Outside Of Time

Editor: Atlas Studios

Seven days later.

By the side of Nine Bends Mountain, the woman’s voice, as melodious as a nightingale, echoed softly like a clear stream flowing through the surroundings.

“Emerald peaks hide the traces of immortals, nine bends winding into the clouds. Clear waters murmur between the stones, the evening glow untouched by the pine forest breeze.”

As her voice spread, the entire Nine Bends Mountain came into view from a distance. It was shrouded in mist, with a stream cascading from the mountain’s peak, winding its way down through nine curves, eventually merging into a clear river at the foot of the mountain.

Boats floated on the stream like fallen leaves.

“Senior, this is Nine Bends Mountain. The mountain’s stream flows in nine bends, and as it winds its way down, the sound of immortal melodies can be heard, which is how it got its name.”

Inside the boat, incense burned gently, and a bright lantern stood tall.

Yunmen Qianfan played the zither, her music filling the air as she glanced at Xu Qing, who was gazing intently at Nine Bends Mountain in the distance. As they journeyed together, the ripples in her heart had grown into ever-increasing waves.

Even though seven days had passed, the strange way that the guest elder of Earth Spirit Race died still occasionally appeared in her mind.

To make a cultivator of the Soul Accumulation Seven Worlds cry to death with just one glance… In her opinion, this was something that only the perfected Soul Accumulation Nine Worlds cultivators could do.

This made her realize even more clearly that what this Flame Mystic had displayed in the Spirit Dust Mountain Range was only the tip of the iceberg. As long as they didn’t encounter a Ruler on the way, she would be safe.

It was because of this that the feeling of life-and-death danger in her heart was much less. What followed was a strange feeling, and it made this journey a true leisurely voyage.

Because of her relaxed mood, she smiled much more than usual.

It blended seamlessly into the tune. The drifting sound of the zither intertwined with the flowing river.

Complemented by the burning incense and the soft glow of the lantern, it truly evoked a sense of ‘flowing springs accompany the journey, all worldly concerns forgotten.’

Listening to the celestial melodies and gazing at the winding Nine Bends Mountain, Xu Qing took a sip from his wine flask.

However, unlike Yunmen Qianfan’s relaxed state, Xu Qing found it difficult to forget the world’s troubles, even amidst the soothing notes of the celestial music.

The wine Xu Qing drank, though it blended smoothly in his mouth, seemed to evaporate into the memories of the past.

Faint recollections surfaced—it was a ship and a pair of people as well, and music that once flowed through his heart.

Sensing Xu Qing’s current mood, Qianfan lowered her head, and the sound of the zither, accompanied by her gentle singing, drifted across the serene river.

“Flying birds in graceful search of old dreams,

The heart finds peace with mountains and streams.

I wish to stay here by your side,

Not asking when the years will chime.”

The river water was sparkling as the wooden boat sailed past the Nine Bends Mountain.

“I have a tune I haven’t heard in a long time. Would you be willing to play it?”

Xu Qing suddenly asked.

“Qianfan is willing.”

Yunmen Qianfan quickly looked up, her eyes meeting Xu Qing’s back. She responded softly, her tone filled with a quiet obedience.

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Xu Qing raised his hand, and a jade slip, imprinted with a musical score, floated gently before her.

Qianfan’s delicate fingers lifted it, placing it in her palm as she closed her eyes to concentrate.

Moments later, the melody from the zither shifted.

The familiar tune resonated through the air.

The long river, the lone boat, slowly drifted away.

On the boat, the woman played while the man gazed into the distance.

Amidst the landscape, he sought an old dream.

The meaning of the martial world lingered in the wind.

The zither’s melody seemed to recount the joys and sorrows of a lifetime.

In the end, everything turned into a pot of turbid wine.

In his solitude, Xu Qing drank it all down in one go.

“Senior… this melody carries a profound meaning, embodying a lifetime of deep obsession. Though there is sadness, there is also a sense of freedom. The composer must have been an extraordinary individual. May I ask, what is the name of this piece?”

Yunmen Qianfan looked at Xu Qing and asked softly.

Xu Qing didn’t answer. Instead, he glanced at the river and then at the horizon.

A strong wind blew over, causing his long hair to flutter. As his clothes fluttered, a hint of coldness rose in the wind.

Hence, the wind stopped.

The river’s shimmering surface suddenly fell silent.

In the next moment, the water ahead of the wooden boat began to churn violently.

The river sank as a massive head abruptly emerged from the depths.

It was serpent-like, covered in scales, and pitch black, oozing a viscous liquid.

Its eyes, like glowing red flames, were filled with malice.

The creature’s immense size, stretching thousands of feet, made the wooden boat seem like a child’s toy in comparison.

Accompanying it were waves of murmurs that echoed in the listener’s mind.

The sound, laced with an unsettling energy, threatened to drive them mad, causing their souls to tremble and their bodies to quake.

Simultaneously, the surroundings began to warp and distort, the atmosphere growing increasingly hazy and surreal.

Moreover, after their gazes met, Yunmen Qianfan’s heart couldn’t help but race, as though it wanted to break through her chest.

Her mind felt like it was about to be torn apart as a sense of madness invaded her domineeringly from the outside.

Her entire body trembled. She could clearly sense that at this moment, it was as though all her flesh and blood had a will. They formed an intense rejection with her, as though they were about to separate.

The spiritual energy in the surroundings was also swept back at this moment and invaded by an aura that was completely different from spiritual energy. As the two forces collided, the spiritual energy began to be tainted.

That was divine aura, that was anomalous substances!

That was… a god!

Just as Yunmen Qianfan’s mind was about to collapse under the pressure, her cultivation suppressed, and both her body and soul on the verge of breaking, a gentle force emanated from Xu Qing and enveloped her.

He blocked the outside world.

After that, Xu Qing raised his right hand and grabbed forward.

Immediately, the distorted and blurry void in front of him rumbled and shattered into pieces.

Under this grab, the river water suddenly swept up, forming an overwhelming force that transformed into a palm that grabbed the god’s head.

He ruthlessly tugged upward.

The world trembled.

A heart-rending roar rang out from the god’s mouth. Its body was shaken by the great force and was forcefully pulled out of the river.

As the river water splattered everywhere, it revealed a complete and strange body.

The creature’s body was overwhelmingly dominated by its massive head, which took up ninety-nine percent of its total size.

Beneath this enormous head was a relatively slender body, with grayish skin slick with oozing, viscous fluid.

The surroundings were surrounded by spheres of light that kept spinning and flickering, emitting mysterious and strange light.

A sense of chaos and madness rose intensely.

Within Its body, a flame burned steadily, but it was encased within a lantern formed by runes.

This lantern sealed and controlled the flame, preventing it from spreading or intensifying.

There was also a special jade slip on this lantern.

The jade slip seemed almost alive, with countless tendrils extending from it. These tendrils spread across the massive head, latching onto Its brain as if parasitically, firmly binding It in place.

“Divine slave!”

“Senior, this belongs to the Earth Spirit Clan. Back then, they spent resources to buy divine slaves from the Daoist Immortal Sect… Divine slaves possess the combat strength of a Ruler. Senior, you…”

Yunmen Qianfan quickly recovered after Xu Qing blocked the external energy for her. But her heart was shaking as she didn’t expect that the pursuers would mobilize the divine slaves to kill her.

At the thought of how terrifying the divine slave was, Yunmen Qianfan trembled and instinctively reminded Xu Qing.

However, halfway through her sentence, her eyes were wide open and she couldn’t speak.

This was because she saw that the terrifying and malevolent god earlier was now being grabbed by an illusory large hand in the air. No matter how much it struggled, It couldn’t escape.

Xu Qing calmly sized up the god as though he was studying It.

This scene caused Yunmen Qianfan’s breathing to become hurried. The image of the guest elder who had cried to death earlier appeared in her mind.

“A god of the Divine Fire Realm.”

Xu Qing’s gaze swept across the flames surrounding the lantern cover in the god’s body.

The lantern was composed of countless densely packed runes, each unique and numbering in the billions. The arrangement of these runes constantly shifted, with multiple configurations in play.

Additionally, the jade slip on the lantern, which seemed almost alive, added another layer of mystery. This peculiar item was unlike anything Xu Qing had encountered before, making it impossible for him to identify its origin or nature at a glance.

This wasn’t the first time he had seen a god in the Fifth Star Ring. He had already seen gods being used by cultivators as magic treasures or spirit beasts.

However, from Yunmen Qianfan’s words, he realized the source of these divine slaves.

“They are controlled by the orthodox sects of the various starfields and sold to others?”

Xu Qing fell into deep thought. He was quite interested in this method of controlling gods to become slaves. Moreover, through observation, he discovered that this method was extremely ingenious.

If one didn’t understand the inner substance, it would be extremely difficult to break through it.

Forcefully breaking it would extinguish the enslaved god’s divine fire and cause Its mind to collapse. It might even cause Its soul and body to disintegrate.

“However, since it’s a slave and was sold, there will naturally be a way to control it.”

Xu Qing retracted his gaze and looked at the horizon.

Under the red aurora, the place Xu Qing was looking at was filled with void waves. Four figures were forced to appear.

The moment she saw these four people, Yunmen Qianfan immediately recognized them.

Three of them were guest elders of the Earth Spirit Clan and one was a core elder.

The former three people had Soul Accumulation Seven Worlds cultivation bases, while the latter… had already reached the Nine Worlds of Soul Accumulation.

She immediately told Xu Qing.

At that moment, the four of them stood in the sky with shocked expressions. They were incomparably terrified and waves of emotions surged in their hearts.

One of them even held a small drum in his hand. However, no matter how he beat the drum, the god connected to this drum couldn’t break free from Xu Qing’s illusory palm.

When Xu Qing’s gaze landed on them, the four of them instantly felt their hearts tremble and their scalps turned numb. They didn’t hesitate at all to retreat.

However, it was clearly too late.

Almost at the same time they fled, Xu Qing took a step toward the sky.

At the next instant, the color of the world changed.

In Qianfan’s eyes, it was as though there was a vast painting spreading out in the sky, covering everything and blurring everything.

A few breaths later, the painting dissipated and the four cultivators disappeared. Only Xu Qing returned.

He held a wine flask in one hand and a head in the other.

This head was of the core elder of the Earth Spirit Clan.

He wasn’t dead. His eyes revealed intense horror and despair as his soul was being searched.

The moment he returned to the wooden boat, the soul search was completed.

Xu Qing also knew the truth about this mission.

“The Cloud Gate Clan has a secret key to enter a certain place of fortune. This is the foundation of the war between the two clans. However, this secret key is special and seems to be difficult to snatch.”

“Hence, after suppressing the Cloud Gate Clan to the extreme, the Earth Spirit Clan proposed a bet that the Cloud Gate Clan couldn’t refuse.”

“Cloud Gate will send out fourteen core disciples and the Earth Spirit Clan will chase after them. If all fourteen of them die in the end, Cloud Gate will lose. If anyone survives and reaches their destination, Earth Spirit will lose.”

“The stakes were the key and the survival of the Cloud Gate Clan.”

Xu Qing wasn’t interested in this secret key.

Hence, with a squeeze, the head in his hand turned into ashes. At the same time, the small drum that controlled the god also appeared in Xu Qing’s hand. He gently flicked it.

Amidst the thumping sounds, the god in front of him transformed into a stream of light that fused into the drum and a totem appeared on the drum.

After putting it away, Xu Qing turned his head and looked at Yunmen Qianfan, who was panting and looking with shocked gaze.

“The wine is finished.”

Xu Qing spoke and threw the wine flask over.

“Ah…” Qianfan instinctively caught it and held it. Her entire body trembled as she hurriedly took out another flask and quickly handed it to Xu Qing..