The sinkhole resembled a sloping, oversized bowl, where the turbulent mist of light grew denser the deeper one went.
Though the bottom of the colossal pit was far from dim, the motley spiritual haze blocked all sight. Even when Qin Ming stripped off his armor, no one could see whether his arms were bare. Of course, there were a rare few exceptions—Li Qingyue's spiritual vision could pierce through the mist and miasma.
Wearing cool, lightweight inner armor, Qin Ming stood on the sloping ground and repeatedly practiced the Yang Fist and Yin Fist. When honed to supreme subtlety, the two merged into one, becoming the Wuji Fist.
At this moment, yin and yang complemented each other within the fist technique, causing its might to surge sharply. A hazy mist of light surfaced from his fists, ready to unleash masculine hardness or feminine yielding power at any instant. Next, earth vein essence steamed up beneath Qin Ming's feet, spreading along his legs to every part of his body and infusing him with boundless strength.
First and foremost, this was the Wuji Fist, representing the power of the earth domain. Only secondarily did it divide into yang earth force and yin earth force, functioning as the Yin-Yang Fist.
Standing there, Qin Ming felt a thick, solid presence as the earth essence spread from beneath his feet into every shred of his flesh and blood, filling him with a sense of immense power. Even he was astonished. Logically, after leaving the Mountains and Rivers Spiritual Nest, capturing earth essence outside should have been exceedingly difficult, for that was a method belonging to an Outer Sage.
Yet now, he had accomplished it. Standing firmly on the ground, he felt an indescribable sense of security, as if backed by a continuous, inexhaustible source of power.
"This is precisely what makes the Wuji Classic so terrifying and extraordinary—so long as you don't leave the surface of the earth, there is power to borrow." Qin Ming now thoroughly understood why Xiang Yiwu had said this extraordinary art might be even more precious than the Departing Fire Classic.
Joy welled in his heart, for the Wuji Fist was something one was supposed to master only in the Outer Sage stage!
Qin Ming was certain this was connected to his journey through the Mountains and Rivers Spiritual Nest. Having absorbed vast quantities of earth vein essence there, he had forcefully mastered both the Yang Fist and Yin Fist. Now that he was here, using heavenly light to blend them naturally yielded twice the results with half the effort.
More importantly, he had substantially deepened his foundation within the Mountains and Rivers Spiritual Nest.
"No wonder the patriarchs of the Sky-Upholding force and the Six Imperials force went to great lengths to borrow the methods of people beyond the mundane world to enhance their foundations. The benefits are countless!" Qin Ming pondered for a moment. Having surpassed juvenile extraordinaries by a whole margin, couldn't he be considered a figure on par with a "juvenile patriarch"?
Looked at this way, grasping a few methods of an Outer Sage while still in the Newborn stage seemed perfectly normal. What kind of "founding patriarch" could ever be measured by ordinary logic?
"Now that I'm at the level of a juvenile patriarch, how could merely learning the Wuji Fist be enough? I need to elevate it further." Qin Ming held himself to strict standards. As fellow patriarch-level figures, the others all had various legendary tales to their names; he couldn't afford to embarrass himself!
Qin Ming channeled yin earth force in his left hand and yang earth force in his right, seamlessly interchanging the yin and yang forces between his hands before merging them at will into Wuji force. As his mastery grew increasingly refined, an artistic conception gradually emerged. In a daze, it felt as though on this vast, boundless earth, a lone youth was cutting through thorns and briars, forging ahead on his own, using both fists to blaze a trail and smash through the dense layers of barriers before him.
Above on the surface, Li Qingyue was astonished. This was the first time she had seen Qin Ming cultivate like this; he truly possessed a touch of the bearing of a youthful grandmaster. Recalling the records in the outer realm regarding the patriarchs of the Six Imperials force and the Sky-Upholding force, she thought they had probably been no more than this in their youth.
At the bottom of the bowl-shaped pit, Qin Ming's entire body was enveloped in Wuji force, as if he had solidified into one with the earth. Exhaling a breath of heavenly light, he drew his cultivation to a close. He felt that as a juvenile patriarch, bringing the Wuji Classic to this level was hardly anything to be ashamed of.
Next, he made use of the dense heavenly light to practice the Overlord's wind force and Overlord force. Faintly, he had already come to understand why the Overlord had grown stronger and stronger starting from the spirit field realm.
"Combining wind force and Overlord force with a spirit field borrows the great momentum of heaven and earth. His spirit field was truly unique—winds rolled dark clouds, calling down lightning bolts to integrate into the Overlord force. How could ordinary people ever hope to block that?"
Qin Ming reflected that there were many kinds of great momentum the Overlord had borrowed through his spirit field.
While he certainly couldn't execute them now, there was one kind he might be able to attempt in a special terrain like this.
Having mastered the Wuji Classic, he could briefly solidify into one with the earth. The earth veins here were saturated with rich heavenly light; if he used the Overlord's wind force and Overlord force to borrow momentum, it might well be worth a try!
The Skimming Across Grass movement technique Qin Ming practiced also contained wind force, but compared to the wind force in the Overlord's Testament, they were entirely different styles. The latter crushed everything in its path, sweeping away clouds like a furious gale, overbearing beyond measure.
Before long, he pushed both the wind force and Overlord force to their limits. He pondered for a long while on how to combine them with the Wuji Classic, but in the end, when brewing it to the critical juncture, he stopped his hands.
If he inadvertently stirred up the heavenly light within this colossal pit—even if only a tiny fraction erupted—the commotion would be immense. Moreover, he was right at the bottom; if he accidentally blew himself to pieces, the joke would be on him.
Having mastered the newly acquired wind force, Overlord force, and Wuji force, Qin Ming was in no hurry to merge them into one.
He began retraining his other force arts. In any case, each Newborn process lasted a day or two, giving him the perfect opportunity to use the inexhaustible heavenly light to study other arts. In particular, the two extraordinary arts that had previously made his strength soar—the Departing Fire Classic and the Golden Silkworm Art—became his primary focus. Crucial points he had failed to master in the past might not be impossible now.
After all, following his journey through the Mountains and Rivers Spiritual Nest, he now possessed the foundation of a juvenile patriarch.
Sure enough, when he contemplated the Departing Fire Art anew, it was entirely different from before, allowing him to continue cultivating it further.
Across the surface of Qin Ming's body, the departing fire force turned into fiery radiance. Brilliant divine flames gradually detached from his body, enveloping him without harming a single hair or inch of flesh.
Once the departing fire appeared, it could nourish his own flesh and blood while burning through an opponent's heavenly light. He gave it a cautious test, and a natural patch of heavenly light ahead exploded directly. "What an art! Against many types of heavenly light force, this is a terrifying bane!" Qin Ming marveled.
No wonder the Tathagata disciple Xiang Yiwu had insisted on trading for it, impatient to practice it himself.
"He has the Golden Cicada, while I have the Golden Silkworm. Can I temper the Golden Silkworm with departing fire here?" Before tempering the Golden Silkworm with fire, Qin Ming practiced the Golden Silkworm Art alone, intending to elevate it as well.
As expected, he was able to cultivate this extraordinary art further too. Dense, golden threads appeared across his body, interweaving into a net that shielded him within.
When he launched an attack, all the golden threads surged from the surface of his body, projecting about three inches outward with unstoppable momentum, capable of breaking an opponent's heavenly light force and piercing through physical bodies. "Tempering the Golden Silkworm with departing fire really works. Fire overcoming metal serves as a spur and driving force!"
Evidently, entering the deep crater this time had brought Qin Ming immense gains.
The departing fire force and golden silkworm force he now commanded had also reached the realm accessible only to Outer Sages, matching the tier of his yang earth force. "The Yellow Clay Palm, silk-reeling force, Vajra force... all of them need to be elevated!"
Whenever he grew tired, Qin Ming ate some dry provisions, then found a spot where the mist of light was thin to take a short nap. Time flew by, and after more than a day, Qin Ming was close to completing his sixth Newbirth.
During this time, the disciples beyond the mundane world had employed various methods, startling Qin Ming several times. They used explosives—a byproduct of pill-refining—hoping to blast open the colossal pit and drain the heavenly light like a floodgate. In the end, aside from setting off a round of explosions, it achieved little.
Others attempted to divert a fire spring, intending to flood the sinkhole.
Still others deployed mechanical beasts crafted by people beyond the mundane world, only for the creations to be corroded and utterly destroyed by the heavenly light shortly after being sent in.
"How about this? Each of us refines a drop of pure yang blood essence and a wisp of pure yang conscious spiritual light from within our bodies—the kind with all 'Yin Spirit' attributes completely severed. Don't tell me you can't manage that; it's merely a single drop and a single wisp. Then, we attach this blood essence and conscious spiritual light onto several Outer Sages to protect them as they go inside and bring out the near-immortal item. What do you think?"
Someone proposed this suggestion, immediately stirring up a commotion.
This method was viable and comparatively safe. No one had to risk their life; severing a single drop of pure yang blood essence and a wisp of pure yang conscious spiritual light was an expenditure, but they could recover after resting for a period.
However, with so many people, opinions naturally failed to align. The elite disciples, in particular, felt they were making sacrifices for others and losing their pure yang spirituality for nothing, making them quite reluctant. After some dispute, the core disciples held a joint discussion and made it mandatory, leaving the other disciples from beyond the mundane world no choice but to pinch their noses and comply.
After all, many of them had originally attached themselves to the core disciples to lend a helping hand. Having already prostrated ninety-nine times, there was no point in balking at the final bow. Even so, their efficiency was hardly impressive, as everyone monitored one another, wary that someone might offer blood essence that lacked pure yang attributes.
By now, Qin Ming had finished his sixth Newbirth some time ago, and he was attentively sensing the changes within himself. "My overall strength has probably reached nine thousand jin!" This was his instinctual intuition, and he believed this judgment was not mistaken. Ultimately, his present achievements were inextricably linked to his trip to the Mountains and Rivers Spiritual Nest.
"I really do have to thank Qingyue," Qin Ming murmured with emotion.
When Cui Chongxuan nourished his body with the Six Imperials Heart Scripture to enhance his foundation, he was merely transforming toward becoming an extraordinary. But what level had Qin Ming reached now?
If converted to his initial Newbirth, the foundational strength he possessed had now reached fifteen hundred jin.
A juvenile extraordinary who had undergone nine Newbirths possessed just over eight thousand jin of strength, whereas he had already attained nine thousand jin after merely six Newbirths. What kind of tier was this? It was the bearing of a juvenile patriarch—or even stronger!
In truth, concrete strength was merely an outward manifestation. What it truly revealed was inner foundation and a herald of future potential! For through this, one could judge just how far a person could walk upon this Newborn path.
"Well, mine is the path of a founding patriarch—it cannot be predicted," Qin Ming chuckled softly to himself. He began drawing together the various heavenly light forces to fuse them.
Using the silk book method, Qin Ming commanded all arts and governed every heavenly light, merging them into one.
Instantly, the three extraordinary arts and eighteen force techniques he had practiced roared and resonated together, forming a layer of mysterious brilliance outside his body.
That heavenly light was exceptionally splendid and profoundly sacred, wrapping his body like an endowed divine halo, accentuating his ethereal, transcendent presence as if a deity were treading upon the mortal realm. Qin Ming exhaled a breath of foul air, and the radiant heavenly light drew inward. Returning to simplicity and truth, he became once more a clean, elegant youth free from vulgarity.
Without needing to test it, he knew that his merged heavenly light force had undergone another qualitative leap, its power surging by a substantial margin.
At the same time, he discovered a "peculiar light" within his flesh and blood, realizing it was an ability that had surfaced from this latest Newbirth.
Those who walked this path would birth a special ability after their sixth Newbirth. Some were useless as chicken ribs, while others were quite extraordinary.
Qin Ming did not activate that light. If he triggered it now, there was no telling when it would recover, and with a major battle looming, he didn't want to exhaust a method prematurely. With a slight jolt, his heavenly light force rippled, leaving his body instantly immaculate and pure, every strand of hair crystalline and untainted by a single speck of dust.
Putting on his golden garments and golden armor once more, Qin Ming walked out of the sinkhole. He did not approach the legendary item, because whoever touched it first would become a target. For now, he could let those people deplete their pure yang blood essence and conscious spiritual light; at the critical moment, he could strike amidst the chaos, ideally dragging everyone into the fray.
Reaching the surface, he breathed in the fresh air and looked down at the colossal pit where heavenly light flowed, thoroughly enamored with the place! Qin Ming dearly wished he could stay here permanently and continue undergoing Newbirths one after another.
Alas, everyone had a buffer period, and ordinary people could not exceed five times in a single year.
He had already broken this restriction without suffering adverse effects, but the intervals could not be too brief. Undergoing a sixth Newbirth within a single year was already beyond the standard for anyone else and could potentially damage one's foundation. "I reckon that after waiting another ten to fifteen days, I could continue to a seventh Newbirth. Unfortunately, those people beyond the mundane world probably won't give me that kind of time," Qin Ming sighed.
Out of curiosity, he went to see what the pure yang blood essence of the disciples from beyond the mundane world looked like. Along the way, he spotted several familiar faces, such as Zheng Maoze and Zeng Yuan.
Though not core disciples, the two were by no means weak, and both were biding their time.
Qin Ming had no goodwill toward them, but he couldn't help acknowledging that their cultivation was quite advanced, having both entered the second major realm—the Yellow Court.
No wonder even Li Qingxu's paternal cousin had slyly sneered back in Chixia City, remarking that once Qin Ming reached the peak, he might come to the outer realm to see his old acquaintances. Reality was indeed cruel; Qin Ming was only now stepping onto the Newborn path, and had he not possessed extraordinary natural gifts, things would likely have turned out just as the other had said.
Wang Caiwei, Lu Zhenyi, Chen Bingyan, and several others walked together. They hadn't given up either, all quietly awaiting a special opportunity.
"Their pure yang blood essence is nothing special after all. Looked at this way, the pure yang attribute of my own blood isn't lacking in the least." Qin Ming grew thoughtful. That he could withstand the otherworldly heavenly light and traverse through it indeed made sense.
"The disciples from beyond the mundane world have each refined only one drop of pure yang blood essence; that is clearly not enough," core disciple Hu Tingwen spoke up at that moment.
"I..." Having just offered a drop of pure yang blood, Zheng Maoze felt like cursing. Such blood was precious—did they expect him to refine a second drop? Hu Tingwen added, "Senior brothers, do not misunderstand. What I mean is that we should also ask the Outer Sages present to each refine a drop of pure yang blood essence."
"That is indeed workable," many disciples nodded in agreement.
Hearing this, Qin Ming turned on his heel to leave. Why on earth should he offer pure yang blood essence for them? Utterly impossible. "None of you are permitted to leave!" someone shouted.
Qin Ming ignored the other gold-armored guards and strode forward on his own.
Zheng Maoze happened to be in this area, and naturally wishing to uphold the dignity of the outer realm disciples, he said, "I'm talking to you! Why aren't you halting?"
Qin Ming turned back and said, "I came here to lend a hand, not as anyone's follower. Moreover, my partner has already departed, so I have even less obligation to help you deplete my pure yang blood."
Zheng Maoze said, "Lend a hand? Since you've come, you should possess that awareness. Come over here at once!"
"I am the Tathagata renegade. Do you dare bully me?" Qin Ming said.
"The Tathagata renegade's identity has already been revealed; he isn't here," Zheng Maoze chuckled, stepping forward to force this gold-armored guard to offer his blood.
Qin Ming's voice deepened. "Then I'll speak the truth: I am a direct-line successor of the Six Imperials force. Even though you are a disciple from beyond the mundane world, you have no right to order me about."
"Why don't you claim that the Six Imperials patriarch himself has arrived, or that the living Tathagata has come in person?" Zheng Maoze actually struck out directly.
Now possessing the foundation of a juvenile patriarch, Qin Ming had even mastered parts of the three extraordinary arts of the Outer Sage stage, governing every scripture through the silk book method. He truly had no fear of him. Since a confrontation couldn't be avoided, he genuinely wanted to test his current strength.
The next instant, Qin Ming struck decisively. Three extraordinary arts and eighteen heavenly light forces merged into one, erupting with sacred radiance that made him look like a banished immortal descending into the mortal world.
"Ah...!" Zheng Maoze cried out in terror.
His conscious spiritual light was shattered and set ablaze by the opponent's fist. His physical body took a direct blow, the crackle of breaking bones ringing out as he was sent flying a full twenty meters through the air.
Chapter 114