Qin Ming raised an eyebrow. "We set out brimming with heroic spirit and boasting to the heavens. If we scurry back with our tails between our legs now, how embarrassing would that be?"
Tang Yushang's furry cat ears twitched slightly. She gave him a sidelong glare and curled her lips. "You were the only one spouting wild boasts. I certainly didn't!"
Qin Ming shook his head. "We are a team. When we crossed over to this alien realm, our morale pierced the clouds. Beaten back in such disgrace, wouldn't we become laughingstocks? Where would our dignity go?"
With their opinions divided, the two stopped to rest and eat at a small town.
Qin Ming was unwilling to give up and continued his persuasion.
He believed this territory was exceptionally peculiar. Even now, they had not managed to uncover which supreme dao sanctum it actually belonged to.
"The Godkin Society and the Strange Insect Alliance both maintain strongholds here," Qin Ming said, "and they keep a remarkably tight watch over this land. It is thoroughly abnormal. On top of that, there's a bewildering variety of races—it's practically a gathering place of all living spirits."
After finishing a simple meal, the two got up and departed.
As they crossed through the town, Tang Yushang caught sight of her reflection in a fire spring pool, and a wave of distress washed over her.
Her figure was tall and slender with undulating curves, topped by a pair of snow-white cat ears—she had turned thoroughly into a cat-girl. As she walked, her footsteps were light and silent, swaying in an elegant, dainty cat walk.
Had she truly been facing Qin Ming like this for the past few days?
In an instant, an overwhelming wave of embarrassment flooded her heart.
From her aloof, transcendent, and ethereal presence to her current soft, alluring feline stride, she had already grasped the very essence of the feline race. And it had only been a few days!
Was she still the Goddess of Taixu, whom everyone regarded as a celestial maiden reincarnated?
In a mix of shame and indignation, Tang Yushang fumed, "Meow damn it, Scumbag Ming! Coming out with you has half-ruined my peerless elegance!"
She felt as though she had been completely possessed by a ghost, climbing step by step onto a pirate ship.
Her only consolation was that no acquaintances were around. If Bai Meng, her great-grandmother, Yun Jianyue, or any of the others saw her like this, she would want to crawl into a hole and die.
Qin Ming, however, was thoroughly unbothered and open about it. "What's the big deal? Look at me—aren't I a member of the feline race too?"
As he spoke, he even admired his own reflection by the edge of the fire spring pool, strutting with an elegant feline gait and wearing a deeply satisfied expression. He felt his current "indigenization" was vivid, profound, and utterly flawless.
Tang Yushang quietly brought out a memory crystal and decisively recorded him. She figured holding some dirt on him was the only way she could erase this dark chapter of her own history.
Of course, this was merely psychological comfort she sought for herself.
Qin Ming turned his head back. "You're not recording dirt on me, are you?"
Tang Yushang denied it, unaware that an ingrained "meow" had begun slipping into her tone.
Soon, she caught herself and grew alert. If he could guess what she was doing, could he have used a memory crystal long ago?
Instantly, she drew a sharp breath. Eight or nine times out of ten, that was the case! At the thought that footage of her strutting in a cat walk and twitching her furry ears might leak out, her fur practically stood on end.
Qin Ming firmly denied it. "I didn't! I wouldn't do something like that!"
Driven into a corner in the end, he could only add, "Even if I had, I would keep it purely for my own viewing!"
Tang Yushang felt as if the sky were collapsing. "Meow it, hand it over!"
Ultimately, the two exchanged their compromising footage and destroyed it on the spot.
"You recorded mine in advance," Tang Yushang said suspiciously. "You definitely still have spares!"
This time, Qin Ming insisted adamantly that he had no reserves left. He even told her she was welcome to search him and that he would submit to it with total transparency.
Still uneasy, Tang Yushang said, "If anything ever leaks out, you and I are enemies for life!"
Qin Ming patted the rag that no one else could perceive and said, "Rest assured!"
The three great organizations—the Godkin Society, the Strange Insect Alliance, and the Rebirth Figurines—were all victims of the demonic medicines. Yet the market remained calm on the surface, without any large-scale unrest breaking out.
Evidently, they were conducting rigorous investigations in secret.
With things having reached this stage, Qin Ming naturally dared not commit crimes in the teeth of the wind. Even though he had fought bloody battles against the Godkin Society and the Strange Insect Alliance in the past, he could not seek revenge right now.
"Old ginger is truly spicier than new! They've screwed me over royally!" Qin Ming was naturally disgruntled, yet there was nothing he could do. He could only pin his hopes on the next ancient mist portal opening.
Of course, he had drawn a red line for himself—a psychological bottom line: his trading targets could only be hostile organizations.
"The Rebirth Figurines are quite mysterious." Hearing about this organization for the first time, Qin Ming felt a touch of surprise.
For them to stand alongside the Godkin Society and the Strange Insect Alliance, one did not need to think twice to know their origin was most likely a supreme dao sanctum as well.
Qin Ming had no intention of fighting to the death in this region. He knew well that even if paths led into the distant lands, dumping demonic medicines was no longer viable.
He estimated that in the surrounding territories, the Godkin Society, the Rebirth Figurines, and the Strange Insect Alliance were almost certainly conducting secondary dumpings of their own, quietly passing along the harm.
Comparatively speaking, his curiosity about the inherent mysteries of this land was growing increasingly intense.
Tang Yushang was no longer in a hurry to return either. During their preliminary probing, she had discovered to her astonishment that in ancient times, a chilling blood calamity had erupted across this land.
"Suspected to be... a clash at the Heavenly Immortal tier!"
Moreover, far more than a single Heavenly Immortal had taken part in the battle.
Qin Ming and Tang Yushang looked at each other. A conflict involving multiple eighth-realm supreme experts—could it have been a bloody struggle originating from the supreme realms?
Across this region, which spanned six hundred thousand li from east to west and eight hundred thousand li from north to south, many great clans harbored legends of Heavenly Immortals.
And such a vast domain, inhabited by the descendants of gods and immortals, and many times larger than Night Province and Taixu combined, was actually named the "Forgotten Corner."
As they dug deeper, various prefixes and striking annotations could be attached to the name "Forgotten Corner"—such as "Heavenly Immortal Melee," "Blood Calamity," "Old Ground Beneath the Ashes of History," and "Longevity."
Though this realm was deemed a "corner," it was exceptionally powerful. An allied army of its various races had once dared to launch an external war of conquest on its own initiative.
"What is the background of these Rebirth Figurines?" Tang Yushang recalled the various classic records of Taixu, but she had never heard of this name.
Eventually, through deeper investigation, the two learned that while the Rebirth Figurines organization was small in scale, it was a terrifyingly formidable power.
Its ultimate origin was a pit of burial figurines.
Tracing it back, the site was unimaginably ancient. When it was first excavated, countless burial figurines of untraceable eras lay buried beneath the mottled dust of time.
This organization did not style itself as a supreme lineage. Its sole purpose of existence was to research immortality and conduct various longevity experiments.
Over countless years, it had always kept a low profile. Though obscure and lusterless among supreme civilizations, it was actually extraordinarily powerful.
Otherwise, how could it coexist in peace here alongside the Godkin Society and the Strange Insect Alliance?
Anyone who understood its past held immense awe and dread toward it. While virtually unknown to the outside world, its foundational heritage was frighteningly deep, and the experiments it carried out were drenched in blood.
Having just survived a tragic war against the colossal entity of the Immortal Blood Calamity, the Yujing faction to which Qin Ming and Tang Yushang belonged was naturally hypersensitive to organizations researching longevity.
Whenever longevity and immortality research were involved, not a single organization was benevolent; bloody calamities inevitably accompanied them.
"Its headquarters—that ancient pit of burial figurines—couldn't possibly be located right here, could it?"
If that were the case, Qin Ming and Tang Yushang would turn around and flee without staying for even a moment.
Soon afterward, they confirmed that whether it was the Godkin Society, the Rebirth Figurines, or the Strange Insect Alliance, none of their origins lay in this realm.
The Forgotten Corner was situated far from those supreme domains.
Qin Ming and Tang Yushang both wore solemn expressions. This land far exceeded their expectations. Why were the Godkin Society, the Rebirth Figurines, and the Strange Insect Alliance cultivating deep roots here? What was their objective?
Originally, with one having failed to sell his demonic medicines and the other suffering half-ruined dignity, both had felt as though the sky were collapsing, gradually losing their fighting spirit. Yet as they dug deeper into the truth of this world, their desire to explore grew increasingly intense, drawing them in completely.
"It involves... a Longevity Tablet?"
A momentary, unintentional smile of charm from Tang Yushang had drawn the covetous gaze of an old werewolf, leading unexpectedly to a breakthrough.
"Big Tang, you've done a great service." After subduing the old wolf, Qin Ming resonated with its soul and unearthed the truth.
In truth, this was not much of a secret. Any clan with some degree of heritage knew about it.
Only newcomers like Qin Ming and Tang Yushang, investigating for the first time, were kept completely in the dark.
The reason the three supreme organizations had extended their tentacles into this realm was related to an exceedingly mysterious artifact known as the Longevity Tablet.
All three supreme organizations were spending vast sums to secretly gather them.
Within the Forgotten Corner lay a special region that reportedly required a Longevity Tablet to open. Legend held that the ancient war of Heavenly Immortals had been fought precisely over this tablet.
According to records, a total of nine tablets were scattered across the entire territory.
Several millennia had passed, and after multiple bloody clashes among gods and immortals, only six had ultimately been found.
Of course, there were also legends claiming that all nine had already been collected.
Local clans that harbored legends of Heavenly Immortals all knew this secret, but none were willing to speak much of it, as every contention brought storms of blood.
In the end, some great clans had strictly forbidden their kin from participating.
The old werewolf hailed from a powerful clan with an ancient heritage. Ancestral tales claimed that an eighth-realm Heavenly Wolf had once emerged from their lineage, dominating an entire era.
Naturally, such self-aggrandizing legends were rarely trustworthy. Many great clans claimed that their bloodline ancestors at their peak had been Heavenly Immortals or Heavenly Gods, when in truth they had merely reached the absolute peak of the seventh realm.
In the real world, whether Heavenly Gods or Heavenly Immortals, both were exceedingly rare.
Qin Ming said in surprise, "Hiss... A Longevity Tablet surfaces once every five hundred years or so? Is someone deliberately controlling the rhythm, or is it pure coincidence?"
Calculating the time, another five-hundred-year cycle had arrived. If controlled artificially, three thousand years had passed since the very first occurrence.
If it still followed that pattern, then the seventh Longevity Tablet was due to emerge.
Who could live that long? Even a Heavenly Immortal's lifespan should have run out.
Furthermore, Qin Ming learned through soul resonance that the old wolf's clan suspected the seventh Longevity Tablet might have already been found by someone.
Tang Yushang was astonished. "One lucky soul every five hundred years, lasting for over three thousand years?"
Soon, Qin Ming probed further into the old wolf's mind and discovered that the domain requiring the Longevity Tablet to unlock covered an immense area, and the core site of revival differed each time.
However, once that ancient land was opened, the phenomena were astonishing, visible to countless onlookers.
"When the time comes, a feathering light rain will descend, capable of cleansing all who enter. So long as they do not die, their skeletal frame and innate talent will be enhanced. That's why so many people are willing to try their luck despite knowing the danger."
The holder of the Longevity Tablet was the chosen one, able to enter first. The tablet could grant them protection from death within the special domain. Even so, they might not necessarily have the last laugh.
"Wait... once the special domain is unlocked, others can enter as well?"
Viewed this way, the lucky tablet holder was more like a key. If they could unearth the greatest fortune and quietly slip away, they would be the ultimate victor. But if intercepted upon leaving, their fate would be... miserable.
By the end, Qin Ming did not even need to resonate with the old wolf; it confessed everything on its own.
"Any family with a modest foundation knows about this, yet you two..." The old wolf realized that the pair before it might be outsiders.
"You know too much."
The old wolf had coveted Tang Yushang's beauty, only to bring about its own doom in the end.
None of the great clans favored sending their descendants into danger, primarily because the mortality rate there was simply too high.
However, each time the special domain revived, the commotion was far too vast, inevitably drawing throngs of cultivators.
"Shall we go take a look?" Both of them felt a bit hesitant.
"A cycle of five hundred years, persisting for millennia—it truly is mysterious and astonishing. We can observe from afar first."
Longevity Ridge—a place name endowed with boundless beauty and hope, yet the reality was drenched in blood. A cycle every five hundred years, an ascension epoch: this was the ground where it all unfolded.
In the end, Qin Ming and Tang Yushang went after all. They did not intend to participate, only wanting to watch from a distance to witness the ebb and flow of a bloody feast.
The melee of Heavenly Immortals, the Forgotten Corner, Longevity Ridge—all these elements pieced together draped the entire land in a veil of deep mystery.
Qin Ming and Tang Yushang gazed from afar. Though the so-called Longevity Ridge occupied vast territory, barely any mountain ridges remained intact; they had long since collapsed and shattered. In their place were numerous colossal sinkholes and bottomless chasms, flanked by primitive primeval forests teeming with wild beasts.
"So many people?"
The two sat atop a high peak, prepared to eat melon seeds and enjoy the show. Yet they discovered that even before Longevity Ridge had revived, shadows of people were already swarming along its periphery.
Mysterious arrays lingered there, which had remained active even after thousands of years, barring outsiders from trespassing.
Qin Ming suddenly remembered that although his demonic medicine venture had failed, he had not returned empty-handed. Having promised to share a portion of the earnings with Tang Yushang when they came to do business in the alien realm, he brought out a massive pile of day gold and said, "Here, let's split the loot."
Tang Yushang felt conflicted. Before she knew it, she had become an accomplice in outright robbery in an alien realm. It lacked technical finesse—crude and violent, yet undeniably effective.
Qin Ming gave her an odd look. "You don't want it? Fine, forget it then."
"I want it!" Tang Yushang thought to herself that since she was already an accomplice and her elegant image had been thoroughly ruined, how could she go without compensation?
Qin Ming had harvested 1.5 million day gold in total. He kept 900,000 for himself and gave 600,000 to Tang Yushang. Tang Yushang was accustomed to vast wealth, so it wasn't overly shocking to her.
To Qin Ming, however, this was an unimaginable fortune.
Yet thinking back to the Kaiyuan Grand Gathering and seeing all those astronomical auction prices, he grew calm once more, the ripples in his heart settling.
At the last moment, Tang Yushang felt somewhat embarrassed. "Taking this much feels a bit scalding to the touch. Never mind, maybe I should return it all to you."
Even though they had obtained it through robbery, she felt this day gold had come far too easily.
Qin Ming said, "Keep it. You brought the jade mirror with you. With your current grandmaster-level strength combined with that special liquid weapon, you don't need to fear any great grandmaster. Your appearance fee is quite steep. Besides, there might be times when you need to act; this place is far from peaceful. Consider it an advance payment."
"Well... alright."
Qin Ming chuckled. "You forgot to add your 'meow.'"
Tang Yushang glared at him. "Why the meow don't you say it?"
Qin Ming replied, "Among the feline race, under most circumstances, only females use the 'meow' sound."
The two waited there for more than half a month. The clamor echoing from the vicinity of Longevity Ridge grew louder and louder.
Word spread that the Longevity Tablet had appeared. Before long, the entire domain would be unsealed.
Two days later, Qin Ming's pupils contracted. He spotted an acquaintance: Lin Shuyue, the God-Child of a certain branch of the Godkin Society.
During the previous Kaiyuan Grand Gathering, Qin Ming had fought several grandmasters of the Godkin Society, and this Lin Shuyue had ultimately severed an arm to escape.
The term "child of a god" was no empty title; Lin Shuyue's father was an old seventh-realm monster.
At this moment, Lin Shuyue was escorting a group toward Longevity Ridge. Judging by his demeanor and posture, his status within that group was quite ordinary; before certain extraordinary individuals, he kept his posture exceedingly humble.
Qin Ming said, "This place is extraordinary. Those people should be from the Godkin Society's headquarters, and there are likely saint-tier figures among them!"
Early on, Qin Ming and Tang Yushang had harbored doubts, worrying that this place might be an elaborate trap. After all, the Godkin Society, the Rebirth Figurines, and the Strange Insect Alliance had been cultivating roots in the Forgotten Corner for thousands of years and held everything in their grasp.
However, upon seeing a saint of the Godkin Society appear, he realized that this place was ripe with opportunity.
Qin Ming said, "Tang-meow, once we don our special armor, the two of us should be able to slay great grandmasters, or even clash head-on with figures of an even higher tier—to say nothing of these young elites. I believe Longevity Ridge is well worth exploring."
Tang Yushang replied, "Wait a bit longer. Also, can you speak normally, meow? You're giving me goosebumps all over."
Not long after, Qin Ming saw a squad of burial figurines emerge. They were intensely mysterious, resembling terracotta figures, yet a select few among them were actually clad in Golden Thread Jade Clothes.
Qin Ming stared in that direction, his gaze profound.
A moment later, he noticed that the young man in the Godkin Society to whom even Lin Shuyue bowed and scraped actually walked over to the Rebirth Figurines' ranks and began conversing with them on friendly terms.
Qin Ming said, "The Rebirth Figurines organization has a saint making an appearance as well!"
Next, a bright moon rose into the sky—it was a mutated moon insect, appearing outside Longevity Ridge alongside a swarm of exotic insects.
Moon insects and sun insects were both races with exceptionally high ceilings. Once mutated, they easily produced peerless experts.
"A fifth-realm mutated moon insect—most likely a saint!"
Furthermore, many other bizarre insects soon appeared in that area, each extraordinary in its own right.
All three great organizations had sent remarkable core successors, which stoked Qin Ming and Tang Yushang's interest even further. If this were an ominous land, such figures would never show themselves.
Qin Ming scanned the area and frowned. "I haven't spotted any great grandmasters."
Then, Tang Yushang donned the liquid armor formed from the jade mirror, keenly sensing that several great grandmasters were stationed and lying in wait in the distance.
Half an hour later, dazzling immortal light shot into the sky. The Longevity Tablet appeared, having fallen into the hands of the Rebirth Figurines. They used it to unlock Longevity Ridge.
Instantly, the entire area erupted into a frenzy.
In a flash, countless figures surged into the vast Longevity Ridge. Members of the Godkin Society, the Rebirth Figurines, and the Strange Insect Alliance—including their saints—all charged inside at the very front.
"Since you have come, you might as well enter!"
Simultaneously, from among the endless mountains and valleys, several great grandmasters soared into the sky, looking down over the entire domain. Though they did not unleash terrifying dao rhythms, their presence was thoroughly awe-inspiring.
Figures of this caliber dared not act rashly unless they possessed Qi of Absolute Beginning, Xuanhuang qi, or similar treasures on their person.
With whooshing sounds, six great grandmasters appeared in succession, suspended high in the night sky.
One great grandmaster drove a swarm of insects forward and threatened, "Friends watching the excitement, are you planning to ambush the lucky survivors after they leave Longevity Ridge? Get inside, all of you!"
In an instant, the sky filled with shadows of insects. The buzz of wings rose in waves, blotting out the sky as they drove the cultivators lurking nearby toward Longevity Ridge.
"Ah—!"
Soon, cries of agony rang out as a cultivator was pierced through in the blink of an eye by silver-thread insects.
Further away, a group of cultivators was submerged by a sea of crimson insects, reduced to bare bones in an instant. Even a black flood dragon at the perfection of the fourth realm was devoured by the swarm the moment it took to the air.
In another direction, flames surged toward the heavens as exotic insects capable of spitting spiritual fire appeared, reducing a crowd of cultivators to flying ash.
"Get in!"
A great grandmaster from the Godkin Society unleashed genuine suppression, forcing a large crowd in his direction to lower their heads and flee toward Longevity Ridge.
"Truly overbearing," Qin Ming remarked.
With special weapons in hand, neither he nor Tang Yushang was afraid, though they had no desire to engage in an intense clash with great grandmasters for the time being.
Qin Ming pondered what level the strongest guardians sent by the three organizations were at.
Tang Yushang spoke up. "The jade mirror tells me it wants to go inside to replenish longevity light rain. If it fully recovers, it can fly me away to safety even if old monsters descend."
Qin Ming released the five-colored treasure fragment and asked whether it could accomplish the same.
"Scumbag Ming, where did you lock me up?!" The treasure fragment fumed with rage the moment it emerged.
The next instant, it vanished once more.
A short while later, Qin Ming brought it out again and said, "Senior Five-Color, it wasn't me who imprisoned you. An old senior took a disliking to you, so you'd better... keep a lower profile."
"I—" The five-colored treasure fragment was originally burning with fury, but in the end... it cowered.
Soon, its attitude softened. Staring ahead, it said, "Feathering light rain? Hurry over there! If I consume some, I can fly you away safely even if danger arises."
At this point, two more terrifying experts arrived. Eight great grandmasters now guarded the eight directions, cutting off the retreat of many who had been lying in wait nearby.
Qin Ming said, "Fine. Since they're being so domineering and making the choice for us, let's plunge into Longevity Ridge and give it a try."
He rose and said, "Yushang-meow, let's go!"
Tang Yushang felt another wave of goosebumps. "Meow it! Don't you dare stick that word onto my name!"
The two sprinted toward Longevity Ridge. Fully armed, they refused to believe they couldn't compete with the others.
"Meow! Feathering light rain, here I come!"
Qin Ming and Tang Yushang glanced at each other, only to realize that it was the five-colored treasure fragment doing the "cat-talk." This old monster was acting more bewitching than any youngster.
In the blink of an eye, the two charged into Longevity Ridge.
Chapter 570