Outside Of Time

The sound of the rattle drum contained poison that filled the air, invading all things.

One could see irregular rings appearing in the void as though it had been corroded.

The wind howled, transforming the poison into black fog that spread in all directions.

The fourth prince stood in this poison mist and coldly looked at Xu Qing. The rattle-drum in his hand continued to shake and the fog churned violently like angry waves. There were also malevolent beast shadows that manifested and let out roars.

Among these beast shadows, some had bodies that were like bottles but were covered in eyes, some with ethereal and elusive hair-like forms, others resembling dragon-turtles with all-over spikes. There were also humanoid figures with flowers blooming at their brows.

And so on and so forth.

Every one of them was a venomous beast. They were already rare in this era, let alone the era Xu Qing was from.

Almost all of them were extinct creatures.

The instant they manifested, the fog erupted again and the poison in it was enhanced multiple times. In the end, it became a mixed poison that could invade all Spirit Repository and rot the secret repository furnace.

It then surged toward Xu Qing.

Xu Qing's expression didn't change much after seeing this. In fact, he even became calmer about this battle.

This was because he discovered that the fourth prince in front of him didn't seem to be as unfathomable as he thought.

The other party was indeed a heaven's chosen but there was a limit to his strength.

He also possessed the origin of an emperor-level cultivation art. As for this poison path… Xu Qing shook his head slightly.

His eyes were pitch-black as the Poison Restriction in his body fused into his eyes. He calmly glanced at the fog.

With this single glance, the colors of the sky changed, and a turbulent wind swept across the land. The surroundings distorted and the approaching poison fog shockingly dissipated before his eyes.

In this world, it wasn't that there wasn't a poison that could frighten Xu Qing. However, it was obvious that this fourth prince didn't have it.

Xu Qing's Poison Restriction was intrinsically different from poison in the conventional sense. It was a manifestation of anomalous substances, an outbreak of divine curse, and targeted the essence of life.

Compared to it, although the sound wave poison produced by the rattle drum was also strange, it was still not enough in terms of level.

With a single glance, the poison fog dissipated!

The expression of the fourth prince changed for the first time. His hand that was shaking the rattle-drum couldn't help but pause.

At the same time, Xu Qing's gaze penetrated the rapidly thinning poison fog and looked at the fourth prince.

With this glance, all the hairs on the fourth prince's body stood on end and the feeling of life-and-death crisis erupted in his mind. He wasn't ordinary either. Without any hesitation, he retreated and threw out the rattle drum in his hand. He then performed a series of hand seals and pointed.

Immediately, the rattle-drum that could be considered a precious treasure in the outside world shattered and exploded, forming an even denser poison and an even more heart-rending sound. Accompanied by the violent might contained in it, it exploded toward Xu Qing and obstructed him.

It was indeed effective.

Xu Qing could neutralize the poison of this drum but the energy formed by the self-destruction of this treasure ultimately caused him to stop in his tracks.

Using this time, the fourth prince had already retreated 10,000 feet away. When he appeared, his expression was gloomy and solemn. He had to admit that not only were the methods of the person in front of him similar to his but also stronger than his.

Killing intent flashed in the fourth prince's eyes as he decided to stop playing around and end this battle. He raised his right hand, performed a series of hand seals, and pointed toward his brows, with the fingertip suspended three inches above, not making contact.

"Bloodline, Underworld Curse!"

Following his incantation, numerous black lines resembling veins instantly appeared on his skin. Upon closer inspection, these lines were densely and varied in thickness, representing the blood vessels throughout his body.

At that moment, they swelled up and were moving on their own on his body. The black blood vessels on his face even formed a sinister ghost face.

As the fourth prince's finger landed and touched the ghost face, the ghost face instantly lit up like a lantern.

From afar, it really looked like a lantern!

This lantern fused with the fourth prince's face, looking extremely strange. The moment they fused, his aura became much more powerful than before.

When Xu Qing saw this, uneasiness rose in his heart. He used the poison gaze again while heading straight for the other party.

The fourth prince narrowed his eyes and retreated rapidly. As he performed a series of hand seals with his left hand, the rhinoceros manifested outside his body again, blocking the poison from reaching him. At the same time, with a wave of his hand, strands of hair appeared out of thin air and coiled around Xu Qing.

Xu Qing's gaze was cold, and he accelerated, moving much faster than before. Leaving afterimages in his wake, he disregarded everything as he charged toward the fourth prince.

This speed wasn't something the Spirit Repository could possess. It was achieved by Xu Qing after being trained by the heir for a long time.

The expression of the fourth prince changed again. He suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a white light at Xu Qing.

As the white light formed countless compartments that enveloped him, he hid his figure within them. The compartments rapidly overlapped and enveloped him layer by layer.

At the next instant, Xu Qing got close. The secret repository behind him manifested and a punch landed.

Everything shook, and thunder rumbled in the sky. Those compartments quickly collapsed and shattered into pieces that scattered in all directions.

However, this technique was profound. The figure of the fourth prince actually appeared in these hundreds of scattered compartments at the same time, and it was difficult to tell which was real.

Xu Qing's expression was gloomy. The shadow under his feet quickly spread out and heavenly demon bodies manifested in the surroundings, rapidly invading all the compartments and searching for the fourth prince's true body.

At the same time, the fourth prince in these compartments lifted his finger and placed it on his shoulder.

At the next moment, black blood vessels rapidly gathered on his shoulder and the second lantern was lit.

Next was his other shoulder, then his dantian, then his legs. In the end, they gathered on his heart.

All the hand seals were completed in an instant.

The seven underworld fire lanterns burned in the body of the fourth prince.

Every time he lit one, his aura would soar slightly.

With all of them lit, his body emitted terrifying energy.

Xu Qing's heavenly demon bodies and the shadow also spread to all the compartments at this moment, touching the true hiding place of the fourth prince.

Amidst the rumbling, the compartment exploded. The fourth prince stepped out and pointed down with the aura formed by his entire body burning.

The sky exploded and the void collapsed. The heavenly demon bodies that came into contact with the fourth prince were instantly torn apart.

"I underestimated you. Regardless of whether it's in your era, my time, or this realm, you… can be considered a peerless talent."

The fourth prince calmly spoke. He waved his right hand and the seven lights on his body swayed.

When Xu Qing saw this, an intense sense of danger rose in his heart. He couldn't help but stop in his tracks as a hint of solemnity manifested in his eyes.

He had never heard of this technique before. This wasn't a divine ability from his era but a taboo art that belonged to this era and arrived from the ruler, Li Zihua.

Among Li Zihua's children, only his fourth prince cultivated it successfully due to special reasons.

This taboo art was called… the Seven Lanterns Underworld Fire Curse!

The reason why it was called a taboo was because not only did this spell increase the user's strength greatly, but its greatest use was the curse!

This was a curse that would definitely kill!

Once the lanterns dimmed, the target would die!

The killing intent in the fourth prince's eyes was intense and he was about to continue speaking.

Xu Qing didn't understand this technique but he didn't like to waste his breath and didn't believe that the other party would say anything useful. At that moment, he sped over, wanting to force the fourth prince to use this trump card as soon as possible.

Seeing this, the fourth prince sneered. Following his will, Xu Qing's figure was reflected in the seven lanterns on his body.

It was as though Xu Qing's spirit was captured by them.

As Xu Qing got closer, one of the seven lanterns on the fourth prince's body instantly dimmed.

When this lantern was extinguished, Xu Qing's internal organs felt intense pain. He spat out a mouthful of blood and his body aged. His clothes were covered in dirt and the fire of his life dimmed. As his expression changed, the fourth prince extinguished the second lantern.

Traces of cracks manifested on Xu Qing's body and a large amount of blood flowed out. His hair fell off, his cultivation level decreased sharply, and a feeling of certain death surfaced in Xu Qing's heart.

After that, the third lantern, fourth lantern, fifth lantern… In the blink of an eye, six of the seven lanterns were extinguished.

Xu Qing fell from the sky. When he landed on the ground, his entire body was covered in sweat. Moreover, this sweat contained intense corrosion, melting half of his body.

The indescribable intense pain caused Xu Qing's expression to turn gloomy. The intent of death permeated his entire body, accompanied by an extremely strong stench.

His mind also rose uncontrollably with confusion, anxiety, fear, and various other unpleasant emotions.

The fourth prince looked down from above and serenely spoke.

"Although you have peerless talent, ants are still ants in the end."

With that, he extinguished the last lantern in his body.

As the lights disappeared, the aura on Xu Qing's body suddenly extinguished.

"It's finished."

The fourth prince turned around and was about to leave. However, at the next instant, his expression suddenly changed. He abruptly turned his head and looked at the place where Xu Qing's corpse was. What he witnessed was five life lanterns manifesting there.

The life lanterns were like a sundial and the gnomon needles were pointing in the same direction. At this moment, the needles shifted anti-clockwise, instantly reversing the time on Xu Qing's body.

In the blink of an eye, Xu Qing's body rose into the air. All the death curses on his body directly dissipated and his melted body instantly recovered. When he arrived at the place he had been in the air, he was completely unscathed!

It was his life lantern Sundial's divine ability!

"You!" Witnessing this scene with his own eyes, the pupils of the fourth prince contracted and great waves stirred in his heart.

"You have a ruler's bloodline?"

Xu Qing took a deep breath and stared at the enemy in front of him. At that moment earlier, he had experienced death. If it wasn't for the fact that he had used the Sundials' divine ability at the last moment, he would have died.

The process of his death allowed him to have a more detailed understanding of this seven lanterns spell.

"This spell is very good, very good…"

Xu Qing licked his lips and articulated softly.

As he spoke, morning glow erupted from his body. Rainbow light dispersed out and enveloped the surroundings. At the same time, this light was speedily changing. There seemed to be seven dark fire lanterns vaguely forming inside.

He was simulating!

With the morning glow's ability to imitate all techniques and spells, he was simulating the Seven Lanterns Underworld Fire Curse!