Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 1042: Shattering Paramount God Authority

Xu Qing moved with stupefying speed, flitting through the light cast by the red candle. He was like a meteor shattering the void and shaking the cosmos. As he neared, he was moving so fast his entire body started glowing red. Boundless light and heat battered his face.

In the blink of an eye, he was completely enveloped. Countless grieves charged in his directions, all while planets and worlds exploded to block his path. From the look of it, everything in the entire pocket realm was trying to stop him.

It didn’t seem to make sense! If this candle really wanted to absorb him, why was it blocking his path? After all, he was literally acting like a moth rushing toward the flame. It should have welcomed him. Yet, not only was it very clear that he was being blocked, but also, as Xu Qing sped forward, the effects grew even more pronounced. Planets blew up constantly. And the candle’s flame danced more violently.

Xu Qing’s eyes glittered, and without any hesitation, he sent his divine will out. An instant later, he and Little Shadow fused, causing his eyes to turn pitch black. As a result, all of the explosions transformed into a painting. That allowed him to avoid their effects.

Also, the previously invisible grieves were now visible en masse to Xu Qing. He could sense their anxiety and madness. They were trying to block his path, all while ganging up on him from behind.

Seeing all that, Xu Qing just accelerated. He tapped into his cultivation base, godly authority, and cultivator authority. The sun rose within him, and regardless of how red his fleshly body glowed, or his soul burned, he viciously charged forward.

You don’t want me to go forward? Then I’m gonna go forward!

All of a sudden, the shadows surrounding him began dissipating. As the candle flame flickered, Xu Qing reached a point only 3,000 meters away from the candle itself! At that point, his fleshly body was doing well, but his soul was having trouble. Countless flames seeped through the cracks in his skin, converging in his sea of consciousness and burning his soul.

The effects of absorption and melting spread dramatically. In that moment of crisis, a crazy look flashed in Xu Qing’s eyes. Then, his soul flickered, transforming into millions upon millions of soul threads that swept through his sea of consciousness, becoming a vortex that fought back against the candle flames.

Relying on that, he continued onward. He was now only 1,500 meters away.

Soul threads were being wiped out of existence with every moment that passed, either turning into ash that disappeared, or becoming grieves. Yet Xu Qing was only accelerating. Screaming onward, he reached 900 meters. Then 600 meters.... About ninety percent of his soul threads had disappeared. With only a small portion left, he finally bridged the gap.

He was now right above the red candle, directly over its flame. There, he settled down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and then dropped into the fire. He was planning to use his own fleshly body to extinguish the flame!

The flame flickered dramatically, almost as if it had a will of its own, and had been caught completely by surprise by this action. It simply couldn’t understand why someone would rush headlong right into death.

The flame of the red candle burned wildly, forcing Xu Qing to a halt. Then it burned many times hotter than before, causing the flames to spread out and completely cover him. His fleshly body dealt with the onslaught. But the flames seeped into him, filling his sea of consciousness and spreading out over his void soil. What remaining xeno-immortal soul threads he had left were being rapidly wiped out.

But then, Xu Qing’s eyes opened, and he looked down at the red candle.

“I don’t know if you have a connection to the mask. But I know you have your own will. That’s why I mentioned absorbing you. I was hoping you would let me approach you. And though I wasn’t lying...” his eyes glittered. “... do the two of you really think I was only thinking about a wish?”

Xu Qing had benefited greatly on this trip into the World Origin Pocket Realm.

First, he encountered the star chart of the thirty-six star rings. The majestic map had really opened his eyes about the world he lived in.

Without any hesitation, he sacrificed the godly authority of good luck by throwing it into the flames. The godly authority ignited, sending out massive amounts of godliness, which fought back against the candle fire and protected Xu Qing’s soul.

It was a crazy plan!

It could well be said that, whether in ancient times or modern, it was a very rare thing to burn godly authority. For one thing, no god would be willing to give up godly authority. Furthermore, any flame that could actually burn godly authority would be extremely precious, and running into it would require a destined opportunity.

Thanks to burning the godly authority of good luck, Xu Qing was able to buy some time. Rumbling sounds echoed out as his fleshly body came into a sitting position atop the candle flame.

The flame flickered wildly as it sank down. It wanted to immolate this fleshly body, but it couldn’t. All it could do was sink down under its weight. That said, the candle still fought back just as hard as before, by sending more fire into Xu Qing’s sea of consciousness.

Xu Qing’s sea of consciousness was full of towering flames. The godly authority of good luck continued to burn until about ninety-nine percent of it was gone. Only a scrap remained. That scrap glittered with golden light; apparently, it wasn’t possible to completely wipe it out.

Upon seeing this, Xu Qing’s thoughts raced. However, there wasn’t time for contemplation. Next, he tossed out the godly authority of misfortune as a sacrifice, causing it to spread out and resist the flames. Rumbling sounds filled his sea of consciousness as more flames entered it, adding to the conflagration. The godly authority of misfortune rapidly disappeared until there was only a scrap left!

Without any hesitation, Xu Qing sacrificed his next portion of godly authority. That was the violet moon! The godly authority of the violet moon surrounded him and fought against the candle flames.

Xu Qing’s fleshly body had now completely sunk down into the flame of the red candle. Now, the wick was right underneath him! As the candle flickered violently, the godly authority of the violet moon in Xu Qing’s sea of consciousness dissipated rapidly. In the end, it ended up just like the previous two types of godly authority. It was only a golden thread!

Xu Qing gritted his teeth as he prepared to sacrifice more godly authority. But then something gruish happened to the candle that completely surpassed anything Xu Qing had predicted would happen.

Luck. Misfortune. Violet moon.... The three golden threads of godly authority suddenly spun into motion and began to interweave with each other. Thēy didn’t fuse. It was more like a braid, and it emanated dazzling golden light.

As a result, the candle flame was halted.

A terrifying aura erupted from the interwoven threads of three types of godly authority. The aura seemed to exist on a higher level than space-time, as if it could control all living beings. Yet it didn’t seem complete. Despite being incomplete, the aura it emanated was immeasurably terrifying, and surpassed any and all godly authorities that Xu Qing had ever encountered.

Before Xu Qing could perceive any details about it, the aura began to dissipate as surely as the night queen flower that only blooms for an instant. They had only formed because of a freak combination of factors, and could not fuse permanently. Because they weren’t complete, they were apparently going to unravel.[1]

Before they could, the shaken Xu Qing pulled them back into his sea of consciousness, and the candle flame there, so that they could sustain the force of the flame instead of his soul. The fire raged. Outside, the candle was just on the verge of being extinguished. At that point, the candle went all out, sending flames shooting out madly into Xu Qing’s sea of consciousness. This effort surpassed anything from before.

As they burned, the three portions of godly authority that had been just about to unravel... suddenly started fusing together.

1. The ‘queen of the night,’ which I’m rendering in a slightly nonstandard way as ‘night queen flower,’ is a species of cactus that blooms in the night and wilts before dawn. More information here. ☜