Outside Of Time

The ethereal voice echoed, drifting through the ancient temple. The speaker was right before him, yet, Xu Qing felt as though ages separated them.

It felt as though someone gently plucked the strings of time outside of its flow, infusing the sound with a sense of temporality.

The god's finger couldn't fall asleep, so It trembled even more.

Xu Qing's heart was also in turmoil. He couldn't see through the cultivation of the Summer Immortal Palace Master in front of him and couldn't even sense her.

Her presence was illusory.

As Xu Qing grew, this scene rarely appeared.

With his experience till now, he had seen almost everything from a Ruler to bizarre entities.

He had even seen several gods.

So, when it came to assessing the aura, Xu Qing had his own reference in mind, but now… he couldn't probe anything from the Summer Immortal Palace Master, nor could he find a similar reference.

The feeling of the intersection between ancient and present, the fusion of reality and illusion, became even more intense at this instant.

All of these feelings eventually gathered into a mystery that permeated Xu Qing's mind.

As for the other party's words, under this mysterious feeling, the feeling they exuded became profound. It was as though the sound came from all living beings and echoed in Xu Qing's mind.

"Summer Immortal…"ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ɴovel(ꜰ)ɪre.nᴇt

Xu Qing suppressed the waves in his heart and pondered for a moment. He suddenly lifted his right hand and the demon-subduing staff where the Diamond Sect's ancestor was instantly flew out and landed in Xu Qing's hand.

"Senior, are you talking about this item?"

Xu Qing looked at the Summer Immortal Palace Master and spoke softly.

The ancient temple was quiet, and lingering sounds could be heard.

In this silence, the Diamond Sect's ancestor in Xu Qing's hand clearly trembled intensely. He couldn't control that fear, as though he was facing a god.

As for the shadow under Xu Qing's feet, it also swayed slightly. It restrained its emotions and didn't dare to act rashly.

All of this allowed Xu Qing to make more judgments about the cultivation of the Summer Immortal Palace Master.

A long time later, the ethereal voice rang out again.

"Yes and no."

The plain-clothed woman continued to sit there with her back facing Xu Qing. Her voice didn't dissipate even after a while.

"Do you know what the Summer Immortal is?"

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Xu Qing fell silent and didn't answer immediately. He carefully recalled everything he knew about the Summer Immortal.

A long time later, he spoke in a low voice.

"The Summer Immortal is a realm."

The plain-clothed woman shook her head slightly.

"That's right, but not right either. Just take a look yourself."

The moment her voice drifted out, the woman lifted her right hand and pointed slightly at the first of the nine paintings enshrined behind the candles on the altar.

Immediately, the hazy feeling on the painting began to dissipate and the figure in the painting gradually became clearer.

That was an old man, tall in stature, with white hair and beard, rugged in demeanor, holding a golden cane, the material… was bone.

That wasn't an ordinary bone but the bone of a god.

Even though it was just an image, its aura was astonishing. Xu Qing felt that this bone's aura had actually surpassed the Crimson Goddess!

It was clearly a still painting, but the old man looked like he was walking forward. It was as though he was stepping on clouds, and his entire body was filled with endless domineeringness.

His clothes looked a little tattered but it didn't affect his temperament at all. Instead, it added to his vicissitudes. His gaze was as deep as the starry sky, as though it could see through everything in the world.

While looking at the painting, Xu Qing tried to remember it. However, he discovered that he couldn't do such a simple thing.

It was as though… the person in this painting couldn't be remembered.

"God can't be looked at directly, and immortals can't be remembered."

The voice of the plain-clothed woman drifted in the hall.

"What you're looking at is one of the nine Summer Immortals of the Wanggu Continent. His origins aren't that of a human. No one knows his exact appearance. This image was also transformed from his mortal skin."

The woman spoke softly. The feeling of time was especially intense at this moment.

She waved her jade-like hand again and the second painting became clear.

The figure in the painting was also an old man, but he was different from the previous figure. He wasn't as domineering and was more scholarly.

He wore a scholar's robe, with long beard fluttering in the wind, his complexion rosy, his eyes profound, embodying the Heavenly Dao.

His hair was neatly combed, gently secured at the top with a wooden hairpin, and his clothes were embroidered with exquisite cloud patterns, every stitch exuding an otherworldly charm.

That was the gods' aura.

Each stitch, each line, was intricately inscribed with a god!

"You're right that the Summer Immortal is a realm, but it's more of a definition by later generations of the ancestors. The cultivators of later generations believed that after the Soul Accumulation is the Ruler, and after the Ruler is Quasi Immortal Great Emperor. When a Quasi Immortal breaks through, they will advance to the Summer Immortal Realm."

As the Summer Immortal Palace Master spoke, she waved her hand again. The third and fourth paintings were reflected in Xu Qing's eyes.

It was a man and a woman.  

The woman's dress floated gracefully, her face was ethereal, her hair cascading like a waterfall, dancing in the wind. Her eyes were like a spring pond, shimmering with ripples. With every frown or smile, she enchanted those who beheld her.

Countless orbs of light surrounded her, emitting dazzling radiance. Upon closer inspection, one could see that these orbs were actually stars.

As for the man depicted in the fourth painting, he appeared middle-aged, exuding an air of authority between his brows. His hair was jet black and thick, flowing behind him.

His eyes were deep and profound, akin to the dark night sky, twinkling with the light of wisdom. With a straight nose and thin lips, he gave off an aura of calmness and composure.

Under his feet was a mountain of divine corpses!

The golden blood spread out like a sea.

When Xu Qing saw this, his heart trembled intensely. Even through the painting, he could clearly sense how terrifying those divinities were.

Some of them gave him the feeling that they were on par with the Crimson Goddess and there were even stronger ones.

However… in front of that man, they were just corpses.

The voice of the Summer Immortal Palace Master was still echoing.

"In reality, Summer Immortal was just a title in the earliest days, a designation in the Brilliant Heaven for outstanding individuals of the Profound Earth, the lower immortals, the lower of the upper and lower."

"After that, as history progressed, the lower immortals became the Summer Immortals."

Xu Qing drew in a deep breath. He had never heard of this information.

After the Summer Immortal Palace Master finished speaking, her finger landed on the fifth painting.

This painting showed a youth.

The youth wore a white robe and the sleeves of his robe fluttered in the wind, exuding an immortal aura.

The robe was adorned with intricate patterns, displaying his noble status. His fingers were slender, holding a horsetail whisk, the threads of which danced in the wind, each strand tethering a starry realm.

Within them lay countless worlds, containing all living beings

As for the young man himself, despite his youthful appearance, his eyes exuded an ancient wisdom, as if he had witnessed the myriad facets of the world and possessed rich experiences. Yet, his original intentions remained intact, his smile gentle, evoking a sense of warmth akin to a spring breeze, leaving people irresistibly captivated.

"There are a total of nine of them and they come from different races. Among them, the human race is the most prominent, totaling five. This is also why the human race has produced three ancient sovereigns in the course of history."

The ethereal voice of the Summer Immortal Palace Master continued to echo. As she pointed again, the sixth painting revealed a dazzling light.

In the painting, there was a woman. She had a gentle smile, akin to a blossoming white lotus, adorned in flowing Daoist robes, appearing like a celestial being descending to earth. Her long hair danced around her, complementing her willowy eyebrows and almond-shaped eyes, while her face radiated beauty with fair skin as pure as snow.

Her eyes were clear and bright like a clear spring, shining brightly.

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A sword floated behind her. This sword was as black as ink and contained destruction and death.

"The remaining three died in the ancient war. Their immortal senses formed 54 of the 99 Immemorial Heavenly Dao."

The Summer Immortal Palace Master sighed softly and waved her jade-like hand. The remaining three paintings were revealed to Xu Qing at the same time.

These three paintings bore a somewhat grayish hue. The first depicted a woman, her hair cascading like a waterfall, her skin fairer than snow. With a graceful figure and ethereal presence, she seemed to exude an otherworldly aura. Her lips, painted in vermilion, outlined a breathtakingly beautiful visage.

Her smile was the most captivating among all the paintings, radiant and enchanting, likely akin to the warmth of a spring day's sunshine, but alas, now lost to time.

The second figure was a young man, unremarkable in appearance save for his deep gaze. His face bore the marks of age, and he wore a simple Daoist robe that billowed in the wind, as if ready to be carried away.

The last painting was mostly empty. Even though it was displayed by the Summer Immortal Palace Master, the figure was still hazy. One could only vaguely see that he seemed to be an elderly man.

Though his figure was indistinct, the essence emanating from this painting seeped into Xu Qing's perception. He seemed to envision an old man, perhaps lifting his hand to support the collapsing heavens, resembling a mountain, imparting an unshakeable sense of stability.

"The last one didn't have time to leave behind a mortal molt, so only the essence before his fall was preserved."

The Summer Immortal Palace Master looked up at the painting on the altar.

Xu Qing remained silent. He then solemnly bowed toward the paintings. Then, his gaze turned to the figure of the master of Summer Immortal Palace Master, and he spoke with reverence.

"I wonder why Senior summoned me here?"

"The mission of the Summer Immortal Palace is to record the history of the Wanggu Continent. However, in reality, the Summer Immortal Palace has another mission."

"Record the growth arts that caused changes in the Immortal Source of the Summer Immortal Palace."

"Your soul seed has stirred ripples in the Immortal Source, so… would you be willing to leave one, to be perpetually stored within the Immortal Source of Summer Immortal Palace?"

"As a contribution, you may seek a growth art enlightenment from within the Immortal Source."

The Summer Immortal Palace Master spoke softly. The eye pattern on the little butterfly's wings flickered as a voice came from it.

"Ah, it was actually because of this. Master, that lousy growth art of his can cause ripples in the Immortal Source? That's the Immortal Source!"

The voice sounded unconvinced and envious.

Xu Qing remained silent. He didn't expect the goal of the Summer Immortal Palace to be the soul seed. This matter wasn't much to him but he was a little curious about the so-

called Immortal Source.

"Senior, what is the Immortal Source you mentioned?"

The person who answered Xu Qing wasn't the Summer Immortal Palace Master. That little butterfly let out a crisp sound.

"That was created by the nine Summer Immortals after the rise of the Wanggu. It is a great and only existence that surpasses the Heavenly Dao."

"Its effect in the Profound Earth's myriad worlds is the source of all growth arts and divine abilities."

"Most of the spells of the Profound Earth come from the Immortal Source, which spreads them in various ways in the world. At the same time, the Immortal Source is also in charge of collecting and disseminating rare and unique Daos."

"This way, it can ensure the eternal growth of our homeland."

"It's really unbelievable. How could your soul seed cause fluctuations in the Immortal Source!"