Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 550: Heavenly Moon Bandits

The Captain blinked a few times.

“That’s not important. We can get into it later. First, let’s talk about the red moon. You really need to think about it from the opposite angle, little Junior Brother. If we don’t devour hēr, then when shē wakes up, shē’ll have no trouble tracking us down. Shē’ll find us with a single thought, and before we know it, shē’ll be right in front of us! You have hēr godsource. I have hēr aura. To hēr, we’re nothing but thieves, which means once shē finds us, we’re dead for sure. And that’s why we need to strike a fatal blow before shē wakes up! There’s no reason for us to be scared of a shrew!” Pulling out a peach, the Captain took a big bite.

Xu Qing, meanwhile, struggled to control his breathing. His mind was spinning, and his eyes were bloodshot. He was well aware that the Captain liked to do really big things, and he had assumed that the latest plan was going to be something monumental. But he hadn’t guessed it would be this monumental.

Xu Qing gritted his teeth. “Tell me everything in detail, Eldest Brother.”

Looking very excited, the Captain said, “Okay, little Ah Qing. Moonrite Region is very unique among regions. To the Nightshades, it’s considered like a holy land. In fact, it basically is a holy land. And that’s because... the Moonrite Region is the only way to reach the red moon! The red moon is the red moon, while Crimson Mother is Crimson Mother!”

Xu Qing nodded as he listened attentively.

“There’s one thing you need to understand from the beginning. And that is... the red moon is the dwelling place where Crimson Mother sleeps. As for the red moon itself, it’s a star! A moon! A unique heavenly body! In other words, if you want to devour Crimson Mother, then you have to first go to hēr dwelling place. You have to get to the red moon!

“Unfortunately, the red moon is above the canopy of heaven. Although it follows its own orbital track, actually reaching it is going to be extremely difficult. Even though we can see the red moon, we can’t get close to it. However, that’s not the case in the Moonrite Region. Right in the middle of it, in the Penitence Steppes, there’s a shocking statue!”

When the Captain mentioned the statue, his expression became strange, like a mix of regret and sorrow. Xu Qing noted that, and his eyes glittered thoughtfully.

“The statue is massive. Though it’s kneeling in penitence, it’s also in a position to prop up heaven and earth. It’s so tall that words really can’t describe it. It’s very nearly touching the apex of the dome of heaven.

“When the red moon follows its orbital track, it will speed past the statue’s head so closely you can reach out and touch it. That’s also the lowest point in the red moon’s path of travel. The intelligence reports I’ve acquired make that certain. In other words, if we’re right there when the red moon passes, and we fly up with all our might, we’ll be able to get on to the red moon.”

With that, the Captain took out another peach. Taking a bite, he looked at Xu Qing.

“Of course, I’ve already planned out everything we need to do once we’re on the red moon. And I... am going to devour Crimson Mother, guaranteed!”

The Captain’s eyes were bloodshot with craziness.

After taking in the explanation, Xu Qing said one thing. “Who does the statue depict, Eldest Brother?”

The Captain took a few breaths, during which time he took out a peach and handed it to Xu Qing.

“That statue,” he said in a hoarse voice, “was created during the time of Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity. It depicts a human Imperial Sovereign who refused to leave Revered Ancient with the Ancient Emperor. Long ago, the Moonrite Region used to belong to him!

“He and Crimson Mother fought a war the likes of which surpassed anything before it. In the end, that Imperial Sovereign died in battle. Because of how much Crimson Mother hated him, shē punished him by forcing his fleshly body to kneel to hēr for all eternity. And hēr curse turned his lands into a pasture.

“Every so often, when the population in Moonrite Region gets big enough, the red moon will have a feast. And everything there is on the menu. Mortals, cultivators, it doesn’t matter. They become food. With the cultivators, it starts with those with the highest cultivation base. Every time it happens, the Void Returning experts get eaten first.

“People born in the Moonrite Region are incapable of leaving it, thanks to that curse. If they take even a single step out of the region, they explode and die. Because of that, cultivators from the Moonrite Region live in a state of constant bitterness and loss. Their path of cultivation always ends in death. What’s worse, they live in a horrid environment where it’s very difficult to survive without practicing cultivation.”

The Captain took a vicious bite out of his peach. “There is no true sun in Moonrite Region, only artificial light sources and something they call the Heavenfire Skycrossing. Unfortunately, the light of the latter is harmful to the point of being deadly.

“There are also relatives of Crimson Mother who live there, who are also kept like livestock. Because of this, many high-level species call Moonrite Region by a different name. They call it the Red Moon Spirit Garden.”

Based on everything Xu Qing was hearing, it seemed to him like the Moonrite Region was a horrid place. And given the circumstances, it seemed likely that the species there would be extremely evil.

“A hell on earth,” he murmured, and then took a bite of peach.

The Captain suddenly looked curiously at Xu Qing. “Where’d you get a peach?”

“You gave it to me,” Xu Qing replied quizzically.

The Captain snatched it back, then took out an apple and handed it to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing looked at the Captain, then accepted the apple and took a bite. Considering he had heard of the Heavenfire Sea before, he asked the Captain about it.

“Heavenfire Sea? I didn’t focus much on that, although I did get a few pieces of information.” The Captain briefly collected his thoughts and then continued, “Supposedly, it’s a sea of fire, in the middle of which is a rift. In the ancient past, the rift wasn’t very big. But as time has gone by, it’s become larger and larger.

“Few people know what’s inside the rift. Through the years, many species have investigated it, but not much has come of all that. One thing that seems certain is that there’s a never-ending world of fire inside. And if you enter, you die. Why, little Junior Brother. Are you planning to visit Heavenfire Sea?”

Xu Qing nodded.

“Well perfect! Since I’ve already deduced when exactly the red moon will arrive, I can tell you we have plenty of time to work with. What’s more, I have a few loose ends that need tying up in the Moonrite Region. So now, all we need to do is sneak away. You can do your thing, I’ll take our ‘tool’ to finish all the preparations.”

The Captain then took out a map of the Moonrite Region, and pointed to one specific spot and said, “Afterward, we’ll meet up here on Mount Heavenly Ox in the Unfinished Mountains.” [1]

“Well, what do you think, little Ah Qing? Are you in?”

After a moment or two passed, Xu Qing nodded and said, “How about we go there first? Then, after we see things with our own eyes, we can make the final decision. Also, you still haven’t told me if you tried something like this in the past.”

Xu Qing looked at the Captain.

The Captain cleared his throat and then tapped one spot on the map. “Think about the name of this place here.”

“Mount Heavenly Ox?” Xu Qing said, an odd expression on his face. “The Unfinished Mountains?”

Unfinished was fairly self-explanatory. But Heavenly Ox.... [2]

The Captain looked very pleased with himself. “The mountain was originally named after me. Who could have guessed that later generations would keep the name? You see, little Ah Qing, one of your Eldest Brother’s past-life bodies is buried there. I really got unlucky back then. I tried to devour a god, but failed. It was all the fault of my unreliable teammates. I actually escaped at first, but didn’t survive long after. That’s the main reason I want to meet up there. I want to take you with me to raid a tomb.”

Xu Qing wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. “You’re going to raid your own tomb?”

The Captain’s eyebrows danced up and down. “I’m getting excited just thinking about it. Also, that’s one of the things we need to do to prepare to deal with Crimson Mother.”

After that, Xu Qing and the Captain went over some of the details of the plan. They decided to leave in three days. They also made plans for how to get away.

Xu Qing was an important person in Sea-Sealing County, so traveling around could be dangerous. The safest option was to make sure no one knew he was gone. The only people Xu Qing told were Master Seventh and Plumdark. Both disagreed with him leaving at first. But after some persuasion, they gave in, and even provided him with some defensive items. Then Xu Qing made a public announcement that he was going into seclusion to work on his cultivation.

Before ‘going into seclusion,’ he went to see Zhang San, who had come with Seven Blood Eyes to the county capital. Zhang San had recently finished working on Xu Qing’s spirit cruiser. After collecting it, Xu Qing disappeared from the public.

In a flash, a month passed.

There were no major developments in the county capital. The construction work on the Green Dark Sect was finished, and Plumdark took charge. Everything was developing in an orderly fashion. Life had gone back to normal in Sea-Sealing County. Things were calm and peaceful. With Master Seventh and Marquis Yao running things, and especially with Marquis Yao wielding fourth-stage Void Returning power, the nonhumans in the county had stowed any treacherous thoughts.

***

In the western part of the Holytide Region, there was a mortal caravan making its way along one of the public highways. The group consisted of some traveling merchants, being escorted by a Holytide bodyguard team. They were planning to visit some small nations near the Yin Sacrifice River.

Somewhere within the long caravan was a young man of about seventeen or eighteen years old with freckles on his face. He sat atop the carriage with the reins in his hand, which he would occasionally flick feebly while calling out to the horses.

He was Ning Yan.

Standing next to him was a young man with his hands clasped behind his back, looking proudly off into the distance. As the sun shone down onto him, it created something like a halo, which made him seem somehow holy.

“The Lord of dust and ferries arrives; heaven and earth welcome him with drums and gongs!”

Ning Yan couldn’t have been more annoyed.

What drums and gongs? he thought. He was truly frustrated at having to be around this person who, the entire journey so far, had been constantly spouting nonsensical poetry.

Looking at the young man out of the corner of his eye, he muttered, “What’s wrong with you?”

Hearing that, Wu Jianwu glared derisively at Ning Yan. “A gentle breeze carries the squawk of chickens and geese; turning, I find myself facing a kiddie!”

Ning Yan glared at him. Wu Jianwu looked back at him proudly.

At that point, the Captain spoke via divine will from the interior of the carriage.

“Great poem! It really has that Ancient Emperor cadence. Just what I would expect of our special guest, the top chosen from Seven Blood Eyes’ First Peak! No wonder he’s known as the greatest successor of Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity. Another! Recite another!”

Wu Jianwu looked very excited and pleased. Ning Yan said nothing, but he flicked the reins angrily.

Xu Qing sat in the carriage looking out at the scenery. He had expected the Captain to bring Ning Yan along, but was surprised that he’d invited Wu Jianwu.

Ling’er had emerged from Xu Qing’s sleeve and was wrapped around his neck. She was currently looking at the Captain.

The Captain looked back at her and blinked a few times. Then he quietly said to Xu Qing, “Let’s egg on the moron for now. He’s going to be very useful for the plan!” Raising his voice, he loudly said, “Going forward, we’re the Heavenly Moon Bandits! Come on, brothers. Come on!”

1. In this passage, it’s actually not clear that “Mount Heavenly Ox” is in the “Unfinished Mountains.” It initially sounds like the mountain is named Unfinished Heavenly Ox. However, we later find out the details that the mountain itself (Heavenly Ox) is part of a mountain range (Unfinished Mountains). There does not seem to be any reason for this information to be withheld. It’s nothing unusual in Chinese to not add the relevant details, but it creates potential ambiguity/confusion in English, so I’m “spoiling” it a bit early with my translation choice. Keeping that secret is not relevant to the plot in any way, so this just keeps things less confusing for you readers. ?

2. Don’t forget that the Captain’s name “Erniu” combines the characters “two” and “cow/ox.” ?

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