Outside Of Time

1587  Direction of the Eighth Extremity

"Time is not just about accelerating its passage, reversing the years, or freezing moments."

"There's a deeper manifestation…"

As Xu Qing gazed at the vast desert before him, he came to a profound realization about the nature of this place. Even though he possessed the power of time, his heart was stirred by the way time manifested here, leading to a flood of thoughts.

"Time can be seen on a macro scale, affecting all the star rings, or rather, everything that exists. Anything that exists falls within its scope."

"The River of Time is omnipresent."

"But it is not fixed or unchanging. Whether influenced by external forces or other alterations, time can undergo various changes."

"This desert demonstrates the concept of time branching."

Xu Qing took a deep breath and the feeling of comprehension became increasingly clear.

"Each grain of sand, with every movement, forms a new timeline, and on that timeline, a second grain of sand appears."

"The first grain and the second grain are essentially the same, but their timelines differ."

"Through this process, more and more timelines are generated, leading to chaos—just like this desert. If, in the end, they could be unified, it would be akin to walking within time yet standing outside of it, which could be called mastery."

A strange glint appeared in Xu Qing's eyes.

"But unfortunately, with my current abilities, I cannot achieve unification—I can only bring about chaotic creation."

"And this disorderly creation of timelines, based on the changes in an object's essence, is somewhat like the emergence of… different fates?"

"Each new timeline creates a new grain of sand, and the path of this grain after its creation no longer has any connection to the original, becoming an independent journey."

Xu Qing recalled the divine authority of fate possessed by his god body and a strange feeling gradually surfaced in his heart.

This was because he realized that the authority and the divine authority seemed to have the same effect at this moment.

"But there is a subtle difference. My divine authority of fate uses a carving knife to inscribe new threads of fate, making them stand out and become dominant."

18:31

"But the branching of time, on the other hand, causes the object itself to evolve into numerous different timelines…"

"When I return to Wanggu in the future and my immortal body fuses with my god body, I should have a clearer understanding of the specific difference."

"And now…"

A dark glint appeared in Xu Qing's eyes. He was thinking about how to use this time branching ability in battle.

At the same time, he took out a bottle of liaoxuan holy liquid and drank it in one gulp.

Over the past few days, he had drunk two bottles. At this moment, he took out the third bottle.

As the liaoxuan holy liquid spread throughout his body, Xu Qing got an influx of insights.

"I could apply it to myself, allowing each of my actions, even every heartbeat, to form different timelines."

"Though I can't unify them, I could use my Sundial to unleash them all at once into the world, creating a sea of chaotic time!"

"Anyone entering this chaotic sea would be overwhelmed by the power of time, lost in the confusion of countless timelines, leading either to death or madness!"

"And if used on an enemy… the effect would be the same!"

"Every action they take would create a disordered timeline. As these timelines multiply, the enemy, unable to control the changes, would be forced to face them passively, disrupting their own existence!"

"It might even cause the sensation like that of a deity, where a mere glance could make all their flesh and blood seem to separate and act independently."

"Even Rulers can't avoid this ability!"

A cold glint rose in Xu Qing's eyes.

"In such a sea, all will suffer, facing endless calamities. With no end to time, it will be called… Seamless."

Xu Qing formed a hand seal, channeling his power to envelop the entire desert. Within his mind, he condensed his thoughts, solidifying them into a profound understanding, which he then engraved into his Seventh Extremity.

As he completed this process, his thoughts continued to expand.

The effects of the liaoxuan holy liquid further amplified his already remarkable insight, enhancing his comprehension even more.

"Also, there should be other better ways to display the ability of the time branching. I'll need to study it in detail in the future."

"For example… combining it with the power of space?"

"If the additional time lines are paired with a space unique to each one, what emerges is…"

"A version of myself identical in essence but diverging in future outcomes… A different fate, perhaps?"

Xu Qing's breathing instantly hastened. He had a faint feeling that he seemed to have grasped something.

"Or to be precise, it should be called… spacetime?"

"A spacetime birthed from my essence?"

"An infinite number of spacetimes, each with infinite versions of me…"

Xu Qing abruptly raised his head. At this moment, his mind stirred intensely and he immediately began to experiment.

Time flowed by and three days passed.

Xu Qing was still immersed in his comprehension, exploring the method to fuse time and space.

During this period, he deduced and executed all the ideas he had thought of. However, the results were all failures without exception.

Hence, he decided to change his thoughts and focus on the disorderly formation of the timelines. He tried to turn his spatial ability into a box to accommodate the timelines.

 This process was very slow.

However, Xu Qing didn't care about these. All his energy was focused on it.

However… to Yunmen Qianfan, the shock in her soul rose with Xu Qing's cultivation!

Her cultivation was at the Nihility realm. Although whether she could break through to the Soul Accumulation realm depended on opportunities, as one of the core members of the clan, she had a lot of knowledge.

However, even though she was knowledgeable and had come into contact with other Rulers, the scene of Xu Qing cultivating in the past few days still caused an endless storm in her heart.

The formation of this storm, as perceived by Yunmen Qianfan, erupted in stages with Xu Qing's growing understanding of the desert.

In the beginning days, she noticed that every grain of sand in the entire desert was gradually starting to shine, until the desert before her eyes transformed into a resplendent starry sky.

This sight stirred her heart deeply.

Next, she observed that all the grains of sand were trembling, and there was even a brief moment when every grain of sand within her view rose into the air.

The dreamlike, illusory sensation had already begun to influence her perception, turning her inner turmoil into a tempest.

But compared to these initial disturbances, what happened afterward truly shattered her understanding of reality.

She noticed that Xu Qing's form started to distort and blur, almost as if he was overlapping with himself. For a brief moment, she even thought she saw countless Xu Qing!

 Though these visions vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving her to wonder if they were mere illusions, what followed was undeniable—the trembling of her body and a sudden wave of intense dizziness.　  　   　　　 　　  　　 

The world seemed to spin around her.

To her horror, she found herself rapidly aging, then regressing to a child's form, and then returning to normal in quick succession.

It was as if she were experiencing one life after another.

Each filled with its own joys, sorrows, loves, and hatreds.

Fortunately, Xu Qing sensed the disturbances at the critical moment and ended them with a swift hand seal. He also enveloped her in a gentle force that shielded her from further effects.

Otherwise, she would have become a skeleton now.

This scene caused Yunmen Qianfan to be extremely shaken.

'Even the ancestor didn't give me such a feeling…'

Yunmen Qianfan gasped repeatedly and hurriedly retreated a distance, not daring to get close to Xu Qing.

While she was in awe, she also felt a feeling of security that was even more intense than before.

She was once again certain that her divination was fully correct.

She didn't know about the lives of the other core members, but she understood that she should be fine in this journey.

At the same time, she vaguely felt that her divination skill seemed to have changed after experiencing these scenes.

"The changes caused by Senior Flame Mystic's cultivation are in line with the Dao of Divination to some extent?"

Yunmen Qianfan fell into deep thought and sat cross-legged in the distance, carefully sensing.

Just like that, another two days passed.

The entire desert grew gradually radiant as countless grains of sand rose into the air, drawn together by an unseen force. These sands swirled around, forming a massive storm within the desert.

As the thunderous roar of the storm echoed in all directions, a figure approached from beyond the desert.

It was a woman.

She was dressed in a long, black gauze dress and carried a black spear. Her face was delicate and beautiful, but her expression bore a cold, murderous intent, with an aura that radiated an icy chill. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

She stopped at the edge of the desert storm and took a single step forward into the desert.

But that one step was all she managed before coming to a halt.

After a moment, she slowly withdrew her foot, remaining stationary. She stood there like an immovable iceberg, her presence so intense that the air around her seemed to freeze. An invisible tension emanated from her, spreading outwards in all directions.

It was as though any living being would be devoured by the cold air if they got close.

However, all this icy aura only appeared for a few breaths. As she retracted her foot and stared, it began to melt.

Everything was quickly replaced by a solemn intent.

"Time Desert…"

"Time Authority!"

"No wonder the elders and guest elder met such strange deaths, causing me to be summoned to stop him. Not only is this guest elder of the Cloud Gate Clan a Ruler, but he is most likely at mid-stage!"

"He must have been hiding in the Cloud Gate Clan for that secret key as well…"

The woman pondered.

As a peerless heaven chosen of the Earth Spirit Clan and the possessor of a qualifying token, she had fought countless people in her life. Her encounter and insight surpassed ninety-nine percent of her clansmen.

She was confident that she could fight against all those at the same realm.

But now… the solemn expression on her face was gradually turning into an gradually intense feeling of danger .

In that step just now, she felt death.

"I'm no match for this person."

After a short silence, the woman took a deep breath and slowly retreated.

After three steps, her body suddenly paused and her expression instantly changed.

She realized that she had retreated a little too late.

She had been standing here for a long time. Moreover, during this time, her heartbeat, her thoughts, and the movements of her body were too much.

Most importantly, she shouldn't have taken that step into the desert.

Hence, unknowingly, timelines had already formed on her body, causing her body to distort, blur, and overlap.

However, as a Ruler, she was naturally extraordinary. The instant she sensed something was amiss, she did not hesitate to circulate her cultivation base. With unwavering decisiveness, she unleashed her full power, even at the cost of shattering her own secret treasure. Utilizing its force to augment her authority, she erupted with tremendous energy.

In an instant, a vast and imposing ice mountain formed around her, with her at its center. The colossal structure roared into existence, standing tall at the edge of the desert, its icy presence radiating outward in all directions.

Everything was frozen, including her body and time!

Several days later, the ice mountain still stood tall.

As for the storm on the desert, it slowly dissipated and the entire desert returned to normal.

Xu Qing opened his eyes.

He didn't look at the ice mountain in the distance but sighed inwardly about his comprehension.

After this period of testing, he discovered that because his understanding wasn't enough, he still couldn't fuse time and space.

"However, this is a direction, the direction of the Eighth Extremity!"

Xu Qing took a deep breath and waved his hand. The desert immediately churned and all the sand shook. Countless timelines intertwined here, creating resplendent light.

In the end, they gathered in front of Xu Qing and formed a dazzling path.

"Let's go."

Xu Qing stood up and spoke to Yunmen Qianfan.

At that moment, Yunmen Qianfan was staring at the ice mountain that had suddenly appeared within her perception. Her eyes were particularly focused on the figure sealed within the icy structure. Recognizing the woman inside, she instinctively turned her gaze toward Xu Qing.

"Senior, she…"

"She tried to freeze time but failed. She's not dead yet but it's not much different from death."

"Ah, um… the things on her?" Yunmen Qianfan blinked.

Xu Qing shook his head, choosing not to speak further.

 The Seamless Sea sealed within the ice mountain was something he had triggered, but he lacked the ability to unify it. If he were to step inside, he too would become trapped.

Of course, this was something Xu Qing would never reveal.

At that moment, he took a step forward, walking along the radiant path before him. As he moved, he crossed through time, traversed the desert, and when he reappeared… he stood before an ancient stone formation.

Behind him, Yunmen Qianfan followed obediently.