Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 386: The Eagle Spreads His Wings

In the Seazombie lands, on the bronze mirror, Xu Qing opened his eyes. Power surged through him that could dry up rivers and drain seas, and his organs twinged with intense pain. Sweet blood sprayed out of his mouth, splashing onto the mirror and turning into rivulets that ran down its surface.

Xu Qing looked up and was visibly shaken.

That giant composite zombie… was the emperor of Forbidden by the Zombie? And it was devoured by the entity in that bronze door!

Xu Qing thought back to that golden arm stretching out of the door, and the godly sensation that surrounded it, making it seem to him like he couldn’t even look at it. Even now, his heart raced with astonishment. What was more, he knew that the vision came from the memories of the nonhuman cultivator. He hadn’t even seen it directly. That meant that whatever he had seen had already occurred. Despite that, his clone had literally exploded, and even his true form ended up injured.

It went without saying that whoever that arm belonged to was an extremely high-level entity.

He didn’t have to sit around guessing what he had witnessed. It was another god….

He couldn’t help but wonder exactly how many gods there were in existence.

It took a long moment before Xu Qing calmed himself. Then he used the taboo treasure to contact his Master and explain everything that just happened. After he submitted the report, bells tolled in the Eight Sect Coalition, urgently calling the patriarch-level figures to a senate meeting to discuss the matter.

Xu Qing had no idea what the coalition would do about the situation. However, he did receive orders from Master Seventh not to cast his vision any deeper into the forbidden ground, but at the same time, to keep a close eye on its periphery. He also said that if Xu Qing noticed anything particularly unusual, he should retract his vision immediately.

Xu Qing could tell from his Master’s tone of voice how serious the situation was, so he immediately voiced his acceptance of the orders.

As his wounds healed, he used Seven Blood Eyes’ taboo treasure to keep close watch on the border of Forbidden by the Zombie. The coalition’s response came quickly. Two days later, all of the sects activated their taboo treasures. What was more, they notified the other powers in the Eight Sect Coalition that something might be happening with Forbidden by the Zombie.

A flurry of activity hit the prefecture.

Something like this had once occurred in the Spiritsound forbidden ground, and it had led to a great catastrophe. Though that event happened long in the past, information about it could still be found in various ancient records. That event had been intense, shocking, and ghastly. [1]

The Eight Sect Coalition dispatched a team of top experts to carry out a final investigation of Forbidden by the Zombie, including the patriarchs from the first and third sects.

The coalition also sent a message to the Swordsage Court asking for them to bear witness to the investigation. The situation was too big to involve only the Eight Sect Coalition. The Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society and the Church of Departure also got involved. The fact that something strange was going on with Forbidden by the Zombie ensured that none of the major prefectural powers could stand idly by.

The Swordsage Court ended up sending one of their elders to help.

Xu Qing was able to watch with the taboo treasure as they entered Forbidden by the Zombie. Shortly thereafter, shockwaves started rolling out from the forbidden ground.

The operation didn’t last very long. Only half a month. After that, the coalition-led team emerged. All of them had serious expressions on their faces, even the swordsage elder.

Before long, the results of the operation were announced publicly in the prefecture. There had been a great change to the forbidden ground. The Zombie Door had been opened, and Emperor Zombie had perished. That said, the ramifications wouldn’t be too dramatic, as they had quickly sealed the door. All of the smaller sects and organizations in Emperor-Receiving Prefecture breathed sighs of relief. But that wasn’t the case with the big sects. Instead, they were more on guard than ever, and restricted sect operations for the sake of safety.

Although the announcement was in no way fake, there was one bit of evidence unearthed in the operation that wasn’t made public. The Zombie Door hadn’t opened by itself. And it hadn’t been opened from inside. It had been opened from outside. Because of that, sealing the door could only be considered a nominally effective solution. [2]

Further calamity was going to strike Forbidden by the Zombie. That said, it wouldn’t be anytime in the near future. And thanks to the quick action taken by the Eight Sect Coalition, Emperor-Receiving Prefecture was now prepared.

As for who exactly opened the door, that was the question that all the big organizations in the prefecture were pondering. Obviously, only some extremely powerful entity could do such a thing. Some people suspected Torchlight. However, various clues seemed to indicate they weren’t involved. Instead, it was some other terrifying organization.

All of these things happened in half a month.

As the figurative storm clouds gathered, Xu Qing finished his three-month stint as a treasure custodian.

Thanks to what happened with Forbidden by the Zombie, the Eight Sect Coalition was more ready for action than ever. However, they maintained a calm face, and kept their anxiety hidden. After all, there was other important business to handle. For instance, it was time for a changing of the guard in the subsidiary sect in the county capital.

By the time Xu Qing returned to the coalition, the final roster for the trip had already been compiled.

Arch-Immortal Plumdark would be leading the delegation to the capital. She would be overseeing the subsidiary sect for the next ten years. Meanwhile, the peaklord of Seven Blood Eyes’ Fifth Peak would be the new sect leader of the subsidiary sect. Her term would also last for ten years. [3]

In addition to that, chosen from all of the sects were being sent along for training purposes. That included Huang Yikun and Huang Lingfei from the Dark Serenity Sect, as well as Sima Ru from the House of Grue Hunters, who had failed to become a swordsage in the recruitment event. [4]

At the request of the peaklord of Seven Blood Eyes’ First Peak, Wu Jianwu’s name was added to the list. Apparently, he wasn’t very pleased with that particular apprentice of his, and wanted him far, far away where he would be ‘out of sight, out of mind.’

In addition to them, there were a few dozen disciples from various sects, some in Foundation Establishment but most in Gold Core. Many were people Xu Qing had never seen before.

After the roster was finalized, on the third day after Xu Qing returned, a huge flying ship rose up into the air over the Eight Sect Coalition. It didn’t immediately take flight. It just hovered in the air as disciples from the various sects flew up and boarded.

Arch-Immortal Plumdark was leading the expedition, yet she wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

Xu Qing stood on the deck looking out at heaven and earth. In his hand was a sealing stamp. That was the treasure the patriarch had promised to give him before he left. [5]

As he fiddled with the stamp, he heard someone sighing. “Do you know how rough it’s been not being able to eat for three months, little Ah Qing? Going forward I don’t even want to think about anything from the Dark Serenity Sect. That was rough. Too rough. Thank goodness my cultivation base is as high as it is!”

The Captain trudged up, followed by Wu Jianwu, whose facial expression made it seem like he had just barely survived a huge disaster. Xu Qing hadn’t seen either of them in three months. Both seemed to have lost a lot of weight.

That said, Wu Jianwu’s cultivation base has progressed. He was now close to the four-flame level, a cultivation speed that was surprising to Xu Qing. Considering what he had gone through in the demon snake pocket realm, it made sense. After all, that place was generally used by the sect to help disciples open dharma apertures. It seemed that Wu Jianwu had actually turned misfortune into a blessing.

A thought suddenly occurred to Xu Qing. Did Arch-Immortal Plumdark do this on purpose?

“Three months without being able to speak a line of poetry. A hundred days of unspeakable torment!” Wu Jianwu clasped his hands behind his back, looked out at heaven and earth, and let loose a rueful sigh. “One day my sovereignty will be undisputed; then those who insult me will be executed!”

The moment the words left his mouth, a cold snort echoed out, and Wu Jianwu’s face fell. Trembling, he plastered a fawning expression on his face.

The Captain did the same thing, and also instinctually edged closer to Xu Qing.

Arch-Immortal Plumdark had arrived. She was joined by Master Fifth from Seven Blood Eyes, who respectfully floated a pace behind. Arch-Immortal Plumdark’s plum colored gown made her seem like a blooming bauhinia flower. Touching down onto the deck of the ship, she smiled at Xu Qing but didn’t say anything. Together with Master Fifth, she walked toward the cabin.

Master Fifth was not a male cultivator. She was an old woman. However, the peaklords in Seven Blood Eyes had always addressed her as ‘master.’ [6]

On the way into the cabin, she flashed a smile at Xu Qing and the Captain.

Wu Jianwu shrank in on himself and breathed a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, the Captain looked contemptuously at Wu Jianwu and said, “Look at you. Shaking in your boots. What are you scared of?”

Glaring at the Captain, Wu Jianwu said, “Thou feareth her so much you near fell apart; with every scrub I howled in my heart!”

Wu Jianwu’s poetry was not exactly up to snuff. Apparently the three months without practice had resulted in him getting a bit rusty.

Xu Qing eyed the two of them and sidled away to keep some distance.

More and more people were arriving to board the ship. They looked excited, but at the same time, very wary. For most of the disciples, this would be the longest journey of their life. They had no idea what would happen on the way, and even less idea what the county capital would be like.

Hearts filled with uncertainty, they couldn’t help but eye Xu Qing and the Captain respectfully. Xu Qing and the Captain were going to be in a very different position than them. Most of the disciples were going to the subsidiary sect, while those two were going to accept an amazing new assignment. In reality, the disciples’ main responsibility was to serve the sect’s swordsages. And if they got into any trouble in the county capital, it would require swordsage intervention. Because of that, Xu Qing and the Captain already had very different roles than before.

There were always idiots in the world, but not so much in this group. Everyone knew what role they would have to play going forward.

Before long, everyone was gathered. As all the cultivators below watched, the flying ship took over a hundred people flying over the horizon.

***

Down below, Master Seventh watched them go. “I hope everything goes well.”

“What, can’t stand to see them leave?” asked Sir Bloodsmelter, who was standing next to Master Seventh.

Master Seventh smiled. “It’s a long journey. That said, it’s good for young people to get experience. Besides, Emperor-Receiving Prefecture isn’t exactly going to be calm going forward. It’ll be good for them to be away for a time.”

“Forbidden by the Zombie…” Sir Bloodsmelter murmured. His expression turned serious. “Did the investigation turn up a name?”

“There are quite a few clues pointing to… the Holytide people from the Holytide region! The betrayers of humankind who left to form a ‘new’ species and even started working for the Nightshades. The conquerors of the Holytide region, a people far more vicious than humans.”

1. Presumably the catastrophe mentioned here is the same one mentioned briefly by the Captain in chapter 342. Don’t forget that Spiritsound is also known as Forbidden by the Sword. ☜

2. The inside/outside part was slightly confusing to me, so allow me to recap very quickly. The arm came from inside the door. In other words, whoever opened it did it from the side of Revered Ancient/Forbidden by the Zombie/Forbidden Sea. ☜

3. The peaklord of the Fifth Peak was actually seen on screen very briefly in chapter 152. ☜

4. Huang Yikun and Huang Lingfei were last seen together in chapter 279. Huang Yikun also appeared briefly in chapter 350. Sima Ru first appeared in the story in chapter 239 and last appeared in chapter 359. ☜

5. Sealing stamps are a ubiquitous item even in modern China. Virtually all official contracts in China, as well as government documents, need to be stamped with an official sealing stamp to make them official. Of course, they have a history going back thousands of years. Here’s a very special gallery with some images. The first image is of a collection of stamps of various designs and sizes. The rest of the images are of a sealing stamp set gifted to me by Beerblade a.k.a. Alcohol Sword Immortal, the translator of Lord of All Realms here on Wuxiaworld. He’s a good buddy of mine that lived in the same city as me in China. He gave the stamp to me as a goodbye gift when the Deathlade Clan moved out of China and back to the U.S. ☜

6. The ‘master’ title used by the peaklords could be translated a few different ways, but it’s specifically a male title, which is why this point is being emphasized by the author. ☜