Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 817: Firemoon Travelogue

The Imperial Region was a vast location that went on seemingly without end.

It was the fifth day of war.

A great wall had long since been constructed on the northwestern border of human territory, like an enormous dragon that kept nonhumans out. Known as the Black Wall, it was majestic, stretching from the west to the north, angling across the lands, pitch black in color and profoundly somber and desolate. With the advent of war, the wall had been locked down tightly. Without orders from a heavenly king, no one was allowed to pass through it.

Beyond the Black Wall were lands governed by the Firemoon Darkheaven people. They weren’t the actual ancestral lands of the Firemoons. Instead, there were various regions controlled by subsidiary species. Only by passing through seven such regions would one arrive at the ancestral lands of the Firemoon Darkheavens.

The Firemoon Darkheavens were truly an impressive species.

***

A languid voice reached Xu Qing.

“The Firemoons and their subsidiary species control a total of 87 regions. Although the total geographic area actually can’t compare to the Imperial Region we humans control, it’s still astounding.”

About 5,000 kilometers away from the Black Wall was a huge flying ship pulled along by seven dragons. As the dragons roared, the wind whistled by. There were hundreds of cultivators on the ship. All were dressed in crisp uniforms and had somber facial expressions. They were clearly extraordinary.

In front of them all was a man who appeared to be middle-aged, with a burly frame and a much higher stature than ordinary humans. He had inky black hair bound with golden bands of cloth. He wore a brocade robe covered with intricate golden dragons. A pendant of white jade hung at his waist, making it clear how important he was. He did not have a delicate and pretty face. Instead, he seemed crude and straightforward. He had large eyes and bushy eyebrows, with thin lips. He seemed awe-inspiring, and from a distance, resembled the emperor of humankind to an uncanny degree.

He was Grand Prince. There was no one else who resembled the emperor more closely than him, whether in facial features or disposition. He stood at the prow of the ship looking off into the distance. His energy and blood surged so mightily he was like a burning red sun that caused those behind him to shield their eyes from the stinging radiance.

Grand Prince was carrying his orders from the emperor to act as an envoy to the Firemoon Darkheavens. Other than the troops already under the command of Grand Prince, those present included officials from the Five Lesser Celestial Divisions plus their associated guards.

The person who had just spoken wasn’t Grand Prince, but rather, someone else on the ship who was dressed like an ordinary bodyguard. This person had a serious expression and vigilant eyes, and looked like the type of soldier who wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice his life in the line of duty. The words he had spoken were not directed outward, but instead, were transmitted into his belly....

Inside of his belly was a field of bright red light, within which Xu Qing sat cross-legged, his expression a bit helpless.

“Eldest Brother, are you dead set on sneaking in like this?” Xu Qing asked, looking at their surroundings.

A few days earlier, after leaving the Red Dust Emotional Suppression Pavilion, he had sent a voice message to the Captain letting him know about his travel plans. After all, the Captain was planning something big in the lands of the Firemoon Darkheavens. Thanks to Xu Qing’s efforts, the Captain had already resolved a big issue with his plan, so he was quick to agree to travel together.

That said, Xu Qing was working on his own, separate, plans.

“Of course we need to sneak in. You listen to me, little Ah Qing, my belly is a very safe and secure location. I would only allow someone I’m very close with to hide in my belly.”

The ‘guard’ vigilantly looked around while simultaneously having a conversation in his own belly.

“Little Ah Qing, given your status, it won’t attract much attention if you go to Firemoon Darkheaven territory. But think a minute about me! I’m different. I’m actually quite famous among the Firemoons. In fact, there’s no one there who hasn’t heard about me. If we just went strolling in, I’m worried that there would be far too much fanfare. As you know, I like to keep a low profile.”

Xu Qing nodded. He knew exactly what the Captain was talking about. Long story short, if the Captain revealed himself to the Firemoons, he would be summarily killed. Presumably, the Captain had done something extremely offensive and infuriating in Firemoon Darkheaven territory in a past life, and people were still angry about it. That made Xu Qing think about what the Captain had said about his relationship with High God Moonfire.... [1]

“Sooo, that’s why we have to sneak in. Look at this secret identity of mine. It’s perfectly safe. I have ways of passing any inspections, and fooling any spell formations. Add in the shields protecting the imperial prince’s guards, and it’s a guarantee that nothing will go wrong.”

The Captain sounded very pleased with himself. Xu Qing became even more vigilant.

As the Captain talked to Xu Qing, the gigantic ship slowly got closer to the Black Wall. Xu Qing couldn’t see that far, but the Captain could, and he had a perfect view of the majestic wall.

“It seems higher than the last time I saw it.”

Before long, the Black Wall’s grand spell formation activated and scanned the ship. It didn’t matter that Grand Prince was in charge, during war time, inspections like this were mandatory. Grand Prince didn’t react visibly. He just let the spell formation scan his ship.

As that happened, the Captain secretly bit down on a blood capsule hidden in his tooth. The spell formation fluctuations persisted for the time it takes an incense stick to burn. After that, everything went back to normal.

A small gap opened in the Black Wall, turning into something like a tunnel that led to the other side of the wall.

It didn’t matter that the spell formation had cleared them. Grand Prince’s orders indicated that he wasn’t allowed to camp or even stop at the border. He had to go through the wall without pausing.

Numerous auras had locked onto the ship. Because of those auras, even the seven golden dragons pulling the ship were locked down so tightly they couldn’t move their scales. And in that manner, the ship entered the tunnel and headed toward the other side. After ten breaths of time passed, the ship emerged into what was no longer human territory. Behind them, the passage opened by the Black Wall’s spell formation closed tightly. No one spoke the entire time.

Without so much as glancing backward, Grand Prince said, “Hoist the flag of humankind.”

A huge flag rose up from the ship and started flapping in the wind while simultaneously exuding immense pressure. Depicted on the flag were all of the successive emperors of humankind since Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity. Each one seemed profoundly dignified. The mere hoisting of the flag seemed to cause heaven and earth to dim.

At the same time, the seven golden dragons issued draconic roars as they accelerated, turning the ship into a golden streak that shot off into the distance.

It was going to be a very long journey to the main parts of Firemoon territory. The golden dragons could fly without rest, and the cultivators didn’t need to rest either. But they were forced to make stops in various regions to handle paperwork and other formalities. If it had been any other diplomatic mission, they would have had to deal with all sorts of difficulties and delays. But with Grand Prince present, such things didn’t happen. Although Grand Prince wasn’t regarded very highly among humans, that wasn’t the case with the Firemoon Darkheaven people. Because he was half-Firemoon, his bloodline ensured that he was treated with veneration by the subsidiary species they encountered. In fact, after leaving human territory, Grand Prince seemed more willing to reveal the true nature of his aura.

The repeated stops for paperwork gave the Captain plenty of opportunities. It was after they had passed through the fourth region, and had once again dropped to the ground, that the Captain concealed his aura and snuck off. He wasn’t worried about whatever investigation resulted. A few hours after he’d made his escape, he spat Xu Qing out of his belly.

Xu Qing reverted to his normal appearance, then turned to look at the Captain, who was preening proudly.

“What do you think?” the Captain asked. “Is your Eldest Brother reliable, or is he reliable? If it wasn’t for the fact that I was worried I’d be discovered after Grand Prince reaches his destination, I would have gone with them the whole way.”

Xu Qing knew exactly what the Captain was waiting for, so he quickly plastered a look of admiration onto his face.

The Captain smacked his chest happily. “Let’s go, little Ah Qing. I’ll take you to look for a forbidden region. You probably don’t know the different rounds that make up the Great Hunt, but I can explain.

“There are three rounds. Later on, I’ll tell you how I personally did in each round years ago. I came so, so close to becoming a darkheaven general! But let’s not talk about such trivial things. The important thing here is that you need to understand that the first round is about forbidden regions.

“In terms of qualifications, that’s simple. The words from the Wordless Book of Stone can help us to change our auras. All we have to do is find two people who look at us the wrong way, kill them, and take their place. That’s why I picked this specific location. This area has a very unique forbidden region that meets all the requirements for the first round. Come on, follow me!”

Looking very knowledgeable, the Captain started moving.

Xu Qing followed. For some reason, he was getting the sense that the Captain’s preparations for this job were different from his preparations for past jobs.

He does seem to be acting a lot more reliable than in the past.

That said, given how well he knew the Captain, he was still skeptical. He followed the Captain through these unfamiliar lands for a few days until they spotted a red forbidden region in the distance. In the middle of it towered a blood-red mountain. At this point, Xu Qing could sense the difference in this place that the Captain had mentioned.

“See that mountain?” the Captain said, licking his lips. “That’s where we’re headed.”

Eyes gleaming with a crazy look, he shot directly into the blood-colored forbidden region.

Xu Qing kept pace, noting the excited fluctuations coming from his shadow.

Given Xu Qing’s and the Captain’s current battle prowess, ordinary forbidden regions weren’t dangerous to them. Therefore, after entering, they charged forward without hesitation. The forbidden region shook, and the mutant beasts inside trembled. Then a tyrannical aura in the form of a red mist swept toward them from all directions, pulsing with the force of expulsions.

As it neared, the Captain’s blue eyes glittered, and the mist lurched to a halt.

Then the mist sensed Xu Qing, and it seethed so violently it nearly collapsed.

Finally, it sensed Little Shadow, and the mist rumbled loudly as it was sent spinning off to the side. The shadow pounced like a hunter, chasing the mist with glee.

The Captain chuckled mischievously and continued on his way.

Xu Qing didn’t pay attention to Little Shadow. After all, the shadow was like a natural-born enemy to all forbidden regions.

After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, they reached the blood-colored mountain in the middle of the place. From a distance, it was red. But as they got closer, they saw more black. As it turned out, the red color was because of the innumerable blood-colored mosquitoes that lurked on the mountain.

When Xu Qing and the Captain showed up, the mosquitoes all started trembling.

Xu Qing looked around and then prepared to seize the mountain for use in round one of the Great Hunt.

But then the Captain did something totally unexpected. He waved his hand, and a strange aura spread out, provoking a strange reaction from the mosquitoes. They all suppressed their awe to fly into the air and buzz right toward the Captain.

The Captain didn’t avoid them. He allowed the mosquitos to cover him, and also let them stab into him and drink his blood. Even as he started to swell up, he said, “Little Ah Qing, years ago I flubbed the first round because my body wasn’t sturdy enough. Later on, I came up with this idea. By using the strange powers of these mosquitoes, I can temporarily bolster my fleshly body defenses!

“The first round is officially named Heaven Collapses to Earth. It’s a test of the fleshly body. Now come on, you do the same. Just grin and bear it. The more of them you let bite you, the less your fleshly body will fear heaven collapsing!”

Stunned, Xu Qing watched as the Captain’s flesh continued to swell up. He was really at a loss for words....

1. The Captain explained his relationship to High God Moonfire in chapter 647. ☜