Night without Borders

Chapter 373 First Time
Autumn insects chirp, the mountains lose their deep green, the leaves gradually turn yellow, and the maple trees are tinged with red. The clear stream babbles, carrying scattered fallen leaves as they disappear into the distance.

Qin Ming found the red squirrel's food stash on an old tree outside the village, took out a handful of pine nuts from the tree hole, and walked away while enjoying them.

On the black and white tree, the red squirrel sensed something, looked up suspiciously, and its eyes widened as it saw pine nut shells carelessly tossed on the road.

It realized that its home had been "robbed" again, and couldn't help but exclaim, "Damn it!"

Qin Ming set off alone, his figure gradually disappearing into the night.

He left the Thunder King Bird in the Black and White Mountain area, mainly because it was too conspicuous and not suitable for him to travel far away in a low-key manner.

In the night sky, the Thunder King Bird circled, gazing at the road leading into the distance.

Yu Que comforted him, saying, "We are both just passing through, destined to be unable to keep up with the mountain lord's pace."

Then, blinking its jewel-like eyes, it said, "Actually, this place is not bad either, it can even be described as unfathomable. I plan to cultivate a little mountain lord."

Upon hearing this, the Thunder King Bird immediately looked suspicious and said, "Could it be that Qin Ming already has a Daoist partner and descendants?"

Yu Que shook her head and said, "No, there's Liu Tianxian here. His descendants must be extraordinary."

Then it whispered, "Look at that dog, no, I mean, Doggy, he's been single for who knows how many years. Why don't you find him a companion while he's 'returning to his true self'? Maybe you can raise a little dog saint."

The Thunder King Bird immediately shrank its neck; it dared not provoke that single dog.

From the revival of the fire spring in early spring to the yellowing leaves of the mountain forest in autumn, Qin Ming traveled back and forth between Black and White Mountain and Crimson Cloud City, quietly cultivating in seclusion.

During this rainy season, he received thunder and fire, and wandered in the dark sky. However, he could not always find a large amount of heavenly light, as well as mysterious otherworldly fires, flowing clouds, and other substances.

He has determined that without external help, he will need to wait until next year to break through to the sixth level of the Spirit Realm.

For Xinshenglu, advancing one level in a year is already an unimaginable speed.

However, the most outstanding seeds of esoteric Buddhism and the path to immortality, as well as the "proud suns" among visitors from beyond the realm, have mostly already stood in higher realms.

Qin Ming wanted to enter the fourth realm—the Heart Lamp—as soon as possible.

Once he reaches that level, he will not be afraid of any of his peers.

Moreover, starting from the fourth realm, whether it is the esoteric sect or the immortal path, even those of unparalleled talent will experience a sharp drop in their cultivation speed.

This gave him a window of opportunity to catch up.

Passing through Chixia City, he went to pay his respects to Meng Xinghai.

"Little Qin, are you going to explore a foreign land?" Old Meng frowned. "Opportunities" are never readily available; otherwise, why would they have remained until now? They are always accompanied by risks.

Qin Ming nodded and said, "After Yezhou and Yujing stopped there, they haven't gone far yet, and all sorts of demons and monsters have come..."

In particular, the terrifying event of a celestial being passing through has occurred more than once. Qin Ming fears a world-shaking "heavenly upheaval" and wants to improve his own strength before chaos ensues.

Meng Xinghai cautioned, "Be very careful. I've heard that the 'Zixia Cave' that was 'unearthed' this time is quite mysterious. No one knows where it leads, not even the patriarchs."

The two then discussed the Peach Banquet.

"Is Uncle Meng going to the meeting?" Qin Ming asked.

"I'm too lazy to go!" Meng Xinghai said.

Qin Ming smiled and said, "Actually, I didn't receive an invitation either."

Meng Xinghai was surprised and said, "I thought you were invited, but I didn't expect you to be like me and not have the chance to eat the peaches. Well, that's fine, we won't get involved in this mess."

Tucheng is too mysterious; even today, outsiders find it difficult to truly understand it.

Some say that a being at the Great Perfection of the Earth Immortal level might be residing in Tucheng. Others suspect that there might even be a decaying Celestial Immortal there.

Kunling, nearly a year later, Qin Ming returned to the old place.

This city without walls became increasingly prosperous, attracting many visitors from outside the region.

Qin Ming didn't come for the Peach Banquet in Tucheng, but for adventure. This time, the "Purple Cloud Cave" wasn't located outside the mainland, but near Kunlun.

The main problem is that outside Yezhou, there are earth immortals roaming around, which could easily lead to trouble.

The patriarchs of all the paths clearly stated that if any changes were to occur in Zixia Cave, the power of Tucheng could be used to suppress them, since it was born in accordance with the will of Yujing.

Upon hearing this, a group of "living ancestors" wanted to give those unfilial descendants a good beating.

However, after some discussion, the patriarch of Tucheng finally agreed.

"Little Buddha is so strong. Some time ago, he actually took down several 'Proud Suns' on his own. Later, he was blocked by an elder, but he was unharmed."

At noon, a famous restaurant was at its busiest.

"Of course, you should take a look at what kind of martial art he practices. This lineage is known as the orthodox Hunyuan Jin. He has practiced it for so long without it exploding. He is truly a dragon among men."

"It's been so long since we've heard from Qin Ming. It's like he's completely disappeared. He also practices this kind of divine skill. Compared to Little Tathagata, who is stronger?"

"If you can compare him to Little Buddha, then he hasn't lost. After all, his current level is still a bit low."

Qin Ming never expected that he would hear himself being mentioned just because he was having a meal.

In the restaurant, people were talking about how one of the sources of Chaos Force, the sage who had traveled far away to Pugong, was very likely about to reach the seventh realm.

It's an incomprehensible miracle that the founder of this technique didn't die from his body exploding and survived to this day.

This has certainly sparked heated discussions!
"Once mastered, even within the realm of Earth Immortals, he would likely possess the power to look down upon all others, for the Chaos Force is simply too strong and incomparably domineering."

"No wonder Little Tathagata always considers himself the orthodox one, because behind him is an unparalleled patriarch, a living and terrifying sage!" Recently, it has been said that even the first ancestors of Tucheng attach great importance to the Chaos Force lineage, and have sent an invitation to the Peach Banquet to Pugong, even though they are separated by thousands of mountains and rivers.

A moment later, people started talking about the most talked-about figures recently.

"Xiao Jinye, a fierce young man from the desolate land, no one expected him to be so strong. He was struck by a palm from a grandmaster from beyond the realm, yet he did not die and escaped death."

"Anyone who dares to attack him must have an unfathomable background. Rumors are circulating that Xiao Jinye's ancestor, the old barbarian god at the seventh level of perfection, may have been close to the realm of celestial gods!"

A brief silence fell over the restaurant, followed by a collective gasp of astonishment.

Subsequently, people talked about Jian Huaidao, Lu Chenxiao, Ji Yunque and others, all of whom had made great names and had extremely brilliant achievements.

Without a doubt, there are quite a few "proud suns" from outside Yezhou who have entered the region, and those who have been the subject of much discussion and whose names have been mentioned are all top-notch figures.

Soon, Qin Ming heard more than a dozen names that were very important. Some he already knew, while others had obviously appeared during his seclusion.

The list of beauties from beyond the realm in the night report has been mentioned many times. Pei Qingwu and Qi Jiyue are not only amazing in their cultivation, but also have frighteningly high popularity because of this list.

Other newspapers followed suit, and some even tried to create a local fairy list, but they failed and were severely warned by the ancestral temples of various religions in Yezhou.

"Mu Xingyao, who comes from a certain immortal island in the West Sea, has been rising in the rankings recently, jumping from tenth place to fourth place."

"Yes, she could have been in the top three, but I heard that she stayed out all night with someone, which affected her reputation. There are rumors that it's related to Qin Ming."

Inside the restaurant, Qin Ming really wanted to imitate the red squirrel and say, "Fuck you!"

He had been listening with great interest, but he never expected to become the subject of gossip himself, so he quickly drank a glass of wine to calm his nerves.

He wasn't worried about being recognized. He had practiced one of the three most difficult true scriptures on the path to immortality, the "Four-Page Jade Book," and he had repeatedly studied it. Although he hadn't gone through the "Refining the Heart Monkey" stage, he had mastered some of its ever-changing techniques.

To avoid being ambushed by those with ulterior motives, he naturally couldn't just openly head to the other world this time.

After Qin Ming was mentioned, someone asked whether he would attend the Peach Banquet this time.
"It's probably hopeless. Since they invited someone like Little Tathagata, who is a true master of the Chaos Force, they probably wouldn't send an invitation to Qin Ming, who comes from a non-traditional background."

Soon after, the group started talking about the strongest seed in the local team.

"How terrifying! Jiang Ran has actually encountered a mysterious opponent and fought to a draw with someone of her generation for the first time."

Moreover, no one knows the name or background of her opponent to this day.

"Yes, some formidable figures have indeed arrived in Yezhou. There are rumors that one of the previous generation's divine seeds, who had reached the fourth level of the Secret Sect, was actually defeated by a young 'proud sun' from beyond the realm, causing a sensation in the inner circle."

Qin Ming pondered that there must be some powerful figures lying in wait. For example, he had killed a Heart Ape in the Divine Desolation Plains, and the person behind it was probably here.

To avoid being exposed, although he passed through Kunling City, he did not go into Shanhe Academy to see the old man Yu Gengsheng.

He didn't linger and hurried towards a direction outside the city, heading towards Zixia Cave.

This time, the buzz surrounding the "gate" was much less than the last time; at least, not many people were talking about it in restaurants.

Most people are in a wait-and-see mode; many cultivators were terrified last time.

Zixia Cave is not far from Tucheng, and they are even on the same route, so it's no wonder that those "living ancestors" had some complaints.

The tunnel leading to the other world is still being tested and reinforced. As before, the upper limit of cultivation for those allowed to pass through in the early stages is set at the Grandmaster level.

Under the cover of night, the high-grade hot spring shines brightly, and in front of it, the Purple Cloud Cave steams with a misty haze, as if an incomparably precious purple cloud has descended from the sky and covered this place.

This time, the discussion about the adventure to another world wasn't very loud, but the number of people who came to the site was quite large, densely packed, all sitting cross-legged on the ground waiting.

Qin Ming observed that although there were many young and strong people, he did not find any native immortals or gods, nor did he find any "proud suns" or other people from outside the realm. It seemed that most of them were people without backgrounds who were unwilling to be mediocre and wanted to go to the unknown and unpredictable world to fight for a brilliant future for themselves.

He sat cross-legged on the cold, hard ground, chatting with the people around him. Just as he had guessed, they were all people with some talent and relatively ordinary backgrounds.

There are many young faces, with burning eyes, full of dreams, hoping to seize great opportunities in the distant world and change their destiny.

"Look, that's Tu City. It's a pity that, given our status, we have no chance of going in." A young man looked at the glowing city in the distance with longing in his eyes.

Although Tucheng is not magnificent, it has its own aura that makes people feel that it is unfathomable. It is openly guarded by twelve "Golden Immortals".

Qin Ming was also looking into the distance and even saw some familiar faces.

In particular, over the next two days, spaceships landed in this area one after another, all of them people who had come early to attend the meeting.

Among them were some important figures, including many patriarchs.

Qin Ming saw seeds of immortality such as Jiang Ran, Zhuo Qingming, and Cui Chonghe, as well as cultivators from Pugong such as Little Tathagata and Jian Huaidao. As for the "proud suns" from other regions, he did not recognize most of them.

In front of the earthen city, some people looked towards the Purple Cloud Cave, and someone said, "People die for wealth and birds die for food. It is not wise to rashly venture into an unknown place like this."

Some people shook their heads, saying, "What you're saying is no different from 'Why don't they eat meat porridge?' Some people below lack resources and have no choice but to risk their lives to 'fight for a crossing.'"

Others disagreed, saying, "Actually, whether they compete or not, they can hardly go far. I dare say that none of these people can rise to prominence; their potential has long been locked in."

"I hope they have good luck and can reap the first wave of good fortune, but it is clear that opportunity does not favor the weak. Once we are sure that there are no problems at Zixia Cave, it will be our turn to take the stage."

In front of the earthen city, a group of people were talking casually. Some were descendants of immortals from beyond the realm, while others were scions of powerful local clans. They did not believe that the explorers from the lower classes could make a great harvest.

Finally, after several attempts, several batches of puppets entered Zixia Cave and returned successfully, confirming that it was a completely new world without any problems. Zixia Cave was then officially "activated".

"Let me tell you, this is the first time that Yezhou has been connected to an unknown land. It is of utmost significance, and there is absolutely no exaggeration in this matter!"

A grandmaster solemnly declared, and swore an oath that he would personally go when the grandmasters were permitted to depart.

That day, Qin Ming was about to cross over into another world, which would be his first real adventure into an unknown and mysterious other world!

(End of this chapter)