A night breeze blew past, rustling the silver bamboo grove along the lakeside, while overlapping ripples in the water stirred layers of immortal light.
Qin Ming stepped out of the palace pavilion onto the lush green grass. Quite a few young talents were gathered here, mingling in groups of three to five, and within moments, several familiar faces walked toward him.
Lu Zheng, known as the Little Heavenly Venerable, looked at his sister and gestured to her with a nod of his chin.
Lu Jingli had naturally spotted Qin Ming's appearance as well. Holding a crystalline wine cup in her fair, slender fingers, she hesitated briefly and did not walk over right away.
She felt a measure of reluctance. In the past, she had maintained an indifferent attitude, willing to follow her family's arrangements to choose an exceptional cultivator as a Dao companion regardless of their background.
Yet recently, word had reached her ears that the Huang family had very few daughters of the main line, making them extraordinarily cautious in choosing a husband. To them, Qin Ming was merely an alternate choice; their primary interests lay in the likes of Yijian, Qian Cheng, and Wei Shouzhen.
Because of this, Lu Jingli felt a sense of injustice. Why should the daughters of the Huang family enjoy such a transcendent status?
She herself was a direct descendant of the Heavenly Venerable—the foremost powerhouse of immortal physical body cultivation. Was a daughter of the Lu family's main line truly so far beneath one from the Huang family?
Why should another person's backup choice become her first choice?
Responding to her elder brother, Lu Jingli said, "Let us wait and see a little longer."
She had a delicate, pointed face and skin as fair as mutton-fat jade. With her striking, exceptional beauty, she was a noble lady whose name resounded above the Nine Heavens. Her talent was also extraordinarily high, giving her every right to be proud.
Lu Zheng did not press her further. "As you wish."
However, he added, "At present, the Chaos force has piqued the interest of many old eccentrics. Many wish to study it."
Lu Jingli's delicate brows knit slightly. "Isn't that path lacking universal applicability?"
Taking a light sip of wine, Lu Zheng let his gaze drift across the crowd. "If it were suited to everyone, I suspect those old eccentrics would have stepped into the arena in person long ago."
Lu Jingli had heard of this as well. Lately, powerhouses of the seventh realm had been paying considerable attention to the Chaos force.
Lu Zheng said, "Even so, the Sage reached incredible heights and forged glorious battle achievements, while Li Wanfa followed in his master's footsteps by slaying one of the Seven Heroes of the Celestial Clan, continuing that lineage's dazzling record. After them came Qin Ming, who has preliminarily demonstrated absolute dominance within the same realm. This system is gradually showing signs of harmonization. In the future, it might not remain so lethal and may not inevitably end in self-destruction."
It was not as though the transcendent factions absolutely had to master the Chaos force; this technique was still far from being completely perfected and flawless.
If it ever truly matured, those old fellows would surely jump out themselves. Even if they did not outright snatch the fruits along the way, they would definitely want a share of the pie.
When that time came, no matter how powerful the Sage was, he likely would not be able to stop the infiltration. His outstanding disciples and descendants might very well be taken in as adopted sons or sons-in-law by certain old eccentrics.
Lu Jingli was surprised to see Feng Zhige and Lu Chengyuan walking over toward Qin Ming, followed by elite disciples from Thunder Marsh Palace and Heavenly God Ridge.
Shortly after, Yan Zhuohua, a noble lady whose fame surpassed even her own, actually took the initiative to approach him as well.
Lu Zheng remarked, "Right now, it is mainly the younger generation who want to research the Chaos force. If they can practice it smoothly, they will; if they encounter setbacks, they can simply stop before facing the True Form Tribulation."
At present, some people were genuinely invested and wished to embark on this path early.
Others merely wanted it as a supplementary art to serve as an offensive means to protect their Dao.
After all, this art was far too ferocious; even several of the founding patriarchs had ended up crippled.
In the distance, others were also discussing it, though their level was higher. Figures like Xie Muze and Cheng Xian were grandmasters famous in the heavens.
"The Sage has temporarily blazed a path through the subsequent stages and is regarded as possessing astonishing brilliance. Li Wanfa broke through to the fifth realm and has not blown apart yet, preliminarily suggesting that this success can be replicated."
"Qin Ming still requires observation. They call him a branch disciple, yet he stepped onto the path entirely on his own, which is truly startling. If one is pursuing the extreme realm, his seed might be an even better choice—though the risk may also be greater."
On the whole, the assessments from this group of grandmasters were quite objective.
A large crowd had gathered around Qin Ming. Raising his cup with a smile, he did not merely brush them off; instead, he steered the pace and engaged in deep conversation, continuing to ask different people about the Reincarnation Lotus.
At last, he obtained a piece of valuable information.
Zhou Tiandao spoke up. "Brother Qin, have you ever heard of the dream bug?"
Qin Ming had not only heard of it, but had actually encountered it. He nodded. "I have heard of it. Ranked fifth among the world's exotic insects, it is shrouded in many terrifying legends. Even flourishing Earth Immortal families dread it immensely. There is a saying that 'a single bug cannot be passed down through three generations'; in the end, it must be sent away courteously—even reverently."
Li Heng nodded and sighed. "Furthermore, a supreme Earth Immortal must personally escort it deep into the night mist world without allowing the slightest mishap, or disaster will befall the entire family."
Zhou Tiandao added that according to rumor, the spiritual silk spun by a dream bug might be able to breach the Reincarnation Black Lotus and fish out a lost spiritual will trapped within.
Feng Zhige shook his head. "That is far too difficult. A dream bug will never spin spiritual silk ribbons for others, as that touches upon the secret of how they borrow vessels to comprehend the Dao."
Zhou Tiandao nodded. "Indeed. That is why there is a saying that a single bundle of dream silk is worth ten taels of exotic metal."
Qin Ming was worried, wondering how long Xiao Wu and Xiang Yiwu could hold out and whether they could successfully break through reincarnation on their own.
At his current stage, if he actively probed into the dream bug, he might encounter that wisp of consciousness from the old insect once more, which would be exceedingly dangerous.
However, in the depths of the night mist world, someone had previously used golden threads to pin down the dream bug and wound it heavily, proving that the dream bug was not entirely invincible.
Evidently, many around Qin Ming were here to learn about the Chaos force.
Qin Ming did not hoard his knowledge selfishly. He conversed freely with them, sharing some insights and realizations. Yet, if it came down to guiding them onto the path and bestowing a "seed," strict criteria were required.
"Take you as... a master?"
Everyone present frowned; most of them were several years older than Qin Ming.
The main issue was that Qin Ming did not want to entangle himself in too many karmic threads. If they blew themselves apart or ruined their cultivation in the future, how would that be settled? What if it provoked dissatisfaction from the families backing them?
He knew very well that his Chaos force was far more overbearing because he had integrated too many scriptures. Before he ground away all the hidden perils, it would be extremely difficult for others to take his seed and walk his path.
Unless he personally supervised them and looked after them as true personal disciples, correcting their course the moment the slightest deviation occurred.
Currently, only Wenrui had received a Hunyuan seed from him; not even his registered disciple, Su Mohua, had been taught it.
Someone said, "Brother Qin, can there be no flexibility? How about accepting disciples on behalf of your master? We would be willing to become your junior brothers."
"Bestowing a Hunyuan seed is extremely draining on the mind and spirit," Qin Ming said, shaking his head.
The truth was simply that their relationship was not deep enough. If Xiao Wu or Xiang Yiwu wished to practice it, he would split off a seed without a second thought and teach them personally.
Furthermore, not everyone seeking a seed intended to practice it themselves; some might take it away for old eccentrics to study and analyze his heavenly light force.
Although his force was constantly evolving as he continually integrated true scriptures, it was still best to avoid such stage-specific risks whenever possible.
Zhou Tiandao even called his younger sister over. Without a doubt, she was also a celebrated fairy maiden among the younger generation above the Nine Heavens.
Zhou Wanning possessed a graceful figure. Her slender waist swayed like willow branches as she drifted over with ethereal elegance. Her skin was white as snow, and her features were exceptionally striking. Smiling before she even spoke, she appeared bright, beautiful, and utterly refined.
Unfortunately, Qin Ming remained completely unmoved.
What a joke. Not even an immortal fairy maiden five hundred years his senior who held dominion over the night mist sea could shake his core heart. Did a woman barely in her early twenties, offering merely superficial goodwill without true scriptures or genuine affection, really expect him to bestow a precious Hunyuan seed? She was dreaming.
*Hiss... Qin Ming's standards are far too high, aren't they? That's a daughter of the Zhou family's main line, Zhou Tiandao's own sister, yet he didn't even fancy her?*
Some believed the Zhou family had intended to win Qin Ming over and consider him as a prospective son-in-law.
Initially, though Zhou Wanning had worn a bright smile, she had been reluctant in her heart. Having already established herself in the fourth realm, approaching and getting close to someone in the third realm caused her some aversion.
Yet when Qin Ming preemptively declined and refused to grant a Hunyuan seed, a competitive drive flared within her instead. *Why? How could he casually dismiss me like this?*
In the end, only Feng Zhige and Yan Zhuohua remained beside Qin Ming.
Back when they were in the earthen city, these two had already wanted to cultivate the Chaos force and harbored quite an obsession with it. At the time, Qin Ming had held this exact same stance: they needed to acknowledge him as master.
Years ago, Feng Zhige had chosen the Sage's lineage and had already reaped some gains by now.
Yan Zhuohua possessed high aspirations. Having obtained the introductory scriptures from the Sage's lineage, she too had wished to embark on the path independently like Qin Ming, but she had made no progress whatsoever.
"I just practiced, and suddenly I found myself on the path. Perhaps it was also connected to surviving a fatal calamity—after dying once, I was reborn anew." Qin Ming was speaking the truth.
Yet who would believe it?
Even if others entertained the thought, who would dare allow themselves to drop dead once? More crucially, who could precisely control such a delicate threshold?
Yan Zhuohua looked like a fairy maiden stepping out of a landscape painting, her brows lightly traced with ink and her robes tinted with blue mist, exuding a classical, remarkably graceful beauty.
Those watching saw that she, too, had hit a wall.
Her dark brows furrowed slightly, and a conflicted expression covered her lustrous, jade-like face. She was one of the earliest among the transcendent heavenly factions to come into contact with Qin Ming and the Chaos force.
Moreover, she believed Qin Ming was an anomaly and had an intuition that this art would one day illuminate heaven and earth, its divine radiance soaring into the heavens.
The person before her might very well become a supreme patriarch in the future.
"Very well. I will consider it carefully," she said softly.
Feng Zhige was stunned. *Could she really be considering taking him as a master?*
In truth, it was a two-way choice. Even if someone ultimately wished to become his disciple, Qin Ming could not possibly accept everyone indiscriminately; he lacked the energy and time to teach disciples.
"That is Fairy Yan, one of the most outstanding talents above our Nine Heavens, and even she was politely turned down?"
Quite a few people revealed astonished looks, feeling that this Qin Ming was rather cold and aloof—even downright unreasonable.
At that moment, a woman from the Huang family, clad in a goose-yellow dress, stepped forward gracefully and unhurriedly. Picking up a cup of fine wine from a jade table, she approached her target.
By now, Qin Ming understood why everyone was seeking him out. After the battle in the enclave, the Chaos force had forged a resounding reputation, and he—someone who had mastered it entirely on his own—had become a coveted prize.
Consequently, he was on high alert, maintaining resonance at all times.
In an instant, he discerned the Huang family woman's intention. *Who are they looking down on?* He had conversed casually with an immortal fairy maiden, yet the Huang family had merely sent a concubine-born daughter over.
Through resonance, he had already learned that the three main-line daughters of the Huang family looked upon him with condescension, deeming him unqualified to be received by them in their self-importance.
Qin Ming sneered internally: *What's so impressive about being an auntie-level grandmaster? Do they truly think they are youthful fairy maidens?*
Over the past six months, had he slain few grandmasters?
Thus, with an easy and poised demeanor, he nodded with a smile, took the cup of wine from the yellow-dressed woman's hand, and brushed right past her.
"Did he mistake me for a maid serving wine?!" The Huang family woman froze in disbelief, her expression turning displeased.
Qin Ming took the initiative to walk toward another woman. Dressed in snow-white robes, her black hair tumbled down like a waterfall, and her deep, beautiful eyes held an ethereal intelligence. Faintly and indistinctly, a hazy moonlight seemed to radiate from her body.
Her peerless beauty was secondary; her cultivation was extraordinarily astonishing—she was actually a great grandmaster.
"Greetings, Fairy Chang." Qin Ming stepped forward and greeted her warmly and earnestly. Through her familiar aura, he had already recognized who she was.
She hailed from the divine temple in Xiao Wu's homeland. She had once hosted him, sparred with him amicably, served him "Fragrant Mist Tea," and provided him with the revised silk book technique.
In fact, Changxi had also used the alias Guanghan, ranking among the very top positions on the sword-sparring stage back then.
Changxi smiled, no longer concealing her identity.
Furthermore, as they caught up, Qin Ming learned that on the rainy night Qi Yunxiao had gone to the Thunder Fire Metal-Refining Palace to test his sword against him, aside from Mu Xingyao and Cen Jinghong who had followed along, there had been a white-robed woman watching from the distant sky—the very person standing before him now.
"Many thanks, Fairy." Qin Ming knew that had an unexpected mishap occurred back then, she would have certainly shielded him.
"Why be so polite? By seniority, Xiao Wu calls me Aunt, so you are like a nephew to me as well. Go ahead, call me Aunt." With just a few words, her true personality surfaced, completely unlike an elder.
Evidently, with her talent and her high ranking on the sword-sparring stage, she was still in the prime of her youth, not some ancient relic.
Naturally, she was still a fair bit older than Qin Ming.
Qin Ming was currently wondering whether Changxi was Xiao Wu's actual aunt or simply someone who had mistakenly strayed into that perilous land.
"I told you to call me Aunt, so why are you acting so shy?" Changxi's eyes rippled with vibrant, captivating brilliance.
Not intimidated in the slightest, Qin Ming immediately said, "Aunt, are you here for a blind date too?"
Changxi: "—"
Qin Ming continued, "Look, Aunt, everyone is staring at the two of us."
"How about we spar again?" Changxi's lovely eyes sparkled.
Unafraid, Qin Ming chuckled. "A battle in the same realm—does Aunt dare?"
In the distance, Lu Jingli was lost in thought. Just what kind of figures was Qin Ming associating with? Zhou Wanning's background was on par with hers, and Yan Zhuohua was even more formidable.
And now, he had actually walked over to chat with a great grandmaster?
The three main-line daughters of the Huang family were also frowning. For a woman of the Huang family to be mistaken by Qin Ming for a maid—surely he had done that on purpose?
Nearby, the Sage was standing with a group of old eccentrics of formidable origins. "You have only seen the brilliance of the Chaos force," he said. "Have you ever truly understood its bleak, bloody reality? How many naturally gifted figures have blown themselves apart? Beneath the dome of heaven, the Dao flowers bloom in magnificent splendor; yet beneath the abyss lie heaps of white bones in desolate sorrow."
A supreme Earth Immortal chuckled and said, "No matter. Some of the juniors possess a strong thirst for exploration. Let them taste some hardship and try practicing it."
"Very well," the Sage replied with a faint smile, not refusing.
That day, it was practically a scene of seeds flying across the sky.
The Sage personally stepped forward and had his disciples bestow Chaos seeds. With a wave of his own hand, he even generously gifted seeds, scattering them outward without the slightest hesitation.
Instantly, this triggered a sensation.
Qin Ming remained silent, his eyes bright and focused as he watched quietly.
He understood this true scripture well. Different founding patriarchs cultivated different attributes, and the Pugong lineage had famously developed the property of devouring.
Now, Qin Ming had mastered it as well, grasping two extraordinary methods.
He knew intimately that seeds of the same origin attracted one another. If one channeled the devouring power to absorb them directly, the process would be exceptionally clean and swift.
What was the Sage planning by distributing Hunyuan seeds across the heavens?
That same day, Qin Ming also bestowed a Hunyuan seed, implanting it into his registered disciple, Su Mohua.
Evidently, this was the result of entreaties from the Su family and Su Mohua. Having observed her for so long, Qin Ming had come to approve of her, ultimately agreeing to the request.
By contrast, Qin Ming's side made his seeds seem far rarer and more precious.
A main-line daughter of the Huang family spoke in dissatisfaction, "Someone from the Su family actually managed to obtain one. Compared to our Huang family, that clan is vastly inferior. Must I step forward in person and display some special art before he develops an affinity for me and reveals the secrets of the Chaos force?"
"Did you get the jade mirror back?" Qin Ming held his wine cup, stopping not far from Tang Yushang as he communicated with her secretly.
"Naturally." Tang Yushang gave a reserved nod and cast him a cool glance. Still brooding over his delusion of wanting to become her ancestral grandmother's Dao companion, she did not grace him with a bright smile.
Qin Ming said, "Come on, let's go pull off something big. If we succeed, we'll have more than enough resources to break through to the Grandmaster realm!"
Afterward, holding an attitude of giving it a try, he called out to the Golden Board for a long time. Surprisingly, he actually received a response.
Throwing caution to the wind, he asked, "Senior, among all those semi-mad special suits of armor in the Madmen's Abyss, are there any relatively normal ones that you could temporarily lend me?"
In secret, the Golden Board remained silent for a long time before replying, "Fine. I'll find one. Once you're finished with it, it will fly back on its own."
Then, it added that there was no need to call upon it again in the future, as it was about to enter complete slumber.
Long before the grand gathering in the heavens came to an end, Qin Ming and Tang Yushang slipped away quietly through the back exit.
The main-line daughters of the Huang family were astonished. To think Qin Ming, a mere cultivator of the third realm, would walk alongside the descendant of Yujing's master. Was this a tryst at dusk? The two figures vanished together into the night.
Chapter 567