In the stone chamber, half-asleep and half-awake, Qin Ming hazily glimpsed that colossal figure standing tall between heaven and earth in the depths of the night mist. His spiritual light actually showed signs of dissipating!
He snapped awake and sat up. His mind felt unsteady and quite weary; a mere fleeting glance had subjected him to such immense pressure.
Calming his mind and focusing his thoughts, he circulated the *Life-Altering Classic*, elevating the vitality of his flesh and nourishing his essence, energy, and spirit. After a brief moment, he recovered completely, and the exhaustion vanished.
"Truly bizarre. It was like an out-of-body experience; drifting far away with the water mist, I actually witnessed such an anomalous sight. It felt both real and illusory."
Qin Ming pondered. One was Lu Zizai; could the other truly be the Six Imperials Patriarch?!
At the same time, he found the *Heluo Classic* exceedingly intriguing. A top-tier wondrous art was like a gold mine that could be excavated continually, yielding unending pleasant surprises.
Qin Ming consolidated the Heluo Classic in the quiet chamber. Having acquired a fifth wondrous art and successfully produced its heavenly light force filled him with a joyful and satisfying sense of achievement.
Before long, he stepped out of the stone cavern and breathed in the fresh air.
Over the past few days, at this exact time, Lu Zizai would always appear nearby, strolling through the Enlightenment Ground. It was as though he were contemplating something, or reminiscing before embarking on a long journey.
"How has your comprehension of the *Heluo Classic* progressed?" Lu Zizai indeed appeared again, asking from beside the emerald bamboo grove.
Thinking back to the past, he had achieved full initiation within five or six days and rapidly produced Heluo force, leaving everyone around him dumbfounded. Those scenes felt as though they had happened only yesterday.
"Actually, it isn't very difficult. Compared to certain secret scriptures, it's quite easy to enter the basics," Lu Zizai remarked.
Qin Ming nodded and said, "Senior Brother Lu is right; I feel the same way."
"Then how much have you understood?" Lu Zizai asked with a smile.
Qin Ming informed him, "The chapters for the Newborn stage, as well as portions of the text pertaining to the Outer Sage realm—everything I could comprehend, I've mastered."
Lu Zizai froze for a moment. "How many days has it been?"
"Four days," Qin Ming replied. Then, gentle heavenly light force manifested in his palm, misty with moisture. He drew the nearby Fire Spring into his hand; crimson radiance blended with the cloudy mist, swirling around like glowing sunset clouds.
"Four days?" Lu Zizai was dazed. This was faster than his record back then. Was this newly acquainted "junior brother" truly this formidable? He had thought his own record would be difficult to break—or at least nearly impossible to surpass within the Six Imperials ancestral court—yet here he was, witnessing a newcomer achieve it in even less time.
After a brief daze, Lu Zizai nodded. "Not bad. In the future, you will be one of our peers."
A group of elders kept watch in the far distance without daring to pry. Only the Young Ancestor's eldest disciple stood closer and inadvertently caught those words.
Instantly, he was stunned!
Such praise—on the world's Newborn path, how many people could possibly live up to it?
"Wh-what is it?" Zhou Tao noticed the stooped figure ahead shudder and thought something had gone wrong.
The Young Ancestor's eldest disciple hobbled back, tottering, his hair sparse enough to be negligible. He sighed, "It is actually patriarch-grade talent."
"Senior Brother Lu, can I learn the authentic technique *Mundane Fire* now?" Qin Ming asked, a brilliant light in his eyes.
Lu Zizai's expression turned somewhat complex. Looking at the youth before him, he seemed to see his former self: possessing supreme aptitudes, yet still so eager to learn.
Soon, he smiled again—right now, he was simply an eighteen-year-old youth! "With such extraordinary comprehension, I will teach you the art of Mundane Fire refining true arts."
Qin Ming listened attentively, then returned to the quiet chamber to silently contemplate it. This scripture was indeed difficult; because it had not yet been fully streamlined, certain details could only be intuited rather than put into words, requiring him to navigate through the foggy unknown on his own.
"Make the best use of your time to contemplate it. If there's anything you don't understand, ask me quickly. In the next few days, I might just run for it," Lu Zizai said.
He was remarkably forthright, making such remarks within the Six Imperials ancestral court without the slightest concealment.
"Will you leave, or stay?" Lu Zizai asked.
Qin Ming naturally wanted to run as well. Even this figure of immense background was preparing to flee; what would he accomplish by lingering here?
However, he felt somewhat guilty toward the Six Imperials ancestral court. He had learned their wondrous art, and he had learned afterward that the "wondrous medicine" he harvested might have had an owner. If he just walked away like this, would the elders agree?
Lu Zizai said, "If you feel indebted to the Six Imperials ancestral court, repay them in the future."
"All right!" Qin Ming nodded and proceeded to ask several questions regarding *Mundane Fire*. The text was not long, but it was extraordinarily profound.
It was enigmatic and endlessly useful; it could illuminate matters clearly, examining one's compatibility with cultivation techniques and more.
A few days later, Qin Ming felt that even though the authentic technique still held areas shrouded in mist, he could grope his way forward on his own and pierce the ineffable fog.
Lu Zizai packed his things, preparing to leave the Six Imperials ancestral court.
"Senior, where will you go?"
"To tumble in the mortal world for a bit. After that, I will most likely head deep into the night mist world to explore the Newborn path."
Without a doubt, Lu Zizai possessed the ambition to forge a new path!
*Dong...* A melodious bell tolled across the Six Imperials ancestral court, summoning the young disciples.
"I'm not leaving for now." Lu Zizai, who had been about to run off, actually returned. He seemed displeased, pacing back and forth in the Enlightenment Ground.
Qin Ming stepped out of the quiet chamber and asked, "Senior, what happened?"
"People from the outer realm have come to visit. I am quite displeased with them." That was his true nature: an otherworldly bearing paired with exceptionally direct speech.
"What happened?" Qin Ming knew something must have occurred.
Lu Zizai said, "Someone from the outer realm brought disciples to spar."
Qin Ming thought little of it and said, "What of it? In the early stages, Six Imperials force is most suited for fighting people beyond the mundane world. Its heavenly light is like a blazing sun, able to scorch their conscious spiritual light."
There was good reason why several legendary forces made both the outer realm and the esoteric sects wary; in the first two realms especially, they countered them somewhat.
As for the other kinds of heavenly light force, that was a complicated story—they were suppressed completely by the techniques of the outer realm and the esoteric sects.
"The key issue is that they intend to use our methods against us," Lu Zizai said displeasedly.
Qin Ming was taken aback and asked, "Methods of the Newborn path?"
"It is said that some old fellows in the outer realm have developed an extraordinary art. Others say it is a lost force method from our Newborn path that fell into their hands." Lu Zizai frowned. The people from the outer realm were clearly testing their art, and the faction leading this venture had chosen the Six Imperials ancestral court as their very first stop.
They claimed it was a spar and an exchange, but it was certainly an earnest contest. Without confidence, how would they dare come knocking? If the disciples of the Six Imperials ancestral court were suppressed in their own home by people from the outer realm, it would become an utter mockery.
"Is it truly a profound art developed by the grand figures of the outer realm?" Qin Ming asked. If so, they were frighteningly capable.
Lu Zizai shook his head. "Certainly not. It isn't the same approach at all. How could they create an art so casually? In all likelihood, they obtained a manual left behind by a patriarch of the Newborn path who met with an accident—such as the *Heaven-Severing Strategy*, or the long-hidden *Eight Views Divine Radiance Classic*."
Although he considered the Six Imperials ancestral court corrupt and hoped it would shed its old blood to be reborn, he had no desire to let outsiders challenge it at its doorstep in this manner.
Especially not before he had even departed.
"It shouldn't be too big a problem, right?" Qin Ming felt that the mutants nurtured by the Six Imperials ancestral court were sufficient to handle the situation.
Lu Zizai said, "Do not underestimate the outer realm. They possess means to enhance the foundations of Newborns; even patriarchs of the Newborn path once drew upon their methods to enrich their own reserves."
Furthermore, he had already learned that the outer realm had cultivated a top-tier mutant this time! If combined with a heavenly light force no weaker than legendary arts like Six Imperials, the outcome would truly be anyone's guess.
Lu Zizai continued, "While the talent cultivation of the Six Imperials ancestral court isn't what it once was, I expect they can still manage. However, I don't want the outer realm to win a single match."
Because the other side was challenging them with methods of the Newborn path; they had not come with good intentions.
"You take the field. Don't give them a shred of opportunity. Sweep through them like dead wood and shatter them completely!" Lu Zizai said.
"Sure, no problem!" Qin Ming nodded immediately. Having taken so many benefits from the Six Imperials ancestral court, he had been wondering how to repay this karmic debt in the future.
As it turned out, before he even departed, the opportunity to stretch his muscles had arrived.
"Senior Brother Lu, you must help me conceal my true appearance. I'm worried about trouble afterward."
"Don't worry, that's already taken into account," Lu Zizai nodded.
Soon, Qin Ming learned that the visitors were from the Fangwai Immortal Land. Supposedly, several senior masters there had developed an *Immortal-Combating Classic*.
Moreover, the people of the Fangwai Immortal Land privately believed that the heavenly light force produced by this manual was definitely no weaker than Tathagata force or Yuqing force.
"The name of this scripture is certainly grandiose," Qin Ming remarked, looking surprised.
"It is absolutely a scripture left behind by a fallen patriarch of the Newborn path, brought out after they disguised it," Lu Zizai said in an exceedingly certain tone.
The spar was set for tomorrow. The people of the Fangwai Immortal Land claimed that after their friendly exchange with the Six Imperials ancestral court, they would also pay visits to places like the Yuqing Sect and the Rulai Sect, touring them one by one.
Lu Zizai grew even more displeased. Did they intend to challenge all the strongest orthodox lineages of the Newborn path?
He instructed, "Hit hard; don't hold back. I want them to eat their words. Once this battle is over, send them all back to the Immortal Land to nurse their wounds."
Qin Ming said, "Fine, no problem. Senior Brother Lu, I want to display the *Heluo Classic*, but I haven't cultivated that heavenly light force yet..." He had originally wanted to ask if there were any "fallen fruit" here so that he could rapidly fuse the force arts.
Lu Zizai said, "You possess five wondrous arts, each corresponding to the five elements. Right now, you can completely rotate the five elements and temporarily convert one into the water element. It shouldn't be too difficult."
"It can work like that? Then I'll give it a try!" Qin Ming's interest was piqued, and he cast the matter of "fallen fruit" to the back of his mind.
That day, while accompanying Lu Zizai on a stroll through the Six Imperials ancestral court, he unexpectedly spotted an acquaintance among the crowd: one of the visitors from the Immortal Land.
A young girl in white was not very old; she was not one of the mutants slated to fight, but rather a member of the accompanying spectator contingent.
Understanding dawned on Lu Zizai. "That small group should be newly elevated core disciples of the Fangwai Immortal Land. They want to observe the various methods of our path through battles between top-tier mutants."
Qin Ming was surprised. Today, she had actually become a core disciple of the Fangwai Immortal Land.
In the past, he had encountered two women beside the Fire Spring in Twin Trees Village.
Back then, the woman in green had stood atop the back of a golden roc and seized the greatest fortune of Black-White Mountain, and the girl in white beside her now possessed such status as well.
Chapter 157