Beyond the Timescape-Chapter 1121: Dao-Corroding Flower

The flower that Xu Qing could see in the sky above the west seemed to be rooted in nothingness. As it swayed back and forth, a sinister wind appeared that seemed to bring with it the sound of weeping. It was both demonic and gruish. The stem of the flower writhed like a snake. It was covered by a host of glittering thorns that made it seem surrounded by mystery and terror. It was as if the darkness contained some sort of evil and wicked aura. As for the flower’s leaves, they were long, narrow, and violet. Their edges flickered with uneven flames, and were covered with dark veins that seemed to come from the deepest abyss.

What was more horrifying about the flower were the petals, which were dark red in the middle and black on the edges. They made the flower look like it had bloomed in hell. There were twelve petals, and each one contained the face of a beautiful woman. Some were laughing, others wept in grief. Some looked flirtatious, others were angry.

Every single woman was extraordinarily beautiful. They had long hair that spread through the petals and emerged into the open like tentacles. The way they swayed and writhed made it seem like they were hunting for prey. The flower emanated the lovely perfume of a woman, but if you smelled it for long enough, it turned into a noxious aroma that prompted vomiting.

The sight of the flower caused Xu Qing’s eyes to glitter.

***

In the Fifth Star Ring, the east, south, and north all had glittering legacies up in the sky. Those legacies were currently the only sources of light.

Only people who had permission medallions could see the sources of light. Those who didn’t qualify would look up and see only darkness. As for those who did have permission medallions, they had to use their own abilities, items, and pills as they sought enlightenment.

They all knew that they had entered the legacy phase, which was the most important part of the second round of the Trial of the Hunt. This phase was like a gift. After it was over, all of the participants would be ranked strongest to weakest based on their enlightenment.

After all, even if you gained only the tiniest scrap of enlightenment during this phase, it could have a profoundly beneficial effect. And if you could gain true enlightenment of the fundamental nature of the legacy, you could be like the carp that jumped the dragon gate, and reach heaven in a single bound. It made sense considering... that these were legacies that contained canon!

Not everyone in the Fifth Star Ring understood exactly what canon was. But the people who had Immortal Capital permission medallions weren’t ordinary people. Even those who didn’t understand a lot about canon would have at least heard about it.

All cultivators with medallions were currently overwhelmed with longing. It was common knowledge that in past Trial of the Hunts, it was almost always cultivators from orthodox sects who succeeded at the legacies. In fact, there were rumors that the legacy phase had been set up specifically for them.

That said, there had been exceptions through the years. And that was why everyone was going to fight hard.

In the east, south, and north medallion-holders were all seeking enlightenment. But the west was relatively quiet....

The sky in the west was as dark as could be imagined. People there who didn’t have a permission medallion would look up and see nothing. In fact, most cultivators who did have medallions also saw nothing when they looked up. The color black had overtaken everything.

People were helpless, confused, and irritated. But the west was known for being lazy, and the cultivators there generally didn’t like fighting. There were a few outliers who struggled to succeed, but the vast majority just gave up.

If the immortal from the Dao Immortal Sect wouldn’t let people seek enlightenment during this phase... then they wouldn’t try. After all, nobody could even see anything.

As for Xu Qing, he was on Primary Dao Precipice, looking at the demonic flower up above, and his eyes were glittering more and more brightly. The flower wasn’t difficult for him to see.... In fact, he could see it perfectly clearly! It only took a moment of observation for him to understand what it was.

That’s a legacy!

He could sense that there was a dao lineament of authority in the flower. But there was something even more impressive than that.

Is that...? Xu Qing’s pupils constricted, and he struggled to control his breathing.

However, as his divine will spread out, he noticed that the handful of cultivators nearby on the Primary Dao Precipice had only turned their attention to the sky for a moment before looking away.

There are two people here with permission medallions. Their range isn’t as big as mine, so they can’t detect me. Nobody is looking at this flower, not even those two. They can’t see it? What’s so unusual about this flower?

Xu Qing sent out his divine will to examine the facial expressions of the other cultivators on the cliff. He soon realized that the two of them weren’t here as lone wolves. They were actually working together. Before long, based on their facial expressions and conversation, Xu Qing realized what was going on.

This is the legacy phase. Everyone with a permission medallion can seek enlightenment! But they can’t see anything....

Mind racing, Xu Qing looked up into the sky again at the flower. Now he could see a red thread emerging from the gruish flower and heading off toward the east. There was someone in the east that was absorbing the flower! Based on the speed with which it was happening, they would be able to absorb the flower completely within ten days.

Xu Qing’s eyes flashed with determination.

I don’t know exactly what’s going on here. But I do know that I’ll regret it later if I give up on this legacy flower.

Having reached this point in his train of thought, he unhesitatingly looked up into the sky and gathered his concentration.

First, he studied the women in the petals. Bewitching chanting sounds entered his ears and delved into his mind. A moment later, a magenta color appeared on Xu Qing, and his flesh was wriggling as faces started bulging out from inside. The faces looked like they wanted to devour him. freёwebnoѵel.com

A tremor passed through him as he unleashed authority to keep himself lucid. He opened his eyes and coughed up a massive mouthful of blood. When the blood landed on the ground, flowers bloomed that looked exactly like the one in the sky. However, they rapidly withered and crumbled into ash.

He had failed to gain enlightenment.

I’m doing something wrong. I tried to understand the inner nature of the flower, but I’m not strong enough. What’s more, this legacy is different from the legendary places I’ve visited on my journey so far.

He thought about the situation for the time it takes an incense stick to burn. After that, he circulated the five elements within him, as well as space and time. Then he gathered his authority of erasure and his immortal skill authority.

Bolstering himself with the power of authority, he once again looked at the flower in the sky. This time, he used different dao lineaments of authority to observe the flower. An hour later, he shivered as his body withered, leaving him hardly more than skin and bones. At the same time, his blood exploded out through his pores.

It splashed onto the ground and turned into a sea of flowers. The sea of flowers rapidly withered up. Then Xu Qing struggled to open his eyes. He was in great pain and was very weak. He had failed again.

I’m still doing something wrong. Maybe... I should use the same method I used to imprint the Ghost Emperor mountain into myself. I can take the flower and put it in my sea of consciousness! [1]

Xu Qing wiped the blood off his face, then took out some medicinal pills. After a few breaths of time passed, he took a drink from a bottle of holy fardark nectar, then cleared his thoughts. He waited for the time it takes an incense stick to burn. Then he waited for a full hour. Everything seemed normal.

Two hours later... a thread descended from the swaying flower in the sky. It was the second thread, and it was going right toward Xu Qing on the Primary Dao Precipice. It immediately entered the cave where he had holed up and connected to his forehead! His forehead glittered as a lineament like a flower petal formed there.

***

East of the central part of the western planetary system, in the Li Clan’s restricted area, Li Mengtu sat cross-legged atop the tallest of the 9,000 towers, his forehead also shining brightly. He also had a flower petal there, but because he had been seeking enlightenment longer than Xu Qing, the petal was complete, and a second petal was now forming. All of a sudden, his eyes snapped open and he looked off into the distance.

Someone’s stealing from me! That’s impossible!

Suddenly breathing raggedly, and his expression grim, he focused on the direction of the guilty party. He had been able to tell that he was the only one seeking enlightenment earlier, and the process had been going quickly.

But just now, his speed of absorption had slowed. And he could tell from the flower petal he currently had that someone else had joined the session of enlightenment.

His first reaction was incredulity. His Master had told him that this time around, the legacy phase... would deviate from the rules laid forth by the Immortal Capital. That the legacy wouldn’t be set aside exclusively for him, it would have specific requirements attached to it.

There were three, and they were all focused around him. Only someone who met all three requirements could see the dao-corroding flower! Theoretically speaking, it was impossible for a second person to perfectly conform to all the requirements.

How can this be happening?

The fact that someone else had joined in made Li Mengtu both nervous and angry. He was determined to get the legacy of the dao-corroding flower, and could not tolerate any slip-ups. After all, he was fully aware that his Master had set up this situation to pass on his legacy. It was truly an amazing and precious opportunity.

There was a reason it was called a dao-corroding flower. After gaining enlightenment of it, you could use a terrifying divine ability that would corrode the dao lineaments of other people. It was essentially a high-level poison.

If that were all it could do, it would have been impressive but not amazing. After all, there were many ways to deal with an attack that corroded dao lineaments.

But... when you added in canon, it became completely different. If you likened ‘essence’ to the authority of a local government, then ‘authority’ was like a command from the imperial government ministries. And ‘canon’... was above either of those things. It was like a decree from the emperor himself!

This dao-corroding flower had a scrap of canon in it! When it was used, it wouldn’t just corrode dao lineaments of authority... it could cut them away! It could permanently cut away authority from someone. It could slice out their dao lineament. And because it was done with canon, the effects were irreversible! Unless you had a divine ability to counter it that also had canon... it was impossible to defend against.

Given how precious of an asset that would be, it was no wonder Li Mengtu was antsy to get it. But now he had to interrupt his own session of enlightenment to send a message to his Master.

***

In the Dao Immortal Sect in the west, there was a fertile land filled with endless plants. All of them were bizarre and fantastic. Any of them that were sent out into the world would lead to outright war.

Poison Monarch was still dressed as a farmer as he used some nine firmaments immortal serum to water a pair of plants. He was concentrating fully on his work, to the point where he wasn’t paying attention to anything going on outside.

The two plants he had been watering both seemed intelligent, and they were currently fighting over who would get the immortal serum.

“How interesting...” he said in a raspy voice. “So, which of you has karma with me?”

1. The Ghost Emperor mountain enlightenment section started in chapter 306. ☜