[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-beyond-the-passage-of-time":3,"chapter-beyond-the-passage-of-time-beyond-the-passage-of-time-chapter-2":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Beyond the Passage of Time",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2344442,4583,"Chapter 2: Heterogeneity","beyond-the-passage-of-time-chapter-2",2,"\u003Cp>\"If it is a living person, it might really be related to the purple light... but it could also be a trap.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Qing’s eyes revealed a look of contemplation, and he began to ponder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During these days in the ruined city, he had deeply learned that those existences contaminated by the god’s aura and transformed into strange beasts were each incomparably ferocious and possessed immense strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But perhaps because the forbidden zone had not yet fully formed, these strange beasts mostly slept during the day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unless, like when he obtained the bamboo slip last time, he intruded into the outer perimeter of their sleeping grounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Otherwise, as long as he was careful in his daily life, there was no major issue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to them, Xu Qing was more wary of living people, because sometimes the human heart is more treacherous than fierce beasts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So after thinking it over, his gaze slowly turned cold and sharp; regardless of whether it was a living person or a trap, he was prepared to go to that area once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was just that when he went, he needed to be fully prepared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of this, Xu Qing gripped the cultivation bamboo slip in his hand tightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The changes in his body from these few days of cultivation gave him some confidence, and the content of the bamboo slip—aside from the cultivation technique, the introduction to cultivation—could not help but surface in his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cultivation was inherited from the ancient ages before the arrival of the god’s remnant face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although it had changed today, it generally still continued the former system.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was divided into Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, and Nascent Soul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for what came after Nascent Soul, perhaps the realm was too high, so the bamboo slip did not record it, but it clearly pointed out the helplessness of a cultivator’s cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the god’s aura invaded the spiritual energy, causing the spiritual energy to be contaminated, this contamination was like a deadly poison to all things.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one knew when it started, but everyone began calling the god’s aura \"heterogeneity.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Qing knew very well that the icy cold he felt when cultivating earlier was actually because the spiritual energy he inhaled was mixed with heterogeneity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once this heterogeneity accumulated to a certain degree within the body, it would cause the cultivator to undergo alienation, either dying suddenly and becoming blood mist, or transforming into a mindless strange beast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the area the god looked at when opening its eyes would see a sudden surge in the concentration of heterogeneity, which was actually just accelerating this change instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cultivation carries danger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if one does not cultivate, in this end-earth world filled with the god’s aura contamination, people’s lifespans are generally reduced, and malignant diseases occur frequently, as if living in a Nine-Nether purgatory, with almost no one able to have a good end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, cultivation became the only path after having no other choice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, for countless years, people evolved generations of cultivation methods based on the inheritance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What is circulated today is that while absorbing spiritual energy, one uses a cultivation technique to separate the heterogeneity mixed within the spiritual energy and compress it into a certain location in the body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This location is called the alienation point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, the ratio of separating heterogeneity became an important standard for distinguishing the quality of cultivation techniques.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And almost all high-separation-ratio techniques are controlled by large factions or families; they are their important resources. On this point, regardless of whether the god has arrived or not, it is actually the same.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And according to the different cultivation techniques practiced and the different degrees of separating heterogeneity, the areas where alienation points exist also differ.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But regardless, as long as one cultivates, there will be heterogeneity, and alienation points will slowly form.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And alienation points are theoretically irreversible; although they can be resolved through some elixirs, it treats the symptoms but not the root cause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the method to completely purify alienation points, the bamboo slip also mentioned it once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end-earth world, besides Nanhuangzhou, there exists a more majestic continent named Wanggu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That is where the origin of the human race lies, and although it is also within the god’s aura contamination, it seems they have already found a way to completely purify it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But obviously, this method cannot be quantified and can only be enjoyed by extremely noble people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ordinary cultivators can look at it but cannot hope for it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the low-level rogue cultivators who make up the majority, it is even less possible for them to obtain it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the techniques of rogue cultivators are mostly very low in the degree of separation, so not only is cultivation difficult, but the risk of alienation is also greater.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though the risks of cultivation are so great, for most people, the figures of cultivators are still common.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, Xu Qing; he knew that he could now also be considered a rogue cultivator.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although according to the records on the bamboo slip, every cultivator in the end-earth world is walking on a difficult and dangerous road of no return, just like a mortal swimming toward the deep sea, rushing toward that unreachable other shore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet often, before they have even seen the legendary other shore, they have already died of exhaustion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Xu Qing, who grew up in the slums, knew deeply that a single conflict or a single illness could make a person lose their life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So rather than worrying about future alienation, it is better to worry about whether I will still be alive tomorrow.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Qing muttered, touched the scar on his chest, and looked at the sky outside the gap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, it seemed not far from dawn outside, and the roars and shrill sounds had also diminished a lot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If the blood rain continues and I still haven't found the purple light, I will have to consider leaving to find medicinal herbs in other cities.\" Xu Qing lowered his head to look at his wound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because of the permeation of the god’s aura and the continuation of the blood rain, almost all items in the city were severely contaminated, including medicinal herbs, and resources were very scarce.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Qing raised his hand and pressed on the scar on his chest; some blood seeped out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His complexion was a bit pale; he took a deep breath, took off the shirt inside his fur coat, wrapped it around his back to bind his wound, then gathered his spirits and waited silently for dawn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not long after, the roars and shrill sounds outside decreased even more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Until they completely disappeared, Xu Qing noticed through the gap that the sky outside was already beginning to brighten.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to his past experience, it was possible to go out at this time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he did not move immediately; instead, he stood up and stretched his somewhat stiff body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Until a wave of warmth arose, he moved the stones and debris blocking the gap, and with the help of the faint light coming from outside, he opened his leather bag and tidied it up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A dagger full of rust was tied to his lower leg.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That pitch-black iron spike was placed in the most accessible position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was also a snake head, which he had wrapped in linen cloth; he carefully opened it to check, then cautiously put it away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After doing this, Xu Qing closed his eyes, and after a few breaths, he opened them abruptly; his eyes had been replaced by calmness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He quickly crawled out of the gap and paused at the exit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After vigilantly checking all around and confirming there was no danger, Xu Qing dashed out abruptly, arriving in the outside world as the sky gradually brightened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sped forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the blood rain was constant and the clouds were dense, the dawn here could not see the sun, nor would there be strong sunlight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dim morning light was like a seriously ill old man covered in age spots, and that turbid gaze seemed to still retain the frost of the night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the breath exhaled turned into the morning wind, blowing the smell of death; it was very cold, very chilly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If one had not warmed up, one would involuntarily shiver all over when blown by the wind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But for Xu Qing, his body still retained the previous warmth, so he was not greatly affected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, his speed did not decrease as he headed straight for the area where he had seen the suspected living person yesterday.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking from afar, in the empty city, Xu Qing’s figure was like a leopard, leaping over broken walls and ruins, moving like flowing water without the slightest pause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And accompanying him was a flock of birds flying across the sky, but their position was very high, making them difficult to catch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While speeding, Xu Qing looked up at the birds in the sky and licked his lips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He did not know the reason, but after the god opened its eyes, all living things were contaminated and almost all died, including beasts, yet only birds survived in the greatest numbers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And these birds were the focus of his hunting to satisfy his hunger during this period.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, although birds were also trapped in the blood rain, they seemed to be able to instinctively find some safe shelters, such as Xu Qing’s cave, which he had discovered by following the tracks of birds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These shelters were actually not absolutely safe, just relatively speaking, they seemed easier to be ignored by those strange beasts and oddities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Qing had discovered two such places during this time; one was his stone cave, and the other was outside the City Lord’s Mansion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But at this moment, he only scanned the sky and then withdrew his gaze, locking onto a direction in the city, getting closer and closer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, Xu Qing approached the area he had seen yesterday; he did not go over directly, but circled around to find a high point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After cautiously climbing up, he lay down, motionless, his eyes narrowed to avoid revealing any light as much as possible, and he slowly lowered his head to look over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At a glance, the pupils in Xu Qing’s eyes contracted; he saw that person from yesterday again!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other party was sitting leaning against a ruined wall, dressed neatly, with normal skin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most importantly... his demeanor, his body, everything about him was exactly the same as what Xu Qing had seen yesterday.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was as if the other party had not moved an inch for the entire night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was extremely unreasonable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the other party were a living person, the dangers existing in the city at night could not have turned a blind eye to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the other party were a dead person, this uncontaminated corpse would be the best food for those strange beasts, so it would likewise be impossible for it to exist until now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Qing was silent; after pondering in his heart, he lay there motionless. Having grown up in the slums, he did not lack patience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And so, under his careful gaze, time slowly passed, and until noon had passed, that person remained motionless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Qing, who had already waited for three hours, pondered and then gently raised his right hand; a pebble was gripped in his hand and shot out toward the place where the other party was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This pebble was very fast and had considerable impact; when it landed on the figure at the ruins, it made a \"bang\" sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The figure swayed accordingly and actually fell to the side like a corpse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the moment he fell, a wisp of purple light was revealed on the ground where he had been sitting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment he saw the purple light, a sharp glint appeared in Xu Qing’s eyes, and his breathing became rapid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had been searching for these days; what he was looking for was the purple light he had once seen descending into the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, he forcibly suppressed the urge to go over immediately and waited with difficulty for a while longer; after confirming there was no danger, he dashed out abruptly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His speed was so fast that he almost erupted with all his strength; his whole person was like a hunting hawk, heading straight for where the purple light was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After arriving at high speed, he grabbed the purple light, and his figure retreated and distanced himself without the slightest hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The whole process was extremely fast; it was not until he had retreated more than ten feet away that Xu Qing stopped, panting, and looked at the object emitting purple light that he was holding in his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a purple crystal, crystal clear, possessing a dazzling beauty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Qing’s heart beat faster; when he looked up, he saw that fallen corpse, which seemed to have lost the protection of the purple light, and at this moment, its clothes were visibly corroding, and its skin instantly turned blue-black.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This scene made Xu Qing instinctively grip the purple crystal in his hand even tighter, and he turned to run at full speed toward his burrow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After running for a short while, Xu Qing’s footsteps suddenly faltered, his expression filled with confusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He lowered his head to unfasten his fur coat and looked at his bandaged chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no more blood seeping out from there; instead, a sensation of itching began to emerge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed, and he tore open the tattered clothing covering his wound; when he looked at the injury, his mind was violently shaken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He clearly remembered that when he checked it in the early morning, the wound had not yet healed and had even blackened further, but now...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scar on his chest had actually healed by more than half, and at the edges, only a faint mark remained!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This...\" Xu Qing’s breathing grew rapid, and he then looked abruptly at the purple crystal in his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>",2358,"2026-06-21T00:45:15.441Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","90bbbda320fbb255211336c61afb637c941afbab3c7916d9ff09bd37db75e6b9","beyond-the-passage-of-time-chapter-3","beyond-the-passage-of-time-chapter-1",998,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fbeyond-the-passage-of-time-cover.jpg"]