Around the youth's body, a layer of sentient heavenly light force circulated, accentuating his ethereal purity and making him look more like someone from beyond the mundane world nearing immortality.
Zheng Maoze was sent flying backward, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth as he crashed to the ground. Groaning in agony, he cut an utterly pathetic figure. Compounded by his existing moniker of "Zheng Dazhuang," he looked even less like someone from beyond the mundane world.
The conscious spiritual light radiating from his body twisted, burned through by the fist light. It spread unevenly, devoid of its former nimbleness, drastically dimmed.
Excruciating pain racked his body. When that fist struck him, the sound of his bones popping and crunching had resembled frying beans, rattling on for a short moment—far more than just one or two broken bones. Everyone was alarmed. The youth's movement had been far too fast, streaking past earlier like a flash of lightning.
The heavenly light force on Qin Ming's fist contracted back into his body. His fingers were crystalline like jade, giving him an ethereal appearance. Were it not for his still-clenched right fist, people would have doubted that such a violent punch had truly come from him.
Zheng Maoze gathered his conscious spiritual light and internally inspected his condition, only to spit out another mouthful of blood. A full eighteen bones were broken, and he coughed up blood from sheer fury. He had just made a move to strike, yet he had been pummeled instead? He was someone from beyond the mundane world, yet a gold-armored guard he looked down upon had shattered his bones and torn his tendons. The youth appeared slender and tall, but Zheng Maoze felt as though an enormous dragon-elephant had solidly stomped right on him.
Many disciples from beyond the mundane world wore peculiar expressions. None stepped forward to aid Zheng Maoze, for they sensed that the youth had not been lying—he likely truly was a direct descendant of the Six Imperials force lineage. Otherwise, how could his heavenly light force be so domineering? A sweep of his fist light had shattered Zheng Maoze's conscious spiritual light.
Those beyond the mundane world considered themselves entitled to look down upon practitioners walking the Newborn path, yet a few lineages were exceptions they dared not underestimate—among them the Sky-Upholding force, the Tathagata force, and the Six Imperials force. That was because the heavenly light cultivated by these lineages could genuinely harm them.
Although in the later stages these lineages also faced slow progress and sluggish growth in power, some old fogies accumulated strength over time and ultimately scaled terrifying heights.
"My apologies. I only just descended the mountain, so I lack combat experience and was a bit nervous," Qin Ming said, his voice gentle and entirely unlike the domineering ferocity of his fist.
At these words, Zheng Maoze nearly spat up blood again. A greenhorn fresh off the mountain had turned him into a stepping stone; if word of this spread, it would be utterly disgraceful.
Clearly, the disciples from beyond the mundane world provisionally acknowledged Qin Ming's special status. A successor of the Six Imperials force was worthy to sit at the same table as them, rather than being treated as a mere gold-armored guard.
The reason Qin Ming had merged three wondrous arts and eighteen kinds of heavenly light force right off the bat was primarily that this was his first time clashing with someone from beyond the mundane world in the Yellow Court realm, and he had not dared to be careless. Although he had been forced to show a bit of his hand, landing that punch felt immensely satisfying. Ever since his misfortune, the two Zheng brothers had been far too arrogant and troublesome.
First came Zheng Maorong, who, priding himself on his status, never acted directly but instead used pointed looks, faint smiles, and subtle hints to instigate others to harm Qin Ming.
Then there was Zheng Maoze targeting Qin Ming at Black-White Mountain—acting warm on the surface while flaunting the vast gulf between their present statuses, and ultimately teaming up with Zeng Yuan to block his departure so they could wait for Li Qingxu and Wang Caiwei to arrive and enjoy the spectacle.
Therefore, after delivering that punch, every pore across Qin Ming's body felt relaxed and refreshed, leaving him radiant. He then turned his gaze toward his former friend, Zeng Yuan.
"Brother, would you do me a favor?" Qin Ming asked with a smile.
Zeng Yuan was deeply wary of him. Even if Zheng Maoze had been careless earlier, the fact that this youth's fist light could scorch conscious spiritual light was undeniable and exceedingly dangerous. Calmly, he asked, "What is it?"
Qin Ming pressed his right hand against the ground as heavenly light flowed. With a soft hiss, he used his adhesive force to draw up some of the bright red spilled blood, keeping it from touching his fingers as it circulated on the outer perimeter of the heavenly light.
Politely, Qin Ming said, "Since everyone must provide a drop of pure yang blood essence, I shouldn't make an exception of myself. Could you help me refine this blood? It should be enough to yield a drop of pure yang blood, right?"
Zeng Yuan was flabbergasted. Never had he imagined that the requested favor would be something like this—it was completely outrageous. He was now inclined to believe that this fellow really might be a disciple fresh off the mountain who possessed zero social awareness.
How could he agree? Couldn't the youth see that Zheng Maoze's eyes were practically spitting fire, his expression looking as if he wanted to devour someone alive?
Qin Ming looked at him and said, "Pure yang blood is precious right now, and everyone is contributing. Are you really going to let it seep away and go to waste in the dirt?"
Zeng Yuan felt that although the youth remained calm, a dangerous aura was subtly spreading. Could this naive newcomer who understood nothing of worldly matters be planning to punch him too? His hairs stood on end. At such close range, how could he possibly dodge? The Six Imperials force was renowned throughout the night mist world; he had no desire to take an inexplicable blow from it.
Thus, casting Zheng Dazhuang aside, he naturally took the blood and refined pure yang blood on the spot.
Naturally, Qin Ming had no real intention of striking him; he was merely using his persona as a "hotheaded novice disciple" of the Six Imperials lineage to intimidate him. He had punched Zheng Maoze earlier because the man had intended to harm him.
Even a direct descendant of the Six Imperials force would provoke a backlash from the disciples beyond the mundane world if he attacked without reason.
"Pfft!"
Zheng Maoze coughed up blood yet again, for he saw Zeng Yuan refining his blood. With sizzling sounds and wisps of rising smoke, only a single drop of true blood remained.
"Brother, are you all right?" Qin Ming asked with concern, once again stating that encountering an expert of the Yellow Court realm had panicked him, and that he had not meant to hurt anyone.
Zheng Maoze desperately wanted to shout: *Shut your mouth!*
Bringing it up repeatedly battered his pride and severely undermined his confidence in seeking near-immortality.
Qin Ming walked over and helped Zheng Maoze to his feet.
In the eyes of some onlookers, this genuinely gave the other party a way out, saving him some face.
Zheng Maoze had no desire to speak with him. Supporting his heavily wounded body with conscious spiritual light, he stumbled off to the side.
Without a word, Qin Ming quietly used his adhesive force to draw out the blood Zheng Maoze had just spat onto the ground here as well, silently floating it over in front of Zeng Yuan.
In an instant, the way many people looked at him shifted. Was this fellow truly a hotheaded greenhorn, or was he deliberately provoking Zheng Maoze? Something was off about this Six Imperials successor.
Zeng Yuan was put on the spot, exasperated—what kind of rotten business was this, landing out of nowhere on his shoulders!
The core disciples naturally had no objection; the more pure yang blood, the better.
Looking back and witnessing this scene, Zheng Maoze began coughing violently from rage. He hurriedly clapped a hand over his mouth, terrified that another drop of blood might spill onto the ground. Burning with hatred, he gritted his teeth—that reckless novice was truly utterly shameless!
Although the process of collecting pure yang blood essence had its hiccups, it ultimately encountered no major resistance, as many gold-armored guards were originally followers of the disciples beyond the mundane world. Among the Outer Sages, only a rare few did not contribute blood; they possessed formidable backgrounds and had indeed been invited as martial allies, owing no such obligation.
Qin Ming noticed that aside from several disciples from beyond the mundane world watching him, a few practitioners of special force arts had also lingered their gazes on him. These included Chen Shuhang, who had mastered the Five-Color Thunderfire force; Jiang Congyun, the successor of the Pure Yang Palace; and the youth suspected of having practiced the Yuqing force.
Though they walked the same path, Qin Ming was very likely to clash with these individuals first, as their resistance to the heavenly light inside the deep crater was relatively strong.
As time passed, everything was ready.
Various vessels, such as jade jars and crystal flasks originally meant for storing pills, were now filled with pure yang blood. Vividly red and blooming with multicolored rays, they were clearly sacred substances. Their spiritual value was immense; combined with special medicinal herbs, they could readily be used to furnace-refine grand medicines!
Strands of pure yang conscious spiritual light drifted hazy as misty clouds, converging like a comparatively gentle miniature sun.
When it came to selecting Outer Sages to enter the bottom of the colossal pit, there were some ripples. Natural candidates had long been earmarked, but this venture could be exceedingly dangerous—who could guarantee that pure yang spiritual substance would ensure their safety?
Qin Ming entered the sights of several core disciples, all of whom wanted to ask him to step forward and help retrieve the near-immortal item.
He shook his head reservedly, but his refusal was far from absolute.
In truth, he did want to go down. Without accompanying them, he felt uneasy; he needed to see the condition of the near-immortal item and prevent those entering first from tampering with it.
"Although our outer realm does not specialize in collecting various force arts, the scripture pavilions occasionally hold one or two treatises..."
Hu Tingwen, Tang Xumi, and several other core disciples secretly negotiated terms with Qin Ming, promising him a special force art.
"I want a wondrous art," Qin Ming stated.
"There might be one gathering dust in some corner, but it probably can't be found in the short term."
In the end, they promised to help Qin Ming locate a relatively formidable cultivation method—while not a wondrous art, it would certainly be renowned, such as an incomplete copy of the Divine Ape force they had once seen.
Ultimately, the roster was settled: Chen Shuhang, who possessed the Five-Color Thunderfire force; Jiang Congyun, successor of the Pure Yang Palace; and Qin Ming would head to the center to retrieve the near-immortal item. In addition, successors of the Five Elements Palace and the Yuqing force would support them from slightly further back to ensure complete reliability.
Though Qin Ming found it somewhat distasteful, he still smeared the pure yang blood essence over his armor. Covered in vibrant crimson, he gleamed with brilliant radiance. Chen Shuhang chose to protect his body with pure yang conscious spiritual light, while Jiang Congyun used a hybrid approach, his smeared blood carrying conscious spiritual light.
In a sense, the three of them served as test subjects to see which method worked best, allowing those following behind to adjust based on the results.
At the bottom of the bowl-shaped colossal pit, the violent heavenly light was immensely concentrated, blazing like divine fire. Wisps of light smoke continuously rose from the armor of all three. Both the pure yang blood essence and the pure yang conscious spiritual light were constantly consumed, but they were indeed effective, currently sufficient to support their advance inward.
"Do neither of you have other thoughts? Could we not comprehend that near-immortal item, or perhaps borrow it temporarily?" Jiang Congyun spoke up. His sect possessed great renown, and he had been specially invited as an ally. Although the Pure Yang force did not match the Six Imperials force, it was still illustrious throughout the night mist world.
"Indeed, we can study it first," Chen Shuhang agreed.
Qin Ming naturally nodded as well. There was no need to oppose them; he had known from the start that anyone willing to take the initial risk to come down had their own motives.
"Perhaps some good items are scattered near the near-immortal artifact as well," Jiang Congyun said with a smile.
Qin Ming's heart stirred. The Pure Yang Palace behind the youth was ancient and remained a colossus to this day; perhaps he knew some secrets of this place.
Sprinting at full speed, they dared not waste time. They were already not far from the center of the colossal pit, where auspicious clouds steamed and immortal mist swirled in the distance.
Qin Ming grew cautious. Confident though he was, he took care to prevent mishaps.
*Rumble!*
Above the sinkhole, a fierce battle erupted among the core disciples as they abruptly came to blows.
Tang Xumi, Su Jingshu, Jiang Shengyu, and Luo Qingge had previously severed ties, yet to everyone's utter surprise, the four joined forces once more to launch an assault against Hu Tingwen and Sun Jingtian. The outcome proved unexpected: Hu Tingwen and Sun Jingtian had been on guard all along, retreating swiftly toward one direction and escaping without suffering severe harm.
The four pursued relentlessly, seemingly desperate to eliminate the pair. The other disciples from beyond the mundane world chose to watch from the sidelines, helping neither party.
The turn of events once again left the elite disciples dumbfounded. As the six great experts skirmished in a chaotic melee, they drew near the crowd and suddenly joined together to unleash lethal strikes upon an elite disciple!
Shockingly, that obscure disciple possessed unfathomable strength. Erupting with dazzling five-colored radiance, he severely wounded Luo Qingge on the spot, blasting her flying backward.
Cui Chonghe's eyes turned deep, his expression chilling. Having been besieged without warning, he knew that he had most likely missed his chance at the near-immortal item forever.
Li Qingyue's eyes were clear. In her role as a gold-armored guard, she stayed out of the fray and chose to look on.
At the bottom of the deep pit, Qin Ming had already caught sight of the near-immortal item. They had reached their destination.
Chen Shuhang's Five-Color Thunderfire force erupted, deafening thunder roaring with terrifying power. Jiang Congyun's Pure Yang force was even more overwhelmingly domineering, instantly dispersing the dense heavenly light nearby.
Qin Ming had no choice but to strike as well, once again displaying the bearing of a youthful patriarch.
Chapter 115