Lightning talismans covered Qin Ming's body like a suit of armor. Like a deity striding through the cyan esoteric soil, he left one glowing footprint after another.
His pace seemed steady and unhurried, yet every step was a teleportation—the wondrous technique recorded in the Script of the Primal Myriad Thunderbolts: Thunder Feet and Lightning Footprints.
Moreover, he was currently in spirit wandering, unburdened by a physical flesh body. Paired with this movement technique, he truly seemed like a streak of thunder and fire cutting across this landscape that did not exist in reality.
Behind him, the glowing footprints dimmed and faded. He had already vanished over the edge of the earth, unimaginably fast, far beyond what ordinary people could comprehend.
"Cyan soil accompanied by swirling vapor... choosing a place like this to attain godhood is no simple feat." Qin Ming could tell that this was a pure land left behind by an ancient god.
No wonder there were so many legends about this region, claiming more than one god had emerged here. Even the giant centipede that had previously sought to achieve godhood had chosen Chixia City, intending to swallow it whole.
In this ruined pure land of the gods, cyan mist steamed up from the earth, symbolizing auspicious fortune, great blessings, and rising through the blue clouds.
Qin Ming slew another wisp of divine intent. This golden body also carried a lantern, seemingly guiding Meng Xinghai's remaining divine wisdom while maintaining vigilance on guard.
Without slowing, Qin Ming shot past. The glowing lightning patterns trailing behind him gradually flickered out, and he was already closing in on the core area.
Through emotional resonance, he had already sensed that a true god root was inside. Though formidable, after assessing it, he felt he was not necessarily inferior to it.
Fearing Meng Xinghai could not hold out, he had charged in anyway even without absolute certainty of countering a god's methods, unwilling to leave himself with an irreversible regret.
In the core zone, wisps of purple qi rose from the cyan ground. Ahead, behind a faint curtain of light, the earth had turned completely pale purple.
Qin Ming was astonished. This ruined realm truly was extraordinary. Even if it was not among the very pinnacle of places to achieve godhood, it was still enough to make those of esoteric sects green with envy.
The "former god" had laid a solid foundation and maintained it well; any successor who chose this ground to attain godhood would achieve twice the result with half the effort.
Back then, that giant centipede likely failed to locate this divine soil suspended between void and reality, and thus attempted to devour all of Chixia City in one fell swoop.
Having arrived here, the footprints behind Qin Ming vanished. He attached himself to the old cloth, thoroughly concealing his presence and form.
Within the faint light barrier, across the fractured purple esoteric soil, lay a collapsed altar, a mostly burnt black banner, and toppled temple pillars that still bore gilded gold.
A God-Conferring Stele lay broken in stagnant water, with only half remaining. At the fracture were golden veins resembling the meridians of an ancient god. The divine names and characters on the stele had blurred and weathered away, decaying along with the deceased deity.
His eyes closed, Meng Xinghai lay on the purple soil, his body of condensed divine wisdom glowing faintly. Around him were rubble, broken walls, and puddles of water—a thoroughly desolate sight.
Qin Ming's expression grew solemn. The true god root was inside Old Meng, rooted in his limbs and bones.
It looked like a section of decaying old tree root that had now gained new life, parasitizing another's divine wisdom and voraciously draining nourishment.
This was tricky. Qin Ming dared to slay a god, but dealing with an old root in this state gave him a headache; he feared destroying Meng Xinghai along with it.
He asked secretly, "Old Huang, do you have any ideas?"
The Yellow Silk Canopy replied, "I have my ways to dig out this old root. But the esoteric sect path here is no simple matter. Its highest achievers can awaken past-life wisdom, perceive the future, and become all-knowing—truly formidable. I worry it has contingencies that might tear through your Uncle Meng's foundations while we dig out the root."
Qin Ming said, "This god definitely lacks such means. It's merely a piece of rotting tree root whose life has practically extinguished."
Though he said this, he too feared an accident, his brow deeply furrowed.
Old Huang knew little of the esoteric sect path's methods and remained cautious.
In the ruined purple divine soil, besides Meng Xinghai and the true god root, a strange black bird and a golden-armored divine warrior stood guard as protectors.
Qin Ming said, "There is no time to lose!"
The Yellow Silk Canopy informed him, "Judging by his state, he should still be able to hold on for one night."
Ripples washed across the purple soil as a blurry figure materialized. It was a strand of pure yang consciousness manifesting as an elderly man, carrying over a fissure-covered altar barely a foot high. Upon touching the ground, the altar swelled rapidly.
The dark-brown altar looked ready to collapse at any moment, shrouded in a layer of grime that could never be wiped clean.
"An old god on the verge of death now seeks to seize another's nest, finding this place in hopes of regaining vigor while treating Uncle Meng as food."
Veins throbbed on Qin Ming's forehead. He wished he could smash that altar to bits right now. The creature was not only hijacking Meng Xinghai's fortune, but also devouring him.
The decaying god had other accomplices operating outside.
Qin Ming withdrew, seeping out through the void nearby and stepping into the real world, where he found the vicinity ablaze with lamplight.
This was an underground cavern with countless karst caves. The site was a field of ruins that had once held a grand underground palace, now reduced entirely to scorched rubble and ash.
"The corresponding physical location of the pure land of the gods!" Qin Ming deduced that this lay deep beneath Chixia City.
There were over a hundred people gathered here, all experts. Among them were grandmasters, as well as three-headed, six-armed golden bodies—manifestations of divine intent.
Others were even carrying in God-Conferring Steles and other items. However, because the true god root had not yet fully refined the new god-conferring ground, they could not yet carry the cracked stele inside.
"So many people... could this be a fallen orthodox tradition?" Qin Ming was alarmed.
He noticed vertical eye tattoos on the foreheads of several individuals.
"The Three-Eyed Cult."
This sect possessed a degree of renown in Yezhou and had left traces near Black-White Mountain. Its origins traced back to the depths of the night mist world, subordinate to the Godkin Society.
Qin Ming realized he could not act rashly. First, he feared harming Meng Xinghai in the process; second, the enemy had considerable numbers, and there might be hidden experts among them. He needed to consult with the old grandmasters.
The Yellow Silk Canopy remarked, "It seems this dying deity still has part of its divine power left behind in its old nest, not yet migrated over."
Attached to the old cloth in an invisible state, Qin Ming explored carefully and discovered that this grand underground ruin lay within a sealed blessed land. No wonder outsiders could not find it.
Eventually, he slipped out through a subterranean rock wall. Having memorized this path in the physical world, he rushed back to the City Lord's Manor.
In the bedchamber beside the sickbed, Qin Ming immediately rose and went to the adjacent parlor to see Meng Zhiyan. With an extraordinarily grave expression, he said, "Senior, I found something."
Meng Zhiyan was shocked. "What? An outside god invaded the place Xinghai chose to attain godhood, and he's trapped there?"
Any site for achieving godhood was deeply secret; outsiders rarely found them.
Meng Zhiyan knew especially well that Meng Xinghai had been searching for a legendary secret realm, entirely different from the publicly known divine ritual sites.
Even the Meng family had known nothing of that place.
Qin Ming transmitted his voice: "Uncle Meng told me about that place before. I just went and looked—people from the Three-Eyed Cult have surrounded it."
"It was actually them?!" Meng Zhiyan was shocked and enraged.
To his knowledge, the Three-Eyed Cult's god had decayed a century ago, and word of its death had spread over a decade past. Now it seemed the thousand-legged centipede dies but never falls—it clung stubbornly to life.
That god had actually left behind a rotting remnant root, delusionally seeking to revive itself using this land.
Meng Zhiyan said, "Xinghai had been searching for a purple land of godhood all along. A fortune-laden place like that truly might revive a decaying old god."
That location was absent from rumors, an absolute secret. For Old Meng to find it had been no easy feat, yet now he was being robbed of his prize and forced to forfeit his life besides.
Meng Zhiyan ground his teeth in resolve. "I have god-suppressing talismans and purification talismans that can immobilize the true god root for an instant."
So what if it was a god? To dare harm a member of the Meng family meant fighting to the bitter end. Besides, the entity was nominally dead already and bound to be exceedingly feeble.
Beside them, the old grandmaster Xie Zhaoming spoke up: "So it is that deity of the Three-Eyed Cult. It has merely returned to life briefly from the ashes, and its divine power must be very thin. If we gather a few more helpers, we should be able to deal with it."
He was Meng Zhiyan's close friend, bound by life-and-death camaraderie.
Meng Zhiyan said, "If we call for more people, there might not be enough time. Xinghai likely can't hold out much longer. I never expected this to involve a god."
The old grandmaster was filled with murderous intent, ready to risk his life immediately.
Qin Ming said, "Before I came, I already sent word to Senior Yu Gensheng and Senior Li Qingyun. I believe they will arrive before long."
"Good! Xiao Qin, you are thoughtful!" Meng Zhiyan patted his shoulder firmly. In this day and age, he and Xie Zhaoming alone were enough to dominate a region, yet neither had expected the undercurrents to be so turbulent and fierce.
He immediately began making arrangements, mobilizing the Meng family experts nearest to the city.
"Senior, we discovered some developments," a green-robed man entered to report.
Meng Zhiyan said, "Speak!"
"Recently, someone has been deliberately spreading rumors that City Lord Meng found an incredible place for achieving godhood, possibly the purple divine soil ranked 'above the blue clouds.'"
Meng Zhiyan's face darkened instantly. Whoever spread the rumors harbored deep hostility, weaponizing such information.
"The Three-Eyed Cult's god, decayed nearly to complete death, was likely residing in a nearby divine ritual ground. Upon hearing the rumors, greed and murderous intent flared. Unable to find the purple divine soil, it moved directly against Xinghai."
The green-robed man reported that agents from other organizations had also appeared in Chixia City—such as Demons, the Pure World Chamber, and Blood Immortals—though they quickly vanished without a trace again.
Hearing this, Qin Ming felt a tremor in his heart, boundless killing intent stirring in the depths of his eyes.
If the root of this scheme was someone targeting him—spreading rumors to bring misfortune upon Meng Xinghai first, thereby luring Qin Ming out of Black-White Mountain—then it was truly vile.
Yet now was not the time for rage or retaliation; Meng Xinghai's crisis of life and death had to be resolved immediately. Afterward, there would be a thorough settling of scores.
"Xiao Qin, you found the place Xinghai chose to achieve godhood?" Zhou Qingxuan's eyes reddened. Hearing that there was hope, she moved to bow to Qin Ming in gratitude.
Qin Ming quickly stopped her, saying, "Aunt Meng, please don't shame me like this. Uncle Meng protected my life before; I have always regarded him as my own uncle."
"Alright!" Zhou Qingxuan wiped her tears. She and the two children had always lived in the Meng family's ancestral land; Meng Xinghai had been cautious, never daring to bring his wife and children with him. Only today, with Old Meng critically ill, had Zhou Qingxuan rushed over with the children, meeting Qin Ming for the very first time.
Meng Zhiyan began secretly gathering forces in preparation for an encirclement.
In the deep night, Yu Gensheng and Li Qingyun arrived one after the other, far faster than expected.
Old Man Li was astonished. "To think there is a purple land of godhood never once mentioned in local rumors. For Xiao Meng to discover such a secret realm is truly extraordinary. Old Meng, Qingxuan, rest assured. Now that we are here, we will never let Xinghai come to harm."
Yu Gensheng had a fiery temper and snapped, "That perished god of the Three-Eyed Cult actually rekindled its dying embers? Let's smash it to pieces!"
Qin Ming performed another spirit wandering, confirming no unforeseen changes had occurred in the purple divine soil.
Afterward, the group prepared to strike.
Meng Xinghai's five-year-old daughter, Meng Lingshu, had tears streaking her face as she clutched the corner of her mother's dress, speaking with frail, pitiful innocence: "Brother Qin Ming, seniors, you can definitely save my father, right?"
"Don't cry. Brother promises to bring Uncle Meng back!" Qin Ming pledged.
Li Qingyun also chimed in, "Little girl, just wait for good news."
The four grandmasters and Qin Ming led an elite squad, quietly entering the underground.
Meng Zhiyan said, "Xiao Qin will lead the way. Elder Yu and I will follow in spirit wandering, entering the divine soil first to rescue Xinghai. Zhaoming, you and Qingyun hold off the people outside for a moment."
Qin Ming said, "Senior, hand the god-suppressing talismans and purification talismans to me. I have a special method to enter and exit the divine soil silently, allowing me to strike by surprise."
...
In the pitch-black underground, before that peculiar rock wall, the group held their final exchange.
The key was speed—it had to be a lightning strike to have any hope of success.
The next instant, leaving only a fragment of consciousness in his physical body, Qin Ming silently drifted in through spirit wandering.
Though the purple divine soil was ruined and desolate, remnants of its former glory and grandeur could still be glimpsed.
Qin Ming slipped in quietly, then struck decisively, slapping every talisman onto Meng Xinghai's body. Instantly, sacred patterns enveloped Meng Xinghai's entire form.
"Old Huang, assist me in digging out the old root!" Qin Ming shouted.
The Yellow Silk Canopy blazed with light as vast purple qi surged. Sacred beams poured down from the tassels along the canopy's rim, and with a bang, the true god root was shaken free.
With the talismans exerting their power to briefly bind the old root for an instant, it was unable to damage Meng Xinghai's body of divine wisdom.
"Ahhh..."
A shrill, wretched howl burst from the old root, transforming into a hazy figure fraught with malevolence and despair. "You dare destroy my Dao foundation?!"
He was ancient. Though his body radiated divine radiance, it was steeped in boundless senility and decay, and his contorted face burned with endless resentment and boundless fury.
For this had been his final chance to rise from the ashes.
Otherwise, the god would not have acted so brazenly, seizing the divine soil outright. Every moment of delay diminished his hope of resurrection.
Nominally, he was already dead. He cared nothing for consequences or costs, wanting only to enter the purple divine soil as early as possible to revive.
The vertical eye on the old man's brow snapped open, radiating monstrous hatred. "You truly deserve death for ruining my grand endeavor!"
Meng Xinghai had already imprinted part of himself here. If given just one more night, the three-eyed elder could have borrowed the vessel to take over the place, sealing off the divine kingdom from the mortal realm forever and peacefully awaiting rebirth.
Yet now, everything was ruined. Not only was this place exposed, but his plans had been wrecked. His divine root could endure no more torment and could not be transplanted again. At this moment, he wanted nothing more than to obliterate the young man before him.
At the same time, the strange black bird and golden-armored divine warrior beside him roared in fury, attacking Qin Ming with boundless murderous intent.
"Grandmasters!"
Qin Ming's heart shook. He was finally clashing directly with beings at this level, and the two guardians seemed even more formidable than the master himself.
"Xiao Qin, we are here!"
Meng Zhiyan and Yu Gensheng charged in through the only hazy gateway into the divine soil. The moment they burst inside, their eyes went wide.
Qin Ming was boldly attacking a god incarnation at the grandmaster level on his own initiative! How could such terrifying thunderbolts possibly be unleashed by a youth?
Yu Gensheng had been mentally prepared, knowing long ago that Qin Ming was completely beyond conventions, yet he was still severely shaken.
Seeing this for the first time, Meng Zhiyan watched as Qin Ming's thunder seal blasted a grandmaster-level strange bird's black wing until feathers shed and its body convulsed.
"Am I dreaming?" Meng Zhiyan was nearly dazed. Was this a grandmaster in his early twenties? The youngest in Yezhou, without peer!
Hadn't they said he hadn't even reached the fourth realm? How was he suddenly bombarding grandmasters with lightning?
No wonder Qin Ming hadn't waited for them and had launched the attack on his own initiative.
Shock aside, neither hesitated; they struck immediately, fearing Qin Ming might meet with mishap and fall to a grandmaster.
"Kill!"
As for the outside, a fierce battle had already erupted.
Qin Ming's physical body broke in as well. An ordinary person's physical body would move sluggishly or find it nearly impossible to take a step in the purple divine soil, but the people present were clearly unaffected.
Just now, Qin Ming had indeed felt immense pressure. After all, two grandmaster-level guardian monsters guarded this place, both avatar incarnations of the decaying god, and alongside the true entity formed from the old root—the three-eyed elder—he had nearly been caught off guard.
Now that Qin Ming's physical body had arrived and he was no longer besieged on all sides, he steadied his footing, burning with killing intent.
The three-eyed elder's glabella shone, instantly releasing an extraordinarily dazzling beam that bewitched the mind and filled Qin Ming's ears with mysterious chanting.
The beam seemed omnipresent, seeking to drill into his flesh and blood.
With a roar, the Script of the Primal Myriad Thunderbolts across Qin Ming's body blazed. Interweaving patterns formed a sacred armor that unleashed boundless lightning, shattering the mind-confounding chanting.
Within the three-eyed elder's beam, a wriggling mass of flesh-like matter could be seen—a terrifying method of parasitism.
From the very start, the three-eyed elder sought to take root in Qin Ming's body and use his vessel to recuperate!
"Primal sacred lightning?!" At this moment, the three-eyed elder's hairs stood on end. As if sensing something, his despair and madness abruptly stalled, replaced by a chill that permeated his entire being.
What state was he in? He was a spiritual force, an embodiment of divine wisdom; against such overwhelmingly domineering thunder-light, he was inherently countered.
Murderous intent boiled within Qin Ming. He already knew this crisis was undoubtedly man-made, stirred up by those seeking to sow chaos.
With a backhand flick, he unleashed an ear-splitting bolt of purple-gold lightning.
Startled, the three-eyed elder dodged frantically, but the lightning still struck his shoulder, sending up plumes of cyan smoke as he grunted in pain.
In the distance, Yu Gensheng and Meng Zhiyan were left numb by the sight. How on earth had this boy cultivated such terrifying means? Right off the bat, he had battered a god into a daze!
The three-eyed elder roared, convinced that everyone present deserved to die for daring to sever his path to resurrection. His vertical eye instantly turned glassy, interwoven with tri-colored markings of chilling dread. Then, tri-colored beams slicing like blades through the void enveloped the youth ahead.
Qin Ming showed no fear whatsoever. With a low shout, a dazzling lightning vortex manifested before him, spinning furiously and swallowing every beam whole.
Then, the lightning vortex engulfed the old man, blasting the decaying god until his hair flew disheveled and thick cyan smoke billowed from his body as if he were catching fire.
Qin Ming pressed the attack relentlessly. Striking once more, a magnificent saber of lightning slashed forward, accompanied by mysterious phenomena: massive stars appeared, and a surging river of lightning rushed ahead, shimmering as though reflecting moonlight.
This saber slash manifested a sublime spectacle steeped in poetic splendor, as if the stars hung low across the vast plains and the moon surged in the great river's flow.
Yet to his foe, this spectacle was horrific and chilling beyond measure; flowing with the patterns of the Script of the Primal Myriad Thunderbolts, it was deadly perilous.
With a tremendous boom accompanied by a miserable shriek, the three-eyed elder's body was pierced through, then detonated into oblivion.
"The old root exploded?!"
Meng Zhiyan stood slack-jawed, feeling as though the times had left him far behind. Had Yezhou ever produced a grandmaster in his early twenties? What was more, he had seemingly slain a god—it was utterly unheard of!
Chapter 506