Beyond the Timescape [Wuxiaworld]

The bridal procession moved along the Underworld River, accompanied by the piercing suona music, which sounded like a dirge of the dead. The four jugs on the palanquin rods were each a different color. They were blue, black, red, and white respectively. They appeared to be some sort of tribute.

Xu Qing hovered in midair taking in the scene, his eyes glittering coldly. Then, he moved toward the palanquin.

His arrival immediately attracted the attention of the line of escorts. Eight of the snake-headed humanoid soul shadows turned in his direction, their gazes full of malice.

Xu Qing’s expression didn’t change at all, and his eyes were fixed on the palanquin alone. As he neared, the Underworld River rumbled, its aura spreading out like countless sharp blades to slash at him.

The eight soul shadows flew toward him, yet as they neared, the wind blew taboo poison over them, and they screamed as they started melting. However, before they could completely dissolve, they merged together, turning into a gigantic three-meter-tall soul shadow. Stretching its arms wide, it lunged toward Xu Qing.

Then a rumbling boom echoed out as the soul shadow lurched to a stop in front of him. Cracks spread out rapidly over its form, and then it exploded. Chunks of countless soul bodies rained down onto the Underworld River.

Xu Qing expressionlessly retracted his fist and continued on his way.

However, just as he was about to reach the bridal procession, it suddenly popped like a bubble, completely disappearing. A moment later, it reappeared in the distance, where it continued onward without a pause. However, a fair hand reached out and pulled aside the palanquin curtain. Then the young woman inside looked out, her eyes as cold as a viper’s as she stared at Xu Qing.

This was the first entity Xu Qing had encountered that didn’t seem crazed. That said, the young woman was clearly off in some way. Her expression was pure coldness as she looked at Xu Qing. Meanwhile, a few dozen of the snake-headed soul shadows turned and rushed maliciously toward Xu Qing.

He ignored them. Keeping his eyes on the palanquin, he lifted his right hand and pointed toward the sky. Rumbling echoed out as a tempest of poison descended, landing right in front of the palanquin, blocking its path.

Xu Qing stepped onto the Underworld River, and a violet mist spread out from him, seeping into the river and changing its color. At the same time, it locked down everything it touched.

The wedding procession blurred as if it might vanish again, but thanks to the taboo poison and the violet moon, its teleportation failed. A shrill cry echoed out, and the procession stopped in place. All of the soul shadows then turned, glared at Xu Qing, and charged toward him. The Underworld River seethed as a horde of zombies climbed to the surface, as well as a host of malicious souls.

Xu Qing ignored all of that. Instead of slowing down, he continued onward. The black iron skewer appeared next to him, glittering with lightning as it shot toward the souls. It closed in on one, pierced it through the forehead, and sent lightning exploding out. The soul detonated. The shadow also spread out in vicious fashion and devoured the nearest souls. Because of the patriarch and the shadows, the souls that were rushing toward Xu Qing let loose piercing screams as they were either exploded, destroyed by poison, or devoured.

At no point did Xu Qing stop or slow down. As masses of souls were destroyed, he got closer to the palanquin. Occasionally he would reach out and grab a nearby soul, then crush it. As he proceeded, his aura became increasingly terrifying.

All the while, the piercing suona song continued, becoming a penetrating soul power that formed an attack against Xu Qing.

However, a power like that counted for little to Xu Qing considering he could chant like a god. As his black umbrella appeared overhead, he ignored the suona and continued forward. The suona music then changed, shattering. An agonized shriek rang out.

Souls were being destroyed constantly around him as he proceeded forward like a fiendish god, completely unstoppable.

Finally, the palanquin curtain flipped open as the young woman in the wedding dress flew out, her expression cold. She pulsed with fluctuations very close to the Nascent Soul level as she flexed her fingers, which had long, sharp nails almost like talons. Her eyes were fixed on Xu Qing. But then patches of black appeared on her face, which became like rotting snake scales. She moved with incredible speed, and was surrounded by a powerful aura of death. [1]

However, as she closed in on Xu Qing, he suddenly disappeared from in front of her. Before the snake woman could react, a hand shot toward her from the side, latching onto her neck like a vice.

It was Xu Qing’s hand.

The snake woman shivered as the hand unleashed astonishing strength. A loud cracking rang out as her neck was shattered.

Xu Qing tossed the snake woman off to the side. She didn’t vanish. She just screamed as she flew through the air, struggling. Before she could land, the taboo poison tempest swept her up. At the same time, the violet mist wrapped around her, locking her in place, sealing her. All of this takes some time to describe, but it happened at the exact moment the snake woman neared Xu Qing.

Xu Qing had no time to pay attention to the screaming snake woman. As he strode up to the palanquin, and specifically the white jar, the crumbling golden thread in his palm emitted incredibly intense heat.

Xu Qing carefully reached out and took the white jar into his hands. He opened it.

A soul floated out of the jar, like mist, which swirled into the shape of a tiny white snake. It was somewhat blurry, as if it wasn’t complete.

Xu Qing looked at the white snake and could envision the young woman in the white gown, seated in meditation in the cave by the altar.

The little white snake looked very weak. She struggled to open her eyes, but didn’t have the strength. Xu Qing carefully reached out.

The little white snake sensed him. Though she couldn’t open her eyes, she shivered and instinctively settled onto his palm. She rubbed his hand amiably.

Xu Qing’s heart softened. He carefully closed his hand over the snake, then looked at the other three jars. They also had souls in them, just not Ling’er’s soul. He could only assume that they were other Ancient Spirits who, like Ling’er, had experienced legacy failure and had fallen through the spirit abyss into this major world.

That said, Xu Qing didn’t want to leave anything to chance. He waved his hand to open the three jars, and saw souls of three different colors emerge. After closely examining them, he confirmed that none of them were parts of Ling’er’s soul. Finally, he looked toward the area that was locked down by the violet mist and his poison.

Then he thought back to what he had seen with the snake woman and the palanquin.

She must have been absorbing the souls....

That was one reason why Xu Qing hadn’t just wiped the snake woman out of existence. He’d had the distinct feeling that the jugs on the palanquin were some sort of offering.

Eyes radiating icy cold, he walked toward the snake woman. His shadow spread out behind him, and the black iron skewer followed at his side. Taboo poison rolled to the side to create a path for him, and the violet mist did the same.

The snake woman’s soul body was in a state of collapse, but her expression was still one of cold indifference. It was as if she only had a bit of emotion in her, and nothing resembling thinking ability.

As Xu Qing looked her up and down coldly, the golden crow appeared. Flames raged as the golden crow looked at the snake woman and inhaled deeply. Her soul body shivered, then collapsed and turned into a soul mist.

Within that soul mist were a few soul strands of various colors. One of them was white.

Xu Qing used the Gruegloom Daoseizing Art to turn his hand transparent. Then he reached into the soul mist and carefully extracted the white soul strand. He put it onto the little white snake.

The white snake shivered and became a little less transparent. Then she slowly opened her eyes. Looking confused, she said, “Coo. Coooo....”

Xu Qing’s heart stung with pain as he realized that Ling’er’s eyes were filled with nothing but confusion. She clearly was still incomplete, and it looked like she was about to fall asleep again.

Xu Qing focused his senses on the golden thread, and quickly realized that it was pointing toward the depths of the Underworld River.

That was where he would find the next piece of Ling’er’s soul.

Xu Qing looked toward the depths of the river. He heard a deep, rumbling growl from that direction, something that caused his soul to shiver. It also caused the entire Underworld River to vibrate, making it seem almost like there was a god deep in the river, breathing. He felt a sensation of endless danger within him, growing stronger by the moment. It caused him to tremble. It was almost as if every inch of his flesh was warning him... that there was something very dangerous there. The sensation became like a haze surrounding his heart and mind.

Xu Qing looked down at the little white snake sleeping in his hand, and then looked back into the depths of the Underworld River.

After a long moment, he used the Gruegloom Daoseizing Art to gently put his right hand into his own chest. When he reached his sea of consciousness, he opened his hand, depositing Ling’er’s sleeping soul there. That was currently the safest place for her. Having done that, he started moving further down the river. Maybe there was danger there, but he would face it. He would never let down anyone who had treated him with kindness.

As he proceeded, the growl from the river echoed around him. After listening carefully for a while, he raised his hand and pointed to the dome of heaven. Suddenly... a violet moon appeared in the darkness above the major world. It was surrounded by a mist of poison.

As it shone, violet filled the lands below. This was the first time for countless years that any moonlight had shone onto this major world!

1. Obviously traditional red wedding dresses can come in all sorts of styles, just like traditional white wedding dresses can. However, they do conform to a sort of general style. Here’s a small gallery showing a few examples. ☜

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