Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 999: The Gruish Outer Sea

The canopy of heaven was not pitch black. The blood cloud became a source of light, casting a crimson glow out in all directions.

Xu Qing and Erniu were inside the cloud listening to Yu Liuchen and looking out at the surface of the sea.

The dividing line between the black and violet parts of the sea formed an infinite scar on the surface of the water. It was a very clear border marking the boundary between the inner and outer parts of the Forbidden Sea.

The inner sea was definitely a dangerous place, but comparatively speaking, that danger could be kept in control. Whether it was Emperor-Receiving Prefecture, the continent of South Phoenix, or even the Southisle Region and the countless islands of the sea, such areas had been explored for tens of thousands of years. Granted, there were different areas suitable for different levels of cultivation base. But the generations of exploration ensured that the inner sea wasn’t a complete mystery.

But the outer sea... was considered taboo to the living beings of Revered Ancient, even back when it was patrolled by a sun and moon. People who qualified to go there were as rare as phoenix feathers or qilin horns. Without the proper cultivation base, people who forced their way into the outer sea wouldn’t last very long before they were killed in body and soul. In fact, there were many times when someone died without even knowing how they had perished.

It almost wasn’t necessary to mention how things changed tens of thousands of years later, when Golden Crow and Night Watch perished, depriving the outer sea of a sun and moon. After that, the place was cloaked in endless darkness and gloom. And it became even more difficult to find people who were qualified to explore the place.

From then on, the primary features of the outer sea became mystery and the unknown.

Although Yu Liuchen’s description had pulled back some of the veil that covered the outer sea, the truth was that what lay beneath that veil was still boundlessly enigmatical. Endlessly abstruse.

Erniu was actually struck speechless, and wasn’t even sure what to make of the new information. As he looked at the outer sea, his eyes contained mixed emotions.

Xu Qing likewise struggled to balance the myriad thoughts and emotions running through him. Given what he had seen when riding the dragon chariot and receiving that legacy, he could tell that what Yu Liuchen had just told them was almost certainly true.

The outer sea has a history that goes back farther than the Brilliant Heaven Godfolk.... And the Brilliant Heaven Godfolk actually came from the outer sea.... If that’s the case, then where did this so-called ‘outer sea’ actually come from?

Xu Qing already had a speculation. He looked up at the dome of heaven to the broken face of the god suspended above Revered Ancient.

So... why did hē come to Revered Ancient?

For tens of thousands of years, countless people had wondered about that, but there had never been an answer. Theories were proliferating within Xu Qing’s heart and mind.

Meanwhile, Yu Liuchen took a deep breath and softly asked, “Can you smell that?”

Xu Qing nodded. It was the aroma of blood. And it came from the outer sea.... In fact, to be most precise, it was the aura of the outer sea. It was similar to that of the inner sea, but was completely different on a substructural level.

“Before the Father God came,” Yu Liuchen went on, “the outer sea was this exact same color. Black is the color of the godly aura of the Brilliant Heaven Godfolk. But mix that with the blood of other unknown entities, and you get... a sea the color violet.

“Later, the Father God’s aura invaded the outer sea, and thus... the godly aura that you cultivator’s call mutagen became stronger and more complex. That was how this delicious aroma developed. It makes me think of a legend that circulates in all of the star rings.”

Eyes gleaming, Yu Liuchen yet again took a deep breath, savoring the bloody aroma of the outer sea.

Meanwhile, Xu Qing and Erniu exchanged a glance.

“Senior,” Xu Qing said quietly, “what legend are you talking about?”

Yu Liuchen gave Xu Qing a very meaningful look, then looked up at the magnificent broken face hanging high in the dome of heaven.

“It’s a legend about the Father God,” hē said simply. Hē clearly wasn’t willing to go into any further detail about the legend. Waving hīs right hand, hē sent the red cloud flying toward the boundary between the inner and outer seas.

An instant later, the red cloud crossed from the black to the violet. Xu Qing and Erniu were officially in the outer sea! At that point, the red cloud stopped moving and started fading from existence. Yet again, Yu Liuchen’s voice echoed out.

“I want the two of you to travel onward alone. Go deep into the outer sea. As far as you can go. You don’t need to do anything other than that. Your mere presence is enough to make you the perfect bait.”

Along with the words came a force of expulsion that sent Xu Qing and Erniu flying out of the cloud and toward the violet surface of the sea.

Xu Qing immediately produced his dreadnaught, which looked like the old woman Joine. In the inner sea, a dreadnaught landing on the surface of the water would create massive waves.[1]

But this was the outer sea. Despite only being on the edge of it, the water was extremely dense, and any waves that resulted were hardly visible. The surface of the sea looked like dead water that wasn’t moving at all. The dreadnaught was likewise not moving.

As Xu Qing and Erniu stood atop it, they could sense the profundity of the outer sea, and as such, they kept fully on guard. There was a mysterious and unnamable pressure in the outer sea, as well as a terrifying aura. Combined with other unknown substances, it created an intangible mental tempest that battered against them constantly.

Xu Qing shivered. Erniu was breathing heavily. Already, they could sense their souls trembling. At the same time, an intense trepidation arose within their hearts, something they couldn’t control as it spread to fill them.

It was a sensation similar to that experienced by Xu Qing years ago when he went out to sea for the first time after joining Seven Blood Eyes. Back then, the inner sea had seemed like a place of infinite mystery and danger. He got the same feeling again right now.[2]

It took a short time for them to acclimate. Then they exchanged another glance.

Erniu sighed. “I was assuming we would go to a specific destination and then get used as bait. I never imagined... that we would be asked to wander freely.”

Erniu was slightly irritated, and was increasingly coming to the conclusion that Yu Liuchen was a very lazy god. It would have been one thing for Yu Liuchen to use the two of them on a fishing expedition, but as it turned out, the bait was supposed to go running around?

So very obviously unprofessional. Erniu squatted down and looked more closely at the violet water.

Meanwhile, Xu Qing thought about the situation for the moment and then decided to provide a quick reminder. “Eldest Brother, back on Golden Crow’s dragon chariot, I saw a good deal of the outer sea. There are a lot of very terrifying things out here. If I were you... I’d avoid doing anything suicidal.”

Erniu was not very pleased to hear Xu Qing talking like that. “Little Ah Qing, how could you talk about me, your Eldest Brother, in such a manner? That was extremely hurtful! I’m the kind of person who never, ever, does suicidal things. If I were that kind of person, how could I still be alive right now?”

Xu Qing did nothing except look calmly at Erniu.

His gaze caused a bit of guilt to spark within Erniu. He cleared his throat. “Alright, fine. Fine! I won’t do anything suicidal!”

Xu Qing nodded, then performed a right-handed incantation gesture. Instantly, the dreadnaught’s defensive shields activated, surrounding them on all sides. And then, Xu Qing poured power into the unique dreadnaught to send it rumbling into motion.

Three days passed. During that time, there was no change between day and night. Everything was pitch black. The silence only grew deeper. They hardly ever heard the sound of waves. In fact, based on sound alone, it almost didn’t seem like they were out at sea.

However, the humidity from the water, and the increasingly strong smell of blood, were a constant reminder to Xu Qing... that they were definitely in the outer sea.

Whether the dreadnaught was in the inner sea or the Revered Ancient mainland, it had astounding defenses and could be considered physically enormous. But after only three days in the outer sea, it was covered by a violet fog. And that fog was already starting to decay the defensive shields.

After sensing what was happening, Xu Qing and Erniu both looked very serious. It was the type of decay that normally occurred with the passage of great amounts of time.

“This outer sea really is an unusual place,” Erniu said, reaching out to touch the layer of fog outside the dreadnaught. “It’s not just pitch black and completely silent. The complex mutagen has extremely gruish effects on foreign objects.... The dreadnaught has only been under the effects for three days, but it seems more like it’s been a thousand years.”

Xu Qing was about to reply when he suddenly looked off into the distance. Erniu detected the same thing and looked in the same direction. Given the level of their cultivation bases, they were able to see some things in the darkness of the outer sea, although their vision was definitely limited. And thus, they could see the vague outline of some objects floating up ahead.

They were jagged rocks of varying sizes and shapes, floating on the surface of the water. It was as if they weren’t capable of sinking down. All of them emanated ancient auras that seemed to bear witness to the passage of unfathomable amounts of time.

Xu Qing had seen similar scenes when riding the dragon chariot. There were many areas full of ruins in the outer sea. Back then, he hadn’t paid very close attention to them, but right now, his eyes glittered darkly.

“Something’s off here, Eldest Brother....” Xu Qing walked to the edge of the dreadnaught and sent his godsource into his eyes as he looked at the floating rocks.

Beyond the rocks were some sprawling ruins atop the water. It was as if a city had once stood here, only for it to crumble, leaving behind shattered walls and devastated buildings. In the middle of the ruins was a damaged temple! Nôv(el)B\\jnn

There was a figure visible in the temple! It was a little girl dressed in an ancient style of clothing. She sat on a broken section of wall, her feet bare and her legs swinging back and forth in a very relaxed manner. She appeared to be singing a song, except that no words came out of her mouth. However, she was surrounded by a host of shocking ghosts that were bowing to her in worship.[3]

The moment Xu Qing spotted the girl, his heart seized, and a spine-tingling sensation exploded within him. It was an instinctive reaction from his soul telling him that he was in extreme danger!

Erniu was using his own methods to observe the scene, and his pupils constricted. Shivering, he projected a message to Xu Qing via divine will.

“What the hell is that thing? It doesn’t look like a ghost but also doesn’t look like a god. It’s definitely not a cultivator. It doesn’t even have an aura of death. Wait, hold on. It doesn’t have any aura at all!

“Don’t tell me this is the god Yu Liuchen is fishing for. But if that’s the case, why do I get the sense that this thing is even more terrifying than Yu Liuchen himself?”

Erniu’s intuition was usually spot on, and right now, it was telling him that this entity was vastly more dangerous than Yu Liuchen.

“Little Ah Qing... what are the chances Yu Liuchen will hook a shark on this fishing expedition and end up getting himself killed?”

Looking very serious, Xu Qing set the dreadnaught on a different course in order to go around the area. However, that was when the girl on the wall in the temple suddenly turned to look at them. Her eyes were pure black, but there was a smile on her face.

Next... Xu Qing’s mind reeled as the godsource in his eyes collapsed. His line of sight collapsed, and all he could see was darkness. At the same time, he felt as if there was something extremely cold behind him, right on his back.

A tender voice spoke directly into his mind, clear and crisp. “Don’t go any further than this, sweetie. Beyond this point, you’ll only find the end of the sea, and the end of life itself.”

1. As mentioned in the footnote in chapter 915, the “Joine” version of his dreadnaught seems to be an author mistake. In the events of chapter 726 and 732, the dreadnaught Zhang San gave Xu Qing was based on a Dawning Sun. It was actually his spirit cruiser that looked like Joine (reference, chapter 551.1). That said, whether it’s a mistake or not, apparently the author has his dreadnaught looking like Joine now. ☜

2. Xu Qing went out to sea for the first time in chapters 79-81, roughly speaking. That’s also when he saw the giant and chariot for the first time. If you go back and read those chapters, you won’t find any lines that directly mention him experiencing a sudden onset of trepidation. However, those chapters in general do emphasize the danger and mystery. ☜

3. To us, pretty much all clothing worn during the imperial dynasties of China would be considered “ancient.” But the clothing styles changed a lot over the years. To someone in the Ming Dynasty, someone wearing Tang Dynasty clothing would look “ancient.” Based on TV shows, movies, and my imagination, I feel like the typical xianxia clothing is supposed to be like the fashion of Song or Tang, which would make “ancient” clothing in a xianxia universe be like something from Qin or Han. That said... if you take common xianxia games to be canon, then the fashion is almost purely fantasy and not based on anything historical at all, in which case the “ancient” clothing would be based on the whim of the art director. If you’re interested in this kind of thing, check out this google image search of “chinese fashion through the ages.” ☜