Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 1206: Unexpected Arrival

Hordeslayer and Rampart were visibly taken aback!

Sir Star Ring frowned. Eyes cold, he looked at the people approaching and growled, “Screw off!”

His words were like an icy wind, filled with killing intent. That was just how Sir Star Ring acted. Though Xu Qing had killed him, he had been born again, and his personality hadn’t changed. He was arrogant and ice-cold down to his soul. It didn’t matter if he was facing a Quasi-Immortal just like himself, who had a lot of friends with him, and even a peak Quasi-Immortal backing him up. He cultivated order, and would rather break than bend!

The middle-aged cultivator laughed. “You’ve got quite a temper.”

Eyes flashing, he turned to his leader and bowed. The old man frowned, but yet again nodded.

The middle-aged cultivator’s aura flared. He seemed to be borrowing outside power! He waved his hand, then pushed down, and ripples flowed out over the surface of the black sea.

Astonishingly, a host of flying black insects emerged. They were extremely vicious and ugly. What was more, they were not corporeal. In the shortest of moments, there were so many of them they were impossible to count. After rising up from the black sea, they charged toward Sir Star Ring.

Sir Star Ring’s eyes flashed coldly as a host of chains materialized around him. Clanking sounds could be heard as they swirled into a vortex. The might of order could suppress all. The dao of balance could eradicate anything. Hordeslayer and Rampart cooperated smoothly, as both of them unleashed sword energy that bolstered Sir Star Ring.

In the face of their divine abilities, the black insects began to collapse en masse. Sir Star Ring’s vortex of order chains was whipping up into a tempest. From a distance, it looked as if the black insects would be routed in one move.

However, the collapsing insects didn’t completely disappear. Instead, the resulting black ash and dust became a cloud that spread out rapidly. At the same time, the middle-aged cultivator performed an incantation gesture and pointed out. The black cloud swept around him, surrounding him in layer after layer, even covering his face. It was almost like it was molding him a new body.

In the blink of an eye, the middle-aged cultivator’s face disappeared, to be replaced by a featureless mask. Moments later, the face blurred, and a new set of facial features became visible. They were different from before! They were the facial features of Sir Star Ring!

His facial expression, aura, and soul now seemed to be exactly the same as Sir Star Ring! Next, black smoke converged on either side of his head, where it formed two additional heads. They looked like Hordeslayer and Rampart.

The other ascendees’ hearts sank.

Next, the middle-aged cultivator in his terrifying three-headed giant form looked at Sir Star Ring and the others and laughed loudly. Then he simply ignored them and walked back to his companions. His companions didn’t seem to find this unusual at all, as if it happened all the time. And their leader, without so much as a backward glance, started to walk away. The entire group was clearly going to leave.

But then, a very strange event unfolded. The departure of the middle-aged cultivator seemed to do something to Sir Star Ring, Hordeslayer, and Rampart. The three of them… started trudging forward as if they had lost control of their own bodies.

Hordeslayer and Rampart had completely blank looks on their faces, as if their souls had been extracted. Though Sir Star Ring continued forward, his eyes shone with an aggressive light, and creaking sounds echoed out with every step he took. The control exerted over him was clearly crumbling.

The middle-aged cultivator made an exclamation of surprise. Even the old man looked over his shoulder at Sir Star Ring.

“Impressive,” the old man said. “Go get him.”

Three members of the squadron walked out and flew toward Sir Star Ring.

Zhou Zhengli looked on thoughtfully, all while Sir Vilespirit licked his lips. Yuanshan Su frowned. The other ascendees said nothing, but some seemed to be bristling aggressively. These were cultivators who had risen through slaughter to become ascendees, so they were a proud lot. Even though they weren’t necessarily friends with these people… it didn’t sit right with them to see their fellows being treated like this and not interfere.

Unfortunately, these Acquisitioners were clearly stronger than them, having several Quasi-Immortals and the old man who was stronger than anyone else. There was a big disparity between the two groups. So though they were agitated, no one dared to step forward.

This didn’t sit right with Xu Qing either. Those two swords belonged to him. As for Sir Star Ring….

After a bit of thought, Xu Qing came to the conclusion that something fishy was going on. If this were happening elsewhere, it might make sense. But this was the Reception Universe. The new ascendees were supposed to be getting their permanent assignments. For them to be conscripted by the Department of Acquisitions at this moment seemed to indicate that the so-called ‘reception’ they were being given was nothing more than a joke.

Something out of the ordinary is going on!

Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed, and he casually stepped forward. As he did, his aura erupted. The canon of space-time filled heaven and earth, and a bell flew out from his forehead. The bell chimed. The sound echoed out ethereally, filling the hearts and minds of everyone present.

All faces reacted with shock. That included all of Xu Qing’s fellow ascendees and the members of the Acquisitioner squadron. The bell entered their ears like thunder, shaking them inside and out. Their cultivation bases went still, and all of their magical techniques… stopped working! Some people even fell out of midair and crashed onto the ground.

The three cultivators who had been flying toward Sir Star Ring shivered, and their eyes filled with shock as they realized they couldn’t advance any further.

The brothers Hordeslayer and Rampart also shivered. But when the bell chimed, they suddenly felt very clear-headed. Sir Star Ring, whose head had already been starting to clear, completely woke up! Killing intent blazed in his eyes.

But the person affected the most was the middle-aged cultivator. His three heads all exploded, and the fleshly body of black ash collapsed. Black smoke poured out in all directions as his true body was revealed. His pupils were constricted as he looked in Xu Qing’s direction. He looked very serious, as if he was facing an arch-nemesis. At the same time, he was filled with a sensation of having barely escaped a big catastrophe.

And that was because, at some point in the past few moments, an iron skewer had come to appear right in front of him! The skewer was incredibly sharp and emanated a cold aura that clamped down on the middle-aged cultivator’s soul. He really had no idea when that skewer had come to be in front of him, but he knew that he had somehow barely avoided having it stabbed into his forehead.

In fact, there were two fingers holding onto the skewer and preventing it from hurting him. The person holding the iron skewer was his leader, the old man who was indescribably close to the peak of Quasi-Immortal!

The old man turned and looked at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing did nothing to avoid his gaze. Voice cool, he said, “Those are my swords. And my people.”

The old man looked deeply at him for a moment. Then he looked up into the sky, clasped hands, and bowed. “Arch-Immortal, my squadron has already finished the extra mission you assigned us. May we leave?”

Astonished, everyone looked up into the sky. Xu Qing did as well.

Ripples spread out in the previously calm dome of heaven, as the previously dim sky suddenly started to fill with color. It was a dazzling assortment of colors that gathered together into a patch of absolute brilliance. The outline of a figure appeared, walking through the brilliance.

He was an unprepossessing old man. He wore rough, hemp garments that made him look like a fisherman. And in one hand he held a roughly-carved walking stick. The walking stick was covered with cracks, much like the wrinkles on his face.

The moment he appeared, the old man who was nearly at the peak of Quasi-Immortal bowed his head. All of the members of his squadron followed his lead.

The moment Li Mengtu saw the new arrival, his expression flickered dramatically. His eyes went wide with disbelief, and he exclaimed, “Master!”

It was hard to tell how sincere he was in his excitement.

Xu Qing, meanwhile, was shaken to the core. There was something very familiar about this old man. It was his canon that Xu Qing had ultimately abandoned. He was Li Mengtu’s master, and he was the immortal from the Dao Immortal Sect in the western planetary system!

Poison Monarch!

Xu Qing’s guard immediately went up. He knew full well that Poison Monarch was not a virtuous person. He had provided his canon, not out of good intentions, but because that canon contained karma that he could lend out and take back.

If Xu Qing had not gained enlightenment of his space-time canon, then the other canon would have caused him immeasurable harm. It was a dao that could be given and taken. That was why he had ultimately chosen to abandon it.

Right now, Xu Qing couldn’t fathom why this person… would appear right here and now.

What was more… he didn’t just serve as Poison Monarch. He wasn’t just a heavenly inspector in the Dao Immortal Sect. He also had another post!

Looking around at everyone, Poison Monarch spoke in a raspy voice. “I am the director of the Department of Acquisitions.”