Tang Yushang was almost driven mad with fury; she had actually been tricked at the very last moment.
Stumbling, she felt wisps of stinging pain in her rear.
The mist gate was deep and mysterious, connecting two different worlds across a realm of nothingness. Once Tang Yushang stepped through, she would return to the domain of the Sacred Race.
"Elder Sister, let's head back to Taixu first," Bai Meng tried to dissuade her, but it was useless.
Tang Yushang had a slender figure; losing her balance, she swayed like an immortal willow in the night wind. Yet she quickly steadied herself and charged back out at once.
As her follower, Bai Meng braced himself and chased after her. He knew all too well that given the Saintess's temperament, if she failed to catch the culprit, she would surely hunt him all the way into Night Province.
Lush vegetation surrounded them, teeming with vibrant green, yet around Tang Yushang, it seemed as if heavy snowflakes were falling. Her eyes were like cold pools, and her entire body radiated a biting aura as if poised to freeze all creation in ice.
At that final moment, she had actually believed he was politely seeing her off—only for him to deliver a parting kick right at the threshold!
Such an undignified experience was an outright stain on her record; Tang Yushang nearly blew up on the spot in rage.
Worst of all, this was not the first time she had endured it. In her life, she had somehow fallen into the very same pit twice!
"They run fast!" It had only taken a turn of her body, but after charging back out, she found the three of them had already vanished without a trace.
"If this can be tolerated, what cannot?!" Tang Yushang stood clad in a red dress, her lustrous black hair flying, her exquisite, flawless face coated in frost.
At this moment, even if a Heavenly Immortal revived to personally chant a mind-calming mantra for her, it could not quell the turmoil in her heart. If she did not fill that "pit," she simply could not swallow this humiliation.
"Dog brat." Tang Yushang gritted her silver teeth, her bright eyes shooting sword-like beams of light. That kick had infuriated her to the extreme.
The night was vast and hazy. Flapping wings resounded across the wilderness as the birds in the forest, startled by the chilling aura radiating from Tang Yushang, sliced through the night mist and took flight.
Standing nearby, Bai Meng involuntarily shuddered.
Graceful and lithe, Tang Yushang wove through the forest, darting left and right in search of any trace of the trio.
Then, she produced a pure-white mirror. Though it was a damaged artifact, it radiated sacred power; as its surface swept over the forest floor, it clearly reflected the figures of the three fugitives.
This was the "Jade Mirror." Its name sounded close to Yujing, and among special weapons, it possessed an illustrious pedigree, being one of Taixu's most renowned artifacts.
...
Meanwhile, Li Qingyue and Jiang Ran both wore strange expressions.
"You really had the nerve to kick her?" Jiang Ran remarked.
"Just an impulse." Qin Ming offered a "shy" smile. Even though he had landed a cheap shot from behind, it was better not to dwell on such things; keeping a low profile was wisest.
Jiang Ran commented, "You certainly don't let grudges cross mountains and seas—you settle them on the spot."
Qin Ming corrected her, "I don't hold a grudge against her. It was just youthful rashness; I couldn't help myself."
Li Qingyue asked, "Did kicking her put you in such a good mood? After escaping the severed ridge of Flying Immortal Mountain together, she can be considered one of us. It's not good to hurt her."
Qin Ming chose his words carefully: "She wasn't hurt. She had divine arts protecting her body, rock hard..."
Jiang Ran burst into laughter. That response was far too blunt; he was definitely spouting nonsense with a straight face, wanting nothing more than to turn the page quickly.
The Jade Mirror could retrace events that had occurred within a short window, vividly recreating the recent scene and their conversation.
Sweat beaded on Bai Meng's forehead. He thought to himself: *Brother Qin is far too bold, he truly dares to blurt out anything.*
Tang Yushang's chest heaved. What nonsense was he blabbering? After ambushing her with a kick, he still dared to comment like that? She truly... wanted to beat him to death.
"Elder Sister, let's go back and nurse your wounds first," Bai Meng urged once more. Their ordeal on the severed ridge of Flying Immortal Mountain had been too miserable; right now, he missed home terribly and really did not want to wander around stranded out here.
"No!" Tang Yushang was resolute. Clutching the Jade Mirror, she sped through the forest at high velocity.
...
Qin Ming spoke up, "Given Tang Yushang's vengeful nature, she'll likely give chase. We should activate our special weapons to conceal our tracks."
*Who's vengeful?!* Tang Yushang wished she could catch up to her target this very instant.
However, the figures on the Jade Mirror gradually blurred until they became indiscernible, forcing her to accelerate.
That night, Qin Ming felt uneasy. In the unseen realm, some strange aura seemed to emerge, drifting over in thin wisps and lingering in his heart.
Soon, a chill gripped him. He was in deep sleep yet could not fully awaken; he could not open his eyes. He actually could not break free from his dream, trapped within an expanse of mist.
What did he see? The faint shadow of that mysterious woman from the Solar Secret Acupoint on the severed ridge of Flying Immortal Mountain appeared in his dream, hovering in midair and looking down upon him.
Though separated by a great distance, Qin Ming could clearly feel an overwhelming, unstoppable mental field flowing from deep within the night mist world, creeping toward him to lock onto him.
Qin Ming realized that the woman in the crystal coffin was likely casting a technique—a heaven-defying method targeting him across the void.
"Old Huang, protect your master!" he shouted in the mist.
Unfortunately, the yellow imperial parasol was an external object, not within his mental field; at this moment, it was impossible for it to hear his murmurs from the depths of his mind.
Qin Ming grew anxious. An ancient powerhouse suspected to be a Heavenly Immortal had initially revived in the distance; if she set her mind on dealing with him, it would be utterly terrifying.
He had already fled so far and crossed five mist gates in succession, yet she could still track his scent?
*No, it must be the residual aura left behind by those phantom creatures guiding her to pinpoint my location. Could a wisp of her mental will have departed Flying Immortal Mountain to pursue me personally?*
At that possibility, Qin Ming felt his scalp tingle with dread.
He realized that beautiful women all held immense grudges. Right now, from dreams to reality, someone was relentlessly hunting him down.
*Is she really about to appear?* Deeply uneasy, Qin Ming fretted within his dream. In the mist, the figure suspended high in the distance grew clearer and clearer.
He could even see her fluttering robes and the hazy contours of her face as she drifted closer.
Could she be projecting her consciousness across the void from afar, continuously infusing power until she might actually manifest in the flesh and step out here?
Qin Ming's heart pounded. Such unfathomable methods were impossible to guard against. He desperately wanted to wake up and tell the two women to flee immediately, but no matter how he struggled, it was in vain.
"Old Rag!"
Catching a fleeting glance, Qin Ming grabbed the exotic metal cloth.
This object resided inside his body at the periphery of his mental field, so it did not count as an external item; he yanked it straight into the grasp of his mental manifestation to use as a shield.
In an instant, the woman in the night mist widened her eyes. Even someone of her status seemed shaken, as if witnessing something inconceivable.
Evidently, she recognized Old Rag's origin.
With a whoosh, she swooped down, robes billowing, her flawless countenance plainly visible. Up close, her peerless elegance was truly breathtaking.
Qin Ming activated the rag to block his opponent, treating a dead horse like a living one as a desperate measure.
"Huh?" Astonishment flashed across his face. It actually worked! Old Rag unfurled across a great expanse, expanding in size just as it had during the battle against the Innate Golden Body near Yujing.
The expanded rag snared the woman, causing her to land upon the exotic metal ground.
Moreover, the exotic metal cloth severed the wisps of projected aura flowing across the void, cutting off her connection to the distance.
As Old Rag's temporary possessor, Qin Ming received favorable treatment for the first time, actually gaining its assistance today.
*Right. That woman is unfathomable and terrifyingly strong. Old Rag is worried about exposing its own whereabouts and secrets. Rather than helping me, it's cleaning up its own loose ends.*
In the next moment, Qin Ming was forced into battle.
He knew it: once this exotic metal cloth unfolded, this place was reduced to a sword-dueling platform.
"Fellow Daoist, I caused much offense in the Solar Secret Acupoint several days ago, but it was purely unintentional," Qin Ming called out, hoping to resolve the grievance.
Once her connection to that faraway land was severed, the woman's eyes lost some of their profound depth, briefly showing confusion, yet her combat instincts remained intact.
With a whoosh, she charged forward. Extreme yang fire surged, accompanied by extreme yin qi; with a simple strike, she manifested the profound mysteries of yin and yang.
*Hmm, she isn't invincible—she isn't much stronger than me!* After brief contact, Qin Ming's heart settled, gaining confidence.
Had her projection possessed overwhelming power, she would have crushed him immediately.
Now that Old Rag had severed the link between this wisp of consciousness and her true body, this mysterious woman was not unbeatable.
Qin Ming threw himself wholly into the fierce clash. By the end, his mental consciousness was dripping with blood; it was an extraordinarily grueling battle, truly a crucible of life and death.
Fighting desperately until the end, he finally shattered his opponent.
Yet a moment later, the woman's figure reappeared, standing motionless on the exotic metal cloth like a clay or wooden idol.
"Is she dead?" Qin Ming walked over to examine her closely. In a moment of idle curiosity, his hand slipped, and as a result... he revived her once more.
He grunted, coughing up blood, forced to drag his exhausted body into another brutal clash against the woman in her peak state. He nearly finished himself off.
Panting heavily, Qin Ming sat far away, never daring to casually "activate" her again.
He realized that Old Rag had imprisoned a wisp of the woman's spirit will—deprived of its sentience—here to serve as his sparring partner, a terrifying whetstone capable of cutting to his very bones.
Far away in an unknown realm, a phantom figure hovered in midair. The night sky seemed to fracture around her; countless clouds dispersed, surrounded by flashing lightning and rolling thunder.
She had deployed a wondrous art, yet a wisp of spiritual light projected afar had suddenly lost contact. Had someone severed it?
Reflected in her eyes was Qin Ming's blurred silhouette, and she immediately began projecting power once again.
In his dream, Qin Ming's scalp went numb. Old Rag captured three figures of the woman in succession. Like immortal divine statues, lifelike and still, they stood upon the platform formed by the exotic metal cloth.
Qin Ming clearly sensed that the latter two figures were even stronger.
Fortunately, they remained motionless.
*As long as I don't provoke them or actively trigger them, they won't revive?*
Astonished, Qin Ming realized that the three figures had seemingly become "tools" for his use.
He realized deeply that Old Rag was somewhat monstrous. Its means were transcendent, yet ordinarily it kept a low profile and never responded to him.
Was this his first time enjoying a bit of the privileges of a temporary possessor?
Qin Ming felt that whenever he wanted to test techniques in the future, he could enter this dreamscape, duel the woman here, and hone his various new insights.
In the unknown realm, the woman's phantom hung high above the sky. Her eyes were deep, and instead of projecting a fourth figure, she flew forward.
"Qingyue, wake up! Jiang Ran, you're drooling," Qin Ming called out to the two beside him the moment he broke free of the dream. They could not linger here; they had to hit the road immediately.
Jiang Ran possessed an ethereal grace and cared greatly about her image, immediately retorting, "You're the one drooling!"
"Why are you drenched in sweat?" Li Qingyue looked at Qin Ming.
"The woman from the severed ridge of Flying Immortal Mountain is powerful to the point of being demonic. Strands of her power projected across space and invaded my dream. We have to run for it right away."
Hearing this, both women looked alarmed. The pursuit originating from the depths of the Solar Secret Acupoint had not ended yet.
Originally, Jiang Ran and Li Qingyue had planned to head south—one toward Mystic Maiden Hall, the other in search of Doushuai Palace. Now, it seemed the region around Flying Immortal Mountain could not be crossed for the time being, impassable in the short term.
"How about returning to Night Province first and waiting a while before traveling far again?"
The three hurriedly departed, daring not remain where they were.
...
Taixu wielded immense influence across the surrounding territory, reigning as an overlord; long ago, it had been a place where Yujing's earthly projection intermingled.
Holding tokens of authority, Tang Yushang mobilized substantial forces in the surrounding region and traced the trio's tracks.
Surprised, she remarked, "They actually still have the mood to go exploring?"
After crossing another mist gate, Qin Ming and the others heard that ruins had appeared in this region and immediately rushed over.
Several days later, Jiang Ran, Li Qingyue, and Qin Ming escaped from a subterranean river. Behind them, ghostly wails and demonic howls echoed across the hills and plains.
Even protected by special weapons, they were in a sorry state, blood trickling from their noses and mouths. Not long before, the three had ventured deep into an ominous lair and nearly died within.
"Sigh, no wonder they say trailblazing is no small matter—every step hinges on life and death," Qin Ming sighed.
Throughout the night mist world, anywhere serene and blessed with spiritual auspiciousness was occupied by major sects. Venturing out in search of fortuitous opportunities was extraordinarily difficult.
From something as vast as the severed ridge of Flying Immortal Mountain down to an ominous lair in this territory, perils lurked everywhere.
"What's going on? Are there really this many ruins in this region? Eight hundred li away, a mysterious sword scripture has supposedly surfaced..."
The three cautiously made their way over. Near an underground palace, Qin Ming clearly sensed intense emotional fluctuations and immediately understood what was happening.
Tang Yushang had pursued them, leveraging Taixu's overlord-tier influence to sway some local factions into spreading word that a sword scripture had appeared here, aiming to lure Qin Ming out.
"Yushang, the sword scripture is incomplete. Remember to bring the full volume to feed me next time." This was the message Qin Ming left nearby after resonating with the fragmented scripture.
Furthermore, he left behind the scripture's sword intent, proving that he had indeed comprehended it.
That day, when Tang Yushang discovered the message, her chest ached with fury. What she had left behind was clearly a corrupted, scrambled sword scripture; how in the world could he still reap some of its true meaning for free? Was there no justice left under heaven?
Worst of all was that flippant tone—an outright, brazen provocation directed at her.
This time, Qin Ming and the others did not linger. They journeyed far and wide, having passed through a total of thirteen mist gates before finally arriving outside Night Province.
"I wonder how Night Province fares now, and whether the calamity from the heavens has been quelled," Li Qingyue murmured. She and Jiang Ran had been away for more than a year.
Jiang Ran said, "To be safe, let's lie low for a while, observe carefully, and nurse our injuries in the meantime."
Even after so many days, neither the two women nor Qin Ming had completely healed. The siege by the entities of the Solar Secret Acupoint had been perilous in the extreme.
The two phantom grandmasters clad in battered lunar and solar armor, wielding the Wind-Calming Bead, had pursued them relentlessly, nearly finishing them off on several occasions.
"Trailblazing and exploring truly isn't easy," Qin Ming remarked with feeling.
Still, he had reached the middle stage of the fourth realm; that was his greatest gain, making the journey well worth it.
"If the Cui clan still doesn't know when to yield and comes looking for trouble, I can settle scores with a whole batch of them this time!" Qin Ming's eyes shone brightly as he gazed toward the depths of Night Province.
In fact, over the past year, Cui Chonghe's confidence had also soared to new heights. Having returned to Night Province, he had abandoned his former low-profile, fight-avoiding demeanor and now wished to challenge old acquaintances. Even Li Qingyue and Jiang Ran were on his list of opponents to test his sword against.
"I wonder how Qin Ming is doing." Lately, members of the Cui clan had begun to bring up that name they usually loathed to utter.
"Reasonably speaking, he should still be far from the fourth realm..."
...
Upon returning, Qin Ming and the others kept a low profile, each focusing on healing. It took a full month or so for them to basically recover.
One could imagine how perilous this long journey had been; it had genuinely injured their foundations. The mental fields of all three had been torn and required extended nurturing to fully mend.
After healing, Qin Ming was in no rush to emerge from seclusion. Instead, he meditated on various true scriptures and secret classics. Holding that translucent green wood-heart from the Solar Secret Acupoint, he elevated his Longevity sword intent to a brand-new height.
At this moment, standing upon a green leaf, he condensed a leafy branch bearing tender buds in his hand, radiating vibrant vitality as faint Longevity power seemed to swirl around him.
*I can unleash four consecutive sword strikes now, each stronger than the last. If this continues, could I be transforming toward a Longevity Dao Body in this singular domain?* Qin Ming's gaze turned profound as he pondered various possibilities.
He did not leave seclusion, continuing to comprehend the Dao.
In the deep night, Qin Ming snapped his eyes open. Waves of palpitations washed over him, his hair standing on end as if his entire being might inexplicably disintegrate.
In an instant, he protected himself with the yellow imperial parasol and wrapped his consciousness in the rag.
Almost in that very breath, he witnessed an unbelievable, terrifying spectacle.
In the distance, an enormous glowing footprint materialized. Across the pitch-black earth, a softly lit city was extinguished in the night mist, turning into a dead zone in an instant as black ashes billowed into the sky.
Qin Ming had never felt such near-suffocation. It was truly too horrific; his very soul trembled in terror.
That glowing footprint was colossal, large enough to blanket an entire city.
Yet no creature appeared there, no body corresponding to the footprint.
Silently, a whole city was wiped out just like that, plunged into death and desolation.
Qin Ming shivered violently. Such was the boundless night mist world; when its true and cruel nature was laid bare, just being alive was good fortune.
Grand ambitions and lofty ideals seemed ethereal and faint at this moment, completely drained of color. In the truly terrifying night mist world, survival was the first priority; merely drawing breath and staying alive was already an ordeal.
Coldness gripped Qin Ming from head to toe. Looking back now at his past experiences, all the hardships and tribulations actually seemed peaceful, remarkably "gentle," amounting to nothing at all.
What lay before his eyes was nothing short of despair.
After that glowing footprint came down, a second footprint followed closely at the edge of the distant horizon. There, an even more magnificent great city collapsed on the spot, blood mist boiling into the air, followed by showers of flying ashes drifting across the sky.
Along the way, between the two glowing footprints, the towns, villages, and habitats of alien creatures had no footprints fall upon them, yet they were struck by the mysterious residual shockwaves.
Some small towns and villages burst directly into flames. Countless living beings perished, and those who survived went mad, their eyes hollow and unfocused, mouths agape as they shrieked ceaselessly.
Chapter 484