"The Wuji Classic is truly an extraordinary art!" Qin Ming marveled. This scripture was broad and profound, possessing a complete system that encompassed force techniques, defense, consciousness awakening, and more—exceptionally comprehensive. It was a secret manual worthy of a lifetime of deep study by many a genius!
Qin Ming found that the Wuji Classic offered unique insights; though originally rooted in "earth," it delved deeply into yin and yang as well.
In particular, its exposition on the third major realm, the spirit field, was extraordinarily ingenious and could be cross-referenced and corroborated with the Overlord's Testament. Back then, the Overlord had begun his rise starting from the spirit field realm.
These matters were still too distant for Qin Ming. He merely skimmed them, taking a brief, far-sighted glance to understand what lay ahead.
He mainly grounded himself in the present, burying his head in arduous practice of the wondrous arts within his reach. Wu was yang earth, while ji was yin earth, corresponding respectively to Yang Fist and Yin Fist. If practiced to great accomplishment, they could unite as one into the Wuji Fist.
Not to mention the Wuji Fist itself, even the various fist and palm techniques derived from Yang Fist or Yin Fist were already renowned—such as the Nether Fist, Yin Earth Fist, Wuyang Palm, and the like. Qin Ming picked up Yin Fist with decent form because he had practiced the Yellow Clay Palm, which shared similarities with this Yin Fist and also belonged to the domain of "earth."
He absorbed vast amounts of earth-vein essence qi, his entire body enveloped in yellow mist as yin earth force flowed through him. Wherever the Yin Fist reached, it was as if the netherworld had drawn near. Because Qin Ming was training in Yin Fist, his Yellow Clay Palm also improved in tandem.
The terrain here was special, allowing him to continuously draw upon earth essence qi, providing an inexhaustible supply for his use.
"Yang Fist cannot lag behind either; it must be brought up as well. Otherwise, wouldn't I be wasting such a wondrous place?" Qin Ming drilled continuously, feeling his strength rise. He mastered both yin earth force and yang earth force; combined, they became Wuji force, fully rivaling departing fire force and golden silkworm force.
Qin Ming knew that if he also fused the Wuji force, his strength would surely soar.
Back then, it was precisely the fusion of two extraordinary arts that caused his heavenly light force to undergo a qualitative leap, so he had high hopes for this third extraordinary art.
During this period, Qin Ming's mental field was constantly stimulated by the miraculous energy within the Mountains and Rivers Spiritual Nest, elevating his spiritual light of consciousness, which then nurtured his physical body. He estimated that his total strength had exceeded seven thousand jin, perhaps even more—stronger, not weaker, than undergoing Newbirth six times.
Qin Ming pondered whether this truly counted as a Newbirth. Using the spiritual light of consciousness to nourish and alter one's physique produced surprisingly good results. He had a feeling that this was not a Newbirth, but an elevation of potential, enriching his foundational depth.
Qin Ming thought of his younger brother, Cui Chongxuan, who was not a mutant, yet by practicing the Six Imperial Scriptures could nourish his body, elevate his foundation, and was transforming into a mutant. He felt the silk book was no inferior to the Six Imperial Scriptures, and perhaps he was using this wondrous Mountains and Rivers Spiritual Nest to alter his physique and enrich his proper foundational depth.
Soon, Li Qingyue resolved his confusion; she had heard rumors and seen records in the outer realm.
"The founding ancestor of the Sky-Upholding force and the founding ancestor of the Six Imperial Scriptures both drew upon power from beyond the mundane world in their youth to enhance their initial foundations."
Hearing this, Qin Ming immediately became interested and asked, "Are there records of how strong such legendary figures' foundations were during their first Newbirth?"
Li Qingyue said solemnly, "They were figures ordinary Newborns could only look up to. In their first Newbirth, their two-arm strength exceeded a thousand jin—stronger than even mutants, perhaps approaching eleven hundred jin. Their natural talent was peerless."
These were records from the outer realm. Once such figures grew up, they were extremely dangerous existences even to those beyond the mundane world.
"Legendary figures truly are powerful," Qin Ming marveled.
Up until now, he had not even encountered a mutant, let alone a Transcender.
Suddenly, Qin Ming realized something was amiss and thought of Xiang Yiwu. With that kind of physique, if he wasn't a mutant, who was? Perhaps he was even more formidable. Li Qingyue gave him a strange look, surprised by how calm he was, and grew curious about his true foundation.
"After using the methods of people beyond the mundane world to deepen their foundations, just how strong did they become?" Qin Ming wanted to know.
Recalling the records she had skimmed, Li Qingyue replied, "After altering their physiques, if converted into the strength of a first Newbirth, it was roughly over twelve hundred jin." Then, she looked at him with curiosity and asked what level Qin Ming had reached.
Qin Ming did not hide it from her and told her the truth.
Li Qingyue, who had always been refined and ethereal, could no longer maintain her composure. Her fair, translucent face was filled with utter astonishment; she found it hard to believe.
"Your previous foundation was already over twelve hundred jin? If your foundation really deepened here, how much will it increase to?" Li Qingyue suddenly felt that devoting himself entirely to the Newborn path might actually be a great choice!
Qin Ming was not quite so excited, for he knew very well that this path was not easy to walk.
He said, "The path you walk starts by approaching immortality and ultimately seeks the truth. The people of the esoteric sects are even crazier, showing all kinds of disrespect toward godlike beings. Thinking of your future prospects, what does my little achievement amount to?"
Qin Ming did not let it go to his head; he remained very calm.
Especially since the night mist world was vast and boundless, with other paths as well; the era of pioneering had only claimed a single corner back then.
"You are too humble," Li Qingyue said with a smile.
"It's the truth. Think of the Overlord a hundred-odd years ago—what of his peerless brilliance? When a senior master from beyond the mundane world stepped out, he obliterated him with a turn of the hand. When even such an unrivaled figure met that end, my heart turns chilled to the core."
"The Overlord was targeted prematurely and died too early. Otherwise, he might not have been inferior to the ancestors of the Sky-Upholding force and Six Imperials force..."
...
In the end, Qin Ming's mental field churned violently. His spiritual light of consciousness stopped increasing, the physical nourishment concluded, and he felt a splitting headache. He knew he had reached his limit and had to leave.
He was already well satisfied. His strength had increased substantially, and his foundation had likely truly deepened! Half an hour later, Li Qingyue also reached her limit, successfully breaking through and raising her cultivation another step.
"A pity about this place. When otherworldly heavenly light descended back then, it damaged this area considerably, so the remaining miraculous energy was nowhere near as abundant as I imagined." Li Qingyue looked back. By now, she and Qin Ming had already left the Mountains and Rivers Spiritual Nest and were walking through the golden maple forest filled with yellow leaves.
Xiang Yiwu appeared and said, "You're finally out! That beggar came by several times."
"Li Qingxu? How is he a beggar?" Qin Ming asked.
"Wandering all over the mountain carrying a dog-beating staff. No, a Dragon-Beating Staff!" Xiang Yiwu corrected himself just after speaking. Very displeased, he added, "He hit me with a strike of that staff."
Qin Ming remembered that he, too, had once been struck by Li Qingxu's bamboo staff. He felt inadvertently offended by Xiang Yiwu's words, yet couldn't say anything about it.
"Did you suffer a loss?" Qin Ming asked with concern. After all, the other had stood guard here just to help them.
Xiang Yiwu shook his head. "Not really. If someone shows me a foot of respect, I return ten; he hit me with one stick strike, so I slapped him with two palms."
"He has left," Li Qingyue said, gazing toward the distant mountains.
From atop a mountain peak, Li Qingxu glanced in their direction and turned to vanish. He already knew that Li Qingyue had used up that problematic spiritual nest.
"Since everything is fine now, I'll take my leave. I'm eager to use departing fire to refine the golden cicada so I can break out of my shell and soar into the sky!" Xiang Yiwu had wanted to leave for a while.
Concerned for his safety, Qin Ming said, "Why don't you travel with us? You beat an elite disciple and sent him packing—will the elders of his sect cause trouble for you?"
"No matter. I'm not his follower; their lineage invited me to help out. Besides, his elders know my background and are acquainted with my former master. Even though I'm practically an outcast disciple living in the wild now, they wouldn't dare do anything to me anytime soon."
Xiang Yiwu reached out his palm, broad as a cattail leaf fan, and clapped hands with Qin Ming. "Brother, you're a good guy. We can help each other on this path in the future. Wait a minute... something's not right about your strength. You seem a fair bit stronger than when you fought in the white bamboo forest."
Before departing, the burly youth widened his brass-bell eyes, looking completely incredulous. As a disciple of the Tathagata, he could see through to some deeper truths and guessed Qin Ming's true count of Newbirths.
"Hiss... seems refining the golden cicada with departing fire alone won't be enough. I need to feed the golden cicada Longevity Verdant Wood Dew as soon as possible." Xiang Yiwu turned and departed.
"Brother Xiang, are you talking about another extraordinary art? Let's keep trading in the future!" Qin Ming called out.
Li Qingyue called, "May Brother Xiang become the Tathagata of this generation!"
Not long after, Li Qingyue blocked several elite disciples, her expression as icy as frost, demanding they leave behind their protective golden garments.
Their expressions changed drastically. Back in the white bamboo forest, although they hadn't personally joined the melee, they had taken part in cutting off escape routes; they never expected to run into Li Qingyue here. Evidently, they had attached themselves to the five core disciples early on.
One of the elite disciples was struck squarely by a ray of spiritual light of consciousness. He immediately spat a mouthful of blood as his protective golden garment flared with blinding runic light. This meant that without such protection, he would have died then and there.
In the next instant, he flew backward again, struck by five-colored haze. Most of his life was knocked out of him, leaving him sprawled on the ground, unable to get up.
The others were terrified. How could Li Qingyue, who had been grievously injured by the joint assault of the five core disciples, not only be completely fine, but even stronger than before? She had definitely broken through again—how else could she overpower an elite disciple so effortlessly?
Subsequently, these young men and women all stripped off their protective golden garments. Facing Li Qingyue with ashen faces, they apologized sincerely, their intent to submit clear.
"Are there any casualties among the elite disciples close to me?" Li Qingyue asked.
A young woman replied, "No, they were merely driven away. If that many people were truly killed or injured, irreconcilable conflicts would surely erupt between the lineages."
"Who is healing here? You must be standing guard for him, right?" Li Qingyue asked. She had heavily injured two core disciples previously.
"Ren Yiping," someone whispered. Li Qingyue waved her hand, letting them go.
Afterward, Qin Ming also donned the supple protective golden garments of the outer realm disciples. Moreover, both of them put on more than one layer.
Li Qingyue murmured softly, "Originally, I intended to face you in a fair contest, where the victor takes the near-immortal item. But since you joined hands to ambush me, I have no choice but to adopt radical measures and see this through to the end."
Soon after, she intercepted several gold-armored guards and engulfed them in a wave of multicolored glow, leaving them instantly immobilized.
Soon, both she and Qin Ming donned suits of golden armor, their faces fully concealed.
As a core disciple, Ren Yiping naturally possessed formidable strength. No one who could rise above the myriad genius disciples beyond the mundane world was a simple character.
He had once spent the majority of his wealth to purchase a potent spiritual medicine. Taking it today yielded immediate results, and he had long since recovered. Yet he had not rushed to the destination; figuring those ahead might fight among themselves, he waited patiently.
Suddenly, a palm strike slammed into his back, shattering his protective golden garment as dazzling runes burned fiercely. Coughing up blood repeatedly, his freshly recovered body was severely injured once again. That potent medicine... had been wasted!
Who was ambushing him?
Ren Yiping rose from the undergrowth, his mouth dripping blood. Raising his head to look forward, he was somewhat stunned—it was actually two gold-armored guards?
One of them appeared to be female, tall and slender, her curves noticeable even beneath the golden armor, though her face was concealed behind a golden visor. The next instant, the already crippled Ren Yiping flew through the air once more, kicked by the woman. The bones of his chest and abdomen fractured completely, some piercing into his internal organs.
"You..." Although he couldn't see the woman's face, he guessed who she was.
"Junior Sister Li, I'm willing to pledge allegiance to you from now on! I can swear a blood oath using a taboo technique from beyond the mundane world!" Ren Yiping blurted out hurriedly, bowing his head in submission for fear of losing his life right here.
He was terrified to his core. Li Qingyue had not only fully healed her injuries, but had also broken through once more. How could anyone fight against that?
In the end, Ren Yiping staggered away in dejection, coughing up blood every few steps. His vitality was gravely depleted, his foundation destabilized.
Outside the Luofu Immortal Mountain ruins, someone spoke up: "Li Qingyue still hasn't come out. Shouldn't we send someone inside to search for her to avoid any mishaps?"
"Can a core disciple not even protect herself? You claimed earlier that she would shine brilliantly in the future—such an exaggeration!"
...
At this moment, disguised as two gold-armored guards, Li Qingyue and Qin Ming advanced at an unhurried pace, drawing close to their final destination.
Chapter 112