Outside Of Time

Chapter 1612: It’s Him…
Editor: Atlas Studios

“Welcome to the fairy tale.”

Xu Qing mumbled inwardly as he sensed this world.

He didn’t know about the Ordinance of the Venerable Immortal. Everything just now was based on what he had seen and heard.

What was the truth…

“The moment I enter the Immortal Capital, I should have the opportunity to find out.”

Xu Qing fell silent. After burying all kinds of questions in his mind, his perception landed on the mirror in front of him.

This mirror was ordinary and didn’t have the slightest hint of luxury or anything abnormal. It was like something casually placed in a mortal house.

All the black dots continued to move endlessly into the mirror, disappearing without a trace.

The line they formed seemed eternal, as each dot vanished upon reaching the mirror’s surface.

As for the mirror itself, it showed no reflection. Instead, it was filled with an empty, pure white expanse.

“Is this the exit of the first layer realm?”

Xu Qing fell into deep thought.

After observing for a while, his thoughts stirred and he headed straight for the mirror.

He instantly fused and passed through.

There were no obstructions at all.

However…

The instant he passed through the mirror, Xu Qing’s thoughts stirred.

This was because the place he appeared at was still filled with countless black dots that formed a long line.

He was still in the first realm.

He didn’t leave.

Moreover, he seemed to have returned to the starting point.

Looking over… the mirror was no longer there. Only the long line stretched ahead.

It was the same at the back.

In order to confirm the answer, Xu Qing moved forward again.

He encountered those strange things again, saw the mirror again, and passed through it again, sensing every detail. In the end… he still returned to the starting point.

This was a cycle.

In order to break this cycle, Xu Qing tried to modify his actions but to no avail.

In fact, he even chose to sink into the black dots in front of the mirror, turning into a black dot and entering the mirror.

However, he still returned to the starting point.

“Aurora Immortal Lord must have the Space-Time Ordinance. He walks the same path as me. However, the formation of his Space-Time Ordinance is different from mine.”

Xu Qing pondered.

“I relied on the five elements to fuse time and space, forming space-time.”

“As for him, he seemed to take a different route, evolving it layer by layer, from nothing into something.”

“Then… there might be another way for me to leave this place.”

Xu Qing’s thoughts settled on the long line.

“At this origin point, I can become one of the many black dots that make up the line, or rather, truly transform into a black dot, like someone outside the painting stepping into the painting.

And then, by adopting the mindset of this world, I will experience everything firsthand…”

“In doing so, I will become part of the cycle.”

“This way, it will be a true experience, not just a superficial observation.”

“Although it’s dangerous, I can give it a try!”

Xu Qing, after weighing the thought in his mind, did not hesitate any longer. His consciousness descended from a higher level, merging into the only long line in this world, becoming one of the countless black dots that made up the line.

He had become a part of this world.

In that instant, he had an unprecedented feeling.

The concept of up and down was deprived.

The concept of left and right was also deprived.

They no longer existed.

In fact, they were forgotten so quickly as if the power to move up, down, left, and right had never existed.

Only the pull from ahead drove his singular fate forward endlessly.

As the concepts of direction disappeared, the notion of height naturally faded too. At that moment, Xu Qing lost the ‘sight’ granted by the Ordinance.

He became ‘flat.’

The black dot was also ‘flat.’

Thus, his thoughts flattened as well.

And with that, he could no longer see.

All that remained were the faint sensations of what lay ahead and behind.

This newfound experience felt constraining compared to before.

Now, Xu Qing could only move forward under the constant pull.

Gradually, even his thoughts began to dissipate.

As though even the ability to think was not permitted here.

Hence, they had to be slowly erased and assimilated with the world.

However, Xu Qing didn’t resist.

He relaxed his thoughts and allowed everything to happen. He followed the trajectory of this world and continued to move.

An unknown amount of time passed.

Time had long lost its meaning.

In the gradual dissipation of his thoughts, the constant pull of movement, and the endless world in which Xu Qing had now become one of the black dots, he encountered the strange beings once more.

However, the sequence and his perception of them were now different.

With his faint ability to sense what lay ahead and behind, he ‘saw’ countless circles.

These circles were each smaller than the other and looked like they were circling each other. They were like fingerprints but they had no beginning or end. However, they were everywhere and occupied the entirety of Xu Qing’s perception.

This was what he sensed after lowering his own existence to match this realm’s level.

He couldn’t sense anything more comprehensive.

The limitations of his current state prevented him from seeing the true nature of higher-level beings.

Thus, beings of a higher level naturally gave the impression of creators or deities, simply because those on a lower level were incapable of perceiving their true form.

The shock and waves it brought were like tempestuous waves that could overturn everything. In fact, the voices it emitted also became the source of chaos and collapse.

“Run, run…”

As the sound descended, a sense of collapse emerged within Xu Qing’s transformed black dot and all other black dots that passed by these strange beings.

It was as if they were walking in the midst of death.

Some of the black dots indeed shattered completely, only to be replaced by new ones.

Xu Qing was somewhat fortunate, as he did not disintegrate entirely.

This lasted until the chaotic and crumbling sounds slowly dissipated as he left. He then continued forward.

After that… he heard crying sounds.

This time, he didn’t see anything.

Only the sound of crying fell into Xu Qing’s remaining thoughts.

Amidst the crying, Xu Qing felt that he was about to melt.

However, the strange thing was that there was no fear or regret. Emotions had unknowingly disappeared.

“It turns out, that wasn’t luck, but rather a matter of cost and offset.”

Xu Qing weakly pondered…

After many black dots dissipated amidst the cries, he continued forward.

This lasted until he heard the sound of running water and the croaking of frogs.

At the moment the voice arrived, Xu Qing’s perception lost more ground, and his thoughts, too, were becoming increasingly vague. His existence was on the brink of dissolving into oblivion.

In this state, he passed this stretch of path and walked further.

…

Afterward, Xu Qing couldn’t recall his experiences clearly. He vaguely felt that everything he had was exchanged for the smooth progress he made, becoming the cost of moving forward.

What followed was growing more and more powerless and exhausted.

Fortunately… Gradually, the concept of powerlessness and fatigue ceased to exist.

Finally, he seemed to hear a voice.

“Good death, good death…”

The voice came with an irresistible force, stripping away his very name.

Originally, the nameless him should have continued forward.

Continuing toward the nearby mirror.

He should have merged into it and left this realm.

However, the force that took away his name defied this trajectory and forcefully returned.

It emanated an evil aura that intensified the invasion. It descended upon him, seeking to completely erase him.

It also wanted to take away the faint remnants of his thoughts.

But at this critical moment, just as he was on the verge of complete dissolution…

An ancient sigh echoed through his space-time.

“Night Corpse Leading Ox, this medicinal herb…”

“Kid, you answer.”

The appearance of this voice disrupted the flow of time and space, creating a tempest of space-time that roared within Xu Qing’s thoughts.

It restored to him a name that had been buried deep within his memory.

Kid!

This name became a support, an anchor.

Thus, Kid’s weak thoughts no longer dissipated. The deafening sound, layer by layer, escalated and ultimately erupted into a world-shaking explosion.

It became lightning, exploded, and became heavenly sounds.

This caused his thoughts to tremble intensely and continue to spread.

Like a tsunami.

After that, Kid instinctively spoke words that he could never forget, deeply rooted in his cognition.

“Night Corpse Leading Ox, also known as Poison Mountain Root Spotted Chrysanthemum. It is the root and stem of the vine of the chrysanthemum plant, the thin-veined Turtledove Chrysanthemum. It is a wooden vine that grows in ravines with Yin energy, cold streams, or jungles. Its taste is astringent and slightly warm when it enters the mouth. It also has the feeling of rotting. It has the miraculous effect of reducing wind. However, it is excessively poisonous. It belongs to the typical extreme endpoint of yin and yang grass.”

As he spoke, Kid’s dissipating state was reversing at this moment.

The lost cognition began to reappear, one by one.

What was once unseen now surged back, transitioning from loss to restoration.

The aged voice continued.

“What are the symptoms of an overdose?”

The storm in Xu Qing’s mind grew increasingly intense as he voiced his thoughts.

“The symptoms of poisoning are abdominal pain, dizziness, and hallucinations. If they aren’t saved in 15 minutes, they will die.”

“How to detoxify the poison.”

“You can use the method to induce vomiting and stomach lavage, supplemented by egg white and red-thorn stamens to treat the illness when the sun is strong at noon. The treatment time cannot exceed an hour and it will last for three consecutive days.”

Xu Qing’s voice trembled a little. The moment he finished speaking, he seemed to have returned to the outside of the tent back then.

“Good!”

The old voice carried a hint of a smile as it echoed softly.

At this moment, Xu Qing wanted to ‘see’ but the pull from the front was incredibly strong, drawing his thoughts ever closer to the mirror ahead.

Despite the mirror being so close, his thoughts wavered. He would rather forgo this opportunity and, even if it meant starting over, he was determined to re-enter this Space-Time Ordinance realm to ‘see’ the familiar figure from the voice.

“Idiot, don’t be like this.”

“Do you remember what I told you…”

“The world is the guest house of all living beings. Time is a passerby from ancient times until now. As long as we don’t die, we will meet again.”

“Now, you’ve become accomplished.”

The voice dissipated and a gentle force appeared out of thin air, landing on the black dot that Xu Qing had transformed into and pushing it forward.

This caused Xu Qing, who was close to the mirror, to enter… the mirror.

The moment he fused into the mirror, Xu Qing turned his head. In his hazy vision, he seemed to see the medicine jar with a white beard, smiling at him from outside the mirror.

The smile was gentle. The features and the smile were like a distant memory, yet as if it were just yesterday.

Scenes from the past unfolded before him, vivid and familiar, as if reliving the old times.