Cui San's short silver hair bristled on end, his eyes like frigid sword points. He let out a low, trapped-beast growl to face this inescapable death trap.
In the spark of a flint, his divine wisdom reached the Underworld Conduit, channeling esoteric sect techniques so that he seemed to merge entirely with his surroundings. The forest, the frozen earth, and the mountain ranges absorbed and dispersed the impact for him.
Yet the fierce, coordinated assault of three great masters shattered his defense. The frozen earth ruptured, towering ancient trees detonated one after another, and Cui San's body was sent flying like a tattered sack of rags, spraying blood in midair.
The incoming massive hammer fell like a torrent of heavenly thunder, crashing onto his left shoulder with a deafening roar. An arm was torn away, bursting into a cloud of bloody mist.
Old Pig's saber light cascaded like a divine waterfall, piercing straight through Cui San's chest and leaving a gaping wound that opened his torso from front to back, rupturing his internal organs.
Meng Xinghai's purple bronze censer, normally used for burning soothing incense, expanded in the wind into the size of a small hill and slammed down, setting off an unbroken barrage of cracking bones throughout Cui San's body.
Cui San crashed into the distance. His frame looked like a patched-up rag doll, thoroughly broken and continually seeping blood that stained the snow red.
He was consumed with incandescent fury. Blood splattered the mountain woods and devastation lay everywhere; so many from the Cui clan had mobilized, only to be encircled and wiped out by just three people.
"All dead..." His voice was raspy. His throat had earlier been slit open by the old man holding the white paper lantern, leaving an airy whistle in his breath. He had struggled so hard to escape with his life, only to run into such a fatal ambush.
He refused to accept this. Among his generation, he possessed extraordinary natural talent and had every hope of becoming a grandmaster. Yet today, he was destined to die at the hands of three juniors.
Like a wounded lone wolf, he glared viciously at Qin Ming. He had considered every conceivable possibility, but he had never imagined that the cast-off pawn in his eyes would be the one to drive him to a dead end.
He turned his gaze toward Meng Xinghai and said, "Meng boy, you're truly skilled at downplaying other people's attention. Without anyone noticing, you managed to reach this height!"
Then he looked toward the former lord of Black-White Mountain. "And one of the attackers is actually a pig! What a sin... To think I'll be aggravated even in death."
None of the three masters had spoken a word, but Palm-Sized Pig could hold back no longer. This dying old codger was actually resorting to personal swine-attacks—a bag of bones on the verge of kicking the bucket, yet still discriminating against him!
"Snort..." Old Pig vented his feelings plainly. His pig-tongued profanities were naturally far from pleasant as he traced back the Cui clan's ancestral line in a rough and ferocious style.
Cui San fought desperately in his dying moments, but he was too severely wounded. Even dragging one person down with him was beyond his strength—nothing more than wishful thinking.
*Crack!*
The pitch-black heavy hammer struck his forehead, producing the crisp, sickening crunch of a skull splintering to pieces. A flash of saber light sliced across his waist, cutting him into two halves, and finally the purple bronze censer dropped, pouring out fiery light that set his mangled corpse ablaze.
Cui San perished instantly!
For a powerful figure with grandmaster potential to die such a gruesome death was an immense loss to the Cui clan.
Combined with the total annihilation of their entire contingent, if word reached home, certain people in the Cui clan would cough up blood from pure rage.
"Don't strike! We're people of Mingyao City, swept up against our will! We mean no harm!" There were still living souls in the snow, hiding beneath the drift and crouching among the piles of dead.
"Making the wrong choice comes with a price!" Palm-Sized Pig declared.
These were all prominent figures of Mingyao City. At first, they had complied with Cui Ming's orders and joined in the attack; later, seeing that the situation had turned sour, they chose to collapse and play dead.
An elder shouted, "City Lord Meng, you are a righteous man! Please show mercy and let us return!"
Meng Xinghai spoke calmly. "Do you assume that because someone is good, they must be easy to talk to and obligated to forgive your every misstep? If so, does wrongdoing carry no cost or consequence, while good men must always suffer the loss?"
With that, he took action himself!
Qin Ming did not hesitate either. Guiding the hammer like an immortal riding through the sky, he sent the ponderous ink-jade hammer tearing back and forth across the area. Amid dull thuds, those prominent figures were pounded into paste one after another.
After clearing the battlefield, they meticulously purged the Night Ruins creatures along the road once more. Whenever they encountered monsters they could not afford to provoke, such as the old man holding the white paper lantern, they naturally chose to detour around them.
Qin Ming noticed that whenever he channeled the rag to amplify his heavenly light, Meng Xinghai and Old Pig sensed nothing at all; even when his movements were quite drastic, they remained completely oblivious.
He was certain that after the journey to the Earth Moon, others seemed unable to see Old Rag anymore. Was this the manifestation of being a so-called "temporary owner"?
This had also been corroborated when he encountered the Heavenly Immortal in the red bridal palanquin.
Unfortunately, the practical efficacy he actually needed from it was appallingly scant!
Whenever Qin Ming wished to drape the cloth across himself in battle and have it transform into that special liquid armor, he received not the slightest response.
***
Cui Chonghe walked alone across the pitch-black earth. City after city dotted the distance like candlelight within an abyss. He noticed that the farther he traveled toward remote regions, the more ferocious fiends, ghostly apparitions, and other "flesh-and-blood rule creatures" he encountered.
"Still two thousand li to Chixia City." He gazed ahead into the road before him. Along the way, he had fought numerous times, slaying ghosts and exterminating fiends. His cultivation was profound, his techniques exquisite.
Cui Chonghe was tempering his three fundamental scriptures, gradually gaining entirely new insights.
The night wind was sharp as a blade. He suddenly halted, fixing his gaze deep into the nocturnal mist ahead.
This was a desolate stretch of road far removed from any town, bearing nothing but frozen earth and accumulated snow, devoid of any travelers.
A faint radiance emanated from the night mist, followed by a brilliant burst of divine light. A broken suit of armor floated out soundlessly, drifting forward light as paper.
It gleamed brightly like a silver vest, yet it was riddled with punctures. Suspended in midair, it seemed to look down upon Cui Chonghe, appearing abruptly within this eerie atmosphere.
"Parted from the mortal realm for five thousand years; reappearing, the mountains and rivers no longer bear their old faces," the tattered armor spoke, bearing fist-sized holes and arrow gouges.
Cui Chonghe watched it warily, sensing trouble. The world's overarching environment was shifting daily, and the stranger a phenomenon was, the more dangerous it proved to be.
Wreaths of white mist seeped from the ruined armor, filling in the missing pieces. A faint humanoid silhouette gradually coalesced within, resembling a warrior standing in armor.
"Remarkable. Even in a golden age, you would count as a rare and precious talent. You have actually forged an uncommon Dao Body." The humanoid white mist inside the armor gave an approving nod.
"What advice do you offer?" Cui Chonghe remained vigilant, ready to fight at any moment.
The white mist wafted gently as the voice emerged: "I have returned from the Night Ruins, drawing near to my native soil. Seeing one of extraordinary endowment, I merely spoke from inspiration."
Then, it uttered a soft exclamation of surprise. "You seem to harbor an anomaly."
"What sort of anomaly?" Cui Chonghe asked calmly. Having achieved renown at a young age, he was remarkably mature, unflinching in the face of oddities, his eyes clear as cold springs.
The figure formed from white mist said, "Observing your Dao Body, your foundation is astoundingly robust. You likely attained enlightenment around the age of three or four. Seven-colored immortal light is restrained within, and three Dao Flowers are poised to bloom, corroborating that your seven po and three hun are all firmly rooted within your physical frame, possessing profound depths."
Cui Chonghe felt a jolt within. For the other party to see through his cultivation so completely was truly unsettling.
"The anomaly lies in the fact that this Dao Body you cultivated has never suffered the slightest injury. Its latent potential remains entirely unmarred, truly deserving the title of a flawless vessel. Yet being too perfect makes it unnatural. You must know that an immortal sword is forged through tempering; even if nicked, it can be restored."
Cui Chonghe stared forward. "What are you trying to tell me?"
The white mist swirled, and the armor spoke: "Your Dao Body's vessel is superb. If another person were to don it, what kind of scene would that be? For instance, an old fellow awaiting revival who does not lack combat experience, whose pure yang consciousness leaves his rotting frame to use your flesh as a treasure ship, crossing the sea of suffering to contest this world once more. That would be rather terrifying."
Hearing this, Cui Chonghe felt his hair stand on end. Could this humanoid mist intend to seize his flesh and blood?
The white mist drifted, the voice calm and flat. "You overthink it. If I intended to do so, would I warn you? Consider the people beside you—is there a powerful figure growing aged and decrepit, doing everything in his power to rear you into an unblemished Dao Body?"
Cui Chonghe's head buzzed. He instantly thought of his master, a man whose kindness toward him was as weighty as a mountain, who treated him like a son and had recently concocted three major medicinal draughts for him in succession.
"A specific figure has already reflected in your mind, hasn't he?"
Upon hearing this, Cui Chonghe immediately refuted, "Creature of the Night Ruins, do not attempt to shake my Dao heart! Such tricks are useless on me!"
"In truth, breaking the predicament is simple: let your physical vessel suffer injury. Once damaged, let it welcome the spring breeze and recover anew. Moreover, you require insights forged between life and death. Most crucially, you practice three fundamental scriptures, and among them, the *Golden Palace Jade Chapter* requires severing worldly bonds. Clan elders, sect seniors—none must bind you too deeply. What must be severed must be cut. Otherwise, practicing this scripture will cause catastrophe; you have already accumulated no small number of problems."
"You are a demon of the abyss!" Cui Chonghe retorted.
A voice came from the white mist: "Have I spoken falsely? The *Golden Palace Jade Chapter* possesses immense might, yet should deviations arise, it becomes equally perilous. You are in urgent need of resolving it now. Next, you must 'transcend the mundane'—let your feet stand in the red dust, while your heart hangs suspended above the nine heavens."
"Why are you telling me all this?" Cui Chonghe frowned. Regarding the flaws of the *Golden Palace Jade Chapter*, his master Sun Taichu had indeed mentioned them, telling him to temporarily "sever the red dust" and resume those ties later once he mastered the scripture.
The armor's voice carried a melancholic sigh. "Because my most beloved disciple once stood supreme among his peers, yet perished and saw his Dao extinguished because of deviations in this very scripture, leaving me to mourn him for five thousand years."
Cui Chonghe glared at the figure before him. For an entity he had never met before to speak so intimately on their first encounter was truly hard to credit.
"The problems within you are far from minor. Turn back, polish yourself, and remember that only after suffering damage can you achieve true replenishment. You may have honed your techniques in ordinary times, but you lack the experience of walking the knife-edge between life and death. Most importantly, you must immediately resolve the hidden dangers of the *Golden Palace Jade Chapter*. Today, I shall help you see just how precarious your situation is." The broken armor shone with light as the humanoid figure formed of white mist drifted forward, launching an attack at Cui Chonghe.
Instantly, Cui Chonghe's eyes turned sharp as immortal light erupted, locking him in fierce combat with his opponent.
Clad in armor, the white mist operated with methods and cultivation strictly capped at the fourth realm. It spoke: "Your combat talent is formidable, yet you lack the fierce courage to face hell head-on. You deliberate excessively, hiding your true light for too many years, and have gradually lost your rightful edge. I shall battle you at the exact same realm."
The armor gleamed like a blazing sun crossing the sky. The figure condensed of white mist unleashed one lethal technique after another, engaging Cui Chonghe in a clash between dragon and tiger.
Cui Chonghe was thoroughly shaken. Whatever technique he intended to deploy, the opponent seemed capable of anticipating it, putting him on the defensive and in dire peril right from the start.
Fortunately, his combat instinct was extraordinary. Quickly adapting, he engaged the Night Ruins entity in a fierce struggle, pure yang light cracking like thunder.
Had an outsider witnessed this, they would have been astounded. Both sides displayed exquisite maneuvers, many of them brilliant strokes of genius rarely seen even among the pinnacle of their generation.
In the end, Cui Chonghe stood crestfallen. After five hundred exchanges, he had suffered a crushing defeat. Had the opponent wished to kill him, he would no longer exist.
He was covered in wounds from head to toe, his Dao Body nearly broken.
The voice within the armor remained devoid of emotion: "Ponder what I have said. Return and polish yourself to resolve those hidden dangers. And above all, never draw near that master of yours!"
Without a word, Cui Chonghe turned and walked back the way he came.
In the dark night along that desolate road, the silhouette inside the armor burst apart with a *pop*, though the voice lingered: "Suppressed to the same level, and I still suffered a crushing defeat."
Evidently, that was the true outcome.
Soon after, the gleaming armor dissolved and the white mist evaporated. An old man appeared in its place with a ruddy complexion, bearing the exact likeness of Sun Taichu.
The only difference was that his hair was pure, gleaming gold.
"Black-White Mountain has grave issues; it must not be approached. Your *Golden Palace Jade Chapter* has indeed accumulated severe hidden dangers that must be resolved," he muttered to himself, watching the direction in which Cui Chonghe had departed.
He let out a soft sigh. "Your master faces a life-and-death calamity and must do battle with 'himself,' yet I still have to worry over you."
Having stopped Cui Chonghe, he resumed his journey alone, heading toward Black-White Mountain.
His cultivation was unfathomably deep, allowing him to take shortcuts. Approaching Black-White Mountain, he encountered an ancient cinnabar coffin hovering in midair to block the path; after he left a deep palm print upon its lid, the road became completely unimpeded.
He had also spotted a blood-dripping head drifting among the clouds, which he crushed to pieces with a single grasp of his hand.
Yet when he finally neared Black-White Mountain, unease stirred in his heart. He cast a divination for himself, lingering for a long time before turning and walking away.
"No wonder Cao Qianqiu met with disaster here. If I set foot inside, something might happen to me as well."
After retreating, he entered Chixia City.
"Hm? That youth isn't here. So be it. The hexagrams are turbid and unclear; I had best stay out of this matter entirely." In the end, he vanished from the region.
***
Qin Ming was not in Chixia City. He had passed by Mingyao City without entering, already far in the distance, heading toward the Dayu imperial capital.
The Thunder King Bird carried him forward, sometimes soaring high through the sky, other times sprinting across the land like a ground pheasant with him on its back.
Under normal circumstances, the Thunder King Bird could have flown to the Dayu imperial capital—Chongxiao—within a single day.
Now, not only did it have to sprint on foot across the ground, but it also had to face various hazardous monsters lurking in the dark alongside Qin Ming, making the journey anything but smooth.
In remote regions, the paths between cities were severed, rendering travel exceedingly difficult. Fortunately, the closer Qin Ming and the Thunder King Bird drew to prosperous regions, the clearer the roads became.
Several days later, they arrived at Chongxiao.
Along the journey there had been ice and snow, yet here all things were already reviving. Along the banks of the Shuyu River, silver willows and purple wisteria were putting forth fresh sprouts, and the entire city was suffused with the breath of early spring.
Even so, the Great Yu Imperial Dynasty's overall situation was not particularly favorable. Many cities had lost contact and were no longer under their jurisdiction.
The Great Yu imperial clan suspected that the earthen city still harbored ambitions of pushing for complete unification. Awarding city lordships to those who successfully defended cities was actively digging away at the foundations of the three great imperial dynasties and over a dozen kingdoms.
The following day, Qin Ming made contact with Great Yu's Fourth Princess, Yao Ruoxian.
Inside a relatively large manor within the city, a riot of colors greeted the eye. Golden wisteria vines and purple harbinger trees had already formed flower buds, brimming with the vitality of spring.
This was an estate where Yao Ruoxian rarely stayed, and she received Qin Ming here in secret.
"A rare guest indeed. To think you would come see me of your own accord." Dressed in a snow-white gown, Yao Ruoxian possessed a touch more charm today compared to her valiant and heroic bearing when clad in the red lotus armor.
Her lustrous black hair cascaded down to her waist, and her eyes rippled with curiosity as she wondered why Qin Ming had traveled ten thousand li to see her.
Qin Ming smiled. "Missing an old friend, I came specifically for a chat."
Yao Ruoxian said nothing, merely watching him.
"All right, I have a favor to ask." Qin Ming set down his teacup.
The Thunder King Bird chimed in: "Your Highness, where is our clan's Imperial Bird?"
"In the princess manor."
"I'm off to see her!" With three heads and six wings, the Thunder King Bird could hardly wait to visit the bird of its dreams.
Qin Ming shook his head as he watched it leave. With that overly eager attitude, no matter how deep its cultivation or how formidable its strength, it would probably never win her heart.
He turned to her and said, "Princess, I require a special environment to enter secluded cultivation..."
After hearing his detailed requirements, Yao Ruoxian said, "No problem. I will find a way to arrange it for you."
She even proactively mentioned that there was an ocean within the Night Ruins, though it was relatively dangerous.
Upon hearing this, Qin Ming was overjoyed. If even an ocean was available, finding large metallic veins and places rich in concentrated earth qi would be even simpler.
He felt a surge of excitement. Once he broke through this major threshold and stepped into the fourth realm—Mind Lamp—he would possess far greater composure, and those so-called formidable enemies and perils would no longer pose a threat.
Yao Ruoxian spoke: "Living far from the heartlands, do you know that quite a few incidents have occurred lately?"
"Oh? What happened? Please tell me." Qin Ming looked at her.
"Recently, quite a few senior figures ran into severe problems with their cultivation!" Yao Ruoxian said with utmost gravity. Every faction was keeping it under wraps, but it was clearly becoming impossible to conceal.
Qin Ming's expression turned solemn. "Why is that?"
Yao Ruoxian shook her head. "Unknown. At present, no one understands the cause. Even the senior elders of our Great Yu imperial clan were forced into seclusion and refuse to see outsiders."
She further mentioned that many people from the earthen city wished to flee back to the heavens.
Then, transmitting her voice secretly with an exceptionally grave look, she said, "Furthermore, there is another matter of vital importance—one even more momentous."
"What is it?" Qin Ming asked.
"Yujing might not have completely vanished," Yao Ruoxian revealed.
"This..." Qin Ming was astonished. What did that mean? Back then, countless eyes had witnessed Yujing shatter and crash down upon the earth.
Yao Ruoxian said, "Word has it that an elderly Earth Immortal from above the nine heavens sensed something and let the secret slip: Yujing might be undergoing nirvana."
Qin Ming was dazed, finding it absurd. "Is Yujing an actual city, or a living creature? How could it undergo metamorphosis?"
"No one knows." Yao Ruoxian was equally ignorant of Yujing's true nature.
She continued, "Even if it returns, it will be completely different from before. They say it will be in an embryonic state, bearing endless wonders—a tremendous opportunity for the likes of us."
"How so?" Qin Ming's interest was piqued.
Yao Ruoxian said, "Some speculate that the embryonic Yujing will be a primordial ground, devoid of past powerhouses—a blank slate waiting to be drawn upon. Once one establishes a foothold there, the benefits will be limitless. It will be like the most fertile Dao soil. If immortal seeds and divine seeds like you and me enter the capital and receive its nourishment, we will rapidly grow into towering trees."
Qin Ming realized that staying near Black-White Mountain had left him far too isolated from information. Such monumental developments were brewing, yet he had not heard the slightest whisper.
Currently, undercurrents surged everywhere, and it was said that certain figures were already drafting plans for Yujing's revival.
"There are even rumors that the embryonic Yujing has already begun to manifest. The most gifted individuals of this era are regarded as Heavenly Gods and Heavenly Immortals walking the earth, who may become the high echelons of Yujing in the future."
Yao Ruoxian disclosed that powerhouses across the outer realms had also intercepted a sliver of heavenly secrets and had already dispatched representatives to discuss these momentous affairs.
She concluded, "A select few are discussing how you, I, and the rest of us are all Heavenly Gods temporarily dwelling on the ground, and we will soon have to vie for the qualification to enter the embryonic Yujing!"
Chapter 424