A Pure Newborn

The Cui clan expert who had lost half his body lay drenched in blood from head to foot, writhing in agony. His conscious spiritual light was twisting even more violently, smothered beneath a sheet of black flames that reduced it to flying ash in the blink of an eye. He tumbled into the grass, dying a gruesome death. The Cui clan members were both shocked and terrified. That black flame had to be a kind of heavenly light force; in an instant, it had completely obliterated a third-realm expert's spiritual field. "Who is it? Come out!" one of the Cui clan elders barked, glaring in the direction where the grey shadow had vanished. Heaven and earth had changed, and the sun had vanished several millennia ago. Yet certain great clans had existed since the dawn of the "methods," enduring alongside the immortal path and the esoteric sect path. The Cui clan was an established, veteran clan whose ultimate goal was immortality: to co-exist with all paths and become a truly evergreen family. The Cui clan members present had initially felt brimming with confidence, only to be subjected to two terrifying spectacles right from the start. In the distance, an elder in grey robes walked forward, his wide sleeves billowing. The few dozen strands of hair left on his head fluttered in the breeze. He looked ancient beyond measure, his face heavily creased with wrinkles. Alarm bells rang in the hearts of the Cui clan. The Newborn path was extraordinarily demanding of one's age; the more decayed an old monster appeared, the more dangerous he was. "May I ask who you are?" Cui Cheng asked, striving to keep his emotions in check. His clan had suffered grievous losses this time. The Cui clan members were already guessing: Could this be an old monster from some ancestral court of the Newborn path? "An old wreck of the Newborn path, merely frittering away his years in the mortal world." Yu Gensheng arrived before them. He swept a cold gaze across the Cui clan members and said, "A millennial clan with such grand airs! Instead of slaying demons and monsters, you come here to target your own people!" Cui Cheng managed a faint smile. "Senior, you jest. The demons and monsters must certainly be eradicated, but what is before us is merely a trivial internal affair of our Cui clan. It hardly rises to the level of turning on our own." *Smack!* Yu Gensheng lunged forward and flicked his wide sleeve, sending him flying through the air from a distance. In a split second, Cui Cheng vomited a mouthful of blood, his conscious spiritual light nearly shattering. He was appalled. There was still a gap between them, and the other man had not even made physical contact. Merely being grazed by that black flame had produced such terrifying power. "Who's jesting?" Yu Gensheng glared at him with a darkened face. Advancing toward him, he said, "Are you running your mouth with me? Infighting and stabbing others in the back—once you've done it, you've done it, yet you still refuse to admit it!" "Fellow Daoist, let's talk this through!" Cui Changming stepped forward. The Cui clan's people were either killed or humiliated, leaving them utterly disgraced. "Who's talking Dao and friendship with you? Stand aside!" Yu Gensheng snapped angrily. Had he not arrived, these people would have certainly abducted Qin Ming. In the end, they would have either executed him or crippled him; he would never have met a good end. "Child, are you all right?" He turned toward Qin Ming, his expression instantly melting into a gentle, kind smile, his concern plain to see. The Cui clan members felt deeply unsettled. So this stone-faced old man knew how to smile after all—like withered wood meeting spring, sprouting shoots, budding, and bursting into radiant blossoms. "Senior, I'm fine." Qin Ming felt a surge of warmth in his chest. At this critical juncture, an elder from Shanhe Academy had actually rushed to his aid. "Are you truly unharmed?" Yu Gensheng came close to checking his bones right then and there. His care for him ran deep, filled with palpable anxiety and vigilance. Qin Ming nodded. "Yes. They traveled thousands of li to hand over their heads, tossing in scriptures as a bonus. Everything is fine on my end." The Cui clan members' eyes immediately turned cold and vicious. Yu Gensheng, on the other hand, let out a breath of relief. Having witnessed the preceding events alongside Zhao Ziyuan, he had been thoroughly infuriated. At the same time, lingering fear gripped him. Over a century ago, a similar tragedy had unfolded, and he would never allow history to repeat itself. The Cui clan watched from the side, their faces livid. None spoke; their hearts were choked with indignation and fury. This old man had slaughtered two of their people in succession and then proceeded to berate them to their faces. It was overbearing to the extreme. "Are you hiding over there waiting for the right moment to strike?" Yu Gensheng turned his head, looking toward a spot nearby. A member of the Cui clan was still lurking, concealed within the misty grassland, yet he could not evade the senses of a veteran senior of the Newborn path. Like a nocturnal bird cutting across the sky, Yu Gensheng appeared ahead in an instant, dragging out an elder of the Cui clan with a single grasp. "You... let go of me!" Though an elder himself, he was entirely powerless to resist, clutched in the other's hand like a helpless chick. In an instant, black light flowed in stream after stream around Yu Gensheng's body. The heavenly light coalesced into a massive black hand, which clenched shut with a squelch, blowing the Cui clan elder to pieces. The Cui clan members were both terrified and furious. This old man was utterly unyielding and completely brazen, killing yet another of their men. Cui Changming said in a heavy voice, "Fellow Daoist, you are crossing the line. We of the Cui clan do not stir up trouble, but neither do we fear it. Our clan has genuine grand masters who can defend against external foes!" Yu Gensheng said, "He intended to launch a cowardly sneak attack against a rising talent of our Newborn path; his death is well deserved. Tell me, which of the three I killed did not deserve to die?" The Cui clan had always been domineering, yet today they had crossed paths with an old codger far more overbearing than they were. Leaving aside the first two who had died, the third had merely lain in wait, yet he had been crushed to death without hesitation! "He hadn't made a move!" Cui Cheng protested. Yu Gensheng replied coldly, "Am I supposed to wait until he successfully ambushes a prodigy of our Newborn path before this old man strikes back?" He pointed at the memory crystal on his person and said, "Your earlier antics have all been recorded. Even if I slaughter you all, none of you will have been wronged!" "Just who are you?" Cui Changming could hold back no longer. As a grand master with one foot in the fourth realm, his fury burned fiercely. It had been ages since anyone dared to bully the Cui clan like this. "You still want to trade blows with me? This old man is Yu Gensheng of Shanhe Academy," he declared, identifying himself. Cui Changming's gaze shifted. So Qin Ming had joined an academy in Kunling rather than entering the ancestral courts of the major sects. From his perspective, that was actually a sensible choice. Those ancestral courts had practically become personal cultivation grounds for the descendants of certain elders and powerful clans. Whenever the ancestral founders emerged from seclusion, they were consistently so enraged that they wished they could tear everything down and start over. If a newcomer entered such a place without the backing of a great clan or the favor of an ancestral elder, he would never be able to stir up any waves. If it became known that he had mastered the silk book method, certain elders would covet it even more greedily than the Cui clan. The various academies of Kunling were suspected to have ancestral founders backing them, intent on establishing a fresh foundation. In truth, such developments were occurring in the outer realms and the esoteric sects as well. For generations, major clans had sent their scions into different lineages solely to guarantee their own clan's prosperity. In the past, there had been millennial clans wiped out entirely, only for members living in the outer realms to step forth, raise their banners once more, and revive the bloodline. "Do you wish to test this old man's measure?" Yu Gensheng asked. Cui Changming immediately shook his head. "No, I admire you greatly. The seniors of Kunling Academy are pure cultivators, unlike the major ancestral courts that are so... complicated!" Yu Gensheng shook his head. "You speak without sincerity. Your hostility is obvious." Cui Changming thought to himself: *You've slaughtered several members of my clan in a row; am I not even allowed to harbor hatred in my heart?* He had already realized that he was far from being a match for this man. Just then, Zhao Ziyuan revealed himself as well. Looking equally withered, he walked over with wide sleeves billowing. "Senior!" Qin Ming greeted him at once. "It's good that you're unharmed," Zhao Ziyuan smiled warmly. Then, he turned to face forward. "Old Yu, you've already killed half of them. Are we keeping the remaining three?" *Damn it all!* The three surviving Cui clan members cursed internally, gripped by sheer terror. Did these two intend to wipe them out completely? They were supposed to have held the dominant hand from start to finish, yet today's ordeal left their chests so congested with indignation that they felt like spitting blood. Cui Changming said, "Seniors, my Cui clan has truly top-tier experts stationed upon the plateau. We have already sent word; even if we perish, the news will make its way back." "Are you threatening us?" Zhao Ziyuan asked. Yu Gensheng said, "The Cui clan is vast in numbers. As a millennial clan, your direct lineage alone occupies an entire great city. The loss of a few of you amounts to nothing. This old man made a move today solely to state our stance: the people we value, the prodigies of the Newborn path, are not to be touched by your Cui clan." Zhao Ziyuan nodded. "Indeed. Since your Cui clan has so many people, if we embark on a mad rampage of retaliation, we certainly won't come out on the losing end!" Hearing this, Qin Ming felt his blood run hot. For his sake, these two elders had not hesitated to utter such declarations, willing to confront the Cui clan directly and even clash with them head-on. He was profoundly moved. "Seniors, let us lay this matter to rest here and now. We shall depart at once!" Cui Cheng urged. "Having already slain half, I don't believe in leaving things half-done," Yu Gensheng said. "Leave it to me!" Zhao Ziyuan moved across the grassland like a phantom, teleporting forward. With a resounding boom, he snapped his wide sleeve, blowing Cui Cheng to smithereens. "You..." The soul of the other elder nearly took flight in fright. The golden name of the Cui clan was utterly useless here; someone genuinely intended to exterminate them all. Zhao Ziyuan moved swift as lightning, arriving in a fraction of an instant. The space around him blurred as he immobilized the elder, twisting the force field to reduce him to a puddle of bloody mush in a heartbeat. "Hold your hands, both of you! I can negotiate on behalf of the Cui clan!" Cui Changming shouted, cold sweat beading on his forehead. Never could he have imagined that matters would unfold like this. "You aren't qualified to negotiate with us!" Yu Gensheng said. Zhao Ziyuan said, "Killing you all today is merely to demonstrate our position!" Cui Changming turned to flee. However, Yu Gensheng was swift as lightning; the black flame heavenly light swept over him, seemingly transforming into an abyss that sealed him within. Zhao Ziyuan said, "We agreed earlier: the rest were mine." "Very well, he's yours." Yu Gensheng gave the black flame heavenly light a shake, sending the battered, deformed Cui Changming flying. With a muffled thud, while still in mid-air, Cui Changming was seized by Zhao Ziyuan's distorted force field, violently torn to shreds and reduced to a shower of blood. Qin Ming was left dumbstruck. The formidable enemies who had posed a mortal threat to him had been completely wiped out in the blink of an eye. The sheer might of these two old seniors was breathtaking! In that moment, he felt an overwhelming yearning to grow stronger, to truly seize control of his own destiny. Once he calmed down, he sighed. The two elders had done far too much for him, which could prove exceedingly detrimental to themselves. He understood well that the Cui clan was profoundly powerful, possessing terrifyingly deep foundations. Two old men alone were far from enough to face a millennial clan. "It's fine. Don't worry about us. Those who walk barefoot have nothing to fear from those who wear shoes. Their family is vast and their enterprise grand; if they truly infuriate us, piercing through any single stronghold of theirs will leave them aching for a long time." "Indeed. Neither of us has much lifespan remaining anyway; what is there left to fear?!" The two elders spoke with complete nonchalance. Looking at their aged, withered bodies, Qin Ming felt a pang in his heart. "Seniors..." "Child, there's no need to say anything!" "Sigh... Over a century ago, the Overlord, blessed with unmatched talent, met a tragic end, mercilessly slain by Cao Qianqiu. We were powerless to stop it back then because we lacked strength at that level. In this era, we have seen hope once more, waiting until a fine sprout like you appeared. We will never allow history to repeat itself; even if it costs our old lives, we will protect you thoroughly!"