Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 914: The Creditor Awakens

The Dreamflow region was one of the five regions that formed the southeast border of Firemoon Darkheaven territory. It was a strange region that sometimes featured verdant mountains and crystal waters. But sometimes it was full of impurities, with the mountains dark and the waters filthy.

The reason was because of the gruish clouds that drifted about in the region. There weren’t individual clouds. Rather, the clouds flowed endlessly like a mighty river. When the clouds were white, the lands beneath were bright and full of energy. But when the clouds turned black, demons and devils abounded, and mutagen invaded all living things. That was the natural state of the region, in other words, its climate.

The local species had a name for the phenomenon: dream clouds.

At the moment, a very unique dharmaboat was flying through the white clouds in the sky over the Dreamflow Region.

The ship didn’t look ordinary in any way, as it was shaped like a person. In fact, it looked like an old woman in a black robe, with countless tentacles swaying around her. However, her form was mostly hidden within the clouds. Any mortal who happened to spot the old woman would think that a god was patrolling the sky.[1]

Two people were seated cross-legged on the head of the god-like old woman.

“What do you think of this region, little Ah Qing? Let me tell you, there’s a legend associated with this place.

“Supposedly, many years ago there was a godly ox that fell asleep while passing through this area. The ox dreamed a beautiful dream, and then, upon waking up, sneezed. That sneeze caused the beautiful dream to come out in the form of water vapor that eventually became the cloud cover.

“Not long after that was when the dream clouds appeared in the region.”

The person speaking looked like a young man with ordinary facial features but unusually bright eyes. In fact, if you looked into them, they were like vortexes that could devour anything and everything. His hair was a mess, and his general appearance wasn’t much better. But he wore a bright red robe that made him look very flashy and eye-catching. Anyone who caught sight of him from afar would feel inclined to look closer at him. After all, it wasn’t just his robe that was red. He also had red shoes and red pants.

The young man in red looked very pleased with himself as he spoke proudly to the person seated next to him, who was another young man.

The second young man posed quite the contrast to the first. He wore an ordinary green jerkin that didn’t seem fancy at all. His face was so extraordinarily beautiful that anything he wore apparently wouldn’t even dare to vie for attention. The extremely attractive young man opened his eyes and looked down at the pleasant scenery below.

“That legend started back in the day when you were in Firemoon Darkheaven territory. By you. Am I right, Eldest Brother?”

His voice was clear and pleasant.

Of course, these two people were Xu Qing and the Captain, who were on their way back from God Mountain.

In response to Xu Qing’s words, the Captain chuckled. Looking at the distant horizon, he stretched lazily. “That’s right. I just wanted to illustrate a point. A universal truth. And that is… historical truths often need a bit of embellishment!”

The Captain looked more proud than ever.

“Years from now, how do you think the history books will portray our accomplishments in Firemoon territory? And how will they describe the amazing things we accomplished in the name of humankind? Well, I’ve already figured out what the history books should say.”

The Captain’s eyes gleamed. “In the year 2939 of the Dark War calendar, the exceptionally heroic humans Chen Erniu and Xu Qing completely dominated a host of Firemoon Darkheaven chosen, seized the title of Grand Darkheaven, and became famous in all of Revered Ancient. [2]

“Then, during the most important ceremony of the Firemoon Darkheaven people, they had the three Firemoon stewards issue orders to all of their subsidiary species, prohibiting them from invading human territory for 1,000 years. With one word, the Nightshades were put in their place!

“For humankind to have two exceptional individuals like this was nothing short of an amazing honor. It proved that humans in Revered Ancient could make a comeback, and indicated that the destiny aura of Revered Ancient still acknowledged humankind.”

Xu Qing looked oddly at the Captain but didn’t say anything. Although the Captain had been exaggerating slightly, in essence, what he had just said was true.

The two of them had left the ceremony before it was even over. But after defeating Sir Firedark, Xu Qing, who was the Grand Darkheaven, had the right to make a request of the three stewards. Of course, that was the entire reason why Xu Qing had come to the lands of the Firemoon Darkheavens.

The three stewards had issued orders instructing all of their subsidiary species to withdraw from the fighting with the humans. What was more, the Firemoon forces would no longer support the Nightshades in their conflict.

Xu Qing was surprised at how smoothly everything went. It was almost like the entire war was just a child’s game. He had even had other strategies prepared in case his gambit didn’t work.

“Eldest Brother, I’ve had the feeling for a while that the Firemoons were always going to pull back their troops. It’s as if our actions just gave them the justification to do what they wanted to do from the beginning.” Xu Qing looked at the Captain.

The Captain waved his hand dismissively. “You’re overthinking it. Forget about why it happened. We get to bask in the glory, that’s all that matters.”

Xu Qing grinned. What the Captain said made sense. Since there was no way to find out the details, there was no point in thinking about it too much for the time being. What mattered most was that the result was positive. Having reached this point in his train of thought, he looked down at the shadow cast beneath him by the sun.

Because the sunlight was filtered through the clouds, it became mottled, and Little Shadow wasn’t very distinct. But Xu Qing could clearly sense its cautious emotional fluctuations. It was explaining that it didn’t want its lord and master to be worried, so it had been pretending to be dead.

Little Shadow had actually awoken five days ago, and had pretended to be dead for only an incense stick’s worth of time before Xu Qing noticed.

At first, Xu Qing had assumed it really was dead. Back in the Mountain and Sea Region, the effort to succeed with Ninedawns resulted in Little Shadow sustaining grievous injuries. Later, its will dispersed, and it went so deeply dormant it seemed dead.[3]

It has a very resilient life force.

He was actually pleased to see Little Shadow awake, and he even smiled. Presumably, Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior wasn’t as happy.

As for Little Shadow, it had mixed feelings. On the one hand, it was glad to be alive. But after the danger it had faced, it could only wonder what further dangers awaited it in the future…. It didn’t dare to express that sentiment, though, and just cautiously sent out some happy fluctuations. Then it sent out something more concrete.

“Milord… promised… Crimson Mother… flesh?”

Xu Qing’s smile faltered.

Little Shadow shivered slightly.

***

As Xu Qing and the Captain made their way back toward human lands, the news about Xu Qing becoming the Grand Darkheaven was already starting to spread rapidly through Revered Ancient.

Considering that the three gods of the Firemoon Darkheaven people had become Flawless Gods, everyone was paying much closer attention to them. After all, the development was definitely going to change the power dynamics of Revered Ancient. In fact, every minor development among the Firemoon Darkheavens was subject to scrutiny. Naturally, that included them appointing a new Grand Darkheaven.

The fact that the Grand Darkheaven was a human, regardless of whether it was coincidental or intention, was obviously very noteworthy. What was even more noteworthy, though, was that a lot of people had seen that very same human trying to take some of the flesh of the broken face.

In almost no time at all, species all across Revered Ancient started seeking information about Xu Qing and Chen Erniu. Their names became fixed in the minds of countless powerful experts. It was the same among humankind.

Long before Xu Qing and the Captain even returned, the news about them reached the capital in the Imperial Region. It was like a tempest that astonished heavenly kings, heavenly marquises, and all the other important officials. That included the imperial princes.

“The Firemoon Darkheavens’… Grand Darkheaven!”

“In all the history of the Firemoons, this is the first time a human ever became Grand Darkheaven!”

“This… this is inconceivable!”

“Xu Qing fought the number one Firemoon chosen, and if one of the stewards hadn’t interceded, that chosen would have died!”

“The Exalted Xu issued a request that the Firemoons withdraw their troops, and that the Nightshades surrender to humankind!”

“What peerless ability! It’s heavenly!”

Most of them knew Xu Qing but were unfamiliar with the Captain. As the news spread, it was obvious that the person named Chen Erniu wasn’t the main character. Most of the attention was focused on Xu Qing.

Bewilderment. Incredulity. All sorts of emotions ran high in human lands.

It was the same in the Imperial University. The Xeno-Immortal School had already risen to prominence, but now Xu Qing’s name was even more famous, and that brought even greater dividends. To the excitement of the Xeno-Immortal School students, their school of thought was climbing to the peak of peaks.

Even more excited than them were the swordsages who had come with Xu Qing from Sea-Sealing County to the imperial capital. Xu Qing’s glory shone far and wide, and that reflected on them. All the pressure that they had been feeling thanks to Xu Qing going missing was long gone. In fact, all of the cultivators from Sea-Sealing County felt swept up in the glory and majesty.

That was especially true of Ningyan. He knew full well how Xu Qing’s meritorious service would reflect on himself. Of the eleven sticks of crown prince incense that stood in the capital, his wasn’t necessarily burning the fastest, but he wasn’t in a good position. Thankfully, because of the war, the crown prince selection had been delayed. As a result, he was brimming with anticipation regarding Xu Qing’s return.

After hearing the news about Xu Qing, Kong Xianglong of Sea-Sealing County laughed heartily. He was happy for Xu Qing, and he was happy for Sea-Sealing County. By now, he realized that he would never catch up to Xu Qing. But that was fine, as he had realized he had his own path to walk.

In the days Xu Qing had been gone, Palace Lord Li Yunshan had been training Kong Xianglong. It was clear that the old-timers in Sea-Sealing County wanted the position of palace lord to be handed down to a descendant of a previous palace lord.

Wu Jianwu was also excited that Xu Qing was returning, but at the same time, had some negative feelings. In order to make himself seem like he was on the same page as everyone else, he composed a special poem.

“When creation began, Qing was there. Who is luckiest among the people of Revered Ancient? I should also have been a Darkheaven; instead that Ox stole my prize.”

The poem had picked up some speed, and was actually quite popular already.

Among the group from Sea-Sealing County was a woman who was very special to Xu Qing. She was currently seated cross-legged in a building with a jade slip held in her delicate hand. She was smiling. Elegant, she was like an exquisite ceramic vase, with the fairest skin possible. She had eyebrows that curved like mountains, eyes like limpid autumn waters, a straight nose, crimson lips, and pearly teeth. She had a slender, attractive frame that was as supple as a willow tree swaying in the breeze. Her every move abounded with feminine beauty and charm.

The young man has really grown up.

She blinked, then lifted a piece of green cloudcake and put it in her mouth.

***

Xu Qing and the Captain had crossed the Firemoon Darkheaven border and were now in Fardark County.

There, the smell of blood mixed with mutagen to fill heaven and earth.

1. Xu Qing’s old dharmaship resembled the Merflok ‘god’ Joine. It was originally described in chapter 551.1. ☜

2. The last time the specific date was mentioned was in chapter 539. The first time was in chapter 401. ☜

3. Little Shadow fell asleep in chapter 862 and hasn’t been mentioned since then (other than one passing mention in chapter 890). ☜