Cao Qianqiu broke past the realm's restrictions, intending to strangle the young prodigy before him.
The Heavenly Demon Mirror reacted instantly. Like a blazing sun detonating, glaring golden rays blasted downward. Cao Qianqiu seemed to traverse time and space, somehow evading this strike that fell like divine punishment.
Across this mountainous stretch, swaths of boulders tore apart like paper, dissolving into dust that drifted across the sky.
Cao Qianqiu's silver hair danced in the wind, his pure yang feather robe snapping loudly. Murderous intent welled up from his heart as his strength surged rapidly.
His gaze burned like divine flames, striking dread into the soul. Two golden rays shot forth, transforming into tangible immortal swords that hummed with a ringing resonance, seeking to execute the youth whose aptitude appeared to surpass even founding masters.
A broken mirror with a chipped corner appeared in the sky, shimmering with dense, intricate patterns, though white mist veiled it from being seen clearly.
In an instant, wind and thunder roared. Runes blanketed the void, descending alongside a sky full of golden haze and grinding the two immortal swords forged of his gaze into powder.
"You dare hinder this old master's actions?!" Cao Qianqiu swept his wide sleeve, silver hair flying, eyes blazing like lightning as he inscribed runes into the air.
In a breath, the entire void roared and trembled, as if it might collapse at any moment.
It had to be admitted that as a great terror of the immortal path who had shaken the night fog world for so many years, Cao Qianqiu truly possessed heaven-defying Dao arts. For a mere strand of pure yang light to put on such a display was extraordinary.
Yet the Heavenly Demon Mirror had an inscrutable origin, suspected to be tied to the beings recorded in the *Kunling Record of Godlike Beings*. Within an instant, it blasted out wave after wave of golden haze.
For a time, the place seemed as if ten suns traversed the sky and Golden Crows cried out. Cao Qianqiu's imposing aura plummeted in the blink of an eye, and the characters he carved into the void were completely erased.
After all, he was not here in his true body; for a strand of spiritual light to possess such methods was already heaven-defying. With a resounding boom, he took several direct hits and was subsequently submerged in the golden haze.
"To oppose me—do you wish to draw forth this old master's true body and sink this secret realm?" Cao Qianqiu teleported continuously, but it changed nothing.
No matter where he appeared, he was swallowed by the beams projected from the broken mirror. Even a pure yang spiritual body could not withstand such an assault.
Amid sizzling sounds, he seemed to undergo corrosion; his conscious spiritual light shattered, ignited, and rapidly dimmed.
At the critical juncture, he split off a faint glimmer and sent it flying toward Li Qingxu, hoping to reveal certain truths and convey the information outside.
In these final moments, Cao Qianqiu's pure yang physique sensed something in the unseen dark: this youth, whose aptitude appeared to surpass the founding patriarchs, might stir up endless storms in the future and bring him great harm.
Yet the Heavenly Demon Mirror acted strictly by the rules. Though mechanical and rigid, its enforcement was absolute, coldly and ruthlessly erasing that faint glimmer.
"Qingxu, your master..." Cao Qianqiu sent a voice transmission, but his fading silhouette exploded directly.
"Very well... If my true body arrives, forget a broken mirror like you—even if you were whole and undamaged, you would be shattered to pieces!" Old Cao's faint silhouette reappeared.
Qin Ming was profoundly shaken. Cao Qianqiu's pure yang conscious spiritual light bordered on possessing immortal qualities; even after enduring an attack like that, it could manifest anew rather than being thoroughly erased.
From this alone, the patriarchs walking at the forefront of the immortal path were terrifyingly difficult to destroy, requiring repeated bombardments.
"Local rules protect descendants who dare to pioneer paths and eliminate all intruders," the Heavenly Demon Mirror's indifferent voice rang out.
"Master!" Li Qingxu had never seen his master in such a wretched and tragic state, undergoing execution. In the next instant, he vanished from the spot, landing back down in the secret realm as the Heavenly Demon Mirror sent him away.
Qin Ming was somewhat dissatisfied yet helpless; anyone who set foot upon a path would receive the realm's protection.
Just as now, when the overreaching Cao Qianqiu sought to strangle him, it immediately drew the Heavenly Demon Mirror's counterattack to execute him in reverse.
The broken mirror hung suspended in the sky as another ray of golden haze descended. Cao Qianqiu's immortal quality was sheared away, leaving him so faint that a mere gust of wind could scatter him. His silver hair bristled and his eyes were cold as ice, but right now he was truly powerless, his pure yang attribute nearly drained to the dregs.
"Descendant who dares to pioneer paths, do you wish to study his pure yang conscious spiritual light?" the Heavenly Demon Mirror actually asked.
"Yes!" Qin Ming nodded at once and charged over without hesitation.
Cao Qianqiu's killing intent surged, yet he could change nothing. He was like a tiger stranded in the shallows.
A dragon saber materialized in Qin Ming's right hand. In an instant, he turned Old Cao into "Cao Shiqiu," decapitating him on the spot.
Yet the old madman's spiritual will was like iron, showing no ripples whatsoever and preventing any emotional resonance.
Qin Ming frowned. With the man on the verge of dissipating, his mind remained so cold and unyielding—truly terrifying.
Following his ninth rebirth, heat flowed through Qin Ming's eyes, allowing him to perceive the finest details. He closely scrutinized the spiritual body, dissecting the secrets of pure yang.
Cao Qianqiu sneered. "My path leads straight above the nine heavens. Do mere Newborns dare presume to peek at it? What right or virtue have you? Even if you reach the end, you will be nothing more than common laborers!"
In the next moment, he became "Cao Gongqiu," missing half his torso.
Then he turned into "Cao Qianhuo," split straight down the middle.
This was Qin Ming's reply. Afterward, he once again stared intently at the pure yang conscious spiritual light.
Cao Qianqiu clasped his hands behind his back, his expression indifferent. "Even if the grand path to heaven were laid before you, you Newborns could never walk it. In the end, you are nothing but drudges!"
Promptly, he was turned into Eunuch Cao!
Qin Ming naturally had no intention of coddling him. Senior grandmaster or undefeated legend—when it was time to pummel, he pummeled; when it was time to hack, he hacked; and whatever needed lopping off, he lopped right off!
Cao Qianqiu flew into a towering rage, unable to maintain his composure any longer!
He had never imagined this kid would dare go so far, lacking even basic decency.
His Dao heart had been solid as iron, but being humiliated like this by a junior was more than he could bear. Lacking any masochistic tendencies, he had no desire to linger here any longer.
With a dull thud, before he could make a move, another hammer blow struck his skull, shattering his head.
"Residual conscious spiritual light detected," the Heavenly Demon Mirror announced coldly. It then showered down a sky of golden haze, illuminating a phantom figure.
Old Cao was insidious, intending to lie dormant and carry the information out.
In the end, however, he could not elude the Heavenly Demon Mirror and was burned directly to ash.
Cao Qianqiu's strand of pure yang conscious spiritual light was thoroughly wiped out.
Qin Ming breathed a sigh of relief. Cao Qianqiu had undoubtedly perceived his true nature; if that strand had returned to his main body, Qin Ming's future path would have essentially been severed.
Along the various paths, other immortal seeds, divine seeds, and candidates watched in silence. Having deduced that it was Cao Qianqiu, seeing such an outcome left everyone in a daze.
Li Qingxu landed on the ground, overwhelmed by shame. Having been knocked off that immortal path, he felt he had disgraced his sect and implicated his master, leaving him utterly without face to return.
He looked up at the sky and discovered that the demon path was widening and expanding!
"Ah..." With disheveled hair and a body drenched in blood, Li Qingxu growled, "Break through and stand anew! Sooner or later, I will wash away every trace of this humiliation!"
Inside the secret realm, people buzzed with fervent discussion.
The disciples of the immortal path felt conflicted. Their side had lost; that demon youth had simply been too domineering.
Those who disliked Li Qingxu took petty pleasure in his misfortune, saying, "What did I tell you? I predicted earlier that he'd be knocked down. Hasn't it come true?"
"Li Qingxu won't do. He's truly the weakest of the immortal seeds!"
Some wore grave expressions, having guessed that Cao Qianqiu had appeared in the end, yet had still suffered defeat!
Someone said in a low voice, "Say no more. This matter is far more serious than you imagine. It could stir up terrifying waves!"
Confused, others asked why.
"Think about it: the runic golden cord, the Soul-Anchoring Bell, holding up the pure yang sun... could Li Qingxu master all of those at his current stage?"
*Hiss!*
At once, the disciples of the immortal path dared not say another word.
On the demon side, boiling excitement erupted. They praised the youth "Yao Yi" to the heavens, deeming him one of the demon race's strongest seeds in the present age, easily ranking within the top five of the night fog world.
As for this plateau, he was unquestionably the tier-transcending, undisputed number-one demon seed!
"You don't understand—you've underestimated Yao Yi! He even mastered the legendary Dragon Snake Shears; his true worth is far higher than you think!"
"Only a princess of our demon race is worthy of such a peerless genius!"
"A Heavenly Demon is within reach!"
Many demons were lavish with their praise.
People from the esoteric sect also discussed the outcome, though in a relatively calm manner, as the duel did not involve them.
Whether hostile or praising, all factions shared a consensus: Yao Yi reigned supreme on the demon path and posed a threat to many seeds on the other paths.
In the sky, the fragments of Li Qingxu's fractured immortal path mended into the demon path, immediately causing demonic qi to surge to the heavens!
All sides were shaken. Had the youth on the demon path embarked upon a grand highway to the heavens?
"He will benefit from this and grow even stronger!" someone remarked with a heavy expression.
Steaming with blood mist and wrapped in purple qi, the demon path was now entirely smooth. It had turned into a purple-gold road that unfurled into the distance, before vanishing beneath the shocked gazes of the crowd.
After his initial sense of floating elation, Qin Ming quickly calmed down.
He knew his performance had been stellar, but the thought of Cao Qianqiu weighed heavily on his heart. A single strand of the old madman's pure yang conscious spiritual light was already this terrifying—how powerful must his true body be? It was beyond calculation!
The Heavenly Demon Mirror spoke: "Descendant who dares to pioneer paths, your potential is limitless, like a morning sun rising gently to disperse the night fog over the sea. In light of your defeat of an immortal path, you are hereby granted a reward to mend your fragmented demon seed. May you press on and illuminate this era!"
Qin Ming's wariness toward Cao Qianqiu vanished at once. A joyful look surfaced on his face. This battle had been entirely worth it!
In an instant, two fragmented demon seeds—one gold and one silver—appeared before him, causing the three shattered demon seeds within his body to stir restlessly, eager to fuse with them.
Qin Ming smiled. He naturally had no need to form a complete demon seed, but he could refine them to cultivate the *Golden Cicada Scripture* to great accomplishment. Furthermore, his ninth rebirth was not yet complete, and could now continue.
Earlier, he had refrained from touching the three fragmented demon seeds for fear of affecting his progression along the demon path. Now, he had no such reservations.
This meant his strength could rise once more!
Soon after, he appeared inside a palace hall. Here lay a prayer mat and two unlit sticks of incense, identical to what he had obtained from Li Qingxu.
These could immerse a person in a state of Dao comprehension!
"A single duel yielded so much—all of it nourishment!" Qin Ming's face beamed with smiles.
***
Outside the secret realm, demonic qi roiled as a colossal demon arrived.
Upon hearing the latest report, it laughed heartily, its voice shaking the heavens and scattering the pervasive night fog.
Pu Heng was on his way, already very close. When he learned of the latest developments, he was thoroughly shocked. Had that battle truly involved his master?!
"Our immortal path lost too miserably! Is no one going to step forward? Go fight another round! If word spreads like this, what dignity will we have left?!"
"Leng Feiyue, Cui Chonghe, Su Shiyun, Sun Jingxiao—you have to strike back! If news spreads far and wide that the disciples of the immortal path lost to a demon, the embarrassment will be unbearable!"
Outside, people argued fiercely.
In particular, the senior elders were preparing to wash the plateau in blood, sweep through all the old demons, and hunt the auspicious beast. Under such circumstances, how could the younger generation lose?
In truth, certain individuals on the immortal path were indeed swayed. They understood not only cultivation but also the general trend. If they remained indifferent and turned a blind eye, would the old seniors of the immortal path blame them for lacking accountability?
"Sun Jingxiao of the outer pure land has issued a challenge to you," the Heavenly Demon Mirror transmitted at this moment.
Qin Ming recognized the person, having seen him aboard the Vermilion Bird airship.
"No time!" he said without a second thought. He was about to begin cultivating singular skills and pushing his ninth rebirth to completion; he had no wish to be distracted.
"He does not wish to engage in actual combat with you," the Heavenly Demon Mirror informed him. The opponent wanted to compete with him in comprehension.
After stepping onto such a path, the evaluations one received were tied to actual combat, comprehension, physical foundation, and the pioneer's vision. The opponent had chosen one of these categories.
Taken aback, Qin Ming asked, "It won't affect my meditation and Dao comprehension here, will it?"
"Largely, it will not," the Heavenly Demon Mirror replied.
"Very well, I accept!" Qin Ming nodded, hoping to secure a few more rewards.
The Heavenly Demon Mirror said, "Descendant who dares to pioneer paths, it is advised that you first comprehend the Dao to adjust your body and mind to their peak state before fusing a complete demon seed. That will yield the best effect."
"Mm, I will follow your advice." Qin Ming took the suggestion. He was not preparing to fuse a complete demon seed, but rather aimed to forge a trump card.
Among all his methods, using the silk book scriptures to govern various arts and unleashing an integrated heavenly light force was naturally the strongest.
However, it also consumed an immense amount of energy.
He needed other, varied techniques to better handle diverse crises.
For instance, after comprehending the sublimated *Dragon Snake Scripture*, he had forged the Dragon Snake Shears, which could break Cao Qianqiu's runic golden cord.
This had given him deep insight: even if one possessed astonishing heavenly light force, one still needed various wondrous techniques to express it and maximize one's combat power.
"If we are competing in comprehension, would lighting that stick of incense count as cheating?" Qin Ming asked.
"It does not. I will convert the conditions into an equivalent environment before making an evaluation. Moreover, he has already lit a similar stick of incense."
"Then that works." Qin Ming nodded.
The palace was constructed of golden bricks and jade tiles, peaceful and quiet. Qin Ming sat cross-legged on the purple-mist-wreathed prayer mat and lit the incense on the jade table.
Instantly, his eyes grew clear and his entire body glowed, as if Dao rhythms were flowing through him. From head to toe, he felt light, relaxed, and comfortable, his mind becoming incomparably tranquil and clear.
Outside, the crowd was astonished to see an immortal path emerge, drawing close to the demon path until they finally converged. Two giant palaces manifested, both shimmering with spiritual brilliance.
Faintly, the sound of scripture recitation drifted forth, remarkably wondrous.
Some began to speculate: was this another duel? Otherwise, the two paths could never have met!
Waves surged anew through the secret realm. Everyone realized that a seed-level figure of the immortal path had refused to yield and gone to challenge the young demon.
Unfortunately, they did not know it was a contest of comprehension. Unable to see inside the two giant palaces, they could only stare blankly.
"In a while, we'll see which path takes damage, and then we'll know who won and who lost!" members of the esoteric sect remarked with smiles, happily spectating from the sidelines.
A demon said in discontent, "Are they attempting a battle of attrition? Is a single demon seed of our race expected to take on multiple seeds of the immortal path?!"
Meanwhile, the people of the immortal path wore exceedingly solemn expressions. If they lost to the demons again, it would truly be too humiliating.
Inside the demon palace, Qin Ming proceeded at his own pace, forging trump cards from singular skills, starting with the demon race's original version of the *Golden Silkworm Classic*.
In the first stage, his heavenly light force was like silken threads, forming a cocoon of light outside his body with astonishing defensive strength!
Next, he pushed into deeper realms, using offense as defense. He seemed to absorb the world's metallic essence, causing the golden silkworm threads emerging from his body to ring sharply and become extraordinarily resilient.
In truth, advancing beyond this point was exceedingly difficult.
It placed exceptionally high demands on the cultivator's innate aptitude!
Only those possessing the Three Imperials force, Sky Shakers, and the like could continue along this path; ordinary demons could not even begin to study the high-level trump cards of this classic.
Aided by the state of sudden enlightenment, Qin Ming gradually mastered it. Dense golden silkworm threads emerged from his body, all formed of heavenly light force, appearing to warp the very space around him.
This was the Golden Silkworm force field!
The chaotic dancing of the golden silkworm threads could tear through an opponent's heavenly light and weapons, destroy conscious spiritual light and divine wisdom, and simultaneously protect oneself.
If he stepped into the third realm—the spirit field—the might of this trump card would surge by another massive margin within that realm!
That was because it was best suited for the spirit field realm.
Even now, it had become one of Qin Ming's trump cards.
Previously, Qin Ming had already touched upon the Golden Silkworm force field, but had not studied it in depth because it was an art belonging to the second realm.
After his battle with Cao Qianqiu, he had been deeply stirred. The man could unleash supreme skills with a wave of his hand and lethal strikes with every move, leaving Qin Ming eager to master a few of his own.
Given his foundation and comprehension after his ninth rebirth, he was already capable of attempting them.
As his comprehension deepened, he felt he had essentially grasped it. Before long, he rose to practice, growing increasingly adept with the passage of time!
Moreover, when Qin Ming channeled the Golden Silkworm force field, he combined it with Old Cao's runic golden cord, uniting all the silken threads to manifest a resilient golden cord capable of binding foes or piercing through them.
However, his heavenly light force could not yet project across great distances, remaining useful only in close-quarters combat.
"Following the Dragon Snake Shears, the Golden Silkworm force field I mastered can also be applied in real combat. Its power is formidable!" Qin Ming was relatively satisfied after testing the technique.
If he could forge a trump card out of every singular skill, it would be more than enough for his needs.
"Unfortunately, I have no real opponent right now to test it against."
Regarding the other singular skills, Qin Ming experimented briefly before setting them aside for the future, as forging trump cards required insight, accumulation, and patience.
Being inside the Dao Comprehension Palace on the demon path, it was naturally most suitable to practice the trump cards recorded in the *Dragon Snake Scripture* and *Golden Silkworm Classic*.
Next, he set his sights on the demon seeds, directly crushing and refining two of them before cultivating the *Golden Cicada Scripture*.
"Heaven is jealous of genius. It granted you a skeletal frame and aptitude brilliant enough to dazzle an era, yet cursed you with a fraught destiny, damaging your foundation once more in this realm of comprehension and shattering your demon seed..."
The Heavenly Demon Mirror spoke, sounding almost sorrowful.
Qin Ming was speechless. Seeing that his demon seed had not healed but instead exploded again, the mirror actually thought heaven envied him?
"Perhaps this world is fair. There is no such thing as perfection; every path and method possesses flaws, and in the end, all things manifest as flawed beauty," the Heavenly Demon Mirror said calmly.
Qin Ming agreed immediately: "Indeed. Do you think I can still be saved? If you grant me two more fragmented demon seeds, perhaps I can approach perfection!"
"Do not waste time. Cultivate your arts while within the state of sudden enlightenment," the Heavenly Demon Mirror replied.
Evidently, it believed this was a balancing rule of the night fog world: Yao Yi's aptitude exceeded the realm's limits to such an extent that heaven envied him, making it impossible to coalesce a perfect demon seed.
The *Golden Cicada Scripture* Qin Ming cultivated existed in two versions, both learned from the elder Wu Chengwang at Shanhe Academy. Back then, he had willingly "taken a loss," paying six hundred day gold to comprehend the entire text!
Those two versions had already been merged into one by him. Having largely comprehended it in the past, refining the demon seeds now filled his body with vigorous vitality, making it the ideal time to practice this scripture.
He ruthlessly pulverized the demon seeds, extracting their essence, while his flesh and blood split apart, leaving him drenched in blood.
"The *Golden Cicada Scripture* you practice is not the demon race's original version; it can be completed," the Heavenly Demon Mirror announced.
Qin Ming had anticipated this. Just like the *Dragon Snake Scripture* and *Golden Silkworm Classic* before, their original demon versions had both been completed along this path.
A moment later, as if receiving an empowerment, several original demonic rune imprints poured into his sea of consciousness, granting him the complete mental method.
*I wonder if this mental method is related to that ancient cicada recorded in the Kunling Record of Godlike Beings?* Without letting himself be distracted, he began comprehending the art and cultivating.
Soon, Qin Ming's body was covered in a thick layer of scabs.
The true meaning of the Golden Cicada Scripture was for the golden cicada to shed its shell—tearing open the old body to undergo calamity and be reborn.
One could say it carried a profound Zen essence, capable of extending lifespan and seeking life in the midst of death.
During his comprehension and cultivation, Qin Ming bordered on total extinction at one point, his body devoid of all life signs.
Only after a long while did a cicada's chirp ring out from deep within the scabs. It was not a physical sound, but rather the vibration of Dao rhythm.
In an instant, Qin Ming tore open the scabs, shedding a layer of old skin like a cicada casting off its shell, obtaining a vastly stronger physical body!
He noticed that the stick of incense on the table had burned down to its end.
He did not mind, for he still had reserves, not to mention the spoils of war taken from Li Qingxu.
"Does it seem like a long time has passed?" Qin Ming asked.
"Half a day," the Heavenly Demon Mirror informed him.
Qin Ming sensed the changes occurring within himself. His flesh and blood ran burning hot; his ninth rebirth had indeed resumed, his physical constitution steadily strengthening.
Having mastered the Golden Cicada Scripture and absorbed the essence of the demon seeds, his body brimmed with vitality.
"You have emerged from seclusion; the contest of comprehension has reached its conclusion," the Heavenly Demon Mirror stated.
Sun Jingxiao had been waiting for a long time. After his incense burned out, no result had arrived for an extended period, leaving him baffled and wondering if something had gone wrong.
At this moment, the broken mirror along his path spoke: "You have lost. Your opponent mastered a trump card and a singular skill of the demon race. Compared to his, your achievements pale in comparison."
"I actually lost? In such a short time, he managed two major breakthroughs?" Sun Jingxiao was shocked, falling into a stunned daze.
In the sky, people watched as a section of the immortal path shattered, its fragments assembling into the demon path before the dimmed immortal path drifted away into the distance.
"Heavens, the youth on the demon path won again!"
Instantly, an uproar erupted in the secret realm, stirring massive waves of shock.
Qin Ming remained calm, feeling the changes within his body. He sensed that the metamorphosis brought by the *Golden Cicada Scripture* was in no way inferior to the rebirth sparked by mastering the *Dragon Snake Scripture*.
While waiting for this rebirth to conclude, he continued studying the *Golden Cicada Scripture*—the seventh singular skill he had mastered!
Without question, his heavenly light force would undergo a qualitative transformation because of it!
"Golden Cicada force possesses a death force to counter enemies, as well as a life force that benefits oneself. Its wondrous uses are boundless!" he marveled, briefly enveloped by two kinds of light.
Evidently, this also touched upon the interplay of yin and yang.
If combined with the Dragon Snake Scripture, his grasp over the shifts of yin and yang would advance another step!
At the same time, he carefully pondered the trump cards of the Golden Cicada Scripture: the mutual conversion of life and death, imperishable Zen rhyme, and thunderous cicada chirps.
"My ninth rebirth is truly peculiar, unfolding in two separate stages, each no less profound than a full rebirth. Will it truly be over once this finishes?" Qin Ming murmured to himself.
To him, such a rebirth was of immense significance, granting him an additional opportunity for metamorphosis and another mastered singular skill, making him far more powerful than before.
"Cui Chonghe has issued a challenge to you. Do you accept?" the Heavenly Demon Mirror suddenly spoke, delivering an unexpected piece of news.
Chapter 219