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Novel: [Night Without Borders]
Chapter 34: [Truth and Illusion]
Author: [Chen Dong]
Translator: [Shadow Knight AK]
Editor: [Shadow Knight AK]
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Qin Ming's fatigue vanished as soon as he entered the fissure.
His earlier feeling outside wasn't an illusion; the place that had once nearly cost him his life was now completely different.
He looked up.
The exit was only about four meters above him.
Around him, silver light spread like spiderwebs, connecting and extending through the underground space.
When his body touched the light, he felt a faint warmth.
Holding a short sword in one hand and the long-handled Black Gold Hammer in the other, Qin Ming advanced cautiously.
He hadn't ventured deep during his accidental fall last time, but now he intended to explore further.
The ground was uneven, scattered with rocks of varying sizes and damp.
Water droplets clung to the stone walls on either side, occasionally dripping down.
The path ahead grew increasingly rugged and narrowed until he was nearly brushing against the walls.
Soon, he reached a narrow gap barely wide enough for one person to pass through.
Though underground, the area wasn't completely dark.
The crisscrossing silver threads, woven haphazardly, cast a faint glow.
Qin Ming touched the silver light without harm.
Brushing against the damp stone walls, he entered an open area where the ground was smoother and fewer rocks littered the surface.
In this area, the silver threads had thickened, crisscrossing the entire space like countless spiderwebs fused together.
Moreover, some of the threads piercing through the stone walls shimmered with faint golden specks, and a white mist billowed around them.
As Qin Ming stood there, the sensation became clearer. His body felt light and agile, his tense muscles relaxing on their own, bathed in a warm, soothing sensation like soaking in a hot spring.
He frowned.
Was this due to a violent transformation at a special Node within the mountain?
Or had he adapted to this place after enduring the torment he'd suffered here before?
The terrifying experience remained vivid in his memory.
His heart had pounded like a frantic drum, threatening to burst from his chest.
His blood had surged at a terrifying speed, and he'd vaguely heard the roar of a waterfall in his ears.
Reflecting on the changes since leaving this place, the most peculiar was the "unorthodox technique" he'd practiced for years without any noticeable progress.
After surviving near-death, his subsequent attempts at practicing it triggered an extraordinary reaction.
He now knew that his "unorthodox" technique wasn't unorthodox at all. It was recorded on the Silk Scroll, which he had diligently practiced since childhood.
"Someone told me the Silk Scroll couldn't be mastered, that most of it had been torn and burned..."
The remaining twenty or so pages of the Silk Scroll could still be practiced, but required guidance from someone who had already mastered it.
Those individuals were likely long dead.
"I couldn't find anyone like that. Without assistance, I still managed to master it. Could this place be connected?" Qin Ming pondered, his mind racing with possibilities.
"Could it be that mastering the Silk Scroll's techniques initially requires the protection of predecessors, entering such an extremely dangerous special Node...?" Qin Ming mused deeply.
He then moved forward, observing this peculiar place more closely.
He cautiously began touching the thick, faintly golden silk threads.
Soon, as he ventured deeper, he encountered luminous threads radiating Purple Qi, piercing through the stone walls.
The extraordinary sight left his flesh unharmed.
...
In the dense forest outside the Great Mountain, the Purple-Eyed Raven soared through the air when a vast cloud of black mist suddenly billowed up ahead, blocking its path.
"Who's there?" the raven shouted, instantly on guard. Its violet eyes swirled with arcane symbols as it gradually pierced through the thick fog.
Perched atop a towering tree stood an enormous owl, easily taller than a human. Its wings, as nimble as human hands, were flipping through a book bound in animal hide.
"Long time no see," the owl hooted. "Want to have a few drinks?"
The mist remained thick as the owl tucked the book under one wing.
"I'm patrolling the mountain," the raven replied, declining with a hint of wariness. "I don't have time."
"What's your status now? This isn't your territory. You've really made something of yourself, haven't you? Guarding the door for some old geezer?"
The owl blocked the raven's path, its tone dripping with disapproval. It seemed intent on lecturing the raven right there, and the black mist thickened, engulfing the forest.
"Old Owl," the Purple-Eyed Raven retorted, "I'm busy. I've got my eye on a promising candidate lately and need to check on him. Get out of my way."
If Qi Huaien had been aware of this, he would have broken into a cold sweat.
Like You Liangyun, he had yet to earn the approval and was still being tested and observed.
The owl hooted, "You're really not returning to the Wild Black Mist World? You're from a renowned Noble Clan, one of the great bird families. With your superior lineage, you're a bird of deep roots. How can you willingly debase yourself? Do you intend to re-envision your True Form, transform into a Two-Legged Beast, and live permanently in the city?"
The Purple-Eyed Raven nodded. "Well, it's not entirely impossible. I have the talent to alter my True Form. Aren't there already people who linger near the forbidden zones in deep mountains and swamps, transforming into aberrants? Why can't we do the opposite — find a path that suits us?"
The owl scolded, "What kind of nonsense is this? Humans becoming less human, beasts becoming less beastly! You're a raven from a Noble Clan, yet you want to become human? I'll tell Lord Raven myself! He'll pluck every feather from your body and personally turn you into a bald Two-Legged Beast!"
The two began to argue.
"Mind your own business and get out of my way," the Raven snapped. "You might delay my urgent affairs. If they test that kid early and something goes wrong, everything will be ruined. If he proves moldable, I'll need him in the future to retrieve something for me from the human world — something crucial to my future path. You know what's at stake here. Now move!"
You Liangyun had told the Raven they would likely test Qin Ming in about two days, but if the opportunity arose, they might act sooner.
"Master Wu, you've returned from the depths of the Great Mountain? A disaster has struck! It's terrible — they're all dead!" The mutated Talking Sparrow flapped its wings frantically, screeching.
The Purple-Eyed Raven emerged from the black mist, its eyes glowing. "What happened?"
"Master Wu, I carried out your instructions diligently. But during the mission, a three-meter-tall bear led a horde of Two-Legged Beasts to hunt me down. I fled in terror, and when I returned moments later, everyone there was dead. I smelled their blood, but I don't know how they died."
The Purple-Eyed Raven followed the sparrow to the scene.
Sensing the area carefully — it was exceptionally sensitive to the Qi of life and death — it closed its eyes for a moment before opening them again.
"Qi Huaien is dead," it murmured. "There's no trace of the youth's death Qi here. Intriguing. Was Qi Huaien killed by an outsider, or did his confrontation with the youth lead to his demise?"
With a flick of its wing, it dismissed the Talking Sparrow.
"If the youth is truly this formidable, having reached this point on his own, then it's just as well he didn't go to Liuguang City. There's no need for me to intervene now." The Purple-Eyed Raven soared away.
Meanwhile, You Liangyun was reporting to the woman in the snowy wilderness. "Qi Huaien tested Qin Ming and concluded that he still fell short by a little. The Great Mountain is in chaos. Before I left, a fierce conflict erupted in the dense forest..."
The Purple-Eyed Raven flew back and landed on a low-hanging branch.
"Qi Huaien rushed to save them, but died himself," it said. "It's a pity."
"You stay here," the woman in the black fur cloak told You Liangyun.
"Ah?" You Liangyun froze, then immediately bowed deeply, his face flushed with excitement.
Deep within the Great Mountain, the soaring Five-Colored Mist and Haze gradually dimmed.
Ling Xu and Wei Mo rose simultaneously, tossing aside their wine cups and jars.
Ling Xu lightly tapped his long sword against his boot, tearing the leather and exposing his toes.
He then struck his chest, ripping his white robes. Though his slender frame didn't appear particularly muscular, the distant glow of the haze illuminated his rippling muscles, outlining them in gold.
He deliberately roughed himself up, smearing blood across his skin with a practiced flick of his fingers, a master of disguise.
Wei Mo remarked, "City Lord Ling, the epitome of elegance and meticulous grooming, actually making himself look like this? The outside world will be buzzing."
Despite his words, Wei Mo was already at work, removing the red armor plates from his breastplate and tucking them into his robes, transforming himself into a disheveled mess.
In another mountainous area, the Li Hua Cat had captured a massive black wildcat.
Disdainfully, it smeared some of the black cat's blood on its own body and sprinkled luminous spiritual substances around.
Nearby, the Mantis Beast was doing the same.
It was clear that the High-Ranking Figure of Chi Xia City and the aberrants of the Great Mountain were unwilling to let other powerful forces compete for the rare resources within the special Nodes.
They had joined forces once again.
A simple ambush of these experts would be disastrous, provoking widespread outrage and retaliation from major organizations.
Earlier, when they had joined forces to drive away the advanced spiritual creatures attempting to usurp their territory, they had slain a particularly powerful aberrant.
Extracting its concentrated spiritual essence, they had artificially triggered a special Node, creating the Five-Colored Misty Haze Land to lure various factions into conflict.
Ling Xu, the Li Hua Cat, and other advanced aberrants from the Great Mountain engaged in staged battles, feigning combat to stall each other while remaining outside the main battlefield.
Of course, not all the fighting was fake.
The Old Weasel, for example, had been genuinely intercepted by an opponent, and the mysterious Mountain Lord had even plunged into the heart of the battle.
The strategy was proving effective.
Several experts had already fallen near the Five-Colored Misty Haze Land, and many foreign advanced aberrants and powerful figures from major organizations had sustained serious injuries.
...
Deep within the chasm, Qin Ming practiced the techniques from the Silk Scroll, feeling his entire body become increasingly clear and refreshed.
A mysterious warmth seemed to wash over him from head to toe, like a spiritual baptism.
The area was crisscrossed with luminous threads, highly dangerous even for those who had undergone Second Awakening like Wang Nianzhu, who desperately needed the Blood Snake's blood to replenish his vitality.
Yet Qin Ming, having lingered here for an extended period, not only remained unharmed but also sensed a subtle improvement in his physical constitution.
"Could the techniques recorded in the Silk Scroll be particularly suited for cultivation in such an environment?" he wondered.
But there was no one left to answer his questions.
The people of that era were long dead, crippled, or vanished.
The Silk Scroll itself had yellowed with age, an ancient relic from an unknown era.
Suddenly, the ground beneath him trembled violently, nearly throwing Qin Ming off his feet.
Outside, at the epicenter of the fading Five-Colored Mist and Haze, high-level aberrants and experts from mysterious organizations faced off, all in dire straits.
None had managed to breach the Node.
At that moment, all the light within the Node abruptly vanished.
In the distance, a new Five-Colored Mist and Haze erupted with even greater intensity than the earlier anomaly.
"How did another one appear?"
"No, the rare resource that was forming has shifted along the spiritual ley lines! It's moved to a new location!"
Ling Xu, Old Weasel, and the others, who had been preparing for a "follow-up," now stood frozen alongside the crowd.
There was no need for them to conceal anything — the true Five-Colored Misty Haze Land had finally emerged!
"Rumble!"
Suddenly, the entire mountain range began to tremble violently, far more intensely than before.
Accompanied by blinding light, the dark night sky was torn asunder, fully illuminated.
An even more spectacular phenomenon had appeared.
"What am I seeing? Ten colors! Those beams of light are like colossal pillars, supporting the night sky! This is an unprecedented spectacle! What kind of peerless treasure is about to emerge?"
Even the higher-level spiritual creatures were dumbfounded, their imaginations utterly surpassed.
In an instant, regardless of their injuries, all the powerful beings vanished from their positions.
They didn't even glance at the newly emerged Five-Colored Misty Haze Land, instead charging straight toward the site of the even more spectacular phenomenon.
There, endless showers of light steamed and cascaded, drawing all eyes.
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END OF CHAPTER
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