Outside of Time [Webnovel] - Chapter 1582: Cloud Gate

Several days later.

“This Western Starfield is indeed quite different from the South.”

High in the sky, Xu Qing sped along, his expression thoughtful.

During these past few days, while searching for a secluded place to heal, Xu Qing encountered two other holders of the qualifying tokens.

The first time, the other person was over 4,500,000 kilometers away and clearly didn’t notice Xu Qing, allowing him to easily avoid them.

However, during the second encounter, just as Xu Qing sensed the presence of the other person through his token, the other person immediately sensed Xu Qing as well.

To have a token that could sense such a large range, the other party must be an expert.

However, just as Xu Qing’s vigilance rose, the other party chose to evade.

This was very different from the Southern Starfield.

It seemed that avoiding trouble, or rather not creating trouble unless absolutely necessary, was a principle that many people in the Western Starfield adhered to.

Xu Qing encountered this situation again in the following eight days.

And he finally acknowledged it.

“Western Starfield… is much less intense compared to the South. Most of the unnecessary conflicts will be avoided.”

“But that doesn’t mean that the people here don’t kill.”

Xu Qing raised his head and looked ahead.

Ahead of him, there was a circular barrier, shimmering with flowing light, forming a formation that prevented outsiders from entering.

Inside the array formation, several cultivators sat cross-legged.

Outside the array formation, not only was Xu Qing standing there, but there were also dozens of cultivators scattered around.

Some of them were like Xu Qing, being stopped when they were passing by this place. Some were already within the range of the array formation and were chased out.

“The Cloud Gate Clan and the Earth Spirit Clan are going to start a war of extermination.”

“These two large clans are powerful clans in the vicinity. They jointly occupy this Spirit Dust Mountain Range. It’s normal for such a thing to happen.”

“However, other than this place, these two clans also have other territories. If they really want to exterminate each other, it will be very difficult for them to succeed overnight.”

Discussions echoed in the surroundings.

At that moment, Xu Qing had long changed into a rough hemp robe. He also imitated the ferryman and wore a bamboo hat. Moreover, his appearance was also covered.

Standing in the air and listening to the sounds in his surroundings, Xu Qing spread out his divine sense and enveloped the area ahead.

This was the location he had originally chosen for his secluded cultivation based on the map.

That endless mountain range was filled with dense spiritual energy and was very suitable for healing injuries.

However, now… the fluctuations of the battle were echoing intensely.

There were many people fighting in that mountain range.

Through the conversations in the surroundings, Xu Qing understood that one clan was invading another.

The conflict was intense.

There were also experts among them. Xu Qing could clearly sense the might of Rulers.

In fact, both sides also had token holders.

However, it was obvious that the objective of this battle wasn’t the tokens, it was to devour the enemy clan.

The process was brutal, with ruthless methods, and it was clear that neither side would rest until the other was completely eradicated, down to the last trace.

After Xu Qing used his perception, his understanding of the Western Starfield increased a little.

“The cultivators here rarely choose to engage in meaningless battles. Most of them have a laid-back demeanor, but at the same time, they have a very strong sense of family loyalty. As a result, conflicts are more likely to occur between clans rather than individuals.”

“This aligns with the information recorded on the map. Due to the Dao Immortal Sect’s indifference, there is little control over the Western Starfield, allowing for near-total autonomy. As a result, numerous cultivation clans have sprung up, growing unchecked, and their numbers far exceed those in the other three starfields.”

Xu Qing slowly retreated.

Millions of kilometers away, Xu Qing finally found a desolate swamp. After a brief moment of consideration, he flickered and entered the swamp.

In the depths of the swamp, he set up a small cave dwelling, reinforced the surroundings, placed restrictive formations, and isolated his aura before sitting cross-legged to begin his healing.

Perhaps due to the ongoing battle between the two nearby families, many cultivators, upon learning of the conflict, chose to leave the area. Those who had originally planned to pass through also revised their routes to avoid the vicinity.

Hence, the next half a month of Xu Qing’s closed-door cultivation was quite peaceful.

On this day, as the swamp caved in, Xu Qing’s figure walked out and stood in the air.

As he stood there, he felt a pressure in his chest and a feeling of coughing surfaced.

He frowned.

Although his injuries couldn’t be seen from the outside, his aura was still much weaker than before.

“Dao injury…”

Xu Qing mumbled.

After one’s cultivation reached a certain level, not all injuries could be treated by medicinal pills.

When experts attacked, they would often cause Dao injuries.

Xu Qing had never encountered such an injury in Wanggu. However, in the Fifth Star Ring, he received it and realized how difficult it was to recover from it.

“My initial estimate of one month was too optimistic.”

“These kinds of injuries require several years to slowly heal. Although I have the purple crystal that can shorten this process, if there’s dense spiritual energy, it can further shorten the recovery time.”

Xu Qing’s gaze was gloomy. He lowered his head and looked at the swamp under him before raising his head to look at the Spirit Dust Mountain Range. At the same time, the map of the west appeared in his mind.

Although the spiritual energy here far surpassed that of Wanggu , it was still thinner than the Southern Starfield, unless one was in certain special locations…

“As long as I don’t encounter a Ruler, facing a Soul Accumulation won’t hinder the recovery of my injuries.”

Combining the map with his current situation, Xu Qing made his decision. A cold gleam flashed in his eyes as he took a step forward, vanishing in an instant.

The aurora in the sky flowed and small vortices rose and fell, increasing in number.

Unknowingly, a year passed.

During this year, the war between the Cloud Gate Clan and the Earth Spirit Race continued.

In the large-scale battle at the start, the Cloud Gate’s ancestor was heavily injured. The ancestor of the Earth Spirit lineage was also injured.

After that, the battle between the two sides mainly focused on carrying out small scale massacres.

Moreover, the Cloud Gate Clan had gradually lost their territory in this year of war. From their original thirty-seven mountains, they were no down to only eleven mountains.

Now, everyone was in a state of panic.

At that moment, on the ninth peak of the Cloud Gate Clan, outside the array formation, three cultivators were sitting cross-legged.

These three people were all cultivators with three or four worlds in the Soul Accumulation Realm. As they meditated, they would occasionally open their eyes and look at the figure in the array formation. Their expressions unknowingly revealed reverence.

Not long later, one of them took out a voice transmission jade slip. After checking it, he immediately stood up and bowed respectfully to the figure in the array formation.

“Array Lord, there’s a message from Spirit Dust City. Although the items you described earlier still don’t exist in this batch of supplies…”

“However, there are clues. The caravan has already gone to search. It’s expected that it will appear in the next batch of supplies.”

Not only did this person have a respectful expression, but his words were also the same.

Following his gaze, one could see a person sitting cross-legged in the array formation of the ninth peak, flipping through ancient books.

This person had a middle-aged appearance but his hair was grayish-white and his face was pale. His body was skinny and he gave off a sickly feeling. Occasionally, he would cough.

Even so, the three Soul Accumulation cultivators outside the array formation didn’t dare to underestimate him at all.

As external guest elders of the Cloud Gate Clan, the three of them initially looked down upon Flame Mystic, who had joined a year ago and had the same cultivation level as them.

However, they didn’t expect that in the many battles with the Earth Spirit Race in this year, every time this person attacked, he would be like lightning, killing the enemy’s Soul Accumulation in one strike.

His methods were brutal, and he directly aimed at the throat.

In a year, twelve Soul Accumulation cultivators had died in this person’s hands.

Moreover, there were two of them who had reached the level of the Soul Accumulation Six World. However, this person only needed to move and cut a few more times to kill them.

As such, amidst the decline of the Cloud Gate Clan, Flame Mystic’s battle merits could be considered eye-catching. Hence, he was appointed as the array guardian of the ninth peak.

He was known as the Array Lord.

“Got it.”

In the array formation, Xu Qing raised his head and calmly spoke.

After that, his gaze landed in the distance as thoughts rose in his mind.

“My injuries are almost healed. I originally planned to leave in the near future…”

A year ago, after checking the map and discovering that the most suitable place to heal in the vicinity was the Spirit Dust Mountain Range he had chosen first, Xu Qing made a decision.

This was because if he didn’t choose this place and headed to other suitable places, the time needed would be very long.

So, Xu Qing decided to join in while the Cloud Gate Clan was at a disadvantage in the war and was recruiting powerful individuals from all directions with substantial rewards.

Although as external guest elders, they were unlikely to be trusted and would not have access to the core, they would mostly serve as cannon fodder.

However, what Xu Qing needed was to enter the Spirit Dust Mountain Range and make use of the dense spiritual energy here to shorten the healing time.

As for the subsequent actions, on one hand, it was because the other party was seeking death; on the other hand, it was due to the denser spiritual energy within the formation. Additionally, another reason was that Xu Qing knew that the rights of guest elders included access to the clan’s merchant convoys, allowing them to purchase certain special items.

Moreover, his status determined the size of this authority.

Hence, Xu Qing chose to kill a few more. However, he also controlled his targets to within the Soul Accumulation seven worlds.

If he killed the seven worlds, it would be too conspicuous.

He wanted to borrow the power of the Cloud Gate to find the item with spatial abilities that looked like a lump of soil that the youth with the birthmark had taken out.

Back then, the other party used this item to glue the world and consume it.

It didn’t exist in the storage ring either.

“A month is still a little too long.”

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes.

In this year, as the guest elder of the Cloud Gate Clan, although he wasn’t trusted too much and didn’t come into contact with the core disciples, with his cultivation and vision, he could still see the outcome of the Cloud Gate Clan that was difficult to change.

“There’s a high chance that the Cloud Gate’s ancestor is about to die. I estimate it to be in about half a month.”

“The final battle with the Earth Spirit Race will definitely erupt in half a month.”

Xu Qing’s gaze landed on the horizon. In the entire Spirit Dust Mountain Range, even under the aurora, the sky was still pitch-black and a large amount of death aura was gathered.

All kinds of bizarre entities appeared from time to time.

This scene didn’t have the combat strength of a Ruler and was very difficult to detect.

During this year, Xu Qing wasn’t only recuperating but also cultivating his own arts.

Whether it was the five elements or time and space, his current comprehension level was much greater than a year ago.

This enhancement to combat strength would be even more obvious.

This was especially so for space and time. They were the focus of his exploration.

Vaguely, he also had an idea of the Eighth Extremity.

A long time later, determination appeared in Xu Qing’s eyes.

“Forget it. It’s not impossible to find an item that contains spatial abilities if I spend more effort elsewhere.”

At the thought of this, Xu Qing closed his eyes.

“In three days, my injuries will completely heal and I’ll leave!”