"I find that rather hard to believe!" Inside the divine temple, the white-robed woman stood graceful and poised. Her lustrous black hair and the white ribbon at her slender waist drifted gently.
The scriptures on the wall held no secrets from her. She had studied and pondered them for a very long time, but simply could not master them.
Qin Ming was completely composed as he said, "When I sparred with Senior earlier, I governed every technique using the principles of this very scripture."
The white-robed woman fell into a daze. Better than anyone, she knew how difficult this scripture was to practice. Even with her talent, she had been unable to embark upon the path. It was a pit deliberately dug long ago by that wretched old man—or so she had heard people say.
Yet the youth in coarse hemp clothes before her had already demonstrated it in actual combat? Beneath the veil of dark hair, the expression on her breathtaking face grew quite complicated.
"The silk book method is indeed exceedingly difficult to practice. I was exposed to it from childhood and cultivated it for a full dozen or so years before finally setting out on the path," Qin Ming said, looking deeply reflective.
For some reason, the white-robed woman suddenly felt an urge to beat him.
Looking back carefully, she had spent no less than ten years herself, yet she had never managed to see it through.
Of course, she was well aware of the perils of this art: cultivating it to the end would result in bursting apart with a bang. She simply refused to admit defeat and had wanted to explore its preliminary stages.
"How did you manage to master it?" the white-robed woman asked. Without an answer, the knot in her heart would never loosen.
"Only two words: bitter cultivation," Qin Ming replied earnestly.
The white-robed woman's demeanor grew somewhat dangerous. This scripture was by no means something that could be ground out with time alone. Besides, what was a mere dozen years?
Sensing her mood, Qin Ming quickly added, "There is another way to achieve it. A master can guide you, helping forge the path to establish the technique's initial circulation route."
The white-robed woman looked at him. Take a master just to master this path? What was he thinking! Moreover, she had heard of this claim before.
Yet she scoffed at it. If you could not master it yourself and needed someone else to lead the way, how could you ever reach the highest peak?
"Senior, do you wish to study this art?" Qin Ming asked.
"Don't tell me you want me to take you as my master?" The white-robed woman fixed her gaze on him.
"I had no such intention." Qin Ming shook his head at once.
What kind of place was this divine temple? Probably only the founding ancestor of the silk book method, knowing he was about to burst apart, had dared to come here and act so recklessly. At his current stage, Qin Ming had no desire to court death.
"Then better not to walk this path at all!" The white-robed woman gave up on the idea.
At the same time, she offered a kind word of caution: cultivating it to the end resulted in nothingness, ultimately returning everything to heaven and earth. There was a severe flaw in this scripture.
"Thank you for the warning, Senior," Qin Ming said. His eyes shone brightly, and he harbored enough inner confidence to believe he would eventually resolve the issue completely.
"You are quite confident and proud, aren't you?" The white-robed woman paced forward. Much like Qin Ming earlier, her eyes turned eager, and she began rubbing her fists together.
Was she looking to retaliate?
Qin Ming panicked inside. This esteemed senior was truly not very broad-minded!
"Master, the tea has arrived." Just then, a black-robed figure appeared. The voice was raspy, making it impossible to tell if the speaker was male or female. The figure had also arrived from that cold moon, walking along the bluestone path paved toward the night sky before entering the grand hall.
The white-robed woman stopped in her tracks, coming no closer to Qin Ming.
"You have passed the life-and-death trial. Do you wish to challenge the other paths? Those trials involve enhancing aptitudes, extending lifespan, the ultimate destination of the perils, and the like. There is bound to be something you desire," she asked.
Qin Ming thought about it and declined. It was best to quit while ahead; this was no place to linger. After all, had someone not come to deliver tea, he might have been pounded into the floor!
The black-robed figure stepped into the main hall holding a tea tray.
With a gentle flick of the white-robed woman's sleeve, the entire hall was instantly transformed. Cobwebs vanished from the walls, bloodstains on the ground disappeared, and the old tree in the courtyard sprouted new shoots and buds.
A faint sheen of light flowed like water over the scene. The broken windows that had creaked in the night wind and the cracked flagstones were completely restored.
Even in the strange town, many people were astonished to see the main hall of the divine temple glowing in the night mist, piercing the dark sky with golden haze.
Now, the magnificent grand hall was no longer dilapidated. Its gray tiles had turned a pale gold, and the place grew sacred. The crimson pillars within were carved with godkin creatures, white mist drifted through the air, and moonlight gathered on the stone flagstones like a gently babbling stream.
Qin Ming felt as if he were dreaming; everything was completely different, and he had now become an honored guest.
The characters on the wall still glowed brightly, but they no longer suppressed him.
From the courtyard, the branches of the once-withered old tree extended into the hall, blossoming into lotus flowers that formed a lotus dais to serve as his seat.
He now sat cross-legged atop it as tea was served, with the white-robed woman seated across from him.
Qin Ming noticed that the teacup the black-robed figure presented was empty; there was no liquid inside.
The white-robed woman beckoned with a hand. Deep within the grand hall, wisps of fragrant smoke curled up from the incense burner before a hazy statue, drifting in delicate threads before flowing into their teacups.
"This is..." Qin Ming was astonished. Was this drinking tea or consuming incense smoke?
He saw the white-robed woman take a drink first, so he followed suit.
In an instant, Qin Ming felt his mind turn empty and clear, as if he were about to ascend in glowing clouds. His entire body felt purified.
"Splendid tea!" he praised. Just for this state of mind alone, comprehending scriptures would yield twice the result with half the effort.
Moreover, as he looked at the wall and began grasping the scripture's meaning, his efficiency soared.
For the moment, he did not dare attempt full resonance, fearing his consciousness would collapse under the terrifying emotional imprint left by the founding ancestor.
The white-robed woman said, "Do you know what makes up that stick of incense in the bronze burner? A tiny portion of the single horn of a North Sea purple-gold whale bearing divine runes, ground into powder; Tears of the Firmament from deep within the night mist world; resin from the undying tree in the Kunjun Ruins; combined with..."
Qin Ming listened in a daze. Any single one of those ingredients was priceless and exceedingly rare in the world, yet they had been crafted into incense for a bronze burner. This was far too extravagant.
The white-robed woman sighed. "It was a gift from someone. Sadly, that person has died, and such fragrant mist tea can never be drunk again."
"Isn't this it?" Qin Ming looked down at the cup in his hands.
"Merely rekindled incense ashes," the white-robed woman informed him.
Qin Ming immediately choked with a cough. So he was just eating ashes?!
The white-robed woman shot him a glance and said, "Even if not a hundredth of the fragrant tea's aroma remains, tell me, was it effective or not?"
"Many thanks, Senior!" Qin Ming returned to contemplating the scripture's meaning.
He memorized the text in its entirety and even gained several new insights!
This refined edition allowed one to cultivate to the peak of the fourth realm, but broke off abruptly midway through the fifth realm. Evidently, the founding ancestor believed that continuing further was impossible and would invite great disaster.
Even so, Qin Ming felt it contained far more than what his family's silk book recorded.
After all, more than half of the original silk book had been torn away!
Those ancestors had believed that the latter half held severe flaws and that practicing it further meant certain death.
If Qin Ming could reclaim his family's silk book, he should be able to resonate with the complete work.
This was the reason he remained obsessed with retrieving it from the Cui clan.
Afterward, Qin Ming began testing the waters with great care, gingerly attempting to resonate with the scripture inscribed upon the wall in hopes of uncovering more valuable insights.
Sure enough, at his first tentative probe, he felt as though he had been struck by lightning, his mind turning completely blank.
One could only say that the founding ancestor was truly terrifying!
"Eh?" Sensing something unusual, the black-robed figure showed a look of surprise and quietly watched him from a distance.
From that point on, Qin Ming threw caution to the wind. Each time he was blasted as if by heavenly thunder, he would rest for a long while before attempting it once more.
The white-robed woman noticed his odd behavior as well and quietly observed him while sipping her tea.
She muttered under her breath, "Is that some sort of demonic scripture? When others contemplate scriptures, they enter tranquility and the Dao. Yet here you are facing the wall, looking as though it's costing you your very life."
Qin Ming was worn down to utter exhaustion, his head heavy and groggy. He felt as though the sea of his consciousness was about to burst. In the end, he finally finished resonating through it section by section.
He sighed softly. What a pity that the lingering emotions left here by the founding ancestor only touched upon the flawed portions of the fifth realm, offering no higher-level methods.
In truth, that was understandable. Since the founding ancestor had merely intended to leave behind a refined edition, he naturally would not dwell on the original version.
Still, Qin Ming was satisfied; this was more than enough for him to study for a very long time.
This way, he could proceed on his path unhurried, without having to take reckless risks to retrieve the silk book from the Cui clan before his strength was sufficient.
Meanwhile, in the strange town, everyone believed that Li Wanqiu was already dead.
"And here I thought he was so formidable—a Young Ancestor, possessing pure yang light. In the end, he's nothing more than a pool of blood in the divine temple."
"It wouldn't matter who went in. I suspect that even if Cao Qianqiu entered, he would turn into Cao Shiqiu or Cao Qianhuo—either missing a head or losing half his torso."
"If you keep badmouthing him like that and he ever finds out where your true body is, he'll pierce right through your entire sect!"
Only Wu Yaozu refused to believe his newly made friend had died, and continued waiting.
Others urged him that there was no point in lingering, as the fellow had long since gone cold.
"Little Wu, let's have a wager. If I win, could I stay in your courtyard for a night?" The golden-haired old man riding atop the four-tusked white elephant asked with a chuckle.
"Deal!" Wu Yaozu nodded.
"Count me in!" The golden-horned youth who had previously offered to treat them also wanted to join.
Wu Yaozu stroked his bearded cheeks and said, "I truly don't believe my friend could be dead. What are your stakes? They had better satisfy me."
He felt somewhat displeased, finding everyone's remarks exceedingly ominous.
Inside the divine temple, the black-robed figure who had delivered the tea departed.
Qin Ming suddenly noticed that the white-robed woman had grown dangerous once more. Her anger had not dissipated; she still wanted to give him a thrashing!
"Senior, let me tell you, there are people outside who constantly speak ill of the divine temple. I think you ought to discipline them properly. Take that Cao Qianqiu, for example—he acts as if he hates that heaven has no handle and earth has no ring..."
Sensing that things looked grim, Qin Ming immediately diverted her attention toward another target.
He could tell that the white-robed woman harbored no killing intent; she simply wanted to vent her frustration because she felt slighted. A youth like him could not withstand such rough handling, but the pack of mysterious old fellows outside was quite suitable.
The white-robed woman crossed her arms and cupped her chin, gazing out into the night mist. "There is some sense to that. If I'm not careful and poke you with a finger, you'll just turn into a pool of dead blood on the ground, which would be utterly meaningless!"
Out in the strange town, the crowd watched as Li Wanqiu emerged horizontally, his flesh hazy and enveloped in thick mist as he flew back toward that small courtyard.
The crowd was petrified. He had actually come out alive?!
Wu Yaozu was overjoyed that his newly made friend had not died after all, and he immediately began rubbing his hands at those around him.
"Little Wu, come back inside at once!" Suddenly, he heard his grandmother's voice.
"Hurry up, where are the stakes? Hand them over, quick!" Wu Yaozu urged impatiently.
Within the divine temple, the splendor seemed to fade away, returning all things to reality.
There was no divine moon hanging in the sky, nor was there any brilliant and magnificent grand hall. All that remained was a ruined, drafty, rotting structure blanketed in dust and cobwebs, on the verge of collapse.
The white-robed woman stood quietly, somewhat lost in thought.
The black-robed figure appeared once more and said, "You really are incorrigible. Why did you impersonate me again?"
The so-called walking down from the divine moon was merely stepping out from the black mist.
With Qin Ming's level of cultivation, he could not see through it at all.
"Little Wu is about to leave. I believe you should travel far as well; you cannot stay here any longer," the black-robed figure said to the white-robed woman.
"I still want to keep you company," the white-robed woman said, her mood turning somber.
"It is far too dangerous. No one knows what will ultimately become of the Fourth Peril." The black-robed figure shook his head. He was already dead, and only a fragmented consciousness lingered here.
"Just who was it that pierced the Fourth Peril?" the white-robed woman asked.
The black-robed figure said, "I do not know, but that person is formidable—unimaginably so. Other supreme beings only need to subdue certain special realms if they wish to become gods, yet this person aims to subdue the perils themselves, refining all bizarre phenomena. It is beyond imagination!"
Either the Fourth Peril would recover and that person would perish, or that person would succeed and the Fourth Peril would dissipate.
The black-robed figure sighed. "What is most terrifying is that I fear this person's ultimate goal is every peril across Kunling. And Kunling is a legendary land of immense consequence!"
"Child, you must leave," the black-robed figure said gravely and earnestly.
"Very well!" The white-robed woman nodded.
Then, she began rubbing her fists together.
This left the black-robed figure stunned. He asked, "What are you about to do?"
"That group of spirit wanderers outside has crossed the line. I'm going to thrash them with the divine mace!"
The white-robed woman felt sour inside, harboring a bellyful of stifled irritation. Moreover, she had heard the chatter outside and, persuaded by Qin Ming, decided to switch targets.
Out in the strange town, a group of people muttered among themselves, wondering if something had gone wrong with the divine temple for someone to clear the trial just like that.
Inside the dilapidated courtyard, Wu Yaozu's grandmother appeared. Looking at the two youths with utmost gravity, she said, "Leaving in the morning will shatter your physical bodies; leaving at night will sever your souls. You can only depart at noon, when that moon is farthest from you. Get ready. When the time comes, I will see you out personally!"
Chapter 184