"Broad as a door plank? Prematurely balding?" Qin Ming felt that this bunch of sun elves truly possessed an innate "punch magnet" constitution.
They were clad in sumptuous garments, with golden hair flowing down to their waists. The men appeared refined and gentle, while the women wore sprigs studded with purple buds tucked into their hair, their smiles sweet and radiant.
Yet the words they exchanged were far from friendly.
Xiao Wu noticed several of the sun elven maidens smiling at him.
Returning their smiles, he said, "These aliens aren't bad at all. Slender, graceful figures, each more striking than the last. Eyes twinkling, smiles so gentle and bright—warm and soft."
Qin Ming glanced at him and said, "They're saying you're bald and prematurely senile."
In an instant, Xiao Wu's face froze, his expression rigid.
Their smiles had been so sweet, yet they were badmouthing him like that!
Inside the high tower of Shanhe Academy, his hair had been reduced to ashes after being struck by thunderous fire and heavenly light; only a layer of stubble had grown back by now.
Xiang Yiwu suddenly felt an ominous foreboding, because those sun elves were smiling at him as well.
"They're saying your body is wider than a door plank," Qin Ming informed him of the truth.
In an instant, the Tathagata renegade transformed into a wrathful Vajra.
Xiang Yiwu and Xiao Wu immediately rolled up their sleeves, itching to punch right through this bunch of aliens on the spot.
"Hey, what are you doing? Calm down!" members of the immortal path hissed in low voices, warning them that they could not cause trouble on the moon.
Meng Xinghai stepped forward and placed a hand on each of their shoulders, holding them back.
Upon the moon stood jade towers and jasper pavilions in sprawling, majestic palace complexes, accompanied by the fragrance of sweet osmanthus and the quiet, aloof presence of Guanghan Palace—luxury and pristine elegance coexisting side by side.
Furthermore, there was a vast blessed land where immortal mist swirled, home to formidable figures including grandmasters and high nobles.
"The bouts are tomorrow," Chu Yuan said as he appeared. He, too, had ascended to the moon.
It was night now, not the time for sparring.
A group of sun elves was preparing for a night stroll. Some planned to visit Guanghan Palace, while others favored the bustling splendor beneath the dazzling lights of the Dayu imperial capital and prepared to "descend."
"Just you wait!" Wu Yaozu glared malevolently at the aliens.
A female sun elf gathered her golden tresses and spoke in a gently magnetic, tender voice, "See you tomorrow, baldy brother."
"You yellow-haired wench!" Wu Yaozu jabbed a finger at her.
This sun elf understood human language; though she spoke in soft, gentle tones, she was clearly plucking at his nerves on purpose.
Wu Yaozu bore a grudge and swore to beat her senseless tomorrow.
The day of the contest had not even arrived, yet sparks were already flying between the two sides.
Chu Yuan and Jiang Yunfan led Qin Ming and the others to a scenic residence with groves of purple bamboo, a small bridge, and flowing water, situated within the blessed land.
Meng Xinghai said, "You three stay out of trouble and adapt to your surroundings first. I'm going to visit a friend."
"Uncle Meng, you certainly have a wide circle of friends," Qin Ming remarked. "There are old acquaintances everywhere you go."
Back then, whenever Meng Xinghai took him out, he would always go off alone to visit friends in the end—from Luofu City to Jinrui City, then to Light-Chasing City and Chongxiao City, and now arriving on the moon was no exception.
Xiao Wu leaned in with a solemn expression, his eyes gleaming brightly as he lowered his voice. "Uncle Hai, you aren't sneaking off to Tianque behind our backs, are you? Take us along!"
"Go wait aside. I have serious business." Meng Xinghai smacked the back of his head, then headed straight into the depths of the blessed land.
...
Being up on the moon, Qin Ming was immensely curious about the place.
Xiang Yiwu said, "This is a wondrous spectacle unique to the Dayu imperial capital. Every year, countless people travel vast distances just to catch a glimpse of the bright, pure moon in the night sky."
Coming from the ancestral court of the Rulai Sect, he had access to many secrets.
This was a man-made moon whose primary material was levitation stone—reportedly fragments of a shattered grotto-heaven refined by deities and patriarch-grade powerhouses before being lifted into the night sky.
Xiang Yiwu said, "Elevating a blessed land into a realm high above the mortal world and opening a grotto-heaven—people beyond the mundane world have always wanted to accomplish this, but none have succeeded."
For the Dayu Imperial Dynasty to enlist the aid of the immortal path and the esoteric sect to create such a spectacle was already an extraordinary feat.
"Looking up and seeing the bright moon in Chongxiao gives me the feeling of going home. It feels so familiar. I almost want to settle down in the Dayu imperial capital," Xiao Wu said.
His homeland had a moon as well, though looking into its true nature was somewhat terrifying.
Only Qin Ming needed to familiarize himself with the surroundings; Xiang Yiwu and Wu Yaozu had already ascended to the moon before and had even visited Guanghan Palace once. Of course, it had only been that one time, mainly because the day gold it cost was more than either of them could bear.
Qin Ming gazed into the distance and asked, "Who lives in those mist-shrouded areas deep in the blessed land? Did they buy the places themselves?"
Xiao Wu said, "Brother Ming, never mind the moon—even along the banks of the Shuyu River, the cheapest houses start at ten thousand day gold."
Qin Ming was astonished. He possessed a modest fortune himself, yet he couldn't even afford a single house by the Shuyu River.
Xiang Yiwu said, "The people living in this blessed land on the moon are all extraordinary figures—like Pei Yan, the Marquis of Wuping, who has the potential to achieve godhood, or Ling Canghai, a grandmaster of the immortal path."
Qin Ming was surprised. "Even a grandmaster of the immortal path has a residence here?"
Xiang Yiwu nodded. "Yes, gifted by the Dayu Imperial Dynasty. He's doing well if he stays here once every three to five years."
Pausing briefly, he added, "He is widely renowned and bound to become a patriarch-level figure in the future. In the year he turned one hundred and ninety, he came to the Dayu imperial capital, and a major event occurred in the trajectory of his life."
"What happened?" Qin Ming asked.
Xiang Yiwu didn't dare say it out loud and switched to secret voice transmission. "That day, lightning flashed and thunder roared over Chongxiao as torrential rain poured. Grandmaster Ling Canghai's... father-in-law was born."
Qin Ming stared dumbfounded.
Xiao Wu was stunned. Only after a moment did he manage, "Wait a second... he was one hundred and ninety, and his father-in-law... was just born?"
...
Guanghan Palace was a true realm of jade towers and jasper pavilions, surrounded by moon laurels whose fragrant scent suffused the night sky.
In the end, Qin Ming went after all. It was hard to turn down their hospitality; Wu Yaozu and Xiang Yiwu had said early on that they would throw him a welcome banquet and had made reservations in advance.
Within the palace, maidens danced in fluttering white skirts beneath hazy moonbeams, creating an exquisite scene.
"Gentlemen, your luck is quite remarkable today," an attendant informed them with a beaming smile. "Distinguished guests spent a fortune today to view the lunar waterfall."
"That really is lucky!" Wu Yaozu remarked in surprise. Neither he nor Xiang Yiwu had that much day gold; such an indulgence cost an astronomical price.
Guanghan Palace was far less opulent than Tianque, leaning more toward refined elegance, but here one could sometimes admire a marvelous spectacle: the lunar waterfall.
Shortly after, the three sat in a carriage that emerged into the night sky, temporarily leaving the moon.
Then they saw a fire spring pouring down from the moon like a dazzling divine rainbow, hanging suspended between the deep darkness of heaven and earth—this was the lunar waterfall.
It was the first time Qin Ming had witnessed such a wonder. He was genuinely astounded, mesmerized by the sight.
Down in Chongxiao, countless people gasped in wonder, captivated and dazzled.
In truth, admiring the spectacle from the ground was even better than from the night sky.
Soon, Qin Ming learned which distinguished guests had spent an exorbitant sum of day gold to view the lunar waterfall.
Several sun elves were with Cui Chonghe, Pei Shuyan, and the others. Having apparently bonded over their clashes, they were chatting and laughing together, discussing the exploration of divine tombs and immortal graves.
They stood higher up in the Main Guanghan Palace, looking down upon Qin Ming's group.
Wu Yaozu called an attendant over and asked, "Didn't you say that area is only open to senior luminaries? Why are they allowed up there?"
"Young prodigies must possess a cultivation of at least the third realm to be permitted entry."
"You run an open business, yet you practice discrimination?" Xiao Wu grumbled in dissatisfaction.
The attendant explained, "It's mainly because too many people wish to reserve the Main Guanghan Palace, so we have to place restrictions."
"That's not right. There are clearly people in the second realm up there," Xiang Yiwu said. He saw Li Qingxu and Sun Jingxiao, and there were second-realm cultivators among the aliens as well.
"Those accompanying individuals of the third realm are exempt from the restriction."
Just then, Cui Chonghe cast a detached glance toward them. Noticing this, the sun elves looked down as well.
Three sun elves—He Yan, Guang Yu, and Chi Yao—had previously run into Qin Ming's group at the Shuyu River. Now they looked toward Pei Shuyan, Cui Chonghe, and the others to inquire:
"Are they from your immortal path?"
"No comment."
Several of the sun elven maidens were exceptionally striking. One of them instructed, "Ming Hui, go offer a friendly toast and have a chat with them."
Shortly after, two sun elves, a man and a woman, arrived at Qin Ming's table. Behaving with great humility and gentleness, they took the initiative to raise their cups in a toast.
However, Qin Ming ignored them, his expression frosty as he stared toward the Main Guanghan Palace.
Within the magnificent main palace, four sun elven maidens had fair skin and delicate oval faces, their eyes gleaming like purple gems in the night sky. Exquisitely beautiful, they smiled in this direction, yet made no move to raise their cups.
"Brother Ming, what's going on?" Xiao Wu asked.
Setting down his wine cup, Qin Ming drove away the two sun elves who had come to toast them. Through his emotional resonance, he had discerned that these two were servant elves.
These aliens were truly crossing the line! Judging people by status and dishing out snubs?
Qin Ming said, "Did these aliens discover something during the battles and decide that Pei Shuyan, Cui Chonghe, and the others are too formidable? To treat us differently like this... they fear power yet lack gratitude, punctilious in minor etiquette yet void of true honor."
He then explained the truth of the matter.
"What? Sending servant elves to toast us? They have a death wish!" Xiang Yiwu grew even more furious at their nerve to look down on and humiliate them like this.
Xiao Wu said, "There are second-realm aliens up there too, right? Some of those smiling at us must be our opponents. Tomorrow, we'll smash them to pieces!"
Inside the Main Guanghan Palace, two sun elven maidens were still fishing for information, asking about the backgrounds and origins of Qin Ming, Xiang Yiwu, and the others.
Evidently, the disciples of the immortal path possessed enough integrity to keep their mouths shut and reveal nothing.
In the end, the two alien maidens, named Can Wei and Mu Xin, shifted topics and inquired about the Newborn path.
Can Wei had waist-length golden hair, long and thick eyelashes, and clear, bright violet eyes. She asked Li Qingxu, "In this era, are all those who master legendary-grade heavenly light force very strong?"
Li Qingxu was tipsy from the drink. He sighed and said, "Depends on the person. Honestly, I don't really know either. When they get fierce, they even beat me up."
...
Evidently, Qin Ming, Xiang Yiwu, and Xiao Wu were in no mood to drink. They left early, their fighting spirit surging to the brim, waiting only for tomorrow morning to arrive so they could pummel those aliens.
That night, news continued to ferment. Many throughout the night mist world already knew that the sparring matches against the alien race would resume tomorrow.
"The immortal path got shaved bald, shining like that bright moon through the ages—blindingly bright!" Even in the Dayu capital, people were joking in such terms.
One could easily imagine what heated discussions had erupted in other brightly lit cities.
In the early morning, the moon brightened as if bathed in morning glow. The fire springs here were regulated more skillfully, making the sky resemble the daylight recorded in ancient texts.
After breakfast, Qin Ming, Xiang Yiwu, and Wu Yaozu set out with Chu Yuan and Jiang Yunfan for the sparring grounds, located just outside the South Heavenly Gate on the moon.
Without question, numerous luminaries had arrived today. From Dayu's imperial clan and nobility to senior figures of the immortal path and the alien delegation, the crowd was densely packed.
In fact, though it was termed a closed sparring event, prominent figures from the esoteric sect and luminaries of the Newborn path were present as specially invited guests.
After all, once they ventured into the depths of the night mist world to explore divine tombs and immortal graves, it would be impossible to leave out the esoteric sect and the Newborn path entirely.
Certain matters required contingency plans just in case.
Every pioneer expedition, regardless of scale, had to be treated with utmost gravity.
Outside the South Heavenly Gate, Qin Ming was the first to step forth. Wearing a mask, he strode directly into the arena.
Many from the immortal path were speechless. He was being far too perfunctory—though he wore a bronze mask, he hadn't even changed his clothes, wearing the same outfit as before, and didn't bother disguising his voice. Anyone could tell who he was in an instant.
Qin Ming swept his gaze forward, his voice ice-cold. "Are you coming one by one, or do you plan to take me on all at once?"
Chapter 278