Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 969: Heavenly Portents!

The Forbidden Sea was boundless, and so was the seafloor.

Before the broken face of Eminent Desolation came to Revered Ancient, there wasn’t a single powerful expert who would dare to say they controlled the seafloor. At the very most, they might control a certain portion of it.

One reason was that the seafloor just covered too much area. Another reason was that there were simply too many layers of sedimentary rock. And that became more the case the deeper you got into the sea. What was more, you never knew what was underneath those layers. There could be stunning underwater caves, or there could be even more of the sea.

The truth was that the true depths of the sea contained countless mysteries. And some of the most ancient varieties actually surpassed the Brilliant Heaven Godfolk from back in the day. There were even areas where Grand Emperors wouldn’t tread. Therefore, whether it was the Summer Immortals of yesteryear or the Ancient Emperors after them, they all dreamed of controlling the seafloor, but never made that dream into a reality.

Thankfully, even though the seafloor was mysterious and had a history that stretched back countless years, there had never been an instance in which anything from the seafloor posed a threat to the mainland. Gradually, the ancient peoples had just come to accept that it was a very mysterious place.

Eventually, Eminent Desolation came, and the Sea of Endlessness turned into the Forbidden Sea. When the powerful mutagen reached the seafloor, it went from being simply mysterious to being terrifyingly mysterious. That was especially true of the outer sea, where it was certain... that unknown gods existed!

Xu Qing had long suspected that the giant and the bronze chariot were capable of going to the outer sea.

The marine trench he had just reached wasn’t anywhere near the outer sea. And compared to the seafloor as a whole, it was as minuscule as a single grain of sand on a beach. If the sageheaven god vine hadn’t followed its senses here, Xu Qing would never have encountered it randomly, and definitely wouldn’t have noticed the pagoda hidden in its silty depths. This place could be called the perfect hiding spot.

By means of his connection to the god vine, Xu Qing spent some time studying the area to check for threats.

It was dark there, but not silent. The cries of unknown beings echoed out from the depths of the sea, low-pitched and lingering. After confirming that there was no immediate danger, Xu Qing followed the god vine into the trench.

It was even darker inside, as if it was a gaping maw ready to mercilessly devour any living thing that came along.

Thanks to his connection to the vine, and the speed Xu Qing was capable of, it only took about fifteen minutes before he reached a tunnel that the god vine had created when burrowing into the trench. The tunnel was slowly filing in.

Without any hesitation, Xu Qing shot into the tunnel. Upon reaching the end, he found the god vine.

If one could look to the bottom of the sea, they would quickly realize that within the sludge at the bottom of this trench was something like a gigantic bubble some 30,000 meters across. There was no sea water in the bubble, nor any sludge. There was just the pagoda with the withered vine wrapped around it. Xu Qing and his god vine were currently just at the edge of the bubble, still inside the sludge.

When looking at the bubble and the pagoda, Xu Qing didn’t feel any pressure. It was almost as if they were things from the mortal world. But what was very gruish was that though he could look upon them with his physical eyes, he couldn’t see them at all with divine sense.

You can see them but not sense them?

Upon realizing how profound this place was, he looked at the god vine next to him. The god vine was pulsing with emotional fluctuations. Clearly, it wanted to rush to the pagoda, but didn’t dare to actually do so. It seemed to be filled with a sense of admiration, as if for a family member. Eventually, it made a decision. It approached Xu Qing, nuzzled him a few times, and then decisively shot toward the bubble.

Xu Qing didn’t stop it.

The bubble rippled as the vine burrowed into it and headed toward the pagoda. Compared to the bubble, Xu Qing’s god vine, which was some three meters thick, was still tiny. That said, it was quite long. Upon reaching the pagoda, it wrapped around it a few times like a snake. Then it made contact with the withered vine.

From the god vine’s emotional fluctuations, Xu Qing could sense that it was receiving a legacy. The sensation only lasted for a brief moment before vanishing. Xu Qing looked on with rapt attention for a moment. Upon noticing no further developments, he stepped forward to enter the bubble.

However, that was when a shocking force of resistance surged in the bubble, making it impossible for Xu Qing to enter it. His eyes flashed as his energy and blood surged. Fleshly body power erupted, which he used to forcefully take a step forward. He completed his step, and the touch of his foot caused the bubble to tremble violently. The force of resistance grew stronger, becoming a mountain-toppling, sea-draining power that battered him in the opposite direction.

Xu Qing frowned and took another step forward. Then a third, fourth, and fifth. The bubble didn’t shatter. Instead, as Xu Qing proceeded, it sank inward. As it did, the force of resistance grew disturbingly powerful. After Xu Qing took a sixth step, the force of resistance surged further, creating a crushing backlash attack that caused Xu Qing to shiver. At this point, he had no choice but to back up.

Back in his original position, he looked up at the bubble. Blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth. It was the first time Xu Qing had been hurt in five months!

It has Imperial Sovereign might!

Surprise gleamed in Xu Qing’s eyes.

Xu Qing’s journey in the Forbidden Sea was for the purpose of tempering his body. Unfortunately, his body’s defenses were so powerful that things had gone too smoothly, which was not what he wanted.

After finding this bubble, however, Xu Qing experienced a flicker of excitement for the first time in five months. He studied his god vine briefly to confirm that his actions weren’t affecting it negatively. It was absorbing its legacy, and seemed like it needed more time.

Therefore, determination flared in Xu Qing as he took out a Flame Phoenix feather and used divine will to send a message to Huang Yan explaining that he was working on cultivation at the seafloor, and would be coming back later.

Although Huang Yan had been tasked by Master Seventh with being Xu Qing’s dao protector, the inner sea wasn’t a very dangerous place, and given Xu Qing’s battle prowess, he would be fine on his own. What was more, Huang Yan had just reunited with his Elder Sister. Therefore... he quickly agreed, which would give him more time with his Elder Sister.

And thus, three months passed by relatively quickly.

During that time, Xu Qing stayed in the marine trench. He would spend time every day training with the immortal light. Occasionally, he would go out to hunt sea beasts to warm himself up, whereupon he would return to the mysterious bubble to temper his fleshly body. Every time the bubble injured him, he recovered quickly. It was a tempering that turned out to be shockingly effective.

Xu Qing could sense that he was gaining much more control over his body compared to before. What was especially noteworthy was that he was slowly getting used to the force of rejection from the bubble. He was able to take additional steps, slowly but surely. And the backlash attack changed as well. As it turned out, Xu Qing had found the perfect whetstone to hone himself.

The Seven Blood Eyes training event soon ended. Huang Yan returned to South Phoenix with his Elder Sister, and would occasionally check in with Xu Qing using the feather. He was increasingly relieved to realize that Xu Qing really was doing fine.

After three months, the god vine was close to finishing with its legacy.

On one particular day, Xu Qing was in front of the mysterious bubble, tempering his fleshly body. After taking several steps forward, he was about to proceed when he suddenly sensed something from the dilapidated pagoda.

The withered vine there was crumbling into ashes, which were being sucked into Xu Qing’s infant god vine. Then it unwrapped from the pagoda as if waking up. After shaking itself out, it turned, shot away from the pagoda, and exited the bubble. It circled around him a few times, nuzzled him gently, and sent forth fluctuations of sadness. It almost seemed like it had just lost a loved one.

Xu Qing reached out and stroked the vine. He had experienced emotions like that in the past.

After the god vine’s emotions had stabilized a bit, Xu Qing projected a message with divine will.

“Can you take me in there?”

The vine immediately gave an affirmative response.

Xu Qing nodded and sent out Little Shadow. “You stand guard outside. Keep an eye out for anything unusual.”

Little Shadow looked slightly indignant. Ever since the damned vine showed up, the shadow had clearly slipped in the standings. After working so hard to try to outdo Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior, it suddenly found that a new favorite had surpassed it. Considering that it had long recovered all of its mental faculties, it now wondered if this was the same feeling Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior had experienced years ago.

Xu Qing didn’t pick up on what Little Shadow was feeling, as he was paying attention to the god vine.

The god vine quickly wrapped around Xu Qing, then carried him toward the bubble.

It was different than when Xu Qing tried to enter the bubble alone. This time, there was no force of rejection; with the vine escorting him, he was able to enter with ease.

Once inside, Xu Qing was visibly moved.

There’s no mutagen here. And this aura....

The inside of the mysterious bubble was clearly different than what was on the outside.

There’s no spirit power. Instead, it feels like the starry sky.

As Xu Qing sensed those things, he stepped forward until he was right in front of the door leading into the pagoda.

He reached out and pushed. The door opened quietly, and an ancient sensation emerged, like the mottled light of the setting sun coming out of the ancient past.

There were three crystal coffins in the pagoda.

The skeletons inside weren’t human. They had tails, as well as horns on their heads. It wasn’t possible to see what their bodies had looked like in life, as all that remained were bones. It was clear evidence that no matter how strong someone was, time could make them slowly fade away.

In addition to the coffins and skeletons, there was an altar, atop which rested a chunk of black jade the size of a head. It was covered with cracks.

Meanwhile, the walls inside the pagoda were decorated with a map of a starry sky. It was a star chart.

There was nothing else.

Xu Qing took it all in, thought back to the withered god vine, and then came to the conclusion that this pagoda was a magical flight device used to traverse the starry sky. Some accident must have resulted in it falling into the Forbidden Sea in Revered Ancient. Considering how old it was, and based on the lingering scraps of time Xu Qing could sense, he could only assume that the event occurred in the time before Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity. In other words, it arrived before the broken face came.

There must have been a survivor!

Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed. If there wasn’t, how could the place be so clean? What was more, although it was technically possible that the coffins had been set up before the deaths occurred, it looked more like the result of meticulous work after the fact.

If I’m right, then countless years ago this pagoda fell here, and the survivor buried his or her companions before leaving the Forbidden Sea.

There weren’t enough details to pinpoint the exact time period involved, which meant that it would be that much harder to track down where that survivor ended up in Revered Ancient. What was more, cultivators could easily alter physical evidence, which would make it even more difficult to ascertain the historical details. But Xu Qing didn’t care about that.

After looking around the interior of the pagoda, he felt a bit disappointed. Finally, he took a closer look at the star chart. He didn’t recognize it, but he committed it to memory anyway.

Finally, he turned to leave. Just before taking his first step, though, his expression flickered, and he turned to look at the altar, which he had previously inspected, only to find nothing of note.

His gaze came to rest on the chunk of cracked black jade. He sent some soul threads into the jade, whereupon his expression flickered again, and his eyes shone with incredulity.

“Is that...?” Heart rate increasing, he prepared to examine the jade further.

But then, out of nowhere....

Little Shadow sent some very urgent emotional fluctuations to him via their connection. They were fluctuations of terror and confusion!

Along with them came an image. Within that image, it was possible to see the seawater outside the bubble sinking in on itself. It wasn’t just sinking down in this location. The effects were far-reaching. Pressure began to build up on the seafloor, and deafening rumbling sounds rose up. Sea beasts everywhere trembled.

Xu Qing’s face fell as he burst into motion. After shooting out of the bubble and sensing what was happening, he rocketed upward until he broke past the surface of the water.

Looking around, he could see that there was a formless power descending from the sky, which was causing the surface of the Forbidden Sea to sink down. Up above, the dome of heaven dimmed. Countless lightning bolts raced back and forth, engulfing the Forbidden Sea, the mainland, and all of Revered Ancient. The entire cosmos seemed to be shaking.

In all parts of Revered Ancient, people could look up and see the same supernatural phenomena.

And then, at the highest point in the dome of heaven, five shooting stars appeared. They started out as mere pinpricks, but grew brighter and larger with every moment that passed. Eventually, everyone could see two huge mountains, two statues, and a planet. They brought boundless power, like a tempest from the starry sky, as well as something profoundly ancient, like something from the ancient past that had seen countless vicissitudes of time.

Each of these objects went in a different direction. Specifically, they split up to go to the east, south, west, north, and center!

All of Revered Ancient was shaking. Terrifying pressure weighed down on all species, and living individuals everywhere began to tremble uncontrollably.

Heavenly portents!

In the north of Revered Ancient were endless ice plains that were controlled by the Northfate Kings. There, the eye of a god peered upward.

In the west of Revered Ancient, a cold snort echoed out from the Redland Nobleplexuses.

In the south were the Netherworld Chasmcorpses, where a boundless mist of death rose up.

And in the east... the three gods of the Firemoon Darkheaven people looked up. In the imperial capital of humankind, the empress, clad in an imperial robe and crown, stood outside the imperial palace, looking up with cold eyes. In addition, there were many other gods, some active, some in hiding. All looked up into the canopy of heaven.

In the east of Revered Ancient were some lonely mountains, where Yu Liuchen sat in a bamboo grove sipping tea. He yawned.

“What’s with the racket? Aren’t you worried about waking the Father God?”

Some gods were indifferent. Some gods were happy. Some gods were envious. Some gods were apathetic. Some gods were hungry.

And then there was the Heaveneater Region, which had been covered with a mist of mutagen for months now. In the imperial capital of the Sovereign Kingdom of Violet and Cyan, Zi Qing sat on the throne, a smile on his face.

“From within time, I saw....”