[{"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-35":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},2344475,4583,"Chapter 35: An Unexpected Meeting (Third Update)","beyond-the-passage-of-time-chapter-35",35,"\u003Cp>Inside the temple complex, corpses lay everywhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were guards, attendants, and also the bodies of several youths whose knowledge of the dangers in the forbidden zone had been limited to books; they retained the terror they felt before death, staring blankly at the sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides them, there were dead jellyfish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike the human race, jellyfish turned into a mass of gray, mud-like substance upon death, emitting waves of foul stench, a stark contrast to their colorful brilliance while alive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, they radiated an extremely dense heterogenous substance, attacking their surroundings and eroding everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And this sudden disaster was still ongoing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the young men and women retreated in panic, the jellyfish swarm pursued with a whistle; on the outskirts of this jungle forbidden zone, slaughter and death continued to play out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Xu Qing arrived at the temple complex, an hour had already passed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Walking through the temple complex, Xu Qing looked at the corpses everywhere, his expression showing little change.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had seen too many corpses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Passing by the bodies of guards and attendants, Xu Qing collected some of the dead jellyfish, intending to study them later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the items on these corpses, almost all had been eroded by the dense heterogenous substance formed after the jellyfish died, rendering them unusable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Until Xu Qing arrived beside one corpse, his footsteps coming to a halt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the corpse of an old man with a large hole in his chest; the blood that had flowed out was already dried, and within his dim, wide-open eyes, there seemed to be lingering regret from before his death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at this corpse, Xu Qing sighed softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was not a god, so even if the other party had bought his insurance, he could not fully guarantee their safety, especially when the mist had not yet appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a moment of silence, Xu Qing crouched down, covered Old Stone’s open eyes, and buried him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no tombstone, because Captain Lei had said that scavengers usually had no kin while alive and did not need to be memorialized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dust to dust, earth to earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the life of a scavenger; struggling in the world while alive, and after death... quiet is enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This kind of desolation was, in reality, the final destination for the vast majority of scavengers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Standing before Old Stone’s grave, Xu Qing looked toward the direction of the camp outside the forbidden zone, recalling the life he had led over these past few months.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had been at this scavenger camp for four months already.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Captain Blood Shadow was dead, Fire Crow was dead, Fatty Mountain Ma Si was dead, Savage Ghost was dead, Old Stone was dead, Captain Lei had retired, Bone Blade had fled, and many more scavengers had also died silently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this cruel, chaotic world, human life was as cheap as grass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Only by becoming stronger can one survive,\" Xu Qing muttered, his expression slowly turning indifferent as he turned and left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, amidst the sunset glow, a wind blew, causing the clothes of the departing youth to rustle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This sound seemed to carry a chill, gradually fading until it disappeared into the jungle along with his figure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The afterglow spilled down, the light gradually weakening, yet it still struggled to pierce through the dense leaves, wanting to cast its sparse light upon the youth running through the jungle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the youth’s speed was too fast; the light seemed unable to keep up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not long after, Xu Qing’s footsteps suddenly paused; after stopping, he looked down at the ground, doubt appearing in his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, Xu Qing crouched down, sniffed carefully, and finally fixed his gaze on a blade of grass, upon which was a trace of powder that was very hard to detect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had it not been for Xu Qing’s solid grasp of poisonous plants and his deep understanding of the scents in this forbidden zone, it would have been very difficult to notice anything unusual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even now, it took him a long time to distinguish it before he picked up the leaf stained with a layer of powder, muttered to himself after a moment of concentration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The specific composition is unknown, but it definitely contains centipede-year blood!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sharp glint flashed in Xu Qing’s eyes; Master Bai’s lessons included an introduction to centipede-year blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This blood had certain medicinal properties, but it was primarily a catalyst, so when combined with other drugs, it could be formulated into a lure to attract specific beasts, often needed during hunting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The arrival of those jellyfish, is it related to this?\" Xu Qing narrowed his eyes, put down the leaf carrying a fatal crisis, and took out a packet of poison powder to sprinkle on his body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After using this to disperse the scent of the centipede-year blood he had just picked up, his body flickered, and he changed direction to continue forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Qing did not intend to head toward where the youths brought by Old Stone had retreated; this matter had nothing to do with him, and he did not wish to get involved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if there were friends of Chen Feiyuan among these people, he had no obligation to help, and these people were accompanied by experts capable of fighting the large jellyfish, which was equally dangerous for Xu Qing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most importantly, among these young men and women, there was a high probability that someone had intentionally lured the jellyfish, and the purpose was unknown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, after detecting their position, Xu Qing changed direction, circled around, and returned to the pharmacy in the canyon as the sky grew dark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After putting away the herbs he had gathered, he continued to study the White Pill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Xu Qing had not gone to where those youths had retreated, when late night arrived, Xu Qing, who was formulating herbs in the pharmacy, still heard the roaring and sounds of fighting from afar, and they were getting closer, which made him frown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Until the sound of footsteps also arrived, Xu Qing sighed inwardly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stood up, walked out of the pharmacy, and by the moonlight, saw the direction of the canyon entrance, from where sounds of surprise came.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There’s a path here!!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Everyone, hurry in.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Appearing with the voices were several youths in tattered, disheveled clothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their faces were filled with terror, and behind them were more than ten others, mostly companions of similar age, as well as seven or eight guards covered in wounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A total of over twenty people ran into the canyon one after another; as the few guards stood desperately at the entrance, these youths who had survived the ordeal also let out a sigh of relief, simultaneously noticing the environment within the canyon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They quickly saw Xu Qing’s pharmacy, and also saw Xu Qing standing there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Someone is here!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment they saw Xu Qing, these youths were like frightened birds; they exclaimed and immediately retreated, and three of the guards behind them also rushed over, looking at Xu Qing with vigilance and killing intent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This killing intent made Xu Qing’s gaze turn somewhat cold; after coldly sweeping his eyes over these guards, he looked at the group of youths, among whom there were two people he paid special attention to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One of them was a little older than him, about sixteen or seventeen years old; although he was also disheveled, unlike the others, there was very little panic on his face, but rather a great deal of vigilance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other was a young girl with a very sweet appearance; although her clothes were dirty and she wore an expression of terror, Xu Qing, who had seen all walks of life, could tell at a glance that the terror on this person was largely fake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially... the girl’s right hand wore a glove; it looked like it was for cleanliness, but for Xu Qing, who used poison, gloves had many uses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, sprinkling poison powder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Eight guards, cultivation between the sixth and seventh levels of Qi Condensation, the others are below the fifth level, divided into three small teams.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Only those two; the man’s cultivation is around the seventh level, the woman... should be the one who lured the jellyfish. As for those experts who fought the large jellyfish, they are not among them; it is highly probable they lured the large jellyfish away.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was Xu Qing’s habit, and those youths could never have imagined that Xu Qing had seen so many details with just a glance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But these guards were clearly different from those youths; they felt the coldness in Xu Qing’s eyes and glanced at the pharmacy, their hearts filled with intense vigilance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be able to find such a canyon in the forbidden zone and build a house inside it, all of this meant that the youth before them was not only familiar with the forbidden zone but also lived here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such a person was extremely dangerous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fellow Daoist, is your elder present? We have no ill intent, we are just being pursued by exotic beasts outside, so we are borrowing this place to hide.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"As soon as dawn breaks, we will leave; please forgive us for the intrusion.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These guards instinctively spoke politely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their words also made the shaken youths behind them feel that something was wrong, and they all looked at Xu Qing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The oldest youth among them looked at Xu Qing a few more times, his expression revealing gravity; as for the girl with the glove, she narrowed her eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She scanned the pharmacy and smelled the faint scent of herbs in the surroundings, gaining an understanding of the youth before her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Qing frowned, looked at them, then looked toward the entrance; after a long while, he said nothing, tacitly allowing their presence, and turned to walk toward the pharmacy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His tacit agreement made those guards breathe a sigh of relief, while the youths behind them were mostly uneasy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only the girl with the glove, after a strange glint flashed in her eyes, spoke in a low, cautious, and aggrieved voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You... you are so impolite; we just want to hide here for a bit, there are exotic beasts everywhere outside, we will definitely die if we go out.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her voice carried a tone that made people feel heartache and pity, causing several youths around her who admired her to also muster their courage and speak to Xu Qing one after another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yeah, why are you so cold-blooded.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We have no ill intent, we are just resting here for a moment.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The forbidden zone isn't his house, why do we have to ask him!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A simple sentence easily incited some people’s hostility toward Xu Qing; although this hostility was not much, it still made the girl somewhat smug.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She wanted to use others to test the bottom line of this youth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the next instant, a cold glint suddenly flashed from Xu Qing’s direction, a whistling sound erupted, and a dagger approached the smug girl like lightning in an instant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her expression changed and she was just about to dodge, but the dagger had already flown past her ear, cutting off some of her hair, and with a bang, it pierced deeply into the stone wall behind her, sparking some fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girl’s heart shook, and as her breathing quickened, her right hand instinctively lifted; when she looked at Xu Qing, what she saw was the youth in front, his eyes as cold as a wolf’s, carrying killing intent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This gaze made her heart tremble; the surrounding guards and other youths were all horrified, the former vigilant to the extreme, and many of the latter let out exclamations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We are mere strangers, do not come to test me.\" Xu Qing looked deeply at the girl, suppressed the killing intent in his heart, spoke slowly, and turned to walk toward the pharmacy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the moonlight, his figure seemed to merge with the moonlight, revealing the coldness of the night, flowing into the minds of everyone in the canyon, causing these people to slowly fall silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the perception of many, the canyon at this moment seemed just as dangerous as the jellyfish swarm outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this silence, the moment Xu Qing reached the door of the pharmacy, a shrill scream suddenly came from the entrance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A small jellyfish had found the entrance, pierced through a guard’s body, devoured his internal organs, and rushed into the canyon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind it, a swarm of jellyfish came whistling in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unexpected, right? Surprised? Brothers and sisters, do you want a fourth update?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you do, tell this little newbie, and this little newbie will go grab a bottle of wine and try hard!\u003C\u002Fp>",2119,"2026-06-21T00:45:15.441Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","54e759679305c303a88388489182c26e7a880e7612d13560db8b9fbd83c7d54e","beyond-the-passage-of-time-chapter-36","beyond-the-passage-of-time-chapter-34",998,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fbeyond-the-passage-of-time-cover.jpg"]