Outside Of Time

1145 The Water Still Flows Among the Flowers

Nanhuang Continent, spring.

Dark clouds filled the sky.

It was clearly noon, but the black clouds were densely gathered. They were endless and their range was extremely large, as though they wanted to blot out all the sunlight.

Coldness covered the ground and bleakness filled the human world. It was the season of life, but there was no sign of vitality. All of this formed a sense of oppression that enveloped an ancient city.

This city had existed for a long time. If one flipped through the ancient books, they would discover that this city could be traced back to the era of the Purple Green Kingdom.

Of course, this Purple Green Kingdom wasn’t the mysterious country buried in history but the Purple Green Country of the Nanhuang Continent.

Legend had it that the Nanhuang Continent’s Purple Green Country was a branch established by the descendants of the mysterious Purple Green Kingdom back then.

However, it was as though this country was under a curse, and the name ‘Purple Green’ was not allowed in the world.

Therefore, the Nanhuang Continent’s Purple Green Country didn’t last long. It faced internal strife and was overthrown by the eight major aristocratic families under its rule.

Hence, there was Purple Earth.

At that moment, in this city that had experienced many years but still retained the architectural style of the past, there weren’t many pedestrians. In this Purple Earth with a strict hierarchy, the value of too many people might not be comparable to livestock.

This was the rule of the world and it was very difficult to change. Even if it was forcefully changed, something similar would still happen.

After all, the other side of civilization was exploitation and oppression.

Xu Qing silently walked on the streets of Purple Earth, passing by many ancient buildings. He looked at this city and the people in it. The wind blew from the front, gently fluttering his hair.

In the city, there were his old friends.

In the city, there was his teacher.

Xu Qing swept his divine sense across the city and saw that his old friends were fine. That was enough for him.

As for his teacher… Xu Qing looked at a shop selling flowers beside him. The shops beside the cemetery mostly sold items to offer to the dead. The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man. After noticing Xu Qing, he hurriedly revealed a fawning smile.

Xu Qing’s neat clothes and handsome face caused the shopkeeper to immediately realize that he was a big shot. In his guess, the other party should be the son of a dignitary from one of the eight great families.

He didn’t dare to offend such a person at all.

Xu Qing’s gaze swept over and he bought a bouquet of magnolia. He then walked toward the cemetery and arrived in front of Grandmaster Bai’s grave.

Looking at the tombstone and the flowers placed there, Xu Qing’s gaze turned gentle. He gently placed the flowers in his hand down and knelt.

“Teacher, may you rest in peace.”

Xu Qing mumbled softly and closed his eyes.

The clouds in the sky flowed, revealing a gap, allowing the covered sunlight to cascade down, illuminating the cemetery.

This beam of light was like the dawn, representing beauty. When it landed in the cemetery, it made this place seem like a pure land in the doomsday. It also sent the aura of spring over.

This only beam of light that landed quickly attracted the attention of many people in Purple Earth.

As streams of divine senses swept over, the Purple Earth cultivators were all surprised. They didn’t discover any abnormalities in the cemetery.

There was already no one in front of Grandmaster Bai’s tomb.

Only the magnolia flowers silently bloomed. In the flower language, it represented the arrival of spring.

Xu Qing had already left.

Same time, but different sky and different seasons.

Spring in Purple Earth was the beginning of winter in the eastern part of the Nanhuang Continent.

The cold wind blew across the ground like a knife, stirring up the snowflakes in the air and mercilessly venting the cold.

In the wilderness, one could see some motionless shadows. They were the corpses of people who had no choice but to migrate and freeze to death.

The era didn’t change, nor would it change much just because Xu Qing had become the lord of a large region. This was because… the fragmented-face in the sky existed forever.

Xu Qing silently walked over and arrived at the scavenger campsite back then. This place was still the same but his old friends were basically all dead. They were reoccupied by those who came later and they continued to gather seven-leaf grass around the forbidden zone.

Dirty, messy, cold, and bloody were still the main themes here.

Even the feather tent existed.

Xu Qing’s gaze swept past the scavenger campsite from the sky and finally entered the forbidden zone ahead.

The instant he stepped into the forbidden zone, the entire forbidden zone suddenly rumbled. The fog surrounding the forbidden zone instantly became denser and churned continuously. There were also red lightning bolts that shuttled through the clouds.

All the trees and ferocious beasts in the forbidden zone were trembling.

This drastic change attracted the attention of the scavenger campsite outside. Amidst their horror, roars from the depths of the forbidden zone rang out threateningly.

This sound… was like the helpless cries of a ferocious beast that was constantly retreating in the face of its natural enemy.

There was also the sharp and hurried sound of the zither, as though it wanted to stop Xu Qing from walking over. However, it was meaningless.

Xu Qing’s expression didn’t change at all. His footsteps were very heavy and with every step he took, the forbidden zone would tremble and rumble. Very soon, all the ferocious beasts in the forbidden zone chose to prostrate.

Only the sound of the zither was left, and it was still struggling.

As for Xu Qing, he was tired of listening. He coldly glanced at the depths of the forbidden zone.

“Noisy.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the shadow under his feet immediately spread out. The sound of greed and swallowing surpassed the sound of the zither and covered everything.

The Diamond Sect’s ancestor instantly flew out and floated in the air, its tip facing the forbidden zone. It looked like it would directly penetrate a thousand holes as long as Xu Qing gave the order.

The zither music stopped abruptly.

The flowers and plants separated in front of Xu Qing. The trees pulled out their roots and quickly moved aside. Soon, a straight path was opened in front of Xu Qing.

At the end of the path was a trembling tree and an isolated grave in front of it.

Xu Qing calmly walked over until he arrived in front of the lonely grave. He then leaned against the large tree and sat down.

A wine gourd appeared in his hand. He took a sip and poured some on the grave.

He didn’t say anything, nor was there a need to say anything. The moment he sat here, Xu Qing’s heart became calm. He vaguely felt as though Captain Lei had appeared in front of him and was drinking with him, looking at the sky together.

This lasted until the sun set in the distant sky.

Xu Qing’s voice was a little hoarse as he spoke softly.

“Captain Lei, I’ve found the heavenfate flower…”

This sentence contained reminiscence, regret, indescribable thoughts, and the helplessness of life.

After a long time, Xu Qing sighed softly and finished the wine in the wine gourd in one gulp.

The sun set.

The bright moon rose in the sky.

Under the moonlight, Xu Qing stood up and knelt in front of the lone grave. After bowing, he stood up and walked into the distance. The flowers and trees sprouted behind him, covering this grave.

The wind also sent Xu Qing’s voice over.

“I won’t kill you, but you have to protect this place well.”

As Xu Qing’s voice echoed, a blurry figure appeared beside the grave.

This figure wasn’t Captain Lei’s former lover but an old woman. Upon closer inspection, one could see that there was a broken zither in her hand.

She was the master of this forbidden zone. At this moment, she stared at Xu Qing’s back view and silently lowered her head, choosing to obey.

Under the moonlight, Xu Qing walked in the sky, where the moonlight was pure and bright. However, around Xu Qing, it took on a purple hue.

The halo formed by the purple moonlight caused Xu Qing’s figure in the dark to be like a god. He arrived at the only forbidden region in the Nanhuang Continent step by step. It was also the largest forbidden region Xu Qing had seen so far.

Phoenix Forbidden.

The Phoenix Forbidden was so large that it occupied more than half of the Nanhuang Continent. In fact, if the Flame Phoenix wanted to, it could easily cover the entire Nanhuang Continent.

Such a large forbidden region produced some bizarre races. These races lived in the forbidden region and no one knew how many of them there were or how many races there were.

Towards outsiders, they followed the Flame Phoenix’s decree and didn’t take the initiative to harm them. However, if anyone provoked them, they wouldn’t hold back.

It was also because of the terror of the Phoenix Forbidden that in the records of many races in the Wanggu Continent, the master of the Phoenix Forbidden was known as the Flame Phoenix and was also known as Nanhuang.

It was mysterious and ancient. It was a rare existence that showed a certain amount of kindness to life.

At that moment, Xu Qing arrived at the edge of the Phoenix Forbidden under the moonlight and stood on a mountain peak in the Truth Mountain Range.

There was someone who clearly knew of his arrival long ago, and was waiting here.

Hence, when Xu Qing walked over, he saw a little fatty sucking on an egg. He sat at the edge of the cliff with an intoxicated expression and even hummed a tune.

“Not falling for worldly affairs, seems to have carved the traces of past relationships. Flowers bloom and fall in their own time. I’ve become a stone gazing at my wife. Whether going is a must or staying is necessary, I won’t rest until my hair is filled with mountain flowers. Don’t ask me about my home!”

Hearing this little tune, Xu Qing walked toward Huang Yan and sat beside him.

Huang Yan grinned and threw an egg to Xu Qing. He furrowed his brows and rubbed his small eyes as he smiled.

“Your sister-in-law hasn’t given birth yet and her temper is getting worse. Sigh, since you’re here, drink some eggs with me.”

Xu Qing took the egg and used the same method as before to poke it open. He took a sip and it was extremely delicious.

“How long until Second Senior Sister gives birth?”

Xu Qing gazed at Huang Yan.

Huang Yan had a smug expression as he patted his stomach.

“My seed is extraordinary. It was born as an innate spirit, so it naturally has to be nurtured for a longer time. It will probably be born in a few decades.”

Xu Qing nodded. In that case, he should be able to rush back before Second Senior Sister’s child was born.

Just like that, Xu Qing and Huang Yan sipped on the eggs and talked about their respective matters during this period of time. Huang Yan mainly talked about his emotions and expectations of becoming a father. Xu Qing talked about his experience in Moon Offering and his intention to go to the imperial capital.

Time slowly passed until the sun rose in the distant horizon. The two of them gazed at each other and smiled.

Xu Qing patted his clothes and stood up up, preparing to leave. He didn’t ask if Huang Yan was the Flame Phoenix. This wasn’t important. What was important was that he was Huang Yan and a friend.

Huang Yan didn’t bring it up either. Everything was unspoken.

However, before Xu Qing left, Huang Yan thought about it and grabbed out a storage bag. He then took out a red feather and handed it to Xu Qing.

This feather was crystalline, like jade but not jade. It emitted a burning intent and a dense divine might rose from it. It was different from all the god auras Xu Qing had encountered.

It seemed to contain the smell of ancient times.

“This is for you.”

“I have a younger sister in Nanxin County, the place you have to pass by when you go to the Imperial City. She came to the Nanhuang Continent before and likes the local fruits here. Back then, the yield was not high, but now there are quite a few ripe ones. Could you bring her some on your way?”

“My sister has a bad temper, but she’s like me, very loyal.”

Huang Yan smiled.

Xu Qing nodded and didn’t decline. After he kept it, he looked at Huang Yan.

“Take care.”

With that, Xu Qing’s body swayed and he walked into the sky.

Huang Yan gazed at Xu Qing with a rueful expression and suddenly spoke.

“Xu Qing, it’s still the same thing. If you’re unhappy outside, come back to the Nanhuang Continent. This place is safe!”

In the sky, Xu Qing had a serious expression as he nodded heavily and strolled into the distance. His figure gradually left.

Huang Yan’s figure also blurred. The moment he disappeared, a pair of huge eyes suddenly unveiled in the depths of the Phoenix Forbidden. His aura spread out, causing all the living beings in the forbidden region to prostrate in His direction.

He gazed into the distance and muttered in a low voice.

“Take care.”