Young and Old Both Fighting to a Frenzy

In the night sky, dense layers of clouds detonated. Cao Qianqiu was horrified. His cultivation was transcendent; how could he suddenly lose flight and plummet through the air? A split-second blunder brought down a torrential storm of attacks upon him, subjecting him to relentless, devastating blows. Who were the people surrounding him? Every one of them was a patriarch of unfathomable attainment, endowed with extraordinarily rich combat experience. *Thud!* The Present Rulai was a man of few words, but when he struck, he was anything but subdued. Boundless light erupted from his entire body, shattering the night mist and fracturing the earth. He pressed his right hand downward. Heavenly light materialized into form, and a colossal palm descended from the heavens! This was the renowned Rulai Giant Hand. Bearing endless burning runes, it slammed onto Cao Qianqiu’s body, fracturing him from head to toe and leaving pure yang blood splattered everywhere. The immense concussive force could clearly be seen knocking one of Old Cao’s eyeballs right out of its socket. Patriarch Yuqing pointed his right forefinger. Heavenly light transformed into a jade-white Sky-Measuring Ruler. When it dropped, it tore through the night sky like a terrifying meteorite. With a crash, Cao Qianqiu’s protective golden light shattered, and a chunk of his head broke apart. "Ah..." he roared in fury, the clouds and mist across the plateau blowing apart completely. When had he ever faced such a dire predicament? Trapped and beaten mercilessly by a circle of foes, his chest burned with bitter indignation. At the same time, black and white light swirled around, binding him tight. Jiang Zhiyuan, the master of the Yinyang Daoist Temple, launched his attack, seeking to tear apart Cao Qianqiu's immortal golden body with yinyang qi. *Smack!* At that very instant, Patriarch Qingtian arrived with his dark hair disheveled, grinning broadly. He slapped Cao Qianqiu across the head with a blow that rang through the sky like thunder. Cao Qianqiu was utterly dazed. In all his life, he had never suffered such humiliation! What had just happened? Right after being snared by the black and white light, that old monster Qingtian seized the opening to slap the left side of his head, leaving his ears ringing violently. This was a monstrous disgrace! "You old mongrel!" Cao Qianqiu was driven mad with hatred. His white hair whipped wildly about, looking as though it would slice the void to pieces. He knew Qingtian had originally aimed to slap him across the left cheek. He had only avoided it by a hair's breadth, causing the blow to land near his left ear instead. Evidently, Qingtian had far more lethal targets to strike, yet he had deliberately chosen to humiliate him like this. The physical harm was minor, but the psychological blow was savage beyond measure! In that single breath, Old Cao nearly detonated where he stood. He was so infuriated that immortal fire spouted from all seven apertures of his face. Shrouded in a crimson sun, his wrath boiled over. Then came excruciating pain. Lu Yu harnessed the six atmospheric qi, manifesting the Six Imperials who appeared indistinguishable from living beings. Each wore a coronet dangling golden beaded tassels, held a jade tablet, and had imperial seals hovering at their sides. Ignoring distance, the six figures teleported in and grabbed hold of Cao Qianqiu’s limbs, torso, and head, intent on tearing him apart. Old Cao had spent his entire life dominating others with ferocious power, yet right now he was completely on the defensive. They were literally trying to tear him limb from limb. His protective immortal light transformed into layered runes that sparkled like a sea of stars, and his pure yang power boiled to resist the old patriarch's Six Imperials force. Simultaneously, the other patriarchs struck again. Who were these people? Every one was a towering giant standing atop the clouds of the night mist world, their cultivation as deep as the abyssal sea. Having slaughtered their way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, their grasp of the battlefield far exceeded anything ordinary men could fathom. "Ah..." Cao Qianqiu’s arm was ripped clean away. Sun Taichu and Zhao Wenhan unleashed tens of thousands of immortal rays and auspicious colors, bursting forth with all their power to rescue him. They could not simply stand by and watch Old Cao be overwhelmed and blasted to bits. The dignity of the immortal path was on the line. Moreover, if something truly happened to Cao Qianqiu, the fallout would be profound, triggering a storm too catastrophic to contain. Even Yu Shaohua could no longer hold back. Belonging to the immortal path camp after all, immortal lotuses bloomed beneath her feet with every stride as she teleported into the center of the battlefield. Ten suns hung in the sky, turning the long night into broad daylight. Even from beyond the plateau, everything taking place beneath the open sky remained clearly visible. Everyone was dumbfounded, frozen like stone. That was Cao Qianqiu! Incomparably overbearing, he bore the title Cao the Undefeated—yet today, he was meeting calamity, and in an utterly disgraceful fashion. It defied belief! In all the legends of the past, he was always the one hunting down prominent figures of other paths, kicking aside every iron plate in his way and carving out an immense reputation. Back then, it was hardly an exaggeration to say he could cover the sky with a single hand. Today, he was the one taking a savage beating. Everything had flipped. However ruthlessly Cao Qianqiu had once beaten others was precisely how ferociously the patriarchs battered him now. This was merely the beginning. At times, those patriarchs would rather take the brunt of Sun Taichu’s and Zhao Wenhan’s strikes just to ensure Cao Qianqiu was crippled. Several renowned figures on the immortal path grew deeply uneasy, sensing disaster. Even if Cao Qianqiu survived today, he would lose a layer of skin and several bones. Had Sun Taichu and Zhao Wenhan not erupted with full force, straining to their utmost to save him, and had Yu Shaohua not joined the fray, Old Cao would have suffered a truly miserable fate under the joint assault of five great patriarchs. Even so, his shoulder was shredded, one foot had been severed and cast aside, and an eyeball was destroyed. It was a perilous predicament unlike anything he had ever known. Still, he finally caught a moment to breathe. Furthermore, he was no longer falling. Cao Qianqiu frowned. With his stature, how could his body suddenly spin out of control? Could it be that he still had not shaken off the influence of Black-White Mountain? At the final moment, he had temporarily discarded his spear! "Haven't exercised in years, bones got a bit rusty. A little warm-up really loosens things up," Patriarch Qingtian said with a wide grin. Tall and burly, his gaze was more terrifying than thunder, each blink piercing the clouds and mist with beams of light. Cao Qianqiu’s chest heaved. He wanted nothing more than to grab the old bastard by the scruff of his neck, punch a hole clean through that mouth, and blast him to bits. "Little brat, looks like you're still not convinced. Come on then, let's keep going until you're ruined!" Qingtian said. The other patriarchs remained silent, but with someone as rough, fierce, and down-to-earth as Patriarch Qingtian doing the talking, that was more than enough. Cao Qianqiu’s eyes turned cold as an abyss of hell. When had he ever swallowed such humiliation in his life? "Old Sun, Wenhan, Fairy Yu—you three hold off your respective opponents. I am going all out to slay this old mongrel!" he rasped coldly. "Do you truly intend to keep fighting?" Sun Taichu’s voice turned icy as well as he looked toward the patriarchs of the Newborn path. "Cut the chatter!" Lu Yu replied with just three words. The patriarchs on the immortal path could not help but ponder: had Lu Yu, Qingtian, the Present Rulai, and the rest truly rotted away, simply burning out their remaining lives in a final struggle, or were they genuinely revitalized, recovering and climbing back toward their peaks? How many major battles could the Newborn path patriarchs endure? What Sun Taichu and Zhao Wenhan feared most was that these figures had successfully achieved complete nirvana. At this moment, only Cao Qianqiu was completely blood-crazed, desperate for immediate revenge! Right now, the battle pitted four against five. Cao Qianqiu believed the patriarchs of the Newborn path were ancient and decrepit, incapable of holding out for long. In the end, his side could turn the tide and deliver the killing blows! "What are you staring at?!" Patriarch Qingtian attacked. Crossing space in an instant, he appeared right before Cao Qianqiu. Without another word, his massive palm—capable of shattering mountains—swung straight at Old Cao’s face. "You..." Cao Qianqiu seethed with rage, feeling this was pushing things far too far. In truth, Qingtian's overbearing, aggressive stance was the very attitude Old Cao normally used when looking down on his own opponents. "Striking you brings great satisfaction to my mind," murmured even the usually silent Present Rulai at this moment. "Agreed," Jiang Zhiyuan of the Yinyang Daoist Temple nodded. Cao Qianqiu felt sick to his stomach. The battle erupted once more! *** Outside the plateau, watching the five patriarchs jointly pummel Cao Qianqiu stirred everyone’s blood. Many wished they could clap and cheer aloud, feeling immensely gratified. Cao Qianqiu had drawn deep hatred over the years. In the past, various factions had harbored resentment without daring to speak out, silently enduring because they were vastly outmatched. Seeing someone strike back on their behalf today truly vented all that pent-up fury. Meanwhile, the situation outside the plateau also grew tumultuous, drawing everyone's attention as another intense clash broke out. Lu Zizai stood with his hands clasped behind his back, having pinned four great experts including Pu Heng and Wei Yunqi underfoot. Naturally, this incensed the factions of Cao Qianqiu and Sun Taichu. A remarkably powerful disciple under Sun Taichu stepped onto the field to challenge Lu Zizai and rescue his senior brother Wei Yunqi. Otherwise, their lineage could never stomach the disgrace. Lu Junhao—a former immortal seed and now a foremost figure directly beneath the rank of patriarch—erupted with radiant immortal runes. With every step he took, the entire prairie shuddered violently. He teleported across the night mist, charging straight for Lu Zizai! At the same time, Li Qingxu removed his mask in a secluded spot, changed his attire, and walked toward the center of the battlefield to face his old acquaintance. Qin Ming stood quietly on the grassland, confronting the gazes of the immortal path's numerous disciples alone. He raised his five-color saber, serene yet mighty, resembling a youthful deity descending to the mortal realm. Having claimed four portions of auspicious beast blood entirely on his own, he surpassed everyone else. It was impossible not to draw attention, and with the swirling rumors about his identity, he had already become the absolute center of focus. "He is Mountain Lord Qin Ming, the god in my heart!" In the distance, the linguabird fluttered its wings, wearing a small pouch and murmuring with excitement. Many non-human beasts were gathered across this territory, including the young four-tusked white elephant and the purple lightning beast. The purple lightning beast, currently disguised as a glamorous purple-haired woman, stared at the youth in the field with suspicion, feeling a strange sense of overlap with scenes from the past. Many old acquaintances were watching as well, such as Li Qingyue, Ning Siqi, and Chen Bingyan, all of whom knew about the past grievances between Qin Ming and Li Qingxu. Zheng Maoze and Zeng Yuan found it utterly unbelievable. Qin Ming had stepped onto the Newborn path merely seven or eight months ago, yet he had already reached such heights that he could challenge an immortal seed. In their minds, Qin Ming had missed out on the immortal path, making him a resident of an entirely different world from theirs. When they had crossed paths in the past, they had sneered at him underhandedly, brimming with a strong sense of superiority. Who could have imagined that today, this old acquaintance would rise with such explosive momentum? As an initiate of the Newborn path, he could now face all immortal seeds and divine seeds head-on, emerging as the biggest dark horse in the contest for the auspicious beast blood. Li Qingxu strode forward with his sword drawn, his expression cold and detached. He knew that this former acquaintance, whom he had nearly beaten to death back then, had become extraordinarily troublesome. While hunting monsters on the plateau, the two had already met under different guises. Masked, Li Qingxu had fought Shen Wubing and had retreated after a narrow defeat. Now that the other party had called him out by name, it was clearly to settle their past feud—perhaps unaware that he was that very masked man. Li Qingxu took a deep breath, preparing to give his all. He could not afford another defeat under this identity. In a flash, like a phantom drifting through the sea of night mist, he silently crossed hundreds of meters as though riding his sword, arriving in the blink of an eye. Like an immortal taking flight with a sword, Li Qingxu channeled pure yang conscious light. The blade swept across the sky, blasting apart the night mist to strike straight toward his opponent's glabella, its brilliant sword light dazzling to behold. *Clang!* Qin Ming remained planted where he stood, his feet unmoving. The five-color saber formed from heavenly light in his right hand swung upward, swatting his opponent and the sword flying with a single strike. The slash carried the rumble of wind and thunder, trailing five-color divine radiance that illuminated the surrounding expanse and reflected the resolute gaze in the youth's eyes. Now that he was exposed, Qin Ming saw no reason to keep a low profile; he would face every opponent head-on. Ultimately, everything would depend on whether the patriarchs could shake the immortal path and make the likes of Cao Qianqiu think twice about reaching out their hands. Across the grassland, everyone watched open-mouthed. With just a single swing, he had repelled his opponent. Li Qingxu’s arm went numb, and his conscious spiritual light throbbed with intense agony as though partially burned away. He stumbled backward in shock, his face filled with disbelief. How could this be? Back on the plateau when fighting over the severed head of the third-realm monster, they had clashed fiercely. How had he fallen even further behind now? Refusing to accept it, Li Qingxu regrouped. Regulating his breath, his conscious spiritual light flared with blinding intensity. Holding his sword in one hand, he pointed the other forward, weaving conscious runes to unleash his master's trump card—the Myriad Talismans Pouch. Back when Qin Ming assumed the identity of Demon One in the secret realm, he had encountered this absolute technique. He had struggled considerably to deal with it at the time, though he had still broken through it in the end. Now that his cultivation was higher, facing this move once again felt effortless. The five-color saber light sliced through the void, appearing all but indestructible. Li Qingxu sought to draw his opponent into the rune pouch and refine him within. Instead, with a tremendous boom, the Myriad Talismans Pouch was cleaved in two by the saber light, instantly shattering. Blade and sword collided as two figures flickered back and forth. Li Qingxu resisted with all his might, yet he still coughed up blood and fell back. His soul trembled. A discarded pawn he had once manipulated at will could now look down on him from above—a reversal he found terribly hard to swallow. Back then, had he not deliberately toyed with Qin Ming, a single strike from his staff would have blasted the boy to pieces. Meeting again, he was actually no match for him! This shift sent his mood plummeting to rock bottom. He had known that Qin Ming survived and embarked on the Newborn path several months ago. At the time, he had merely chuckled, giving it no thought. He had assumed an insurmountable chasm separated them, putting them on completely different planes; how could the boy ever hope to catch up? He was an initiate of the immortal path, the personal disciple of Cao Qianqiu, and one of this generation's immortal seeds! It could be said that he stood proudly above the rest, draped in layer upon layer of brilliant halos. Today, those halos were cleaved open by a five-color saber, leaving his extraordinary status utterly humbled. Li Qingxu erupted, determined to prove that he was not the weakest immortal seed. He wanted to exhaust every hidden trump card to fight this old acquaintance to the bitter end. He felt he could accept losing to anyone except the person standing before him. He fought with his life on the line and was genuinely formidable, trading fierce blows with Qin Ming in rapid succession. After all, he was Cao Qianqiu’s final disciple. Yet after repeated exchanges, he was covered in blood, with a wound across his neck that had nearly severed his head. "Enough, Qingxu, pull back! You've held out through this many moves—that is more than enough to prove yourself!" voice transmissions urged from behind in quick succession, laced with obvious anxiety and fear that he might perish. Hearing this, Li Qingxu’s mind shook violently. What had he just heard? Did his sect and his kin in the Li clan truly see it that way? He was an immortal seed, born to look down upon those walking the Newborn path. Yet now, everyone believed that simply holding out against Qin Ming for a short while was enough to prove himself. What kind of logic was that?! How had it come to this in such a short time? Why did so many people share that belief? Li Qingxu was consumed by fury; he refused to lose to someone he had once cast down into the fiery sea of the mortal world. *Bang!* He was knocked flying, blood spraying continuously from his body. In a flash, Qin Ming closed the distance, his five-color saber cleaving down toward Li Qingxu’s head to split him in two. With a sharp metallic snap, the longsword in Li Qingxu’s hand shattered into pieces, and the conscious spiritual light he projected was actually ignited by the heavenly light force. The blade cut through his flesh, slicing into his frontal bone. That cold, razor-sharp edge threatened to bisect him entirely. At the critical juncture, his conscious spiritual light surged as a life-saving measure left behind by Cao Qianqiu activated. Runes intertwined, wrapping around him and teleporting him far away from the battlefield. Qin Ming gripped his saber, buoyed by five-colored radiance as though ascending upon rosy clouds, giving chase from behind. "Come back," Lu Zizai transmitted secretly. He did not want the people of the outer realms to direct their hatred at Qin Ming so early on. If slaughter had to begin today, let it start with him; anyone seeking vengeance could come straight to him. By this point, Lu Zizai had also heavily wounded his opponent. Lu Junhao, the prominent disciple under Sun Taichu, had wished nothing more than to ignite his entire cultivation to take down Lu Zizai, yet he was routed almost immediately. At the final moment, he severed his own arm to survive. His pure yang conscious body suffered damage, and the severed arm burned away, detonating into nothingness. The so-called immortal traits proved useless; Lu Zizai channeled the six atmospheric qi, reducing the limb to ashes and thoroughly erasing it. True to his word, Lu Zizai decided to make an example of the captives, starting by executing Cao Qianqiu's personal disciples. When Qin Ming halted his steps, every eye turned toward him. "Senior Brother Li... actually lost so quickly." Zeng Yuan’s lips trembled. Back then, he had shared a good relationship with Qin Ming, but after Qin Ming was discarded, he severed all contact and turned to Li Qingxu on the opposing side. Looking at his former acquaintance now, his expression was profoundly complicated. Sweat beaded on Zheng Maoze’s forehead; life truly was full of fickle reversals. "That’s my brother!" Ning Siqi said, thrilled beyond measure. His cousin Wang Caiwei was equally shaken, her eyes fixed on the figure in the field. "That is the supreme prodigy of our Shanhe Academy! His caliber needs no introduction—calm and composed in every move, he brought down an immortal seed!" Across the Kunling region, disciples of various academies were brimming with excitement. Whether acquaintances or strangers, everyone looking at the youth in the field showed shock. The Newborn path truly had produced someone with the potential of a patriarch! Li Qingxu’s face was pale. Today's defeat filled him with endless resentment, hardening his resolve to tread the path of breaking and rebuilding. Just then, the murmurs floating across the grounds nearly made him spit blood. "The master never lost in his youth; the disciple has never won an important fight." "Don't put it that way—Old Cao will probably suffer a miserable fate today too!" *** Qin Ming turned to look at the immortal seeds, his eyes sweeping across many faces. Instantly, this caused many people to wear peculiar expressions. Lu Zizai had previously told him to challenge opponents on the same level. Did he truly intend to test himself against the most renowned disciples of the immortal path right now? In truth, Qin Ming had no intention of doing so. He merely swept his gaze toward Cui Chonghe, looking at him again and again. What did this mean? The faces of the Cui clan members darkened immediately. "Does that ungrateful wolf intend to target the main family on an occasion like this?" someone from the Cui clan snapped, unable to hold back. At the same time, someone immediately sent a voice transmission to Cui Chonghe, telling him that under no circumstances should he suppress his realm to enter the field; if they clashed in the future, he should crush Qin Ming outright! Furthermore, the Cui clan felt that the setting was wrong today, and Cui Chonghe should not entangle himself in any karma. On the other side, Lu Zizai struck. The six qi transformed into the Six Imperials, obliterating one of Cao Qianqiu’s personal disciples. As the Six Imperials force erupted, that cluster of pure yang conscious spiritual light was ultimately reduced to ashes. "You...!" someone cried out in shock and fury, powerless to stop him. "He is not only our master's personal disciple, but also a distant relative! How dare you..." another junior brother of Pu Heng spoke up. Then he fell silent, having shut his mouth permanently. He too was sent on his way, directly refined by Lu Zizai. His immortal traits were cleanly severed, and he ultimately scattered into dust and smoke. Pu Heng, also a captive, showed far more sense. He kept his mouth tightly shut, contrasting sharply with his usual aggressive, domineering demeanor. Everyone was horrified. Lu Zizai had actually eliminated personal disciples of a patriarch-level figure on the spot, executing two great experts in rapid succession. At that moment, Lu Zizai glanced toward Pu Heng as well. The latter felt his hair stand on end! Everyone felt that both young and old on the Newborn path had gone completely berserk today. Did they truly intend to upend the immortal path? Deep within the plateau, Cao Qianqiu was fighting with feral abandon, unleashing various absolute techniques to battle the Newborn path's patriarchs. He pointed one finger to the sky, and boundless clouds surged, gathering spiritual qi from beyond the mortal realm to form a massive golden millstone. He pointed his other finger to the earth, and earthlight billowed upward like a vast sea of liquid silver rising toward the sky. When Old Cao unleashed this trump card, it was incomparably more powerful than when his disciples performed it. In an instant, the golden and silver lights grew immensely heavy and vast, like the true heavens and earth closing together, trapping the Newborn path's patriarchs between them to grind them into bloody paste. "Little brat, this won't cut it!" Patriarch Qingtian roared. Resembling Pangu cleaving open the heavens, his right hand shaped heavenly light force into a colossal axe. With a thunderous boom, he cleaved apart the golden and silver world and smashed the cloud millstone to pieces. At the same time, Jiang Zhiyuan of the Yinyang Daoist Temple engulfed Cao Qianqiu in black and white qi. "This time, you're finished!" Patriarch Qingtian lunged forward and chopped downward. This time Cao Qianqiu suffered severe injuries, his conscious spiritual light dimming significantly. He was split cleanly in two by Qingtian. Even after pulling himself back together, he remained badly compromised. The main reason was that while the patriarchs fended off Sun Taichu and Zhao Wenhan, their attacks were almost entirely focused on battering him alone. *Boom!* A strike from the Present Rulai detonated Old Cao's body to pieces! Lu Yu’s Six Imperials manifested as six figures stepping forward, pinning down every part of Old Cao’s newly reformed body. With a wet tear, the normally gentle Six Imperials Patriarch showed an unimaginable ferocity, ripping Old Cao’s head clean off. "I..." Cao Qianqiu’s rage broke through the heavens. Since his rise to power, he had never suffered such a catastrophic beating. His cultivation was taking damage, being chipped away. These people were joining hands to ruin him completely! He proactively detonated his pure yang conscious spiritual light, reforming in the distance. Yet Patriarch Yuqing had long been waiting. With a point of his finger, a lotus shaped from heavenly light descended, blasting Cao Qianqiu into pieces. The very next instant, Qingtian arrived before him, his massive palm landing squarely across Cao Qianqiu's face four times in succession. "You really are stronger than your master," Patriarch Qingtian said. "Back then, he only took two slaps from me!" "You old immortal..." Cao Qianqiu nearly burst with rage. *Rumble!* All five patriarchs struck together, and Cao Qianqiu detonated on the spot!