Beyond the Timescape

The sky was dark and oppressive. The surrounding lands were made of endless swamp. Ruins could be seen everywhere, adding to the sinister atmosphere.

And contrary to expectation, the dusky world inside of Timeruins also had a bonfire, seated next to which was an old man. It was an extremely gruish scene. Was this individual a human, or a ghast? Was he a grue, or a god?

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Xu Qing... couldn’t tell. However, his heart was absolutely full of vigilance and anxiety. And that was because, from the moment he had entered the outer sea, he had sensed a hidden gaze... and it came from here. Put more precisely, it was this old man’s gaze. That realization formed the basis of his anxiety. It was impossible to tell where this person came from, or whether he had good intentions or malicious ones.

Xu Qing could easily imagine how this old man had been watching him during his entire time in the outer sea. And for them to meet now... seemed to indicate that the old man had power that exceeded that of an Altar God.

Could he be trapped in here? The moment that thought occurred to Xu Qing, he excised it from his mind. Having dealt with so many gods, he knew full well that some terrifying entities could use god perception to read thoughts at a glance. Clearing his mind, he looked at the old man, clasped hands, and bowed at the waist.

“Greetings, Senior!”

Erniu’s face was pale, and his pupils were constricted. He was also trembling from the shock he felt. This person’s mere gaze made Erniu feel like his soul had been seen through, as if there was no secret he could keep hidden. Erniu scoured his memories, but couldn’t remember ever having met any powerful expert who resembled this old man. Even taking into consideration his past life memories, this man definitely seemed like a stranger. That said, Erniu’s special abilities ensured that he was actually able to get a slightly more precise read on the old man’s cultivation base.

What level are we dealing with here? Summer Immortal? True God? Or... something higher than Summer Immortal? Something higher than True God?

Such thoughts caused Erniu to start breathing heavily. His scalp felt like it was going numb. Without a moment of hesitation, he plastered a reverent expression onto his face. Looking at the old man and his roasting meat, he bowed formally.

“Well met, Senior,” he said in a very earnest tone. “I am your humble servant Chen Erniu. Senior, many thanks to you for your kindness. I would sacrifice my life if necessary to pay you back for your magnanimity! In fact, going forward, I’m going to change my name to Fur Monster!”

Erniu’s words struck Xu Qing like lightning. He knew his Eldest Brother very well, and it was an extremely rare thing for him to immediately act in such a respectful way.

For example, even when dealing with Yu Liuchen, his Eldest Brother had done nothing more than just offer some flattering words. But just now, he had outright thanked this person for a kindness.... Xu Qing could tell that this old man had to be terrifying, otherwise, his Eldest Brother wouldn’t act in such a way.

The old man next to the bonfire smiled enigmatically and looked Xu Qing and Erniu up and down yet again. “Fur Monster, you have the aura of a curse on you.... Very interesting. Why does it seem like you actually placed the curse on yourself? I can tell you have a lot of past human lives, so for the time being, I’m going to count you as human.”

Erniu smiled awkwardly.

As the old man spoke, he flipped over the iron skewers with the meat on them. A disgusting odor filled the area, so putrid it made one inclined to vomit. And yet, after smelling it, it would get the saliva flowing as if it were a delicacy.

“Care to eat, you two?” the old man asked.

Xu Qing hesitated.

Erniu instantly shook his head. Ever since consuming that frigid energy and growing all the fur, he really had been suffering from an upset stomach. More importantly, though, he didn’t dare to eat this meat. Although it was true that he used to believe his stomach could handle any sort of food, this old man’s gaze gave him the feeling that holding back from eating was probably the best thing.

“We don’t need to eat,” Erniu said. “Er... we were full before we got here.”

The old man’s facial expression suddenly turned grim. The oppressive sensation in the area grew stronger. The canopy of heaven trembled, almost as if it might shatter, all while the lands shook and water vapor rose up into the air. It looked like the swampy lands were drying up!

Upon seeing that, both Xu Qing and Erniu felt jumpy with fear.

Looking very serious, Erniu looked over at Xu Qing. “Little Junior Brother, hurry up and eat with the old grandpa. You know the saying! Respect the old and cherish the young! That’s a virtue among us humans. The old grandpa is obviously old, and you’re obviously young!”

Xu Qing glanced at Erniu, and he felt his heart sinking. He knew what Erniu meant. If they kept refusing this gruish old man, he would eventually get angry. And Xu Qing did have a very special fleshly body.... With such thoughts on his mind, Xu Qing’s eyes filled with determination. Walking over, he sat down cross-legged next to the bonfire.

The man handed a skewer of meat to him.

Xu Qing accepted it somberly. He looked at the meat, suppressed the urge to vomit, gritted his teeth, and took a bite. Next, his expression became one of great curiosity. Looking at the meat more closely, he took another bite. After swallowing, he realized it tasted delicious. And there was also a miraculous heat flowing through him. It only took him four or five bites to finish all of the meat on the skewer.

Some distance away, Erniu watched curiously as all of this happened. Just when he was about to ask Xu Qing what was going on, the old man smiled mysteriously.

“Taste good?” he asked Xu Qing.

Xu Qing nodded. He had no idea where this meat came from, but it was definitely the most delicious thing he had eaten in his entire life.

The old man grinned. Reaching out to his right side, he grasped at the air. A rumbling sound echoed out, and a wall of meat flew toward him from off in the distance, moving with mountain-toppling, sea-draining force. The wall was as high as the sky, and seemed to go on forever, making it seem like it was the wall of the entire world. And as it neared, the world seemed to get smaller. Soon, the enormous wall of meat stopped right next to the old man. The old man then used his hand to scrape a strip of meat off the wall and thread it onto the skewer.

This development caused Xu Qing to inhale deeply.

As for Erniu, his eyes bulged on the verge of popping out of his skull as he stared at the wall.... This was no wall! It was obviously the flesh of whatever terrifying living being they were all inside of.

Erniu licked his lips. “Grandpa, um... actually, I’m not completely full yet....”

“I’m not full yet either,” the old man said coolly. He handed another skewer to Xu Qing.

Erniu looked slightly crestfallen and hurt, but he didn’t dare to say anything further, and could only watch Xu Qing impatiently.

Xu Qing accepted the skewer, and without so much as a glance in Erniu’s direction, he started eating. The warmth within him grew more intense, and with every bite that he took, his aura erupted explosively. By now, it was obvious to him that these meat skewers definitely counted as a destined opportunity and good fortune! His soul was being nourished, and the connection between it and his flesh and blood was growing stronger. Holding absolutely nothing back, he took one bite after another.

Erniu was starting to get anxious, and his mouth was watering. However, he didn’t dare to take a step closer. Inside, he was saying, It’s just some meat, right? Nothing special....

And thus, Erniu waited impatiently while Xu Qing and the old man ate several skewers. Eventually, Xu Qing reached the point where he couldn’t eat any more. He wanted to, and his fleshly body could accept it, but his soul had reached the point of being full.

Seeing that, the old man smiled. “You’re that much of a foodie? In that case... there’s some fruit in this place that we can roast.”

The old man made another grasping motion, and a string of black grapes flew over into his hand. There were more than thirty of them clustered together, and every one looked plump and juicy.

However... after looking at them, Xu Qing realized that they looked a lot like eyeballs. What was more, they were trembling. He even saw a slit appear on one, which opened slightly to reveal an eye within.

Xu Qing’s heart started racing.

“Is that...?” Erniu felt like he was being struck by heavenly lightning.

As the both of them reeled, the old man squeezed one of the grapes between his fingers. A faint howl of anguish could be heard. Then he tossed it to the side. A boom echoed out as the grape suddenly expanded in size. It turned into a huge eyeball that shone with blinding light. In fact, it was one of the ‘suns’ that had appeared on Xu Qing’s journey when he encountered the god’s dream.

Back then, Erniu had said that the god was terrifying, and that the dream was half real. Right now... the suns from that half-real dream were now in this old man’s hand, and he said they were fruit.

Xu Qing inhaled sharply, while Erniu’s mind reeled. Then, they watched blankly as the old man scraped some meat off the sun and threaded it onto some skewers.... He started roasting it.

Taking a deep breath, Xu Qing rose to his feet and bowed. “Senior, allow me.”

The old man smiled and handed the skewers to Xu Qing.

When Xu Qing took them, he felt immense force buffeting his hands, and he very nearly dropped the skewers. He immediately tapped into his cultivation base and fleshly body power to bolster himself, and in that way, managed to keep them steady. He carefully put them over the fire.

Erniu looked at the grapes, and suddenly felt an immeasurable sense of longing. Thumping his chest, he said, “Senior, I can tell the fire’s about to go out. I’m good at stoking fires. I have strong lungs!”

Erniu hurried over, squatted next to the fire, and started blowing on the flames. The old man looked at the two of them and smiled mysteriously. He did nothing to stop either of them. And thus, Xu Qing and Erniu worked hard together to roast the grapes.

The first skewer went to the old man. As for the second skewer, Xu Qing turned to look at his Eldest Brother, who had been working very hard.

“Go ahead and give it to him,” the old man said casually.

Erniu excitedly took a skewer of roasted grapes from Xu Qing and started eating. His eyes shone.

When Xu Qing reached the last skewer, he took a deep breath and started eating the grapes. Rumbling filled him, and as his soul reached a state of being completely full, it rose to a higher level. His godsource also started seething. As of now, there was no sound other than that of the eating and the swallowing of food. Sometime later, Xu Qing was truly unable to eat anything further. However, seeing that his Eldest Brother wasn’t done, he handed him the half skewer he had left over.

Erniu excitedly took it and started wolfing down the grapes.

As the old man watched, he rubbed his belly and got to his feet. “Given how we met here, I’d say we’re connected by destiny. I’m here waiting for a little something to arrive. Once it’s here, I’ll be leaving.” He looked at Xu Qing and Erniu. “You’re not members of my clan, but you are human. The world you live in managed to attract the attention of Eminent Desolation.... It’s hard to say if that’s a good thing or a bad thing for the living things in your world. As for you, boy....”

He focused on Xu Qing. “It was a member of the elder generation who crafted that fleshly body for you, am I right? Whoever it was, they were very daring. The method used was wild and bold. That said, you shouldn’t have come to the Primeval Sea. Now that you’re here, your aura could easily spread to all the star rings. That’s why I noticed you when you arrived.

“I wanted to see for myself this body of yours that was created with the flesh of Eminent Desolation. It really is an unprecedented path. Unfortunately, the humans in your world don’t know very much about the Primeval Sea. Therefore, you don’t know why you shouldn’t come here. So it’s all very understandable.”

As the old man spoke, his eyes gleamed with admiration. “You have good character, boy. You know how to be helpful, not just take advantage of others. You also worked hard, Fur Monster. Ah, whatever. I guess I might as well help you get rid of some of that filth on you.”

The old man waved his hand. Instantly, a wind of flames rushed toward Xu Qing and Erniu.

An instant later, Xu Qing heard a scream of anguish from behind him. Two shadowy figures materialized out of both him and Erniu. The hot wind sent them spinning backward, until they were floating some distance away. The two soul shadows merged, turning into the little girl that they had run into at the very beginning of their sea journey. It hadn’t actually left them! Upon appearing, the girl looked in terror at the old man.

“Screw off,” the old man said coolly.

The girl shivered and disappeared.

Xu Qing and the Captain were shaken. Rising to their feet, they clasped hands thankfully. Of course, they had countless questions that they wanted to ask.

However, that was when the old man suddenly looked up into the sky. A faint smile appeared on his face. “The little thing I’ve been waiting for is about to arrive.”