The youth had a pair of hands like palm-leaf fans, feet over a chi long, legs thick as pillars, a waist comparable to a bear's, a neck like a stout wooden stump, and a head as big as a basin. His black hair was coarse and stiff as steel needles, his brows thick, his eyes large, and his mouth wide with a square nose.
Qin Ming, great lance in hand, had just flung one man into the air when he saw this peculiarly featured youth emerge from the snow-white bamboo forest.
"Alright, come give me a hand!" In truth, Qin Ming didn't know if the youth was asking him, but answering cost nothing anyway, and his eyes were nearly red with battle rage.
The surrounding gold-armored guards immediately went on high alert against the youth; those closest even struck at him preemptively.
The burly youth didn't hesitate in the slightest. With a wave of his fan-like hand, an Outer Sage charging at him was blasted backward through the air, smashing into and shattering a massive bluestone slab.
"Everyone, don't be so irritable! We all rely on physical mutation to enhance our strength—we're all comrades of the same path. Why jump straight to fighting and killing?" the youth urged.
Then, with a resounding slap, his fan-like hand sent another Outer Sage who had swung a saber at him flying away.
*Pfft!*
Crashing into the pure white bamboo forest, the Outer Sage coughed up mouthfuls of blood, his face deathly pale. Had it not been for his protective gold armor, he surely would have been smashed to pieces.
"Are you people sick in the head?! I already told you not to be so rash, yet you still rush at me?!" The stout youth was quite indignant.
With a sharp crack, his right foot whipped out like lightning, snapping a spear thrust toward him and kicking the spearbearer over twenty meters away.
A large swath of white bamboo was shattered. The expert holding the broken spear vomited blood, staining many pure white bamboo leaves crimson. Mysterious patterns flowed as his chest glowed. Clearly, his protective armor had taken effect; otherwise, he would be gone, shredded by a particularly formidable heavenly light force.
"The decisive battle between the core disciples from beyond has nothing to do with you lot. Can't we be a little more peaceful with each other?" he voiced his displeasure once again.
Then, swift as thunder, he leaned backward into a shoulder check, striking an expert attacking from behind so hard that the man's face contorted, blood gushing from his seven facial apertures as he crashed into the white bamboo forest, unable to rise.
The look in everyone's eyes changed. His mouth preached against irritability and called for peace, yet his strikes were extraordinarily heavy. Without special life-preserving armor, anyone struck by him would have blown apart.
"Brother, thank you for lending a hand," Qin Ming said, asking his name under his breath.
"Xiang Yiwu," the burly youth responded.
Qin Ming had a fairly strong impression of him because the youth's physique and appearance were so distinct.
From head to toe, there wasn't a single part of Xiang Yiwu that wasn't massive. He was as wide as two ordinary people put together—not fat, but excessively solid and muscular.
Back in Luofu Immortal Town, the two had spoken briefly. Qin Ming had asked him who the Tathagata renegade was, which one was the successor to the Yuqing force, and whether disciples of the Five Elements Palace were present.
Xiang Yiwu had shaken his head at the time, indicating he didn't know.
Now, Qin Ming strongly suspected this person was either the Tathagata renegade or the successor to the Yuqing force!
"Brother, to be honest, I'm no bleeding heart; everything is about affinity," Xiang Yiwu said, rubbing his hands together somewhat sheepishly.
With the two standing together, they temporarily deterred the group of gold-armored guards. Though the guards hemmed them in beside the bamboo forest, none dared attack.
In fact, the group backed off into the distance, afraid to draw too near.
Qin Ming naturally understood that having met only once before, no one would help out of pure charity.
He said, "If you need something, speak freely."
Xiang Yiwu nodded. "Brother, you're straightforward! Then I'll be direct. From afar, I watched you fight Cui Chongxuan, and I have a great yearning and desire for your special force technique."
Qin Ming's pupils shrank slightly. This stout youth's appetite was rather voracious.
"Don't misunderstand—I'm not kicking a man while he's down or taking advantage of your predicament." Xiang Yiwu waved his hands. "I can exchange a technique of the same rank with you. To tell you the truth, I really need the Departing Fire Classic."
Qin Ming was surprised; the stout youth possessed remarkable discernment. Qin Ming had already fused the departing fire force into his own, yet this youth could still identify it.
Seeing that he didn't deny it, Xiang Yiwu immediately became thrilled. "You really have the Departing Fire Classic? Rest assured, I won't let you get the short end of the stick."
Qin Ming asked, "You should possess either the Tathagata force or the Yuqing force. With legendary arts like those, why would you still need the Departing Fire Classic?"
Xiang Yiwu said frankly, "I cultivate the Golden Cicada Art. Right now, I need an extraordinary fire-path manual to assist me. An elder from my sect deduced it for me: at my current stage, nothing is better than using departing fire to refine the golden cicada—breaking through the shell to be reborn, soaring into the sky in a single leap, accompanied by the auspicious benefit of nirvanic rebirth through fire."
The look in Qin Ming's eyes changed. The technique this person practiced was definitely anything but simple. Moreover, the youth had said he only needed the Departing Fire Classic for now; in the future, he would certainly fuse other extraordinary arts.
"Those who know me well call me Golden Cicada," Xiang Yiwu smiled.
"Which core disciple are you helping?" Qin Ming asked him.
"An elite disciple. He lied to me and gave me very ordinary fire-path scriptures." At this, Xiang Yiwu grew thoroughly indignant.
"Then forget about him. How about partnering with me?"
Qin Ming was deeply worried about Li Qingyue right now; she was being besieged by five core disciples.
Furthermore, from the way this group had intercepted him, they clearly intended to wipe out both him and Li Qingyue for good.
Xiang Yiwu nodded. "I've already sent that elite disciple on his way."
Qin Ming was startled. "You killed him?"
Xiang Yiwu shook his head. "I just beat him out of the competition."
Qin Ming realized that this person most likely had a significant background. Practicing a special technique, he shouldn't be weak in the second major realm.
"Help me rescue someone, and I'll give you the Departing Fire Classic!"
"You want me to provoke five core disciples? That's too dangerous," Xiang Yiwu refused.
"Just tear open an opening and help her break out!" Qin Ming told him that he held more than one extraordinary art in his hands.
Xiang Yiwu said, "I only need the Departing Fire Classic. Let me go take a look. If an opportunity presents itself, I'll strike; if not, don't blame me."
He sped away, vanishing into the bamboo forest.
Qin Ming suspected that the Golden Cicada Art this person practiced might be part of the Tathagata force or the Yuqing force, and he was currently expanding its scriptures.
The Yuqing force, Sky-Upholding force, and Tathagata force had never remained stagnant. Supposedly, they were continually being refined and improved; the contents of that "single sheet of true transmission" were by no means unchanging.
*If Xiang Yiwu truly is the successor to such an ancient lineage, he shouldn't fear the disciples from beyond in the first two major realms.*
Qin Ming's own situation was somewhat grim. The group of gold-armored guards pressed in from afar, tightening their encirclement.
"Why must everyone be like this? Why don't we sit down and talk..."
Soon, Qin Ming stopped speaking. He lacked deterrent power; seeing that he couldn't project his heavenly light externally, his besiegers intended to take him down.
Most importantly, there were organizers among them, and a few were deathsworn guards. He had to kill that handful before the crisis could be resolved.
"Since some of you wish to die, I'll grant your wish!" Qin Ming flared up as well.
Battle erupted once more! ...
Meanwhile, the outside world was abuzz with discussion that Li Qingyue might seize the near-immortal item.
The night papers were full of commentary and praise, even drumming up momentum for her.
Meng Xinghai's heart sank. He understood the games at play all too well: the more she was hyped like this, the more likely disaster would strike. Li Qingyue might very well be "taken care of."
"Does someone want Qingyue out of the picture while making a killing on the betting tables?"
Earlier, Meng Xinghai had still been tipsy with delight over Qin Ming's achievements as if savoring fine wine, but now he felt both might be in danger.
Qin Ming was injured. There were indeed true experts among the gold-armored guards of the five core disciples, their external projection of heavenly light astonishing—like blazing flames burning, like a scorching sun shining down.
The impact sent his vitality churning, blood welling from his mouth. His opponent was suppressing him with a higher cultivation realm.
"Tan Yu!" Qin Ming recognized the man.
Back in Luofu Immortal Town, people had talked about him. Hailing from Luoyue City, he was rumored to have fused more than ten kinds of heavenly light force during the Newborn stage.
"The Outer Sages people talk about really are dangerous!" Qin Ming wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
Right now, Tan Yu was not the only one attacking; others were besieging him as well, and the great lance in Qin Ming's hands had even been knocked to the ground.
Tan Yu found it unbelievable. He was stronger than ordinary Outer Sages, yet when he tried to crush a Newborn with his superior realm, his palms had been pierced until blood seeped out.
Qin Ming took a deep breath. He didn't pick up the great lance on the ground, nor did he draw his saber. The many heavenly light force techniques he had learned surfaced one by one in the sea of his mind.
He was proficient with the saber, spear, bow, hammer, lance, and more, but in truth, he was even better at heavenly light force techniques; some of his combat skills were no weaker than those of the masters who had left behind the secret manuals.
Qin Ming circulated his wind force, his feet seeming barely to touch the ground as he skimmed across the blades of grass to strike horizontally at Tan Yu.
In the instant he drew near, shifting from light as wind to erupting like thunder, he blasted at his opponent with hammer force. The bamboo forest echoed with terrifying sounds of wind and thunder.
Tan Yu sneered. He intended to suppress him with his higher realm—the so-called "pure force overcomes ten techniques."
In addition, another expert no weaker than him pressed in, while the rest struck simultaneously, eager to eliminate this bizarre Newborn as quickly as possible.
Qin Ming instantly changed trajectory, brushing past Tan Yu's miniature-sun-like fist. Applying silk-reeling force to his palm, he made contact with the man's arm and jerked hard, sending his opponent stumbling.
Of course, Qin Ming didn't have an easy time either. His opponent's protective heavenly light was too fierce; breaking through it subjected him to relentless battering.
With a thud, just as Tan Yu stumbled, Qin Ming unleashed a high sweep kick, using whip force to crash toward the man's head.
Tan Yu dodged to the side to protect his head, but his shoulder felt as though struck by an iron whip, throwing him further off balance.
As the others' attacks landed, fine golden threads appeared across Qin Ming's body—the golden silkworm force at work, brutally withstanding the fists and kicks of four opponents as he continued to hammer Tan Yu relentlessly.
Of course, he dodged the terrifying palm strike from the expert of comparable strength to Tan Yu; that man's surging heavenly light marked him as a dangerous figure.
Using silk-reeling force and adhesive force, Qin Ming never let go of Tan Yu, making him writhe in frustration as though trapped in a swamp, unable to bring his massive strength to bear.
Moments later, Tan Yu grunted as a large chunk of flesh was torn from his palm by the adhesive force. Furthermore, the guard protecting his face was inexplicably pried open. With a roar, a fist slammed into his face, pumping heavenly light inside and turning half his visage into a bloody pulp.
Qin Ming himself was deathly pale, blood dripping from both hands. Being besieged while focusing all his attacks on Tan Yu alone, he couldn't avoid paying a heavy price.
Parts of his gold armor were already shattered because the protective talismanic runes had been triggered once. This was absolute life-or-death combat.
Seven or eight minutes later, Qin Ming drew his mutton-fat jade iron saber and plunged it into Tan Yu's armor, whose protective runes had already been triggered and dimmed.
"You..." Tan Yu was horrified, but powerless to struggle; his heart pierced, he died swiftly.
Swaying on his feet, Qin Ming turned around. After clashing for so long, the protective runes on many of his opponents' suits of armor had already been triggered and extinguished.
With a roar, he charged in to slaughter them.
The last expert comparable in strength to Tan Yu was decapitated. With the two strongest killed one after the other, this place lost its true organizers and deathsworn guards. The rest turned and fled, refusing to risk their lives any longer.
His eyes bloodshot with battle rage, Qin Ming dragged his exhausted, wounded body into pursuit. Drawing blood with every slash, he cut down several of those who had just besieged him. Only when absolute silence fell over the area—with the enemies either dead or fled—did Qin Ming, gasping for breath, drop heavily to the ground.
His armor was broken, his body soaked in blood; if someone landed another fatal blow on him now, he would surely die. As for the dead, the runes on their gold armors had all been triggered.
"Is the battle in the distance still not over?" Qin Ming gazed into the depths of the bamboo forest.
"Brother, run!" Not long after, Xiang Yiwu sprinted over, shouting, "It's sheer madness over there! Core disciples were almost killed!"
"Where is Li Qingyue?" Qin Ming asked.
Xiang Yiwu spoke quickly: "She was heavily injured, but she used a secret art and nearly sent two core disciples on their way, striking immense dread into them."
"I asked you where she is, how she's doing, and did you strike?!" Qin Ming demanded urgently.
"I didn't have time to step in! Those people have gone completely mad, all using forbidden arts from beyond. Six clouds of colored light merged together in a mutual destruction of conscious spirit light—if my physical body barged into that, their six spirit lights would have shredded me together!"
He quickly added, "Rest assured, Li Qingyue got away—she actually managed to break through! The remaining few dread her greatly, and believing she was heavily wounded and could no longer compete for the near-immortal item, they didn't pursue." Qin Ming immediately got to his feet and gave chase in the direction he indicated.
At the same time, he guessed that Li Qingyue would likely flee toward the area rich in vitality. When they had passed by earlier, she had mentioned that her patriarch had made some arrangements there a thousand years ago.
...
Sure enough, in the area rich in vitality, Qin Ming discovered bloodstains left by Li Qingyue. He softly called her name.
"I'm here." Li Qingyue was extremely weak, but her powerful divine perception had allowed her to detect Qin Ming searching for her.
"Qingyue, how are you?" Qin Ming rushed over immediately, supporting her arm.
"Very bad. If even one more core disciple appears, we'll both die," Li Qingyue said, terribly frail as she leaned against a large tree.
Her silver armor had long since shattered, her body covered in bloodstains. "Tathagata renegade, stay far from here and come back in half a day." Li Qingyue looked toward Xiang Yiwu in the distance.
"Don't misunderstand—I'll leave right away! I'll come back in half a day to trade extraordinary arts with Brother Li." Xiang Yiwu decisively took off into the distance. Li Qingyue's face lacked color, bearing a sickly, delicate beauty. She transmitted her voice secretly: "Search this area carefully. There may be a special 'Mountains and Rivers Spiritual Nest' discovered and arranged by my patriarch. If it's still here, it can help heal our wounds, perhaps even help us take another step forward."
Chapter 109