Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 1204: Prohibition!

Upon leaving the Heroic Immortal Tombs, Xu Qing listened to his heart and gazed in the direction he imagined was where the Ninth Star Ring lay. It was a haze of stars, and truth be told, he had no idea if the Ninth Star Ring really was in that direction. He had a clone in Revered Ancient, and he could sense it, but it was so incredibly far away that it was little more than a vague feeling.

But though he couldn’t see anything, or even be certain that he was looking toward the Ninth Star Ring, he knew why he felt inclined to do this. He missed home. He missed the Revered Ancient mainland, he missed the people there, and the things there, and everything….

The day is going to come when Revered Ancient is like here in the Fifth Star Ring. The mutagen will be gone, and immortal energy will fill the place. The gods there will change their dao, and abandon the cultivation of gods!

Eventually, he looked away. It wasn’t time to leave yet. He still needed to get stronger. He had not yet reached the point where he could go back to keep anyone safe, or change anything.

“Soon…”

Collecting his thoughts, he took out his Inksun Universe immortal slip and squeezed it. Everything blurred, and ripples spread out as the teleportation began.

Majestic spatial power was required to perform inter-universe teleportations. It also required the support of high-level canon. Neither could be lacking. When both qualifications were met, cultivators in the Nineshores Heaven could go through with such teleportations.

Given the current level of Xu Qing’s cultivation base, he did have a good understanding of space, but his view was limited. He had no way to see into the deeper levels.

There are mysteries at play here…. I suppose it has something to do with Immortal Lord Nineshores.

Immortal Lords were currently unfathomable to him. As a result, he could only vaguely make out bits and pieces of the whole. His vision blurred, and the void around him changed. The starry sky… slowly transformed.

When everything went back to normal, Xu Qing was no longer at the Heroic Immortal Tombs. Instead, he was in his immortal hall on the asteroid in the Inksun Universe!

When he opened the doors of the hall, the Inksun Universe stretched out in front of him. He took a step forward and vanished. When he reappeared, he was outside the Inkland black hole.

He saw Starfire lying there on a divan, enjoying life and surrounded by a host of dancing, chatting maidens.

Upon noticing Xu Qing, shē first looked surprised, and then shē pouted slightly. “Back so soon, you devil? Why didn’t you let me know you were coming? I could have gotten ready. What is this supposed to be, a surprise inspection? Whatever. I’m not going to argue with you. Well, did things go smoothly?”

Xu Qing had long since become immune to Starfire’s flirting. “Very smoothly. You can carry on.”

Xu Qing sat down cross-legged. Ignoring Starfire, he took out the gift the old man had given him and sent his divine will inside to study it.

Seeing that Xu Qing was ignoring hēr caused Starfire to chuckle softly. Shē wasn’t offended. He was used to dealing with hēr, and shē had long since become used to dealing with him. Shē loved flirting, and shē loved how he refused her.

Within that relationship, shē had managed to latch on to some of hēr human nature that had long since begun to disappear. It was happiness. And it reminded hēr that shē was alive. Thus, shē chose to ignore hēr godly nature and immerse hērself in human nature. As the beautiful maidens around hēr danced, shē glanced at Xu Qing sitting there. Shē smiled. Shē was surrounded by beautiful women. And shē was sitting next to a beautiful man.

This is the beautiful scenery I’ve built for myself!

Shē was fully aware that shē was different from preheaven gods. Hēr human nature had not fully disappeared. Nor did shē want it to. And flirting with Xu Qing kept hēr human nature active.

This is great.

Starfire ate an immortal fruit, and hēr eyes narrowed into crescent moons of happiness and comfort.

Time passed. Months went by.

Starfire felt wonderful that entire time.

As for Xu Qing, he was immersed in studying the bell. It was made from a fantastic material. Despite performing many experiments, Xu Qing had been unable to leave even a scratch on it. Not even his canon of parallelism would work on it. It could not be sent to other space-times! There was some sort of force surrounding it that prevented it from leaving its own space-time!

I suppose it’s what that guard said…. It’s a scrap of God Lord might! The owner of this item was killed by a God Lord. But the item itself was not destroyed. It was taken away… and not seized by the God Lord. Unless the God Lord did that on purpose for some reason, it indicates this thing is extraordinary!

That said, the bell has no clapper. But at least I learned a few things during the past couple months!

His eyes glittered brightly.

Though he had not been able to leave even a tiny mark on the bell using external force, by means of his immortal embryo, he was able to make a connection to the bell by nourishing it. At first, the connection wasn’t very strong. The bell was masterless, and though it didn’t exactly reject the nourishment he offered, it also didn’t cooperate. It wasn’t like parched dirt thirsty for even a drop of dew.

But Xu Qing was cautious in the way he treated it. As he slowly provided nourishment, he gradually reached the point of being able to exercise some ownership over it. And when that happened, he seized that control and didn’t let go. If he made the slightest mistake, the connection would sever.

It seems to me that the key to unleashing the power of this treasure is going to be sound!

Xu Qing waved his hand, and the iron skewer he had acquired in the Daoforge Universe flew out, bright and glittering. Xu Qing had a good idea of how to deal with the bell.

After reviewing his thought process to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything important, his face flashed with determination, and he sent the iron skewer to hit the side of the ball. The moment they made contact, the bell vibrated. The crisp but ethereal sound of a chiming bell echoed out.

The cup of fine wine that Starfire had lifted to hēr lips suddenly collapsed into nothing. So did all the dancing maidens around

Starfire leaped up, only to stagger backward, hēr body blurring, revealing hēr god altar. Shocked, shē said, “What is this thing?!”

Starfire wasn’t the only one to react in that way. The entire starry sky shook. The bell echoed out infinitely, reaching into the minds of all living beings, and echoed into all objects. The entire Inksun Universe filled with the sound of the bell, and nothing else. Within that silence, all illusions ceased to exist. All magical techniques collapsed, and all divine abilities shattered.

Xu Qing was visibly moved. Now he knew what this bell treasure could do!

It prohibits all magical arts! And given what just happened to Starfire, it seems gods fall under the umbrella of the prohibition as well!

Unfortunately, once the sound of the bell vanished, everything went back to normal. The dancing and bustle around Starfire came back. The immortal fruit that had vanished once again appeared in hēr hand. At the moment, shē wasn’t interested in eating it.

Looking seriously at Xu Qing, shē said, “That treasure… can prohibit gods!”

Xu Qing nodded. “It’s actually a deadly weapon!”

Face filling with concentration, he continued studying the bell.

After a long moment passed, Starfire sighed. Here in the Fifth Star Ring, shē had really come to understand what it meant to be terrified.

Once he finishes his studies here, the kid’s gonna go back to Revered Ancient and shake things up among the gods there. Well, who cares? What’s that got to do with me?

Starfire went back to enjoying hērself. Time continued to pass.

Xu Qing spent a few months in study, and then he focused on cultivation. He stabilized his immortal embryo, and began laying the foundation for his next breakthrough. He was currently very stable in his existing state.

Before long, the one-year deadline approached. The day of reception was nearing.

When the day came, a dignified voice drifted out from his universe’s jade slip.

“All ascendees have twenty-four universe-hours to check in at the Reception Universe and receive your new orders. You will be given permanent assignments in the Nineshores Heaven, and will begin to truly assimilate here.”

The voice didn’t just echo in Xu Qing’s mind. It reached all of the ascendees. It didn’t matter what universe they were in or what they were doing. All of them looked up with expressions that were both serious and full of anticipation.

Xu Qing opened his eyes and stood. “The time is here. Finally.”

Starfire retracted all hēr magical arts, strolled over to Xu Qing, and stretched. “I’ve been idle for too long. Time for excitement. I’ve really been looking forward to this!”