Chinese fringetrees formed a grove, their pure white petals hanging down like tasseled fringes, billowing like clouds and snow in full bloom and swaying with the wind.
Coughing blood, Ren Yiping encountered several elite disciples who had attached themselves to him. They exchanged silent glances, for all knew what had happened—they had been driven out of contention by the very same person. Nearing the exit, their footsteps grew heavy, and faintly, they could already hear the lively clamor from outside.
Outside the Luofu Immortal Mountain ruins, some wore smiles while others remained taciturn, all awaiting the final outcome.
"The situation is crystal clear. Now it's reached the stage of converting advantages into decisive victory. Ren Yiping, Luo Qingge, Jiang Shengyu..."
Hearing someone mention his name, Ren Yiping coughed blood once more. He had failed his sect's expectations; as a loser, he was bound to be scrutinized with strange, judgmental looks once he stepped outside. Soon he spat up blood in rapid bursts, his vision went black, and he collapsed backward onto the ground. Several elite disciples hurriedly rushed to support him.
"Are you sure there's no need to send someone in to look for Li Qingyue? If a core disciple blessed with such peerless talent should unexpectedly wither and perish, it would hardly be a good thing," someone spoke up. It was hard to tell whether they were well-intentioned in wanting to rescue her or maliciously stirring up such a controversial topic.
"If someone goes in to save her now, who will take responsibility if they're accused of breaking the rules and meddling directly? Moreover, if someone enters and secretly targets disciples, wouldn't the consequences be even more disastrous?!"
"You people really don't recognize good intentions. If she dies in there, it will be a loss for our entire outer realm. The Great Reclamation is already inevitable, and a prodigy of supreme talent ought to shine brilliantly in the unknown depths of the night-mist world..."
Some stayed silent, others sneered, finding his words insincere, yet all were pondering the matter: nowadays, even some conservative ancient orthodoxies were unsealing their mountains to prepare for the coming era of great expansion.
"Huh? Someone's actually being carried out! Could it be Li Qingyue?"
"How could it be... Ren Yiping?!"
Outside the ruins, an uproar broke out among the crowd.
Soon, silence fell over the place, for developments were completely contrary to their assumptions. An elite disciple announced that Li Qingyue was clearing the field inside the ruins!
Li Qingyue's name coupled with the words "clearing the field" stripped all aloof composure from the small clique who had previously worn reserved, knowing smiles.
"Haha..." An old man found the crowd's expressions utterly entertaining and burst out laughing, paying no heed to anyone's feelings.
One of Li Qingyue's senior martial brothers finally spoke up: "So, do we need to go in to rescue anyone now?"
He knew well that his junior sister's retreat was the Mountains and Rivers Spiritual Nest; by right, outsiders wouldn't know of it, yet he had still harbored some worry that certain veteran seniors might have read secret archives given their vast experience. Now, his heart was completely at ease!
No one answered. Quite a few felt a tightness in their chests; they hadn't been steady enough earlier, "raising their cups" in celebration far too soon!
At this moment, a figure shrouded in celestial mist mysteriously appeared and said, "Li Qingyue is quite impressive. To break out from the siege of five core disciples, return afterward, and forcefully clear the field—if she can obtain the near-immortal item, nothing could be better!"
The crowd was inwardly shaken; this seemed to be a senior elder of the outer realm, someone who did not fear Li Qingxu's master at all.
Li Qingyue and Qin Ming drew close to the final battlefield. After crossing through a vast expanse of picturesque peaks shrouded in celestial mist, the core area unfolded before their eyes. Here, no vegetation grew; the ground was crystallized and faintly gleaming, as though coated in a layer of wax.
After careful observation, Qin Ming understood what had happened: in the past, boundless heavenly light had fallen from beyond this world and blasted the core area down, the violent heat melting the terrain. This place had originally been the main peak of the Luofu Immortal Mountain, but now only a giant crater remained, with heavenly light flowing within it—undispersed even after the passage of a thousand years.
The deep crater was truly enormous, lying across the land like a natural chasm. Nearby were many ruined mountains standing at its rim, either severed or riddled with holes like honeycombs, from which heavenly light likewise leaked.
"What a great place!" Qin Ming marveled.
Disciples of the outer realm had already arrived nearby; hearing his words, someone cast a sidelong glance. The main peak of the Luofu Immortal Mountain was gone, yet someone called this a great place? Seeing the lingering otherworldly heavenly light, Qin Ming felt his eyes burn with desire.
"Can you really do it?" Li Qingyue looked at him with some concern. After all, that was violent heavenly light, something even she feared.
In the practice of people beyond the mundane world, the spiritual light of consciousness was, according to extremely ancient lore, considered a "Yin spirit" in its early stages. It feared erosion by heavenly light above all else, requiring one to undergo tribulation or be baptized by immortal fire before becoming completely fearless of it.
Having climbed another small step in the Mountains and Rivers Spiritual Nest, Li Qingyue was already nearing this crossroads and would soon have to consider whether to undergo tribulation or bathe in immortal fire. Naturally, despite the legends, most people beyond the mundane world did not subscribe to the term "Yin spirit."
For the ancient volumes unearthed in the past could not actually be used for cultivation.
Back then, after mankind fought desperately against giant beasts and mountain-high aberrant plants to secure a foothold in the night-mist world, they excavated some ancient writings left by predecessors, many of which were related to religion. In the era when the sun still shone, those had merely been ordinary religious treatises.
Yet once unearthed, these books provided inspiration to many in the night-mist world; though not cultivation methods themselves, they ultimately gave rise to various lineages. Those ancient legends of gods and monsters were not accepted as truth by people today.
At present, none of the paths had reached their end, still developing in what was essentially another form of "Great Reclamation."
"Everyone, the lingering heavenly light in the giant crater is still quite dense. If we force our way down, it will scorch the spiritual light of consciousness that has only just begun taking shape within us, harming our foundations. This surely isn't the intention of the seniors of the outer realm. They are testing us, likely intending to use our hands to clear the Luofu Immortal Mountain ruins, drawing the heavenly light out in hopes of rebuilding this place! This requires us to unite our efforts." Someone spoke up, suggesting an alliance.
For this would be a massive undertaking.
Yet most remained silent, harboring their own calculations and plans.
"Don't worry. Not only can I withstand it, but I also intend to use this place to accomplish another Newbirth," Qin Ming said, sounding somewhat impatient.
Li Qingyue still had misgivings and said, "Don't be in a rush. Let me scout around first."
This time, she did not plan to reveal her true face so she could strike at any moment and make certain people taste bitter fruit.
To this end, Qin Ming had buried the Overlord Lance along the way, avoiding drawing too much attention and exposing his and Li Qingyue's identities.
Clad in golden armor, Qin Ming also strolled along the edge of the immense crater. It was hard to imagine how ferocious that otherworldly heavenly light had been back then—not only obliterating the immortal mountain's main peak, but also gouging out such an enormous hole.
He overheard the discussions of several people. Aside from Tang Xumi, Su Jingshu, Jiang Shengyu, and Luo Qingge—the core disciples who had allied together—there were actually two others qualified to compete for the near-immortal item.
One was named Hu Tingwen. Word had circulated earlier that he was in seclusion and had not arrived at Luofu Immortal Town, yet once everyone entered the ruins, he timed it to appear at the very last moment.
The other was Sun Jingtian, who had blended in among the elite disciples, but during a clash with someone, had revealed strength capable of contending with core disciples. Moreover, the two of them had long formed an alliance.
When Tang Xumi, Su Jingshu, Jiang Shengyu, and Luo Qingge learned of this, their faces darkened. After joining hands to deal with Li Qingyue, the four of them had already fallen out, never expecting two more fellows were hiding behind them, exposed only by an accident.
Hearing this, Qin Ming felt these disciples truly pulled out all the stops for the sake of the near-immortal item.
Only after a long while did Li Qingyue return, as the crater was truly vast. With a solemn expression, she secretly transmitted her voice through a secret art: "Scanning with my Spirit Pupils, I inadvertently caught a wisp of Cui Chonghe's spiritual light of consciousness. He still has a card up his sleeve."
Qin Ming's expression grew serious. None of these disciples was easy to deal with; someone believed to have been knocked out of contention long ago was actually still lurking in the shadows.
He pondered a moment and asked, "Should we expose him, or make use of him?"
Li Qingyue said, "The people here don't know I've returned. Let's watch Cui Chonghe's methods unfold first; ideally, he'll eliminate a few rivals. If needed, I will intercept him at the critical juncture."
"Can you handle him right now?" Qin Ming asked.
"It shouldn't be much of a problem. He only split off a portion of his spiritual light of consciousness, not the whole of it. Furthermore, the body he is possessing now isn't his younger brother Cui Chongxuan, who shares his closest bloodline, so the compatibility is definitely inferior. Besides, I broke through in the Mountains and Rivers Spiritual Nest; I have no fear of his current state."
Most importantly, Li Qingyue was in the dark, while Cui Chonghe was now exposed before her.
Qin Ming said, "There's also Li Qingxu. He never left after being injured, so he might have a trick up his sleeve as well."
The two parted ways. Qin Ming prepared to enter the crater to undergo his sixth Newbirth!
Li Qingyue, meanwhile, intended to keep a low profile, not wanting to draw anyone's attention until she stepped onto the stage at the final moment.
Qin Ming spotted familiar faces like Wang Caiwei, Zheng Maoze, and Chen Bingyan, but did not approach them. Finding a spot with few people, he quietly entered the scene. Along the rim of the great bowl, the heavenly light was exceedingly sparse, tolerable even for many Newborns.
After Qin Ming stepped in, he noticed several gold-armored guards, all occupying favorable positions as they cautiously refined the thin heavenly light.
"Who is that? He charged straight in!"
"Could it be Jiang Congyun of Pure Yang Palace? His orthodoxy's force technique can shatter the light of consciousness, and it can even integrate a certain amount of otherworldly heavenly light."
Qin Ming made his way downward. As the heavenly light ceased to be thin, he felt a scorching heat.
One after another, he spotted experts quietly meditating, trying to meld the heavenly light into their flesh. They could not linger here for long; after a brief while, they had to quickly retreat to the surface.
From a distance, Qin Ming spotted several people and took special note of them.
He saw someone practicing the Five-Color Thunderfire force, merging with the heavenly light with tremendous momentum accompanied by the sound of thunder. He also saw another person who burned like a blazing sun, drawing in heavenly light to fuse with himself.
There was even a hazy figure letting out an ape-like howl, his entire body seemingly swelling as he surged with the power of heavenly light, as if attempting to ignite himself, his black pupils scorched until they radiated glittering golden rays.
Qin Ming realized that if he plucked the near-immortal item, these individuals could all stall him for a time; their resistance against the erosion of heavenly light was extraordinarily strong.
"That should be the successor of Five Elements Palace." He saw a figure seated in the distance upon a black goldstone, five-colored clouds of light swirling as he refined the heavenly light.
"The successor of the Yuqing force truly came!" Qin Ming turned solemn. He saw a youth directly inhaling the luminous mist through his mouth and nose, devouring the heavenly light. The youth's entire body was translucent like jade; enveloped in heavenly light, he remained unharmed and completely composed, treating the violent luminous mist as nourishment.
Qin Ming took a breath of it as well—it was somewhat scorching, tinged with a prick of pain.
He knew that these people were all potential rivals; once the near-immortal item was touched, everyone would charge to intercept the bearer.
"I might as well sit back and watch someone else seize it first," Qin Ming muttered to himself.
He needed to quietly enhance his strength here and face those people in his peak condition. After descending another hundred meters, the surface of his body felt as if it were being scorched.
"For now, it still falls short of the heavenly light in the Thunder-Fire Gold-Forging Palace, and the spirituality within is far weaker." Gritting his teeth, Qin Ming endured the pain and charged straight to the bottom.
"Hiss!" He almost cried out. As he gasped, he was choked to the point of spouting fire from his nose and mouth. The heavenly light at the bottom was simply too dense; he had no choice but to hastily pull back. The intensity of the heavenly light here was slightly lower than that of the Thunder-Fire Gold-Forging Palace, but the sheer volume far exceeded it, submerging him to the point where even he found it hard to bear.
"Heavenly light is everywhere, but the concentration of spiritual substance is somewhat lacking. Looks like I'll have to endure some suffering and absorb it continuously."
Thus, Qin Ming embarked on the arduous road of Newbirth. In order to fully receive the heavenly light, he stripped off his protective golden undergarment and armor.
He entered the bottom again and again to absorb the violent heavenly light and spiritual substance. To avoid alerting others, he couldn't create a major disturbance, spending more than half a day on the process.
"The sixth Newbirth has begun!" His body burned with heat.
He began practicing Yin Earth force and Yang Earth force, evolving them into Wuji force. If he could thoroughly integrate this third extraordinary art, his strength would take a massive leap forward.
"Heavenly light is everywhere here. Not just the Wuji Fist, but perhaps the Departing Fire Classic and the Golden Silkworm Art can also undergo further transformation here!" Qin Ming continually drilled his techniques, feeling the shifts within himself and yearning to grow stronger—all out of respect for those rivals.
Chapter 113