Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 1036: Your Majesty, I Need Pocket Realm Entry

Chapter 1036: Your Majesty, I Need Pocket Realm Entry

The eastern Devilbirds originally had nine Imperial Sovereign mountains.

After Grand Emperor Netherflame’s tenth apprentice Lu Lingzi returned, the Lan Clan fell into decline. As a result, many of the resources previously controlled by the Lan Clan came to belong to Lu Lingzi.

In fact, the tenth Imperial Sovereign mountain wasn’t very far away from Lan Clan territory. The mountain towered high into the clouds, making its majesty visible from a great distance away. The pressure of an Imperial Sovereign pulsed out of it, weighing down on everything in its vicinity. It suppressed heaven and earth in all directions.

As a result of its presence, there was a massive vortex in the sky, which had been spinning endlessly for a couple of months now. It emanated loud rumbling sounds, and was filled with endless bolts of lightning.

Fifteen hundred kilometers away from the base of the mountain was a perimeter that stretched around the entire mountain, creating something like a forbidden region. On the other side of the perimeter, there were already large numbers of Devilbird cultivators gathered. There were well over ten thousand of them, and they seemed to be engaged in various types of meditation, all focused on the mountain itself.

From a high vantage point, the crowds were numerous as they covered the lands. Some of them were rogue cultivators who had previously been affiliated with Lan Clan organizations. Right now, they were hoping to become subordinates of this tenth Imperial Sovereign.

In the Devilbird holy land, whenever a new Imperial Sovereign showed up and created a mountain, things like this would happen. New Imperial Sovereigns didn’t just get personally stronger. They would also expand their influence, and use their newfound power to recruit large numbers of followers.

As a result, streams of cultivators were arriving at the tenth Imperial Sovereign mountain on a daily basis. Given the couple of months that had passed, the crowd was sizable. After all, being the subordinate of an Imperial Sovereign would make a cultivator completely different. And given that there was a war going on, who wouldn’t want the added level of safety of being protected by an Imperial Sovereign?

However... up to this point, the new Imperial Sovereign Lu Lingzi hadn’t actually recruited anyone. In fact, he hadn’t even called his previous subordinates to any sort of meeting.

As of now, there was only one person who had entered the enormous mountain, and that was Lu Lingzi himself. There were so many cultivators at the foot of the mountain that they had created a small city where people would trade goods and information while they waited to become disciples of the Imperial Sovereign.

As time passed, the city became an increasingly bustling place. However, none of the cultivators present dared to cross the perimeter into the forbidden region that surrounded the mountain.

When Xu Qing arrived looking like Sir Blood Dust, he looked at the bustling scene fifteen hundred kilometers away from the mountain. After taking in the city and all the local cultivators, he didn’t hesitate for a moment. Flying at top speed, he headed toward the forbidden region. At first, few people noticed his presence. But when he zipped through the city and crossed the perimeter, many gazes shifted in his direction. Nothing happened beyond that.

In the two months that had passed, there had been other cultivators besides Xu Qing who approached the mountain in the hopes of getting an audience with the Imperial Sovereign. However, every single one had been ignored, and had eventually crossed back over the perimeter to wait. Therefore, nothing happened other than some people looking over at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing ignored the gazes. Face completely expressionless, he approached the mountain, then stopped and hovered in midair. His eyes glittered profoundly for a long moment before he took a deep breath. Looking very determined, he bowed formally, then spoke in a voice that boomed like thunder and attracted a lot of attention.

“Sir Blood Dust here, seeking an audience with the Imperial Sovereign!”

This was a bit of a test. If it worked, then maybe he could achieve his goal with words. If it didn’t work, then he would have to try another angle. Enough time passed for an incense stick to burn. Even then, there was no response from the Imperial Sovereign mountain.

Many of the people who had turned to look at Xu Qing shifted their gazes away. There was a bit of discussion.

“Some people just don’t get it.”

“That’s Sir Blood Dust, right? Does he really think his cultivation base and battle credit are enough to attract the attention of the Imperial Sovereign?”

“We’re obviously all sitting around waiting. But he just has to go and offer greetings. And why is he talking so loud...? If I were the Imperial Sovereign, I definitely wouldn’t want to be disturbed like that.”

“If you want to become the subordinate of an Imperial Sovereign, you need to prove your sincerity! That’s why the best tactic is to just wait patiently. Eventually, that will prove to the Imperial Sovereign that you really are sincere.”

Lu Lingzi’s facial expression didn’t change at all. Looking at Xu Qing, he said, “Present your battle credit.”

Shaking his head, Xu Qing calmly said, “I have no battle credit.”

He really didn’t have any. After checking the mission jade slip, Xu Qing had identified all sorts of missions that were there for the taking. Unfortunately, the vast majority were related to the war. And most involved fighting and killing top experts among humankind. As for those missions that weren’t related to the war, they all required significant investment, would take a lot of time, and didn’t provide much battle credit as a reward.

Meanwhile, getting into the World Origin Pocket Realm required a vast amount of battle credit. In fact, it required so much battle credit that collecting it via missions would take months at the very least. Given all that, Xu Qing felt that, rather than go do missions, it made more sense to just go directly to Lu Lingzi and ask permission. That seemed a lot simpler.

After all, he and Erniu had analyzed the situation well enough to have some suspicions about Lu Lingzi’s identity. If he really was Lu Lingzi, then the fact that he had become an Imperial Sovereign based on his own personhood indicated he wouldn’t reveal his true karmic connections. In that case, it would have been very unlikely that he would summon Xu Qing into his presence just based on a simple request for an audience.

But if this person wasn’t actually Lu Lingzi, then that meant... he was either the empress or someone very close to her.

And that gave Xu Qing the impression that he probably could gain entry to the pocket realm. That was what led to the current situation. As of right now, he still wasn’t really sure if the Lu Lingzi in front of him was the same Lu Lingzi he had encountered before.

Could he actually be the empress...?

Because of that lack of clarity, he was taking things slowly.

A powerful will spread out, enveloping the entire Imperial Sovereign mountain. The vortex in the sky spun, shaking the mountain as a sealing barrier was created.

Upon hearing Xu Qing’s response, Lu Lingzi thought for a moment, then said, “You have no battle credit to get into the pocket realm, yet you boldly demand entrance. You’ve got guts, Xu Qing. In fact, you’ve got more guts than your Elder Brother!”

Hearing his secret identity spoken out loud caused Xu Qing to blink a few times. And for him to be described as ‘having guts’ was very meaningful. He looked up at Lu Lingzi.

“Your Majesty....” After saying those two words, Xu Qing said nothing further.

A moment later, as the immense pressure continued to weigh down, Lu Lingzi spoke again.

“Where’s your Elder Brother?”

Xu Qing blinked and then answered truthfully. “He went to the Immortal Skills Hall.”

Lu Lingzi thought for a moment, then snorted coldly and waved a hand. A command medallion flew out to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing grabbed it. It was an entrance medallion to the World Origin Pocket Realm.

“Many thanks, Imperial Sovereign!” Xu Qing bowed, then turned to leave.

“Don’t stir up too much trouble!” said Lu Lingzi.

Xu Qing stopped in place, nodded, then continued on his way. After he was gone, Lu Lingzi kneaded the bridge of his nose.

At least Xu Qing knows how to mind his p’s and q’s. But that Elder Brother of his... is always getting up to mischief.