Night without Borders

Chapter 423 Total Annihilation
Cui Ming is well-maintained and still looks like a young man, with thick black hair and bright eyes. He looks at the hammer that is almost touching his face, as calm as ever.

"Young people need to be patient. You haven't learned the details yet, so don't be so impatient." He was very calm, without even blinking, but the smile on his face faded.

"What do you want to do?" A group of young men from the Cui family swarmed around Qin Ming, all staring intently at him.

Cui Ming waved his hand to quiet them down. He looked at Meng Xinghai and said, "Brother, didn't you receive my letter to come and help?"

A young man from the Cui family chimed in, "Uncle Meng, my father invited many old friends to this city to quell the disaster. You may have misunderstood something."

He is Cui Ming's second son, Cui Chongyue, and is considered a true member of the main branch of the Cui family. He is quite influential among the younger generation.

Cui Ming explained, “The people in the city can testify that I said I would protect them. I have written letters to all directions, asking friends from all walks of life to help us get rid of the terror outside the city. The people in the city highly approve of this and are willing to ask me to be the city lord.”

He had already stopped smiling, and was very serious, speaking quite sincerely.

Behind the Cui family were some prominent figures from the city, nodding and agreeing with them.

Meng Xinghai simply looked at them without saying a word. Was it really as the Cui family said? Or were they just being incredibly hypocritical, making empty promises to gain fame?

His face turned cold. Now each city had become an isolated island, and most of them had lost contact with each other. Who was Cui Ming writing letters to?
Meng Xinghai guessed that after Cui Ming and the others discovered that Cui Wu had gone missing, they probably dared not advance towards Black and White Mountain. The world was changing drastically, and they were unsure of their options, so they stopped there.

The elite team led by Cui Wu, Cui Shuning, and others has completely disappeared without a trace, their fate likely grim. Is Cui Ming trying to make up for the Cui family's losses in a hurry? And is he trying to use so-called morality to pressure people?

However, if Meng Xinghai were to directly break ties with the Cui family, it could cause turmoil once the isolated islands in various regions are connected.

Qin Ming raised his black jade hammer, getting even closer to Cui Ming, and said coldly, "Monsters roam outside the city, lurking fiercely at night. You hide in the city, not fulfilling any of your duties, yet you dare to occupy the city and claim credit. Can you be any more shameless?"

Cui Chongyue reached out to block the sledgehammer, looked at the unfamiliar young man in front of him, and said coldly, "So rude, do you know who you're talking to?"

Qin Ming naturally recognized him and had dealt with him quite a bit.

Cui Chongyue had a high opinion of himself, but for many years he had been overshadowed by his uncle Cui Chongxiao and Cui Chonghe.

In the past, Qin Ming and he had a distant relationship. Perhaps he knew from the beginning that he was dealing with a "fake son," just a substitute, and there was no need to care.

Qin Ming sternly rebuked, "Get out of here! You're nowhere to be seen when it's time to put in the effort, but you're the most eager to claim credit. Do you think the Cui family can control everything?"

"How dare you speak like that?" the other able-bodied men of the Cui family immediately rebuked.

Cui Chongyue stared at Qin Ming, then looked at the black jade hammer in his hand. Although the young man in front of him was unfamiliar, he was already beginning to doubt his true identity.

Qin Ming ignored them and looked at the prominent figures in the city, saying, "Are you willing to ask the Cui family, who have done nothing, to protect you, and to make Cui Ming the city lord?"

Those people were most likely being manipulated. Some had shifty eyes and were quietly trying to explain themselves, while others remained expressionless and said nothing. A few, however, lowered their heads in shame.

Qin Ming glanced at them and said, "If we had known this would happen, why would we have come to save you bunch of ingrates? It's just that the people in the city who don't know the truth are suffering."

Cui Wu's elder brother, an elder who ranked third among his peers, spoke up at this moment: "Young man, speak properly to me. We have told the whole city that we will protect this city, and we will do so. We have already invited many experts to come to our aid. We just did not expect that you would turn the tables on us."

"Grunt!" In the distance, the Palm-Bearing Pig, standing in the shadows, held a gleaming broadsword and couldn't help but grunt. He was covered in blood, proof of the bloody battles he had fought his way through.

Even he couldn't help but feel that some people on the human side were too hypocritical.

Qin Ming transmitted his voice, saying, "Uncle Meng, Lord Pig, should we take action here and wipe them out in a bloodbath?"

Meng Xinghai immediately stopped them, saying, "No, there are experts among them, and it would be too bad to make a scene here. Let's get out of the city first."

He was not a soft-hearted person, and this matter was naturally not over. Even with a master-level expert in the Cui family, he could not suppress the surging killing intent in his heart.

However, in order to avoid future troubles, he decided to take Qin Ming and leave Mingyao City first.

Meng Xinghai said in a deep voice, "I will report this matter to the higher-ups in Tucheng, as well as the patriarchs of all the paths. You will be held accountable."

He, Qin Ming, and Zhangshang Mingzhu withdrew from Mingyao City.

Before leaving, Qin Ming shouted, "We have only cleared out some of the evil spirits outside the city. The crisis is not over yet. People in the city, listen up: the Cui family probably won't dare to go out of the city to deal with the ghosts and gods. In the end, they will abandon you. You should be prepared."

Cui San shouted, "What nonsense are you spreading? You've clearly come to help us, yet you dare to try and seize this city. Your ambition is too great. Don't worry, everyone, the people my Cui family has invited will be arriving one after another. Even without the people from Chixia City, there will be even more experts to guard the city."

“That black jade hammer…” Cui Chongyue murmured.

"Let's talk about it when we get back." Cui Ming stopped him. He had naturally heard about Qin Ming's weapon as well.

Under the cover of night, Meng Xinghai glanced at the dim light shining from inside the city gate and said, "Hypocrite, just you wait!"

Then, he turned to look at Qin Ming and said, "Did you deliberately show off the black jade hammer?"

Qin Ming nodded and said, "Yes, I want to see if they will secretly chase after me and kill me, and see where their moral bottom line is."

Meng Xinghai solemnly reminded him, "Cui San is very powerful; he may have already approached the perfection of the fourth realm!"

The Pig in the Palm said, "What's there to be afraid of? We pigmen can join forces, hunt in secret, and launch precise ambushes. We'll first severely injure that old guy. Although the rest outnumber us, they are not a threat."

"puff!"

Meng Xinghai coughed up blood outside the city, and Pig Mountain Lord also staggered before quickly disappearing into the distance with Qin Ming.

"They weren't seriously injured, were they?" Someone poked their head out from the city wall, coldly watching the figure disappear into the night.

“Very likely. After all, they fought their way from Crimson Cloud City, clearing away terrifying creatures along a 300-mile route. It would be abnormal if they weren’t injured.” Someone’s eyes lit up as they quickly went to report.

On the road at night, Meng Xinghai said, "There might be tails following us, but it's unlikely that we can expect someone as hypocritical as Cui Ming to take risks."

Qin Ming said, "The worst-case scenario is that we dress up as old traveling merchants, sneak into the city, and speak our minds!"

Even someone as composed as Meng Xinghai nodded in agreement, clearly unable to swallow this insult. After such a bloody battle to come to the rescue, how could he tolerate others stealing the credit and reaping the benefits halfway through?

The truth is, the Cui family is much bolder than they imagined.

Cui San spoke up: "Brother-in-law, how are you feeling? Are you getting more and more comfortable controlling the creatures that emerged from the Night Ruins?"

Opposite him was an elderly man named Sun Hui, who was very old and had never been as highly regarded by the Cui family in the past as he is now.

He married a woman from a collateral branch of the Cui family, but now the main branch members affectionately call him brother-in-law.

Because of the fall of Yujing and the sudden change in the world, some of his special abilities became stronger. He could communicate with the underworld, talk to the creatures of the Night Ruins, and control them.

Sun Hui said, "Actually, it's not as mysterious as you imagine. According to my rudimentary understanding, neither the old itinerant merchant nor the 'Nian' are ghosts. After all, they have bodies. They are more like a kind of rule with flesh and blood, carrying a special Daoist charm."

Now, the Cui family values ​​him highly.

He accompanied him on this trip, hoping that he would encounter bizarre phenomena and analyze various terrifying things along the way.

In particular, after Cui Wu went missing, they dared not go any further and decided to stop here, using Mingyao City as a testing ground for Sun Hui to experiment with his methods.

They have already informed the core members of the Cui family's senior management of their thoughts.

Mingyao City is relatively remote, making it the perfect place for them to study all sorts of terrifying things, undisturbed by anyone.

Their ultimate goal is to extract the special rules from the bodies of high-level demons and top-tier old merchants for their own use, and they even plan to find living people to test on, to let them bear that power.

Such matters could easily spiral out of control and even lead to a bloodbath in the Night Market, so they are quite cautious.

“That brat with the hammer…it must be him, right?” Cui San asked.

"Most likely!" Cui Ming said coldly, his gentle smile gone.

“I’ll try to see if I can use the creatures of the Night Ruins to kill people!” Sun Hui said. Dealing with ordinary people would be no problem, but to leave no trace, create the illusion of a strange scene devouring people, and thus get rid of Qin Ming and Meng Xinghai, he felt that would be very difficult.

Cui Ming said, "Uncle, as long as you can severely injure them, I will risk being exposed and personally finish them off."

Cui San glanced at him and said, "You want me to rush there at the last minute, don't you?"

“I can do it myself,” Cui Ming said with a smile.

In the freezing cold, Qin Ming and Meng Xinghai changed into the clothes of an old traveling merchant, because they hadn't seen any pursuers and were preparing to take the initiative.

After the Pig Lord put on those old-fashioned clothes, he looked fierce and menacing, which was quite frightening to walk on the night road.

"What's going on? Did our change of clothes attract our own kind?" Qin Ming asked, a look of surprise on his face.

All three of them had keen senses and immediately noticed the monster approaching. Each of them looked like an ancient ghost, but their flesh and blood still had warmth.

"There are more in the distance, coming in groups?" Meng Xinghai frowned. Could it be that he really shouldn't get involved with the clothes of these monsters?
"And the necromancers!"

They took immediate action, attempting to break through the encirclement.

Who knows how many terrifying things will eventually appear here?

"No, the old traveling merchant who leads the group has brand-new weapons, not the old, worn-out ones that have been eroded by time."

Qin Ming and his team discovered something unusual: the weapons worn by some of the ferocious monsters were problematic.

Meng Xinghai's expression turned solemn as he asked, "Could this be a monster army organized by humans?"

Qin Ming decided to capture a few of them and go to the resonance point to investigate the truth.

"Troublesome!" They were locked in fierce combat with the monsters and had met their match. Among these monsters were old merchants and serpents, each one powerful and extremely difficult to deal with.

In the end, Qin Ming abducted several monsters and took them to a quiet place to resonate with them.

"What?" He was truly shocked when he discovered the truth: these were creatures from the Nightfall controlled by the Cui family.

Some of these monsters were emaciated, like elderly people in their twilight years, while others were skin and bones, like vengeful ghosts that had escaped from the underworld. They all had a noticeable body temperature, but they were different from normal creatures.

"Bearing the rules with flesh and blood?"

This was quite a shock to Qin Ming. The Cui family really had produced a prodigy who was making new progress in analyzing this creature.

Qin Ming hadn't studied it, but controlling these monsters briefly shouldn't be a problem.

After all, his resonance ability is quite peculiar, and now he is preparing to counter it.

When Meng Xinghai and Zhangshang Mingzhu learned the truth, their expressions turned grim. Someone in the Cui family could control the creatures of the Night Ruins and wanted to eliminate them, so they had to fight back.

Qin Ming used his special ability to "reshape" the monsters he captured, resonating false experiences into their consciousness before releasing them.

……

In Mingyao City, Sun Hui saw the old traveling merchant leading the way back and immediately went forward to investigate, saying, "Those three were indeed seriously injured while clearing out the ghosts and evil spirits. They were just pretending to be calm in the city earlier. They were almost killed by the monsters I sent out!"

"A great opportunity!" Cui Chongyue immediately perked up. If possible, he naturally hoped to get rid of Qin Ming, this troublemaker, to prevent him from gaining any future influence.

Suddenly, Sun Hui's voice trembled as he said, "Not only that, but there is actually... a special weapon. Qin Ming obtained a suit of armor that fell from Yujing. It is in perfect condition. He has already obtained the power to refine it and will be able to complete the process within a few days."

"what?"

"Charge there immediately!"

At this moment, both Cui San and Cui Ming were shocked, and then extremely excited and thrilled.

These are extraordinary weapons, worth more than dozens or even hundreds of cities; they are priceless treasures capable of rewriting the fate of an entire race.

If a master of the sixth realm possesses such a flawed weapon, he can slay an immortal!
If the Cui family possessed a well-preserved special weapon, who would dare to underestimate them? Even Lu Zizai wouldn't dare to visit, or he would surely be killed! Therefore, Cui San's old face beamed with a smile, and Cui Ming, no longer caring about his life, followed suit, his blood boiling, and immediately summoned all his men to leave the city.

"You all come along too, and come with us to clear out the ghosts," Cui Ming ordered, bringing along the group of prominent figures in the city.

He couldn't trust the group he had subdued, and if anything went wrong on the journey, he would treat them as disposable resources.

"Ah, Lord City Lord, are you going to lead us to get rid of the ghosts and monsters?"

"Lord Meng has clearly misunderstood Lord Cui!" some people even said.

Of course, whether this is genuine is hard to say.

Unsure of their own safety and apprehensive about the dark areas outside the city, they knew that the former city lord had vanished without a trace. Now, their only hope was to curry favor with the Cui family's experts to save their lives.

"Let's go!" Cui Ming waved his hand and led a group of people out of Mingyao City.

……

"The Night Market is truly unpredictable. Rules descend into flesh and blood, and the reason why the old itinerant merchant had problems was because he was corrupted in this way." Qin Ming found it outrageous.

Are all so-called ghosts and monsters born in this way?
"To be precise, there are no ghosts at all; they are all beings governed by rules."

Suddenly, Qin Ming thought of the red sedan chair carried by the four monsters dressed in mourning clothes, and the celestial being inside who actually had her own will and had not lost herself.

He frowned and muttered to himself, "The waters in the Night Market are much deeper; even the eccentric genius of the Cui family has only scratched the surface."

"What are you saying, Xiao Qin?" Meng Xinghai asked.

"Uncle Meng, the Cui family is studying the creatures in the Night Ruins. They believe that the old merchant's flesh and blood are imbued with special Daoist energy, and that all the monsters are manifestations of the rules."

"This……"

Qin Ming said, "We can also make use of it."

He mentioned several terrifying things they encountered on the road, things that even the three of them had to avoid, not wanting to provoke them easily. Now, perhaps they could lure the Cui family there.

The sky and earth were as if soaked in thick ink, and the weather was freezing cold. Qin Ming and Meng Xinghai had been waiting for a long time when they suddenly sensed that the other party had caught up with them.

"They were indeed badly injured; they're covered in blood. Let's give chase!"

Cui San spotted Meng Xinghai and Zhangshang Mingzhu at a glance. He spread his wings like a roc, stirring up a whirlwind in the snow and creating huge waves of snow. He rose into the air and pounced on them.

"That kid has a special weapon on him. We must find it as soon as possible and not let him escape and refine that treasure." Many members of the Cui family are searching for Qin Ming.

Suddenly, in the darkness, a small, pure white sword pierced the night, bursting forth with dazzling divine light. Qin Ming had activated his exotic metal weapon to launch a sneak attack.

With a soft "poof," Sun Hui's eyes lost focus and quickly dimmed. His forehead bone was pierced, and dazzling sunlight burst forth as his head exploded.

Qin Ming dealt with this eccentric genius right away, worried that he might summon creatures from the Night Ruins.

"No!"

Many members of the Cui family exclaimed in shock. They had already protected their old son-in-law at the rear of the group, but they did not expect that the other party would come directly for Sun Hui, causing him to die on the spot.

The key point is that this eccentric genius is a secret of the Cui family. How could outsiders know about it and care so much about it, resorting to such drastic measures as to kill him right away?

"Kill him!" A group of people surrounded Qin Ming.

In the distance, on a somewhat desolate road, Cui San felt a chill run down his spine. He saw an old man carrying a white paper lantern, walking shakily toward him.

He had heard Sun Hui say that this special monster must contain relatively advanced rules within its flesh and blood, making it extremely dangerous.

Most importantly, he recognized the face; it looked exactly like his deceased grandfather.

Back when Qin Ming was walking back to Chixia City at night, he also encountered this old monster. Seeing that he looked exactly like his grandfather, the two chatted all the way.

He was sweating profusely, but he managed to escape unharmed.

In the current situation, Cui San had no time to chat with the old man. With enemies lurking nearby, he wanted to fight his way out immediately.

Besides, he didn't know that if they continued chatting, the other party might take action.

He made a sudden and decisive move, choosing to unleash his full power.

It must be said that Cui San is extremely strong. The aura he exudes can crush large areas of forest. He is already close to the perfect realm of the fourth stage of Tantric Buddhism.

However, in an instant, he realized that he might be wrong.

His divine wisdom was so profound that he discovered that as his murderous aura surged, the old man who looked exactly like his grandfather stopped rambling and completely changed, as if a ferocious god had been resurrected.

"Roar..." The old man carrying the white paper lantern grew white hair all over his body, and the white paper lantern in his hand burned with blood-red flames. He attacked violently.

Before long, Cui San was already seriously injured.

In the distance, Meng Xinghai turned around and headed straight for the Cui family.

The old pig moved even faster, flapping its huge ears as it transformed into a flying pig, wielding two gleaming tusk-like longswords, and slashing down terrifying beams of light.

"kill!"

This time, the Cui family brought quite a few elites, including several elders who were at the mid-stage of the fourth realm, making them far stronger than Cui Wu and Cui Shuning's team.

It should be noted that in the land of Yezhou, a person of the fourth realm is considered a master no matter where they go.

When Meng Xinghai and Zhang Shangming arrived, the Cui family was thrown into chaos, and the elders had no choice but to fight back.

"Why hasn't Third Brother come back!"

Where is Third Uncle?

The Cui family was in turmoil. Their strongest asset, Cui San, had not returned, leaving many feeling uncertain.

"Boom!"

Qin Ming, wielding a black jade hammer, smashed a middle-aged man to pieces and charged straight at Cui Chongyue.

“You…” Cui Chongyue’s expression changed drastically. Although he thought highly of himself, it depended on who he was compared to. The current abandoned son was far more famous than him.

Qin Ming had long disliked him. As if riding a hammer, he swung the hammer and flew over, unleashing boundless light that illuminated the dark forest.

With no way to avoid it, Cui Chongyue gritted his teeth and blocked.

Instantly, the spear in his hand was smashed and shattered into dozens of pieces. Moreover, he felt excruciating pain throughout his right arm, which was covered with bloody cracks.

puff!
His right arm turned into a bloody mist, shattered by Qin Ming's hammer blow.

"Chong Yue!" Seeing his second son suffer such a torment, Cui Ming's eyes widened in fury, and he charged towards them.

Qin Ming swung the hammer again, drawing a terrifying trajectory with blinding light, the force of which seemed to make the night sky shake violently.

Unable to dodge, Cui Chongyue hastily picked up a sword with his left hand to fight back.

Click!
The longsword in his hand was like rotten wood, and it disintegrated under the hammer's light. Then his left arm exploded on the spot, with bone fragments and flesh splattering everywhere.

That wasn't all. Qin Ming's hammer continued its momentum, carrying a blinding light, and with a loud "poof," it blasted half of Cui Chongyue's body to pieces.

"Ah..." Cui Chongyue screamed in agony, his body was in excruciating pain. Only his upper body was still intact; his lower body had completely disintegrated.

His vision went black, and then he saw a large hammer fall again. After that, he never saw the light again.

Cui Ming roared in fury, watching helplessly as his second son's head was smashed open with a hammer, a gruesome sight.

Qin Ming rode the hammer, which seemed to be burning, with divine flames dancing around it, carrying him across the land and striking across the night sky. With a series of popping sounds, many members of the Cui family were blasted to pieces.

With a whoosh, Qin Ming wielded his hammer and arrived in front of Cui Ming, engaging him in battle.

Filled with rage and hatred, Cui Ming attacked with all his might.

He was then shocked, thinking the intelligence was wrong. Was this still an abandoned child of the seventh level of the Spirit Realm? It felt like he had already stepped into the fourth realm!

In the past, Cui Ming thought this young man could be easily killed with a wave of his hand, but now he can fight fiercely with him, who is nearly sixty years old, and he is becoming more and more courageous.

"I... I truly regret what I did!" He didn't reflect on the Cui family's cold-heartedness, but instead believed that raising a tiger had become a threat, leading to the current situation.

When Cui San didn't return for a long time, Cui Ming realized that something was seriously wrong!

Boom!

His arms went numb from the terrifying hammer light, and he tasted blood in his throat, feeling like he was about to vomit blood.

"what……"

Under Qin Ming's relentless hammer blows, Cui Ming, filled with grief and indignation, was being overwhelmed by a junior. He was burning with anger and his arms were covered in blood.

"No!"

Finally, his hands could no longer grip the weapon, his arms were cracked, his body staggered, his mouth was full of blood, he had already vomited five mouthfuls, his entire chest was in excruciating pain, and even his internal organs were injured by the shock.

"what……"

Cui Ming shouted, his arms exploding open, about to follow in his second son's footsteps.

"You old scoundrel, I'll send you on your way!" Qin Ming shouted.

With a soft thud, Cui Ming's head was smashed open by his hammer.

The father and son of the main branch of the Cui family were both killed by Qin Ming alone, which intimidated the Cui family experts present and crushed 60% of their morale.

"kill!"

Meng Xinghai and Zhangshang Mingzhu exerted their strength, and several old men from the Cui family began to suffer casualties.

At this point, there is no suspense left in this battle!
……

Cui San's body was covered in lacerations, many parts of his body were translucent, and there were traces of being burned by special firelight, with the bloodstains blackened by the burns.

He staggered and struggled to run out of that peculiar path, finally escaping the terrifying old man.

However, as he approached the mountains and forests ahead, his heart sank completely. The battlefield was silent, littered with severed limbs and blood.

At the same time, three figures slowly approached.

Cui San suddenly looked up, and in an instant, hammer light and knife light poured down, and a purple bronze furnace enlarged, crashing down on him.

……

In the distance, on the earth, Cui Chonghe was on his way. He had received a secret report through a special channel in the Pure Land of the Outer World that his uncle Cui Ming and others had stopped in Mingyao City ahead, which was only about three hundred miles away from Chixia City.

(End of this chapter)