At the bottom of the deep pit, Qin Ming walked with increasingly steady steps. He pulled his thoughts completely away from the near-immortal item and the metallic sheet, regaining total calm.
Those things were still far beyond him and had little to do with where he stood now; they belonged to the core traditions of the outer realm. He reminded himself not to get carried away and to keep his feet planted firmly on the ground as he advanced.
Just a few months ago, he had been hunting in the mountains, nearly dying from a bizarre illness, enduring hunger and struggling simply to survive.
As for everything in the Cui clan, it was nothing more than a pipe dream, not something to take seriously. Only after stepping onto the Newborn path and steadily improving his physique had he broken free from that predicament.
Qin Ming believed that cultivating heavenly light force was his true path forward. As long as he continued to fuse them, he would eventually make his mark.
Chen Shuhang and Jiang Congyun fled all the way out, not daring to take their original path back. They were unwilling to run into He Tai—who possessed the aura of a young grandmaster—or the disciple of the Five Elements Palace.
After being severely wounded by Qin Ming, the two were in terrible shape. They worried that on their return, experts who cultivated specialized force methods would see through their weakness. If anyone decided to move against them, they would stand little chance of survival.
Moreover, Jiang Congyun and Chen Shuhang felt that their experience at the bottom of the pit was utterly humiliating, and they had no desire to mention it to anyone.
Qin Ming, on the other hand, walked back along the original route at an unhurried pace. This had been part of his plan all along: he wanted to muddy the waters entirely.
He could not sneak the near-immortal relic out quietly. It was far too extraordinary; every step of the way, it shimmered with auspicious clouds of rosy dawn, illuminating the surrounding mist of light into brilliant hues.
If he failed to return via the agreed-upon path, people would likely assume he was attempting to abscond with the near-immortal item, which would trigger a siege by the outer realm disciples.
Qin Ming reasoned that since that was the case, he might as well use the Eight Trigrams Furnace as bait to draw every disciple into the fray and ignite a chaotic free-for-all.
In any case, no one yet knew that Li Qingyue had returned. She could wait at ease for the fierce, brutal contest to draw near its end.
Qin Ming's only concern was whether an outer realm disciple who temporarily got their hands on the Eight Trigrams Furnace would be able to activate it and unleash its mysterious might.
He felt he ought to be prudent; the best approach would be to quietly seize an outer realm disciple and test it. He had been inside the deadly ground for quite some time, and the Pure Yang blood on his armor had nearly evaporated completely.
At the bottom of the colossal pit, violent ribbons of iridescent mist churned like vast sheets of heavenly fire surging and billowing. Even for Qin Ming, every breath sent a scorching, stinging pain through his mouth and nose.
Had any other Newborn entered, their lungs would have been incinerated in mere moments, burning from the inside out until nothing remained but ash.
"Look, he's out!"
"He really got the near-immortal item!"
The three great experts guarding the outer edge of the pit's floor caught sight of the hazy figure approaching through the iridescent mist, and they immediately noticed the divine radiance swirling around the object in his hands.
He Tai was a young expert invited by the Zheng family. His heritage was extraordinary; he practiced the Great Ape King force, and his ancestral founder had once dared to contend against the Tathagata of that era.
He stared at the silhouette within the haze of heavenly light, an unusual look in his eyes. "Chen Shuhang and Jiang Congyun are gone. Only the successor of the Six Imperials force remains."
"He has nothing to do with the Six Imperials lineage," Chen Xingyuan said in a calm voice. He hailed from the fabled Five Elements Palace, and his strength was unfathomable.
Li Tianhe, a disciple of the Yuqing lineage, merely grunted in agreement with the assessment.
Chen Xingyuan of the Five Elements Palace added flatly, "He has no connection to the Tathagata lineage, either."
No one else was present. Only the three of them waited here, all possessing illustrious backgrounds and cultivating the most unique and formidable kinds of heavenly light force.
Qin Ming passed through the dense heavenly light until he was not far from them. The gazes of all three were drawn to the near-immortal item, which, despite being heavily damaged, still shimmered with radiant brilliance.
"Did you clash with Jiang Congyun and Chen Shuhang?" He Tai asked.
Qin Ming looked at him without answering. Was this guy looking for trouble?
Chen Xingyuan and Li Tianhe said nothing, watching in silence.
"Weren't your methods a bit too vicious, leaving both of them behind in that deadly ground?" He Tai spoke again.
Qin Ming countered, "What do you mean by that? Are you claiming I killed them? Don't go throwing dirty water on me."
"It's best if you didn't. After all, we're all walking the same path, and it isn't easy for anyone." He Tai nodded, then reached out with a smile, preparing to take the brilliant Eight Trigrams Furnace.
Qin Ming walked forward to the edge of the pit and handed the Eight Trigrams Furnace over.
He Tai smiled, grabbing for the rim of the furnace with one hand while his other abruptly erupted with Great Ape King force, blasting toward Qin Ming.
The Great Ape King force was exceedingly violent, both masculine and overbearing. It felt as though a heaven-swallowing great ape had materialized on the spot, churning with vast heavenly light.
There was no way Qin Ming would let himself be struck. Channeling his wind force, he whipped up a gust and dodged the ferocious heavenly light.
However, the Pure Yang blood on him dispersed. There had not been much left to begin with, and after this sudden strike from He Tai, every last drop evaporated.
Clearly, He Tai's intent had been to scatter whatever residual Pure Yang blood remained on his armor.
Under normal circumstances, any Newborn who stepped into an area dense with heavenly light was risking their life.
Qin Ming had just emerged alive, only for He Tai to pull such a move and shatter his Pure Yang blood. The malice behind it was unmistakable.
Yet He Tai was also astonished. He had clearly gripped the rim of the Eight Trigrams Furnace, so why hadn't he snatched it away? He had actually failed.
Qin Ming's expression was cold. He had seen through the other man's ill intentions long ago; even if he intended to put on a show to spark chaos, he would never let this person be the trigger.
Just moments ago, he had activated his adhesive force. No matter how hard He Tai pulled, it was entirely in vain.
"Do I have a grudge against you?" Qin Ming asked as he moved to scale the slope.
With a whoosh, all three experts moved at once, swift as lightning, cutting off his path.
"You killed Jiang Congyun and Chen Shuhang. Your hands are stained with blood. We cannot simply look the other way, so we intend to avenge them," He Tai said indifferently.
Qin Ming looked at the three of them. "Must you be so hypocritical? Why bother pretending at this point? You're just after the near-immortal item, aren't you?"
Chen Xingyuan, the disciple of the Five Elements Palace, nodded. "Indeed. A thousand years ago, the Eight Trigrams Furnace of Mount Luofu was world-renowned. It touches upon near-immortal and godlike beings deep within the night mist world, and we wish to study it closely."
Qin Ming hardly knew what to say. A group of outer realm disciples had allied and schemed, exhausting every trick, only for the helpers they brought in to harbor their own hidden motives.
When he had first seen He Tai, the young man had seemed modest and humble, but now his true colors were laid bare. Qin Ming shook his head and let out a soft sigh.
He then feigned a breakout, charging toward the slope, only for the three experts to join forces and intercept him, seeking to force him back into the deadly ground to be scorched by the heavenly light.
Killing intent surfaced in Qin Ming's heart. He had exercised restraint before, sparing both Chen Shuhang and Jiang Congyun, but now he had no intention of showing mercy to the man before him.
He traded palm strikes with He Tai, not to decide victory or life and death on the spot, but to unleash his adhesive force. Guiding the successor of the Great Ape King force, he dragged him down into the bottom of the pit, where heavenly light hung thick and heavy.
He Tai was startled. This man's outward manifestation of heavenly light was so limited—how could he possibly drag him down into the deadly ground?
His expression turned grim. He had Pure Yang blood protecting him, whereas his opponent had already lost his reliance. Without protective spirit blood, the boy could never hold out here for long.
He Tai unleashed the Great Ape King force in full. Behind him, what seemed like a black great ape rose, roaring as though it would tear through the curtain of night to see daylight once more.
It had to be said that his heavenly light force was truly extraordinary. No wonder his ancestral founder had dared to challenge the Tathagata back then; it was actually accompanied by such a wondrous phenomenon.
Qin Ming struck out with the Wutu Fist, instantly shattering the other man's fierce and overbearing heavenly light. Then, he discharged the golden silkworm force. Even extending only three inches from his body, it pierced He Tai's fist, leaving it dripping with blood.
He Tai was indeed remarkable. The heavenly light force on the surface of his body circulated rapidly, vibrating violently. Only his skin bled slightly; his bones and sinews were unharmed.
Outside his body, the heavenly light surged and churned, nearly a meter thick. His strength clearly surpassed that of Jiang Congyun and Chen Shuhang.
Yet he was thoroughly shocked. What was this opponent's background? A mere three inches of heavenly light could actually shake his own outward manifestation of nearly a meter—it was simply inconceivable.
He had met with early success in his youth and received wide praise; many believed his fist arts bore traces of a young grandmaster's verve. He had always been tremendously confident, and now he struck with everything he had.
On Qin Ming's fist, departing fire force erupted, swirling with flames that tore through his opponent's fist force like a prairie fire, actually setting part of the heavenly light ablaze.
"What?!" He Tai gasped. He drove the Great Ape King force with all his might, instantly extinguishing the departing fire heavenly light.
Qin Ming closed the distance, making physical contact once more. This time, his adhesive force surged to its absolute limit, yanking the crystalline red layer of Pure Yang blood essence right off the other man.
In the next instant, Qin Ming attached it all to his own armor.
"You..." He Tai's face drained of color. Having lost his protection, he did not dare linger in this place a moment longer and tried to break out.
The searing heat was already becoming unbearable as the heavenly light began to erode his body.
"Where do you think you're going? Taste the medicine yourself!" Qin Ming blocked his path, refusing to let him leave.
He Tai's eyes turned bloodshot, and he came to an abrupt halt. He knew there was no peaceful resolution; the harder he tried to flee, the harder it would be to break away. His only choice now was to fight for his life.
"Let me show you the true Great Ape King Art!" he said coldly, his heart growing calm instead. Enduring the agonizing pain of the heavenly light scorching his flesh, he charged at Qin Ming.
He unleashed the Great Ape King Fist that had shaken the night mist world. It was truly extraordinary, enabling him to trade blows back and forth with Qin Ming.
His heavenly light force was extremely unique, overwhelmingly overbearing and masculine, temporarily holding off Qin Ming's fist radiance.
"Roar!"
He Tai roared. The violent ape behind him manifested once more, vibrating along with his movements and stirring up boundless heavenly light, carrying the momentum to uproot mountains and split the heavens.
With a thunderous rumble, his heavenly light force tore through several-meter-tall boulders at the bottom of the pit with ease.
He Tai stomped hard, shattering the crystallized ground and opening up numerous cracks half a foot wide.
He seemed to transform into a true Great Ape King, fighting with mounting ferocity, churning the iridescent haze of heavenly light as if striking with the grand momentum of heaven and earth.
With every punch he threw, terrifying heavenly light surged, lifting numerous boulders into the air to hurtle forward alongside his fists with astonishing force.
Qin Ming turned solemn, facing his enemy with total focus. Unwilling to drag this out any longer, he used the silk book method to govern all scriptures: three miraculous arts and eighteen force methods vibrated in unison, roaring continuously.
A sacred radiance flowed across his entire body as his right fist shot forward. All the poise of a grandmaster and supreme martial skill were concentrated into this single, ultimate punch!
He Tai's expression shifted. Others praised him as a future grandmaster, but he had never let it go to his head; he knew he was still far from that realm, and even if his moves carried a few traces of that verve, he had barely scratched the surface. But now, seeing the fist radiance and bearing of his opponent, he felt deeply stung.
This man truly possessed the demeanor of a young grandmaster.
He Tai roared, erupting with everything he had. The black Great Ape King phantom merged into his body, and as he punched, the shockwave shook the bottom of the colossal pit.
With a thunderous boom, their fists collided.
Qin Ming punched straight through the nearly meter-thick heavenly light, crushing the Great Ape King force. Amidst a spray of blood, He Tai's fist deformed, the sound of breaking bones crisp and clear.
"Some future grandmaster, some young fist master—you're nowhere close!" Qin Ming remarked.
He Tai staggered backward. Corroded by the haze of heavenly light and with his finger bones shattered, he was in excruciating pain. Yet he erupted with terrifying fist radiance once more, punching forward.
This time, Qin Ming did not trade punches with him. Having already measured and defeated his opponent, he had lost all interest; he simply swung the Eight Trigrams Furnace in his hand and smashed it forward.
He Tai's pupils contracted. Only now did he realize that the other man had barely used his left hand throughout their prolonged fight. A wave of crushing defeat washed over him.
Desperate to survive, he did not hesitate to damage his own foundation, erupting with even greater power. The Great Ape King behind him grew clearer than ever, lunging straight over his physical body toward Qin Ming.
Qin Ming swung the Eight Trigrams Furnace and slammed it down. With a thunderous boom, he pulverized the ferocious, colossal black ape phantom.
"Ahhh..." He Tai shrieked in agony. That phantom seemed to embody his very spirit and vitality; having it torn from his flesh and shattered drove him entirely mad.
Qin Ming looked solemn. The Great Ape King Art was formidable indeed, truly extraordinary. For a great ape to actually lunge forward surpassed the bounds of ordinary techniques.
He realized that this art was exceptionally powerful; He Tai simply had not mastered it thoroughly!
Driven mad, He Tai charged forward.
Qin Ming swung the Eight Trigrams Furnace. With a loud crack, he blasted half of He Tai's body to pieces.
He Tai's mangled remains collapsed into a pool of blood, screaming in agony.
Soon, he was ignited by the heavenly light that had already invaded his body, swiftly burning to ashes.
A young expert had died a wretched death!
The commotion was immense, naturally alerting the outer realm disciples at the edge of the colossal pit. Many of them spotted the brilliant immortal light blazing below.
"The near-immortal item has been retrieved!" someone shouted.
Several outer realm disciples with Pure Yang blood clinging to them rapidly swooped down.
"The curtain has risen," Qin Ming murmured softly. Holding the near-immortal item, he stood quietly at the bottom of the deep pit.
Chapter 118