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Novel: [Night Without Borders]
Chapter 94: [Visitors from Beyond the Mortal Realm]
Author: [Chen Dong]
Translator: [Shadow Knight AK]
Editor: [Shadow Knight AK]
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"Mountain Lord, you truly possess the qualities of a Spirit! I'll scout ahead and gather intelligence on the enemy for you!" Talking Sparrow (Yuque) declared, brimming with enthusiasm and fervor.
In its opinion, since the Outsiders had already been dealt with, so what threat could a mere Golden-Armored Guard pose?
In the night sky, the Black-Clad Woman's mount panicked. Its master had been killed in an instant, terrifying the creature into wanting to flee immediately.
Qin Ming drew his bow taut like a full moon.
With a thwack, an iron arrow shot forth, piercing the raptor through the Night Mist.
A spray of blood blossomed as the arrow struck, severely wounding the bird.
"Land now if you don't want to die," Qin Ming commanded from the Crimson Eagle's back, his robes fluttering in the wind as he forced the Strange Bird to descend.
"Mountain Lord, the situation is dire," Talking Sparrow reported urgently upon its return.
"The Golden-Armored Guard's mount is a Bat Bird!"
"What's so special about Bat Birds?" Qin Ming asked.
"Bat Birds possess some of the keenest senses of smell in the Great Mountain. They're rare and often used to track enemies," Talking Sparrow explained rapidly.
It pressed anxiously, "Has someone tampered with you? The Golden-Armored Guard seemed remarkably composed, as if certain he could track you down."
Qin Ming sniffed himself but detected no unusual odors.
"Bat Birds can detect a far wider range of scents than any other living creature," the Talking Sparrow said, clearly wary of these mutant creatures.
"So I've been targeted?" Qin Ming frowned.
"Human hearts are truly unfathomable."
He suspected someone had tampered with him during his encounter with acquaintances in Yinteng (Silvervine) Town.
The person who did it might not necessarily be Zheng Maoze, because it could be done without physical contact.
"Has he arrived?" Qin Ming asked.
"He landed at the edge of the desert but hasn't entered yet," the Talking Sparrow reported.
"He's keeping his distance from the Black-Clad Woman, likely to avoid any misunderstandings," Qin Ming had already anticipated. "He's not one of her followers."
Otherwise, why would the Golden-Armored Guards have trailed behind so leisurely, watching the Outsider take action herself?
He should have the one to attack first.
"Since the Bat Bird have tracked us here and escape is impossible, we'll fight to the end! Set up defenses quickly!" Qin Ming said, refusing to flee.
The Black-Clad Woman carried only a charred small shield, a chopstick-sized black spear, and some Day Gold—no other items of significant value.
"Flap your wings and erase some of the battle traces here. Hurry!" Qin Ming ordered Crimson Eagle.
He turned to Talking Sparrow and said, "Grab the woman's shoe and follow behind me, leaving some footprints in the sand."
"Mountain Lord, you're making things difficult for a bird," Talking Sparrow protested, flapping its wings.
"You're a mutant creature. Isn't this easy for you? You must be quick. Even though he's keeping his distance from the Black-Clad Woman, he won't be able to wait for long," Qin Ming urged.
Qin Ming hoisted the woman's corpse and charged into the dark Night Mist.
Killing the Black-Clad Woman hadn't triggered any dangerous or terrifying phenomena in the desert.
He suspected that it might have aligned with some ritual of the Esoteric (Secret) Sect, indirectly offering a tribute.
According to rumors, performing Blood Sacrifices to other Spirits could easily lead to trouble in the desert.
"Wait for me over there!" Qin Ming commanded the Black-Clad Woman's wounded mount, ordering not to move.
He stripped off his outer coat and buried it in the sand, then camouflaged the area.
Using a torn sleeve from the Black-Clad Woman's robe, Qin Ming vigorously scrubbed his neck, hands, and other exposed skin, hoping to remove any lingering scent.
Afterward, he scrubbed himself clean with the yellow sand.
"Why haven't they come in yet?" He waited for a moment, but the Golden-Armored Guards still hadn't entered the arena.
Having slain the Black-Clad Woman, Qin Ming's fighting spirit was soaring.
In the past, many had warned him of the Outsiders' formidable power, cautioning him against provoking them lightly. This had indeed weighed heavily on his mind.
Moreover, the young man who could transform into mist during their previous encounter had left him deeply wary. If not for the Jade Iron Sword's perfect counter to the opponent's mist-like body, he would have been in grave danger.
But today, the so called distinction between immortals and mortals seemed exaggerated to him.
After repeatedly merging with the Heavenly Light Force, he was now capable of killing such beings.
Of course, Qin Ming dared not underestimate those from Beyond the Mortal Realm.
It remained a terrifying place, where even those in the first realm could wield the power of consciousness.
"Heart Purification Technique—purging distractions to achieve a state of pure, tranquil unity, thereby approaching the Dao, awakening the Light of the Soul, and giving birth to the Power of Consciousness. The concept is truly profound!" Qin Ming couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
This didn't mean the Outsiders neglected the physical body.
In their later cultivation stages, they would nourish their bodies with extraordinary power, leaving no obvious weaknesses.
What was most terrifying was that their path was fully mature, allowing them to advance rapidly and steadily.
In contrast, the Awakening Path progressed quickly only in its initial stages.
After reaching the Outer Sage Realm, progress became increasingly difficult.
The Heart Purification Technique is comparable to the Awakening Path. Normally, it allowed practitioners who had repeatedly awakened their Soul Light in the Heart Purification Realm to suppress the vast majority of Heavenly Light Force.
Sometimes, those who had undergone multiple awakenings would feel utterly despairing.
Despite possessing immense Heavenly Light Force, they couldn't even scratch an Outsider who had repeatedly awakened their Consciousness Force in the Heart Purification Realm, as if they were naturally countered.
Eventually, it became widely accepted that Awakening Path could not rival Heart Purification Path.
This had almost become common knowledge!
"The Heaven-Shattering Force and Tathagata Force should be able to shake even the most formidable experts in the Beyond the Mortal Realm. But these legendary forms of Heavenly Light Force are likely extremely difficult to cultivate and are not widely taught."
After recovering his memories, Qin Ming had learned much.
The so-called "eating the mist and drinking the dew (Nourish on Mists and Dew)" didn't involve consuming actual sunlight or dew.
Instead, it referred to ingesting rare substances from top-tier Fire Springs and drinking the mysterious "Heavenly Essence" from the depths of the night sky.
Those who could truly achieve "Nourish on Mists and Dew" were already formidable figures in the Beyond the Mortal Realm.
Even Cultivators of Heart Purification Realm like the Black-Clad Woman still consumed ordinary grains.
The Path of Awakening was widely practiced, mainly because its entry requirements were low. For ordinary people seeking advancement, physical transformation was their only option.
Qin Ming abandoned thoughts of the path Beyond the Mortal Realm and prepared for battle.
"Mountain Lord, I've sacrificed too much for you this time. You can't fail me now!" Talking Sparrow muttered, his voice trembling.
"After all this time, hasn't she dealt with him yet?" The Golden-Armored Guards grew impatient and urged the Bat Bird forward.
The creature flapped its fleshy wings and slowly entered the desert.
Scattered footprints and traces of blood led across the yellow sand, pointing toward the depths of the Night Mist.
The Bat Bird possessed bat-like wings, a bird's body, a tiger-like head, and a thick, pig-like snout, granting it an exceptionally keen sense of smell.
Following the scent, it flew low and silently approached its target.
"Hmm, could she have already succeeded, killed him, and buried him?" The Golden-Armored Guard frowned.
The Bat Bird indicated to him that there was a strong scent emanating from beneath the sand ahead.
"She would never bury someone after killing them. Something's gone wrong!" The armored man drew his gleaming Greatsword, his expression turning cold.
The Bat Bird signaled another strong scent ahead.
"Sigh, burying the clothes under the yellow sand was pointless after all," Qin Ming's voice drifted through the Night Mist from afar.
"You're not an ordinary Awakener. To kill an Outsider of Heart Purification Realm..." The man atop the Bat Bird, clad in brilliant golden armor, his eyes like lightning, spoke coldly.
He could vaguely discern the Crimson Eagle lying prone in the Night Mist ahead, seemingly gravely wounded.
"She's not dead. She's already escaped," Qin Ming's heavy breathing came from behind the several-meter-long Crimson Eagle, suggesting he was also severely injured.
"Don't bother concealing it. She's certainly dead!" the Golden-Armored Guard sneered, urging the Bat Bird forward.
Suddenly, he sensed something was wrong—as if an overwhelming danger was descending.
Heavenly Light erupted from his body, bursting outward from his skin.
"Ah...!" He roared in fury, finally realizing the threat wasn't from the front, as he'd assumed, but from the night sky above—a meteor was plummeting toward him!
How could anyone withstand such a thing?
The sheer speed and weight of the falling object made his hair stand on end.
The sudden turn of events left him no time to react.
Who could have foreseen such an improbable calamity?
It must be said, his instincts were extraordinary.
Anyone else would have been crushed into mincemeat by the meteor, but he managed to evade the vital points at the last moment.
With a thud, his Heavenly Light was pierced, leaving one arm mangled and bloody, and his Greatsword clattered to the ground.
Simultaneously, the meteor struck his Bat Bird, which lacked his resilience and was instantly killed, plummeting from mid-air into the desert below.
The Golden-Armored Guard recognized the meteor's shape: a hammer!
To be precise, it was a massive warhammer, hurled down from the sky.
He seethed with rage, realizing he had been tricked.
"Stupid bird, run! I told you to play dead, not to actually fall asleep!" the Talking Sparrow's frantic cry echoed from ahead.
The sparrow flapped its wings furiously and fled.
Moments earlier, Qin Ming had instructed it to mimic his voice and lure the Golden-Armored Guard into the trap.
The Crimson Eagle shook its body and soared into the night sky with a whoosh.
Beneath the cloak of night, Qin Ming stood on the back of the Black-Clad Woman's injured raptor, his eyes gleaming like stars.
His archery skills were legendary, and his mastery of projectile weapons was equally profound.
When he had swung the warhammer down moments ago, he had felt an almost instinctive certainty that it would strike its target.
The Golden-Armored Guard was consumed by rage.
Before the battle had even truly begun, one of his arms had been shattered, reduced to a mangled mess.
The searing pain, combined with the humiliation, sent his fury surging, causing his Heavenly Light to erupt in a blinding, all-encompassing radiance.
Qin Ming ordered the black raptor to descend slightly, unleashing arrow after arrow.
His pupils constricted as he watched the iron arrows blocked by the enemy's Heavenly Light, failing to pierce the guard's body.
This was a master capable of projecting their Heavenly Light outward, the blinding radiance extending about half a foot from their body, intercepting the arrows and even shredding some of their fletching.
Qin Ming was startled.
To deal with him, they had deployed a master who had already taken their first steps into the Outer Sage Realm!
However, it wasn't a major setback. He had eliminated the enemy's flying mount, seizing the initiative.
Qin Ming continued to draw his bow and fire arrows, relentlessly draining the enemy's formidable Heavenly Light.
Perhaps, by the end, he could even take down an Outer Sage!
The Golden-Armored Guard had never felt so humiliated.
This battle was agonizing.
First, a mysterious meteorite had severely injured him, and now he was being used as a living target!
Qin Ming quickly emptied four arrow quivers.
With only one quiver remaining, the raptor suddenly began to shake violently.
"Land now!"
His initial strategy had been flawless, but fate had intervened.
The black raptor, pierced by his arrows and severely wounded, was further crippled by the tremendous force of his hammer strike, nearly sending it crashing to its doom.
Now, struggling to stay airborne, the creature spiraled erratically toward the ground.
"Crimson Eagle!" Qin Ming shouted.
But the Crimson Eagle and Talking Sparrow had fled as far as possible earlier, and distant help was useless in this crisis.
"Ha ha..." The Golden-Armored Guard, burning with humiliation and frustration, roared with laughter.
He snatched up his Greatsword with his left hand, calculated the raptor's likely crash zone, and charged forward in long strides.
"Is he... not satisfied with just throwing the hammer? He's throwing himself down too?" Talking Sparrow gasped as he approached, his eyes wide with disbelief.
The Crimson Eagle arrived moments later, but it was already too late.
Qin Ming's earlier composure and faint smile had vanished.
While he wouldn't necessarily die from the fall—the black raptor was gliding rather than plummeting—the far greater danger lay in the imminent confrontation with an Outer sage!
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END OF CHAPTER
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