Chapter 297: Pioneering [Two Chapters in One]

The sky and the earth are pitch black, and more than 90% of the explored territories have no fire springs. It can be said that the night is endless.

The Shanhe spacecraft is breaking through the clouds and fog and sailing at high speed.

It does not have the cold metallic luster, but is gray and has a sense of returning to nature, but its smooth lines indicate that it is not an antique.

This is a new product that has only been put into mass production in the last two months. It has extremely fast speed and reliable safety performance.

The entire hull of the ship is covered with dense runes interwoven, forming a soft protective shield.

This time, we are on a great expedition, marching all the way westward!
Yu Gensheng stood on the deck and said, “The Immortal Path is the main one, and the New Life Path and the Esoteric Sect are the secondary ones. We are mainly taking you to broaden your horizons. The great era has come, and some people have gone on expeditions, and you can’t just watch from the back.”

Qin Ming listened quietly. Beside him was Xin Youdao, who once dominated the competition among the eighty-one cities.

In fact, the spaceship is not limited to people from Xinsheng Road, as long as they are from Shanhe Academy, they can be on board.

The ships that took off from Kunling later were all carrying disciples from the corresponding schools or temples.

As for the pure freshman teams, they all set out from their respective ancestral temples. For example, Yin Yang Temple, Tathagata Sect, Chunyang Palace, etc. will all participate.

Many disciples on the spaceship were looking at Qin Ming. After his true identity and some of his battle records were exposed, he became very famous on Xinsheng Road and was considered to have master-level talent.

In addition to Liu Hanya, Qian Chuanzi, Qian Chuan, Tang Jun and others, there are many young and strong people on this spaceship.

“Senior Brother, you have also been summoned?” Qin Ming saw Jin Xiang in the crowd.

Jin Xiang smiled and said, “Hi, Senior Brother, although I am not doing well, as an outstanding graduate 20 years ago, and I have lived in Kunling City for a long time, I will naturally respond to the news as soon as I get it.”

Qin Ming still admired him and didn’t care about other people’s strange looks. He had been pulling carts in Kunling for twenty years, and had tempered his mind in the worldly affairs, so he had considerable determination.

Now Jin Xiang is no longer in the form of a golden sheep that is stronger than cattle and horses, but has turned into a human form. He has two blade-like horns in his long golden hair, and he looks quite tough and heroic.

A middle-aged man among the young and strong said, “Old Jin, don’t be modest. You are the best in fighting among our batch. You have been training your mind for twenty years and cultivating your sword for twenty years. The moment you were ready to draw your sword, I knew that you had accumulated enough strength and would eventually show your brilliance and soar into the sky!”

Jin Xiang immediately shook his head and said, “Don’t talk nonsense. I have never risen, so how can I say that I have the momentum to rise to the sky? I am ordinary and have long been lost in the crowd.”

As he communicated with a group of young and strong people, Qin Ming got to know many young and middle-aged people, all of whom were masters who graduated from Shanhe Academy.

West, edge of the world.

Qin Ming had been here before and fought bloody battles with demons in the Shenshang Plains. This place was the frontier of the great pioneering work.

The spacecraft landed here briefly to rest.

When taking off again, Qin Ming discovered that there was one less supply ship behind him.

Not only that, some spaceships from other academies and dojos in Kunling were left behind.

“Large-scale pioneering is not that easy. We need to have plans for everything and make adequate preparations,” said Yu Gensheng.

Although he didn’t say much, everyone’s expression changed.

Suddenly, they no longer took it lightly and took this journey very seriously.

Yu Gensheng smiled and said, “Don’t be nervous, it’s just a normal process.”

An old man yawned and walked out of the cabin, saying, “This time they say they are exploring the immortal road. In the early stages, I think they are just doing archaeology. To be more blunt, it’s just tomb robbing, and it can’t be considered a real major development.”

He is Wu Chengwang from Shanhe Academy. When he was young, he often entered large tombs and dug out a mutated version of the “Golden Cicada Sutra”. He is quite powerful and his “archaeology” skill is even better.

Qin Ming knew him. He got the “Golden Cicada Sutra” by himself, acting as a fat sheep and being slaughtered by Old Wu. He then resonated with his manuscript and obtained it.

Wu Chengwang added, “Of course, once we cross the ‘Edge of the World’ and enter the depths of the Night Fog World, anything is possible. Perhaps there will be a sudden start of blood and fire. After all, the front is vast and has no end at all. No matter what happens, there is no need to be surprised. Children, cheer up.”

Yu Gensheng nodded and said, “The land we live in is only a small part of the depths of the Night Fog World. The land ahead is too deep and has no boundaries. A master once explored the land and walked for many years. After returning and briefly explaining the situation, he said that he must walk to the end. However, hundreds of years have passed and he has not returned.”

Xin Youdao asked earnestly, “It is rumored that in the extremely far land ahead, there may be Lion Camel Ridge, the Supreme King’s Court of the demon race, and the Kingdom of the Evil God. Various alien races exist, and near-immortal creatures can also be seen. Is it true?”

Yu Gensheng hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, “Based on the existing information, it may be true, and even more shocking than we know.”

These are the news heard from the mouths of our ancestors after brief encounters with certain migrating races from outside the territory during the pioneering eras.

Yu Gensheng said: “In those rumors, there are many large and small literary stars scattered all over the place, dotted in the depths of the dark night fog. Some… Alas, it doesn’t make much sense to talk about these now. After all, we haven’t seen them and haven’t verified them.”

Wu Chengwang took a sip of the tea made from purple wolfberry and said, “So, pioneering is a double-edged sword. If you win ten times and lose the last time, you lose everything.”

Yu Gensheng said: “Our civilization was once interrupted. If we want to understand the truth of the world, we can only look outside. Therefore, archaeology, excavating large tombs, and pioneering, looking for other human countries and contacting different foreign civilizations are important ways for us to explore the essence of this world.”

The black fog was rolling, and even if you reached the sky, you could hardly see a trace of light.

A few days later, the Shanhe spacecraft had already traveled thousands of miles away from the “edge of the world”.

Along the way, the people on the boat were on high alert. Although they had the coordinates of the road ahead and the main force of the Immortal Road had passed through, they were still very cautious.

During the journey, the spacecraft often stopped, and special personnel observed the topography in important areas and recorded it carefully.

“High-level fire spring!” someone exclaimed. Through the dark night fog, they could see spots of fire on the ground. In front of them was a long glowing river, winding across the surface.

“There must be a city in this area, or some powerful creatures living there.”

“not necessarily!”

When the spaceship passed by, the few people who had practiced special eye techniques were quite surprised. Beside the high-level fire spring, there were clusters of glowing plants with petals layered and densely packed.

Some experts were excited and said, “The spiritual flowers are blooming in groups and clusters, and the auspicious clouds they emit are shining into the sky. And it looks like the flowers are as big as millstones. Is this a rare medicine?”

“It’s extremely dangerous, don’t get close!” said an old man.

“What is that?” Qin Ming couldn’t help but ask.

The old man said, “The soul-attracting flower only grows beside a high-level fire spring. It can emit a magical substance, which is the fragrance of the spiritual realm. It is irresistible to people who smell it. Their consciousness will inevitably leave their body and sink into the flower to be digested and absorbed by it.”

The key is that it is useless. Some strong people cut the flower and went to study it. After leaving the mother body, the petals have a boundless stench, which lingers in the spiritual field for months without subsiding.

Several old men walked out of the cabin and told everyone that there were all kinds of species in the uninhabited areas of the Night Fog World, so they must remain vigilant.

The next day, above the pitch-black earth, it seemed as if there was a gigantic, red eyeball staring at the sky. Many people looked down and observed carefully.

“It has a big mouth with a spring of fire gushing out of it. This thing is very evil. You can say it is a living creature, but its body seems to be the earth and doesn’t move at all. You can say it is a natural phenomenon, but it is very strange.”

Wu Chengwang explained that the entirety of this huge mouth could not be seen from the surface because it was too huge. People might mistake it for a spring of fire flowing in the basin. If a tribe migrated and accidentally entered it, it would swallow them up directly.

What the young disciples saw along the way gave them a lot of insights.

In the next few days, they also saw areas with lush vegetation, which could be called beautiful mountains and rivers, with fire springs flowing between the mountains and fire rivers running through the plains.

There are primates in such lands, but they are not humans. Instead, they are tall minotaurs, each of which is over five meters tall and has thick green hair.

Yu Gensheng said, “We know this tribe, but we haven’t had in-depth contact with them. They are considered a relatively powerful foreign tribe in our surrounding areas. With them around, we can observe any disturbances in the outside world. If they are exterminated one day, the lightning sparrows we have deployed will give the first warning, which means that a powerful foreign tribe has come to our door, and we will have to fight a big war.”

A group of young disciples were all in a trance. The Minotaur tribe was like sentinels, guarding the human race’s territory. They could serve as a warning for the tribe’s rise and fall.

An old man said: “In fact, the most dangerous thing is the vast land behind the Gods of Sorrow Plain. There should be some gods there. They even established a ‘God-like Society’.”

Qin Ming naturally knew about the Quasi-God Society. When he was in the Shenshang Plains, he had fought a fierce battle with the person in charge of a small gathering of the Quasi-God Society there.

Back then, the demigods provided intelligence to those demons, and he almost died because of it.

“Don’t underestimate the Society of Paranormal Gods. They span a large and mysterious territory in the Night Fog World. The Three-Eyed Cult on our side of the human race worships the Three-Eyed God. It’s possible that it was founded by a deity from the Society of Paranormal Gods. But it’s still considered normal in our territory.”

Boom!

On the earth, in a primeval forest, springs of fire gathered to form a lake, which suddenly erupted. A huge tongue of fire stretched out into the night sky, trying to “lick” the spacecraft down.

“What kind of monster is this?!” Everyone was shocked and terrified.

This height is measured in kilometers. How huge is this huge fiery red tongue and what does it look like?
Fortunately, although the terrifying airflow rose up like a tidal wave, dispersing the night fog, it was still a long way from touching the spacecraft.

For a short period of time, there was complete silence in the sky, and everyone was frightened and broke out in cold sweats.

Yu Gensheng comforted everyone and said, “It’s okay. There are precautions for this route. It won’t be a problem to sail at this altitude.”

“This…” Many people were speechless. Just now, everyone on the boat was almost “eaten” clean. This unknown dark land was too dangerous and scary.

“What exactly is that?” The outstanding graduates of Shanhe Academy 10 or 20 years ago didn’t know these things. They had never studied them, let alone come into contact with them.

Yu Gensheng said: “It is probably a mysterious and terrifying ‘natural phenomenon’.”

He hesitated for a moment, then gave another guess, saying, “There is another possibility. This is the ‘legacy’ of a great figure in the esoteric sect. He entered the depths of the Night Fog World to break through, but something unexpected happened and he failed.”

Everyone looked solemn when they heard this.

They thought of the widely circulated saying that in the night fog world, there are all kinds of unknowns. It is normal not to be understood. If it is understood, it will be a big problem.

Because, behind understanding there may very well be a deeper crisis.

“If he is a big figure in the Esoteric Buddhism, he should be a patriarch, right?” Xin Youdao frowned and whispered. He took the path of rebirth and was also a member of the Esoteric Buddhism, practicing both paths.

The system of Esoteric Buddhism is very mature, with a total of six realms, namely: wisdom light, catching spirits, inner vision, communication with the secluded, seeing gods, and ritual sacrifice.

Even though they all follow the same divine path, they are divided into several branches. The names of the realms are the same, but the methods of practice are completely different.

One of the branches, in the fifth realm, is the so-called seeing God, which means to go to the audience with great piety. Facing various mysterious phenomena, one will be very respectful and may even go to kowtow to the real God.

In the sixth realm, the so-called rituals and sacrifices are naturally performed with an extremely pious heart, almost like a pilgrimage.

The other branch is completely different. The so-called seeing God means seeing one’s own God. As for the rituals and sacrifices, it is simply jaw-dropping for those who understand it.

The ritual process was full of disrespect, and it could be said that it was about conquering the special terrain and “phenomenon”.

To the people on the first branch, this was pure blasphemy.

In fact, up to now, the latter branch has become the mainstream, with “I” as the main focus, regarding oneself as the only true God, and finally wanting to break the shackles of mountains, rivers and veins, surpassing gods and ancestors.

The spaceship sailed far away, crossing the boundless night world.

During this period, they saw endless grasslands nourished by fire springs, where there were even creatures resembling Pegasus running. They also saw vast mountainous forests, and even large areas of dead and uninhabited areas.

“Something’s happening!” the person in charge of alert on the Shanhe shouted loudly.

In the night fog, a large number of creatures appeared ahead.

“That’s the Winged Tribe. Don’t panic. There’s nothing wrong. They are migrating.” said an old man.

In the night fog, there was a large group of strange birds, slightly like humans, with human faces and human arms, but more like birds. They were densely packed and moving from north to south.

They have packages on their backs and hold spears, bone knives, etc. in their hands.

The spaceship avoided them and did not seize the road. Several leaders of this group of aliens looked over here.

However, as Kunliang’s spaceships arrived one after another, a grandmaster expanded his energy, and the Winged Clan immediately flew away without any dangerous moves.

On the thirteenth day, they approached their destination.

This is a desert, not the kind of “desert” that is pitch black and boundless with magical “phenomena”. Although this area is covered with yellow sand, it is not so lifeless. There are many oases in the depths of the desert, accompanied by many fire springs.

The remains of immortal tombs, gods’ tombs and other relics are located deep in this vast desert.

Jin Xiang said, “There’s something wrong with this place. There are quite a few fire springs, so how come it has become an endless desert?”

“If this was caused by a war, it would be horrifying. And the presence of so many large tombs may be understandable,” said Wu Chengwang, the “archaeology” master on the ship.

However, these are very distant past events and have little impact on this era.

The Shanhe not only had an accurate route map to its destination, but also a guide, and lightning sparrows that took off from time to time to communicate with the front, so it never deviated from its route.

They were not in a hurry, so their speed was not very fast.

On the fourteenth day, they arrived at their destination!

In the deepest part of the desert, there is a huge oasis covered with dense forests, bubbling fire springs, and numerous rivers and lakes.

Here, the outer area is shrouded in white fog. Once you break in, it feels like the inside and outside are two different worlds.

Here, flowers are fragrant and birds are singing, the air is fresh and natural, and there is plenty of moisture, without any of the dryness of the desert outside.

The forest area is very large, far beyond the concept of an ordinary oasis.

The scenery in the dense primeval forest is quite beautiful, with gurgling springs, various trees bearing fruits, vines with fragrant flowers, and flowing rays of light.

There is no dark place, it is hazy here, the five-colored deer are not scared when they see people, the white rabbits have eyes like rubies and actively approach people, it is like a fairy tale world.

Some sun elves are on patrol, holding bows and arrows pointing this way.

“They are our people!” There were also people guarding the Immortal Road, and they quickly shouted to the group of foreigners and explained.

Obviously, there is a “tacit understanding” between the new life path and the immortal path this time.

Finally, all the spacecraft landed outside a mountain city.

The people from Xianlu arrived nearly half a month earlier than them. They could see many humans entering and leaving the city. Qin Ming even saw a few familiar faces.

Yu Gensheng said, “You can go for a walk, but don’t cause any trouble. It’s best to go back to the spaceship and sleep at night. If you don’t come back, report in advance.”

As more than a dozen Kunling spaceships landed, a large number of people rushed into the city, all wanting to see the exotic scenery.

“Brother Ming, I’ll go with you.” Xin Youdao stepped forward.

Qin Ming nodded and said yes, then looked at Jin Xiang and said, “Brother Jin, do you want to go together?”

“Okay!” Jin Xiang agreed readily.

The three of them entered the city together.

This place was built along the mountains and rivers. Even the city walls are covered with spiritual vines, and there are glowing spiritual trees inside and outside the city. Combined with the lakes and beautiful hills, it forms a city with magnificent natural scenery.

Qin Ming said: “The total number of the Sun Elves here is only a few hundred thousand, right? Even so, they can produce a master-level figure, and it seems that there is more than one. This tribe is very talented!”

There are big trees everywhere in the city. In addition to normal buildings, there are also many wooden houses built on the trees.

Xin Youdao said, “It’s easy for Xianlu to destroy them. It seems that there won’t be any waves this time. It’s too peaceful here. They say it’s a big development, but it’s probably just tomb digging, uh, archaeology.”

Jin Xiang shook his head and said, “We have just arrived at the depths of the Night Mist World. Anything can happen. A horrific bloody war might break out. We can’t take it lightly!”

Based on his understanding of Yu Gensheng, some things this time may not be that simple.

The most important thing is that it seems that the Immortal Road took the initiative to invite people from the New Life Road and the Esoteric Sect to follow, which is somewhat intriguing.

Qin Ming nodded and said, “Well, when you are in a foreign land, you must not be careless. Just treat it as a real battle of development.”

“Hey, an acquaintance!” He walked forward quickly.

In front, there was a man from the Sun Elf tribe who looked rather different, wearing a hat. Although he had his back to this side, Qin Ming still recognized him at a glance.

“Guang Yu, I haven’t seen you for a long time. I miss you so much!” Qin Ming floated on the street like a ghost, came silently behind the other person and patted him on the shoulder.

Guangyu was startled. He turned around suddenly and saw who it was. He almost caught fire on the spot. His eyes almost popped out of his head. He wanted to say: Who do you think about it? It’s really a ghost that keeps haunting me. It’s only been a month and I see it again!
He couldn’t get over it, and in the fight, not only was his Pure Land destroyed by his opponent, but he was also shaved bald.

“Don’t get excited. I have an extremely important letter here that must be handed over to Grand Master Qionghui or Li Guang.” Qin Ming stuffed it into his arms with lightning speed.

Then, he showed a stern look on his face and said, “You can’t delay this matter!”

Guang Yu was frightened and felt that the situation seemed extremely serious. The anger in his chest almost burst out to his mouth, but he swallowed it back.

Then, without saying a word, he quickly left with the letter. He really didn’t want to have too much communication with this evil dragon-like boy.

Xin Youdao said, “Brother Ming, you have acquaintances wherever you go.”

“It’s better not to meet some acquaintances!” Qin Ming said.

The three of them waited here and no longer moved forward.

Qin Ming’s letter was very simple. He greeted Qionghui and Li Guang cordially, and then mentioned that he hoped to have a safe and reliable guide.

Li Guang was surprised when he received the letter. This “slave owner” was still haunting them and had even followed them to their territory.

Qionghui frowned and said, “He wants my Sun Elves to be his free fighters, or he needs bodyguards!”

Although the other party did not put it forward explicitly, a few hints were enough. He knew very well that the immortal contract had not been completely severed, and this was the crux of the problem.

Tang Jin appeared in the mountain city of the Sun Elves. He saw Qin Ming and said, “You dare to come?”

Also beside her were Ling Yu and the Purple-Eyed Crow.

Qin Ming was unhappy to hear this, so why didn’t he dare to come?
He smiled and said, “Old Tang, you are here, why can’t I come?”

Tang Jin had a graceful figure and an oval face, and her face was full of surprise. How did this boy call her? She hated it most when people called her old, mainly because her mortal enemy Jiang Ran often called her that.

“Are you just too proud or too drunk?” In fact, she was only two or three years older than Qin Ming.

Now she was very unhappy. She rolled up her sleeves, revealing her white and slender hands with glowing jade fingers.

“Senior Sister, you are just kidding!” Ling Yu quickly stopped her.

Master Wu even spoke up: “Xiao Tang, stop it. Your master said that you should listen to me when you go out this time. Well, I think Xiao Qin is a really good person. It’s not too late for me to accept a disciple on behalf of my master. Grandmaster, no, the ancestor will definitely like it.”

“Huh?” Qin Ming was surprised. The great master who practiced both the new life path and the immortal path became the founder before the great development? !
Tang Jin was blamed by his teacher for this matter, and he thought it was not too late to take the boy back now.

Now Master Wu’s words made Tang Jin feel uncomfortable and speechless.

“Thank you Master Wu for your appreciation. I will seriously consider it.” Qin Ming didn’t understand. He felt that he should go back and find a reliable person to find out more.

At this time, two sun elves, a man and a woman, who looked to be around 40 years old, came over. They were both masters and transmitted a message to Qin Ming, saying that they would act as “guides” from now on.

“Masters, both of you are in the fourth realm of the Immortal Path – Baopu.” Jin Xiang said.

Qin Ming took a look at him and realized that his senior brother, who had been tempering his mind in the mortal world for twenty years, was indeed no simple person.

“Xiao Qin has friends here? There is even a master from the Sun Elves following him.” Master Wu was very appreciative.

Qin Ming just smiled, guessing that the Sun Elf had arranged two people for him with a pinch of his nose.

“We want to go to the immortal tomb and take a look.” Qin Ming said.

“Okay!” The two sun elves nodded and led the way.

“Do you want to go together?” Qin Ming asked Tang Jin and the others.

“Okay!” Master Wu and Ling Yu nodded immediately, and Tang Jin followed suit.

On the way, Master Wu began to introduce the local conditions.

“What? The entire mountain city is built on a huge coffin board!” Qin Ming was shocked. This was such an outrageous thing.

After the main force of the Immortal Road arrived, they did not immediately break the restrictions of the immortal tombs and god tombs, but first studied the nearby land.

Finally, they dug in the mountains and forests and unexpectedly discovered a huge coffin board underground, carrying the entire mountain city.

After hearing this, Jin Xiang and Xin Youdao also became stunned. How big was that coffin?
Ling Yu said: “It’s a pity that there is only the coffin lid, but not the main body of the coffin.”

The so-called Immortal Tomb area is adjacent to the mountain city, in the dense forest ahead.

Qin Ming saw the cemetery from a distance. What he saw was that all the graves were so high that they looked like mountains.

If no one told them, they would definitely think it was a group of mountains, with dozens of them.

A dozen of them are relatively tall, similar to ordinary mountains, and among them, the tallest one is majestic, shrouded in mist, and cannot be seen clearly, and it has already risen into the clouds.

A dozen relatively tall ancient tombs, like mountains, are actually shrouded in fairy mist and are hazy.

When Qin Ming and his companions came closer, they saw dozens of other slightly shorter tombs that were also as big as hills. They were stunned. The place was bright and brilliant, and the whole mountain was covered with medicinal herbs.

To be exact, each huge grave is covered with magical herbs!
After coming here, Qin Ming met many familiar people from the Immortal Road, such as Jiang Ran, Cui Chonghe, Pei Shuyan, Li Qingxu and so on.

Master Wu said, “Why don’t you give it a try? There are some miraculous medicines and scriptures in there that may be of great use to you as you embark on the path of rebirth.”

Qin Ming shook his head and said, “I’m not from the Immortal Road, so it probably won’t work. They don’t want to.”

Tang Jin informed: “The Immortal Road is very open this time. After some people from the ancestral temples of some major sects came to Xinsheng Road, the Immortal Road is also willing to share and let people go in and try.”

The Immortal Road did not break through this place violently, but was constantly trying to disintegrate it. At present, the external restrictions of one of the dozen or so tombs that were as big as a mountain were torn into an area by them.

Qin Ming looked and saw more than a dozen large tombs second only to the main tomb. On one of the hills, a precious tree was exposed. It was golden all over and hung with brilliant fruits.

“That’s the Vajra Fruit, it has wonderful benefits for the body.” Jin Xiang said in surprise, recognizing this exotic tree that was only recorded in ancient books.

There are many magical medicines on the big tomb, among which the Vajra tree is the most amazing.

And on the cliff not far from the King Kong tree, there seemed to be some words, shining brightly.

An old man on the Immortal Road said, “You can pick up the medicinal herbs and scriptures scattered all over the mountains. It depends on your ability.”

This is to be generously bestowed upon the younger generation.

Qin Ming’s face turned serious. This time it might not be just “archaeology”. Otherwise, with Xianlu’s “uniqueness” and domineering nature, he would not share the fat meat he got with others.

At this time, some immortals noticed the two sun elf masters following behind him and were all stunned. Even they did not receive such treatment.

“There is a mysterious scripture in it, which is suitable for all paths. Currently, few people, even immortals, can comprehend it.” Tang Jin said, glancing at Qin Ming, meaning, do you want to try?
“Have you figured it out?” Qin Ming asked.

Tang Jin’s face froze, and he said, “At present, we have comprehended part of it, and perhaps the scripture itself is incomplete.”

“Does this mean that you haven’t fully comprehended it?” Qin Ming was surprised and became interested.

(End of this chapter)