Wu Chengwang and Qin Ming were both smiling, thoroughly pleased with each other and finding the other agreeable to the eye. The atmosphere was harmonious—perhaps this was what a win-win looked like.
Soon, Qin Ming caught himself. He couldn't let his guard down and get carried away. This was a one-time deal; he had no intention of ever coming back, so what the hell was he grinning about?
He smoothly and naturally adjusted his expression, letting his smile fade away as he immersed himself in the scripture, pretending not to understand and humbly seeking guidance. "Master Wu, why does this scripture suddenly become so difficult on page three?"
Wu Chengwang beamed and said, "Uncanny arts are all profoundly obscure. Ninety percent of people have no affinity for them and can never comprehend them at all. Fortunately, with my guidance, the Golden Cicada Scripture isn't quite as impenetrable. My disciples can master it."
"Master Wu, you truly live up to your reputation as an expander of methods," Qin Ming praised.
After reading the scripture, he secretly sighed in admiration. Old Wu was no ordinary figure; this manuscript embodied the crystallization of his life's blood and effort, containing exceptionally profound insights.
His expression shifted naturally—from broad laughter to a faint smile, then to solemnity, and finally to a furrowed brow, because he was preparing to slip away. There was no need to linger here.
To his surprise, Wu Chengwang found him quite agreeable. Not only did he offer pointers, but he also had him study in the courtyard, claiming those flowers and herbs could refresh the mind.
"No need to be impatient. Looking back, when I cultivated this scripture all those years ago, I was stumped for quite a while too," he said amiably.
In all these years, everyone who came to him to learn uncanny arts looked bitter and grim, never showing a single smile. It was rare to find a smiling youth who brought him such comfort.
Qin Ming was speechless.
The manuscript he studied still held strong traces of Wu Chengwang's lingering emotions, and he had already resonated with both complete versions of the Golden Cicada Scripture.
"Alas, it's too difficult. I feel I smiled too soon—this scripture just doesn't suit me," he began making excuses.
The small courtyard was filled with medicinal herbs and rare blossoms, a riot of purple and red with a refreshing fragrance wafting about. Elegant though the setting was, Qin Ming really did not want to stay any longer.
"You should cultivate it like this: the golden cicada is an insect yet not an insect, and it also doubles as a scripture of Chan..." Planning to play the long game, Wu Chengwang didn't want him getting stuck on the very first hurdle and began giving him private coaching.
In the end, Qin Ming dragged it out for a full two hours before naturally knitting his brows and taking his leave.
"What a fine child," Wu Chengwang said, beaming as he watched Qin Ming's retreating figure. A pity his comprehension was a bit lacking. He called out from behind, "Come earlier next time!"
Xiao Wu said, "Bro, did you really spend six hundred day gold? Our savings are about to be wiped out again."
"Yeah, let's head back," Qin Ming nodded.
Only when he returned to his residence facing the sapphire-like lake did Qin Ming drop all pretense and smile openly. In high spirits, he caught a few colorful dragon carp. Soon after, he returned to the courtyard and began cultivating!
Wu Yaozu gasped in admiration. "Hiss, Bro, you're a true genius! In such a short time, you've grasped the core essence and actually pulled something off!"
For he felt that Qin Ming's aura had completely transformed, taking on a trace of Chan rhyme. At the most critical moment, he even heard a cicada chirping that made the mind clear and void, inspiring sudden enlightenment.
That was not an actual sound, but the heavenly notes of the Dao produced by the resonance of Qin Ming's flesh, internal organs, and bones.
Qin Ming cautioned, "I've only just scratched the surface. Just pretend you didn't see anything. If that old guy finds out, he'll probably hit the roof, maybe even use force against us."
"I understand!" Wu Yaozu nodded, then went off to study his Flesh Soul-Locking Art. For the rest of the day, Qin Ming cultivated the Golden Cicada Scripture.
Not only did it involve revival, regeneration, and Chan meaning, but the Golden Cicada force it produced was also formidable. Without means to protect the Dao, how could it qualify as an uncanny art?
Pondering it carefully, Qin Ming felt more and more that this uncanny art was vast and profound.
"Broken down into details, it can generate death force and life force, involving aspects of yin and yang transformations to ultimately form the complete Golden Cicada force. If this part can be mastered, one can undergo a complete rebirth, rising from the brink of death."
Qin Ming's expression grew solemn, because this was not all. Integrating Wu Chengwang's insights with his own comprehension, he continued to dig deeper. In his view, this was a treasure trove of an uncanny art.
To that end, he used the wheel of light formed from his Five Elements uncanny art to simulate the Golden Cicada force.
"The cicada's chirp is like silk, thread-like and faint yet unbroken. So long as the Chan intent does not perish, the Golden Cicada force will flow ceaselessly."
Qin Ming studied the Chan rhyme while paying even greater attention to actual combat. For a time, fine misty rain fell around him like silk, cicada wings formed like swords, and the Golden Cicada force surged on without interruption.
"When the golden cicada transforms again, its cry thunders like lightning. By that point, the Golden Cicada force is no longer soft and feminine, but masculine, overbearing, and its light can even sublimate, illuminating the ten directions."
He studied it conscientiously, attempting to simulate it with other forms of heavenly light force, but failed. At present, he simply couldn't do it, only stirring up a huge commotion in the courtyard.
Overall, between the two versions of the Golden Cicada Scripture, one focused on shedding the mortal frame, tearing apart the old shell to be reborn. The other version emphasized transformations and the like, executing various wondrous forms of heavenly light force, leaning more toward practical combat.
"Above the uncanny art of the Golden Cicada Scripture lies the Divine Cicada Scripture. That already belongs to the realm of secret scriptures, on the same tier as the World-Abiding Scripture."
Even the legendary "people across eras" might be related to the Divine Cicada Scripture.
Qin Ming sighed inwardly. Every uncanny art had a higher-level continuation—a truly "orderly lineage"—which left him full of yearning and anticipation.
Next, he trained diligently in the Golden Cicada Scripture, actively preparing for his ninth Newborn transformation.
This was accumulating his foundation and solidifying his roots. With every additional uncanny art, his strength increased considerably, as it could trigger a qualitative transformation in his heavenly light!
Furthermore, for his final Newborn transformation, he wanted to make some changes rather than follow the conventional routine. However, he had to master the Golden Cicada force first!
While Qin Ming and Xiao Wu cultivated in silence and accumulated their Dao attainment, the outside world was abuzz with excitement, countless people discussing the latest news.
Sure enough, the duel between Ling Yu and Xin Youdao the previous night had made the front page and received widespread coverage. The brilliance of godsent prodigies cut through the night mist, illuminating everywhere. Although Xin Youdao lost, the night papers did not disparage him, instead offering high praise. And Ling Yu went without saying—he was finally addressed directly by the title of Young Ancestor, no longer kept under wraps.
"Ling Yu will test his blade against the world. Once his cultivation level rises, he will probably battle those immortal seeds and divine seeds."
"Without a doubt! Advancing along both paths simultaneously, he will rise rapidly. I can't wait for that day!"
The entire city of Kunling was talking about it.
Yet the two people involved had mixed feelings, nowhere near as happy as people imagined, and had both thrown themselves desperately into cultivation! Looking at the newspaper in his hand, Qian Chuan wore an incredible expression, dearly wanting to say: *No one understands the truth better than me!*
He gazed toward the lakeside. Sheltered among emerald bamboo and golden vine trees stood the house where two mysterious youths lived—the very ones who had knocked out both prodigies so wildly lauded in the papers.
If word of this got out, it would inevitably cause a massive sensation!
Qin Ming and Wu Yaozu led full and busy days, each practicing their arts while carefully gathering news related to the Third Peril, eager to learn when the hunt for that auspicious beast would begin.
"That plateau is rich in various medicinal herbs and harbors special secret realms, as well as vast numbers of demons and monsters. When the time comes, factions from every path and cultivators of different realms will all have a chance to take the field."
This was actual combat, a troop-drilling exercise, and even more so a small-scale rehearsal for the great pioneering into the depths of the night mist world.
Qin Ming and Wu Yaozu learned that the various sanctuaries and academies were currently surveying that plateau and would delineate relatively fine-grained territories.
"Every participant will carry several memory crystals. They aren't required to record their movements the entire time, but the moments of slaying demons and monsters must be captured to guarantee the authenticity of their achievements."
Among the rules, there was a stern warning against infighting: if anyone violated it, others could gang up and attack them, ensuring justified defense.
"First realm, second realm..." Qin Ming looked at the rough sketch that had just come out. The terrain was intricate, marking the activity zones for cultivators of each realm.
Clearly, the deeper one went into the plateau, the higher the tiers of the corresponding demons and monsters.
"In the first realm, who are we afraid of? We can even venture into the second-realm zones!" Xiao Wu rubbed his fists, itching for action.
Qin Ming reminded him, "Don't get cocky. In the second-realm zones, there will definitely be near-immortal seeds, divine seeds, and mutant seeds."
These days, Kunjun City grew livelier by the day. Why had Sun Taichu brought Cui Chonghe here? His objective was crystal clear!
Recently, people from the outer pure lands, immortal lands, and yang lands, as well as esoteric sects—those obscure immortal seeds and divine seeds—had been arriving one after another.
Mainly, this auspicious beast was simply too extraordinary. The essence of its blood could prolong the lives of patriarch-level figures, and for the younger generation, the benefits would naturally be even greater!
Wu Yaozu nodded. "Bro, let's strive to achieve nine Newborn transformations during this plateau pioneering, or even enter the Outer Sage domain! When that happens, we'll take a stroll through the second-realm territory and reap more benefits!"
In Kunling City, people were discussing Ling Yu and Xin Youdao, while also buzzing about which near-immortal seeds had arrived and which divine seeds had quietly appeared.
Common folk listened with relish, while insiders felt the wind and clouds churning. This land could hardly remain calm; before long, major events were bound to unfold.
"Little Sparrow here has traversed mountains and crossed rivers, traveling ten thousand li, finally arriving in Kunjun City with Princess Purple Lightning Beast and the others." Carrying a small satchel on its back, a speech sparrow disembarked from a massive airship alongside beasts like the purple lightning beast and four-tusked white elephant.
"Mountain Lord, I wonder how you're doing? Little Sparrow has made obvious progress lately!" Flapping its wings, the speech sparrow flew forward, now already a trusted confidant of the purple lightning beast.
"Little Qin has been missing for a long time. Did something really happen to him on the airship?" Li Qingyun had arrived as well, his brow furrowed. Meng Xinghai had asked him to be sure to find Qin Ming, and he also had to meet Li Qingyue.
Ling Yu was vexed. After cooling down for a few days, he still couldn't stomach it and sought out Tang Jin once more, strongly requesting that she make arrangements for him to have a decisive battle with that youth from Black-White Mountain.
Last time, he had been lectured and scolded, and Tang Jin had refused.
"Have your five-color thunder force and the four symbols condensed properly? Have you succeeded in using a wisp of pure yang conscious spiritual light as a seed to fish for heavenly light? Have you mastered the stacking and fusion of uncanny arts thoroughly?" Tang Jin asked him.
Ling Yu's fighting intent surged. "Senior Sister, I have mastered all of them, and to perfection! If I cannot fight him, I won't be able to sleep, and my Dao attainment will hardly advance an inch."
Qin Ming had already developed the Golden Cicada force. For ordinary people, an uncanny art could take half a lifetime to practice and a whole lifetime to study, but for him, it was clearly not that difficult.
"I need to cultivate another uncanny art!" he muttered to himself.
Previously, for each Newborn transformation, he paired one uncanny art with several types of heavenly light force.
This time, however, he did not want to cultivate conventional forms of heavenly light force anymore. Instead, he prepared to see if he could master and fuse two uncanny arts at the same time.
"Next, which uncanny art should I choose, and how do I obtain it?" Qin Ming frowned.
After careful consideration, he took a great liking to the Dragon Snake Scripture. This was the uncanny art Patriarch Qingtian had cultivated during his ninth Newborn transformation; not only could it foster life from death, but it could also produce an incomparably ferocious heavenly light force.
Patriarch Qingtian was said to be capable of holding up the heavens with both hands, possessing peerless divine strength!
Qin Ming felt that this patriarch's Newborn path was quite extraordinary, and the scriptures he cultivated at certain key junctures were well worth serious study.
"The Dragon Snake Scripture won't be easy to get. Shanhe Academy has it in their collection, but shockingly, it isn't open to the public." He pondered whether he should turn to other sanctuaries to acquire it.
Chapter 195