Outside of Time - Chapter 1354

Chapter 1331 Six Lifetimes of Waiting

The Ancient Heavenly Dao was reshaped, and from then on… one eternal path, ninety-nine paths to continue the cultivation journey.

For the Ancient Heaven, this was merit. For

all races, this was hope.

The path of cultivation was finally continued!

The obsession from the Ancient Spirit Emperor, with his former status as a Summer Immortal, would ignite a lamp in the darkness before all races.

Dispelling the fog, those who move towards the lamp can reach the other shore!

“There are still some things to deal with.”

In the sky, Xu Qing looked at the earth and murmured as he took a step forward.

Zhou Zhengli and the others followed behind him.

Time passed, and three days went by.

During these three days, Xu Qing went to many places.

He descended upon the powerful races where the gods resided. He

also entered places where traces of external forces were suspected.

Finally, he removed almost all the visible external pawns.

Having completed these steps, his fusion of immortality and divinity reached its limit and could no longer be sustained. At dusk on the third day, before Ghost Emperor Mountain, he separated.

His divine body detached and merged with his divine essence.

To some extent, his divine body… could already be seen as an avatar of Shanghuang.

He was formed from Shanghuang’s flesh and blood, and now possessed Shanghuang’s divine essence.

Although still inextricably linked to Xu Qing, there were too many uncertainties.

It was precisely for this reason that Xu Qing did not allow him to return to the underground palace.

Instead, he sank into the depths of Wanggu.

Afterwards, having returned to his immortal body, he stood before Ghost Emperor Mountain in the dim light of the day, gazing at the vast mountain.

Behind him were Zhou Zhengli and the others, silently accompanying him.

As for his front… on Ghost Emperor Mountain, there was also a person.

That person sat cross-legged atop Ghost Emperor Mountain, his clothes somewhat dirty, his expression haggard, his eyes closed in meditation.

“Third Senior Brother,”

Xu Qing said softly.

The figure sitting cross-legged on Ghost Emperor Mountain was none other than Seventh Master’s third disciple, Xu Qing’s third senior brother!

Back then, during the great calamity of Wanggu, Seventh Master went into seclusion, Xu Qing went out, Erniu went to Huangtian, Second Senior Sister stayed behind at Seven Blood Eyes, and the Third Brother… he came to Ghost Emperor Mountain. He sat

cross-legged on the mountaintop.

He sat there for nearly half a century.

He wanted to return, to use the power of his past life to protect those he cared about in the present world.

Because he was the reincarnation of the Ghost Emperor!

And this relationship between him and Ghost Emperor Mountain… clearly Seventh Master knew about it, and there were many clues in Xu Qing’s past memories.

Back then, the Ghost Emperor passed away in Yinghuang Prefecture, his three souls transformed into mountains, and his seven spirits became evil spirits.

His spiritual power spread out, nourishing the beings of Yinghuang Prefecture.

But clearly, his original life force remained, scattered with his spirit. Perhaps it was reincarnation, or perhaps it was the intervention of external forces, that caused him to be reborn in Yinghuang Prefecture many years later.

He experienced hardships and hatred in his childhood, and was eventually sent to Seven Blood Eyes by a servant.

He became Seventh Master’s disciple,

becoming Seventh Master’s third disciple.

But clearly, an invisible chasm exists between the past and present lives. Returning, integrating, and reclaiming the power of the past life is no easy feat.

The three souls are not returned, the seven spirits are not moved.

The natal life… is merely the natal life.

Therefore, the third brother, who had sat atop Ghost Emperor Mountain for nearly thirty years, had not succeeded.

Perhaps, if Xu Qing had not returned, then under the Ancient Immortal Tribulation, the Ninth Star Ring Black Tower behind the third brother would have provided assistance, allowing him to successfully integrate with his past life and

become a pawn in the Black Tower’s grander scheme.

However, at that time, he might no longer be himself.

But Xu Qing’s return and the drawing of the line ended the Ancient Immortal Tribulation, and the Ninth Star Ring Black Tower was the only one among the four Divine Venerables to choose to sever all causality.

Thus, the third senior brother… was free.

At this moment, as Xu Qing’s voice echoed, the third brother, who had been sitting cross-legged atop Ghost Emperor Mountain, slowly opened his eyes and spoke in a hoarse voice.

“Fourth Junior Brother…”

Xu Qing’s relationship with this third senior brother was much less close than that with his second senior sister and eldest senior brother. They rarely interacted. The most vivid memory he had of him was of the mermaid princess from the Seven Blood Eyes. That

princess, during his pursuit, had escaped onto his third senior brother’s magic ship, where his third senior brother had gently and smilingly snapped her neck.

That scene had deeply impacted Xu Qing.

It was precisely because of this that he had become wary of her, and thus rarely interacted with her afterward.

Recalling the past and looking at the present, Xu Qing felt a pang of sadness. He

then walked to Ghost Emperor Mountain and stood beside his third senior brother.

Looking at his haggard-looking third senior brother, Xu Qing spoke softly.

“Third Senior Brother, do you need me to help you return to your past life?” The third senior brother

remained silent, a look of confusion in his eyes, before shaking his head after a long while.

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

Xu Qing nodded.

The third brother raised his hand, took out a bottle of old wine, took a sip, and said hoarsely,

“I was born in Yinghuang Prefecture… and after my birth, I originally didn’t know my relationship with the Ghost Emperor.”

“But a voice kept calling…”

“The direction it pointed to was this mountain.”

“And as I grew, this call grew stronger and stronger, and I had a vague feeling that… this mountain was me.”

“Until my master went into seclusion, this voice became more frequent, so I came here.”

“You disappeared, and my eldest brother disappeared too. I can guess that you went to find a way to help our master, and I wanted to too…”

“So I am here, trying to merge with this mountain. In the process… I saw a black tower.”

“That tower told me that all these years, it wasn’t Ghost Emperor Mountain that was calling me, but Him. He was calling, He wanted my soul, my body, everything, and He promised to protect the Seven Blood Eyes.”

“I agreed,”

the third brother murmured.

“Actually, I don’t know if my relationship with Ghost Emperor Mountain is a past life or a present life…”

“But I wanted to try, so with the help of that black tower, I began to merge with Ghost Emperor Mountain. The process was long, until finally, I vaguely saw you, Fourth Brother. I saw you drawing lines in the starry sky.”

“I also saw that mysterious black tower, severing its connection with me and giving me freedom…”

“But…”

Third Brother raised his head, looking at Xu Qing.

“At the moment of severance, I discovered that the voice that had appeared in my childhood, calling me for half my life… was still there!”

“This voice didn’t come from the black tower at all, and even sitting here, I can be quite certain it didn’t come from Ghost Emperor Mountain… Before that, the black tower deceived me.”

“That voice… came from that direction…”

Third Brother raised his hand, pointing north.

“There was someone there, waiting for me… for many years…”

Xu Qing followed his third brother’s pointing finger, looking north, his heart surging with emotion.

That was the direction of the Primordial Pillar of Departure, that was… the location of the Ghost Cave!

“You asked if I wanted to merge with the Ghost Emperor. I don’t want to, Fourth Brother. I want to go there, to find the source of the calling voice… to see the one who called me.”

The Third Brother looked at Xu Qing.

“Alright.”

Xu Qing raised his hand and waved it. Instantly, the world distorted and blurred. The next instant… he and his Third Senior Brother disappeared from Ghost Emperor Mountain.

When they reappeared, they were standing on the icy plains north of Yinghuang Prefecture ,

in the sky.

Amidst the howling wind, the Primordial Nether Pillar stood astonishingly tall in the snow.

As Xu Qing and the Third Brother appeared, this enormous Nether Pillar suddenly trembled, and the previously dim runes on it instantly brightened.

Finally, the entire Primordial Nether Pillar shone with dazzling light.

But the Third Senior Brother didn’t pay attention to the change in the Primordial Nether Pillar. His gaze was focused intently on the ground.

To be precise, he was looking at… the place where the Primordial Nether Pillar connected with the earth!

That is, the entrance to the Ghost Cave!

“The voice that has been calling me all these years, it’s here…”

The third brother’s voice trembled slightly as he murmured, instinctively raising his hand and pressing it against the Primordial Nether Pillar.

With the raising of his right hand, perhaps due to the continuous fusion with Ghost Emperor Mountain over the past sixty years, or perhaps because the external influence of the Divine Venerable Black Tower had disappeared, the connection between him and the Primordial Nether Pillar became even stronger, no longer distorted.

Immediately, the Primordial Nether Pillar roared.

Amidst the shock of the cultivators in the surrounding tents, the Primordial Nether Pillar slowly rose with this tremendous sound.

The icy plain trembled during this process!

The Primordial Nether Pillar rose higher and higher, finally emerging directly from the ground!

Soaring into the sky!

A fierce wind swept across the land, howling in all directions, countless tents were blown away, and the cultivators of various races who lived and cultivated here were all shocked and retreated.

Even some of the sword-wielders here, their expressions changing, took to the air one after another, wanting to see what was happening.

On the ground, as the Primordial Pillar of Departure ascended, a massive, pitch-black opening suddenly appeared!

That opening was… the Ghost Cave!

A chilling aura emanated from within, and the faint sound of a woman singing echoed within.

“Not coming in the past life, but remaining in the afterlife, cutting away the dust of longing…”

“Wandering in this life, buried for the rest of my days, who waits in the cycle of reincarnation…”

The voice was poignant, like a lament.

It seemed to carry countless regrets and reluctances from a past life, weaving the confusion of this life and the loneliness of the remaining years into the melody.

Every word seemed to be ground from endless longing and desolation, swirling in the wind and snow, trailing off with long, drawn-out notes, like tangled threads of emotion, weaving a poignant and melancholic picture between heaven and earth.

It’s as if one sees the missed opportunities of past lives, those loves sealed away in time, helplessly turning to dust and dissipating in the winds of time, leaving only a faint sorrow lingering in the heart.

Ups and downs…

beyond the dreams of three lifetimes, old memories remain unchanged, leaving only lingering regrets swaying in the wind.

The fourth lifetime of sorrow, the success or failure of unwavering devotion, tears falling on the platform of the Bridge of Helplessness. The fifth lifetime

of waiting in vain, fate impossible to rekindle, alone leaning against the cold cave, pouring out unspoken emotions.

The sixth lifetime of lonely grief, old dreams turning to haze, even the most beautiful youth cannot be regained…