Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 1306: Shall We Go Home, Little Ah Qing?

The statute of an Immortal Lord…. The tenth extreme…. My canon of ontology is also a singularity.

Within the chaotic flow of space-time, countless fragments offered worship to Xu Qing.

Within those singularities, ontology is the ultimate expression of space-time. The other God Lords have different godly authority. In some respects, they are just taking different directions in this same level….

Xu Qing thought about it for a moment. His long hair flowed down behind him, as if to fill the chaos around him. Clad in a simple white robe, he seemed to be full of the most profound mysteries of space-time. The pupils of his eyes seemed to glitter with flowing light that represented the transformations of space-time. When he spoke, the words were not within time itself.

He also had the omniscience that the gods had. For example, at the moment, his thoughts caused a fragment to drift out of the void to him.

It was a piece of the bronze coffin belonging to that old God Paragon. It had exploded when Xu Qing entered the chaotic flow of space-time; it had been stabbed into him at the time, and thus came along for the ride. Because he had transformed, the item, while still present, had been peacefully extruded from him. Before, he had been fully focused on seeking enlightenment, and thus hadn’t examined it. But with his canon and statute, he now realized that the fragment of the coffin was very meaningful.

This must be the destined opportunity Teacher told me about.

After shedding its illusory husk, the item in front of Xu Qing was revealed to be something like a kaleidoscope. By viewing it from the right angle, it was possible to see a host of images. Viewing it from the side, however, would reveal only a single image.

It was obviously a demonstration for his sake. Except, Xu Qing didn’t need such a demonstration.

I suppose it’s about time to leave.

He looked up. With his canon of ontology he could tell that more than fifty years had passed within the chaotic flow of space-time. But not as much time had passed on the outside.

About seven years….

Xu Qing stood and prepared to leave. Of course, he had to get his Eldest Brother first. Before developing his tenth extreme, it would have been very difficult to track down his Eldest Brother. But now… all it took was a glance.

That said, the image which appeared to him was like a stiff wind slamming into his heart. He immediately stepped forward.

An instant later, he was in a world fragment in the chaotic flow of space-time. The moment he entered, he detected an aura of silence filled with grief. It was gloomy, as if the sky itself had been filled with a hazy gauze that was impossible for the sunshine of history to penetrate. There were only a few shafts of evening light that shone down, bringing immense pressure with them.

Looking at the surrounding world, Xu Qing sighed and started walking. The ground beneath his feet was hard. Every step he took left slight footprints that would get filled in with sand from the wind. It seemed to be telling an unspeakable story.

Off in the distance were a few withered trees that looked like they had struggled to climb into the sky, only to end in despair. It should have been springtime, but the only thing present were these dried-up trees with their yellow leaves rustling in the wind. That sound seemed to tell a sad story of someone who had been unburdened in this very spot, and thus affected the operations of the entire surrounding world.

Xu Qing strode through the haze and past the trees. That was when he saw the crumbling remnants of a wall. There had been a town here in the past. Crumbling white walls were all that remained of the structures there, and they were choked with dark green vines. Shriveled flowers hung from the vines, as if to demonstrate how this place had once flourished with life, but had now sunk into decay.

Occasionally, a few black birds would glide through the sky above and issue harsh cries that broke the silence and made everything seem more dismal.

Xu Qing stood in front of the ruins and looked in one specific direction. A moment passed, and then he walked in that direction. Finally, he spotted someone huddled in a corner.

It was Erniu. His arms were wrapped around his legs, and his head was buried in the crook of his arm. He was trembling like a lost child, and was even whimpering. The sound of his weeping echoed in the silent little world, full of anxiety, as if he wanted to vent all of his sorrow.

It was a side of Erniu that Xu Qing had never seen before. He had seen his Eldest Brother go crazy. He had seen him act deranged, pleased, careless. But… he had never seen his Eldest Brother crying. It really shook him down to the core.

“Eldest Brother…” he said, squatting down in front of him.

Erniu looked up. His cheeks were stained with tears and his eyes were red. Instead of his usual arrogant expression, he seemed profoundly distressed.

His lips quivered, and then, seemingly with infinite effort, he said, “Little Ah Qing. I saw the memories of my first two lives….”

***

Erniu never explained what those memories were.

As Xu Qing accompanied him, he cried for a very long time. Finally, he said, “I miss Revered Ancient, little Ah Qing. I miss Master….”

“Let’s go home,” Xu Qing said softly.

The words caused Erniu to grin. However, from what Xu Qing could tell, the sorrow in his eyes was something that would be there for all eternity.

Finally, he blurred into the form of a blue worm that nestled in Xu Qing’s hair. “Alright, little Ah Qing. Let’s go….”

***

The next day, Grandmaster Bai was seated outside that rift in the void that Eminent Desolation had looked at. He had been waiting for seven years. Suddenly, his eyes opened.

Out of the rift emerged a figure. The moment he appeared, the time in the Fourth Star Ring seemed to become a material thing, turning into dream threads that sent fluctuations out in all directions. Space was affected as well. The entire star ring became like the surface of a sea, and Xu Qing was a wind kicking up huge waves. This was the welcome given to an immortal!

“You’re back,” Grandmaster Bai said softly, a smile on his face.

Xu Qing looked at Grandmaster Bai and bowed deeply. “Many thanks, Teacher!”

Grandmaster Bai stood. Looking kindly at Xu Qing, he said, “Before you go home, I’d like you to take a walk with me.”

Xu Qing nodded and began to walk next to Grandmaster Bai, but slightly behind him, which was the proper way to show respect to his teacher. As they walked through the starry sky, their voices echoed through time.

“The vast majority of God Lords in the thirty-six higher star rings are just individual singularities,” Grandmaster Bai said. “And each singularity is a miniature version of the local star ring. Thēy have different godly authorities to spread within the singularity, except no matter how thēy spread, thēy cannot become the singularity. There is only one thing that can become the singularity, and that is the level above God Paragon! And that is the next step you need to take….”

“What’s above God Paragon?” Xu Qing asked.

“It’s Living God,” Grandmaster Bai said softly. “Or as I like to call it, the Beyond.”