The Path-Fall Incident

Under the pitch-black canopy of night, ripples stirred across the Fire Spring, draping Kunling City as if in a veil of red gauze. "Senior Cao stands above the clouds, looking down over the entire night-fog world. Having forged an invincible reputation himself, even the disciples he takes on astound the eight wildernesses." "The road ahead is still long; I hope Junior Brother Li can go far enough." As Pu Heng chatted with a friend in a teahouse about his youngest junior brother, a smile graced his face, for he had just received word that Li Qingxu had already "embarked upon the path." An immortal seed represented the future foundation of a sect. Their lineage needed such accumulation to perpetuate the glory forged by Cao Qianqiu... In the secret realm, two divine rainbows spanned the sky, drawing gazes from all directions. It was the clash between a demon seed and an immortal seed. No one had anticipated they would duel in such a fashion, battling up into the heavens in a staggering spectacle. Some grew rather anxious, while others looked on in anticipation; all craned their necks upward, watching quietly for a "major accident" to occur. Some anticipated that a "path fall" incident might take place today. "Incredible! For our demon clan to produce such a fierce warrior truly bolsters our pride, exalts our renown, and gives us boundless confidence!" Some demons trembled with excitement and shouted at the top of their lungs. They eagerly awaited the demon seed knocking the immortal seed down. Though they could not partake themselves, they were already dazzled and enthralled, their blood surging hot. In the sky, the two "seeds" commanded their paths to collide in an astonishing spectacle, showering vast sheets of flowing light. The edges of one path were utterly shattered, teetering precariously and on the verge of snapping! "The immortal path... is destabilizing!" Disciples close to Li Qingxu narrowed their eyes, dreading that the worst was about to happen. The crimson path churned with demonic qi and purple mist, resonant with dragon roars. It grew ever more domineering, as if intent on crushing the secret realm beneath its weight. The other path was crumbling along its edges, and the scattering streamers of light rushed into the demon path opposite it. It was truly a case of one waxing as the other waned. After several collisions, the immortal path's light bled away severely. It grew increasingly dim, and the sound of collapse rang out distinct and clear; large sections fractured, narrowing the road. Those shattered pieces flew across and paved themselves onto the demon path, widening and reinforcing it. "Is this the so-called path contest? It's been entirely manifested!" someone marveled. The two paths spanned the sky. With one final clash, vast swathes of the immortal path shattered, narrowing it to less than half its original width—one more blow would snap it completely. What was more, people caught sight of Li Qingxu's figure at that moment. His hair disheveled, his body plummeted downward. "A path fall has happened!" someone cried out. Yet at the final moment, one of Li Qingxu's hands gripped the edge of the ruined path, and he hauled himself back up. His chest heaved, emotions roiling violently! He was utterly unwilling to accept this. In this most crucial path contest, under the scrutiny of countless eyes, he had nearly suffered a path fall, losing to a demon from the plateau. He was a disciple of Cao Qianqiu—how could he suffer defeat?! The cold voice reminded him to tread carefully and cherish the road ahead; as the defeated party, he still had one chance to challenge his opponent and must seize it. Hearing the words "tread carefully and cherish the road ahead," Li Qingxu wanted nothing more than to smash the path apart with his staff, overwhelmed by a searing sense of humiliation. At that moment, he was forced out of the structure of golden bricks and jade tiles, and could only watch helplessly as the stick of incense that had aided his enlightenment and the prayer mat flew away. Next, his teeth nearly ground to powder and his face turned ashen, for those divine objects flew toward the demon path, aiding his enemy right before his eyes. Having failed in the path contest, the "gifts" he had been enjoying were turned into the demon's spoils of war. This left him suffocatingly furious, his chest tight with anger. "Li Qingxu lost! He almost fell just now, and his path nearly broke!" "An immortal seed from our outer pure lands couldn't defeat a demon seed from the plateau! Even Senior Cao's reputation will take a hit." Clamor filled the secret realm as onlookers buzzed with talk, the battle setting off massive shockwaves. "Heh heh, our demon clan is truly Heaven's most favored race. No matter the era, heroic talents capable of shaking heaven and earth always emerge. Another supreme deity is about to rise!" "Quickly send rare birds deep into the plateau to inform our demon clan's seniors! They must come to the secret realm to receive and protect the demon seed—under no circumstances can we let the old monsters of the immortal path harm him!" In this heated discussion, different factions held completely different mindsets. Yet one thing was shared across all: admiration for the strong. The victor received endless glory, while the loser was left desolate and reviled. Xin Youdao, Jiang Ruoli, Liu Hanya, and the others were somewhat dazed. They knew very well who it was, yet they could not say much here. They felt profoundly shaken. That young man traveling alongside them had first slain a demon seed and now defeated an immortal seed—he truly accomplished one astonishing feat after another! Li Qingxu's blood roiled. Though it had only been a clash of commanded paths without direct contact, the shattered immortal path beneath his feet offered an intuitive reflection of the outcome. Soon after, he steadied his emotions and muttered to himself, "To think such a demon seed has emerged among the plateau's beasts... Why have I never heard of him before? If it were in actual combat, would he thoroughly overpower me from start to finish?" He found this reality hard to accept. "Not necessarily," the mechanical voice spoke again. Li Qingxu jerked his head up and asked, "How so?" "This was the result of the collision between the manifestations of your 'achievements' along your respective paths. It is linked to the various evaluations earned along the way; actual combat is only one factor among them." Hearing this, Li Qingxu's eyes immediately brightened. The collisions earlier had been few, yet defeat had come so swiftly that he had begun to doubt himself. He asked, "Elaborate—what factors do those evaluations encompass?" "Actual combat, comprehension, physical foundation, a path-blazer's vision, ineffable flashes of conceptual inspiration..." The more Li Qingxu listened, the darker his face became. It would have been better not to ask, for it only soured his mood further. Except for actual combat, which of those factors did not concern the future? Were all of them points in the opponent's favor? Looking at the ruined path beneath his feet, Li Qingxu's face darkened like still water, and he said, "I want an actual fight with him!" He knew well that commanding the paths to battle was no longer possible; another collision would surely snap his path. He had no choice but to engage in genuine, bloody combat! "Very well. He will soon enter the second node, where an actual combat plaza exists. However, for the protection of successors gifted with peerless talent and the ambition to blaze new paths, it must take place in equal realms." Li Qingxu nodded. "No problem!" Qin Ming reflected on his actions, feeling he had been reckless this time. He originally had no desire to stir up trouble, but he had been ignorant of this place's rules. Simply because he found Li Qingxu intolerable, he had smashed the statue, which had led to this confrontation. "Hm?" He was surprised to see an incense burner and a prayer mat flying over from the distance. Soon, he learned their function from the cold voice: they might even rival the tea that had aided his sudden enlightenment earlier! The stick of incense had temporarily gone out, but it could be relit at any time. "What manner of existence are you?" Qin Ming asked. The mechanical voice informed him that here, it was the Heavenly Demon Mirror; on the immortal path, it was the Immortal Mirror; and on the divine path, it was the Divine Mirror. It was a damaged wondrous treasure. Qin Ming felt a jolt in his heart. For a damaged treasure to possess such capability was truly astonishing. The Heavenly Demon Mirror said, "Successor with the ambition to blaze new paths, if you demonstrate outstanding performance again hereafter, you may have the opportunity to fully restore the fractured demon seeds." It was actually dangling such an enticing promise before him. Qin Ming was dazed. He had refined two fragmented demon seeds to master the Dragon Snake Scripture, and to step onto the demon path, he still had three untouched on his person. They could actually be restored to wholeness? In that case, his unfinished ninth rebirth and the mastery of both the Golden Cicada Scripture and the Immortal Butterfly Scripture seemed to have found their solution. This was truly an unexpected boon! "What counts as an outstanding performance?" he asked. "Shattering a path," the Heavenly Demon Mirror replied. Qin Ming felt deep regret. The mirror had halted the earlier confrontation; otherwise, with just one more collision, Li Qingxu's path would have snapped! He evaluated carefully and concluded that Li Qingxu was indeed very strong, yet as long as he himself stepped into the Outer Sage realm, he would have no need to avoid this man in reality. Soon after, Qin Ming crossed over to the Newborn path. Already aware of the issue regarding plaza nodes, he altered his appearance before stepping inside. Just like that, he "hopped" between the two paths, advancing rapidly in a bizarre manner. Li Qingxu resolved to retaliate. Not long ago, while immersed in deep enlightenment comprehending a sect-defining supreme art, not only had that demon disrupted him, but his path had nearly been severed. Now, arriving at a plaza node further down the path, he prepared to blast the demon's statue manifested here, giving the demon a taste of being "interrupted." He guessed that after obtaining the incense and prayer mat, the other party would surely plunge into sudden enlightenment. It was time for him to strike! Upon reaching this plaza, the first thing Li Qingxu saw was that demon, lifelike and brimming with wildness. He strode forward with a cold expression, swung the glowing purple bamboo staff in his hand, and without a word, smashed it straight toward the demon's head. With a heavy thud, the entire plaza trembled faintly. "What is this?" He discovered that the statue had not sustained even the slightest damage, let alone having its head shattered. Refusing to believe it, Li Qingxu blazed with light from head to toe, raised the bamboo staff high, and brought it crashing down with immense force. Boom! Where the bamboo staff struck, lightning flashed and thunder roared, wrapped in runes. Yet after taking the blow, the statue remained completely unharmed. The corners of the demon's eyes and brows exuded sheer defiance, and its face wore a callous smirk, as if mocking him. Li Qingxu swung his bamboo staff repeatedly, only to find he could not shatter the statue no matter what. "Why is this happening?!" His face turned icy. The Immortal Mirror informed him, "This is manifested based on physical foundation, comprehension, a path-blazer's vision..." "Say no more—arrange the combat for me!" Li Qingxu slammed his staff into the ground. On the plateau, an old demon received word from a rare bird and learned that an extraordinary demon seed had appeared in the secret realm, powerfully suppressing an immortal seed and likely about to snap an immortal path soon. "He requires our protection? Well, no one can interfere with those paths. Very well, we can dispatch personnel to wait outside the secret realm to receive him." "They want to attack this plateau? Ha, a fine thought, but unfortunately they have no idea how deep the waters run here. When all is said and done, who knows who will end up the prey!" In Kunling City, Cao Qianqiu's eldest disciple, Pu Heng, was having tea with his friend when he was informed that fresh news regarding his junior brother, Li Qingxu, had arrived. Unhurried, he took a gentle sip of tea before accepting the letter brought back by the rare bird with a faint smile, slowly unfurling it.