Under the cover of night, Zhuo Kun knelt on both knees, touching his forehead to the ground. His snow-white hair hung disheveled, concealing most of his face, yet his countenance remained visible—deathly pale, drained of all color.
Not long ago, he had worn an imperial crown and golden robes embroidered with heavenly dragons, accompanied by auspicious omens while dragon roars and phoenix cries echoed through the night sky. Like a Heavenly God descending to the mortal realm, he had toured the world of mortals.
Yet now, he had tumbled from the lofty skies where brilliant light-rain fell, plunging into the muddy earth and kowtowing incessantly. The contrast before and after was like night and day.
Zhuo Kun was truly terrified, trembling from the depths of his spirit to his very flesh.
Behind him, the eight Earth Immortals were equally pale. Having fallen into the dust alongside him, they dared not raise their heads, kneeling beneath the night sky as though begging for pardon.
"The Divine Lord pities all living beings and tours the mortal realm..." Those words seemed to still echo beneath the vast expanse, yet in the blink of an eye, they had turned into the very source of their terror.
If Yujing had awakened, they had undoubtedly committed a severe transgression.
After taking off his imperial crown, Zhuo Kun pressed it hard into the soil, his knuckles turning white.
Before this, the retinue had traveled with extraordinary pomp: immortal light illuminated the mountains and rivers, hazy images of the sun and moon reappeared, and stars aligned in intricate formations. Employing special methods to manifest all manner of wondrous phenomena, they had truly seemed like emperors reigning over all under heaven.
Yet they were not the masters of Yujing; they were not even permitted to dwell within it.
Behind the "Divine Lord" and the eight Earth Immortals were numerous followers. Seeing their actions, the onlookers stared wide-eyed before succumbing to utter dread.
The entire group dropped to their knees behind them, shivering uncontrollably.
Zhuo Kun did not dare stand. No matter how hard he thought, he could not fathom why Yujing had suddenly awakened to reveal divine presence and manifestations; according to their calculations, it should not have emerged into the world yet.
Panic gripped his heart. No one knew better than he how terrifying that supreme realm was.
Before him, as he bowed, a precious mirror clattered onto the ground with a chime. Ripples spread across its surface. Peeking into it, he felt his scalp tingle with numbness; the scene unfolding in the night sky filled him with boundless horror.
Beyond the heavens, a living being had emerged!
The curtain of night was pierced by a sacred glow. High above the ink-black heavens, the indistinct outline of a mysterious city surfaced, shrouded within halos of radiance.
"Has Yujing... chosen a master?" Zhuo Kun's lips trembled, his speech faltering.
The precious mirror on the ground was a sect-guarding treasure capable of capturing hazy visions from beyond the heavens. Deep within that radiant halo, atop the grand sacrificial altar at the center of Yujing, a ceremonial relic of imperial majesty had appeared.
However, it was simply too far away, and only a faint afterimage could be discerned: a ceremonial canopy flowing with a rosy hue amidst billowing mists, where scarlet clouds intertwined with purple qi.
Normally, should there not be a figure standing beneath that parasol?
Above the ninth heaven, much closer to Yujing, other exotic treasures similarly captured a hazy glimpse of this afterimage.
High-ranking figures from places like Star Mountain, Leize Palace, and Misty Peak turned pale with fright. Even as supreme powerhouses of the Seventh Realm, a chill ran down their spines.
In their eyes, an imperial parasol spun atop the blurred altar, its tassels trailing scarlet clouds as purple qi drifted in from the east in sublime sanctity. Gazing intently, they faintly made out the back of a figure standing there.
Alas, the distance was too immense; even with precious mirrors in hand, they could not see through the veil. Moreover, they did not dare continue mirroring Yujing—even what they were doing now was already an overstepping of boundaries.
Most crucially, the imperial parasol and the figure atop the altar vanished in a flash, lingering in the world for only a fleeting moment before disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Without question, this struck them with immense shock!
Yujing, the central altar, the yellow imperial parasol, the blurred silhouette of a back—with these elements combined, how could they not let their imaginations run wild?
In the heavens, every old mountain stronghold felt suffocated and uneasy from top to bottom. After disintegrating, Yujing was undergoing nirvana, and living beings truly remained within!
"Supreme realm, paramount will..." They kowtowed and begged for forgiveness with ashen faces, writing on special paper before casting it into an abyssal rift. They prayed continuously as if performing a ritual, pleading for the surviving beings in Yujing to grant them pardon.
"We..." An elderly Earth Immortal trembled in utter dread. They had once harbored wishful thinking, believing that after Yujing shattered, no surviving grand figures remained within.
Now, it appeared that was not the case at all.
Their conduct had undoubtedly offended Yujing, failing to comply with the ripples of will that had emanated from there in years past.
Though they paid homage to the supreme realm beyond the heavens, deep down they had once assumed Yujing existed in name only, reduced to nothing more than an empty city.
The leaders of the old mountain strongholds turned ashen, tidal waves of shock crashing through their hearts. Had they merely transgressed? They had completely misjudged, believing the "paramount will" above them had vanished.
If nothing else, within Yujing's radiating influence, the opportunities and fortune left behind for later geniuses had all been intercepted and hoarded as their personal property.
They had aggressively locked the heavens and intercepted Dao rhymes, utterly heedless of whether the world outside would deteriorate further and become barren. Every one of these actions was a grave transgression.
"Has... an exalted figure awakened?"
"He stood beneath the imperial parasol, facing away from us, cold, silent, ignoring us entirely. This will most likely bring down a 'heavenly calamity.'"
In the heavens, within the pure land, all the old eccentrics were chilled to the bone. Kowtowing devoutly, they continually used Earth Immortal blood to write upon the special paper, seeking to communicate with Yujing and praying ceaselessly to beg for forgiveness and mercy.
The heavens had fallen into chaos!
Naturally, the mortal realm was in an uproar as well. Yet while ordinary mortals revered Yujing, they were ignorant of the hidden truths, and thus bore none of the crushing psychological pressure weighing on the Earth Immortals.
"The Divine Lord and eight Earth Immortals led their retinue in worshiping the blurred city against the night sky, and they're all trembling!"
"Didn't they claim to pity all living beings and descend to slay demons and monsters on earth? Why are they terrified now, acting as though they've committed capital crimes?"
Many witnessed Zhuo Kun and his followers' actions, and word rapidly spread in all directions.
Between different territories lay ancient misty gates, as well as newly forged void pathways leading into other realms. The Patriarch Group and the Earth Immortals outside Night Province had not yet left the radius of Yujing's influence. Looking up and seeing the blurred outline of the city beyond the heavens, they instantly realized something momentous had occurred.
Through secret techniques, they contacted the informants they had planted beforehand.
"Yujing has awakened, and the people in the heavens have dropped to their knees! I really do want to head back and take a look."
"The Divine Lord toured the world with boundless pomp, yet now he has suddenly turned humble, knocking his head against the ground and kneeling without rising. If we walked right up to him now, I wonder if he would erupt into violence or continue piously kowtowing to the heavens, haha..."
Even as they laughed, blood trickled from the corners of their mouths. In this grand environment following the upheaval of heaven and earth, they were all heavily wounded; even a minor exertion imposed a severe burden.
No one had anticipated that the celestial factions would fall to their knees on their own in such an unexpected turn of events.
However, none of them intended to make the return journey just yet, for the present remained shrouded in uncertainty.
In the heavens, buffeted by wind and rain, the leaders of the old mountain strongholds bore heavy hearts, waiting in suffocating dread for the surviving grand figures of Yujing to bring down a raging tempest.
Those who could not withstand such pressure were on the verge of a psychological collapse.
There were also peerless powerhouses of the Seventh Realm whose eyes flickered with divine light. In this era, an Eighth Realm existence simply could not be born. Even if a being of that tier still lived, they would be thoroughly decayed; striking out would only amount to the pinnacle of Seventh Realm might.
"If the supreme realm truly holds us accountable and pronounces a death sentence, then we fight!" Ruthless individuals in the heavens quietly braced themselves. Rather than wait for death, they would stake everything on a desperate gamble. Even if death remained the likely outcome, it was far better than doing nothing.
Others, more opportunistic, were already packing their belongings in secret, hoping to flee to distant realms through the ancient misty gates—just in case they succeeded.
If so, they would effectively be treading the same path as the earthly Patriarch Group and Earth Immortals—a case of "great minds thinking alike."
In a sense, they could be considered fellow travelers, and perhaps in the future they would experience the pleasant surprise—or fright—of encountering an "old acquaintance" in a foreign land.
Heavy black clouds collided and storms churned, undercurrents surging both above and below. Qin Ming, meanwhile, was completely dazed. He had essentially been abducted, or rather swept along against his will.
He had involuntarily stood atop the altar beneath the yellow imperial parasol, only to be whisked away an instant later. He had no inkling of the sheer shock and impact that fleeting, blurred silhouette had inflicted upon the outside world.
Never could he have imagined that Earth Immortal witnesses had, in their terror, mistaken him for the first grand figure of Yujing to awaken.
Some had even speculated that the supreme realm had chosen a new master!
The two rags made contact, leaving behind the brand marks of the earthly moon and blazing sun at the site of the original altar, propping open the passage to prevent it from closing.
Sun and moon shone brilliantly as though truly present, forming two doors. Encircling the portals was a layer of characters that coalesced into a tangible divine ring.
Within the modest passage, various vistas continued to flow out from the other shore, coalescing onto the features of Yujing. This was an accumulation of substance that would one day solidify and grow distinct.
With such a dramatic upheaval occurring atop the altar, if there were any living beings remaining within Yujing, they could not fail to be alerted.
At that moment, movement stirred within the ten-colored iceberg... Faint, indistinct breathing began to emerge, gradually growing heavier before rising and falling like the tide as a terrifying aura started to awaken.
Beyond the heavens, far from Yujing amidst the boundless darkness, Qin Ming shielded himself with the yellow imperial parasol, looking upon the two rotating pieces of exotic metal cloth not far away with mixed emotions. They were spinning and emitting light.
"This is... the fourth piece!"
The new scrap was not large, certainly not the cloth scrap containing more than half a blazing sun mentioned by the surviving ancient mighty figure in the deep sea of the Night Ruins.
On the ragged cloth ahead rested a fragment of a crescent moon, radiating a hazy light.
Furthermore, along the edge of the scrap seemed to be a tiny tip of a claw—sharp and intimidating—though unfortunately it was far too fragmented.
"The scenery is becoming increasingly 'rich and varied.' What does its complete picture actually look like?" Qin Ming stared at it.
The old cloth sought to merge with the new one, but seemed to hit an obstacle; the piece that had just detached from Yujing was resisting.
"Temporary owner!" The old cloth sent out a faint ripple that transmitted into Qin Ming's heart.
Then the scene suddenly changed. To Qin Ming's astonishment, he found himself in a place paved with exotic metal, surrounded by hazy light.
"Did the old cloth grow larger, or did I shrink?" He realized he was standing atop the old cloth. The expanse here was vast, the exotic metal cloth spreading out into an immense platform.
Directly across, the ground was likewise paved with exotic metal cloth. The new cloth covered a similarly broad area, emitting a gentle light as it docked toward his side.
Qin Ming gazed forward, his pupils contracting, for he saw a figure walking over from the opposite exotic metal cloth.
He was not alone here—there was actually someone else!
The newcomer wore white robes, his black hair glistening with a crystalline sheen. His eyes were clear, his complexion lustrous and fair, his features handsome—veritably possessing jade-like grace. He was an exceptionally striking young man in both appearance and bearing.
As he walked forward, radiance blossomed beneath his feet. Every footstep seemed imbued with Dao rhymes and swirling brilliant light, making the white-robed man appear all the more transcendent and untainted by the mortal world.
The old cloth rippled, conveying a brief message: the newcomer's status was similar to Qin Ming's.
Evidently, like Qin Ming, the other party was a temporary owner of an exotic metal cloth.
The man had not been here just now; how had he appeared so suddenly?
Qin Ming involuntarily glanced toward Yujing. Could he have come from there?
The white-robed man was composed. With a faint smile, he clasped his fists toward Qin Ming with impeccable courtesy, sending out a gentle ripple of consciousness: "This treasure is of immense consequence."
He was polite and courteous, yet conveyed his true meaning with crystal clarity: he wished for Qin Ming to part with his treasure, or else Qin Ming would have to bear colossal karmic consequences.
"Does it concern the rise and fall of Yujing?" Qin Ming asked.
The white-robed man smiled without elaborating, waiting placidly for his response.
"It does not!" The old cloth sent out an obscure ripple, informing him that it would not affect Yujing, and that whoever lost would forfeit their status as a temporary owner.
Qin Ming gave him a sidelong glance. If that was the case, the white-robed man politely asking him to bow out was truly... a bit much.
The white-robed man was even calmer than Qin Ming had imagined. Still wearing a faint smile, he extended a hand to ask for the old cloth, saying, "I will not let you suffer a loss in the future; there will surely be recompense."
He smiled and clasped his hands again.
Qin Ming did not know whether the white-robed man came from Yujing, but his demeanor was extraordinary, brimming with confidence and composure. An outsider might have mistaken him for being sincere and frank.
Yet seen through Qin Ming's eyes, this hardly inspired goodwill. The other party seemed calm, gentle, and refined, but was in truth extremely overbearing.
They were competitors. The man was simply strong-willed and convinced of his own victory—acting as if no one else could possibly stand before him even before trading blows.
Qin Ming replied calmly, "Before you reach out your hand to me, have you considered how many moves of mine you can actually take?"
The white-robed young man said, "It seems unpleasantness is unavoidable after all. Truth be told, I really did not wish to fight, but now I can only offer my apologies to you, Dao Brother."
He smiled, extending a hand in an inviting gesture.
It was evident he possessed an extraordinary background. From beginning to end, he maintained a calm and elegant posture; even on the verge of a duel, the smile on his face never faded.
Qin Ming remarked, "If after the bout you can still whisper 'apologies' to me in that gentle voice, I'll take off my hat to you."
He wasted no courtesy and struck decisively. Right from the start, he erupted with full power without holding back in the slightest, unleashing an esoteric sect technique—the Inner Landscape Heaven-Opening Axe.
Back then, when Xie Jinglan had unleashed this lethal art, even Qin Ming had been shaken and hard-pressed. After fully comprehending and digesting this trump card, unleashing it himself carried even greater divine might.
Now, withholding nothing, he directly invoked the forbidden ultimate technique recorded on the final page of a supreme true scripture, rendering it exceptionally terrifying.
Once Qin Ming's inner landscape opened, an enormous axe hung across the sky, dazzling beyond compare. Coiled in tribulation qi, it detonated the sea of night mist in this place with an unstoppable, all-severing momentum.
The white-robed young man's feet were planted like nails onto the exotic metal cloth and began to glow. Blinding brilliance rose from beneath his soles, accompanied by Dao rhymes and runes.
Qin Ming was taken aback. This fellow could draw upon the power of that new cloth?
There was no time to ponder; he drove the Inner Landscape Heaven-Opening Axe with all his might.
In an instant, the entire domain was engulfed in axe light. Sharp qi howled like rolling thunder, deafening to the ears, as space seemed to cave in and cleave apart beneath the axe blade.
The white-robed man's eyes turned profound. His entire body became cloaked in exotic metal light, and from afar he channeled various metallic glints, transforming them into lethal saber beams.
Even on Qin Ming's person, objects related to metal violently trembled and "came alive," trying to obey his opponent and turn directly against their master.
In a flash, Qin Ming realized that this might be an Innate Golden Body, born to manipulate all metallic substances and powers.
Recently, while studying the Longevity Sword Intent not recorded in the written text of the World-Abiding Scripture, he had encountered hidden truths he had previously never known.
Taking a single domain to its ultimate limit could likewise allow one to reach the pinnacle among the strongest.
For instance, the World-Abiding Scripture was best suited for nourishing life, yet who could have guessed that beyond the text lay an intent that harbored a sword of slaughter? If cultivated to the supreme realm, it could even evolve into a Longevity Dao Body.
At present, this man was walking an extreme path in a single domain, having faintly evolved into an Innate Golden Body.
At this moment, even the ornamental sword Qin Ming wore to disguise his identity unsheathed itself and lunged to pierce his own skull. Most notably, the exotic metal small sword hanging around his neck surged like lightning, attempting to plunge into his flesh while erupting with extraordinarily terrifying radiance.
Even the chain holding the exotic metal small sword threatened to strangle into his neck.
The white-robed young man was displaying methods beyond imagination, having even borrowed a portion of the exotic metal qi from the cloth.
Fortunately, Qin Ming reacted swiftly and was powerful enough in his own right. Hunyuan heavenly light manifested to block the most perilous exotic metal small sword—its material was extraordinary, and it had to be suppressed.
As for the chain forged of common iron and the decorative sword, there was no need to heed them; before his Scripture of Harmonizing Body and Dao, they were insignificant. The chain and longsword shattered instantly like fragile porcelain.
At that moment, the Inner Landscape Heaven-Opening Axe cleaved outward, carrying world-engulfing radiance that nothing could bar, as though capable of splitting heaven and earth.
Gathering all the metallic qi of this domain to wield slaughter, the white-robed young man took on an entirely transformed disposition. Wielding a brilliant, snow-white saber coalesced in an instant, he dared to clash head-on against the Inner Landscape Heaven-Opening Axe.
Across this domain, blinding beams shot out one after another like countless comets streaking through the night sky. Murderous intent surged and runes intertwined, accompanied by unfathomable chanting of scriptures.
Terrifying saber light and axe beams cascaded like an overturned galaxy, completely blanketing the area and stinging the eyes so fiercely no one could keep them open.
In the end, blood splattered across the expanse.
Qin Ming looked down at the bloodstains on his body; they carried a metallic slaughter qi, intertwined with mysterious patterns.
This was not his blood—his opponent had been wounded by the Inner Landscape Heaven-Opening Axe.
Opposite him, the young man's saber was snapped in two, his white robe soaked in blood. The razor-sharp greataxe, swirling with gorgeous light-rain, had nearly cleaved his body clean in half.
Yet Qin Ming furrowed his brows. Like a phantom, the man retreated while riding metallic radiance, nearly turning ethereal as his flesh rapidly knitted back together.
Starting from the young man's left shoulder, a massive wound slashed diagonally across his torso down to his right waist, leaving him nearly severed in two.
Now, the white-robed man's body seemed composed of metal melted into liquid and mist, losing its solid cohesion; astoundingly, he was able to heal his wounds in this manner.
Qin Ming followed like a shadow, locking onto him. Since the first strike had failed to slay the man, he would deliver a second.
As the giant axe manifested anew within his inner landscape, the white-robed young man, having absorbed enough exotic metal qi through his feet, completely liquefied.
Shedding his human form, an amorphous liquid body surged forward to blot out the sky, flying toward Qin Ming in an attempt to envelop him.
Even though the Heaven-Opening Axe could shatter portions of the metallic liquid, even more flowed in from all directions, seeking to adhere to Qin Ming's surface.
With a resounding clash, a sword chime rang from within Qin Ming. The giant axe dimmed, the inner landscape vanished, and nine-colored sword baleful light emerged, piercing out through his flesh to encompass everything around him.
At that moment, Qin Ming channeled the Heaven-Severing Sword Intent through the sword baleful aura blanketing his body.
The omnipresent Hunyuan sword baleful aura, paired with the formless sword intent, was like the primeval epoch's very first ray of light slashing across the firmament—dazzling beyond measure, illuminating the eternal dark.
Vast quantities of the metallic liquid dimmed and burst apart. Struck by the Heaven-Severing Sword Intent borne by the nine-colored Hunyuan sword baleful aura, they scattered in defeat.
In the distance, the young man reappeared, his white robe reduced to ash. Cloaked only in metallic qi, his body was riddled with holes and covered in sword gouges; flesh and bones resembled a fishing net, daylight shining right through from front to back.
Even though he could liquefy like true metal, he had still been severely maimed by that sword strike. Indestructible sword baleful aura and sword intent had ground away vast amounts of his essence, energy, and spirit, manifesting upon his tangible form once he resumed human shape.
"You..." Gasping heavily, he staggered backward.
To become the temporary owner of the exotic metal cloth across from him, the white-robed man naturally possessed extraordinary qualities; strong-willed, he had always held unwavering faith in himself.
Yet today, in two consecutive clashes, he had suffered disastrous defeats.
Condensing metallic qi into another white robe, his expression turned grave; his earlier composure and elegance had vanished.
Qin Ming was equally solemn. This was a formidable adversary: having taken his Inner Landscape Heaven-Opening Axe and absorbed a strike from the nine-colored sword baleful aura, the man was actually still alive. That was truly remarkable.
Qin Ming nodded, then spoke calmly, "You can still stand before me. Not bad. Very strong."
The white-robed young man could smile no longer. With an expressionless face, he asked, "Daoist friend, how should I address you?"
"Seeking Defeat," Qin Ming replied with a smile.
The white-robed man drew a deep breath to steady himself. It had always been he who gently looked down upon his opponents and interacted with vanquished foes with refined poise. Now that he found himself at a disadvantage, he could smile no more.
With a boom, he blurred out of focus. Horrific metallic qi boiled around him, slaughter beams erupted everywhere, and dense arrays of characters covered the void.
Qin Ming frowned slightly. Had this man transformed into metallic slaughter qi? Ubiquitous and everywhere.
Even so, Qin Ming was fearless. His entire body shone as he channeled myriad arts through the doctrines of the silk book. Halo upon halo emerged around him—layer upon layer of heavenly light force. Though blended into one, they still retained their distinct, brilliant anomalies.
He was like a blazing sun hanging in the sky, illuminating all things, shining in mutual resonance with the earthly moon and blazing sun upon the old cloth beneath his feet, radiating throughout heaven and earth.
"Let it end. You have lost." The new cloth opposite sent out a faint ripple, stopping the young man from transforming into metallic slaughter qi.
With a whoosh, the white-robed man reappeared, covered in blood and crosshatched with wounds. Unwilling to bow out, he said, "I have not lost yet! I still have the Innate Golden Body, a unique metal domain, and other supreme arts I haven't even used!"
"If the duel continues, you will die." The new cloth transmitted one final ripple, speaking no more.
The white-robed man fell silent. Finally, he clasped his fists toward Qin Ming and said, "Since you possess such strength, you are destined to reveal yourself to the world sooner or later. We shall fight another battle in the future."
"And here I thought you were going to say 'apologies' to me," Qin Ming remarked. Chaos force flowed through his body endlessly, carrying wisps of immortal truth.
The white-robed young man's expression stiffened. Taking a deep breath, he said, "Apologies!"
With a whoosh, the new cloth wrapped around him and vanished from this place.
Qin Ming looked down at the massive exotic metal cloth under his feet and said, "Old Cloth, your brother ran off."
Instantly, he was flipped over as the old cloth snapped back to its normal size.
At the same time, the yellow imperial parasol emerged, reflecting the evening glow and flowing with dark purple mist. A hazy, beautiful face looked out from the canopy—evidently Old Huang had been shut out earlier and had spent the entire time trying desperately to peek in.
A moment later, the departed exotic metal cloth returned.
It acknowledged the change of a new master—or rather, a new temporary owner.
It immediately docked with the old cloth, radiating a gentle light as it rapidly fused into a single whole before drifting down into Qin Ming's hands.
With a swoosh, the old cloth swept Qin Ming away, diving toward the earth.
Qin Ming hurriedly gripped the yellow imperial parasol to shield his body, blocking the terrifying astral winds above the ninth heaven that could disperse a person's essence, energy, and spirit.
He touched down safely upon the mortal earth, only to learn that a monumental upheaval had taken place in the heavens!
"That city beyond the heavens has awakened. It may have chosen a new master."
At this moment, within Yujing, heavy breathing rumbled like thunder alongside arcs of lightning. Inside the ten-colored iceberg, someone abruptly opened their eyes.
Simultaneously, in the heavens among the old mountain strongholds, the special papers stained with Earth Immortal blood shattered. Words surfaced from the ashes, and a majestic, authoritative voice rang out.
In an instant, the faces of everyone in the heavens turned deathly pale. Even supreme Earth Immortals prostrated themselves on the ground immediately.
Chapter 474