient mainland carried a familiar humidity. It came from the depths of the Sea of Endlessness, and from the mutagen that filled heaven and earth. It was very different from the Fifth Star Ring.

Upon sensing it, Xu Qing opened his mouth to speak. And yet, even though his lips quivered, no words came out. Everything around him seemed somewhat blurry. Perhaps it was the distortions caused by mutagen, or maybe just the general influence of the gods.

The only thing that seemed clear… was the decrepit old woman in black clothing standing next to him. The wrinkles on her face seemed like ravines etched by time, hewn out by wind and rain and fate.

Of course, he remembered that little butterfly. Back then, she had been a young woman. There had been tension between the two of them, until… she took him to the Summer Immortal Palace for the first time. That was when he had met the old palace lord, who was, of course, human.[1]

Despite all those memories existing in his head, Xu Qing felt like they weren’t completely real.

“Master once said,” the old woman continued, “that people who have not experienced excruciating pain can never understand such a feeling. It’s like… they can’t even believe it. They will even go so far as to trick themselves into believing that nothing ever happened. And that’s because after excruciating pain is absolute nothingness.”

She smiled bitterly. “I watched the catastrophe strike. I saw everything go away…. That’s when I understood what Master meant. After experiencing all of that, a thousand years passed, and I still haven’t left this place. And now, today, I’ve run into you…. I just hope that one day, you can leave.”

The old woman turned bitterly and made her way off into the distance. She looked bleak, desolate, and infinitely lonely.

Looking at her retreating figure, Xu Qing suddenly said, “What happened to my Master…? My Eldest Brother…? Plumdark and Ling’er, and… what about all my other friends? My fellow apprentices and… everybody. What happened to them?”

People who knew Xu Qing would hardly recognize his voice at that moment. It was as hoarse as the grating of infinite grains of sand. He hardly dared to ask the questions he had just asked. But he did ask them, his voice hoarse and trembling.

The old woman stopped in place, her back to Xu Qing. She was quiet for a long moment. When she spoke, her voice seemed to contain the flow of history, like a reed flute echoing in time.

“A thousand years ago, that ancient immortal came looking for something. He started with humankind. When he saw the statue of Grand Emperor Swordsage, he waved his hand, and most of humanity was wiped out. Empress Summer Departure was strong, but to him, she was like a child. He erased her mind and turned her into a godslave.

“Your Master didn’t do anything at first. To him, humankind wasn’t very important. He only cared about those people close to him.

“That ancient immortal left South Phoenix alone. There was karma between him and your Master, so he carefully avoided it. But eventually, your Master came out of seclusion. He stood up to the ancient immortal, and tried to stop him. And that was because… the thing sought by the ancient immortal was that Eldest Brother of yours!

“Your Master fought for him. Your Eldest Brother eventually returned from Brilliant Heaven with a peak Quasi-Immortal cultivation base. But that wasn’t enough to change anything. Your Master died in the fight, and your Eldest Brother went mad. He became the sacrificial object the ancient immortal sought.

“In the end, your sect was wiped out. Your other Elder Brothers and your Elder Sister were not spared. South Phoenix sank into the Sea of Endlessness, and they all… became corpses.

“After that, the ancient immortal left and Brilliant Heaven stirred. The gods therein awoke. Emperor Ancient Spirit took advantage of the opportunity to rise to prominence, and Revered Ancient descended into chaos.[2]

“I vaguely remember that Plumdark you mentioned. She ended up homeless and miserable, and eventually perished as fodder for the new gods. I also remember Ling’er. She was devoured by Emperor Ancient Spirit to get at the destiny aura she had. As for everyone else you knew, they died over the thousand years that have passed.”

Xu Qing bowed his head.

The old woman didn’t say anything further. That was how things ended for everyone Xu Qing knew.

The wind blew from off in the distance, harsh and desolate. It kicked up the dust and lifted Xu Qing’s hair, but it couldn’t take away the infinite heaviness in his heart. That was how things ended for everyone he knew.

The old woman sighed. As she disappeared into the wind, she said one more thing. “If it weren’t for that thing you left underneath Revered Ancient, I would have assumed you died out there.”

She quietly shook her head, and then, in all her lonely bleakness, she disappeared over the horizon. From the look of it, now that her Master was gone, she had the responsibility of carrying on the mission of the Summer Immortal Palace. Unfortunately… she wasn’t sure if there was any point to it anymore. But that was the dying wish of her Master. And so, she disappeared into the blurry world.

Time passed.

Xu Qing just stood there for a long time. He wasn’t really sure how he felt. It was as if his thoughts had gone still. Everything had paused. Even his soul. He listened to the sound of the wind. To him, it sounded like sobbing. Even whimpering.

Endless pain filled him, like the rushing of the tide, overwhelming. Everything started to turn as red, as tears of blood filled his eyes. He opened his mouth to murmur something, but only blood spilled out. He staggered backward.

So, when pain becomes excruciating enough, it turns into nothingness….

He couldn’t even weep. He had lost everything. His heart was a black hole that could devour all. Within that black hole was endless emptiness. Xu Qing felt like it should be familiar to him. It was similar to being in the chaotic sea of space-time. But he didn’t want to think about that.

Within his heart and mind, the old woman’s parting words echoed over and over again. Her words became like sparks that started gathering in his eyes.

“Your Eldest Brother went mad. He became the sacrificial object the ancient immortal sought.”

“I also remember Ling’er. She was devoured by Emperor Ancient Spirit to get at the destiny aura she had.”

“Empress Summer Departure…. He erased her mind and turned her into a godslave.”

“If it weren’t for that thing you left underneath Revered Ancient….”

The sparks raged. Xu Qing suddenly looked up.

Maybe Eldest Brother didn’t actually die. Maybe Ling’er made a clone of herself. There’s also hope for Empress Summer Departure. Plumdark might have reincarnated…. There are still paths to choose from…. What’s more, everything she told me was hearsay! It might not even be true!

Xu Qing’s eyes blazed as if with fire. And I did leave something behind.

Xu Qing looked up, and his eyes seemed capable of piercing the deepest depths. His divine will spread out. He looked at all the ruins. He looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar world. He looked at the gods everywhere…. And his heart cried out. His soul trembled. Eventually, he got a response, although it was so weak it seemed just on the verge of being extinguished. It was coming from the Sea of Endlessness.

Xu Qing suddenly vanished.

***

In the silt deep beneath the surface of the Sea of Endlessness, a host of sea snakes wriggled along. They pulsed with fluctuations of intense godliness, and if one examined the sea snakes closely, it was obvious that each one had a gruish ghost face on it.

Deep within the silt was a dead body. Rather, it was half a body, as everything beneath the waist was gone. The upper half of the body was riddled with wounds. There wasn’t much flesh left on it, and it really looked no different from a decaying corpse.

Apparently, hē had been sealed here, and despite being nothing more than a desiccated corpse, it was still possible to detect the fluctuations of god magic coming off of it. Because of that god magic, hīs body was slowly reverting from a god state into that of a mortal. The process wasn’t far from being completed. The sea snakes would occasionally come here to devour some of the flesh off the corpse.

If things continued on like this, then it wouldn’t be long before the dead body disappeared completely.

But then, in the calm, dark depths of the seafloor, things stirred. It was as if space were being broken open. The mutagen in the area, and the pressure of the sea depths, were instantly wiped away.

A figure stepped out of nowhere. It was none other than Xu Qing.

As he walked along, all things on the seafloor trembled. Even gods went still. He reached the silt and the sea snakes. His gaze caused the sea snakes to shake violently. The silt seethed, and the buried body was revealed.

Upon laying eyes on the corpse, Xu Qing’s chest quivered. This corpse was his god clone. However, the soul inside of it was like a candle flickering in the wind, just on the verge of being extinguished. Xu Qing could see from the horrific injuries on the clone’s body that… the god clone had fought in the catastrophe.

If I absorb this god body into myself, the fact that we’re of the same origin means that I’ll be able to experience what the clone experienced! I can verify everything!

Heart pounding, Xu Qing neared the corpse and lifted his right hand to absorb it. However, just before he took action, he shivered. He looked more closely at the mangled body, a strange look in his eyes.

This god body actually comes from the broken face…. Its soul could be destroyed, but the flesh could not. Also, how could it be sealed here so easily with a god magic?

Pupils constricting, Xu Qing suddenly looked up, out of the Sea of Endlessness and into the canopy of heaven. Up above… there was no broken face!

Earlier, this hadn’t seemed strange at all to Xu Qing. But then he thought back to everything he had experienced, including the encounter with the God Lord, and he realized he could only remember certain key details. He didn’t remember everything that happened. Even right now, the Revered Ancient mainland was a blur. All those things were like reflections in a mirror.

As Xu Qing came to that realization, he suddenly spoke.

“Aurora Immortal Palace. Heaven beyond heaven! Crush!”

Wild colors flashed in heaven and earth. The Sea of Endlessness filled with rumbling sounds. In the Revered Ancient mainland, lands shook and mountains were rocked. The entire world was quaking. Massive cracking sounds rang out. It was as if a heavenly palace were crushing down onto it from outside!

Everything Xu Qing could see suddenly popped like a bubble! It became dust, roiling out in all directions. A starry sky replaced it. Starlight shone as the might of an immortal palace erupted.

The illusion was erased, and the truth was revealed! The world changed dramatically!

Xu Qing could see everything clearly. He wasn’t in the Revered Ancient mainland! He was clearly in a heaven beyond heaven! There was a corpse in front of him, but it wasn’t his god body. It was clearly… a True God that was half-person half-spider!

The True God wanted Xu Qing to willingly fuse with hīm! In that manner, the True God could switch bodies and return by means of Xu Qing’s husk!

But Xu Qing had woken up. It resulted in an instant backlash for the True God, especially considering the immortal palace was crushing down and the heaven beyond heaven was bolstering Xu Qing. The True God’s face distorted. Golden blood leaked out, and a cry of anguish echoed in all directions.

“How did you wake up??”

Xu Qing looked at him, flames of fury raging in his eyes as he looked at hīm. He had never been more furious in his entire life!

1. The butterfly started out as a young woman. She changed from a young woman into a butterfly when she and Xu Qing fought in chapter 805. That was also when she took him to the Summer Immortal Palace. ☜

2. Emperor Ancient Spirit was first mentioned in chapter 430 and most recently in 1015. ☜