Qin Ming smiled as well. "Qingyue mentioned it to me, but I didn't expect it to happen this fast."
"Who else could it be but her?" Meng Xinghai urged him to hurry over to "test the technique."
Qin Ming nodded. "Actually, there really is someone else. Core disciples like Tang Xumi, Hu Tingwen, and Su Jingshu owe me a famous art."
Those disciples had mentioned discovering a fragmented volume of Divine Ape force in the scripture pavilion—a renowned heavenly light force.
He just didn't know whether they would keep their promise. And even if they didn't renege, they would likely deliver the book to Li Qingyue first.
"Not bad, kid," Meng Xinghai said. "You ventured out once and came back with quite a haul."
Qin Ming nodded. His gains this time were indeed abundant, leaving him well satisfied.
Wasting no time, he swiftly went with Meng Xinghai to meet their visitor.
The antique living room was adorned with bronze trees, tripod cauldrons, and other ancient vessels. Inside an incense burner, spirit-calming incense burned slowly, wisps of fragrant smoke rising in delicate, silken curls.
An elderly man sat there sipping tea. Well along in years, his hair was stark white, yet his complexion was ruddy and his spirit hale and hearty. Upon seeing him, even Meng Xinghai called out respectfully, "Uncle Li."
Seeing this, Qin Ming took the initiative to drop down another generation and bowed in greeting to this Grandfather Li.
When the old man opened and closed his eyes, they gleamed like a pair of golden lamps, brimming with extraordinary vitality. Rising to his feet, he nodded with a smile. "Good, a fine young man. I came all this way specifically to thank you, Little Qin, for helping Qingyue successfully obtain the near-immortal item."
He was a member of a reclusive clan, and evidently an elder very close to Li Qingyue.
"Actually, I didn't help that much," Qin Ming said modestly. "Even without me, Qingyue definitely would have claimed the top spot in the end."
The old man smiled and didn't dwell on the matter. "This time, I've brought along a special technique. It possesses quite an origin, but it is also exceptionally difficult to cultivate." He retrieved three sheets of paper and said, "Take a look first and ponder it at your own pace. There's no rush."
Hearing this, Qin Ming grew genuinely curious. What kind of technique was this, to warrant an elder of such senior status making the trip in person?
He accepted them into his hands. They were evidently newly transcribed, the characters still carrying a faint fragrance of fresh ink.
Li Qingyun spoke up. "This is identical to the original. In fact, every single stroke of each character was reproduced exactly as written, just in case some hidden mystery was concealed within them."
Qin Ming couldn't help but feel surprised hearing the elder say this. Treated with such solemnity, it clearly had to be something extraordinary.
That was not all. Li Qingyun then brought out three bronze plaques, each corresponding to a blurry humanoid figure sketched with numerous intricate lines.
He explained, "These are the three illustrations that correspond to the three pages of scripture. They have also been replicated to scale, matching even their indistinct condition."
Qin Ming nodded. Seeing how much attention had been paid to every detail, his expression turned solemn. Holding the papers, he compared them against the bronze plaques and studied them closely.
Before long, his brow furrowed. Who had written this scripture? It was far too broad and vague. It spoke of the flesh and the spirit in grand, sweeping terms, setting sights on distant horizons.
"Whose lifespan outlasts heaven and earth, knowing no end..."
Reading up to this point, Qin Ming exhaled a breath of turbid air. He was still merely cultivating heavenly light force, having just stepped onto the Newborn path, yet these three pages were already discussing longevity and immortality.
One had to realize that even veteran seniors of the outer realm or the foremost powerhouses of the esoteric sects could not escape death; all of them would eventually reach the end of their lifespans.
Moreover, their lifespans were not particularly exaggerated.
Crucially, Qin Ming felt that these three pages of scripture were nothing but empty talk!
There was simply no detailed method whatsoever. The words on the pages were extraordinarily vague, and paired with the three blurry diagrams, they could be interpreted in virtually any manner.
If this man hadn't been Li Qingyue's elder, Qin Ming would have taken him for a charlatan or a fraud.
Sipping his tea, Li Qingyun remarked, "Don't put pressure on yourself; there is plenty of time. This scripture has stumped countless individuals. Even among those who managed to gain some enlightenment from it, what each person obtained was entirely different."
"What did others gain from it?" Qin Ming asked.
Li Qingyun replied, "Very few have ever gleaned anything from it. But anyone who did gain something was invariably a renowned figure. Among them, some saw their lifespans drastically surge in their twilight years, extending their lives by half a lifetime; some were originally dull-witted, yet attained enlightenment overnight; some had ordinary talent, yet suddenly transformed their bone structure and constitution; and some saw their physical bodies wither, yet lived out a second life through the spirit."
He spoke with a yearning tone, lost in reverie.
Meng Xinghai chimed in from the side, "Those mentioned just now were all formidable figures—such as a revival patriarch of the Pure Yang Palace, an old temple master of the Yinyang Daoist Temple, and the progenitor of the Five Elements Palace."
Hearing this, Qin Ming was thoroughly astounded. The pedigree of the contents on these three pages was far greater than he had imagined, directly involving historic luminaries.
"Let me examine it more closely." His expression grew more solemn than ever before. Pouring his entire heart and mind into it, he earnestly contemplated its profound mysteries.
Li Qingyun comforted him, "There really is no rush. I will stay here for half a month, so there is plenty of time. As long as your body or spirit experiences even the slightest peculiar sensation, that means you have an affinity with it and should be able to gain something. After all, those historical figures were the same. In the beginning, they merely felt something unusual, and only through practicing and comprehending it over long years did they ultimately undergo a qualitative transformation."
Meng Xinghai explained the scripture's origin. It had been obtained from deeper regions of the night mist world, discovered by chance during the Great Reclamation era, but only a handful of people had ever reaped any rewards from it.
Even those with profound cultivation were not guaranteed to comprehend it. For instance, the patriarch of the Sky-Upholding force possessed world-shaking martial prowess, his physical strength reaching the absolute pinnacle to the point where he could virtually tear open the sky. Yet after studying this book for three years, he failed to gain even a sliver of insight. In the end, he became so enraged that he nearly tore the book to pieces.
Had someone not stopped him, the book probably wouldn't have survived despite its extraordinary material.
After studying it for half an hour, Qin Ming felt heat building between his brows, accompanied by a slight swelling ache. He stopped to take a brief rest.
Setting down his teacup, Li Qingyun said, "In a sense, it can be considered a mother scripture. It might not grant you a concrete technique, but it can provide plenty of inspiration and possibilities."
This scripture was deemed relatively suitable for those walking the mutation path to comprehend, because most of the historical figures who had gained something from it were renowned luminaries on that path.
Seeing Qin Ming temporarily set aside the three pages, Meng Xinghai also spoke up: "In the outer realm, a veteran senior as formidable as Li Qingxu's master—more than a hundred years ago, proud and supremely confident—once spent five years studying this book, only to come away empty-handed. Rumor has it that his face stayed dark with frustration for over half a year afterward."
Qin Ming was amazed. This book was apparently famous beyond measure.
Li Qingyun nodded. "Indeed. At present, the original text resides within the outer pure lands, archived and preserved by them, though it has gathered dust in that scripture pavilion for many years."
This was a helpless reality: a book originally useful for the mutation path had fallen into the hands of people beyond the mundane world. It was ample proof of the current state of both paths—a stark disparity in status and standing.
Meng Xinghai said, "In this era, according to public records, only a very select few have gained any meager insights from studying this book."
"It truly is difficult then. In an entire era, only a few people gain any insight." Qin Ming resumed his study and noticed his forehead growing hot once more.
His heart stirred. Could this be the unusual sensation they spoke of?
Li Qingyun nodded. "That's already quite a few. Looking back across the past thousand years, how many people could truly understand this book? Strictly speaking, not a single person has ever comprehended the entire work; they merely gained insights from select portions."
Qin Ming had no choice but to pause again. He took a sip of tea, quietly experiencing that state while checking whether any abnormal changes were occurring within him.
Meng Xinghai remarked, "When the Li clan invited Lu Zhen, a core disciple of the Yinyang Daoist Temple, to temporarily serve as a gold-armored guard to help Li Qingxu contest the near-immortal item, aside from sending generous treasures to the Yinyang Daoist Temple, the Li clan reportedly also promised Lu Zhen that they would arrange for him to visit the outer realm to view this book."
Although the book was held in the outer realm, it had not been sealed away; one could study it by paying a certain price. For example, regarding Cui Chongxuan, who practiced the Six Imperials force, the Cui clan was actively arranging to send him there for a chance to comprehend it.
As for Cui Chonghe, a core disciple and indisputable seed-level figure of the outer realm, he had studied this book long ago. Whether he gained anything from it remained unknown to outsiders.
As an outsider, the fact that Qin Ming could read this scripture now was naturally thanks to Li Qingyue's proactive efforts.
Fearing that Qin Ming might feel pressured if he failed to comprehend it, Meng Xinghai consoled him, "Studying this scripture relies entirely on affinity. After all, even the patriarch of the Sky-Upholding force felt nothing from it and tossed it out the window with a string of curses. If it really doesn't work, we can just trade it for another exceptional art."
"Patriarch-level figures are that down-to-earth?" Qin Ming asked in surprise.
"You seem to have missed the point; I'm telling you to relax," Meng Xinghai said.
"I am relaxing. It's just that the space between my brows feels a bit hot."
"Good, as long as you're rel—hm?!"
"What did you say?!"
In an instant, both Meng Xinghai and Li Qingyun set down their teacups. Bright beams of light gradually shone in their eyes as they stared intently at him.
Qin Ming said, "I have an initial feeling, but it's very faint. Let me ponder it a bit more."
Li Qingyun shot to his feet. How many great figures had this book stumped? Acclaimed as one of the most difficult ancient scriptures, it truly could only be comprehended through "affinity."
In fact, it wasn't just the patriarch of the Sky-Upholding force. Even the patriarch of the Six Imperials force had stealthily tried to "ponder" it, only to end up completely in the dark.
However, that patriarch was deeply concerned about saving face and warned anyone who knew not to leak a word, threatening to slice them into one hundred and eight pieces with the Six Imperials heavenly light if they did.
In his youth, Li Qingyun had also examined these three pages of scripture, yet he had comprehended nothing. Now, witnessing with his own eyes a youth on the verge of discerning something from it, how could he not be shocked?
This was standing shoulder to shoulder with the legendary figures of history!
Meng Xinghai felt a swell of emotion. The young Qin he had placed his hopes on seemed to exceed expectations every single time. Displaying such potential right in front of Uncle Li gave him immense face.
This time, he had originally thought Qin Ming would likely meet defeat. Yet facts proved that young Qin remained as fiercely capable as ever, managing to extract essence even from one of the most difficult ancient scriptures.
Qin Ming said, "My condition isn't great today. Comprehending it is quite strenuous, and my forehead keeps growing hot and sore. But as I delve a bit deeper, it feels as though I've grasped something. These three diagrams seem to be growing clearer, transforming."
"Even in poor condition, he can still comprehend part of this ancient scripture?" Li Qingyun looked dubious, dearly wanting to ask Meng Xinghai whether this youth always spoke like this.
It left a truly bitter taste in his mouth. He had bathed, burned incense, and calmed his mind to meditate on it all to no avail. This was genuinely exasperating!
Li Qingyun felt that if Li Qingxu's master were to find out, or if those old fogies heard Qin Ming talk like this, they would probably want to jump out and beat him to a pulp.
"He really does comprehend scriptures very quickly in ordinary times," Meng Xinghai said with a light cough.
"I feel like my body is gradually heating up as well," Qin Ming reported, experiencing something completely new.
Li Qingyun could sit still no longer. He had manifested two unusual sensations in succession—such a feat was unheard of!
Chapter 125