Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 1003: Fifth Star Ring

Almost in unison with the words spoken by the old man, the dusky interior of the world inside Timeruins suddenly flared with shimmering, dazzling light. It was magnificent, almost like light refracted off the surface of water, which then rippled up to illuminate the canopy of heaven with multi-colored brightness. Meanwhile, the swampy lands were also changing in a mysterious way. Dense water vapor billowed out of nowhere, rapidly covering the entire swamp, and significantly reducing visibility.

Xu Qing and Erniu looked around with shocked expressions on their faces. Before either could do a thing, a heaven-rending, earth-crushing sound erupted, like the howl of a beast or the roar of a god.

Next, a massive river appeared, with waves that carried time itself as it rushed in their direction. In the blink of an eye, it rushed right past Xu Qing and Erniu, and then disappeared into something like a black hole some 30,000 meters away.

It was as if the river Xu Qing and Erniu could see was only one small section of a much mightier river. The water came from heaven, flowed past them, then disappeared 30,000 meters away, where it went to a different section of time.

Even more gruish was that, even though the water of the river rushed rapidly right in front of them, it didn’t actually seem to be located in the same dimension as them. The flowing water seemed illusory, as if this was just a reflection that had appeared for some reason in their location.

Xu Qing immediately recognized what he was looking at. “The River of Time!”

Wherever time passed, this river existed. However, to make it appear required either very unique authority or astonishing levels of power. Xu Qing had experience with this river, whether it was Princess Brightblossom in the Moonrite Region or other gods who had time abilities. All of them took the initiative to use it, causing the great river to appear, and then borrowing its power to fish out time from within it. All of them were using it.

But what was happening with this old man, who apparently came from some world beyond theirs, was completely different. The old man stood in the middle of the River of Time, looking at the spot where it came from. He was clearly waiting. He was waiting for the ‘little thing’ that he had mentioned.... It seemed that, in his eyes, the great River of Time wasn’t something mysterious or profound. It was as if he could calculate its flow with ease, and understand all of its karma. Apparently... he was standing within time itself, waiting for some sort of prey to appear. This was a level that completely surpassed the concept of simply using the river.

Thanks to Xu Qing’s god perception, his mind and heart were pulsing in sync with the river. It made him think about back when he gained enlightenment of the authority of sound. Godly authority was something primeval that came from primal-chaos itself. It was an extremely ancient power that existed within the dark recesses of the world. Merely being able to grasp it signified that one was qualified to use it. And that would create a sealing mark.

But that only related to using it. This was a much higher level that revolved around control. As Xu Qing looked at this old man and considered these matters, he came to the conclusion... that the old man was definitely at that level! Maybe he wasn’t a god, but he was able to do things that ordinary gods couldn’t do.

That was the limit of what Xu Qing could ‘see.’ However, he was also certain that this was not the limit of what this old man could do. As for where his limits were, the details would differ based on perception. Perhaps to most living beings, it would be enough to say that the old man was ‘strong.’

Meanwhile, Erniu was also reeling in mind and heart.

As the two of them dealt with a myriad of conflicting emotions and thoughts, a stream of golden light appeared in the great River of Time. The light sped through the water, moving much faster than the flow of the river itself. And wherever it passed, the waves of time collapsed.

Upon seeing that, Xu Qing yet again felt his mind teetering.

There’s something inside the River of Time moving faster than the river itself...? Doesn’t that imply that this golden light can move faster than time?

Everything Xu Qing had seen and experienced in the outer sea had shattered his previous conceptions of the world. His eyes had truly been opened to new horizons.

As he watched something move faster than time itself, Xu Qing’s heart started racing. He wanted to see clearly what that golden light was, but clearly, his current level of cultivation base wouldn’t allow him to do so.

But then... the golden light speeding through the river reached the old man. There, it stopped, moving no further. And its true form was revealed. When Xu Qing saw it clearly, his eyes went wide. Erniu's gaze became one of great curiosity.

It was a golden rat! It looked very similar to the golden rat Xu Qing and Erniu had encountered in that cave when they acquired the holy fardark nectar. That said, its aura was different. Furthermore, this golden rat pulsed with an even more ancient aura. One thing was for certain, it was definitely a member of the same species![1]

As for this golden rat, it didn’t run around on four legs. Instead, it walked upright like a human. A single hemp sandal hung from its mouth, which it held in both hands. Apparently, it had been running along and chewing the sandal at the same time, resulting in the sandal being somewhat dilapidated.

The moment the rat saw the old man, a look of surprise and fear appeared on its face. Its eyes shone with terror, and it immediately stopped chewing on the sandal. The golden rat then spun around and fled in the opposite direction, going against the flow of the river.

The old man looked at the golden rat and smiled. “Little thing, you stole something of mine. I let you run free for quite a while, but now here you are right in front of me!”

The old man reached out through the River of Time to grab the rat.

A series of anxious squeals erupted from the mouth of the golden rat. At the same time, golden light shone off it, turning the surrounding river a golden color as it accelerated dramatically. It really seemed like it would manage to speed against the flow of the river and disappear into the canopy of heaven.

But only an instant later, the old man’s grasping hand caused the spot where the river came out of the sky to be sealed off. The same thing happened to the area where it disappeared into the earth 30,000 meters away. Both ends had been sealed. The river now couldn’t flow in this area!

The golden rat’s path was sealed both ahead and behind! The river water in between those spots was cut off and began to sink down.

The golden rat shivered as it tried to break into the void. But an instant later, the river water that remained behind surged, becoming a rope of water that shot toward the rat. The rope ignored the struggles of the rat, wrapping tightly around its neck and dragging it toward the old man.

In the blink of an eye, it landed in the old man’s hand. He shook it back and forth.

Perhaps the rope of river water was too tight, or perhaps it was just terrifyingly powerful. Either way, the rat’s legs trembled and it squeaked several times. Pale froth bubbled at its lips, and its eyes went blank before fluttering shut. Its life force was rapidly vanishing, and an aura of death spread through it. Soon, it wasn’t moving at all, making it seem like it was dead.

Erniu, meanwhile, blinked a few times and then suddenly shouted, “Senior, that rogue is just pretending to be dead! Hmmmphh! I can’t believe someone would try to fake their own death in front of me! I can tell the truth at a glance. This little thing is just too inexperienced!”

A faint smile appeared on the old man’s face as he looked at the golden rat hanging limply in his hand. “Even Fur Monster can see that you’re pretending to be dead. Very clumsy indeed. If you want to get out of this alive, you’re going to have to help me.”

The golden rat shivered from head to toe and then opened its eyes. After casting a murderous glare at Erniu, it shifted its gaze to the old man, making sure to look very flattering.

Then it lifted up the hemp sandal with both hands, as if formally returning it.

The old man took the sandal, noting its dilapidated state. After shaking it out a few times, he dropped it onto the ground and slipped his foot into it. He shook his head.

“You good-for-nothing lout. Last time you stole my clothing, I took away your ability to speak. Then you coveted my sandals, and after going to all the effort of stealing one, you only managed to eat this much of it? I guess you’re just not very lucky.”

With that, the old man gripped the rope of time that was tied around the rat’s neck, and started walking up toward the dome of heaven. The rat swayed back and forth, looking very pitiful. At a certain point, it looked down at Erniu with a scowl, as if it was determined to remember what he looked like.

Xu Qing wasn’t paying attention to the rat. He kept his eyes on the old man, all while wondering if he should ask the questions that burned inside of him right now.

When Erniu noticed the golden rat glaring at him, he laughed coldly in his heart. He had to agree with what the old grandpa said, that this rat was really unlucky. After chewing on that hemp sandal, it hardly managed to swallow more than a bite or two. Erniu knew that if he had that opportunity, he would have stuffed the entire thing into his stomach. He looked back at the rat with clear derision.

The golden rat got even angrier at that, and let loose some more squeaks. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The old man heard and laughed. “You sense the bloodline of one of your descendants? Well, of course! Otherwise, these two wouldn’t have been swallowed by Timeruins and arrived in the very spot where I was waiting for you. Okay, enough tattle-telling. We need to go home.”

The old man was almost at the horizon now, where he waved his right hand gently toward the dome of heaven. The sky rumbled loudly. Great cracking sounds rang out as the sky split open, revealing a massive rift.... The other side of the rift was pitch black, but it was clearly possible to detect the aura of another world. It was above the surface of a sea!

The old man took another step forward. He was about to go through the rift.

Xu Qing suddenly clasped hands and bowed, all while speaking in a loud voice. “Senior, there’s something I’m confused about. If you’re inclined to explain, I would greatly appreciate it. Earlier, you said that this place is the Primeval Sea. And you said that the world my Elder Brother and I are from doesn’t know much about the Primeval Sea. In that case... what is the Primeval Sea? And why would my aura be sensed by all of the star rings?”

Xu Qing remained bowed at the waist as he waited for an answer.

The old man turned around and looked at Xu Qing. “You have a body made from Eminent Desolation’s flesh, so you should at least have a vague sense of the fact that the universe we all occupy has thirty-six star rings. Every star ring is vast and boundless, and filled with countless lands and places.[2]

“The Primeval Sea is a fantastic thing. Any location where it exists is a strategic spot and a prosperous place. And that’s because the Primeval Sea connects all of the star rings in the universe. And that’s also why, when you come here, your aura can spread everywhere.

“That said, don’t worry. I made sure to cover your aura. What’s more, the Primeval Sea in this spot is special. It’s currently sealed. You can only get in through rifts, which means that outsiders can never stay inside for very long. After all, your star ring used to be extremely famous.

“I suppose our meeting indicates we have a predestined affinity. One day, if you ever become a Lower Immortal, then you’ll have the basic qualifications to pass through the Primeval Sea. If you use that opportunity to leave this place, and if you’re also willing, you can use the Primeval Sea to come find me in the Immortal Capital in the Fifth Star Ring. That’s a world ruled by humans, and it’s also a world of immortals.”

With that, the old man stepped through the rift and vanished.

1. The golden rat first appeared in chapter 922, and was in every chapter until the most relevant aspect of that small story arc, which was in chapter 927. ☜

2. We have previously heard about ‘star rings’ in chapters 642, 705 (the footnote here might be worth revisiting if you don’t remember what I said about it), and 899. This term is not a very common term. Of the roughly 20+ dictionaries I use, only one of them has a definition of it (only in Chinese, and it’s not a very detailed definition, being only an explanation from a random line of ancient poetry). There isn’t even a Baidu wiki entry for the term, and Baidu wiki has entries for just about everything. If you do an image search of it, you will find some images of the planet Saturn. This is because the character “star” can also mean planet depending on the context. You can also find pictures of galaxies. This is not the common word for galaxy. However, in my imagination, these ‘star rings’ look like galaxies, and based on how they are described here and later, that seems to me to be the most plausible interpretation of what they look like. This is a fantasy universe, so I don’t in any way think that they are supposed to correspond to what real-life galaxies are, in terms of the number of stars/planets in them, or anything like that. ☜