Beyond the Timescape-Chapter 1131: The True Ego Emerges, Creating Space-Time!

“These are the eight extremes!”

Xu Qing opened his eyes. The moment his soul emerged from the broken crystal in the image, his mind and heart filled with understanding.

Thinking back to when he had gained enlightenment of the Eight Extreme Daos, he remembered the white-haired cultivator he had seen in space-time. That cultivator’s Eight Extreme Daos were different from his own. But the five elements were the same, and had been used to create dharmic likenesses of himself.[1]

As of now, Xu Qing had gained reincarnated lives to make five elements bodies. And the five elements bodies had become likenesses of natural law. In that manner the five extremes of the five elements reached the highest level of completion.

As such thoughts swirled in Xu Qing’s mind, five dharmic likenesses appeared around him.

The first clone was an old man wearing a government uniform. He held an iron sword in his hand, and his expression was dignified and awe-inspiring. Honor. Power. Military strength. Such things gathered, becoming the life force of metal. And that metal became a dharmic likeness. It was none other than Prime Minister Xu Jinfa!

Next came the second clone, the businessman Xu Hong. He wore expensive clothing and had a kind face. Surrounding him was a black river that swept in all directions, pulsing with astonishing power. The life force of water became the dharmic likeness of water!

Next came the third clone, who was the bandit Xu Shan. He was clearly of the jianghu, with a wide grin, standing atop an enormous tree in a forest. He had one hand pressed against his head, ferocious eyes, and a wild expression. A strong life force of wood sent ripples into the void as the dharmic likeness of wood appeared!

Finally were the fourth and fifth clones.

The fourth was the doctor Xu Yu, who held a volcano in his hand. It sent out raging fire that could destroy the world, which covered him in the life force of fire. The fire became a dharmic likeness of fire.

The fifth clone was the commoner Xu Kun. He had a body that seemed like it was made of countless grains of sand and dust. It was very heavy, and the moment it appeared, the void trembled. The life force of earth was the foundation, and thus the dharmic likeness of earth appeared.

Five likenesses from the Eight Extreme Daos appeared. Their auras surged, sending out immense pressure that was equal to that of Xu Qing’s true form. Xu Qing turned to look at them. The five likenesses looked back. More enlightenment flooded into him.

The principles of mutual augmentation and suppression of the five elements form the cycle of reincarnation. Can reincarnation be the eighth extreme...?

After a moment of thought, he shook his head.

Reincarnation is a mysterious thing, but there’s another dao to pick. Something that contains reincarnation but also surpasses reincarnation. And that is what I originally selected for my eighth extreme!

Xu Qing’s eyes shone with determination as he cast aside the idea of using reincarnation as one of the daos. His eyes fell on... the sixth and seventh of the ten pieces of the broken crystal.

They were space and time!

His soul moved, heading directly toward the fragments that represented space and time. It entered. And then...

Reincarnation formed. Living beings were born. Karma descended. The timescape shifted.

***

I’m looking. I just don’t know what I’m looking for. It seems like this is my mission, because I’m not complete. Maybe I exist, maybe I don’t.

I exist because I exist everywhere within the starry sky, the world, the living beings, and all the people. Living things are constantly moving and changing. There is order. That proves I exist. And my will is what causes the people to have perception. I am like a river flowing into the unknown. Flowing in between many things and events. Flowing through the past of the living people, through their present, and through their future. I even affect the stars and the universe. Whether in the dark of night or the light of day, whether in reincarnation or karma, whether in natural laws or magical laws, I am there. If I am silent, everything is still. If I rise up, the epochs fluctuate.

But at the same time, I don’t exist. And that is because I can be felt but not truly seen. In fact, in many cases, I only exist in the mind. I am believed to be a beginning, an unknown start. It is said that before then, there was nothing. Therefore, it is believed that nothing before me had any meaning.

After living things came into existence, there was me, and that gave meaning to me.

Yet others believe that I don’t actually exist within the natural laws of the universe. That I’m simply a concept formed in the minds of the people, something that they use to describe things moving quickly or slowly. Even more people think that I’m an illusion created by the people.

Therefore, there are always people trying to decide if I really exist or not. They try to sense me. To explore me. To contact me.

But I actually don’t care what people believe. I don’t care if I exist or not. Because what they want, without exception, is to control me.

As a result, I have many names. Some people call me ‘time.’ Some people call me ‘hour.’ Some people call me ‘minute.’ And there are many, many more. But those are all names made up by them. Not me.[2]

But I don’t care. I’ve been searching. Searching for something that I’m not sure exists. I used to think that during this boring, fruitless search, I wouldn’t encounter anything noteworthy.

But I run into some people. Some very special people. They are very strong. So strong that they can see me. So strong that we become friends.

There is one who would chat with me sometimes, and asks me if he picked a good-looking flower.[3]

There is one who sits in a boat in front of me, sighing softly.[4]

There is one who asks me what predestination is.[5]

There is one who wants to give me a promissory note.[6]

But the one who accompanies me most often is a person who likes to wear black clothes. I frequently sense him in front of me, staring into nothing. He, like me, watches all the living beings, and observes the unbounded nature of everything. At one point, he reaches out to affect everything, returning it all to the past, to restart everything. Then again, and again after that.... Countless restarts. I didn’t really understand. But then he tells me that he is bringing his wife back to life. I wish him well.[7]

Eventually, they all disappear. I’m left alone, flowing onward. Without end. Searching. Always searching.

Eventually I see a butterfly. The butterfly says that its name is Harmonius Morus Alba.[8]

Actually, the butterfly had appeared before in the past, but I never paid attention. This time, the butterfly flies right up to me. It tells me about something called the kosmos, which is constantly searching for the timescape.[9]

The kosmos and I have encountered each other many times. We have come face-to-face many times. We have failed to meet countless times. In the end... the kosmos understands that the two of us are one.[10]

When I exist, it exists. When I am exterminated, it is exterminated. And yet, the two of us are like ink and water that can never truly meet. Neither can find the other.

Only the butterfly can see it and see me. And thus, only the butterfly can be the fate that governs our encounters.

The butterfly asks me to step onto its back, because the kosmos is also on it. I do. And then... I finally see the kosmos. The kosmos sees me.

And then....

The timescape swells, living beings spread, the butterfly comes, the kosmos appears.

At that moment, the connection between space and time is complete. It forms space-time!

It is....

The kosmos stands, the timescape rises, the true ego emerges, creating space-time. [11]

Xu Qing’s mind awoke. The eighth extreme had appeared within him. Deafening rumbling echoed from inside.

***

After a long time passed, Xu Qing opened his eyes. The moment he did, everything within his field of view rippled and distorted. Nothing was clear.

But when he focused his mind on looking, things became clear. Within his thoughts, he could see the past, present, and future of all beings. He could see their inner nature. It was all clear and there to see. From life to death. From beginning to end.

Astonishingly, every living being in reincarnation had countless versions, which were the overlapping images of time and space. They all became transparent. Nothing could obstruct the view of them. He could see their inner nature, their bones, their souls, and their reincarnation. It was even possible to see everything in their bags of holding.

It was like omniscience.

He could even control the thoughts of the living beings, ensuring that they would make choices that conformed to his wishes. He could also see the space-time formed by the countless choices being made.

It was similar to fate.

It felt like looking down at a sketchbook that he could modify at will. And he also got the sense that his will could be sent to anywhere and everywhere. It didn’t matter if it was the past or the future. Anytime. Any space. His will could pierce through all of space-time.

Omnipotence.

As that sensation struck him, he looked up, his mind spinning. Everything was clear now.

He saw the fire outside of the scroll painting. He saw the pill cauldron. He saw the minor world, and the city outside of the minor world. He saw the Fifth Star Ring that contained it. He saw all living beings. He saw all the people. He could tamper with it all.

Simultaneously, as the red aurora in the sky roiled, Xu Qing saw twelve figures. All of them appeared at the same time in the aurora, and they were looking at him. High above them, Xu Qing saw eleven majestic immortal palaces, within which were figures of radiant light. Further above that... was the most paramount entity in the Fifth Star Ring, seated cross-legged.

Next, he heard a voice.

“Canon is the root of the immortal, and foundation of killing gods. If you wish to grasp canon, you must first defend canon!”

A tremor passed through Xu Qing. He felt power so terrifying it was difficult to put into words, sweeping toward him, from all directions, from the void, and from all of the thirty-six higher star rings.

It reached him.

Instantly, Xu Qing truly understood. He knew why the supposedly omnipotent immortals actually were not omnipotent in the higher star rings. It was because those who wielded canon first had to defend canon!

Clearly, this type of thing normally would not have happened so soon to him. The reason was that his eighth extreme... had caused canon to be born in the moment it came to exist!

It was his own canon! The canon of space-time!

Xu Qing understood instantly. As he retracted his vision, the eighth extreme that had formed within him surged with mountain-toppling, sea-draining force. Rumbling sounds echoed out constantly within Xu Qing as an eighth world formed.

It was a world of space-time!

***

In the Dao Immortal Sect in the west, in the vast fields, something happened to the two poisonous plants in front of Poison Monarch. The one that had been wilted and drooping suddenly grew strong. It rose from death into life, reaching the most extreme level of life force possible.

And then, right in front of Poison Monarch, it just vanished. The other plant was now withered.

A bright light gleamed in Poison Monarch’s eyes, and he was breathing heavily. “You are the karma I’ve been waiting for!”

1. The scene with the Eight Extreme Daos was in chapter 1079. The white-haired cultivator is Wang Lin from Renegade Immortal. ☜

2. To be specific, the ‘hour’ and ‘minute’ here are actually the traditional/ancient Chinese timekeeping words used during the night watch. They are ‘geng’ and ‘dian.’ If you want to dig into the historical usage of those words, here’s a link to the Wikipedia article about it. I’m using hour/minute as translation choices because it makes more sense in English, and the specific time periods involved in the geng/dian system are not important in the context of the story. Plus, given how many people don’t read the footnotes, I prefer to keep the main text as easy to understand as possible. ☜

3. Chinese commenter consensus says that this is... Bai Xiaochun, of course. Readers of A Will Eternal will know why. ☜

4. Chinese commenter consensus says that this is... Old Man Extermination. Because of the boat, obviously. ☜

5. This is clearly Su Ming from Pursuit of the Truth. It’s obvious because Su Ming’s name literally means “predestination.” So his name is basically outright stated here. ☜

6. There is only one Er Gen character known for giving out promissory notes. Do I really need to say who? Read his story here. ☜

7. This is obviously Wang Lin from Renegade Immortal. ☜

8. Harmonius Morus Alba is a butterfly from Pursuit of the Truth. The translation choice comes from one of the characters being the character for mulberry tree, while the other being a character related to mutuality or, I guess, harmony. It’s a bizarre translation from what I can tell, but maybe there are reasons for the translation choice that I’m unaware of. I honestly have no idea how I would translate it, but definitely not in this way. In any case, just as with everything else from the other novels, I’m trying to maintain continuity with the existing translation choices. ☜

9. The Chinese term I’m rendering as ‘kosmos’ basically just refers to ‘everything,’ in other words, the ‘universe.’ If you look it up in dictionaries or MTL, it will be rendered as something like “the earth, the whole earth, the universe.” I’m using kosmos with a K to distinguish it from cosmos with a C, since I use “cosmos” for another set of characters that’s not related to these. This term is very unique. It does not connect to any of the author’s other works, and in fact, has never been mentioned in any of them. ☜

10. Another point to clarify is that ‘the kosmos’ is obviously being treated like a person here. However, the author uses the non-gender-specific “it” pronoun for it, which seems to indicate it’s somewhat impersonal, and not truly a person. That said, it’s conceivable that “the kosmos” should really be “Kosmos,” as if kosmos is a name for a person. My instincts, and Madam Deathblade’s instincts, are that it’s NOT a person. However, if it later comes to light that the kosmos can speak and think and is basically an actual person, I might come back to this part to capitalize kosmos. I could ask the author about this, but I’m something like 70% confident in my choice, and I don’t want to bug him unless something is really, really impossible for me to make an educated guess. ☜

11. The wordplay here is slightly cooler in Chinese, because the word for “time” has two characters and the word for “space” has two characters. If you take one character from each, then put them together, it makes “space-time.” ☜