A single word—"Slay"—fell like a thunderclap, scattering the night mist.
Beside Qin Ming, a five-colored sword baleful aura soared, both dazzling and unfathomably vast. Within it seemed to brew rivers, wild plains, and a sea of fire, carrying an aura of primeval desolation.
Cui Chonghe had already retreated in advance, continuously shifting his position. He moved like a specter haunting a sea of mist, darting left and right, manifesting abruptly only to turn intangible the next moment.
The fine hairs across his entire body stood on end. The bone-chilling sword qi blended seamlessly with the night mist, omnipresent, tracing icy chills past the corners of his eyes and brows.
His sideburns and sword-sharp brows suffered slight damage as dozens, then hundreds of hairs detached from him. Between his brows, he felt as though an immortal sword pressed against his skin, throbbing with faint pain.
His three fundamental scriptures were of immensely exalted conception. Blending and resonating them within the third realm was already a strained feat; now that they erupted in full force, he felt strained and uncomfortable from spirit to flesh.
Below the sword-dueling platform, Cui Chongxiao's eyes turned deep. "Something is wrong," he said. "Chonghe's indestructible immortal light was torn open prematurely at the corner by the sword baleful aura. The link between his three true scriptures has developed a flaw; he hasn't reached complete harmony!"
Upon Cui Chonghe's body, three kinds of immortal dao runes intertwined, showing signs of converging into oneness. Regrettably, a strand of five-colored sword baleful aura tore through the immortal light and cleaved in with overwhelming force.
Even though he had evaded ahead of time, darting through the night sky like a faint silhouette, he was still injured by that brilliant five-colored divine light.
Before Cui Chonghe, the Primal Unity Dao Lantern blazed with nine colors, its rich dao rhyme raging like fire to block that lethal sword baleful aura.
Yet at the critical juncture, it actually veered aside. Arriving with a domain, the five-colored sword baleful aura seemed to warp space, causing the dao lantern to slide to the side.
"Hmm?" Cui Chonghe's heart seized. That chilling sword light penetrated straight into his body, making him feel as if his heart were about to be impaled, wisps of sword intent twining around his bones.
In an instant, his entire body turned golden. Four faces and eight arms appeared simultaneously as his Indestructible Immortal Scripture and a certain golden body technique shielded him together.
Yet the sword baleful aura pierced right through, slicing open his golden body.
With a squelch, scarlet blood splashed outward, and he was nearly cleaved in two.
This body forged from natural treasures possessed living spirituality and genuine blood, forcing him to endure an agonizing, excruciating pain.
The five-colored sword baleful aura pierced through his heart and entangled his jade-like bones, clanging as it began whittling away at the bone itself.
"Disperse!" His spiritual field roared. As if uttering divine decrees from the heavens, he activated the Golden Palace Jade Chapter. The moment the true word emerged, pure yang power surged into a boil.
The fundamental scripture he valued most was extraordinary indeed, sweeping away the sword baleful aura and holding back the sword domain.
Otherwise, once the five-colored sword baleful aura entered his body, it would have been lethal; he would have been diced to pieces, his bones and spiritual consciousness cleaved alike.
Even so, Cui Chonghe's precious body fractured into a crisscrossing lattice of cracks. From head to toe, rays of sword light erupted outward, as if he were being torn apart by five horses.
"Chonghe has been cleaved..." Cui Qi's face shifted abruptly. Regret seized him; he shouldn't have let his second son take the stage. This opponent was clearly an old monster.
He had even grown deeply suspicious that the stone man might be an Earth Immortal. Otherwise, how would he dare take the name "Slaying Through the Thirty-Six Heavens with a Single Sword"?
"Chonghe still has one more chance," Cui Chongxiao said, fixing his gaze upon the battlefield.
On the sword-dueling platform, Cui Chonghe's shredded body vanished abruptly amid a mist of blood. Like a hurricane sweeping through, dao patterns interlaced and the night mist exploded apart.
"To think that achieving harmony among the three scriptures would require the sacrifice of my true blood," Cui Chonghe sighed softly as he reappeared.
Besides Cui Qi and Cui Chongxiao, another person was watching this battle with utmost attention: Cao Tian, who stood beside Li Qingxu.
He spoke up: "Those three great immortal scriptures were meant to resonate in the fourth realm. That he can display it in advance proves his talent is truly peerless."
Li Qingxu had not expected that even the proud, unyielding Cao Tian would view the wounded Cui Chonghe in a different light, offering such high praise.
Hailing from the outer pure lands, they had naturally recognized Cui Chonghe's identity through his techniques.
By now, the three immortal lights outside Cui Chonghe's body had blended into absolute perfection. The three halos blurred and gradually formed auspicious clouds, through which densely packed words and symbols flowed.
He grew enigmatic and powerful. At this moment, he seemed extraordinarily attuned to this world; every gesture returned to simplicity, exuding the harmony of unity between heaven and man.
Cui Chonghe was in an extraordinary state. On the outside, he was ethereal and aloof, while within, fighting spirit blazed. His eyes locked onto his opponent as though seeking to see through him completely.
Yet to his slight disappointment, the stone man remained calm and unruffled, completely unconcerned whether he had become more dangerous.
Facing his transformation, Qin Ming offered only six words: "Fine then. Test my sword's edge."
Clang!
A sword hum that wasn't loud resonated between heaven and earth. The five-colored sword baleful aura surged, carrying the sword domain and harboring mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas within, striking outward once more.
Cui Chonghe rarely fought in public. Having suffered a grievous loss just moments ago, pent-up frustration naturally burned within him. Seeing this, his fighting spirit surged, lightning-like beams shooting from his eyes.
He vanished from where he stood, proactively launching an assault on his opponent.
The five-colored sword baleful aura struck the immortal light surrounding him, where what looked like an expanse of starry heavens lit up. Cui Chonghe's body resonated with dao chimes as the three immortal halos turned into three auspicious clouds, blocking the pure yang sword baleful aura.
"One person, three scriptures, myriad runes... So this is the path he walks," an old monster murmured.
Around Cui Chonghe, the three auspicious clouds resonated, their dense runes holding back the five-colored sword baleful aura.
"Possessing a Dao body, harboring three scriptures within, and evolving all things... This disciple of Sun Taichu has quite the ambition," Cao Tian also murmured softly.
Anyone could see that Cui Chonghe was far stronger than before. Some speculated he might be able to charge into the top fifty. Yet even in this state, he failed to suppress the stone man.
Qin Ming's five-colored sword baleful aura reflected wondrous sights of mountains and rivers, poised to pierce through that immortal light and auspicious clouds once more.
After holding off the sword baleful aura, Cui Chonghe went on the offensive. Raising the Primal Unity Dao Lantern, he cast out hundreds and thousands of piercing beams of light.
Like a god or fiend treading through the void, he advanced. The doctrine of the Beginning of the Primal Unity spoke of the initial form of the Dao—an intention too profound for him to fully manifest now. What he could unleash at present was "ushering out the old to establish the new," using a single lantern to illuminate and shatter all things, reshaping the surrounding environment.
Now that his three scriptures had converged, the lantern in his hand held unimaginable might.
"Domain suppression, slaying foes at will," some senior figures exclaimed in shock.
Yet the dense sword baleful aura formed a five-colored curtain of light, blocking the slaughtering radiance cast by the lantern.
Cui Chonghe's aura continued to climb. Indestructible dao rhymes blended around his form, and the Golden Palace Jade Chapter—the scripture he prized above all—began to show its might as well.
Amid ringing dao chimes, his presence shifted entirely. Abruptly, he became draped in imperial robes, wearing an imperial crown with jade tassels. Hazy representations of the sun and moon manifested at his flanks, making him appear as though he were suspended high above the nine heavens.
"One of the three hardest true scriptures to cultivate on the immortal path... He actually comprehended the deepest doctrines of the Golden Palace Jade Chapter!" Li Qingxu's face changed drastically.
Rumble!
Sword baleful aura descended from the sky, the thunder deafening to the ears.
Qin Ming invoked a sixth sword baleful aura. This was the dao of sword lodging acquired from the Jade Emperor, originating from the legendary Beast Sword Immortal.
He did not use the exotic metal small sword, instead channeling the lightning-attribute sacred baleful aura.
With a wet thud, a streak of sword light plunged, nearly beheading Cui Chonghe. The crowned tassels atop his head flared with blinding radiance before shattering into pieces, beads scattering across the floor.
This sixth sword baleful aura had nearly sent Cui Chonghe straight into reincarnation.
Yet he reacted swiftly. The Primal Unity Dao Lantern surged upward, and raising the lantern to cut his losses, he blocked the follow-up assault.
The stone man had actually refined a sixth sword baleful aura! Many onlookers were instantly stunned.
"More than that, he might possess a seventh sword baleful aura related to the wind attribute," an old monster remarked.
Earlier, Qin Ming had displayed it in secret, and a few had noticed.
Cao Tian cocked his head toward the sword-dueling platform. "Cui Chonghe, who could defeat his master Sun Taichu at the same level—a fledgling dragon's first cry that was supposed to shine brilliantly—might suffer a catastrophic tumble today."
Hearing this, Li Qingxu showed disbelief. Who was Sun Taichu? A formidable power even among grandmasters. Retreading the path he had walked, could he really have lost to his last disciple?
He blurted out, "That can't be possible, can it?"
Cao Tian glanced at him. "Don't let emotions color your judgment. Otherwise, when you despise someone, you'd want nothing more than to grind them into the dust, which isn't fair. The facts are right there: he entered the Dao at three or four years old, stayed ahead of his peers for over a decade, and has never suffered a single defeat. Of course, that's also due to his restraint; he rarely makes a move. Although he isn't Jiang Ran and couldn't claim the absolute pinnacle of the immortal path, he is far beyond what most could ever imagine. What did you expect from someone who developed a Dao body?"
"He truly managed to cultivate... a Dao body?" Li Qingxu's heart trembled. He disliked Cui Chonghe because in his youth, he had fancied Wang Caiwei, only for her to become Cui Chonghe's fiancée.
Cao Tian said, "You've already witnessed a Pure Yang body; do you think a Dao body would fall short? Right now, that he can fight an old monster to this extent is an honorable defeat—more than enough reason to be proud."
Li Qingxu asked, "Could that stone man also be a youth?"
"Impossible!" Cao Tian shook his head. Many grandmasters had used the World-Abiding Scripture to prolong their lives, yet throughout hundreds and thousands of years, none had ever cultivated that longevity sword intent.
Cao Tian guessed that the stone man was most likely an old monster at the Earth Immortal level.
On the battlefield, Cui Chonghe's transformation deepened further. The tassel-draped imperial crown reappeared; clad in imperial robes, he was flanked by the sun and moon.
Moreover, before him, a hazy dragon carriage emerged, appearing to drive in from the void to welcome him aboard for battle.
With a sudden flash, a dragon's roar echoed through the night sky as it materialized. Carrying the lantern, Cui Chonghe stepped onto the dragon carriage, launching his true counterattack, intent on steering the dragon carriage to tear through the curtain of sword baleful aura.
"Time for the curtain to fall!" Cui Chonghe's conviction was immense; he felt anchored in the strongest domain he could currently achieve.
Qin Ming looked at him. "Confident again? What of it? I'll slay you with a single sword!"
Instantly, the lightning baleful aura fused into the five elements sword baleful aura, six-colored divine light shooting into the skies.
Seeing this scene, many young sword cultivators trembled in mind and spirit before bursting with excitement. What astounding brilliance! To fuse six kinds of sacred baleful auras into sword light was utterly terrifying!
Cui Chonghe showed no fear. Driving the dragon carriage, he rumbled across the night sky, his entire body radiant as he poured out all his strength. Like one bearing the majesty of heaven, he launched his ultimate strike!
In that instant, Qin Ming fused the wind-attribute sword baleful aura into the six-colored sword light as well. Since the other party had mastered both the Calamity-Evading Immortal Scripture and the Indestructible Immortal Scripture, Qin Ming feared he might reappear after being slain, so he decided to finish it in a single stroke.
"Hmm?" Cui Chonghe's pupils contracted, sensing something amiss.
In an instant, seven-colored sword baleful auras tore through the night sky, rising side by side like the Peacock Wisdom King spreading its plumage, illuminating heaven and earth.
Sword qi was everywhere, pouring out in every direction. The seven-colored sword baleful aura sliced ruthlessly, cleaving the dragon carriage Cui Chonghe steered until it exploded, while the crowned tassels on his head shattered into pieces.
In moments, Cui Chonghe's blood splashed across the night sky as well.
During this, he reconstituted his body several times, only to be repeatedly shredded by the sword baleful aura.
Below the sword-dueling platform, everyone was shaken to their core.
The young sword cultivators in particular were petrified, their eyes soon burning with fervor, feeling as though they were beholding a Heavenly God!
None knew better than they how difficult it was for someone on the path of an immortal sword cultivator to refine so many top-tier sword baleful auras; they knew all too well what this signified.
Cleaved and utterly defeated, Cui Chonghe was restored by the dao rhymes descending from the New Board in the night curtain, yet his face remained ghastly pale as he stood below the platform.
"To think I lost so thoroughly!" he sighed.
Cui Qi appeared and sent a voice transmission: "Your master said you lack tempering. A few defeats are good for you."
He felt some heartache for his second son. The first time Chonghe fully displayed his edge, he ran into such an abnormal old monster—who could have withstood that?
Cui Chongxiao also sent a secret voice transmission: "Your Dao body hasn't reached its peak. Otherwise, even if you lost to an old monster, you wouldn't have been in such a wretched state."
In the end, Cui Chongxiao did not mount the platform to challenge the stone man.
He wanted to see just what height this person's ranking would ultimately reach.
Qin Ming stood upon the sword-dueling platform for quite a while, yet no one mounted the stage; instead, he gathered countless fiery gazes.
"Only someone mad would go challenge him on the eightieth-ranked platform! I think this man has a shot at breaking into the top ten or twenty!"
Little Rulai's expression turned grave. "Sword cultivators are body refiners as well, but can they truly be this terrifying?"
He felt that if he were to mount the platform, he would also suffer defeat.
In particular, pure yang sword cultivators refined baleful auras, an area that overlapped with his own, leaving his emotions exceptionally conflicted.
He muttered to himself, "I wonder if Qin Ming of the collateral branch came. Still, in the third realm, he has only reached around the sixth or seventh heaven—far from completion. Even if he appeared here, he wouldn't have the strength to compete."
Little Rulai was indeed exceptionally formidable. Relying on raw strength to battle his way through, his ranking in the third realm had now climbed to seventy-third.
Qin Ming began his path of challenges at an unhurried pace, advancing by ten or twenty ranks at a time. His primary intention was to gauge certain old acquaintances, preparing for future conflicts in reality.
Unfortunately, he hadn't discovered who Cui Chongxiao was, nor did he know whether the master behind the mind monkey had arrived.
Noticing Little Rulai's ranking, he hesitated slightly and decided against challenging him, as both practiced Hunyuan force—a technique he knew inside and out.
Not long after, Qin Ming spotted a black dragon alongside a woman wrapped in a black cloak, finally confirming they were Master Wu and Tang Jin.
"Big Tang's ranking is that high?" He was somewhat surprised.
Tang Jin had actually fought her way to fifty-seventh place, and she hadn't stopped yet.
Soon, Qin Ming understood. Back then, this fierce girl had dared pursue Jiang Ran to seize the fortune on Black-White Mountain.
Next, Qin Ming noticed Feng Zhige, a young expert from Sky City, who had also reached the fifties.
Both were still striving, looking to climb higher.
Qin Ming murmured to himself, "The younger generation from Sky City is charging up fiercely."
As for Yan Zhuohua and Zhou Tiandao, he hadn't spotted them and didn't know if they had come here, but their ranks surely wouldn't be lower than Feng Zhige's.
Qin Ming climbed all the way up, eventually breaking into the top ten.
For him, this was the last realm he could participate in, so along the way he challenged many people to understand the wondrous arts of various systems and gain combat experience against top-tier experts.
"The top ten!" Seeing this, the Cui father and sons sucked in the night mist. Even though they were mentally prepared, their hearts still trembled with shock.
Cui Qi comforted his second son: "Chonghe, don't feel discouraged in the slightest. See that? He is definitely an old monster! That you fought him to such an extent already lets you look down upon most people on the ranking board."
Cui Chonghe nodded. "Yes, I know. No one is undefeated. Looking across the New Board, the number one in each realm is different. Give me time, and I will gradually catch up to those seniors!"
Within the top ten, Qin Ming chose his battles selectively while also watching others duel.
"She is Guanghan, now renamed Changxi." Qin Ming was astonished to discover that woman who had ranked exceptionally high in the previous two realms.
Of course, he had learned this from other people; she went by different identities in different realms.
This was his first time watching Guanghan—that was, Changxi—fight someone in detail.
"Huh? That's a technique from the Newborn path's Heaven-Severing Strategy!"
"Bizarre... Next is Xiao Wu's doctrine of rainbow transformation?"
Qin Ming was astonished. This Changxi's path was far too wild; she knew a great variety of arts, though her primary cultivation seemed to be scriptures from ancient immortal sanctuaries.
Suddenly, a realization struck him: "Could she be... the woman from the temple?"
In the past, at Xiao Wu's home village, inside that divine temple, a mysterious white-robed woman had sparred with him using Sky-Severing saber intent. She wasn't on the Newborn path, yet she was proficient in all kinds of techniques from that domain.
"It's likely really her. Her bearing is so similar!"
Once suspicion took root, matching clues, seeking verification, and drawing connections made it easy to uncover the truth. Qin Ming felt he might truly have run into an old acquaintance.
"Xiao Wu and she are in that same perilous land. One lives behind that bizarre little town, while the other resides in front of it. Truly bizarre."
Qin Ming had once wondered whether the woman in the temple was Xiao Wu's elder—perhaps his aunt, mother, grandmother, or ancient ancestor? He had indulged in wild thoughts before.
He decided that next time, he had to question Xiao Wu thoroughly.
Soon after, beneath the astonished gazes of everyone present, Qin Ming stepped onto the highest sword-dueling platform to challenge the mysterious expert ranked number one: Withered Tree Greening in Spring.
Just then, a commotion arose in the distance. A great red dragon appeared. Little Rulai was struck dumb with shock, then quickly ran over.
"Senior, you've arrived! Where is the sage?"
"I thought he was dawdling too much, so I rushed over first!" the great red dragon spoke, its voice booming like thunder.
At that moment, the New Board suddenly blazed with blinding radiance, and dense text emerged across it, startling everyone into raising their heads to look.
Chapter 442