In late spring, a drizzling rain pattered down, wetting the bluestone paths.
Time slipped past without taking note of the years. Qin Ming had buried himself in bitter cultivation as though it were merely overnight, yet when he raised his head once more, the heavy snow had long since melted away.
He walked to the village entrance and gazed into the distance. Through the hazy drizzle, the grass was flourishing, birds took flight, and the distant mountains stood lush and verdant like darkened jade.
The rain gradually grew heavier. The Black-White Twin Trees swayed gently, their leaves growing ever fresher and gleaming with luster.
A mist of light drifted around Qin Ming, shielding him from the dense downpour.
Whenever he meditated to comprehend the Dao, he liked sitting beneath the twin trees, sometimes remaining motionless for dozens of days on end. The villagers had long grown accustomed to it.
Sensing how swiftly time flowed, he fell into a brief daze before sitting cross-legged to read through the letters that had accumulated over the past several months.
"Brother Ming, come quickly! In the Savage Immortal territory, auspicious birds soar, heavenly steeds roam in herds, and there are more medicines than a single pot could ever stew—it's unimaginable! The explorers have gone wild lately, and everyone is making a fortune!"
This was the final letter from Bai Meng, sent more than twenty days ago.
Qin Ming flipped backward through the correspondence. Two ancient mist portals had opened, sparking a wave of pioneering expeditions. Countless people had swarmed across, for the natural resources were astonishingly abundant.
However, fifty days ago, the higher-ups had dug deep into ancient records and discovered to their astonishment that the newly opened mist portals could not truly be called ancient roads. Back then, the ancient forebears of Yujing had never actually explored them.
Both gateways had merely been marked... but no one had ever ventured through.
This time, they had essentially opened the gates to entirely new worlds.
People had originally hoped to follow the old paths of the ancient sages in search of fortuitous encounters, never expecting that they would be the very first explorers to set foot in those miraculous realms.
The higher-ups immediately rectified their mistake. One of the worlds was barren and treacherous; expeditions there were swiftly halted, permitting only returns and forbidding entry, until it was eventually sealed off entirely.
Yet they could not shut down the other new world even if they wanted to.
Too many people had rushed in to "pan for gold," making continuous round trips, and the value brought back was immense.
Why had it become a paradise? When first discovered, it had seemed largely safe. Many of the exotic beasts and entities possessed modest cultivation, leading to very little bloodshed.
Correspondingly, the grade of the herbs initially found had not been particularly high.
Yet as people ventured deeper, they discovered to their amazement that every new region they crossed brought pleasant surprises.
It was not that high-grade precious medicines were nonexistent; they were simply hidden deeper within.
It was said that none of the major factions could sit still any longer, dispatching expedition teams one after another to pioneer this new world.
Even grandmasters were stirred to action. Those with deep foundations did not hesitate to take out "astronomical loans" to borrow a strand of Xuanhuang qi just to try their luck.
It was an ownerless domain where everything remained pristine, thoroughly untamed, and ripe for exploration.
An Earthly Immortal even claimed that it was not impossible to unearth precious medicines born from the dawn of heaven and earth.
Of course, that was an exaggeration. What he called the dawn of heaven and earth likely referred to Heavenly Immortal-grade herbs, and even if any still survived, their grade had most likely dropped.
After all, even Heavenly Immortals and Heavenly Gods had decayed in the present day, unable to maintain their condition, let alone herbs of such caliber.
Yet he swore up and down that in such a primordial territory, anything was possible. If nine-colored ice mountains or ten-colored ice caverns existed, even a Heavenly Immortal could survive, and precious medicines would naturally remain frozen without loss.
Thus, many were now shouting that it was a blessed land born of the dawn of creation.
Qin Ming carefully read through the letters and discovered that even Lord Pei had grown hot-blooded, writing: "Plucking a Heavenly Immortal medicine is no mere dream."
Old Pei had made a grand vow to carve out territory, render meritorious service, and earn his own dedicated page in his clan's genealogy.
Qin Ming was speechless. If even the usually detached and desire-free Lord Pei had ended up like this, did that land truly possess such magic?
Tang Yushang's letter was brimming with confidence, reading: "Hacking through brambles and thistles, along the grandmaster path, I stand as the peak!"
Qin Ming felt that because she had not been reined in for a while, she had grown conceited again, convinced she was invincible once more.
Beyond that, Meng Xinghai, Yao Ruoxian, Cheng Sheng, and others were all discussing the new world. Over the past month or two, it had become the hottest topic in the realm, discussed by everyone everywhere.
"Did I miss something?" Qin Ming murmured, drifting into thought. He had merely closed himself off for several months—how had he become so detached from the world that he was completely out of touch with external affairs?
From the letters, he learned that several transcendent major factions were already preparing to rush in and establish branches.
The old mountain strongholds in the heavens and the Earthly Immortal dao arenas on the ground seemed equally invigorated and bursting with drive, believing this to be a monumental opportunity to reopen the world and reshape a new order.
Ultimately, a vast, ownerless world waiting to be claimed had tempted every quarter.
Naturally, the older figures among the higher-ups were more prudent, opposing reckless action by the young and advocating for cautious probing through small reconnaissance teams first.
"I dare say that a grand era of transforming heaven and earth has arrived!"
"In the end, our Yujing faction will inevitably welcome a grand migration!"
Such were the passionate declarations of the radicals, among whom were many grandmasters full of lofty ambition.
People had found a damaged stele in that realm bearing only an imprint left behind in the form of Dao rhyme, meaning "Savage Immortal."
Thus, the Savage Immortal Realm became the name of that world.
"What year is it now?" Qin Ming felt as though an era had passed, seized by the illusion that years had slipped by and that he had missed a grand age of pioneering.
Wenrui approached through the rain holding an oiled paper umbrella, calling out, "Uncle!"
His Giant Spirit God bone had been snapped, concentrated, refined, and completely remodeled by Qin Ming, restoring him to the height of a normal child.
Looking at the boy's youthful face, Qin Ming was reassured that he had not truly been cut off from the world for years.
"Wenrui, how many rebirths have you undergone?" Qin Ming asked.
"Five," Wenrui replied, neither jumping for joy nor overly excited, remarkably steady.
"Not bad," Qin Ming nodded.
A year had passed, and the boy had improved steadily. Achieving such progress at his age was impressive.
After all, within the new life system, ordinary children needed to reach their prime training window before they could cultivate.
Yet scions of supreme clans had secret medicines to protect them, allowing them to embark on the path early without fearing the danger of gigantism.
With Wenrui staying by Qin Ming's side, there was naturally no concern.
Relatively speaking, he had set out on the path far earlier than Qin Ming.
Qin Ming gave him several pointers, instructing him to ensure his foundation remained rock-solid.
"Your immortal path and esoteric sect path are progressing well too, both very stable."
All in all, Wenrui was like a younger, milder version of Qin Ming, cultivating three paths simultaneously with great tenacity. He harbored no desire to rival his uncle.
His greatest wish was simply to protect his loved ones and safeguard Twin Trees Village.
Yet what seemed like a modest wish was far from simple; it involved karmic entanglements tied to a Heavenly God.
"Uncle, are you leaving again?" Wenrui asked.
"Yes, I may need to go see some friends," Qin Ming nodded, telling him to focus on cultivation and not overthink things.
At the end, he tapped his finger against Wenrui's glabella, transmitting his newly re-comprehended and refined silk book method, along with certain scriptures from the immortal and esoteric paths.
Qin Ming sat alone beneath the Black-White Twin Trees, listening to the rustling of raindrops against the leaves, peering through the curtain of rain toward the far distance.
At this time two years ago, Li Qingyue and Jiang Ran had departed; nearly two full years had passed.
Sitting quietly, Qin Ming entered a moment of spiritual lucidity. The misty light radiating from his body blended with the Black-White Twin Trees, faintly forming a black-and-white yin-yang diagram in the rain.
At this moment, his mind was clearer than ever before. A hazy immortal bridge emerged, and his consciousness leaped upon it, looking out toward the road ahead.
"Faint and threadlike, yet there is still a slight sense of discomfort. Months have passed, and someone is still watching me?"
A moment later, Qin Ming withdrew from that state.
Under cover of night, the peerless sword cultivator "One Sword" walked out from the mountains, traveling across the land to understand the changes over the past few months.
Qin Ming even had a sudden thought: could he use One Sword's celebrity effect to crowdfund the precious medicines required for his breakthrough?
Undoubtedly, he was overthinking it. Although One Sword had countless supporters, none of them were anywhere near the grandmaster realm, so how could they help?
As for the truly formidable, transcendent factions, they would never offer "charity."
Major organizations operated on exchanges of interest, weighing what a person could bring them before extending aid. Marriage alliances and taking disciples were simply ways to bind parties together.
"They haven't returned yet?" Qin Ming was surprised to learn that Yao Ruoxian had entered the new world with experts of the Dayu imperial family, and Lord Pei had also gone pioneering with grandmasters of the immortal path. Both remained over there.
That day, One Sword stood before a mist portal.
"No, crossing two worlds is too far. The special entangled state will fail."
Qin Ming confirmed that if he sent One Sword or Realm Faction into the Savage Immortal Realm alone, he would lose control over their physical shells.
He prepared to leave Black and White Mountain in person, unable to remain isolated any longer. Before departing, he examined several peculiar items in his possession.
Without the rotted fan, he always felt his life-preserving means were somewhat lacking.
The Yellow Silk Canopy was steadily recuperating as expected.
The ragged cloth possessed an unimaginably grand background, yet it left him feeling helpless.
By now, its greatest utility was its internal space, which was many times larger than before and could even be partitioned.
Most importantly, placing a physical body inside seemed to pose little problem.
As for his consciousness, Qin Ming had never dared venture deep within, keeping it attached only to the cloth's surface.
This was because whenever the Yellow Silk Canopy or the five-colored treasure fragments were placed inside, they resisted vehemently, feeling as though they were being imprisoned.
Qin Ming had once asked why, and the Yellow Silk Canopy had explained that its artifact spirit had to hibernate in the deepest core of its body; otherwise, it feared its consciousness would be distorted, dissolved, and ultimately dispersed.
The Yellow Silk Canopy had said, "A short time is fine, but if it stays inside for long, a spiritual body will almost certainly fade and dissolve."
To verify this, Qin Ming had conducted an experiment, hunting ordinary beasts in the mountains and placing them within the cloth's space.
Just as the canopy had described, the beasts' consciousness gradually turned hazy, and their spiritual fields eventually dissipated.
This sent a slight chill down Qin Ming's spine. He wondered whether storing physical bodies and blood essence inside was truly safe.
The canopy said, "It is incomplete and fractured, so it is like a sieve leaking air. Any consciousness that is not strong enough simply drains away through the endless, dark fissures."
Qin Ming asked, "Could that space be its consciousness space? Because of the damage and terrifying cracks, does it cause such a frightening phenomenon?"
The canopy replied, "I suspect its consciousness no longer distinguishes between the ethereal and the real; it has already 'materialized.' Existing in a fractured, incomplete state, it brings about all manner of terrifying consequences."
Relatively speaking, placing physical objects inside presented little problem.
Qin Ming reasoned that the ragged cloth was the best shelter for Taiyi, Realm Faction, and One Sword.
As for himself, if there were any choice, it was best not to explore too deeply.
Before leaving, Qin Ming sat beneath the Black-White Twin Trees one last time, emptying his mind and allowing the black-and-white Taiji diagram to manifest as he sank into the deepest moment of spiritual lucidity.
His consciousness leaped onto an immortal bridge, seemingly leading to the other shore. He did his utmost to gaze ahead—not to comprehend the Dao, but to foresee and evade perils in advance.
Sensing something, he could not help looking up at the sky. Faintly, from high above the firmament, pressure seemed to descend, wispy and vague.
It was like a colossal hand suspended across endless void, hanging there without yet falling.
"The distance is immense. Does that mean there is still ample time?" A heavy weight settled upon Qin Ming's heart.
He departed silently, embarking on this journey to achieve his breakthrough.
In Dayu, Yao Ruoxian was absent, and he was too embarrassed to approach her associates to borrow medicines.
Qin Ming noticed that the entirety of Yezhou seemed far quieter, as many people had left for the new world to seek fortuitous encounters in the ownerless land.
He paid a visit to the ancestral court of the Qingtian Sect. After several years, he was once again setting foot in an extraordinary cradle of the new life path.
In the past, he had visited the ancestral court of the Six Descents, though he had not remained there to study.
The seat of the Qingtian Sect was magnificent, possessing an imposing grandeur rivaling that of the Six Descents. Dragon veins rose and fell, immortal peaks stood shoulder to shoulder, and shifting rosy clouds mingled with a rain of light.
Currently, Yu Gensheng was recuperating here.
Someone had once tried to spy on Shanhe Academy, prompting the grandmaster to heed an old friend's advice and decisively enter the Qingtian Sect's headquarters to heal.
Qin Ming visited Yu Gensheng and took the opportunity to call upon the Qingtian Sect's leadership.
Old Yu had been gravely wounded, his body once mutilated. Over the past few months, his physical frame had been restored.
However, his injuries had not fully healed in his spirit, and harmful Dao rhymes remained entangled within him, requiring more time to soothe the old wounds.
The primary issue was the broader environment, which was exceptionally hostile to powerful beings.
Otherwise, in a normal era, he would have been full of vitality long ago.
Qin Ming was warmly received. An elderly grandmaster of the Qingtian Sect met with him personally, discussing the future road of the new life system and holding him in great esteem.
When the topic turned to the Qingtian force, Qin Ming earnestly sought guidance.
Chen En, the sect's grandmaster, spoke with an amiable expression: "The two characters 'Qingtian' represent everything—the absolute extremity of strength. That is the supreme true meaning of our lineage."
The Qingtian Patriarch of old had wielded world-shaking divine strength, seeking to prop up the heavens with both hands. That was the path he walked, practiced through every stage from the True Form of the Fifth Realm to the Hunyuan of the Sixth Realm.
Finally, Chen En solemnly led him to the Qingtian Pagoda, where various ancient texts were stored. The grandmaster brought him up to the highest floor, which was heavily fortified with arrays.
This pagoda was a sect-guarding treasure; without someone guiding the way, it was impossible to intrude into such a sacred sanctuary.
Chen En retrieved an authentic scripture and handed it over, saying solemnly, "This is the Qingtian Scripture. You may study it here."
Qin Ming possessed several jade plaques gifted by Lu Zizai, who had told him that once his cultivation bore fruit, he could use these tokens to visit various ancestral courts to peruse the Six Descents force, Rulai Scripture, Yuqing Scripture, and more.
Today, Qin Ming had hesitated and had not yet taken them out, but the grandmaster of the Qingtian Sect had already granted him this opportunity.
Qin Ming accepted the scripture with both hands in utter solemnity. Then, he closed his eyes and did not flip it open, as if resisting something.
In truth, he was resonating. Relying on his consummate state, he perceived it closely, maintaining his calm with an indomitable will surpassing the past, without betraying any sign of his spirit being buffeted.
Grandmaster Chen En watched in surprise, seeing him seemingly struggle and hesitate.
After a long while, Qin Ming opened his eyes and said, "Senior, my cultivation is still shallow. I fear I may be unable to resist the temptation and attempt to integrate the Qingtian force now, causing myself to disintegrate. I wish to wait a little longer."
He returned the scripture with both hands, having never opened it.
Guilt stirred in Qin Ming's heart. He had not intended to deceive; he was merely acting out of caution to verify certain suspicions.
He did not know whether mysterious old monsters along the new life path were watching him—a "new realization" that had only dawned on him during his recent seclusion.
From the ancient sages, his thoughts had turned to the other founding patriarchs: were there people who practiced Chaos force who had not truly died?
Like Su Mohua, he could now experience moments of spiritual lucidity from time to time, granting him frighteningly sharp divine senses.
Over the past several months, as he comprehended the Dao, refined himself, and unceasingly studied the silk book, he had inexplicably thought of those figures, giving rise to faint premonitions.
Chen En nodded immediately, feeling a lingering dread. "It was my oversight. You are in the prime of your youth, full of vigor. If an impulse led you to integrate the methods prematurely, I truly would have become a sinner of the new life path."
Qin Ming could feel Grandmaster Chen En's sincerity, and hiding the truth made him uneasy, yet for his own safety, he had chosen a well-intentioned lie.
Chen En said, "Breakthroughs on our new life path are slow, requiring years of grinding. A peerless talent like you is truly an anomaly. You must be on the verge of breaking through to the Fourth Realm, aren't you?"
He mentioned that the younger generation of the Qingtian Sect had harvested a great deal recently, bringing back many spiritual items from the Savage Immortal Realm. If Qin Ming needed anything, he had only to ask.
A warm current flowed through Qin Ming's heart. He opened his mouth to speak.
"Don't stand on ceremony. I will arrange precious medicines for you," Chen En offered.
"There is no need," Qin Ming politely declined, noticing that wounded disciples were currently carrying precious medicines into the secret storehouses.
Progress along the new life path was slow and consumed immense resources. The youth of the Qingtian Sect were fighting in the new world, trading their blood and lives for supplies—a heavy price.
Qin Ming had already abandoned the idea of borrowing medicines. He had his own hands and feet, and he was currently at the peak of the Fourth Realm, in his strongest state. Why hide in the rear like a parasite?
He did not need to be fed; he would simply make the journey himself.
Qin Ming declined, explaining that he still needed to polish his foundation further.
Immediately after, he inquired about the Savage Immortal Realm.
Chen En said, "That place is extraordinary. If grandmasters didn't face restrictions on movement, even I would want to go. Many disciples are enjoying themselves so much they don't even wish to return."
He added a warning: that domain was not without peril. Terrifying monsters inhabited certain regions, and one should not advance rashly.
Before departing, Qin Ming left behind a generous portion of feathering light rain for Yu Gensheng and Chen En.
On the road, he recalled the Qingtian Scripture. That terrifying True Form was striking—a pair of massive hands propping up the firmament, truly the ultimate expression of strength.
In fact, the Qingtian True Form had originally comprised an entire pair of arms, but because it was too overbearing, the arms had shattered inch by inch, leaving only a pair of hands in the final form.
Qin Ming had witnessed those past evolutionary scenes with his own eyes, deeply shaken.
He drifted onward, journeying across Yezhou. When passing not far from the Rulai Sect, he took a slight detour to approach their dao arena.
"Should I pay a visit?" Qin Ming paused. Ultimately, an unsettling sensation welled within him, causing his brows to knit slightly, and he halted in his tracks.
Looking from afar, this ancestral court of the new life path held an inexplicable Dao rhyme. He could even see the lingering traces of the True Form left behind by powerhouses cultivating over countless years.
As Qin Ming deduced it, the True Form within the ancestral court became clearly visible.
It was a blazing sun, scorching all creation, growing increasingly dazzling and terrifyingly boundless.
This was another fountainhead of the new life path—the Great Sun Rulai True Form.
"Hm?" Qin Ming gazed into the distance. His Chaos force resonated with it, and through his spiritual lucidity, he vaguely detected what seemed like an abyss beneath the Great Sun Rulai True Form, poised to swallow the blazing sun whole.
Frowning, he quietly slipped away.
A moment later, Li Wanfa ascended on the wind with sleeves fluttering, standing high in the air and gazing far into the distance.
"As for the Rulai Scripture, I can simply ask Xiang Yiwu directly. There is no need for a separate visit right now," Qin Ming thought. He could trade scripture for scripture to obtain it from Big Xiang.
Over the past few months, he had also been pondering how to rescue Xiao Wu and Xiang Yiwu.
Qin Ming believed that the gold threads released from his Hunyuan heavenly light were not necessarily inferior to the silk spun by dream bugs and might be capable of saving them directly.
As for the other supreme True Forms of the new life system, he was in no rush; he would claim them after becoming a grandmaster.
Qin Ming arrived in the Savage Immortal Realm in person.
The moment he stepped into this realm, he was stunned. The resources here were extraordinarily rich, resembling an untouched paradise beyond the mortal world, preserving all manner of species from ancient legends.
"Could this truly be a secluded blessed land left behind from the dawn of creation, never before discovered by anyone?"
Even in regions already swept clean by various factions, Qin Ming could still find Third Realm precious herbs capable of bolstering conscious power.
Could it be that Heavenly Immortal-grade medicines truly survived in the depths of this realm?
Days later, he caught up with the main force, entering the vanguard territory.
He noticed that several teams wore solemn expressions.
"What happened?" Qin Ming asked.
"Up ahead, grandmaster-level monsters have begun to appear. Crucially, they are not decayed. Unaffected by the turbulent Dao rhymes, they can maintain their peak combat power."
This revelation shocked even Qin Ming.
What kind of background did the Savage Immortal Realm possess to remain unaffected by the broader worldly environment?
Or did it mean that a grand era of gentle Dao rhymes was arriving, where turbulent fluctuations would cease and spiritual essence would pour down like rain?
"What is even more unsettling is a bizarre phenomenon: we find ourselves reluctant to leave this land, drawn by some inexplicable instinct of the soul."
Such news was spreading from the outermost front lines.
Core disciples from certain major sects had gone missing, and when discovered, they exuded a feral aura, occupying vast territories to live as outlaws and rule as kings.
What was going on? Even Qin Ming fell into a daze upon hearing this.
"I wondered earlier why so many monsters here were incommunicable and primitive. It seems there is a major problem."
"Dwelling in this land for too long leads to trouble!" Even some of the elders were growing uneasy.
Qin Ming pondered. The letters from Bai Meng, Lord Pei, and the others had stopped more than twenty days ago. Had they also run into trouble, turning into wild "Tang Yushangs"?
Not long after, Qin Ming set off alone. Before finding his old acquaintances, he first discovered the precious medicine he needed—fortune had arrived with startling speed.
It was a dragon's nest shrouded in five-colored divine haze. A refreshing medicinal fragrance drifted on the wind, reaching Qin Ming's nose from far away.
"Today, I shall become a grandmaster."
Regardless of whether this realm harbored hidden dangers, he resolved to break through first, for only then could he better ensure his survival.
Just by the fragrance alone, he knew it was an extraordinarily precious medicine.
However, to be safe, after harvesting it, he felt he should filter and purify its properties through Taiyi, Realm Faction, and One Sword.
Chapter 578