Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 847: The Spirit Trove Path

Grand Prince sounded completely incredulous as he looked at the bamboo slip in the Captain’s hands. He had to look twice just to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. Although he didn’t go back to visit his mother’s clan very often, he was familiar enough with the special items enshrined there. And he was fully aware that the clan elders and other old-timers were very respectful of such things. And their godly law medallion came from the founder of their clan, and had a history going back some ten thousand years. It had been awarded by High God Moonfire thanks to services rendered.

It was a godly item, and in some respects, it represented a god. It was also considered a reserve power of the clan, and was something outsiders weren’t even permitted to look at. Therefore, even though Grand Prince was convinced he knew what he was looking at, he also didn’t dare to believe it was true.

It was really too monumental. To see something so amazing being hacked at by Chen Erniu....

And yet... the aura was unmistakable, and it felt like something truly ancient. It even emitted special fluctuations that indicated... this couldn’t be anything other than a godly law medallion. Grand Prince was so shocked that he completely forgot to continue explaining the jade slips to Xu Qing. And then he was suddenly overwhelmed with the sensation that something extremely precious was being wasted.

“Stop! Fellow Daoist Erniu, that object... you can’t just carve it up!”

The Captain looked calm and even somewhat apathetic as he slowly looked up. Sticking his chin out slightly and lowering his eyelids a bit, he looked at Grand Prince.

“You do know a thing or two. You actually recognized this thing.” He suddenly made another cut with the knife, and a cracking sound rang out. A massive wave of shock slammed into Grand Prince’s heart as he realized that... the knife stroke hadn’t actually damaged the godly law medallion. Instead, it caused its aura and fluctuations to grow stronger.

“This....” Grand Prince stood there, stunned.

Looking even calmer than before, the Captain continued, “The fact you recognized it indicates you’ve seen one before. Not many holy objects like this are around anymore.”

Grand Prince suppressed the confusion in his heart and clasped hands to the Captain. “I saw one in my mother’s clan. The clan founder was given one as a gift for service.”

The Captain’s eyebrows shot up. “What’s the surname of your mother’s clan?”

“Qingfeng,” Grand Prince said after a brief hesitation. “We’re subservient to the Moonfire Temple....”

The Captain thought back for a moment, then smiled enigmatically and said, “Qingfeng? You mean one of the three great clans of Moonfire? Your clan’s founder was named Qingfeng Lingkong, right?”

Grand Prince was more than a little surprised. However, when he thought about how Chen Erniu had followed Xu Qing through Firemoon territory, and that they had been accompanied by Master Gravesparrow, he realized it made sense that they might know some top-secret things.

The Captain didn’t say anything further, and just kept carving.

As for Xu Qing, he had an odd look on his face as he thought back to what the Captain had said just before Grand Prince showed up. He’d said... that in the past, he’d sold ‘hundreds of copies.’ Xu Qing looked at Grand Prince and couldn’t help but wonder where exactly the founder of his mother’s clan had acquired their bamboo slip.

Considering how the conversation had just been derailed, Grand Prince was having a hard time regaining his composure. That was especially true considering... that the Captain, whether intentionally or not, seemed to be making more noise with his carving than he had moments before.

As the scrape, scrape, scrape sound echoed out, Grand Prince quickly finished his explanation about the jade slips. Then, still feeling unsettled, he stood and bid farewell.

Before leaving, he gave a command medallion to Xu Qing and explained that there was a shop in the city run by his mother’s clan. All he had to do was go there, and he could acquire some necessary supplies for the second round. Although Grand Prince had refused to give his loyalty to the Firemoons, and had thus been forsaken by his mother’s clan, he obviously still had a lot of connections. That much was evident from the fact that a forbidden mountain had been set aside for him.

When the Captain noted how circumspect Grand Prince was, he nodded. Then he tossed the bamboo slip to him.

Grand Prince instinctively caught it. His expression flickered; obviously he knew the significance of a godly law medallion, and was thus unsure of what the Captain meant by his action.

“Take it,” the Captain said proudly. “Just remember not to tell anyone about it. With that, you shouldn’t have any problem in the second round.”

Grand Prince felt like his mind was about to explode. All of a sudden, his impression of the Captain changed. Now the Captain seemed incredibly mysterious to him.

After a moment of hesitation, he said, “It’s too valuable.... You should give it to Region Lord Xu instead. That way—”

“It is valuable!” the Captain interrupted. “But you’re worth it!” Standing, he walked over to Grand Prince and clasped his shoulder. “Never forget that you’re human. Maybe this thing is invaluable. But as long as you’re human, then it’s worth it to give it to you!

“As for Xu Qing, well, he doesn’t need it. He’s a military man, and this whole thing counts as training for him. Therefore, when it comes to the future of humankind, I’m more interested in you.”

Normally speaking, words like that wouldn’t have much effect on Grand Prince. But now, things had changed. A tremor passed through him. Taking a deep breath, he nodded seriously, backed up three steps, and then bowed deeply at the waist to the Captain.

The Captain clasped his hands behind his back and nodded. Smiling, he watched as Grand Prince left. Only when he was gone did the Captain turn to Xu Qing and blink a few times.

“Back in the day, that Lingkong fellow from his clan reacted the same way.”

Xu Qing didn’t respond. Looking down at the three jade slips, he picked up the second, all while mentally reviewing what Grand Prince had said about the four chosen. Upon sending his divine will into the jade slip, he was able to get a lot more information about them, including images.

Browsing all the information helped Xu Qing calm down. The fact that his journey up to this point had been very smooth didn’t cause him to take things casually, even if he was on a higher level than his contemporaries.

That was especially true considering that, with the exception of the Captain, no one throughout the years had been able to keep up with his progress. In the end, he still wasn’t satisfied.

Back when he had lived in the slums, his dream had been to just find his parents and somehow stay alive. Maybe improve his life a bit. But then the Crown Prince of Violet and Cyan came along and upended his world. That had changed Xu Qing in the depths of his being. Now he wanted to become stronger!

Only by dealing with a major species that surpasses humankind can you really understand how insufficient you are! Only by going toe to toe with nonhuman chosen can you push yourself to the ultimate limit!

Taking a deep breath, Xu Qing closed his eyes and went back to meditation. He was now focused on his secret troves. At the moment he had four of them.

He had three connected to his god states, plus one connected to The Emperor’s Sword. The fifth, which wasn’t complete, was based on his sundials. Xu Qing thought about his path of cultivation.

I need to figure out a way to complete my fifth secret trove. That will give me a big boost to battle prowess.

There were some options to consider. One was to use soul threads to create an imitation of Crimson Mother. By fusing with that, he could become the true lord of the violet moon, and would be able to have a complete fourth-level god state. However, there were side-effects to consider, for instance, the unbreakable connection to the red moon.

At the moment, it was hard to tell if Li Zihua was a friend or an enemy, and that meant there was always the possibility of a future deadly conflict. Another option would be to start a new fifth secret trove. However, that would require some additional items with godly personhood.

After some thought, he started to lean in one specific direction.

Another problem I have is with heavenly daos.... Right now, I have my bluegreen dragon, but that’s it. Thanks to my god states, my battle prowess isn’t affected now. But if I don’t have enough heavenly daos, then it will pose an obstacle to reaching Void Returning.

Xu Qing knew that the only way to actually reach Void Returning was to have a heavenly dao for each of his secret troves. It was very difficult for Spirit Trove cultivators to form heavenly daos on their own. That was why most of them tried to acquire minor worlds and then tame the heavenly daos within them.

Unfortunately, ordinary heavenly daos are going to have a hard time sustaining my god troves. The bluegreen dragon is connected to me, so it has a preheaven advantage in that regard. In that case, what kind of heavenly daos can I use to support my god troves...?

Xu Qing rubbed the bridge of his nose as he thought about his heavenly dao son. That didn’t seem like a viable option, though. Opening his eyes, he looked at the Captain, who had taken out another bamboo slip and was carving it up.

After Xu Qing explained what he had been thinking about, he asked for some input.

The Captain thought for a moment and then smiled. “Heavenly daos associated with god troves naturally need to have something to do with gods. Aren’t you planning to participate in the third round of the Great Hunt after you finish the second?

“Whatever god domain ends up being opened, it’ll still be a god domain. God domains all have godly entities inside. All you have to do is capture some godly entities and put them into your god troves. Their god souls can serve as your heavenly daos, right?”

Xu Qing thought about it and realized it was definitely a possibility.

***

Days passed. There was now only half a month left until the second round began.

The Captain was about half done with his counterfeit work.

After Xu Qing combined his own realizations with the Captain’s suggestions, he had come up with a good direction.

On one particular afternoon, Xu Qing left his residence and headed to the shop run by the clan of Grand Prince’s mother. It was time to restock his medicinal pills and poisonous plants.

The medallion Grand Prince had given him turned out to be very useful. Xu Qing found what he wanted and bought it with no trouble. He purchased some useful medicinal pills as well as some poisonous plants that weren’t easy to find in human lands.

On the way back, he heard more challenges from Firemoon cultivators. There were also a lot of dirty looks. Xu Qing ignored all that. Sometimes, ignoring people will make them think you’re weak, and will only prolong the antagonism.

Therefore, at one point on his way back, he suddenly stopped in place. He had sensed some familiar fluctuations.

Looking over, he saw an outdoor slave market. There were all sorts of species being sold, and every one of them was a cultivator. They were all weak, wounded, and in chains. They almost looked like animals. What was more... because of the wartime conditions, many of the slaves were human. Somehow, they had ended up being sent through back channels to become property to be sold here. All of them were soldiers, and were clearly in bad shape. Most had numb looks on their faces.

Grand Prince was present, grimly interacting with the lead slaver in the hopes of purchasing the humans’ freedom. Things clearly weren’t going very well.