The night was thick, and mist had risen unnoticed at some point. The blue streamers of light amidst the surging waves gradually faded away. The ocean began to grow profound and dark, while sea monsters and spirit sharks fled in terror—something horrific was taking place.
Qin Ming could hardly believe his eyes!
In the increasingly deep waters, coffins floated, headless corpses rose and fell, and mounds of earth from graves drifted with the waves, their soil refusing to scatter or sink into the sea.
What was going on? Qin Ming felt the atmosphere abruptly turn uncanny and unpredictable.
Though the Night Ruins likewise lacked a sun, it had previously given him quite a peaceful impression; the sea, glowing blue, had even lent a sense of serenity.
How could it have transformed into this state in the blink of an eye?
"Deep night has arrived," the severely injured cat-eared girl whispered, slightly nervous and uneasy.
Qin Ming turned his head to look at her, catching the expression on her fair, pretty face.
He realized that this drastic contrast and transformation in the Night Ruins was tied to time. In the deep night, as the blue fire springs in the sea waned and gradually extinguished, the world seemed to become entirely different.
The ocean turned pitch-black, and many bizarre phenomena emerged.
Horrific scene after horrific scene surfaced. The tender laughter of children drifted across the sea's surface, and among the spray crawled infants barely over a foot tall—and in no small numbers.
Between these infants, numerous severed heads bobbed with the waves—heads of adult men and women, as well as of other creatures. Some were gory and hideous, while others had disheveled hair, nearing rot.
Some of the infants were plump, fair, and pure of smile, looking thoroughly innocent, yet they lay sprawled atop blood-stained human heads, giggling incessantly upon the sea under the nocturnal mist and splashing at the water.
As for the coffins, headless corpses, and grave mounds, some were massive, hoisted up from time to time by massive swells to cast vast shadows in the faint blue luminescence, appearing all the more chilling.
A chill ran down Qin Ming's back. He felt he knew nothing at all about the Night Ruins.
He looked up at the night sky; it was equally terrifying and unfathomable.
In the pitch-black canopy of the sky, certain areas were fractured. Amidst heavy fog, various sights were emerging: dark shadows drifted, severed heads plunged down one after another, and mourning figures clad in hemp robes flickered in and out of sight. Gory blood poured across the world, cascading down from the breaches in the firmament.
Qin Ming stared blankly, his mind truly unable to calm down.
This realm harbored even more bizarre phenomena than Night Province; for now, it defied comprehension.
Earlier, when he learned that the Night Ruins had thirty-six heavens, many thoughts had crossed his mind. It was primarily because in the myths and legends of the real world, the heavens had thirty-six layers, yet not a single trace of them could be found.
Furthermore, in reality, the supposedly supreme Yujing was actually inverted.
All of this made it hard not to harbor all manner of doubts.
Now a corner of the firmament was broken, raining down human heads and streaming blood, laden with shadowy apparitions and falling coffin boards—it was truly terrifying and bizarre.
The myths and legends of Night Province could not have been so bloody and grotesque; everything was far too absurd.
"Is this how the flesh-and-blood rule creatures found in Night Province came to be?" Qin Ming wondered.
If so, the native beings of the Night Ruins seemed to lead an even more arduous existence than those in Night Province; to say they lived in dire straits was an understatement—terror lurked at every turn.
In the world of the Night Ruins, the contrast between shallow night and deep night was simply vast!
On the sandy beach, the golden-scaled crab, which had been severed at the waist, sought to slink away silently and plunge into the darkening ocean, when suddenly its half-body froze.
Qin Ming had already turned his head and locked his gaze upon it.
The scales all over the giant golden crab clanged crisply. Raising its remaining large pincer, it formed a V-sign and snapped it toward Qin Ming in a desperate final struggle.
Qin Ming extended two fingers, and two blinding beams of heavenly light shot out, snipping off its golden pincer in turn.
He asked, "Does that breach in the night sky lead to the Second Heaven?"
"How could I possibly know anything about the Second Heaven?!" the golden-scaled crab hissed in agony.
"In that case, be on your way in peace." Qin Ming's two fingers pinched toward it across the air.
With a crack, the golden-scaled crab shrieked as its hard carapace shattered inch by inch. It wanted to scream in fury: dying such a miserable death, who could go in peace?! Even its conscious spiritual light was sheared in two, its spiritual field utterly incinerated by heavenly light.
Yun Shuyao's aqua-blue long hair was stained with blood, her face deathly pale. Having had one of her long legs severed earlier and then being cleaved at the waist just moments ago, she collapsed upon the sand in a wretched and miserable state.
As a princess of this sea territory, she held noble status. Never had she endured such agony; in a single day, she had plummeted from the clouds into the dirt.
Regret surged in her heart. Why hadn't she respected the Heavenly Maiden's orders? Why had she acted on her own whims and inclinations, only to end up in such a state?
Had she possessed no prejudice and refrained from siding with the Jade Emperor, she would still be a high and mighty noble lady right now.
"Do you know anything about the Second Heaven?" Qin Ming asked, glancing at Yun Shuyao and then toward the fractured sky, wanting to uncover the truth of the Night Ruins.
The sea race princess clenched her silver teeth. Though she wished to survive, she knew nothing at all about the heaven above.
Suddenly, her composure shattered—because she saw the human youth picking up her severed leg and then going over to gather her lower torso.
Divine light of the five elements shimmered from Qin Ming's fingers. With a gentle brush, the leg and severed torso reverted to their true forms, turning into a colorful fish tail.
At the same time, he put away the golden-scaled crab's broken pincers and other parts. These were extraordinary culinary ingredients, and perhaps could even be considered a kind of "oceanic medicine."
Even if he couldn't bring himself to eat them, he could give them away to people, to dogs, to mice, or to birds.
"I'll send you on your way as well." Qin Ming raised his hand, intending to end the sea race princess's life.
"Take it out on me!" cried the Jade Emperor, who had been cleaved diagonally across the shoulder. His upper torso was dripping with blood as it swayed unsteadily, suspended in midair.
His face was as pale as golden paper, devoid of color. In a heavy voice, he said, "This bloody battle began because of me. Let her go."
At this critical juncture, he showed considerable responsibility, shielding Yun Shuyao.
The sea race princess's eyes immediately reddened. Looking at the Jade Emperor's back, she was moved to tears, filled with sorrow.
Qin Ming sighed and said, "It was clearly you two who took the initiative to strike, trying to snuff me out. How did it end up that you've set the mood to make me look like the villain?"
With only a single arm remaining and blood dripping steadily from his mutilated body, the Jade Emperor said miserably, "She was an outsider to this, and only intervened for my sake. I ask that you be magnanimous and let her leave."
Qin Ming's expression remained calm as he said, "She entered the fray to help you, but what she did was lead the sea race to surround and kill me. Where do you get the nerve to ask me to show mercy? Since she made her choice and did wrong, she must pay the corresponding price. This tragic display of yours is worthless to me!"
Clang!
Sword light erupted from the Jade Emperor's body as the power of pure yang blazed furiously.
In the night, Qin Ming's black hair drifted, ethereal as an immortal. He said, "You don't think you can drag me down with you in mutual destruction, do you? The only reason I didn't strike immediately and was willing to speak a few more words with you was to see whether you obtained the supreme scripture of the demon race."
In the past, the demon camp's invasion of Night Province had deeper motives: their lost supreme treasure had been obtained by a mysterious civilization, forcing them to serve as vanguards; moreover, once the affair concluded, their legendary supreme scripture was slated to surface within the sea of consciousness of nine fated heavenly demons.
Qin Ming had not forgotten this matter. Furthermore, having once gone by the alias "Yao Yi" and mastered certain demon methods, perhaps he too could touch upon that peerless demon classic.
Pain surfaced in the Jade Emperor's eyes. He had once come close to that classic; in a trance-like state, it had felt as though someone was whispering beside his ear, expounding profound truths.
Yet, regrettably, he had only caught faint murmurs without truly capturing the scripture's essence. He had missed it—a failure that had pierced his heart with agonizing grief.
The Jade Emperor was not among the nine demons!
Even now, he could not make peace with it. His heart was filled with boundless indignation, bitterness, and despair. He was a loser, eliminated at the most critical moment.
This was the fundamental reason he had journeyed far to Night Province at this particular junction when the broader environment was severely deteriorating; fundamentally, it was a retreat into a foreign land following defeat.
Seeing his expression and sensing the intense waves of resentment within him, Qin Ming understood the situation.
He felt a touch of disappointment and remarked, "I had hoped to cross the river using you as a stepping stone to get a glimpse of that peerless demon scripture. Who would have thought you didn't even make the cut? What a shame."
Hearing this, the Jade Emperor felt even more stifled and aggrieved; this was practically rubbing salt in an open wound right to his face.
At the same time, he was boiling with rage, desperately wanting to snap: *What business does the demon race's scripture have to do with you? You're a human brat—what the demon hell do you have to be sorry about?!*
The Jade Emperor knew that his chances of survival today were slim. He pushed his pure yang power to its utmost limits, unfurling a thousand tiers of sword qi as sword light spouted from every pore of his body.
Dense sword dao runes materialized before him, coalescing into an earth-shattering flash of sword light that slashed toward the seemingly invincible human youth ahead.
Qin Ming boldly swung his left palm forward, five-colored divine light radiating in brilliance. With a boom, he directly shattered the sword intent that ordinary people would have found unimaginably terrifying.
The Jade Emperor coughed up mouthfuls of blood, his mutilated body sent flying backward.
"Hmm?" Qin Ming braced himself, sensing something. Amidst subtle ripples, he caught the threat descending from high in the night sky. The God-Measuring Ruler in his right hand burst with radiance, and with a booming rumble, swept upward.
It was a demon sword—crimson, dripping with bloody light, carrying threads of heavenly fire, and wrapped in strands of heavenly light. Its might was horrifying.
Qin Ming remarked, "The legendary powerhouse of the demon race—the Beast Sword Immortal. You've actually managed to grasp part of the knack behind the art he left behind."
Legend had it that the flying swords forged by the Beast Sword Immortal hung suspended year-round above thick cloud layers, receiving spiritual light from beyond the world to nourish themselves while maintaining mutual resonance with his body.
Once he unleashed such a sword, the scene shook heaven and earth; even meteors from beyond would plummet alongside that strike, slaying foes and erasing giant cities as though it were child's play.
Naturally, the Jade Emperor possessed no such profound cultivation at present and could not lodge his sword beyond the skies; he had merely concealed his sword within the nocturnal mist above his head.
Moreover, he had yet to find an indestructible sword embryo suited to himself.
The sword suspended in the night mist had been cultivated through the heart, with the essence of his pure yang consciousness serving as its edge. This made it easier to conceal and hard for others to detect.
At this juncture of life and death, he staked everything, unleashing his strongest sword strike!
Yet reality was harsh. The Jade Emperor's radiant, mist-cleaving, seemingly indestructible pure yang blade encountered a heavy blow, trembling violently.
The God-Measuring Ruler in Qin Ming's hand struck toward the night sky. Surging beams of light and terrifying saber intent battered the heart sword, making it shudder incessantly as its luster rapidly dimmed.
The Jade Emperor roared. This was the heart sword he had cultivated using his pure yang essence, an object intertwined with his very life, his ultimate trump card.
All at once, the pure yang conscious spiritual light within his physical body steamed upward in its entirety, departing his form and sinking into the demon sword high in the night sky.
He had no choice. In this final moment, he had to fight with all his might, locked in a fight to the death.
In an instant, the entire sea territory was illuminated by terrifying sword light. As the blue ocean surged, the coffins, severed heads, grave mounds, and infants became all the more distinctly visible.
Across the night sky, the demon sword spanned the air, continuously unleashing divine radiance that grew ever more dazzling. It lacerated the beach; nearby precipices and stone cliffs developed terrifying sword gashes before being sliced through, tumbling downward.
The seawater here boiled furiously, pierced by the sword light and sending up vast plumes of vapor. White mist rumbled, exposing sections of the seabed.
This sword strike poured forth all of the Jade Emperor's spirit, qi, and essence—the most horrific killing stroke he could deliver. He sought life through death in this final gamble.
"There truly is something to it!" Qin Ming said, his expression grave. Around him, intimidating heavenly light surged, and the five kinds of sacred baleful aura materialized into physical shapes, converging toward the Sky-Measuring Ruler.
The Vermilion Bird carrying frightening divine flames, the White Tiger bearing a cold metallic luster... The Five Elements sacred baleful auras appeared together, each vast beyond measure, each dominating the night sky, before ultimately condensing to coil around the Sky-Measuring Ruler.
Qin Ming swung the treasured ruler. The Five Elements sacred baleful auras resonated with it, slashing the demon sword—even in its sublimated state—until it dimmed and lost its brilliance.
Then, the Jade Emperor's demon sword emitted a cracking sound, becoming riddled with fissures, on the verge of bursting apart.
The eyes of the Jade Emperor's physical body turned dull. With all his spirit, qi, and essence invested in the demon sword, he was like a candle flickering in the wind, his consciousness nearing extinction.
"This..." Filled with powerlessness and despair, he realized that after more than a year had passed, even his utmost efforts left him no match for this youth.
At this moment, the demon sword he had nurtured with his heart fractured, shattering into fragments.
The Jade Emperor's heart turned to ash. His entire conscious spiritual light seemed destined to extinguish alongside the sword.
Qin Ming did not want him to die immediately; he felt the sword-lodging method left behind by the Beast Sword Immortal was remarkably formidable, and he wished to learn from it.
"You truly are strong. Also in the Fourth Realm, you withstood several of my offensives and held out until now. Truly remarkable!" Qin Ming praised, offering him encouragement.
Qin Ming's words were not disingenuous; the Jade Emperor's final strike had compelled him to employ the Five Elements sacred baleful auras in resonance with the five grand scriptures, making him worthy of such an appraisal.
Yet the Jade Emperor was infuriated enough to vomit blood. Was this person praising him, or boasting about himself?
The Jade Emperor had exhausted every ounce of his power, virtually burning himself to cinders in the end, without so much as drawing blood from his opponent. Was this human brat mocking and ridiculing him?
Qin Ming resonated with his opponent's emotions and deliberately spoke once more: "These words come straight from my heart. Your way of lodging the sword is truly a marvelous peerless art; one can easily envision the former glory of the Beast Sword Immortal."
Reflecting on the Beast Sword Immortal's art, the Jade Emperor indeed felt a pang of unwillingness in his heart. Had he been able to find a suitable sword embryo, perhaps he would have had a chance today.
"In the end, I have... lost!" The light faded from his eyes.
"Trading blows until now, you suffered severe wounds at my hands yet did not die immediately—that is reason enough to be proud," Qin Ming said, bringing up the way of lodging the sword once more and even critiquing its strengths and weaknesses.
Provoked, the Jade Emperor's conscious spiritual light fluctuated violently, and his eyes were no longer so dim. Was the other party saying all this just to use him as a backdrop to elevate himself? Was it all for self-praise?
Yet he felt that wasn't the case either. The human youth appeared thoroughly earnest, his expression solemn; he did not seem to be a shallow person.
Only at the very end did he realize that Qin Ming's confidence came from the depths of his bones. His self-assurance was overflowing, far surpassing the arrogance and conceited pride of himself and the sea race.
He pondered: this human brat did not view this as an insult, but as an earnest, solemn statement of fact.
When the Jade Emperor realized this, his heart was completely choked with indignation. The boy was looking down on him in dead earnest, treating all of this as a matter of course.
"Pfft!" He spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Regarding the Beast Sword Immortal's art..." Not wanting him to drop dead immediately, Qin Ming kept steering the topic and continuing to stimulate his opponent.
In the end, Qin Ming was rather satisfied. He had figured out the legendary demon art, gaining an immense harvest!
"Damn it!" On the brink of death, the Jade Emperor realized Qin Ming had been probing the way of lodging the sword all along, and wished he could skin him alive.
He murmured forlornly, "A year ago, I missed the best opportunity to kill you. If only I had known!"
Vomiting blood continuously, the Jade Emperor glared fiercely at Qin Ming as his conscious spiritual light gradually extinguished.
Qin Ming mused that he had the pure white exotic metal small sword, crafted of extraordinary material; practicing the Beast Sword Immortal's ultimate sword art, he would have no need to fret over a sword embryo.
Looking down at the pure white locust beast that had reverted to its true form, he understood why it was called the Jade Emperor. It truly was special, markedly different from its younger brother and cousin.
Without question, rare wondrous blood flowed within the Jade Emperor's veins.
Qin Ming gathered up its corpse, which had been cleaved diagonally across the shoulder, unwilling to let it go to waste.
He looked toward the sea race princess and said, "Your turn."
Yun Shuyao felt intensely bitter. A single erroneous choice had doomed her; this anomaly was actually a notch stronger than the Jade Emperor.
She had only met the Jade Emperor recently, so there was certainly no deep affection between them. Still, when the Jade Emperor had shielded her just moments ago, it had touched her heart.
Qin Ming raised his hand, and just as he was about to end her life, he suddenly paused and said, "Come out!"
From the sea stepped a young man with disheveled blue hair and sharp eyes, his entire body enshrouded in splendid divine light, resembling a sea god coming ashore.
Gripping a spear, he looked twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, his eyes deep; his true age was far older than his appearance suggested.
"Cousin!" Yun Shuyao brightened with joy, feeling a glimmer of hope for survival.
Qin Ming said, "There's one more. Come out as well."
On the other side, a middle-aged man clad in silver armor emerged from the sea. Likewise sporting a full head of blue hair and radiating a powerful aura, he strode forward step by step, dazzling Sea God runes surging from his flesh—a cultivator of profound attainment.
"Sixth Uncle!" Yun Shuyao was overjoyed.
The young man looked at Qin Ming and said, "Now that deep night has arrived, you still dare linger, and upon sensing our covert approach, you did not immediately flee. Commendable courage."
Then, in a deep voice, he added, "Release my cousin."
Qin Ming replied calmly and casually, "When one has confidence in one's heart, there is naturally no fear. You two are merely in the Fourth Realm as well; the ones who ought to flee are not me."
"Barely entered the Fourth Realm, yet you dare be so arrogant," the young man said. He struck in an instant, raising his spear and thrusting forward.
Though the middle-aged man did not speak, he attacked as well. Deep blue Sea God runes blossomed as he lunged forward, brandishing a long saber.
Chi!
With a sweep of his palm, heavenly light surged, first beheading Yun Shuyao close by. A beautiful severed head rolled across the sand with a clatter.
The two sea race experts flew into a rage, instantly erupting with even more terrifying divine power.
Qin Ming never underestimated his opponents. Taking a deep breath, his Five Elements Light Wheel blazed with supreme brilliance, enveloping him within. The five grand scriptures resonated in harmony with the five kinds of sacred baleful aura.
"Hmm? What is this..." The young sea race expert's heart trembled. In the midst of the fierce clash, he discovered that after being grazed by the five-colored light wheel, the moisture throughout his body was rapidly draining away, and he could hardly halt it.
"Our Five Elements are thrown out of balance!" The middle-aged man's face changed drastically as well. He too was dehydrating, and the pure yang firelight within him blazed violently.
"This is the true power that should be displayed when the five grand scriptures resonate!" Qin Ming muttered to himself. The fusion and resonance of the five scriptures granted control over the Five Elements, and upon seizing an opportune moment, it could naturally throw an opponent's Five Elements out of balance.
Plumes of white vapor rose from the two sea race experts. Their blood seemed ready to ignite, and their flesh withered, filling them with shock and terror.
Before long, the two sea race experts were enveloped by the light wheel around Qin Ming. Their Five Elements plunged into chaos, and both were ultimately crushed and slain by him.
Qin Ming looked at the severely injured beaver-cat and said, "Go tell the Heavenly Maiden that I harbor no disrespect toward her. Today, I was targeted and forced to strike back."
In the sea, spirit sharks and sea monsters were not few in number; some had fled long ago. Qin Ming could not possibly silence them all, so he intentionally spared one sea race creature of some standing.
It was also primarily because the cat-eared girl had shown great respect for the Heavenly Maiden earlier and had opposed Yun Shuyao targeting the second anomaly, which was why Qin Ming spared her life.
As for actively entering the deep sea to meet that Heavenly Maiden, Qin Ming naturally would not do that. All of this was merely a convenient gesture; if they ever crossed paths one day, he would not be considered discourteous, having laid the groundwork today.
The Heavenly Maiden had been sealed in ice from ancient times until the present era; she was either an ancient powerhouse awakening or an ancient "blazing sun" possessing a supreme treasure and recuperating from injuries.
Qin Ming was rather wary of her and would never actively provoke her for now.
Afterward, he picked and chose, "stocking up" on the beach and taking away a vast quantity of "seafood"—or perhaps what could be considered oceanic medicine.
In the night sky and amidst the ocean, the coffins, grave mounds, infants... were truly uncanny and horrifying, stirring intense unease in one's heart.
Qin Ming did not linger and swiftly departed.
"The Fourth Realm. Night Province, I have returned. Past adversaries, those who wished to make a move against me in secret—it's your turn to tread carefully and watch your backs."
...
"What did you go through in the Night Ruins? How could you bring back so much transcendent seafood?"
Near the outlet of the earth secret aperture connecting to the Night Ruins, the Fourth Princess of Great Yu, Yao Ruoxian, who had been waiting there with her entourage, had a face full of shock.
In the deep night, Qin Ming was actually treating them to seafood hotpot.
Then she showed a puzzled look and said, "This... doesn't seem like a sea creature. The meat is white as jade, and the long legs have spines..."
"You mean that? It's the Jade Emperor's leg," Qin Ming answered with a smile.
"?!"
Chapter 430