Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 1189: A Ruthless Trap

The Fifth Star Ring was divided into east, west, south and north.

The north there was unlike the north in the Revered Ancient mainland. There was no snow in the northern planetary system. It was quite the opposite. Most locations there were very hot. Of course… when big events played out that got all the cultivators in the north talking, then it wasn’t just the weather that heated up.

In a small town not far from the Sword Immortal School, a local teahouse buzzed with conversation.

“This area has become one of the busiest locations imaginable recently.”

“The big sects, clans, and tribes have all sent direct bloodline elites and core disciples here.”

“The two Shining Stars from the Sword Immortal School achieved major success in the dao of the sword. It’s only natural that the north is all stirred up because of the upcoming Sword Activation Ceremony.”

“They’re the most dazzling chosen in the north! All cultivators of this generation basically worship them!”

“The Sword Activation Ceremony is definitely going to be watched by everybody.”

“Seems to me that their trip to the Fallen Immortal Moors was really a success. They made some shocking gains.”

“I heard that when they were at the Fallen Immortal Moors, both of them managed to form immortal wills in their sword spirits!”

Everyone in the teahouse was talking about Hordeslayer and Rampart.

Xu Qing sat next to a window in the teahouse, his expression neutral as he smelled the aroma of tea wafting up from his cup and listened to the chatter. Northern cultivators didn’t usually drink alcohol. They were fonder of spirit tea. As a result, cities usually had a lot of teahouses.

Those two swords are very interesting.

Xu Qing took a sip of tea. There was something uniquely bitter in the tea, but when the tea passed along your tongue, it changed into something sweet.

It was Xu Qing’s third day in the northern planetary system. Because of his lack of familiarity with the north, he had masked the aura of his permission medallion, thus removing himself from the star chart.

It was only after arriving that he heard about the upcoming Sword Activation Ceremony for Hordeslayer and Rampart. The ceremony was to start in three days, and was supposed to last for two months. It would end at the same time as the third round of the Trial of the Hunt.

Are they… scared?

Though news about what Xu Qing had done in the south had not spread very much, he was certain that Hordeslayer and Rampart knew about it.

Why are they so confident that they’ll be safe for the next two months during their ceremony? It can’t be the sect. The trial rules prohibit that. They must have things set up as part of the ceremony. Or are they waiting for me to go find them?

After some thought, Xu Qing finished the rest of his tea in one gulp.

***

Three days later….

More and more cultivators were gathering around the meteor where the Sword Immortal School was located. All sorts of organizations from the north were present, and the atmosphere was very lively. Everyone was waiting for the ceremony.

The atmosphere was similarly lively inside the Sword Immortal School. Whether it was cultivators who were members of the Sword Immortal School, or representatives from other places, they were all gathered around the central square, chatting and laughing as they waited for the formalities to begin.

Eventually, the auspicious hour arrived, and rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth. Two astonishing beams of light rose up from the central square. They reached the aurora in the canopy of heaven, and crimson light spread out like a vast sea.

Two huge vortexes formed. As the rumbling sounds grew more intense, the meteor was affected, and sent out streams of blue light. The blue light rose up and connected to the red above. And thus, the entire Sword Immortal School was bathed in a combination of blue and red light.

Everyone observing from outside the sect looked on intently. Everyone observing from inside the sect watched happily, their hearts filled with anticipation.

However, as the crowds looked on and the sword energy raged, Hordeslayer and Rampart were feeling surprised. They were still communicating via projection.

“He didn’t come after all?”

“I thought for sure he would come before the ceremony, but as it turns out, he didn’t!”

“Don’t tell me he’s planning to show up during the actual ceremony.”

“It doesn’t matter. We’re prepared. If he’s so scared he doesn’t come, then fine. But if he does show up, then today—”

“Will be the day we get revenge!”

“But… what if we can’t beat him?”

“Then we just surrender! If that happens, we won’t be the ones to lose face. It’ll be Master! If he, an immortal monarch, can’t even protect his two apprentices when they’re in the middle of seeking enlightenment, then just imagine the humiliation he’ll experience!”

“You’re right, brother!”

Hordeslayer and Rampart exchanged a look, and both could see the bravado in each other’s eyes. Taking a deep breath, they each took a step forward and unleashed their sword energy. As they absorbed the blue and red light, two streams of immortal will surged within them.

Astonishingly, two blurry swords appeared over their heads! The swords seemed extremely ancient, as if they contained an aura of time itself. The moment the swords appeared, they attracted the attention of everyone in the area.

If any of the other Shining Stars were present, they would recognize the swords immediately. They were… the very same immortal swords that had come out of the sword furnace in the fourth world.

Next, the blue light and the light from the aurora acted like sharpening sand that flowed back and forth across the blurry immortal swords. It was as if the swords were being sharpened, causing their sword energy to grow stronger and more incisive! It was the same with the sword light.

The ceremony involved this sharpening process going on for two months. During that time, the immortal swords would grow increasingly dazzling, and the sword will they emanated would provide the onlookers with a chance to seek enlightenment.

Hordeslayer and Rampart sat there cross-legged, their eyes closed and their minds focused.

Exclamations of admiration could be heard everywhere. All of the onlookers were paying very close attention.

Meanwhile, in the Sword Pavilion elsewhere in the Sword Immortal School, someone was speaking sarcastically.

“Brother Blue, those two apprentices of yours are truly extraordinary.” The speaker was a middle-aged man clad in red, who was currently watching the scene in the central square.

Seated next to him was Sword Immortal Blue Mallard. At the moment, Sword Immortal Blue Mallard was shaking his head helplessly. “Extraordinary my ass! Those two are gutless cowards! I bet that if something goes wrong, they’ll spout some bullshit excuse and blame me for everything.”

The man in red chuckled. Looking down into the crowd, he saw someone that seemed to both exist and not exist at the same time. It was correct to say that he didn’t exist, because none of the other cultivators in the crowd seemed to notice him. But it was also correct to say that he existed, because there were certain people who could see him with absolute clarity.

“So they’re scared of that guy? No wonder the Immortal Paragon has taken a liking to him. You know what? His canon reminds me of… Immortal Lord Aurora from back in the day.” The man in red seemed wistful. “Brother Blue, now that I think about it, weren’t you the apprentice of the top-ranking true monarch from the Aurora Immortal Palace back then…?”

Sword Immortal Blue Mallard sighed. “Technically speaking, yes. But my Master was cheap. He only came to see me a few times, and he never took me to the immortal palace. If he had, I’d be long gone. I guess—”

“I guess it all comes down to karma,” the man in red said softly.

Sword Immortal Blue Mallard sighed again. “You know what annoys me most about you?”

“Yes.”

“It’s annoying that you always say what I’m about to say, before I say it!”

“I said I know! Oh, hey, that fellow is looking at us.” Smiling, he pointed down.

***

Down in the crowd in the Sword Immortal School, Xu Qing looked up at the tallest building present. He could just barely sense an aggressive aura there. Though he couldn’t see who it came from, he could guess.

After a moment of consideration, he clasped hands and bowed. Then he strode forward.

He made his way through the crowd, across the square, and then flew right up to the two pillars of sword energy…. He was now hovering right in front of the two immortal swords that were being sharpened.

He waved his hand. That simple gesture caused the swords to vibrate. An instant later… to the absolute shock of the crowd, the swords seemed to seethe with excitement, and then, they turned and shot toward Xu Qing.

Hordeslayer and Rampart suddenly opened their eyes. They were instantly inclined to feel excited, but they quickly suppressed the sensation.

“He’s here!”

“Those are our swords!”

“We have to go all out!”

Without any hesitation, and ignoring the fact that so many people were watching, Hordeslayer and Rampart both performed incantation gestures and then smacked their hands onto the ground. Numerous halos of light instantly rose up from the ground, hundreds of them, and each of them pulsing with terrifying mightiness. They all shot toward Xu Qing.

Then Hordeslayer and Rampart shot to their feet, performed an incantation gesture, and grimly shouted, “Rising Sword. Sword Falls!”

A massive, illusory sword rose up from the square, shining with dazzling light and pulsing with magnificent sword energy. It instantly slashed upward toward Xu Qing.

At the same time, a giant sword emerged from the sea of light and slashed toward Xu Qing from above.

Things weren’t over yet. As the hundreds of halos and double swords closed in on Xu Qing, Hordeslayer and Rampart moved as one, performing another incantation gesture and then spitting out mouthfuls of blood.

“Meteor Swords!”

The meteor that the Sword Immortal School was built on erupted with blue light. And within that light were thousands of long, blue swords, all of which shot toward Xu Qing and then started orbiting around him in a huge sword formation. That, combined with the halos and double swords, were bringing a torrent of death.

These were the warding spells that Hordeslayer and Rampart had prepared to deal with Xu Qing.

After doing all that in one short moment, their eyes shimmered with determination. With yet another incantation gesture, they blurred into motion, superimposing over each other as they fused into one! They became one person! Blood oozed out of their eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. They drained their ringsource. And they performed a double-handed incantation gesture and pointed toward the excited immortal swords orbiting around Xu Qing.[1]

The two swords vibrated, and their excitement seemed to be quashed. Thrumming aggressively, they spun to point at Xu Qing. All of this takes a bit of time to describe, but it happened at the exact same moment that Xu Qing revealed himself.

In response to all of that, Xu Qing’s expression remained neutral. He waved his hand, and a mote like a piece of dust flew out. It began to fall. The sky rumbled. Heaven and earth shook. The air trembled. Space-time oscillated.

It was… a mote of heaven’s principle.

1. Although it says they “became one person,” the author then goes on to refrain from using pronouns at all, which is easy to do in Chinese. In other words, he doesn’t call the fused version “he” or “them.” He just uses their names. This continues into the next chapter. Unfortunately, that gets clunky real fast in English, especially in a fight scene, so I’m just going to refer to them with plural pronouns. It’s not as if they became a new individual entity when they fused. They’re just occupying the same body. Or something like that. ☜

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