Outside of Time

The grand spectacle of the Divine Realm, echoing with the Sun God's voice, surged like tumultuous waves, engulfing this desolate world.

The storm, forming at this moment, swept through all the areas of the Divine Realm along with the waves, washing away the starry soils entangled in spider webs, dispersing the dust buried by history.

As a result, in one place, amidst the ruins of stars, an ancient stone stele emerged.

It remained relatively intact, though most of the inscriptions on it had become blurred.

Only the four characters at the bottom could be sensed with divine sense.

Northern Immortal Emperor World.

This was the name of this world that had been forgotten in time.

It might have had its own glory in the past, and in this universe where gods existed, it undoubtedly had its stories with them. Naturally, there were names that propelled this world's ascent.

But then, all that remained was a desolate ruin, a lonely imperial tomb, and this vast expanse of heartbreaking destruction, along with countless divine creatures who had lost consciousness.

This world had nothing to do with the Wanggu Continent.

The place where this world used to be was endlessly far away from Wanggu.

It was the invasion of the spider god's aura that swept over everything after the fall of the Immortal Emperor, transforming the Northern Immortal Emperor World into Its own Divine Realm. Then, accompanying the fragmented-face of the god, It arrived at Wanggu. Thus, the Northern Immortal Emperor World appeared amidst the crevices of the Wanggu continent.

It also became the chessboard, or rather, the divine fruit, coveted by all the players in this place at this moment.

At this moment, the stone stele floating amidst the ruins was scooped up from the starry sky by a hand gathered from moonlight. It was brought to the center of the Divine Realm, above the swirling black vortex before the three gods.

The gazes of the three gods silently gathered on it.

Perhaps it was the karmic consequence of Xu Qing and Erniu merging with the emperor's corpse, or perhaps it was the power formed by Their divine might. As a result, Their gaze seemed to carry a special aura, washing over the stone tablet.

The faded inscriptions on it were revived, bearing traces of ancient history.

"The emperor knew that his lifespan was coming to an end. Sensing the impending catastrophe, in order to preserve a thread, on the day of self-closure, defying ancestral decree, he swallowed the divine fruit, refining the sun, moon, and stars, dividing into three souls, paying respects to them.

Using the body as incense, it allowed the three souls to enter the cycle of reincarnation, severing his fate and hiding karma. From then on… humans remained humans, immortals remained immortals, and gods remained gods."

"Emperor fell… his souls departed."

The ancient traces described a hidden history. Just as they were revealed at this moment, they dissipated again before Flame Mystic and the others could sense them with their divine senses.

The stone stele was still the stone stele.

The history it represented was truly buried in time.

But in that fleeting moment of splendor, the hidden karma was brought back, silently landing in the fate of the three gods.

Hence, at this instant, the authority of this Divine Realm was divided into five parts. One was the Sun God, one was the Moon God, and one was the Star God.

As for the remaining two parts, one was in the Mountains and Seas Region, and the other… resided within the emperor's corpse.

"The part in the emperor's corpse is a lock. Now, the lock has been unlocked."

The Sun God calmly spoke.

"Can they make it in time?" The Star God asked.

"The time is here. They're not important anymore. We need to start," the Moon Goddess said calmly.

"Sister hates them, but I am guessing… they'll make it in time." The Star God chuckled.

The three gods were waiting for an opportunity.

Under the Mountains and Seas Region, the Great Magistrate who had unified the Mystic Heaven Race back then and betrayed Jiuli was waiting for the promise in time.

Now, what They had been waiting for had arrived. This curtain that had lasted for tens of thousands of years was pulled open.

The stage was revealed.

The show had begun.

In the corner covered by the curtain, the chess players on the other side, or rather, the chess players who were bound to appear, Erniu and Xu Qing, were also placing their pieces.

However, this stage was the home ground of the three gods and the Great Magistrate. They wouldn't interfere with the timing, nor would They engage in meaningless waiting after the opportunity had arrived.

So…

The stage was right there.

The show was there as well.

Whether they could place the piece in time, whether they could make it in time for this show, whether they could really make it on stage and obtain that authority…

It would depend on their fates.

…

"What bullsh*t fate!"

In a dark red world, the sky was collapsing.

On the sea of blood, Erniu laughed wildly at the sky. His entire body emitted a resplendent blue light. From his chest, numerous blue malevolent arms stretched out, trying to hold the sky.

These arms transformed into a massive ice pillar, continuously melding into it to fill the gaps, while endless streams surged forth from within Erniu's chest.

One after another.

The ice pillar grew larger and larger, taller and taller. It supported the sky and quickly spread, as though it wanted to freeze the sky.

There were also countless blue worms that scattered down from his body, spreading into the sea of blood and rapidly inhaling and exhaling, as though they wanted to devour the sea of blood and dry it up.

However, the collapse of this world seemed to be an irreversible fact. Soon, the sky fell and the sea roared.

The ice pillar broke and the worms were crushed.

However, at the next instant, a new ice pillar appeared and more worms spread out.

Only those who could hold the sky were called ancestors.

Only those who could overturn the sea were called lords.

By holding the flesh and reversing the corpse's blood, one could then control this immortal emperor's corpse.

However, the difficulty was huge and was divided into two points.

Firstly, he needed to conquer this world. Secondly, he needed to conquer more worlds.

This collapsed world was an abstract representation of the emperor's corpse. That sea of blood was just a drop of blood among the countless blood in the emperor's corpse.

The falling sky was an inch of flesh.

As for Li Zihua's finger, it suppressed the second difficulty, causing the sea of blood in this world to be either a drop or all the blood in the corpse.

The falling sky could be an inch of flesh and all the flesh.

Conquering a world was equivalent to conquering everything.

This reduced the difficulty a little. However, even so, even if Erniu succeeded in the end, it still wasn't enough to decide everything.

This was because… in this emperor's corpse, there was also the remnant soul of the immortal emperor that had been tainted or fused with the god.

Only when the soul, physical body, mind, and dantian were all complete would it be considered a success.

Hence, while the captain was going at it crazily, Xu Qing was also doing his best.

The difficulty of suppressing the remnant soul was also divided into two points.

Firstly, how to fuse the terrifying soul of the emperor into his emperor repository!

Secondly, after fusing it with the emperor repository, how could he conquer it?

Li Zihua's finger gave a huge push, suppressing this remnant soul and wiping away its horror, making it easier to fuse into the emperor repository.

However, this was the soul of the emperor that had fused with a god after all. Even if it was suppressed, it still had some heaven-defying aspects.

Hence, Xu Qing was indeed risking his life. In a vast immortal palace, he saw the remnant soul sitting on the dragon throne, staring at him fixedly. With the bizarre nether hand, he forcefully pushed open his Emperor Sword Repository's gate, revealing it outside and making it descend upon the remnant soul.

He was merging the remnant soul into the emperor repository.

The remnant soul didn't resist. This was because compared to the physical body which the captain was trying to obtain, this soul with intelligence was aware that the success or failure lay not in the physical body, but here.

If it could turn the tables in the repository gate and possess the body, then it might be the one to win this contest.

Hence, the moment it entered the repository, his remnant soul rebelled. The emperor repository rumbled and cracks appeared in its gate, a sign that it couldn't hold up.

Regarding this, Xu Qing had his own choices.

He closed his eyes and his Dao soul opened its eyes. It leaped up from his sea of consciousness and rushed toward the emperor repository.

The world in the emperor repository was vast.

However, thunder was rumbling and silver filled the sky. The mountains were shaking and the earth churned intensely.

A sword stood upright between heaven and earth.

This sword shone with endless treasure light, illuminating the world.

Its material was bronze and it moved with the fortune of the human race. The sword body should have been four feet and seven inches long but now, it was 470,000 feet in the repository.

The sword edge was oppressive and sword qi surged. It was sharp enough to cut through the sky, the ground, and people.

Anyone below the ancient sovereign could be killed.

It was called… the Emperor Sword.

Beside the sword was a soul. It wore an emperor's robe and wore an emperor's crown. It was expressionless. At first glance, it looked like an emperor, but at another glance, it looked like a god. Its figure first had the emperor's body and then the face of an illusionary spider.

At that moment, it was staring at the emperor sword with admiration.

"What a good emperor's sword!"

It then looked at Xu Qing who was charging over.

"You want to make me into the Heavenly Dao and control this sword?"

As it spoke, the soul raised its hand, attempting to move the Emperor Sword.

"You can't move this sword without my permission."

Xu Qing calmly spoke.

As soon as he finished speaking, the Emperor Sword rang out, and the sword hum tore through the angelic sky. As for the sword light, it shot in all directions, illuminating the world.

The right hand of the emperor soul beside it paused and slowly retracted.

"You can't move it either."

With that, the emperor soul's body swayed and it headed straight for Xu Qing.

The spirit battle erupted!

In an instant, the entire emperor repository rumbled and the trembling spread throughout Xu Qing's entire body. His body didn't move but the more it was like this, the more dangerous it was.

Erniu's side was also intense.

This battle between the body, remnant soul, dantian, and mind erupted at the same time and instantly became intense.

His childhood experience taught Xu Qing decisiveness.

The life in the Seven Blood Eyes taught Xu Qing to conceal himself.

The events in Fenghai County had taught Xu Qing about perspective.

Only Eldest Senior Brother taught Xu Qing how to strive!

Strive against heaven, against earth, against people, against gods!

And also, to strive against fate.

A sound echoed from the dantian of the emperor's corpse that had fallen into the abyss.

"Open my seal, open the Nine Abyss, the Summer Immortal has left, the realm turns to frost!"

Blue ice flowers blossomed from the dantian, spreading instantly over the entire corpse, covering its body, limbs, and everything else.

In the mind of the corpse, Xu Qing's voice also echoed.

"When I was holding a sword in my early years, I cultivated a technique."

"All Sword Holders learn this technique and nurture it. Today, in my emperor repository, I will show you the essence of this technique."

"I'll let you know that I can move this sword!"

"I have a sword…

Its name is the Emperor Sword!"

The sword rose from the emperor repository and tore through the void. It slashed through the abyss with unstoppable momentum and landed on the emperor corpse's mind!

The mind caved in.

It shook moment and space, and slashed all illusions!

The emperor's corpse trembled and stopped falling, hanging in the void. As the blade illumination flashed, the corpse's closed eyes suddenly opened!

It didn't belong to the Immortal Emperor or the spider god.

That was Erniu's eyes and Xu Qing's spirit.

The void rumbled as it announced its return.

The abyss shattered, congratulating the new master.

Unknowingly, the fifth portion of power of the Divine Realm formed by the Northern Immortal Emperor World landed in the fate of Xu Qing and the captain.

At the same time, in the Mountains and Seas Region, the figure moving forward lifted his head and seemed to be looking into the distance.

In the Divine Realm, the three gods standing outside the vortex looked down at the vortex in unison.

"Looks like I guessed correctly."

The corners of the Star God's mouth curled up slightly.