Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 913: I’m Back and Invincible

Summoning the Ninedawns armors, using the antemage to suppress the enemy, activating Fishing the Moon in the Well, implementing the Seven Lamps Underworld Fire Curse, and calling on three types of godly authority. All of this takes a while to spell out, but in reality, it occurred in the time it takes a spark to fly off a piece of flint.

In the blink of an eye, Sir Firedark, with his terrifying fleshly body, ended up locked in place in body, mind, and soul. His incomplete nature was relative, not absolute. But as far as Xu Qing was concerned, it was still a deadly weakness.

What was more, Xu Qing had no interest in sparing an opponent with the intention of using them as a replacement in death later down the line. It was a much better choice to just kill them up front.

Therefore, he didn’t hold back at all in his attack. He went all out. He extended his right hand, which created the projection of a huge palm that reached toward Sir Firedark. It seemed illusory, but not, real, but not, as if it was formed from pure fate. And it contained an indescribably mysterious will that became the sky over the watery surface, and made more ripples flow out over it. There was no sound as the water splashed, and the soul in the reflection of Sir Firedark was fished out by the massive hand.

The moment it happened, Sir Firedark’s fleshly body lost its vibrant sheen of life. He became like the walking dead. In Xu Qing’s hand, his soul was glittering and multicolored, but at the same time, listless.

Xu Qing’s eyes glittered as he flexed his fingers in preparation to crush it.

But then something unexpected happened. The previously listless soul didn’t struggle. Instead, it blurred as some heaven-defying technique was unleashed. Then it vanished from Xu Qing’s hand.

Xu Qing’s eyes glittered. The moment Sir Firedark’s soul escaped, the lamps of underworld fire behind him all went out. When the lamps were extinguished, the curse exploded. A grunt rang out from thin air as Sir Firedark’s soul was suddenly forced out into the open. It was no longer glittering and bright, but dim.

Simultaneously, Xu Qing’s three types of godly authority erupted, becoming three golden threads that sliced through the air, through fate, and through life and death, heading straight toward the dimming soul. They locked onto karma to kill fate as they appeared right in front of the soul. Three golden threads interlocked and swept out in deadly fashion.

As the dome of heaven flickered and the lands shook, Sir Firedark’s soul was sliced into pieces, becoming numerous glowing motes that scattered into the air.

Xu Qing’s efficient actions put his decisiveness fully on display. And yet, he wasn’t done yet. As Sir Firedark’s soul was eradicated, Xu Qing stepped forward to his fleshly body and chopped his hand down.

Sir Firedark's body was a lifeless husk, so it was no surprise when the head flew off the corpse and the rest of the body collapsed into chunks of gory flesh. Then black fire swept over all the chunks of flesh, burning them into something unrecognizable.

Although Sir Firedark had a fleshly body that couldn’t easily be reduced to ashes, it wouldn’t be possible to restore the body to its original condition after this immolation.

All of these things happened so quickly that the Firemoon cultivators looking on were visibly shocked. In fact, many couldn’t believe what they were seeing. However, the Firemoon nobility included some of the most powerful experts in their species. Also, the three stewards were present. And none of them seemed particularly surprised, and in fact, were just watching calmly.

What was more, Xu Qing didn’t feel any sense of victory at having killed Sir Firedark. Frowning, he turned to look at the spot where Sir Firedark’s fleshly body had been burned up. His pupils constricted.

Right there above the chunks of the fleshly body was an illusory projection. Within the projection was a mausoleum. It was the emperor’s mausoleum from the god domain, and within it was Sir Firedark, seated cross-legged beneath an enormous Nobleplexus umbrella. An instant later, the projection blurred, then became clear again. Sir Firedark was still there, but the surroundings were different. Sir Firedark was now in the Mountain and Sea Region. In a very short period of time, the illusory projection shifted several hundred times, and every time, Sir Firedark was in the middle.... Put precisely, it was the Sir Firedark from several hundred different specific times in the past.

Xu Qing didn’t interfere. He just watched with glittering eyes as Sir Firedark, who took seemingly no defensive precautions, unleashed a gruish ability that seemed to be very close to a god magic. After each illusory image appeared, it collapsed into countless motes of light, then formed back into a huge circle of light.

Astonishingly, this was a very intense time power!

After seven or eight breaths of time passed, Sir Firedark stepped out of the light in physical form. The chunks of flesh floating in the area collapsed into ashes, then the circle of light shrank down, turning into a pearl that dropped into Sir Firedark’s palm.

Sir Firedark looked exactly the same as before, but was also different in a certain way. Although Sir Firedark had always been good-looking, it was in a steadfast and resolute way that would normally be described as ‘handsome.’ But now... those good looks were more properly called elegant and beautiful.

He had become a she. The same change could be noted in the physical body, which now had an ample chest, slender waist, and long legs that were barely visible beneath a flowing skirt. There was nothing steadfast and resolute to see here, only cold elegance.

This was what Xu Qing remembered Sir Firedark looking like.

The crowds went silent. Those who knew about Sir Firedark’s unusual divine ability weren’t very surprised, but those who weren’t aware of it were flabbergasted.

The Captain blinked a few times and then chuckled darkly.

Xu Qing hovered in midair, looking thoughtful.

Eldest Brother mentioned that in the Mountain and Sea Region he saw Sir Firedark use an amazing divine ability that was close to being a god magic, and that after using it, one’s gender would change. I guess this is that same divine ability.

It really is close to being a god magic. It can force a reincarnation based on what happened in the past, yet maintain the current cultivation base and battle prowess.

As Xu Qing pondered those things, Sir Firedark walked out of the circle of light, looked at him, and sighed inwardly. She could have unleashed her divine ability more quickly, but had intentionally gone slowly in the hopes that he would launch an attack. If he did attack at that time, she could have sucked him into the divine ability, then infected him with its power. That would have taken all of the terror in his memories and turned it into a devilish fire that would burn his body and soul.

Unfortunately, my legacy technique only contains the Undying Codex and only some of the Time Immemorial Codex. I’m missing the Live Forever Codex and the second half of the Time Immemorial Codex. What’s more, my Undying Codex is damaged. Though I grafted other magics to complete the suite of techniques, it led to some side-effects when using the latter part of the Time Immemorial Codex. That said, if Xu Qing had tried to interrupt my Sutra of Former Reincarnation, I might have had a chance at winning!

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With such thoughts in mind, Sir Firedark’s killing intent burned. Taking a step forward, she extended her right hand. The life essence pearl glittered, whereupon a host of light rings appeared around her that looked just like the one from before.

Next, figures stepped out from the light rings.

All were Sir Firedark. They were all weaker in cultivation base than the true form, but considering they could all act and think in unison, they were extraordinarily formidable. As Sir Firedark’s battle spirit skyrocketed, her bodies from the past did the same, and they all rushed toward Xu Qing from different directions. They weren’t any weaker or slower than before, and in fact, were superior.

Xu Qing’s eyes glittered as he lifted his right hand, then dropped it. The golden thread from the godly authority of misfortune vanished, then mysteriously appeared within Sir Firedark’s fate. The power of misfortune filled her providence.

The facial expressions of all of Sir Firedark’s past bodies changed dramatically. Some of them, as they charged forward, suddenly found themselves facing rifts in the air, like mouths waiting to devour them. Some of them suddenly found themselves going dim from head to toe as their cultivation bases were mysteriously thrown into chaos. In some even more dramatic cases, their divine abilities backfired, inflicting serious injuries. There were others who, because of the chaos inflicted on their divine will, had their connections to Sir Firedark severed. As a result, their eyes turned bloodshot, and they spun and attacked each other.

The gruish nature of this development caused waves of shock to fill the hearts of the cultivators in the area.

Some of the members of the nobility even murmured, “The power of misfortune.”

Sir Firedark’s expression flickered, but she knew that now wasn’t the time to get distracted. With her battle spirit still at a peak level, she shot toward Xu Qing.

Xu Qing’s eyes were as cold as ice. At this point, he had a fair understanding of Sir Firedark’s divine abilities. Yet that wasn’t what he had set out to accomplish. From the very beginning, he had been trying to end the fight as quickly as possible. Though he knew his opponent had a soul weakness, he wasn’t planning to target it again.

After the misfortune was unleashed, Xu Qing’s godly authority of taboo poison raged out in a black mist. Within it came a shocking roar. A huge projection of Hellfei appeared within it, like a god that could crush heaven and earth. A solitary eye flickered and turned to look at Sir Firedark, who was about 300 meters away from Xu Qing.

The Six Filths of the Gods erupted.

“First filth: godfire’s smoke rises and converges impurities; create uncleanness.” Xu Qing’s words were like a command being uttered through Hellfei’s mouth, converging the cosmos and forming the sound of a great dao.

The moment the words echoed out, Sir Firedark shivered from head to toe as countless impurities appeared inside her. They became innumerable black splotches that spread out over her body and face. The sudden development caused her to shiver.

“Second filth: god soul’s desire builds and converges mortality; shed omniscience.” Xu Qing’s cold words sounded like the voice of heaven. Sir Firedark’s face fell as all sensations vanished for her.

“Third filth: god body decaying and building rot; never eternal.” The black splotches started rotting, and in the blink of an eye Sir Firedark looked like a person, but not. Like a ghost, but not. As her flesh decayed and fell off, rotting bones were revealed.

“Fourth filth: god shrine covered in dust and losing brilliance; sever joss flame.” Her dao foundation collapsed, and a howl of agony escaped Sir Firedark’s lips. Her cultivation base was now trembling.

“Fifth filth: godly nature is filth loses wisdom; decline personhood.” Her soul dimmed, and the power of eradication loomed.

“Sixth filth: godly fate births curses and severs life; eradicate godsource!” Killing intent burned in Xu Qing’s eyes as his voice rang out like thunder.

The Six Filths of the Gods were making their first appearance in Revered Ancient. Because of its power, Sir Firedark’s fleshly body collapsed in an instant. Her soul was wiped out, and all of her bodies from the past dissipated. Just then, the power of time again erupted, and an illusory figure appeared again. Sir Firedark was once again using the same secret magic from before. Xu Qing looked on with an icy expression.

He had been looking for a weakness in the technique, and he had found it! He wasn’t interested in wearing down the enemy by killing her over and over again. He wanted... to wipe her magic out in one shot.

He dropped his right hand, and the violet moon godly authority flared. It became a violet moon, whose moonlight shone down onto the illusory form of Sir Firedark and entered her fate. Within the illusory figure, a violet-colored moonlight appeared. That moonlight also entered Sir Firedark’s past, filling every corner of it. Moonlight tapped into every aspect of Sir Firedark, causing something akin to omniscience to appear within Xu Qing.

Sir Firedark wanted to struggle, but Xu Qing shook his head. The thrum of a sword emerged from within him, along with cold light that was imperial will. A heaven-sundering surge of energy shot out, causing the dome of heaven to flicker with white, glorious light.

It was a sword projection! It was none other than The Emperor’s Sword!

By using the soul of North Emperor to grasp Grand Emperor Swordsage’s sword, he couldn’t quite summon the full sword materially, but he could form a sword projection.

With the violet moonlight as the tether, he slashed the sword down! This sword could eradicate reincarnation, sever the past, and slice away the present. Within the illusion, all of the versions of Sir Firedark coughed up blood, and their facial expressions became those of madness. The surrounding crowds devolved into an uproar, and the nobility were visibly taken aback.

The three stewards’ eyes glittered, and the youth among them vanished. Astonishingly, he appeared within the illusory versions of Sir Firedark’s past, standing in front of each version, where he raised his hand to block the innumerable projections of The Emperor’s Sword.

Xu Qing made a quick judgment call. Flicking his sleeve, he caused all of the glorious Emperor’s Swords to suddenly vanish. The sword disappeared, the surrounding energy went back to normal, and heaven and earth went calm.

Xu Qing calmly clasped hands and bowed to the young steward. Then, paying no further attention to the situation, he turned and walked toward the Captain.

With the canopy of heaven back to normal, and the sword projections gone, Sir Firedark’s secret magic finished working. With a new body formed, she stood there with a complicated expression on her face as she looked at Xu Qing walking off.

“I concede. In the future, I’m willing to replace you in death one time!” She reached up, touched her forehead, and then sent a drop of soul blood flying toward Xu Qing.

Xu Qing accepted it without a word.

The young steward standing next to Sir Firedark looked at Xu Qing with a profound gleam in his eyes.

“Omniscience?” he said grimly.

Xu Qing shook his head. “Not full omniscience. Just omniscience about her.”

His words were met with silence.

1. And here we go. All of these techniques were those used by Bai Xiaochun in A Will Eternal. Considering how long it took Bai Xiaochun to complete all of the techniques described here, there are obviously far too many references to list as links. If you don’t remember the details, or have never read AWE before, you’ll have to go back and start at chapter 1😍 ! I have to be honest, I flipped my lid when reading this. So cool! And I also have a confession to make. When Sir Firedark originally used these abilities, I didn’t think it was the same technique from AWE, and assumed it was just something with a similar name. In fact, my original footnote said something along the lines of “This seems similar to Bai Xiaochun’s ability from AWE, but there is no evidence to assume it’s the same ability.” Obviously I had to change that footnote considering what ultimately happened. In any case, I feel like I have a special connection to both Meng Hao and Bai Xiaochun considering that I translated their stories. So the developments in this chapter are very cool to me! ☜