"Escaping from Yujing was truly no easy feat..." Qin Ming stood motionless for a long time, entranced by those final words.
"Could he be a higher god, or perhaps an Earth Immortal, or even a Heavenly Immortal?" Xiao Wu was stunned as well.
The two were deeply unsettled. The notes recorded on the aged wooden desk were rather disjointed, line by line, yet they contained astonishing information.
An old god, or an ancient immortal of exceedingly high standing, had nevertheless ended up in the vast night sky like a kite with a broken string, risking death to return, seeking the primal path to restore their original body.
Qin Ming strongly suspected that the master of the thatched hut was related to the beings recorded in the Kunling Records of Godlike Beings.
This meant that legend had "fled" into reality!
...
Wuuu...
The wind sliced through the night sky, sounding as if someone were weeping.
Standing behind the thatched hut, Qin Ming and Xiao Wu felt as if they had entered an entirely different world.
Before this, dense fog had blanketed the area, and the baleful ground had been deathly still, utterly devoid of sound.
Yet right before their eyes, a black-haired whirlwind howled, carrying sand and dust that struck their faces with stinging force.
Separated by merely a hut, the two sides presented completely different sights.
Ahead, the earth was cracked and dry, with bare rocks bearing witness to the desolation of this territory, where not a single blade of grass grew.
Amidst the howling wails, black silhouettes resembling human faces could be faintly seen moving with the swirling storm, and numerous black hairs seemed to float in the yellow sand.
This was no illusion, but reality.
A blast of black wind surged toward them, causing both Qin Ming and Xiao Wu to tense up.
At that moment, black hairs swept past and pricked their bodies like needles.
Around each of them, protective heavenly light and rainbow light rose respectively, producing metallic ringing sounds as sparks flew everywhere.
Xiao Wu's hair stood on end. "What kind of cursed place is this? Blowing a black-haired whirlwind like a horde of vengeful wraiths crossing over."
If an ordinary person had come here, a single gust of this black wind would have riddled their body with holes—how could they possibly survive?
What did the master of this place leave behind? Qin Ming searched behind the thatched hut, but found nothing.
Afterward, the two expanded their search, walking deeper into the dust-swept land. Their primary target was the massive dark silhouette looming ahead.
In this barren expanse, it was the only mountain in sight.
"Are there vengeful wraiths in the wind?" Xiao Wu felt his skin crawl. Black hairs drifted through the wind alongside flickering spectral figures, creating an eerie atmosphere, and the wind itself truly sounded like a ghost's mournful sobbing.
Though they encountered obstacles along the way, they climbed the mountain smoothly.
It was a tall, desolate peak devoid of vitality. Its slopes were cracked, and occasionally, rocks dislodged by the wind tumbled down with a rumbling roar.
Sure enough, there was "something" at the summit: a stretch of wooden palisade that remained incorruptible amidst the wind and sand, preserved completely intact.
It looked like a small mountain stronghold.
Qin Ming and Xiao Wu pushed open the palisade gate and stepped inside. Immediately, the wind subsided and the dust settled; separated by just a fence, the interior and exterior were worlds apart.
Here stood a crystal figure, entirely pure and without a single blemish, roughly the height of an ordinary person.
A cluster of light sat in its abdomen. Upon their arrival, it ignited instantly with a whoosh, spreading outward toward its limbs and bones.
The crystal figure lit up all over, its various nodes interconnected by a dense web of silver threads of light, as if coming alive. That cluster of light was akin to its "mental field."
Its eyes ignited, and in an instant, a spiritual imprint emanated outward—a message left by the master of the thatched hut for future generations.
Soon, Qin Ming and Xiao Wu understood what was happening.
The master of this place had left certain things behind, but an ordinary person would not be able to bear them; a "trial" was required.
In short, one had to subdue the crystal figure on the mountain to gain anything.
Otherwise, being too weak, taking those items would be useless—a complete waste.
Furthermore, the spiritual imprint conveyed that there were four such peaks in total.
In the past, that practitioner who had perfected seven overlapping suns and hovered outside Yujing had brought four disciples along.
The master of the thatched hut had interacted with them. Based on their cultivation realms and strength, he visualized the mental fields of those four disciples and "manifested" them within the crystal figures.
Clearly, the master of the thatched hut wanted future generations to measure themselves against the "elite disciples of prominent sects" from deep within the night mist world.
Without a doubt, with a master who had perfected seven overlapping suns, those four were bound to be the foremost figures of their generation!
The master of the thatched hut briefly mentioned that at their respective realms, those four had been relatively young, though he refrained from disclosing their exact ages to avoid discouraging future visitors.
Wu Yaozu curled his lip. "This... Saying he won't disclose it—isn't that just deliberately provoking those who come after?"
Qin Ming felt that bestowing "good fortune" was secondary to the master of the thatched hut; arranging a "sparring match" was his true intention, aiming to stimulate and temper future generations.
After pondering for a moment, Xiao Wu remarked, "It seems those four disciples were extraordinary. Does the master of the thatched hut want future visitors to realize just how terrifying the beings deep in the night mist world are, and how deep the waters run?"
At the same time, through the crystal figure, they learned that people of different cultivation realms would be guided to different peaks.
"This should be the youngest disciple of the one who perfected seven overlapping suns, right?"
"I just wonder whether this person was in the early, middle, or late stage of the second realm?"
Qin Ming stepped forward, resolving to challenge the crystal figure to test the waters and see just how formidable the second-realm prodigy from that distant, mysterious land truly was.
"Brother Ming, how about I try first?" Xiao Wu worried that if this person was at the second realm's perfection, things might turn out badly.
"It's fine. At worst, I'll lose," Qin Ming said, shaking his head and choosing to fight personally.
He believed the master of the thatched hut would have taken this into account and would not harm latecomers who shared good karma with him.
The moment the challenger drew near, the crystal figure dropped into a combat stance.
With a crisp clang, a five-color saber materialized in Qin Ming's right hand. No longer drifting like smoke and mist as it once had, it was now completely solid.
The conscious spiritual light in the crystal figure's eye sockets flared violently. At the same time, runes all over its body shot out sword rays.
In an instant, it shone like a radiant sun. From head to toe, sword rays burst forth alongside densely packed runes in an all-out, omnidirectional assault.
This was no longer a mere sword wheel, but a "sword sphere."
Even Xiao Wu was startled. The crystal figure had unleashed a trump card right from the start.
Perhaps this was the combat style deep within the night mist world: no feeling out the opponent, only striving to obliterate them in the shortest possible time.
Brilliant light flooded the mountaintop as hundreds upon thousands of sword rays shot out from the crystal figure.
Around Qin Ming, a five-colored mist of light manifested. In all directions, wheels of light seemed to spin rapidly, blocking the dense sword rays and swiftly grinding them to pieces.
Simultaneously, saber in hand, he charged forward and cleaved directly at the crystal figure.
As he moved, the five-color saber and the wheels of light grew increasingly brilliant, piercing the pitch-black night sky.
The Five Elements marvelous arts resonated together, their true meaning transforming into five-colored divine clouds. The blade in his hand became dazzling to the extreme, as though a single strike could sever the boundary between life and death.
Amidst metallic clangs, runes erupted across the crystal figure's body in a dazzling spectacle as it engaged him in a life-and-death clash, taking the five-color saber head-on.
"This crystal guy is strong!" Xiao Wu's expression grew solemn. Very few second-realm opponents could compel Brother Ming to fight with such gravity.
The instant Qin Ming swung the saber with his right hand, his left palm struck forward as well. The Li Fire Shuttle, derived from the Departing Fire Classic, took physical shape and shot forth, trailing boundless flames.
With a deafening boom, the forest of sword rays ahead was blasted apart by the blinding Li Fire Shuttle. Like a plow tearing through earth, it punched straight through the massive curtain woven from countless sword rays.
Qin Ming then slashed at the crystal figure, colliding with the runic sword blazing in the opponent's hand. The deafening impact sounded as if vast cascades of lightning were pouring across the summit.
Putting away his five-color saber, Qin Ming began unleashing his various trump cards, no longer relying on ordinary techniques.
Rays of light erupted from the fist seal in his right hand as he smashed forward, displaying the ultimate killing technique of the Wuji Classic—the Wuji Seal.
It materialized along with the bursting fist light, condensing into an earthen-yellow grand seal that crashed downward with a thunderous rumble.
The crystal figure's pure yang conscious spiritual light boiled and surged out of its body. A vast expanse of cloud-like glow instantly took the form of a pure yang treasure tree, taking root atop the Wuji Seal.
Standing inches away, Qin Ming radiated a golden glow that seemed to warp space itself. This was the Golden Silkworm force field, best suited for close-quarters combat and the very essence of another marvelous art.
Amidst metallic clangs, countless golden threads interwove, hazing the surrounding space. The enigmatic force field caused the pure yang treasure tree's branches to snap and its leaves to scatter, dismantling it entirely.
Blinding light erupted from within the crystal figure, turning into a blazing ball of runic flame that burned furiously, illuminating the night sky and bathing the entire mountaintop in brilliant light.
This was pure yang true fire tinged with traces of Daoist resonance, capable of incinerating all things as it intercepted the young man before it.
Every wisp of flame was composed of a rune; woven together, they were terrifyingly potent, turning the summit as bright as day.
Qin Ming raised his left hand and struck forward. Instantly, an aura of boundless decay emerged. Even the pure yang runic fire seemed to possess life, withering and dying away under its touch.
Qin Ming had unleashed the Withering and Thriving Classic, one of the premier marvelous arts of the night mist world. Manifesting the true meaning of "withering" to the fullest, this terrifying display dissolved the pure yang consummate art.
Then, the light around his right hand surged furiously with vigorous heavenly light force. Standing in opposition to the concept of withering, the power of heavenly light at its zenith erupted.
This fist light seemed capable of crushing anything in its path, striking the dimming runic flames so that sparks flew everywhere before completely scattering.
Crossing its arms, the crystal figure blocked continuously.
Yet it was still blasted backward.
In the next instant, Qin Ming switched his trump card once more.
Black light rose from his left hand while white light blazed brilliantly in his right. Black and white light erupted simultaneously, blasting forward.
The crystal figure retreated rapidly. At the same time, a pure yang lotus blossomed at its brow, swaying with dazzling, multicolored radiance.
Nurtured within the lotus was a small spear bobbing up and down, enveloped by densely packed script that seemed to embody certain "rules" and "principles" of the night mist world.
The lotus bloomed abruptly, pouring out tens of thousands of rays toward Qin Ming, only to be blocked by the rising black and white light around him. The two forces clashed violently, rumbling incessantly.
The small spear nurtured within the lotus shot forth like lightning, aiming straight between Qin Ming's brows.
Qin Ming waved both hands. The black and white light acted like a quagmire and chains, binding the spear and suspending it in midair.
As the black and white light blended and resonated, a snap echoed out an instant later. The spearhead, seemingly imbued with the profound truths of the night mist world, shattered and was progressively ground to pieces.
Xiao Wu looked more solemn than ever. This elite disciple from deep within the night mist world was truly formidable, forcing Brother Ming to deploy all manner of consummate techniques.
He murmured, "As expected of the last disciple of someone who perfected seven overlapping suns—truly formidable!"
On the mountaintop, rocks flew, sand swirled, electricity surged, and thunder manifested. The two figures traversed the area, tangling and separating in repeated ferocious collisions.
With a crisp crack, the crystal figure's right arm was severed, cleanly cut away by Qin Ming using the consummate technique from the Dragon Snake Scripture—the Dragon Snake Shears—fused with black and white light.
Next, Qin Ming unleashed consecutive strikes using the true meanings of withering, thriving, yin, and yang from the Black-White Classic and the Withering and Thriving Classic. Left fist and right palm struck together, blasting away half of the crystal figure's body and robbing it of all combat ability.
With a heavy clatter, the crystal figure collapsed to the ground, motionless.
Conscious spiritual light flickered in its eye sockets as it transmitted a mental wave: "Latecomer, how do you feel? The waters deep within the night mist world run deep. There is no shame in losing to their elite disciples. Use this to temper yourself and ignite an ardent fighting spirit; your future path remains boundlessly bright..."
Xiao Wu spoke up, "Are you out of your mind? Brother Ming won!"
"An error occurred. Resetting!" The conscious spiritual light deep within the crystal figure's eyes wavered before it transmitted a new mental wave.
Without question, these words had been recorded many years ago.
The master of the thatched hut had subjectively assumed that latecomers had a ninety percent chance of suffering a crushing defeat, which was why he had prepared that speech first.
Fortunately, he was not overly rigid and could correct himself.
Sure enough, its aura and demeanor swiftly changed. It let out a startled gasp, sounding deeply moved, and said, "Remarkable latecomer! To think you could defeat the elite disciple of someone who perfected seven overlapping suns. Compared to when I was young, you yield nothing. You possess the makings of a Heavenly God!"
The master of the thatched hut praised him, though he also seemed to be boasting about himself.
Finally, his tone grew solemn once more: "Even if you can rival a Heavenly God in their youth, do not become complacent. In the vast night sky, even gods lose their way and suffer the calamity of falling in blood."
Immediately afterward, the ground beneath the crystal figure split open, and light shone through.
The crystal figure spoke solemnly, "Give a man a fish, or teach a man to fish? Or perhaps both. Let me grant you what you need most!"
Chapter 257