Deep night in the wilderness was like an abyss, so dark that one could not see one's own outstretched hand. Inside the miniature blessed land, however, a silver fire spring gurgled and welled up, brimming with soft radiance, creating two completely different worlds inside and out.
The grandmaster within the blessed land looked over. Although he had a head of silver hair, his face was smooth and unwrinkled. He spoke: "Little brother, have you lost your way?"
Qin Ming tore through the array and stepped into this softly lit pure land. "Blood Immortal organization—I shouldn't be in the wrong place, should I?"
The mind lamp within him blazed brilliantly, casting radiance through flesh and blood. He was employing the power of the mind to survey the entire blessed land; there were quite a few people here.
The ageless-looking silver-haired grandmaster smiled faintly. "Knowing it is Blood Immortal and still daring to barge in—little brother, your courage is commendable. I am impressed!"
At the same time, he opened his spiritual eyes and fixed his gaze upon the mind lamp light shining through Qin Ming. His brow gradually furrowed. "A practitioner in the fourth realm of the Newborn path? So young, with life force so vibrant... Could you be some old fogey who plucked divine herbs in the forbidden zone behind an ancient mist portal to regain your youth?"
Everyone knew the Newborn path was difficult to walk. A Mind Lamp realm expert of this age bracket was already approaching the late stage of the fourth realm, was he not? It was simply unimaginable.
Yet the youth who had barged in before him was brimming with life vitality, without the slightest trace of decrepitude—he was truly bursting with youthful vigor.
The silver-haired grandmaster felt something was very amiss. This defied common sense. Looking across the entire Newborn path—whether the Yuqing Ancestral Court, the Rulai Sect, or the Qingtian Sect—not even their heirs, their strongest young sect masters, could have achieved such heights in their youth.
This was utterly incredible!
Yu Gensheng, Li Qingyun, and Meng Zhiyan had already disappeared beforehand, dispersing into the shadows to seal off all paths leading from this small blessed land to the outside world.
They had already formed a tacit understanding: once a place was found, it would be thoroughly eradicated, and not a single member of this dark organization would be allowed to escape.
A middle-aged man emerged and sent a voice transmission: "Master, he is the prey from Black-White Mountain."
The silver-haired grandmaster, Zhou Zhengran, narrowed his eyes slightly. Then his gaze sharpened like a sword, shooting out two beams of solidified light. "Didn't they say he hadn't even reached the fourth realm yet? To make an error of such magnitude..."
Silently, a large number of black-robed figures appeared in the blessed land—numbering over a hundred. This place definitely counted as a vital stronghold; it nurtured precious medicine, harbored numerous experts, and even had a grandmaster personally holding down the fort.
Qin Ming said, "Come. I ask, you answer, and I will give you a swift end."
The people of Blood Immortal were all stunned, wondering if their ears were deceiving them. Usually, they were the ones intimidating others, committing wicked acts that made people blanch with fear.
Now, the natural order was completely inverted. Not only had a wet-behind-the-ears kid come knocking alone, but he dared to swaggeringly threaten them. Had he lost his mind?
A man in silver robes sneered, "Those who didn't know better would think you had already stepped into the grandmaster realm. Who gave you the audacity to clamor before my master? Just because your cultivation is in the mid-stage of the Mind Lamp realm?"
The hundred-plus people were highly disciplined and exceptionally cautious. Just now, they had secretly employed a precious mirror to confirm that the intruder was no old monster, but truly just a youth of the fourth realm.
With one hand clasped behind his back, Qin Ming glanced faintly at the silver-robed man. His right sleeve whipped outward with a sudden snap. With a tremendous roar, a bolt of purple-gold lightning surged forth—thick, terrifying, like celestial fire pouring down from the beyond, scorching the void with a deafening boom.
The silver-robed man walked the esoteric sect path; he had opened his inner landscape and preliminarily cultivated his own deity. His reaction was swift, mounting a defense instantly.
However, before that purple-gold lightning, the deity within his inner landscape blew apart, and that hazy pure land collapsed in an instant.
Then came his own body. The silver robe turned to ash, his body shattered into pieces, and his divine wisdom was incinerated. That single bolt of purple-gold lightning destroyed him entirely in both form and spirit.
"Clamoring," Qin Ming said, extracting that simple word from the man's earlier speech to reprimand him—though sadly, the silver-robed man could no longer hear it.
With a whoosh, over a hundred black-robed men surrounded Qin Ming. Walking through darkness and accustomed to bloodshed, none of them were benevolent souls. Yet right now, they felt that the intruder was even more vicious than they were, appearing far more like the villain.
Qin Ming swept his gaze over them and said, "Keep your distance. Can't you see I'm talking to your leader?"
With a boom, he swung his wide sleeve once more. Golden radiance burst forth, and the nine nearest people blew apart one after another, blasted into nine clouds of blood mist by the lightning.
Qin Ming said, "Now, can you listen to me speak quietly?"
The crowd was incensed. Instantly, blades and swords chimed together in a deafening clatter. Flying swords of various colors soared into the air, and numerous exotic treasures hovered aloft, all shining with piercing brilliance.
This time, Qin Ming stood motionless, but geomagnetic light flew out from within him, transforming into thousands of tangible 'threads' that pierced through the void.
Nearby, several weapons dimmed in an instant. Flying swords wailed, and exotic treasures plummeted to the ground like scrap metal, losing all luster in the blink of an eye.
The expressions of the Blood Immortal members changed completely at last. This youth's cultivation was unfathomably deep.
"Enough!" the grandmaster Zhou Zhengran barked, pure yang energy surging. As he stepped forward, the entire blessed land seemed to tremble alongside him.
His face was icy. Just now, he had not even managed to intervene in time.
He was indeed formidable. In an instant, he coalesced a terrifying 'grand momentum,' receiving the dao rhyme descending from the void. In harmony between Heaven and humanity, he seemed capable of commanding the power of this realm.
With one hand clasped behind his back, Qin Ming spoke coldly: "Speak. Who paid to take my life?"
For the people at this Blood Immortal stronghold, this was the first time they had ever encountered such prey—one who came alone to their doorstep, looked down on them all, and interrogated them.
Zhou Zhengran spoke: "Young man, you are quite confident, daring to come alone to a vital stronghold of my Blood Immortal. Then again, among those who achieve early success, who doesn't hold their head higher than the heavens? Have you heard the second half of that saying? *Yet their fate is thinner than paper!*"
No longer concealing anything, he released the true aura of a grandmaster.
Qin Ming stood motionless like a reef in tempestuous waves, letting the surging tide of dao rhyme crash against him.
"You are strong," Qin Ming said. These were not insincere words; this would perhaps be his first true grandmaster battle.
Earlier, the decayed three-eyed elder had carried the attribute of a yin spirit after reviving from the ashes, and was naturally countered by his lightning techniques. Slaying him had been within expectations.
Qin Ming said, "I don't wish to repeat the question I asked you. Speak."
Several of Zhou Zhengran's disciples were nearly bursting with fury. It was not that they lacked composure, but that this brat was going too far. After blowing their junior brother to pieces, he still had the nerve to act bossy and interrogate their master. This was beyond endurance!
Qin Ming swept his gaze over them. "Behave yourselves. Can't you see I'm questioning your master?"
"Heh..." Zhou Zhengran laughed, whether in cold amusement or utter fury. His self-restraint was quite refined; with his silver hair flowing freely, no emotion could be read on his youth-like face.
He spoke calmly: "It has always been humans slaughtering pigs and sheep; when has anyone heard of pigs and sheep slaughtering humans in turn? As the blade-wielders, Blood Immortal has never failed to harvest a prey it set its sights on. You are truly interesting, daring to come to our doorstep. Did you really think that possessing exceptional talent allows you to conquer a grandmaster? Tonight, this old man shall teach you a lesson—don't be so arrogant in your next life!"
Qin Ming took him quite seriously. "Come, let me weigh just how powerful a grandmaster truly is. Everyone has a first time. Tonight, as you say, I will indulge in a bit of youthful arrogance and bathe in the blood of a grandmaster."
In the shadows, Meng Zhiyan and Li Qingyun exchanged glances, both sighing softly. If the three-eyed elder knew of this in the netherworld, he would probably die with his eyes wide open—Little Qin clearly had not regarded him as a true grandmaster at all.
"Insolence!" the surrounding black-robed men shouted in rebuke.
They naturally would not stand idly by. The moment the grandmaster made his move, they would join in to strike fatal blows.
Zhou Zhengran erupted. He was an immortal path grandmaster standing in the fifth realm—Pure Yang. This domain was truly extraordinary, its spirit difficult to extinguish.
Most crucially, by this point he was wondrous in both form and spirit, his body like a blazing sun. As his pure yang energy boiled, it instantly illuminated this entire night sky.
Sure enough, as the old man threw a punch, it seemed to carry the power of the entire world, billowing pure yang qi like a torrent spanning the pitch-black night sky.
This display of might was colossal, churning like a golden ocean descending from the realm beyond to submerge everything ahead.
With a light shout from Qin Ming, dozens of lightning bolts blasted out.
A golden blazing sun burst apart, pure yang energy burned, and Qin Ming formed a lightning seal with his hands, as if capable of overturning mountains and seas, shattering the golden torrent before him.
In an instant, pure yang energy ran rampant across the area.
The surrounding black-robed men who had intended to intervene all retreated, fleeing in haste.
"How is that possible? Is he truly a grandmaster?" Several people were stunned; they could not intervene in a battle of this caliber.
A youth barely in his twenties could actually contend head-on with a fifth-realm powerhouse?
Most critically, he walked the Newborn path—a path renowned for slow progress, where cultivating one's foundation relied entirely on grinding through time. How could such a monster have emerged?
Zhou Zhengran's expression changed as well. This brat could truly wrestle with him on equal footing!
With a solemn expression, Qin Ming said, "Impressive. Your pure yang energy could actually block a single strike of my thunder seal?"
He was further convinced that a true grandmaster was far more troublesome than the three-eyed elder.
Zhou Zhengran's face grew somber, feeling so stifled for the first time. As a bona fide grandmaster, he was being scrutinized in reverse by a junior—what preposterous arrogance!
In an instant, he executed the Blood Immortal Escape. Golden mist shone and bloody light gleamed. Moving at the utmost limit of speed, a wondrous dharma idol of a blood immortal ascending emerged around him, transforming into a massive bloody hand that crashed down toward Qin Ming.
Qin Ming channeled the Script of the Primal Myriad Thunderbolts. Lightning illuminated everything and banished the darkness. Within his right hand materialized a seal, radiating a light that struck awe into mountains, rivers, and all creation.
With a thunderous rumble like heaven and earth tearing apart, bathed in lightning, he hurled the seal forward.
Zhou Zhengran's dharma idol was terrifying—a blood immortal ascending, colossal in size, with a hand that seemed to blot out the night sky, completely covering Qin Ming.
Yet now, the thunder seal shone dazzlingly, its lightning talismans intertwining to radiate an energy of supreme vigor and yang. It seemed to set the blood immortal's massive hand ablaze, igniting it in flames.
Then the seal's brilliance surged. The lightning it radiated caused the giant hand to explode inch by inch, spreading toward the body of the blood immortal and blowing it apart with a deafening boom.
Zhou Zhengran's mind shook violently, and he retreated in haste. Scorched black marks appeared on his palm, blood dripping down only to be incinerated cleanly by lightning fire.
"Worthy of being a grandmaster," Qin Ming said.
This time, the blessed land was deathly silent; no one thought he was being arrogant anymore.
Even Zhou Zhengran looked grave and took a deep breath. Had he truly run into a monster born once in a millennium on the Newborn path? To be able to fight a grandmaster from the Mind Lamp realm...
At their level, none were ordinary; all were top geniuses who had risen from the sea of mortals, nearly impossible to be slain by someone of a lower realm.
Yet now, the kid before him was carving out a miraculous feat.
A shield appeared before Zhou Zhengran, dense patterns intertwining across its surface. It was clearly an exotic treasure, blocking the aftershocks of the lightning.
Calming his emotions, he began to unleash his full power without reservation.
The night sky seemed sliced open as dozens upon hundreds of pure yang flying swords whistled through the air like a shower of light, densely slashing toward Qin Ming.
Crisscrossing in formation to form a sword array, their speed reached the absolute extreme. Even if a mountain stood in their way, it would be sheared flat and reduced to rubble.
Around Qin Ming's body, his spirit field expanded, seeming to warp the void as though an irregular collapse had occurred. The night mist blew apart, and several flying swords caught within his Hunyuan spirit field emitted terrifying metallic screeches before bending and snapping!
While driving the remaining flying swords, Zhou Zhengran formed hand seals. Golden light surged violently around his body, his aura majestic. A fist swirled with bloody light crashed through the pervasive night mist, slamming forward with a deafening boom.
Qin Ming showed no fear, meeting it barehanded.
Explosive thuds rang out endlessly. Between the two of them, runes splattered and intricate patterns intertwined, like tangible dao rhyme flowing about.
Trading blows in rapid succession, they exchanged dozens of moves in an instant.
Zhou Zhengran retreated at high speed, finding it utterly unbelievable. He had condensed a golden fist seal using fifth-realm pure yang blood energy combined with spiritual light, yet now his fist was spasming, blood dripping from it.
This youth barely in his twenties was truly a formidable opponent—he had not been spouting wild boasts, but could truly engage him in a life-and-death clash.
"Again!" Qin Ming stepped forward, bathed in heavenly light. Treading on empty air, he shot forward like a streak of flowing radiance.
Within Zhou Zhengran's body, what seemed like blood-colored wolf smoke surged, conjuring a hazy marvel in the void, as if summoning an ancient battle immortal to face the enemy alongside him.
He was a grandmaster proficient in the dao of slaughter, employing all manner of wondrous arts right from the start; this was yet another trump card.
Qin Ming took this man very seriously. At the same time, to test whether his Script of the Primal Myriad Thunderbolts could perform transcendently against a true grandmaster, he deployed a wondrous art—Thunder Whale Leaping from the Sea.
A giant black whale surged out from a hazy sea of thunder, carrying boundless lightning power as it crashed toward the opponent.
"This is..." Zhou Zhengran felt his hair stand on end. The blood-colored battle immortal he had condensed met the charge, only to be blown to pieces, its blood energy dispersing.
Even he coughed up a mouthful of blood and staggered backward. In his haste, he blocked with the exotic treasure shield, but with a crack, the treasure was destroyed.
Zhou Zhengran flew back in retreat. In the end, he had to activate two secret treasures in succession before diffusing the crisis.
Looking down, he saw a greenwood blade snapped in two, and cracks had appeared on his blood-colored bracelet as well.
With a grave expression and constricted pupils, he scrutinized Qin Ming carefully. This impossibly young opponent was bringing immense pressure down upon him.
Without hesitation, Zhou Zhengran brought out yet another rare treasure—a lamp that instantly released pure yang divine light, enveloping him like a canopy.
"The Six Phoenix Divine Fire Lamp." In the rear, his personal disciple's face changed. Had Master been driven to such a point that he needed to resort to his strongest weapon?
Six dazzling fire phoenixes flew out, circling Zhou Zhengran before lunging to slaughter Qin Ming.
Qin Ming spoke not a word. Driving black astral winds as if flying, he ascended into the sky. Condensing a terrifying Hunyuan blade light in his hand, he slashed downward.
With a whoosh, the Six Phoenix Divine Fire Lamp flared with piercing flames, sweeping upward as pure yang energy surged. The precious lamp carried Zhou Zhengran straight into the night sky.
A great confrontation erupted as the two fought fiercely high above. One rode upon six phoenixes, bathed in pure yang energy; the other drove astral winds, bathed in heavenly light—resembling two immortals locked in combat.
Moving at extreme speed, they battled from the sky to the ground. With a tremendous boom, a mountain within the blessed land was cracked apart, its summit collapsing in a billowing plume of dust.
On the ground, the eyes of the black-robed men went wide. That young grandmaster was truly terrifying.
None of them were benevolent souls. Some tried to harness the array's power, intermittently intercepting Qin Ming as runes lit up in the night and beams of light shot into the void.
Others quietly slipped away, attempting to seek reinforcements.
Unfortunately, none could get far; all were captured by Yu Gensheng, Meng Zhiyan, and the others.
The array also ceased glowing, unable to interfere with Qin Ming's strikes, because Li Qingyun, Meng Xinghai, and the rest had entered the field.
"Protect the longevity-extending precious medicine—the blood grape vine," Yu Gensheng said, fearing the Blood Immortal members might act like cornered dogs and destroy that rare medicine in desperation.
The hearts of the hundred-plus black-robed men sank. Seeing the four figures emerge from the shadows, they felt an aura so suffocating it nearly choked them.
In the night sky, Qin Ming and Zhou Zhengran had traded a hundred and seventy moves. Qin Ming had fought to his heart's content, experiencing the superb standard of a true grandmaster, nodding intermittently in acknowledgment of his opponent's strength.
Landing heavy blows repeatedly, he felt he could no longer afford to draw things out in a war of attrition, immediately unleashing a flurry of wondrous arts.
After his Hunyuan blade light slashed out several times, the six phoenixes wailed one after another and faded, and cracks actually appeared upon the divine fire lamp.
Immediately after, Qin Ming used Weaving the Sky with Lightning Patterns to lock down the void, forcefully immobilizing the precious lamp and snatching it over.
Sensing it carefully, he found within the lamp solar divine fire, Nanming Li Fire, and other flames, rich in spiritual nature. He did not intend to re-refine this treasure, but rather to absorb the lamp's flames, extracting those rare dao rhymes to infuse into his own mind lamp.
Ever since mastering *The Beginning of the Primal Monad*, he could not only manifest 'One Lamp Generates All Things' to illuminate all dharmas, but could also harvest all things to nourish his mind lamp through creation.
Ultimately, no matter what methods Zhou Zhengran exhausted—even burning his own pure yang spiritual light—he could not overcome his opponent. Instead, he was bound by Weaving the Sky with Lightning Patterns and pinned in midair.
Then the lightning patterns blazed, booming one after another. The Blood Immortal grandmaster let out shrill, agonizing screams as his physical body was torn apart, followed by his pure yang consciousness.
It was said that pure yang was difficult to extinguish, yet Zhou Zhengran was locked in the void by Qin Ming's lightning patterns, unable to break free. Slain multiple times, he had no way to turn the tide.
Throughout the process, Qin Ming extracted a confession, employing resonance techniques to capture his thoughts.
In the end, the grandmaster Zhou Zhengran, whose hands were stained with blood, was reduced to ashes, destroyed completely in body and spirit.
Shortly after, flames blazed across the blessed land. Over a hundred black-robed men were wiped out entirely; not a single assassin walked out alive.
Meng Xinghai said, "No wonder a grandmaster was personally guarding this place. The blood grape vine, which can extend one's life by sixty years, is only a month or two away from ripening."
That precious medicine was translucent and lustrous. From its leaves to its stems, it was entirely crimson, as if condensed from the essence of sunset clouds. Standing no more than five feet tall, it bore two clusters of glowing red fruit, emitting a rich, refreshing medicinal fragrance.
"Harvesting it a bit early will only shave off a year or two of its medicinal potency. This trip was well worth it!"
Brushing off their robes, their task complete, Qin Ming and the others vanished in the blink of an eye.
That night, they overturned another vital stronghold of the Pure World Convent, impaling and slaying the leader there. They similarly harvested a considerable amount of day gold, as well as spirit medicines, exotic treasures, and other spoils of war.
At dawn—during the shallow night—Qin Ming seemed bathed in the morning glow as he walked into a mysterious, magnificent manor. Carrying a trace of killing intent, he prepared to pay a visit to an 'old acquaintance.'
...
Evidently, news of the vital strongholds of Blood Immortal, the Hall of Longevity, the Pure World Convent, and other organizations being overturned had not yet spread widely, primarily because the actions of Qin Ming, Yu Gensheng, and the others were far too swift.
Within a pure land of the esoteric sect, Cui Chongxiao sighed and asked, "Is Black-White Mountain truly unapproachable?"
A golden fire spring flowed, dyeing several ancient esoteric sect structures with golden mist, resembling an abode of deities.
Cui Chongxiao's senior brother, Mu Zhuo, was an ageless grandmaster who looked like a middle-aged man. He replied, "To strike a dog, one must look at its master; how much more so when striking a person? Naturally, one must heed the mood of Black-White Mountain's Dog Sword Immortal. For now, we absolutely cannot make a move in that region, but if the target leaves, it won't be much of an issue."
Mu Zhuo told him that the Beast God of Black-White Mountain was abiding by a certain agreement to guard that village, but that likely had little to do with Qin Ming.
Cui Chongxiao said, "Senior Brother, I want to kill Qin Ming!"
Mu Zhuo replied, "Your mind is not calm enough."
He turned to look at his junior brother and said, "The master once said that you must cultivate the Immovable Fundamental Mind. Even if Night Province were torn to pieces and the night sky ripped apart in a single grasp, you must still maintain peace in your state of mind. This benefits the technique you practice; otherwise, how could you slay gods with your flesh and sever heavenly will with your mind?"
Cui Chongxiao clenched his fists. "He crippled Chonghe, stepping over the face of my Cui family to rise and write his own legend. If I do not slay him, the stifled fire in my heart can never be quenched. Senior Brother, I truly cannot do it."
Mu Zhuo said, "Master possesses the talent of a god, his gifts no lesser than Chu Canglan's. In the future, he will likely be the second person in our esoteric sect to advance into the seventh realm. As his disciples, we must not bring shame upon him."
Hearing this, Cui Chongxiao was taken aback.
Mu Zhuo continued: "Master is a true dragon. The land of his apotheosis is not confined to a single domain; merging with the terrain and absorbing the otherworldly phenomena above the firmament, he is destined to cultivate a presence that swallows mountains and rivers. Now that he has ascended to the heavens, we need only await the day he emerges from nirvana—he will surely look down upon the world."
Cui Chongxiao asked, "Senior Brother, are you saying I should endure for now and wait until Master breaks through?"
Mu Zhuo shook his head. "My meaning is that you should cultivate the Immovable Fundamental Mind as early as possible and not fail your status—you and I will be personal disciples of a seventh-realm powerhouse. As for your... inner demon, it is not as though we cannot take action."
Cui Chongxiao's eyes lit up instantly. Then he added, "However, every time he leaves Black-White Mountain, there are grandmasters accompanying him. Otherwise, I would have severed that 'obsession' long ago."
With his black hair hanging loose, looking to be in the prime of his life, Mu Zhuo looked into the distance and said, "Very well. Once your inner demon steps out of Black-White Mountain, I will take action on your behalf once."
Cui Chongxiao turned to look at him, his voice trembling with excitement: "Senior Brother!"
Mu Zhuo's eyes were profound. "Mm. We cannot beat him to death; after all, relations between our esoteric sect and the Newborn path have softened in recent years. If I kill him and provoke old monsters like Liuyu and Rulai, the trouble will be immense. Crippling his cultivation won't do either, as that could easily cause complications. So I shall break his four limbs and snap his spine, delaying his cultivation for half a year to vent your anger. Striking with such severity to dissolve your inner demon must also be done discreetly; even if a storm follows afterward, Master can probably cover for us."
Chapter 509