Night without Borders

Chapter 319 All those in Yezhou have a duty to defend their territory [Two chapters combined]

In the vast, uninhabited area, the night was as dark as ink.

As expected of one of the most popular mounts among the young nobles of the Great Yu Dynasty, the Thunder King Bird, under the long night sky, flew precisely along the path it had come from, as if it were an old horse that knew the way.

A group of hunters, their eyes sharp, rode on powerful flying beasts and pursued relentlessly from behind.

This was the first time Qin Ming had ever received such extraordinary treatment, being chased by more than a dozen experts of the fourth realm.

To be precise, there was another grandmaster with him, who, like Jin Yuan, was physically broken and had his mental field torn apart, but was still the greatest threat.

Further away, many more hunters from the Third Realm followed.

Clearly, they didn't want to let the big fish go—Jin Yuan, such a master-level figure was too conspicuous, and they regarded strong people of this level as important targets for revenge.

"Senior, how are you? Are you feeling unwell?" Qin Ming asked.

It must be said that the master-level figure is truly amazing. After piecing together Jin Yuan's fragmented body, he was already able to sit on the bird's back.

However, his battle suit was torn, his entire body was covered in crimson, and the cracks on his neck, chest, spine, and thighs were clearly visible and still bleeding.

"It's alright, I won't die," the old man said weakly.

Qin Ming took out the auspicious beast's blood and handed it over. Even though it was not as effective as the first time he took it, the rich spiritual substances it contained should still be of great use in healing wounds.

Jin Yuan didn't hold back this time and gulped down a large mouthful. This blood medicine was useless against his shattered mental field, but at least it could keep his body from falling apart.

Qin Ming asked, "Senior, time was too tight just now, is there anything your body is lacking...?"

At that moment, it was clearly a terrible situation, but after he said that, the Five Elements Palace Grandmaster's lips trembled slightly. Jin Yuan replied, "It's mostly alright."

"Ah, something was ultimately overlooked?" Qin Ming exclaimed in surprise.

Jin Yuan shook his head and said, "It's nothing, just a few old teeth. I've been wanting to replace them for a while now."

Qin Ming breathed a sigh of relief. As long as no piece of skull was missing, no fragment of the heart was lost, or no part of anything was missing, then everything would be fine.

"So, we've already approached the edge of the no-man's-land, faster than I imagined!" Qin Ming exclaimed with delight.

They broke through the darkness, where sparks of fire appeared ahead, and a vast mountain forest came into view. After crossing it, they came to a great grassland, where mythical creatures resembling celestial horses galloped about.

Suddenly, a dragon's roar resounded through the sky.

That was a storm of consciousness, sweeping over fiercely.

The Thunder King Bird accelerated and changed its flight path, nimbly avoiding the attack.

Behind them, flames swirled, and a red monster flapped its wings, closing the distance considerably; it was surprisingly no slower than the Thunder King Bird, which was known for its speed.

“They have reinforcements, and several more experts have arrived. That fire dragon might catch up with us,” Jin Yuan said.

The fire dragon in the early stage of the fourth realm resembles a lizard-crocodile, has a pair of huge fleshy wings, and its whole body is filled with fire. It is almost as fast as the strange birds in the late stage of the fourth realm. It has just swallowed the secret medicine and has begun to accelerate.

The master hunter among the hunters, whose body had been pieced back together, stood on the dragon's back alongside the fire dragon knight, staring intently at them.

"Come on, let's fight again." Jin Yuan stood up, intimidating his opponent.

In the end, the master-level expert among the hunters restrained himself. He knew that the other party was truly willing to fight to the death and had been prepared to take him down with him from the start.

Now, they have the upper hand and can completely surround and hunt down the other side.

"You can't escape, you will die in the end!" shouted a hunter in the middle of the fourth realm, his mental fluctuations were very strong.

Their mounts had all taken secret medicine, increasing their speed, intending to wait for the Thunder King Bird to be exhausted before taking down their opponent.

"Do you know what happened to your companions? Most of them were killed, and they died horribly!" an old hunter laughed, his beard and hands stained with blood.

Of course, they were all communicating telepathically, since their mounts were all far beyond the speed of sound.

"Your two ships of men are truly pathetic. Your so-called experts, who are at the same level as me, couldn't even withstand four of my strikes. I cleaved them and their mounts in the night sky, and being drenched in their hot blood was quite a treat."

Some hunters laughed loudly behind them, provoking Qin Ming and Jin Yuan.

They weren't exaggerating; their armor was stained with blood, intentionally splashed on to highlight their ferocity and bravery.

"What famous figures, what genius girls, I smashed them all with one blow!" shouted a burly man with a thick beard.

The fourth-realm experts from the two-headed werewolf and fire lizard tribes also joined in the laughter.

A cold glint appeared in Jin Yuan's eyes as he stared intently at them.

Immediately, the hunters behind him were all terrified. After all, he was a grandmaster. If he targeted one of them and attacked, they would probably not survive.

Qin Ming turned around and said, "A bunch of stray dogs, your stronghold has just been wiped out and more than 90% of your forces have been wiped out. What face do you have to be arrogant in front of me? Just barking!"

This immediately struck a nerve with the group of hunters. Their homeland was gone, wiped out by the combined forces of several patriarchs and the Sun Elf race. This was a pain that was hard to heal in their hearts.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have traveled hundreds of thousands of miles to seek refuge with the demons of the Gods' Demise Plains in order to take revenge on their nemesis.

One of the middle-aged hunters said fiercely, "No matter what, we felt good just now. Every knife drew blood, every stick broke bone. Now it's your turn."

Although Qin Ming's heart was burning with killing intent, he remained calm and spoke coldly: "That day, in the decisive battle in the desert, I single-handedly killed 158 of your younger generation, suppressing them so much that they couldn't even raise their heads. Among them were several seed-level geniuses. Did I boast to you? By the way, half a day ago, when I encountered you, I also killed more than a dozen of you. You are nothing but a bunch of bandits, utterly vulnerable!"

He didn't use any exaggerated words, but the bloody truth was very damaging, striking a nerve with these hunters.

This is a group of seasoned bandits. Their descendants and nephews, who once rushed to join the expedition in order to conquer the beautiful land and obtain the resources of the various ancestral temples to improve themselves, were all wiped out in the end. Not one of them escaped back. Now, their eyes are red with rage.

A lean, middle-aged man exhaled a stream of energy like lightning and said, "I will definitely skin you alive, tear you to pieces, and use your soul oil to make the fire source for a lamp to refine you for more than a hundred years!"

Qin Ming turned around and said, "Why are you getting so worked up? Let's talk this out!"

A burly man with a ferocious expression said, "Kid, I hope you're still this foul-mouthed when I catch you. I'll make you lick my shoe soles for a hundred years."

Qin Ming chuckled and said, "What's wrong with you all? You were laughing just now, and you turn on me in an instant. You keep bringing up a hundred years at a time. Do you even have that many years to live? Since you care so much about your nephews and nieces who died in the desert, you might as well go and reunite with them sooner rather than later."

"You little brat, I'll let you talk back for now, but I'll teach you a lesson later!"

The group of pursuers stopped making threats. Their attempts to provoke the other side had backfired, leaving them with a heavy feeling in their chests. The thought that their powerful nomadic civilization had been destroyed filled them with unbearable grief.

"Be careful of that ghost; it's been following us and is lurking nearby," Jin Yuan warned discreetly.

It drifted in the night sky, never going far away.

"How did it come to target us?" Qin Ming asked gravely.

This involves a terrestrial immortal, and even if it's just a layer of its immortal skin that's been peeled off, it's still incredibly frightening.

Jin Yuan said, "Either it has its eye on you, making you suitable for it to possess or take over, or it has its eye on the two of us, two seriously injured grandmasters, wanting to devour our souls to replenish itself."

In short, this fairy skin followed with intense malice.

"Be careful." Jin Yuan already knew what Qin Ming was going to do.

"Yes!" Qin Ming nodded solemnly.

He turned around and shouted, "You bunch of bandits, do you want to chase me all the way to the God's Lament Plain? You're destined to be crushed by the senior figures then."

He then added, "There are still many patriarchs in the desert. They may have already embarked on their return journey and could catch up with you soon. You will all die soon."

"Speed ​​up!" A group of hunters' eyes flashed with cold light as they fed their mounts secret medicine again. They had already caught up to this point and couldn't give up. They wanted to quickly take care of the two people ahead.

Qin Ming transmitted his voice, instructing the Thunder King Bird to slow down slightly, allowing the others to close the distance.

"Hey!"

Someone drew a bow and shot an arrow, seemingly distorting the night sky.

Grandmaster Jin Yuan formed a spiritual field around his body, shredding dozens of arrows.

"Almost there!" Qin Ming saw the forest appear ahead and the fire springs increase in number, he knew he was about to reach his destination.

During this process, the eighteen riders drew closer, and the hunters laughed and stopped firing arrows, believing they would soon be able to surround and hunt their opponents.

Qin Ming turned around and saw them all grinning maliciously. Their blood-stained armor, gleaming knives, and heavy iron rods were all extremely glaring. A chill ran through the depths of his eyes.

On the land, in a vast primeval forest, fiery springs converge to form lakes, making this place exceptionally radiant.

Qin Ming rode the Thunder King Bird and suddenly soared into the sky, rapidly ascending higher. Moreover, fearing that it might be unsafe and that he might alert certain "beings," he also hurled a long spear towards the ground.

Boom!

Suddenly, a huge tongue of fire shot into the night sky from the ground, thousands of meters long, like a tidal wave, shattering the thick night fog.

The commotion was extremely terrifying, louder than a thunderbolt, deafening.

Even though Qin Ming was prepared, he almost fell for her advances.

The terrifying shockwave, the enormous sonic boom, and the expanding fiery red runes meant that if he were to touch them, he would surely be trapped in a desperate situation.

The Thunder King Bird tumbled in the stormy night fog, but fortunately, it was not affected by the light emitted by the enormous tongue.

It could be said that they were barely on the border, essentially stepping on a death line.

Qin Ming had no choice but to take this risk, fearing that hiding at a sufficiently safe height would allow a group of pursuers to escape as well.

"what……"

A group of hunters screamed in terror. They were in high spirits, chasing their prey, when suddenly they were plunged into danger.

Even Qin Ming managed to avoid it, let alone those who were unprepared.

Back when Qin Ming and his group were traveling to the desert in their spaceship, they were attacked here, and he had a very deep impression of this place.

According to Yu Gensheng, this flame might be a mysterious and terrifying "natural phenomenon".

Another possibility is that this was the "legacy" of a great figure in the esoteric sect, who entered the depths of the night fog world to break through the barrier, but an accident occurred, and that patriarch failed.

The enormous, fiery red tongue, covered in dense runes, imprisoned everyone behind it, preventing any hunter from escaping.

The fire dragon howled in agony; its enormous body was like a mosquito in front of this "tongue".

The hunter's armor shattered instantly, "dissolving" in the runes; even a grandmaster at the mid-stage of the fifth realm couldn't withstand it.

His pieced-together body disintegrated in an instant, his consciousness trying to break free, but the "tongue" instantly "stuck" him back together.

Even though Qin Ming and Jin Yuan had hidden far enough away, they were still terrified. The Thunder King Bird, suspended high in the sky, trembled slightly.

That "tongue" was truly terrifying, definitely possessing the combat power of a "powerful ancestor master".

The mounts wailed, but couldn't struggle at all, quickly turning into blood and bone. "You!"

The hunters gazed at Qin Ming in the distance, filled with anger, grief, and frustration, but they could do nothing about it.

Their physical bodies were destroyed instantly, and their mental consciousness could not escape either. It was torn apart in an instant and quickly "licked clean".

At this moment, only the howling of a vengeful ghost remained.

The immortal skin was also stuck to the fiery red tongue, and the runes eroded it, making it incredibly dull and difficult to break free for a time.

"Although it's related to Earth Immortals, it's not as powerful as I imagined," Qin Ming said, opening his Eye of New Life to observe it.

puff!
Finally, the enormous, mountain-like tongue spat it out, as if it were filled with utter disgust.

It must be said that the skin of the earth fairy is really tough, as it was not damaged. However, it became extremely dull and lost its luster, and it stopped bleeding.

It wobbled and disappeared into the night, its speed greatly reduced.

"If you cause any more trouble in the future, I'll take you to Shuangshu Village and fly Old Liu's kite to wear you out!" Qin Ming stared at its departing afterimage.

Jin Yuan said, "Your contribution this time is considerable. More than a dozen experts at the fourth realm, and a half-crippled grandmaster, were wiped out. This is definitely half of the elite force of that group."

Qin Ming said, "If it weren't for the senior severely injuring that grandmaster, how could I have made a contribution? I would have died long ago."

He really wanted to wait here and wipe out the group of third-realm pursuers behind him, but to be on the safe side, he decided to continue on his way. After all, there were still Grandmasters among the hunters behind him!

The Thunder King Bird felt aggrieved, saying that it had been flying for almost a day and was very tired, so it needed to rest.

"Alright, let's rest nearby." Qin Ming naturally agreed, as they were counting on it for the rest of the journey.

Just as they had rested enough, the group of young hunters who had been following the fourth-realm expert arrived.

After repeatedly investigating and confirming that there were no grandmaster-level figures, Qin Ming and Jin Yuan immediately took action.

Jin Yuan, watching from the sidelines, was truly shocked to see Qin Ming riding the Thunder King Bird and slashing through the third-realm hunter.

Although he had long heard of Qin Ming's extraordinary talent, he was still quite surprised to witness him kill a hunter who was a level higher than him.

Because Qin Ming's speed in killing enemies was too fast, and he used various methods of the Five Elements Extraordinary Skill.

The more he looked, the more shaken he became. As the mutton-fat jade iron knife continued to slash, the five elements divine light shone in all directions, and all the people and flying beasts in mid-air were killed.

Jin Yuan felt that this young man was even more powerful than those patriarchs in their youth!
"Your Five Elements Extraordinary Skill is quite good."

"Please enlighten me, senior." After sheathing his sword, Qin Ming killed all eighteen riders without even getting his clothes stained with blood, which could be considered as avenging the blood feud of those who died.

Jin Yuan nodded, becoming more and more satisfied with him. No wonder Yu Gengsheng had mentioned asking him for guidance many times.

“Alright, let’s talk on the way.” On the way, the master began to talk to Qin Ming about the Five Elements Divine Skill.

The most crucial aspect is mastering five extraordinary skills related to the Five Elements. As for the methods of controlling them, although they are secret, they are not difficult to learn.

Qin Ming had already mastered the Heluo Scripture, the Wuji Scripture, and even perfected the Lihuo Scripture, obtaining its secret treasures. Now, listening to his explanation was like having his window lattice opened.

Before this, he had been practicing various methods of the Five Elements Theory on his own, and he would eventually master it completely; this was just an earlier step.

"Five-colored divine light, five-elemental escape techniques, five-colored sword wings, Five-finger Mountain..."

Along the way, Qin Ming was refining his skills. Some of them he had already mastered, while others, which were somewhat rough before, he had now thoroughly mastered.

The more Jin Yuan taught, the more unsettled he became. This young man was learning things too quickly, and he had already dabbled in many of the secret techniques himself.

It can be said that the two had a very pleasant conversation along the way, and the topics were all related to the Five Elements.

As night fell, the Thunder King Bird traversed the vast sky, resting several times along the way, and finally approached the Godsor Plains on the sixth day.

Jin Yuan sighed, "We must never be careless. The Night Fog World is full of dangers. If we hadn't coveted the ancient grotto that might exist in the sky, none of this would have happened. Alas!"

He survived a bloody battle in the desert, but nearly died on his way home.

"Yezhou, we're finally back." Jin Yuan gazed ahead.

Night State, land in the darkness.

This is the name given by the Immortal Path, the Esoteric School, and the Path of New Life to the territory that has been opened up.

After learning of the dangers in the distance, they abandoned names such as Shenzhou and Dongtu.

As for those derogatory terms used by distant civilizations: the eastern corner, the dusty corner, they would naturally not accept them.

Cangwu City, a famous city on the edge of the world, is three hundred miles away from the Divine Devastation Plain and is considered the largest city in the western part of Yezhou.

Qin Ming and Jin Yuan successfully entered the city, where they needed to rest and report on the situation they encountered along the way.

Of course, Qin Ming didn't need to worry about these things; Grandmaster Jin Yuan would personally meet with some important figures.

This formidable pass, renowned throughout the western frontier, once withstood countless attacks from demons, leaving behind rivers of blood and countless demon corpses.

"Currently, there has been no major battle on the Godslayer Plains." Qin Ming was quite surprised to learn the latest situation after returning.

Currently, in the peripheral regions of the world, although there is no bloodshed, the atmosphere is extremely tense.

The remaining patriarchs and powerful figures from the forbidden lands all came westward, each guarding a territory. Even when Kunlun was unsealed, powerful figures from the Ghost Road and masters from the Immortal Daoist Temple reappeared in the world.

In Yezhou, all masters, regardless of race or path, must defend their territory if faced with an invasion by foreign enemies.

These are rules established long ago by the founders of each path and the creatures of the forbidden lands.

This time, there was a great commotion deep within the Godslayer Plains. It is said that a large number of demons of various races came from the southwest, forming a super alliance.

Even god-like creatures have appeared, and there's more than one of them, seemingly poised to storm into Night State and raze the ancestral temples of all religions.

Clearly, they had connections with the nomadic civilization and communicated with each other, which is why they chose this particular time to launch their attack.

At that time, in this edge of the world, on the western front of Night State, the tension was so high that the air seemed to freeze, and a bloody battle was about to break out.

Some of the creatures in the Desolate Lands are very strong, but their confidence immediately wavered after seeing the situation on the other side.

At a critical moment, a mysterious powerful figure appeared in Yezhou, venturing alone into the Divine Devastation Plains to negotiate with the god-like creatures.

On that day, many people saw that although the mysterious powerhouse was surrounded by towering immortal mist, his form seemed to be even more terrifying than that of a demon, enormous in size, with a black outline that could be vaguely seen.

At that moment, a human grandmaster's voice trembled and his eyes reddened, as if he recognized who it was.

"Grandmaster!" someone heard him whisper.

However, the enormous black monster did not resemble a human at all.

"It is said that on that day, the mysterious powerhouse went alone with the old decree left over from the Jade Capital. Mysterious characters illuminated the void, and some god-like creatures retreated directly."

Otherwise, a major war would have already broken out.

However, the demon alliance did not withdraw, and became increasingly restless. They had a powerful force supporting them and could launch an attack at any time.

This is something that people in Cangwu City are still talking about to this day.

Now that the nomadic civilization has been wiped out and more patriarchs have returned, the atmosphere on the Godslayer Plains has not eased but has become even more tense.

Therefore, Qin Ming did not see a single acquaintance in the city; they had all gone to the border.

Yezhou has a long-standing tradition of defending against external enemies, never wanting war to occur within its borders. Now, all its forces have advanced westward to the edge of the world.

The western border is too long, but fortunately there are quite a few experts from each road and the Jedi, each guarding their own territory and able to contact each other instantly.

The fact that a master-level figure is standing at the forefront indicates that he has his sights set on the important figure on the other side.

"It is said that the experts from the three great dynasties have also come and all have been deployed. There is a high probability that another large-scale, passive land reclamation will take place."

There were even rumors that the river god of the Shuyu River had been conscripted.

Upon hearing this, Qin Ming felt a headache coming on. This seemed to concern the fate of the clan, and a major battle was about to begin, with all forces from all directions mobilized. This was far more important than fighting the nomadic civilization.

Some renowned figures, upon learning that Qin Ming had murdered over a dozen fourth-realm experts on his return journey and subsequently slain nearly twenty third-realm hunters, were both surprised and extremely pleased and satisfied.

If hunters from the fourth realm were to break through, the sheer number of them would already be quite destructive. This renowned elder immediately credited Qin Ming for his contribution.

"Your body..."

"Senior, I'm fine now, I can go to the front lines," Qin Ming said. Everyone he knew was at the front, and he naturally wanted to go too.

Besides, his injury had indeed healed long ago.

"Alright, go to Qingfeng Town, which is 500 miles away. They are short of a junior expert to oversee the area. Although you are in the second realm, you should be able to handle it."

Qin Ming set off that very day.

He knew Yezhou's fighting style; the main battlefields were all the Ancestral Masters.

As for the others, they were assigned to the long border of the western region, with experts of corresponding levels each stationed in their respective areas.

Qingfeng Town is relatively remote. If a major battle breaks out, small groups of demons will definitely break in from here. Theoretically, it would be enough to have people of the third realm guarding such a remote place.

After Qin Ming arrived, adhering to the principle of keeping enemies at bay, he sat cross-legged on a large mountain outside the town, gazing at the distant horizon.

He already knew that the demon alliance was extremely powerful and had mobilized many top clans, making it an unprecedented event.

It is said that some of the most renowned powers in the demon civilization, such as: Hanging Ridge, Fire Phoenix Mountain, Azure Dragon Palace, Longevity Temple, Demon Emperor Palace, Thundercloud Cave... have all been mobilized.

Initially, even god-like creatures appeared one after another, which shows their determination.

The decrees left over from the old days of Yujing seemed to have a certain deterrent effect, causing some deities to retreat.

However, the current situation remains far from optimistic, with the shadow of war now looming over the edges of the world.

"A great battle could break out at any moment. I can't afford to waste my supplies. So be it!" Qin Ming muttered to himself as he sat cross-legged on the high mountain.

Recently, he has been practicing various martial arts techniques every day, and he has never stopped while traveling on the back of the Thunder King Bird.

The gleaming leaves of the Vajra Tree were almost all picked clean by him, Xiang Yiwu, and Wu Yaozu. He would eat some every day, and there are still some left.

Today, Qin Ming chewed up and swallowed all the remaining twigs and leaves.

Then, he devoured the dazzling diamond fruit in just a few bites. Instantly, his eyes flashed like lightning, his entire body turned golden, as if cast from some strange metal, and radiated light.

(End of this chapter)