Outside Of Time

Chapter 1629: A Schemer’s Means

Editor: Atlas Studios

At night, the Junior Aurora Hall was brightly lit.

As he walked, Xu Qing recalled his experiences on the way with Aurora Immortal Lord.

Along the way, Aurora’s identity kept on shifting. When they left, he was the master of the Immortal Palace.

Before the Nine Shores Grotto-Heaven, he was a father.

In the Time Desert, he was a lonely soul who had lost his beloved.

But when the dark of night fell and they returned to the Immortal Palace, he seemed once again to become the Immortal Lord.

Before this, to Xu Qing, Aurora Immortal Lord was just a symbol.

Although the little person who came out of the second realm claimed to be the remnant will of the Aurora Immortal Lord, whether it was true or not was still unknown.

Xu Qing didn’t completely believe it from the start.

Hence, the name Aurora Immortal Lord was only a name to him.

Yet, as the different scenes and shifting identities along the journey intertwined, the image of the Aurora Immortal Lord in Xu Qing’s mind slowly took on flesh and color.

“He clearly has a premonition of what will happen in a month…”

Xu Qing mumbled inwardly.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain his entrusting me to the Nine Shores and the instructions in the Time Desert.

Yet, as this realization dawned in Xu Qing’s mind, an even greater sense of doubt began to spread.

“Aurora Immortal Lord possesses the Space-Time Ordinance and has delved deeply into it, so it’s not surprising that he knows about the future.”

“But what exactly happened a month later that caused the Venerable Immortal to make a move?”

“Is it really the rebellion recorded in history?”

“Also, what’s the reason why I can’t see him at night? Is it related to the sinister figure in black under the ice lake?”

Xu Qing fell silent.

“Also, since he was already prepared and entrusted his son, why did the Young Lord still die in a month?”

“Moreover, everyone in the entire Immortal Palace perished as well.”

“Why did the Venerable Immortal destroy all the beings in this Immortal Palace…”

“After he killed them, why did he let this place remain…”

Too many doubts flowed through Xu Qing’s mind.

However, there was no answer.

“I’ll know everything in a month!”

Xu Qing raised his head and glanced at the moon. He then walked into the main hall and sat down cross-legged.

He decided not to dwell further on matters concerning the Aurora Immortal Lord. Instead, his thoughts shifted to the intricacies of how to stir the waves of space-time within the fourth realm.

In the eyes of others, this space-time was just people and scenery.

However, in Xu Qing’s Space-Time Ordinance’s perception, it was completely different.

In his perception, this space-time seemed to have frozen like a pool of stagnant water.

It was tranquil with no ripples, and it was difficult to create any ripples, let alone waves.

It was impossible for Xu Qing to shake it directly with his Space-Time Ordinance.

“So, I need more catalysts—more triggers to throw in, like one stone after another, each striking this stagnant pond…”

Xu Qing murmured to himself.

…

Time flowed by.

In the dark night, the sound of music and coquettish laughter rang out from the Hundred Flowers Palace.

The sounds inside blended into the night and drifted away.

Even Xu Qing, who was sitting cross-legged in the main hall, could faintly hear it.

Especially the fox beauty’s laughter.

Clearly, whether Xu Qing was around or not, the fox beauty was very happy.

This lasted until dawn.

The sun rose and scattered its rays.

Just as the sounds dissipated, a new voice emerged from outside the hall.

“Welcome back, Young Lord!”

Following the voice was Zhong Chi’s figure.

He quickly took a few steps forward and stepped into the hall. He then bowed to Xu Qing with many thoughts in his mind. He hadn’t seen this Young Lord the entire day yesterday.

He had even searched the entire Junior Aurora Palace.

This caused some curiosity to rise in his mind as he didn’t know where the Young Lord had gone to yesterday.

Although he knew the history of this period, he only had a general understanding and didn’t know the details. Naturally, it was impossible for him to know everything that happened every day.

“You are greeting too late, I returned last night.”

Xu Qing raised his head and glanced at Zhong Chi.

When Zhong Chi heard this, he asked carefully.

“Young Lord, you… yesterday?”

Xu Qing’s expression was as calm as ever. He didn’t clear Zhong Chi’s doubts. Instead, he stood up and casually spoke.

“Follow me to the Scripture Transmission Pavilion.”

As he spoke, Xu Qing walked out of the main hall.

Since he had arrived in this space-time, Xu Qing naturally had to go to the Immortal Palace’s Scripture Transmission Pavilion to take a look at the spells of this era.

When Zhong Chi heard this, he hurriedly followed behind.

In the early morning light, Xu Qing’s figure moved gracefully through the Immortal Palace.

Along the way, any cultivators Xu Qing encountered, though not holding him in particularly high regard in their hearts, still showed him the respect his noble status demanded.

Zhong Chi, who was following behind, wanted to say something but hesitated.

When the Scripture Transmission Pavilion was in sight, Xu Qing calmly spoke.

“Zhong Chi, your recent behavior seems a bit different from before.”

These words, falling into Zhong Chi’s ears, immediately put him on alert, though outwardly, he displayed a foolish grin.

“Young Lord, you are truly perceptive. As expected, whenever I have something on my mind, I can’t hide it. The moment I try, my actions are spotted by you at a glance.”

“What’s the matter?” Xu Qing asked calmly.

Zhong Chi hurriedly spoke.

“It’s that heaven’s chosen Li!”

“Young Lord, it’s not that I’m complaining, but heaven’s chosen Li is really shameless.”

“Didn’t Young Lord ask him to go to the Myriad Beast Garden the day before yesterday? However, not only did he not go, but he even hid himself. We couldn’t find him at the academy.”

When Xu Qing heard this, his expression didn’t change at all. He only turned his head and glanced at Zhong Chi.

“Tell me the conclusion.”

His glance caused Zhong Chi’s heart to skip a beat. In reality, he had already finished investigating. The reason why he didn’t say it immediately was because he couldn’t grasp the Young Lord’s attitude on this matter. He also had the thought of seeing the Young Lord’s reaction.

At that moment, when Xu Qing’s gaze swept over, his heart suddenly palpitated. Hence, he didn’t dare to hide it.

“I heard that after he returned to the academy that day, he had a conflict with a teacher from the academy.”

“He was then punished by that teacher to enter closed-door cultivation for three months.”

Zhong Chi said in a low voice.

The reason why he told Xu Qing these was because of personal motive.

He could tell that there was a high chance that heaven’s chosen Li was an outsider like him. Although he didn’t know his exact identity, the other party’s goal was to try to change history.

This was something in common with his goal.

Hence, fundamentally speaking, he hoped that the other party would succeed. Only then could he use it as a reference.

Heaven’s chosen Li had indeed made a change. His outcome was originally to enter seclusion after the defeat but it had changed to becoming the caretaker of the Young Lord’s Myriad Beast Garden.

However, it was obvious that someone had interfered and corrected everything.

In history, heaven’s chosen Li had gone into seclusion during this period, and right now, it was the same.

There were differences in causes, but the result was the same.

As for who the interferer was, the first person Zhong Chi thought of was the Fourth True Monarch!

However, the other party’s status was too high and the advantage he had was too great.

This time, he could make heaven’s chosen Li fail. Next time, he could also make Zhong Chi fail.

Hence, Zhong Chi wanted to make use of the Young Lord to try and change history.

If it was really the Young Lord, it was impossible for him to understand these thoughts because he lacked an important understanding. However, Xu Qing’s comprehensive understanding made him very clear about this.

‘Li Mengtu is trying to use me.’

‘As for the matter regarding heaven’s chosen Li, although it doesn’t completely affirm to the history, at least in this period of history, it has been placed back on the right track.’

‘The person who is inhabiting Fourth Senior Brother does have some tricks up his sleeves.’

Xu Qing fell into deep thought.

In reality, he and the other party could be considered to have used the matter of heaven’s chosen Li to exchange a move.

Each had their own victory and defeat.

‘However, I can’t interfere in this matter anymore. I’ve already placed my piece on heaven’s chosen Li. There’s no need for me to cause an issue immediately.’

‘After all, relatively speaking, hiding my identity is the key to this fortune.’

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes and walked toward the Scripture Transmission Pavilion.

Soon, he stepped in and pondered as he flipped through the scrolls inside.

‘My identity is very important. Moreover, under my observation, whether it’s Zhong Chi, heaven’s chosen Li, the daughter of the Nine Shores, or Fourth Senior Brother, none of them seem to have any doubts about my identity.’

‘It seems that in their understanding, it’s impossible for someone to possess my identity.’

‘Moreover, other than Quasi Immortals, only those with Ordinances or Ordinance treasures can enter the fourth realm.’

‘In that case, excluding the few outsiders I have found out, there should be more than four to five or even more outsiders hiding among the people in this Immortal Palace.’

‘Among them, there should be some who are similar to heaven’s chosen Li, trying to change the history.’

‘They are my stones to create ripples in this stagnant pool!’

Xu Qing put down the jade slip in his hand and walked to the other end. He picked up a new jade slip and continued to check while pondering.

‘Therefore, this can be seen as a game.’

‘Fourth Senior Brother is trying to suppress the rebels, while I… have to secretly urge and protect these rebels. At the same time, these stones have to protect themselves.’

‘Heaven’s chosen Li’s failure was because he was a little anxious. Of course, this was also decided by his identity. If he didn’t do that back then, he wouldn’t have had a chance.’

‘However, these people have hidden themselves too deeply, so it’s very difficult for me to find them and I can’t urge them or protect them.’

‘So, how is Fourth Senior Brother searching for them?’

Xu Qing pondered.

Time passed very quickly as he checked and pondered.

When the sun started to set, Xu Qing left the Scripture Transmission Pavilion and returned to the Junior Aurora Hall. He had found a solution.

‘I don’t need to find all the stones. I just need to make them more cautious or even vigilant and raise a sense of danger.’

‘As for Fourth Senior Brother…’

‘I am in the dark, while he is in the light. But this light is not yet complete. In that case, let his clarity become absolute. If I can lead him into a state of self-verification, it would be even more perfect!’

Xu Qing closed his eyes in the main hall of the Junior Palace Hall and transmitted his divine sense to someone in the Hundred Flowers Palace.

In the Hundred Flowers Palace, the fox beauty, who was lying lazily and chatting with the surrounding women, raised her brows and chided inwardly.

“Bad man, now that you have grown up, you’re even giving me orders… But, this domineering side of you… why does it make me like you even more?”

The fox beauty licked her lips and chuckled.

…

A few days later, two rumors spread like a storm within the once peaceful Aurora Immortal Palace.

The first rumor claimed that outsiders had taken over the bodies of Immortal Palace cultivators, concealing themselves within the palace, and they harbored malicious intentions—furthermore, there were quite a few of them!

The second rumor pointed to the Fourth True Monarch.

The content was…

“The Fourth True Monarch is the leader of the outsiders!”