Beneath the eternal night, snow stretched out boundlessly. As Qin Ming emerged from the mountain forests and passed by a village, he overheard two hunters discussing how the sky was about to change over Yezhou.
"Brother, what happened?" Qin Ming walked over and inquired.
"Something huge! A new world has been discovered!" In the bitter cold, a middle-aged man rubbed his bright red hands, white vapor billowing from his mouth and nose, frost clinging to his beard.
"The sun might rise in the distance!" another elderly hunter in a sheepskin coat added in a hushed voice.
"?" Qin Ming was utterly bewildered. What was going on? Had he fallen that far behind the times? It had only been some sixty days, yet the entire world had become unfamiliar.
The old hunter said, "The specifics haven't reached our remote corner in detail yet. An itinerant merchant passed through town and mentioned a couple of things, saying that a major event in the distance is enough to rewrite the course of history and the landscape of Yezhou."
Qin Ming felt he needed to get into a city quickly. He had only been in closed-door cultivation, yet it felt as if fleeting years had flown by and a millennium had passed in the mortal realm.
Heavy snowflakes danced through the air, piling up on the ground in layers until they reached an adult's thighs.
Under the night sky, Qin Ming sped through the wilderness. White waves of snow sprayed outward, making him look like a flood dragon parting the waters of a sea or lake, churning up foaming white billows.
The distance was not too far, so he did not ride his conspicuous Thunder King Bird.
Qin Ming raced forward until he drew near a city glowing with the light of myriad lanterns.
Behind him, freezing winds whipped granules of snow. Ahead of him, the city gates stood wide open, warm yellow light spilling forth.
The moment he stepped inside, the bustling clamor of the entire city seemed to press in on him all at once. His ears were flooded with the cries of street vendors and the laughter of playing children. The lively, warm atmosphere formed a sharp contrast to the dead silence of the frozen wasteland behind him.
At this moment, Qin Ming felt that nothing was more beautiful than this mundane bustle of the mortal world.
For two months, he had lived practically like a wild man, dwelling in untamed mountains where ice and snow blanketed the forests, devoid of human habitation, surrounded only by jackals, deer, boars, and tigers.
He found an inn, enjoyed a hearty hot bath, changed into clean clothes, and then headed into a brightly lit, bustling tavern.
"What, guest, you still don't know? If you want to go to the new world now, a single pass is nearly impossible to obtain! The prices have soared to the heavens. Even the so-called immortal seeds and Earth Immortal descendants are fighting tooth and nail over it!"
Qin Ming said, "Brother, take it slow. Walk me through it from the beginning."
He keenly realized he must have missed out on something. The common-knowledge news everyone was talking about sounded completely disconnected without context.
The waiter said, "Guest, it goes like this. Our higher-ups were digging a tunnel a while back, and guess what?"
Qin Ming's face darkened at once. "Guess? If you make me guess again, guess what will happen to you?"
The waiter quickly flashed an apologetic smile. "They dug up a mysterious world!"
Qin Ming pondered. Had the group of experts who returned from Pugong made a startling discovery? For some time, they had been exploring perilous grounds and excavating ruins.
The waiter added, "In that brand-new world, morning twilight pierces through the night mist, as if a sun could rise again at any moment!"
Qin Ming listened in fascination, somewhat unable to wrap his head around it. Digging into a Peril was one thing, but could they actually dig straight through into another world?
Soon, he realized he had been led astray by the waiter.
As "noon" arrived beneath the dim night, more and more patrons entered the tavern to eat, inevitably including cultivators who naturally discussed the recent monumental events.
Qin Ming quickly ordered his food and stopped the waiter from spouting any more nonsense.
A moment later, he learned the truth. Talk of higher-ups digging holes was utter rubbish; in reality, a breakthrough had occurred at the immortal grave, completely breaking open the situation.
"This was truly a god-tier opening hand. Golden Light Cave connects to a new world abundant in resources, where Dao resonance is so thick it practically won't dissipate. So many people with powerful backings are fighting to cross over. That place is unfathomable."
Listening to the cultivators' chatter, Qin Ming gradually pieced the sequence together.
Deep within the immortal grave, a living Earth Immortal was sealed. The "knowledge" harbored there seemingly surpassed the Earth Immortal level, involving the opening of "gates."
After months of study and deciphering, Yezhou's higher-ups had pierced the final paper-thin barrier and achieved fruitful results.
Of course, relying solely on the gifts obtained from the immortal grave would not have been enough. Various paths had accumulated reserves in this field before, mostly from incomplete ancient texts and records unearthed in the regions near Kunling.
The gains from the immortal grave had merely catalyzed the process. After thorough research, the higher-ups of Yezhou had successfully opened a mysterious "gate" for the first time.
"At present, its stability isn't quite sufficient. Once the time limit is reached, the path leading to the distance burns out, so it still needs reinforcement. Moreover, figures of excessively high cultivation cannot enter, or they would burst the gate."
Qin Ming's curiosity was naturally piqued. He sent two jars of fine wine and a few hearty dishes to the neighboring table, then inquired with them in detail.
"When they first succeeded in structuring the gate, it took the form of a tunnel filled with voluminous golden glow and light mist. That's why this first path leading to a distant world was named Golden Light Cave."
Evidently, Yezhou's leaders were ambitious; they intended to open more paths in the future, connecting to different mysterious worlds. These gates would each have their own designations and perhaps even numbers.
Qin Ming revealed a look of astonishment. This truly was a massive event capable of shaking Yezhou's balance and rewriting the course of history.
In the past, outward exploration and reclamation had been arduous, but with secret paths like this, everything would change. Exploring unknown worlds would become far easier!
Of course, such a path was not without issues, nor was it entirely beneficial.
In fact, it was easy to imagine the perils that accompanied it. No one knew where these deep tunnels might ultimately lead.
For example, if they opened a "Purple Mist Cave" next time, it might bore right into an Earth Immortal's residence. If so, the consequences would be catastrophic.
Or worse, if they opened a fresh "Bodhi Cave" one day and accidentally breached the private chamber of a meditating Heavenly God, the mere thought of that scene was hair-raising.
Qin Ming asked, "Is the destination of the opened path uncontrollable?"
The people at the adjacent table nodded. It depended entirely on heavenly fortune. Whenever they tunneled, a slight alteration in the runes would lead down an entirely different road.
Evidently, this uncontrollability was like opening a mystery box; whether it brought delight or terror was entirely up to luck.
Therefore, Yezhou's higher-ups currently sought only stability to keep the gate open longer, rather than reinforcing its load-bearing capacity.
In fact, a group of patriarchs had imposed strict limits: for the foreseeable future, the gate's durability cap would be set no higher than the Grandmaster realm.
This served as a measure of self-protection.
Even if they inadvertently barged into the bedchamber of a Heavenly Immortal in some mysterious realm, at worst the explorers would perish, without bringing calamity upon Yezhou itself.
Though Yezhou's higher-ups had mastered this divine technique of digging tunnels and carving paths, many aspects remained to be refined.
At the very least, it could not be used locally within Yezhou in the short term to link two cities; each attempt was merely a one-way mystery box.
"This application of the gate has made even the Earth Immortals and Seven-Sun Stackers in Pugong green with envy. Though their attainments are profound, they don't possess this divine technique."
Rumor had it that several of the highest-ranking figures from Pugong would return.
"Oh? What level of figures?" Qin Ming asked, making up for the news he had missed over the past two months.
"Whispers have been circulating that the martial uncle of the Present Rulai, as well as Helian Chengyun's martial uncle—senior figures like that—are very likely to return to their homeland."
Hearing this, Qin Ming could not help but drink a cup of wine to steady his nerves. If such old monsters returned together, the sky over Yezhou truly might flip upside down!
Setting aside the pathfinders of the immortal path and the old fellows of the esoteric sects, just the potential returnees from the Newborn path's Rulai Sect were absolute titans.
Qin Ming knew very well that the Present Rulai's martial uncle practiced the Hunyuan force!
During the great war in the western borders, the Present Rulai's master had appeared, taking two demon gods with him in death—a terrifyingly powerful feat. Before dying, he had lamented his past.
In his youth, he had not been the sect's strongest successor. He had two senior martial brothers who had practiced the Chaos force alongside his master, and they had ultimately traveled far away.
Thinking it over, Qin Ming felt a headache coming on.
This meant the Present Rulai had two martial uncles and a grandmaster who had all journeyed far into Pugong's territory, and their current status was entirely unknown.
Was the living sage of the silk book method one of those martial uncles?
If not, that was even more terrifying!
Qin Ming even began to suspect whether some among the so-called Earth Immortals and Seven-Sun Stackers in Pugong were actually patriarchs who had migrated from Yezhou in the past.
Qin Ming drifted into thought. He realized that although he practiced the same silk book method as those figures, if they stirred up storms in Yezhou in the future, they were destined not to be fellow travelers.
When it came to the silk book method, everyone's ultimate mastery differed, as the scriptures they integrated were vastly distinct.
Take him, for instance: from his first extraordinary art, the *Departing Fire Classic*, to the *Golden Crow Illuminates the Night Classic* that made generations of patriarchs salivate, as well as the complete four jade book pages, he had mastered texts that far exceeded an outsider's imagination.
Without false modesty, Qin Ming believed that his Chaos force would surpass that of the source-level patriarchs.
Naturally, he could not say such things openly. Otherwise, that old Rulai from the distant past might deem him rebellious and outrageously disrespectful.
Yet the fact remained: in the same realm, he was indeed stronger.
Qin Ming believed that once he melted and fused various true scriptures together, his silk book method would be entirely different from those origins.
In the past, those patriarchs had not dared to do so, exercising caution every step of the way, yet their bodies had still exploded time and again.
Now, he had nearly resolved that hidden danger, allowing him to fuse true scriptures at will.
*Well, even if the Present Rulai's martial uncle or that living sage returns, they might not necessarily make things hard for the younger generation. Perhaps I'm overthinking it.*
Mainly, Qin Ming was truly wary; if someone practicing the Chaos force stepped into the seventh realm, they would be utterly terrifying, perhaps capable of sweeping an entire era.
Still, if Yezhou underwent drastic changes, it was not as though no one could keep them in check. For instance, he wondered whether the silk book method patriarch he had fished out of Black Dragon Pool had truly buried himself.
Furthermore, there was Old Man Liu. If he could recover, he would likely be exceptionally formidable.
*A pity that Old Liu is destined to remain idle in this life, waiting for his final curtain to end it.*
Qin Ming was lost in thought for a long while, while the neighboring table continued to talk about the Golden Light Cave.
"This truly was a god-tier opening!"
In the world of night mist, ninety percent of regions were pitch-black without Fire Springs, yet their initial tunneling had opened up a divine land.
Qin Ming inquired periodically and obtained plenty of detailed information.
Yezhou's higher-ups had been cautious; they had not constructed the gate in their native territory, choosing instead an outer domain inhabited by a vassal race.
"The minotaurs?" Qin Ming recalled them. In the past, when heading toward the immortal grave, they had passed through that race's homeland.
Cultivators from Yezhou had mostly conducted passive reclamation without invading that area. Moreover, the minotaurs guarded the perimeter, acting like sentries providing early warning.
"A stable Golden Light Cave requires drawing on the power of a Fire Spring to maintain, and the consumption is substantial."
In fact, even the first batch of explorers had consisted of green-haired minotaurs.
"When recruiting the minotaurs back then, they were offered lavish rewards. Who would have thought that before long, cultivators across Yezhou would be paying astronomical prices just to buy an entry pass to Golden Light Cave?"
This was primarily because the first minotaurs had all been youths of the first realm. After crossing over, they encountered no danger and ate a type of fruit from that side. Within a few days, several of them broke through to the second realm.
The green hair on their heads also began turning silver.
Most crucially, their cultivation speed in that land was significantly faster than in their native realm.
When Yezhou's investigators went to inspect, they discovered that the spiritual substance there was twice as dense as in their homeland, and the Dao resonance was so rich it was practically tangible—any genius could faintly sense it.
This drove people wild. According to estimates, cultivating there for one day was equivalent to two or three days of effort in Yezhou. Who could resist such a temptation?
Furthermore, that realm possessed an undying morning glow, as though a sun were about to rise from the horizon once more.
With mixed and excited emotions, Qin Ming left the tavern. He was currently within the borders of Great Rui, having chosen to enter seclusion nearby after the exchange gathering ended.
Leaving the city, he entered the windblown, snowy mountain forest and summoned the Thunder King Bird.
"Go to the Rulai Sect and deliver a letter to Xiang Yiwu for me."
Qin Ming intended to summon that walking door plank of the Newborn path along with Xiao Wu so they could study together how to explore that mysterious world where a sun might exist.
In truth, during the two months he had been lying low, various places had already erupted in excitement. Xiang Yiwu and Wu Yaozu had teamed up long ago, eager to march into the new world.
They had also been looking for Qin Ming, but he had been out of contact for a long time.
Two days later, Xiang Yiwu and Wu Yaozu hurried over, reuniting with Qin Ming in Ruicheng.
Xiao Wu said, "Brother Ming, our missing person has finally returned! Everyone across all paths has gone mad, wanting nothing more than to enter Golden Light Cave, yet you disappeared for so long!"
From the two of them, Qin Ming learned even more information.
The land connected to Golden Light Cave was unimaginably distant.
For a straight-line radius of a million li around Yezhou, everything was deep in winter, a season of frozen earth.
Yet at the other end of Golden Light Cave, vegetation was lush and green, brimming with life.
"Is that place truly near a realm with a sun?" Qin Ming cared about this above all else.
Xiang Yiwu said, "Hard to say. Behind the distant mountains, morning twilight truly does emerge, but if it's a sun, why does it never rise?"
Wu Yaozu added, "Still, the value there is astonishing; it can truly be called a divine land. Just four days ago, someone picked up a piece of exotic metal and brought it back!"
Qin Ming looked astonished. That was a material that even patriarchs coveted and Earth Immortals desperately needed, capable of forging top-tier weapons!
Xiang Yiwu spoke solemnly, "Two days ago, someone captured a silver-backed gold-patterned turtle and brought it back. On its snow-white shell, there were actually mysterious runes. After being deciphered by a Grandmaster, its contents were found to possess startling value—no less than a top-tier secret scripture!"
"Hiss!" Qin Ming sucked in a cold breath. Why did it sound more and more as though that place were paved with gold, where even the green leaves of the forest dripped with sweet, fragrant honey?
Even he was thoroughly tempted. No wonder so many people wished to enter Golden Light Cave, making tickets virtually impossible to procure.
Qin Ming understood that Yezhou's true Great Reclamation might have officially raised its curtain from this moment on.
Those unknown worlds and mysterious realms were completely unpredictable. Striking out for heavenly fortune in this manner was fraught with uncertainty; on the path ahead, anything was possible.
Chapter 357