Outside Of Time

Chapter 1810: The Wait of Six Lifetimes

Editor: Atlas Studios

The Heavenly Daos of Wanggu had been reshaped. From this day forth, one Dao would stand eternal, while ninety-nine would reconnect the severed path of cultivation.

For Wanggu, this was a virtuous deed.

For all races, this was hope.

The path of cultivation had finally been restored!

The Ancient Spirit Emperor’s obsession, bearing the status of a Summer Immortal, would now serve as a lantern in the darkness ahead—dispelling the fog and guiding all races toward the other shore.

”There are still some matters to attend to.”

Standing high in the sky, Xu Qing gazed at the earth before stepping forward.

Zhou Zhengli and the others followed closely behind.

Three days passed.

During these three days, Xu Qing visited many places.

His figure descended upon the strongholds of the gods one by one. He also entered every suspected location where traces of external forces might linger.

In the end, he uprooted nearly all the visible chess pieces planted by external forces.

By the time this was done, the fusion of his immortal and divine forms had reached its limit. At dusk on the third day, before the Ghost Emperor Mountain, the two separated.

The divine form peeled away, merging with the divine aspect.

In a sense, the divine form could now be considered an avatar of Desolate.

Forged from Its flesh and now bearing Its divine aspect, It remained intrinsically tied to Xu Qing—yet fraught with uncertainty.

For this reason, Xu Qing did not allow It to return to the underground palace. Instead, he sank It deep into Wanggu.

Then, having returned to his immortal form, he stood before the towering Ghost Emperor Mountain in the fading twilight.

Behind him stood Zhou Zhengli and the others in silent attendance.

And ahead, atop the Ghost Emperor Mountain... sat a single figure.

Robes slightly soiled, expression weary, eyes closed in meditation.

”Third Senior Brother.”

Xu Qing’s voice was soft.Xu Qing said quietly.

The figure seated atop the Ghost Emperor Mountain was none other than Old Master Seventh’s third disciple—Xu Qing’s Third Senior Brother!

Years ago, during the cataclysm of Wanggu, as Old Master Seventh secluded himself, Xu Qing departed, Erniu ventured to the Brilliant Heaven, and Second Senior Sister remained at Seven Blood Eyes... Third Senior Brother had come here.

To the Ghost Emperor Mountain.

He had sat upon its peak for nearly thirty years.

He sought to reclaim his past life’s power to protect those he cherished in this life.

For he was the reincarnation of the Ghost Emperor!

This connection between him and the Ghost Emperor Mountain... was clearly known to Old Master Seventh. Clues had surfaced repeatedly in Xu Qing’s memories over the years.

Long ago, the Ghost Emperor had passed away in Yinghuang Province, his three souls transforming into a mountain, his seven spirits becoming vengeful wraiths.

His spiritual energy dispersed, nourishing the beings of Yinghuang.

Yet his primal essence endured, scattered with his spirit—perhaps reincarnated, perhaps manipulated by external forces—until one day, many years later, he was reborn in Yinghuang.

His childhood was marked by hardship and vengeance, until a servant brought him to Seven Blood Eyes.

There, he bowed before Old Master Seventh as his master.

Becoming the third disciple under his tutelage.

Yet an invisible chasm separated past and present lives. To return, to assimilate, to reclaim the power of his former incarnation—this was no simple feat.

Three souls refused to return; seven spirits remained unmoved.

The primal essence... was just that—essence.

Thus, after thirty years of meditation upon the Ghost Emperor Mountain, Third Senior Brother had not succeeded.

Had Xu Qing not returned, the black pagoda of the Ninth Star Ring might have intervened during the Ancient Immortal Tribulation, enabling his fusion with his past life.

Turning him into a greater chess piece in the pagoda’s schemes.

But by then, he might no longer have been himself.

Xu Qing’s return and the drawing of his boundary line had ended the tribulation. And of the four Venerable Gods, the black pagoda was the only one to sever all ties completely.

Thus, Third Senior Brother... was free.

Now, as Xu Qing’s voice echoed, the figure atop the mountain slowly opened his eyes.

”Fourth Junior Brother...”

His voice was hoarse.

Compared to Second Senior Sister and Eldest Senior Brother, Xu Qing’s relationship with Third Senior Brother had always been distant. Their interactions were few.

The most vivid memory Xu Qing retained was from their time at Seven Blood Eyes—when the merfolk princess, fleeing Xu Qing’s pursuit, had sought refuge on Third Senior Brother’s ship.

Only to be gently strangled by his smiling, benevolent hands.

That moment had left a profound mark on Xu Qing, seeding a wariness that kept their interactions minimal in the years that followed.

Now, reflecting on the past and observing the present, Xu Qing felt a pang of melancholy.

He stepped forward, appearing atop the Ghost Emperor Mountain beside his Third Senior Brother.

Gazing at the weary face, Xu Qing spoke softly.

”Third Senior Brother, do you need my help to reclaim your past life?”

Third Senior Brother fell silent, his eyes clouded with confusion. After a long pause, he shook his head.

”Fourth Junior Brother, would you like to hear my story?”

Xu Qing nodded.

Third Senior Brother produced an aged jar of wine, took a sip, and began in a rasping voice.

”I was born here in Yinghuang... At first, I didn’t know of my connection to the Ghost Emperor.”

”But there was always a voice... calling to me.”

”It led me to this mountain.”

”As I grew, the call grew stronger. I began to feel... that this mountain was me.”

”When Master entered seclusion, the voice became incessant. So I came here.”

”You vanished. Eldest Senior Brother vanished. I knew you were seeking ways to aid Master. I wanted to as well...”

”So I sat here, trying to merge with this mountain. And in that process... I saw a black pagoda.”

”It told me the voice I’d heard all these years wasn’t from the Ghost Emperor Mountain—but from Itself. It had been calling, demanding my soul, my flesh, my everything. In return, It promised to protect Seven Blood Eyes.”

”I agreed.”

His voice grew distant.

”Truthfully, I don’t know if I’m truly the Ghost Emperor’s reincarnation...”

”But I had to try. With the pagoda’s aid, I began merging with the mountain. It took years... until finally, I glimpsed you, Fourth Junior Brother. I saw you drawing that line in the starry sky.”

”And I saw that black pagoda sever Its ties with me... setting me free.”

”But...”

He lifted his head, meeting Xu Qing’s gaze.

”The moment It left, I realized the voice from my childhood—the one that had called to me for half my life—was still there!”

”It had never come from the pagoda. Nor, I now know, from this mountain. The pagoda had deceived me.”

”That voice... comes from there.”

He raised a trembling hand, pointing north.

”Someone has been waiting for me there... for a very long time.”

Xu Qing followed his gesture, his heart stirring.

That direction led to the Absolute Beginning Separation Pillar—to the Ghost Cave!

”You ask if I wish to merge with the Ghost Emperor. I don’t. Fourth Junior Brother, I want to go there. To find the source of that voice... to meet the one who’s been calling me.”

Xu Qing nodded.

”Very well.”

With a wave of his hand, the world twisted. In the next instant, both he and Third Senior Brother vanished from the Ghost Emperor Mountain.

They reappeared in the northern ice plains of Yinghuang, high above the snow-sweptland where the towering Absolute Beginning Separation Pillar stood.

As their figures materialized, the massive pillar—dormant for so long—suddenly trembled.

One by one, the dim engravings and runes upon its surface ignited with radiant light, until the entire pillar blazed like a beacon.

Yet Third Senior Brother paid it no heed. His gaze was fixed unwaveringly upon the ground—specifically, the base of the pillar where it met the earth.

The entrance to the Ghost Cave.

”All these years... the voice was here...”

His whisper trembled. Almost instinctively, he reached toward the pillar.

Perhaps due to his decades of attempted fusion with the Ghost Emperor Mountain, or perhaps because the black pagoda’s interference had lifted—his connection to the Absolute Beginning Separation Pillar now burned bright, unobscured.

The pillar responded instantly with a deafening roar.

As the cultivators in nearby tents stared in shock, the colossal pillar began to rise—slowly at first, then with gathering speed, tearing free from the earth with a thunderous crack.

The ice plains quaked. A gale erupted, flinging tents aside like leaves. The cultivators—including local

Sword Holders—stumbled back in awe, scrambling to comprehend what was happening.

And as the pillar ascended, it revealed beneath it a yawning black chasm—the Ghost Cave.

A bone-chilling mist seeped from its depths, carrying with it a woman’s voice—singing an opera tune that seemed to drift across lifetimes.

”The previous life is not here, but afterlife is always here. I cut off the lovesickness and drew the mortal world...”

”Wandering in this life, buried for the rest of my life. Who is waiting in the cycle of reincarnation...”

The melody was haunting, each note dripping with sorrow—as though woven from the regrets of countless lifetimes, the loneliness of eras long gone.

Every syllable seemed carved from endless yearning and loss, swirling on the wind like threads of unrequited love, painting the world in hues of melancholy.

It spoke of missed chances, of loves sealed away by time, fading into the winds of fate—leaving only echoes of heartache behind.

Rising and falling...

”Three lives dreamed apart, old memories resist decay—leaving but fragments to the wind’s sway.”

”Four lifetimes of grief, obsessions won or lost—tears stain the banks where the underworld bridge is crossed.”

”Five incarnations vain, karmic threads cut too soon—alone by the icy cave, I croon.”

”Six ages of solitude, past dreams now but haze—though my beauty fades, my love stays...”