Outside Of Time

1606  Great Dao, Blue Sky

There were no spectators for the Dao contest in the valley.

At that moment, the Li clan members were enveloped by the shadow and everything they saw was pitch-black.

It was the same for space and time, rendering them like blind men unable to perceive color.

However, an existence was observing this battle from a distance.

In the Dao Immortal Sect, on the fertile field, the Poison Lord looked down at the empty space in front of him.

There, once stood two poisonous plants—one had transformed into light and dissipated, while the other had withered into ashes.

Yet, in the eyes of the Poison Lord, what he saw was not merely the surface. His gaze seemed to pierce through the barriers, glimpsing space-time, and witnessing the scene within the valley.

The corners of his mouth revealed a meaningful smile.

"By comprehending my inheritance, you have entangled yourself in my karma. Once you sever the life of my disciple, when the inheritance is fully realized, this karma will be truly sealed."

"From that moment onward, your Dao will be bound to this karma, and I may claim it without returning it."

"Even though the Venerable Immortal doesn't allow divination, my result comes before the cause."

…

The voice of the Poison Lord couldn't be heard in the valley. Only the battle intent from Li Mengtu continued to burn at this moment, becoming increasingly intense.

It became a sea of fire that wanted to burn the surroundings.

His entire being transformed into a reverse-flowing star, soaring from the earth towards the sky. He became a sharp, radiant streak of light, seemingly poised to cleave through the void, embodying the brilliance of life as he charged relentlessly toward the faint silhouette he 'saw' in his vision, unstoppable and unwavering.

His speed was getting faster and faster!

The burning also became more intense. Not only did it burn his body, but it also burned his cultivation and life.

Only his dream remained… becoming the sole purpose, the driving force, and the obsession.

Li Mengtu, though not one to claim a life of brilliance, had always acted with integrity, especially when it came to the way of the Dao.

This was because he respected the Dao.

Hence, he didn't allow his Dao heart to be tainted by dust, nor did he allow himself to lower his head.

For this, he had been cultivating diligently since he was young. He wanted to walk higher, to see the scenery in the sky, to grasp the Ordinance that represented a higher level.

He wanted to prove it to his clan, his master, and the world…

Though his ancestry and bloodline did not originate from the Fifth Star Ring, his heart in pursuit of the Dao was no less than any other.

He was no lesser than the native cultivators of the Fifth Star Ring or any other stars.

He could elevate his family to greatness, he could ascend to the peak, and he could step into the long-dreamed-of Immortal Capital!

Even though he knew that the current him might be as laughable as a moth in the eyes of some people.

But so what?

Death was not scary.

The scary thing was not being able to hear Dao.

The measure of life was never its length.

 Hence, even though he was bound to be burned, he still chose to fight to the last moment.

The deprivation of the inheritance was related to his life. He was clear that the moment Xu Qing appeared, his outcome was already decided.

Since that was the case… dying along the path would still have been worthy of the blood and sweat shed along the way, worthy of the persistence of half a lifetime, worthy of the expectations of his clan, and worthy of the opponents who had fallen in his pursuit of Dao.

With a roar, he surged forward!

He bloomed like a flower in the sky.

Unfortunately…

Dreams often left a sigh in the heart, and whenever the pen was lifted, it mostly wrote of regrets.

In the end, his spells, Dao arts, and all his efforts couldn't touch the figure in the eye at all.

Xu Qing stood there as though he was standing beyond the skies in a different time and space.

No matter how Li Mengtu attacked, he still couldn't touch him.

His death curse authority could cause the weather to change and cause an astonishing death aura to surge in the surroundings.

It could manifest evil spirits and monsters, turning the area into an underworld.

This made wails ring out incessantly.

However… at this moment, it was empty.

If he couldn't touch his opponent, the other party wouldn't be tainted by karma.

It was as though in this lonely world, the only voice he heard was the echo of his own voice.

His lightning authority could only roar beside him. Even though it transformed into a sea of lightning that poured down, it was still meaningless.

Even though he used the truth decree and questioned the person in front of him, he couldn't obtain the slightest answer. It was as though the person he was asking about wasn't in the world.

The immortal flood was drawn in, and the aurora descended. Yet, what could be drawn in was ultimately mere appearance, and what could descend was mostly illusion.

Against cultivators who didn't have an Ordinance, all of this could be considered incisive. However, against cultivators who had an Ordinance, it was just a puppet show.

The mirror flowers couldn't reflect Xu Qing.

It was also futile to undo the array formation that sealed a god's right hand.

The god's hand that looked terrifying, purple-red, and covered in tentacles and eyes was ultimately just a broken hand. The divine authority It contained wasn't a divine aspect.

Therefore, It was no longer powerful.

The anomalous substances and murmurs also lost their strangeness.

Only bitterness was left.

All of Li Mengtu's efforts and eruptions, even after burning his life, couldn't hit Xu Qing at all.

He could vaguely 'see' but couldn't touch him.

This was Dao.

It was like a figure within a painting—no matter how high they leaped, how furious they became, or how fiercely they struck, they could never touch the presence outside the painting.

In the end… the Great Dao was like the blue sky, and I could not break free. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

He could only repeat it again and again, trying, working hard, and erupting.

He wanted to break through the 'painting' in front of him and blast open the invisible barrier in front of him.

In the end… he couldn't make it.

In the end, only bitterness remained as he returned to the starting point in his exhaustion. In the valley, he raised his head and looked at the blurry outline in the sky, silently in a daze.

After a long time… Li Mengtu closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, he swallowed the bitterness and took a deep breath, trying his best to calm himself down.

"I lost my composure just now."

"It's fine," Xu Qing calmly said.

From the start to the end, he didn't make a move. At this moment, he deeply understood that to a certain extent, Ordinance could also be considered a qualification.

The qualification to walk out of the painting.

"The Dao contest ends here." After a short silence, Li Mengtu said calmly.

"In my life, I've encountered different opponents in different realms. Every time I win, I'll ask the other party if they have any last wishes and I'll complete them."

"You don't have to be like me, but I do have two last wishes."

Li Mengtu didn't care if Xu Qing agreed or not and continued speaking.

"One is related to Daoist Qingyang, the one who just fought with me. His Qingyang lineage has held a grudge against my Li clan for generations. There was a time in the Li clan's history when we nearly faced extinction, and it was the Qingyang lineage that caused it."

"Therefore, for many years, I've been searching for the remnants of Qingyang. I've found them now, but unfortunately… he escaped."

"If possible, please help me kill him."

As he spoke, Li Mengtu sat down and took out a flask of wine. He took a sip and continued to speak.

"My second wish is to go somewhere."

"That's a secret realm."

"Legend has it that there should be twelve Immortal Lords in the Fifth Star Ring, not the current eleven. This is because when the Fifth Star Ring was first established by cultivators, the Immortal Lord, who was ranked first, chose to rebel for some reason."

"This Immortal Lord's name is Aurora. He was once known as the Aurora Immortal Lord."

"It's said that the aurora in the Fifth Star Ring is also related to him. Back then, this Immortal Lord rebelled and was personally killed by the Venerable Immortal. Hence, his soul landed on the ground and his Ordinance transformed into the aurora in the sky."

"As for the place where his soul fell, it's known as the Immortal's Fall. It's in my western territory."

"The spirit tide there rises irregularly and the secret keys are spat out and scattered in the west. When the number of secret keys accumulates to 49, the tide will rise to its peak."

"For all the cultivators in the Fifth Star Ring, that is a blessing and opportunity. According to the judgment from decades ago, it will open soon."

"At that time, each of the 49 secret keys can accommodate two people holding them to obtain opportunities."

"I once wanted to go there to obtain opportunities, but I can't do it now. I hope you can do it and go further."

"Thus, I can be considered a stepping stone for your path to Dao, and my death will have meaning."

With that, Li Mengtu opened his left hand and a jade carving of a fish appeared in his palm which he then placed in front of him.

"This is the secret key I obtained."

After doing this, Li Mengtu took a deep breath and looked at the blurry outline in the sky again.

"Fellow Daoist, I wish you success!"

As he spoke, he raised his left hand, forming a claw, and suddenly pressed it against the petals on his forehead. His five fingers pierced through his skull, through his soul, and through his life, connecting with the half-bloomed inheritance flower that was intricately tied to himself…

He plucked them off in one go!

The moment he took the petals out, a hole appeared on his forehead and he was covered in blood, his life force rapidly withering.

"Take it!"

The half inheritance flower flew into the sky and floated in front of Xu Qing.

As for Li Mengtu, he was currently sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed. He lowered his head and felt death drowning him.

In the sky, Xu Qing looked at the half inheritance flower in front of him. After a moment of silence, he raised his right hand but didn't grab the flower. Instead, it landed on his forehead.

11:03

He gently tugged.

Immediately, the petals on his forehead were erased and appeared in his palm.

With the support of the eighth extremity's space-time Ordinance, the stripping of this inheritance flower wouldn't cause any waves for Xu Qing. With a wave of his hand, his half of the inheritance flower flew toward the flower Li Mengtu had given him.

The moment they came into contact, they fused smoothly.

The twelve petals were completed, forming a full and complete legacy.

After that, he flicked it lightly.

This inheritance flower transformed into a beam of light that headed straight for Li Mengtu's forehead and instantly fused into it.

Li Mengtu's entire body trembled. His life force that had already dissipated instantly reversed and his aura rose. His eyes suddenly opened and he looked at Xu Qing in disbelief.

"You…"

"This Dao is useless to me. It's also your karma. Since you want to know the meaning of the Ordinance, I'll give it to you."

"As for the people you want to kill, kill them yourself."

Xu Qing calmly spoke and turned to walk toward the sky.

In the valley, Li Mengtu fell silent.

Looking in the direction Xu Qing had left in, he suddenly pressed his chest, extracting the extremely precious life source related to his life.

He then sent it to the sky.

"Xu Qing, this is my life. You can use it anytime!"

In the sky, the life source flew over. Xu Qing kept it and didn't stop walking. His back was facing Li Mengtu as he waved his hand.

He walked further and further away.

Only Li Mengtu was left in the valley. He looked around and muttered as though a lifetime had passed.

"This is the grace of the Great Dao."

…

At the same time, in the Dao Immortal Sect, the expression of Poison Lord, who was watching this scene, suddenly turned cold.

As his aura spread out, the flowers and plants in the fertile field silently collapsed, turning into ashes and turning into a storm.

It swept in all directions.

In the storm, the Poison Lord closed his eyes.

A long time later, the storm dissipated. Poison Lord, who was standing there, calmed down. He looked at the horizon and narrowed his eyes as he mumbled.

"Not greedy or does not fancy it?…"

"Using this method to break the situation, making me unable to claim the Dao. On the contrary… he used my arrangement and achieved his own Dao!"

"Interesting, interesting."