Chu Yuan was nearly moved to tears once more. That fellow had finally remembered an immortal path technique and put on another "perfunctory" display.
Yet he was also somewhat bewildered. Qin Ming looked even more like a true disciple of the immortal path than they did—transcendent and ethereal, like a young Heavenly Immortal descended into the mortal dust.
In the arena, Qin Ming blended a portion of his conscious spiritual light, naturally resembling an immortal seed unleashing an immortal path ultimate art. Braving the terrifying sword intent, he charged toward his opponent.
He had no choice but to take this seriously. He inwardly marveled at the boundless expanse of the night mist world and its myriad bizarre arts and secret scriptures; this sun elven race truly possessed formidable power.
It was hard to imagine just how devastating her sword strike would be if she were allowed to continue gathering momentum!
Evidently, that was also this sword art's flaw—it required a long preparation time.
However, ordinary opponents would never live to exploit such a weakness. The tempest of sword qi whipped up merely by drawing the blade was enough to obliterate them.
Even Qin Ming felt a bone-chilling murderous intent. The sword light was everywhere, and the arena was flooded with golden sword intent runes, mincing everything in their path.
Bang! Boom!
Around his body, vast plumes of light mist erupted from time to time, and glaring bursts of blazing glow splashed outward—the most direct sign of his clash against the Solar Immortal Sword Art.
All the young disciples could not help but watch with pounding hearts. Facing such an unmatched sword art, could the immortal path ultimate Qin Ming displayed truly hold the line?
With a booming roar, Qin Ming ascended amidst rosy clouds like an enlightened immortal seeking to cast off the mortal world. Amidst myriad brilliant rays, he rose briefly into the air and shot straight toward Liguang.
At that moment, the void seemed to warp. Bearing an immense, unfathomable force, he shattered the layered veils of sword light amidst an endless spray of light rain, crashing right before the sun elven maiden.
Suddenly, she let out a sharp cry. Her long golden hair whipped wildly, and her body erupted with concentrated divine light like a blazing sun as she reinforced the sword art with secret power.
The sword momentum reached completion!
She covered her flaw, instantly pushing the Solar Immortal Sword Art to its absolute limit, and slashed down vertically at Qin Ming as he soared toward her!
Boundless sword light tore through the night mist, cleaving the air before the South Heavenly Gate like a massive trench being plowed into the ground. The earth sank and cracked open with horrifying speed, while the sky turned into a world flooded with radiant sword light!
Qin Ming was grave. High in the air amidst rosy clouds, he struck downward with all his might, seemingly carrying true immortal majesty—though it was primarily evolved from heavenly light.
A violent explosion erupted between them, filled with flashes of lightning, claps of thunder, and torrential rains of light. Flying sand and rolling stones swept over the arena as the red-gold flagstones shattered completely.
With a whoosh, amid the dust, heavenly light, and sword qi, the two collided. One bore immeasurable light rain in his fists and palms, while the other wielded sword light like a rainbow splitting the heavens.
Their figures were blindingly fast, clashing continuously from the ground to midair, and back down to the ground again.
"Is Brother Ming getting serious?" Wu Yaozu asked via secret transmission.
"I don't know, just watch closely," Xiang Yiwu replied, unable to gauge the situation himself.
In the arena, both figures were enveloped in immortal path runes, circulating sacred radiance. After tangling in a flurry of continuous exchanges, they abruptly parted.
In Qin Ming's hand was a lock of long golden hair.
This sight made the hearts of many sun elves leap into their throats. It had been far too perilous; his fingers had nearly grazed Liguang's head.
The sun elven maiden's golden robe was in tatters, riddled with holes from the dense rain of light earlier. Fortunately, she wore red-gold inner armor.
Even the Solar Immortal Sword Art had been broken? A heavy silence fell over the foreigners' side. The human youth's strength far exceeded their expectations.
On the immortal path's side, several experts also furrowed their brows. Not just anyone could block such a mysterious sword art using the Rosy Cloud Ascension Art—it all depended on who wielded it.
"That should just about do it." Meng Xinghai beamed, his face flushed with joy, unable to close his grinning mouth.
Xiang Yiwu looked on with envy. He and Xiao Wu had searched all over the moon without finding the betting pool. Clearly, this was a high-stakes game where middle- and low-tier cultivators were barred from entering.
Both had immense confidence in Qin Ming, but Old Meng had given them no chance to join in!
Meng Xinghai admonished them with a stern face, "Young men should forge ahead with vigor and devote yourselves entirely to cultivation! Never get involved in such matters; they bring a hundred harms and not a single benefit!"
In truth, the participants in this wager encompassed high nobles, renowned figures from various paths, and experts of the sun elven race. Not a single youth was among them.
Though this was the immortal path's home turf, they strictly guarded their own ranks, forbidding any immortal seeds or core disciples from taking part in such affairs.
In the arena, where the rain of light and sword glare had dispersed, the two stood far apart on the ruined ground, facing each other from a distance.
"Brother Ming, don't throw away that lock of golden hair!" Xiao Wu called out from afar.
Instantly, countless eyes turned toward him.
Many among the sun elven race glared with eyes spitting fire.
Seeing this reaction, Wu Yaozu immediately shouted, "What are you looking at me for? A few noble brothers just sent me transmissions offering a high price for it!"
Then he glanced to one side and added, "Brother, why are you looking at me with that strange expression? Weren't you about to bid for it too?"
"That's slander!" A young noble opposite him grew frantic, looking ready to challenge him to a duel right there.
Whether it was true or false was impossible to tell.
Qin Ming, however, did indeed glance toward the sun elven maiden's golden hair.
Liguang's fair face, exquisite like mutton-fat jade, instantly darkened slightly. She stood within a sun wheel, and a soft light surged from within her body, manifesting like a bright moon.
"This..." Many people's pupils shrank. What was this? She possessed a sun wheel to protect her body, yet now a moon wheel accompanied her as well?
"The Sun and Moon Twin Wheels Scripture, reaching the supreme realm where yin and yang complement each other," the immortal path grandmaster Ling Canghai spoke up at that moment. He had seen relevant records of it.
However, the immortal path did not possess this scripture, as it had long been lost.
"Excellent!" Many renowned seniors of the immortal path nodded secretly. The arts from the depths of the night mist world were the most beneficial supplement for their path!
If they could acquire it, perhaps the immortal path could be expanded even further!
Liguang's golden hair fell like a waterfall, and her fair, translucent hands began to lift the twin wheels. Slowly tracing their paths, she released an exceedingly dangerous aura.
Everyone realized she was preparing to unleash a major technique!
Above Qin Ming's head, an extraordinary phenomenon emerged. Azure clouds surged, and a great azure dragon raised its head. On the other side, the mist was dyed crimson before boiling into a blaze, where a Vermilion Bird with bright scarlet wings soared across the void.
He attacked directly. A combined strike of dragon and sparrow—the two sacred baleful energies did not merge into a yin-yang diagram this time, but appeared in their most fundamental forms, crashing down from the void with a thunderous roar.
At the same time, Liguang unleashed the sun and moon twin wheels. Rosy glow illuminated the arena, exuding astonishing immortal dao patterns and terrifying energy fluctuations.
Qin Ming charged forward as well, heavenly light circulating around his body. Like a banished immortal treading through the mortal realm, he closed in rapidly, uncaring of the terrifying turbulence along the way.
The combined strike of dragon and sparrow met the sun and moon twin wheels like the point of a needle meeting the tip of an awl, both bursting with immeasurable light.
Those hazardous energies failed to hinder Qin Ming. He tore through them, raising his fist to strike, and the two sacred baleful energies surfaced once more within the glow of his fists, endless and inextinguishable.
The Vermilion Bird and Azure Dragon rose together, pressing down upon the sun elf before him.
In an instant, Liguang suffered a tempestuous onslaught. Even while countering with the Immortal Willow Golden Body Art, she felt immense pressure.
The sun and moon shattered, but the dragon and sparrow remained; the sacred baleful energy could not be easily extinguished.
With a muffled sound, she was blasted backward by the heavenly light carrying the dragon and sparrow phantoms, blood seeping from the corner of her lips.
"The four ancient sacred baleful energies can produce supreme drudges capable of standing on equal footing with the rulers of immortal sanctuaries. Yet you people simply gifted him two of them?" an expert of the immortal path remarked.
Several renowned figures looked on with deep gazes. If that youth were allowed to gather all four sacred baleful energies, given his previous display, he could definitely reverse-engineer a complete yin-yang dao diagram.
If that happened, he might very well command immortals with the body of a drudge.
A senior of exceedingly high status gave quiet instructions in secret: "If the other two sacred baleful energies are discovered, secure them, even at a steep markup."
He was an immortal path grandmaster named Su Yuxiao, forty years older than Ling Canghai.
The nearby seniors were all startled upon hearing this. Clearly, he intended to cut off the Newborn path youth's hopes of gathering all four sacred baleful energies, denying him any opportunity.
Su Yuxiao's expression remained calm as he said, "Attempt to recruit him in private. Observe his performance. If he is willing to devote himself to the immortal path, once his heavenly light force reaches great completion, he can be granted extraordinary treatment—comparable to the status of a supreme drudge in the ancient immortal sanctuaries."
Using special wings of light, Liguang briefly vaulted into the night sky to put distance between herself and Qin Ming, seizing a moment to catch her breath.
However, such an art could not sustain prolonged flight and would soon fall back.
Qin Ming shot up from the ground, attacking once more.
At this point, Liguang decided to unleash her final ultimate art. If she still could not take him down, she was destined for defeat, and no matter how unwilling, she would have to bow her head.
She retreated midair and soon landed back on the ground.
With a low hum, an ancient tree of life manifested behind her, its green leaves glowing, each leaf inscribed with mysterious script.
Her vitality seemed to surge in tandem, appearing to merge with heaven and earth and align with the various dao rhymes of the immortal path.
Behind her, the ancient tree swayed, its foliage rustling like the turning pages of scriptures. Each leaf held a true meaning, radiating sacred light in all directions.
Bathed entirely in the glow of life, she was sheltered beneath the tree by the radiant script of the scriptures.
Yet within this serene harmony, a chilling aura descended from the canopy, causing many nearby young disciples to feel their minds spin.
Above the great tree, dark clouds churned, revealing a faint sun that suddenly developed a pair of eyes. When they opened, two streams of crimson blood flowed down.
Many young disciples swayed, sensing their spiritual fields destabilizing. Some saw the sun as sacred and supreme, wanting to kneel and worship, while others felt it brimmed with malice and wanted only to flee.
Qin Ming naturally sensed the danger. He sighed inwardly; the complete yin-yang diagram definitely could not be used. He was contemplating whether to command all arts with the silk book's scriptures to blast directly through, or to use another method.
Yet he was truly unwilling. This was merely a substitute fight; if it forced him to reveal his true trump cards, it would be far too disadvantageous and not worth the cost.
"Don't act recklessly!" an elderly sun elf among the foreigners cried out anxiously.
"I am fine!" Liguang responded. She felt she was in prime condition, capable of unleashing a forbidden art of the immortal path.
Qin Ming's heart stirred. He hoped to induce her to collapse on her own.
Even so, he prepared his counter. A hazy scene emerged behind him, invisible to others and discernible only to himself.
In that distant vista, a five-colored tree swayed, misted in immortal vapors, shifting between vibrant life and sudden decay. On the trunk, a cicada chirped; on the leaves, a silkworm crawled.
Near the tree, a pitch-black river flowed into the distance, where dragons and serpents prowled. Night and day alternated, with a crescent moon rising as a red sun sank in the west...
That hazy phenomenon encompassed the miraculous arts and scriptures he had mastered!
If he could not induce her to collapse on her own, Qin Ming would decide how much of the immortal vista to reveal depending on the situation.
At that moment, instead of stopping, Liguang formed hand seals, immortal dao patterns blooming at her glabella to condense a glowing paper talisman.
"Stop!" The old elf behind her could no longer sit still and moved to intervene directly.
"Oh? The secret script used by ancient immortal sanctuaries to subdue drudges for their own use?" Grandmaster Ling Canghai asked in surprise.
Then he smiled faintly and said, "Failure invites a backlash, resulting in being subdued instead. That would truly mean a drudge ruling over an immortal."
He abruptly rose and turned into an afterimage, blocking the elderly sun elf to keep him from interfering in the duel.
Chapter 284