On this night, countless people wailed in despair. Having wagered on the "wrong" person, many were now on the brink of bankruptcy.
Almost no one had imagined that Cui Chongxuan, master of the legendary Six Imperials force, would fall to an unknown youth.
At the very least, that had been the consensus among the major betting syndicates from afar earlier in the night, as their information lagged far behind the updates from Mount Luofu.
"Who the hell is Li Ye?! He has cost this old man dearly—I've nearly lost the pants off my back!"
Posing as Li Qingyue's "cousin," Qin Ming had given the alias Li Ye. Now, the name was reverberating across the night mist world, leaving countless gamblers dumbfounded.
"Cui Chongxuan, did you cultivate the Six Imperials Heart Scripture for nothing?! How could you lose so miserably and cost me everything? Damn it all to hell..."
Zhou Chengru's loss to Li Qingyue had been foreseen by many. But Cui Chongxuan proving no match for Li Ye was truly hard to swallow. After all, backed by a millennial clan, armed with the legendary Six Imperials force, and blessed with peerless talent, there was simply no reason for him to lose.
Many whose eyes had gone red from their losses naturally let their raw emotions show, filling the night with a continuous barrage of curses.
Outside the Luofu Immortal Mountain ruins, the Cui clan members wore grim expressions. Never had they imagined that the person they backed would be the very first to be eliminated.
Word had previously spread that the outer realm lineages had reached a tacit understanding; unable to stand Li Qingxu's domineering and fiercely protective master, they intended to eliminate Li Qingxu first within the rules. Yet, though Li Qingxu's situation was precarious, he had not yet been knocked out.
The government gazettes would not report such matters, but the night papers published by non-governmental groups seized upon this explosive scoop and sensational material, covering it extensively.
For a time, discussions raged everywhere. Many believed Li Qingyue would claim the near-immortal item, and that her cousin Li Ye might accompany her to the very end, unleashing extraordinary brilliance within Mount Luofu.
Qin Ming silently digested the fragmented Six Imperials Heart Scripture. Achieving resonance through the emotions of someone nearby had yielded far from ideal results; there were too many "impurities," and the emotions touching upon the scripture were thoroughly fragmented.
"Of the legendary Six Imperials forces, Cui Chongxuan has only mastered the Bright Imperial force. Yet in the Newborn stage, one must master two kinds of Imperial force to truly succeed."
Qin Ming compared his fused heavenly light force from the silk book with the Six Imperials force. Although he had defeated Cui Chongxuan, it was primarily because his opponent had yet to complete his training.
He reminded himself not to get carried away. In the Newborn stage, his current fused heavenly light force certainly still could not compare to the true Six Imperials force, Tathagata force, or Yuqing force.
"I must continue cultivating other heavenly light forces, ideally fusing extraordinary arts, to ensure that during the Newborn stage I can suppress two kinds of Imperial force. That way, I won't need to cultivate those legendary force arts."
Li Qingyue walked over, elegant and ethereal. Looking at the two men and one woman who followed her, she said, "You are all injured. Turn back now. Thank you for your hard work!"
The three gold-armored guards parted their lips to speak, but in the end merely nodded and took their leave. They knew that the ensuing battles would likely become far more intense, even bloody.
This contest among the core disciples was not only about competing for the near-immortal item; it was probably also about establishing their ranking and status, which directly affected the resources they would receive in the future.
Qin Ming spoke up. "Cui Chonghe nearly pulled off his deception. Had he not crossed paths with your spiritual pupils, he might very well have emerged as the ultimate victor."
Li Qingyue nodded. Given Cui Chonghe's astonishing strength, had he kept up his disguise, he would likely have intercepted the prize in the end and claimed the legendary item.
The two set off. After circling around the fiery red lake, the path ahead grew murky. The Fire Springs grew sparse, and the sky turned pitch-black, dark enough that one could barely see one's fingers held before one's face.
They advanced cautiously, remaining vigilant. "Can this really be considered a spirit cave? It covers such vast terrain." When Qin Ming had first heard Meng Xinghai mention the spirit cave, he had assumed it was an opening no larger than a wellhead.
Li Qingyue said, "Back then, prominent figures from beyond the mundane world sought to elevate Mount Luofu from a top-tier blessed land to the legendary tier of a grotto-heaven. Unfortunately, they failed, reducing this place to scorched earth. Only now, after a thousand years, has it gradually begun to recover."
Qin Ming was left completely speechless. The so-called spirit cave was actually a failed grotto-heaven.
"Where is that place where the otherworldly heavenly light is exceptionally dense and violent? How much farther is it?" Qin Ming was filled with anticipation. Not only did he wish to help his close friend obtain the near-immortal item, but he also wanted to bathe in the otherworldly heavenly light to undergo another Newborn transformation.
Regrettably, he had not cultivated any special force art or extraordinary technique beforehand this time. Otherwise, fusing and elevating them within the heavenly light would have yielded tremendous results.
He pondered the Six Imperials Heart Scripture. What a pity that it was entirely fragmented; he wanted to decipher as much startling content from it as possible.
Li Qingyue said, "Although the Luofu Immortal Mountain ruins are vast, it is not too far from here. Let us be careful. I can't shake the feeling that it is too quiet, and we've encountered rather few outer realm disciples."
The pitch-black ground was barren of grass. It had once been pierced through by otherworldly heavenly light and lacked Fire Springs to nourish it; even now, a violent aura slowly drifted across the soil.
Passing through the darkness, light gradually appeared ahead as they approached another zone with Fire Springs.
The vegetation here was lush and thriving. Small streams of Fire Springs flowed down many peaks, resembling meandering lava when viewed from afar.
On some massive mountains, waterfalls of Fire Springs cascaded down—a spectacular, brilliant sight like inverted rivers of stars that illuminated the entire domain.
Delight showed on Li Qingyue's face as she said, "This area has indeed revived. Back then, the founding ancestor of our lineage laid out arrangements here. I wonder how they fare today."
"We will come back and search later," she said regretfully. Time was pressing, and they could not afford to delay here lest someone beat them to the near-immortal item.
Qin Ming gripped his heavy lance, remaining on high alert at all times.
Afterward, they stepped into a woodland shrouded in white mist. Snow-white bamboo grew everywhere; from roots and stalks to leaves, every part was pure white like jade. The mist hung heavy and hazy, making it feel like the approach to an immortal's sanctuary.
"Hurry, head back!" Li Qingyue suddenly whispered.
Moreover, for the first time, she drew her own weapon: a short sword shimmering with five-colored glow. Floating before her was a wooden shield radiating a crystalline luster.
Qin Ming realized trouble was brewing, though he had not yet detected anything himself.
Li Qingyue was an entire major realm above him and had certainly sensed something.
Calming his mind, Qin Ming finally felt it—it was as though countless terrifying beasts were converging from all directions, creating a suffocating pressure.
All the while, Li Qingyue led him back the way they had come.
"I told you Junior Sister Li's senses are sharp. There was no way she would wait until she entered our ideal spot," a voice called out, cutting off their retreat.
"Fortunately, we have enough people and made preparations along the way. Ah, the others ahead have received word and are rushing over."
Two core disciples, Luo Qingge and Jiang Shengyu, blocked the path, accompanied by several elite disciples joining the encirclement!
Qin Ming had seen them in Luofu Immortal Town. Back then, Luo Qingge had been the first to provoke Li Qingxu, while Li Qingyue had taken advantage of the momentum to seize the sword, prompting Tang Xumi, Jiang Shengyu, and others to follow suit.
Dressed in blue, Luo Qingge possessed fair features and smiled brightly as she said, "Junior Sister Li, I'm sorry. You're simply too strong. Out of respect for you, we decided to join hands and send you out."
Jiang Shengyu wore a solemn expression and merely nodded, looking rather stern and austere.
Li Qingyue had no intention of wasting words with her. Refusing to squander a single moment, she launched her five-colored short sword, unleashing five hues of light that blanketed the woods ahead.
With a thunderous crash, as though a giant had swung a massive sledgehammer to engulf the bamboo grove, Li Qingyue blasted the area apart with a single strike.
Luo Qingge and Jiang Shengyu vanished simultaneously, reappearing nearby an instant later to activate their weapons and intercept Li Qingyue.
"Junior Sister Li, apologies!"
"Senior Sister Li, pardon the offense, but we must send you on your way."
"Qingyue, I am truly sorry. When it comes to the contention for the Dao, we have no choice but to eliminate you, our greatest threat." The last core disciple to arrive was Tang Xumi.
Li Qingyue recalled her five-colored sword and stood quietly amidst the mist-shrouded bamboo forest.
Now that she was surrounded, fighting for time had lost its meaning. Qin Ming stood beside her, the lance in his hand giving off a faint heavenly light. This would inevitably be a bloody battle; every arrival was a powerhouse.
Tang Xumi, Jiang Shengyu, Ren Yiping, Su Jingshu, and Luo Qingge—all five were core disciples, now surrounding Li Qingyue. In addition, elite disciples were positioned around the perimeter, and farther out stood several gold-armored guards.
"Were the disciples inclined toward me blocked ahead of time by you?" Li Qingyue asked.
Qin Ming suspected that the path they had taken was likely arranged deliberately by others.
Li Qingyue looked at them calmly and said, "It seems my encounter with Li Qingxu right at the beginning was no coincidence either."
"It was purely coincidental, of course!" replied core disciple Ren Yiping with a faint smile. Even if there had been underhanded dealings, no one would ever admit to it.
Qin Ming knew little of the outer realm, but he could feel the cutthroat nature of the competition among core disciples—they would resort to any means necessary.
Li Qingyue's overwhelming strength posed such a severe threat to the others that even Tang Xumi, who held affection for her, chose to move against her at the critical juncture.
For a core disciple like him, affection and breathtaking beauty could be cast aside; none of it compared to approaching immortality.
Li Qingyue said, "Let my cousin leave first. He is not someone from beyond the mundane world."
Qin Ming's heart skipped a beat. Were these core disciples planning to deliver lethal blows to Li Qingyue? His heavenly light force circulated as he tightly gripped the Overlord lance.
Ren Yiping and Su Jingshu looked as if they wanted to object, but Tang Xumi spoke first. "Fair enough. Brother Li, this is a decisive battle among core disciples of the outer realm; you should not get involved. Although you flew a bird and led me on a wild-goose chase for over a hundred li—which annoyed me greatly—what can I say? We are acquaintances, after all."
"Leave first," Li Qingyue said. Sensing Qin Ming's worry, she sent him a secret message via an esoteric technique: "I can protect myself!"
Qin Ming took a deep breath. He had stepped onto the Newborn path only a few months ago and was an entire major realm below these core disciples.
He felt a surge of frustration at his own inability to help here. Saying nothing more, he held his long lance and strode into the distance.
In an instant, iridescent radiance erupted within the snow-white bamboo forest. Immortal mist surged, divine lights wreaked havoc, and spiritual consciousness expanded, seemingly distorting space itself.
The bamboo forest shattered. The six core disciples clashed in a decisive battle, none holding back as they struck with everything they had.
Qin Ming had not walked far from the bamboo forest before several figures blocked his way. They were all gold-armored guards; clearly, Tang Xumi's words held no sway over them.
He looked back. Li Qingyue was no longer visible, but he could sense the tremendous commotion deep in the bamboo forest—five core disciples were besieging her alone.
"You plan to take me down as well?" he asked in a deep voice, lance in hand.
"Yes!" someone replied with that single word.
"And you intend to kill me?" Qin Ming furrowed his brow, deeply worried for Li Qingyue.
None of the gold-armored guards responded.
Qin Ming pushed himself to his peak state, feeling as though a raging fire burned in his chest. In an instant, he charged forward, the lance in his hand flashing like a streak of lightning.
With a resounding bang, the person who had uttered that blunt "Yes" was lifted off his feet and sent flying backward.
Before the man could hit the ground, Qin Ming caught up to him. The lance blade gleamed cold, piercing and shattering one of his hands, before driving through the severed stump straight into the golden armor.
Instantly, the gold-armored guard shrieked. His entire arm blew apart as an inexplicable surge of heavenly light force blasted from his shoulder into his internal organs.
Pfft!
The man burst apart inside his armor. Gripping the heavy lance, Qin Ming flicked it with a burst of force, sending the golden armor flying into the rocks, where blood stained the ground red.
With a boom, the ground nearby ruptured. A practitioner of a special force art surged forward, terrifying heavenly light projecting more than half a meter from his body, as if he had teleported right before Qin Ming.
Qin Ming gripped the Overlord lance with both hands and chopped down vertically, only for two others rushing in to block it with their weapons. With a heavy thud, Qin Ming clashed bare-handed against the incoming assailant, letting out a muffled grunt. That tall youth whose heavenly light projected over half a meter was exceptionally strong, possessing a unique force art.
Though his blood and qi churned, Qin Ming did not halt his palm strikes, trading over a dozen blows in rapid succession against the youth's fists.
With a squelch, the fists of the tall youth shattered. Screaming in agony, he tried to pull back, only to find his entire arm exploding as terrifying heavenly light spread inward, shredding his internal organs.
"Kill!" Qin Ming roared.
Just then, a burly youth poked his head out from the bamboo forest and called, "Need a hand?"
Chapter 108