Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 102: Damned by Myriad Tribulations

When Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior blurted out his true identity, Xu Qing didn’t say anything in response. He wasn’t the type of person who liked chatting in the middle of a fight. Eyes narrowing as the patriarch backed up, he tapped into the flight talisman.

In the blink of an eye, Xu Qing became a streak of light shooting toward the patriarch. As he moved, the spectral drought demon appeared behind him. It looked vicious, with lava flowing through the cracks that covered its skin. And intense flames surrounded it in every direction, causing the snowflakes to melt and turn into a mist.

Xu Qing’s energy and blood was stimulated to the ultimate degree. With the Sea and Mountain Incantation operating at full force, his body cultivation abilities were at the peak. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of the patriarch, unleashing a vicious fist strike.

The patriarch’s eyes glittered with killing intent, and he waved his hand, causing the projected vajra warrior to howl to the heavens as it met the incoming attack with its own fist.𝘣𝘦𝑑𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝑙.𝘯𝑒𝘵

Neither side held back. When the two fists collided, the resulting explosion shoved Xu Qing backward, blood oozing out of the corners of his mouth. In terms of pure body cultivation level, he was still a bit under the Foundation Establishment patriarch.

That said, the patriarch suffered in the clash as well. His energy and blood were reeling as he also staggered backward. Though his facial expression was vicious, he was actually astonished. He was now certain he was dealing with Xu Qing, but that only made him more surprised.

He knew that Xu Qing would get stronger before coming back, but he could never have guessed that in less than a year he would be so strong he would try to directly kill him and wipe out his sect. He was so much stronger than last time that it was hard to believe.

“You…” the patriarch said, panting, but before he could continue with anything else, Xu Qing shot toward him with a fierce look in his eyes.

Booms rang out. Xu Qing was attacking with relentless speed, not giving any chance for pausing or catching breath. Fist after fist fell, and he attacked with kicks as well. Even his head was a weapon, as he landed vicious head-butts.

The savagery was so intense that the patriarch could do little more than gasp for breath and fall back across the field of battle. As his astonishment built, his projected vajra warrior suddenly reeled on the verge of collapse.

“Looking to die?!” he howled. Hands flashing in an incantation gesture, he activated the dharma apertures within him, causing the energy of Foundation Establishment to erupt. Crushing pressure weighed down on Xu Qing, and then the patriarch went through another incantation gesture, causing blinding golden light to appear. The light turned into a whip, which he lashed viciously at Xu Qing. A massive cracking sound filled the air.

Xu Qing’s spectral drought demon howled as the flames surrounding it met the attack of the whip. The drought demon didn’t shatter, and in fact, grabbed the whip in its hand. However, that whip was backed by the power of Foundation Establishment, and thus, a massive tremor passed through Xu Qing, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

At the same time, he was sent spinning out of the air and right toward the sect headquarters.

Down below were the sect leader and the three elders, whose eyes burned with killing intent. The other disciples of the sect looked the same, their eyes filled with animosity. As Xu Qing fell, they attacked.

“Time to die!” shouted the patriarch, whose bloodshot eyes raged with killing intent as he rapidly performed another double-handed incantation gesture. A Foundation Establishment magical art converged, creating a huge sealing mark in the air. It was dozens of meters from end to end, and its pulsing energy caused the wind and snow around it to change course wildly. Then the mark started to move down toward Xu Qing.

The entire sect trembled, and the snowflakes were crushed into dust.

The patriarch’s eyes glittered coldly as he performed another incantation gesture, resulting in an additional two golden vajra warriors to appear, both of whom launched twin fist attacks.

There were three projected vajra warriors. Six fists. And they sailed toward Xu Qing from three different directions.

Any other person in Qi Condensation, even someone in the great circle, would not survive this situation. The magical techniques of Foundation Establishment were incredibly powerful, and the might of dharma apertures was shocking. It was the same level of attack that could be produced by seven or eight talisman treasures.

In that moment of extreme danger, Xu Qing landed on the ground in the sect headquarters. He was facing attacks from all the disciples of the sect, three golden vajra warriors’ fists, and a huge sealing mark. Yet when he looked around, his eyes glittered. His hands flashed in an incantation gesture, and spirit power fluctuations erupted out in all directions. In the blink of an eye, they reached three hundred meters, forming a huge spirit sea! It was like a shockwave, filled with terrifying force.

The sect leader, elders, and disciples might as well have all had the same cultivation base level in the face of this shockwave, because when it hit them, they trembled… and then exploded!

Xu Qing’s spirit power shook the mountain, destroyed buildings, and… killed everyone it touched, in body and soul!

Then massive rumbling sounds echoed out as the spirit power hit the patriarch’s magical techniques. The three vajra warriors turned blurry, and then they vanished like fleeting shadows in the wind. As the huge sealing mark descended, it rippled and disappeared.

The patriarch’s face fell as he shot backward. Yet even he was hit by the spirit power, and blood started flowing out of the corners of his mouth. He had suffered serious internal injuries, and what was worse, because he wasn’t paying attention, Xu Qing’s shadow grabbed onto his left arm. He ripped free, but not before his entire arm turned greenish-black from the surge in mutagen. And then, a black iron skewer shot toward him and stabbed into his right shoulder.

In addition to all that, he trembled to the core of his being when he realized that his energy and blood were unstable. He had been poisoned, causing his face to turn incomparably grim. Falling back, he threw some medicinal pills into his mouth and prepared to flee. But then he glared at Xu Qing down below, his eyes filled with killing intent.

“The Seaforming Scripture from the Seventh Peak in Seven Blood Eyes is capable of unleashing a one-time shockwave that can shake Foundation Establishment. But you can only do it once! Therefore, the time has come for you to die!”

Xu Qing breathed hard as the defensive talisman treasures glittered. Even still, he coughed up a massive mouthful of blood. All in all, he wasn’t surprised about anything so far. Foundation Establishment was powerful, and he’d known that from the very beginning. But he was still convinced he could kill the patriarch!

From the moment he started his attack, he had resorted to his most deadly killing moves. The heavenly saber. The spectral drought demon. And instead of unleashing random magical techniques from his spirit sea, he released its power in one huge attack. Furthermore, from the beginning of the fight until this point, he had already utilized seventy-three different types of poison.

So far, nothing that had played out went beyond anything he had predicted would happen. Therefore, when the patriarch looked down at him grimly, Xu Qing lifted his right hand into the air toward the patriarch, and made a grasping gesture.

When that happened, the patriarch’s pupils constricted; the countless snowflakes around him suddenly stopped moving and melted into droplets of water. From a distance, it looked like everything for 300 meters around him was liquid.

“You! You still have spirit power? How??” As the patriarch looked around in astonishment, the water droplets transformed into a massive hand that crushed down.

Rumbling sounds echoed, and blood sprayed out of the patriarch’s mouth. But then, his astonishment increased as the huge hand of water transformed into… a snakeneck dragon!

This was Xu Qing’s Forbidden Sea dragonwhale. Howling, its energy erupting explosively, it lunged toward the patriarch with snapping jaws!

Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior’s face fell, and he blurted, “Forbidden Sea dragonwhale?”

He was familiar with Seven Blood Eyes, and knew about the Seventh Peak’s Seaforming Scripture. He was well aware that, after cultivating it to the eighth level, some outstanding disciples could unleash a Forbidden Sea dragonwhale. When that happened, the dragonwhale became a second stockpile of spirit power for that disciple. Of course, not many people could form the dragonwhale.

What was more, he had seen Forbidden Sea dragonwhales before, and though Xu Qing’s had the same type of energy, in terms of physical appearance and the power of the Forbidden Sea it contained, it was completely different.

The patriarch kept falling back. At this point, he didn’t want to fight anymore. The mutagen within him was reaching dangerous levels, and he couldn’t deal with the poison. His internal organs all started to dissolve, and the blood seeping out of his mouth was black and noxious.

If only I could enter the profound radiance state….

The patriarch felt completely helpless. That wasn’t even to mention that gruish shadow that lurked around. All it had to do was touch him, and the mutagen levels within him would soar. What was more, the strength of the Forbidden Sea dragonwhale, combined with Xu Qing’s body cultivation power, filled the patriarch with a sense of ultimate crisis.

“I’m a member of the Church of Departure. I—”

Even as the words left his mouth, Xu Qing’s flight talisman glittered brightly, and he flew up into the air.

“Same difference,” he said. It was the first time he had spoken in the entire fight.

Before the patriarch could say anything else, Xu Qing waved his hand… and his dharmaboat appeared!

It was several dozens of meters long, and looked like a mixture between a crocodile and a xuanwu turtle. It had sails like wings, and as it shot through the air, it pulsed with indescribable brutality and killing intent. [1]

What was more, the boat shone with golden light that converged on the spike at the prow. As it did, a holy, god-like aura erupted from the dharmaboat and locked onto the patriarch. That holy, god-like aura felt like it came from an actual god, and caused all of the surrounding wind and snow to simply vanish.

A shocking might descended.

Standing on the dharmaboat, Xu Qing seemed like he was a sovereign who could command gods. Staring coldly at the patriarch, he lifted his right hand, and as he did, godliness converged. Then, he dropped his hand, and the godliness exploded outward.

The godly attack was the strongest move his dharmaboat was capable of. Xu Qing had even considered leading with this attack, but he had worried that the Foundation Establishment patriarch wouldn’t be felled with that one attack. Therefore, he had kept it until the right moment, which was now. And now, he was certain it would kill his opponent!

Meanwhile, the patriarch’s face turned absolutely pale, and his scalp tingled as was overwhelmed with a sensation of disbelief.

“Godliness!!”

In that moment, despair overwhelmed the patriarch, and then became terror. Now more than ever he felt like he was going to die…. Every fiber of his being trembled in the face of that godliness.

I can’t escape. If I faced this at the very beginning, I might have stood a chance. But now….

As Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior looked at Xu Qing standing on his dharmaboat, he thought back to those ancient records he had read. And suddenly he had an idea.

“Wait a moment, Fellow Daoist! Listen to me. I’m willing to be your servant. A servant for life! Milord, from now on I—”

Xu Qing, his expression cold as ice, ignored the patriarch. He had no interest in having servants. His right hand dropped!

1. As I’m sure many of you know, the ‘xuanwu’ or ‘xuanwu turtle’ or ‘black turtle’ (or substitute tortoise depending on the translator), is one of the ‘Four Symbols’ or four mythological creatures associated with various constellations. The others are the azure dragon, the vermillion bird, and the white tiger. Xuanwu turtles traditionally have a snake on their back, although sometimes art depicts its tail as a snake. And in xianxia they sometimes appear as just turtles without the snake. Here’s an artist’s rendition of a more fantasy-themed xuanwu. ☜