Beyond the Timescape-Chapter 1114: A Demure Handmaiden

A wooden boat flew through the sky beneath the aurora.

Xu Qing, still disguised as a middle-aged man, sat cross-legged on the deck, perusing some ancient records. Seated opposite him was the beautiful Yunmen Qianfan.

“Senior,” she said softly, “if we follow the route assigned by the clan, it’ll take about half a month to get to Darkcloud City. However, according to the divinations I’ve performed, it’s highly likely that the route has already been leaked to the enemy.

“Therefore, I planned a different route. We’ll pass Skywater Lake and Mount Ninesongs, then go through the Desert of Time before reaching an ancient teleportation portal. I have a way to activate that portal, and then we can just teleport directly to the Greatcloud River, which is right by Darkcloud City. This route will add about five days to the journey....”

About six hours had passed since they left the Spiritdust Mountains.

During the entire time, Xu Qing had been reading, and Yunmen Qianfan had been cautiously studying him.

She knew that this Sir Firedark was her best chance at surviving. He was her only hope. But she also knew that his battle prowess wasn’t at the absolute peak. If they ran into some truly powerful experts, it could very well mean her death. That was why she had decided on an alternate route, which she felt would be much safer. The big downside was that it would take more time.

After explaining things, she looked nervously at Xu Qing.

“We’ll go your way,” he said. He was fine with the route being changed. Although he was confident in his battle prowess, the ideal scenario would be one in which he didn’t have to fight.

Xu Qing’s response prompted Yunmen Qianfan to breathe a sigh of relief in her heart. After that, she focused on piloting the wooden boat, while at the same time keeping an eye on Xu Qing.

When she noticed him engrossed in reading a particular passage, she would slow the ship down and put up the barriers cutting off outside sound.

And when she saw him simply flipping through the pages, she would put some spirit fruit down next to him, and would pay very close attention to which variety he seemed to like the best. After calculating the time, she also started serving him spirit elixirs and spirit alcohol. Upon realizing that Xu Qing seemed to enjoy the spirit alcohol, she made sure that he always had a fresh flagon next to him.

When he finally put down the ancient records, she produced a zither and started playing music for him. And when he showed no signs of being displeased at that, she worked hard to play even better.

If Xu Qing noticed some interesting landmarks or terrain features, she would quickly offer information and anecdotes about them. As the journey went on, she was really acting like a conscientious handmaiden. She fumbled a few things at first, making it obvious that she had never really done this kind of thing before. But she worked hard to make sure that Xu Qing was having a pleasant journey. Overall, she was completely focused on his needs.

Xu Qing noticed all of that and did nothing to stop her.

Thus, three days passed.

Eventually, a blue lake appeared off in the distance. From up above, the lake looked like a mirror, perfectly still, with spirit energy pulsing off it. It seemed like a pure, clean place.

“Senior, that’s Skywater Lake. Legend has it that in ancient times, during the war between gods and immortals, Immortal Lord Awe-Gem had a daoist partner named Skywater. Sadly, Skywater died in this spot. After the war was over, Immortal Lord Awe-Gem came back here and was overcome by emotion. The tears he shed turned into a blue lake.”

As Yunmen Qianfan told the story, Xu Qing put his book aside and looked at Skywater Lake. When Yunmen Qianfan noticed his interest in the lake, she slowed the boat down, allowing them to drift slowly overhead and get a good view.

“This lake...” he murmured, his eyes gleaming. He reached out and made a grasping gesture, causing a drop of water to fly up from Skywater Lake. It landed in the middle of his palm.

The water looked ordinary, but given the level of Xu Qing’s dao of the five elements, he could sense that there was life force in the lake water, as well as a lingering will.

There are other unique properties....

Within Xu Qing’s eyes, his immortal skills stirred. The seven emotions and six sensory pleasures spread out, combining with the five elements and giving him an even more clear view of the water. Now he realized there was no will inside the water.

Instead, there were emotions. The waters of the lake were filled with profound grief. The discovery surprised him, and got him thinking.

If I connect the five elements to emotions, it might unlock even more transformations. It’s very similar to how immortal skills work on a substructural level....

Yunmen Qianfan could see that he was doing something, and didn’t dare to interrupt. She just kept her eyes on the surroundings, as if she were standing as dharma protector. Even after an hour had passed, he was still lost in thought. That was when Yunmen Qianfan’s expression flickered, and she suddenly looked off into the distance.

A beam of light had sailed over the horizon and was approaching them at top speed. Within it was an old man in a gray robe, pulsing with seven-world Smoldering God fluctuations that caused wild colors to flash in heaven and earth. The sky trembled and the lands quaked.

It only took Yunmen Qianfan a moment to identify him.

“That’s Xiao Zheng!” Her heart flip-flopped. “He’s one of the Diling Dynasty’s vassal elders!”

As a core member of the Yunmen Clan, she had read up on all of the experts among the Diling Dynasty. And seeing who was coming for them caused her heart to fill with a sense of extreme danger. At the same time, bitterness and despair arose within her. She had been sure that no one would intercept them considering she had altered the travel route. But now someone had intercepted them, and he had a very advanced cultivation base.

The strongest enemy Sir Firedark slayed was at the six-world level....

Even as Yunmen Qianfan’s anxiety mounted, the incoming Xiao Zheng’s gaze locked onto the wooden boat. His expression was as cold as if he was looking at a bug. Without saying a word, he closed in. His mission wasn’t just to kill one conclave member of the Yunmen Clan. He was supposed to kill two. It didn’t matter that his target seemed particularly clever, and had guessed that they had been offered up as bait. She had even changed routes. Unfortunately....

“You made a mistake, girl. This isn’t about bait. It’s a game of chance!”

Xiao Zheng’s face remained expressionless as he looked, not at the despairing and terrified Yunmen Qianfan, but at Xu Qing. Then he waved his hand, and thunderous rumbling filled heaven and earth. A massive hand appeared out of nowhere, which swept viciously toward the wooden boat.

A terrifying aura and a horrifying mightiness surged, causing Yunmen Qianfan to freeze in place in both body and soul. She felt like she was suffocating, and could do nothing but watch the huge hand moving toward her.

That was when Xu Qing looked up, his eyes calm.

One look....

The giant hand stopped moving. It couldn’t proceed another inch. Then a boom rang out as the hand exploded.

At the same time, the pressure weighing down on Yunmen Qianfan ceased. The suffocating sensation vanished. Upon feeling herself go back to normal, she inhaled sharply. Looking up into the sky, she saw the previously cold-faced Xiao Zheng looking completely astonished.

What happened next left Yunmen Qianfan completely flabbergasted. Unexpectedly, Xiao Zheng fell back into retreat, his face pale. He looked like he wanted to simply flee.

The reality was that Xiao Zhen was shaken to the core, almost as if he had been struck by innumerable bolts of lightning. Based on his briefing before the mission, he had been confident he knew all the details about the bodyguard Sir Firedark, including his battle prowess. Although he had agreed that Sir Firedark was impressive, he was certain that his own attacks would be impossible for the bodyguard to defend against.

How could he ever have guessed... that the bodyguard had seemingly been switched with another person, with someone who could vanquish his divine ability with one glance?

That level of battle prowess. This guy... he’s....

Xiao Zheng was trembling from head to toe. His scalp was numb, and all he could think to do was flee with every ounce of strength he could muster. Yet even after he turned tail and fled, his mind still filled with rumbling sounds. Despite using secret magics to bolster his speed, he suddenly realized that he wasn’t moving. It was as if space had been locked down.

Looking down, he saw Skywater Lake. He was in the exact spot he had occupied moments before.

His heart started racing, and then his vision blurred as something new appeared on his face. Tears. Tears were flowing uncontrollably out of his eyes. More and more....

Soon they were pouring down him, soaking his entire body. Then they turned into flowing blood. Tears of blood covered his face! As the blood began to coagulate, life force began to flow out. Soon, his life force was flowing out in torrents, until his fleshly body and soul were emptied. Then he crumbled into ashes.

The ashes drifted away into the air. What an extremely gruish development!

Yunmen Qianfan was stunned to the core. She almost couldn’t believe what she had just witnessed. But the sight of the ashes drifting away into nothing was something she would never forget. Just now, she had watched as a vassal elder of the Diling Dynasty had started shedding tears in midair. The tears turned into blood, and then the blood turned into life force. He had cried himself into dust. It was shocking to say the least.

She started breathing heavily, and her mind and heart filled with waves of incredulity. She even wondered if she was seeing things.

Meanwhile, Xu Qing retracted his gaze and shook his head.

Definitely similar to immortal skills, although not as impressive. It’s fine for killing Smoldering Gods, but it wouldn’t work on Imperial Sovereigns. It’s a bit too taxing.

He had not even risen to his feet in the wooden boat. Looking over, he picked up a book and started reading. A moment later, he realized that Yunmen Qianfan was in a daze. He smacked the book on the deck a few times.

The sound entered Yunmen Qianfan’s ears, and she snapped out of her reverie.

“Let’s get moving,” Xu Qing said quietly.

She took a deep breath and tried to settle her thoughts. But she just couldn’t calm herself down. It took a very long moment before she regained her composure and sent the boat flying away again.

Looking at Xu Qing with confused curiosity, she finally asked, “Senior... which way should we go now?”

Not bothering to look up from his book, Xu Qing said, “We’ll go your way.”

“Okay!” she said with a humble nod.