Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 1220: Green Heaven!

What had once been the Aurora heaven beyond heaven was trembling. The events that had just played out had attracted the attention of high-level entities. Streams of divine will that low-level cultivators couldn’t even detect emerged from other heavens beyond heaven, and focused on the heaven that had been without a lord for many years.

At the source of the disturbance, Zhou Zhengli’s words shook everyone, including Sir Star Ring, Yuanshan Su, Sir Vilespirit, and all the other ascendees. All of these people were chosen, especially Sir Star Ring. Whether in terms of battle prowess or knowledge, they were at the peak in their generation. And therefore, all of them were instantly able to recognize the logic and accuracy of what Zhou Zhengli had just said.

There was only one way to explain… how Xu Qing’s breakthrough had given rise to such a monumental tempest. It was a welcoming cry from this heaven beyond heaven. It was a blessing from it! That was the only way something like this could happen when an Imperial Sovereign became a Quasi-Immortal!

With nine bursts, an immortal embryo became like a galaxy! With nine bursts like that, one had to wonder what the coming immortal foundation would be like….

With such thoughts on his mind, Sir Star Ring’s eyes glittered. It seemed that everyone else was thinking the same thing.

That was especially true of Zhou Zhengli, whose expression was one of pure anticipation. Few people understood his canon. And those who did know about it only knew what he wanted them to know. Sir Vilespirit was the only one who understood it more deeply.

The reason for that had to do with the substructure of Zhou Zhengli’s canon. His canon… was actually quite similar to that of Immortal Lord Nineshores. It had to do with secrets!

That said, his canon explored a different direction. It was about foresight!

In the reflected history of the Aurora Immortal Palace, I had premonitions about everyone. There was one exception… I couldn’t foresee anything about Xu Qing. It was as if he didn’t even exist within the range of my foresight.

Because of the unique nature of my canon… if I worked hard enough, I could even make it work on an immortal. Though I couldn’t make any changes, I could at least struggle to see some traces. I wouldn’t dare touch them, of course.

But Xu Qing… is even more unique! There weren’t even any traces of him within my foresight. In the end, I left the Aurora Immortal Palace and waited outside in the hopes of catching a glimpse of him….

Zhou Zhengli thought back to the moment when Xu Qing had stepped back out into the Fallen Immortal Moors. Upon emerging, he had looked at Zhou Zhengli. When that happened, Zhou Zhengli didn’t betray any reaction on his face, but his insides were thrown into chaos.[1]

Even then, there had been something empty about Xu Qing that had struck fear into his heart. And then… just when he was about to look away, his foresight caused him to hear a faint voice.

“He has it now. He did us such a favor that an immortal palace wasn’t enough. I gave him the entire heaven beyond heaven.”

Those words struck him like lightning. He had been able to tell that the person speaking those words had intentionally let him hear. They had been very thought-provoking to Zhou Zhengli. And as he analyzed them… he realized that he needed to seize this opportunity that no one else had any clue about!

That was why he had chosen to continue to address Xu Qing as Young Lord. That was why he had delivered 1st place to Xu Qing on a platter. That was why he had been obsequious from the moment they reached the Nineshores heaven beyond heaven, all the way to now.

“And now… it’s time to bear witness!” Zhou Zhengli murmured in anticipation.

Everyone was waiting!

As they looked on, Xu Qing’s eyes opened as he sat cross-legged on the meteor. They were clear and full of enlightenment. So… that’s how it is….

During the bursts, he had come to realize that Young Lord Aurora had given him, not just the immortal palace, but the entire heaven beyond heaven. At the moment, he could clearly sense that the fluctuations of this heaven beyond heaven had formed a resonance with him. It was waiting for him.

He looked up at the surrounding starry sky. Xu Qing had originally been planning to use his space-time hourglass as his immortal foundation. After acquiring the nine-colored ice coffin, he had considered using that instead, as it was both mysterious and extraordinary. But in the end, he had decided that the space-time hourglass was more fitting. It was a space-time treasure, after all.

He hadn’t even considered using the violet crystal. After all of his experiences through the years, he had come to know more about the violet crystal, but also knew… that it was not something he could alter.

At the very least, I need to become an immortal before I try altering it in any way.

But now… Xu Qing knew that nothing else could be as suitable as the starry sky he was looking at. Therefore, his eyes shone with determination.

Slowly rising to his feet, he looked out at this heaven beyond heaven, and then threw his hands wide as if to embrace it. His divine will rumbled out, filling the galaxy he was in. And from that point… he started calling out to the starry sky with the goal of… taking this heaven beyond heaven!

The entire heaven beyond heaven, including all of the universes, galaxies, and planets all began to tremble. There were innumerable species, including the Helioterrans, who suddenly felt an indescribable pressure weighing down on them. And to their astonishment, they felt fear coming out of nowhere.

It was as if heaven had been lost… but was now coming back! The lord had gone, but a succession was taking place!

A tide began to flow in the starry sky, starting from the edges of the Aurora heaven beyond heaven, and moving toward Xu Qing. As it converged, great rumbling sounds echoed out everywhere. As deafening sounds rang out, as countless species trembled, and as Sir Star Ring and the others reeled….

The starry sky over Xu Qing was covered up! Dazzling and pulsing with immense pressure, a spectacular immortal palace… descended, replacing the starry sky overhead.

The immortal palace was pure jade, with ornate decorations. It had countless structures conforming to an ancient architectural style, and though it looked rather old and dilapidated, ravaged by time, there was nothing else that existed in this heaven beyond heaven that was more paramount than it!

This was… the true form of the original Aurora Immortal Palace! It represented the will of this heaven beyond heaven! It was glorious, majestic, and astonishing!

The moment it appeared, the hearts of the onlookers raced, and their minds felt blank.

Zhou Zhengli looked elated. He knew he had gambled correctly! Quickly ducking his head down, he dropped to his knees and prostrated to Xu Qing!

As the Aurora heaven beyond heaven joyfully welcomed the Aurora Immortal Palace, the starry sky trembled. And then the palace turned into a spectacular beam of immortal light.

It shot toward Xu Qing. It poured into his head, into his body, and into his immortal embryo! Dazzling, prismatic light glittered in the starry sky.

And then a deep, rumbling sound echoed into the hearts and minds of all the living beings in the sea of stars.

The immortal palace had a lord! It was Xu Qing’s immortal foundation! With that immortal foundation, he could control… this entire heaven beyond heaven! He had become an unheard-of Quasi-Immortal!

Opening his eyes, Xu Qing spoke in a voice that sounded like heaven itself. “Hear my decree!”

From this moment on, this heaven had a new name.

Green Heaven![2]

1. Xu Qing came out of the immortal palace in chapter 1184. ☜

2. The name of his heaven takes the Qing character from Xu Qing’s name and adds it to the word for sky or heaven. This has a number of implications. Normally speaking, this set of characters means “clear skies” or “blue skies.” At the same time, those two characters are part of a longer idiom that means something like Great Lord Clear Sky, and colloquially refers to “a just and incorruptible official.” Many readers made jokes/comments in Chinese like “oh, it turns out Xu Qing is the origin of the idiom” or something like, “Xu Qing turns out to be Great Lord Clear Sky.” But there are obviously multiple layers of wordplay in the name of this heaven that can’t all be conveyed in English. I originally wanted to translate it as Clear Heaven, because it made me think of the ‘clear skies’ meaning. However, later wordplay makes it clear that the meaning is ‘green’ (while also referring to Xu Qing’s name). ☜