Outside Of Time

The moment he saw this rag doll, Xu Qing was expressionless. However, waves gradually rose in his heart…

He recognized this rag doll.

It was a birthday gift his brother had given him when he was young in Peerless City.

In that calamity, he, who was only six or seven years old, hugged this rag doll and cried in the blood rain, calling for his father, mother, brother…

After that, he fainted.

When he woke up, the rag doll was gone.

Today, it appeared here.

The meaning contained in it…

"The purpose of him sending this item is for me to think…"

Xu Qing remained silent.

There were some things that he was also confused about. For example, the memories that appeared in the purple crystal in the battle with the Crimson Goddess in the Moon Offering Region that didn't match his memories…

In the scene, the palm that landed on the top of his head slapped down without any hesitation.

However, in his memories, no palm appeared. Instead, he had fainted on his own.

Another thing was this rag doll that had disappeared in the past had now appeared, stitched back together.

Why was it torn?

After a long time, Xu Qing closed his eyes.

He didn't take the rag doll and left it at the gate…

Time flowed by. The night wind blew over, stirring up the dust on the ground and scattering it on the rag doll.

The cold in the wind invaded from all directions, causing the rag doll that had been stitched together to seem to be trembling.

Just like the trembling body back then who sat curled up in the cold in the slums.

A day passed.

When there was only one more day left until the ancestral worship, all the nobles and ministers took a deep bath in their respective residences.

This was the ritual of ancestral worship.

Regardless of whether they had the qualifications to follow the Human Emperor to the Ancient Sovereign Planet, they had to do this.

This was because ancestral worship was divided into internal and external aspects.

Internally, it was formal within the Ancient Sovereign Planet, while externally, it was a show of respect.

Moreover, they were required to wait six hours outside of the Imperial Ancestral Temple before the ancestral worship, until the moment of the sunrise.

The Imperial Ancestral Temple didn't exist on normal days.

Only six hours before the ancestral worship would it appear in a specific area outside the palace, as if emerging from the passage of time.

16 hours later, Xu Qing left his mansion in the dark.

After stepping past the rag doll, he paused for a moment and lowered his head to stare.

A long time later, Xu Qing retracted his gaze and left.

He calculated the time and arrived in front of the Imperial Ancestral Temple the instant it appeared.

Although the sky was pitch-black, at this moment, colorful lights still mixed in.

A vast and gorgeous temple was revealed, standing in the east of the palace.

Xu Qing wasn't the first to arrive. To be precise, everyone had arrived at almost the same time.

As a Heavenly King, Xu Qing naturally stood at the front.

King Zhen Yan was beside him.

Behind the Heavenly Kings were the Heavenly Marquises, followed by all the ministers. There were thousands of them but it was completely silent.

All their gazes were gathered at the front.

There, six figures appeared from the void.

They were the Human Emperor and the princes who had obtained the qualifications to accompany him!

Today, the Human Emperor's clothes were unprecedentedly luxurious and grand.

Behind him were the Eldest Prince, Fourth Prince, Fifth Prince, and Twelfth Prince.

Although Ning Yan had been in closed-door cultivation, on this day, no matter how important his cultivation was, he had to attend.

Regardless of whether it was him or the other princes, their clothes were different from their usual formal wear. They were all extraordinarily gorgeous and ritualistic.

However, what surprised everyone was that beside the Twelfth Prince, Ning Yan, there was actually another prince.

That was the Tenth Prince!

To be able to stand here, he was naturally specially allowed by the Human Emperor to participate. However, before this, there were no imperial decrees regarding it.

However, since this matter concerned a prince, the others couldn't say much about it. Although Xu Qing could ask with his identity as the Grand Tutor, given the current situation, he had no intention of inquiring either.

Tens of breaths later, under everyone's gazes, the Human Emperor's gaze swept past the ministers.

At that moment, the Human Emperor seemed to be different from usual.

In the past, there was no color in his eyes at all. But now… there seemed to be some waves in them.

It was as though he was taking one last look at the ministers, at the mountains and rivers, at the human race, and at the statue of the Great Emperor in the distance.

After that, the Human Emperor took a deep breath. Regardless of whether it was his expression or his eyes, they returned to their usual state and he turned around.

As the five princes lowered their heads and stepped back, he looked at the Imperial Ancestral Temple in the distance and walked toward it step by step.

It was only when he had walked more than 100 feet away that the five princes behind him followed solemnly.

In the last six hours, according to the etiquette of paying respects to the ancestor, the Human Emperor had to sit cross-legged in the Ancestral Temple and meditate, waiting for time to pass. The princes who were allowed to pay respects to the ancestor with him had to accompany him and kneel in the Ancestral Temple, waiting for the sun to rise.

The interior and exterior of the Imperial Ancestral Temple were completely silent during these six hours.

Even the Imperial City was incomparably quiet at this moment.

As time passed bit by bit, the night sky slowly turned lighter. It was as though flames were burning on the horizon, forming a sea of fire that burned the night.

At the next instant, the redness spread, as though a giant that could support the world lifted the veil of the night sky.

Multicolored light shot in all directions, blotting out the sky and covering the earth, scattering onto the human world.

"The time for the ceremony has arrived!"

At this moment, an impassioned voice echoed throughout the world.

Outside the Imperial Ancestral Temple, everyone from the Heavenly Kings to the ministers knelt down.

"Sovereign Planet, awaken!"

Accompanying this sound were waves of majestic bell chimes, forming a solemn sound.

In the multicolored light in the sky, the dragon formed by the fortune of the human race swam in the light and circled the sky of the Imperial City, breathing out waves of auspicious clouds.

At the same time, the figures of the human ancestors also formed in the sky and bowed in the direction of the palace.

They naturally weren't bowing to the current Human Emperor but… the Ancient Sovereign Planet.

At the next instant, the Ancient Sovereign Planet shone. With a rumbling sound, it rose into the air. It grew larger and larger, and a sense of shock rose in everyone's minds.

The dense fog that originally existed on this star churned intensely and actually transformed into seven colors, turning into a rainbow that spread toward the Ancestral Temple.

Finally, they were connected to the Ancestral Temple!

The rainbow fog formed a path, a bridge.

The Human Emperor in the Ancestral Temple walked out and rose into the air. He was the first to step onto the rainbow fog bridge and walk at the front.

The five princes followed from 100 feet behind him with their heads lowered.

After that, King Zhen Yan's eyes carried a deep look as he walked forward. The group of Heavenly Kings stepped onto the rainbow fog bridge at the same time.

Xu Qing's expression was solemn from the start.

Behind them was the Heavenly Marquises. The ministers were divided into many groups according to their levels. There was a 100-foot gap between them as they marched onto the rainbow bridge.

From afar, thousands of people moved forward silently. With the Human Emperor in the lead, they slowly approached the Ancient Sovereign Planet.

At this moment, the commoners in the capital and many cultivators who weren't qualified to come to the Imperial Ancestral Temple lifted their heads one after another and looked at this incomparably grand scene of the human race.

At the same time, a voice broke the silence of the world and said one name after another.

"King Zhen Yan, King Zhen Cang…"

These names continued to ring out as everyone on the rainbow fog bridge moved forward.

Not all the Heavenly Kings, Heavenly Marquises, and the ministers were called out.

When the voice shouted the 99th name, it paused.

"All of you above have obtained the qualifications to enter the Sovereign Planet and witness the ancestral worship ceremony."

When this sentence echoed, it was the moment the Human Emperor's figure reached the end of the fog bridge. He didn't stop at all and stepped into the Ancient Sovereign Planet.

After that, the five princes marched over one after another, followed by all the nobles and ministers whose names had been called out.

When all the qualified people, including Xu Qing, walked out of the fog bridge and stepped onto the Ancient Sovereign Planet, the Ancient Sovereign Planet trembled. Fog churned inside and one could vaguely see a vast altar rising on this planet.

At the same time, the array formation of the human capital was also activated with all its might. It focused on protecting this place.

As for those who didn't have the qualifications to enter the Ancient Sovereign Planet, they stayed on the fog bridge and bowed solemnly.

They would witness the ancestral worship together.

As for the altar that rose on the Ancient Sovereign Planet, it grew larger and clearer. Finally, it rose into the air above the Ancient Sovereign Planet.

It became the altar of heaven!

"This… is the Ancient Sovereign Planet."

Under the heavenly altar, all the qualified people who had stepped in appeared. Xu Qing instinctively looked around and muttered.

The first thing he sensed was the incomparably dense power of fortune and the fluctuations of the imperial bloodline everywhere.

At this moment, the color of the world changed and the wind surged.

Other than fortune and the fluctuations of the imperial bloodline, there was also astonishing spiritual energy.

Its density was so high that it transformed into spiritual streams that flowed in the void of the Ancient Sovereign Planet. They were like spirit dragons that were incomparably dazzling.

However, Xu Qing didn't have time to observe further. The ancestral worship ritual had already begun.

The voice continued.

"Human Emperor, don the armor."

Ancestral worship was the Human Emperor's ceremony. Hence, under everyone's gazes, the Human Emperor walked forward. Multicolored light gathered from all directions and formed a set of rough hemp robes on his body.

"Since ancient times, emperors received the commands of the immortals, ruling over the world. Thus, take the crown, leave the shoes of worry-free, signifying the return to heaven and earth."

The voice rang out again.

With shut eyes, the Emperor's imperial crown levitated above his head, and his worry-free shoes transformed into nothingness.

An illusory phantom gathered from the fortune and received them with both hands.

With this, the Emperor had no obstruction above his head and no impediment beneath his feet, taking steps forward.

"Ignite the incense of humanity's fortune and honor the ancestor."

Before the Emperor, the fortune of humanity converged, forming a colossal tripod. Three joss sticks surfaced out of thin air and fell into the Emperor's hands, which he solemnly placed into the tripod.

At the next instant, the joss sticks were ignited and smoke rose into the air.

The sky rumbled and clouds churned. There was also lightning flickering and it was as though many illusory doors had appeared.

These doors floated in the world, as though they pierced through various alternate space-time worlds.

At that moment, black gas emitted from the doors, as though some inexplicable existence had sensed the fragrance of fortune and wanted to transform into demons and ghosts to break through the doors.

However, as these doors rumbled and trembled, even more terrifying auras suddenly spread out from the depths of the Ancient Sovereign Planet under the heavenly altar.

Their appearance was incomparably domineering as they moved in the surroundings, forming a pressure that was as vast as the sea. There were also waves of indistinct murmurs that echoed in all directions.

These murmurs contained a shocking intent that shook the world.

Other than the location of the heavenly altar, everything in the surroundings, including the illusory doors, collapsed and shattered under this terrifying muttering, turning into spirit rain that scattered down and nourished the planet.

This scene caused Xu Qing, who was attending the ancestral worship ceremony for the first time, to feel waves in his heart.

As for the Human Emperor, after he lit the joss sticks, his footsteps didn't stop at all. He followed the steps in front of him and marched unhurriedly toward the highest point of the altar.

Behind him were the five princes, including Ning Yan. Each of them also had clothes made of thick hemp transformed from fortune. They took off their crowns and removed their shoes, following barefooted.

They marched onto the altar.