Linguabirds were born with the gift of gab, and this particular one had awakened divinity back at Black-White Mountain, making it even more extraordinary. Its body gave off a faint blue glow, and its obsidian-like eyes sparkled with intelligence.
"Ning Siqi, of all people?" Qin Ming was startled, unable to sit still. His good brother was still in the Second Realm, which made his presence in the Western Border perilous.
The linguabird said, "He is adjacent to Princess Purple Lightning Beast, in the same region. That area has immortal seeds and heavenly demon seeds clashing—it's quite a bloodbath."
Having accompanied the purple lightning beast to the Western Border, it had experienced many thrilling, earth-shaking scenes firsthand and witnessed renowned figures from both Yezhou and the opposing demonic ranks fall in battle.
"How do you know Ning Siqi?" Qin Ming asked. Even as he spoke, he was already donning his armor and wiping his mutton-fat jade iron saber, preparing to set out.
The linguabird blinked its eyes and said, "Mountain Lord, to keep up with your footsteps, Little Bird here did plenty of homework! I made a point of finding out about those with whom you share a deep bond. You could say diligence pays off for a determined bird."
Then, sniffling and weeping with snot and tears flowing, it began airing its grievances: "To reunite with you, Mountain Lord, I chased all the way from Black-White Mountain to Kunling, only for us to meet briefly before you journeyed far away again. This time, I risked my neck coming to the Western Border. With my tiny frame, facing endless fiends and demons across the Plain of Divine Demise, every step felt like walking a tightrope."
"It will be even more dangerous if you follow me," Qin Ming said.
"'Long did I heave a sigh and wipe my tears away...'" The linguabird mimicked rubbing tears with a tiny wing. In truth, there wasn't a drop of moisture; its eye sockets only turned red because it rubbed them so vigorously.
It didn't neglect serious business, though. Its beak rattled on like firecrackers, quickly recounting the situation in that territory.
In Taihe Town, where Ning Siqi was stationed, after an elderly senior of the Third Realm fell in battle, a divine seed arrived to hold down the fort, taking on one enemy demon after another.
In subsequent clashes, this divine seed had even severely wounded a heavenly demon seed, practically crippling them and rendering them unable to fight again.
However, only a few days later, he encountered a far more formidable prodigy from the demonic camp—a demonic sword immortal—who decisively severed his head.
The linguabird said, "That seemed to tear through a taboo barrier. Both sides flew into a fury, and the nearby lands turned bloody as well. The daily skirmishes across the border ceased being minor clashes and became brutal, desperate life-and-death brawls."
In adjacent sectors, whenever an immortal seed entered the field, a heavenly demon seed immediately stepped forth from the other side, locking in ferocious duels.
Afterward, both sides called upon reinforcements, summoning powerful immortal seeds, divine seeds, and heavenly demon seeds to engage in sword duels and savage slugfests.
Neither the ancient demons across the lines nor the elders and luminaries on Yezhou's side stepped in to intervene, watching silently as these seeds clashed, suffering casualties on both sides.
The linguabird said, "In Huai'an Town, where the purple lightning beast princess is stationed, a remarkably powerful four-tusked white elephant youth holds down the post. When he clashed with a demonic seed, one of his tusks was snapped clean off—it was utterly gruesome. The demon fled with the broken tusk stuck in its chest, leaving the youth fuming with rage, unable to reattach it."
The Thunder King Bird nodded and said, "The conflicts over there are indeed extremely fierce and rather bloody. Both sides duel every day, and the old-timers seem to be giving the seeds free rein to fight it out."
Qin Ming soon learned that several seed-level figures had arrived in that area, but Taihe Town, where Ning Siqi was stationed, was currently guarded only by a temporary Third Realm old-timer.
With tensions so high between the two factions, Taihe Town was in grave danger.
Sensing the critical situation and fearing sudden developments, Qin Ming decided against traveling in his physical body. Instead, he chose to blend his consciousness with heavenly light to journey there at top speed.
Back then, the very first wondrous scripture he had acquired, the Departing Fire Classic, had been brought to him thousands of li across the land to Chixia City by Ning Siqi.
Back then, many people avoided Qin Ming like the plague or even kicked him while he was down, yet Ning Siqi had sold all his possessions just to purchase a wondrous scripture for him.
Qin Ming naturally could never forget such kindness and would never allow anything to happen to Ning Siqi.
"Keep guard here in case of accidents." He had the Thunder King Bird, which could step into the Fourth Realm at any moment, watch over the base.
Although Yu Gensheng, Jin Yuan, and the others had recently plowed through the opposite lines, they still could not afford to be careless.
The linguabird was dumbfounded as it watched a blazing sun break free from Qin Ming's physical form.
"Mountain Lord, you are..."
"I've also been studying the methods of the immortal path, and I've achieved a bit of success," Qin Ming said. He quickly subdued the dazzling heavenly light, returning to a tranquil state, and took on a humanoid form shrunk down to the height of a palm.
Both the rag and the small sword were housed within his body of heavenly light.
"Let's go." Qin Ming sat cross-legged on the linguabird's back.
"I never imagined the day would come when Little Bird would carry you in flight and serve as your mount, Mountain Lord!" The linguabird was thrilled. Its tiny body was actually carrying Qin Ming skyward today.
Qin Ming adjusted his state, coating the exterior with a portion of his conscious spiritual light.
Otherwise, a form of pure heavenly light would be too eye-catching.
Then the linguabird seemed to come to its senses and cried out in shock, "Good heavens! Mountain Lord, in the realm of the immortal path, have you already reached the Third Realm?"
"More or less," Qin Ming replied.
At once, it felt crestfallen and said, "Little Bird has worked so hard to catch up, but I've only just touched the threshold of the Second Realm, while you're already at the Third, Mountain Lord... Heavens, why is the gap only getting wider?!"
"Your progress isn't slow; it's already very fast," Qin Ming consoled it.
Strictly in terms of age, it was still a child by human standards. Yet this "scoundrel bird" had already fathered numerous offspring and prided itself on providing fatherly love as steadfast as a mountain.
It truly was extraordinary; it had awakened divinity very early on and had remarkable experiences, having tempered its talons, beak, and feathers with the divinity of a giant centipede that had sought to become a god.
"I must strive harder!" the linguabird said, feeling that if things continued like this, the distance between it and the mountain lord would only grow further.
Qin Ming considered that he could give it some pointers. Having slain four heavenly demon seeds recently, some of the resources he had acquired were suitable only for beastkin.
He spoke, "No rush. When we get back, I'll pass down a few things to you."
Hearing this, the linguabird grew thrilled. Patting its chest with a wing, it said, "Little Bird will forge ahead valiantly! Even if I can't keep up with your footsteps in the future, I can still help deliver messages and letters."
"Your speed is a bit slow," Qin Ming remarked, beginning to guide the bird with his art.
"Ow!" The linguabird let out a strange squawk, feeling the airflow around it erupt like thunder crashing from the ninth heaven. The terrifying speed left it dizzy and lightheaded.
Qin Ming frowned; manipulating an external object to fly took a massive toll on him.
At his current realm, it seemed only special items—such as the rag and exotic metals—were suitable to drive. No wonder they were considered treasures of heaven and earth, outstanding in every aspect.
"I'll go ahead." In the blink of an eye, Qin Ming vanished into the night sky, having already resonated with Taihe Town's location.
A distance of two hundred li was nothing to him in this state. Piercing through the night mist and crossing the heavens, he arrived in moments.
Even he was somewhat enamored with such speed—it was simply too convenient.
In the night sky, looking down upon the mountains, rivers, and all living things, everything seemed within his grasp. He felt as though he had transformed from an ant-like existence, achieving a leap in life to arrive high in the firmament.
"In truth, thinking carefully about it, I've merely gone from a crawling ant to a flying ant. I still have to work hard." He remained clearheaded, without conceit.
In Taihe Town, many people were shivering with fear, hiding in cellars or shutting their doors tight, racked by intense anxiety. A battle was raging on the plains over a dozen li away, the roars of fiends and demons and the battle cries of human masters carrying clearly into the town.
Those who could leave had already evacuated; the remaining elderly, weak, women, and children had no way out and could only pray that Yezhou's forces would win a great victory and rout the demonic horde.
Qin Ming streaked over the town, slicing through the night mist, and appeared above the battlefield over a dozen li out.
Evidently, both sides were heavily reinforced in this territory. Having flown into a fury, each side had summoned friends and called for external aid.
Thus, though it was merely a small town, a fair number of cultivators were engaged, with several dozen fighters on each side.
At a glance, Qin Ming spotted his old friend: Ning Siqi was covered in blood.
The flesh on his shoulder and right chest had been torn open, ragged and turned out. While not fatal, it was a harrowing sight.
His opponent was a four-armed humanoid fiend with razor-sharp claws. Though badly wounded, the fiend grew all the more savage, fighting desperately for its life.
Pfft!
A streak of light flashed by, and a bloody hole appeared between the four-armed fiend's eyebrows. It crashed straight down, dead.
"Huh?" Ning Siqi froze. What was happening? His opponent had dropped dead out of nowhere, and he hadn't even seen who had helped him.
"Siqi, are you all right?" The streak of light flew back, and a voice sounded.
"You are... Qin Ming? How are you in this state?" Ning Siqi saw a glowing miniature figure, barely a palm high, bearing Qin Ming's likeness.
Shocked, he said, "You broke through again? And you cultivate both paths, mastering the arts of the immortal path too?"
"Yes!" Qin Ming nodded, thinking it wasn't bad to temporarily borrow the guise of the immortal path.
Ning Siqi said urgently, "Why did you leave your physical body behind and come here directly? That's far too dangerous! Before reaching a high realm, there are plenty of methods on the battlefield to counter one's spirit consciousness."
Qin Ming said, "I heard things were critical on your end, so I wandered out to check on you first. Don't worry, I can protect myself."
Ning Siqi's eyes reddened. At a moment between life and death, his good brother from the past was still the most dependable. Qin Ming had clearly rushed to his aid at great personal risk, projecting his consciousness onto the battlefield.
Warmth flooded his chest, and he shook his head. "I'm fine. I've gotten used to this battle tempo over recent days. Hurry back to your physical body."
Qin Ming said, "No hurry. Since I'm already here, I might as well lend you a hand first."
Ning Siqi had heard that before reaching a high cultivation level, a person's spirit consciousness outside the body was like rootless duckweed; if separated for too long, it would suffer severe depletion.
"I'm in great condition!" Qin Ming reaffirmed.
"Then go help Elder An and the others." Ning Siqi pointed into the distance, where an elderly man was fighting a formidable demon with a snake head and human body.
In addition, six or seven middle-aged men—all in the Third Realm—had been recruited to help confront those Third Realm monsters.
Both sides were locked in fierce combat. Spiritual implements flew through the air, arts blossomed, and the heavenly light of newborn cultivators swept across the night sky, everyone already drawing blood.
Elsewhere, Second Realm humans and demons were also locked in combat with eyes bloodshot, corpses littering the ground.
Ning Siqi charged forward, while on his shoulder, Qin Ming transformed into a rainbow streak. Crossing the battlefield in an instant, with a squelch, he decapitated the snake demon dueling Elder An.
In a flash, he darted to another spot. Blood sprayed as another Third Realm demon perished, its skull sheared off and blood splattering everywhere.
"Retreat!" Chaos erupted in the demonic camp. With their two strongest leaders dead, they instantly realized that an expert had arrived on the human side—one they could not withstand.
Yet in the blink of an eye, two more Third Realm demons were decapitated!
In just an instant, four great demons lay dead.
Standing in the Third Realm, as long as he wasn't facing a heavenly demon seed, Qin Ming slaughtered ordinary fiends and demons as if strolling through an empty field.
"Brother, hold your hand for now!" An Zhongyi spoke, secretly sending a voice transmission. He explained that these demons were subordinates of a heavenly demon seed; if they were all killed, that heavenly demon seed would likely come in person, and no one would be able to stop her.
He explained further, "Right now, all the heavenly demon seeds are in several neighboring towns, dueling and clashing with the immortal seeds and divine seeds. We don't have a seed-level figure holding down our town. We intended to wait until the neighboring town killed that heavenly demon seed before sweeping through, or else she will retaliate immediately."
Qin Ming had wanted to slaughter them all and then seek out that heavenly demon seed.
However, considering that his physical body had not come, he found the elder's words reasonable. To avoid drawing an enemy they could not match, he temporarily stayed his hand.
"Fine, we'll spare them for now—until my true body arrives!" Qin Ming said.
"Who is this expert?" The surrounding people gathered around.
They were utterly astonished. What kind of sacred figure was this? Judging by the intensity of his conscious spiritual light, he seemed to be in the Third Realm—how did he dare leave his physical body behind to fight for so long?
Many speculated: Could he be an immortal seed? Perhaps because he was far away and unable to arrive in time, he had taken this risk to send rescue first.
"He's my brother!" Ning Siqi introduced him proudly.
Beaming with joy, he said, "I told you before that I had a brother of great supernatural powers, but none of you believed me. Now you see, don't you? He came looking for me."
Qin Ming felt a pang of guilt. Previously, fearing that his troubles would drag Ning Siqi down, he hadn't met with him much.
Yet Ning Siqi hadn't cared, openly telling everyone he knew that he had a brother named Qin Ming.
Qin Ming believed that under the current climate, neither the Cui clan, the Li clan, nor Old Cao's faction would dare target him.
Furthermore, even if those people wanted to extend their claws, they had to prepare themselves for retaliation from Lu Zizai and the others.
"Ah, didn't you say before that your brother walks the Newborn path?" Even the elder, An Zhongyi, was taken aback.
Ning Siqi said, "My brother is an extraordinary genius who cultivates both paths. As everyone knows, progress on the Newborn path is slow, but he has also achieved much on the immortal path, and now he has broken through."
Qin Ming thought this was a fine pretext. He could indeed disguise himself beneath the skin of an immortal path practitioner; coating his surface with blended conscious spiritual light truly made him look like a disciple of the immortal path.
Perhaps people from the immortal path might even extend an olive branch to him.
"A peerless genius indeed!"
The crowd was stunned. To achieve remarkable results on one path was extraordinary; to display dazzling prowess on two was bound to cause a sensation.
Just like Tang Jin's master, who was revered by many as an exceptional grandmaster and had now stepped into the ancestral realm.
"Brother, to achieve such heights on the immortal path as well... based on that display just now, you should be on par with an immortal seed, right?"
"Hiss!"
The crowd sucked in breaths of night mist.
Then someone urged, "Brother, there are no more issues here. Hurry back to your physical body. Wandering out in spirit for too long causes depletion and can easily harm your foundation."
They spoke up one after another, full of gratitude toward him.
"All right!" Qin Ming nodded. With the trouble here temporarily resolved, he planned to return first and then come in person.
"Hm?" Suddenly, he sensed an anomaly. Demonic qi was stirring in the distance, and sure enough, a few breaths later, shadowy demonic figures re-emerged from the night mist.
"Those fiends and demons are back!" someone said darkly.
The west was dominated by great plains, thick with dense woodlands. Now, dark shapes moved through the trees—giant spiders, wolf-headed beasts—all blood-stained and exuding immense confidence, completely devoid of their previous panic and dismay.
"Could that heavenly demon seed have arrived in person?" Someone's expression hardened, their body tensing as their heart sank halfway.
They had been hoping that the heavenly demon seed would fail and be slain in the distant duel, not wishing for her to set foot on this battlefield.
Tension gripped the people of Taihe Town, unease gnawing at them. No one understood better than they how horrifying a heavenly demon seed's lethality was within the same realm.
Earlier, a divine seed had presided over their town, only to die in battle.
"No matter!" Qin Ming spoke. Though only two words, spoken softly, they inexplicably calmed the agitated hearts of many.
Wasting no time, he turned into a streak of light, slicing through the battered woods ruined by battle, charging alone toward the dense forest ahead.
A stir went through the demonic ranks; they had seen this figure formed of conscious spiritual light butcher their formidable leaders earlier, and fear lingered in their hearts.
"Fall back, all of you! Do not fear—the heavenly demon seed herself will subdue him!" An old demon stepped forward.
It was an elephant demon with a burly, humanoid physique, though its head retained its original beast form, as large as a millstone.
In its hands, it raised a jade lotus pedestal and cast it forward.
With a whoosh, the lotus pedestal shone, releasing a thousand beams of auspicious aura and bursting into layered tiers of vibrant clouds. As all the lotus petals unfurled, a woman stepped forth from within.
She wore five-colored lotus armor and held a long spear. Amidst her beauty lay an overbearing presence, heroic and valiant.
"She's a heavenly demon seed!" Ning Siqi shouted from behind, his face etched with worry for his good brother, fearing an accident.
The woman was tall, with hair fluttering and sharp, piercing eyes. Her aura was immensely powerful, yet this was clearly not her true body. Without a word, spear in hand, she charged forward instantly.
Qin Ming had initially intended to test his rudimentary spirit field here to strangle the heavenly demon seed, but he quickly remembered that he was currently playing the part of an "immortal seed" and had to give up the idea.
Instead, he cupped both hands as if drawing a sword. Boundless golden light rain surged, and with a resounding chime, a dazzling immortal sword materialized, wrapped in countless golden characters that instantly illuminated the dark, dense forest.
Moreover, a terrifying tempest of sword qi erupted outward from Qin Ming, astounding all who saw it as boundless golden runes surged and swept across the four directions.
It was a heart-chilling surge of sword qi. As Qin Ming fully unsheathed the golden sword, it was like a heart-cleaving blade reflecting into the minds of the demons.
Their faces turned ashen, and they shrank back in terror. Even at a distance, far from the center of the battlefield, they felt as if the storm of sword qi would tear them to shreds.
Pfft!
Yet the reality was far worse than they imagined. The demons closer to the fray were swept up by the storm of sword qi, their mental fields wounded by the sword intent cleaving into their hearts.
Some coughed up mouthfuls of blood, while others burst into pieces on the spot.
Executing the Solar Immortal Sword Art, Qin Ming did not suffer from Liguang's shortcoming; he required no charge-up. The instant he grasped the sword, the golden immortal sword condensed, slashing toward his opponent.
Thus, just as the woman in five-colored lotus armor thrust her spear forward, he swung the golden sword in unison.
With a loud clash, sparks scattered through the forest as sword qi intersected with spear radiance, obliterating swathes of trees and grinding centuries-old trunks to dust.
The woman thrust three consecutive times before bursting with a bang, dissolving into light rain and vanishing.
Behind her, the old elephant demon was dumbstruck. All three spear intents of a heavenly demon seed had collapsed in an instant! Had their time expired, or had that youth forcefully shattered them?
It felt very much like the youth had hacked the spear intents apart with his golden sword!
"Re... retreat!" The old elephant demon stuttered. He was responsible for overseeing the rear. When the heavenly demon seed gave him these three spear intents, she had explicitly instructed him not to use them lightly, reserving them to crush enemy prodigies of boundless potential.
One could say the heavenly demon seed was supremely confident, intending to use three spear intents to slay quasi-immortal seeds or even slaughter true immortal seeds!
Yet... not a single hair was harmed!
The old elephant demon questioned reality. Had something gone wrong with the spear intents given by that future heavenly demoness? They shouldn't have been severed like this!
Qin Ming spoke, "I gave you a chance to flee, yet you insisted on seeking death. In that case, stay here for good!"
Gripping the golden immortal sword, he charged forward like a brilliant divine rainbow crossing the night sky, trailing countless golden characters. The immortal sword swept across the front, churning up boundless sword qi that swept away all resistance.
With a tremendous rumble, the forest ahead shattered and exploded repeatedly, while the fleeing demons screamed one after another.
Those near him blew apart into fragments, which were then struck again by the golden characters, obliterating both form and spirit.
As for the demons fleeing faster in the distance, though their cultivation was deeper, they still could not survive the terrifying storm of golden sword qi.
With wet squelches, they were cleaved at the waist one after another, their severed corpses tumbling through the ruined forest.
Then, the area fell silent.
The demons were forced into silence, unable to speak again, their blood staining the forest.
Meanwhile, the people of Yezhou stood petrified, mouths agape, speechless.
This scene brought them too much shock. Before his true body had even arrived, merely wandering in a state of conscious spiritual light, he had swept through a horde of fiends and demons!
"This... slaughtered them all, completely wiped them out!" An Zhongyi came to his senses, his weathered face trembling slightly. Was this an immortal seed? Capable of tearing through opponents of the same realm with utter ease.
He believed that if he faced this young man, he wouldn't even withstand three moves—perhaps not even one.
"The heavenly demon seed's true body might take bloody revenge on us," a Third Realm middle-aged man spoke up.
Qin Ming asked, "Where is she? The neighboring town? Since you're worried she'll strike, I'll go try to deal with her true body now!"
"Don't take such risks!" Ning Siqi immediately intervened, unwilling to let his good brother confront a terrifying heavenly demon seed in this state.
Qin Ming said, "It's fine. There's still time. I'll just go take a look and give it a try!"
Everyone was stunned by his domineering style. Without his true body present, a consciousness entity that was only partially Yang-transformed dared to hunt down a heavenly demon seed alone?
"Mountain Lord..."
At that moment, the linguabird arrived out of breath. Clearly a glowing, light-blue little bird, it was panting like an old hound, tongue hanging out as it gasped for air.
It landed nearby and said, "Mountain Lord, can you really still fight? Then go take a look at neighboring Huai'an Town. When I passed by earlier, several immortal seeds and heavenly demon seeds were dueling fiercely. I'm worried things will go wrong over there."
It seemed a bit awkward and embarrassed. The purple lightning beast was there, and it was naturally concerned; after all, it had been following that princess recently and had received much care from her.
It was a bird that knew gratitude, and now it wanted to invite a top-tier immortal seed like Qin Ming to lend support.
"All right, let's head over and have a look." Qin Ming nodded.
Having traveled far, his time was precious. He set out first, arriving at Huai'an Town over twenty li away in the blink of an eye, and entered that battlefield.
At a glance, Qin Ming saw the glowing purple figure of Princess Purple Lightning Beast, who had once ridden alongside him through Golden Rooster Ridge.
After not seeing her for so long, she had changed quite a bit; a pair of jade-like dragon horns had sprouted from her head, flowing with exceptionally radiant light.
With a flash, Qin Ming crossed the night sky and landed atop one of the purple lightning beast's dragon horns.
Chapter 326