Even Wangxian Peak was trembling, eliciting a chorus of gasped cries. Was this an earthquake?
Most terrifying of all, the vision of everyone present went black.
"What happened?"
"Why can't I see anything?!"
The darkness arrived far too suddenly. Heaven and earth turned as black as ink; one could not see one's own fingers held before one's face.
Within Kunling City, there was more than one high-grade Fire Spring, which should have illuminated the city bright as day. Yet now, enveloped in night, the entire city was robbed of all luster in an instant.
Even the various experts were dumbfounded, to say nothing of ordinary people.
Throughout the colossal city, fearful outcries rang out, and the thick night mist hung heavy with palpable unease.
Soon, the shouts of adults, the weeping of children, and the terrified shrieks of young girls mingled together.
In the private room, even Qin Ming, Xiao Wu, and the others were shocked. What in the world had happened?
Could the clash on the plateau have spread hundreds of li away?
Yet how could a battle cause Kunling City's Fire Springs to be extinguished? Such a method was simply too horrifying!
Fortunately, this eerie phenomenon—where heaven and earth turned into an abyss and all creation seemed plunged beneath frozen permafrost—lasted for only two breaths before quickly coming to an end.
Before everyone's eyes, light suddenly returned.
Many looked toward the districts where the city's high-grade Fire Springs lay. Brilliance blazed there, the light sources shining as bright as before, as if no anomaly had ever occurred.
"Did the Fire Springs in the city truly go out just now, or were our five senses briefly stripped away—perhaps even our sixth sense severed? This... sends a chill down my spine."
Some figures of the older generation stiffened, feeling a chill seep into their hearts and hair stand on end.
Ordinary people did not think so deeply; once the light returned, cheers rippled across the city.
For those brief two breaths, it had felt as though people had plunged into the underworld—a sensation far too terrifying.
"One can only imagine what a dreadful scene it would be if, one day, all the Fire Springs across the vast earth dimmed and finally fell into eternal silence."
In the private room, lingering fear haunted even Xin Youdao and Ling Yu as bleak visions of the future crossed their minds.
Tang Jin spoke up: "According to legend, in ancient times during the first phase after the sun set and never rose again, our ancestors endured such an experience. The population plummeted, and in a relatively short span, mankind was nearly driven to complete extinction."
This topic was exceedingly somber; no one wished to live through such a dark age again.
In the distance, the night mist was incinerated clean, and the 'blazing sun' was blindingly dazzling.
On the plateau, crimson light pierced the heavens, tearing the darkness apart. Cao Qianqiu stood within the blood-colored sun, his silver hair tumbling loose and his wide sleeves billowing, exuding overbearing might.
"Is this some peerless expert of your esoteric sect trying to test my measure? Have him step out and fight!" His pure yang spiritual light was terrifying beyond measure, his spiritual intent shaking the entire plateau.
Even hundreds of li away in Kunling City, people heard him clearly, feeling Cao Qianqiu's sheer dominance—a demeanor capable of swallowing the ocean of night mist whole.
The expert who had revealed himself from the esoteric sect stepped forward to explain, "Brother Cao, we have no desire for conflict with you. What just happened was not directed at you; that phenomenon was merely this region's self-preservation."
Cao Qianqiu said coldly, "Your sect set its sights on this plateau because someone wants to subdue this land and attain godhood here? Or perhaps even swallow the entire Kunling domain?!"
When these words rang out, even people far off in Kunling City felt their hairs stand on end. Who was this? To conceive such an audacious, staggering undertaking!
Previously, only Sun Taichu, standing amidst the clouds, had made passing mention of it; ordinary cultivators could never have known such secrets, and hearing them now, they were thoroughly frightened.
No one had expected Cao Qianqiu to lay it bare in public like this.
"Did you ask for my consent? Does Kunling belong to your faction alone?!" Cao Qianqiu stood suspended in midair, his bloody radiance engulfing vast stretches of the plateau as he stomped a foot downward.
With a colossal rumble, the ground sank once more. Massive fissures ruptured across the plateau, spreading into the distance.
"Brother Cao, there are things you do not yet understand. You cannot act purely on your own conjectures—do not bring disaster upon yourself!" The esoteric sect expert fired back, refusing to yield an inch.
Cao Qianqiu scoffed, "Heh. I've heard that anyone seeking to become a god must undergo a dormant period. Subduing a legendary land and swallowing Kunling—your gall is monstrous. If I gouge straight through this place right now, I wonder if he'll be able to step out and face me in battle!"
Deep within the plateau, the group of demons looked on as spectators, never anticipating that their external enemies would descend into infighting.
Sun Taichu stood nearby, making no move to stop him.
Kunling was a region tied to godkin creatures and immortal-adjacent beings, steeped in numerous legends. If swallowed by an expert of the esoteric sect, the resulting god was bound to be extraordinarily formidable.
Few in the world would ever be able to keep him in check thereafter.
Clearly, those of the immortal path were deliberately probing.
Fierce and overbearing though Cao Qianqiu was, he was not without backing; at times, he represented the will of a faction within the outer realm.
At this moment, Old Cao was clearly the immortal path's "Cao of a Thousand Blades."
Boom!
The plateau shook violently. Cao Qianqiu refused to stand down.
In the next moment, his blood-colored sun was swallowed by darkness.
"Hm?" A voice of surprise and suspicion slipped from him. "Have you arrived? Fight me!"
In a flash, heaven and earth turned pitch-black as ink once more.
In Kunling City, everyone felt as though they had plunged into an abyss, unable to see a thing.
This time, the darkness lasted for four breaths.
When light reappeared, Cao Qianqiu was suspended high in the air, gripping an immortal spear, murderous aura billowing around him. His silver hair whipped backward in the wind, and he gazed in one direction with a grave expression.
Evidently, Cao Qianqiu felt the pressure—he appeared to be confronting an unimaginably terrifying entity!
This time, not only did the esoteric sect figure step forward, but even Sun Taichu moved to hold him back.
No one knew what the three discussed, but with a cold grunt, Cao Qianqiu finally stood down.
Ordinary cultivators had no inkling of the details, but a few prominent veterans knew that the immortal path's powerhouse had likely gleaned extraordinarily valuable intelligence through this probe.
The bound cicada slough spoke: "You people of later generations, setting your sights on a perilous land—truly impressive. Hmm, he must be looking upon the entire Kunling domain, aiming to swallow every myth and legend? What grand ambition!"
Instantly, the runic golden ropes binding it burst into flame, snapping taut with a crack that nearly strangled it in two.
Cao Qianqiu stepped forward. Steaming with white mist and surging with auspicious light, the immortal spear pierced through it with a bang, followed by a violent shake that shattered part of the cicada slough.
"You people of later generations are so irascible. Can you not even tolerate an old cicada's dead skin? Bullying me for being old and powerless—beware that you, too, might be crushed by those who come after you someday," the cicada slough said.
Cao Qianqiu said, "An abandoned dead molt putting on airs before me? If your true form were here, I might take such words seriously."
He gave the immortal spear a fierce shake. Like flames incinerating the heavens, pure yang spiritual light illuminated the plateau. The cicada slough cracked all over and then exploded entirely, destroyed.
In Kunling City, everyone who witnessed this felt the sheer terror of that spear thrust.
Even across such a vast distance, their hearts trembled, as if that spear had stabbed straight into their souls.
Sun Taichu said, "A discarded slough is nothing. What concerns me is if that cicada didn't die and emerges once again."
Cao Qianqiu said, "By the time it emerges, I will be stronger than I am now. As long as I constantly stand at the forefront of this path, there is nothing to fear."
The two usually did not see eye to eye, having had severe disputes in the past and even slammed tables at each other, but at present, there was no discord between them.
Cao Qianqiu said, "Have the people from the other paths arrived? Do we fight today, and when do we sweep this plateau clean?!"
His booming voice scattered the night mist, his killing intent surging throughout the entire region.
In Kunling City, people were alarmed. As expected, Cao Qianqiu's arrival had shattered the established tranquility in an instant; he sought battle from the very start.
"Cao Qianqiu, do you truly believe yourself invincible under heaven? Cross over and test yourself if you dare..." Deep in the plateau, a colossal beast like a small mountain spoke up in direct defiance.
"Noisy!" Cao Qianqiu took a stride, enshrouded in the blood-colored sun. In an instant, he reached the depths of the plateau and went straight to slay that giant beast.
This time, he threw his right fist forward with tremendous force. Crimson radiance tore through heaven and earth, shaking the ground as blood-red thunder crashed everywhere.
With a deafening boom, the colossal, mountain-like beast exploded.
A giant demon of exceptional might, which ordinarily looked down upon all kinds of experts and held dominion over this plateau, had been blown apart effortlessly by Cao Qianqiu.
Roar!
A thunderous roar erupted. Even far away in Kunling City, people felt splitting headaches, as though their consciousness were on the verge of bursting.
The auspicious beast strode out. When its eyes opened, they looked like two golden suns traversing the void, its aura overwhelmingly potent.
Golden haze surged in torrents, submerging the land in brilliant divine light too dazzling to look upon directly, while the ground and sky shuddered in unison.
The plateau was like a painted scroll on the verge of being ripped apart by its presence.
The auspicious beast swiped a colossal paw forward. Like the collapse of heaven itself, it blanketed the space ahead and descended with terrifying speed.
Clang!
Cao Qianqiu thrust his spear, forcefully parrying the auspicious beast.
At that moment, Sun Taichu and the esoteric sect expert both moved forward.
Behind the auspicious beast, two gigantic figures emerged in succession as though rising from an abyss. Their auras were terrifying, surging like a breached ocean as overwhelming baleful energy rolled in waves.
Sure enough, the auspicious beast had enlisted unfathomable experts of its own.
Amid the blinding radiance, the two sides briefly clashed. The earth shook and the mountains trembled, before both sides finally drew back.
The people across the Kunling domain could not see the precise details; only boundless light filled their vision.
Unwilling to see the plateau destroyed, the esoteric sect expert demanded that Cao Qianqiu halt, urging him to wait until all figures from their own camp had gathered before waging full-scale war against the auspicious beast.
Sun Taichu also said, "Stop for now. There is something strange and perilous within the Third Peril at the end of the plateau. Today is not suitable for a decisive battle; preparations must be made."
He suspected that the Third Peril might harbor the perils hinted at in the Records of Kunling's Godkin!
He even believed that decaying godkin creatures might linger within the Third Peril.
"You got off easy!" Cao Qianqiu said, glaring into the depths of the plateau.
"Cao Qianqiu, do not act as if you are invincible under heaven. If this battle truly erupts, I guarantee we will take your life!" the auspicious beast called out.
"What did you say?!" Cao Qianqiu pointed a finger. Tens of thousands of runes materialized to form a colossal pouch, blanketing the sky and earth as it swept down over the plateau's depths.
Before the auspicious beast could react, a demon beside it erupted with dark light, extending a massive claw to snatch at the pouch in the sky.
In the end, that demon was left bloody, having narrowly escaped being captured by the Myriad Talismans Pouch.
"Brother Cao, after secluding yourself for some time, your cultivation has advanced once again!" The esoteric sect expert looked astonished, sensing that Cao Qianqiu, having rushed out of seclusion, had surpassed his former self.
...
A decisive battle on the verge of erupting had been temporarily averted. In the end, both sides pulled back, seemingly awaiting the arrival of powerful reinforcements.
That very day, another expert of the immortal path arrived, pure yang conscious spiritual light tearing through the pitch-black night curtain.
The next day, a founding master of the Newborn path hovered in the air, formed entirely of pure heavenly light. The sight made all disciples of the immortal path tremble in agony, feeling as though their very consciousness were about to be ignited.
Fortunately, the sun formed of heavenly light vanished in the blink of an eye.
The esoteric sect was extraordinarily proactive; path-opening senior masters arrived in person, taking the matter with utmost seriousness, for their core interests were at stake here.
Tension gripped the Kunling domain; a decisive battle could erupt at any moment!
"Cao Qianqiu's arrival broke a certain balance. We originally planned to start by clearing out the lower levels, but that's out of the question now. We're heading straight into the ultimate showdown!"
"I believe that as a precaution, the disciples from the academies should withdraw."
A consensus formed among the various academies: the younger generation could not take part in this conflict.
Furthermore, some senior figures felt anxious that the battle might spill over into Kunling City, leading them to prepare for the worst-case scenario.
Receiving the news ahead of time, Qin Ming and Xiao Wu were taken aback. They had barely arrived in Kunling City, yet they already had to make a "strategic" retreat?
No one had anticipated that at such a tense juncture, Cao Qianqiu would be the first to depart!
Crimson glow surging, his pure yang conscious spiritual light crossed the night sky as he temporarily departed the Kunling domain.
This defied everyone's expectations. Naturally, no one believed he had grown afraid; with his overbearing nature, he had always loved kicking through iron plates, especially when he held the advantage.
"What is this butcher's blade of the immortal path trying to do? What madness has seized him?" an elder muttered in bewilderment, staring in the direction Cao Qianqiu had gone.
In truth, every move Cao Qianqiu made drew widespread attention, and his departure sparked heated discussion.
Before long, someone traced the trajectory of his departure and found, with no small astonishment, that he was heading toward a remote region.
"Black-White Mountain—it looks like he's rushing there!"
Instantly, many people drew connections.
Last time, after hunting the giant blue centipede that sought godhood, Cao Qianqiu had visited Black-White Mountain to "commune with the past," only to suffer a heavy loss and depart wounded.
"Cao Qianqiu's strength improved after emerging from seclusion—could he be going for revenge? That certainly fits his personality!"
Many guessed his objective.
People could only sigh at how willfully he acted, answering to no one. With tensions running so high across the Kunling domain, he paid it no heed and rushed alone toward Black-White Mountain.
"He might not be going alone. I suspect he recruited help here in Kunling, which is why he's descending upon Black-White Mountain again with such murderous fury."
Even so, many were left speechless. His vengefulness was simply too fierce; he couldn't wait a single moment!
"You're all mistaken. Cao Qianqiu doesn't hold grudges—because in all his life, he rarely lets a grudge last overnight."
"He rushed over right after exiting seclusion precisely so he wouldn't have to keep a grudge overnight."
Only a select few dared tease in secret.
Others suspected that Black-White Mountain held some unknown great fortune, and Cao Qianqiu could wait no longer, rushing over immediately upon leaving seclusion to try and seize it.
When Qin Ming heard the news, he couldn't help frowning. The old madman was heading for Twin Trees Village again, and he was worried about his acquaintances there.
Last time, the reason Cao Qianqiu was injured was that Old Man Liu had pointed the way, telling him there was something wrong with the sky above Twin Trees Village, which had once stained a kite with blood.
In fact, as Cao Qianqiu arrived at Twin Trees Village once more, he encountered Old Man Liu again—who was baring his teeth in a grin at him.
Chapter 222