Night without Borders

Chapter 451: Skill is better than skill.
Several immortal palaces were destroyed. Some old monsters could no longer maintain their dignified and otherworldly aura; their sharp eyes were like knives.

Feeling uncomfortable under their gaze, the big red dragon said, "Why are you looking at me like that? I was just saying it casually, don't take it to heart."

In fact, it had already lost its temper, slapping the scales on its thick legs until sparks flew, and was filled with regret, thinking that rushing to get there was a mistake, and that one should be calm and composed in life.

A powerful immortal, exuding murderous intent, said, "This red dragon has a very pure bloodline; its meat should taste quite good."

People at this level are like sages when they smile, and like gods and demons descending upon the world when they lose their temper. In today's environment, they represent the highest level of combat power.

Someone whispered, "This red dragon is quite something; it's the mount of that monster, Puggon."

Clearly, one of the sources of the silk calligraphy was a living sage who was also very famous among the earth immortals, and everyone had heard that his strength was unfathomable.

"That old fellow travels so slowly, it's been more than half a year and he still hasn't arrived. Could it be that his motives were impure to begin with?" someone whispered, immediately thinking of the most likely suspects upon receiving the secret report.

Without a doubt, the terrifying monster from Pugong, who had mastered the Chaos Force, was among the top targets.

Upon hearing their undisguised words, the Great Red Dragon was immediately displeased and said in a deep voice, "How can you slander someone's innocence for no reason? The sage has noble character, a very upright background, an open mind, and a righteous life."

"A perfectly respectable and innocent background?" some questioned.

"He must be from Yezhou, right?" Some even mentioned the true origin of that sage.

Immediately, those who were not Earth Immortals and had no connection to the incident began to look at each other with hostility.

Because of the extremely poor reputation of a certain group in Yezhou in the last two years!
Big Red Dragon overheard some whispers and was immediately surprised. The old man's hometown, and a group of newcomers were doing so poorly? How pitiful.

Little Tathagata knew very well that the Great Red Dragon had been in seclusion for many years before leaving Pugong, and had no idea of ​​the true situation of the current group of patriarchs in Yezhou.

He whispered, "Senior Red Dragon, there's no need to pity them. They just have a bad reputation, but they've taken advantage of us a lot. How should I put it? In short, they're infamous these days."

The big red dragon sighed, "Is that so? The world is going to the dogs, and people's hearts are no longer what they used to be. Think of the old man's generation, weren't they all upright and righteous people?"

"Give me a break," an old monster retorted on the spot, "I'm from that generation too, and I'm not dead yet. Do you think I don't know what they were like back then?"

Beside him, an old man immediately nodded in agreement, saying, "The fact that Yezhou has such a folk custom is entirely due to heredity! In short, if the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too!"

To everyone's surprise, the founder of Yezhou was present. He immediately stepped forward and righteously retorted, "Gentlemen, your words are too offensive. The actions of a very small number of people, exaggerated based on rumors, cannot smear the entire group. Currently, the overall folk customs of Yezhou are simple and honest, and the situation is quite good."

Immediately, people from the East and West Seas showed surprise and asked, "You're here too? Why didn't you come up to the dueling arena earlier?"

One of the patriarchs from Yezhou shook his head and said, "I am unwell and it is not advisable for me to fight. We are just here to watch the battle."

However, some people's expressions changed slightly, and they asked suspiciously, "Are you trying to prove that you are all here and that the thieves in other places have nothing to do with you?"

The patriarch of Yezhou almost lost his temper, saying, "Fellow Daoist, what are you saying? Even if our cultivation is inferior to the old monsters in your Earthly Immortal Palace, you cannot defile our purity in public like this."

Many people gathered around from a distance, never expecting to hear such astonishing news.

"Is this true? Some Earth Immortals have had their lair destroyed?"

"Unbelievable! An elderly person living alone... was actually attacked by thieves!"

The city was in an uproar. After the news spread, many experts were dumbfounded.

Some of the old monsters present had grim faces as they quickly held a secret meeting and communicated rapidly with Xinbang to settle the matter here and prepare to leave immediately.

"I dare say this matter has absolutely nothing to do with my sage!" The big red dragon patted his chest to vouch for it.

As a result, nobody paid any attention to it.

The big red dragon explained, "My old man travels slowly, mainly because he's on his way to visit immortals and friends. For example, he met with the old barbarian god not long ago and they sat down to discuss the Dao. It's likely that the two of them have been together these past few days, so it's impossible for them to have visited the various earth immortal palaces. They have an alibi."

Someone whispered, "Wow, a sage who has mastered the Seven Powers, plus that barbarian powerhouse in the Northern Wilderness who is known as a quasi-god, perhaps they joined forces to commit a major crime."

"Very likely, after all, I left behind a secret technique that ordinary people cannot break!"

"I have also left my physical body to guard this home."

"However, some people are skilled at opening fog gates, which can lead directly to the depths of your herb garden."

……

For a time, some suspected that the sages of Pugong and the old barbarian god committed the crime together, while others felt that a certain group in Yezhou was always highly suspicious.

Some people at the scene couldn't sit still any longer, so the Giant Spirit God spoke up: "This matter has nothing to do with the Barbarian God!"

"Why?" asked the Bodhi Saint.

“Because I am right here!” the burly man said.

No one expected that when he revealed his background, he was actually the famous Old Barbarian God.

The great red dragon was suspicious and said, "No, my ancestor clearly met you by chance on the road and then discussed the Dao with you. You should be more straightforward. Perhaps you left behind an avatar?"

The old barbarian god said, "The clone I left behind will remain in the divine palace and will not travel far."

The big red dragon immediately perked up and said, "That's settled then. As long as you're on the ground, there's no doubt about it. You must be your clone. There are other people present who can testify!"

The Giant Spirit God sensed something was wrong. Could it be that someone had deliberately lured his clone out of the Barbarian God Palace?
Everyone realized that the situation was somewhat complicated.

In fact, after a detailed investigation and by summarizing the information, the old monsters present learned that there was actually more than one group of bandits!
"Let's meet again later!" Some people couldn't sit still any longer and needed to rush back immediately.

No one expected that such a grand event would end in this way. Although many people stayed to continue challenging each other on the dueling arena, the high-level combat power had already "collapsed".

Qin Ming had been watching the whole thing with great interest, never expecting such an exciting event to happen on the ground.

Not only the Earth Immortals, but also the old monsters of the Sixth Realm have all fled. They are also very worried. The only fortunate thing is that at present, only the "Celebrity's" dojo has disciples who have come to report the news in a great hurry.

Currently, many ancient fog gates within the area radiated by Yujing have been reopened, greatly shortening the journey.

In the following days, various true and false news circulated frequently.

"What? It was a rival local dojo that took advantage of the situation to infiltrate?"

Some of the old guys went back to investigate and found that local evil tyrants had intervened and that ancient sects that had been suppressed in the past had made some small moves.

Immediately, someone from the local temple jumped out to protest their innocence: "We've been used! A master has bewitched us, hiring us at a high price to intercept unknown pursuers in unknown territory!"

The situation became increasingly complicated, and even special artifacts could not trace back to the events that had occurred.

"So arrogant! You picked the divine flower that I've nurtured for twelve hundred years, and then went to my meditation room to refine medicine using my longevity furnace!" The old earth immortal from the Eastern Land was truly enraged, his eyelids twitching uncontrollably.

"What? You're saying three groups of masked men came to my Divine Herb Garden in the Northern Wilderness one after another?" The old barbarian god was furious. What did those bandits think this place was?

Three groups of people appeared, seemingly vying to leave their mark on this special "scenic spot," and almost came to blows.

The old barbarian god grew angrier the more he listened to his disciple's report.

Suddenly, he stood tall and imposing, his body as large as a mountain. He walked the path of the Giant Spirit God, and at this moment, golden blood energy surged, shattering the thick clouds in the night sky!
……

A dignified old man stood with his hands behind his back in the pitch-black sky, unmoved by the howling winds that could scatter one's consciousness.

He was somewhat moved and said, "After more than five hundred years, I have returned to Yezhou. The mountains and rivers remain the same. I never thought that the descendants would surpass their predecessors. I almost took the blame for them!"

Outside his body, terrifying Seven-Force Power swirled, divine and dazzling, automatically dispersing the poisonous fire from beyond the world and extinguishing the wisps of calamity energy that eroded him.

Then he frowned, feeling that it was not appropriate to enter Yezhou at this time. The environment had changed, and he had also contracted a "serious illness" and needed to adjust his condition.

Most importantly, during his herb gathering, he unexpectedly encountered an unfathomable "ethereal spirit"—was it a decaying, wandering deity? This left him completely uncertain.

"That old guy was in extremely bad shape, but he was still very aggressive. He even brought a dog to steal medicine and used someone else's longevity furnace to refine medicine on the spot. It's outrageous!"

Most importantly, that ethereal spirit, which could be blown away by the wind at any moment, wanted to slap him just because he glanced at it a couple more times.

"Forget it, let's find a place to recuperate first. Collecting some rare medicinal herbs will be beneficial to my recovery." He disappeared in an instant, like a streak of seven-colored lightning, tearing through the abyss-like night.

At this moment, a certain group in Yezhou felt that they had gotten up early but arrived late. Someone had gotten there first, and although it would have been safer for them to follow behind, the gains were not as great.

The three parties even unexpectedly encountered each other at certain temples and nearly came to blows, with one even preparing to unleash the Heaven-Stabilizing Divine Stake. However, the atmosphere was ultimately quite good; the three parties avoided conflict and went their separate ways. The ethereal spirit, who was refining medicine on the spot and left later, even helped them clean up the mess, erasing all traces.

"Let's go. My dying state has improved slightly. I need to travel through the night to leave." On the edge of Night State, a hazy figure drifted away.

A large yellow dog transformed into a black and white bear, looking adorable. Waving its fat paws, it said, "Old master, you must succeed! I will make sure I don't fall into depravity while I wander in the human world, waiting for you to guide me!"

……

Thieves have been found everywhere, and several Taoist temples have recently been engulfed in flames and accompanied by lightning and thunder. All signs indicate that an old monster is in a terrible mood.

"The herb field is in a terrible state. Even a dog ran in and ate a lot of the precious herbs, and even peed in it!"

"What? These aren't ordinary thieves. The civilization behind the Black Tower is lurking nearby, quietly plundering our medicine vault to make up for the losses in the heavens?"

Suddenly, the matter became increasingly complicated, even involving the Black Tower civilization.

What made the Earth Immortals most uneasy was that after they met and talked about the opportunities they had obtained at the New Ranking in the Nine Heavens, they actually found... things from each other's medicine gardens!
Of course, they all perfectly avoided using the old medicinal herbs they raised at home.

"!" Some of the Earth Immortals couldn't hold back any longer, their inner fire burning fiercely.

How many groups of thieves were there? Even they couldn't guess; the matter was unclear.

What's most disheartening is that Newrank is suspected of having been involved!

An old monster spoke up: "It can't be that outrageous. It's probably just a coincidence. What kind of rare and precious medicines don't exist in the Nine Heavens?"

"Nothing is impossible. After Yujing disintegrated, even in the heavens, there would probably be a severe shortage of certain rare resources. Xinbang was putting on a brave face and, in order to fulfill its promise, ultimately... resorted to any means necessary!"

Although they were burning with resentment, they were also thankful that they carried their true "favorites" with them at all times; otherwise, they would never have given up so easily.

As for now, let's just swallow this anger. Everyone is seriously "ill" and needs to rest. The true nature of the world is being revealed, and we need to adapt. Otherwise, the future will be terrible and extremely cruel.

Qin Ming is still high in the sky, and some rewards actually require waiting, such as the Wishing Pool.

This is certainly not a pool with any mystical aura where you can actually make wishes. Forget about things like wanting to become the ruler of the Jade Capital or marry a celestial being.

It can correct one's own path, which not only helps in cultivation but also resolves hidden dangers and serious problems on the road ahead.

According to the new list, this wishing well is not opened easily, and is only open to "saints", that is, the core successors of Yujing.

Right now, it is temporarily preparing medicinal solutions and various rare and precious herbs.

Qin Ming looked surprised; it seemed that each time he used the Wishing Pool, it consumed a considerable amount of energy.

Therefore, he willingly waited for several days.

This is a precious pool prepared for the saints, and Qin Ming naturally wants to make good use of it. He wants to "diagnose" the serious problems existing in the silk calligraphy from head to toe.

"My first realm is the strongest, and now I may have the opportunity to sort out the second and third realms as well."

In addition, if he wants to read the original versions of "The Ultimate Golden Body" and "The Jade Book of Heaven", he also needs to enter the "separate courtyard" where the wishing well is located.

Among the various rewards Qin Ming received was a powerful medicine that could extend lifespan by eighty years, but even that required waiting several days.

He was surprised. Was this also a temporary arrangement, with a rare medicinal herb that had just been collected being refined?

Qin Ming waited five days, and the wishing well was finally ready to be used.

The new list shone brightly, sending him to a quiet place deep in the Night Mist Sea. There were no magnificent palaces here; on the contrary, the buildings were old, dilapidated, and on the verge of collapse.

"This is a rare and special courtyard that has been preserved in Yujing. Only saints can enter it. You must cherish it, especially the final 'initiation,' which will use Dao chains to cleanse your marrow and reshape your spiritual field and bones. It is also known as the baptism of the Dao..."

The new list informed it that it could only be delivered here, following the rules; even it could not enter and could not be displayed here.

Then, another line of text appeared: "This was originally the place where saints were chosen. You should choose the doorway with the character '易' written on it. That is the simplest path. With your aptitude, you will surely pass through easily and go all the way to the end."

According to it, the old system of Yujing has been restarted, and the rules still need to be followed. Therefore, Qin Ming needs to find a way to get through this.

However, it also added that this time it was not about making him a saint, but simply about him enjoying some of the privileges of a saint.

"Remember, never take the wrong path. You should be able to pass through the doorways marked with the word 'difficult,' but if you see a path that looks like 'abyss' or 'hell,' be sure to detour!"

Without a doubt, that was the most dangerous path, and even true saints who had received the Jade Capital's inheritance might not be able to cross it.

"Okay!" Qin Ming nodded, indicating that he had remembered.

The new list shines brightly, about to break through the sea of ​​night fog and head far away, indicating that it will come to pick him up in a few days.

"Are there other people inside, or living beings?" Qin Ming asked at the last moment.

Newrank hesitated slightly, but finally responded with just one word: "Yes!"

Qin Ming became alert. Could there be a real saint there?
"Just follow your own path. Everything operates according to Yujing's mechanisms, and no one dares to interfere." Xinbang walked away.

Qin Ming stood outside the dilapidated courtyard. The old houses, crumbling and cracked, stretched as far as the eye could see, covering a vast area.

There was no desolate feeling of overgrown weeds here. On the contrary, the silver bamboo forest, the sapphire lake, and the fragrant orchard were all quite beautiful.

Qin Ming reached into the tattered cloth and touched the yellow silk umbrella.

He figured he'd need it to test things like chains.

The Banner of Gods trembled, as if it had been suffocating and wanted to escape.

Qin Ming reassured him, saying, "Don't worry, you might need to perform well today, and I'll reward you handsomely then."

He stepped into the courtyard, walked through a building covered with spiderweb-like cracks, and saw several roads. The ground nearby was pitted and uneven, as if it had been eroded by lightning, and some sections of the road had even been burned through.

Clearly, this place suffered a terrible impact when Yujing collapsed, but it was ultimately preserved.

There were signs in front of the doorways on several roads, but they had all fallen down.

Qin Ming walked over and found the character "易" (Yi), which was the simplest and safest path. He stepped straight through the old moon gate.

"Hmm, someone actually came to challenge me, wanting to become the new generation of core disciples of Yujing?" An old man in gray robes was sweeping up a few fallen leaves on the ground.

He was clearly a master, yet he cleared the ground using such primitive methods without employing any magic.

His hair was like withered wild grass in late autumn, yellowish and dull, but his eyes were very bright, like two burning magic lamps.

"This young man is commendable for his courage; he chose an extremely difficult path," he said to himself with a smile.

He stepped closer and said, "When Yujing collapsed, it affected this place, causing some signs to be smashed and misplaced. They haven't automatically returned to their original positions yet. The Celestial Patrol Realm can check this. These things have nothing to do with me."

Then, he took out a pure white conch shell and used it to transmit his voice into the distance: "Little Ba, time waits for no one, hurry up and try the challenge. The wishing well and other kinds of good fortune have appeared again. Choose the simplest path, and you should be able to pass the test smoothly. After becoming a saint, you can immediately enjoy some rare resources, correct the path you are going to take, and baptize your body."

A man's voice came from the conch shell: "Alright, Ancestor, I understand. Actually, I can also pass the test by choosing the more difficult path."

The old man didn't say anything more to him and ended the call.

Then, the old man activated the conch shell again, his posture very humble, as if he were transmitting his voice to a higher-level figure.

“Your Highness, someone has chosen the path you once walked. This may disturb your seclusion, but more likely, they will not even reach you. They will be nothing more than a minor breeze along the way, which will soon dissipate on its own. There is no need for you to oversee them.”

"Hmm." A soft "hmm" came from the pure white conch shell, and the voice belonged to a woman.

The old man said, “Your Highness, my descendant ‘Xiao Ba’ has also set off. To be on the safe side, I have instructed him to take the simplest route, which should allow him to pass through smoothly. He will certainly serve you faithfully and follow your orders.”

"I understand," the woman replied simply.

Meanwhile, Qin Ming, who was walking on the road, frowned deeply. The way Jade Capital selected saints in the past was not simple. Even this simplest and easiest path made him feel a lot of pressure. So how difficult are the paths to the Abyss and Hell?

His expression was extremely solemn as he said, "The true saints chosen by the Jade Capital are probably all unfathomable. I underestimated the heroes of the world in the past."

(End of this chapter)