Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 822: Please Permit Us to Have a Reunion

“Among the Firemoon Darkheaven people, violet-gold means something different than it does to us humans. They use destiny aura to forge gold, with materials taken from slain entities in god domains. Combine that with sacrifices from their subsidiary species, they turned ‘dark’ into ‘violet.’ And the final result is a set of violet-gold darkheaven armor!” [1]

As the Captain described the terrifying figure off in the distance, his expression was one of envy. “Years ago, I got very, very close to getting my own set of violet-gold darkheaven armor.

“Believe me, little Ah Qing, among the Firemoon Darkheaven people, that type of armor isn’t just a status symbol. It’s actually a magical treasure that borders on the level of being taboo. As for how high the quality is, it depends on what type of beings were slain in the god domain and used to make it.”

The Captain was staring at the darkheaven general, his eyes full of longing so intense it was nearly corporeal.

Xu Qing was looking in the same direction; he could sense how extraordinary that violet-gold armor was. In fact, the moment that armor appeared, his soul threads inside of him had reacted as if they were facing immense pressure. That also went to show how amazing the violet-gold darkheaven armor was.

“And then there’s that ghost chariot. It’s basically a treasure! The Firemoon Darkheaven people have a very special region that they call the Mountain and Sea Region. Despite the name being Mountain and Sea, the reality is that it’s a place where mutant beasts gather. If you ask me, it should really be called Beast Region.

“For countless years, the place has been home to either native beasts, or beasts that the Firemoon Darkheavens collected from other places and relocated there. There, they breed, mutate, and proliferate. The amount of beasts there is shocking, but what’s even more shocking are the outrageous mutations.

“All sorts of wild beasts there have developed gruish abilities. The ghost chariot beasts are just one of them. Supposedly, they can actually devour souls. And once they reach a certain level of development, they can send their soul sea into one’s dreams and kill you without touching you. That’s why the commoners often refer to them as nightmare beasts.”

The Captain licked his lips. “The most important thing, though, is that they’re delicious! Maybe my information is somewhat outdated, but I remember from a previous life that there have been only two instances in recorded history of people taming ghost chariots.”

Xu Qing’s eyes glittered as he thought back to what the clay fox had told him about the second round of the Great Hunt. Coupling that with the Captain’s information, it seemed highly likely that the second round would take place in the Mountain and Sea Region.

Considering that, Xu Qing asked, “Eldest Brother, are there any other well-known types of mutant beasts in the Mountain and Sea Region? Is there some kind of ranking system?”

Thinking back to the wonderful flavor of ghost chariots, the Captain swallowed hard. “Ranking system? Sure. But too much time has passed for me to remember the details. Back in that life, ghost chariots ranked ninth. As for what ranked first, it was something called a ninedawns. Sadly, I never saw one, although from what I’ve heard, hardly anybody has.

“That’s why there aren’t many physical descriptions of them. Even the information from the God Mountain just says something about them having nine lanterns. There’s no more detail than that.” [2][3]

The Captain sighed. “I used to daydream about what it would be like to wear violet-gold darkheaven armor and ride a ninedawns beast as a mount, all while munching on ghost chariot flesh and returning to humankind in full glory. Anyone who saw that would be shocked to the core. What a pity it never happened, all thanks to that old shrew!”

The Captain gritted his teeth and muttered to himself a bit.

Xu Qing didn’t weigh in. He knew what ‘old shrew’ the Captain was talking about....

When the Captain talked about ‘returning to humankind,’ Xu Qing had a different understanding about how that would play out. As far as he could tell, returning to human lands looking like that would frighten a lot of people and probably result in a certain degree of inter-species animosity.

That said, as long as the Captain was happy, Xu Qing was happy. Instead of bursting the Captain’s bubble, he prepared to ask some questions about some other things. But then, Xu Qing’s expression flickered, and he turned to look in the direction of the darkheaven general.

A deafening wind had sprung up from that direction, causing rifts to fill the air, making it look like a mirror on the verge of shattering. The clouds were ripped to shreds as an anguished cry rang out, so deafening it could rip apart metal and rock. The ground quaked, and even the darkmoon ward trembled. Next, a figure appeared out of the windstorm. It was made of mist, making it seem illusory, and as soon as it appeared, it fled to the southwest.

The darkheaven general was right behind it, pursuing on his ghost chariot. He wielded a spear of underworld fire, and had extremely cold eyes. His body was surrounded by golden light, making him seem like a sun. Glaring at the fleeing misty figure, he said, “Go back and tell your lord that Little Ghosty is living a fine life with me. In fact, it’s for Little Ghosty’s sake that I refrained from wiping out your species three times in a row. Next time, I won’t hold back.”

Each word he spoke thrummed with the power of natural laws, becoming sealing marks that landed on the fleeing figure. It struggled not to collapse, and in the end, managed to escape. After it was gone, the darkheaven general’s ghost chariot howled. Then it turned and bore its master off into the distance in the blink of an eye. Heaven and earth returned to normal. The sky above the darkmoon ward went back to the way it was before.

The Firemoon Darkheavens inside all had their heads bowed and respectful looks on their faces.

Xu Qing, meanwhile, had a look of anticipation on his face. He was thinking about what it would be like to have Smoldering God battle prowess one day.

The Captain looked at him thoughtfully, then clasped his shoulder. “Ah, what’s so impressive about that? If I threw caution to the wind and undid some seals, I could be like that too. As for you, little Ah Qing, you’ve got plenty of time to work with. Don’t be in a rush.”

The Captain blinked a few times and then looked in the direction of the darkmoon ward. “Come on, let’s go take a look around.”

Xu Qing nodded. Looking away from the darkheaven general, he followed the Captain into the darkmoon ward.

Xu Qing wasn’t able to hide the forbidden mountain he had taken. However, upon entering the darkmoon ward, the mountain marvelously shrank down and started orbiting over his head.

Entering the darkmoon ward was simple. You could just walk right in. Of course, there were requirements. Only Firemoon Darkheavens could enter whenever they wanted. All other outsiders required an identity medallion. Xu Qing’s medallion ranked very high, and that was enough to get him inside. The Captain also had an identity medallion. Though it didn’t qualify him to participate in the Great Hunt, it was enough to get into the darkmoon ward. After the warding spells scanned them, they were able to enter without any trouble.

Looking around at the crowded streets, it was possible to see a few people with forbidden mountains orbiting around them. That was enough to prove that what the clay fox had told Xu Qing was correct. The Captain sighed again.

“I guess the first round really is about moving mountains. Our tests along the way proved that you can’t hide the mountain. But at least it shrinks down while we’re in the darkmoon ward. I guess that just goes to show how difficult the first round is. Everyone who gets a mountain has to show it publicly, which makes it a lot easier for people to target and rob each other.

“Little Ah Qing, this first round is definitely going to be a bloody affair. Look! People are already giving us dirty looks for being human.”

Xu Qing looked around the bustling market. He could see what the Captain was talking about. There were definitely some people looking at him. Well, to be specific, they were looking at the forbidden mountain.

“Keep your facial expression under control. We need to look scared and subservient. That’s one reason I brought you here to the darkmoon ward. To do a little fishing....”

The Captain looked very nervous. After some thought, Xu Qing made sure his complexion was ashen. And thus, the two of them walked along, studying their surroundings.

Xu Qing quickly came to see firsthand what a bizarre marketplace this was. Though the buildings here were businesses, few people came in and out of them. Most people clustered around the vendor stalls. Just about everything imaginable could be found for sale.

Xu Qing saw flesh from godly entities with impressive fluctuations. Among humankind, things like that would be considered very rare. And though they weren’t available literally everywhere, there were still enough types to provide for a variety to pick from. The Firemoon Darkheavens just controlled too vast of a territory. Because of that, their economy was all-encompassing. There were even specialty items from other species that popped up regularly.

It was the same with the species represented in the darkmoon ward. Just looking around, Xu Qing saw hundreds of species. If he somehow ended up in a place like this before he started his path of cultivation, he would be convinced that he was surrounded by demons and devils.

The Captain had a lot more experience than Xu Qing, and he knew quite a bit about the Firemoons. Therefore, after they had walked around a bit, the Captain shouted a quick goodbye to Xu Qing, then ran off to a vendor stall run by a green stone golem, with whom he started negotiating.

Xu Qing kept walking along, scanning the various vendor stalls to look for interesting things.

I see a lot of poisonous plants for sale.

At one particular vendor stall, Xu Qing saw a collection of bottles as well as a host of dried medicinal plants. After looking through what was available for about an hour, he sighed.

I just don’t have enough spirit stones....

There were plenty of interesting wares available, but unfortunately, the prices were shockingly high. Given the amount of spirit stones Xu Qing had on him, he really couldn’t afford anything.

That is, unless he sold some things. It had been a long time since he experienced the feeling of lacking spirit stones. It made him think back to his days in the continent of South Phoenix.

Prices in this darkmoon ward are a bit ridiculous.

Shaking his head, he was about to send a voice message to the Captain saying they should leave. However, that was when he suddenly received an excited message via divine will from the head in his D-132 god trove.

“Oh exalted, handsome, invincible, and merciful great jailer, I can sense the aura of some old friends. Please, permit us to have a reunion!”

Xu Qing stopped in place. Despite all the years that had passed, there were still some empty spots in D-132. Two specifically: a scarecrow and a millstone. After the Corrections Division in Sea-Sealing County collapsed, they had escaped, never to be seen again.

In response to the head’s words, Xu Qing’s eyebrows shot up, and he looked around, eventually coming to focus on one specific vendor stall. There were random objects laid out for sale there, representing a wide variety of cultivation levels.

One of them was a scarecrow, missing an arm and a leg, laying on a pile of random things, staring up blankly into the sky. Next to it was half of a millstone. [4]

As Xu Qing approached, the scarecrow evidently sensed his aura and the aura of D-132. Its glassy, seemingly dead eyes suddenly turned to look at Xu Qing. At first it was stunned, but then, it was excited.

1. I stared at this passage for a while trying to decipher some deeper meaning based on the components of the Chinese characters and other things. I couldn’t come up with anything. It’s possible I’m just totally missing some cool point, but it seems to me like it’s just supposed to sound dramatic, mysterious, and cool. In the grand scheme of things, this wordplay isn’t very important so I didn’t bother asking Madam Deathblade or someone else for a second opinion. ☜

2. There is a quasi-spoiler here, because the term ‘lantern’ here is actually slightly more vague in Chinese. Or more specifically, it’s only one of the characters from ‘lantern.’ It could be interpreted in different ways (for instance basket or cage) depending on what other characters are paired with it. We don’t get full confirmation until later that it’s meant to be a lantern. There will be more in later chapters, so I won’t go into any more detail. ☜

3. There is more behind the term I’m translating as “ninedawns.” If you transliterated it, it would be Jiuli. If you google that, you’ll find that there was an ancient confederation of tribes in China called the Jiuli. Well, sometimes you’ll find it transliterated as Jiuli. But more properly, it’s the Nine Li tribe confederation, as it was made up of nine tribes that all used the surname Li. Now, let’s talk about the “Li.” This is not the same Li as the super common surname (i.e. Li Zihua, Li Zimei, etc.). Instead, it’s a character that can have numerous meanings. For one thing, it’s a surname/clan name, as related to what’s mentioned above. But the character also has literary meanings, including “black, multitude, many.” The reason why I’m rendering it as dawn is twofold. 1) The specific meaning of the character is not important to the narrative, characters, plot, etc., so I feel there’s wiggle room in how to render it. 2) When you combine the character Li with the character for ‘brightness,’ it becomes the common literary term for ‘dawn.’ For instance, remember the swordsage oath? It mentions dawn, and uses that term. It comes up in other contexts in that way, even in other novels such as ISSTH. Of course, there is other stuff that played into my decision that comes from later in the novel, and I won’t get into spoilers now. ☜

4. The scarecrow and millstone were mentioned in chapters 406, 412, and 660. As I recall, the millstone was actually the “illusory” form, while the real form was a bucket. However, it appears the author wants it to be a millstone going forward. Maybe it’s an author mistake, or maybe you can assume that the millstone chose to remain in that form. ☜

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