Night Without End
Chapter 257 - 166: The Mystery of Life and Death of the First Ancestor Masters of Various Sects

Chapter 257: Chapter 166: The Mystery of Life and Death of the First Ancestor Masters of Various Sects

"I refuse to see them!" Qin Ming said, quite decisively.

Meng Xinghai was surprised and said, "You rejected them so decisively?"

In the spacious living room, calming incense curled upwards from within a purple copper furnace, exuding a calming fragrance that soothed the soul.

Qin Ming sighed and said, "The people I want to see are not here, yet most of the ones I don’t want to see have come."

Li Qingyun nodded and said, "Young people should have such drive. If you don’t want to see them, just refuse."

In fact, Qin Ming could imagine some of the scenes upon meeting them.

"Wang Caiwei wants to see you," a man in black came in and informed them.

"Just say I’m in seclusion!" Qin Ming said.

Those people knew he was in the mansion, just wanting to see him face-to-face.

Subsequently, Lu Zhenyi, Zheng Maoze, Zeng Yuan, and others successively sent messages.

Qin Ming did not show up; he didn’t want to see some people flaunting their sense of superiority after stepping on the Immortal Road, as it was nothing he hadn’t witnessed in Yinteng Town at Black and White Mountain.

"Hmm, straightforward and straightforward," Li Qingyun smiled and said.

Meng Xinghai said, "Uncle Li, let’s not mention the last four words; it’s somewhat in the style of Cao Qianqiu."

Very soon, Qin Ming became dazed; from Meng Xinghai, he learned that Cao Qianqiu, whose conscious spiritual light was like a blazing red sun, once reached out a finger in the night sky, intent on directly poking him to death.

Qin Ming was terrified; he had been very low-key, not showcasing his talents in the Divine City, blending in with the crowd, yet this could still displease Cao Qianqiu?

"It doesn’t make sense," he was very puzzled.

"He said he saw a shadow of the Overlord in you," Meng Xinghai informed.

Qin Ming’s expression slightly changed. This old fellow’s intuition was terrifying; even without using the Overlord’s mental method, could he still be seen through?

He vividly remembered the scenes he saw in the Overlord’s Will: Cao Qianqiu, ferociously wild and savage, delivering six palms in total, each exploding a different part of the Overlord’s body - limbs, torso, and head.

The Overlord’s blood fell to the ground without extinguishing, spiritual light rising, yet this old guy stomped it to ashes with one foot, turning the entire land into scorched earth.

One pool of blood, containing the Overlord’s intense emotional fluctuations, fell onto the will. Cao Qianqiu coldly smiled, with a sweep of his hand, extinguishing all the spirituality in the blood.

"Being so aggressive and domineering, hasn’t he ever kicked an iron plate?" Qin Ming asked.

Li Qingyun’s expression became serious, "He has kicked through every iron plate, crushed them; he’s one of the representative figures in the Fangwai Heaven Pure Land."

Meng Xinghai nodded, looking serious, "Currently, he is among the few who stand at the forefront in Fangwai Heaven Pure Land!"

Qin Ming was silent; this old monster was just too powerful and dangerous!

"My martial uncle has already returned, and he probably won’t come out again for ten years," Meng Xinghai said.

"Has Old Cao left?" Li Qingyun asked.

Meng Xinghai said, "Not yet; it’s said that he’s going to make a round at Black and White Mountain."

Qin Ming, upon hearing this, felt no safety at all; Cao Qianqiu was still in the city. This old guy acted at will; if he remembered him again, a single finger could crush him to pieces.

Not long after, Meng Xinghai received reports from his trusted men, smiling, "Just now, he has already left."

Qin Ming let out a slight sigh of relief, then an intense desire to become stronger surged within him. Living in the Yewu World was already difficult, and with old monsters like Cao Qianqiu, he severely lacked a sense of security.

Shortly after, with the topic of Cao Qianqiu aside, the atmosphere gradually relaxed.

Qin Ming mentioned his encounters at the World’s Edge; when they learned that he had consecutively hunted down strange blood creatures, the two people in the living room were both shocked.

"Do you know the value of a single strange blood? Each one can create a mutant!" Meng Xinghai sighed.

Li Qingyun said, "Some old guys in the Six Imperial Ancestor Court are probably heartbroken; behind every divine creature, there must be an Elder."

Qin Ming’s expression became serious, "Doesn’t this count as nurturing demons to be a future plague?"

Meng Xinghai shook his head, "Not really. They’ve delineated boundaries, not allowing those old demons to step into human dwellings. The Shenshang plain is inherently a chaotic battleground, not yet developed by us. Without these caged old monsters occupying boundary lands for blocking, other demons could cross the line at any time, slaughtering villages and causing more bloodshed."

Li Qingyun felt Qin Ming’s bones and said, "Your foundation is so hard to judge; perhaps the Newborn Road is too marginalized that even the heavens can’t stand it. You might indeed carve out a path."

Qin Ming shook his head, "What can be said about my current achievements? Once reaching the Outer Saint realm, trying to advance further would be like facing an insurmountable gap; the path is too difficult. Alas, I only have two chances for rebirth left."

Meng Xinghai said, "I think with such a thick foundation as yours, there might be a turnaround, and the path ahead might not block you."

Qin Ming sighed, "How glorious the Six Imperial Ancestor Court is, possessing the legendary Six Imperial Heart Sutra and having well-established paths to follow there. Yet, what did I see there? A group of skin-and-bone old men can only be compared to not-so-old people of the Outer Immortal Land, living far longer!"

He indeed felt a sense of crisis because he had thoroughly understood it before: those skinny old men once shone brightly in their youth, all being mutants, some even overshadowing the core disciples of the Outer World; but upon reaching the second major realm, they were surpassed by their counterparts.

By the time they barely made it to the third major realm, they could only compete with the descendants of their former opponents. Such a psychological journey was truly unbearable for ordinary people.

Even the top mutants didn’t fare much better; the more glorious they were early on, the greater the sense of disparity later—the feeling of no progress over the long years was truly terrifying.

Most crucially, someone once suggested that the Six Imperial Ancestor serve as a Power Warrior, which was immensely terrifying!

This topic was too heavy, and Qin Ming did not say more.

He sought advice on other matters from the two, hoping to gain answers.

"Are the ancestor masters of such great sects as Tathagata, Six Imperial, Qingtian, and Yuqing still the original forefathers?"

Qin Ming had experienced certain events in the Six Imperial, had met Lu Zizai, and while practicing the "Heluo Jin Scripture," in a half-dream state, he seemed to glimpse the Six Imperial Ancestor Master along with a terrifying giant bathed in blood-stained golden light behind him in the night fog, raising many questions.

With seriousness, Meng Xinghai said, "I believe they have all been replaced, as no one can live that long."

This was his answer; the shortest existence of the ancestral courts of the sects on the Newborn Road has lasted over a thousand years, with the oldest exceeding three thousand years.

"There’s also a saying that some ancestor masters are still the original figures," Li Qingyun commented.

Meng Xinghai said, "At the very least, Tathagata has certainly been replaced. They themselves speak of the present Buddha, referring to the current ancestor master, while past Tathagata refers to the previous masters."

Li Qingyun replied, "Rumor has it that a unique scripture once abolished more than one ancestor master."

Upon hearing this, Qin Ming trembled inwardly, guessing it might very well be the Silk Scripture!

Afterward, the two assisted Qin Ming in deciding on his next destination, discussing until late into the night.

The next day, upon knowing Qin Ming had returned, the talking sparrow appeared early in his room.

"Mountain Master, you’re finally back. During your absence, Little Sparrow here lived without zest, longing every day. You’re going to study far away this time, can you take me along, so you don’t sneak away again."

Qin Ming glanced at it sideways, saying: "I’ve heard you mixed with a group of Alien Species, having so much fun that you forgot to return home. Did you marry off another wife?"

"Impossible! I’m a dedicated bird!" protested the talking sparrow; it seemed rather divine now, with more radiant feathers, its beak and claws shimmering brilliantly.

Qin Ming laughed, "Do you believe that yourself?"

The talking sparrow patted its chest with one wing: "We, the talking sparrow tribe, only breed once a year in early spring; during that time, I’m entirely faithful to my mate!"

Qin Ming did not comment further, lest it claimed that such is a bird’s life—a great husband, as loving as a sea.

Two days later, Qin Ming finally left the City Lord’s Mansion, estimating that those people should have almost gone.

Yet, coincidentally, as he intended to find Xu Cheng, Sister Fenfang, and Wu Zheng for a meal, he encountered the bandaged Zheng Maorong and Zeng Yuan, along with others who hadn’t left yet.

Had it not been for Lu Zhenyi and Chen Bingyan speaking for him at Black and White Mountain and Yinteng Town, Qin Ming truly wanted to turn and avoid them.

"Qin Ming, you’re really inconsiderate, arriving on your territory and yet avoiding us!" Zheng Maoze spoke up.

"Da Zheng, how did you end up covered in injuries?" inquired Qin Ming, recalling the slap he couldn’t restrain during the mêlée at Divine City that had struck Zheng Dazhuang.

One can only say that Zheng Maoze’s life-saving spiritual artifacts were formidable, exploding spirit shields and spirit armor to escape harm.

Zheng Maoze’s face darkened; recently, every time he ventured out to seize opportunities, mysterious figures inexplicably wounded him, breaking dozens of his bones in a war-like scenario, leaving psychological scars.

Zeng Yuan was in a similar state.

Qin Ming didn’t want to engage much with these two, so he conversed with Lu Zhenyi and Chen Bingyan.

"Didn’t you say you were in closed-door training?" Wang Caiwei, surprisingly still present, hadn’t left; wearing a black dress, her hair cascading like a waterfall, her skin as smooth as jade, looking as lovely as ever and quite affable, smiling brilliantly with infectious warmth.

"Just out of it today," Qin Ming replied.

Given these circumstances, he inevitably had to host guests, selecting a lakeside restaurant in the city and inviting Xu Cheng, Sister Fenfang, and Wu Zheng.

Yet even then, it didn’t prevent Zheng Maoze from flaunting his progress on the Immortal Road, genuinely showing off.

"For outsiders, a Jade Armor Guard can be a legacy for three generations," Zheng Maoze joked around.

It was quite clear; a Jade Armor Guard was strong indeed, considered very formidable, yet, unable to advance beyond its current state, unable to keep up with the master’s cultivation speed, overtaken by the younger ones on the Immortal Road, a Jade Armor Guard can serve a family for three generations.

The talking sparrow blinked its gem-like black eyes, curiously asking, "Big brother, does your family raise Jade Turtles? Eventually, a turtle outlives three generations in your family?"

"Whose bird is this, really... can’t speak properly!" Zheng Maoze wanted to slam the table.

"I reside at the City Lord’s Mansion," said the talking sparrow.

Xu Cheng intervened, saying, "Brother, let’s drink; I’ll share my stories from my years as a traveling merchant. Speaking of which, in the night fog, we often encountered corpses, occasionally seeing them alive and traveling in lively cities, which was extremely creepy. Hmm, you look... well, quite familiar!"

Xu Cheng’s face turned pale, seemingly bewildered, quickly retreating afterwards.

Zheng Maoze was stunned, then furious; the meal was ruined, and the drinking session abruptly ended.

"Qin Ming, if there’s anything you need, just ask us; we’ll assist whenever we can," Chen Bingyan said.

Qin Ming wasn’t modest, saying: "If you discover any miracle techniques in the Outer World, do copy them for me if possible."

"Alright!" the group departed.

Later that night, it was unclear who sent him a package.

Qin Ming opened it to find a book underneath layers of oil paper with four large characters on the cover: Five Thunders Refining the Organs.

This cultivation technique is absolutely extraordinary; he had heard of it before!

Who sent this?

Before Qin Ming could gather his thoughts, Meng Xinghai informed him with a serious expression, of a confidential report recently relayed by Li Qingyun who hadn’t left yet.

"Unbelievable, major news, Cao Qianqiu suffered a heavy blow at Black and White Mountain; this is a significant event shaking the Yewu World!"