Outside of Time [Webnovel]

“Mother…”

Xu Qing looked at the desert in front of him and listened to Aurora Immortal Lord.

Perhaps it came from the fluctuations in his body, or perhaps it was the meaning behind this word.

Unknowingly, his consciousness rippled with memories.

Wanggu and Peerless City appeared in front of him.

The Peerless City and his parents in his memory.

The beauty in his memories and the blood rain that couldn’t be dispersed.

He recalled his parents.

Perhaps it was because he had traversed too many landscapes, or experienced too many events, that when Xu Qing now tried to recall his parents, he realized that all that remained were mere outlines.

Yet, the tenderness emanating from those outlines was an indelible mark—one that no mountains, no experiences, and no memories could ever erase.

It was eternally imprinted on his heart.

Much like how people may not know who they would see in their final moments.

But when they first entered the world, their parents were always there, surrounding them.

“Mother…”

Xu Qing mumbled.

At the same time, the body in which Xu Qing’s consciousness resided instinctively brought forth memories from its original host.

In those memories, the image of the mother had also faded into a vague silhouette, blurred and indistinct… hard to recall clearly.

Just like Xu Qing’s memories.

The two of them resonated at this moment.

This resonance, like ripples, stirred the heart and consciousness, causing time to waver and flow. It spread across the desert, rising and falling.

It had become a part of the desert.

Aurora Immortal Lord’s voice slowly echoed in the Time Desert.

“Your mother and I met in our hometown.”

“She was my junior apprentice sister and your grandfather’s seventh disciple.”

“Back then, the sky also had a sun and moon, but they were not as we see them today.”

Aurora Immortal Lord spoke softly as he moved forward.

He seemed to be talking to Xu Qing and also seemed to be reminiscing.

As his words echoed, the aura on his body became more ancient and reminiscent.

“At that time, my hometown was actually just one of the countless small worlds reared by the gods in the Fifth Star Ring.”

“Living there, we had to worship the gods, enslaved by Them, dwelling within a web of bones.”

“Therefore, even the sun and moon above our heads were naturally gods. To be precise, the light of that sun and moon invaded all the small worlds.”

“And the supreme gods whose names echoed across all the small worlds were Royin and Mengni.”

“Those years were filled with suffering, but because of your mother’s presence, for me, they were also filled with happiness.”

Aurora Immortal Lord’s voice was gentle.

Xu Qing followed behind and listened silently.

He knew that, in this moment, what the Aurora Immortal Lord needed was simply someone to listen.

“We cultivated together and grew up together. Later on, we met Nine Shores.”

Aurora Immortal Lord shook his head, and the reminiscence on his body intensified.

“Back then, Nine Shores’ personality wasn’t much different from what it is now. He liked silence, observation, and keeping records.”

“Your mother used to call him ‘the great historian,’ and he embraced the title. For many years after that, he referred to himself as the historian.”

“Foolish, really.”

Aurora chuckled.

“Just like that, time passed…”

“What happened afterward, you already know from the historical records.”

“In the final days of the gods, under your grandfather’s leadership, all the small worlds of the Fifth Star Ring rose against the gods in a war of uprising.”

“That battle was unimaginably brutal…”

“You were born during that chaotic time, but your mother and I didn’t want you to witness such a world.”

So we sealed you, with the promise that once the war was over, once this world became beautiful, we would lift the seal. We wanted your first sight of the heavens and earth to be vibrant, peaceful, free of gods.”

“We wanted you to live in a beautiful world.”

Aurora’s voice echoed in the Time Desert.

However, that voice was slowly tainted with sadness as he reminisced.

“And after many long years, that war finally came to an end. We cultivators rose up completely and overthrew the gods who once stood so high above us.”

“The sun and moon in the sky fell as well, replaced by the Yin and Yang of our Dao.”

“But… there was one figure missing by my side.”

“Your mother… she had fallen.”

Xu Qing listened silently.

It was clearly someone else’s story but regardless of whether it was the waves caused by this body or the resonance in his consciousness, Xu Qing could sense this sadness from the host and Aurora.

“I fell into a deep sleep due to some special reasons.”

“This sleep lasted for ten thousand years.”

“When I awoke, everything had changed beyond alteration, and the Ordinance of space-time had reached its ultimate limit…”

“3,333 years—that’s the space-time boundary for all star rings in this universe.”

“So, when we sealed you, it was both your mother and I. But when the time came to break your seal, only I remained.”

A low voice drifted through the world and Aurora’s footsteps stopped.

A vast sea of flowers entered Xu Qing’s vision.

It was a dreamlike sea, filled with countless vibrant and colorful orchids blooming in the desert.

Stunningly beautiful.

It was hard to imagine such a spectacle—an ocean of orchids thriving in the heart of the barren desert.

At the very least, when Xu Qing came here before, he hadn’t seen it.

It was as though this was a secret hidden in the depths of the desert.

As Xu Qing gazed out, he saw that the orchids took on a variety of beautiful forms and colors. Some resembled butterflies gracefully dancing, while others looked like cranes spreading their wings. Each bloom exuded a unique fragrance.

At that moment, as Xu Qing and the Aurora Immortal Lord arrived, rays of sunlight broke through the scattered clouds, casting a golden glow over the orchid sea. The light added a touch of mystery and romance to the scene.

With a gentle breeze, the sea of flowers swayed like a dream.

In the hazy distance, it seemed as if a celestial maiden stood in the flower sea, her gaze resting on the father and son.

A soft whisper echoed, and a tender smile appeared on her face.

Aurora Immortal Lord, seeing the flower sea and the familiar figure from his memory, also smiled.

As he smiled, he slowly walked to the edge of the flower sea, knelt down, and took out a handful of seeds from his pocket.

In this moment, he was not the future ruler of the Fifth Star Ring, nor the almighty Lord of Ten Thousand Immortals. He was simply a man lost in the memory of his late wife.

He planted those seeds in the desert.

They would definitely bloom.

“Your mother’s name has the word ‘Lan1’ in it, and she had a deep fondness for immortal orchids.”

“These flowers cannot bear the touch of divine aura. It causes them to wither quickly… Yet, in our small world, even though it was filled with anomalous substances, this flower never vanished.”

“Even when it wilted, it always bloomed again.”

“We once dreamed that when the war ended, when everything became peaceful and beautiful, we would find a place to plant immortal orchids, until they covered the land like a sea, blooming year after year without end.”

“All these years, every time I came over, I would plant some.”

” Gradually, it truly became a sea.”

Aurora Immortal Lord smiled and muttered. He gently patted the place where the seeds were buried.

After that, he sat at the side and looked at the sea of flowers without saying anything else.

However, the smile on his face became even gentler.

Xu Qing looked at all of this and silently walked to the Aurora Immortal Lord’s side. He also sat down and accompanied him to look at the sea of flowers.

Time slowly passed.

When the sun started setting, Aurora Immortal Lord spoke softly.

“You’ve grown up and are about to get married.”

“In the future, when I am busy, you must remember to come here each year and plant orchids for your mother.”

“Let there always be a sea of flowers here.”

Xu Qing had mixed feelings.

He knew that in a month, Aurora Immortal Lord wouldn’t be the only one to die. It would also include his host.

Hence, in the future, orchids were destined to not appear here.

Perhaps this was the reason why when he had traveled the desert before, he didn’t see any sea of flowers.

This sea of flowers had long withered with time.

However, he still nodded.

Aurora smiled and stroked Xu Qing’s head.

“Remember this…”

“Parents cannot accompany you throughout your entire life, and your children will not always be by your side. Only your Dao companion… that person is the only one who can stay with you for a lifetime.”

“So, protect her well. Don’t end up like me… losing the one you love.”

Aurora stood up and looked at Xu Qing.

“Do you remember the story I told you about the night when you were young?”

Xu Qing nodded and replied softly.

“When the night falls, I should not go to see you.”

This sentence was deeply engraved in the memories of this Young Lord.

In his memory, Aurora Immortal Lord had told him this more than once.

This reminded Xu Qing of the reflection under the ice lake…

In his memory, every time Aurora Immortal Lord appeared, it would be around dawn.

Aurora smiled and nodded, looking at the setting sun.

“It’s getting dark. Let’s go back.”

As he spoke, Aurora took a step forward.

The world became blurry.

At the next instant, the desert was gone, and the sea of flowers was gone.

Xu Qing’s figure appeared in the Junior Aurora Hall, in the exact spot where he had left earlier.

It was as if everything he had experienced along the way was nothing more than an illusion.

Aurora Immortal Lord was also gone.

Only the sky…

Previously, when Xu Qing left, it was the moment dawn broke.

Now, it was the moment night fell.

Night enveloped the land, and the bright moon rose into the sky.

…

At that moment, under the Immortal Palace, in a brightly lit mysterious catacomb.

Aurora Immortal Lord was moving forward step by step.

However, as he moved forward, the lights behind him would be extinguished one by one.

As night fell outside, the white clothes on his body were slowly invaded by the black color until they were completely dyed black.

The gentleness on his face was also replaced by malevolence and evil.

His body shook slightly but his footsteps were still very steady.

Finally, he walked step by step into the depths of the catacomb.

He stepped into a sealed cell.

The moment he entered, countless iron chains formed by runes appeared out of thin air and coiled around his entire body, sealing him.

Lights completely disappeared at this instant and the whole catacomb fell into darkness.

In this extremely dark space, only low groans and the intense pulling of the iron chains could be heard.

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