Autumn insects chirped as the mountains shed their deep green. Leaves gradually took on a yellowish tint, and maples were lightly stained with red. A clear stream gurgled softly, carrying scattered fallen leaves into the distance.
On an old tree outside the village, Qin Ming found the red squirrel's food hoard. Scooping a handful of pine nuts from a tree hollow, he snacked on them as he walked away.
Up on the Black-White Twin Trees, the red squirrel felt a sudden premonition. It looked up suspiciously, its eyes widening as it spotted the pine nut shells carelessly discarded along the road.
Realizing its home had been raided yet again, it couldn't hold back a curse: "What the fuck!"
Qin Ming set out alone, his figure gradually disappearing into the night.
He had left the Thunder King Bird behind in the territory of Black-White Mountain, mainly because it was far too conspicuous to accompany him on a low-profile journey.
In the night sky, the Thunder King Bird circled, gazing at the path leading into the distance.
Yuque comforted it, saying, "You and I are merely passersby, destined to never keep up with the mountain lord's footsteps."
Then, blinking its gem-like eyes, it added, "Actually, this place isn't bad either—it could even be called unfathomable. I'm thinking of raising a little mountain lord."
Upon hearing this, the Thunder King Bird looked suspicious at once. "Has Qin Ming already taken a Dao companion and sired offspring?"
Yuque shook its head. "No. Liu the Heavenly Immortal is here, isn't he? His venerable self's descendants should be extraordinary."
Then it lowered its voice. "And look at that dog—no, Master Dog. Who knows how many years it's been single? Why not take advantage of its 'return to simplicity' and find it a companion? Who knows, maybe you could groom a little dog saint."
The Thunder King Bird immediately shrank its neck; it didn't dare provoke that bachelor dog.
From the early spring revival of the Fire Spring to autumn, when the forest leaves turned yellow, Qin Ming had traveled back and forth between Black-White Mountain and Chixia City, quietly lying low and cultivating hard.
During this rainy season, he had received thunder and fire, sending his spirit wandering above the pitch-black sky. Unfortunately, he couldn't find abundant heavenly light or mysterious otherworldly strange fires and drifting dawn mist every time.
He was certain that without an "external catalyst," it would take until next year for him to break through to the sixth heaven of the spirit field.
For the Newborn path, ascending one heaven a year was already an unimaginable, miraculous speed.
Yet the top seeds of the esoteric sects and the immortal path, as well as the "blazing suns" among the visitors from beyond the realm, mostly stood in higher realms already.
Qin Ming wanted to reach the fourth realm—Mind Lamp—as soon as possible.
Once he arrived at that level, he wouldn't fear anyone of his generation.
Moreover, starting from the fourth realm, whether in the esoteric sects or the immortal path, even peerless seeds would see their cultivation speed drop sharply.
That would give him a window of time to catch up.
Passing through Chixia City, he went to visit Meng Xinghai.
"Little Qin, you want to explore the foreign realm?" Old Meng frowned. "Fortuitous encounters are never within easy reach. If they were, how could they have lasted until now? There will certainly be risks."
Qin Ming nodded. "Yujing halted over Night Province and still hasn't moved away. All kinds of monsters and freaks have arrived..."
In particular, terrifying incidents of Earth Immortals passing through had occurred more than once. Qin Ming feared an earth-shattering "heavenly upheaval" and wanted to strive to increase his strength before chaos erupted.
Meng Xinghai cautioned, "You must be careful. Rumor has it that the 'Purple Dawn Cave' unearthed this time is quite mysterious. No one knows where it actually leads, and even the patriarchs have no idea!"
Afterward, the two discussed the Immortal Peach Fair.
"Are you going to attend, Uncle Meng?" Qin Ming asked.
"Can't be bothered," Meng Xinghai replied.
Qin Ming smiled. "Actually, I didn't receive an invitation either."
Meng Xinghai looked surprised. "I thought you'd been invited. Who knew you'd be like me, with no chance to eat immortal peaches. Well, that's fine too. We won't wade into muddy waters."
The earthen city was too mysterious; outsiders still couldn't truly see through it to this day.
Some said that beings at the Great Perfection of the Earth Immortal realm might be holding down the earthen city. Others suspected that there might even be decayed Heavenly Immortals there.
Kunling. After nearly a year, Qin Ming returned to his old stomping grounds.
This wall-less city had grown even more bustling, with many visitors from beyond the realm appearing.
Qin Ming hadn't come for the earthen city's Immortal Peach Fair, but to explore. This time, the "Purple Dawn Cave" hadn't opened outside the native realm, but right near Kunling.
Mainly, outside Night Province, Earth Immortals were lingering about, making trouble easy to arise.
Patriarchs of various paths had explicitly stated that if something unexpected happened in Purple Dawn Cave, the earthen city's power could be borrowed to suppress it; after all, it had emerged carrying the will of Yujing.
Hearing this, the group of "living ancestors" in the earthen city dearly wished to thrash those unfilial descendants.
However, after some discussion in the end, the earthen city's patriarchs agreed.
"Little Rulai is so strong. A while back, he took down several 'blazing suns' single-handedly, and even when an elder ambushed him afterward, he emerged unscathed."
At midday, inside a famous restaurant, business was at its peak.
"Of course! Look at what technique he practices. That lineage claims to be the orthodox Hunyuan force, and he hasn't blown apart even now. He is truly a dragon among men."
"It's been a long time since we heard any news of Qin Ming. It's like he completely vanished. He cultivates this miraculous art too—between him and Little Rulai, who is stronger?"
"The fact that you even compare him to Little Rulai means he hasn't lost. After all, his realm is still a bit low."
Qin Ming hadn't expected that just having a meal would let him hear his own name mentioned.
In the restaurant, people discussed how one of the origins of the Chaos force, the sage who had departed far for Pugong, was very likely about to step into the seventh realm.
A patriarch practicing such a technique hadn't died from exploding, but had survived safely into this era—it was an incomprehensible miracle.
This truly stirred up heated debate!
"Once mastered, he will likely hold the power to look down on all heroes even in the Earth Immortal realm. After all, Chaos force is simply too terrifying, incomparably overbearing."
"No wonder Little Rulai always considers himself the orthodox branch—behind him stands a supreme patriarch, a living, terrifying sage!"
Lately, rumors circulated that even the founding patriarchs of the earthen city valued the Chaos force lineage immensely; across thousands of mountains and rivers, they had already dispatched an invitation to Pugong for the Immortal Peach Fair.
A moment later, people began chatting about recent prominent figures.
"Xiao Jinye, a fierce youth from the barbarian wilderness. Nobody expected him to be so formidable. He took a palm strike from a grandmaster from beyond the realm and didn't die, dodging a lethal calamity."
"Anyone who dared strike at him must have an unfathomable background. Word is spreading that Xiao Jinye's ancestor, that old barbarian god, has reached the Great Perfection of the seventh realm and might be approaching the Heavenly God realm!"
Suddenly, a brief silence fell over the restaurant, followed by a chorus of sharply inhaled breaths.
Afterward, people spoke of Jian Huaidao, Lu Chenxiao, Ji Yunque, and others, all of whom had forged illustrious reputations and boasted dazzling battle records.
Undoubtedly, quite a few "blazing suns" from beyond the realm had entered Night Province. Anyone warmly discussed and named belonged to the topmost tier.
Before long, Qin Ming heard over a dozen names with formidable backgrounds. Some he had known before, while others had clearly emerged during his period of secluded cultivation.
The Beyond-the-Realm Fairy Beauty Ranking published in the night papers was mentioned repeatedly. Pei Qingwu and Qi Jiyue not only possessed astonishing cultivation, but also enjoyed terrifyingly high popularity because of this list.
Other gazettes tried to follow suit, even attempting to create a local fairy beauty ranking, but failed before they began, receiving severe warnings from the ancestral halls of various sects in Night Province.
"Mu Xingyao, from a certain Earth Immortal Island in the Western Sea, has been steadily climbing the ranks lately, jumping straight from tenth place to fourth."
"Well, she could have ranked in the top three, but rumor has it that because she flew wing to wing with someone and stayed out all night, her reputation took a hit. Gossip says it was related to Qin Ming."
In the restaurant, Qin Ming dearly wished to copy the red squirrel and say: "What the fuck!"
He had been listening with great relish, never expecting to become the gossip himself. He quickly downed a cup of wine to steady his nerves.
He wasn't worried about being recognized. He cultivated one of the three most difficult scriptures of the immortal path, the four jade book pages, and had contemplated it repeatedly. Although he hadn't undergone the trial of refining the mind ape, he was thoroughly proficient in its myriad shape-shifting arts.
To avoid being ambushed by people with hidden motives, he naturally wouldn't waltz openly into the other world this time.
After discussing Qin Ming, someone asked whether he would come to attend the Immortal Peach Fair this time.
"Probably doubtful. Since they invited someone like Little Rulai from the orthodox Chaos force lineage, they likely won't send an invitation to Qin Ming, who came from an unorthodox background."
Not long after, everyone shifted to discussing the strongest tier of local seeds.
"Terrifying. Jiang Ran actually encountered a mysterious opponent and fought to a draw with someone of her generation for the first time."
What's more, to this day, no one knew the name or background of her opponent.
"Indeed, some truly formidable figures have arrived in Night Province. News says that one of the previous generation's divine seeds of the esoteric sect, who had reached the perfection of the fourth realm, was actually defeated by a young 'blazing sun' from beyond the realm, causing a sensation in circles in the know."
Qin Ming mused that some truly formidable figures were bound to be lying in wait. For instance, the person behind the mind ape he had slain on the Plain of Divine Demise had likely arrived.
To prevent leaks, although he passed through Kunling City, he didn't enter Shanhe Academy to see the elder Yu Gensheng.
He didn't linger long, hurrying toward a direction outside the city to head for Purple Dawn Cave.
After this "gate" was constructed, the buzz around it was far lower than last time—at least, not many people were talking about it in the restaurant.
Most people remained in a wait-and-see state; last time, many cultivators had been thoroughly terrified.
Purple Dawn Cave wasn't very far from the earthen city—they were practically on the same route, which explained why those "living ancestors" had grumbled.
The tunnel leading to the other world was still being adjusted and reinforced. As usual, according to the old rules, the upper limit of cultivation permitted to pass through in the early phase was set at the grandmaster realm.
Beneath the night, the high-grade Fire Spring shone brightly. Near it, Purple Dawn Cave steamed with dense, hazy light, as though an unimaginably noble purple cloud had descended from the heavens to drape over this place.
This time, although discussions about exploring the other world weren't loud across various regions, the crowd gathered on site was by no means small. Packed densely together, they all sat cross-legged on the ground, waiting.
Qin Ming observed that although there were many young and able-bodied cultivators, he saw no local immortal seeds, divine seeds, or "blazing suns" from beyond the realm. It seemed most of them were people without powerful backgrounds who refused to accept mediocrity, wanting to venture into an unknown, unpredictable world to fight for a glorious future of their own.
He also sat cross-legged on the cold, hard earth and chatted with those around him. Sure enough, as he had guessed, they were all people with some talent but ordinary origins.
There were many young faces with fervent eyes, harboring dreams of seizing great fortuitous encounters in that distant world to alter their destinies.
"Look, that's the earthen city. Sadly, given our status, we have no chance of entering at all." A youth gazed at the distant, glowing city, his expression filled with yearning.
Though not grandiose, the earthen city possessed an aura that made onlookers feel it was unfathomable. Openly, twelve "Golden Immortals" guarded it.
Qin Ming also looked into the distance and even spotted familiar faces.
Particularly over the next two days, flying boats arrived in this region one after another, bearing those who had come early for the gathering.
Among them were naturally major figures, with no lack of patriarchs arriving in person.
Qin Ming saw Jiang Ran, Zhuo Qingming, Cui Chonghe, and other seeds of the immortal path. He also saw Little Rulai, Jian Huaidao, and other cultivators from Pugong. As for the "blazing suns" of other realms, he didn't recognize most of them.
In front of the earthen city, some people looked over toward Purple Dawn Cave, and someone spoke up: "Men die for wealth just as birds die for food. Charging rashly into an unknown land like this is truly unwise."
Another shook his head. "Saying that, how are you any different from asking 'Why don't they eat minced meat?' Some people down there lack resources and have no choice but to risk everything to cross over."
Yet another scoffed, saying, "Whether they strive or not, it's hard for them to go far. I dare say not a single one among this crowd can rise. Their ceiling was locked long ago."
"Let's hope they have good luck and reap the first wave of fortune. But fortuitous encounters clearly do not favor the weak. Once it's confirmed there are no issues with Purple Dawn Cave, it'll be our turn to take the stage."
Before the earthen city, a group of people conversed placidly—descendants of Earth Immortals from beyond the realm, as well as scions of prominent local clans—none of them believing that explorers from the bottom could reap any great harvest.
Finally, after multiple tests in which several batches of puppets entered Purple Dawn Cave and returned successfully, confirming that the other side was a brand-new world with no issues, Purple Dawn Cave was officially "activated."
"Let me tell you, this is the first time our Night Province has connected to an unknown land! The significance is immense, and there is absolutely no deception this time!"
A grandmaster spoke solemnly and even swore a Dao oath, declaring that once grandmasters were permitted to set out, he too would go in person.
That day, Qin Ming prepared to cross over. This would truly be his first time venturing into an unknown and mysterious other world on an expedition!
Chapter 373