Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 537: Trampling Thistles On The Way To The Throne (part 1)

Emperor Ancient Spirit’s divine will echoed out like booming thunder through the Ancient Spirit world. The words could be heard with ears and felt in the mind and heart. Even the soul would tremble in response to it. It was an intimidation from a higher level of life, and also pressure because of the differences in personhood involved.

The god’s finger went rigid. Terror flooded through īt, which quickly transformed into grief and indignation.

The divine will locked onto Xu Qing’s ravaged body, causing his flesh to vibrate. Despite his extraordinary body, it was still rapidly crumbling away. His wounds were worsening, and the god power he had left couldn’t keep him going much longer. Right now, though, Xu Qing didn’t have time to worry about his injuries. He had to work hard to just stay cool-headed. He knew full well that he couldn’t afford to do anything to anger Emperor Ancient Spirit.

Before he could speak, Emperor Ancient Spirit lost patience. Divine will rumbled into the dark sky, and the Underworld River below roiled, revealing countless dead bodies within it. A boundless gravitational force erupted, like a vortex, which swept toward Xu Qing with greed and longing.

Xu Qing shivered as chunks of his flesh were ripped away, and his life force began to scatter. From head to toe, he started decaying.

Inside of him, the god’s finger wailed in grief as īts soul collapsed under the power of the gravitational force. The soul turned into streams of black energy that seeped out of Xu Qing, then started taking the shape of an illusory finger. To the god’s finger, it was a process of agonizing pain. Emotions of grief and bitterness filled the finger as īt bemoaned its extremely miserable existence. After all, the finger was also a god....

However, the finger’s true form had been devoured by Crimson Mother, and now it seemed escape was impossible from this situation. īt really wasn’t sure what was going on. īt clearly had the godly authority to control misfortune, and yet, īt was the one who was struck by misfortune. īt struggled in anguish, but no such efforts amounted to anything. īt had become prey in the mouth of a predator, and struggling only made the teeth bite down harder.

More soul mist emerged from Xu Qing.

From a distance, the soul mist of a god caused everything around Xu Qing to ripple and blur. The aura of a god was now starting to pulse from the finger outside Xu Qing, which was rapidly transforming from illusory to corporeal.

Xu Qing maintained silence. Emperor Ancient Spirit wasn’t just interested in absorbing the god’s finger; Xu Qing’s life force and god vitality was also being drawn out. As that happened, Xu Qing’s personhood was dropping from that of a god to that of an ordinary cultivator.

Xu Qing wasn’t surprised at all that Emperor Ancient Spirit would reveal such malicious intentions.

He and Emperor Ancient Spirit weren’t exactly on good terms. And a bit of food wasn’t going to turn things around in that regard. That was one reason why he hadn’t wanted to use the spirit abyss talisman unless he had absolutely, positively no other options.

Those who would pit the lion against the wolf ended up walking on the edge of the cliff. And the slightest mistake could end with them plummeting to their death.

However, because of the bit of good faith from earlier, at least Xu Qing had the chance to speak up for himself.

“Your Majesty,” he said calmly, “were you pleased with the interest I paid earlier?”

Emperor Ancient Spirit ignored him. The emperor seemed completely focused on the snack that was taking shape above Xu Qing’s head.

In fact, Emperor Ancient Spirit wasn’t even paying much attention to extracting Xu Qing’s life force. That was how attractive that sweet morsel was.

Seeing that, the god’s finger fell deeper into despair. As the shape of the finger became more and more clear, Xu Qing once again spoke, his voice devoid of any emotional fluctuations.

“Your Majesty, what you are absorbing isn’t the second batch of interest. Sir, what you’re absorbing is a tool that I need to temporarily borrow from you. If you take īt back now, I won’t be able to pay any more interest.”

Xu Qing’s previous words had vanished as surely as if they were a stone ox thrown into the ocean. Emperor Ancient Spirit didn’t respond to them at all. But this time, Emperor Ancient Spirit’s huge eye looked curiously at Xu Qing.

Countless evil souls swirled through the air, circling around Xu Qing and pulsing with malicious longing. It became an aggressive pressure that spread out into the area and weighed down on Xu Qing.

Xu Qing looked up calmly at the huge eye. He ignored the fact that his body was collapsing, and that his own blood was seeping out everywhere. Previously, he had been about 90 meters tall, but now he was back to the size of a normal person, except covered with gaping wounds.

“Your Majesty, there’s a lot of food on the outside. But there aren’t many people willing to deliver that food to you in here. In fact, I might be the only one. If you consume that tool, and me as well, then you won’t get any further interest payments.”

Xu Qing’s expression was one of open honesty. He wasn’t lying. He had just shifted his wording when it came to who actually owned the god’s finger, simply to make it easier to communicate with Emperor Ancient Spirit. He was certain that an entity like Emperor Ancient Spirit would be able to sense his sincerity. And he was right. The reality was that the god’s finger had performed perfectly in that critical moment, allowing Xu Qing to get close to the broken face of the lieutenant governor. Without that, he wouldn’t have been able to successfully teleport into the Ancient Spirit world.

The gravitational force coming from the Underworld River suddenly ceased.

That said, the sound of swallowing still echoed out everywhere. Though it was under control, the sensation of hunger and greed it conveyed was hair-raising. It was something that would cause terror to well up in any living being who heard it, and would make them feel like food that was about to be devoured.

The god’s finger was already eighty percent complete above Xu Qing’s head. When the despairing finger heard Xu Qing’s words, and realized he was trying to protect īt, īt felt indescribably excited and nervous. That mixture of complex feelings swelled within the finger, quickly overwhelming any hatred īt felt for him. After all, īt knew that the only chance of salvation in this situation rested in Xu Qing’s hands. As īt floated in the air, it exuded a sensation of approval with divine will.

Emperor Ancient Spirit’s huge eye was fixed on Xu Qing. Gradually, everything went quiet. The sound of swallowing and heavy breathing drifted with the wind.

Shortly after, the gravitational force that had locked onto Xu Qing faded away. The vortex in the Underworld River vanished, and the river returned to its normal state.

The restraints on the god’s finger relaxed, allowing the finger to fly back inside Xu Qing.

After everything īt had experienced, īt felt like īt had barely escaped with īts life, and could still sense lingering fear. Because Xu Qing’s body had collapsed, resulting in a huge reduction of god vitality, īt had no interest in stirring up trouble. In fact, īt felt completely exhausted, and was already having trouble thinking clearly and even staying awake. At the same time, the incredible danger īt sensed on the outside turned into a powerful seed that took root inside. All īt wanted to do now was go back to that familiar spot in D-132. īt was used to the surroundings there, which made sense considering most of īts life had been spent there.... And it was a safe, quiet place where īt could sleep comfortably.

Meanwhile, Emperor Ancient Spirit’s divine will echoed out. The original appearance of this chapter can be found at N0v3l.B1n.

“The next interest payment must be a crippled god! If you don’t come with a crippled god, then you won’t be welcome in this world.”

As the divine will echoed out, a host of soul strands swirled out from the nearly evil souls. Gathering together in front of Xu Qing, they turned into a talisman. It was the same spirit abyss talisman Xu Qing had crushed earlier.

“And now, screw off!”

A vortex opened up behind Xu Qing. On the other side of it was the very same abyss that Xu Qing had been to in Wood Spirit territory.

Xu Qing looked at the vortex, then the talisman. Finally, he looked up at Emperor Ancient Spirit. He was actually surprised. He had previously assumed that before leaving, he would be marked with a branding symbol or a warding spell. Yet, unexpectedly, that didn’t happen.

Hē doesn’t think it’s worth it. Also, hē doesn’t seem worried that I’ll summon another god here.... Combine that with the lieutenant governor’s failure to summon Cruelmurk, I’d say it means that Emperor Ancient Spirit has hidden the Ancient Spirit world even better than I imagined.

Xu Qing looked around thoughtfully, and suddenly wondered if he was actually standing in the same Ancient Spirit world he had been to before. Was it possible that no one would ever be able to find the real Ancient Spirit world again?

Regardless, Xu Qing could sense a bit of the daring and nerve that Emperor Ancient Spirit must have possessed when conquering Revered Ancient. Clasping hands and bowing, he took the talisman and then turned to the vortex.

Before he could enter, Emperor Ancient Spirit’s divine will once again echoed out.

“Given that you really did bring me some nice food, human child, I’m going to give you a friendly reminder. Those life lamps in you have enabled you to stand out as brilliant in that low level of yours. But they’re a rickety amalgamation. They’re not made from your own blood. Each one is packed with differing karma, and you’ll have a hard time using them to reach the highest level.”

Xu Qing stopped in place and looked over his shoulder at Emperor Ancient Spirit’s huge eye. “How can I resolve that issue, Your Majesty?”

“Bring me the food I want, and I’ll tell you.” With that, the huge eye closed.

Xu Qing nodded. He remembered his Eldest Brother mentioning something similar to this, and now he was getting the same information from Emperor Ancient Spirit. [1]

Bowing one last time to Emperor Ancient Spirit’s huge eye, Xu Qing entered the vortex. Rumbling sounds swept out as he disappeared. Then the vortex vanished.

After Xu Qing was gone, the Ancient Spirit world blurred.

The land, the sky, the evil souls, the zombies, the Underworld River. All of them vanished like a popping bubble. The entire world became a pearl, which then dropped down into the boundless depths of the Spirit Abyss. After a time, a withered, mottled hand appeared in the depths of the Spirit Abyss. It pulsed with an aura of rot as it reached out and grabbed the pearl. A moment later, chewing sounds could be heard. Shortly after that, a sigh of contentment could be heard.

“Scrumptious! I hope the little punk brings something good to eat next time. As for his delicious flavor... I’ll wait until he grows up a bit before I devour him. Now, that Crown Prince of Violet and Cyan... is quite interesting.”

***

Near the altar atop the Spirit Abyss, a figure could be seen slowly climbing up the cliff.

Xu Qing’s wounds were influencing his speed. However, given how he had just survived by the skin of his teeth, he found enough energy in himself to keep moving. Slowly but surely, he kept climbing toward the top. Blood flowed from his wounds, which dripped down the cliff walls of the Spirit Abyss.

Xu Qing gritted his teeth as he struggled against the abyss’s gravitational force. It took all the effort he could muster. Unfortunately, there are sometimes things that will never happen no matter how much you want them to, and similarly, many things that will happen no matter how much you don’t want them to. Xu Qing felt himself gradually losing consciousness.

He didn’t want to. But he was so exhausted, and was so physically weakened, that unconsciousness gradually started to sweep over his mind like the tide.

His vision blurred, and darkness began to take over everything. But then, just barely, he saw a figure in white rushing toward him.

1. In chapter 117, the Captain explained that life lamps are legacies passed down from the people who originally created them. ?