In the night sky, a tuft of crest feathers on an iron-winged parrot stood on end as it flapped about in panic, squawking loudly for help.
"Did a major battle erupt between the patriarchs on the main battlefield?" Qin Ming rose abruptly and looked toward the panic-stricken messenger bird.
Its feathers puffed out, the iron-winged parrot cried, "No, my lord! Please hurry to Panshi Town! My master can't hold out any longer—he's about to be killed!"
Neighboring Panshi Town was calling for reinforcements. A bloody clash had broken out there, and an elderly guardian was locked in combat with demons.
Without a moment's delay, Qin Ming mounted the Thunder King Bird and rushed over at full speed.
Along the way, he learned the specifics from the iron-winged parrot perched on his shoulder.
Lately, the demons had grown restless, constantly stirring up trouble. In recent days especially, demons frequently crossed the border, drawing close to human settlements.
According to speculations on the human side, the hardliners among the demons in the depths of the Plain of Divine Demise were gradually gaining the upper hand.
These old warmongering demons had no fear of the deterrent power of Yujing's ancient decree.
In their words: Yujing itself had vanished, so what use was a mere piece of paper?
"The demons are probing. A true war isn't far off—the storm gathers and wind fills the pavilion!" Qin Ming's brows furrowed deeply.
This was hardly good news for him. He still hoped to push past the grand barrier and step into the third realm relying on his own strength, but he had no idea how much time the other side would give him.
Panshi Town lay just over twenty li from Qingfeng Town. Given the Thunder King Bird's speed, it did not take long to reach the scene.
Sure enough, that elderly man was exceedingly resolute. Adhering to the principle of meeting the enemy beyond the border, he stood guard alone on a mountain peak over ten li outside the town, presently holding off two demons single-handedly.
On the ground lay a third demon, already slain.
The old man's armor was shattered, and he was covered in blood, with some wounds deep enough to bare bone. The spear in his hands was broken, leaving only half the shaft. Sparks flew as the fractured spear clashed fiercely with a mantis beast.
In midair, an avian demon repeatedly swooped down, creating immense interference for him.
"Trespassing demons, do you seek death?!" Qin Ming bellowed from far away, drawing the attention of both fiends for fear that the elder would not last another moment.
As expected, the two demons were inevitably distracted and cast several glances in his direction.
Rumble!
It was as if a clap of thunder had crashed down from the night sky. Qin Ming reached the peak on the Thunder King Bird's blazing momentum. The mutton-fat jade iron saber in his hand swept out with a chilling white light, radiating a bone-piercing frost. With a wet squelch, blood sprayed, and the bird demon's head was severed from its body in midair.
In that single instant of contact, the bird demon was slain, unable to withstand even one blow.
On the ground, both the elder and the mantis demon stiffened in shock. They secretly marveled at how fast the blade was, how terrifying the murderous aura—a single dive had snuffed out a formidable demon.
The moment Qin Ming touched down, he made no pause, charging straight toward the demon brandishing its mantis scythes.
"Young human master, wait! This is a misunderstanding! We lost our way and wandered into your noble domain by mistake!" the mantis beast shouted, retreating rapidly.
Earlier, it had been brimming with murderous intent, ferocious and overbearing. But seeing its companion cut down with a single swing, its courage broke completely. Clashing to the bitter end when death was certain went entirely against its nature.
Why would Qin Ming waste breath on it? His blade swept across. With a sharp clang, the mantis beast shrieked as an arm shaped like a serrated greatsword crashed to the ground.
It was horrified; it had no means of defending itself. It retreated frantically, seeking to leap into the dense forest.
Yet all was in vain. Qin Ming's second slash descended, severing its other mantis arm in a spray of greenish fluid. The blade's momentum never slowed, shearing through its neck with a soft squelch and taking its head clean off.
The old man stared dumbfounded. The two demons he had fought with his life on the line had been hacked to death by this youth in the blink of an eye with just a couple of moves?
Wrinkles framed his eyes, and his hair and body were smeared with blood. Having nearly perished here, his chest heaved as he panted heavily. It had truly been an ordeal.
The iron-winged parrot was equally struck dumb. In its eyes, the sky had been falling; its old master had been locked in desperate combat against third-realm great demons, his life hanging by a thread, only for this youth to resolve everything in an instant.
"Thank you, young brother, for coming to my aid. Otherwise, this old man would have ended his days right here," the elder hurriedly cupped his hands in gratitude.
Before long, a rich, savory aroma of meat drifted from a bronze pot on the mountain peak. The two had stewed the bird demon. The meat was remarkably tender and delicious, making a wonderful treat when paired with aged wine.
Sitting atop the peak, the two took in the autumn colors blanketing the hills as they ate and chatted.
The old man said, "The orders from above were clear: the moment demons cross the border, engage immediately."
Only the day before yesterday, a second-realm bird demon had provoked them by circling over Panshi Town, only to be shot dead by one of his arrows. As a consequence, third-realm demons had invaded today.
"The demons are testing our waters, probing our response," the elder frowned. By now, it was almost certain that an unprecedented war was on the horizon.
Qin Ming nodded. The dark clouds of war had long hung over the border; conflict was unavoidable.
The old man slapped his forehead. "I'm Zhao Lei. Truly an old fool—calling you 'young brother' all this time without even asking your name."
"Qin Ming."
"What?" Zhao Lei's eyes widened in disbelief.
Then he nodded repeatedly. "No wonder! I was wondering who on our Newborn path could achieve such astonishing feats at your age. So it's Brother Qin!"
He too belonged to the Newborn path, currently at the early third realm. With white hair already dusting his temples, he had to be at least fifty years old.
For practitioners of the Newborn path, reaching this cultivation at such an age was completely normal.
"This old man is truly fortunate to share a border and be neighbors with a future patriarch!" His face flushed with excitement.
Earlier, Zhao Lei had felt rather bitter: the other youth had slaughtered the two great demons as easily as chopping vegetables, while he himself had risked his life only to almost get killed. Now, he felt completely at ease. A person's fame was like a tree's shade; a future patriarch-level figure ought to display such brilliant prowess.
"With the great war impending, Brother Qin, you must be careful. Having killed third-realm demons, we will most likely face retaliation," the elder said solemnly.
Qin Ming nodded. "What will come will come. We'll simply cut them down. If you can't hold your ground here, Brother Zhao, and find yourself in danger, you can draw the demons over to my side."
Zhao Lei rose and bowed deeply to him.
After eating the exotic avian meat and finishing the wine, Qin Ming took his leave. He patrolled the domain under his charge once more before heading directly into Qingfeng Town.
The town had a decent population, but right now it seemed rather quiet and desolate, with pedestrians hurrying along.
The taverns hung large red lanterns, appearing festive enough, but few customers ventured inside. Even the street-facing shops were doing terrible business.
Only a few children were chasing and frolicking about, unaffected by the gloom. Judging by their worn or tattered clothes, their family circumstances were far from prosperous.
The demon army's approach severely affected the world's edge, sowing panic. Many wealthy households had already fled in advance, relocating to the distant cities.
Watching those young children chase one another, bursting into laughter from time to time, their carefree manner touched Qin Ming, dispersing some of his anxiety over the coming war.
"The demons are coming. Aren't you afraid?" Qin Ming stopped and asked two older children.
"Not afraid! My mother said there's a guardian outside town who protects us, and there are second-realm experts patrolling inside the town, constantly on guard against demon intrusions. We're very safe."
Qin Ming understood. This was surely the parents comforting their children. Families of modest means could not afford to move to distant cities, so to keep their children from living in constant dread and terror, this was the only story they could tell.
Looking at their tender little faces lit by innocent smiles, he nodded. "Your parents are right. Nothing bad will happen, and you'll all grow up happily."
A bright-eyed little girl piped up, "My dad has undergone four rebirths, a big expert! He joined the patrol squad. He said the immortal seeds and divine seeds from every path are personally stationed at the border. The higher-ups are very confident they'll drive the demons away, so we'll definitely be fine."
Surprised, Qin Ming asked, "You even know about immortal seeds and divine seeds?"
A young lad nodded. "Yeah, I do! Everyone's been talking about it lately. Even the strongest group of young people has come to the front lines to kill enemies and temper themselves with demon blood. Those big figures will definitely fight even harder. We're bound to win this war!"
Beside him, a child with a dirty face and messy hair chimed in, "My cousin said that on their side, there's an incredible fairy named... Jiang Ran! Yes, that's her! She's fighting demons on the front line, competing against them in arts, claiming she'll sweep through the younger generation of the demon race!"
"Is that so?" Qin Ming was astonished.
The boy's dirty little face was filled with admiration, glowing brilliantly as he nodded like a pecking chick. "Yes! Demons are always stirring up trouble, and she told them there's no need to sneak into villages and towns—if they're not convinced, they can challenge her directly to a duel!"
A twelve- or thirteen-year-old older child nodded. "My cousin said Pei Shuyan, Cheng Sheng, Cui Chonghe, and the others on their side are very formidable too. Lately, they've been dueling the prominent young figures of the demon race."
"The Rulai disciples are very strong as well! Oh, and someone's burning old demons with divine fire!"
"My grandfather said a great figure from the Helian family had an archery duel with a heavenly demon and pierced right through his opponent with a single arrow!"
"Good. That's very good," Qin Ming nodded.
The aroma of roasted meat drifted over from not far away. Several children could not help swallowing their saliva, glancing toward the street corner.
"Since you told me so much news, let me treat you to something to eat," Qin Ming said with a smile.
"Huh?"
"This... but we didn't really say much."
"Come on." Qin Ming led them forward.
A short while later, he took his leave, while the group of children clamored that the food was hot even as they impatiently stuffed it into their mouths.
"We'll all survive, won't we?" the two oldest boys whispered softly.
Approaching fifteen, they were no longer ignorant. They saw the worry in their families' eyes. How could they not know how tense the atmosphere had become? If the western frontier fell, not a single person in this town would live.
Looking back from the distance, Qin Ming said nothing further, for he too had no idea how this final clash would end. The main issue was that the demon coalition was simply too vast.
Most critically, god-like beings would take the field, and it remained uncertain whether the patriarchs could hold them back.
That night, Qin Ming received a bird-borne dispatch from above: in light of recent frequent border provocations by demons, kill them on sight; no leniency, no retreat.
Evidently, the figures at the patriarch level had adopted a very hardline stance, fully prepared for a massive confrontation.
Many had already realized that the demons were testing the pressure, observing the human response. If humans showed the slightest weakness or retreated, the demons would surely take a yard for every inch given.
Qin Ming returned to the outskirts of town and sat cross-legged atop the high mountain, resuming his cultivation: from the silk book method to the Physical Body Chapter, and then to the Black-and-White Scripture, the Vajra Scripture, and others.
Afterward, he studied the true scriptures of the immortal path, hoping to branch into a different domain to aid his breakthrough.
At his head, the spiritual light of consciousness bearing traces of pure yang ignited, circulating slowly. Unfortunately, once cultivated to a certain point, it would be swallowed by his physical body and melted into his heavenly light.
If it had not blended into the heavenly light, his daily cultivation would have caused the spiritual light of his consciousness to snowball, growing larger and stronger.
Even so, he persisted in practicing this true scripture taught to him by Li Qingyue in the Mountain River Spirit Nest, the continuation of which she had later given him in the Kunling secret realm.
"If I'm not mistaken, these should be the chapters corresponding to the first two realms of the Luofu Sect's foundational scripture."
As for the techniques beyond the third realm, he possessed them as well; he had previously obtained tattered sheets of exotic metal paper recording them within the Luofu Immortal Mountain ruins.
Next, Qin Ming studied a certain foundational scripture of the esoteric sect, which held an equally illustrious origin.
In the past, a giant blue centipede that was near attaining godhood had sought to devour Chixia City, only to be intercepted by Meng Xinghai's Martial Granduncle, Cao Qianqiu, and others.
Qin Ming had also become entangled in that karmic tie. The rag he carried had swallowed the giant centipede's divinity, prompting its lingering soul to come looking for him and draw him into its divine kingdom.
There, Qin Ming had obtained a golden scale inscribed with an exceptionally staggering true scripture.
Without question, that was not a technique the giant centipede had created itself; the material of the golden scale was extraordinarily unique, suspected to be a dragon or qilin scale.
"The divine wisdom I cultivate cannot be retained either; it gets swallowed by the heavenly light in my flesh and blood. The silk book method is simply too domineering."
Qin Ming did not give up, continuing his practice.
While he cultivated arduously, attempting to break through the grand barrier, the Thunder King Bird helped him patrol the Qingfeng Town territory under his charge, watching for any movement in the surrounding area.
When his practice grew monotonous, Qin Ming occasionally stepped out to wander along the border himself.
The demons along the fringes of the Plain of Divine Demise were caught in a dilemma. The demon coalition despised them, regarding them as dogs domesticated by humans who had lost all their wild nature.
Meanwhile, the common folk along the human border still regarded them as demons who caused trouble from time to time.
Clearly, most demons in the buffer zone were fence-sitters, leaning toward whichever side held the advantage.
However, the demons who chose to remain right now were noticeably closer to the human side.
Whenever Qin Ming went on patrol, second-realm great demons would promptly appear to accompany him, adopting a very humble posture, singing, dancing, and inviting him for drinks.
In the land of divine demise, the vast plains were overgrown with dense forests and rich in resources. Though few fire springs were visible in the dark of night, one only had to dig down a few feet to see fiery red light shining through.
Standing on the high mountain and gazing out at the boundless forested plain, Qin Ming hoped the outbreak of war would come later, affording him time to break through.
Regrettably, under the present climate, peaceful days had long ceased to exist. Even the current tense stalemate could hardly be sustained; a clash could erupt at any moment.
The following day, several exotic avians appeared in succession across the territory of Qingfeng Town.
Audaciously, after circling briefly near the mountain where Qin Ming resided, they dropped bird droppings down.
This was an insulting provocation. The territory Qin Ming oversaw could no longer enjoy peace—the demons were stirring up trouble.
The Thunder King Bird flapped its wings, fanning away the filth, and prepared to give chase.
Qin Ming snapped his eyes open. "No need!"
He drew his bow, notched an arrow, and aimed into the night sky.
One after another, four exotic avians were blown apart by iron arrows carrying heavenly light. Blood-stained feathers fluttered as the formidable avians let out shrill screams.
Even their spiritual consciousnesses could not escape, incinerated clean by the heavenly light.
That very day, early third-realm demons came calling. Two arrived together, one of which was remarkably a black peacock—a race by no means low-ranking among demons.
"Hey, brat! We hail from Hanging Ridge, the sacred land yearned for by all feathered kin across the world! Our master specially dispatched us to urge your surrender. A wise man submits to circumstances; we hope you will pledge allegiance."
"If you don't want to die, get lost immediately," Qin Ming looked at it, pondering whether the master it spoke of was a rare demon species that had already developed wondrous blood.
"You slew our feathered kin at Panshi Town; you have already offended Hanging Ridge!"
"Disaster looms, yet you remain blind! Given a chance at life, you refuse it, insisting on walking across the Bridge of Helplessness!"
The two avian demons flew in, attacking directly.
After a moment's thought, Qin Ming chose not to slaughter them violently. Instead, he sparred with them, only decapitating them one by one after more than a dozen exchanges.
He mainly feared startling the snake in the grass and frightening away the demons further back, which might prompt them to call down some ancient demon. Taking things slowly and stalling for as much time as possible was far better.
Furthermore, he was fishing: if some hot-blooded wondrous-blood creature came hunting him personally, that would be wonderful.
Evidently, other bird demons had been watching from afar and immediately fled to report the news.
Over the next two days, Qin Ming found no peace, killing four successive waves of invading demons. Each time, he engaged in a "bloody struggle," making it look exceedingly perilous.
For the last two waves, he even needed to coordinate with the Thunder King Bird to barely finish off his opponents.
After several waves, on the fourth day, a youth clad in a black-and-white robe appeared. With his hands clasped behind his back, he stood atop the back of a crane, looking quite ethereal and otherworldly.
Qin Ming realized this demon likely held an extraordinary background.
Beside the youth were four other demons, male and female, who assumed human form upon landing and treated him with utmost reverence.
"Are you the one who repeatedly slaughtered my subordinates?" The youth stood with his hands behind his back, looking down coldly at Qin Ming as if regarding a dead man.
Qin Ming opened his Eye of the Newborn, examining the figure closely. A look of surprise crossed his face: he might truly have struck gold. There was a ninety percent chance the opponent was a wondrous-blood creature of considerable standing.
"And what if I am?"
"Then die!" the youth in the black-and-white robe said coldly. Having lost over a dozen subordinates, he had come to demand retribution and intended to execute him personally.
"I'm afraid you lack the ability," Qin Ming sneered.
The youth was extremely conceited and instructed his followers, "Trap the Thunder Bird and don't let it escape. I will personally execute this human lad."
"If you can't beat them, run!" Qin Ming called out to the Thunder King Bird.
The bird knew its new master was quite unscrupulous and was probably staging another fake fight to bait enemies one by one. Saying nothing, it spread its wings and soared into midair.
The demon youth was a black-and-white sparrow of supreme talent. His bloodline contained a portion of yin-yang power, making him a member of one of Hanging Ridge's formidable clans.
With one hand behind his back, he paced forward. "Before a heavenly demon seed, a human genius like you is merely a joke. I can suppress you with a single hand!"
Qin Ming immediately confirmed that this was indeed a big fish—a seed-level figure of the demon race.
Flashing his pearly white teeth, he grinned brilliantly. "What seed, what cub? I've never heard of it! All I know is you're just a bird, and you'll taste delicious roasted!"
Instantly, gale-force winds whipped up, sending dust and stones flying. The black-and-white sparrow strode forward twenty meters in a single step, pressing down with one hand. Demon force surged violently in an instant, causing the air to detonate with sonic cracks.
With a solemn expression, Qin Ming clashed with him in a fierce battle.
In truth, as the youth of the black-and-white sparrow clan drew near, he struck with both hands. His talk of suppressing the enemy with one hand had merely been bluster; as a heavenly demon seed, the moment the fight began, he sensed the other's extraordinary caliber.
Thus, he discarded all restraint, unleashing lethal blows right away with his full repertoire of techniques.
Intertwined black and white light brushed out continuously between his hands, displaying truly astonishing power: the force of yin and yang was terrifyingly potent.
Whether grass, trees, or boulders, anything caught in his sweeping attacks was torn to shreds by the yin-yang force; even fine iron would be reduced to powder in an instant.
Qin Ming nodded inwardly. The opponent, like him, stood at the peak of the second realm. To possess such extraordinary methods was indeed formidable.
Looking upon that familiar yin-yang power, Qin Ming did not employ his yin-yang diagram, instead meeting it head-on with pure brute force.
In an instant, a faint golden hue surfaced across his body. The Vajra Fist swung into motion with rushing winds, whipping up shattered trees and crushed boulders to swirl around him.
"Earlier, when you killed my subordinates, you deliberately concealed your strength. You are a seed from the human side!" The black-and-white sparrow's face darkened.
"Now that you know, leave your life behind!"
Qin Ming amplified his punching force. His Vajra Fist moved like rolling thunder, generating bursts of sonic booms as terrifying golden clouds blossomed. The heavenly light force scalded the black-and-white sparrow's spiritual consciousness with agonizing pain.
He was horrified. At the same second realm, how could his opponent be so terrifyingly strong?
"You're quite remarkable. You can probably take ten punches from me," Qin Ming said.
"You..." The black-and-white sparrow was both shocked and infuriated. What utter contempt!
Immediately afterward, his expression changed, because when the other claimed he could take ten punches, he truly seemed to possess that kind of backing. The impact shook the demon's vitality violently, threatening to ignite his divine wisdom.
Yet he soon noticed the other seemed to be pulling his punches, and before long they had exchanged more than thirty blows.
"He wants to keep acting to lure others into the trap?" The black-and-white sparrow was furious. He had actually been reduced to a prop!
Qin Ming engaged him in fierce combat, countering the black-and-white light with raw strength, fighting to the point of appearing "narrowly clinging to life"—at least in the eyes of onlookers watching from a distance.
"I..." The youth of the black-and-white sparrow clan tried to shout out and expose the truth.
However, during the clash, when his black-and-white light touched the other's fist, an even more formidable black-and-white light penetrated back through. Using the demon's own light as a cover, Qin Ming unleashed his yin-yang heavenly light force.
The youth of the black-and-white sparrow clan groaned in agony. He felt the divine wisdom in his body catch fire, an unbearable torment making him feel as though his whole being was about to incinerate.
"I am destined to become a god in the future! How can my divine wisdom be destroyed here?" He was terrified, but could make no sound. Out of desperation, he continued to unleash black-and-white light in resistance, which further obscured the other's yin-yang power.
In this manner, after trading over a hundred blows, Qin Ming "resorted to a trick," suddenly drawing the mutton-fat jade iron saber. Capable of piercing divine wisdom and blocking the black-and-white light, the treasured blade heavily wounded the youth.
Soon after, Qin Ming naturally and reasonably beheaded the black-and-white sparrow.
In the night sky, seeing this, the four avian demons fled into the distance in terror, while the fleeing Thunder King Bird swooped back toward the peak, killing the youth's crane mount.
"There really is wondrous blood!" Qin Ming smiled brilliantly.
Then, with a thud, he collapsed backward onto the ground, panting heavily as if pushed to utter exhaustion.
In the distance, the avian demons saw this, but rather than turning back to attack, they fled immediately to report.
"I hope the old demons aren't too protective of their young. Otherwise, I'll have to call for help too," Qin Ming muttered, hoping to draw in more wondrous-blood creatures of the same echelon.
"What? A human seed is over there? Good, good, good!" When other heavenly demon seeds of Hanging Ridge received the secret report, several were immediately invigorated and set out without delay.
Qin Ming was hunting wondrous-blood creatures with fervent eyes.
Yet in the eyes of the demons, how was a human seed any different from a great medicine?
On the mountaintop, the black-and-white sparrow had already reverted to its true form—a ferocious raptor patterned in black and white.
Qin Ming swiftly extracted the wondrous blood and refined it on the spot. He immediately felt a vigorous surge of vitality in his body, subtly raising his upper limit and enriching his foundation.
Beneath the vast sky, rolling thunder rumbled as a terrifying demon flew in, bellowing loudly:
"Human brat, you dared kill a heavenly demon seed of our Hanging Ridge's black-and-white sparrow clan, and you even dared consume his ancestral blood! An unpardonable sin! Worthy brother, I have come to avenge you!"
A snow-white beast descended and transformed into a youth in white robes, a divine halo hovering behind his head. Though he shouted about seeking vengeance, the joy on his face was impossible to conceal.
"What a fine human-shaped great medicine!" he murmured.
Having cultivated a special ocular technique, he could sense the boundless blood-qi and astonishing vitality harbored within this human youth, which held immense allure for him.
"A third-realm heavenly demon seed... What a fine demon, what fine medicine!" Qin Ming marveled in admiration. He felt that by sustaining his growth through battle and deepening his foundation, he might be able to break through the grand barrier very quickly.
One could say that the human and the demon were both scrutinizing each other, sharing a deep "mutual appreciation," each finding the other brimming with "medicinal efficacy."
Chapter 321