In the night sky, bright and dazzling, the unfurling New Board floated with countless characters, shining brilliantly as if studded with innumerable stars.
Those characters resembled red-hot metal; even the dense night mist could hardly obscure their radiance. They flowed like liquid light, gradually spreading across the entire New Board.
Such an abnormal spectacle naturally drew everyone's attention.
"Huh, some names are missing?" someone whispered.
The people present were sharp-witted and keen. They noticed the subtle change: wherever the galaxy-like characters flowed, certain names vanished into thin air.
They dissolved into wisps of glowing mist, evaporating just like that.
"The high-ranking 'All-Nighter Heavenly God' vanished first!"
That was a grand expert in the top ten, yet his inscribed name inexplicably dispersed.
"What happened? Even the highly competitive 'Woman Older by Three Thousand' was wiped away! Is the New Board undergoing a seismic shift?"
People were astonished and baffled. How could top experts be struck from the board one after another so abruptly?
"The prominent female powerhouse 'Retired Queen Mother' was actually struck off as well."
"'Accumulating Sloth to Become an Immortal', who had such fierce upward momentum, had his name fade away too! He was a terrifying expert with high hopes of making the top ten."
"What's going on? Even the true body of 'We Have an Illness' is gone! Just moments ago, he was right beside me, chatting and laughing with a lovely fairy!"
An uproar broke out. People lost their composure entirely as several popular powerhouses vanished from the board one after another.
Moreover, some had been physically present on the scene just moments before—such as We Have an Illness, who had been chatting up several attractive female cultivators, only to vanish mysteriously.
Everyone knew something massive had occurred.
Some had experienced something similar in the city corresponding to the second realm, when the number one ranked "Lord of Yujing" had suddenly vanished into thin air.
Was this history repeating itself? Except this time, it was far more severe.
Furthermore, the previous incident had never been fully explained.
"Fairy, just now 'We Love Beauty' was standing right next to you. Did you see where he went?" someone asked.
The strikingly beautiful young woman flushed slightly and said, "The one beside me earlier was We Have an Illness."
"Same thing."
Calming her emotions, the young female cultivator shook her head. "I wasn't paying attention. I don't know when he left."
This was the truth. In that very instant, the physical bodies of other struck-off individuals had also abruptly vanished—it was not an isolated case.
Next, people noticed that on the sword-dueling platforms, all sparring and contests came to a halt. Many standing atop the high stages looked around in bewilderment.
Qin Ming frowned. He had originally been challenging "Withered Tree Greening in Spring."
The true form's projection had already solidified, lifelike and vivid—a youth in green robes, his face somewhat sickly pale, holding a wooden staff. At the head of the staff grew several lustrous green leaves emitting a fresh aura of life.
He looked frail, but when swinging the wooden staff, rich Dao rhyme accompanied deafening sonic booms.
Qin Ming had already slashed out with a sword strike—a composite sword baleful aura that lit up the entire high stage. Even the spectators below felt their fine hairs stand on end, their minds trembling.
When the sword baleful aura struck the wooden staff, the night sky seemed to distort, on the verge of collapsing.
The two on the sword-dueling platform were on the verge of deciding victory, but at the critical juncture, the scene suddenly froze, and the youth holding the green wooden staff faded away.
People discovered that Withered Tree Greening in Spring had not been struck from the New Board; the duel had merely been halted due to a sudden incident, so the stone man had not scored a cheap win.
"The stone man's sword baleful aura is so fierce—even more terrifying than his earlier attacks! Truly worthy of his name on the New Board. What a shame we didn't get to see the final outcome!"
Some felt regret.
In the night mist, the New Board shone. After being washed over by the flowing characters, over a dozen names had disappeared, including no shortage of top experts ranked in the top ten or twenty.
"We need an explanation!" Many attempted to communicate with the board in the night sky.
Quite a few grew wary. With people vanishing for no apparent reason, had they been expelled, or... obliterated? This made the cautious deeply uneasy.
In fact, it was not just this city; high above the Ninth Heaven, amid the pitch-black night mist, all the sword-dueling platforms were in an uproar, completely unable to settle.
"What in the world happened? We need to know the truth!"
This was because the boards corresponding to each realm had lost names, ranging from six or seven people down to more than twenty.
Soon, the New Board flickered, and a line of clear text appeared, revealing the truth to everyone: A terrifying dao lineage from afar was snatching opportunities, attempting to temporarily take charge of the embryonic Yujing.
Subsequently, the New Board further explained that it had just purged the visitors from beyond the domain. A few beings had been obliterated, but most had been guided away.
In an instant, everyone gasped in night mist, their minds deeply shaken. This was no minor skirmish; a monumental crisis was likely about to erupt.
The so-called terrifying dao lineage did not refer to the regions neighboring Yezhou, but rather came from the unfathomable depths of the broader night mist world, from an unimaginably distant place.
"A region beyond Yujing's zone of influence!"
Realizing the gravity of the situation, many felt their heads throb with a splitting ache.
That tier was simply too high—evidently a great faction capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with Yujing.
"Are they from Doushuai Palace, that ancient monastery, or an even more distant organization?"
"Aren't some of them already... half-destroyed?"
A few old monsters murmured, possessing some knowledge of the deeper parts of the night mist world.
"Could it be the Night Ruins?"
Many grew apprehensive. Once something touched upon the level of Yujing, even Earth Immortal old monsters felt deep trepidation and had no confidence.
"Warning: Prepare to face the enemy!" On the New Board, six blood-red characters appeared, issuing a solemn warning to everyone across the seven cities.
Everyone's heads swelled like drums. They had only come to spar and compete for opportunities, hoping to gain qualifications to enter the embryonic Yujing. How had it suddenly turned into a bloody war?
Furthermore, they were likely going to battle a glorious, mighty power passed down from antiquity that had remained unextinguished to this day—could they hold the line?
Suddenly, high above the Ninth Heaven, the pitch-black Night Mist Sea churned violently like surging tides, black waves crashing in all directions.
A mysterious fluctuation transmitted across: "Friends of Yujing, you have misunderstood. We were merely passing by when we unexpectedly discovered these meaningful duels. Some of our disciples simply wished to take part."
This was not an actual physical voice, but spread in the form of Dao rhyme, allowing everyone to perceive its meaning.
Before the sword-dueling platforms, there were no genuinely naive and green youths. Who would believe such words? The moment Yujing emerged, they arrived; their ambitions were undoubtedly vast.
"Yujing has already reformed. There is no need for dread!" New words surfaced on the New Board, reassuring everyone.
Many nodded; this was indeed true. If this mysterious great faction truly had the power to sweep everything aside and overturn Yujing, they would not have waited until now—they would have attacked directly.
The black Night Mist Sea surged, and the fluctuation rippled outward once more: "Why not continue sparring in a harmonious atmosphere? Would you permit our side to participate?"
No one knew whether it was an exotic treasure or a powerful entity; its form was completely hidden from view.
The New Board suddenly flared with brilliant light as if blazing, extraordinarily dazzling, rising like a Blazing Sun before charging straight into the depths of the Night Mist Sea.
Instantly, black tides billowed, and the Ninth Heaven erupted into turmoil, as if the pitch-black night curtain was about to be torn to shreds.
Dao rhyme was burning. The New Board and the outsider were clearly clashing, locked in a fierce, continuous duel, trading furious blows!
A moment later, the glowing board returned.
In the night mist, that mysterious fluctuation transmitted once more: "We were swept along by a divine magnetic storm and landed accidentally in this realm. We keep our word: this is merely friendly sparring, with absolutely no intent to invade Yujing."
Moreover, this time, it revealed part of its outline: towering, majestic, and exuding immense pressure.
It was a pagoda, lacking the aesthetic of an "extreme number," far exceeding nine stories. Though cloaked in black mist, one could roughly tell it had dozens of tiers, looming like a mountain piercing the heavens.
The New Board reached a partial consensus with it, permitting beings from both sides to engage in this so-called sparring.
However, this contest would hardly resemble the "friendly" or "harmonious" match they spoke of. Once blades clashed, how could it avoid shedding blood?
After the New Board returned, the rankings of experts shifted rapidly, refilling the rosters for every realm.
Those who had originally ranked outside the top hundred felt regret, but now they moved up in sequence, lying back and advancing into the top hundred experts.
Yet none of them could smile, all realizing that they would very likely be sent out on an expedition to fight a bloody battle.
Qin Ming noticed that his ranking in the third realm had also changed; his earlier challenge had been acknowledged.
"The top of the board has changed! 'One Sword Piercing Through the Thirty-Six Layers of Heaven' is actually tied for first place with 'Withered Tree Greening in Spring'!"
Looking up, many wore expressions of shock. The stone man was actually this terrifying—before fully battling his opponent, based merely on an initial clash, the New Board had inscribed his name at the very top.
Cui Qi raised his head to gaze at it, then looked toward his second son, surprisingly cracking a smile. "You didn't lose in vain. He is an Earth Immortal old monster!"
Then he added, "To engage in a bitter battle against the top of the board, even in defeat, makes for a fine tale. From now on, everyone will know you fought against a figure of Earth Immortal caliber."
...
On the New Board, line after line of text swiftly surfaced, soothing the crowd: There was no need to fear; the land of Yujing could never be overturned by outsiders. They should treat this as a harmless contest against a powerful dao lineage from afar.
Its flickering words informed all listed rankers that anyone who fought would receive doubled rewards on the New Board!
Immediately, many were shocked, and then tempted.
They felt that since this battle was unavoidable, it could not be better if the New Board was willing to be so generous.
Furthermore, the New Board transmitted a piece of news: this formidable dao lineage had likely traveled to the deepest part of the night mist world not long ago and gathered rare, peerless treasures.
For the New Board had sensed an extraordinary aura.
"Whatever you harvest shall belong to you individually."
"Is it useful to us as well?" an old monster asked.
The New Board displayed text, responding earnestly: "Of immense use!"
Immediately, the tense crowd stirred. A celestial treasure that even had wondrous efficacy for Earth Immortal-level old monsters—just what kind of treasure could that be?
"There might be longevity medicine!" someone judged.
Abruptly, all the listed cultivators floated into the air, finding a wooden boat appearing beneath their feet, shrouded in azure mist. Each person had one, already standing aboard.
This "sparring" would not take place on the sword-dueling platforms, but in the Night Mist Sea high above the Ninth Heaven. Contests... were destined to spill blood and bring death, though the New Board would do its best to protect everyone.
When the New Board manifested these words, an uproar erupted. This was definitely no mere sparring; it required risking their lives. Defeat and death would no longer be met with revival; life and death hung in the balance with every move!
"Can I still get off the boat?" Naturally, some wanted to back out, yet understood in their hearts that they were likely being coerced; they had no other choice.
"No!" Sure enough, the New Board replied with two terse, forceful, blood-red characters.
Then, more text appeared on the New Board: Foreign enemies are encroaching; all living beings in the Yujing domain have an obligation to fight.
"How did I end up on a boat too?" The Great Red Dragon from Pugong—the mount of the silk book method patriarch—looked utterly bewildered. Having just arrived, it had not even fought yet and was not on the board at all.
"All experts are conscripted," the New Board answered it.
Li Qingxu did not know whether to rejoice or worry. He had also appeared aboard a small wooden boat, yet he had not participated in the competition—was he also recognized as a powerhouse of his generation?
Cao Tian glanced at him and said, "As you are now, you don't qualify. You're riding on my coattails."
That was because the two of them were sharing a single small wooden boat.
Across the seven cities, dense clusters of wooden boats soared into the sky amid surging billows of azure clouds and mist, with many alternates following behind in small boats.
Once this vanguard set out, the wooden boats whistled through the air, carrying the crowd into the depths of the Night Mist Sea.
En route, the New Board made a special effort to communicate with Qin Ming and a few other youths, informing them that during the impending confrontations, it might not be able to maintain fair domains across the seven realms; some old monsters might break through the upper limit and fully awaken.
Qin Ming went numb on the spot, his head throbbing. Could he end up running into a seventh-realm Earth Immortal? This was hell-tier difficulty; he could practically smell the pungent stench of blood ahead of time!
Words surfaced on the New Board, telling them that if unexpected changes occurred and the situation became untenable, they could retreat into the depths of the grotto-heaven remnants to seek shelter. It swiftly transmitted a special topographical map to everyone, complete with clear annotations.
"Who is Taiyi?"
"Which one is the Realm Faction?"
"Have 'One Sword Piercing Through the Thirty-Six Layers of Heaven' and 'Withered Tree Greening in Spring' arrived yet?"
...
"Friends of Yujing, please instruct us!"
From within the pitch-black tower, several beings spoke, directly calling out the top experts of each realm. Did they want to jump straight into high-tier matches right from the start?
Qin Ming's expression turned grave. Just what kind of faction was this, and where did they hail from? Today, the heights of the Ninth Heaven would likely be dyed red with blood.
Chapter 443