In the arena, the youth in green robes stood with his sleeves snapping in the wind and his dark hair flowing freely. Gripping the long blade swathed in swirling five-colored vapors with one hand, he seemed like a soaring immortal at that moment, moving with terrifying speed.
Ling Yu's heart pounded. Just who was the Outer Sage here? His opponent's wide sleeves billowed casually, yet his momentum was utterly overwhelming. The brilliant five-colored blade flashed and arrived in the blink of an eye!
*Crack-crack, boom!* Rune-carved crimson mist burst across Ling Yu's body as his heavenly light force surged violently. He unleashed volleys of Soul-Suppressing Thunder recklessly in an attempt to halt his adversary.
Surrounding Qin Ming, five-colored light and mist surged in resonance with wondrous phenomena. It was the Five Elements spiritual light, ceaseless and regenerative, wheeling around him at extreme speed like a five-colored galaxy.
Every single bolt of Soul-Suppressing Thunder was sliced apart by that Five Elements spiritual light!
Outside the arena, Qian Chuan, Cheng Rui, Tang Jun, and the others watched, completely dazed. Even from afar, the Soul-Suppressing Thunder exerted immense pressure on them, shaking their souls and threatening to pull them out of their bodies.
Yet here was someone strolling through the thunderous barrage as if casually watching the clouds roll by, piercing straight through the danger zone with ease. Wherever he passed, even the Soul-Suppressing Thunder could not bar his way!
Ling Yu darted like lightning, teleporting again and again, yet his opponent remained effortless and natural, like an immortal descended to earth. With flutter of his sleeves, Qin Ming matched his rhythm entirely.
Wrapped in hazy vapors, the five-colored blade in Qin Ming's hand looked indistinct, yet with an invincible momentum, it hissed forward and pierced straight through the Pure Yang Soul-Illuminating Mirror.
At that instant, even Xin Youdao's heart raced. It was far too perilous, and he broke into a cold sweat for Ling Yu. The five-colored blade had pierced the mirror, and directly behind it lay Ling Yu's forehead—a breathless, terrifying sight.
Yet Qin Ming let out a soft exclamation of surprise. The five-colored blade was stopped. For the first time since their clash began, he felt something amiss. With a violent jolt of his force, the Pure Yang Soul-Illuminating Mirror shattered into pieces.
Behind the mirror, however, right before Ling Yu's forehead, burned a resplendent spiritual light. Exceptionally dense and heavy, it was a unique pure yang consciousness!
It actually halted the five-colored blade. Unlike the pure yang spiritual light from earlier, this was far more concentrated, as though a fragment of the blazing sun had been severed and refined into his consciousness.
This was a wisp of conscious spiritual light that Tang Jin's master had personally refined for Ling Yu. Truly peerless, it rose like the morning sun, seeking to purge all darkness.
Like a glob of viscous golden liquid, it shone with blinding brilliance, drawing gasps of shock from the spectators as they sensed its extraordinary power.
"Hmm?!" The five-colored blade in Qin Ming's hand drove forward once more. Though it slowly stabbed inward, it became mired, as if sinking into a bog.
At the same time, dozens of golden threads shot out from the golden pure yang conscious light, lunging toward Qin Ming's body. However, they were stopped by the five-colored spiritual light.
The Five Elements spiritual light surfaced across Qin Ming's skin, flowing like sword energy and dancing like blade radiance. Nothing could draw near.
Yet those dozens of special pure yang threads were not aimed at his physical body; they sought to hook into his consciousness and drag out his soul.
A wisp of pure yang consciousness refined by a grandmaster on the verge of becoming a founding patriarch was truly terrifying, leaving everyone outside the ring wide-eyed with astonishment.
"What?" This time, it was Ling Yu's turn to be stunned. He tried several times, but failed to draw anything out!
This was a trump card of his lineage—using the purest pure yang conscious light to fish out an opponent's soul and rip it from their body.
"This..." Qian Chuan and Cheng Rui both retreated hurriedly, deeply grasping the true weight of a "Young Ancestor." When that golden sun cast its light in their direction, their souls and consciousness wavered like rootless duckweed!
It was not that Ling Yu was weak, but that his opponent was an absolute monster.
Xiao Wu wished he could shout: *Nobody knows better than me how hard it is to pluck Brother Ming's conscious spiritual light!*
Back then, when he tried to guide Qin Ming's consciousness into the strange little town, he had failed repeatedly. Only by transforming the rainbow light within his body into a golden divine bridge had he painstakingly brought it out, along with the heavenly light force.
Qin Ming's conscious spiritual light was rooted deep within his flesh and blood, fused as one with his heavenly light force.
Qin Ming willingly opened a path, drawing back his five-colored mist. The golden threads flared continuously, pulling with all their might, yet he remained utterly immovable.
Ling Yu was shaken to his core. The youth from Black-White Mountain let him try to pull his soul out, yet he couldn't budge it in the slightest!
Behind them, Tang Jin in her black dress could not help taking two steps forward to get a clearer look. For the first time, a look of shock surfaced on her flawless, exquisite face.
How was this possible? She could hardly believe it.
Those on the Newborn path were known to be weak in the spiritual domain, while Ling Yu was in the second realm. His pure yang conscious light had been personally tempered by their master. Yet even with such a supreme technique, he couldn't fish out his opponent's soul? It defied all reason!
"Remarkable. Facing the immortal path's greatest strength with the Newborn path's shortcoming, he cannot be breached even by conscious spiritual light akin to a blazing sun. This is truly incredible!"
Even the two old men were astonished. Their snowy white eyebrows trembled, and the sparse strands of hair atop their heads floated up once more.
Xin Youdao, Tang Jun, and the others were shaken to their core. To elicit such shock and praise from seniors of that stature, the youth's feat was plainly extraordinary.
In a flash, Ling Yu shifted targets. The heavenly light across his entire body erupted, merging with that golden pure yang consciousness, and he began attempting to reel in Qin Ming's heavenly light.
He wanted to pull the rug from beneath Qin Ming's feet and rip his power straight out of him. Yet once again, he failed; it did not budge in the slightest!
He could not comprehend it. This was his lineage's ultimate killer move—why was it completely useless? More importantly, he was a whole realm higher! Qin Ming's heavenly light force, divine wisdom, and conscious spiritual light were completely unified, rooted into his flesh and blood. Trying to fish any of it out was no different from trying to lift his entire body; separating one from the other was impossible.
*Swish!*
Qin Ming exerted force abruptly, wrenching the five-colored blade free from the sun-like conscious light. With a gentle sweep, he sheared through all dozens of golden threads.
Ling Yu retreated rapidly. His next maneuver surpassed all expectations. Using that liquid-gold pure yang conscious light, he actually reeled in the heavenly light within his own body and dragged it completely out.
In an instant, that heavenly light took form, condensing continuously until it was only three feet long. It resembled a ruler, or a dazzling divine whip, wielded by his pure yang consciousness as it lashed toward Qin Ming.
"*Hiss*... Is that the secret technique developed by the grandmaster—the God-Beating Whip?" Zhao Minghui was astonished; she had heard of this art. Qian Chuan, Tang Jun, and the others looked on, dumbfounded. Such a thing was possible?
The condensed heavenly light force was like lightning; it could strike spiritual consciousness and severely wound physical flesh. Packing immense destructive power, it was feared by those on the immortal path, who called it the God-Beating Whip.
Ling Yu had practiced several uncanny arts, and the heavenly light force born within him was already astonishing, far exceeding his peers. Now that it was condensed, it became even more dreadful.
"It can be used like that? That's quite something," Qin Ming murmured, genuinely intrigued. That grandmaster had truly come up with some unorthodox methods.
The two elders sighed in secret admiration. A near-patriarch was truly unfathomable. A blinding whip shadow swept forth, more terrifying than lightning. Qin Ming raised his blade to meet it.
Immediately, clear metallic clashes rang out as divine radiance scattered in all directions. Brilliant flashes bloomed one after another, like two immortal weapons colliding.
Ling Yu's mind was in turmoil. This was condensed heavenly light force reeled out by pure yang consciousness, yet it couldn't sweep through unopposed? Just what level had his opponent's heavenly light force reached? He could hardly believe his eyes, feeling as though he were trapped in a dream!
Ling Yu was certain that even legendary forces—like the Two Imperials force of the Six Imperials ancestral court—might not withstand this peerless art, the God-Beating Whip.
After all, this was a brief, all-out eruption of the heavenly light force throughout his entire body!
Yet his opponent was just that absurd, meeting the God-Beating Whip head-on with conventional heavenly light force. The impact left the dazzling whip humming and violently shuddering, on the verge of exploding.
Ling Yu strongly suspected that the heavenly light force Qin Ming wielded could rival those blessed with the Three Imperials from the Six Imperials ancestral court, the Golden Body Nirvana achievers of the Rulai Sect, or the Heaven Shakers of the Qingtian Sect!
Yet such limits had rarely been reached in history during the Newborn stage, aside from the founders themselves. Was he witnessing living history?
Refusing to accept defeat, Ling Yu lashed out with the God-Beating Whip again and again. Formed from the condensed heavenly light of his entire body, it was practically unstoppable, capable of tearing through any normal heavenly light force or conscious spiritual light.
The best way to deal with the God-Beating Whip was to avoid its edge temporarily, because it could not be sustained for long.
Yet his opponent, wielding a five-colored blade shaped from heavenly light, intended to sever his whip and shatter it completely. He fought with overwhelming ferocity, clashing against him strike for strike.
Ling Yu could take no more. The dense heavenly light retreated, sinking back into his flesh in an instant, for he feared his entire heavenly light force would be broken apart! This was merely a brief burst of power; his true baseline heavenly light force was far from that level.
"To actually counter the God-Beating Whip with an unseen heavenly light force... Could he truly rival the legends? Equal to one blessed with the Three Imperials, a Golden Body Nirvana achiever, or a Heaven Shaker?" Even Master Wu could not help speaking up.
Such high praise shook the young cultivators present. Even an exceptional talent like Xin Youdao was dumbfounded. Qian Chuan muttered, "In the end... I still don't understand at all."
"That's just my brother's usual standard—badass!" Xiao Wu shouted. He knew better than anyone how monstrous Qin Ming was. After all, this was someone who had walked out of a divine temple completely unscathed.
Ling Yu backed away with a complex expression. What had he experienced today? Was he witnessing history? A brand-new heavenly light force that could stand shoulder to shoulder with legendary arts.
Was this what a founding patriarch looked like in his youth? More than one person on the scene harbored the exact same thought.
"Splendid! I knew the Newborn path hadn't reached a dead end, that a trailblazer would come along eventually!" one elder exclaimed in deep excitement.
"Minghui, when are you calling our girl back from the immortal land?" the other elder asked via secret transmission. Zhao Minghui was left speechless.
Tang Jin stared blankly. Several supreme arts in succession had failed against the youth from Black-White Mountain, completely countered by brute strength. Clearly, his natural gifts were far beyond normal.
Ling Yu realized that even after drawing upon the power of the second realm, he still could not cross this "Patriarch Mountain." He had no idea how tall this mountain truly was!
Taking a deep breath, he resolved to make one final attempt. If he still could not shake his opponent, he would have no choice but to concede. Four colors blossomed across his body, giving rise to faint, hazy phenomena.
Certain arts could only be fully unleashed once one reached the Outer Sage realm, just as he was doing now.
The four uncanny arts he excelled in corresponded to the Four Symbols domain. Faint phantoms of a tiger, a scarlet bird, and others circled him. In terms of the Five Elements, they aligned with wood, fire, metal, and water.
Furthermore, five-colored thunder burst around him, binding the Four Symbols together.
Ling Yu unleashed one hundred and twenty percent of his power, executing the Four Symbols Fist. With an earth-shattering momentum, four phantoms circled his body as his five-color thunder force erupted.
In addition, his golden conscious light transformed into a Pure Yang Sword, carrying the majesty of heaven and earth like a Golden Crow streaking across the sky to slash at his opponent. Advancing along both paths at once, he laid bare every single trump card.
*Clang! Clang! Clang!*
The five-colored mist around Qin Ming transformed in an instant into a Five Elements Light Wheel, blazing with divine glow. Enclosing him completely, the wheel spun at high speed.
At the same time, terrestrial qi rose, scarlet li fire surged upward, mist churned, and wind and thunder roared. Using several uncanny arts, he conjured a tempest of heavenly thunder igniting earthly fires.
Shielded by the Five Elements Light Wheel and wielding the five-colored blade, Qin Ming advanced with sweeping invincibility, commanding heaven-and-earth thunder and fire as he clashed fiercely with his opponent.
In a flash, Four Symbols fist radiance, five-colored blade light, Pure Yang sword rays, and the Five Elements Light Wheel collided violently. The two figures moved like specters through night mist, entwined like bolts of lightning, continuously teleporting.
*Boom!*
At last, the Four Symbols shattered, and the five-colored thunder collapsed. Ling Yu was sent flying, coughing up mouthful after mouthful of blood as he hit the ground, staggering and barely able to stand.
In the arena, water vapor and li fire churned, and terrestrial qi drifted amid clouds of rosy mist, swirling like vibrant silk. Within the Five Elements Light Wheel, Qin Ming's dark hair danced and his green robes snapped in the wind as he sheathed his blade and stood tall.
"I lost," Ling Yu sighed dejectedly. In the end, he had failed to scale this mountain.
Outside the arena, Qian Chuan and Tang Jun felt dizzy. The most talked-about figure of recent days had been defeated just like that. Someone truly could cross realms to strike down a Young Ancestor!
"*Caw*—" Master Wu let out a squawk, then fell silent.
Tang Jin stared in a daze, the outcome exceeding her wildest expectations. At this moment, she felt as if a crack had formed across Feixian Mountain.
Looking at the youth standing tall in the center of the ring, one elder declared with absolute certainty, "We are protecting him!"
The other elder was even blunter: "Tell the Cui clan to get lost! At least in the territory of Kunling, don't let them play any tricks, or if they dare reach out a hand, we'll chop off their claws!"
"Miss Tang... after you!" Qin Ming said.
Chapter 199