Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 645: Noon is Here!

One bolt of lightning hit. Then another. Then one after another, falling from the vortex onto the blood cocoon.

The cocoon shrank.

Unending amounts of dazzling sparks cascaded to the ground, creating a lake of lightning. This tribulation was far mightier than the third tribulation. In fact, each individual lightning bolt contained the power to destroy the heavens and extinguish the earth.

The Heir Apparent and his siblings were using the power of their individual authorities to make sure that all of the surrounding heaven and earth belonged to Xu Qing. Along with that came what remained of the God Decapitation Altar, as well as the history it bore testament to. All of that was why the lightning was so appallingly powerful. At the same time, all four of them drew on their Imperial Sovereign bloodline to give Xu Qing the right to obtain the divine ability of the God Decapitation Altar. It would henceforth be the source of the divine ability’s power, and would represent their father Li Zihua’s approval of Xu Qing.

It was a case of having a just cause. And it made the heavenly tribulation even more terrifying.

That was exactly the result the Heir Apparent and his siblings were hoping for. They wanted to be able to use ancient tribulation lightning to refine the surroundings, shrink down heaven and earth, and seal it on Xu Qing. That was how they were giving a helping hand.

With all of that, Xu Qing could do half the work, and get twice the effect. It would speed things up, and also give him a much higher chance of successfully getting control of the God Decapitation Altar. It wouldn’t just appear in his sea of consciousness, it would turn into a real trump card.

To Xu Qing, that process was like refining both body and soul. Outside of him, the heaven and earth formed by the blood cocoon was being crushed down by the lightning. Inside of him, his sea of consciousness rumbled as the image of the God Decapitation Altar expanded outward.

The clash between outside and inside made Xu Qing feel like his body was being smashed apart and his mind and heart were withering up. At the same time, his thirteen nascent souls were all erupting with abandon. The violet crystal was proving its worth as well. It sent out healing power like waters from a spring, nourishing Xu Qing and making it easier for him to stand up to the pressure. Naturally, it also bolstered his chances of success.

Lightning continued to fall. The blood cocoon continued to shrink.

Xu Qing shivered as cracks spread out on his skin. Blood flowed out. The glow of electricity entered through the cocoon as it sought to melt everything.

As the blood cocoon shrank down by a full measure, the heaven and earth within it crumbled. The blade trough on the altar started to fall, causing intense rumbling sounds to echo out. It became a cloud of ash that shot toward Xu Qing. Next, the heavenly saber in the cocoon’s canopy of heaven fell to pieces, turning into a cloud of rubble that swept toward Xu Qing. After that, the altar itself shattered.

Some of the chickens that had been thrown inside wailed in grief; because of their connection to Xu Qing, they had no choice but to substitute for him to face the tribulation and even die. As the immense pressure weighed down on Xu Qing, they began to wither up and die one after another.

As the blood cocoon shrank down further, everything inside of it crumbled into lightning-illuminated ash that surrounded Xu Qing. The blood cocoon had now shrunk down so significantly that it was only about nine meters from end to end. And it was shaking so hard it looked like it might collapse.

The lightning still pounded down.

“I told him I would use the Duskmurmur Extirpation Command after he achieved his first measure of success,” the Heir Apparent said. “I did that to make sure he was fully determined to turn the God Decapitation Altar into a trump card. But the reality is that I employed the Duskmurmur Extirpation Command from the very beginning.”

The Heir Apparent and his siblings looked on with serious expressions. The Captain and the others were off in the distance, full of shock. They were all waiting.

An hour later, the vortex above seemed to tap into an even larger reserve of heavenly lighting. As a result, the lightning never ended. The blood cocoon was now surrounded by so many bolts of lightning that it wasn’t possible to see it. However, it emanated a withered sensation that caused worry to build in the hearts of the onlookers.

But then, even as that sensation of withering increased, a killing will suddenly erupted in all directions. Ripples of astonishment ran through the minds of everyone present as a chanting sound drifted out from the cocoon.

“Let the Ghost Emperor mountain become the altar. Let D-132’s destiny be the trough!”

Cracks spread out over the cocoon, as if some terrifying power were building up inside.

“Let the heavenly dao be the body of the blade. Let the godly curse of taboo poison be the edge of the blade. And let daybreak light be the blade’s light!”

At that point, the blood cocoon started crumbling to pieces.

“Let the golden crow be the connection. Let the violet moon be the seal!

“Let the timescape be the container....

“Let the sundial life lamps be the catalyst....”

As the chanting spread out, Wu Jianwu, Ning Yan, and everyone else slowly backed up, ashen looks on their faces. All of them could sense the terrifying fluctuations coming from the cocoon. Those fluctuations contained the power of natural laws, which caused the lightning falling from the vortex to start to blur.

Finally came the last bit of chanting.

“When the sundials hit noon, heaven and earth will be jointly severed!”

The blood cocoon exploded as a beam of blade light emerged, full of boundless power and consummate killing intent.

The moment it appeared, the dome of heaven trembled, and the lands quaked. Cracks spread out through the damaged world. The bluegreen dragon swirled through the air, transforming into an enormous blade. The blade contained the will of Supreme Vastness, as well as a resonance to sever daos. It was the heavenly saber.

The power of taboo poison converged rapidly to make the edge of the blade. Now the blade contained a peak level of taboo poison, ensuring that anyone struck with it would be instantly cursed by the poison. Next was the daybreak light, which formed the cold blade light. It was a shining light that could sever all living beings, pierce all magics, and melt all techniques. It was a mystery within a mystery!

The lands shook as the Ghost Emperor mountain and D-132 became the blade trough. The Ghost Emperor mountain’s hand rose, and within it was a huge prison cell full of destiny aura.

The golden crow danced in the air, connecting heaven and earth. The violet moon sent out lineaments connecting it all. Within it, the god trove blessed everything. After that, the five sundials became heaven. As the gnomons spun, the aura of time seeped out everywhere. Then, all five of the gnomons stopped together, all of them pointing exactly at noon!

And then...

A saber slashed into the sky!

It raced right toward the lightning falling from the vortex, moving with heaven-rending, earth-crushing force. The lightning was severed. The lake of lightning shattered. The heavenfate tribulation... was slashed to nothing! Heaven and earth trembled. The God Decapitation Altar blurred, then rapidly transformed into a timescape bottle.

The bottle fell, until Xu Qing stepped out of nowhere and grabbed it. He looked at the bottle, his eyes glittering. Then he put it away, turned to the Heir Apparent and his siblings, and clasped hands.

“Many thanks for helping me to succeed, Seniors!”

Ning Yan and the others were struck speechless. The Captain’s eyes shone. The Heir Apparent and his siblings smiled.

“Does the divine ability have a name?” asked Princess Brightblossom.

Xu Qing looked out at heaven and earth.

“It’s called... Noon is Here!”

Princess Brightblossom smiled and nodded. She seemed to look at Xu Qing with even more approval than before.

Off to the side, the Heir Apparent cleared his throat. Eyes also glittering with admiration, he said, “Not bad. But don’t get complacent. Your other nascent souls need tempering. That’s the only way you’ll be able to unleash the true power of this trump card. Now, are you going to take the power of hope here and absorb it to be the tip of the blade?”

As the Heir Apparent spoke, his gaze shifted to the Captain.

The Captain cleared his throat and waved his hand, causing six motes of white light to appear in front of him. Those six motes of light contained the hope and spirit of resistance of the living beings of Moonrite Region. In fact, it was possible to see countless faces within them.

Those motes of light were some of the power of hope that the Captain had managed to take during Xu Qing’s tribulation.

“Eldest Brother probably has some better uses for them,” Xu Qing said quietly.

He knew full well how much experience his Eldest Brother had in accomplishing big things. In most cases, those big jobs were multilayered. And in this case, he had obviously set everything specifically for the hope power of the living beings of Moonrite.

When the Captain heard Xu Qing’s words, he seemed to brighten up, and even laughed heartily. He felt anticipation in his heart, but at the same time, felt like something was a bit odd about this job. Normally speaking, though Xu Qing often ended up looking amazing, he was usually not far behind. They were like a pair of world-shaking heroes drawing their amazing swords. But this time, he got the short end of the stick.

He had unsealed this area. He had made the arrangements for the script. He had also prepared all of the assets necessary. But in the end, the Heir Apparent and his siblings just took over. And the Captain even ended up having to act in the play.

All of that could have been acceptable. But then, halfway through the play, little Ah Qing just went totally out of control....

If he had just gone out of control, that could have been acceptable. But it hadn’t been a case of simply going out of control once. It kept happening over and over again. First was the ancient wind, then the God Decapitation Altar, then the memories from antiquity, and finally that tribulation lightning.

When the Captain thought about that, he suddenly felt very tired. Being little Ah Qing’s Eldest Brother really wasn’t a simple thing.

Finally, it’s my turn!

Taking a deep breath, the Captain strode forward and then floated up into the air until he was next to Xu Qing.

“Watch closely, little Junior Brother. Next up... it’s time for our actual big job! Our true goal!”

Xu Qing blinked a few times and then plastered a look of anticipation onto his face.

Noticing Xu Qing’s facial expression caused the Captain to feel very pleased. Proudly looking up, he waved his right hand forcefully and said, “In compliance with the treaty from long ago, I hereby use the power of hope as the instigator, to create a summoning symbol. A path for gods! Let the Firemoon Door open! High God Moonfire, I summon you to me!”

As the words left the Captain’s mouth, the power of hope flew up, spinning around to create a huge circle in front of them. The circle pulsed with powerful fluctuations, as if it were opening a tunnel. It was... a pathway leading to the resting place of another god!

The unique and terrifying aura of Crimson Mother seeped out of that pathway. It was just a bit, but it was enough to visibly move the Heir Apparent and his siblings. Everything around them blurred, and the mutagen levels soared.

Outside... strange things were also happening in the Greenhair Badlands.