Night Without End

"It's truly unexpected, after leaving the Mist Gate, to have deviated by hundreds of thousands of miles, only returning to the old land today," an elder sighed.

The Yewu World is vast and boundless; after a long journey, they finally reached their destination.

The group, covered in dust and weary, were far from ordinary. Some used silver tyrannosaurs for transport, while others sat on the backs of golden butterflies, and some rode fiery red giant lizards.

In the harsh winter season, with biting cold, this group, enduring the wind and snow, even with tiredness, stood tall with eyes sparkling with intense joy.

"Ye State, this region seems distant and desolate, without even an Earth Immortal, yet the waters run deep; as Yujing's temporary stopover, one cannot be too cautious!" someone warned.

...

Shuangshu Village was covered by snow, and in this bitterly cold season when even a breath could freeze into frost, two small creatures persisted in their arduous cultivation, practicing their skills on the trees.

They were also bickering, boasting.

"Chi shu, do you know what Brother Que has gone through? I've seen Demon Immortals, witnessed the Ancestor Master's battles. I even traversed the battlefield, charging through the masses of demon armies; the grand scenes were unimaginable, something a real man must experience at least once in his life!"

Red Squirrel was quite envious, but finally retorted sourly, "You? You'd barely even fill the gaps in a demon's teeth; stop boasting, I, Lord Song, don't believe you!"

The talking sparrow said, "The Mountain Master can testify; I even served as his steed, carrying him to soar through the sky and escape to save his friend Ning Siqi. Together, we slew the heavenly demon species ferociously!"

"With your small frame, carrying people flying, you might just scare yourself to squawking." Although speaking like this, Red Squirrel indeed longed deeply for the outside world.

The talking sparrow said, "Fat Mouse, stop belittling me. You're here living off the old, albeit comfortably, but your perspective and knowledge lag far behind. The world is vast; when you can fend for yourself, you should go out and see it."

"How do you know I haven't experienced much? I once became a distinguished guest of a Forbidden Land...," Red Squirrel boasted, leaping around on the tree.

Finally, it pounded its chest, speaking stoutly, "If you trace back, imagine last year around this time, I even saved Xiao Qin's life."

The talking sparrow scoffed, "A real bird can boast!"

Red Squirrel puffed its chest, saying, "Don't disbelieve; these are facts. Last harsh winter, the whole village faced famine; the Mountain Master you talk about almost starved to death. You know how he survived? By eating my relief food, I practically gave him a second life!"

The talking sparrow said, "Oh, come on, I heard that your mouse hole got raided by the Mountain Master, and even you became his provisions. It was only because he felt a moment of softness that he spared you; you should be grateful."

Red Squirrel was furious; back then, when the snow sealed the mountain, its old nest was ransacked, nearly driving it mad, even now becoming agitated recalling it.

"He survived by eating my mouse grains; even after five hundred years, when he rises as an Ancestor Master and becomes a renowned Earth Immortal, this fact can't be erased."

The talking sparrow exclaimed, "Goodness, Songzai, you're bold, writing a piece of black history for the Mountain Master; be careful, lest you get silenced."

Suddenly, they felt a chill down their spines, then got buried by an avalanche of snow, startling the two small creatures into strange cries.

"Mountain Master?"

"Uncle Qin!"

...

Qin Ming prepared to hibernate on Black and White Mountain, accumulating his Taoist cultivation.

After all, his achievements in slaying heavenly demon species on the Western Border Battlefield were too dazzling; now it's time to act low-key, silently enhancing his strength is the hard truth.

"Xiao Qin, you're back!" Old Man Liu was very happy, then was filled with numerous emotions, whispering, "Lately, this old man's been having broken and fragmented dreams, bizarre and colorful, trying to get close but unable to truly reach them, being startled awake. I feel my time is almost up, unable to last through this winter."

Qin Ming's heart sank immediately; was Old Man Liu walking back his old path only to end in failure?

"In the future, don't change your life form to become immortal, or when you regret one day in retrospect, you must pay an incomparably heavy price. It's been five hundred years and it's not over yet!"

Liu Mo, speaking mysteriously, said a bunch of things, then even found it peculiar himself, showing a confused look.

After that, he looked bewildered, muttering, "Once this life ends, I can thoroughly break away from the past."

Evidently, his condition was not right.

According to Red Squirrel, recently Liu Mo's family felt he seemed possessed, and they were even preparing his funeral arrangements.

Qin Ming said, "No worries, with me around, you old won't die; I guarantee you can live to ninety-five, complete the cycle perfectly, and thus start a rebirth."

Sometimes Liu Mo was normal, sometimes he seemed to be in a dreamlike state, now he was somewhat unusual, his eyes vacant, saying, "Xiao Qin, have you ever eaten the flesh of gods? When I'm about to go, I'll have you eat to your heart's content."

In the Liu family's courtyard, the Big Yellow Dog quickly tucked its tail, darting into the doghouse, keeping a low profile, not daring to bark even once.

Qin Ming returned to Black and White Mountain, beginning seclusion, sometimes conversing with Old Man Liu; a casual word from him could deeply impact Qin Ming.

He confirmed that Liu Mo was a creature that escaped from Yujing—this was quite shocking!

However, unfortunately, any topic related to Yujing seemed to be forbidden; as soon as Qin Ming tried to delve deeper, seriously asking, Old Man Liu's state would become abnormal.

Liu Mo was plagued by fragmented dreams, even when he himself wanted to approach those dreamlike illusions, he would fall into confusion, let alone outsiders trying to intervene.