"Brothers, you've been watching for a long time and have determined the level of his strength. Can you make your move now?" the Fire Qilin Lion rasped, heavily wounded with fractures all over its body.
The three great experts were cautious; only after verifying their opponent's true condition would they step onto the field. Had the situation proved hopeless, they would have retreated straight down the back of the mountain.
The Fire Qilin Lion had paid a heavy price for this, battling the human youth in a bloody duel so these foreign reinforcements could observe and study him.
Upon hearing this, Qin Ming proved remarkably obliging. A wisp of lightning flickered across his body, and he trembled three times in succession.
In the pitch-black night sky, silver serpents danced wildly amid torrential rain, and the mountain was filled with an aura of chilling slaughter.
The three great experts slowly closed in, radiating an overwhelming sense of pressure!
"Where is the wondrous medicine?" the human male asked in a raspy voice. He wore a bronze mask and carried a greatsword across his back.
As he spoke, he cast a casual glance toward the Fire Qilin Lion.
The giant lion froze, thinking, *Why are you looking at me?*
Then it realized what he meant, nearly flying into a rage!
Yet apprehension stirred in its heart—could the Eldest Brother have offered it up as the wondrous medicine?
"Old Third, go bring the wondrous blood from my quiet chamber!" the Black Peng spoke up. It had invited five helpers in total, yet only three had shown up, arriving late at that.
The Old Donkey darted toward a building in the distance and soon returned with a piece of flawless crystal. Sealed inside was a liquid blazing with intense dark light, exceptionally miraculous.
"Good!" A three-meter-tall giant hedgehog nodded. Walking upright on a pair of short, stubby legs, its entire body bristled with silver quills.
The Black Peng's heart bled. This was a portion of wondrous blood it had traded its entire fortune to obtain from an elder of its clan!
Earlier, it had never intended to part with this medicine; so long as it could swiftly dispatch the human youth itself, there would be no need. Yet the worst-case scenario had unfolded!
"Alas, if only it were the blood of a Golden-Winged Peng, that would be truly magnificent," a two-meter-long wondrous bird remarked. The crest feathers atop its head were yellow, dancing like golden flames; its back was crimson, its belly purple, and its tail feathers stretched three meters long, flowing with brilliant azure radiance—strikingly gorgeous.
The Black Peng felt thoroughly disgruntled. *Is a Black Peng not a Peng bird?* Though... there truly was quite a gap.
Qin Ming looked at the vividly colorful brocade sparrow. It possessed abundant spirituality; in all likelihood, it had also developed wondrous blood!
"This young man is quite fine. His demeanor is close to that of an immortal. Do not kill him," the giant hedgehog spoke.
The old demons were puzzled and all looked toward it.
Qin Ming was also surprised, thinking this hedgehog had quite a broad perspective.
The giant hedgehog said, "For a youth so serene and ethereal, once crippled, nothing would be more fitting than having him wash my back and brush my silver quills every day."
The old demons understood at once: the giant hedgehog wanted to keep him alive as an ornament for its prestige.
Qin Ming decided it was necessary to pluck out its silver quills one by one and use his mutton-fat jade iron saber to "scrub" its back!
The masked man spoke up: "Everyone, he only recently absorbed a portion of silver wondrous blood. If we refine him soon, we might still extract some of its medicinal potency."
Qin Ming's gaze turned chillingly cold. Sometimes, one's own kind was far more terrifying than demons and monsters. This man was truly detestable.
The brocade sparrow nodded. "Once I taste his heart's blood later, I will know how much medicinal efficacy remains."
"Please make quick work of this, brothers!" the Fire Qilin Lion urged, wishing nothing more than to execute this youth whose growth rate was terrifying.
The Black Peng also nodded. "Brothers, you've picked up a great bargain. This fiend was struck by lightning just like me; he has little combat power left."
"Strike!"
Once again, it was the masked human who drew the greatsword from his back and was the first to stride forward.
The brocade sparrow soared into the night sky like a phoenix dancing across the nine heavens, hovering aloft as four-colored clouds of haze bloomed around it, carrying the distinct grace of a divine bird. In the silver hedgehog's hands appeared a silver bow carved with cloud patterns. Despite its short limbs, it was actually an archer!
In an instant, its stubby arms swelled and lengthened until it could draw the bowstring. Plucking one of its own silver quills, it notched it as an arrow.
*Boom!*
Wind and thunder surged as the arrow unleashed, bearing blinding silver light like a burning meteor with a long trailing glow, vaporizing the sheet of rain in its path.
In the way of archery, the giant hedgehog could be considered a master among exotic beasts!
Qin Ming's heart jumped. He snapped his head aside, and the silver quill shot past his ear, lifting strands of his hair with an abnormally scorching blast of air.
Behind him, a building constructed from black gold stone shattered in an instant, utterly destroyed by the single shot.
With a single stride, the masked man was already before him. The greatsword in his hands crashed down like a thunderbolt, erupting with soul-stirring sword light.
Qin Ming did not employ saber control; he was not yet fully proficient, and he sensed that his opponent's heavenly light force was far from ordinary.
The saber gleamed like a rainbow piercing the void, clashing against the greatsword amid splashing streams of light. In a single breath, their weapons collided dozens of times in the dark rain.
The man's heavenly light force was indeed extraordinary—fierce, unyielding, and carrying scorching heatwaves far beyond what an ordinary Outer Sage could muster!
He was able to match Qin Ming blow for blow, directly clashing head-on.
Of course, this was also largely due to his profound cultivation; after all, he was an Outer Sage who had walked this realm for many years.
Nicks appeared on the man's greatsword, its hardness inferior to mutton-fat jade iron. Yet he felt no heartache; so long as he killed this youth, he could replace it with a superior jade iron sword.
In the sky, multi-colored clouds radiated brilliantly. The brocade sparrow flapped its wings with an imposing aura, letting out a shrill cry before four great beams of light—gold, crimson, blue, and purple—shot out overwhelmingly, blotting out the heavens.
The masked man hurriedly retreated, furious enough to turn on it. The ferocious bird was attacking indiscriminately.
The four-colored light bombarded the mountain peak, fracturing the ground and sending rubble tumbling. Clouds of dust billowed up, only to be promptly beaten down by the torrential rain.
"Watch where you aim!" the man shouted into the air, holding his sword.
"I'll be careful next time!" the brocade sparrow replied.
The giant hedgehog unleashed an attack, firing a rapid volley of arrows. Stream after stream of silver light pierced the night sky, sealing off Qin Ming's paths from every angle and forcing him to slash at the arrows with his saber.
Midair, the brocade sparrow erupted with iridescent clouds, pouring down four-colored beams of gold, crimson, azure, and purple that intertwined like a plunging waterfall.
Biding his time, the masked man soon charged back in to kill!
For a time, the greatsword in his hands raged like sweeping wildfire, threatening to ignite the night sky. The sword radiance blazed resplendently, repeatedly sundering the rain curtain with terrifying force.
All three experts warily watched the silver saber in Qin Ming's hand, fearing he might channel lightning once more.
Whenever they saw him raise his blade, the three beings would rapidly retreat, offering him no opening and hoping to watch him strike himself with lightning instead.
Mainly, Qin Ming's cultivation level was not yet sufficient; even aided by today's extreme weather, he could not summon lightning instantaneously.
Before Qin Ming, green mist surged to form a Yimu shield. Though it was pierced and detonated several times by the glaring silver beams, it still deflected the arrows' trajectories.
At close range, the masked man swung his greatsword continuously through the air, dragging billowing flames behind it as his offensive grew increasingly fierce.
Under such circumstances, Qin Ming kept his gaze fixed on midair, pondering how to deal an effective, lethal blow to the brocade sparrow.
If a winged, wondrous bird spread its wings and fled, he truly could not stop it.
Then, feigning exhaustion, he continuously fell back as he parried the greatsword. Furthermore, against the giant hedgehog's arrows, he repeatedly found himself in perilous straits, narrowly escaping being struck.
Only against the aerial assault did he appear completely indifferent, actively charging forward each time to endure the four-colored light head-on, using it to evade the greatsword and the hedgehog's arrows.
"Brocade Sparrow, are you holding back your strength?" the giant hedgehog asked in dissatisfaction.
The masked man also glanced into the air. Naturally proud, the brocade sparrow felt deeply insulted. *This human youth fears the other two and treats my attacks as a "safe harbor"? What insolence!*
It descended in altitude, growing increasingly frenzied as four-colored light cascaded incessantly. It seemed to burst into flames, its shrill cries shaking this domain.
Fighting while retreating, Qin Ming seized the momentum to leap atop a building, then abruptly launched himself into the night sky, charging straight for the brocade sparrow.
The moment his mutton-fat jade iron saber brushed against its plumage, he instantly shifted his force technique into adhesive force, snagging its tail feathers and dragging it downward.
Terrifying arrows came shooting in, turning Qin Ming into a sitting duck in midair. Yet he remained calm. Channeling the golden silkworm force, wisps of golden light danced around his body as if distorting space itself, deflecting every incoming arrow off course.
Seeing this, the giant hedgehog drew in a sharp breath of the night mist.
Enraged, the brocade sparrow let out an earth-shattering cry like a phoenix descending to burn away the darkness. Flapping its wings toward the sky, four of its tail feathers were ripped out, spraying a flurry of blood.
Qin Ming felt a twinge of regret that he hadn't captured it.
Upon landing, he severed the bloodstained portion of the tail feathers with a slash of his saber, taking only a clean, vibrant section and tucking it into his hair, deliberately baiting the brocade sparrow.
"So weak," he said, shaking his head as he looked up at the night sky.
The masked man lunged forward, the blazing flames along his greatsword illuminating the mountain peak.
Seeing Qin Ming change his force technique and manifest strands of golden thread outside his body, the giant hedgehog grew ruthless as well. It pulled out several particularly thick, long silver quills that bore faint, nascent patterns.
The brocade sparrow flew into a frenzy too. After unleashing a dense barrage of multi-colored clouds, it suddenly swooped toward the ground.
Its beak was nearly half a meter long, like a sharp sword radiating four-colored glow. Gathering all the demonic qi and heavenly light of its body into that single point, it dove from high above like an immortal flying from beyond the heavens.
This was its strongest technique, rarely shown in normal times; whenever unleashed, it was certain to slay the opponent with a single strike, boasting an undefeated record.
In the distance, the Black Peng's pupils constricted. Even it felt a chill; in its peak state, it wouldn't have been able to block such an attack!
Before striking, the brocade sparrow had intentionally cast down a sky full of iridescent haze to conceal its true form, following closely behind as it descended.
Qin Ming felt a premonition, sensing the danger and catching the hazy outline of the brocade sparrow.
Far from being afraid, he was delighted. His heavenly light force suddenly surged with brilliance, undergoing a transformation—four wondrous arts, twenty-seven heavenly light forces fused into one!
The brocade sparrow's "Immortal from Beyond the Heavens" had always triumphed, slaying countless foes since its emergence.
Furthermore, this was a surprise attack; bursting out from behind the colored haze, its brilliant beak stabbed directly toward the human youth's crown.
In its mind, once the "immortal sword" struck, the battle was as good as over!
Yet as it drew close, it discovered that the youth's aura had completely changed. Surging with boundless power, he instantly became profoundly sacred, as if standing within a blazing sun, the heavenly light force billowing around him with dazzling intensity.
Qin Ming caught its beak with his bare hand. With a jolt of his fused, ultimate heavenly light force, a sharp *crack* resounded as he snapped the long beak in two.
"Ahhh..." the brocade sparrow shrieked in agony.
Held in its foe's grasp, it felt a scorching heat like a blazing sun burning its flesh. Then the youth struck out with both palms, shattering its wings, followed by an agonizing snap as its legs fractured.
Assuring himself it was incapacitated, Qin Ming tossed it onto the ground.
Standing as though enveloped in a golden sun, his surging heavenly light force illuminating all directions, Qin Ming clashed barehanded against the masked man swinging his sword.
It had to be said that the man was indeed formidable, clashing against Qin Ming's fused heavenly light force multiple times.
With a sharp *snap*, his greatsword was caught between Qin Ming's hands, which erupted with blinding light that shattered the blade.
The man tried to retreat, but Qin Ming intercepted him. In a flurry of punches and kicks, the man was sent flying sideways, coughing up mouthfuls of blood incessantly.
The giant hedgehog wanted to flee in terror; this human youth's strength far exceeded their estimates.
"Everyone, if we flee separately, we will all die! Our only chance is to fight with everything we've got!" the Black Peng bellowed.
"Right!" The masked human struggled to his feet and charged forward barehanded.
The Black Peng and Fire Qilin Lion also dragged their wounded bodies forward, desperate to fight regardless of the cost.
Even the heavily battered brocade sparrow opened its broken beak, spitting four-colored haze as it rejoined the fray.
"Fine, let's give it all! Everyone, get out of the way!" the giant hedgehog yelled.
Silver light surged from its body like the lid being lifted from a divine furnace, pouring forth terrifying brilliance.
Every silver quill on its body trembled in unison. Adjusting its aim, it fired them off in a continuous, dense barrage until every single quill had detached, flying toward the human youth to lock down heaven and earth in an inescapable storm of arrows.
Qin Ming stood motionless where he was. As his heavenly light force radiated outward, twenty-seven divine halos seemed to envelop him, layered upon one another in profound sanctity.
When the dense volley of silver arrows arrived, they were halted by the twenty-seven divine halos and subsequently ground to pieces, masses of silver quills exploding outside Qin Ming's body.
The scalps of the old demons turned numb. That human youth seemed to stand within a resplendent golden pure land—ethereal and transcendent, yet overwhelmingly dominant.
Shattering all the silver quills with his fused heavenly light force, Qin Ming strode forward. Amid his otherworldly poise, he began to unleash thunderous methods!
Unwilling to wait for death, the old demons charged forward together.
Across this domain, heavenly light intertwined, colored clouds surged, and sword qi crisscrossed. Yet no matter how desperately they struggled, it was all futile; the momentum had already turned irrevocably against them.
Blood sprayed in all directions. The old demons were sent flying, their bodies blasted through. Demon blood splattered everywhere as they collapsed to the ground, utterly stripped of any ability to fight.
Only the Old Donkey had not taken part in the battle, but it was already shivering in terror, not daring to make the slightest move.
Standing as though in a dazzling pure land, Qin Ming revealed a smile. The harvest season had arrived; once the three portions of wondrous blood were in hand, his foundation and strength would advance yet another step.
Chapter 148