Night without Borders

Chapter 391 The Emperor
In the wilderness, the night mist lingers, and scattered snowflakes dance in the night wind. Birds fly in arcs before disappearing into the vast darkness.

"The chosen one. The future is uncertain, but we both have hope!" Someone said with a gleam in their eyes, fist pressed against their chest, full of vigor.

Beside him, a young man laughed and said, "Brother, if you can enter the capital, don't forget me if you become rich and powerful."

Kunling City is not far from Tucheng, both located in the same area. Although there are no fire springs on the road and it is pitch black, it is not desolate or quiet, and there are many pedestrians in the night wind.

"Can one truly achieve the status of a celestial being?" someone asked with doubt.

Even though young people are full of vigor and ambition, when the words "celestial being" are mentioned, many people will look solemn and dare not joke, all with a sense of awe.

Without a doubt, celestial beings are heavier than Mount Sumeru in people's minds, as if they could crush the sky, and even jokes dare not easily use these two words.

After all, in this world, Earth Immortals are the pinnacle. As long as one appears, they can look down on an entire region. They are a powerful weapon that can be used to suppress a sect in the mortal world.

A young man solemnly reminded them: "Celestial beings and gods are not to be discussed; let's not talk about them."

The city of Tu is in sight. It is not majestic in the night, but now it has become a gathering place for powerful figures. Not only Yezhou, but also geniuses from beyond the region are coming here.

Not far away, the snow was reflected in the red light, and someone had unearthed an underground hot spring and was "building a great deal of construction" to build the legendary "gate" that would connect to a distant otherworld.

The group of old monsters in Tucheng were greatly agitated and sent out experts to keep a close watch on the place. Some of the Twelve Golden Immortals even came to inspect it personally.

A large rooster, over ten feet tall, was golden all over and covered in armor, resembling a rising sun illuminating the desolate wilderness in the night fog.

"Hiss, is that the Chicken Fairy?"

"Shh, he became an immortal through the body of a strongman, so don't talk nonsense. His original form was a human!"

Qin Ming and his group arrived, but instead of entering Tu City, they lingered near the entrance to the tunnel leading to another world. In fact, many people were watching from the vicinity.

The golden rooster patrolled the area, bathed in the glow of the sunset, giving the place a grand appearance. Even visitors from foreign lands stopped to admire it, instead of immediately heading to the earthen city to register.

"Take it easy, don't mess around!" Not long after, several ancestors arrived and watched their unfilial descendants digging holes.

The ancestors strongly suspected that these old rascals were inherently rebellious. Just as a city was about to be built in the sky, they deliberately went against it, insisting on joining in the fun by digging a hole underground.

Lu Yu personally took charge and responded, "We support the Earth Immortals in unifying Yezhou. We have no other desires now but to explore beyond the realm and expand our territory."

Today, the Sixth Patriarch is renowned throughout the world, having once defeated the Buddha and rendered him useless. Given his hands-on approach, people strongly suspect that his eagerness to shed his last vestiges of decay might actually be a genuine hope of reaching the seventh realm!

"Let's go into the city and have a chat," one of the first ancestors invited.

In the end, the patriarchs who were preparing to clear the land and build roads were all invited away and entered the earthen city. The atmosphere in this area immediately relaxed; otherwise, no one would have dared to speak loudly.

"Everyone, who wants to explore another world? There might be great opportunities in the distance! This time, we might be able to dig up a land of great fortune. If there are super hot springs everywhere, and high-grade spiritual herbs are scattered all over the place, and it's completely undeveloped, just thinking about it makes my mouth water!"

"Wake up, stop sleepwalking! Even the first ancestors couldn't stand it anymore and were terrified of being tormented like this. It's clearly going to be three pits a year!"

Tucheng was not far away, so they didn't say much, for fear of being blamed by their ancestors if they heard.

Someone changed the subject, saying, "This time, one new star after another will rise in the night sky. I hope that our Night State can take advantage of the home field and that all the geniuses from all walks of life can successfully enter Sky City."

A young boy looked up at the dark sky and said, "This really is a literal interpretation of the stars rising into the sky."

When people talk about the Sky City, they all look on with longing. How can that city float in the sky? It's something that inspires awe and anticipation.

“Many people have come from outside the region, so the competition will probably be fierce,” a seed-level figure said with a solemn expression.

For someone like him, ascending to heaven is no problem; the real fear is that once he enters the city in the heavens, there will be all sorts of competition. It should be known that the outstanding people from beyond the realm are often descendants of earth immortals or disciples of immortal dojos, all of whom are extremely powerful.

“Your words are not grand enough. It’s just fair competition. We come from beyond the realm. Are we to be excluded?” a young man from the Immortal Island of the Western Sea said.

There are already quite a few visitors from outside the region here.

He spoke relatively calmly, but the hot-tempered foreign youth spoke forcefully: "Night Prefecture is quite lucky to have become a temporary base for Jade Capital. Otherwise, who would want to come to such a remote place!"

"How dare you speak like that?" Some of the young geniuses from Yezhou immediately expressed their dissatisfaction.

“Now, Night State no longer belongs exclusively to you natives; it belongs to all of us,” a young girl from the distant northern wilderness said.

“Yes, we have come to Yezhou as guests. You should have some vision and not be petty. Let us compete for the position of the Chosen One based on our own abilities!” A young master from the East nodded and said.

They weren't trying to cause trouble; they mainly wanted to band together, test the extent to which Yezhou was resistant to outsiders, and adjust their actions based on the feedback.

Some of the young men from the Earth Immortal Dojo were used to being assertive and wanted to treat this place as their home ground, while some geniuses from outside the region lacked a sense of security and were therefore testing the waters.

Of course, those who really want to "test their stress" will only organize it in secret and will not show up in person; someone else will do it for them.

Within the territory radiating from Yujing, many areas are connected by black mist caves, which are special gates that can greatly shorten the journey.

Nowadays, there are quite a few young powerhouses coming from other regions.

Immediately, the place became noisy, with some people stirring up trouble, others watching the spectacle, and even many geniuses who had entered Tu City came out to watch.

This age group is a time of impulsiveness, and people tend to be short-tempered, making it easy for arguments to break out, and sometimes even leading to serious conflicts.

“We acknowledge that the elderly in Yezhou become increasingly cunning with age. Though they are old and frail, they still harbor lofty ambitions and are constantly digging deep pits. They are all ruthless and vicious, and their reputation is known far and wide,” said one of the visitors from beyond the borders.

At first glance, it sounds like a compliment, but upon closer reflection, it seems like a joke. And upon closer examination, it seems to express a lot of dissatisfaction. I guess the person who said this had a complicated mindset.

Someone immediately nodded in agreement, saying, "On the contrary, the young people in Yezhou are all unremarkable and listless; I haven't heard of anyone who stands out."

"To put it bluntly, some of our peers in Yezhou are rather mediocre!"

This is somewhat of a regional discrimination.

In fact, this kind of problem can easily arise even when people from different cities quarrel, let alone when it involves local and foreign lands.

"Are you talking in your sleep? Do you want to hear some more of your nonsense? I remember that there was a so-called 'proud sun' from beyond the realm who once sparred with Jiang Ran and eventually bowed his head obediently."

"What's a few battles? Is there only one outstanding woman in your Yezhou? Aren't the men presentable?"

Sure enough, the two sides grew increasingly angry.

"You're dreaming! Haven't you heard of Emperor Chonghe of Yezhou? I look down on you all! If you're not convinced, come and fight!"

Cui Chonghe, who was watching, was stunned, then his face turned ashen. Who was trying to drag him down with them? How shameful!
Without a doubt, by now, this is no longer just regional discrimination; all sides are very angry, and some people are even taking advantage of the situation to stir up trouble.

"What Chonghe, Zhonghe? I've never even heard of them. How dare this nobody look down on us? What real achievements does he have?"

Upon hearing this, Cui Chonghe's face darkened. Who wanted to make him the target of everyone's criticism and put him on the hot seat? How shameless!
"Want to show your achievements? Not long ago, Qin Ming of Yezhou defeated Sun Chengjun, an outstanding disciple of the Sage lineage who had mastered the Chaos Force, and it was an upset victory!"

"I've heard about it. It's just a minor skirmish on the path of the strongman. What kind of extraordinary person is Sun Chengjun? He'd be more like a little Buddha if his opponent were replaced!"

"Stop being disgusting. That's the face of my new path. What does he have to do with the Warrior?" "Heh, the Warrior is your ultimate goal. Don't take it personally. Jade Capital has locked the path. Your limits have long been locked. Don't get excited, brother. Come and follow me from now on."

Qin Ming hadn't expected that when he became the subject of gossip, he would be the target of all sorts of unpleasant comments.

"Shut up! You come from a tiny, insignificant country, what do you know about the path to a new life? Emperor Qin Ming, how dare you speak so presumptuously!"

When Qin Ming heard these words, his brows furrowed immediately, and he began to search for the source of the conversation. Someone had actually brought the issue to his attention.

"Your Majesty, I spit on you! A mere third realm cultivator dares to boast so recklessly? You are utterly shameless!"

Following Emperor Chonghe, Emperor Qin Ming was also verbally attacked.

Wu Yaozu spoke up: "Someone here is targeting Brother Ming, it's really despicable!"

Jiang Ran smiled and said, "It's alright, Qin Ming just needs to try his best to live up to the image of the Emperor Emeritus they're talking about."

With her liquid immortal robes covering her, Li Qingyue's senses instantly increased dramatically, allowing her to intercept clandestine communications and whispers, and immediately lock onto her target.

“Over there, they’re from the East,” she said, pointing directly to a few people.

"Qi Yunxiao!" Qin Ming recognized one of the people. The other party had once traveled thousands of miles in a rainy night and attacked him in the sky above the Thunderfire Alchemy Hall.

That night, he became an element in the gambling game between several powerful figures from beyond the realm, a mere pawn in someone else's game. After learning the truth, Qin Ming acted ruthlessly, crippling Qi Yunxiao.

"Senior Brother Liu, they seem to have discovered that we are using a secret method to transmit our voices among the crowd," Qi Yunxiao said.

The purple-clad youth, Liu Zhenghong, said in a deep voice, "It's alright. Since he's already aware of something, let's take this opportunity to teach him a lesson!"

Wu Yaozu shouted, "Who do we have here? Isn't this Qi Yunxiao, the genius of the East? After being crippled by my brother Ming, you've become a mosquito in a dark corner, only daring to chirp behind people's backs. Are you even a man? You don't even dare to stand up and speak directly."

The area quickly fell silent, and everyone turned to look.

Qi Yunxiao's face turned pale and then red. After being crippled, he had no face to return to the Eastern Land. Recently, he had wanted to go to Sky City with his friends to try his luck. Now that his shortcomings had been exposed in public, he was extremely ashamed and indignant.

"What are you saying?!" Liu Zhenghong, who came from the East, looked at him coldly. He was originally there to stand up for his friend, so he would naturally step forward now.

Many people whispered that the battle back then was not made public, but only circulated in a small circle, and Qin Ming himself never boasted about such a victory.

After all, he received a lot of benefits when the other party came to ransom him, which could be considered hush money.

But now, the other party is being incredibly inconsiderate, secretly trying to smear him.

Xiang Yiwu said in a deep voice, "Do you want us to repeat ourselves and make it completely public to you?"

"Stop talking nonsense!" Liu Zhenghong pressed closer step by step, preparing to have a "sparring match" with Qin Ming on the spot.

They have already analyzed that Qin Ming defeated Qi Yunxiao that day by taking advantage of "heavenly influence," and his own cultivation was not that profound.

However, Liu Zhenghong and others also admitted that Qin Ming's extraordinary talent, his ability to temporarily transform the "heavenly field" into a spiritual field and use it for his own purposes, was truly amazing.

At this moment, without extreme environmental conditions, strong winds, or thunderstorms, he didn't believe that this young man could still create any miracles.

Wu Yaozu said, "Who are you scolding? Since you have no shame, then I will tell everyone that this Qi Yunxiao from the East once traveled thousands of miles in the rain, arrogant and conceited, thinking that he could subdue my brother Ming with two swords. As a result, he was beaten into a dog by my brother Ming and was crippled."

The area was briefly quiet, then erupted into chaos, with people in an uproar.

The details of that night's battle have been fully revealed today, surprising many with Qin Ming's record and explaining why Qi Yunxiao suddenly went silent—he had suffered a huge loss and been crippled.

"As expected of Emperor Qin Ming!" someone exclaimed.

"Little Blackie, shut up!" Little Wu quickly scolded.

"Qin Ming actually has such a brilliant record, he's really amazing!"

This area is the subject of much discussion.

Qi Yunxiao's face turned pale. He felt utterly ashamed that his disgraceful past had been exposed in public. He had once been a shining star in the East, but now he had fallen into the abyss.

"Ask yourself honestly, with your true cultivation, can you suppress Brother Qi?" Liu Zhenghong's immortal aura surged as he charged straight at Qin Ming.

Xiang Yiwu rebuked, saying, "A defeat is a defeat. There are no excuses. Can't you accept defeat?"

Qin Ming waved his hand, stepped forward himself, and said, "You want to stand up for him? Fine, come here!"

Liu Zhenghong sneered, using his teleportation ability to shrink distances to an inch, and instantly appeared before him, making his move directly.

Qin Ming stood still, but the spiritual field expanded outwards, with tangible ripples spreading like layers of waves in every inch of the void.

Moreover, within that spiritual field, a strange phenomenon was born. The setting sun cast a crimson glow on the night, and the Great Thunderclap Temple, bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun, appeared incomparably sacred and solemn. And in this atmosphere, a large number of... mushrooms suddenly sprouted among all the magnificent buildings!
Liu Zhenghong was very strong, but he suddenly lost his way, his consciousness became hazy and he was somewhat confused. He stumbled into the Great Dream God Mushroom Spirit Field, his mind clouded.

"Brother Liu!" Qi Yunxiao shouted, trying to wake him up.

Liu Zhenghong had only recently arrived in Yezhou and had not experienced the Great Dream Mushroom incident. He was careless when he arrived, but ended up getting caught in the trap.

In fact, even the young Buddha almost fell for it due to his carelessness.

Now, Liu Zhenghong felt as if he were sleepwalking, as if his whole body was covered in mushrooms and his seven orifices were filled with spores. He let out a miserable scream.

In an instant, his eyes glazed over, his face turned deathly pale, and he stood motionless on the ground.

Everyone was stunned!
This is just the beginning, and this prodigy from the East has already fallen victim to it?

Qin Ming walked forward step by step with a calm expression, one hand already reaching out to touch Liu Zhenghong's head.

"Stop!" someone shouted.

Not long after Sun Chengjun and Qin Ming's battle at Shanhe Academy, everyone knew that once Qin Ming touched someone's head, it was easy for their skull to explode, which was quite terrifying.

Qin Ming ignored him, walked forward, and insisted on placing his hand on Liu Zhenghong's head.

“Yezhou, aren’t you going a bit too far? You should be more forgiving,” someone said.

A group of people approached, all from the East.

"They're all prodigies from the Earth Immortal Daoist Academy, and they've actually come together!" someone whispered, their voice trembling slightly, because they recognized their identities.

These people, who came from at least two different Daoist temples, stepped forward together, exerting pressure.

"Who's afraid of who?" Wu Yaozu and Xiang Yiwu walked up to Qin Ming's side.

"If you want to spar with us, that's fine too!" Jiang Ran and Li Qingyue walked side by side, both women of unparalleled beauty, and officially entered the arena.

Instantly, the place was in an uproar. The top geniuses of Night State and the Eastern Land were about to fight to the death.
(End of this chapter)