Outside Of Time

Chapter 1682: Guiding Star River

Editor: Atlas Studios

All newly ascended cultivators, upon entering the Heaven’s Beyond and being assigned to their respective universes, were granted a one-year period of rest and adjustment.

This year was to let these new ascenders familiarize themselves with Heaven’s Beyond, the universe they were in, and the rewards they had obtained.

Once the rest period concluded, they would be summoned by the Reception Universe of Nine Shores Heaven.

What awaited them next would be the allocation of their future responsibilities.

At the same time that this information appeared in Xu Qing’s mind, he had already returned to the immortal palace in the Ink Yang Universe.

Standing on the teleportation array in the center of the immortal palace, Xu Qing didn’t hesitate to activate the teleportation.

As for the fox beauty, she transformed into a mark and stuck to Xu Qing’s arm.

Soon, the immortal palace started shaking and a terrifying energy spread in all directions from it.

Amidst the rumbling, the power of teleportation erupted completely.

The teleportation this time around was much longer than Xu Qing’s previous experience. Clearly, the Reception Universe was extremely far from the Ink Yang Universe.

After an unknown period of time, Xu Qing felt as though he had a colorful dream.

In the dream, everything was blurry. Countless colors weaved into distorted light.

This lasted until the light gradually dissipated and his vision became clear.

A vast golden river was reflected in Xu Qing’s eyes.

This river had countless starfields, star vortices, and stars.

Each star emitted a unique golden light.

The stars within the golden river appeared stationary, yet the flow of their radiance gave an impression of the river itself cascading from above.

This was Xu Qing’s first time witnessing such a golden stellar river.

This place was the Reception Universe!

It was one of the seventy-two governing authorities within Nine Shores Heaven, second only to the Immortal Palace.

It belonged to the operational framework of Nine Shores Heaven and served as the headquarters overseeing all Heaven’s Beyond-related reception systems within its era.

Its responsibilities extended beyond receiving newly ascended cultivators—it also included guiding the minor worlds under the Fifth Star Ring and managing the allocation of nonhuman races across all universes within the Fifth Star Ring.

In a sense, it was both a boot camp for newcomers and a personnel administration office.

The overseers of this place were naturally Lower Immortals, and their numbers were not few.

Looking at all of this and sensing the majesty of the golden river, Xu Qing’s mind stirred. A wisp of starlight separated from the astonishing golden river and headed straight for Xu Qing.

Compared to the entire golden river, this wisp was insignificant. However, in Xu Qing’s eyes, because of the distance, this wisp of golden starlight that arrived was also vast.

It quickly enveloped him and formed a pulling force.

The golden starlight guiding Xu Qing originated from a location downstream in this magnificent golden river. Its source was within a starfield—a single star within a star vortex.

Such beams of starlight were common throughout this entire Reception Universe.

Every cultivator transported here experienced the same process.

Depending on their purpose for arriving, different regions sent out corresponding rays of starlight.

In the next instant, under the guidance of the golden light, Xu Qing’s body was rapidly pulled toward the designated star.

The force was immense, dragging him like a falling meteor.

In an instant, he was pulled from outside the star river, drawn into its flow, and toward the specific star emitting its light amidst countless others.

Everything in front of him changed rapidly.

This lasted until a rumbling sound echoed.

Xu Qing’s body landed in the sea on this star.

This was a black sea that was incomparably viscous like jelly.

His body was pulled down to the surface of the sea violently.

Fortunately, Xu Qing’s cultivation was strong and he could withstand it.

If it was a low-level cultivator, their souls would probably fly out. When they landed, their bodies would also be destroyed.

However, even though Xu Qing’s cultivation was high enough, the moment his body smashed down, under the terrifying impact, he directly entered the jelly black sea, forming a deep pit on the surface of the sea.

A long time later, Xu Qing flew out of the deep pit he had created. The sky was golden and the ground was filled with a black jelly sea that was endless.

In midair, golden beams of starlight could be seen continuously guiding cultivators toward their destinations.

Hence, the rumbling sounds of falling into the sea continued.

On the surface of the sea, there were dozens of deep pits.

Some cultivators flew out of the deep pit one after another, most of them looking rather disheveled.

A few even had traces of blood at the corners of their mouths, their expressions revealing lingering fear.

In the crowd, Xu Qing saw Zhou Zhengli, Xie Lingzi, Li Mengtu, Yuanshan Su, Qianjun, and Piyi.

These people were all ascenders like Xu Qing.

At that moment, they were all guided to this place.

Star Ring was also among them.

However, compared to the sorry states of the others, Star Ring was clearly much more relaxed. When Xu Qing’s gaze landed on him, he also turned his head and glanced at Xu Qing.

The two of them looked at each other and retracted their expressionless gazes.

Time passed, and people continued to arrive one after another. Some came alone, while others arrived in groups. Gradually, based on their past connections and the interactions they had during the past year, several distinct factions began to form.

Xie Lingzi remained solitary as always.

Yuanshan Su also clearly preferred to avoid joining any groups. Though she intended to stay on her own, some female cultivators among the ascenders naturally gravitated toward her.

Qianjun and Piyi stood by Star Ring’s side, joined by dozens of other cultivators who made the same choice.

Xu Qing naturally had the most people.

The title of first place caused even more people to come to his side.

Zhou Zhengli and Li Mengtu were among them. They walked to Xu Qing’s side. The former bowed with a humble smile as usual.

The latter had a solemn expression as he spoke in a low voice.

“Brother Xu, this batch’s numbers are short by eleven!”

“I did some calculations. So far, only eighty-nine have arrived!”

Xu Qing nodded slightly. Zhou Zhengli, who was beside him, smiled.

“They died.”

“Although this year is meant as a period of rest, it is also a time for adaptation. Our star ring, as it has been since ancient times, functions much like raising Gu.”

“Therefore…” Zhou Zhengli glanced at Xu Qing. Over the past year, he had gathered plenty of information about Heaven’s Beyond, making him more cautious about the future.

This growing vigilance deepened his resolve to foster a good relationship with Xu Qing.

Hence, he spoke again.

“Not just in the four great starfields; in Heaven’s Beyond, things are even more cruel and intense.”

“And for those in positions of power, only those at the Quasi Immortal level truly garner their attention. Figures like the Young Master, Star Ring, or Yuanshan Su—perhaps only the three of you from this generation are valued.”

The higher-ups wouldn’t care too much about Rulers.

“Thus, unless one has deeper connections, if one wishes to progress smoothly and gain more resources, it’s naturally best to align with a Quasi Immortal.”

Zhou Zhengli didn’t hide his voice when he said these last words. Hence, the ascenders surrounding Xu Qing heard it very clearly.

All of them began to ponder.

Xu Qing glanced at Zhou Zhengli.

Zhou Zhengli smiled humbly.

Xu Qing retracted his gaze. The words Zhou Zhengli had said before he left a year ago surfaced in his mind.

‘He guessed that the assignment of roles would have everyone together…’

Xu Qing fell into deep thought.

As everyone slowly waited, time gradually passed.

Other than them, there were no other cultivators on the vast sea.

No guide appeared either.

They weren’t ordinary people, so they naturally wouldn’t get impatient after waiting for such a short time. Hence, they each sat cross-legged.

Another two hours passed.

When the wind blew, Xu Qing and Star Ring each sensed something and raised their heads to look at the sky.

Yuanshan Su was the third person to look up.

The others also sensed something and started looking above.

The sky fluctuated and suddenly shone with golden light.

Those golden lights were also guiding lights. There were a total of 70 to 80 rays of them. A few of them were in the lead and the rest descended after them.

At the next moment, the world trembled.

Among these golden lights, only a few bodies smashed a deep pit on the surface of the sea. The vast majority of them stood steadily on the surface of the sea the instant they landed.

It was as though they had come here many times and had mastered their landing techniques.

They were all wearing the same attire: gray robe with a hundred pockets, an attire that Xu Qing had seen in the Dao Refinement Universe.

It was the distinctive garb of the notorious Material Procurers.

Among them, there were seven or eight with the strength of a Quasi Immortal, and others looked to them as leaders.

As they descended, Xu Qing remained his usual self, but many of the newly ascended cultivators observed them with solemn expressions.

The cultivators who were the focus of their gaze, in turn, looked back.

Their gazes swept past Xu Qing and the others.

Their eyes were sharp and cold, like those of wolves, filled with indifference and cruelty toward life.

Without speaking a word, the leader among them took a step, and the group swiftly flew off toward the distance.

“Young Master, they are Material Procurers… Looks like the star we are being guided to is most likely related to gathering materials.”

Zhou Zhengli spoke in a low voice.

Xu Qing nodded.

The descent wasn’t over.

After about fifteen minutes, golden light appeared in the sky again.

There were also dozens of them and they were also wearing hundred pockets attire. After they landed, they immediately headed straight for the distance.

Just like that, as time passed, batches of Material Procurers arrived one after another.

They mostly ignored Xu Qing and the other newbies.

After Xu Qing saw their auras many times, he also felt the coldness and greed. Moreover, the stronger they were, the heavier the corpse aura and death aura on their bodies.

The stench of blood on them was the same.

They seemed to have dealt with corpses and death all year round.

When night fell and the golden light in the sky dimmed, dozens of golden lights rushed down and transformed into figures on the surface of the sea.

Among them, one emitted an extremely terrifying aura.

It was an old man, resembling a vulture, whose immortal embryo had already reached the verge of perfection.

He was only a step away from becoming an immortal!

After he landed, he was about to leave…

Suddenly, among the people behind the old man, a middle-aged cultivator stopped in his tracks. He turned and swept his gaze across Xu Qing and the others. Finally, he looked at… Star Ring then at Qianjun and Piyi.

This person smiled.

Xu Qing had seen this person before. He was none other than the Quasi Immortal cultivator who wanted to recruit Qianjun and Piyi back then in the Dao Refinement Universe!

At this moment, the focus of his gaze was on Star Ring. His pause also caused the other companions beside him to stop one after another.

After that, he quickly walked a few steps and arrived beside the old man. He then whispered something.

The old man frowned slightly but still nodded.

After obtaining the old man’s agreement, the middle-aged cultivator smiled and walked toward Star Ring.

“My team has lost several members in battle. We need to replenish, and now I am enlisting the three of you to join my team!”