Night without Borders

Chapter 407 The truth about the earth and the moon
In the darkness, the forest stretches endlessly, and a moon ripples across the ground, its light rising gently like mist or thin smoke, blurring the forest and sky.

If you stand high in the sky and look down at the Earth and the Moon, you can see what looks like a "scroll" slowly unfolding inside.

In the arena, torches burned between the tiered stands made of giant stones. These torches, all from the Southern Ming Dynasty, illuminated the area, and large numbers of creatures rushed in from the eight misty gates.

There are outsiders.

"No wonder, he activated the arena, he must have brought a treasure to revive the Earth and Moon for him!"

Groups of creatures stared intently at Qin Ming, as if he were a priceless treasure.

Some of the monsters couldn't help but shout, "Take their place!"

Qin Ming was momentarily confused. These creatures had fiery eyes, as if they were looking at some rare treasure and wished they could devour him alive.

Most importantly, they all have "unique" appearances, each one stranger than the last, ranging from jellyfish to giant moths, to wooden figures, and pale faces twisted in the mist. There are many different kinds, all of them strange and bizarre.

"His identity is still uncertain. Perhaps he just accidentally entered the Earth-Moon region; it's an isolated incident. Let's hope it doesn't turn out to be a false alarm." A humanoid monster with eight octopus tentacles spoke, carrying the fishy smell of the sea.

These extraordinary beings come from different places, different races, and different languages. They communicate through the power of consciousness while remaining wary of each other.

In the Moon Palace, the petrified figure slowly turned around and looked at the osmanthus tree. Immediately, the fragrance of osmanthus filled the air, and delicate petals were blown up by the night breeze and drifted into the arena.

"It's confirmed. This is no accident. He possesses a sacred artifact that can repair the Earth and the Moon!" Some beings were very excited.

Most people stared intently at Qin Ming with deep eyes, remaining silent.

The osmanthus blossoms shimmered with light, their fragrant aroma refreshing the mind and body. Tiny petals fluttered down, landing on the ground beneath Qin Ming's feet, and spreading all the way to a seat in front of him.

It was like a ritual, inviting Qin Ming to sit in the audience.

He found it strange that the alien races were eyeing him with hostility, but none of them made a move; they were all very well-behaved.

Moreover, after they emerged from the different fog gates, they did not enter the audience seats, but instead gathered outside the arena's arena, in the most recessed area.

Although Qin Ming had many questions, he still walked forward and sat down in the seat with osmanthus flowers, despite the slight trembling of the old man.

He became the only spectator in the arena.

The moment he landed, it was as if some kind of ritual had begun, and everything was settled, causing a stir among the alien races.

Some even laughed like pigs: "Oink, grunt..."

"Young man, choose me in a moment, and I will take you into my divine race and ensure your safety!" a bald, burly man shouted, his voice shaking the arena.

Qin Ming's expression immediately changed. This person had been restraining himself and had not revealed his aura before, but now his whole body was flowing with Daoist energy. This was a... Grandmaster!

A woman smiled and said, "Young man, come with me. I am destined to become a celestial being, and I can take you to the Golden Palace, where you will stand high above the nine heavens and look down upon all living beings."

She was surrounded by ethereal mist, possessed extraordinary beauty, spoke gently, and most importantly, her aura caused even the bald grandmaster to back down.

This appears to be a powerful female expert at the sixth realm!
Qin Ming remained calm, but his heart was in turmoil. Were these people trying to win him over? They were so powerful, yet they hadn't made any rash moves; they were most likely abiding by some of the arena's rules.

He gradually relaxed. So what if he was a sixth-realm expert? What if he was a grandmaster in front of him? They couldn't threaten him for the time being. On the contrary, they had to show him enthusiasm.

Just as Qin Ming was pondering, an untimely voice rang out: "Human, crawl over here!"

His good mood was immediately ruined, and he looked towards the arena.

It was a large moth with many distorted human faces on its wings. Even from a distance, you could vaguely hear whispers that sounded like they came from another dimension, coming from those human faces, as if they were right next to your ear.

"Fairy Moth, it's not even time for your fate to be decided yet, and you're already stirring up trouble?" Someone looked over and told the big moth to behave.

Qin Ming remained silent. He didn't understand the rules of the arena, and asking questions casually might lead to being misled or taken advantage of. He decided to wait and see for the time being.

On the arena, a bloody battle began, conducted on a challenge-based system.

There are beings from the first to the sixth realm here. As long as both parties agree and acknowledge it, it is fine for people from the first and sixth realms to spar.

Qin Ming sat quietly, but his heart was far from calm. All those who had entered the arena were extremely powerful, and could be ruthless characters capable of crossing realms to fight back!

He was certain that this place was extremely far from the area radiated by Yujing, because these people who had gone through the trials were taking a different path than those in Yezhou.

Some powerful beings wield the power of their bloodline, while others use the power of curses; each has their own unpredictable and sophisticated methods.

The fighting in the arena was extremely brutal; right at the start, a deep-sea creature was torn to pieces.

The next challenger quickly took the stage, and it seemed that this ranking was very important to them, so they all played with abandon.

Qin Ming watched the game intently, as he was the only VIP who could observe from the sidelines.

Just then, footsteps came from outside the arena, which immediately caught his attention.

In an instant, Qin Ming was stunned. A large rabbit appeared, walking upright, taller than a person, and hairless. Was this the rabbit from the Moon Palace that had been skinned?

It was dressed in coarse cloth, stained with blood, and holding a jade pestle and mortar, about to pound medicine here.

Soon, Qin Ming knew what it had come to do: save lives and heal the sick.

The deep-sea creature that had just been torn apart was pieced together by the giant rabbit, who then applied medicine, and miraculously brought it back to life.

"A kind rabbit," Qin Ming thought to himself.

"Do you think I wanted to do this? This is work I had no choice but to do." Big Rabbit said this very simply, as if he could guess what Qin Ming was thinking.

The big rabbit continued, "Watch the battle carefully. In the end, you can either acknowledge a master and follow one person to leave, or you can step onto the stage yourself, choose nine opponents, defeat them all, and then leave on your own."

Upon hearing this, Qin Ming felt a heaviness in his heart. There weren't many low-level creatures in this place; a casual glance would reveal Grandmasters, and even experts at the sixth realm. How could he possibly defeat them?

Mainly, he felt that lower-level beings probably wouldn't accept his challenge.

Qin Ming sensed that although the big rabbit harbored resentment, it was still a decent rabbit.

He tried to ask it questions about the place and learn more about it.

He even cautiously inquired who had been so disrespectful to it, damaging its fur.

The giant rabbit immediately gritted its teeth and said, "Earth Moon Servant!"

With its signal, Qin Ming knew who the Earth Moon Servant was: the monster with a human head, a centipede body, and divine vines growing on its back that had revived earlier on the arena.

The big rabbit said, "It doesn't matter anymore. After the gladiatorial ritual restarts, his life, as the previous Earth-Moon servant, will come to an end."

Qin Ming was full of doubts and continued to ask for advice.

The big rabbit said, "Last time, he was sitting in the audience like you, and he came on stage last to challenge some opponents. His performance was not good enough. He stumbled and defeated six opponents, becoming a servant of the Earth Moon."

Qin Ming was alarmed; if he wasn't careful, he too could be left behind.

The giant rabbit explained, "Servants of Earth and Moon may petrify and die here at any time. However, if one becomes a higher-level 'Temporary Carrier of Earth and Moon,' one can die of old age here normally. As for 'Temporary Owners of Earth and Moon,' they are more free and can leave this place..."

Suddenly, its eyes widened as it sensed a subtle fluctuation on Qin Ming. Staring at the tattered cloth in his sleeve, it stammered, "I... a rabbit!"

Its consciousness trembled, and it secretly transmitted its voice: "You actually brought such a large piece. You've made a huge mistake by coming here. Outside, you would only be a temporary owner. But for the sake of Earth and Moon, you actually ran straight in."

Immediately, Qin Ming guessed part of the truth about this place.

The big rabbit said, "For you, the fierce battles in the arena are just a test of whether you are qualified to be the temporary owner of the Earth and the Moon. It's not worth it."

Qin Ming guessed that this was a test from the rag.

He asked, "Has anyone succeeded in the past?"

The big rabbit nodded and said, "Yes, both temporary carriers and temporary owners have appeared, but they all eventually died of old age. Then the Earth and Moon returned to their original positions, and those extraordinary beings were just passersby on the Earth and Moon."

Qin Ming's expression turned serious.

In the end, 90% of the people in the arena were eliminated, and those who remained were all formidable opponents.

Someone smiled gently and expressed goodwill towards Qin Ming.

Some deliberately provoked Qin Ming, because if they could defeat him, they could take his place and gain all his qualifications.

Regarding Grandmasters and experts at the Sixth Realm, no matter how eloquently they spoke, Qin Ming ignored them. "This humble servant is about to break through her cultivation barrier and become a True Immortal, without altering her life form, maintaining her human form." A strikingly beautiful woman in black smiled and said she was willing to publicly swear an oath to become Qin Ming's Daoist partner, and together they would one day ascend to the Celestial Immortal Realm.

Someone nearby interrupted, saying, "What's the use of your oath? At least there's one ancient method plus two new ones that can break it."

"Humans, do you know how I was born? A great being once soaked my body in the blood of an entire city's worth of humans, eventually granting me divine power. Unfortunately, something went wrong, otherwise I wouldn't be standing here with you; I would already be towering high in the heavens." A living metallic being spoke, its entire body as red as blood.

Qin Ming stared at it again and again. Its Daoist aura was thin, at most only at the second realm. How dare such a piece of trash openly provoke him?
"Then count you in!" Qin Ming pointed, confirming the choice.

The big rabbit reminded, "This is Blood Gold Spirit, which is living gold. It was further awakened by the blood of all the living beings in the city. Although its Daoist essence is thin, its body is solid and indestructible, making it extremely powerful."

Qin Ming nodded, and then began to select opponents. To be on the safe side, he even tried to select beings in the first realm, but was rejected.

In the end, he selected two second-realm aliens, four third-realm monsters, and three fourth-realm aliens, who then happily headed towards the destination in both directions.

"Old Bu, is everything alright? Are there any other pitfalls here?" Qin Ming secretly asked the aloof Ragman.

It responded for the first time ever, giving a slight jolt, as if nodding.

Without further hesitation, Qin Ming left the stands and walked up the stone steps toward the arena's arena.

His first battle will be against Blood Gold Spirit.

"Although your grandpa's cultivation was disrupted by the Earth Immortal, ruining the evolution ritual, beating a brat like you is still no problem." Every word Xue Jinling said was unpleasant to hear.

He was as tall as a person, his blood-red metallic body flowing with precious light. In an instant, he decomposed into dozens or even hundreds of strands of metallic energy, which then shot towards Qin Ming.

As expected, using Daoist charm to measure one's realm is unreliable here.

When Qin Ming swung the black jade hammer and unleashed a powerful blow, the treasure was riddled with holes, the metallic energy emanating from the Blood Gold Spirit protruding from it proving indestructible.

It wasn't until Qin Ming went all out, using his spiritual energy field to forcibly imprison the metallic energy it had broken down, and then refined it with the light of heaven, and used the strange metal sword to slash through the void, that it cried out in pain.

The Blood Elf was melted into a lump of waste gold by Qin Ming's Heavenly Light, and then pierced by the Strange Gold Sword, resulting in its complete defeat and death.

This was only the first battle, and Qin Ming had to use several of his trump cards against a monster at the second level, which was quite unusual.

Qin Ming dug out a bright red, crystalline metal block from the Blood Gold Spirit's ruined body.

The big rabbit said, "We should keep it to save it. Unless you can become the temporary owner of the Earth Moon, we shouldn't touch this blood gold core."

In the second battle, Qin Ming's opponent was still a monster at the second realm. It was a giant beast that charged at him like a small mountain, causing the huge arena to tremble.

As expected, one cannot judge an opponent by the amount of Dao aura they possess. This behemoth's brute strength alone is enough to kill a powerful figure in the third realm.

"If I were to assess my combat strength, I would be firmly in the fourth realm. How dare you look down on me?" The giant beast, covered in golden scales, roared as its claws, each as large as a house, reached out towards Qin Ming.

This is a battle of strength!
In the end, Qin Ming left a bloody hole in its huge head.

He faced his third opponent, a deep-sea creature belonging to the third realm, a class of beings on par with him.

It resembles a jellyfish, with a semi-transparent body and some colorful spots, constantly emitting light and mist. Its real name is Nightmare Mother.

It floated in mid-air, and suddenly, many tentacles snapped straight up, stabbing out like spears!

Qin Ming's palm was like a knife, with the light of the sky crisscrossing, and he directly severed a section of the tentacle. He was somewhat surprised. Was this all the Nightmare Mother had to offer?

The next moment, he was horrified, because the scenery in front of him had completely changed, as if he had arrived at a glowing seabed, and then he saw his grandfather.

Qin Ming's heartstrings were plucked, and he felt truly saddened. Here he saw that his grandfather had died and become a pile of bones by the roadside.

He knew that this was the deepest hidden pain in his heart, and the answer, because according to common sense, it would be difficult for an old man without cultivation to survive wandering in the foggy world.

He's quite famous now, but his grandfather has never reappeared, and despite his efforts to connect with others, he can't find him at all.

Qin Ming knew that these were all illusions, a nightmare. He had already released the Sumeru Field and the Heavenly Demon Field to protect himself, but he still felt heartache. This was enough to show how terrifying the Nightmare Mother was, capable of attacking the most vulnerable part of the human heart.

Soon after, his grandfather disappeared, and he was freed from his mental predicament. In an instant, he was full of energy and seemed to be on the verge of enlightenment.

In a short while, his body was filled with a strong Daoist aura. When he fought in the spiritual field outside, his state of mind was sublimated and became extremely harmonious. He felt a great joy, as if he had ascended to a blissful state.

"It's still an illusion. The Nightmare Mother is truly omnipresent!" Qin Ming exclaimed in surprise. If he were to follow along with the joy, he might very well fall into a mental trap.

He was surprised to find that this Nightmare Mother was incredibly powerful, capable of finding all sorts of mental rifts and being omnipresent.

Finally, Qin Ming opened his newborn eyes and resonated with the emotions of this creature, breaking through numerous consciousness traps and clearly seeing all the scenes.

The arena was filled with bubbles of vibrant colors, engulfing Qin Ming and his surroundings. Each bubble represented a journey of the soul, a dream.

If one is trapped in it, one can slowly ignite the light of consciousness, leaving only the physical body.

After experiencing two mental dream states, Qin Ming completely broke free. As he went all out, the colorful bubbles here burst, burned, and ignited in reverse.

He did not underestimate his opponent; on the contrary, he looked solemn. If his consciousness had not been so firmly integrated with the light of heaven, those two spiritual journeys alone might have slightly damaged him.

Enduring several dream cycles is useless; once you've gone through them, it's like consuming the light of your soul.

If it were a celestial being, a single misstep could have resulted in their demise here.

Qin Ming's fourth opponent was a rag doll, three feet tall, with its body covered in rusty armor plates and its eyes being two spiritual gems. It walked towards him step by step, as if it could corrode everything.

As soon as they clashed, Qin Ming realized how powerful it was. It could devour life essence and spirituality; once you were tainted by it, you would be severely injured even if you didn't die. It was far more domineering than conventional cultivation methods.

Qin Ming went all out, using the "Withering and Flourishing Sutra" and the "Black and White Sutra" to deal with this opponent in the corresponding fields.

He fought for over 150 moves before finally defeating his opponent.

Finally, Qin Ming defeated nine opponents in a row, and he himself was covered in blood. The last three opponents, who were at the early stage of the fourth realm, were stronger than he had imagined.

The last one, in particular, was exceptionally strong.

This weighed heavily on Qin Ming's mind. Outside of Yujing, in a strange place he had just stumbled upon, he had encountered so many formidable and terrifying opponents.

"The road ahead is long, and I need to strive for rebirth, to change my constitution through the Great Nirvana, and to transform the light of heaven as well..." He was spurring himself on, for there were many opponents deep in the world of night fog.

The others had complicated expressions and were quite shocked. He had actually won every round and passed the test, becoming the temporary owner of the Earth Moon.

The big rabbit stared blankly, opened its mouth, and seemed to want to say that the most powerful opponent was different from the others; he was the previous temporary owner of the Earth and Moon, who had been recreated.

However, it eventually shut up. It was just a "tool rabbit," why bother with so much? There were indeed too many brilliant geniuses in the dark.

After all, the moon has shone on people of the past. Those who temporarily possessed the moon all had brief periods of success, but in the end, they all returned to decay and dust.

With a whoosh, Qin Ming was inexplicably taken away from the arena and teleported to the edge of the Earth and Moon.

Then he saw a scroll burning, depicting a scene from the arena where people entered the mist gate, and everything there turned to ashes.

Then he saw that the osmanthus tree also spontaneously combusted, and the rabbit skin was burned. After that, most of the Guanghan Palace collapsed.

Rumble!
The ground shook, and the moon rose into the sky, first shining brilliantly and dazzlingly, then it seemed to go out forever, and the world turned pitch black.

A piece of cloth, made of exotic gold, only the size of a palm, woven with a crescent moon pattern, floated in mid-air and flew silently toward Qin Ming.

He shook the rag in his hand and rushed forward, the two coming together.

The Earth and the Moon are nothing more than a tattered cloth that has been revived!

In the distance, thick black fog dissipated, and Qin Ming left the area immediately.

Having acquired another piece of old cloth, he didn't want to linger there and avoid being discovered, after all, this cloth had a very prestigious origin.

"Hmm?" Qin Ming crossed the forest and saw a vast expanse of colorful clouds in the distance, as if a fairy from the heavens was rising slowly. That was... Jiang Ran.

Qin Ming immediately rushed towards her.

Behind her, the night completely darkened. In the moonless land, within the crumbling Guanghan Palace, the figure of the woman who had been standing still, already dim and on the verge of dissipation, suddenly opened her eyes: "Someone is gathering the power of Yin here, manifesting my shadow..."

She rose into the air and gazed into the distance.

(End of this chapter)