Sitting quietly at home, a god descends from the heavens!
At first, both Qin Ming and Meng Xinghai felt a jolt of terror. An inexplicable entity had bypassed their spiritual senses and appeared without warning, giving them quite a fright.
The visitor was diminutive yet blazed with divine radiance, flooding the entire living room with dense golden glow—plainly no mortal being. Fortunately, the two remained relatively calm, peering through the blazing mist of light to clearly discern his true face.
"Senior Liu!" Meng Xinghai reacted quickly. He had already grabbed the purple-copper censer curling with fragrant smoke, but now set it back down sheepishly.
Talk of Liu Mo, and Liu Mo arrived. Across such a vast distance, could he truly have sensed them? It was truly terrifying.
Qin Ming also put away his exotic metal small sword, having nearly tried to split a Heavenly God in half.
Once the initial shock passed, both of their eyes went wide. Just what kind of profound scripture was this? The moment it manifested, it drew forth rich, swirling Daoist charm.
When Old Liu had good things, he truly did not hoard them. Without question, what he was passing on was a foundational scripture.
Meng Xinghai realized that this had to be a great dharma at the Heavenly God level!
It was no stranger to Qin Ming. He had touched upon and practiced it before—this was the complete, unblemished version of the *Black-White Classic*, the very canon he had yearned for and dreamed of for so long.
It manifested in its entirety: dense characters and tiny figures arranged in the void, tangible scriptural truths glittering brilliantly, as though a sky full of stars had poured down before them.
Liu Mo was different from before. He was no longer in the state of a wretched old man; now, he was a true deity!
Otherwise, had he not revived, he would never have been able to transmit this scripture.
"Difficult! It is simply too obscure and incomprehensible!" Meng Xinghai felt his head swelling. At first, he could still ponder and grasp some meaning, but as it deepened, the myriad miniature figures leaping into motion left him dizzy and dazzled, his spiritual field thrown into turmoil.
He knew full well that if he missed today's opportunity, he would surely part ways with this scripture forever. Thus, he first memorized it by rote, preparing to seek guidance from Heavenly God Liu afterward.
Qin Ming did not dare resonate with Liu Mo's emotions. He chanted the scripture and comprehended it on the spot, feeling as though his whole body were catching fire—a state brought on by extreme concentration of essence, qi, and spirit.
To him, it was no different from fighting an all-out battle.
This was by no means an exaggeration. The *Black-White Classic* possessed immense origins and was extraordinarily profound. Back when Chu Pianran of the ancient immortal sanctuary displayed twelve pages in Kunling City, she had stumped the geniuses of every cultivation path.
Supposedly, even in ancient times, the people of those immortal sanctuaries could only comprehend the opening truths, completely baffled by the subsequent chapters and unable to analyze them deeply.
Qin Ming had learned later that its background was truly monumental.
When the descendants of the seven-sun stacker from Pugong, along with Earth Immortal disciples from the Eastern Lands and the Northern Wilds, entered Night Province, one of their objectives had been to unearth ancient scriptures.
Among the three or four texts on their list, the *Black-White Classic* was included.
Qin Ming focused entirely. His body burned hot, his spiritual field resonated, and his single mind lamp shone bright. By the end, he actually felt a touch of exhaustion.
Meng Xinghai turned his head and saw that Qin Ming was drenched in sweat. He stared dumbfounded—was Little Qin comprehending the Dao, or doing hard manual labor? White mist was actually steaming from his entire body.
"Not bad!" Liu Mo nodded. He perceived that Qin Ming's mind and spirit were wholly immersed in the scripture, simulating and deducing those chapters, causing his physical body to make many instinctive reactions until it seemed ready to burst into flames.
As time passed, black and white particles surged around Qin Ming's body. In cadence with his breathing, black and white light rose and fell in a steady rhythm.
A look of astonishment crossed Liu Mo's face. The youth possessed even greater talent than he had imagined; achieving an epiphany at this moment, his performance surpassed even Liu Mo's own in his youth.
Before long, the black and white particles outside Qin Ming's body resonated with his spiritual field, aligning with the undulations of the blood and qi within his flesh, manifesting a hazy diagram.
Behind him, a black-and-white Taiji diagram took shape, slowly rotating and casting him in an aura both mysterious and transcendent.
Beneath him, mysterious energy particles steamed upward, turning into clouds of black and white mist that buoyed his cross-legged form, lifting him off the floor to hover in midair.
Meng Xinghai stared blankly, admiring Little Qin's innate gifts to the point of utter prostration. To plunge so deeply into the legendary *Black-White Classic* on the spot was truly defying the heavens.
Heavenly God Liu was dumbstruck. His palm-sized golden form sat cross-legged atop a black-and-white diagram, yet right opposite him, this youth had reflected a Dao diagram of his own!
"Impressive skill!" Old Liu reevaluated him. Back during his days of confusion, in humble obscurity, the youth he had met in an ordinary village was truly an invaluable uncut jade, exceeding his estimates by far.
Someone like this had no need for his direct instruction; simply delivering the scripture was enough, for the youth could gradually nibble away at it on his own, discerning its obscure and difficult true essence.
"Such individuals... did exist in ancient times, but they could be counted on one's fingers!" he murmured with deep feeling.
Finally, Qin Ming opened his eyes. The Dao diagram behind him vanished, and the black and white mist dissipated as he lowered back to the floor. The later principles exceeded his realm by far too much; he could no longer comprehend them.
Only now did he resort to rote memorization, committing the subsequent chapters to memory.
"Senior!" Meng Xinghai had kept silent earlier, fearing to disturb Qin Ming's comprehension, but now he was exceedingly devout as he began seeking guidance from Liu Mo on this Heavenly God-level canon.
Liu Mo taught him without reservation: "The Black-White Classic is not limited to the Immortal Path or the esoteric sect; every path can delve into it. Yet precisely because of this, it is exceptionally difficult to practice..."
Outside the window, heads of various sizes—nine in total—poked in, all gazing eagerly inside.
"You all come in as well," Liu Mo said.
"Thank you, Old Immortal!" The red squirrel, Yuque, and the Thunder King Bird—now either possessing three heads and six arms or three heads and six wings—had all undergone super-mutations.
Overcome with excitement, they threw themselves into prostrations upon entering.
Qin Ming listened as well, comparing what he heard against his own realizations. Long ago, when he first encountered this scripture, he had already realized that fusing consciousness, heavenly light, and the like seemed to aid in understanding and mastering its true principles.
For Meng Xinghai, this was nothing short of a sumptuous feast: a teacher at the Heavenly God level was breaking apart the Black-White Classic, kneading it into fine pieces, and personally spoon-feeding it to him.
"Senior's great kindness will never be forgotten!" In the end, Meng Xinghai bowed deeply in homage.
Qin Ming could have analyzed the Black-White Classic for him as well, but when it came to teaching disciples, he was leagues behind Heavenly God Liu.
"In this life and the next, we shall repay this grace!" Yuque, the red squirrel, and the Thunder King Bird kowtowed. From this moment forth, they considered themselves direct scions of Black-White Mountain.
The palm-sized golden Liu Mo said, "All of you rise. We all reside near Black-White Mountain, which makes it a shared affinity."
"Senior, when you said time was limited, did you mean...?" Qin Ming asked.
"I must leave," Heavenly God Liu replied simply and clearly. He was about to journey far.
"Ah?" Having just finished comprehending the scripture, they were all astonished. Where was Old Liu going?
Liu Mo said, "I am striving for nirvana, hoping to cast off the past. Now that I have reached a critical stage where life and death hang in the balance, I must depart."
He admitted frankly that this departure might last years, perhaps even decades, or he might never return at all, passing away in the mortal world.
Meng Xinghai said, "Senior, why not enter seclusion right here at Black-White Mountain? We are willing to heed your every command."
Liu Mo shook his head. "This world is far less peaceful than you imagine. Yujing exploding does not mean supreme powers no longer exist."
Out of concern for safety, he had to leave this former haunt.
The two realized that Liu Mo had latent rivals and enemies demanding his utmost caution.
Perhaps his disappearance would be the strongest deterrence of all!
What would become of him in the future, and whether he could successfully undergo complete transformation, was something not even he himself knew.
Liu Mo sighed, "Alas, after sinking into the mortal dust for so many years, I now have an aging wife and a young son. If I am no longer around, please watch over them for me."
He sighed with the air of someone entrusting his family and making final arrangements.
Meng Xinghai said, "What are you saying, Senior? With Little Qin and me here, we guarantee everything will be well."
"Old Divine Lord above, please rest assured! We shall ensure the divine son comes to no harm!" Yuque, the red squirrel, and the Thunder King Bird immediately voiced their devotion as well.
Qin Ming harbored doubts and asked about the big yellow dog—would it also undergo nirvana with him? He had long known from Yuque that the Dog Sword Immortal had displayed tremendous might on a rainy night.
Liu Mo said, "Actually, I am not entirely at ease about it either. We shall see how it conducts itself."
Qin Ming inquired what latent perils there were that necessitated his departure.
Liu Mo shook his head and did not elaborate.
In truth, Qin Ming and Meng Xinghai could guess a bit of it: Yujing's explosion did not mean everything from the old order had vanished.
Moreover, Liu Mo was not the only one who had escaped Yujing back then; other beings had fled as well. When the Earth Immortal of Sky City descended last time, she had mentioned matters concerning fugitives wanted by Yujing.
Liu Mo cautioned, "The Dao is hard to seek, and the path beneath one's feet is treacherous. Every step must be taken with caution. Take me: even though I achieved an exalted divine rank, did I not still have to turn back? A single wrong step can ruin an entire lifetime. Five hundred years have passed, yet I have still not completely washed away the old imprint, nor attained full rebirth."
He said solemnly, "The future of an eight-sun stacker is far brighter than that of a Heavenly God!"
He murmured to himself, "In the eras before mine, I wonder if any of the senior predecessors who escaped Yujing ever succeeded in living out a brand-new life."
Liu Mo pondered, "In any case, they should have successors left in the world. For all these years, things have been quiet to an abnormal degree."
He looked toward Qin Ming and said, "I think highly of you; you will surely master the Eight Sovereign Forces! In the future, should you encounter beings hostile toward the Black-White Classic, just thrash them soundly!"
Liu Mo stated plainly that Qin Ming had practiced the Black-White Classic before, so he had now completed it for him to prevent him from sullying the scripture's true renown in the future.
Inevitably, they spoke of Yujing. Qin Ming was eager to learn about that place.
Yet Liu Mo was exceedingly wary of it.
"Just as you spoke of me at Black-White Mountain, it could be sensed," he said. Such was a Heavenly God: within a certain range, he could perceive things through the unseen.
Yujing was far more terrifying. Even though it had exploded, in Liu Mo's view, the less it was mentioned, the better. He said, "After all, it is more like it is undergoing nirvana."
Qin Ming still could not help himself. Tracing characters in the air, he asked, "In the past, the gods, immortals, demons, and the Lord of Yujing within it... are they truly gone?"
"Hard to say," Liu Mo shook his head.
Afterward, Meng Xinghai inquired on Qin Ming's behalf: with the world environment changing and things like the New Board and Golden Board appearing, could he participate?
Liu Mo said, "When power is there to be borrowed, borrow it. In the early stages, there is no great harm."
As for the later stages, his expression turned grave. He warned Qin Ming never to get too deeply entangled, or he risked being assimilated and ensnared by unfathomable chains of the Dao.
Qin Ming immediately recalled his experience in Earth City. When testing whether he possessed the aptitude of a Divine Moon or Blazing Sun, divine chains had snaked out from that stone monument, only to be snapped by the rag and devoured as sustenance.
Certain matters could not be discussed deeply; Liu Mo stopped at dropping hints.
He said, "In truth, my understanding of that place is likely only surface-level as well. After all, it is an inverted Yujing, which does not entirely match mythological legends."
Upon parting, Qin Ming urged him to undergo his nirvana with an untroubled mind.
"Take care, Old Immortal!"
Yuque, the red squirrel, and the Thunder King Bird pledged even more fervently that they would protect everything at Twin Trees Village.
"Even if the Old Immortal does not return for a long time, we will nurture the divine son well so he can seek you out in the future."
Liu Mo looked back on the past. He had stood high above as a Heavenly God, and he had fallen into the dust, starving and freezing as a beggar; he had weathered far too many trials.
Saying no more, he sat cross-legged atop the black-and-white diagram and abruptly shot into the sky.
In the days that followed, Qin Ming and Meng Xinghai conducted continuous sweeps around Black-White Mountain and surrounding Twin Trees Village, ensuring every lingering Night Ruins creature was eliminated.
Furthermore, they pushed outward into distant regions, reaching all the way to Maple Leaf City. This counted as answering the call to accumulate merits on the ground.
In early spring, all living things revived. Across various regions, people were taking action, purging the forces that had seeped in from the Night Ruins.
With the fire springs flourishing now, it was the best moment to expel the grotesque abominations.
"For now, we must strive to return the land to its former state. We don't ask for absolute peace and tranquility, but we can't have headless corpses flying overhead or human-skin kites soaring freely every time we look up!"
Along every path in Night Province, all orthodoxies and major organizations were exerting their full strength.
As for what would happen when winter returned and the fire springs dimmed, that was not something they considered for the moment.
However, certain areas on the ground were doomed to remain uncleansed—such as the mortal cities destroyed and the mountains smashed when Yujing broke apart and crashed down.
Earlier, even peak Grandmasters who ventured deep inside had suffered fatalities. Let alone now, when patriarchs, Grandmasters, and their peers were all beset by severe physical decay.
In Night Province, some places had turned into forbidden zones!
"It might not have been caused by fragments of Yujing alone; it could also be the consequence of whatever colossal entity perished alongside it."
...
In this vibrant spring, the world's greater environment was undergoing violent changes. Beyond the heavens, where the cyan qi gathered thick and dense, the proclamations grew ever clearer, and mysterious roads faintly flickered in and out of sight.
Soon, certain powerhouses on the ground communed between heaven and man, obtaining astonishing information.
Beyond the Ninth Heaven, peculiar towns had appeared!
The people of Sky City were stunned. Beyond their own lofty, ruined grotto-heaven, were there other comparable cities in the firmament?
"No, those are all empty divine cities and immortal towns, devoid of living souls," they discovered the truth.
Down on the ground, others also learned what manner of place it was. The New Board, Golden Board, and Dao Board corresponded to real locations, and anyone wishing to inscribe their name could travel there.
Towns shrouded in cyan clouds harbored great fortune. If one could engrave their name on the boards, they might enter and master Yujing, obtain true scriptures, and gain the insights of ancient sages.
This sparked a massive sensation.
Even so, all factions remained relatively cautious, not giving in to blind frenzy.
"No big issue—early on, opportunities abound!"
How to ascend beyond the Ninth Heaven? Many were itching to try.
"The bizarre towns on the ground have revived!" Eventually, they discovered the method of ascending to heaven: one could set sail from special locations.
Wu Yaozu, who was currently experiencing mortal life, was also keeping tabs on these matters. In the end, he was quite taken aback and exclaimed, "The bizarre town back in my old home is one of the departure points?"
In the past, that town was a ruin by day and brightly lit by night, where many mysterious beings from across the world would congregate.
Xiao Wu had once strolled through it with Qin Ming.
By now, many similar bizarre towns had appeared across various lands, where small boats wreathed in cyan mist were moored, capable of traveling beyond the Ninth Heaven.
Moreover, these bizarre towns were now more real and complete; physical bodies could already enter them.
Before long, bold individuals ascended to heaven, entering that cyan-mist-shrouded realm beyond the sky.
"Everyone, ascending to heaven poses no danger; all participants are guaranteed safe and sound!"
As time went on, many details were revealed. Experts continually communed between heaven and man, gleaning extensive details about that realm beyond the sky.
Initially, all factions had been cautious, but in less than ten days, many people began ascending to heaven!
"What happened? Little Rulai, Cui Chonghe, and the others are all scrambling to go up, when earlier they were still on guard."
"Hiss, even some people from Sky City have gone mad! Many have already set off, including those with the talent of Divine Moons and Blazing Suns. Even some old fellows whose bodies suffer from severe issues can no longer sit still."
In an instant, the realm beyond the Ninth Heaven became the gathering place of storm and strife.
Rumors also circulated that down on the earth, the Old Barbarian God of the north could no longer sit still, while that sage of Pugong was already riding a dragon on his way there.
"Everyone, you may rest entirely assured! Here lies the opportunity to become a Heavenly Immortal and a shared ancestor of an entire path! There is no danger, and participants' safety is guaranteed."
Many sought to test their blades in the heavens, wanting to leave their names on the New Board and Golden Board.
When Qin Ming learned some of the details, his heart stirred as well. Testing blades in the heavens? With all kinds of safeguards guaranteed, he genuinely felt like ascending to heaven to size up Little Rulai, Cui Chongxiao, and the others.
Chapter 432