Night without Borders

Chapter 413 The Chosen Land

Is this the highest heaven? Or a higher realm, or even beyond the heavens? Qin Ming was astonished as he gazed at the magnificent city.

Nine-colored auspicious clouds soared above the sky, weaving through endless black clouds, as small as a small boat in a vast ocean, yet moving at an extremely fast speed, shooting out.

"hiss!"

Qin Ming stood above the sea of ​​clouds, inhaling the fierce wind. The majestic city seemed not far away, but it was an illusion. Ripples appeared in front of him, as if a mirror was blocking the way.

With a whoosh, he rushed through, as if entering a mirror-like surface of water, or as if passing through a strange passage.

"This is..." After passing through the rippled area, he saw the hazy truth, and what he saw was endless magnificence.

It was a huge cliff, and the majestic pass was located on it. Although they were quite far apart, you could still feel the oppressive atmosphere.

The towering city walls resemble a continuous mountain range, winding like a giant dragon, with an imposing presence. The buildings standing within the city seem to connect with the stars and moon, radiating auspicious light and exuding Taoist charm.

Even the surging, thick black fog could not obscure the city.

But why is it on a cliff?

Qin Ming felt that since he was riding on auspicious clouds, he should be in the highest heavens.

He stared intently. The distance between him and the cliff was vast, almost too wide. If he hadn't used his Eye of New Life, he wouldn't have been able to see the other side clearly.

Qin Ming looked down at his feet and his heart skipped a beat. There were still some burning meteorites and huge fragments of stars.

It's like an unimaginably vast abyss stretching across this place.

Qin Ming gasped. Had he not come to the sky, but rather risen from the bottom of an endless abyss and seen the broken highlands ahead?

"Perhaps the problem lies in that rippling mirror," he pondered, thinking that it might be a portal, which led him to this foreign land.

Soon, the nine-colored auspicious cloud accelerated, passing through a misty area and instantly shortening the distance to the city on the cliff, arriving in the blink of an eye.

Upon arriving here, Qin Ming immediately felt his own insignificance; this so-called "cliff" should actually be a torn continent.

Moreover, the scenery before them changed again; the once majestic city suddenly appeared as if it had stood for thousands or tens of thousands of years, crumbling in the blink of an eye.

The mountain-like city walls collapsed, and the buildings in the city, intertwined with chains of law, decayed and crumbled in an instant, falling in large swaths. Even the towering divine trees withered and turned to ashes, and the undulating lake dried up in the blink of an eye.

This transformation is like a dramatic depiction of the shifting of stars and the changing of the world, with everything being vividly reflected.

From all directions, many people flew in on auspicious clouds and landed on the giant cliff. They were the same creatures from last night, numbering in the hundreds. Each of them was shrouded in mist, and their true appearances could not be seen.

"Where is this?" someone asked.

"The Chosen Land." It was that mysterious being from yesterday again, sending waves of consciousness from the deep night sky.

Qin Ming knew what kind of place this was, because his "good buddy" Bai Meng and the woman in the red dress, Tang Yushang, came from a similar place.

This place is destroyed, but the ruins of Taixu remain.

Historically, the Jade Capital would occasionally descend to earth and merge with the projection on the ground.

This kind of land is called the Chosen Land.

Now that its glory has faded, only broken land and ruins remain. Is this due to the passage of time and the departure of Yujing, or was it breached by external forces?

A voice came from the night sky: "This is the land chosen by heaven eight thousand years ago. You have seen what it looks like. Work hard, otherwise, perhaps one day your land will become like this."

Many people watched quietly; the entire area was desolate. What kind of destructive force had it endured?
"Is a new Chosen Land about to appear?" Some people were quite perceptive and secretly speculated, "Could it be that Jade Capital is about to descend upon Night State?"

The night sky was silent. The unknown being did not respond immediately, but after a moment it said, "It will appear!"

"Why was this chosen land abandoned?" someone asked.

"Destroyed by the enemy." The voice in the sky stated bluntly, just like that.

Immediately, a commotion broke out on the cliff.

In people's minds, Yujing was supreme and possessed boundless power. Even the place where it descended was turned into ruins by its opponents, which greatly impacted hundreds of people.

Unfortunately, the voice was unwilling to say more.

"You're not here to reminisce about the past or wander into ruins. If you want to understand the truth, go and excavate in the ruins and fight bravely. This is also a test for you."

The next instant, auspicious clouds of various colors rose up, sending everyone into this giant city and placing them in different areas.

"The scene you see is the cleaned-up battlefield, where the former enemy has long since vanished. Even so, it is not an easy path," a voice in the night sky warned.

The ruins were so vast that hundreds of people were scattered here, unable to see each other.

"Will people die here?" someone asked. On their way home last night, someone had an accident, but eventually recovered in their physical body.

“If you are killed, you will experience the pain of death firsthand. I... will try my best to save you.”

Many people are feeling a chill run down their spines. Does this mean that some people might not be able to be saved and will truly die?

After landing, Qin Ming surveyed the surrounding scenery. Broken walls and rubble were everywhere. This place had once been a magnificent mansion, but it had been destroyed.

He even saw the dome of a building made of mutton fat jade iron, broken on the ground—how extravagant!
He walked over and gently touched it. The jade turned to dust, without any luster, as if something had absorbed all its spirituality, making it even worse than ordinary iron.

A voice in the night sky warned: "Even if you meet each other, you may become adversaries. Be careful. That's all I have to say."

Qin Ming took out the Measuring Ruler from the storage space of the tattered cloth. This object was pitch black and was the one he had seized from Helian Zhaoyu during their duel in the snow outside the Pure Land.

This measuring ruler is made from the most essential heartwood of the Nine-Life Tree. Its material is amazing and can break through a mutton-fat jade iron knife.

Qin Ming walked through the mansion and came to a collapsed hall. What he saw was a desolate scene of spider webs, weeds, and ruins.

Suddenly, he realized something was wrong; something was falling from the night sky!

He quickly backed away and observed carefully. It turned out to be ashes, falling from the depths of the dark sky, like the decaying past, turning into the dust of history, telling something to future generations.

In an instant, the environment of this ruin changed. Qin Ming was surprised. How come those weeds were much taller than him?
This change surprised him. Had the mansion grown larger, or had he himself shrunk?
The broken walls and ruined halls make it seem very large, and the sound of chanting can be heard from here, making it quite solemn and sacred.

Qin Ming crossed the broken wall, which was tens of meters high, and arrived at the other side of the ruined hall. His pupils contracted immediately as he saw layers upon layers of nets, which rippled and vibrated.

It was a spider web, gradually glowing, as if a spiritual field was expanding.

In the center, there was a large, ferocious, and intimidating spider, which was chanting scriptures.

Isn't this the little spider from the spiderweb in the corner earlier? It's completely black and very common in Night State; it's called an ink spider.

At this moment, it grew larger and was actually praying to the depths of the night sky with great piety. Then its consciousness glowed, as if it were murmuring in a mysterious language.

"Why do you not bow to the Heavenly Demon?" The Ink Spider rippled with consciousness, its tone stern as it looked down from its giant spider web.

Qin Ming wondered if he was trapped in an illusion, or if the spider had gone mad. What was originally a small, ordinary ink spider was now calling itself a celestial demon.

Chi!
The black spider spun its silk, which shot towards Qin Ming like a bolt of lightning, as dazzling as a blade.

Qin Ming wielded the Measuring Ruler and immediately severed the spider silk.

The Ink Spider spoke: "Evil spirits from the abyss have invaded. I beseech the supreme being to grant this humble spider great power to slay the evil here!"

It bows to the night sky, very earnestly.

Then, the glowing spiderweb erupted violently, becoming incredibly sacred and radiating nine-colored light.

"Heavenly Demon Force Field, vanquish evil!" Ink Spider roared.

Qin Ming was speechless. How dare this spider, which called itself a Heavenly Demon, refer to others as evil spirits? He immediately flew into a rage and wanted to get rid of it right away.

Although the Measuring Ruler in Qin Ming's hand was pitch black, it emitted a blazing sunlight, which was terrifying. This power was enough to kill an opponent in the early stage of the fourth realm.

However, he was somewhat distracted. The tiny spider, wielding its so-called Heavenly Demon Force Field, was incredibly powerful, blocking the devastating sunlight that should have swept away all his forces. Qin Ming felt a chill run down his spine. It wasn't that the Ink Spider was particularly strong, but rather that the power bestowed upon it by the being it prayed to was terrifyingly potent.

At this moment, the Ink Spider seemed to have truly transformed into a celestial demon, with all eight of its legs moving and forming hand seals, resembling an eight-armed deity, and giving people a solemn and sacred feeling.

Qin Ming exerted a great deal of effort to severely injure it. Subsequently, he even used the Six Ding Divine Fire and the Southern Bright Fire to burn the Heavenly Demon alive.

At this moment, the Heavenly Demon reverted to its original spider form, only an inch long and very small, already charred black, and the Heavenly Demon's energy field also transformed back into a spider web in the corner.

Qin Ming frowned deeply. This matter was far beyond what was expected. All of this was due to the spider's prayer, as if some unseen entity had truly lent it power.

"Is that being the opponent of Yujing? It shouldn't be here. Perhaps it's just its residual energy... yet it still has such a terrifying influence."

Qin Ming felt heavy-hearted. Even the lingering influence left by Yu Jing's opponent could allow a small spider to briefly gain power.

Is this one of the truths they can uncover by entering the ruins?
Amidst the ruins, Qin Ming continued walking forward. In the night breeze, a bell rang out, its clear and melodious sound startling him.

An 8,000-year-old wind chime, still intact and capable of producing sound? This is highly unusual.

Sure enough, Qin Ming saw clearly that a string of wind chimes, mostly broken, was hanging on a corner of the collapsed building, glowing and vibrating continuously.

The broken parts of the wind chime miraculously grew flesh and blood to make up for their defects.

Then, the wind chimes grew larger, each one as big as a bell, and the flesh and blood sprouted faces, each one like an innocent child.

Amidst the crisp ringing of bells, they were all laughing, men and women alike, gazing into the depths of the night sky, murmuring, whispering, and praying.

Qin Ming put away the measuring ruler and incorporated the tattered cloth into his fist. He was in a trance state, so it was easy for him to hide the old cloth in his fist.

He took this bizarre phenomenon very seriously and devoted himself to it.

The rag has never demonstrated any extraordinary power, but it does amplify his divine light to some extent.

Sure enough, his caution was correct. After the children prayed, the sound of the wind chimes changed, becoming grand and terrifying, accompanied by layers of bell waves crashing in.

All the wind chimes were like giant bells, their booming sound deafening.

The children's faces still looked innocent, and they babbled away.

Boom!
The wind chimes flew up and crashed towards Qin Ming. His fist struck them as if he were colliding with a mountain.

Qin Ming was shaken so badly that his blood and qi surged. Before his eyes, there were many large bells, and many children flew out from the flesh and blood bell bodies, laughing and rushing towards him.

One child after another was sent flying by his punches, yet they were incredibly resilient; normally, such flesh and blood should have been blown to pieces long ago.

Qin Ming used the Chaos Force, unifying all techniques, and unleashed forty-nine punches in succession. With the aid of the tattered cloth, the light of the sky became extremely dense, finally shattering all the wind chimes and children.

He exhaled a breath of stale air; this place was too eerie.

He walked forward and found that all the wind chimes were broken and rusty, with nothing unusual about them. They were all very small, yet they had forced him to use his trump card.

"The remaining mysterious power can actually transform an ordinary wind chime into something that can threaten a celestial seed!"

Qin Ming pondered: the unknown existence—the colossal object—its lingering influence from eight thousand years ago could transform decay into wonder; just how terrifying would its true appearance be?
He left the mansion and came to the dilapidated street, where many sections had been turned into abysses.

Just then, a thick fog inexplicably rose over the ruins, and something fell from the night sky—many yellowed book pages.

It's like an ancient book being torn apart and scattered from the sky.

Qin Ming dodged aside, but his eyes were fixed on them, wanting to take a closer look, because no matter how he looked at them, they seemed to be very precious sutras.

He shot out a beam of light to catch the falling paper.

In just a moment, he felt that this page of paper was heavier than ten thousand pounds, containing the essence of the Dao, which was so heavy that he could hardly bear it.

On the yellowed paper, dense writing appeared as he touched it, indeed seemingly... an unknown scripture, possibly of immense importance.

However, before Qin Ming could ponder and comprehend it, blood seeped from the paper again, causing all the small characters imbued with profound Daoist charm to explode, and then the paper was burned.

He changed a page of scripture, which seemed even heavier, and it quickly burned itself.

The sutra paper fell like withered leaves from the sky, the writing bursting open as soon as it appeared, like flickering candlelight, before finally turning to ash on the ground.

"The Jade Capital... the Supreme True Scripture... has become a worthless draft..."

After all the paper scriptures in the sky were burned through and exploded, a sound could be faintly heard from between them.

Qin Ming felt a chill run down his spine. Was this conveying some cruel truth? The supreme scriptures of Yujing were useless, seemingly reduced to worthless paper!

He felt a sense of dread, thinking of the rumor that Yujing favored those who paved roads.

If that's the case, then it makes sense.

Are the old laws becoming ineffective and gradually becoming useless?

Perhaps more accurately, the laws of Yujing lost their deterrent effect on the enemy.

In an instant, Qin Ming thought of many things: the old order of Yujing was corrupt and could not contain the "giant".

"Conversely, if the opponent suppresses Yujing, and the old techniques are locked, Yujing cannot break through and escape the predicament. A new method and a completely new Dao chain are needed."

Even the oldest immortals in the heavens couldn't see the direction clearly, so Qin Ming's thoughts were just wild speculation, but he felt that they might be "close to the truth".

At this moment, a figure walked over from across the main street. Although neither could see the other's face because they were both shrouded in mist, Qin Ming could roughly determine that it was a tall man.

"Brother Dao, are you alright?" the man asked in a hoarse voice.

The next moment, he made his move. A ray of divine light shone in all directions, like a thunderclap, and flew towards Qin Ming.

Qin Ming dodged and immediately used the methods of the Immortal Path, employing the ultimate technique of Cao Qianqiu's lineage—the Golden Rope of Runes.

He clenched his hands loosely, and fine golden patterns flowed from between his fingers, weaving into a golden rope in the night sky.

He was like a golden python, whooshing through the sky faster than lightning, heading straight for the tall man in front of him.

The man extended two fingers, which shone with a crystalline, jade-like luster even in the mist, and with a clang, he cut the rune-inscribed golden rope in half with his bare hands.

Qin Ming was surprised. What he had imitated and used was definitely a trump card on the path to immortality.

Cao Qianqiu once used this unique skill to kill a top-tier demon!
Who is this? Qin Ming's heart sank. The newcomer was far more powerful than he had imagined. He was definitely not just someone who had just entered the fourth realm. His cultivation was too profound.

The tall man in the mist spoke: "Hmm, fellow Daoist, you have been corrupted by the mysterious power left over from eight thousand years ago. Don't worry, I will help you purify it."

In an instant, Qin Ming felt an overwhelming killing intent, like an abyss emerging, about to completely engulf him.

The other person's body is full of vitality, so he must be a young master with such profound skills. And he actually wants to kill him directly. What is his background?
Qin Ming realized that his immortal path techniques had a flaw. Although he had covered the heavenly light with his spiritual light, the other party must have noticed it when he broke the golden rope of runes with two fingers, and already knew his identity.

"Cui Chongxiao!" Qin Ming called out this name. At this age, with such unfathomable cultivation, coupled with his intense hostility towards him, he could pinpoint a few people.

Therefore, he immediately recognized the other party's identity: he was one of the two dragons of the Cui family, Cui Chonghe's elder brother, and a disciple of an old senior in the esoteric sect.

"Second brother, how have you been? You've been corrupted by the lingering charm of this place. I'm here to help you." The tall figure slowly stepped forward, closing in.

Qin Ming felt a surge of anger. Back then, as Cui Chonghe's double, he had helped Cui Er take the blame, which attracted hostile attention and he had indeed been attacked several times.

The Cui family not only betrayed him after he had served his purpose, but also targeted him repeatedly afterward.

"You guys are like ghosts that won't leave!" Qin Ming hadn't even come to settle scores yet, but today the Cui family appeared before him with such strong malice.

His eyes were deep, and he had never harbored such hatred for a family before.

At this moment, Qin Ming tensed up, took out the Measuring Ruler, and stood ready for battle. He knew very well that this person's realm was extremely high and he was incredibly dangerous.

"Cui Chongxiao, I...!" Qin Ming couldn't help but hurl a fierce "greeting" at him.

(End of this chapter)