Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 1300: The Two Sides of Space-Time

Xu Qing reached up and touched his forehead. The memories of his life became flows of light that swept out and converged in front of him.

They became himself, as a puzzle piece! And that puzzle piece also served as an anchor for enlightenment within the chaotic flow of space-time.

That anchor was also like a seed that grew as it absorbed Xu Qing’s life. It used the power of fate to spread out into the chaotic flow of space-time from Xu Qing’s cocoon of canon. And from within that chaos, it absorbed what he needed.

And thus, Xu Qing’s past appeared on the puzzle. Within it was his youth in Peerless City, where he had been born. It included his life of struggle, his tough training in Seven Blood Eyes, and the Grand Competition in the Merfolk Isles. It also included the process of becoming a swordsage, everything in Sea-Sealing County, the huge battle with Crimson Mother, and his role in humankind’s rise to prominence….

It included all matters related to Xu Qing’s fate and life. It became a complex network.

What about subsequent pieces….

Within the cocoon, Xu Qing looked at the godhood of fate and sensed the first puzzle piece he had put down. After some thought, he made a decision.

Subsequent pieces will be everyone I’ve encountered on my journey!

The godhood of fate flickered, forming new puzzle pieces filled with countless figures from his memories.

There were his relatives in Peerless City, and the enemies he had made in the wilderness afterward…. There was Sergeant Thunder, the other members of Squad Thunderbolt, and Master Seventh. There was Erniu, Huang Yan, Second Elder Sister, and Third Elder Brother. Also included were Yanyan, Zhao Zhongheng, and Ding Xue. There was Zhang San and the Mute. Wu Jianwu and Kong Xianglong. Qing Qiu, Ningyan, as well as Plumdark and Ling’er. The Heir Apparent and his siblings, Empress Summer Departure, Grand Emperor Swordsage were there as well.

Eventually, everyone Xu Qing had encountered in Revered Ancient was present.

There was also Sir Star Ring, Li Mengtu, Zhou Zhengli and the others. All were people he had interacted with, and those encounters became like sparks spreading out to become new puzzle pieces. There was a second, a third, and a fourth….

More and more, drawn out by the power of fate. Then they went to the outside to absorb the power of space-time, and to take the chaos as nutrients. The puzzle pieces grew more and more complete. It included everything Xu Qing knew about the lives of everyone he had encountered.

After the puzzle pieces grew to a certain extent, they would send out threads of fate that made additional puzzle pieces. As the power of fate was unleashed, they were being linked to even more elements of karma. And they were all being revealed on the picture of fate that Xu Qing was forming.

Time passed.

Xu Qing looked at the puzzle in front of him. He was like the audience, looking at all of the familiar people in front of him. The picture of fate didn’t need him to make it move. It formed a cycle of his own life as it expanded in front of him. And it drew more and more deeply on the space-time from outside.

It grew larger. It expanded. And it didn’t just contain elements of his life that he was familiar with. It also contained unknown pasts and futures. There were more and more people that he had never met. It was hard to say if they were real or not, because they were just possibilities.

This is what fate is….

Within the pictures of fate, everything existed.

Xu Qing even got the feeling that if he took this picture of fate into the outside world, and bolstered it with the godhood of fate… everything inside could replace natural law and become a true weaving of fate. It could control all living beings.

The power of Eminent Desolation….

Xu Qing contemplated that. At that moment, he suddenly considered changing his canon to that of fate. This process of borrowing the power of fate had given him a much deeper understanding of that power, and a sense of how terrifying and majestic it was. But in the end, he put aside that idea.

Fate might be good, but it comes from Eminent Desolation…. I can use it as a tool to help me see the chaotic flow of space-time, and thus perceive my path! And I can use it as an attractant….

Xu Qing looked up and waved his hand at the cocoon. It vanished, and Xu Qing appeared again within the chaotic flow of space-time.

As the picture of fate grew, Xu Qing was able to hover in the flow, looking around. He still looked like a human, and his thoughts were still normal. The picture of fate followed a sequential order, while the chaotic flow of space-time was full of disorder. Since Xu Qing was within the order, he could use fate as a guide to measure space-time, allowing him to study this moment and experience something very different from before!

Next I need to do some experimenting.

He looked off into the distance. Determination flashed in his eyes as he put away the godhood and then waved his hand toward the picture formed from the power of fate. His plan was to extract the blessing of fate and cause the picture to explode.

Then, he would tap into the power of that explosion to see how the puzzle of karma had been overturned in the chaotic flow of space-time. And by means of that process, he would gain the perception of canon!

The puzzle trembled. Without the blessing of the godhood of fate, the picture had no way to survive within the chaotic flow of space-time. The moment Xu Qing moved his hand, cracks started spreading out on it. Moments later, it exploded.

The power of the chaotic flow of space-time swelled. Space-time chaos surged, plunging the lives of everyone into chaos, separating time and ripping all experiences to shreds. And then, the chaos that existed in space and time converged. For example, the day of someone’s birth was changed, and was placed after the death of their descendants. Or something dramatic that happened to one person suddenly happened to another instead.

It became a chaotic flow of space-time! Karma was inverted and logic was full of logical errors.

Xu Qing remained in place looking at it all. Enlightenment struck him. Countless information occurred to him, which he understood, memorized, and gained instant enlightenment of. Though he still couldn’t penetrate it fully, at least his perception was bolstered.

Thanks to that perception, Xu Qing understood that from beginning to end, what he thought was chaos was really just one singular space-time. But because of the struggle that existed in space and time, it looked like this location contained everything. It was similar to the power of overlapping universes.

But the reality was that this really was just one space-time. It wasn’t transcendent. Xu Qing felt enlightened.

My space-time is correct. And this space-time is incorrect…. Correct and incorrect cannot be separated. They are the two sides that exist among all things. If they are combined, they become complete, and they become a singularity.

Xu Qing’s mind reeled as he was anointed with enlightenment. His eyes shone more brightly than ever. What was more important about this enlightenment was that it corroborated his canon from a different angle. It was like it was being bolstered from the foundation.

Now, on to the next step….

Xu Qing lifted his foot and took a step forward.