In the spacious reception hall, on a table of blue sandalwood, the snow-white teacups remained untouched. Mu Huaijin and the two elders beside him frowned, feeling uneasy about their disciples.
"They are getting along splendidly. If you don't believe it, go see for yourselves," said an elder of the Six Imperials ancestral court.
Mu Huaijin actually rose to his feet, ignoring the slight stiffening of the host elder's expression. Before long, Mu Huaijin returned blankly, his face quite rigid.
He had discovered that several disciples were earnestly conversing with Qi Zizai, their expressions carrying both admiration and shock as they humbled themselves to ask for guidance.
Qin Ming set down his teacup and said, "Fire corresponds to the earth, while thunder corresponds to the heavens. When fire surges upward, it can bridge with thunder and lightning; this is what is known as earthly fire stirring heavenly thunder. Your fire force is already mastered, so you need not search for thunder and lightning in the void. You only need to stoke the flames. Once they can scorch the night sky within your body, the thunder force will manifest naturally."
"Can this... really work?" The silver-armored maiden went from indignation to doubt, then to astonishment, and finally to a complex expression filled with admiration.
Qin Ming smiled. "Of course it works. Have you forgotten? During our duel, I used Yimu essence to fan your flames. When your fire force reached its peak, didn't your thunder force emerge on its own?"
"I think I understand!" The silver-armored maiden nodded solemnly.
Normally, fire force and thunder force should progress side by side. However, the balance between fire and thunder in her body had long been disrupted, so she had no choice but to take a different path. Once the fire force became vigorous enough, there was no need to force it; thunder force would naturally be born from it. Just as extreme yin could give birth to yang, thunder and fire force were fundamentally of the same source, so thunder force could naturally arise from extreme fire.
In fact, Qin Ming had further thoughts on the matter, but he deemed them unsuitable for the silver-armored maiden. A single misstep could plunge her into a mortal crisis.
*"When thunder and fire unite, great medicine can be refined."*
Qin Ming keenly pondered the meaning behind this phrase.
Many believed that once Purple Palace thunderfire reached a certain level, it became equivalent to a special spiritual flame capable of assisting an apothecary in concocting medicine.
Qin Ming, however, believed this was not about seeking external medicine, but rather about "internal refining."
He had thoroughly studied the Life-Altering Classic and was fairly familiar with the style of the ancients. That brief sentence was very likely a true mantra.
He felt that if a few words were added, its true meaning would not be so easily overlooked: *"When thunder and fire unite, when dragon and tiger meet, great medicine can be refined."*
He pondered deeply, sensing he was on the right track, and concluded this was most likely the case.
Qin Ming temporarily cast these thoughts aside. He still needed to engage in warm, friendly exchanges with others; besides the silver-armored maiden, there were other candidates present.
He had his eye on the Immortal-Combating Classic, but Li Daocheng possessed a firm will, making success on that front unlikely.
He could only start with other disciples, fixing his gaze on the youth in yellow who had previously manifested eight pairs of golden arms. "Brother, there is an issue with your path."
It was a familiar opening line, the very one he had used earlier when chatting warmly with the silver-armored maiden for a long time. Moreover, the group of Fangwai disciples could tell that the silver-armored maiden had indeed benefited immensely.
None of them understood why this madman from the Six Imperials ancestral court was so enthusiastic, kindly offering to help analyze their problems.
*"No way... Why do I feel like his terrifying comprehension can almost rival my elder sister's?"* Luo Yao, the maiden in white, observed Qin Ming.
She was very sharp and noticed that from just a short fragment of text, he could expound upon a vast expanse of insights, far more detailed than the original.
Not long ago, the silver-armored maiden had naturally mentioned a few passages related to the issues she faced, allowing everyone present to observe Qi Zizai's performance.
At first, the yellow-robed youth did not want to pay attention to Qin Ming, believing that an outsider could never understand secret arts of this caliber. What could someone else know?
"The so-called manifestation of a thousand hands is modeled after the godkin creatures deep within the night mist world," Qin Ming said calmly, speaking with ease. "Such a creature sits atop a sacred mountain, its body radiant as the blazing sun, its thousand arms bearing divine relics and sacred scriptures, an entity ordinary mortals cannot gaze upon directly."
Qin Ming spoke with poise.
"Your Thousand Hands manual was also once known as the War Body. It was created by a predecessor on our Newborn path who ventured deep into the night mist world, observed that godkin creature from afar until his eyes bled incessantly, and composed the scripture after losing his sight."
The yellow-robed youth was stunned. This differed little from what his elders had told him—how could this person know all of it? From that moment, the two began to converse.
Qin Ming sensed the youth's emotional fluctuations, extracting even more valuable information, citing classics, and dissecting the principles in depth.
The area grew quiet. The group of Fangwai disciples was utterly dumbfounded. Was this really one of the "rejects" they had looked down upon?
At this moment, their sense of psychological superiority was shaken and began to crumble. Purely in terms of comprehension, this person was simply too monstrous!
"A future grandmaster of the Newborn path?" someone muttered, their gaze strange, looking at him as if looking at a freak.
"Pardon me, could you brew a cup of tea?"
Qin Ming's mouth had gone dry from speaking, so he handed out his teacup.
Luo Yao, lost in thought, took it directly. A moment later, she almost bristled with rage—he dared order her around?
Qin Ming did not even glance at who had taken the cup; he was still discussing the dao with the yellow-robed youth. He was determined to obtain the Thousand Hands technique. If he could master it, the power he unleashed would be on an entirely different level.
Luo Yao's body stiffened slightly. How could she willingly pour tea for him?
Yet if she threw a tantrum and smashed the cup, might that lead to a misjudgment between both sides?
Nearby, the disciples of the Six Imperials ancestral court marveled. Senior Brother Qi Zizai was casually ordering around even Fangwai disciples; he truly commanded immense presence.
Only Zhuo Ya harbored suspicions about his identity, though she had no evidence.
She looked around and found that neither Qin Ming nor Cao Wuji had shown up; both were reportedly in seclusion cultivating wondrous arts.
In the end, Qin Ming never got his tea, but having acquired the War Body, he was already thoroughly satisfied and prepared to study it in depth.
A golden avian creature rose into the air from the rear mountain of the Six Imperials ancestral court. Though it appeared only palm-sized, its speed was incredible, surpassing ordinary imagination as it traversed the boundless dark world.
Eventually, it appeared before a cloud-shrouded mountain gate. After reporting its arrival, it flew inside, and the letter it carried dropped into a fair, slender hand.
"Lu Zizai has revived, and his talent surpasses even Lu Yu's," the owner of the slender hand murmured into the night before opening the letter to read.
In a relatively harmonious atmosphere, the exchange concluded. Qin Ming had interacted with many people, but he had only obtained two secret techniques, which was enough to content him.
That very day, he began to study them.
Among them, mastering the Thousand Hands technique was considered a formidable War Body. However, after practicing it for only one night, Qin Ming temporarily set it aside.
At the Newborn realm, releasing even a bit of his heavenly light force externally was already an achievement; practicing such a manual now was simply too strained. When he attempted to manifest a few arms, they were short and faint, making the whole display look practically like a centipede.
The main issue was that shaping his heavenly light force remained quite difficult. It was hard to truly stabilize, and it would soon shatter. After resting, Qin Ming studied the Purple Palace Thunderfire manual.
He had long since mastered departing fire force, wind-thunder force, and wind-fire force, inherently possessing both fire and thunder forces. Now, after deeply analyzing this book, he achieved twice the result with half the effort.
Ultimately, not only did he develop thunderfire force, but he also attained a fair degree of proficiency with it, as it could be converted from wind-fire force and wind-thunder force. Soon, a layer of thunderfire appeared on Qin Ming's body.
*While my thunderfire force is not yet perfected, this is the perfect time to attempt refining medicine. Even if my understanding is flawed, it won't severely wound me.* What he sought was naturally not external medicine, but internal refining.
Following his own understanding, Qin Ming activated earthly fire starting from his feet, guiding it upward, while cautiously drawing heavenly thunder down from his head, letting it spread downward. With a boom, stars danced before his eyes. Having such thunderfire force surge chaotically within his own body was exceedingly uncomfortable.
Fortunately, this thunderfire had only recently been cultivated and was far from lethal, allowing him to boldly direct it and verify the thoughts in his heart.
Qin Ming was blasted by the thunderfire force at least thirty times. Even with a physique as sturdy as his, he felt sharp pain. His face was bruised purple and blue, and his hair stood on end, leaving him looking thoroughly wretched.
If anyone saw what he was doing, they would certainly think he was seeking trouble out of boredom, purely inflicting self-torture.
On the thirty-sixth attempt, Qin Ming's thunder force passed the barrier of his head, no longer exploding on his face, while the fire force had spread to his legs.
On the forty-ninth attempt, the earthly fire reached his abdomen while the heavenly thunder reached his chest. His expression shifted slightly, not from severe injury, but because he felt his flesh and blood undergoing a subtle baptism.
*It works! Even before the heavenly thunder and earthly fire merge, they are already tempering the body. This is truly not just an offensive technique, but also an internal refining method!* His confidence grew.
Finally, after nearly a hundred attempts, Qin Ming approached success.
Earthly fire and heavenly thunder met in his chest and abdomen, intertwining and revolving around each other, slowly shrinking as if preparing to condense into an elixir pill.
*"When thunder and fire unite, when dragon and tiger meet, great medicine can be refined!"* Qin Ming was certain this should work.
He continued trying. During one attempt, as thunder and fire intertwined and rotated violently, he seemed to catch a faint scent of medicine!
Naturally, this was not smelled through his nose, but rather sensed by the conscious spiritual light and divine wisdom accumulated within him, sniffing the faint, wondrous fragrance emitted by the internal medicine.
*This method is marvelous. Even if I can't refine a Dragon-Tiger Great Medicine, running the thunderfire through once a day will cleanse my flesh, blood, and internal organs. It isn't just a trump card, but a supreme health-nourishing art as well.*
Qin Ming was confident that sooner or later, he would refine the internal medicine.
Two days later, Lu Zizai appeared and told him it was time to make a run for it.
Qin Ming had been immersed in internal refining and had completely ignored everything outside, but now he snapped fully awake. "Senior Brother Lu, I'm coming with you!"
He worried he wouldn't be able to leave on his own; after all, his various displays had definitely caught the attention of the old fellows in the Six Imperials ancestral court. "Mm, that works," Lu Zizai agreed with a nod.
"Senior Brother Lu, what exactly is your background?" Qin Ming asked.
"My grandfather is Lu Yu," Lu Zizai revealed.
"Lu Yu?" Qin Ming's eyes widened. Could Lu Yu be... the Six Imperials?!
"It is just as you imagine," Lu Zizai said calmly.
Waves surged in Qin Ming's heart. Only after a long silence did he say, "I thought you were a Young Ancestor."
Lu Zizai gave a soft sigh. "Of their generation, very few remain."
When Lu Zizai led Qin Ming away, no one stopped them. Their journey was completely unimpeded, and they walked smoothly out of the mountain gate.
Qin Ming breathed a sigh of relief. Only then did he notice a small golden bird perched on Lu Zizai's shoulder. Just as he was about to praise how beautiful it looked, he froze instantly.
The small bird was also looking back at him, giving him the chilling sensation of being targeted by a primordial behemoth.
In an instant, through his keen instinctive perception, he seemed to glimpse a night mist world behind the small bird, where a golden raptor as colossal as a mountain stood tall!
He hastily averted his gaze. Was even a small bird this absurd?
"Little Qin!" Someone waved outside the mountain gate. It was actually Li Qingyun, who had been keeping watch here for who knew how many days.
"Master Li!" Qin Ming was deeply moved and immediately ran over.
Chapter 161