Shop of the Dead: Shattered Souls - Chapter 38: Flames of the Forgotten

Heaven and earth are the guest house of all living beings, and time is the passing guest through the ages.

The difference between life and death, just like the difference between dreaming and waking, changes and cannot be questioned.

So beyond life and death, beyond heaven and earth, beyond time, what is waiting for us?

This is Ergen’s sixth novel “Beyond Time” after “The Immortal”, “The Devil”, “I Want to Seal the Heavens”, “An Eternal Thought”, and “Three Inch of the World”.

- Description from novelbuddy

One day, a handsome young man died in a car accident. He suddenly wakes up and find himself in an unfamiliar place, but what surprised him most is that he is taking over someone else’s body.

Qi Condensation. Foundation Establishment. Core Formation. In the current world, only these three realms are known to be achievable. Nascent Soul is but a legend and the realms above it lost to the the long river of time. The modern era is known as Cultivation Civilization, a balance of power and civility, excess and moderation. While cultivation remains a secret practice, it has long since exposed itself to the mundane world, quietly intertwined with each facet of society. While the world appears to be at peace, what lies underneath is a conflict between human, cultivator, and demon, brewing for ages and waiting to implode. Yet in the wake of humanity’s rapid industrialization, qi—and consequently cultivation—is dying.

Once Gu Qingjiu, she was fortunate enough to be born in the “best” family, ended up having a miserable and unjust life.

Reliving her life once more, Gu Qingjiu chooses to enlist in the military and bear the toughest hardships she has ever faced. Everyone says that she’s the least possible person to join the special forces. However, she manages to prove all of them wrong.

Good-for-nothing? Who’s the good-for-nothing? Is she a good-for-nothing when she can throw all of them onto the floor in a fight? Is she a good-for-nothing when she has results better than everyone else? She’ll prove all of them wrong.

Enter Helian Niancheng, the well-known, youngest major-general in Beijing. A banishment sends him into the basic ranks in a military camp as a new recruit. From then on, he meets a person that makes him dote on and protect at all costs, his beloved. However, his beloved is only focused on fighting and killing. Major-general Helian declares this to be a very bad, a very terrible situation. Yet, Gu Qingjiu merely replies,

“Scram! Lower your gun if you dare!”