Beyond the Timescape

There wasn’t much Xu Qing could do. Normally speaking, he wasn’t the type of person who would act in this manner. But right now… he was acting on orders from the empress. The empress had hinted to him that he should make a big scene, and considering how much shē had helped him, he couldn’t refuse. Therefore, all he could do was do his best to act and speak in the way his Eldest Brother would. That was what led to his words from earlier, as well as his current prideful attitude.

All onlookers couldn’t help but think of him as being lofty and unyielding. It could even be considered arrogant!

He stood at the foot of the Imperial Sovereign mountain, his hands clasped behind his back, looking completely and utterly domineering. This was all despite being up against an almighty nine-world Smoldering God expert.

An instant later, the cultivators in the mountain angrily flew up into the air and stared down at him.

Given the pressure weighing down on him, Xu Qing kept his guard up in every respect. However, he didn’t reveal that on his face. In fact, he actually closed his eyes.

The nine-world Smoldering God barked an angry laugh. “Excellent. Excellent!”

Xu Qing’s dramatic words and behavior caused the old man’s eyes to glitter coldly. It wasn’t that he had never encountered brash people like this in his life. He had. And all of them had ended up as corpses.

Seeing that Xu Qing had gone so far as to close his eyes, the nine-world Smoldering God lifted his right hand, then dropped it. Instantly, the dome of heaven changed colors, the lands rumbled, and a screaming wind kicked up. The moment his hand dropped, a huge hand appeared behind him, so large it filled the sky. And then it moved forward, passing through the man and… rumbling directly toward Xu Qing.

The palm strike contained the power of a nine-world Smoldering God, fully unleashed. It was a destructive power that could destroy the heavens and extinguish the earth, something that was capable of shattering natural and magical laws. Even the air shattered.

It headed right toward Xu Qing. The wild winds kicked up Xu Qing’s hair and robes, yet his closed eyes didn’t even flutter. As the palm descended, heaven and earth trembled.

Then, as everyone watched on intently, black fire erupted around Xu Qing, which rapidly spread out beneath his feet to form a black lotus. As it bloomed, countless flower petals of fire spread out, with Xu Qing being at the very center. That lotus of black fire created a perfect defensive barrier around him.

The massive palm hit it. Deafening rumbling sounds echoed out. The black lotus continued to burn, and its flower rotated gently, like a dance. Inside, Xu Qing’s hair didn’t even stir. However, his eyes finally opened.

“You get two more moves,” he said coolly.

Up above, the old man’s eyes hardened. All of the cultivators on the seventeenth Imperial Sovereign mountain were visibly surprised. It wasn’t just any ordinary person that could withstand an attack from a nine-world Smoldering God. The only type of person who could was someone incredibly strong.

That was especially true considering… that some of the more knowledgeable among them realized that this black lotus was something familiar to them. It was something they had read about.

Before long, someone realized what it was, and they cried out, “That’s the Netherlotus technique! It’s a secret defensive magic used by Grand Emperor Netherflame of the eastern Devilbirds!”

As that voice reached the ears of everyone else, people began to think back to ancient records they had read, and the various stories they contained about Grand Emperor Netherflame.

“Sir Blood Dust actually knows that secret magic!”

“No wonder Imperial Sovereign Lu Lingzi brought him along!”

“And now it makes sense why Sir Blood Dust is acting so brazen!”

As the crowd reacted, Xu Qing stood in place, his eyes closed. Up in midair, the nine-world Smoldering God frowned. He had heard of the Netherlotus, and knew that it was a secret magic that provided astonishing levels of defense. Eyes narrowing, he suddenly threw both hands out and performed an incantation gesture. Instantly, nine major worlds appeared behind him, scintillating brilliantly as massive mountains rose up within them.

There were nine mountain peaks, all of them transforming from illusory to corporeal. Emerging from their respective worlds, they became like a string of beads that influenced the surrounding magical laws, and caused thunder and lightning to go wild. The old man pointed out with each of his index fingers, and the nine mountain peaks screamed toward Xu Qing.

However, before that second attack could land, the old man touched his forehead with his right hand, whereupon his nine major worlds rumbled again. From within, countless magical and natural laws emerged, all of which were daos the old man had gained enlightenment of in his life.

When they were in the open, he shouted, “Use daos to make the tip!”

The daos converged, transforming into the tip of an enormous spear!

The man continued speaking in a growl. “Use worlds to make the haft!”

The nine major worlds lined up in a row, and from a distance, they looked like the haft of a spear!

“Use burning magics to form the tassel!” he roared. Countless magical techniques erupted, creating a multicolored glow that surrounded the spear haft like a tassel.

Finally, the old man’s eyes glittered with killing intent as he shoved his hands out. The massive spear then shot through the air toward Xu Qing. The old man was planning to unleash his second daoist technique and his third divine ability at the same time. He was hoping to use that method to break through the legendary Netherlotus.

Countless spectators watched as the nine mountains slammed into Xu Qing. They looked enormous, but they shrank down as they neared him, ultimately turning into nine enormous swords that slammed into the lotus of netherflame. It was mountain-toppling force and sea-draining momentum.

Xu Qing shivered. At the same time, the Netherlotus flickered, and the flames danced. However, not even the nine mountain peaks turned into razor-sharp swords could do a thing to Xu Qing. The Netherlotus’ flames burst upward, and the nine mountain-swords went from being corporeal to illusory. Then they disappeared.

However, that was when the terrifying spear pierced through the air toward Xu Qing’s head. The tip of the spear glowed brightly, becoming an apex manifestation of explosive strength. Intense rumbling sounds became like an attack of its own.

In the face of this attack, Xu Qing couldn’t just stand in place. He fell back. As he did so, the terrifying spear advanced like a boulder crushing a drinking glass.

Xu Qing’s eyes widened, and he prepared to lift his hand to defend himself. Unfortunately, the spear was too fast. Before he could move his hand, it stabbed into his chest. The spear tip shoved him back farther.

30 meters. 300 meters. 1,500 meters. After each retreat came another retreat. The spear tip seemed unstoppable, and yet, it couldn’t actually penetrate Xu Qing’s fleshly body. After falling back a full 3,000 meters, the spear’s momentum died down, and Xu Qing came to a halt.

Then, the spear tip in his chest vibrated and emitted cracking sounds. After that, it started shattering. It started from the tip, spreading backward into the haft, until the entire spear… collapsed into pieces.

The power of the spear was that of a peak Smoldering God. However, it was not at the level of an Imperial Sovereign.

As the wind blew across the lands, Xu Qing said, “It’s over.”

Silence reigned.

The nine-world Smoldering God looked down at Xu Qing with a complicated expression. A moment passed, and then he shook his head, turned, and went back to the mountain.

Xu Qing advanced. Quickly crossing back 3,000 meters, he reached the foot of the Imperial Sovereign mountain. There, he stepped onto the staircase, where he sat down cross-legged and looked up the mountain.

Thinking back to how his Eldest Brother would usually act, he said, “I’m going to sit here for the next three days. If anyone under an Imperial Sovereign can break my defenses without using an Imperial Sovereign treasure, then I’ll admit defeat.”

No one on the seventeenth Imperial Sovereign mountain said a thing. If a nine-world Smoldering God couldn’t break Xu Qing’s defenses, then the only thing other Smoldering Gods could feel was helplessness. Attacking him again would be pointless.

There was more than one nine-world Smoldering God on this mountain. But given what had just played out, it didn’t seem like ‘Sir Blood Dust’ could inflict dangerous injuries. But his defenses were just too extreme. If they could take a page from ‘Sir Blood Dust’s’ book, and just sit there waiting to be attacked, maybe they could come out on top. But ‘Sir Blood Dust’ was already doing that, which put them in a no-win situation. Anyone with a higher cultivation base than Sir Blood Dust would be forced to admit their inferiority, and nobody wanted to do that….

Considering the cultivation base disparity, it was obvious that Sir Blood Dust couldn’t break their defenses. That made sense. But they would have to rely on sneaky tricks to achieve victory… which would be the same thing as losing. The loss of face would be too severe.

Most importantly, this only seemed like a contest between cultivators. The reality was that it was a struggle between the Imperial Sovereigns of the eastern and western Devilbirds.

The Imperial Sovereign mountain remained silent.

Three days passed.

The western Devilbirds were really riled up by now.

Xu Qing opened his eyes and stood. Then, as all the cultivators on the mountain looked on, he left without a word for the sixteenth Imperial Sovereign mountain.

When he arrived at the sixteenth mountain, the cultivators there glared at him antagonistically. Xu Qing, meanwhile, just sat down on the staircase.

“You know how this is going to work. I’m going to sit here for the next three days. If anyone under an Imperial Sovereign can break my defenses without using an Imperial Sovereign treasure, then I’ll admit defeat.”

***

Three days later he shook his head and left. During that time, quite a few cultivators had attacked him. All of them met defeat. In the end, they chose to imitate the seventeenth mountain and just bite their tongue.

Xu Qing went to the fifteenth mountain, sat down, and made the same challenge. He continued in that manner, spending three days at each mountain. About half a month later, he reached the tenth Imperial Sovereign mountain. By that point, people throughout the western Devilbird lands had heard of Sir Blood Dust.

Everyone knew his name. He was the focus of all attention.

At the same time, news finally got back to the eastern Devilbirds. The cultivators there were very excited, and many of them crossed the border into western Devilbird lands to watch things play out.

***

In the lands of the eastern Devilbirds, in the Immortal Skills Hall, ‘Yue Dong’ sat cross-legged in a hall. The reek of blood was just barely detectable from outside. Before long, footsteps echoed out, and Yue Dong’s beautiful eyes focused on the outside.

A young man in a fancy robe appeared there, his face full of emotion. He held a severed head in his hands.

After reaching Yue Dong, he softly said, “Dong’er, this scuzzball dared to call your identity into question. I got rid of him for you. Don’t worry. With me around, nobody among the eastern Devilbirds will dare harm you.

“However… something unexpected happened. Do you remember that Sir Blood Dust? I guess it’s my fault that you failed to kill that son of a bitch. I interrupted just at the wrong time. Ai.

“Who could have guessed that the little bitch would actually stumble into a destined opportunity! He became an attendant of the tenth Imperial Sovereign! And he went to the western Devilbird lands, where the beeotch is actually making a name for himself! Argh! But, don’t worry. I’ll definitely help you kill the bitchy son of a bitch!”

The young man seemed very sincere.

As for Yue Dong, she blinked a few times in surprise. She had already received help to seize power in the Immortal Skills Hall, and thus, had started studying the important immortal skills. As a result, she was completely ignorant of events among the western Devilbirds. Upon hearing the news, Yue Dong’s heart started pounding.

Little Ah Qing actually started rolling with the empress? And he’s gotten famous already?

Upon thinking about his little Junior Brother eclipsing him, Erniu took a deep breath. All of a sudden he felt a lot of pressure, and at the same time, quite a bit of humiliation.

Hold on, you’re hogging things already? I can’t believe the two of them teamed up and left me behind!