Outside of Time - Chapter 1746

This was a dark and heavy world.

Thick, viscous blackness, like solidified asphalt, enveloped the entire world, forming its walls.

Within this world, the sky was crisscrossed with dark red veins, resembling a cracked spider web, covering the entire firmament.

Drops of blood seeped from the gaps in these veins, falling onto the scarred and pockmarked earth.

Like rain.

At the center of this bloody rain, where the veins intersected, a massive tumor grew within the sky.

It resembled a dead sun, looming high above, yet also like a parasitic god, giving off an eerie and sinister feeling.

Xu Qing, along with all the gods who had disappeared within the halo, now appeared one by one in this bloody rain.

They had been teleported here.

The moment They appeared in this eerie blood rain, all the gods instinctively began to survey Their surroundings. Clearly, for each of them, this place was Their first time here.

As for Xu Qing, who was among them, his investigation was even more comprehensive. He not only examined this world but also remained vigilant about what lay beyond.

Fortunately, the crisis that had threatened him before the teleportation seemed to have been cut off by the strangeness of this place.

The divine will from the starry sky had not followed him here.

This discovery made Xu Qing breathe a slight sigh of relief, but at the same time, he felt a sense of curiosity about this world.

"Is this place not the center of the ley lines?"

Xu Qing looked up at the sky, observing the blood-red veins and the massive, grotesque tumor. His pupils slightly contracted.

He vaguely discerned something about the tumor.

Then he lowered his gaze to the ground.

The ground of this world was also black, and where the blood rain fell, it formed a muddy, festering scar.

Countless small red figures emerged from the places where the blood rain fell. They had no facial features and spread out numbly, beginning to work.

In the distance, layered mountains could be seen, resembling the skeletons of giant beasts stripped of flesh. In every crevice, thick black mist flowed.

Within the mist, twisted, withered trees grew grotesquely. Their gnarled trunks were a sickly gray-white, resembling countless broken vertebrae pieced together. Their branches were thin and long, twisting towards the sky like countless hands trying to touch the firmament!

But they were corroded by the falling blood rain, oozing black mucus that stuck together, forming umbrella-like fungi that provided shelter from the rain.

These fungal umbrellas varied in size. The larger ones, formed by multiple withered trees, were as vast as a city.

Beneath the umbrellas grew countless sacs, like grapes, densely packed.

On the surface of the umbrellas, fine crystals grew, refracting a faint light that intertwined illusion and reality.

This light caught Xu Qing’s attention.

It turned out to be the remnants of small, ruined worlds!

Hidden within the crystal facets, something flickered in and out of existence.

This scene deepened Xu Qing’s sense of curiosity.

"It’s as if the sky and the earth are in conflict!"

Xu Qing murmured to himself.

Because he saw that the small figures emerging from the blood rain were laboring, using axes formed from their arms to chop at the withered trees. Each strike left marks on the trunks.

They also hacked at the mountains, and the sparks from the axes striking the rocks contained tiny teeth and nails.

It was as if the trees and mountains on this earth were living beings!

Moreover, this labor was fraught with danger!

Xu Qing witnessed a mountain range where, as countless small figures chopped away, the numerous withered trees suddenly convulsed.

In the next moment, the sacs beneath the fungal umbrellas, resembling grapes, burst one after another!

The splattered mucus solidified into thousands of threads in the air, piercing towards the small figures.

Wherever the threads touched, the skin of the small figures cracked like charcoal, revealing a faint red light within the fissures. They soon crumbled into ash.

All of this made Xu Qing’s heart tighten.

He had already grasped the truth of this world.

"These are two terrifying True Gods, both at the peak stage!"

"One above, one below, locked in a strange state of conflict."

"This state is peculiar, as if They are in a stalemate."

"Thus, the True God in the sky has split the firmament, shedding Its divine blood to create these small figures, sending them to chop trees and split mountains."

"The mountains and trees are the other True God, struggling, but it seems to be losing ground."

"Then the purpose of the Zhen Yi clan…"

Xu Qing remained vigilant, his thoughts racing. Meanwhile, the other gods around him also made Their own discoveries.

Then, the dwarf from the Zhen Yi clan, seated on a black lotus, spoke.

"Although you are under my clan’s jurisdiction and are our subordinate gods, since you have answered the summons, I will not hide the truth from you."

"The outside world believes that the True God of our Zhen Yi clan perished long ago and cannot return. But in reality… our True God is not dead. It is right there!"

The dwarf stood up on the black lotus, pointing towards the massive black tumor in the sky!

"It is trapped in a fusion with another True God!"

"Your task here is to assist our True God by clearing the trees and mountains, sharing Its burden, so It can complete the final fusion."

"Once our True God awakens, you, as subordinate gods, will not only receive your due rewards but also be granted divine marks, each gaining the protection of our True God once."

The dwarf’s divine voice echoed.

Among the gods teleported here, most, given the strict hierarchy of the god system and Their status as subordinate gods of the Zhen Yi clan, had no objections to this task.

Upon hearing this, They dispersed, each using their divine abilities to either shake the withered trees or split the barren mountains.

Only those who had reached the Divine Platform level had the right to weigh the pros and cons at this moment.

Like the few Xu Qing had been closely observing.

But under the divine will of the dwarf on the black lotus, these few also nodded and joined in assisting the True God of the Zhen Yi clan.

However, They did not chop trees or split mountains. Instead, They flew up to the firmament, surrounding the massive black tumor, sitting cross-legged, opening Their minds, and channeling Their divine energy into the tumor.

Establishing a connection with the True God, sharing Its pressure.

Although Their divine energy was but a drop in the ocean for the True God, at this critical moment, any external help to share Its burden was a consolidation of Its advantage.

As for Xu Qing, he also received a divine message from the dwarf.

"The reason we are here is that our True God summoned me through bloodline methods. It is on the verge of fusion, hence this journey."

"As a Divine Platform, channel your divine energy into the firmament, establish a connection with our True God. Once our True God awakens, you will be granted a fragment of a shattered divine aspect!"

This reward was already significant.

But Xu Qing… could not assist.

He was, after all, not a god.

In his current state, he could not establish a connection with the True God without revealing his true identity.

Especially since it was a Peak True God.

Even getting too close, Xu Qing felt it was extremely dangerous.

Thus, he sighed inwardly, feeling the same sense of being trapped between a rock and a hard place. So, he could only speak in a low voice.

"Great god, this matter is of utmost importance and cannot afford any mistakes. My level is insufficient, and I am of no use here. Please open the teleportation, and I will leave immediately."

With that, Xu Qing took out the True God Stone and handed it to the dwarf.

Entering this place had been a last resort. Now, requesting to leave, though the chances of the dwarf agreeing were slim, Xu Qing had to try. If successful, it would be for the best.

If not… Xu Qing felt a chill in his heart.

At this moment, only Xu Qing and the dwarf on the black lotus remained in the blood rain.

The dwarf listened to Xu Qing’s words, expressionlessly pointed at the True God Stone before him. The black stone instantly trembled, turning to dust and dissipating.

Then, It coldly looked at Xu Qing.

"Either comply or perish."

A flash of killing intent appeared in Xu Qing’s eyes.

But in the next moment, the massive black tumor on the blood-veined firmament suddenly twitched. A slit opened within it, like an eye!

As it opened, a murky gaze fell from the slit within the tumor… onto Xu Qing.

Instantly, the dark red light of the sky became viscous, and the entire world roared, twisting in all directions.

A murmuring divine voice also echoed through the heavens and earth.

Xu Qing’s body shook. The gaze felt tangible, and in that instant, he seemed to hear the sound of his blood flowing backward, the crisp sound of his bones cracking in a vacuum, and the heart-rending wails of burning butterfly remnants.

In that brief moment, the butterfly divine shell around his body wrinkled, unable to withstand the gaze, and cracked inch by inch, collapsing in an instant.

With a loud crash, it shattered into pieces.

Revealing Xu Qing’s true form.

At the same time, within the black tumor in the sky, upon sensing Xu Qing’s true form, a sound akin to a fetal heartbeat echoed. Each thud caused the surface of the mountains to tremble, sending rocks tumbling down.

A greater pressure surged from within the tumor, threatening to descend. But in the next moment, the mountains and trees on the ground seemed to seize an opportunity to counterattack. The earth roared, and the mountains shook, rising from the ground, aiming to charge into the sky.

The withered trees also grew with force, reaching towards the firmament.

Thus, the black tumor in the sky paused, then let out an unknown roar, forced to close Its eye again and focus all Its attention on the ongoing fusion with Its adversary.

The sky and earth were once again locked in conflict.

As for the dwarf, Its divine eyes narrowed, as if receiving a message. Its divine aura surged, and Its eyes glowed with an eerie light. The three hundred and sixty ancient remnants surrounding It opened their eyes, locking onto Xu Qing.

"You are not a god. You are a cultivator!"

"The God Emperor Chiuz has issued a decree to arrest the cultivator who abducted Starry Eyes Luan. Could it be… you!"