Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 943: A Sword Versus an Altar

The appearance of the altar was shocking to the extreme. Outside of Planet Ancient Emperor, the officials looked on with bated breath and anxious expressions. All of them felt like they were being torn apart inside.

There was one official who looked completely and utterly thunderstruck as he blurted, “Those are the coffins of the past emperors! Th-this... this really is a godly ascension ceremony!!”

Everyone felt completely and utterly mind-blown. After all, to the numerous species that inhabited Revered Ancient, the gods were the most deadly adversaries in existence! Revered Ancient experienced endless grief and suffering thanks to the gods, and what was more, their lives were slowly being suffocated because of them.

In the countless years that had passed, there were a good number of species that agreed to bend the knee and even become slaves, all in the hope of gaining some perks and eventually becoming a top species. The Firemoon Darkheavens were a perfect example of that.

But slaves were slaves!

Humans... had conquered Revered Ancient on more than one occasion and were a proud species. From beginning to end, they had never bent the knee! For generations, the emperors had dealt with all sorts of situations, yet none of them cast aside the true heart of humankind. For generations, the emperors followed Dark Serenity’s teachings, adhered to the directives of the holy lands, and stuck to the traditions of the Summer Immortals.

Of course, it was impossible to stop people from researching the gods. That was what led to things like the God-Merging School. But deep in their bones, humans felt that they could not coexist with gods.

And that was because it involved different daos! To humans, godly ascension was an unacceptable solution. Never had an emperor chosen something like that. It was about determination, principles, and bottom lines. From generation to generation, every human who grew up in the Imperial Region felt the same.

But now, the aura of godfire was unmistakable. And that was especially true considering the shrines, and the fact that the five coffins had names inscribed on them. It was no stretch of the imagination to conclude that four of the five coffins actually had the corpses of the past emperors in them.

Emperor Dark War was obviously planning to use the power of the corpses of the past emperors as kindling to achieve his own godly ascension! It was something the government officials simply couldn’t accept. In the end, this was a far more unfilial form of betrayal than anything done by Eleventh Prince!

Although past emperors had their faults, they had also accomplished great things. It wasn’t appropriate to disturb them after their death. Yet here, their corpses were obviously being prepared to be used like kindling to betray the human species. It was the most disgraceful behavior imaginable.

Thus, cries of anguish began to drift out from beyond Planet Ancient Emperor.

“Your Majesty, sir, you can’t do this!”

“We’re the descendants of cultivators! We walk the path of cultivation, not the route of gods!”

“If the emperor chooses godly ascension, then are we humans... even human anymore?”

“If the human emperor becomes a god, then humankind will be lost! When the holy lands in heaven find out, they’ll be bitterly disappointed....”

“Your Majesty, please reconsider!!”

“Gods have been our enemies for generations! If the human emperor turns around and becomes a god... then what’s the point of all those years of sticking to our ideals? And what would be the point of all of the secret help the holy lands have given us over the years?”

It wasn’t just the officials who voiced such anguish. Even the people who had been permitted to come onto Planet Ancient Emperor were feeling moved emotionally.

When Eleventh Prince lifted up that altar, he provoked endless waves of drama!

The only exception was Xu Qing. He didn’t care whether or not the emperor attempted godly ascension. That was because, the moment that altar rose up, he became completely and utterly focused on the lamp! At a single glance, he knew... that it was the very lamp he had come here to get.

It was Plumdark’s life essence lamp! The Plumdark Evergreen Lamp!

The lamp was now covered in cracks, and when Xu Qing sensed that, he got a very uneasy feeling. Struggling to control his breathing, he tried to wrap his mind around what it meant.

The ceremony... has already started! That lamp... is burning essence! Once the essence is exhausted, the ceremony will be a success. The lamp will shatter. And if that happens...

Xu Qing eyes glowed with light that could latch onto the soul.

Meanwhile, Eleventh Prince started talking again.

“Emperor Dark War is a deranged maniac! Instead of following the teachings of the Ancient Emperors, instead of abiding by the instructions of the holy lands, he ensorcelled the corpses of past emperors to use as kindling for a godly ascension ceremony!

“This is a complete deviation from the dao of immortals! It’s a betrayal of humankind and an act of utmost cruelty! Dark War is disrespecting the ancestors and disturbing the commoners! The great heaven can see it. The destiny aura can sense it. This emperor... does not deserve to be an emperor!!”

Eleventh Prince’s voice shook heaven and earth. Every word struck deeply into the hearts of the officials. And then, Eleventh Prince suddenly turned to look at Xu Qing.

“King Skycrusher, I know you need that lamp! As you can see, it’s about to crack into pieces. Why not charge in there, disrupt the ceremony, and take the lamp?”

Without a word, Xu Qing took a step forward.

The court eunuch who was fighting King Firecrusher suddenly tried to lurch away and block Xu Qing’s path. King Firecrusher didn’t let him.

“King Skycrusher!” the eunuch shouted in a high-pitched voice. “There’s deep meaning in the emperor’s actions! Don’t let this traitor bewitch you! Back down!”

The only response he got was a cold glance from Xu Qing, who took another step forward. That step caused heaven and earth to rumble loudly. Xu Qing’s aura surged as tens of millions of soul threads erupted from him to form his major world. The thrum of a sword echoed out from within him, causing the sky to seethe as a huge sword projection appeared in the dome of heaven above Planet Ancient Emperor.

Upon seeing that, Eleventh Prince smiled. And yet, even as the smile broke out on his face, Xu Qing turned to look at him. His cold eyes caused Eleventh Prince’s heart to lurch. Xu Qing said nothing, and looked away a moment later.

At the moment, he didn’t have time to try to figure out how Eleventh Prince knew the details of the lamp. On the one hand, it seemed as though he had an opportunity to easily and quickly acquire the Plumdark Evergreen Lamp. However, it was also obvious that there was more going on. That said, such considerations weren’t important right now.

Xu Qing’s foot touched the ground, and he propelled himself toward the altar. He wasn’t interested in helping Eleventh Prince. Nor did he want to participate in the emperor’s affairs.

Simply put, he needed that lamp, even if it was part of the emperor’s godly ascension ceremony.

An instant later, he appeared at the edge of the altar and the flames that surrounded it. Above, The Emperor’s Sword slowly inclined with the canopy of heaven. Then it slashed down toward the altar!

The court eunuch looked shocked, and clearly wanted to interfere. But he couldn’t. Everyone else on Planet Ancient Emperor looked on with hesitant expressions. If this was any ceremony other than godly ascension, all of them would have tried to stop Xu Qing.

But now.... Everyone stood there silently.

They saw Xu Qing’s imposing manner coupled with the image of The Emperor’s Sword. Heaven-sundering, earth-rending power was unleashed, crushing everything in its path.

Eleventh Prince burst out laughing and looked at the emperor, who had remained silent from the moment the altar appeared.

“You have lost your way, father!”

The emperor still didn’t say anything. As the chains continued to snap and crumble, he simply looked over at Xu Qing. It wasn’t just him. Everyone else was also doing the same thing. Under the eyes of all present, The Emperor’s Sword slashed through the fire surrounding the altar. The flames swept together, converging into the form of a huge face.

Unexpectedly, the face was that of Dark War! The moment it appeared, The Emperor’s Sword hit it!

Deep rumbling sounds echoed through heaven and earth. The sword projection faded away. The face vanished. The fire flickered wildly, as though a great wind was blowing over it.

Without a moment of hesitation, Xu Qing took advantage of the moment to accelerate, becoming a blur of afterimages that shot toward the altar.

And yet, before he could actually reach the altar, a host of innumerable figures appeared within the fire. They included humans, nonhumans, beasts, and even gods. They were formed from the essence that the Plumdark Evergreen Lamp was burning, which came from the surplus energy in the corpses of the past emperors.

As the figures formed, they seemed to power up as they shot toward Xu Qing.

But then, the Plumdark Evergreen Lamp in the middle of the altar shivered. It was almost as if it was reacting to Xu Qing’s presence. The figures charging toward Xu Qing were affected by that, and instantly slowed down.

Strange light gleamed in Xu Qing’s eyes as he accelerated again. His major world of 40,000,000 soul threads gave him an inexhaustible well of power, plus he had his void soil and the glimmerings of godly authority. Black smoke spilled out around Xu Qing, accompanied by the roar of Hellfei. The violet moon appeared over his head, illuminating the world with violet light. The power of misfortune spread out in all directions. Not even the lifeless forms in the fire could avoid the effects of the spreading misfortune. The Grand Darkheaven Armor appeared, as well as the nine lanterns. As the lanterns orbited around him, draconic faces bulged out of them, howling noiselessly.

At the same time... Xu Qing’s hand turned semitransparent. He plunged it into his chest, into his sea of consciousness, into his void soil, where he opened the trove gate leading to The Emperor’s Sword. There, he fused with the soul of the emperor and... grabbed The Emperor’s Sword! The sword rumbled loudly but didn’t resist.

After Xu Qing bowed to the Grand Emperor, the words spoken by the Grand Emperor indicated that he approved of Xu Qing, and had granted him the right to wield the sword. There were no restraints in place anymore. Theoretically speaking, as long as Xu Qing was strong enough, he could use The Emperor’s Sword whenever he wished.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t that strong right now. And yet... though he couldn’t take out The Emperor’s Sword in its true and full form, he was able to take out a stream of sword energy.

As that sword energy emerged, it took the form of a sword projection. It looked exactly the same as the sword which had appeared in the sky earlier, except more corporeal. And sharper.

As Xu Qing gripped it, his eyes glittered with killing intent. He raced toward the figures in the flames. From a distance, Xu Qing looked like an unstoppable dragon! Intense rumbling sounds echoed out.

Wherever the sword passed, the figures collapsed. Godly authority spread out, creating massive pressure in all directions. At the same time, a vine whipped around Xu Qing.

It didn’t affect any of the projected figures. Instead, it devoured the flames! As it did, it emanated emotional fluctuations of rejoicing. Little Shadow didn’t want to be left out, and it flew out into the flames, as happily as a fish swimming through water.

Everyone who could see what was happening was shocked to the core.

This was Xu Qing’s first time becoming the absolute center of attention in human lands! And it was his first time calling on all of his battle prowess!