Wilderness expansion [two chapters combined]

The world was pitch black; over 90% of the explored territory lacked Fire Spring, making it Night Without End.

The Mountain River spacecraft is piercing through clouds and fog, traveling at high speed over long distances.

It lacks the cold metallic luster and has a dusty, grayish appearance, giving it a rustic charm, but its smooth lines suggest that it is not an antique.

This is a new product, only recently put into mass production in the last two months. The production speed is extremely fast, and the safety performance is reliable.

The entire hull was covered with intricate runes, forming a soft protective shield.

This Great Wilderness Expansion marched westward!

Yu Gensheng stood on the deck and said, "The Immortal Path is the main focus, while the New Life Path and the Esoteric Sect are secondary. Our main purpose is to broaden your horizons. The great era has arrived, and some have already embarked on expeditions. You cannot simply sit back and watch from the rear."

Qin Ming listened quietly, with Xin Youdao, who had once dominated the competition in the eighty-one cities, standing beside him.

In fact, the spaceship is not limited to people from New Life Path; anyone from the Mountain River Academy can join.

The ships that took off from Kunling afterward all carried disciples from their respective academies or monasteries.

As for the teams that are purely New Life Path, they all start from their respective Ancestral Court, such as Yin Yang Temple, Tathagata Sect, Pure Yang Palace, etc.

Many disciples on the spaceship were watching Qin Ming. After his true form and some of his battle achievements were revealed, he became very famous on the New Life Path and was considered to have the talent of Grandmaster Level.

Besides Liu Hannya, Qian Chuan, Qian Chuan, Tang Jun, and others, there were many other young and strong people on this spaceship.

"Senior Brother, you've come here too?" Qin Ming saw Jin Xiang in the crowd.

Jin Xiang laughed and said, "Senior Brother, although I'm not doing so well, as an outstanding graduate from twenty years ago, and having lived in Kunlun City for a long time, I naturally responded immediately upon receiving the message."

Qin Ming admired him. He didn't care about other people's strange looks. He had been pulling a cart in Kunling for twenty years in his true form, Mortal World Heart Tempering in the mortal world. He was quite determined.

Now, Jin Xiang is no longer the Golden Sheep that is stronger than an ox or a horse; he has transformed into a human, with two sharp horns in his long golden hair, making him quite rugged and heroic.

A middle-aged man among the young and strong said, "Old Jin, don't be modest. Among our generation, you were number one in combat. You 'Heart Refinement for twenty years, and nurtured your sword for twenty years as well. The moment you prepared to draw your sword, I knew you had gathered enough power to finally reveal your brilliance and soar to the heavens!"

Jin Xiang immediately shook his head and said, "Don't talk nonsense. I have never risen to prominence, so how can I talk about accumulating power to soar to the sky? I am just an ordinary person, and I have long since faded into obscurity."

Through conversations with a group of young adults, Qin Ming got to know many of the middle-aged and younger generations, all of whom were experts who had graduated from the Mountain River Academy.

The West, the edge of the world.

Qin Ming had been here before, fighting God's Fall Plain. This place was the forefront of the Great Wilderness Expansion.

The spacecraft made a brief landing here for a short rest.

When they took off again, Qin Ming noticed that the supply ships behind them were missing.

Moreover, some of the spaceships from other academies and dojos in Kunling were also left behind.

"Great Wilderness Expansion is not that simple; everything requires contingency plans and thorough preparation," Yu Gensheng said.

Although he didn't Say More, everyone's expression changed.

Immediately, they stopped taking it lightly and began to take this trip extremely seriously.

Yu Gensheng laughed and said, "Don't be nervous, it's just a normal procedure."

An old man yawned as he stepped out of the cabin and said, "This time they call it pioneering the Immortal Path to immortality, but in the early stages, I think they're just doing archaeology, or to put it bluntly, tomb raiding. It's not a true Great Opening."

He is Wu Chengwang from the Mountain River Academy. In his youth, he frequently entered large tombs and unearthed a mutated version of the "Golden Cicada Scripture." He was quite capable, and his "archaeological" skills were even stronger.

Qin Ming knew him. He had willingly become a lamb to the slaughter by Old Wu, and obtained the Golden Cicada Scripture by resonating with Old Wu's manuscript.

Wu Chengwang added, "Of course, once we cross the 'edge of the world' and enter the depths of the Night Mist World, anything can happen. Perhaps a bloody and fiery opening will occur unexpectedly. After all, the road ahead Vast and Boundless, with no end in sight, so don't be surprised what happens. Children, stay alert!"

Yu Gensheng nodded and said, "The territory we inhabit is only a small corner compared to the depths of the Night Mist World. The area ahead is far too profound and boundless. A Ancestor once explored it, and after many years, he returned and briefly gave instructions, saying that he must go all the way to the end. However, hundreds of years have passed, and he has not returned."

Xin Youdao earnestly inquired, "It is rumored that in a far more distant land, there may exist Lion Camel Ridge, the supreme royal court of the Demon Race race, and even the Evil God Kingdom, where various alien races exist, and Near-Immortal creatures can also be seen. Is this true?"

Yu Gensheng hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Based on the available information, it might be true, and perhaps even more astonishing than we know."

These are all stories heard from the pioneers and certain great migrating tribes from Outer Domain during the pioneering times.

Yu Gensheng said, "In those rumors, countless stars, large and small, are scattered throughout the depths of the dark night fog, some... Alas, it's not very meaningful to talk about these things now, since we haven't seen them or verified them."

Wu Chengwang took a sip of tea brewed with purple goji berries and said, "So, pioneering is a double-edged sword. You might win ten times, but if you lose the last time, you lose everything."

Yu Gensheng said, "Our civilization here once experienced a break in continuity. If we want to understand the truth of the world, we can only look outwards. Therefore, archaeology, excavating large tombs, and land reclamation—searching for other human kingdoms and making contact with different Outer Domain civilizations—are important ways for us to explore the essence of this world."

The Black Mist surged, and even from the sky above, not a ray of light could be seen.

Several days later, the Mountain River spacecraft had long since moved beyond the "edge of the world," countless miles away.

Along the way, the people on the ship remained highly vigilant. Although they had coordinates for the path ahead and the main force of the Immortal Path had already made it through, they were still very cautious.

During this time, the spacecraft would frequently stop, and dedicated personnel would observe the terrain and other features in key areas, carefully recording the details.

"Advanced Fire Spring!" someone exclaimed. Through the pitch-black night fog, they could see flickering lights on the ground, and ahead, a long, glowing river meandered across the earth.

"Such areas must contain cities, or be inhabited by powerful beings."

"Not necessarily!"

As the spaceship passed by, a few people who had mastered special eye techniques were quite surprised. Beside the Advanced Fire Spring, there were clusters of glowing plants with their petals layered upon each other, densely packed.

Some experts were excited and said, "The spiritual flowers are in full bloom, in clusters and patches, and the auspicious glow they emit shines into the sky. Moreover, the flowers look as big as millstones. Is this a rare and Great Medicine?"

"Extremely dangerous, never approach!" an old man said.

"What is that?" Qin Ming couldn't help but ask.

The old man said, "The Soul-Guiding Flower only grows near Advanced Fire Spring. It emits Divine Substance, a fragrance from the Spirit Domain, which is irresistible to anyone who smells it. Their consciousness will inevitably leave their body and enter the flower, where it will be digested and absorbed."

The key issue is that it is utterly useless. A powerful individual cut it down to study it, and after leaving its mother plant, the petals emitted an unbearable stench, lingering in the Mental Field for months without dissipating.

Several elderly men stepped out of the cabin and told everyone that all sorts of species could be found in the uninhabited areas of the Night Mist World, and that they must remain vigilant.

The next day, on the dark earth, it looked as if a huge, red eyeball was staring at the sky, and many people looked down to observe it closely.

"A huge mouth, from which a Fire Spring surges. This thing is very eerie. You could say it's a living being, but its body seems to be the earth itself, completely still. You could say it's a natural phenomenon, but it's also extremely strange."

Wu Chengwang explained that this enormous mouth is not visible from the surface, as it is so huge that it is mistaken for a basin with flowing Fire Spring. If a tribe were to migrate and accidentally wander into it, it would swallow them whole.

The sights they saw along the way broadened the horizons of the young disciples.

In the following days, they also saw lush vegetation, Brocade Landscape, with Fire Spring flowing among the mountains and fiery rivers winding through the plains.

This place is inhabited by primates, but not humans; they are tall minotaurs, each over five meters tall, with thick, green hair.

Yu Gensheng said, "We know about this tribe, but we haven't had in-depth contact with them. They are a slightly stronger foreign tribe in our surrounding area. With them around, we can observe the movements in the Outer Domain. If they are ever wiped out, our deployed Lightning Finch will give an immediate warning. That would mean a powerful alien tribe has come knocking, and we're going to have a major war."

The group of young disciples were all lost in thought. The Bull-Head Tribe acted as sentinels, guarding the human territory. Their rise and fall served as a warning.

An old man said, "Actually, the most dangerous place is the vast land beyond the God's Fall Plain. There should be some gods there, and they may even have formed a ' Godlike Society '."

Qin Ming naturally knew about the Godlike Society. Back in the God's Fall Plain, he had even fought a major battle with the leader of a small gathering point of the Godlike Society there.

He almost died because the Godlike Society provided intelligence to those demons.

"Don't underestimate the Godlike Society. It spans a vast and mysterious region of the Night Mist World. Our human ' Three-Eyed Sect ' worships Three-Eyed God, which may have been founded by one of the deities of the Godlike Society. However, it is considered to be within the bounds of our territory."

Boom!

On the earth, in a primeval forest, Fire Spring gathered and formed a lake. Suddenly, it erupted, and a huge tongue of fire stretched into the night sky, trying to "lick" the spaceship down.

"What monster?!" Everyone was shocked and horrified.

This height is measured in kilometers. What kind of enormous creature is that huge, fiery red tongue? What does it look like?

Fortunately, although the terrifying airflow surged upwards like a tidal wave, causing the night fog to burst apart, it ultimately missed the spaceship by a considerable distance.

For a short while, the sky was completely silent. Everyone was startled and broke out in a cold sweat.

Yu Gensheng reassured everyone, saying, "It's alright, the precautions for this route are recorded, there shouldn't be any problems navigating at this altitude."

"This..." Many people were speechless. Just now, the entire ship was almost "licked clean." This unknown, pitch-black territory was too dangerous and gave them the creeps.

"What exactly is that?" Even outstanding graduates from the Mountain River Academy a decade or two ago didn't know anything about it; they had never studied it or even come into contact with it.

Yu Gensheng said, "It's probably some kind of mysterious and terrifying 'natural phenomenon'."

He hesitated for a moment, then offered another guess. "There's another possibility: this is the 'legacy' of a great figure in the Esoteric Sect. He entered the depths of the Night Mist World to break through, but perhaps something went wrong and he failed."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions turned solemn.

They thought of the widely circulated saying: the Night Mist World is full of unknowns, and it's normal for it not to be understood; it would be a big problem if it were understood.

Because behind this understanding may lie a deeper, more significant crisis.

"If he is a great figure in the Esoteric Sect, he should be a Ancestor, right?" Xin Youdao frowned and whispered. He was on the New Life Path and was also a member of the Esoteric Sect, practicing both paths simultaneously.

Esoteric Sect has a very mature system, consisting of the Sixth Realm: Wisdom Light, Spirit Capture, Inner Landscape, Netherpass, Seeing God, and Ritual Offering.

Even though they all follow the same God Path, they have branched into several different paths. Although the names of the realms are the same, the methods of cultivation are completely different.

One of the paths leads to the Fifth Realm, where the so-called "Seeing God" involves a very devout audience. When faced with various mysterious phenomena, one will be very respectful and may even go to pay homage to the true deities.

In the Sixth Realm, the so-called Ritual Offering are naturally performed with utmost piety, almost like a pilgrimage.

The other branch is completely different. The so-called "Seeing God" is seeing the god within oneself, and as for the Ritual Offering, they are simply astonishing to those who know about them.

The Ritual Offering was filled with disrespect; it was more like a subjugation of a special terrain and "phenomenon."

To those on the first side road, this was blasphemy.

In fact, nowadays, the latter path has become the mainstream, with "I" as the main focus, regarding oneself as the only True God, and ultimately aiming to Severed Mountain and rivers, surpassing gods and ancestors.

The spaceship sails far away, traversing the boundless night world.

During this time, they saw boundless grasslands nourished by Fire Spring, where creatures resembling celestial horses were running, as well as vast mountain forests and large, desolate uninhabited areas.

"Something's wrong!" shouted the guard on the Mountain River.

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

"Those are Winged Race. Don't panic, there's nothing to worry about. They're just on a great migration," an old man said.

In the night fog, there was a large flock of strange birds, somewhat resembling humans, such as having human faces and human arms, but with more bird characteristics, densely packed together, heading from north to south.

They carried bundles on their backs and held spears, bone knives, and other weapons in their hands.

The spaceship avoided them, not cutting them off, and several leaders of the alien race looked in their direction.

However, as Kunling's spaceships arrived one after another, and a Grandmaster expanded his aura, the Winged Race immediately fled without making any dangerous moves.

On the thirteenth day, they were nearing their destination.

This is a desert, but not the kind of dark, boundless "desert" with strange "phenomena."

Although this land is covered in yellow sand, it is not so lifeless. Deep in the desert, there are many oases, accompanied by numerous Fire Spring.

The ruins of Immortal Grave and Divine Tomb are located deep within this vast desert.

Jin Xiang spoke up, "There's something wrong with this place. There are quite a few Fire Spring, so how did it turn into an endless desert?"

"If this was caused by a major war, then it's truly horrifying. But the appearance of so many large tombs is perhaps more plausible," said Wu Chengwang, the "archaeology" master on the ship.

However, these are all distant memories and have little impact on this era.

The Mountain River not only had a precise route map to its destination, but also a guide, and the Lightning Finch would occasionally take off to communicate with the front, so it never deviated from its course.

They weren't in a hurry, and their pace wasn't particularly fast.

On the fourteenth day, they arrived at their destination!

Deep in the desert lies a vast oasis, covered with dense forests, where Fire Spring gush forth, and numerous rivers and lakes flow.

The outer area was shrouded in a thick white fog, and once you stepped inside, it felt like you were in two different worlds.

Here, the air is fresh and clean, with plenty of moisture, and there is none of the dryness of the desert outside.

The forest area is vast, far exceeding the concept of an ordinary oasis.

The scenery in the dense primeval forest is quite beautiful, with babbling Fire Spring, various trees bearing fruit, and fragrant flowers on the vines, all bathed in the glow of the setting sun.

There is no darkness here, only a hazy, dreamlike atmosphere. The five-colored deer are undisturbed by people, and the white rabbits, with eyes like rubies, actively approach people, creating a scene straight out of a fairy tale.

Some Sun Elf were patrolling, holding bows and arrows and aiming them in this direction.

"They're our people!" Someone from the Immortal Path was also stationed there, and quickly shouted to the group of foreigners to explain.

Clearly, the New Life Path and the Immortal Path have a tacit understanding this time.

Eventually, all the spaceships landed outside a Mountain City.

The people from the Immortal Path arrived almost half a month earlier than them and could see many humans entering and leaving the city. Qin Ming even saw several familiar faces.

Yu Gensheng said, "You can go out and explore, but don't cause trouble. It's best to return to the spaceship to sleep at night. If you're not coming back, please let us know in advance."

As more than a dozen spaceships from Kunling landed, a large crowd rushed into the city, eager to see the Foreign Domain scenery.

"Ming Ge, I'll go with you." Xin Youdao stepped forward.

Qin Ming nodded in agreement, then looked at Jin Xiang and said, "Brother Jin, would you like to come along?"

"Okay!" Jin Xiang readily agreed.

The three of them entered the city together.

Built against the backdrop of mountains and water, even the city walls are covered with spiritual vines, and there are glowing spiritual trees both inside and outside the city. Combined with the lakes and the beautiful hills, it forms a city with a very magnificent natural landscape.

Qin Ming said, "The total Sun Elf Race here is only a few hundred thousand, right? That they can produce a Grandmaster Level figure, and it seems there's more than one. This race has very strong potential!"

The city is full of large trees, and in addition to the normal buildings, there are many wooden houses in the trees.

Xin Youdao spoke up, "If the Immortal Path wanted to destroy them, it would be a piece of cake. It seems there won't be any major disturbances this time. This place is too peaceful. They call it Great Wilderness Expansion, but it might just be tomb raiding, uh, archaeology."

Jin Xiang shook his head and said, "We've now entered the depths of the Night Mist World. Anything can happen; a terrifying, bloody battle might erupt. We can't let our guard down!"

Based on his understanding of Yu Gensheng, he suspected that things might not be so simple this time.

Most importantly, it seems that the Immortal Path took the initiative to invite the people from the New Life Path and the Esoteric Sect to arrive later, which is quite intriguing.

Qin Ming nodded and said, "Yes, we must not be careless in Foreign Domain. Let's treat it as if we are facing a real war of conquest."

"Hey, someone I know!" He strode forward.

Ahead, there was a rather unusual man from the Sun Elf Race, wearing a hat. Although his back was to them, Qin Ming recognized him at a glance.

"Guang Yu, it's been so long! I've missed you terribly!" Qin Ming floated down the street like a ghost, silently appearing behind the other man and patting him on the shoulder.

Guang Yu was startled. He turned around abruptly and almost burst into flames when he saw who it was. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He wanted to say, "Who asked you to think that? You're like a persistent ghost! It's only been a month, and I've seen you again!"

He couldn't let it go. In the fight, not only was his Thunder Duke Pure Land broken by his opponent, but he was also shaved completely bald.

"Don't get excited. I have an extremely important letter here. It must be delivered to Grandmaster Qiong Hui or Li Guang." Qin Ming casually stuffed it into his arms, his movements as swift as lightning.

Then, his expression hardened, and he said, "You can't delay this matter!"

Guang Yu was taken aback, feeling that the situation was extremely serious. The anger in his chest was about to burst out, but he swallowed it back down.

Then, without saying a word, he quickly left with the letter, as he really didn't want to have any more interaction with this dragon-like boy.

Xin Youdao said, "Ming Ge, you seem to know people everywhere you go."

"It's better not to see some acquaintances!" Qin Ming said.

The three of them waited there, no longer moving forward.

Qin Ming's letter was simple, warmly greeting Qiong Hui and Li Guang, and then mentioning that he hoped to find a safe and reliable guide.

When Li Guang received the letter, she was shocked. This "slave owner" was still haunting them, and had actually tracked them down to their territory.

Qiong Hui frowned and said, "He wants my Sun Elf Race to be his free henchmen, or rather, he needs bodyguards!"

Although the other party didn't explicitly state it, the subtle hints were enough. He knew very well that the Immortal Pact hadn't been completely severed, and that was the key to the problem.

In the Mountain City of the Sun Elf Race, Tang Jin appeared, spotted Qin Ming at a glance, and said, "You dare to come here too?"

Beside her were Ling Yu and Purple-Eyed Crow.

Qin Ming was displeased. Why didn't he dare to come?

He said with a smile, "Old Tang, since you're here, why can't I?"

Tang Jin had a graceful figure and an oval face. Her face was full of astonishment. Why did this kid call her that? She hated it when people called her old, mainly because her nemesis Jiang Ran often called her that.

"Are you getting carried away, or are you just drunk?" Actually, she was only two or three years older than Qin Ming.

She was very unhappy. She rolled up her sleeves, revealing her slender, white hands, her jade-like fingers gleaming.

"Senior Sister, you're joking!" Ling Yu quickly stopped her.

Crow Master further interjected, "Little Tang, stop right now. Your master said to listen to me this time. Hmm, I think Little Qin is a really good person. It's not too late for me to take on a disciple on behalf of my master. Grandmaster —no, Ancestor— would definitely like him."

"Huh?" Qin Ming was surprised. That Grandmaster cultivated both the New Life Path and the Immortal Path had already become Ancestor before the Great Wilderness Expansion?!

Tang Jin was reprimanded by her teacher for this matter, who believed it was not too late to take the boy back now.

Now that Crow Master had said that, Tang Jin felt extremely uncomfortable and was speechless.

"Thank you for your high regard, Crow Master. I will consider it carefully." Qin Ming was puzzled and felt he needed to find a reliable person to inquire about it when he got back.

At this moment, a male and a female Sun Elf, both appearing to be around forty years old and highly skilled, approached. They telepathically instructed Qin Ming that they would act as his "guides."

"They're both experts, both at the Fourth Realm the Immortal Path — Embracing Simplicity," Jin Xiang said.

Qin Ming glanced at him and realized that his Senior Brother, who had spent twenty years Mortal World Heart Tempering, was indeed no ordinary person.

"Little Qin has friends here? He even has a master from the Sun Elf Race following him." Crow Master was very impressed.

Qin Ming just smiled, guessing that the Sun Elf had reluctantly arranged two people for him.

"We want to go and take a look at the Immortal Grave," Qin Ming said.

"Alright!" The two Sun Elf nodded and led the way.

"Want to come along?" Qin Ming asked Tang Jin and the others.

"Okay!" Crow Master and Ling Yu nodded immediately, and Tang Jin followed suit.

On the way, Crow Master began to introduce the various local conditions.

"What? The Mountain City on a giant coffin slab!" Qin Ming was shocked; this was utterly outrageous.

After the main force of the Immortal Path arrived, they did not immediately break the Restrictions on the Immortal Grave and the Divine Tomb, but instead first studied the surrounding area.

Ultimately, while digging in the mountains, they unexpectedly discovered a huge coffin lid underground, which supported the entire Mountain City.

Upon hearing this, Jin Xiang and Xin Youdao were also stunned. How big was that coffin?

Ling Yu, "It's a pity there's only the coffin lid, not the main body of the coffin."

The so-called Immortal Grave area is adjacent to the Mountain City, located in the dense forest in front.

Even from a distance, Qin Ming could see the cemetery, mainly because all the graves were so high, they were practically mountains.

If others didn't tell them, they would definitely think this place was a mountain range, with dozens of peaks.

Among them, more than a dozen are relatively tall, similar to ordinary mountains. The tallest of them is majestic, shrouded in mist and soaring into the clouds.

The dozen or so relatively tall ancient tombs, resembling mountains, were also shrouded in Immortal Mist, appearing hazy and indistinct.

When Qin Ming and his group approached, they saw dozens of other slightly smaller but still hill-like giant tombs, and were immediately dumbfounded. The tombs were radiant with light, and the hillsides were covered with medicinal herbs.

To be precise, each of the enormous graves was covered with medicinal herbs!

After arriving here, Qin Ming met many familiar faces from the Immortal Path, such as Jiang Ran, Cui Chonghe, Pei Shuyan, and Li Qingxu.

Crow Master said, "Why don't you give it a try? There are some Strange Medicine and scriptures inside that might be of great use to you on your New Life Path."

Qin Ming shook his head and said, "I'm not from the Immortal Path, so it probably won't work. They're not willing."

Tang Jin informed them, "This time, the Immortal Path is very open-minded. After some representatives from the Ancestral Court of major sects on the New Life Path came, the Immortal Path was willing to share its resources and allow people to try it out."

Instead of forcefully breaking through this place, the Immortal Path has been constantly trying to dismantle it. Currently, one of the dozen or so large tombs that resemble mountains has had a section of its external Restrictions torn apart by them.

Looking around, Qin Ming saw more than a dozen large tombs, second only to the main tomb. On one of the large mountains, a precious tree was exposed, its entire body golden and covered with brilliant fruit.

"That's the Vajra Fruit, it's very beneficial to the physical body," Jin Xiang said in surprise, recognizing this exotic tree that was only recorded in Ancient Texts.

There are many medicinal herbs on the large tomb, among which the Vajra Tree is the most extraordinary.

On the cliff not far from the Vajra Tree, there seemed to be some writing, shining brightly.

An old man from the Immortal Path spoke up, "These medicinal herbs and scriptures covering the mountains and fields are yours to gather; it all depends on your abilities."

This is a generous gift to the younger generation.

Qin Ming's expression turned serious. This time it might not just be "archaeology," otherwise, given Immortal Path's "alone" and domineering nature, he wouldn't share the fat meat he had already obtained with others.

At this moment, some of the Immortal Seed noticed the two Sun Elf elves following behind him and were taken aback, as even they did not receive such treatment.

"There's a mysterious scripture inside, suitable for all paths, but even among those with Immortal Seed, very few can comprehend it," Tang Jin said, glancing at Qin Ming as if to say, "Do you want to try?"

"Have you figured it out?" Qin Ming asked.

Tang Jin's expression froze for a moment, then he said, "Currently, we have all grasped part of it, but perhaps the scripture itself is incomplete."

"Does this mean that none of you have fully grasped it?" Qin Ming asked in surprise, his interest piqued.