Longevity Ridge—could this really be called a rainforest? Flora of every kind grew in wild abandon, suffocatingly dense and lush, while the air's humidity was so heavy it felt nearly stifling.
A great number of cultivators had already forced their way inside. Their blurred silhouettes vanished swiftly into the thick woods, and now and then a muffled splash echoed through the trees as someone plunged straight into an abyss.
In what had once been Congling, many earth veins had collapsed. Sinkholes honeycombed the entire territory, disguised beneath rampant vegetation; a single careless step meant tumbling into the depths.
Qin Ming and Tang Yushang trailed the crowd in, slipping into the jungle with a flash of movement.
A genuine drizzle pattered down, washing the leaves into vivid emeralds. Between heaven and earth, a feathering light rain drifted on the air, illuminating every fine detail of this drenched world.
"The spiritual essence here is terrifyingly rich!" This was Qin Ming's first immediate impression.
Though the rainforest's damp air was uncomfortable, the pervasive dao rhythm, the surging vitality, and the feathering light rain made him want to groan in pure pleasure.
Suddenly, the liquid armor draped over Tang Yushang flickered with erratic pulses of light. The jade mirror cried out, "The Scourge of the Lost—a tribulation!"
The five-colored artifact fragment trembled, devoid of its usual demonic haughtiness. To their shock, fear had seized it. "There is some kind of radiation here... It is blurring my consciousness and warping my vessel's dao patterns! To the likes of us, this is a catastrophe!"
Qin Ming and Tang Yushang felt as if plunged into ice. Only moments ago, they had been full of confidence, convinced that joining forces would allow them to slay great grandmasters and give them formidable competitive strength in Longevity Ridge.
In a split second, the situation had taken a disastrous turn.
The five-colored artifact fragment grew frantic. "A mysterious array source is operating here, radiating a divine substance specifically tailored against Heavenly Immortal-tier armaments!"
It was seized by deep dread. Its core dao patterns were distorting and growing hazy, which meant its consciousness was on the brink of becoming lost.
Most special armaments were forged by fusing exotic metal with the blood of Heavenly Immortals.
Setting aside the arrays carved upon them, the materials alone were unimaginable. Even if people today knew the forging methods, recreating them was utterly impossible.
The conditions simply no longer existed. For one thing, Heavenly Immortals could no longer be found.
Even if ancient immortals still lingered on, they had decayed, their lifespans drawing to a close, their blood long since failing to meet the requirements.
The jade mirror hailed from an illustrious origin and possessed deep knowledge. "This appears to be the legendary Scourge of the Lost—a terrible tribulation for armaments."
The feathering light rain falling across heaven and earth was genuine, capable of nourishing an armament's spirituality. Yet that mysterious radiation source terrified both special weapons.
Without hesitation, Tang Yushang stowed the jade mirror away.
Yet it proved completely useless. Nothing could block the effect; the radiation penetrated their spatial bracelets, entirely unchecked by normal defenses.
Even the bracelets worn by Qin Ming and Tang Yushang were dimming, their internal dao patterns snuffing out, their storage spaces on the verge of collapsing.
"Hand them all to me!" Qin Ming signaled to Tang Yushang, offering to keep both her bracelets and weapons in his care.
The five-colored artifact fragment seemed to recall something as well. "Yes! I want to go to jail! Hurry, throw me inside!"
Earlier it had been overflowing with resentment, but now it voluntarily pleaded to be locked within that eerie little dark room.
In an instant, every item on the pair was swept away.
Qin Ming observed carefully and found that the old rag was unfathomably steady. Silent and unbothered, it remained like an ancient well untouched for ten thousand years, without the slightest ripple.
After several fusions, the rag's inner space was vast enough to be partitioned, completely cutting off any chance for special armaments to pry into Qin Ming's personal stash.
For instance, the mission given to the jade mirror to retrieve the memory crystal of Tang Yushang walking her catwalk was doomed to fail.
At the same time, Qin Ming brought out the Yellow Silk Canopy, wanting to see if this armament from another supreme system could withstand the local anomaly.
It jolted awake immediately. "The Scourge of the Lost."
Exceeding Qin Ming and Tang Yushang's expectations, the canopy knew even more than they imagined.
"I have vague memories of this... I have lived through it!" The Yellow Silk Canopy's expression turned exceedingly solemn. Its canopy unfurled, spinning in the night sky against the feathering light rain.
Qin Ming asked with concern, "Are you all right?"
"I can manage," the Yellow Silk Canopy said. "I can hold out. This is a weakened version of the Scourge of the Lost, and I possess some resistance."
Vaguely, it recalled having once taken humanoid form and ventured into the depths of the night mist world, where it suffered several great tribulations in succession—one of which was the Scourge of the Lost.
This was an "armament tribulation" aimed exclusively at supreme treasures. Even after taking form, they would still suffer its corrosion.
The reason was that the core dao patterns carved during a supreme treasure's forging were etched into its life imprint. It was a tribulation that targeted the very "soul textures," striking a lethal blow directly at the source.
In a sense, it erased them at their most fundamental layer of logic.
To overcome such a tribulation, the supreme treasure's "soul" had to undergo complete mutation, achieving a nirvana wholly distinct from its past, escaping the rules of an object, and grinding away its original core imprint.
In this peculiar domain, the feathering light rain fell gently. The Scourge of the Lost unsettled both Qin Ming and Tang Yushang, swiftly dampening their earlier confidence and certainty.
Exchanging a glance, they dashed toward the exit.
Yet the path they had taken was now shrouded in heavy fog; the road back had dissipated entirely. Only the rainforest world remained clear, illuminated by the rain of light in a radiant glow of emerald green.
Tang Yushang's cat ears twitched. "We have to catch up to the saints of the Godkin Society, the Rebirth Figurines, and the Strange Insect Alliance. They must know the truth behind this place."
Both strongly suspected that in the thousands of years the three supreme systems had labored in the Forgotten Corner, this was likely what they valued most. The ultimate secret was hidden here.
Looking up at the Yellow Silk Canopy in the night sky, Qin Ming asked with concern, "Xiao Huang, are you really fine?"
"I'm all right. My physical vessel is intact, and my former core dao patterns were already dismantled in the last tribulation. Although my soul's total mutation failed back then, it altered me substantially."
The canopy explained that it had natural "resistance."
Most importantly, the tribulation here was merely a "weakened version"—perhaps even a crude imitation—and the divine substance radiated by the array source was not nearly as concentrated.
"Something is wrong with this place," the canopy added. "It feels like a massive testing ground."
As it spoke, it absorbed the feathering light rain, causing the alluring silhouette on its canopy to grow noticeably sharper.
"Is this truly the legendary Longevity Rain?" Tang Yushang extended a snow-white palm, bathing it in the dazzling curtain of rain. It felt remarkably soothing.
Her body felt light and agile, and even her skeletal frame and marrow were slowly transforming. This was truly unnatural.
What was her status? Without peerless natural talent, she could never have become the core successor groomed with all the resources of Taixu, nor could she have reached such heights. Yet right now, her muscles and bones were undergoing subtle metamorphosis.
To achieve such results simply from being caught in a shower of rain went far beyond her imagination.
In the distance, rustling stirred through various parts of the dense woods. Unable to contain their shock and excitement, some cultivators cried out in astonishment.
"My... my skeletal foundation is transforming! Heavens, what kind of supreme fortune is this?!"
"Am I... undergoing nirvana?!"
Throughout the rainforest, many cultivators stood dazed. The benefits far outstripped the rumors, exceeding their wildest dreams; some whose aptitudes were less remarkable were practically on the verge of shedding their mortal frames.
Tang Yushang noticed that Qin Ming showed no sign of joy. "How does it feel to you?" she asked.
Qin Ming said, "Not much change. The boost this light rain gives my body doesn't even compare to practicing the Destiny-Altering Scripture a few more times."
Tang Yushang looked astonished. Even she had experienced a slight enhancement, yet this light rain had virtually no effect on Qin Ming. Just how deep were his foundations?
"Could you possess an immortal physique?" she asked in disbelief. "Has your aptitude peaked, leaving a flawless constitution with no room left to advance?"
Qin Ming pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "Not necessarily. Before ascending to the pinnacle, everyone is evolving; we are all still on the road. It's just that the medicinal efficacy of this feathering light rain isn't potent enough for me—it's too dilute. The main reason is that I have undergone newborn renewal many times."
He figured this had to be the truth. Beyond his nine consecutive relay-style renewals in the first major realm, he had also completed additional nirvanas and brand-new rebirths in subsequent major realms—milestones even patriarchs yearned for.
He had shed his mortal frame so many times that the stimulation from this feathering light amounted to almost nothing.
It fell far short of the colossal changes triggered whenever he broke through a cultivation realm.
The Yellow Silk Canopy spoke up: "The light rain works wonders for boosting a supreme treasure's spirituality. It aids in breaking free from being an 'object,' progressing toward humanity, and transforming the soul imprint."
It even deduced why a weakened version of the Scourge of the Lost existed here: it was designed to prevent any special armaments present in Longevity Ridge from evolving.
In the past, the chaotic battle of Heavenly Immortals had taken place on these very grounds.
Remnants might still be scattered here.
"This is... an experiment on flesh-and-blood beings," the canopy observed. "They don't want armaments unexpectedly interfering or participating."
Qin Ming and Tang Yushang both turned grave. A foreboding sensation crept into their hearts. Were any of the legends surrounding the Forgotten Corner actually credible?
Did the secret lore the major families believed they possessed reflect reality, or could it reconstruct historical truth at all?
They both felt the situation was grim.
"The things we worked so hard to uncover—the nine Longevity Tablets, this special domain, even the Heavenly Immortal battle—might exist, but there's definitely a massive catch."
"Could it be that for thousands of years, the three supreme factions have joined hands here to conduct experiments in longevity?"
For a moment, both felt their heads throbbing, realizing they had stumbled into a place they never should have entered.
This would explain why the Godkin Society, the Rebirth Figurines, and the Strange Insect Alliance had settled in this remote "corner" for thousands of years, diligently cultivating their presence.
Their previous composure vanished, replaced by taut nerves. They were treading directly upon a forbidden ground belonging to the three supreme factions.
Yet having come this far, there was no turning back. All they could do was feel their way forward.
Qin Ming asked, "Xiao Huang, are you certain there's nothing wrong with this feathering light rain?"
The Yellow Silk Canopy responded, "No major issue. It just needs a slight refining. Harmful impurities are minimal, and nobody has tampered with it."
Having no other option while trapped here, they certainly wouldn't pass up the chance to reap every benefit available.
Qin Ming channeled his Chaos force and unleashed its devouring property. In an instant, he seemed to transform into a black hole, frantically pulling in the rain of light from all directions.
Tang Yushang was left gaping. She found herself completely deprived of the feathering light rain—Qin Ming was snatching every drop.
Not only her; even the Yellow Silk Canopy could not compete with him.
Across this entire patch, the vegetation lost its emerald glow. Heaven and earth dimmed as the drifting sacred rain converged into fine streams, all flowing directly into Qin Ming.
Tangible black vortexes literally materialized over his flesh, drinking down and devouring the surrounding bounty like a ravenous beast.
Qin Ming reasoned that if this cleansing offered even a marginal benefit to him, it would be a miraculous tonic for anyone else looking to enhance their aptitude. He wanted to bring plenty of "local souvenirs" back.
Wenrui, who possessed exceptional comprehension but only above-average physique, and Yu Gensheng, the great grandmaster who believed he had no hope of reaching the patriarch level—if nourished by this feathering light rain, they might not shed their mortal shells entirely, but their foundations would be effectively transformed.
"Are you straight-up robbing me, meow?!" Tang Yushang flared up in frustration. Unable to compete, that "meow" slipped out involuntarily once again.
Qin Ming glanced sideways at her. If this continued, then once they returned to Yujing, in front of all their acquaintances, Big Tang might let out a "meow" without thinking. That scene...
He broke into a grin, feeling that this fine habit deserved diligent cultivation.
Tang Yushang eyed him warily. "What are you smiling at?"
"Call me Big Brother, and I'll share it with you," Qin Ming teased. "We've been playing brother and sister the whole way, yet you haven't called me that once."
Big Tang flatly refused. "Dream on, meow!"
Naturally, Qin Ming had no intention of withholding the feathering light rain from her. Instead, using the devouring property of his Chaos force, he drew it down to let them absorb it together.
"Come, stand with me. Shoulder to shoulder, or hand in hand—I'll help you devour this sky full of feathering light rain."
Tang Yushang wanted to roll her eyes. Yet as she drew close to Qin Ming and found herself submerged in a waterfall-like cascade of light rain, her resistance melted away.
The Yellow Silk Canopy slipped straight back into the rag's space, waiting to be fed.
Qin Ming showed no favoritism, pouring streams of light rain over the five-colored artifact fragment and the jade mirror as well. After all, if pushed to the brink, he would still need them to brace against the Scourge of the Lost and fight for their lives.
Qin Ming's flesh turned translucent and his five internal organs glowed. Under this continuous scouring and feathering baptism, he did glean a modest improvement.
Bathing in the light rain, Tang Yushang underwent subtle renewal and transformation—nothing too drastic—yet when she looked inward, she discovered an astounding development.
At present, her shackles had been torn away by the Golden Roster, keeping her locked in her strongest state.
Now, however, her eyes went wide. Deep within her flesh and blood, she saw a second set of "shackles," crystalline as immortal chains, winding tightly around her.
Without this baptism, she might never have noticed them in her entire lifetime.
They were invisible shackles of bloodline, concealed within her body.
In a flash, Tang Yushang felt her vision darken, as if the heavens were collapsing. She had believed she was about to ascend to the pinnacle, only to find further constraints awaiting her dismantling.
"When will it ever end?" Her voice trembled.
Understanding her situation, Qin Ming comforted her: "This is a good thing. Unlocking the first restriction made you Super Tang Yushang. If you can unlock the second, you'll be Perfect Form Tang Yushang. By then, you might actually be able to walk up from the foot of the mountain and stand before me."
Tang Yushang longed to reach out and twist that grinning face of his out of shape. Even at a time like this, he never missed a chance to elevate himself. Just how conceited could one person be?
The two pressed forward, gorging on the feathering light rain until both were completely saturated, nearly to the point of nausea, before finally halting.
They knew full well that although the surroundings were peaceful right now, a storm was brewing. Having intruded upon the forbidden ground of three supreme factions, the slightest misstep would leave them dead without a burial ground.
Contemplating a way out, they considered capturing a saint to force them to lead the way, or perhaps trailing the core successors to see if an opportunity to slip away would present itself.
From a distance, they finally picked up the trail of the saints.
Tang Yushang whispered, "This will be tricky. The saints of all three factions are traveling together. If we try force, the two of us will probably be the ones killed."
Qin Ming's brow furrowed deeply. "Could it be that all the core saints from the three factions have arrived?"
The distance was too great to tell.
If there were only two or three saints, it would be manageable. But if there were a whole crowd, and with their special armaments out of commission, he and Big Tang would be battered to dust.
Tang Yushang sighed in self-reflection. "Lately, after consecutive great victories—even slaying the Lightning Beast of the Celestial Clan Seven Heroes—I got ahead of myself. To think I willingly marched into a forbidden zone like this."
Qin Ming fell silent. Earlier, he too had boldly vowed to slay great grandmasters, yet now he was fretting over basic survival.
He felt a twinge of realization: relying on external tools was unreliable in the end. As seen right now, when special armaments suddenly failed, one was instantly plunged into dire straits.
And that rag of his was notorious for failing him on a regular basis.
Qin Ming and Tang Yushang trailed the saints of the three supreme factions from far behind, watching to see what they were after.
To draw closer, both employed their supreme arts.
Tang Yushang used her Golden Palace chains to lock down her own presence, ensuring not a single wisp of aura leaked out.
Qin Ming enveloped himself in golden threads and jade radiance, as though donning a suit of armor, maintaining his body's peak state without letting a shred of spiritual essence escape.
Furthermore, wisps of mist swirled around his frame like layered micro-black holes or deep shadows, cloaking both him and Tang Yushang until they seemed to vanish from the world entirely.
This allowed them to draw close enough to faintly overhear the conversation ahead.
Before long, led by the saint of the Rebirth Figurines, the group from the three factions entered a muddy mire. Vegetation was sparse, and the ground was a crimson red, resembling blood-soaked mud.
Most astonishingly, the sky full of feathering light rain carried a torrential dao rhythm, plunging like a waterfall into the bloody soil. This was clearly one of the most vital strongholds within Longevity Ridge.
Many cultivators had already discovered this area, and a large crowd lingered nearby.
"Friends, following us all the way to this spot—do you harbor some kind of ambition?" A saint from the Godkin Society spoke with a smile. Clad in white robes and standing in the crimson mud, he appeared remarkably transcendent and detached from the mortal world.
A burly man spoke up: "We dare not harbor extravagant hopes for supreme fortunes. In following behind Your Holiness, we would be deeply satisfied merely to receive a few scraps."
His posture was exceedingly humble. In truth, the others felt the same, possessing a clear grasp of their own standing.
Yet despite this, the white-robed saint of the Godkin Society showed no mercy. "The truth is... all of you are merely experimental consumables."
With that, he began chanting a bizarre incantation.
Instantly, patterns interwove across the crimson earth as if it had come alive, followed by a chorus of wretched screams tearing through the clearing.
Many attempted to leap into the air, only to find they couldn't. Their feet were mired deep in the bloody mud. Even when experts managed to surge upward, bloody tentacles shot out, seizing them and violently dragging them back to the ground.
In the blink of an eye, everyone was pulled beneath the crimson soil.
The cries for help, the desperate roars, and the shrill shrieks born of terror all snapped off abruptly. The entire area returned to instant silence.
Qin Ming and Tang Yushang both hovered above the ground, employing supreme arts to isolate themselves, successfully evading the trap for the moment.
Farther out in the rainforest, many others heard the screams. Pale-faced, they retreated in panic.
Evidently, they could find no way back.
"Another five hundred years have passed. I wonder how things stand now."
In the bloody mire, members of the three supreme factions began to excavate. Ultimately, from beneath the earth interwoven with crimson patterns, they hauled out eight coffins.
The white-robed saint of the Godkin Society said, "Though our old society president still has lifespan remaining, his condition has begun to decline. He can wait no longer. He hopes for a breakthrough in the longevity experiments here."
The Moon Bug's bright glow had dimmed, taking human form as it stood in the mud. "Lord Insect Emperor of our Strange Insect Alliance has also not shown himself for a long time. We hope the Longevity Plan has yielded fresh progress."
A pottery figurine spoke: "Can the Insect Emperor not cultivate and comprehend the Dao by borrowing a vessel? Even swapping to a true body, his condition... is still not faring well?"
In the distance, Qin Ming and Tang Yushang were thoroughly shaken. They were overhearing monumental secrets.
Someone cautioned, "Hush! Do not disturb any ancient predecessors who might awaken. Let us see the outcome of Prime Ground One."
The group first conducted an occult ritual, solemnly offering prayers and sacrifices before slowly opening the eight ice coffins, each radiating prismatic light.
"The first-realm subject's flesh has transformed; its vitality is extraordinary."
"The second realm..."
"The fifth-realm sample once possessed a wood-attribute Longevity Dao Body... Its physical shell has now been reshaped, but unfortunately, its consciousness has thoroughly dissipated."
In the distance, Qin Ming and Tang Yushang felt deeply shaken. Could those eight ice coffins correspond to an experimental sequence spanning from the first to the eighth realm, even including Heavenly Immortals who had long vanished from the world?
"Pardon our intrusion, Senior!"
By the time they opened the sixth ice coffin, the group was already speaking with deferential reverence.
When opening the seventh, they went so far as to perform full prostrations.
Finally, it was time for the eighth ice coffin. The moment it was cracked open by a mere slit, everyone present began to tremble uncontrollably, and some collapsed limp to the ground.
"There are isolating arrays inside the coffin... How... how can this still happen?!" Even the saint's voice trembled.
In the end, the eighth ice coffin was successfully opened.
Tang Yushang's eyes flew wide. Her expression turned dead solemn as she stared at the figure within the ice coffin. Then, snapping her head toward Qin Ming, her heart skipped a beat, and she stammered, "How could he... and you—"
Chapter 571