An Iconic Scene

The moment killing intent rose in Cao Qianqiu's heart, his head split open. Qin Ming was dazzling from head to toe, his heavenly light force blazing. Facing a legendary old madman, he extended the highest "courtesy," fighting almost into a frenzy. "Strangling me with one hand? Old Cao, did you skip lunch? You have no strength at all!" By now, Qin Ming cared nothing about this peerless terror of the immortal path. Since there was no peaceful way out, he would just swing his warhammer, showing every kind of "utter disrespect." Though Cao Qianqiu's head was fractured, his footing was by no means slow. Like a phantom teleporting, he constantly shifted positions across the ground. Yet the ferocious youth carried his warhammer and teleported right along with him, not a fraction slower. With a dull boom, another hammer blow struck his body. Cao Qianqiu's chest caved inward, while a huge section bulged out from his back in the shape of a hammer, sending him flying horizontally. And right behind him, the youth he deemed "too dangerous to leave alive"—powerfully built, with disheveled black hair and eyes like knives—caught up once more and slammed the Dragon Snake Hammer into his body. With a bang, Cao Qianqiu's chest blew apart, shattering half his body along with it. His eyes ignited like divine lamps, projecting terrifying runes that wove into a beam of light, counterstriking straight toward the youth's face. Qin Ming slapped out with his left hand, carrying heavenly light like a scorching sun. It clashed with the beam like an immortal sword, clanging loudly before shattering the light completely. His right hand brought the warhammer crashing down once more. One word: savage! This time, Cao Qianqiu groaned. His head not only split but partially blew apart, and even a portion of his pure yang conscious spiritual light was thoroughly ground away. After hurtling backward, he adjusted his condition, intending to evolve techniques that exceeded the allowed limits of the first realm to crush the youth. Yet the youth stuck to him like glue, following him like a shadow as if bound together, pursuing him in close-quarters combat and pummeling him incessantly. First Cao Qianqiu's head, then his chest, followed by his limbs—all of them had exploded at some point. If this had been a body of flesh and blood, he would have been mangled beyond recognition long ago. As it was, he was a pure yang spiritual body; though part of his spiritual radiance had been worn away, he could still reconstruct himself. That was his greatest reliance at present. Being stuck to by such a youth and hammered to pieces time and again was a total loss of face. He had swept through the night mist world, crushing all opponents in his path—when had he ever been in such a wretched state? In the rear, Li Qingxu was dumbstruck, his ethereal disposition having vanished completely. Utterly shaken, his mouth hung open, his whole being frozen numb. The master in his heart represented an invincible myth, yet now he was being chased and beaten repeatedly, his pure yang spiritual body battered to tatters. Xiang Yiwu, Cui Chonghe, Su Shiyun, and the others stared wide-eyed as well. They had already deduced that it was Cao Qianqiu, never imagining he could end up in such a miserable state. He was being beaten from east to west by that demonic youth, hammered from head to toe, sent flying and constantly blown apart. What an astounding iconic spectacle this was! Auspicious haze steamed from Cao Qianqiu as he erupted with an immeasurable rain of light, finally repelling the youth and putting sufficient distance between them. His eyes were cold. Being chased down and hammered like this—if word got out, the old fogies on every path would surely laugh at him. For so many years, he had stood atop the clouds, looking down upon the night mist world, while many adversaries waited constantly to watch him fall from his pedestal. Those old fogies had never been able to touch him, yet now a mere youth had unexpectedly created such an "iconic scene"! Qin Ming also paused for the moment. This old fellow was of pure yang nature and not a physical body, making him exceptionally difficult to kill. With wide sleeves fluttering and silver hair dancing in the wind, killing intent surged in Cao Qianqiu's heart once more. His divine sense was exceedingly sharp, naturally piercing through to the youth's core essence. He was certain that if this youth of the Newborn path did not die, he would very likely surpass even the founder-level figures! Because right now in the first realm, this youth was already stronger than the legendary possessors of the Three Imperials force, Sky Shakers, and Golden Body Nirvanic Ones. With silver hair streaming back and pure yang robes snapping in the wind, Cao Qianqiu moved his hands. Boundless runes, like luminous butterflies fluttering their wings, converged and instantaneously formed the body of a bell. It was exceedingly difficult to execute this technique in the first realm; at the very least, none of his disciples could accomplish it. Even he himself had to pull open a distance and focus his mind completely to manifest it. This was the Soul-Anchoring Bell, one of his trump cards. Formed from tens of thousands of runes, it could immobilize an opponent's soul, and further destroy them with its bell waves. Clang! A bell chime rang out, causing the soul lights of many people across the various peaks to freeze stiff. The onlookers were horrified. Qin Ming's expression grew solemn; he used his peerless heavenly light force to shield his body, completely cloaking himself within it. Auspicious haze shot forth and immortal light surged as the great bell seemed to break through the shackles of time and space, abruptly hurtling over. With a boom, it trapped Qin Ming beneath it. Old Cao possessed heaven-reaching methods; this bell ignored distance, impossible to guard against or evade. Immortal mist flowed across the bell, tens of thousands of runes shining and sealing the bell's opening. Then Cao Qianqiu struck out with a fierce palm. The great bell roared and began to violently vibrate. The dense symbols across its surface flowed like a river of stars, seeking to strangle and crush the youth inside. At this moment, even many people within the secret realm began to wonder: Who on earth was this? He was vastly stronger than Li Qingxu had been earlier. Qin Ming indeed felt the impact; he had to admit that Cao Qianqiu was outrageously powerful. For so many years, no one had been able to do anything to this old madman. His lifelong dominance and overbearing nature were backed by fathomless strength; with a casual strike, he could produce sect-guarding supreme arts. Nevertheless, Qin Ming held his ground. Swinging the Dragon Snake Hammer in his hands repeatedly, he smashed into the bell walls. Not only did he disrupt the rhythm of the sonic waves and dim all the runes, but he also warped the bell's shape. Clang! Clang! Clang! The chimes were deafening. Many people in the secret realm painfully shut down their five senses, truly unable to endure the acoustic shockwaves of the Soul-Anchoring Bell. Qin Ming lost count of how many times he had swung his hammer, leaving the bell walls warped and deformed, its shape no longer symmetrical. Cao Qianqiu's expression changed. He had never encountered such a youth before. Was this boy truly going to surpass him within the same realm? His hands continually swept through the air, sending dense runes raining down upon the Soul-Anchoring Bell. Yet the youth inside swung his hammer even faster. Dense cracks spiderwebbed across the bell; before the newly added runes could finish mending it, fresh fractures burst open. With a crack, a section of the great bell fractured like a spiderweb, the shattered lines glaringly obvious. Then, with an explosive boom, it blew apart, tearing through the mountainous terrain. Bathed in runic light, Qin Ming surged with heavenly light force. Brimming with murderous intent, he charged to strike Old Cao. With a thud, Cao Qianqiu was sent flying once more, cracking and thoroughly shattering across his entire body. This time, he was decisive. Not hesitating to consume his pure yang conscious spiritual light, he burned it and erupted with a rain of light to pull open a distance once more, refusing to give his opponent an easy chance to close in. At the same time, his hands loosely clasped the air. Fine golden patterns flowed from between his fingers, weaving into a cord in midair. Like a golden python swimming through the void, its speed was terrifyingly fast. As if disregarding distance, it arrived right in front of Qin Ming in the blink of an eye. Qin Ming swung his warhammer and knocked it away. Yet wrapped in runes, the golden cord transformed like a python turning into a dragon. Reversing its trajectory, it seemed to pierce the void, arriving before him once more in an instant to bind him. "That is Cao Qianqiu's supreme art! It once killed a supreme expert of our demon race—once caught by that golden cord, one is strangled and severed into multiple pieces alive!" Some demon onlookers grew grim upon seeing this, fearing for their race's demon seed. Those on the immortal path naturally knew even better: this was one of Senior Cao's most proficient killing methods. "Li Qingxu wouldn't be able to use this at his current stage, would he?!" someone remarked. Qin Ming frowned. Repeatedly swinging his Dragon Snake Hammer, he only temporarily fended off the runic golden cord. With a swish, the warhammer vanished from his hands. Facing a flexible cord woven of runes, head-on blunt force was less effective. In the next moment, black and white light surged in his hands. Qin Ming channeled the primordial demon race version of the Dragon Snake Scripture with his unified, merged heavenly light force. Not only was its power extraordinarily peerless, but it also carried billowing demonic qi. Anyone looking at him would take him for a youthful demon. Amid the blinding heavenly light, the power spreading from his hands became unimaginably terrifying, causing the very void to buzz and roar. In the end, two figures—one black and one white—seemed to surge from his hands. Dragon and snake rose together. A technique normally exercisable only in the second realm was now manifested by him. Dragon roars and flood dragon cries echoed through the area. The black and white dragon and snake intersected like a pair of shears. Carrying endless demonic qi and grounded in his unified heavenly light force, they clashed against that runic cord. Amid sharp snapping sounds, each section of the golden cord extending forward was sheared off. Under the crossing strikes of dragon and snake, it fractured continuously until it shattered entirely. "That's our demon race's legendary supreme technique—the Dragon Snake Shears! Hardly anyone can master it; unless one rivals a possessor of the Three Imperials force or a Sky Shaker, it's impossible. As expected of a demon seed!" Several demons were shocked. Some profound arts could not be mastered simply by possessing the scripture; they relied far too heavily on innate talent. The immortal seeds and divine seeds of every path were also deeply startled. Wielding the Dragon Snake Shears, Qin Ming charged at extreme speed. In the first realm, he could not project his heavenly light force over long distances and could only fight in close combat. With a flash, the instant he closed in, he sheared through Cao Qianqiu's body, spiritual light splattering like blood. Then, with another hammer blow, he slammed into the old madman, battering him to pieces and sending him flying. Cao Qianqiu naturally understood: the youth clearly had other means, yet deliberately chose to pummel him with a warhammer again and again. "You dare humiliate me?!" Old Cao flew into genuine rage. Instantly, his hands cupped upward toward the sky. His entire body blurred as pure yang spiritual light boiled over and surged from him, transforming into a blood-red sun that he held aloft with both hands. Dense runes bloomed within the sun. This was his pure yang essence; he was giving his all, aiming to obliterate the youth. His own form faded into translucence, as most of his spiritual brilliance had been drawn out. Qin Ming sensed danger. The old madman's blazing sun was the condensed essence of his lifelong cultivation, primed to smash down with full force. He took a deep breath. Circulating the silk book method, he gathered heavenly light force in his right hand. The boiling radiance manifested outside his body, taking shape as the God-Beating Whip. He was emulating the supreme art from Ling Yu's sect. While he could not draw out the whole of his heavenly light force because it was rooted deep within his flesh and blood, he could summon the greater part of it. How exceptionally high was the quality of his heavenly light force! Now, as he continually concentrated it, a weapon emerged in his right hand—resembling the God-Beating Whip yet also like a Sky-Measuring Ruler, more dazzling than a blazing sun. At the same time, veiled by the Dragon Snake Scripture, his body was also accompanied by dense demonic qi. Everyone knew this was their decisive clash, with both sides employing their ultimate trump cards. Cao Qianqiu hurled the sun formed of red runes, crashing it toward the outrageously powerful youth. Qin Ming remained expressionless, holding the sun-like weapon—like a staff, like a whip, and like a ruler—concentrating seventy percent of his total heavenly light. Boom! Holding the weapon, he struck the blood-red sun, erupting into blinding light. This was a grand clash between heavenly light force and pure yang conscious spiritual light! One could see the blood-red sun suspended across the sky, illuminating all things. Ordinary demon race members would have long been burned to ash and crushed into dross. Yet Qin Ming withstood it! Under the blinding crimson glow and engulfed by pure yang power, he swung his weapon repeatedly, lashing the blood-red sun until it cracked. Finally, with a thunderous roar, his radiant weapon of concentrated heavenly light force shattered the sun! Then, like a dragon in the heavens, relying on the dragon-snake force method to briefly take flight, he closed in on his opponent in an instant and brutally pummeled Cao Qianqiu. He dispersed the God-Beating Whip; he could not keep his concentrated heavenly light force entirely gathered outside his body and needed balance to protect his physical flesh, so he recongealed the Dragon Snake Hammer. In their struggle this time, Cao Qianqiu took blow after blow. Unable to take to the skies, he had no way left to evade. Moreover, condensing the blood-red sun just now had severely depleted his pure yang spiritual light. His body exploded; when his pure yang conscious spiritual light reassembled, Qin Ming firmly seized it using adhesive force. Then Qin Ming leveled the warhammer in his right hand at him, pounding him relentlessly. Everyone looked on, dumbfounded. Anyone who knew the man being hammered was Cao Qianqiu was petrified in disbelief. Over all these years, who knew how many had longed to see Cao Qianqiu overthrown and knocked from his pedestal? Today, in this place, they bore witness to such an iconic spectacle. Cao Qianqiu was furious. The boy had locked onto him with adhesive force and was putting him through a "thousand hammerings and temperings." Even if his pure yang conscious spiritual light could reassemble, it could not withstand such relentless pounding. Having exploded multiple times, his pure yang spiritual light suffered severe depletion! At this moment, complete silence fell across all four directions. All who knew the inside story were shaken to their core, yet simultaneously couldn't help stifling laughter—because that was Myth Cao, a legendary madman, currently being battered with a warhammer! Only Li Qingxu wept, feeling deeply ashamed before his master. To him, such an iconic scene... was truly nothing short of the sky collapsing and the earth splitting open. "You seek death!" Cao Qianqiu let out a low roar, resorting to forbidden methods to break through the local suppression. He had never cared about bullying the weak, and strangling a youthful prodigy was nothing to him. Though he was not his true body but merely a wisp of pure yang conscious spiritual light, once he broke through the upper limit and threw off suppression, he would become unimaginably terrifying. "Intruder detected violating local rules. The Heavenly Demon Mirror shall administer punishment: obliteration!" A cold voice rang out, and then a colossal beam of light plummeted from the sky, engulfing Cao Qianqiu.