Beyond the Timescape

Xu Qing felt a sharp, prickling sensation on his back, and it was growing stronger by the moment. His pupils constricted, and he was breathing heavily as the sensation of crisis grew explosively within him.

Back when he activated the permission medallion, he had briefly glimpsed all of the other medallion-holders in the southern region. They looked like densely packed stars. Though they differed in brightness, he had been able to glance over all of them. But the star he was seeing right now looked different than all the others. Though it was a mere symbol, it filled his heart with dread. And despite being so far away, it was so bright that it seemed blinding.

This person... is extremely strong, with a cultivation base that isn’t even in mid Imperial Sovereign. This person is probably a late Imperial Sovereign! The guy I just killed was waiting for this person to show up!

Given all the conclusions he had reached up to this point, Xu Qing felt lingering trepidation. It was easy to imagine what would have happened if he hadn’t ended that fight so decisively by injuring himself and killing the young man with the birthmark....

For one thing, the range of his medallion wouldn’t have allowed him to detect this person 5,000,000 kilometers away. And if he had been wrapped up in the fighting, that person would eventually have shown up, and he would have been dead. He wouldn’t even have had a chance to flee.

Right now, he was still badly wounded, but at the very least... he wasn’t in a passive position. And he had options. Taking in a deep breath, he unhesitatingly started moving at top speed.

He did everything in his power, even using teleportations, to move in the opposite direction as that blinding star.

Given his current battle prowess, he could kill early Imperial Sovereigns. And with Grandpa Ninth’s sword energy, he could even kill an early Imperial Sovereign in a short moment, though it would result in suffering injuries.

But he wasn’t sure if this stream of sword energy would be enough for him to defeat a mid Imperial Sovereign. And there was little need to mention a terrifying late Imperial Sovereign. Besides, given his injuries, he wasn’t in the position to be fighting.

Unfortunately, even though Xu Qing was moving fast, his pursuer was faster. What was more, it was entirely possible that this person’s medallion range surpassed 5,000,000 kilometers. His opponent would be able to detect all of Xu Qing’s movements. And Xu Qing could tell that this person was moving like a meteor. The distance between them was closing.

A feeling of crisis filled every square inch of Xu Qing’s flesh and blood. Even his soul and his will were filled with a tempest of danger. His blood. His bones. All parts of him were like independent entities screaming at him that he was in danger.

I acted decisively. But in retrospect, I can see that I waited too long.

Xu Qing struggled to control his breathing and forced himself into a state of calm. He knew that moments of life or death weren’t times to get flustered.

Given my current speed, he’ll catch up to me in half an incense stick of time.... With my authority boosted, I could drag the fight out for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, but no more. An incense stick’s worth of time....

Xu Qing summoned a mental image of the map he had bought, and quickly focused on one spot.

The God Blood River! The ferry pilots! The first time you cross the river, it costs six days of longevity. And you’re guaranteed safety!

Without a fragment of hesitation, Xu Qing shifted directions and shot toward the river.

At the same time, his skinless hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, and he coughed up a huge mouthful of blood. A cloud of blood appeared around him, it burst into flames. This blood-burning magic was something Xu Qing had learned from Erniu, and it could significantly increase one’s speed. The downside was that you ended up badly wounded.

Given the danger of the situation, though, Xu Qing didn’t hesitate to use it. In the blink of an eye, he accelerated, vanishing from the spot he had occupied almost as if he had teleported away.

When he reappeared, he was 500,000 kilometers away. Unfortunately... although he was technically in the border region between the west and south, when you considered the entire southern region as a whole, he was still quite a distance away from the God Blood River.

Without any hesitation, he coughed up more blood to make another blood mist. He shot away yet again.

He did the same thing about ten times in a row. In that manner, he traveled more than 5,000,000 kilometers, the result being that his injuries worsened and he was incredibly weak. The upside was that he had managed to keep about 4,000,000 kilometers between himself and his pursuer. To low-level cultivators, that was a distance that would take a long time to cover. But to powerful experts, it was almost nothing.

He used the blood-burning technique several times, then called on his five elements magics, primarily water and fire, using their opposite nature to unleash explosive speed. Then he waved his hand, and the earth churned like the sea, causing huge sections of soil to rise up like walls blocking the sky.

In the blink of an eye, there were hundreds of thousands of such walls of earth. It was profoundly astonishing!

Next came wind!

Xu Qing didn’t have the authority of wind. But his fight with the young man plus the pressure created by the current crisis led him to a sudden understanding. The fundamental properties of wood were similar to that of wind. Both were flexible and had many transformations.[1]

And thus... the power of wood raged and swirled. This was... wood transformed into wind!

Thanks to that, Xu Qing’s speed was bolstered again. As he reached the limits of his fleshly body, heaven and earth rumbled with an astonishing sonic boom.

Yet Xu Qing wasn’t satisfied. Unfortunately, it was obvious that his pursuer had realized what he was doing, and was trying to speed up. As of now, the distance between the two of them was about 2,500,000 kilometers.

Xu Qing could sense the baleful aura behind him, stinging his back. It was like a sun behind him, burning anything and everything. He felt great pressure because of his weakness. Eyes bloodshot, he used some spatial magic. An overlapping grid appeared in the sky. By using that magic, he achieved even more terrifying levels of speed. As he surpassed the limits of his fleshly body, cracks started spreading out over him.

Xu Qing didn’t care. Rumbling sounds echoed out as he once again moved 250,000 kilometers in something like a teleportation. Time magic surrounded him, locking down the passage of time around him. By doing that, he managed to keep his fleshly body whole and intact.

Behind him, the power of fire that Xu Qing had buried in the walls of soil suddenly exploded. They turned into an obstructing force. Though the results were only partially effective, the tiny bit of time it bought was precious to Xu Qing. When every second counts, nothing can be held back.

As Xu Qing pushed himself to his limits and beyond, he shot forward with astonishing speed until he finally caught a glimpse of a boundless river of blood on the horizon.

It was such a mighty river it could span heaven itself. It was actually bigger than a sea. The smell of blood spread out strong in all directions.

Around the time Xu Qing spotted the river, he became so weak that he couldn’t even see clearly. But he still managed to spot a location on the shore where a black ferry boat rested! It looked like an ordinary little boat, and there was a person seated next to it. The person wore a woven rush raincoat and a wide, conical hat. He had a pipe in his hand, which was currently sending smoke curling up into the air. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

Xu Qing had no idea what the ferry pilots and their boats looked like. The information in the map hadn’t provided a detailed description. All he knew was that there was only one spot along the river where you could board a ferry boat. He had no time to sit around wondering if this was really a ferry pilot. As soon as he saw the boat, he used the last bit of blood-burning magic he had to shoot forward. An instant later, he was right above the boat.[2]

At the exact same time, the sensation of danger within him reached an explosive level. A terrifying force swept through the sky, and a figure radiating endless fire appeared off in the distance, racing toward him.

He was leveling a fist strike right at Xu Qing.

The Grand Emperor shield appeared. The Grand Emperor shears glittered. There was no need to hold back Grandpa Ninth’s sword energy. Xu Qing also drew... The Emperor’s Sword.

He went all out to fight back.

The might of a late Imperial Sovereign raged. A huge crack snaked out across the Grand Emperor shield, and it was sent spinning off to the side. The Grand Emperor shears suffered a similar fate. The fist strike slammed into them and they exploded. Grandpa Ninth’s sword energy was fierce, but even combined with the shield and the shears, all it could do was slightly weaken the fist strike.

In the end, Xu Qing had to block the blow with The Emperor’s Sword. Rumbling echoed out as Xu Qing shook from head to toe. Massive amounts of flesh and blood were shredded off his body. But in the end, he survived, and used the momentum created by the blow to land on the boat.

The boat vibrated as Xu Qing lay there, gasping for breath, looking like his life force was about to run out. Yet he still kept his hand firmly on the hilt of The Emperor’s Sword.

The figure up above didn’t stop for a moment. Approaching, he reached out with his hand... to try to grab Xu Qing.

Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed, and he prepared to swallow an object that he had in his mouth.

And yet, just as that hand was about to latch onto him, the ferry pilot in the rush raincoat and conical hat tapped his pipe onto the deck of the boat.

No sound could be heard. But the figure in the air shivered and retracted his hand as he was sent tumbling backward. Some distance away, he came to a stop in midair and resolved into the image of a red-haired young man. Looking fearfully at the ferry pilot, he clasped hands and bowed.

“Senior, I haven’t broken any rules. Although that person landed on your ferry boat, he hasn’t paid the fare. According to the rules... since he hasn’t paid the fare, he isn’t a passenger, and I can kill him!”

“Like hell you can!” the ferry pilot snapped.

His words slammed into the red-haired young man like apocalyptic thunder. The young man staggered backward, shaking, blood pouring out of his mouth.

“This is my boat,” the ferry pilot continued in a growl, “so I decide what happens!” He slowly looked up at Xu Qing. His gaze seemed casual as he looked at The Emperor’s Sword, then at Xu Qing. “Pay up!”

Xu Qing nodded and sent out some of his longevity.

The ferry pilot seemed satisfied. He took some of the longevity, then stood and stretched. An oar appeared out of nowhere, and he put it into the river of blood. Ripples spread out over the surface of the river as the boat slipped away from the shore.

***

The red-haired young man remained in place, his expression grim. He stared at the boat for a long time, his eyes flashing coldly as he considered whether or not he should wait for another ferry pilot to continue the chase in the west. In the end, he didn’t think it was worth it.

For one thing, it would waste one of my chances to use the ferry. What’s more, my clan is in the south. If I went to the west, I’d have to lose a whole sixty-year-cycle to get back.... That guy is pretty badly injured. In fact, he’s almost dead. It’ll be hard for him to recover.

After weighing matters over, the young man turned and left.

***

Out on the river of blood, the ferry pilot looked at Xu Qing lying there.

“That thing in your mouth could heal you if you swallowed it,” he said. “But you held back, you little punk. It was all to make him think you’re not worth chasing. You put a lot of thought into all of this.”

Xu Qing quickly got to his feet and bowed respectfully. “Many thanks for your assistance, Senior.”

“Shut up. I don’t like talking. Especially to people who stink of gods.” The ferry pilot’s gaze lingered on Xu Qing’s empty shoulder for a moment. Without another word, he continued smoking his pipe.

Xu Qing bowed again, went to the stern of the boat, and sat down cross-legged to focus on recovery.

1. The five elements have all sorts of connections to just about everything. When talking about the “environment/climate” associates, wood and wind are connected. You can see that in these five elements charts, and you can find similar information on the Wikipedia page for the five elements. ☜

2. I made an executive decision to add the line about “only one spot” where you could board a ferry boat. This is explicitly spelled out by the author, but not for another 80 chapters or something. There is no special reason for this tidbit to have been left out. It seems like the author just forgot to mention it in this chapter and brought it up later, or possibly he noticed reader comments and provided the explanation later. For me personally, I just couldn’t stop wondering how the heck Xu Qing could randomly just find a ferry boat. Well, he didn’t. So now you know. ☜