Within the inner landscape, an abyss seemed to open, threatening to swallow Heavenly God whole. Even her snow-white robes were stained ink-black, corroded by the tribulation qi.
The nine-colored branch in her hand blazed with hundreds of millions of beams of light within the pure land, unleashing an endless auspicious aura. Yet when such a sacred bough struck against the tribulation qi, its own leaves withered and drifted down.
Then, losing their translucent luster, the yellow leaves detonated in midair, reducing to fine powder and ash.
Heavenly God's heart shook violently. What kind of overbearing power was this? She was holding a branch of the Nine-Color Precious Tree, reputed to dispel every catastrophe in the world, yet it was withering away.
Qin Ming was also astonished. Upon the appearance of the tribulation qi, she had merely waved a single branch to neutralize the first strike. The woman in white possessed profound cultivation and exquisite arts indeed.
Yujing's legacy was even more astonishing than he had imagined, boasting all manner of divine arts and miraculous methods. Its foundation was truly formidable.
Within the inner landscape, as though in an immortal's grotto-haven or the dwelling of gods, petals fluttered everywhere. Sacred beasts and divine birds circled beyond the boundary of the tribulation qi, displaying an extraordinary scene.
Brewing and gathering tribulation qi, Qin Ming strode through the pure land. Wherever he passed, black footprints were left on the ground, falling blossoms burst into flame, and immortal herbs turned to ash.
He held nothing back. The tribulation qi surged, raining down upon his opponent in an unrelenting assault.
At the same time, he circulated his Extreme Dao Golden Body and manifested a precious vajra pestle in his hand to guard his path and handle sudden developments.
Heavenly God's fine hairs stood on end as her white robes billowed. For the first time, a look of genuine shock appeared on her face, for she finally realized what was happening—her opponent was actually wielding and walking alongside tribulation qi!
How could that be possible? That was not a method someone of the younger generation could master.
With a soft shout, Heavenly God flicked her jade fingers, revitalizing the dimming silhouettes of the Heavenly Phoenix, Qilin, and other beasts. In an instant, the roars of sacred beasts and the cries of divine birds echoed through the inner landscape.
A Kunpeng spread its wings, swooping down to strike Qin Ming; a Golden Crow streaked across the void, seeking to incinerate him; and a Seven-Colored Peacock let out a piercing cry, as if about to swallow the entire inner landscape.
Qin Ming, however, remained utterly calm, not shrinking back in the slightest.
Brandishing his vajra pestle, he struck with a thunderous boom, blasting apart the Seven-Colored Peacock that had dived down to devour him.
Even without tribulation qi, his personal might was terrifying.
His Extreme Dao Golden Body blazed with light. As he swung the precious pestle, the entire inner landscape shuddered. The Golden Crow, descending with towering flames, was smashed into pieces in midair, shattering with a deafening roar.
Seeing this, Heavenly God's expression grew solemn.
In a split second, she unleashed boundless radiance. From the crown of her head to the soles of her feet, she was enveloped in sacred brilliance. From her strands of hair down to her internal skeleton, she turned completely crystalline, exuding a dense Dao rhythm that resonated with the nine-colored branch.
At this moment, the branch in her hand became sharper than a celestial blade and more dangerous than an immortal sword. When she slashed it gently through the void, the five elements threatened to fall out of balance, the fundamental elements destabilized, and the inner landscape verged on collapse.
She briefly held off the encroaching tribulation qi once more.
Outside her body, heavenly thunder detonated, windstorms wailed, and fire tribulations raged.
Then, throwing caution to the wind, the woman in white covered herself in divine Dao patterns. Her physical body turned translucent, and the blood flowing within her was composed of shining runes that issued Dao chimes.
"A true divine body!" The Butterfly Maiden's scalp tingled. Had the young man from the Li family pushed Her Highness to this point? She had actually resorted to a trump card of the divine path.
Not only that, but within the inner landscape, the drifting petals were engraved with script, all glowing brilliantly. The pure land of the gods became worthy of its name.
The woman in white truly resembled a heavenly god descending to the mortal realm. Every inch of her snow-white skin radiated divine mist, and lightning-like arcs shot from her pupils.
Any other opponent would have been crushed by now, utterly unable to withstand such majesty.
Harnessing the awakening of her divine body, the woman in white resonated with the entire inner landscape, her aura soaring to its absolute peak.
Yet, after their full-force clash, she was still corroded. The tribulation qi resembled an abyss longing to devour her, and her white robes were on the verge of igniting.
No matter how peerless and exquisite Yujing's heritage was, and no matter how many hundreds and thousands of talismans flew from the nine-colored branch, none could hold back the tribulation qi.
Upon the nine-colored branch, the purple, golden, and multicolored leaves withered and dried up, fluttering down in rustling flurries.
Before absolute power, even the most exquisite arts paled in comparison.
The woman in white withstood four tiers of tribulation. Beginning with the fifth, the branch in her hand caught fire, finally snapping within the divine pure land.
In an instant, she formed nine seals in succession, yet she still could not stop the intrusion of the tribulation qi. She staggered backward, each step sending violent tremors through the inner landscape and leaving fractured footprints upon the ground.
In truth, Qin Ming was exhausted; he could not convert and unleash tribulation qi indefinitely. However, his opponent could no longer endure.
The woman in white was decisive. The moment her wide sleeves caught fire, she merged her nine hand seals into one and slashed it across the pure land of the gods to bar her opponent's way.
"Hmm?" A chill ran down Qin Ming's spine, and he came to a sudden halt.
He soon realized what was happening. Was she trying to drag them both down together?
The woman in white tore apart her own inner landscape, the tear spreading toward Qin Ming's side.
On the esoteric sect's path to divinity, the inner landscape was the very foundation. Once destroyed, unless one cultivated a special scripture allowing for rebirth, their divine path would be severed.
Qin Ming had not anticipated such ruthlessness. Under these circumstances, even he had to retreat rapidly to avert the catastrophe of having his inner landscape destroyed.
Their inner landscapes were joined and merged as one. If that terrifying rift spread over, Qin Ming would suffer the tribulation along with her.
With a thunderous crash—a Dao chime far more terrifying than the roar of thunder—a section of the inner landscape ahead blew apart, sweeping violently toward Qin Ming.
"Are you mad?" He retreated repeatedly, using tribulation qi to sever the connection.
At the same time, the Black-White Twin Trees manifested behind him. One moment they were lush with foliage, the next their withered leaves fell in cycles of birth and death, stabilizing the pure land of the gods.
Rumble!
Ahead, Heavenly God's inner landscape disintegrated. She broke free and drifted away, as though ascending amidst glowing clouds.
Qin Ming realized the woman in white had not gone completely mad after all. This was an emergency measure she had prepared in advance—she had only torn a portion of her divine pure land, detonating a single corner that could be restored afterward.
The crucial issue was that this detonated corner of her inner landscape had been fused with Qin Ming's divine pure land.
"Suppress!" Qin Ming roared.
The Black-White Twin Trees withered and flourished alternately, anchoring the exit of the inner landscape. Qin Ming's spirit field expanded as well, barricading the front and locking down the forward perimeter.
In the end, though he bore the brunt of the shockwave, he neutralized the catastrophic fallout, leaving his own divine pure land unscathed.
However, Qin Ming himself was left in tattered garments and rather disheveled. Although he had arrived by borrowing a vessel, he could not very well go naked. The clothes he wore were half-destroyed, giving him a thoroughly battle-worn appearance.
When he charged out, he brimmed with murderous aura. Though he had held the absolute advantage earlier, he had still ended up looking battered and filthy.
In contrast, although a corner of her inner landscape was torn, she remained elegant. Her clothes had only lost their sleeves, exposing her fair, jade-like arms.
"Die!"
Qin Ming rode a sword light, his Pure Yang sword baleful aura blazing, granting him brief flight as he traversed the night sky, hurtling forward like a falling meteor.
Heavenly God transformed into a beam of flowing light and actually dodged. Her speed far exceeded imagination, proving half a step faster than even Qin Ming's flight through the sky.
"The Body of Flowing Light!" Qin Ming was taken aback. He recalled his opponent on the sword-dueling platform—the Heavenly Immortal.
That black-robed woman had also mastered this legendary movement technique, capable of extreme speed that was slightly faster than his black-and-white diagram fused with eight types of sacred baleful aura.
Unless he integrated nine types of sacred baleful aura and gave it his all to produce the chaotic baleful aura, he truly would not be able to catch up to her.
"The Body of Flowing Light represents one of the world's ultimate speeds!" The Butterfly Maiden was inwardly shaken. All of Her Highness's formidable methods were being forced out one by one by this opponent.
*Heavenly Immortal, Heavenly God... one in black, one in white. Even their naming conventions are similar. Is this one person walking two paths, or are they sisters, both saints of Yujing?*
As for appearance and aura, such external features could be concealed once someone reached a certain level.
Regardless of whether she was the Heavenly Immortal he knew, they were currently locked in combat on the God-Battling Platform. Qin Ming could show no mercy. Out of respect for his opponent, he had to give it his all.
"Hiss, how can this be? He's about to catch up to Her Highness!" The Butterfly Maiden was alarmed.
The sword light beneath Qin Ming's feet surged. He quietly employed the chaotic baleful aura, shooting toward his opponent at extreme speed.
Just as he was about to overtake her and strike with his sword baleful aura, the scene before him blurred. Pitch-black darkness swallowed heaven and earth. Was she employing another of Yujing's exquisite arts to banish his consciousness into an abyss?
Qin Ming was fearless. This was not his first time experiencing it. Did she truly think a technique that had already been broken would work a second time?
With a whoosh, he broke free of the domain. However, what appeared before him was not the God-Battling Platform, but a desolate moon palace accompanied by a laurel tree that wafted waves of pure fragrance.
Beneath the laurel tree, a young man wielded a massive axe, hacking toward him with astonishing murderous intent.
In addition, a large rabbit brandishing a medicine pestle squealed loudly as it charged forward.
Most crucially, Heavenly God in white emerged, bringing with her the immense, rolling Taiyin power of Guanghan Palace, seeking to freeze his consciousness solid.
The black-and-white diagram surfaced, its yin-yang eyes ignited by Qin Ming. It fully revived and transformed into the Taiji diagram, spinning slowly outside his body. Even if this was the very source of Taiyin, it could do nothing to him.
"Heavenly God, is this the extent of your repertoire?" The Taiji diagram spun before Qin Ming. With a squelch, it slashed the axe-wielding youth to death. Then, he seized the large rabbit, swiftly skinned it, hurled it into the mortar, and ignited his fire baleful aura on the spot to burn the laurel tree and stew the large rabbit.
Off the God-Battling Platform, the Butterfly Maiden was dumbfounded. Was he a savage? He was truly brutal—actually burning the laurel and stewing the rabbit! How could he even think of such a thing?
The Butterfly Maiden knew very well that every object there was formed from Her Highness's divine power and spiritual field. Did this brute want to eat Her Highness?
Heavenly God let out a cold snort and shattered the entire illusion, returning to reality. She had channeled the power of the source of Taiyin; though a single-attribute divine power, at this stage it was far more terrifying than a blend of multiple attributes. It was a path by which one could attain the status of a heavenly god through a single domain. Yet not only had her opponent resisted it, he had actually tried to eat her!
Black and white mist churned beneath Qin Ming's feet as the Taiji diagram spun behind his back. Transforming into a beam of flowing light, he charged toward the woman in white with the posture of a god-slayer.
After a brief clash, the woman in white's expression changed abruptly. This monster was formidable across every domain. When his chaotic sword baleful aura swept through, the beam unleashed by her Heavenly God Finger shattered, proving completely useless.
Furthermore, blood dripped from her fingertips; the sword baleful aura had nearly fractured her finger bones. A lock of hair was severed, and a stray streak of light grazed her face, drawing a streak of blood.
Qin Ming traversed heaven and earth at extreme speed.
Suddenly, he breached another mysterious domain. It felt as though he had arrived within a city on the mortal plane. The scenery was hazy at first, then gradually sharpened.
A city appeared right before his eyes; he was already standing inside it. The city teemed with worldly bustle, ten thousand fathoms of mortal dust.
Qin Ming's Pure Yang consciousness was being corroded and suppressed, as if he were being reduced to an ordinary mortal.
Immediately after, his divine wisdom was shaken at its foundation.
There had always been rumors that the smoke and bustle of the vast mortal world could drag down immortals and gods from the sky.
*This claim isn't entirely wrong. When the aura of the mortal world reaches its absolute peak, it contains mottled spiritual energies capable of polluting one's conscious spiritual light and divine wisdom. However, Pure Yang can purge worldly dust—I have nothing to fear!*
Qin Ming was protected by heavenly light, which inherently carried the essence of Pure Yang. Thus, after a brief moment of suppression, his vitality surged anew, his spirit flourishing vigorously.
Evidently, Yujing had conducted deep research into this aspect, extracting a type of "Red Dust tribulation qi" from the mortal world whose pollution and corrosion were even more potent.
The woman in white walked the esoteric sect's path to divinity and had obtained Yujing's supreme heritage. She understood countless techniques, had cultivated the corresponding methods, and had collected corrosive qi derived from the red dust.
Now, she manifested a city, intending to suppress Qin Ming within it.
A large number of bailiffs appeared in the city, carrying shackles and chains, moving to bind the opponent before them.
"Red Dust Tribulation Locks!" The Butterfly Maiden was shocked. Her Highness was bringing out all her hidden trump cards. One could only imagine what dire straits she had been pushed into.
This city had been manifested by the woman in white through the methods of Underworld Conduit, the fourth realm of the esoteric sect. It was formed of various types of circulating qi, dominated by the qi of special terrains.
This was originally meant to be her future Divine City, but now she was using it to trap her enemy.
"Kill!"
Battle cries shook the heavens within the city. Besides bailiffs, an army materialized, densely packed and bearing chains, marching forward to arrest and shackle Qin Ming.
"Do you truly think this city can suppress me into an ordinary mortal so you can capture me at your leisure?"
The next moment, surrounded by swirling varieties of qi within this city that bordered the spiritual domain, Qin Ming swung a massive war hammer boldly into the ranks of the army.
Amidst continuous popping sounds, the first wave of bailiffs exploded one after another into mists of blood.
Nonetheless, a few Red Dust Tribulation Locks managed to fall upon Qin Ming. Yet as the Hunyuan force erupted within him, they all shattered with sharp snaps.
Heavenly God was thoroughly shaken. Did this man truly have no weaknesses?
She had studied countless ancient texts and mastered many profound arts, yet all of them failed against the person before her.
Clearly, the Red Dust tribulation qi could not suppress Qin Ming or reduce him to a mortal. He carved a path of slaughter through the city. With every swing of his hammer, armored soldiers exploded in droves, leaving severed limbs and churning clouds of blood, turning the scene into an Asura's slaughterhouse.
This was what it meant for one man to overwhelm an entire city. Qin Ming was demonstrating it firsthand. Since the Red Dust Tribulation Locks could not bind him, the attackers filling the city were no different from an ordinary army.
Qin Ming smashed his hammer into the city gate with a thunderous blast. The gatehouse collapsed, burying swaths of armored soldiers beneath the rubble, and he broke through with ease.
Boom!
The instant he returned to reality, the great hammer formed of sacred baleful aura smashed down right before his opponent. The woman in white deployed all manner of techniques, yet the barrier of light around her shattered, sending her staggering backward.
Blood trickled from the corner of her lips, and her snow-white robes were finally reduced to tattered rags nearly identical to Qin Ming's.
"Kill!" Qin Ming seemed not yet to have disengaged from his frenzy in the city. His battle intent soared, his murderous aura surged, and he charged forward with the hammer raised.
Heavenly God did not panic. Her tattered white robes fluttered, and a faint smile even curved her lips. In her view, the city had achieved its intended purpose: it had stirred her opponent's emotions, stripping away his cool composure.
She lightly raised her fair hand. A chain flying from her spiritual field ignored space and defenses, appearing directly within Qin Ming's inner mind, seeking to bind his consciousness and drag it out of his physical body.
This was an ultimate art recorded in the *Yujing Heavenly Scripture*, truly a miraculous divine method. In this critical moment, the woman in white used it to invade her opponent's mind.
At this juncture, Qin Ming's various defenses proved completely ineffective.
He was genuinely startled, harboring deep wariness toward Yujing's legacy.
*Swish!*
At the direst moment, Qin Ming severed a figure from the depths of his mind and shoved it toward the chain, letting it be wrapped and dragged away.
This was a technique from the jade scripture—severing the Mind Ape, which meant cutting away one's negative emotions to ultimately refine them into a great medicine.
Qin Ming had studied the jade scripture deeply, but his spiritual power was exceptionally pure, making it difficult for excessive negative emotions to arise. As such, he had never severed a so-called Mind Ape before.
Not long ago, however, he had slaughtered ruthlessly within that city, causing his malevolent aura to soar. This had indeed disturbed his tranquil state of mind, giving his opponent the opening to breach his inner realm.
And at this exact moment, the opportunity to sever the Mind Ape had arrived. Qin Ming simply went with the flow.
This was not a Mind Ape laden with heavy negative emotions, but an instantaneous severance made by Qin Ming—a Mind Ape manifested specifically for this time and place, which could be obliterated at will.
"Huh?!" Heavenly God was taken aback. To her shock, she had reeled back a hairy monkey. The thunder-god-faced creature manifested a massive cudgel and began beating her over the head without mercy.
"Since you wanted it, take it!" Qin Ming followed his instincts. Immersed in the jade scripture method, his mind surged with turbulent waves, and he seized the momentum to sever an Intent Horse as well.
In an instant, a tall, wildly spirited steed manifested outside Qin Ming's body, raising its massive hooves to trample down toward Heavenly God.
The Mind Ape and the Intent Horse appeared simultaneously, launching a furious assault against Heavenly God.
Qin Ming's own eyes instantly turned clear, his mental state tranquil and restored to absolute calm. He too launched a ferocious assault.
With a sharp crack, he slashed the chain apart with his Hunyuan sword baleful aura, setting the Mind Ape completely loose.
For a time, Heavenly God was thrown entirely onto the defensive. Failing to lock Qin Ming's true consciousness, she had provoked his Mind Ape and Intent Horse instead, both of which were violently attacking her.
Add Qin Ming's true body to the mix, and the woman in white was plunged into grave danger.
"Ah..." She felt a piercing pain in her head as the monkey struck her with its cudgel.
With a dull thud, her back was struck by a flying kick from the heavenly steed, taking a direct hit from a heavy hoof!
Qin Ming's true body also rained blow after blow upon her.
Heavenly God coughed up blood, feeling deeply frustrated. If the spiritual chain had locked onto her opponent's true consciousness, a series of subsequent killing strikes would have followed, allowing her to drag him into Tianque and suppress him completely. Instead, everything had been thrown into chaos, rendering her unable to execute them.
She had never imagined the battle would unravel so abruptly. She was powerless to reverse the tide; battered repeatedly, struck multiple times by the Mind Ape's cudgel, trampled by the Intent Horse, and relentlessly hammered by Qin Ming in person, she was severely wounded and coughing up blood nonstop.
"Your Highness, please concede!" Seeing the aloft, untouchable princess disheveled and in such a pitiful state, the Butterfly Maiden could not bear to watch.
Heavenly God sighed, knowing that the situation was hopeless. She had already lost.
Right now, if she did not verbally admit defeat, her opponent would continue to pummel her relentlessly. His sword baleful aura had already carved numerous wounds across her body, soaking her white robes in blood.
Unable to watch any longer, the Butterfly Maiden shouted from outside the God-Battling Platform, "Stop, quickly! Her Highness has lost! She's willing to spend time with you and consider becoming your Dao companion, isn't that enough?!"
"I concede!" Heavenly God hesitated no longer. She knew that lingering any further would only lead to a devastating loss; not only would she suffer a crushing defeat, but her foundation would also be damaged and her vitality severely depleted.
Qin Ming grew suspicious. What was this about?
He asked aloud, "Are you telling the truth?"
Even as he spoke, the sword baleful aura in his hand turned into a massive hammer. With a dull thud, he gave Heavenly God another blow to the forehead, thoroughly dampening her combat capacity just in case she was playing a trick.
The woman in white felt a splitting headache. Her spiritual field hummed violently, threatening to destabilize. She had already yielded, yet she had still taken a hammer blow! Her frontal bone nearly cracked, and a large lump swelled on her pristine forehead at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"It's true! Stop hitting her!" the Butterfly Maiden shouted anxiously.
Qin Ming muttered to himself, "Why is the New Board suddenly so generous? Clearing this path and passing the trial actually comes with a wife and Dao companion?"
Chapter 455