Blood covered Helian Zhaoyu's mouth and nose as he flew backward through the air. The blood he spat out froze midair, showering down like dense clusters of crimson diamonds.
Beneath the long night, the tempest roared. Goose-feather snowflakes shattered and stung against skin, blurring the view even of what was close at hand.
Helian Zhaoyu could hardly believe it. The divine pure land he took such immense pride in—the yin-yang inner landscape—had been pierced on the very first occasion he displayed it in public.
That fist light was simply too brilliant. Was it really the *Golden Crow Illuminates the Night Classic*? The burning glare made his eyes sting, and in the bone-chilling snowfield, tears almost welled up.
*No, that must be the silk book method!* Opening his yin-yang eyes, Helian Zhaoyu could now see clearly. His opponent was shrouded in consciousness power, but that was merely on the surface; beneath it lay heavenly light.
Within Qin Ming's body, terrifyingly intense heavenly light interwove in every corner, as if a dormant sun concealed within his flesh and blood was awakening!
Before Helian Zhaoyu could even touch the ground, he suffered the backlash of his own Nether Black Water, his physical body frozen inside a block of black ice.
With a low roar, white flames surged. The Zhurong golden body manifested, thrusting a spear through the hard ice capable of freezing a soul, and he broke free.
No one had anticipated that Helian Zhaoyu's situation would turn even more miserable after playing his trump card, leaving him heavily wounded.
Naturally, Qin Ming did not halt. Like a Golden Crow traversing the night sky, his speed reached the absolute extreme as he charged forward to blast his opponent.
At the critical juncture, rich divine wisdom boiled inside Helian Zhaoyu's body, churning like a radiant, blazing ocean whose turbulent waves crashed against the shore and surged into the heavens.
Qin Ming was surprised. It felt quite similar to the three extraordinary rays born inside his own body; this formidable adversary possessed a comparable method, breaching the levee when pressed to the brink.
Everyone watching was shaken to the core. Had Helian Zhaoyu truly been pushed this far?
Drenched in blood, he tumbled unsteadily onto the snowfield. Had it not been for that final eruption of divine wisdom, he would have been punched straight through.
The crowd understood that it was not because Helian Zhaoyu was weak, but because his opponent was far more terrifying.
On the Plain of Divine Demise, Helian Zhaoyu had fought two top heavenly demon seeds single-handedly, slaying them swiftly and forcefully.
Had he not been intercepted by several elder demons, he would have delivered an extraordinarily dazzling and glorious performance.
Even so, he had proven himself.
When other immortal seeds were intercepted by older-generation demons, hardly any escaped a grim death.
Even the most supreme immortal seed, Su Shiyun, highly regarded and meticulously nurtured by several ancestral masters of the immortal land, had ultimately met a tragic end.
Yet under the concerted onslaught of those elder demons, although Helian Zhaoyu had escaped with great difficulty, suffered grievous injuries, and been forced off the battlefield, he had survived.
Beneath the night sky, divine wisdom as vast as rivers and seas detonated, churning up towering waves of snow.
With half his body soaked in blood, Helian Zhaoyu stumbled backward. The extraordinary light he unleashed possessed peerless might, but in the end, it merely slowed his opponent's advance by a hair.
Qin Ming swept through the air, his robes fluttering without a speck of mundane dust, and landed gracefully upon the snow. The punch he had thrown just now was so dazzling that it blasted a pitch-black crater into the snowfield, resembling a miniature abyss.
The freezing wind howled, and the heavy snow nearly blinded Helian Zhaoyu. Steadying his footing, he stared at the opponent before him and began to doubt his very life. Had he truly drawn close to the state of ancient sages returning to their youth?
If he had set foot into that realm, why couldn't he withstand this youth of the Newborn path? That heavenly light force was truly too terrifying!
"Helian Zhaoyu is undeniably powerful; his divine pure land actually gave birth to yin and yang. Yet even in that state, he was defeated."
"All one can say is that the other youth is like a monster!"
The immortal seeds present wore grave expressions, and several began whispering in discussion.
Qin Ming was inwardly amazed that Helian Zhaoyu had not collapsed yet.
Once he deployed the silk book method and circulated his strongest heavenly light force, few could withstand it; they were either blown to smithereens in an instant or torn to pieces.
This was his supreme trump card!
Rarely did anyone push him to use the silk book method, yet the black-robed youth before him had managed to hold on.
At this moment, Helian Zhaoyu held a black god-measuring ruler. Infused with the divine wisdom he released, it gave off billows of white mist, radiating an intensely dangerous aura.
He had not conceded, relying on the rare treasure to protect himself.
Around him, diverse phenomena manifested in profusion: hazy mountains and rivers materialized, the outlines of the Duke of Thunder and the Mother of Lightning emerged, blade insects glittered with brilliant light, and water and fire blended together as the yin-yang diagram revived.
For a moment, the spectators in the distance were stunned.
"Those earlier inner landscapes weren't illusions conjured by rare treasures, but were cultivated by him personally?"
Many stood in a daze. How much energy could one person possess? A person's natural talent was limited, making it extraordinarily difficult to cultivate multiple inner landscapes.
Clearly, Helian Zhaoyu was different. He commanded four distinct divine pure lands, and each had been cultivated to an extraordinary level, which was bordering on absurd.
This meant he possessed multiple foundations for godhood and had no shortage of paths to choose from.
Most crucially of all, he was currently merging the four landscapes into one!
"He wants to... fuse the four divine pure lands! If he succeeds, he will possess an unimaginably formidable divine foundation in the future!"
Several people looked grave, realizing that Helian Zhaoyu harbored grand ambitions, looking far ahead toward becoming an Earth Immortal or a Heavenly God.
Qin Ming was tempted to unleash his Hunyuan force again and bring this fight to an end.
Yet he held back. Today, his goal was to crush the opponent's heart.
Evidently, what he intended to do next would look quite like the conduct of an arch-villain in the eyes of the Helian family: he wanted to shatter Helian Zhaoyu in his strongest domain.
In the outer realm, it was impossible for Qin Ming to kill him.
Settling for the next best thing, he sought to completely break his opponent on a psychological level.
At that moment, he stood quietly without moving, giving his opponent the chance to merge the divine pure lands.
Anyone else doing this would be taking a massive gamble. Even Qin Ming was focusing with utmost concentration, fixing his gaze upon his opponent and carefully assessing the situation. If this were a true life-and-death battlefield, he would have struck long ago, never allowing a tiger to grow and invite disaster.
*Hm?* Qin Ming noticed that the scorched-black weapon in Helian Zhaoyu's hand was quite extraordinary; the spiritual nature contained within was astonishingly potent.
"If one wishes to fuse the divine pure lands into one, they cannot simply be stacked together; they must first be shattered and then reshaped," Helian Zhaoyu said.
Sure enough, his four inner landscapes converged, reconstructing into a single divine pure land.
Inside it, magnificent mountains and rivers unfolded, the Duke of Thunder and Mother of Lightning flickered faintly, blade insects dotted the space like a starry sky, and water and fire turned into yin and yang, within which the lifelike Gonggong dharma idol and Zhurong golden body stood guard over Helian Zhaoyu.
"Thank you for allowing my four inner landscapes to unite. If I attain the realm of an Earth Immortal or Heavenly God in the future, it will all be thanks to you," Helian Zhaoyu chuckled, his sharp gaze cutting across like cold lightning.
Qin Ming cut him off. "Feeling capable again?"
Helian Zhaoyu did not get angry. His aura rose relentlessly as the mountains and rivers, thunder, insect domain, and yin-yang diagram completely fused into one divine pure land. His hair drifted wildly, and the falling snowflakes shattered and disintegrated several yards away from him.
Where he stood was dazzling with splendor, exuding a sacred radiance.
In a deep voice, he declared, "I believe that I can now rival the ancient sages in their youth. Come!"
"Wait a moment. Is the weapon in your hand the wager for this fight?" Qin Ming asked.
Helian Zhaoyu replied coldly, "You certainly have a large appetite. This is a weapon refined from nine-death wood. But if you win, why shouldn't I give it to you!"
In the distance, everyone drew in a breath of cold air.
Even several elder grandmasters looked astonished. A material like this was something even they craved.
What was nine-death wood? It was taken from a precious tree that had endured nine tribulations, also called the Nine-Life Tree.
According to records, there existed an extraordinary tree between heaven and earth that, after enduring a thousand years, would perish in a tribulation. Following a century of dormancy, it would return to life and revive, only to meet another tribulation after another millennium, perish for a hundred years, revive once more, and grow for yet another thousand years...
It cycled like this, each growth period lasting a thousand years, and each dormant death lasting a hundred. Its tribulations primarily consisted of lightning tribulations, heavenly light tribulations, and otherworldly fire tribulations.
"It truly is a Nine-Life Tree, enduring nine deaths and nine rebirths. What a pity. It passed through nine tribulations, yet failed to await its tenth millennium of life. Otherwise, it would have become a supreme treasure—it fell short only of that final growth period!" Great Grandmaster Ling Canghai sighed.
This pitch-black god-measuring ruler had been refined from the most quintessential heartwood of the Nine-Tribulation Undying Tree.
Qin Ming suddenly recalled that back in the Dayu imperial capital, Pei Shuyan had warned him that Helian Zhaoyu was extremely dangerous and had used the imperial palace's dragon qi to refine a lethal rare treasure.
Thinking about it now, it was undoubtedly this scorched-black god-measuring ruler.
"Then I'll reluctantly accept it," Qin Ming remarked flatly. In the eyes of Helian Zhaohui, Helian Mingxu, and the others, he looked entirely like a great villain.
Helian Zhaoyu's gaze turned chillingly cold, looking as though he wanted to carve two pieces of flesh off him.
"Today, with four landscapes united, standing in this domain, I am invincible!" He struck. The divine pure land blazed with light, erupting with boundless power as he swung the god-measuring ruler toward his opponent's head.
Qin Ming deliberately tested the weapon by parrying with his mutton-fat jade iron saber. Amidst the clanging impact, several fine cracks reappeared on the snow-white blade that had only just been restored.
He immediately withdrew the saber, thoroughly satisfied. Though it was a wooden weapon, it was even sturdier than a mutton-fat jade treasure blade.
The next instant, an ink jade great hammer appeared in Qin Ming's grip. With a thunderous boom, he swung it aloft, and as he channeled his Hunyuan force into it, heavenly light illuminated the pitch-black night sky.
This time, Helian Zhaoyu grew bewildered. Even with his four landscapes united and his divine pure land transformed, he was still wounded, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"I...!" He was shaken and furious. This was already the strongest posture he could display; no matter how hard he tried, there was no way to raise it further.
Yet as the two clashed, he discovered to his astonishment that he remained at a disadvantage.
Holding the Mountain and River Seal in his left hand and the Thunder and Lightning Spear in his right, with the god-measuring ruler hovering above his head, the Gonggong dharma idol and Zhurong golden body had already merged into his physical body. The blade insects swarmed forward like a sea of stars.
Yet he still could not suppress his opponent.
Every hammer strike Qin Ming brought down jarred blood from Helian Zhaoyu's nose and mouth. Those blade insects, comparable to flying swords, were blasted apart like crackling firecrackers, shattered midair by the shockwaves.
Helian Zhaoyu felt numb all over; this was an immense blow to his spirit.
In truth, Qin Ming was secretly astonished as well. Governing all arts with the silk book's scriptures, he had unleashed his Hunyuan-unified heavenly light force, yet his opponent could continuously parry his strikes—this was considerably beyond expectations!
Normally, when he used his trump card in a decisive battle, it meant the curtain would fall swiftly and the victor would be decided.
From Qin Ming's left hand, Hunyuan force spun out like a golden silkworm spitting silk, casting a web of light that blanketed the area, engulfing all the blade insects before mincing them completely.
In his right hand, the light erupting from the ink jade great hammer was like a blazing sun striding across the sky. It smashed Helian Zhaoyu's Mountain and River Seal and Thunder and Lightning Spear to bits, and struck the god-measuring ruler until it shuddered violently.
Helian Zhaoyu fought back desperately, but in the end, he was battered backward through the air, bleeding from all seven facial orifices as his divine pure land shattered completely.
He crashed to the ground and lay there facing the sky, completely motionless.
Within his body, continuous cracking sounds echoed; at least forty-odd bones were broken.
Helian Zhaoyu's eyes were lifeless. He let the heavy snow pelt his face, staring up at the cold, black night sky. This crushing defeat was too devastating a blow.
Even when members of the Helian family rushed forward to treat him and lifted him up, he showed no reaction at all, remaining as silent as a corpse.
"Little Uncle, it's fine. You'll still have chances in the future to truly step into the state of the ancient sages in their youth!" Helian Mingxu said.
At last, Helian Zhaoyu showed a reaction. His unfocused eyes drifted as he muttered to himself, "He... is probably already standing there."
At that moment, Qin Ming was looking down at the god-measuring ruler refined from the Nine-Tribulation Undying Tree in his hand, feeling thoroughly satisfied.
The tempest raged, and snow pelleted the ice field, blanketing everything in white.
Everyone was lost in thought. For Helian Zhaoyu to suffer such a crushing defeat, his confidence had likely been shattered.
"As expected of an immortal seed spoken of in the same breath as Jiang Ran. To think he is powerful to this extent within the same domain!" A senior figure looked at Qin Ming's profile, filled with boundless emotion.
"Ahem, he is blessed with dual seeds; he is not purely an immortal seed," an elder grandmaster reminded him, feeling it was somewhat shameful to force such an association.
Zhuo Qingming, an immortal seed of the fourth realm, sighed. "This brother actually fulfilled what he boasted. He said that wherever he stood was the strongest domain, and he's proving it. At the very least, even a top divine seed of the esoteric sect with four landscapes united was no match for him."
Li Qingyue's eyes shone brightly. She had believed in Qin Ming and wasn't surprised by the outcome, yet a radiant smile still graced her face.
In the distance, Great Grandmaster Helian Yunji appeared atop a mountain peak, casting a cold glance in this direction.
The next moment, he felt as if plunged into an ice cave, standing before an abyss of hell, his entire body stiffening. He saw Lu Zizai cast a faint, sideways glance at him.
He immediately understood the warning: if he dared make the slightest move, he would be struck dead on the spot; to test it would be testing his demise.
Pei Shuyan, Luo Jingxiao, and the other immortal seeds wore complicated expressions, all sensing just how ferocious Qin Ming was within the same domain!
Li Qingxu stared blankly. He was a realm purist, yet Qin Ming's cultivation had already caught up to his.
He sighed; he would have to work harder, breaking through and rebuilding to accelerate his advancement.
When Wei Cheng recovered his wits, a chill ran down his spine. He shared considerable enmity with Qin Ming, and sensing that the youth was now impossible to restrain, he felt as though thorns were pricking his back.
Wang Caiwei, Zheng Maoze, Chen Bingyan, and other acquaintances were completely petrified. Qin Ming hadn't just won; he had crushed Helian Zhaoyu in overwhelming fashion. It was simply astonishing.
That very day, news of the clash between the top seeds of the pure land spread, immediately causing a sensation across all quarters.
By this time, Qin Ming had already departed, heading for an important branch of the esoteric sect—the Palace of Heavenly Gods—to obtain the final remnant scripture.
The next day, accompanied by Lu Zizai, he took a deep breath, preparing to set off for a thousand-year-old clan—the Cui family.
Chapter 346