Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 1285: Immortal Lord Dark Alchemist

The eastern theater of the Fifth Star Ring was very far away from Xu Qing, and it was currently very empty. Roughly seventy percent of the cultivator army had been ordered by the Immortal Paragon to invade the Fourth Star Ring for the final battle.

Those left behind were tasked with the important mission of maintaining planets that were designated as supply depots. There were many such planets stretching between the eastern theater and the Fourth Star Ring. Just about every other universe had at least one.

Their purpose was to provide supplies to the front lines and also offer healing services to injured members of the army. They were so full of immortal energy that they were almost like immortal towers. And they weren’t just on the side of the Fifth Star Ring. They extended through the various theaters all the way into the Fourth Star Ring.

The cultivator army pushed the front lines deeper and deeper into the Fourth Star Ring, and the supply depot planets went with them, going deeper and branching out as necessary. It made sense considering that the battlefield encompassed countless universes, and the cultivators’ goal was complete domination of enemy territory. Given that, it couldn’t be understated how important logistics were. And thus, these planets were like game pieces on a game board, which the cultivators put in place to stabilize the battlefield.

In the middle section of the Fifth Star Ring’s eastern theater, there was a supply depot planet that was pure yellow. It hung in space surrounded by rings of rubble, atop which many cultivators were stationed.

The planet’s surface was covered with mountain ranges and vast deserts filled with yellow sand, each grain of which could provide a baptism of immortal energy. There were many cultivators on the surface as well, all of them tasked with various duties relating to logistics.

This was a very important planet, as it was the very first supply depot planet that had been put into service at the beginning of the full-scale war. It was the starting point of the chain of supply depot planets that ultimately stretched into the Fourth Star Ring.

This planet also had a lot of teleportation portals. There were big ones and small ones, and they operated nonstop day and night, funneling massive amounts of supplies out of the Fifth Star Ring and to the front lines. That was the primary mission of this supply depot planet.

Because the planet was so important, the teleportation portals there were connected to subsequent supply depot planets. However, given the wartime situation, they only performed outgoing teleportations, and would not accept returning teleportations. Wounded cultivators had to abide by that arrangement, and could only seek treatment on other supply depot planets.

In order to ensure the defenses were as strong as possible, there was a huge contingent from the army stationed there, and Immortal Lord Deepgloom had even left a clone in charge. All such arrangements were to ensure that supplies could get to the front lines safely.

As countless cultivators hurried about their work, a strange rumbling suddenly filled the air and multi-colored light flowed through the dome of heaven.

Large numbers of cultivators shivered and sent their divine will out to check what was happening. The streams of divine will soon came to focus on the source of the strange phenomenon.

It was a teleportation portal! And it was lighting up!

The fluctuations were noticed first by the cultivators in charge of that portal. Except, they hadn’t activated the portal. And this wasn’t a case of the portal being used to send supplies out. Instead….

After checking the incoming teleportation, one of the cultivators said, “It’s coming from the Fourth Star Ring. There’s a living person coming through, on the order of… an Immortal Lord!”

The information was immediately relayed up the chain of command. Even as the unusual event was reported, the glow from the teleportation portal grew brighter, becoming a dazzling display that shook all the lands in sight.

Then a massive vortex appeared in the sky. As countless people looked on, a figure materialized there. He wore a black daoist robe, and had violet hair. His eyes were silver. The terrifying aura that he emitted, even in the midst of teleportation, caused heaven and earth to tremble. The converged divine will from all the cultivators also shook.

He was none other than Xu Qing! As he stepped out of the vortex, winds screamed and the air vibrated. The unique immortal starlight of the Fifth Star Ring spread over him like tide waters.

As he hovered in the air, the empyrean winds caused his robe to flap. Stellar debris whipped about around him like a silver river.

He was the center of all attention! The destiny aura of the Fifth Star Ring swirled around him, converging into a violet energy. It was almost like he was being welcomed back by the destiny aura itself.

The feeling of the familiar immortal starlight, destiny aura, and immortal will left Xu Qing feeling a bit dazed. He hadn’t been gone for very long, but so much had happened that he felt like a lifetime had passed.

Back when things went awry between Immortal Lord Deepgloom and God Lord Death Departure, Xu Qing had been a mid Quasi-Immortal. He had fled for his life, explored the primeval motherworld, helped Young Lord Aurora change his dao, and upgraded his own cultivation base. Now… he was a peak Quasi-Immortal! That type of change in cultivation base was huge.

As Xu Qing thought back to everything, he couldn’t help but sigh in his heart.

At the moment, bells were tolling on this, the original supply depot planet. They interrupted Xu Qing’s thoughts. As the bells tolled, some of the cultivators assigned to the area appeared outside the teleportation portal. They included men and women, and they were from different universes in the Fifth Star Ring. But all of them instantly recognized who Xu Qing was.

“It’s Xu Qing!”

All of them were visibly shaken, and they quickly clasped hands and bowed to him.

“We offer respectful greetings, True Monarch!”

Voices rang out in all directions, and they were full of deep respect! After all, everyone had been made aware of the events on the primeval motherworld almost in real time. It had been sent to everyone through the destiny aura.

Xu Qing looked around, then suddenly shifted his gaze up. Clasping hands, he bowed at the waist. As he did, nine crimson suns appeared through the clouds as Immortal Lord Deepgloom’s clone revealed himself. Magnificent dao reverberations filled the sky.

“Xu Qing!” he said.

A pill appeared in front of Xu Qing that swirled with nine-colored light. Within it was a vortex made of millions upon millions of pieces of stellar rubble, as well as an aura very close to that of a Summer Immortal.

“Fifth Star Ring Immortal Pill,” Xu Qing murmured. This pill was the main reason he had come back.

The Fifth Star Ring Immortal Pill could only be used by someone who had been blessed with destiny aura. If he wanted to give it to another person, it would require that person to be connected to the destiny aura of the Fifth Star Ring. However… Xu Qing could get around that. Because he had Fifth Star Ring destiny aura, he could share the pill’s potent medicinal effects with someone else.

There were other considerations. After he got back to Revered Ancient and gave it to someone else to use, he wanted to see if the Revered Ancient destiny aura could produce similar effects. With such thoughts in mind, he reached out and took the Fifth Star Ring Immortal Pill.

Meanwhile, Immortal Lord Deepgloom’s clone noted the silver glow in Xu Qing’s pupils.

“Normally speaking, this pill would be a gift given to you much later. But the karma of the Aurora Epoch caused the timeline to advance.”

Xu Qing nodded. “Many thanks, Immortal Lord! If there are no other matters at hand, your humble servant would like to leave the eastern theater and return to the heaven beyond heaven to seek enlightenment and attempt a breakthrough.”

Immortal Lord Deepgloom looked deeply at Xu Qing. “I suggest that you stay here for a while to rest and recuperate. After all… an old friend of yours would like to see you.”

Xu Qing could think of a number of people he might be referring to, but wasn’t sure which one. “Immortal Lord, which old friend wants to see me?”

“Immortal Lord Dark Alchemist! He has countless incarnations, which he sends out to all the star rings to seek the will of the dao. He has sent incarnations to the Ninth Star Ring as well. You probably knew him as… Grandmaster Bai. At the moment, he’s on the battlefield in the Fourth Star Ring, where he’s hoping to confirm something for you.”[1]

When Immortal Lord Deepgloom said ‘Grandmaster Bai,’ the name hit Xu Qing with the power to dry up rivers and drain seas. He suddenly found it difficult to keep his breathing steady.

Deep inside, Xu Qing was both sentimental and loyal. Whether it was Sergeant Thunder, Grandmaster Bai, or his Master, there were certain people who held a place in his heart that could never be replaced. All of sudden, he found himself thinking back to what Grandmaster Bai had said to him when they parted, so long ago.

“The world is a tavern for living beings. And the timescape is an old guest. As long as we don’t die, we’ll meet again….”

The voice drifted through his memories, and images popped up in his mind. He thought back to learning about plants and vegetation in the scavenger basecamp. He thought about the sorrow he felt when he visited the grave in the Violet Lands. He thought about that mysterious old man with the medicinal decocting pot that he had seen in the Aurora Immortal Palace.

“We’ll meet again…” Xu Qing murmured.

He chose to wait for Grandmaster Bai. At the same time, he worked on stabilizing his cultivation base to make sure he was in a peak state. He also tried to organize his scattered thoughts regarding the tenth extreme.

Time passed. Before he knew it, it was a month later.

Although Grandmaster Bai did not return during that time, there was a piece of news that excited the whole Fifth Star Ring. It was a report about the war!

The Fifth Star Ring’s army was smashing through the gods like a boulder crushing a drinking glass. Forty percent of the Fourth Star Ring was already occupied, and resources had been seized from countless universes.

After being abandoned by the God Paragon, the God Lords of the Fourth Star Ring were put into a deadly situation. Five of them had chosen to leave and go to other star rings. Three were confirmed to have perished! Of those three, two were slain by Immortal Lord Mi Ming, who suddenly appeared on the battlefield without any warning! The remainder were still trying to fight back, but were clearly in a hopeless situation.

As for God Lord Death Departure, he ended up losing in a fight to Immortal Lord Deepgloom, but used an innate ability to escape, and was now at large.

What was more, the Immortal Paragon had issued a new imperial decree! Immortal Lord Mi Ming was in command during this epoch, and as such, he would take over for Immortal Lord Deepgloom to lead the war effort.

It was an era belonging to cultivators… and the war would only bring further glory and honor!

1. Immortal Lord Dark Alchemist’s name contains the same character ‘dark’ that we see in Dark Serenity or Plumdark. The second character in the name is the word for a medicinal pot. I considered a variety of options, eliminating Dark Pot almost immediately lol, and ultimately (for a variety of reasons) settled on this option for the translation choice. ☜