Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 385: Emperor Zombie is Dead

Xu Qing carefully ensured that his vision wasn’t focused on Forbidden by the Zombie itself, but kept observing the situation. At the border of the forbidden ground, he saw a dozen or so disciples from the Eight Sect Coalition, all fleeing in different directions. They were clearly terrified as the countless corpse-like arms reached out to grab them.

It made Xu Qing think about the news he had heard on the eve of coming to the Seazombie ancestral land. Some disciples had gone missing near the borders of Forbidden by the Zombie, whereupon a team had been dispatched to investigate. The people Xu Qing was looking at now… was that very team.

The first thing Xu Qing did was use the taboo treasure to notify the sect of what was happening. As he did, something happened with Zhao Zhongheng and Ding Xiaohai. The masses of hair behind them surged, growing more numerous as they closed in on the two disciples.

As they were just about to be overwhelmed, a vicious gleam appeared in Ding Xiaohai’s eyes, and he suddenly launched a palm strike at Zhao Zhongheng.

Both disciples were in Foundation Establishment, but Ding Xiaohai was at the impressive two-flame level. Zhao Zhongheng was still a few dharma apertures away from the two-flame level, so despite the fact that he had been fully on guard, there was no way he could evade the attack. When it hit him, blood sprayed out of his mouth. His ostentatious dharmaskiff The Phoenix trembled, and cracks appeared all over its surface as it lurched to a halt. In the blink of an eye, the pursuing hairs wrapped around it.

“Ding Xiaohai!” shrieked Zhao Zhongheng furiously as he glared at Ding Xiaohai fleeing madly without even looking over his shoulder.

Given that his dharmaskiff was completely entangled by the hair, Zhao Zhongheng had no choice but to jump off of it. Unfortunately, once he was off his dharmaskiff, he was a lot slower. More hair shot up from the water toward him, along with a host of corpse-like arms.

In that moment of deadly crisis and despair, Zhao Zhongheng howled and whipped out a life-saving item his grandfather had given him. Unfortunately, it wasn’t very effective given the surroundings. Though it cut open a path to freedom, he didn’t get very far before the hair and arms were closing in again on him.

Off in the distance, Ding Xiaohai was barely visible. Zhao Zhongheng had attracted all the grues, thus giving Ding Xiaohai his opportunity to escape. Though he heard Zhao Zhongheng’s screams, he completely ignored them. This wasn’t the first time he had left a fellow disciple to die for his own benefit. As long as he came out on top, he didn’t care about anyone.

Sheltered idiots like you always boss me around in the sect. Who do you think Ding Xiaohai is, huh? So what if you have an impressive grandpa? That won’t do you any good here! Morons like you never live long in this world. You’re destined to be killed. At least this way you’ll have accomplished something valuable in life! Me staying alive is the most important thing!

Ding Xiaohai accelerated through the mists. Sadly for him, there were many things Ding Xiaohai didn’t know. For example, he had no idea what the Seven Blood Eyes taboo treasure was capable of. Furthermore, he had no clue that Xu Qing was using that taboo treasure to watch what was happening.

Truth be told, Xu Qing didn’t have a strong opinion about what was happening. If he was in Ding Xiaohai’s position, he might do something similar if it meant saving his own life. That said, if he was in Zhao Zhongheng’s position, he would react similarly. But when it came down to these two specific people, the one he liked the least was Ding Xiaohai. Furthermore, he could clearly see the despair on Zhao Zhongheng’s face.

After a moment of thought, Xu Qing communicated to the spirit automaton with divine will.

“Create a projected body for me. Put it there.”

The moment his divine will sent the message, the bronze mirror thrummed. Bright light flickered, and one of the taboo treasure’s eyes opened. A blinding beam of light shot out from the mirror, piercing all the way to the border of Forbidden by the Zombie, through the mists, right to Zhao Zhongheng. To Zhao Zhongheng’s utter incredulity, countless light motes appeared in front of him, quickly converging into Xu Qing.

“Xu Qing!” he said, his eyes growing wide with delight. “Help me, Xu Qing. Help me!!”

A host of hands had already grabbed onto Zhao Zhongheng, and black hair was wrapping around him. He’d already been dragged halfway down to the water.

This was Xu Qing’s first time appearing as a clone projected by the mirror. However, he could sense that, though he was only illusory, the clone was roughly as strong as his true form, at least fundamentally speaking. He didn’t have his shadow, the Ghost Emperor mountain, taboo poison core, violet moon, or his bag of holding. But he did have three illusory heavenly palaces, making him as strong as an ordinary three-palace cultivator.

Seems the clone projection isn’t a perfect copy. With that, he pushed out with his right hand.

The black seawater rose up, creating huge waves that rolled toward Zhao Zhongheng. Wherever they passed, the corpse-like hands collapsed, and the hair shattered. Although this level of battle prowess was not the same as his true form, the cultivation base of a three-palace cultivator was nothing to scoff at. As long as he didn’t enter Forbidden by the Zombie, then he wouldn’t have any trouble dealing with grues like this.

As the tsunami power rolled out, Zhao Zhongheng was freed. Then Xu Qing made a grasping gesture toward his dharmaskiff.

The hair wrapped around it snapped.

Seeing all this, Zhao Zhongheng felt like he had just barely survived a huge catastrophe. He was deeply shocked. Although he had known that Xu Qing was strong, he simply couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that Xu Qing had shown up today to save him. Given how close he had come to dying, his emotions were anything but settled.

“Xu—”

“Get out of here,” Xu Qing interrupted. “I’m going to go check on the other coalition disciples.”

Zhao Zhongheng’s dharmaskiff landed in the water below.

Zhao Zhongheng nodded, his eyes full of gratitude. Stepping onto his dharmaskiff, he prepared to leave. That was when Xu Qing flicked his sleeve, causing a burst of power to land on Zhao Zhongheng’s dharmaskiff. It trembled and, bolstered by Xu Qing’s blessing, sped away from Forbidden by the Zombie.

Xu Qing prepared to check on some of the other disciples when his expression flickered, and he turned to look in a different direction.

He instantly shot backward.

As he did, the spot upon which he looked trembled with wild fluctuations. A terrifying aura swept out, accompanied by a piercing howl that caused the surrounding seawater to seethe. At the same time, piercing streams of light shot through the mists. That light contained a dao resonance, which made Xu Qing think of the dao lineaments he’d seen in the eyes of Void Returning cultivators!

“Void Returning!” he murmured. That said, he remained calm. After all, he was here as a projected clone.

Even as he watched, a miserable laughter echoed out from within the mist.

“Dead. All dead. Every single one eaten up…. Hahaha! All eaten! All chewed to bits!”

The voice contained mania and madness, as if the speaker had seen something so horrific it destabilized his mind. A figure appeared in the mist, rushing, fleeing, and at the same time howling with laughter. He was definitely not human; he was a nonhuman covered with rotting scales and half his head missing. His body seemed on the verge of collapse, and he pulsed with astonishing mutagen. As he moved, waves surged beneath him. Eventually, he slammed into one of the waves, and when he came out the other side, he seemed unable to keep his internal injuries stable. A great spray of blood emerged from his mouth, and then he threw his head back and wailed in grief.

The mere sight caused Xu Qing’s pupils to constrict. What was more, just the pressure radiating off of this nonhuman cultivator was so intense that his clone was about to collapse.

Right then, though, the wailing nonhuman cultivator turned and looked right at him. Then it reached out and made a grasping gesture.

Xu Qing’s collapsing clone shot through the air toward the nonhuman, who then grabbed him.

“A clone!? They’re dead. All dead….” The nonhuman devolved into laughter.

Xu Qing remained calm as his clone crumbled. He knew it wouldn’t take long for the clone to be completely destroyed. The entire time, he just quietly studied this mutagen-wracked nonhuman.

The raving nonhuman suddenly pulled Xu Qing right up to him, until their faces were almost touching. “Did you see?”

Xu Qing shook his head.

“In that case, I’ll show you. Then you can go tell everyone that hē’s awake… and the emperor of Forbidden by the Zombie is dead!”

His words caused Xu Qing’s expression to flicker. Before he could say anything, the nonhuman smashed his forehead into Xu Qing’s face.

When they made contact, memories flooded into Xu Qing’s mind. He saw the central region of Forbidden by the Zombie, deep on the seafloor. Normally it would be completely dark, but apparently the nonhuman was able to see in that environment, as the seafloor was very clear.

Further down, he could see a huge bronze door. It was impossible to say how long it had existed, but it was covered with the vestiges of time. It was plain and ancient in appearance.

In front of the door knelt a massive figure. It appeared to be made of countless zombies formed together into a huge composite zombie. Each of those zombies emanated a terrifying aura, and they combined in this giant to make something even more terrifying. What was more, the giant had a crown made of violet bones, which emanated terrifying fluctuations. It was obviously a precious treasure of some sort.

Xu Qing could barely look at the giant zombie, and that was the sensation he got from the Void Returning nonhuman, not his own eyes.

The bronze door slowly opened, and a massive golden arm reached out from inside. It had a golden hand, golden bones, and apparently, even golden blood. And it also had seven fingers, as well as curved bony spikes sticking out like claws. The hand stretched toward the giant.

The giant trembled, but didn’t dare to move out of the way or even look up. The huge hand stabbed into the giant, wrenching this way and that, causing the smaller zombies to shift and fall. Finally, the huge hand pulled a lump of black flesh out from within, which emanated intensely powerful fluctuations of godliness.

The hand held the flesh as it pulled back inside the ancient door. Then chewing sounds echoed out from inside.

The giant formed from countless zombies seemed to have lost its soul. It fell, and its body collapsed. Zombies drifted left and right, rotting as they formed a pile of corpses.

The vision stopped there.

Xu Qing’s clone crumbled, transforming into countless motes of light that disappeared into the seething mist.

The nonhuman remained behind, laughing bitterly as the mist surrounded him. Then chewing sounds echoed out for a time before silence once again filled the area.