Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 1166: One Piece Revitalizes the Board

On that night, the heavenly workings were causing dramatic transformations. The wind kept picking up, thunder boomed, and lightning illuminated the darkness. Rumbling shook the immortal palace, reaching the ears of everyone, including Sir Vilespirit, who was playing the role of Gongsun Qingmu in the Scourgebolt Palace.

Lightning illuminated the hall in which he stood as Sir Star Ring stepped out thin air in the guise of Fourth True Monarch. Instantly, killing intent surged within him, all as a frigid coldness swept out, enveloping the hall in winter. Snowflakes drifted everywhere, and ice crystals began to build up inside Sir Vilespirit, filling his body and threatening to wipe out his consciousness.

“Stay? Or go?” Sir Star Ring said calmly. “Do you really want to be my enemy? Or will you join me? You already accomplished your goal, haven’t you? So what is your decision??”

His clearly enunciated words turned into swords of ice, filled with the might of order. And all were pointed at Sir Vilespirit. Ice chains clinked into being, sweeping through the hall to become a mysterious spell formation, pulsing with brilliant mightiness.

Sir Vilespirit slowly looked up at the figure standing in front of him. He smiled a very wicked smile.

“What exactly did my old nemesis Zhou Zhengli say to you, oh exalted one? He understands me better than anyone. In truth, ever since leaving Young Aurora Hall, I’ve just been waiting for you to come. As for my decision….”

He lifted his hand, within which appeared a jade medallion. It was the fox maiden’s identity medallion! Sir Vilespirit’s eyes glittered mysteriously as he forcefully crushed it. A cracking sound rang out as the jade medallion crumbled into pieces.

“Upon investigation, I came to realize that Qiu Lingshan harbored evil intentions. She infiltrated the immortal palace in order to commit criminal acts. I’m willing to punish myself for failing to realize it sooner. I immediately stripped her of her status. As for whether she deserves the death penalty, I’ll let you decide, True Monarch.”[1]

Qiu Lingshan was the true name of the fox maiden in this space-time. With that jade medallion crushed, her status as an apprentice and member of the Scourgebolt Palace was revoked.

This was Sir Vilespirit’s dao. Betrayal. That included betrayal of organizations and betrayals of allies. As far as he was concerned, it didn’t matter who he betrayed, as long as he betrayed someone. That was how things were in this space-time. Everyone was plotting against each other. The fox maiden was plotting against him, and he was plotting against her.

The moment he had an identity and some allies, he had the foundation for betrayal. And just as he had said, he really had been waiting for Sir Star Ring to show up. The frigid coldness, ice swords, and chains faded away.

Sir Star Ring turned to leave. He had accomplished what he wanted to accomplish.

However, just before he stepped out, Sir Vilespirit spoke from behind him. “Exalted one, I’ve been fighting Zhou Zhengli for years now, and though he understands me, I also understand him. So I’ll give you a little advice. That guy… believes great good to be evil, and believes great evil to be good. He’s more complicated than you think!”

Sir Star Ring stood in the doorway, his expression unchanging. “Everybody says that if you take the Shining Stars and put them out in the world, they’ll become ambitious and ruthless. That’s why I care about what people do, not what their ideals are. As long as I’m the strongest, then I don’t care what someone’s ideals are. If they obey me, so be it. If they disobey, I kill them.”

With that, he strode out and became an electric bolt of light that disappeared an instant later.

Sir Vilespirit chuckled. This whole fourth world thing has been very interesting. Sir Star Ring from the east rarely goes out into the world, so he’s only now finding out how difficult it is to deal with the other Shining Stars. That’s why the arrogant fellow just can’t stop from calling himself the strongest. Interesting. Very interesting.

Sir Vilespirit smiled, and this time it was both wicked and deranged. Strangely, though, the laughter that accompanied it didn’t come out of his mouth. It came from the broken sword inside of him.

***

Sir Star Ring was now outside of the Scourgebolt Palace in front of a courtyard. It was a courtyard that had been set up for subordinates of the palace. After the incident with Spirit Phoenix at Young Aurora Hall, the fox maiden had taken up residence here.

Those two psychos think they’ve figured me out and know how to manipulate me. Little do they know that there’s a reason they’re both Shining Stars in the eastern planetary system. They’re both dao fruits that I’ll use to nourish my canon of order in the future!

The moment Sir Star Ring appeared, the doors of the courtyard opened. The fox maiden leaned up against the door frame and looked at him languidly.

“That lousy Master of mine really isn’t reliable at all, is he? He crushed my identity medallion. He sold me out, through and through. And now you’ve come here to kill me, is that right?” She laughed softly. “You’re very clever, True Monarch. Now that I have no status in the immortal palace, I’m superfluous, and can be killed freely. It won’t cause any waves at all. After all… historically speaking, I shouldn’t even be in the immortal palace anymore. Well, aren’t you going to do it? I already did what I wanted to do here. I’m ready to leave at any time.”

smiled broadly, as if this visit from the true monarch wasn’t a surprise to at all.

But Sir Star Ring didn’t attack Instead, he calmly took a step forward. “You’re right. But if you did what you wanted to do, why haven’t you left yet? No, I’d say you probably have another plan you’re working on.” He took another step forward. “Is it that you’ve come to realize you can’t just leave?”

He continued walking the whole time, so that by the time he was finished, he was inside the courtyard, only a few meters away from He stopped walking.

Starfire was smiling, but inside, guard was up, and sensed great danger. It was exactly as he had just said. When Sir Star Ring had blown everyone’s cover, tried to separate consciousness from the fox maiden’s body, but had come to find that couldn’t. In the past, had been able to, but now there was some intangible force preventing from doing it. That said, was an adept schemer, and thus, didn’t let that show on face.

Before could respond, Sir Star Ring continued speaking. “Am I right, unknown god??”

His last words struck like a lightning bolt. Starfire was stunned to the core. In previous clash with him, had worked hard to conceal the truth, and had believed had done a good job. After all, was half a step away from being an Altar God, and had plenty of secret magics at disposal.

And everything that happened after that had seemed to indicate that Sir Star Ring had not detected anything unusual during their interactions. But now….

“If it was anyone else,” he continued, “they wouldn’t have been able to tell. But I’m from the Star Ring Pagoda in the eastern planetary region. Do you know why it’s named after the star ring…? Did you really think that you could fight with someone like me and that I wouldn’t notice you were working so hard to conceal your godly aura? The reason I didn’t say anything before is that… I wanted to see who else was working with you!”

He waved his hand, and a silver medallion appeared.

Astonishingly, the name Qiu Lingshan was visible on the medallion.

“This is a god-branding medallion. They’ve been used since ancient times in the Fifth Star Ring to subdue gods. As you would expect, you can get them here in the immortal palace. With this medallion sealing you, your consciousness can’t escape this place unless I permit it!”

He casually pushed his finger down onto the medallion. A sealing force specifically designed to target gods suddenly shot out, causing Starfire to shiver and gasp.

“I think it’s best if you stay right here for now. Tonight we’re going to see whether or not you have someone backing you. Will they come to your rescue? If they don’t show up by daybreak… you’ll find out what happens when I use this god-branding medallion on your true form. And therefore, I suggest you send a message asking for help.”

Sir Star Ring sat down with a smile on his face to wait for dawn.

Meanwhile, Starfire was trembling, eyes bloodshot already thanks to the power of the god-branding medallion.

***

The wind blew stronger and stronger. It swept through the immortal palace all the way to Young Aurora Hall.

Xu Qing’s hair stirred. He was walking through the wind.

Many things had taken place. First was Fourth True Monarch blowing the cover of so many people. Then Starfire explained that consciousness couldn’t leave the fourth world after was expelled from Young Aurora Hall. Next came Li Mengtu’s apology. Finally, Spirit Phoenix moved into Young Aurora Hall.

If this was a game of Go, then his opponent’s pieces would have him surrounded, left with no option other than to be devoured.

But all of it… has just helped me to see things clearly!

He looked off in the direction of the sword furnace, and then at Starfire’s residence.

As for the game situation…. Playing one piece the right way can revitalize the board completely.

He took another step and disappeared. When he reappeared… he had not left Young Aurora Hall, but instead, was in one of the side halls. This was where Immortal Fairy Spirit Phoenix had taken up residence! The moment he appeared, the black-armored guards surged with energy.

“Back down!” Xu Qing said quietly.

The might and power of Young Lord Aurora weighed down, and the streams of energy backed away. The guards had no choice but to allow Xu Qing to walk into the hall, bringing the wind and rain with him. There inside was Immortal Fairy Spirit Phoenix, seated cross-legged and looking straight at him.

The moment their eyes met, Spirit Phoenix’s heart thumped in her chest. However, she didn’t reveal that on her face. Instead, she took control of the conversation by saying, “What is it? Here to interrogate me because I kicked out the fox maiden?”

Xu Qing ignored her outburst, walked over the window, and looked out at the sky. “Zhong Chi just left. Before he did, he said he had a dream. He dreamed that before we could complete the kneeling ritual in our wedding, catastrophe arrived and everything ended up soaked in blood.”

Spirit Phoenix snorted coldly. “Vicious lies! He should die for that!”

Without even turning to look at her, he said, “Vicious lies? You mean like the recent rumors? Supposedly some outsiders showed up recently. So… are you one of them?”[2]

“You’re not acting like yourself today,” Spirit Phoenix said, her heart racing, but a frown on her face.

Xu Qing smiled. He didn’t turn around. But what he said next struck Spirit Phoenix like a bolt of lightning. “I don’t care if you’re Yuanshan Su or somebody else. Either way, your goal is simply to be connected by karma to my host. And you want to use that to become half-owner of the immortal palace. So the question is, do you want the marriage to succeed? Or do you want it to fail?”

As he finished speaking, he slowly turned around and looked her straight in the eyes, his gaze bright and aggressive.

His words were like 10,000,000 bolts of heavenly lightning striking her down to the core of her being. Shaking, she shot to her feet and took a few steps back. Her mind was being battered with waves of shock so intense she was struck as senseless as a wooden chicken. All she could do was stare at Xu Qing as if he was a ghost.

“Wh-who… who are you?” she stammered in astonishment. Never in her wildest imagination would she have even considered guessing that Young Lord Aurora would actually say her name.

It was enough to make everything clear. He was an outsider! Young Lord Aurora was actually an outsider. She was in daze, and even wondered if what was happening was real. It overturned everything she thought was true. It subverted all her expectations. In fact, it surpassed the level of ‘astonishing.’ Yet, there was no denying what was right in front of her.

“You….” Yuanshan Su’s face was ashen, and her thoughts were in complete chaos. She couldn’t even speak, as she didn’t know what to say.

Xu Qing remained as calm as ever as he looked at her. “My guess is that you want the marriage to succeed. That will make it more possible for you to reach your goal. Therefore, I suggest we work together to make sure the marriage happens. But if you refuse to work with me, then on the wedding day, I’ll reject you in front of everyone. That will change history in a dramatic way, and cause some big waves! You need to give me your answer before I walk out of here.”

He turned and walked toward the door. Step by step, he got closer.

Yuanshan Su couldn’t breathe steadily. She couldn’t calm down. All she could do was watch him walking away from her, her heart pounding. Just when he was about to walk out, she took a deep breath, a complicated expression on her face.

“I’ll work with you!” There was no way she could refuse. In the final analysis, her entire plan revolved around the young lord. He was key to it all. That was why, from the very beginning, she had never considered Fourth True Monarch to be an actual ally. All it took were those handful of words spoken by the young lord for her to defer to him!

Xu Qing was at the door. He was not surprised at all at her response. He had known from the beginning that once he revealed that he was an outsider, she would have no other option than to join him. That was a foregone conclusion, given her goal.

Voice cool, he said, “Good. Go keep the fox maiden safe tonight, no matter how you do it.”

With that, he stepped outside into the wind. Looking in the direction of the fox maiden’s residence, he sighed inwardly.

You want to fight, Elder Brother Fourth? Well, tonight we’re going to fight!

The wind screamed faster and faster, rapidly turning into a tempest!

1. You might remember that Immortal Fairy Spirit Phoenix’s real name is Zhou Linshan. This name here, Qiu Lingshan, is a different name. I just wanted to clarify this, because even when I was reading it, I was temporarily confused about whose name it was. The third character is shared with Qiu Lingshan, but the second character is not. The names are not connected. ☜

2. There is some word play that doesn’t translate. The specific characters for what I’m rendering “vicious lies” have the exact same pronunciation as the word for “rumors.” So what he actually says is something like “you saying the word ‘vicious lies’ makes me think of the recent ‘rumors,’” which makes perfect sense in Chinese, but doesn’t have the same ring in English. In reality, this play on words wouldn’t work in spoken Chinese, because you have to be able to see the characters to differentiate between them. It would be like wordplay involving the letter Y and the word why? If you said something like, “Do you mean why? Or do you mean Y?” it obviously wouldn’t make any sense without further context or being able to see the word. ☜

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!