Visitors from Beyond the Realm Claim Kinship

In Kunling, a golden bell tolled, its reverberations stirring the land across a thousand li. Hanging in the night sky, it subsequently surged straight into the heavens, its presence piercing the stars of the Dipper and Ox. It was said that this was a battered bell that had tumbled down from Yujing, never to be struck unless an extraordinary crisis unfolded. Concentric ripples of gold spread outward, illuminating the entire cloud blanket with visible acoustic waves. Amidst the grandiose chime, the sky turned brilliantly bright. Evidently, these were turbulent times; counting today, the golden bell had already sounded thrice within a single year. Throughout the lands of Kunling, everyone was stunned. What had happened? Gazing up at the cloud layer saturated by the golden waves, countless people stood rigid, their expressions dazed. Was another "Heavenly Shift" about to occur? The instant the bell rang, dozens of lightning birds plunged into the night mist across the region. Glowing brightly like streaking shooting stars, they vanished in the blink of an eye. Piercing the clouds and cleaving through the fog, they flew toward distant horizons, their destinations the ancestral lands of every major faction. *Ding-ling-ling!* Pure white bells hung from their talons, rippling with gentle pulses that projected their "sound" directly into the hearts of all living beings along their paths. These were exotic treasures capable of resonating with a person’s spiritual field. No one along the way was permitted to obstruct them; these precious bells had been personally forged by patriarchs and carried an extraordinary significance. "Message dispatched by jade bell—utmost emergency!" Within the various cities beneath the long night, even the city lords felt their scalps tingle upon hearing this eerie chiming. It was the last sort of dispatch anyone wished to receive. With some matters, no news was the best news. The appearance of the jade bells often meant that chaos was about to envelop the realm. Dozens of lightning birds swept across the expanses of Night Province, setting off a massive uproar. "*Hiss...* Visitors from another realm! Multiple patriarch-level powerhouses have appeared in Kunling!" Imperial dynasties, ancestral courts of every path, and supreme organizations were all alarmed that very day. Many senior figures emerged from seclusion one after another, unable to stop themselves from drawing sharp breaths of cold mist. "Sixth-realm visitors from beyond the domain stealthily slipped into Kunling. Their movements are exceedingly bizarre—they have visited various academies, perilous grounds, and baleful lands, as if searching for something." Furthermore, powerful outsiders had penetrated deep into the layered spaces of mist, seemingly investigating the earthen city connected to Yujing. All of this had been detected and projected by Kunling’s Sky-Surveying Divine Mirror. A grandmaster-tier figure had struck the golden bell without hesitation, sounding the alarm to summon aid from the patriarchs of every path. Across Night Province, brilliant suns rose into the sky one after another like dazzling rainbows rending the pitch-black night, speeding toward the lands of Kunling at extreme haste. Many people were terrified. Could it be that just as the war against the demon civilization had concluded, a new conflagration was already igniting? In the night, city after city fell into brief silence. In the last struggle, every path had worn mourning garments, and far too many had perished. Right now, no one wished to see war break out anew. Among the visitors from beyond the realm, an elderly man spoke: "I told you before: Night Province is different from other places. Its waters run deep. Even though no Earth Immortal resides here, remnant treasures were left behind. Even for the likes of us, being too ostentatious would get us discovered immediately." They had already been in Night Province for half a month. Some had revisited old stomping grounds to reminisce, while others had ventured into vital strongholds to explore ruins. The patriarchs of various sects had already converged en route, arriving with immense speed. From a great distance, one could spot magnificent mounts—earth tyrannosaurs, golden butterflies, jade rhinoceroses, and more. The visitors from beyond the realm had not fled; they had actually waited in Kunling the entire time. Beneath the night mist, some of them possessed snow-white hair, some were in the prime of youth, and others still appeared tender and green, spanning a vast range of ages. In the battle of the western borders, every path in Night Province had suffered catastrophic losses. Several patriarchs had fallen, the survivors bore wounds, and some had even been forced into death seclusion. The number of patriarchs appearing now was naturally far smaller than during their prime. Even so, every patriarch who had descended upon Kunling was a formidable force—figures like Leng Mingkong, Helian Chengyun, Present Rulai, and the elder revered as the "Immortal" within the esoteric sect. "We harbor no ill will. In fact, some among us were born in this very land and are originally native to Night Province," an old woman among the outsiders spoke up. On Night Province's side, all the patriarchs were astonished. Had those who entered the depths of the night mist world back then truly returned? At this moment, both groups stood outside Kunling City. A boundless expanse of snow stretched between them, separating the two parties by several li. To patriarch-tier figures, such a distance was no different from standing face-to-face. Even with their heavy casualties, Night Province still held a decisive advantage in numbers. As they stepped forward, the figures opposite them also projected goodwill and drew near. "Hmm? Chengyun, you're still in this world? That is truly wonderful!" The old woman who had just spoken grew emotional. Upon catching sight of Helian Chengyun within the crowd, her eyes turned slightly red. She looked at the young man clad in red-gold armor, fixating on the red mark between his brows. Feeling that familiar, austere presence, she confirmed his identity. Though Helian Chengyun was an old monster at the forefront of pathbreaking, he did not look old; his bearing remained spirited and heroic. At this moment, ripples stirred within his usually unperturbed heart. Staring in a daze at the figure opposite him, he called out tentatively, "Senior Sister... Zhao Lin?" Long ago, the two had nearly become Dao companions. Zhao Lin's master had been Helian Chengyun's martial uncle. Five hundred years ago, that immortal path patriarch had led several disciples deep into the night mist world. According to records sealed within the outer pure lands, the immortal path had taken the initiative back then to dispatch experts to explore far-off domains. Regrettably, none of those who departed had ever returned. "Senior Brother Zhuo Qingya...?" an elderly man among the visitors ventured uncertainly, looking toward the patriarch of the Palace of Heavenly Gods, an important faction of the esoteric sect. After all, they had been parted for over five hundred years, back when both had been in the prime of youth. Zhuo Qingya, the aged patriarch of the esoteric sect, stared forward and asked, "Are you... Junior Brother Lu Yuzhang?" "Could that across from me be the one Grandmaster once jokingly designated as... Little Rulai?" A bald old man among the outsiders cast two beams of golden haze from his eyes, gazing toward the patriarch of the Newborn path. In truth, Present Rulai had also been watching him intently, his heart far from calm. With his "Eye of Wisdom," he had long discerned that this person was likely his martial uncle's chief disciple from the past. However, it had been more than five hundred years since they last met. With the passage of time, both were drastically different from their former selves. "Are you... Senior Brother Zhanlong?" "It is me! Little Rulai, you've actually grown so tall!" No one could have expected that after the golden bell—a divine treasure that had fallen from Yujing—tolled, what was feared to be a cataclysmic "Heavenly Shift" would turn out to be a massive family reunion. Several relatively "younger" patriarchs were dazed. Thinking a great enemy had arrived, they had instead encountered a group of senior predecessors who had departed Night Province long ago. These people had not left Night Province together back then, but from the looks of it, they had ultimately arrived in the very same region. "Senior Brother, since you have returned, why did you not head straight to the ancestral court, choosing instead to wander outside?" "*Sigh*, one fears approaching home the closer one gets. Five hundred years have passed, and I worried things had changed beyond recognition. Ever since setting foot on native soil again, I have been traveling everywhere, reminiscing about the past and learning about the changes of these past centuries." ... That day, the entire realm was shaken. Pandemonium broke out across the cities beneath the night sky, leaving everyone utterly stunned. This was no sensationalized headline concocted by the Night Paper’s clickbait desk; people across the realm were genuinely awestruck. Hundreds of years ago, patriarchs had led their disciples away from Night Province to explore a new world. Even those disciples had now broken through to become patriarchs and had returned today. Among them, the earliest group had departed nearly six hundred years ago, while the more recent group had embarked on their journey four hundred and eighty years ago. "Investigate further! Report again immediately!" Even the heads of major organizations were scratching their heads in frantic curiosity, desperate to learn the concrete truth: Where had this group gone, why had they lost contact for centuries, and why had they suddenly returned? Soon, all manner of news began to leak out. Among the returnees were relatives of contemporary old patriarchs. For instance, Qingtian, a patriarch tied to the Newborn path, saw his second son return after having vanished for over five hundred years. Qingtian had suffered severe injuries and was originally in death seclusion, yet he was so shocked that he emerged straight from his secret chamber. "Father, your unfilial son hovered outside the mountain gate for days, not daring to enter the ancestral court. Unable to share your burdens, I have instead disturbed your recovery." Qingtian stared at him repeatedly, asking, "Are you truly my child?" "Father, you don't recognize me anymore?" Qingtian's second son was white-haired, his eyes brimming with hot tears. With a loud *thud*, he fell to his knees and shuffled forward on his knees. Over the next few days, heated discussions erupted throughout Night Province. From brightly lit cities to remote villages and towns, news arrived one wave after another. Qin Ming was left slack-jawed as well. By the time he heard of it four days later, it was only because an itinerant merchant had arrived in nearby Silver Vine Town carrying the news. One could only say that the Black-White Mountain area was far too remote, with communication flowing terribly slow. He pondered it for a long while. This matter held enormous ramifications. What sort of region had those people explored back then? Could they have all settled in the same place within the depths of the night mist world? At the same time, he was deeply concerned about whether any disciples of the silk book method patriarch had returned. Gradually, more of the truth was unveiled. This time, a total of over eighty people had entered Night Province. Evidently, only a portion of them were returning natives. "In the distance lies a vast and magnificent realm—an empire boundless in territory, its splendid mountains and rivers draped in brocade, its towering mountain ranges stretching like dragons. A place blessed by heaven, fertile with talent, where heroes emerge in great numbers and sages gather. Countless colossal cities are dotted like stars, every one of them immensely grand. Cultivation civilization flourishes with vigor, and secret manuals and techniques are as vast as a sea of smoke..." Once this revelation spread, it shook the entire world. Most importantly, that extraordinarily resplendent civilization was a powerful empire belonging to humanity. For the next several days, everyone talked about that dazzling human civilization far away, sparking widespread discussion across all tiers of society. The Night Paper, the World Paper, the Day Paper, and other publications spared no ink, reporting extensively. Overwhelming waves of news painted a vast, breathtaking world before the people. Countless hearts yearned for it, wishing they could embark on a distant journey to experience it firsthand. "An Earth Immortal presides over that land!" With every new dispatch, people's hearts surged. One had to understand that Night Province was exceedingly wary of civilizations harboring Earth Immortals. Now, hearing that a realm ruled by humans possessed a cultivation civilization flourishing to such an extent naturally filled everyone with excitement. "Moreover, there are even those who have stacked seven suns—individuals who successfully stepped into the seventh realm without altering their lifeforms." The moment this news broke, the entire world was stunned. In Night Province, through continuous pathbreaking, each generation was generally stronger than the last. In this era, if certain patriarchs at the apex of their fields wished to alter their lifeforms, it was not impossible for them to become Earth Immortals. Leng Mingkong and Helian Chengyun were examples of this. Yet the patriarchs of Night Province did not set their ambitions there. They sought to maintain their original forms, smash through the celestial barriers with overwhelming force, and stand firmly within the seventh realm. Now, word came that the distant human empire had already pioneered a path into that very domain. The news brought back by those who had left sent a veritable shockwave through the land. Rumor had it that in recent days, the seeds of the esoteric sect, the outer realm, and the Newborn path had been in close contact with the young travelers from afar, engaging in continuous, enthusiastic exchanges. Some immortal seeds and divine seeds even harbored desires to travel far and venture to that mysterious empire for advanced study to elevate themselves. That brilliant human civilization lay to the southwest of Night Province, rooted in a vast, spiritually vibrant domain. Highly prosperous and flourishing, it sat at a distance of at least 1,500,000 li from Night Province by conventional overland routes. "Most crucially, traveling between the two places requires passing through a mist-shrouded region that houses a 'Gate'—purportedly a shortcut." Otherwise, the true distance between the two lands would be hard to fathom. Outside, the world was in an uproar. Waves of news surged like a deluge, utterly shattering all quietude. On Black-White Mountain, Qin Ming seemed completely isolated from the world. Untouched by the clamor of the distant lands, he cultivated in peace. The return of the "traveling wanderers" from afar had drawn virtually the entire world's gaze, monopolizing every trending topic. Of course, amid the fervent discussions, a few discordant voices also emerged. For instance, the *Truth Paper* once published an opinion piece questioning why those people had severed all communication for so long. "The senior predecessors who traveled far were fortunate; they managed to avoid the two bloody wars four hundred and fifty years ago, an era when the old patriarchs fought almost to the last man. In this era, had they returned just two months earlier, their cultivation and experience would have allowed them to display remarkable valor in the bloody external battles of our time—perhaps even making up a little for the 'regrets' of the past." These words held a slight barb, yet they did strike a chord with some. Still, excessive rhetoric was sparse across factions; everyone knew when to stop. Across generations, many experts from Night Province had ventured deep into the night mist world, most never to return, their fates shrouded in mystery. For such a large contingent to return together was an extreme rarity. That immensely glorious human empire was of profound significance to Night Province. If no issues arose, many experts of every path wished to journey there for a tour of exploration. "Let the winds blow from east, west, north, or south; I shall cultivate first!" Qin Ming sat cross-legged beneath the black-white tree. His body gradually merged into a single entity with the twin trees, transforming into a yin-yang diagram as black and white qi swirled rapidly around him.