Others believed that the sun elven race was merely hiding steel beneath silk—that they were an immensely arrogant people rather than truly modest, eager to test their mettle against every manner of opponent.
"The Six Imperials force, Tathagata force, and Yuqing force can't withstand an alien race's solar fire? Who claimed that? Go take a few slaps first and see!"
Many disliked hearing such talk. The Newborn path's greatest advantage lay in its early stages, yet now it had been reduced to a backdrop for an alien race.
"Is the legendary-grade heavenly light force a new method? If there is an opportunity to spar, it would be my immense honor," a sun elf said humbly, expressing a wish to seek guidance.
This time, quite a few people sensed that while the sun elven race appeared gentle on the surface, they were intensely proud down to their bones.
That night, under the repeated demands of his employers, Qin Ming went to "consume" the auspicious beast blood and officially began his push to break through.
Wu Yaozu was shocked. Was Brother Ming about to ruin his own future?
A moment later, in the quiet chamber where tea fragrance drifted through the air, the looks in Xiao Wu's and Xiang Yiwu's eyes changed. Brother Ming was truly something else! Driven out by the River Goddess just the day before, he had turned around and indirectly plucked the deity's feathers today!
Neither of them had expected Qin Ming to obtain the Shuyu River's Azure Dragon sacred baleful energy so quickly.
The next day, a patriarch of the alien race began expounding the Dao, immediately causing a sensation and bringing the sparring matches to a temporary halt.
Unfortunately, it was only a closed-door discussion between the immortal path and the sun elven race. Outsiders were not qualified to listen, leaving many with deep regret.
After a chain of events continued to ferment, the foreign delegation had now drawn attention from all sides.
Beneath the night sky, fiery clouds drifted. Letters were exchanged incessantly between cities, and heated discussions were everywhere. The sun elven race had undeniably become the focal topic of conversation.
Everyone looked forward to the subsequent bouts.
Some also leaked that the immortal path had suffered just as miserably in their first-realm exchanges.
"Could they have been cleanly swept there too?"
In an instant, the immortal path was once again pushed to the center of the storm.
"Looking at it this way, the outer realm might truly have problems cultivating talent."
The old monsters of the immortal path paid no heed to outside opinions, though they did ponder the matter. The first two realms of the immortal path indeed had shortfalls and flaws that required improvement.
The younger and middle-aged generations were not so composed. Fire burned in their bellies, and they felt someone was deliberately stirring up discord and smearing them.
Naturally, plenty of people spoke up on behalf of the outer realm.
"Don't jump to conclusions just from rumors. The first-realm bouts weren't that terrible. Besides, the immortal path emphasizes striking second to conquer first. In the early stages, even it can't hold off the Newborn path's legendary heavenly light force. The immortal path only begins taking off from the third realm onward!"
"Then let us wait and see how the upcoming contests turn out!"
For a time, turbulent winds stirred across the Dayu imperial capital.
Clearly, Chongxiao had gathered the gaze of every corner of the night mist world.
Qin Ming was currently refining the heterogeneous substance. The Yin-Yang Heavenly Light Diagram rotated slowly, after which a Vermilion Bird and an Azure Dragon surged upward, taking lifelike divine form. A bird's cry and a dragon's roar rang out together with staggering impact.
"Brother Ming possesses the talent to surpass the patriarchs of past generations," Xiao Wu remarked.
"You can't just go around saying that," Meng Xinghai hastily stopped him. It would be terrible if word leaked out.
People from the outer realm were also watching from nearby, and the wondrous phenomena in that small courtyard were clearly visible.
"It worked. He truly is refining a sacred baleful energy. He must have consumed the auspicious beast blood, or else he would lose over a century of life!"
Qin Ming emerged from seclusion, releasing his heavenly light force with wild abandon to display his full might. There was no need to suppress or hide it; after all, the immortal path was endorsing him.
Representatives of the immortal path arrived in person to inspect him. Once they confirmed Qin Ming had reached the middle of the second realm, everyone felt he could be considered a true Outer Sage.
He was, after all, exceedingly dangerous now.
Beside Qin Ming, crimson mist surged and azure energy rolled. The brilliantly feathered Vermilion Bird and the imposing Azure Dragon accompanied him, framing him like a youthful god descending into the mortal world.
Beholding the extraordinary spectacle before them, the immortal path's emissaries wore complicated expressions.
"Don't tell me you're mourning your sacred baleful energy?" Qin Ming asked.
Without a doubt, this struck a sore nerve with some of them.
Qin Ming said, "I am going to fight on your behalf, so you should be happy instead. If I win, the immortal path's agreed share will be larger when you explore divine tombs and immortal burial grounds. Sacrificing minor gains now wins you the grand board."
One of them spoke up, "Congratulations indeed. How long has it been—barely two months? And you have broken through again. You look nothing like someone walking the Newborn path."
Qin Ming looked at them with a hint of skepticism. "Actually, I wasn't fully prepared. Refining the baleful energy prematurely like this—are you certain the secret technique in the *Immortal-Combating Classic* has no flaws? Can it truly bring the Four Sacred Baleful Energies to perfection later without leaving any regrets?"
"Naturally!" someone opposite nodded at once.
"Making up for it later won't damage my foundation, will it?" Qin Ming pressed.
The immortal path member replied, "Your Newborn path has similar methods as well. Just ask those old-timers and you'll see."
Qin Ming remarked bluntly, "The *Immortal-Combating Classic* was probably a text belonging to our Newborn path originally, altered beyond recognition once it fell into your hands."
"We came here to discuss an important matter with you." The people of the immortal path had not come to bicker.
"What? You want to teach me combat methods of the immortal path?" Qin Ming was astonished, wondering if he had misheard.
It was not just him; Wu Yaozu and Xiang Yiwu would also receive separate guidance.
The immortal path had lost miserably enough, having suffered a clean sweep in the second realm. Now that they were bringing in outside help, they wanted a handsome victory to avoid stirring up gossip.
"You want to disguise my heavenly light so it resembles a technique of the immortal path?" Qin Ming understood their intention.
"Precisely. The second realm of the Newborn path also generates a portion of conscious spiritual light. If you guide it slightly to mingle outside your heavenly light, there shouldn't be much of an issue."
Qin Ming thought to himself, *Do I even need to be taught that?* That was his signature specialty, and blending and harmonizing was the very essence of his scriptures.
He spoke outright, "In that case, you might as well teach me some real skills. Feigning immortal arts has little value; anyone scrutinizing them closely could easily spot the flaws."
The people of the immortal path looked at him with odd expressions before speaking rather curtly, "We would love to teach you, but can you even learn it?"
In their perception, walking the Newborn path was a helpless choice made by those who lacked special gifts and had no destiny with the immortal path or esoteric sects, having been weeded out at the most crucial juncture of their lives.
"Go ahead and teach me!" Up to now, Qin Ming had only been stumped for a long time by the silk book methods. Other texts could be mastered in short order.
The outer realm practitioners laughed. If he could have comprehended their arts, he would have belonged to the immortal path long ago.
Since he wanted to try, they didn't mind dealing him a bit of a blow.
Jiang Yunfan, a renowned young expert of the immortal path, spoke up. "Very well. I will demonstrate a highly practical lethal technique that any disciple of the immortal path studies diligently."
He would never leak a core scripture; he would only pass on a widely circulated method of the immortal path known as the conscious sword wave.
In an instant, luminous ripples spread outward from him like water. When they lightly brushed a decorative rock in the courtyard, it shattered like dry leaves under a hammer.
He abruptly withdrew his power to avoid wrecking the entire courtyard.
Immediately after, he explained the technique's method of attack in detail.
A moment later, golden glow rippled out from Qin Ming, starting as faint waves before turning into surging billows. With a crash, the rock exploded into fine powder, vanishing entirely.
Jiang Yunfan's face stiffened. The youth had grasped the technique on the spot and mastered it immediately? This was utterly preposterous!
Chu Yuan, the middle-aged man recently put in charge of liaising for the immortal path, had deep eyes interwoven with silvery patterns. He remarked, "He substituted it with heavenly light, blending in only a small amount of conscious power to achieve a similar effect."
Even so, Jiang Yunfan was thoroughly shaken. The youth of the Newborn path had demonstrated on the spot what astonishing comprehension truly meant.
Qin Ming asked calmly, "Can you explain some trump cards? After all, I must fight against the sun elven race. Techniques that are too ordinary won't make the cut. They won't match my status as an immortal seed, making the disguise look unconvincing."
"Fine!" Jiang Yunfan's stubborn streak flared. He chose a trump card that had long been widely known: the Spirit-Suppressing Nail!
It used a mental field to hone a pure yang divine nail inscribed with one hundred and eight mysterious runes. Driven into an opponent's consciousness, it could slay their mind!
This time, Qin Ming sat quietly for a longer period, but in the end, he still reproduced the Spirit-Suppressing Nail.
"This..." Jiang Yunfan was stunned. This was far faster than he had managed back in the day.
Chu Yuan said, "He grafted methods from the Newborn path onto it. The effect... is indeed identical."
Jiang Yunfan grew thoroughly stubborn and refused to believe it. He manifested an "immortal vista," conjuring a picture of an autumn river night steeped in solitude and melancholy.
He said in a deep voice, "The immortal vista is an outward manifestation that transforms a technique you have deeply realized into an extraordinary scene, verified from the heart."
This was not a specific technique but a conceptual realm. He did not believe Qin Ming could improvise this on the spot.
Yet Qin Ming's "epiphany" came even faster than he imagined. Revealing a portion of the true meaning of the *Withering and Thriving Classic*, he produced an immortal vista whose atmosphere closely matched Jiang Yunfan's.
Outside Qin Ming's body, night hung heavy, the bright moon sank low, a solitary raven cried mournfully, and withered leaves mingled with frost, swept by the autumn wind into the river surface deep within the night mist.
This immortal vista involved the powers of taiyin and withering-thriving, blending the tenets of more than one extraordinary art. Once unleashed, its power would be terrifying.
Jiang Yunfan was completely dazed. Even if Qin Ming had substituted heavenly light for the substance, it was enough to demonstrate extraordinary comprehension, for he genuinely understood the intent behind those arts.
"Again!"
"All right!"
...
In the end, a profound sense of defeat washed over Jiang Yunfan. This had gone completely contrary to his original purpose; far from putting the youth in his place, he had taken a heavy blow himself.
"Stop here," Chu Yuan hastily intervened. Otherwise, this renowned, brilliant nephew-disciple of his might end up obsessed and break his Dao heart.
Jiang Yunfan looked utterly dispirited, standing to the side without a word.
"Let me teach you two moves," Chu Yuan said. Ever since taking charge of liaising, he had found Qin Ming thoroughly unpleasant.
He promptly displayed a supreme move—the Mist-Ascension Soaring Art.
Within moments, Qin Ming reproduced it using heavenly light.
In Qin Ming's eyes, this was merely an explosive technique that used absolute force to subdue all tricks. Using the principles of the silk book to govern all arts, he simply let a portion of them—over a dozen variations of heavenly light force—burst forth, roughly replicating his opponent's technique.
Instantly, brilliant rain of light rose in steam. Ethereal and unworldly, he stood motionless like a near-immortal about to ascend on the mist.
Chu Yuan was stunned as well. The art he demonstrated was extremely difficult, yet why had the youth learned it even faster? Was he somehow inferior to his own nephew-disciple?
Gritting his teeth, he then demonstrated the Golden Wave Immortal Treasury.
Half an hour later, the meditating Qin Ming opened his eyes, stood up, and performed the technique.
"Impossible!" Chu Yuan was thoroughly flabbergasted. He had driven this ultimate skill using the supreme fundamental method of the immortal path. How could the boy emulate it using heavenly light?
In the end, Chu Yuan and Jiang Yunfan departed in a daze.
Behind them, Qin Ming murmured to himself, "Are the arts of the immortal path this easy? Had I known, I should have walked the easiest path, the immortal path, back then."
Chu Yuan's body froze, and Jiang Yunfan stumbled. The two paused briefly before vanishing at top speed.
Were the arts of the immortal path simple? Naturally not; they were exceedingly profound. It was only because Qin Ming held the Newborn path within while manifesting immortal vistas on the outside, grafting his heavenly light force, that he could make heavy things look effortless.
Even so, had he not been delayed by the Cui clan all those years ago, he truly could have walked the immortal path or stepped into the domain of the esoteric sects. As for now, any divine wisdom or conscious spiritual light he cultivated was blended into his heavenly light, making it difficult to accumulate on its own.
Much later, the middle-aged and young experts of the immortal path who had been instructing Xiang Yiwu and Xiao Wu emerged from their respective courtyards.
They were quite shaken, sensing that the two possessed exceptional natural gifts.
A middle-aged man chuckled. "Senior Brother Chu and Nephew Jiang have already left? Could it be you couldn't learn it and drove them away in anger?"
"There's no need to grasp the core essence; picking up the superficial fur and skin is enough. Couldn't you even manage that?" a young man beside him also said with a smile.
Meng Xinghai said with a faint smile, "They went to engage in deep self-reflection. They wanted to learn the Newborn path's methods from Little Qin."
*What's going on?* The group was entirely baffled and hurried away.
That evening, Jiang Yunfan came to a realization. "I understand now! He was evolving it with some fundamental method of the Newborn path. His understanding of the immortal path isn't actually that deep!"
His Dao heart had nearly shattered. Even having realized this, his heart felt hollow, and a lingering sense of defeat remained.
At dusk, when the Fire Springs of Chongxiao were manually dimmed, people arrived to escort Qin Ming, Xiang Yiwu, and Xiao Wu, setting out early for the venue.
"It's actually on the moon?" Qin Ming genuinely had not expected this.
Whether it was the patriarch expounding the scriptures or the disciples sparring, everything was taking place in the night sky.
Xiao Wu realized in hindsight, saying, "No wonder it's gotten harder and harder to reserve a trip to the moon lately. It turns out the immortal path and the sun elven race have been debating the Dao up there!"
That night, Meng Xinghai set out together with the three of them.
A high-tier exotic beast with a pair of wings drew the carriage, soaring into the air and heading toward the moon.
The pure, bright moon hung high above. In a world draped in heavy night, this was a magnificent sight unique to the Dayu imperial capital.
Sitting in the carriage drawn by the high-tier beast, Qin Ming and the others arrived upon the moon.
"Extra! The patriarch's lecture should be ending soon!"
"I hope that once the sparring resumes, we can defeat the sun elven race this time!"
Once the news leaked out slightly, turbulence stirred across the outside world, and people across the night mist lands began to anticipate the outcome.
Without a doubt, this contest against the alien race had long drawn the eyes of all.
Just as Qin Ming and his companions stepped down from the carriage, before they could even familiarize themselves with their surroundings, they saw a group of alien youths. Among them were the three sun elves they had encountered at the Shuyu River.
"Those must be the seeds they're fielding. Nothing impressive—one is as wide as a door, one has aged before his time and is practically bald, and that other one's calm look makes me want to burn right through his conscious spiritual light this instant."
"Yes, I've seen them before. They should just be drudges!"
Clearly, the sun elven race's private conduct was far from as gentle and modest as rumors suggested.
They were joking and chatting in their elven tongue, convinced the people opposite could not understand.
"When will the matches be arranged? I can hardly wait," Qin Ming said. He had resonated with the intense emotional ripples across the way and already knew exactly what they were saying about his side.
Chapter 277