Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 1015: A Summons from the Empress

Chapter 1015: A Summons from the Empress

Although Emperor Ancient Spirit had been hungry in recent years, it was also for some unknown reason that hē found hīmself being somewhat picky about food. Years ago, hīs eyes would have widened for any type of godliness. After all, that sensation of hunger had been overwhelming, and hē wouldn’t have been picky about anything offered to hīm to devour. It didn’t matter if other people would consider something tasty or not; hē had viewed just about anything and everything as a delicacy. That was why hīs table manners had been so atrocious.

But nowadays... hē wasn't very impressed with this marionette. After all, hīs last meal had consisted of Crimson Mother’s flesh. Compared to Crimson Mother, this marionette was about as fleshy as a mosquito.

And thus, Emperor Ancient Spirit had mixed feelings about Xu Qing. It was true hē had angrily told him not to come back, and was howling furiously inside. But at the same time, if Xu Qing really didn’t come back, hē would actually miss him.

Such complex feelings were a source of irritation to Emperor Ancient Spirit. But hē had already spoken. As the Ancient Spirit world trembled, the emperor summoned a huge vortex right above Xu Qing, Erniu, and Grandpa Ninth. It immediately exerted a huge gravitational force, which tugged them toward the outside world.

Grandpa Ninth didn’t bicker about being unceremoniously kicked out. He took the thirteen streams of imperial energy and wordlessly entered the vortex. Erniu also didn’t mind being ejected. He was actually used to that sort of thing.... Licking his lips, he shot into the vortex.

Xu Qing acted as courteously as always and made sure to bow to Emperor Ancient Spirit before leaving.

“In that case, I won’t bother you any further, Your Majesty. I wish you all the luck in emerging from seclusion as soon as possible.”

It didn’t matter whether Xu Qing was being sincere or not. When Emperor Ancient Spirit heard his words, hē felt a bit irritated, but at the same time, had to admit that Xu Qing had been very polite from beginning to end. It was a clear contrast to the hotheaded Grandpa Ninth, who had drawn his sword hardly a moment after arriving, or that shifty idiot who would make anyone clutch instinctively at their wallet.

“Your Majesty,” Xu Qing added, “the command medallion you gave me stopped working. Senior, if I happen to run into any good gifts in the future, I sadly won’t have any way to send them to you....”

Considering how useful Emperor Ancient Spirit could be in a fight, Xu Qing was loath to lose hīm as an asset.

After a moment of silence, Emperor Ancient Spirit snorted coldly. The gravitational force from the vortex surged, and the force of expulsion from the surrounding world grew more intense.

Xu Qing was a bit disappointed, but didn’t force the issue, and just shot toward the vortex. However, just before he disappeared inside, a command medallion flew over to him. Rumbling sounds echoed out, and the vortex vanished.

The entire world became peaceful and quiet.

The huge eye closed.

***

Emperor Ancient Spirit had ultimately delivered a command medallion. However, what hē hadn’t noticed was that among all the countless skeletal zombies stuck in the muck of the world, there was one whose eyes glittered with blue light. And the bones within that skeletal zombie contained a blue worm.

The worm pulsed with the invisibility power of the Wordless words, which completely covered its aura.

Naturally, it had been left behind by Erniu. In the coming days, that little zombie would slowly start exploring the world and finding whatever treasures it could sniff out....

***@@@@

His return was a monumental affair there. Obviously, he had quite a few old friends to catch up with. There was Marquis Yao, Qingqin, his friends in the Swordsage Palace, and also Yao Yunhui....

He could use a teleportation portal there for the journey to the capital, but it would require time to prepare, and would also need to be thoroughly inspected. Sea-Sealing County wouldn’t tolerate even the slightest slip-up when it came to Xu Qing teleporting somewhere.

Therefore, he and Erniu planned to stay the night in Sea-Sealing County. For the first half of the night, a host of county representatives made various reports to Xu Qing. After seeing everyone out, Xu Qing left the county palace.

When he reappeared, he was in the spot where the Corrections Division had once existed. Entering the chasm made Xu Qing feel like he was going back in time to when he was a jailer. He kept envisioning those times, and the person he found himself thinking about the most was Palace Lord Kong Liangxiu.

Eventually, he reached the bottom, where Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity had once kept his palace of operations. That was also where the fish bone god had lived before perishing. Sea-Sealing County now controlled all of it, and had renovated the entire place into a periphery palace.

Some places had been cleaned out, for example, the locations with immortal skills. Those immortal skills were now part of Sea-Sealing County’s reserve powers.

There were other areas that were now taboo locations, for instance, that phoenix palace. As it happened, that was where Xu Qing was going. Eventually, he found himself in front of that very palace. It had once been an extremely mysterious place. Back when he first discovered it, he lost some of his memories. Later, he came to find out that it was where the daughter of Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity had fallen. It was also where the Plumdark Evergreen Lamp was.

Most important... it was where Plumdark was currently accepting her legacy.

As Xu Qing stood outside the palace, he realized he could sense Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior’s aura.

An instant later, the patriarch sent his iron skewer flying out of the roof tiles. Once in the open, Master Freespirit appeared as a projection. He kowtowed to Xu Qing.

“Greetings, Milord!” he said excitedly.

Beneath Xu Qing’s feet, Little Shadow pulsed, and a host of eyes opened as it looked at its old enemy.

“How is Plumdark doing?” Xu Qing said calmly.

“Milord,” he answered smoothly, “after going into the palace, the lady of the house has not emerged. Your humble servant has been standing guard the entire time. I haven’t let anyone even come close. Furthermore, before going inside, the lady said that if you arrived, Milord, you shouldn’t go inside. Give her some time. Whatever troubles she’s dealing with, she’ll handle them on her own. When she succeeds, she’ll come to find you.”[1]

Xu Qing looked at the palace. He couldn’t send his god perception very far inside, but he could sense that the fluctuations were stable. Retracting his god perception, he sat down, closed his eyes, and began to meditate.

The night passed.

Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior solemnly stood watch the entire night. Little Shadow was also completely on guard. Both of them were coming up with numerous ideas about ways to deal with the other in the coming days. That said, when they looked at each other, each had a different facial expression. Little Shadow seemed antagonistic, while Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior was smiling.

Eventually, night faded from the sky over Sea-Sealing County. The sun rose. Xu Qing opened his eyes and looked at the phoenix palace for a short time. Then he left.

About an hour later, various representatives from Sea-Sealing County saw him off. The teleportation portal rumbled to life, and Xu Qing and Erniu disappeared.

1. The form of address Master Freespirit uses for Xu Qing and Plumdark indicates that he views them as being his “lord and lady.” Another more lengthy definition of the address for Plumdark is: “form of address used by the servants when speaking to the principal wife.” ☜