Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 1292: Erniu Shattered

Erniu was very excited. He had been completely taken aback earlier when he sensed Xu Qing’s aura. And now that Xu Qing was right in front of him, his mind was spinning. He was so ecstatic at being able to reunite that he was too stunned to react. The two hadn’t seen each other for a very long time, so he was understandably shocked.

Finally, he asked a question that he realized sounded stupid as soon as it came out. “Little Ah Qing, what are you doing here? And who were those people who trapped me here?”

Xu Qing thought for a moment before deciding that the simple truth was the best response. “My subordinates.”

Erniu was shocked to the core, and his eyes went wide. Earlier, he had sensed that something was happening outside, but had no way to know the details. But after the big chase he had endured, he knew that his pursuer was terrifying. And upon being trapped he realized that his pursuer had called some friends to help, all of whom were also very strong. And now, he’d come to find out, they were all subordinates of little Ah Qing….

It was such an amazing development that he went right back to being as excited as before. He also sent out his divine will to examine Xu Qing’s cultivation base. When he realized how deep and unreadable it was, he got even more excited. He even had to suppress the urge to gasp!

But then, all of a sudden, he was overwhelmed by the instinct to act like the Eldest Brother. As such, he had to force himself not to ask what place this was, or what status Xu Qing had earned, or what he was doing here. He didn’t want to give Xu Qing any more chances to provoke him. That said, he couldn’t stop himself from wanting to know about Xu Qing’s cultivation base.

“So that’s how it is,” he said in a light tone. “Hahaha…. Ahem. So, little Ah Qing, how much have you been hogging for yourself here? Your cultivation base… seems to have changed a bit.”

Xu Qing blinked a few times. He was, of course, very familiar with his Eldest Brother. “Oh, just a few destined opportunities and a few flashes of enlightenment.”

It was a simple response, but it was profoundly distressing to Erniu. Now he wanted to know what exact destined opportunities and what specific types of enlightenment could lead to such a terrifying advancement in cultivation base…. However, he wasn’t willing to admit defeat. Maintaining his dignity as the Eldest Brother, he stuck his chin up.

“Not bad, I suppose. That said, little Ah Qing, your cultivation base still has some impure elements. You’re going to have to work hard going forward. What’s more… given how long we’ve been apart, you’re obviously unaware of what I’ve been up to.”

Erniu sighed deeply. “As you can tell, I’m only here as a clone. You definitely have no way of even comprehending how powerful my true form is now. Let me tell you, my true form is half a step away from conquering all of Brilliant Heaven! I, your Eldest Brother, am like the sun in the sky over in Brilliant Heaven!”

Erniu suddenly looked very proud.

Meanwhile, a look of astonishment appeared on Xu Qing’s face. It was an expression that left Erniu feeling very pleased.

“But in the end,” Erniu continued, “I missed the days when you were at my side, little Ah Qing. Too much. And thus, I used an amazing divine ability to pierce through the void, to sever the profoundly ancient, and to come here to find you. I want you at my side when I finally reign supreme over all of Brilliant Heaven!”

Erniu suddenly seemed to pulse with great mightiness.

Xu Qing smiled and nodded, then started moving through the starry sky.

Erniu cleared his throat, and then hurried along after Xu Qing in the form of a head. “However, little Ah Qing, do you know the problem with that final half a step I need to take? I need the corpse of a peak Altar God!

“I have to devour the corpse of a peak Altar God to activate the million clones I have buried all over Brilliant Heaven, as well as the ten million magical devices I put in place. And then I can absolutely crush Brilliant Heaven!

“And that is how I’ll save the Revered Ancient mainland! Now, I could have done all of that on my own, little Ah Qing. But then I thought about you. You are my little Junior Brother, after all. Therefore, I decided to give you the chance to do it!”

Erniu looked at Xu Qing, and inside, he was feeling very emotional. “Little Ah Qing, don’t you think it’s fair to trade the corpse of an Altar God for the rulership of Brilliant Heaven??

“Once I conquer the place, I’m going to appoint Master as the crown prince, and you can be a junior prince! Huang Yan will be the divine beast guardian of the kingdom, Second Junior Sister can be the divine beast’s daoist partner, and Third Sib can be the majordomo! I’ll give great honor and riches to all of my fellow apprentices. We—”

Before Erniu could finish speaking, Xu Qing nodded and waved his hand to produce a handful of mutilated corpses. Though they were all in bad shape, they all emitted True God auras.

“Eldest Brother, I don’t have any Altar God corpses….” He was telling the truth.

Erniu stared in shock. The sight of the corpses caused his scalp to tingle. It felt like he was in a dream, and he instinctively gasped.

Voice trembling, he said, “True Gods?”

Xu Qing nodded.

After a long moment of silence, Erniu laughed heartily. Swallowing so he didn’t drool, he tried to seem very nonchalant. Suppressing his hunger, he waved his hand casually.

“I’m kind of burned out on eating measly True Gods. I mean, they have tons of them in Brilliant Heaven. If I have any more, I might just hurl. The reason I mentioned peak Altar Gods just now is that I was worried that you would be too shocked, little Ah Qing. So I lowered my standards a bit. Let me tell you, over in Brilliant Heaven, the gods all treat me very respectfully.”

Meanwhile, Xu Qing suddenly stopped in place and looked off into the distance in the starry sky. Eyes glittering coldly, he stomped his right foot down in front of him.

The spot he was looking at in the starry sky suddenly collapsed. Rifts spread out in all directions, and tempest winds raged. Several gods popped out into the open. Thēy were resistance forces that the passing armies had missed, and thēy had been hiding in the void. Sadly, thēy could not escape Xu Qing’s senses.

The leader of the group was actually a peak Altar God. But when the group caught sight of Xu Qing, thēy were so terrified thēy immediately tried to flee.

Face completely expressionless, Xu Qing pushed his right hand out. Instantly, a terrifying pressure swept out, turning into a crushing force that descended on the void. The starry sky shook. When the force disappeared, nothing was left behind. The rogue gods had been killed in body and soul.

Given Xu Qing’s current battle prowess, killing Altar Gods was as easy as flipping over his hand.

When Erniu saw that happen, a buzzing sound filled his mind. A long moment passed, and then he cleared his throat.

“Not bad. Not bad at all, little Ah Qing. You’re about as strong as I am in Brilliant Heaven. That said, you need to remember that while it’s good to be able to use overwhelming force against the gods, you also need to earn an appropriate status among cultivators. Take that as a little bit of advice from your Eldest Brother, a person who has plentiful experience in that regard.

“Now that you’ve grown up, there are certain things I can finally tell you. In the past, my status was such that I could turn my nose up at the starry sky. Myriad cultivators would prostrate in worship to me. But my feelings then can only be summed up by the idiom one can’t win against the cold when in high places. And that is how I ended up forming my signature power of frigid coldness.”

It was impossible to determine if it was coincidence or not, but… as soon as Erniu finished speaking, some army cultivators from a nearby supply depot planet arrived to check on the fluctuations which had just rolled out from the area. Upon flying over and spotting Xu Qing, the cultivators excitedly bowed in greeting.

Xu Qing felt slightly embarrassed at how his Eldest Brother reacted, with his jaw dropping and eyes going wide. The cultivators were made up mostly of Imperial Sovereigns, but there were also some Quasi-Immortals.

Erniu was so flabbergasted he felt like his mind was blank. However, there was always his dignity as the Eldest Brother to think about. So he quickly gave a hearty laugh and opened his mouth to speak. But then….

The star domain that this particular universe was part of trembled. A terrifying stream of divine will that surpassed the level of a Summer Immortal rushed through the starry sky, filled with mountain-toppling, sea-draining force. It came from a spot where the Fourth Star Ring was rippling.

Countless cultivators from the supply depot planet prostrated respectfully.

When Erniu sensed the divine will, his heart and mind reached a peak state of stupefaction.

Xu Qing’s cultivation base had seemed enigmatic and mysterious to him. But this stream of divine will gave him the sensation that its owner could destroy Brilliant Heaven in an instant.

“Th-that… that….” As Erniu trembled, the divine will which had just arrived thrummed with the voice of Immortal Lord Mi Ming.

“Lil’ bro, your sister-in-law told me you like assimilating goddesses. Well, I just captured one. Specifically, the daughter of God Lord Brightwise. Consider this a gift from me.”

A sealed goddess then appeared out of nowhere. The goddess looked human, and exuded a sensation of profound holiness. Hēr cultivation base was at the True God level, and yet, shē had been sealed tightly and offered up as a gift….

A strange expression could be seen on Xu Qing’s face as he clasped hands and bowed.

Erniu, meanwhile, had a blank look on his face as he thought, The daughter of a god, given as a gift?

The voice in the divine will then seemed to laugh. “I was just joking around. This goddess’ innate abilities and godly authority are very unique, and should help you as you seek enlightenment of your canon.”

With that, Immortal Lord Mi Ming’s divine will retracted, leaving behind the goddess.

The entire experience left Erniu feeling like a hole had been punched in his heart cavity, and he couldn’t help but turn to look at Xu Qing. “What exactly is going on here, little Ah Qing! What is this place? Who are you here? And whose divine will was that…? And what’s this ‘canon’ he talked about??”

Xu Qing smiled. He didn’t feel the need to hide things from Erniu. It was just that the situation couldn’t be explained in only a few words. And thus, Xu Qing waved his hand and took all of the things he had done after arriving in the Fifth Star Ring, put it into a sealing mark, and then fused it into Erniu.

Erniu cooperated with the process and let the sealing mark merge into his forehead. The sea of information poured into him. He saw everything. His expression started out blank, then turned into one of surprise. Then it changed several times, until finally all the information was there.

“When I arrived, the treasures I encountered were all things you didn’t even want!” Erniu beat his chest in frustration. “If I’d known earlier, I would have come with you! If I had, I might already be a Summer Immortal!! I made the wrong damn choice!!”

Erniu was nearly going mad at the thought of how many spectacular destined opportunities he had missed out on. And then he thought about the misery and suffering he had endured after going to Brilliant Heaven, and he could only come to the conclusion that life just wasn’t fair….

Xu Qing could see how Erniu was reacting, so after a moment, he decided to comfort him.

But before he could, Erniu looked up, his eyes crimson. Pulsing with an indescribable energy, he said, “No. I have to do something big here! That’s the only way I can make up for this monumental loss!”

Ignoring the fact that he was right in front of Xu Qing, he ripped open one of his seals, causing his cultivation base to surge. At the same time, he suddenly was able to sense all hidden treasures nearby.

To Xu Qing’s astonishment, Erniu focused on one specific location and then erupted with a crazy laugh.

“Let’s go, little Ah Qing. I’m taking you on a really big job!”