Saber light bloomed in full radiance, like a startling rainbow shooting toward the sun, like a river of stars crashing to earth, spreading into a boundless expanse of brilliant white.
The voluptuous woman, Huang Shang, was of formidable background—she was the Jade Emperor's cousin and a direct descendant of Hanging Ridge's upper echelon.
As she charged forward with sword in hand, two others followed in her wake.
While still some distance away, the two felt much of their fine body hair shorn away by invisible saber qi, and horror seized them instantly.
They came to an abrupt halt. Any further, and the unseen saber qi would split their bodies wide open. What terrifying saber intent was this?
Even so, as they stopped, strands of hair drifted down lock by lock, and beads of blood surfaced on their foreheads, turning their faces deathly pale.
If it was like this for them, one could easily imagine the pressure bearing down upon the voluptuous woman ahead of them—what she faced was the actual, tangible saber light!
Huang Shang was shocked. After that horrifying strike had blown apart the sword slave who had sparred with her cousin for twelve years, its momentum had not waned in the slightest. Blindingly incandescent, it now engulfed her.
Even though she was a formidable demon sword immortal, her scalp tingled with numbness. She knew she had run into a ruthless monster; one misstep, and she would lose her life.
The hairs standing on end all over her body were falling away rustlingly. That slash through midair by the invisible saber intent subjected her to boundless pressure.
Next, the tips of her hair and her eyebrows were severed and falling away as well, filling her with dread!
Huang Shang had never encountered an opponent like this—one who gave her such an overwhelming sense of helplessness, making her very soul tremble.
She felt a warm trickle on her face; blood was running down. At the same time, her vision was tinted red as the blood from her forehead ran into the corners of her eyes.
"How can this be?" she thought in disbelief. Before they had even clashed blade to blade or sword to saber, he gave her the unshakable terror of an incarnate demon king walking the world.
Right now, the demon sword in her hand shook violently, bearing tremendous force and bending under the strain, as if a mountain of saber intent were pressing down.
In the nick of time, she activated the lifesaving sword seed gifted by her cousin. Instantly, magnificent sword intent erupted, and sword light soared into the sky like a blazing sun rising, helping her block that mutton-fat jade iron saber.
Otherwise, she feared she would not be able to hold out, following in the sword slave's footsteps and being cleaved in two by a single blow.
All of this unfolded in the flash of a spark.
In merely that initial encounter, Huang Shang had been driven to the brink.
Sword qi raged across the field as golden runes intertwined. That was the Jade Emperor's Flying Immortal sword qi, truly horrific—as if a river of stars had been ripped apart and turned into violent auroral light, strafing across the terrain to destroy everything in its path.
The mutton-fat jade iron saber in Qin Ming's grasp clanged resonantly. His saber intent was like a blazing sun, dazzling to the utmost, seemingly infused with wisps of immortal truth.
Saber brilliance and sword qi collided like the eruption of two active volcanoes, splashing and pouring scalding torrents of magma.
The ground caved in, gouged through and sheared away by saber light and sword qi, leaving behind a colossal crater.
Yet the sword seed was ultimately only a sliver of sword intent carried within a special medium, not the Jade Emperor attacking in full earnest. Its brilliance lasted only an instant, vanishing like a night-blooming cereus.
Qin Ming's gaze turned chillingly cold. Advancing through the blinding rain of light with saber in hand, he closed in to slay the voluptuous woman.
The moment Huang Shang unleashed the sword seed, she was already flying backward. She was certain now that she was no match for this upright ape-demon youth.
Qin Ming burst through the sword light and charged straight forward, having no intention of letting her escape.
Huang Shang was shaken. How terrifying was her cousin's sword seed? Normally, even if it could not fully bear the Jade Emperor's flawless sword intent, it should have been more than enough to execute anyone in the third realm!
Yet her opponent was unscathed. This outcome terrified her!
She felt a twinge of regret. She should have asked for a stronger sword seed after her cousin's breakthrough; had she done so, the youth before her might already be dead.
"Stop!"
The two behind her shouted. Clearly wanting to curry favor for the sake of Hanging Ridge and the Jade Emperor, they stepped forward to aid her, unleashing distinct demonic arts.
Qin Ming said nothing. For opportunists and bootlickers like these, blasting them to pieces was the only response needed!
In an instant, the two rather potent demonic arts were cleaved apart like bursting fireworks, snuffed out in a flash.
At the same time, Huang Shang sent a frantic telepathic transmission. There was no time to speak aloud; in a lethal clash like this, a single blink could invite saber intent crashing into her multiple times and severing her head from her body.
"I come from Hanging Ridge..." Her conscious spiritual light projected her voice, informing him that her grandfather was a peerless great grandmaster. Everything was negotiable, and she was willing to offer rare, precious medicines to buy her way out.
"Even if your father were a great grandmaster, it wouldn't save you!" Qin Ming's expression was frosty. No matter how much face Hanging Ridge carried, it was a demonic lineage. What did that have to do with humans?
True terror gripped Huang Shang, for all the lustrous hair on her head had shorn away and tumbled down, and even her eyebrows were no exception, shaved clean by invisible saber qi.
Over her skin, a faint layer of light rippled—the vanguard domain of the saber light was already upon her, slicing at her flesh.
Everyone was stunned. Before the saber even touched her, her head was already completely bald!
*Crack!*
The demon sword in Huang Shang's hand shattered into dozens of fragments. In the end, she could not outrun Qin Ming's speed and was overtaken in the blink of an eye.
No matter what techniques she unleashed—arts, spiritual artifacts, and sword qi erupting together—she could not withstand her opponent's saber intent, which bore down like Feixian Mountain itself crashing from the heavens.
"Ah..." Crimson fissures fractured across her body, splitting open in the saber light.
At the final moment, Huang Shang dropped flat against the ground, not only dodging the saber light but also unleashing her race's innate talent.
Her long legs kicked backward, erupting with terrifying brilliance like two serrated greatswords hacking to the rear.
She hoped to use the momentum of that kick to accelerate her escape.
Yet her hopes were dashed. A burst of bloody light soared up in an instant, and she shrieked in agony as her long legs were severed from her torso.
Then came a wet squelch. Huang Shang was cleaved diagonally through her shoulder. Blood splattered everywhere as her internal organs disintegrated within the saber radiance; even her demon soul could not break free.
The saber light swept across her like a waterfall, burning through and igniting her consciousness, executing her with absolute finality.
Her corpse tumbled away trailed by pools of blood. Though her head remained intact, her spirit had been extinguished, and her eyes went completely lifeless.
The two demons behind her had failed to aid her at the crucial moment, having sensed mortal peril themselves. No matter how lofty the backgrounds of Hanging Ridge and the Jade Emperor were, this was no time to flatter them.
"You strike, and now you want to flee?"
Fast as lightning, Qin Ming swept his saber in an arc like mowing down a thousand troops. The snowy-bright saber light pulverized everything in its path, shredding their protective demon light, shattering their weapons, cleaving both demons at the waist, and snuffing out their consciousness.
Their screams were sharp and brief before their bodies split into four segments, thudding to the earth amid splattered blood.
Whether the sword slave or Huang Shang, both were formidable demon sword immortals, significantly more capable than Huang Fei, yet both had been cut down swiftly.
Even the two demons behind Huang Shang were by no means weak, yet they had perished in a matter of moments.
Qin Ming's thunderous methods struck terror into many of the demons.
It was not that his opponents were weak, but that Qin Ming had brought out his true abilities. The other side had sent a sword slave to deal with him; if he had traded blows back and forth with such a person, it truly would have been a humiliation.
Thus, he had unleashed his full strength, cleaving the sword slave with a single strike.
Then, in an instant, he had publicly executed the Jade Emperor's cousin. In doing so, he was not the one slighted or disgraced; rather, it proved that the locust beast clan was utterly brittle.
The atmosphere grew grave as countless onlookers were stunned by his display.
It was not that none of the demons had wanted to save her earlier, but there simply had not been enough time. In just a few strokes, Qin Ming had reaped lives like harvesting crops.
Frost gathered across the Jade Emperor's handsome face. Holding his sword, he strode forward, filled with frustrated disappointment—he had warned Huang Shang long before, but this cousin of his had been far too willful.
"Your opponent is me!" Pei Shuyan blocked his path.
Pei Shuyan had been an immortal seed since his youth and was now around twenty-five or twenty-six. His cultivation foundation was naturally deep and well-seasoned; in terms of cultivation alone, he ranked among at least the top three of the Pure Land's younger generation.
The Jade Emperor was younger than him, yet capable of matching Pei Shuyan; his combat prowess was truly absurdly formidable.
"I will not settle scores with you today. Hanging Ridge has recorded this debt," the Jade Emperor said. He was in the fourth realm, and the opposition would never give him a chance to get close to Qin Ming right now.
Qin Ming retorted, "You talk as if you're so detached. Don't brag about your Hanging Ridge—it's just an old, decayed ruin that fell from the sky, no longer some grotto-heaven loftily suspended above."
Wu Yaozu immediately nodded. "Brother Ming, you should leave words like that to me. You just maintain your demeanor as a young master!"
Their back-and-forth banter caused the faces of Hanging Ridge's demons to darken.
Xiang Yiwu chimed in as well. "Whose ancestors weren't rich once? Frankly, even when I was down and out in my youth, I could roast grasshoppers to eat all day long. What are you glaring at? The ones I roasted were mountain-topplers just like you!"
Opposite them, the locust beasts glared fiercely, burning with the urge to declare that they were of the Winged Clan, not some mere grasshoppers.
The Jade Emperor looked chilly, though he did not lose his temper. Turning toward the demon camp, he called out, "Is there a fellow daoist of the third realm willing to slay this wretch? I shall reward them personally."
When these words left his mouth, a quiet awkwardness settled over the crowd. Many had already seen that Qin Ming was excessively strong. He had felled the sword slave with a single slash—who wouldn't weigh the odds in their heart?
Not to mention the demon side, even the various seeds of Yezhou looked at Qin Ming with subtle changes in their eyes, wondering whether they could have blocked that strike had they been in the third realm.
In both camps, many had already categorized him as a future ancestral master.
If forced to face him within the same realm, even the foremost seeds regarded him as a dangerous figure.
"It was agreed earlier that he must be struck down today. Is there no one who dares move against him now?" Some of the fourth-realm heavenly demon seeds grumbled in dissatisfaction.
Right then, Cui Chonghe exerted his might. Standing firmly in the fourth realm, he decisively defeated an opponent one minor realm above him, sending an immediate uproar through the demon ranks.
He glanced toward Qin Ming, his expression placid as ever. His immortal embryo had just taken initial shape; having dispatched his foe without even tapping into that power, he possessed absolute confidence.
Furthermore, for all the realms to come, his path would be smooth. Whether comparing resources or comprehension, his confidence was unshakable.
Just like that Dragon-Tiger Great Medicine, all crafted by the hands of his master, Sun Taichu.
Be it wondrous medicines or special secret lands like the Mountain-River Spirit Nest, the immortal path commanded far more than the Newborn path ever could.
"You can't even take down a human youth in the third realm?" A voice echoed from afar as several figures appeared.
On the demon side, many showed joyful expressions.
"Hiss, it's actually the three of them!"
"Wu Youdao, Jin Gui, and Xinyuan! With them here, everything is settled!"
Even the demons began murmuring among themselves, showing just how extraordinary these three were.
Qin Ming paused. He was no stranger to these three; he had seen them before.
On the very day he formally stepped into the third realm, he had embarked on spirit wandering to look for Ning Siqi, and on his return after slaying a heavenly demon seed, he had been intercepted along the way by these three demons.
Of course, no life-or-death battle had erupted back then. Qin Ming had been in a wandering spirit state that day and could not leave his physical body for long; he was already exhausted and had deliberately avoided an engagement.
He had a deep impression of the three, for they were truly strong, and they appeared to practice sect-guarding true scriptures of the immortal path, their conscious spiritual light accompanied by miraculous phenomena.
The three demons' ancestors might have been human, but had walked the mutation path and eventually become high-ranking figures in the demon camp.
The trio possessed a commanding presence. Though all in the third realm, they showed little deference even when facing fourth-realm heavenly demon seeds.
"Jade Emperor, I don't need your favor. If I slay him, how about letting me soak in Hanging Ridge's Demon Immortal Pool? A single day and night will suffice," Xinyuan spoke up.
Today he held a large white dog on a leash, looking thoroughly relaxed and completely unconcerned with this duel.
Some of the lower-realm heavenly demon seeds did not know the background and were astonished, watching Xinyuan converse lazily with the renowned Jade Emperor without seeming to care at all.
"Is he very strong?" a second-realm heavenly demon seed asked.
"Watch more, speak less. His name, Xinyuan—the Mind Ape—carries deep meaning, and his origins are immense," a third-realm heavenly demon seed warned in secret.
The Jade Emperor walked over in person and treated Xinyuan with great courtesy, putting on none of the airs of a higher-realm expert and treating him as an equal!
Xinyuan had sword-straight brows sweeping toward his temples, radiating gallant vigor. He appeared in human form, with cross-shaped golden patterns swirling within his pupils. His bearing was extraordinary, wrapped in a unique dao rhythm.
"Could it be that Xinyuan, while still in the third realm, can already rival the fourth-realm Jade Emperor?" some heavenly demon seeds exchanged in secret.
A great demon spoke gravely: "Not quite. No one can cross realms to defeat the Jade Emperor in the fourth realm. It is only because Xinyuan's background is too extraordinary; even some demon ancestors harbor great hopes for him."
"No way?" The demon prodigies hearing this for the first time were astounded.
Even though they were all heavenly demon seeds, before reaching the fourth realm it was difficult to catch a demon ancestor's eye. What virtue or capability did this Xinyuan possess to be held in such high regard?
"He was raised soaking in the spiritual light pool of the Sacred Mountain since childhood!" a great demon revealed in confidence.
Onlookers noticed that the Jade Emperor was not only polite to Xinyuan, but also smiled warmly and interacted harmoniously when facing Wu Youdao and Jin Gui.
Xinyuan nodded. "Very well. Since you've agreed, I'll go soak in the Demon Immortal Pool in half a month. Today, I'll take the field for you."
"Good. I trust your strength; you will surely slay him!" The Jade Emperor held absolute confidence in him.
Leashing his big white dog, Xinyuan sauntered over, still looking languid and completely nonchalant. Looking at Qin Ming, he said, "We meet again. Stretch out your neck for the blade."
On Yezhou's side, several figures looked grave, sensing this ape was extraordinary.
The mature-looking cultivator possessed of Three Imperials force from the Six Imperials ancestral court walked over and cautioned Qin Ming gravely, "There is something bizarre about this demon, prompting the fourth-realm Jade Emperor to treat him as a peer. If the battle turns unfavorable, do not force yourself."
"His conscious spiritual light is accompanied by a golden lotus; his aura is extraordinary," Zhuo Qingming of the immortal path said, the vertical eye at the center of his forehead flashing with divine radiance.
Deep within Jiang Ran's eyes, mysterious patterns also surfaced as she warned, "He practices an authentic true scripture of the immortal path, remarkably similar to the lost Calamity-Avoiding Immortal Scripture of our outer realms."
The immortal path disciples were thrown into an uproar, deeply shocked. To them, that was a sect-guarding supreme art they dearly craved; how had it fallen into the hands of demons?
Even Cui Chonghe showed surprise, for the lost Calamity-Avoiding Immortal Scripture was by no means inferior to the Indestructible Immortal Scripture he practiced.
Having formed his initial immortal embryo, every step forward cleansed his marrow and remodeled his body, improving his condition. If the other party reached the fourth realm, the Calamity-Avoiding Immortal Scripture would also display unfathomable wonders, most likely rendering him impervious to all arts.
"Be careful, this monkey seems very unusual!" Xiang Yiwu warned; he, too, possessed a special pupil technique.
Qin Ming nodded. After the warnings from those present, his expression turned deeply serious as he strode forward with the mutton-fat jade iron saber.
He had never underestimated Xinyuan; when the three demons had ambushed him before, he had felt the danger.
In a one-on-one duel today, however, he believed it would not be an issue.
"Big White, go test his weight!" Xinyuan said with a faint smile, intending to sic his vicious hound on him.
"All you demons share the same rotten virtue. Does acting like this elevate you in any way?" Qin Ming spoke, radiating killing intent.
The snow-white hound had been bounding forward, but suddenly its fur bristled all over. It possessed formidable strength and had an acute premonition: if it charged any further, it would die.
"Stupid dog, come back. A dying man's emotions are steady, so let's not mess with his head," Xinyuan sighed, genuinely afraid the dog would be killed.
Wu Yaozu immediately bristled—this monkey was deliberately trying to provoke his opponent. He retorted at once, "Vile monkey, quite protective of your dog brother, aren't you?"
Xinyuan swept a glance at him and paid no heed.
He shed his languor and grew solemn. "It seems I'll need to show real skill today. Well, I am the Mind Ape, and you are an upright demon ape—we can be considered close kin. Why not defect to our side and spare yourself a fatal disaster?"
Qin Ming offered a warm and friendly greeting: "Eight days have passed. Has your tail grown back yet?"
"Since words cannot dissuade you, I'll send you on your way!" Xinyuan's face darkened. Last time, he had been ambushed by the other party's exotic metal small sword, and a section of his tail had been severed—a considerable humiliation.
Hearing this revelation, those in the demon camp who knew Xinyuan's true background were somewhat stunned.
Even the Jade Emperor's cheeks twitched slightly before he broke into a faint smile; he knew Qin Ming had courted immense trouble.
"Come, let me show you what a true demon sword immortal is!" Xinyuan stated solemnly. With a ringing clang, he drew a crimson longsword from his back.
This was a jade iron weapon. Its blade looked as if ground from red jade, crystalline and lustrous, radiating red clouds from point to hilt.
"Demon sword immortals are invincible within the same realm!" Clearly, Xinyuan intended to vindicate the reputation of demon sword immortals.
Qin Ming tightened his grip on his saber hilt. "Let me count: Huang Fei, Wei Jian, Zhu Jianhao, Tong, and that voluptuous woman just now... How is it that everyone I slay happens to be a demon sword immortal?"
Immediately, everyone in the demon camp wore an unsightly expression.
Earlier, they had only speculated about which heavenly demon seeds he had slain and were not completely certain; now, they had received his personal confirmation.
Xinyuan spoke no more. He unleashed his supreme art right from the start, intending to take this man down with the invincible posture of a demon sword immortal and let his deeds speak!
In a flash, the crimson longsword in his hand shot out dozens, then hundreds of sword qi beams, accompanied by cracking thunderclaps that shook the great plain.
The expressions of all the seed figures changed. The young Xinyuan's swordsmanship was truly extraordinary—sword qi like thunder; reaching this stage was considerably terrifying.
When sword intent at this level reached its zenith, a single strike would fall like a curtain of thunder cleaving from the clouds to pierce the opponent, incomparably powerful.
Even as it was now, its might was soul-shaking.
Many people's eyes blurred, unable to keep up with that speed. Sword qi like thunder crisscrossed and converged entirely upon the human youth in the field.
Qin Ming drew his saber and rose, snowy-bright saber light illuminating the night sky!
Though he held a mutton-fat jade iron saber, what he executed was the Solar Immortal Sword Art, and this time he was not gripping an illusory hilt—he had a physical weapon in his hand.
This meant that he had long since comprehended this sword scripture to a brand-new level.
In an instant, golden clouds spread everywhere. With him as the center, a sword qi tempest swept out like a hurricane, engulfing the so-called thunderous sword qi.
The two crashed together, one swinging his sword and the other raising his saber in fierce combat, clashing more than a hundred times in the blink of an eye.
Xinyuan's heart pounded violently, his demon blood boiling throughout his body. He had never encountered such a formidable opponent; the powerful physique tempered since childhood in the spirit pool could only barely handle the other's sheer force.
In the past, he could crush others with his physical body alone; now, his right hand gripping the sword felt slightly numb.
Most crucially, though both were in the third realm, he sensed that this human youth was definitely not as advanced in stage as he was, yet could fight him toe-to-toe. That was terrifying!
Right now, he was effectively being fought to a standstill by someone from a lower stage.
Qin Ming was also surprised. This was the first time he had met such a powerful opponent in the third realm; across over a hundred clashes of blade and sword, Xinyuan had received every strike steadily.
The next moment, behind Qin Ming, five-colored saber light appeared—crimson, azure, black, white, and yellow—unfolding tier by tier like a saber wheel before cleaving forward.
Encountering such a demon, he felt no mutual respect or reluctance. This was a bloody duel where life and death hung in the balance; naturally, he would strike with merciless lethality.
"Hmm?"
Xinyuan was startled, sensing the dreadful saber intent. His opponent's five-colored divine light encompassed the five elements, accompanied by a horrifying aura of sacred baleful force. Was this his ultimate trump card?
With a sharp cry, the winds shifted and the skies dimmed as a golden lotus materialized outside his body, brimming with endless auspicious qi and rising misty radiance that blocked the saber light.
"The Calamity-Avoiding Immortal Scripture is truly extraordinary—while still in the third realm, he can already vaguely manifest the miraculous charm of being impervious to all arts!" Pei Shuyan spoke, identifying the phenomenon.
Scores and hundreds of saber flashes swept past, yet Xinyuan remained unharmed, illustrating the uncanny wonder of this scripture.
At the final juncture, the five-colored saber radiance of crimson, azure, black, white, and yellow flared with exceptional brilliance, bursting like a multicolored blazing sun, and Xinyuan failed to neutralize it.
With a squelch, blood spurted from his shoulder, his chest was sliced open to the bone, blood splattered across his face, and a deep laceration opened along his neck.
Xinyuan's hair stood on end as he flew backward in frantic retreat. The wound at his neck was the most severe; the saber light had nearly decapitated him.
Circulating his unique immortal scripture, he barely escaped disaster and swiftly knitted his wounds shut.
Xinyuan was enraged. Releasing the crimson demon sword, he executed the Sword Control Art. In an instant, it ripped through the night sky like a bolt of lightning, hurtling toward Qin Ming.
Qin Ming sneered and likewise released his grip. Who didn't know how to control a blade?
In the blink of an eye, the flying sword and the jade iron saber clashed violently, continuously unleashing bursts of sword light and saber qi.
"Reflect my will, manifest myriad thoughts into reality!" Xinyuan growled, his entire body glowing. The Calamity-Avoiding Immortal Scripture could ward off myriad arts and could also project the reflections of one's mind, condensing them into tangible reality.
In an instant, figures of the young Xinyuan filled the surrounding space, every one of them wielding a crimson jade iron sword and hacking toward Qin Ming.
With each descending sword, terrifying sword qi surged—these were not illusions, and their sound rolled like thunder, possessing a sword intent sufficient to blast the likes of Huang Fei and Wei Jian to pieces.
Xinyuan indeed had the capital to be proud; copies of him wielding swords were everywhere.
Even as Qin Ming parried all the sword light, an inexplicable danger drew near.
From each figure of Xinyuan, a wisp of sword intent coalesced like threads weaving through the void, constructing a sword net imbued with rich dao rhythm.
"Sword intent like a heavenly net, dao rhythm billowing—this is meant to gestate a sword of order to slay his foe!" the Jade Emperor noted with an inward nod.
Qin Ming's expression was impassive. The invisible spirit field outside his body expanded and then erupted with full force, warping the void.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
The mental manifestations projected by Xinyuan—those sword-wielding figures—exploded one after another, torn to shreds by Qin Ming's fully unleashed spirit field.
"Is that a Sumeru field, or a Heavenly Demon force field? No, wait, why does it also look like pure yang conscious spiritual light expanding?"
The seeds of both camps were shocked.
Qin Ming didn't want to prolong the fight. Letting the mutton-fat jade iron saber in his hand alternate between brightness and gloom, black and white, he unleashed the sword intent from the Black and White Scripture.
In an instant, one slash mirrored creation and destruction, one slash witnessed flourishing and decay. Black and white light alternated, projecting a yin-yang diagram ahead as dual polarities saber light erupted.
*Pfft!*
Xinyuan's head was sent flying by a beam of white light, and then his glaring eyes dimmed, for as the head flew through the air, a beam of dark light cleaved it straight in two.
All at once, the area fell dead silent.
Xinyuan, an entity of immense origin, had been slain by Qin Ming before both camps.
"Your road ahead is bleak; you actually dared to slay that person's Mind Ape," the Jade Emperor spoke.
Qin Ming replied, "It matters not whose Mind Ape he was. Any third-realm demon who dares come fight shall all be slain!"
Chapter 337