Beyond the Timescape [Wuxiaworld]

A shooting star fell from the sky, descending toward the Forbidden Sea. As its resplendent light shimmered out, people throughout the continent of South Phoenix and Emperor-Receiving Prefecture looked up in shock. In recent days, holy lands had been arriving one after another. But this was the first time that one had appeared in this area.

It caused widespread nervousness, especially since no one had any idea what was to come in regard to this holy land. Sects and organizations everywhere were on high alert. That was especially true given that the arrival of this holy land was accompanied by terrifying pressure, and winds that could shake the starry sky. Deafening rumbling sounds echoed out that shook the mind and heart of all.

The maritime space near Forbidden by the Zombie was affected the most dramatically. From afar, it was possible to see an area of the sea many thousands of kilometers wide sinking down as a vortex formed. Waves surged into a tsunami that spread out. Soon, the water level sank so much it was possible to make out the seafloor.

As for the tsunami, it was so huge that, as it spread out, it swept over many islands. Thankfully, it didn’t last for long. What was more, the islands had been given advance notice to make preparations. Were it not for that, the event would have been a major catastrophe.

Regardless, it just went to show the terrifying force unleashed by this newly arrived holy land.

Countless sea beasts shivered instinctively and tried to flee the area. Eventually... as wild colors flashed in heaven and earth, the holy land began to slow down as it descended.

Astonishingly, the holy land floating above the Forbidden Sea was a massive blue ice mountain. It was so tall it seemed to vie with the dome of heaven for glory. And it was so wide at the bottom that it was almost as big as Emperor-Receiving Prefecture.

It didn’t come to rest on the water itself. Instead, it floated in the air about 3,000 meters above it, making it look like a huge floating island.

Directly beneath it was the spell formation with the homing signal, created by the two Smoldering God cultivators Xu Qing had just killed. In other words, it was above Forbidden by the Zombie.

Forbidden by the Zombie was a forbidden ground located in-between Emperor-Receiving Prefecture and South Phoenix. It was normally hidden on the seafloor. Over the countless years that had passed, the lord of Forbidden by the Zombie had awoken on a few occasions, which caused a huge stir. But ordinarily speaking, the place was relatively peaceful and quiet. One exception was several years previously, when that huge, ancient door was revealed. On that occasion, the lord of Forbidden by the Zombie perished. As a result, the forbidden ground essentially lost its life force, and ever since, had been very quiet. Few people were aware of any of the behind-the-scenes details.

Obviously, there was some deep significance to the fact that this holy ground had come to this specific spot. Numerous streams of divine will had already arrived from Emperor-Receiving Prefecture and South Phoenix, as well as from locations in the Forbidden Sea. As they focused on the enormous blue ice mountain, the mountain... vibrated.

Cracking sounds rang out like heavenly thunder. Crevices opened up all over the surface of the mountain, spreading so rapidly that, after only an incense stick’s worth of time, they had covered the entire thing. Then the ice started collapsing everywhere, revealing an interior mountain that was the color white. The blue ice landed in the ocean and quickly melted. However, it caused the temperature to drop so much that chunks of ice formed in the sea beneath the holy land.

As for the white mountain, it pulsed with intense life force. In fact, it was even possible to see swaying grass starting to grow on its surface, and even trees. Spirit energy pulsed out of it, and auspicious beasts began to wake up and fly around. Immortal clouds even appeared in the area. It didn’t take long for the holy land to reveal that it looked very much like an immortal mountain.

Then a figure some 300 meters tall strode out from the immortal mountain. Other than some specifics about the facial features, and a few other details, he looked very similar to the two Smoldering God cultivators Xu Qing had killed. It seemed likely that he was from the same species. He had human-like facial features, but no hair. His skin glistened like white jade, making him seem very holy. It was hard to determine his age, but there was something about him that seemed profoundly ancient.

Most terrifying were his cultivation base fluctuations. His cultivation base fluctuations surpassed the ability of most cultivators to even perceive. He was more terrifying than anything they had ever encountered. In fact, it was something that only the divine will of the most powerful experts could detect.

He was... an Imperial Sovereign! His presence caused huge waves to roll out over the sea, and provoked a joyful response from the natural and magical laws in the area. Even the heavenly daos were silent. The reason was that he was at the peak of Imperial Sovereign!

He did not need any blessing of destiny aura. He did not need any external power. He was fully at the peak of the immortal cultivator system of cultivation. He was truly a peak Imperial Sovereign, making him equivalent to a Flawless God!

After stepping out of the immortal mountain, he entered the Forbidden Sea and went to... Forbidden by the Zombie!

All of Forbidden by the Zombie was trembling. Countless cries of grief echoed out from within, and then black blood flowed out of it, becoming part of the surrounding sea water. That blood flowed for seven days. The howls of grief echoed for the same amount of time.

Everyone was still watching on the eighth day when... the Imperial Sovereign who looked like a cultivator made of white jade emerged from Forbidden by the Zombie. Astonishingly, he was shouldering an ancient bronze door! It was the very same door that had been opened inside Forbidden by the Zombie years ago. A mangled hand had reached out of the door, which resulted in Emperor Zombie perishing. As of now, this cultivator who looked like white jade was carrying the door back to the immortal mountain.[1]

After he returned, the cultivators of the holy land emerged cheering. This was a very strange holy land. The various members of the species who had made it didn’t all look the same. Some looked like the two Xu Qing had killed. But some had bodies that were stitched together like puzzles. And the puzzle pieces included humanoid body parts, animal body parts, and other fantastical parts. All of them proceeded into Forbidden by the Zombie.

This strange development caused numerous individuals in Emperor-Receiving Prefecture and South Phoenix to observe with even more rapt attention, and at the same time, confusion. All of them stayed on high alert. Armies were mustered in Sea-Sealing County, and Emperor-Receiving Prefecture activated military spell formations.

What was even stranger, though, was that in the month that followed, the immortal mountain didn’t do anything else. Apparently, the cultivators from there were only interested in going to Forbidden by the Zombie. Inside, they searched for all sorts of resources. Seawater, mutagen, plants from Forbidden by the Zombie, strange grues and godly entities. All such things were among the items they targeted.

Xu Qing, who was still roving the Forbidden Sea working on his godly authority of sound, and also searching for the golden crow’s dragon chariot, heard about the developments via messages sent to him from various parties.

A lot of the information came from Huang Yan, who was in close contact with human forces. What was more, he had access to ancient knowledge that provided a lot of insight.

Xu Qing nodded. Humankind was in an era of decline. However, though they were far from their glory days, they had many ancient records. Maybe their histories couldn’t compare to those kept by the Summer Immortal Palace, but they were still superior to most other species.

As Xu Qing sped through the Forbidden Sea, Huang Yan’s voice echoed in his mind via divine will, sent through the feather.

“Xu Qing, you humans have already dug through various ancient documents and found information about the holy land that dropped down at my front door. I have to say, you humans are very adept at keeping historical records.

“The species has a name. They’re Vivifiends. Back in the time of Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity, they weren’t exactly a major player. But partly because of their unusual and fiendish nature, and partly because their emperor acknowledged allegiance to Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity very early on, and performed some meritorious services, they went on to achieve a lot of glory.

“The fiendish nature of the species has to do with their innate ability. They’re born extremely weak. And as they grow up, they have to steal the organs and even bodies of other species to replace their own. They’re almost like hermit crabs, constantly shedding their shells to get new ones.

“That’s why members of this species usually look different from each other. Before acknowledging allegiance to Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity, they went around buying and selling bodies and organs all over Revered Ancient. If it weren’t for the fact that they eventually got enough power and influence, they would have been wiped out a long time ago.

“In terms of the category of their holy land, it’s terrestrial-level. Normally speaking, holy lands like that will have at least one or two cultivators in the Imperial Sovereign level. The one who went into Forbidden by the Zombie earlier is probably one of the lords of the place.

“Based on the information your empress was able to dig up, as well as news about various species who’ve made contact with other holy lands, plus some of my own back-channel information, I think I have an idea what’s going on. These holy lands from beyond the heavens, when the holy lands left, they didn’t have such a strict system of categorization. Basically, the Dark Serenity holy land was in charge, and everyone else was lower.

“But later on, unforeseen circumstances resulted in the different holy lands being categorized as either heavenly, earthly, celestial, or terrestrial.

“Terrestrial-level holy lands have either one or two Imperial Sovereigns. Above them are the celestial-level holy lands, none of which have arrived yet. Most likely, they will have Quasi-Immortal Grand Emperors.

“Then there are the earthly-level holy lands.... There’s no way they could have Summer Immortals, which leaves only one possibility. They must have multiple Quasi-Immortals! That’s how they can achieve the earthly level!

“Finally are the heavenly-level holy lands. Well, holy land. There’s only one.... I suspect there’s an eighty to ninety percent chance it has a Summer Immortal.

“Based on the empress’ analysis, the Dark Serenity holy land isn’t heavenly-level. And that means that the Summer Immortal from the only heavenly-level holy land is most likely... not Dark Serenity! It must be someone else!”

Xu Qing stopped in place in the middle of the Forbidden Sea. Summer Immortal....

His eyes shone brightly.

Huang Yan wasn’t done yet. “From the moment they arrived until now, all of the holy lands have been focused on one thing. And that’s to collect resources! In any case, the fact remains that the holy lands are here. Xu Qing, don’t stay out in the Forbidden Sea for too long. Get back as soon as you can.”

At that point, Huang Yan’s message was completed.

Xu Qing looked down toward the seafloor. The sea was calm, though there was a light breeze that caused some waves to roll over the surface of the water. The sky was getting dark. A storm was coming.

I’ll search for two more months. If I haven’t found the golden crow’s dragon chariot by then, I’ll leave the Forbidden Sea and go back to Sea-Sealing County.

With that, Xu Qing continued on his way. A month went by.

Three more holy lands arrived in the Revered Ancient mainland. As of now, a total of thirty-three holy lands had arrived.

Apparently, the forces of the Vivifiend holy land were nearing the completion of their excavation of Forbidden by the Zombie. Thus, they sent their people out to the surrounding islands. They didn’t perpetrate any wicked acts. The cultivators they sent out all seemed kind and amiable. They politely asked for news about Revered Ancient, and even offered treatment to people suffering from severe mutagen invasions. Upon leaving, they would hand out medicinal pills from their holy land as gifts. Those pills worked wonders in purging mutagen.

Although the local species were initially nervous, they soon sensed that this holy land seemed to have good intentions. After getting all the information they sought, the holy land sent out three messages.

The first message went into Forbidden by the Phoenix in South Phoenix, to be delivered to Flame Phoenix. The second went to Seven Blood Eyes, to be delivered to Master Seventh. The third went to Emperor-Receiving Prefecture, to be delivered to the region lord of the Holytide Region.

The letters were worded differently, but all contained the same general message. They politely informed the three parties in question that the Vivifiend holy land did not come with any malicious intentions. They only wanted to collect resources, and didn’t want to make any enemies. They hoped that they could get along well with the other three local powers.

Sea-Sealing County, South Phoenix, and Seven Blood Eyes conferred and chose to do the same as everyone else in Revered Ancient. They would just continue to keep an eye on this holy land. They wouldn’t do anything rash, and would stay on guard.

The Vivifiend holy land behaved just as they said they would in their messages. They seemed interested in maintaining peace. In the month that followed, there were no unexpected misunderstandings. They continued to widen the range in which they explored, and made contact with more islands. The entire time, they behaved politely, treated those who needed help, and gave out medicinal pills.

Seven Blood Eyes got some of the pills and studied them closely, as did Huang Yan. They didn’t seem to contain any potential calamities. From the look of it, it was going to be possible to get along with this holy land.

However, it also seemed like a storm was building on the Forbidden Sea….

***

Xu Qing had been gone for the better part of a year. Using his godly authority of sound, he had explored much of the sea region between Emperor-Receiving Prefecture and South Phoenix. Though he had encountered some dangers, he didn’t go too deep into the sea. The entire time, he kept looking for the golden crow’s dragon chariot. His search bore no fruit.

It seems to me the dragon chariot and the giant must have gone to the outer sea.

At the moment, Xu Qing stood on the corpse of a 3,000-meter-long giantfang shark, which was riddled with wounds.[2]

The wind blew, stirring his violet hair. His expression was tranquil, and he was surrounded by motes of scintillating light, which were the bits of godliness emanating from the beast beneath his feet. As he absorbed them, he looked off into the distance toward the outer sea. After a moment, he shook his head. Now was not a suitable time to go to the outer sea.

Just as he was about to give up on his search of the Forbidden Sea and go back to Sea-Sealing County... his transmission jade slip vibrated. After scanning it with divine will, he heard Second Elder Sister’s voice echoing in his mind.

“Little Junior Brother, there’s a matter that needs your attention. Grand-Master Bloodsmelter is at Eastnether Isle. The venerable old man... sent a message asking for help. He asked for you specifically.”[3]

Second Elder Sister sounded a bit exasperated. For a patriarch to ask a grand-apprentice to go save him was definitely somewhat comical. However... it made sense.

“He’s getting old, and has been pretty quiet recently. For him to suddenly ask for you to go over there... well, it seems to me he wants to show off to Guru Eastnether. Why don’t you just go for a quick visit?”[4]

Xu Qing was initially stunned. However, a moment later he somberly replied, “I’ll head over there right now, Second Elder Sister.”

1. The door opened in chapter 385. ☜

2. Interestingly, Xu Qing first saw a giantfang shark when he originally encountered the dragon chariot in chapter 80. Later in chapter 140, he was pursuing the same kind of shark, only to have it stolen by none other than Wu Jianwu (although we didn’t learn Wu Jianwu’s name until a few chapters later.) ☜

3. Sir Bloodsmelter appeared onscreen for the first time in chapter 116, and most recently in chapter 731. Eastnether Isle was first mentioned in chapter 119. ☜

4. Guru Eastnether’s last speaking role was in chapter 542.2, though she was mentioned a couple times after that and even appeared on screen though without any lines of dialogue. ☜

Deathblade's Thoughts

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