In the night mist, a group of young boys and girls engaged in heated discussion, full of yearning for the territory of Kunjun. Naturally, what they talked about most was that auspicious beast.
A youth in yellow poured cold water on their fervor, saying, "What are you all so excited about? Do you really think an auspicious beast is easy to kill? What's more, it's an ancient beast that has survived unharmed for so many long years. It's a creature standing at the peak of the pyramid."
Many nodded along in agreement with his words.
Evidently, before even setting off for Kunjun, this group had done plenty of homework and knew quite a bit about the place.
A young girl in green spoke up: "We should stand a chance this time. The veteran seniors of the various Daoist sanctuaries and academies are joining hands. It counts as a pioneering battle of sorts."
The auspicious beast inhabited the outer fringes of a perilous ground. For years, the major Daoist sanctuaries and academies had wanted to push their reclamation efforts there, but had always acted with great caution. This time, they seemed to have truly made up their minds.
The outer region of the perilous ground was a plateau rich in all sorts of medicinal herbs, and there were even a few secret realms. Yet on ordinary days, no one dared draw near; aside from the auspicious beast, all manner of demons and fiends lurked there as well.
"Most likely, we'll all have a chance to take the field to clear out the aberrations," the girl continued. "That counts as a form of reclamation in itself. Those who perform exceptionally well can receive a share of the auspicious beast's blood to enhance their natural talent, or perhaps even undergo nirvana directly."
Many were surprised. Was Kunjun really that vast? Qin Ming felt the same way, listening with a touch of bewilderment.
"Kunjun covers a vast territory, quite an extraordinary place," someone explained. "It holds three perilous grounds in total—an unprecedented density. At the same time, it is home to over a dozen Daoist sanctuaries and academies of higher learning, which is equally absurd. On top of that, it even boasts two blessed lands, which is all the more unexpected. Because of the many perilous grounds, even though the three great dynasties—Yu, Qian, and Rui—all border it, none of them dare claim that territory. According to the records of *Records of the Ten Continents Within the Seas: Juku Continent*: 'Kunjun lies at the xu position of the West Sea and the hai position of the North Sea, one hundred and thirty thousand li from shore.'"
Qin Ming was lost in thought. Hearing the two girls beside him discuss *Records of the Ten Continents Within the Seas*, he felt that this must have factored in parts of the deep reaches of the night mist world as well.
"The Era of Great Pioneering hasn't even arrived, yet we're already going to reclaim a perilous ground! I can't wait—I'd gladly serve as the vanguard!" A hot-blooded youth in black rubbed his fists, his expression flushed with excitement.
Someone laughed and threw cold water on him: "Wake up, kid. With an impulse like that, you'll probably be among the very first cannon fodder."
"An auspicious beast... is it really all right to kill it?" a young girl in white asked softly.
Someone answered, "When it first emerged in its early years, purple qi billowed from the east, which is why it was called an auspicious beast. In truth, it wreaks even greater havoc than those ancient demons. Just like godkin creatures—though their name includes the word 'god,' their appearance almost always brings catastrophic disaster. And this auspicious beast is actually one of the Ten Scourges of Kunjun."
Just then, a woman sent out a voice transmission with powerful conscious spiritual light: "Attention, passengers traveling to Kunjun. Boarding for your flight on the *Vermilion Bird* airship has now begun."
At once, the chatting youths stirred into motion, walking toward an immense, fiery-red airship in the distance.
Sure enough, nearly this entire crowd of youths was taking the same ship, and even more peers appeared in the distance—some walking out of VIP lounges, others having just arrived.
The hull was colossal, inscribed with intricate, dense runes.
While boarding, Qin Ming saw people transporting exotic energy sources. All of them were neatly shaped blocks—some glowing a lustrous silver, others crystalline and golden-yellow, possessed of a striking aesthetic beauty.
Had he not learned of it beforehand, it would have been difficult to imagine that these were all wooden blocks cut from trees.
"Dear passengers, the *Vermilion Bird* will depart from Qixia City and land at Kunjun Megacity, a total journey of twenty-one thousand five hundred li."
Compared to higher aberrations, such speed was far too slow.
Yet the passengers were well-prepared for this, and rushing was not their purpose in boarding the vessel anyway; they had another goal. During the flight, the *Vermilion Bird* would hover high in the night sky, where it might be able to draw down "celestial essence"!
That was the spiritual liquid that veteran seniors of the outer realm drank like plain water on ordinary days.
Three-quarters of an hour later, the *Vermilion Bird* lifted into the air, gradually vanishing into the dense night.
Looking across the passenger cabin, there were over five hundred people in the seats, at least four hundred of whom bore youthful faces. Full of vigor and vitality, they made the cabin extraordinarily lively.
Beyond this, there was a first-class cabin equipped with beds, bathing facilities, and more.
Yet for cultivators, a journey of a mere three days made ordinary seats more than sufficient.
Qin Ming discovered that the ticket Meng Xinghai gave him included both a private lounge in the first-class cabin and a corresponding seat in the common area—Meng Xinghai had evidently wanted him to experience both.
For the time being, he chose to sit in the main cabin. Listening to the spirited discussions of his peers allowed him to learn a great deal about Kunjun.
Having finished talking about the auspicious beast, some of the youths turned the topic to aberrations.
"After the Great Reclamation, aberrations can generally coexist peacefully with us."
Someone nodded. "Naturally. Those incapable of coexistence are classified as demons and fiends, and they're quickly rooted out."
"Don't laugh; this topic is actually quite grave. Thinking back to those years, our species was pushed to the very brink of survival before we finally stabilized things. So of course we have to deal ruthlessly with demons and fiends."
Someone cited examples of the colossal beasts and mountain-sized plants that had posed immense threats in the early days, none of which could be seen anymore—an outcome forged through brutal, bloody combat.
"Nowadays, aberrations from the deep mountains still have friction with people outside the mountains, but none would ever dare slaughter a whole city. If any did, they would certainly be wiped out down to the last trace. Because of this, many aberrations actively cultivate human forms to integrate among us. Ah, my apologies—I didn't realize a fox fairy was sitting right beside me. Truly, forgive my offense."
The speaker had only just realized that sitting next to him was a pretty young girl with a snow-white fox tail.
"It's fine. Plenty of humans transform into beasts and walk the path of xenosis as well. We are blended together now; it's quite normal."
The fox girl was utterly unruffled. Her complexion was fair, and the white fox tail lent her an aura of mysterious nobility.
She continued, "In truth, even among your path-blazers, there are those who transform into beasts. And among us aberrations, some have assumed human form and actually become founder-level figures and veteran seniors on your side. Humans and aberrations aren't so easy to tell apart anymore."
Someone immediately objected, displeased by such words: "Impossible! How could there ever be aberrations among path-blazers or founder-level figures?"
Qin Ming listened quietly. Though he could not take it all as gospel, it certainly broadened his horizons.
Meanwhile, outside Chixia City, the speech sparrow carried a small bundle on its back as it flew toward the mountains. It murmured to itself, "Mountain Lord, little sparrow is going off to study too."
With determined eyes, it said, "I'll take a roundabout route, first heading to the blessed land with my companions to follow Lord Purple Lightning Beast. They say Kunjun has auspicious blood and might head there; I must follow along as well."
The night mist hung heavy as the colossal *Vermilion Bird* airship traversed the boundless skies, its dense runes shimmering and stirring up gusts of astral winds.
After that brief debate, many youths in the cabin began making acquaintances. Anyone daring to set out alone on a twenty-thousand-li journey to pursue studies was hardly a delicate greenhouse sprout.
Naturally, with youthful temperaments, boasting, sparring, and bouts of competitive pride were inevitable.
Around several exceptionally striking and beautiful girls, circles of youths congregated, asking which Daoist sanctuaries or academies they were headed to.
"Sigh, I suffered a defeat in a crucial tournament and couldn't get into the academy I wanted most," a black-clad youth lamented, looking thoroughly downcast.
"Brother, where are you going then?" someone could not help asking.
The youth in black, Sun Teng, sighed. "I can only settle for the Tianpeng Daoist Sanctuary."
The crowd around him fell dead silent, several people itching to thrash him.
One person fumed, "Tianpeng Daoist Sanctuary ranks right near the very top! What do you have to be dissatisfied with? Are you trying to piss people off on purpose?"
Rumor had it that the Tianpeng Daoist Sanctuary was guarded by a genuine Golden-Winged Peng of terrifying cultivation, showing just how deep the sanctuary's foundations ran.
Sun Teng said, "Honestly, I wanted to go to Origin Academy. But alas, I crossed paths with Freak Eighty-One. After losing to him, I lost all will to fight on."
Many truly wanted to beat him up. This fellow was undoubtedly flaunting his pride under the guise of groaning and sighing—the Tianpeng Daoist Sanctuary was formidable indeed. And the "Freak Eighty-One" he mentioned was that terrifying youth who had swept across eighty-one cities, whose moniker had by now grown far more famous than his actual name.
Among so many youths, exceptional talents were certainly not lacking. Refusing to indulge his bragging, Qiu Long, the youth in yellow who had spoken earlier of the auspicious beast, said indifferently, "I'll go take a look at Origin Academy for you."
The surrounding onlookers registered shock, followed by intense envy. Sun Teng suddenly fell silent.
"Origin Academy is exceptionally strong on all paths, isn't it? The immortal path, the Newborn path, the esoteric path, and even the aberration path?" a radiant girl in blue asked.
Qiu Long nodded. "That's right. I walk both the immortal path and the Newborn path in parallel, so choosing Origin Academy suits me best."
"Brother, you're truly formidable. Pleased to meet you—I'm Lu Xu, heading to Feixian Academy," a tall, well-built youth chimed in.
Qiu Long sighed admiringly. "Brother, you're the truly remarkable one. Feixian Academy accepts very few disciples—only top figures capable of walking the immortal path. It's rumored to be backed by founder-level figures."
Many people's expressions changed. Comparison truly was the thief of joy; some people simply could not be compared.
"Lu Xu, you wouldn't happen to possess the pure yang physique, would you? Your name contains nine suns," a white-clad girl asked with wide, blinking eyes.
The tall youth Lu Xu waved his hands. "I'm not that monster. His name is Lu Dao, and he presumably entered Taiyi Academy."
"Greetings, brothers. I am Qi Ming. I walk the path of the esoteric sect and am headed to Bijie Daoist Sanctuary," an elegant, delicate-featured youth stood up to introduce himself.
Surprised, Lu Xu said, "Qi Ming, I've heard of you—a genius on the esoteric path! I never thought I'd meet you here today."
As cultivators of the immortal path and the esoteric path stepped forward one after another and became acquainted, those walking the Newborn path seemed to suffer a kind of lineage suppression, gradually falling silent.
For years down the line, when their soaring pride was ground down, they might end up seeking shelter with these very peers, serving at their sides as gold-armored guards or jade-armored guards.
Qin Ming observed that there were indeed formidable figures among them, possessing exceptionally potent conscious spiritual light and remarkably rich divine wisdom—evidently all gunning for the auspicious beast's blood.
He even keenly sensed that a woman bundled up tight from head to toe possessed a conscious spiritual light of astonishingly intense yang nature, far beyond the ordinary. Could she possess a pure yang physique? Soon, the woman rose and departed. The person in the seat beside hers let out a long breath and whispered, "Do you know who that was just now?"
"Who?" Curiosity piqued in many listeners.
"A descendant of a certain path-blazer from the outer yang land!"
"*Hiss!*" A collective gasp rippled through the cabin.
"How would you know that?" someone asked.
"Because my elder brother cultivates in the yang land! I've visited there and seen her from afar. When she cultivates, she shines just like a miniature sun!"
Not long after, six more people rose in succession and headed for the first-class cabin.
Soon after, their identities were uncovered one by one: a granddaughter of a veteran immortalist senior, the scion of an esoteric sect elder... all of them youths of illustrious backgrounds and unfathomable strength.
One purple-clad youth spoke with great excitement, informing those around him that the masked woman who had been sitting beside him was suspected to be a renowned prodigy among immortalists, for someone had accidentally let slip her name when calling her to leave.
Rumor had it she had developed conscious spiritual light at the tender age of three or four—a true seed of the near-immortal!
"How are those of us on the Newborn path supposed to survive? How can we possibly compete?" Sun Teng looked up, this time sighing from the bottom of his heart.
The departure of those figures sparked a flurry of heated discussion. Everyone was astounded that so many high-born peers of great pedigree were heading to Kunjun City just like them.
After listening for a while, Qin Ming picked up the night paper on his seat and flipped through it.
"Hmm?" He was slightly surprised. The front page was actually dedicated to a youth he had heard of more than once: the youth grandmaster from Liuguang City—Ling Yu.
Back in Chixia City, the speech sparrow had told him plenty of inside information. The purple-eyed crow Qin Ming met on Black-White Mountain held Ling Yu in high regard.
However, Tang Jin, the woman in the fur cloak whom Master Wu followed, had chosen someone else as her teacher's true successor.
"Youth grandmaster, testing his sword across a hundred cities without a single defeat—perhaps worthy of the title Young Ancestor." The night paper was lavish in its praise of Ling Yu, and his battle record was indeed terrifying.
"You're following him too? That guy is incredible! Most importantly, his teacher is even more legendary, on the verge of becoming a founder-level figure!" The young girl sitting beside Qin Ming was exceptionally lively and talkative, chattering away on her own.
Qin Ming nodded. He had long heard of that old grandmaster in Liuguang City, the man considered most likely in this era to become a founder. He was blazing a new path, combining two methods to forge ahead, and had achieved considerable success thus far.
Yet according to the information the speech sparrow had gleaned from the purple-eyed crow, the youth grandmaster Ling Yu was very likely not Liuguang City's strongest disciple.
For Tang Jin had said that the person she chose for her teacher was like a blazing sun waiting to burst through black clouds, yet should not be revealed too early lest it incite the envy of heaven.
"Just how strong is a disciple taught by a quasi-founder?" Qin Ming murmured to himself.
The girl in green beside him smiled. "We'll find out soon enough. Rumor has it that a woman in black and a purple-eyed crow are escorting Ling Yu across the realm to test his sword and temper the new method passed down by his master. They'll probably arrive in our Kunjun City before long."
Qin Ming said, "Looking at it this way, Kunjun City won't be quiet at all. There were already several young men and women of immense background, and now another youth grandmaster is arriving. If they spar here, it will truly be a grand spectacle."
"Most likely a Young Ancestor!" the girl corrected him.
"Right!" Qin Ming nodded with a smile.
Chapter 170