Slightly tipsy, Yuque covered its beak with a tiny wing, but it was already too late—the cold case had been cracked today.
The purple-haired maiden nearly hurled the crystal goblet in her hand. Her languid demeanor vanished completely, her beautiful eyes widening into fierce circles.
How could she ever forget the so-called "flattened Golden Rooster Ridge on a single mount"? Because she was that very "mount"!
In a sense, she had been a protagonist too, one of only two participants that night.
That night, one had gone on a wild slaughtering spree, while the other carried the heavy burden forward.
Whenever she thought back to that night, she burned with shame and indignation. To think that she, a direct descendant of the esteemed Purple Lightning Ancestor, had suffered such a miserable ordeal!
What drove her even crazier was that later, outside Chixia City, right after she had stepped out from her bath, she was "requisitioned" and reduced to a mount for a second time.
Worst of all, that person had ultimately exposed himself—it was the exact same villain from before.
For a long time, the purple-haired maiden had lost all appetite for food and tea, burning with the desire to drag out that scoundrel and exact her vengeance.
Tossing aside its little cup, Yuque rushed to dissuade her. "Princess, calm down! Look at where we are. The crowd here is full of immortal seeds, divine seeds, and ghost seeds from every path, all with formidable backgrounds. Don't make a scene here!"
The purple-haired maiden snatched it up by the feathers, furious, her pretty face etched with outrage. This fellow had known the truth all along and had dared to hide it from her!
"Princess, ow, that hurts! Put me down first. It won't be good if we draw attention," Yuque said with a drunken hiccup.
"What's so bad about that?!" Bristling with fury, the purple-haired maiden rose to her feet, intent on settling scores with Qin Ming.
Yuque urged, "Princess, you wouldn't want what happened that night to become common knowledge, would you?"
The maiden froze. Why did that sound so scandalous and crass?
Right then and there, she felt like crushing this bird to death!
Yuque quickly gestured for her to look around, where curious, peculiar glances were already drifting their way.
"Take the long view. We can't cause a scene here," Yuque pleaded further, before whispering, "Maybe it's not a bad thing. You could try talking to him."
Qin Ming was standing with Xiang Yiwu, engaged in a lively conversation.
Suddenly sensing a chill running down his back, he turned around just in time to see the purple-haired maiden glaring at him.
Qin Ming smiled faintly, took a glass of wine from a nearby attendant's tray, raised it toward her in salute, and took a small sip.
The purple-haired maiden had just managed to steady her emotions, but seeing him raise a glass to her from afar almost made her snap all over again. Her shimmering purple hair began drifting without any wind.
Yuque chimed in, "See, Princess? He's quite nice, refined, courteous, truly a gentleman."
"Are you a spy he planted by my side?!"
The bird, acting as a dubious counselor, said, "Princess, you misunderstand! He doesn't know who you are at all right now. Since you've met purely by chance, you could turn this entirely to your advantage!"
How could Qin Ming possibly not recognize her? He had already seen her humanoid form back in the giant blue centipede's Divine City.
For now, however, he decided it was better to pretend they were strangers.
...
Within the vast palace built of lapis lazuli, crystal lamps refracted dazzling, colorful radiance.
Many had come by invitation, gathering in groups of three to five, engrossed in conversation.
Qin Ming spotted quite a few acquaintances. People like Xin Youdao, Jiang Ruoli, and Ling Yu all came over to greet him warmly.
Cups clinked and wine flowed freely amid an atmosphere of easy camaraderie.
"Brother Qin, you truly are formidable," Ling Yu praised. "That battle on the plateau planted a grand banner for the young disciples of the Newborn path, completely sweeping away the previous gloom."
Ling Yu walked two paths simultaneously, and as for Qin Ming's accomplishments on the Newborn path, he was now in utter awe, completely won over.
Previously, he had entertained the thought of sparring with Qin Ming once he progressed another step, but now it was clear there was no need to compare anymore.
Qin Ming chuckled. "We're all on the same side here, no need to flatter me."
Xin Youdao knew even more. Inwardly, he thought: back in the secret realm, "Qin Yao Yi" had already defeated immortal seeds one after another and had even thrashed Old Cao!
If that ever came to light, it would set all of Kunling City abuzz.
He believed that whatever astonishing feats such a figure pulled off next would come as no surprise.
"Qin Ming!" Zhao Yaoting, a divine seed of the esoteric sect, walked over holding a crystal goblet. With a smile, he lightly clinked glasses with him and asked, "Back then, on the Vermilion Bird airship, how did you suddenly disappear?"
Qin Ming had a decent impression of him and sighed. "I fell from the sky by accident and barely escaped with my life."
Another divine seed from the esoteric sect, Cai Jingcheng, who had also ridden the Vermilion Bird airship, joined them as well.
He said, "When you vanished that day, you gave us quite a scare. It's good that you're all right. When we first met, we didn't know your background; seeing you again, you've already made a name across Kunling. Many are calling you the future ancestor of the Newborn path."
Qin Ming shook his head. "That's praise meant to ruin someone; let's not say such things. For Newborns like us, progress must slow starting from the second realm. The road ahead is steep and arduous, reliant entirely on grinding through the years."
Zhao Yaoting said, "You're too modest. There are always a few exceptions. I have a feeling you won't be trapped by time and will break through quickly, giving peers from other paths quite a shock when they realize they can never shake you off."
At once, quite a few nearby cultivators looked over.
Many knew that Qin Ming feared no one at his current level, but the road ahead for him was extraordinarily grueling. Starting from now, the agonizingly slow pace of cultivation would torment him for hundreds of years.
"And is this the esteemed disciple of Rulai?" Cai Jingcheng changed the subject.
"Merely a humble outcast," Xiang Yiwu said. With his massive, towering, and burly build, he drew attention wherever he stood.
Those around them were surprised. Were these two exceptional prodigies of the Newborn path truly this humble?
After all, over the past two days, the ancestors of the Newborn path had been hotter-blooded and more impetuous than the last, their tempers so explosive that they had beaten Cao Qianqiu into Cao Four.
People couldn't help but marvel that the two generations were utterly reversed.
On the Newborn path, the young were as steady as old dogs, while the old were impetuous and youthful, their fiery blood refusing to die down!
In the distance, Zheng Maoze wore a conflicted expression. Having pulled strings to secure an invitation and slip into the hall, seeing Qin Ming standing shoulder to shoulder with divine seeds and immortal seeds drew a quiet sigh from him, his heart unable to settle.
"This is his peak moment, being able to stand neck and neck with immortal seeds and divine seeds. But soon, the distance between them will widen rapidly—his cultivation speed won't keep up!"
This was not merely Zheng Maoze's thought, but what most others believed as well—nine out of ten people thought the same.
Farther away, Cui Chonghe stood alongside several top successors of ancient immortal sanctuaries. He cast a calm glance in this direction, indifferent.
His conviction was powerful, steadfast, and unshakeable. In his eyes, his peers on the Newborn path—be it that abandoned child or anyone more brilliant who might appear in the future—could only gaze at his receding back until he vanished entirely from sight.
Elsewhere, Li Qingxu spoke little. Compared to before, he had grown much quieter, appearing rather subdued and lonely to many observers.
Beside him, Sun Jingxiao, an immortal seed who also hailed from the pure land, consoled him, "Junior Brother Li, there is no need to take it to heart. It was merely a defeat in the virtual realm. The so-called formidable foes of the Newborn path are, at most, fleeting scenery along your long immortal path, passersby not worth your attention. Once you step into the third realm, your paths will never cross again; in the future, you will belong to two entirely different worlds."
Then he chuckled. "When you and I roam the world with pure yang consciousness, traversing the sky like scorching suns, he will likely still be languishing at the bottom, mired in hardship."
Someone nearby nodded in agreement. "Indeed. In their early years, the ancestors of the immortal path suffered defeats as well, but what became of their rivals? Further down the road, they gradually faded into mediocrity."
Sun Jingxiao nodded. "As immortal seeds of the outer realm, we must possess that confidence. After all, we are the most gifted beings in the night mist world, while the disciples of the Newborn path are merely ordinary folk discarded after the immortal path and divine path made their selections. Whether in comprehension, root bone, or anything else, they simply cannot compare to us."
Another agreed, "At this gathering, someone is bound to bring forth difficult cultivation problems or remnant scriptures for discussion and exchange. When that happens, you will see why our outer realm has always been able to continuously pioneer new paths."
Within the hall, brilliant lamps illuminated the scene. Nearly all invited guests had arrived; baseline talent here was prodigy level, with every participant being a renowned youth of their respective path.
Today, so many were willing to attend not only to make acquaintances among prodigies of different paths, but primarily to discuss scriptures, debate the Dao, and engage in exchanges.
Those from the outer realm and the esoteric sect were no strangers to this. Having engaged in such discussions and contests before, they knew the ropes well.
To gain an edge over their peers, some would bring unresolved enigmas left by ancient sages, and some would even ask their ancestors in advance to devise challenging questions to confound their rivals.
Before long, someone grew impatient and presented a "perplexing problem," kicking off the session of friendly exchange.
Chu Pianran's eyes shone brightly as she said, "No wonder this era sees a hundred schools of thought contend and various paths vie in vibrant prosperity. Such exchanges truly are meaningful."
Greatly interested, she joined in as well, taking out an ancient book on the spot. "In our era, few could comprehend the profound meaning of this scripture. I hope someone from this era might resolve my doubts."
At once, everyone's spirits lifted, and they gathered around.
"Could the material of this book be... immortal skin?!" someone exclaimed in shock on the spot.
Upon touching it, one could immediately sense the book's extraordinary nature—runes intertwined across it, seemingly harboring innate rules and truths that stirred the soul.
However, it possessed no immortal pressure; it served merely as a vessel for the scripture.
"Indeed, it was likely refined from immortal skin," Chu Pianran admitted openly. In the distant ancient past, significant scriptures were always recorded on extraordinary materials.
Qin Ming revealed a look of surprise. Not long ago, he had conversed with Chu Pianran and learned that special strongmen were augmented with divine bone and immortal skin to become supreme powerhouses.
Yet in the blink of an eye, she had produced a book made of that very material.
Qin Ming could only marvel that the ancient environment had been bountiful indeed, where "heavenly materials" were hardly scarce.
Naturally, his interest was piqued, and he walked forward with the rest.
"This is a scripture from an ancient immortal sanctuary, and one notoriously difficult to comprehend. It must be priceless," someone murmured.
In fact, it was precisely because of this that everyone's hearts were stirred, each wanting to try their hand at deciphering the true essence of its teachings.
Zhao Shuyu muttered to himself, "I never expected Senior Sister Chu to bring that out. Even people of our era could barely comprehend those teachings. Can anyone from this era unravel them? Stumping them wouldn't be a bad thing either."
A prodigy from the ghost path revealed a peculiar look. Having heard of this wondrous book before, he realized immediately that Chu Pianran intended to teach these later generations a lesson.
Chapter 251