The pine forest sprawled over a vast area, exuding a faint fragrance of pine resin. The needles clustered densely upon the branches like thickets of slender, verdant swords. A clear spring murmured as it flowed through the woods, while a pool of Fire Spring water spread silently nearby, its crimson glow reflecting off the ancient pines and lending the place an exceptional beauty.
Yet no one was admiring the scenery; the atmosphere was unusually tense. None of them had expected to bump into each other here immediately upon entering the spirit cavern.
Clad in purple, Li Qingxu held his purple bamboo rod tempered by heavenly light. A smile rested on his face, relaxed and unhurried.
It was no longer he who was trapped in the predicament of being hunted down; instead, his rival Li Qingyue had been cornered here by him and two familiar acquaintances.
However, neither of those two acquaintances had responded yet, seemingly also caught unprepared by this sudden turn of events.
Li Qingyue was clad in silver-white armor, the black hair at her temples fluttering in the wind. Without saying much, she advanced straight toward Li Qingxu.
At this moment, she was exceedingly forceful. Though her figure was as slender and graceful as a celestial willow, the aura she exuded after donning her armor was intensely overbearing, completely different from before.
Rosy radiance flowed across her entire body. Pine branches and vines blocking her path parted on their own, as if paving a luminous road that stretched ahead across the ground.
"Wang Caiwei likely won't make a move. Wait here," Li Qingyue transmitted her voice secretly, telling Qin Ming and the other three gold-armored guards not to follow her forward.
In truth, Qin Ming had already made the same judgment: Wang Caiwei would probably not enter the fray.
If she helped Li Qingxu, what would Cui Chonghe think once he found out afterward?
Zheng Maoze wanted to wipe the sweat from his brow. How had he run into such an opening? It put him in a terrible bind.
After all, one could not kill people here to silence them. Whether it was Li Qingxu or Li Qingyue, even if badly battered in the end, they were certain to escape the spirit cavern. Forcing him to pick a side now would mean offending someone no matter which way he leaned. In terms of personal relations, he had grown closer to Li Qingxu over the past two years; after all, the latter possessed peerless talent and had a terrifying, fiercely protective master.
Yet Li Qingyue's rise was also remarkably fierce, and she backed down from no one in a one-on-one confrontation.
After a struggle, the somewhat stoutly built Zheng Maoze spoke up: "We're all familiar acquaintances and old friends who were once very close. There's really no need to be at daggers drawn."
Qin Ming knew this suited the character of "Zheng Dazhuang." Though he looked rough-hewn at first glance, he was actually quite shrewd.
Zheng Maoze had also deduced that Wang Caiwei would not intervene. He had long known that the direct daughter of the Wang clan was far from simple; over all these years, she had always faced people with a smile, and no one had ever seen her lose her temper.
Beyond the reason Qin Ming had identified, Zheng Maoze felt there were other grounds supporting the prediction that she would stay on the sidelines.
One was that Li Qingyue had confronted Li Qingxu precisely because she had publicly brought up the past and intended to settle an old score on behalf of her old friend Qin Ming. And Wang Caiwei had been one of the parties involved back then; no matter what, she had once traveled together with Qin Ming. If she helped Li Qingxu against Li Qingyue this time, people would likely whisper behind her back that she was cold-hearted and unfeeling.
There was another crucial point: Li Qingxu was currently being targeted by several core disciples, making his chances of obtaining the near-immortal artifact rather slim.
Li Qingyue, on the other hand, held great promise. If she obtained it, she was bound to become an extremely important figure in the outer realm in the future. Looking at the long term, it was even less wise to offend her.
Sure enough, Wang Caiwei, clad in black armor, revealed a bright yet gentle smile that instantly made one feel bathed in a spring breeze.
Smoothing things over, she said, "We were all good friends back then. Why should we grow estranged just because we came to the outer realm? If we join hands, how formidable our strength would be! Wouldn't that be far better than fighting each other?"
Li Qingyue continued her advance, her exquisite form glowing as her boots crunched over the thick pine needles, the silver armor around her chiming crisply. She smiled at Wang Caiwei and nodded to Zheng Maoze, acknowledging their words and decisions. Li Qingxu let out an inward sigh. In truth, he had anticipated this outcome as well, but he could not bypass Li Qingyue; a battle with her was inevitable.
In reality, Li Qingxu was truly powerful. Otherwise, Tang Xumi, Jiang Shengyu, and the others would not have followed Li Qingyue's lead in ganging up on him.
At this moment, his face remained impassive. He merely glanced at Wang Caiwei without saying a word, before finally sending a secret voice transmission to Zheng Maoze using a specialized technique.
"What?!" Zheng Maoze's expression changed.
Li Qingxu had brought up his master—that terrifyingly protective senior who was still in the prime of his years and had a long life ahead of him.
Moreover, Li Qingxu made him a promise that could yield immediate, tangible improvements to his strength.
Thus, Zheng Maoze's face shifted slightly. Not only were there benefits to be had, but more crucially, he genuinely feared that old senior; even a thousand-year clan would be reluctant to offend such a figure.
"Qingyue, I'm sorry. I have my difficulties and must intervene. But rest assured, I'm only joining in for appearances. I don't have the strength to hurt you, nor will I truly fight to the death," Zheng Maoze transmitted secretly. He was about to enter the fray.
Beside him, He Tai—who had mastered the Great Ape King force—was undeniably a terrifying expert, hailed as a future fist grandmaster who had already slain an Outer Sage while still in the Newborn stage. He now stepped forward in tandem.
He Tai was a youthful powerhouse specially hired by the Zheng family, a thousand-year clan. Having received substantial benefits, he naturally intended to do his utmost.
Zheng Maoze instructed him secretly, "You don't need to attack with me. Just hold off those four gold-armored guards beside Li Qingyue. Don't be too rough—just stall them a bit."
Li Qingyue's beautiful countenance took on a frosty chill. Turning her gaze toward He Tai, she unexpectedly changed direction and advanced straight toward him.
Evidently, she worried that this person would severely injure Qin Ming and the three gold-armored guards, so she wanted to take the initiative and deal with him first.
He Tai sensed her intent. The heavenly light force throughout his body erupted instantly, and a feral glint surfaced in his eyes, as if a great ape king had descended upon the world. He unleashed an extraordinarily terrifying wave of energy; wherever the heavenly light swept past, the ancient pines nearby cracked and burst apart.
"Qingyue, I've already instructed He Tai not to take real action against your people. I swear on my life that this is the truth," Zheng Maoze hurriedly transmitted.
He Tai was his trump card. If the two of them joined forces, they might genuinely have a sliver of hope to obtain the legendary item; they absolutely could not enter a bloody battle ahead of time.
Li Qingyue's eyes were profound, flowing with mysterious luster. Having cultivated spirit pupils, she could tell that Zheng Maoze was not lying. Without a word, she charged directly toward Li Qingxu.
Amidst the forest, multicolored rosy clouds surged. Bathed in brilliant radiance, she cast aside all traces of her serene, ethereal fairy-like demeanor, exuding an intimidatingly powerful aura.
Li Qingxu smiled. Although he had no certainty of victory against Li Qingyue, having Zheng Maoze on his side was the greatest advantage.
When masters clashed, even one person being marginally stronger could alter the tide of battle, let alone having the addition of a by no means weak Zheng Maoze.
"Li Qingyue, I'm afraid you will be the first one eliminated!" Li Qingxu laughed.
Every strand of his hair glowed, his purple robes snapping wildly in the wind. As he swung the purple bamboo rod, the nearby pine forest rumbled and trembled violently. His conscious spirit radiance expanded and intertwined, splintering the ancient pines and massive vines in his vicinity.
Li Qingxu proactively moved to meet Li Qingyue. Before the two even drew truly close, the power of their consciousness and the light of their Yellow Courts had already collided. That section of the battlefield turned incomparably terrifying; centuries-old pines exploded, and massive boulders disintegrated.
"Go deal with her gold-armored guards!" Li Qingxu barked, ordering the four great experts behind him.
At the same time, he looked toward Zheng Maoze and the helpers beside him.
Zheng Maoze bit the bullet and attacked, giving He Tai one last transmission to under no circumstances get serious or use lethal force.
Behind Li Qingxu, the four gold-armored guards advanced—some fighting empty-handed, others wielding heavy weapons like spiked clubs. The most striking among them was a gold-armored youth gripping a massive lance, who had likely inherited the legacy of the Overlord. Clearly, Li Qingxu's master had deliberately put on a show: even someone who had learned the inheritance left behind by a peerless Overlord of the past was nothing more than a gold-armored guard under him. It was a form of psychological intimidation.
Bypassing the core disciples, the four sprinted forward, their murderous aura shaking the pine forest. Clearly, all of them were Outer Sages.
At the critical juncture, Li Qingyue broke away from the pincer attack of Li Qingxu and Zheng Maoze and charged toward the four. For a moment, five-colored divine haze surged; as the four crossed into this area, they instantly felt as though they had sunk into a mire.
"Li Qingyue, you cannot interfere!" Li Qingxu said chillingly. The purple bamboo rod in his hand—unbroken despite being steeped in mundane-transcending heavenly light—let out a sonic boom as it smashed toward Li Qingyue's back.
At that moment, Qin Ming hurled several throwing spears in rapid succession. Four short spears shot through the pine forest, unleashing terrifying sounds of wind and thunder as they reached the front of the four gold-armored guards.
Though the four Outer Sages stumbled and were nearly overturned on the spot by Li Qingyue, Li Qingxu's interference at the critical moment allowed them to break free.
Instantly, heavenly light intertwined across the four. Either with bare hands or by swinging their weapons, they deflected the four short spears Qin Ming had thrown. With thudding cracks, the short spears pierced clean through the thick trunks of nearby pines.
Qin Ming's expression turned grave. Relying purely on physical strength was clearly not enough to deal with the four of them. His heavenly light was not yet capable of leaving his body to infuse ordinary weapons, so the four short spears held no lethal threat against them.
"Kill!" The two men and one woman who had followed Li Qingyue for over a year had already gained a preliminary footing in the Outer Sage realm. Shouting aloud, they charged forward to fearlessly meet their opponents.
Gripping his bronze staff, Qin Ming also followed in silence, bracing for a fierce battle!
Seeing Zheng Maoze's four helpers drawing near as well to surround Qin Ming and the others, Li Qingyue took a deep breath. Enduring the immense pressure bearing down from both Li Qingxu and Zheng Maoze, she forcefully dragged the two along as she pressed toward the gold-armored guards' battlefield.
In an instant, chaos erupted. Core disciples and Outer Sages occupied the same area, making the battlefield extraordinarily perilous. Qin Ming suddenly accelerated. He truly refused to believe that after fusing over a dozen kinds of heavenly light force and augmenting his own body with them, he still couldn't take down a single Outer Sage.
Last time in the desert, he had paid a bitter price to kill one.
Now, having fused two extraordinary arts and caused his heavenly light force to undergo a startling metamorphosis with vastly multiplied power, he ought to have far greater confidence.
With a clang, he swung the bronze staff with all his might, only for the gold-armored youth opposite him to... sever it in two with his great lance.
Qin Ming's expression changed. This was a weapon he had meticulously chosen from the armory of Chixia City, cast from mixed gold rather than true bronze, yet it had been cleaved in two in an instant?
Furthermore, he saw the gold-armored youth sneering as a foot-long sheath of heavenly light erupted from the lance.
Qin Ming was instantly alarmed. The lance itself was two meters long, yet the youth's heavenly light could extend another foot beyond it, which was truly astonishing.
One had to understand that the Outer Sage he had exhausted every trick to kill in the desert could not project heavenly light through a weapon at all, and it extended barely half a foot from the surface of his body.
Could this gold-armored youth's heavenly light extend more than two meters away from his body? That was truly rather frightening.
At this moment, the gold-armored youth wore a cruel sneer as he slashed diagonally with the lance, giving his opponent no chance to switch weapons.
Heavenly light surged; he intended to blow Qin Ming to pieces.
Bearing the pressure from Li Qingxu and Zheng Maoze, Li Qingyue reached the vicinity to come to his rescue.
Qin Ming was indeed quite tense. Going all out at this moment, he unleashed his strongest power, raising the fused, unified heavenly light force to an unprecedented peak.
Li Qingyue's pupils perceived the shift. She halted abruptly, an astonished look surfacing on her face, and advanced no further.
Qin Ming batted aside the great lance with his bare hands. The weapon hadn't broken? His heart sank, but his combat instincts were razor-sharp. Seeing the gold-armored youth freeze in shock, he immediately pressed forward, sliding along the shaft of the lance to close the distance. The ultimate heavenly light force fused via the silk book method detonated completely. The gold-armored youth was scared out of his wits—what kind of monster was this, capable of contending bare-handed against an Outer Sage before his heavenly light could even leave his body?
His great lance had jade iron incorporated into it, which was why it could conduct his heavenly light, yet just now the other party had dispersed the light upon it with a single bare hand.
Now, sensing a grave crisis as the enemy closed in, he had no choice but to let go of the lance. His hands formed tiger claws, erupting with heavenly light as he clashed head-on.
"Ah..." The next instant, he let out a miserable shriek. His tiger-claw force disintegrated, the bones in both his hands snapped, flesh and blood splattered, and Qin Ming's strike slammed into his chest.
In a flash, his protective golden armor glowed with brilliant talismans, shielding him from a fatal calamity.
Were it not for that, he would have been battered to pieces bare-handed on the spot.
Qin Ming was still somewhat tense even now. His fused, unified heavenly light force continued to erupt relentlessly; having failed to penetrate the talisman-inscribed golden armor, he blasted straight toward the shattered hands.
This terrifying heavenly light force could spread along flesh and blood. The gold-armored youth had time only for a single bloodcurdling wail before his entire body exploded into a mist of blood inside the glowing armor.
This single strike shattered the existing balance of the battlefield.
"This Outer Sage wasn't all he was cracked up to be—just intimidating on the outside. And it seems... I'm not that weak after all," Qin Ming murmured, the tension finally subsiding.
Chapter 104