Night without Borders

Chapter 415 Yujing Explodes
As winter drew to a close, the snowstorm in Yezhou remained heavy. Before the revival of all things, another massive blizzard struck, with snowflakes the size of a palm falling as if they were being smashed down.

In addition, there was a thunderous roar, not a muffled sound, but a deafening explosion, and scarlet lightning flashed across the dark sky.

The unusual celestial phenomena seemed to be foreshadowing something.

"Is the Jade Capital, hanging upside down and appearing and disappearing, related to these strange phenomena?"

This is the most talked-about topic of conversation in the past two days.

Occasionally, a hazy, colossal city can be seen slowly descending from the sky, while in the thick fog outside the city, enormous, terrifying shadows distort space.

"What we see is merely a reflection; we cannot truly witness the Jade Capital." The Buddha's expression was solemn, and even the various patriarchs stepped forward.

"Let's go!" Lu Yu said.

On that day, whether it was the path of new life, the path of immortality, or the secret sect, the low-key "living off their parents" patriarchs all withdrew from the earthen city and disappeared without a trace.

"Even the patriarch has vanished, we should hurry and leave too." The entire group of old and young from Yezhou ran away.

The founders of each path set an example, and others followed suit.

Kunling, the most famous restaurant—Yujinglou, the ninth floor overlooks the city. Crystal chandeliers emit a soft light. Wu Yaozu stands by the window, gazing at the night sky, and says, "This blizzard is a bit strange. If it continues like this, some low-lying houses will be submerged. Could it really be related to Yujing?"

Xiang Yiwu spoke up: "Yujing is awe-inspiring. That being has disappeared, and we haven't been forced to wander in spirits for the past two days."

After returning from that night, they checked their accounts and both felt horrified. If given a choice, neither of them would want to go to the Chosen Land again.

Qin Ming stood before the crystal window, gazing at the white expanse of Kunlun City. He pondered the words of the spirit of the artifact, Six Desires. With his mind clear and his thoughts focused, he might be able to glimpse part of the misty future.

He muttered to himself, "Cui Chongxiao, the master of the Heart Monkey, Cao Qianqiu, and others may all obstruct my path in the future?"

Wu Yaozu walked up to him and asked, "Brother Ming, what did your wife say to you? Why did she leave in such a hurry, braving the snow?"

Qin Ming held his wine glass, took a small sip, and said, "She said she has some things to take care of. I guess the Eight Trigrams Furnace is forcing her to set off again."

Recently, the Eight Trigrams Furnace has been acting strangely, and I have repeatedly urged Li Qingyue to travel far away immediately.

In the vast wilderness of Kunlun, under the boundless night, Li Qingyue stood quietly on a rocky cliff, her black hair flowing, her eyes clear and bright. Amidst the swirling snowflakes, she appeared even more radiant and beautiful.

"What Qin Ming sees is merely a reflection of his thoughts; it has nothing to do with the future," the spirit within the furnace spoke.

Li Qingyue spoke up: "He once came close to the realm of spiritual enlightenment in Tucheng and saw a similar scene."

Between heaven and earth, crimson lightning occasionally illuminated the night sky, heavy snow fell, and the strange phenomena in the world became increasingly bizarre.

Li Qingyue asked, "You don't know what's outside of Yujing?"

The Eight Trigrams Furnace said, "Even though it has newly fused with some fragments of the artifact spirit, I still can't see through the Jade Capital now. However, it might be in trouble."

"Does the Tushita Palace still exist?"

"To be honest, I don't know either. I'll only know when I get there." Bagua Furnace admitted that at the time, it only saw a line, or more precisely, a beam of light like a thin thread, which suddenly swept across and cut through the Tushita Palace.

The road ahead is unknown and fraught with danger!
"He's here!" Li Qingyue exclaimed. The Eight Trigrams Furnace liquefied, and she instantly donned armor. Then, like a flying immortal, she soared directly into the clouds with her physical body.

"It's you!" Cui Chongxiao exclaimed, immediately spurring his superior exotic bird towards the ground. He himself could not fly and did not want to be intercepted in the air.

On the frozen ground, where the snow was waist-deep, Cui Chongxiao, tall and with eyes like lightning, asked, "What do you mean by this?"

Li Qingyue said, "Let's spar!"

“Great! I’m really looking forward to it!” Cui Chongxiao replied.

Now everyone knows that the abandoned furnace in Li Qingyue's hands has been revived, and she has mastered the lost imperial technique. Countless people are envious.

Cui Chongxiao looked at the armor on the girl in front of him and smiled faintly.

In this wilderness, a great battle suddenly broke out.

If people knew that Li Qingyue, who controlled the Eight Trigrams Furnace on the Immortal Path, was fighting against Cui Chongxiao, a top young master of the Secret Sect, it would surely cause shock and uproar.

"It's even stronger than the rumors say!" Li Qingyue exclaimed in awe.

She knew that the Cui family members were very good at enduring hardship, and Cui Chongxiao had entered the secret sect since childhood, so his Taoist skills were terrifyingly profound.

With a roar, the Eight Trigrams Furnace flew forward, its eight-colored celestial light rising and the eight trigram symbols shining, illuminating the entire wilderness.

Li Qingyue used only the furnace lid to protect herself and activated the furnace body to fight the enemy.

"Hmm?" Cui Chongxiao retreated rapidly, thinking he could use his cultivation and the rare treasure in his hand to block this opponent.

Now he was alarmed; the opponent's magic might not be as flawed as rumored.

With a hum, his body seemed to shrink, locked by the Bagua runes, and flew towards the furnace.

In an instant, divine light surged, as if a raging fire was about to burn through the sky, a terrifying sight.

In Cui Chongxiao's hand, a divine talisman appeared, its magical chains intertwined. The talisman transformed into a divine rainbow, drawing him out of the "domain" formed by the Eight Trigrams Furnace.

"Who dares to commit such atrocities?" someone shouted from afar, and a grandmaster abandoned his flying mount and came down to the ground.

He stepped over a mountain peak, using the momentum to leap across it like a roc spreading its wings, arriving in mid-air much faster than normal high-level birds of prey.

Clearly, the Grand Master of the Esoteric School had been following Cui Chongxiao the whole time, and the two deliberately kept a distance while traveling. He appeared at the crucial moment.

Cui Chongxiao used the divine talisman to retreat several miles. This was a precious treasure bestowed upon him by his teacher, which could immediately extricate him from a dangerous situation in critical moments.

"Li Qingyue, from the Pure Land of the Outside World, what do you mean by this?" asked the Grand Master of Esoteric Buddhism, who was Cui Chongxiao's senior brother.

Two silver beams shot from his eyes, staring at the Bagua furnace that had liquefied into armor for the girl in white.

“A contest, an exchange,” Li Qingyue replied.

Cui Chongxiao frowned, his face looking very unpleasant. He had been burned, though not severely, but being forced back by a girl younger than him had made him lose face.

In the distance, a woman clad in nine-colored battle armor appeared, rising slowly into the air, standing high in the night mist, looking down upon this place.

"Jiang Ran from the Immortal Land?" The Grandmaster's expression returned to calm. He realized that they weren't the only ones nearby; there might be others watching.

Anyone who tries to make a move here will have their news leaked.

Li Qingyue stared at Cui Chongxiao and said, "I hope you will be less malicious. If you want to cause trouble, you'll have to get past me first."

She ascended into the sky, transforming into a streak of light and disappearing into the distance.

"Hmph!" Cui Chongxiao let out a heavy snort. Although the other party did not directly threaten him, it contained a hidden meaning of intimidation.

“She has a family, so she wouldn’t dare to do anything reckless,” said her senior, Zhou Qingchuan.

Cui Chongxiao's gaze was cold and piercing as he said, "If the time comes, I'll be the one who wants to cause trouble!"

But now, Li Qingyue had hinted that if he dared to make a move, she would retaliate with the Eight Trigrams Furnace. "Doesn't my esoteric sect have any special weapons? Even a fragment will do; I'm sure I can activate it!" Cui Chongxiao couldn't swallow this insult.

……

In Tucheng, Mu Qinghe felt heavy-hearted. In just two days, Yujing's reflection had been captured several times, causing everyone great unease.

Recently, she has received several envoys, as well as some leaders of celestial families.

High above the heavens, even the oldest earth immortals could no longer sit still and temporarily hid in the earthen city, fearing that the blood-red lightning would streak across the golden palace in the sky.

"Lightning strikes from beyond the sky, not flashing through the clouds."

Aside from them, the forces outside Yezhou were also terrified, and the three Earth Immortals who had traveled to Tucheng had already fled at the first opportunity.

The main reason is that they saw the founder of Yezhou retreat, and these old guys who are notorious in the outside world are definitely a negative indicator.

The experts from beyond the sixth realm immediately followed suit, with some even lamenting, "You can say those people are ruthless, but you can't deny their foresight. We should leave too!"

When the outsiders left Tu City, some chose to travel alone, such as Yuan.

Soon after, Li Qingyue, clad in armor, ambushed the young master from beyond the realm along the way.

She suspected that this person was connected to the Mind Monkey.

"Is this how Yezhou treats its guests?" An old man suddenly appeared and quickly left with Yuan Ji, not daring to make any big moves in Yezhou.

He feared being blocked by those fanatical patriarchs and never being able to leave this land.

"Next time you come to Yezhou, spar with me first!" Li Qingyue transmitted her voice to their backs.

Not far away, Jiang Ran stood quietly, keeping watch for her and preparing for any eventuality.

At this moment, Jiang Ran flew over and said, "According to feedback from Tu City, Tang Yushang has also secretly set off."

Not long after, Li Qingyue intercepted Tang Yushang's path and expressed her desire to have a sparring match with her.

Dressed in red, Tang Yushang possessed an aura that carried off the vibrant color perfectly, exuding unparalleled elegance. She raised her eyebrows slightly and said, "I know why you've come. You're afraid I'll target Qin Ming, right? But I don't want to engage in a pointless battle with you!"

The big-nosed, big-eared boy, Bai Meng, immediately shouted, "We're on the same side. Fairy Li, you should know me well, right? I'm Qin Ming's good buddy. Don't worry, my sister isn't interested in Qin Ming for now, so there's no need for a fight."

Tang Yushang was so angry she almost twisted her nose. This blockhead still hadn't come to his senses and still thought the little thief Qin Ming was his best friend.

And what was he saying?
Tang Yushang wanted to knock out two of his front teeth, but Bai Meng said she wasn't interested in Qin Ming for the time being—what nonsense!

Ultimately, neither side resorted to violence.

"I will deal with him in the future, but I won't kill him." These were Tang Yushang's exact words, which dispelled Li Qingyue's impulse to take action.

As long as they aren't considered mortal enemies, everything is negotiable. Besides, if Tang Yushang were to encounter Qin Ming again in a few years, it's uncertain who would prevail.

Before parting, Bai Meng called out, "Fairy Li, when you get back, please tell my good friend to visit our Taixu when you have time. Otherwise, I won't be able to come back to Yezhou to meet him again for another two years."

Tang Yushang, unable to bear it any longer, punched him in the head, sending him flying.

Bai Meng looked bewildered and said, "Huh, what's going on? It's like the fog in my mind has been shaken off. My good buddy... Qin Ming, how come he looks exactly like that kid I saw in the Great Thunderclap Temple?!"

Then, he got so angry that he almost exploded on the spot.

"My good buddy hurt my feelings!" Bai Meng rolled up his sleeves, wanting to go back and settle the score with Qin Ming.

This time it was Tang Yushang's turn to stop him, saying, "Hurry up and leave, don't cause any more trouble!"

"Ye Zhou, I'll be back, you just wait, my good buddy!" Bai Meng gritted his teeth.

……

Walking side by side in the snow, Jiang Ran asked, "Does Qin Ming know what you did today?"

Li Qingyue shook her head and said, "There's no need to tell him."

"You're really too considerate. You're so kind. How about... becoming my beloved concubine?" Jiang Ran teased, a smile on her face.

"You haven't been corrupted by that artifact spirit, have you?" Li Qingyue turned around and looked at her flawless profile.

“How could that be! Sixth Brother is in a state of self-isolation,” Jiang Ran replied.

"Girl Jiang, what are you saying?" The spirit Liuyu suddenly spoke up.

……

The city of Tu was becoming increasingly crowded, with elderly immortals, young adults, and teenagers all descending from the heavens in spaceships.

In Sky City, people were filled with anxiety. They felt it was too close to Jade Capital and dared not stay there. Many large organizations, along with their families, temporarily fled to the ground.

After visiting Yu Gengsheng at Shanhe Academy, Qin Ming left Kunling and embarked on his journey home. He planned to visit Black and White Mountain before recuperating and going into seclusion.

Along the way, the cold wind was like a knife, and the snow was flying and stinging people's faces. Ordinary people could no longer go out. This kind of blizzard made people in various places very uneasy.

In particular, huge flashes of lightning occasionally streak across the night sky, as if tearing the darkness apart.

In the past, although winter thunder was occasionally seen, it was not so frequent. Now, terrifying thunder rumbles from time to time, as if it were about to pierce the entire earth.

Qin Ming rented a bird to travel. In such extreme and unusual weather, even high-level birds were unwilling to fly, and the journey was slow and leisurely.

Left with no other choice, he decided to rest for the night in a small town and see if the snowstorm would subside by the next morning.

"It's snowing!" Suddenly, the innkeeper in the small town shouted in alarm.

"What are you howling about? Isn't it normal for it to snow?" one customer complained.

The innkeeper, pale-faced, said, "It's blood! The snowflakes are stained red, and blood is dripping from the sky!"

That night, people heard a muffled sound coming from the night sky, accompanied by blood-red lightning. It was as if a huge hole had appeared in the sky, letting in terrifying light that cut through the night fog.

Then, everyone in Yezhou felt their souls tremble, as if a million mountains were pressing down from the clouds, and many people collapsed to the ground.

Not only humans, but also the powerful creatures in the Wasteland and the extraordinary experts in the Blessed Land, all had their fur standing on end and their scales opening, feeling as if the end of the world had come, their whole bodies trembling uncontrollably.

Even the hibernating creatures were awakened, and couldn't help but wail incessantly on this winter night.

"Boom!" Soon after, a deafening sound came from the sky, carrying immense pressure, as if it would tear the earth apart.

Some powerful individuals witnessed a terrifying spectacle reflected in the sky!
At this moment, even the Earth Immortals turned pale and their bodies trembled slightly.

"Yujing... has been blown up!" The old city lord of Sky City froze, only his lips trembling slightly.

Let me give a shout-out to someone: "The True Lord Has Arrived," a supernatural tale set in the martial arts world. Book lovers who are interested can check it out.

(End of this chapter)