Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 387: Lady Fivefingers

The Supreme Arbiter Salvation Mountains stretched through Emperor-Receiving Prefecture far into the north, where dark clouds covered the sky. As lightning crackled in the clouds, it made heaven and earth seem the same color. The atmosphere was oppressive, like a prison cell. All living beings were trapped in that prison cell, unable to escape, forced to simply sit in place and endure. Great fat drops of rain pounded the lands, creating water vapor that turned into mist, which spread out to envelop everything.

A 9,000-meter flying ship flew through the storm at top speed. It moved at such great speed that it left behind sonic booms and thick contrails. From a distance, it looked almost like a mighty azure dragon flying through heaven. In fact, the flying ship was actually crafted to look like a dragon. It had two long whiskers coming out of the prow which rippled as the ship flew. Glittering light spread out in all directions, scanning the area constantly.

Inside the ship, Xu Qing stood wearing a violet daoist robe embroidered with gold. His hair was tied back with a white band trimmed in red. Gripping the rail with both hands, he looked out into the endless rain. Everything was hazy, almost like the formless mass that was said to exist before the creation of all things. It was a never-ending vast expanse.

It was the type of scene that would cause one’s heart to connect to the grandeur of heaven and earth. It made him think back to the bronze door he’d seen in Forbidden by the Zombie by means of the taboo treasure. Back then, he had glimpsed one of those entities that normally could not be looked upon. They were apparently born in another world, and viewed all other living beings as little more than food or nutrients. Any person would find them detestable.

Xu Qing sighed and settled his thoughts.

Half a month had passed since they left the Eight Sect Coalition.

During that time, Xu Qing spent most of his time working on cultivation. When he wasn’t doing that, he took in the view like he was doing right now. He felt strangely emotional being on such a long journey.

He felt anticipation, melancholy, and a mix of confusion.

The anticipation came because he would soon be able to see new lands and new people. It was a new phase of life. He had started in the continent of South Phoenix and then ended up in Seven Blood Eyes. From there he went to Emperor-Receiving Prefecture. And now he was going to a place where most mortals would never be able to go. The county capital.

The melancholy came because of… Mount Daybreak. He wanted to go there, but at the same time, was nervous about the idea of seeing the graves there.

The confusion came because of the mixture of the previous two emotions.

Xu Qing stood there in silence.

After a while, he looked down at the sealing stamp, which was only the size of a fingernail. Pitch black, it was finely carved with totemic beast designs. He had spent time over the past half month studying the stamp. It was actually a weapon designed to unleash slaughter. Once activated, there was no obstacle that could block its power. That said, it wasn’t easy to use with only a Gold Core cultivation base. And it needed time to power up in order to release its full potential.

Xu Qing had powered it up as much as he could over the past half month. After fiddling with it a bit, he put it away. Around then, someone emerged from the cabin and approached him.

“Well met, Master Fifth,” he said, clasping hands in greeting.

The peaklord of Seven Blood Eyes’ Fifth Peak wore a green robe, and though she had a face wrinkled with age and grayish-white hair, her eyes sparkled. As she stood near the prow with him, she smiled.

She knew that this was a disciple who would bring much glory to Seven Blood Eyes. In fact, when looking at him, she felt like she was looking at the future of the sect. Because of that, she was trying hard to seem gentle and kind. However, the fact was that she had spent many years studying all sorts of vicious and grim spell formations. Because of that, a sinister coldness had seeped deep into her bones, and that meant that her smiles also seemed cold and grim.

“Something’s bothering you,” she said. She could tell that he was wrestling with some issues.

Xu Qing nodded.

“Life is full of goodbyes and long journeys,” she said, and her grimness seemed more intense than ever. “It’s also full of emotion. No one can help you control those emotions. You just have to think things through. You’re still young, though, so just consider this journey a chance to see things you’ve never seen before.

“Sea-Sealing County has thirteen prefectures. Emperor-Receiving Prefecture is the furthest to the south. We’ll be going through four more prefectures on the way to the county capital. Each prefecture is different. Though humans make up the majority of the population everywhere, there are still a lot of nonhumans here and there.”

“Thank you, Master Fifth,” he said, clasping his hands in thanks. Then he quietly asked, “Master Fifth, is the trip really going to take eight months?”

“Yes. In fact, I came here to explain a bit about that. Along the way, we’ll use seven public teleportation portals. We’ll pass along three strange highways and spend three months flying through desert terrain. Only then will we arrive at our destination. All told, it should take almost exactly eight months. For safety purposes, the specific route is being kept secret, but it’s fine for you to know some of the details.”

She clasped his shoulder. “Xu Qing, before we left, the patriarch and your Master told me to take good care of you. Once we get to the county capital, if there’s anything you need, just say the word. Just remember that I’m not necessarily a good fighter, but I’m great with deadly formations.”

The grimness in her smile became even more readily apparent, and her voice seemed to drip with blood.

Xu Qing wasn’t surprised by that. That was just how things were in Seven Blood Eyes. Spell formations could be helpful or harmful, and obviously Master Fifth specialized in the vicious and deadly type.

“Many thanks, Master Fifth,” he said, clasping hands respectfully.

***

As the storm pounded the world, a person in a woven rush raincoat stood next to a grave somewhere in the Supreme Arbiter Salvation Mountains. It was as if he didn’t even notice the raindrops splashing down around him. As the rain seemingly connected heaven with earth, he looked up and saw the flying ship streaking through the dome of heaven.

Beneath his wide, conical hat, his eyes glittered with a bit of gold. That was a sign of godliness.

Killing intent bubbled in his heart, yet like his aura, it didn’t spread out around him. Not one single fluctuation of any type emanated from him. He seemed like a part of the environment, so much so that no one could possibly sense his presence.

Looking down at the gravestone, he quietly said, “Yun’er, my son, it won’t be long before I can kill the person you most wanted to kill when you were alive. I’ll fulfill that wish of yours.” [1]

Though the rain flowed down the gravestone, making it difficult to read, the characters carved into it were still clear.

Here lies my beloved son Shengyun.

There was no body in this grave. It was a cenotaph. [2]

Eventually, the man in the woven rush raincoat started walking in the same direction as the flying ship….

***

Time passed, slowly but surely.

The flying ship flew over the Everlasting Immortal Profundity River, crossed the northern tundra, and beyond the borders of Emperor-Receiving Prefecture into Injustice Prefecture.

Unlike Emperor-Receiving Prefecture, Injustice Prefecture was landlocked and had no access to the sea. Because of that, it was hotter and less humid. In fact, cultivators from Emperor-Receiving Prefecture who went there would often feel dehydrated. That said, after a period of acclimation, such feelings would go away. Injustice Prefecture was mountainous, and also was the home to more nonhumans than Emperor-Receiving Prefecture.

Just as Master Fifth had said, Xu Qing saw a lot of things he’d never seen before. There were all sorts of strange nonhumans, the sight of whom alone gave Xu Qing a much better understanding of how many species existed in the world.

At the moment, the ship was flying over endless, multicolored fields. The fields were very unique, as each one seemed to be a different color. Looking down, it almost resembled a huge puzzle. It was a very strange sight. Then one massive section, which was the color green… suddenly blurred.

Xu Qing peered down, his eyes narrowing. Only a moment later, his expression became one of surprise.

That blurred section of green rose into a sitting position!

It wasn’t a field at all. Shockingly, it was an enormous, green robe that had been laid onto the ground. Any passerby who didn’t know what it was would look down and think it was a field. But the reality was that it was an enormous piece of clothing.

The moment it sat up, it seemed to attract the attention of the other colorful ‘fields.’ One by one, they all sat up. Some flew off the ground and neared the flying ship.

Each ‘field’ was actually some item of clothing. There were shirts, pants, hats, and even gloves.

Looking at the scene as a whole, it was possible to see that there were clothing items of all sizes, and in terms of numbers, there had to be no fewer than a million of them. Only a small portion flew up into the air, but they gathered around the ship and flew along with it.

The items of clothing seemed to be organized by rank. Some were luxurious and stern. Others seemed more like commoners serving as guards. The strangest thing was that none of these pieces of clothing were being worn by anyone. It was just clothing, by itself.

As they circled the ship, Xu Qing looked around with a serious expression. At the same time, the Captain rushed out of the lower deck, an expression of surprise on his face.

“Don’t tell me there’s another Nethersprite around here!”

At this point, others were rushing to the rails to look out at the scene, though all remained vigilant and on guard.

Arch-Immortal Plumdark made an uncharacteristic public appearance. Walking out from the lower deck, she looked at the clothing, smiled, then waved cheerily to a princess garment flying directly in front of the ship. The princess garment swished both sleeves as if it was curtseying, then completely ignored the ships defenses and floated right onto the deck. Approaching Arch-Immortal Plumdark, it reached out and embraced her.

Then they began communicating via divine will. Apparently, they were acquainted.

Xu Qing found the entire thing very strange, and couldn’t help but wonder what the two of them were talking about. At one point, the princess garment turned in his direction as if to look at him.

Xu Qing clasped hands respectfully.

Soon enough, more items of clothing flew up from the ground. Some were handmaiden garments who bypassed the flying ship’s defenses and then began serving spirit fruit to everyone.

Given their actions and the atmosphere they brought with them, they didn’t seem to have any ill intentions.

A host of fine-looking women’s gloves swirled around Xu Qing, but when he didn’t pay them much attention, they flew over to the Captain. The Captain looked at them curiously and even extended his hand to poke at one experimentally.

Before long, Arch-Immortal Plumdark and the princess garment finished their conversation. The princess garment flicked its sleeves, and all the garments flew off the ship and took positions outside. They seemed like they were offering an escort. Eventually, when the ship was about to leave the ‘fields’ behind, the various garments made gestures of farewell.

When the ship left them behind, all the disciples aboard breathed sighs of relief.

Master Fifth sighed. “The Garmentfolk are one of the great powers in Injustice Prefecture. I never could have imagined that you would be acquainted with them, Arch-Immortal.”

Arch-Immortal Plumdark smiled faintly. “I’m acquainted with their senior princess. We once went traveling together for training purposes. She kept trying to get me to wear her, but I always refused.”

Heart pounding, the Captain placed his hand behind his back and asked, “Senior, w-what… what would happen if you wore it?”

Xu Qing blinked a few times. Moments ago he had noticed a very fine black glove on the Captain’s hand. It was one of the gloves that had been swirling around him moments ago.

Arch-Immortal Plumdark looked deeply at the Captain.

“Once worn, an ancient covenant is enforced. That garment will be attached to whatever flesh it covers, and will own it for all time.”

The Captain breathed a sigh of relief as he pulled his hand out from behind his back and looked at the glove. “That’s it? Well that’s not a big deal. Since this is a good friend of yours, Arch-Immortal Plumdark ma’am, I suppose I’ll just let it free.” With that, he dug his teeth into his wrist.

As everyone on the ship watched with strange expressions, the Captain ripped his hand off at the wrist. His expression didn’t so much as flicker, as if this were something he did all the time. He then threw the severed hand over the railing and waved to it with his remaining hand.

“Bye-bye! If you have time, come find me and we can hang out!”

The glove, with hand inside, waved goodbye, looking a bit sad as the ship left it behind.

“Did you ever think you would see my own right hand waving goodbye to me?” the Captain said, sighing.

Xu Qing didn’t say anything in response. Neither did anyone else present. No one knew what to say.

Except for Wu Jianwu. Eyes shining, he spoke some poetry.

“An ancient snake bit its own tail off, it swallowed it down then took the day off;

“Erniu bit off his hand for a dame, Lady Fivefingers is her fair name.”

1. The Yun character here is very unique. It’s from Master Shengyun’s name. ☜

2. In case any of you are unfamiliar with the word cenotaph, it is: a monument erected to honor the dead whose bodies lie elsewhere. ☜