Chapter 120 An Unparalleled Fate of Immortality

Standing on the sunlit slope, Qin Ming looked at the edge of the giant pit above and sighed, “As an old friend, I have really done my best. Whether you can seize this incredible opportunity for immortality is up to you now.”

Zheng Maoze had never been in such agony. The treasure of the sect from a thousand years ago was right in front of him. It was the ancient artifact he had been longing for, one that could bring him closer to immortality!

But if he reaches out to grab it, he’ll likely become the target of everyone’s criticism.

Numerous mysterious runes were engraved on the furnace body, shining brightly, and the dazzling divine light reflected on his face. The immortal mist rising from the furnace mouth carried a faint medicinal fragrance, which had already reached his mouth and nose.

How could he bear it? The scent made his heart flutter.

Most importantly, it’s right here, within easy reach!

That is a near-immortal item. It can absorb the “celestial essence” from outside the night sky every day. Consuming it daily can purify the physical body, change one’s constitution, and enhance one’s consciousness and spiritual light.

Zheng Maoze desperately wanted to escape, but he was also afraid of being blocked by everyone. He was injured and couldn’t escape quickly even if he wanted to take the Eight Trigrams Furnace with him.

In that instant, it felt like ten years of torment to him; he was covered in sweat and his body was trembling slightly.

Who wouldn’t want to become a near-immortal being? This might be the greatest opportunity of his life!

Zheng Maoze reached out and touched the furnace body covered with immortal patterns, feeling extremely satisfied.

With a soft thud, blood gushed from his back, two of his bones were broken.

“I don’t want to fight for it, I just want to touch it!” Zheng Maoze shouted. At the last moment, he used great willpower to cut off his greed and suppress the restless fire in his heart.

He only wanted to get a brief taste of it so that when he looked back on it in the future, he wouldn’t have too much regret. At least he had touched something that was close to the immortals!

He thought that his momentary possession would be harmless, but in the blink of an eye, someone attacked him with deadly intent. Several fellow disciples were lurking nearby, some emerging from behind the bluestone, and others crawling out from the cracks in the ground.

“Zeng Yuan, this incredible stroke of luck is yours!” Zheng Maoze spat out a mouthful of blood and smashed the Eight Trigrams Furnace, throwing it at someone he was very close to.

He wasn’t trying to take care of this family friend; he was simply angry because his friend was among the people who appeared behind him. Although Zeng Yuan hadn’t made a move yet, he had already drawn a spirit sword made of lightning-struck wood.

Zeng Yuan was completely bewildered. The furnace, shrouded in celestial light, landed in his hands. It was like a dream. Had his thoughts come true? His lips were trembling.

Then, he turned and ran away with the stove!

Zheng Maoze exhaled a breath of stale air, his whole body drenched in sweat, but he had finally escaped his predicament. The moment he touched the Eight Trigrams Furnace, a bloody hole appeared on his back; any later, and he probably would have been blown to bits.

He was filled with hatred, and no one cared about the Zhou family’s friendship; they were ruthless and vicious.

Then he felt a sense of loss. If he hadn’t broken eighteen bones, he would have definitely run away with the furnace and had a great chance of succeeding!

“Who is so generous as to toss the Eight Trigrams Furnace to me?” He had only glanced at it briefly before, but now, looking down, he saw a hazy yet familiar figure waving and nodding at him.

“I’m rubbing mud…” Zheng Maoze’s body shook violently. Wasn’t that the Six Imperial Lineage successor who had broken more than a dozen of his bones? He gritted his teeth, his face turning ashen. That guy knew his physical condition, so he gave him such a great gift!

“Zheng Dazhuang, don’t say I’m heartless. You just didn’t seize this opportunity.” Qin Ming shook his head and sighed, no longer looking at him.

Zeng Yuan was covered in blood and swayed unsteadily. He was in even more pain than Zheng Maoze because he had held the Eight Trigrams Furnace for a longer time and had suffered twice as many attacks.

He lacked the corresponding strength to protect the near-immortal item, and he couldn’t even escape as quickly as others.

If not so many people knew that he and Li Qingxu were very close, he would probably be in an even worse situation than he is now. “Zeng Yuan, over here!” Wang Caiwei waved to him and led her people to approach quickly.

At the critical moment, Zeng Yuan used all his strength to throw the Eight Trigrams Furnace into the giant pit because he saw Li Qingxu’s figure. He was very pragmatic; even if he had to give it away, he would give it to a core disciple.

Wang Caiwei, who always wore a sweet smile, froze for a moment, and for a brief instant, a terrifying aura of consciousness expanded from her body.

Zeng Yuan was suspicious. Had he been hallucinating after being severely injured? Just now, he vaguely heard Wang Caiwei angrily throw a punch, creating a sonic boom.

Undoubtedly, a fierce battle took place in the giant pit, with several core disciples fighting each other. Now, wherever the Eight Trigrams Furnace is located, it will cause bloodshed.

The other disciples dared not participate, deeply feeling that the gap between them and the core disciples was simply too great.

Tang Xumi, Jiang Shengyu, Hu Tingwen, Su Jingshu, and Li Qingxu, the five core disciples, engaged in a fierce and chaotic battle.

They knew very well that no one else posed a threat to them; only the five of them were their competitors, and they had reached the final stage.

On the slope, several people had pure Yang blood on their bodies, flowing with dazzling golden light. When they made their move, the edge of the deep pit collapsed, and huge rocks rolled down, demonstrating extremely strong destructive power.

Luo Qingge and Sun Jingtian are out of the game. They were severely injured when they fought Cui Chonghe, who was possessing someone else. However, none of the core disciples have made a fuss about it, and the others are unaware that Cui Chonghe had ever participated.

Clearly, this small group had secretly reached some terms with Cui Chonghe when they expelled him, but kept them confidential. Boom!

Like a thunderclap, the collision of the five masters’ consciousnesses tore apart the side walls of the giant pit, causing millstone-sized rocks to fall densely, like a flash flood.

They dared to use their spiritual power in areas with little natural light, and the battle became increasingly fierce.

Qin Ming frowned deeply. The core disciple’s strength was quite terrifying, even more powerful than he had imagined.

The arrow he shot at Li Qingxu was enough to illustrate the point. It was an arrowhead made of blue jade iron, a rare material of the same grade as his mutton fat jade iron knife, carrying the terrifying celestial light of his fusion and unification.

The fact that the arrow shot out only tore the flesh of Li Qingxu’s palm without damaging the bone is enough to prove that he has profound Taoist skills.

If it were anyone else, their body would probably have been blown apart by Qin Ming’s special arrow. To be on the safe side, an arm or a hand would probably have been shattered as well.

“The path of those who transcend worldly concerns is indeed without shortcomings. First, a conscious light is born, and in the subsequent cultivation, it will nourish the body with extraordinary power, greatly improving physical fitness, without any flaws.”

Qin Ming pondered, no wonder those outside the mortal world were so arrogant, always saying that there was a difference between immortals and mortals, and believing that their own path was more profound, a golden road.

Qin Ming felt no sense of defeat; his cultivation level was still low, having only undergone his sixth rebirth. Only when he truly stepped into the Outer Saint realm and compared himself to the core disciples of the Outer Lands would he know who was stronger.

He walked up the slope to a shattered place where the five core disciples had fought, and found his jade-iron arrow, which was blue and crystal clear.

After Li Qingxu was wounded by the arrow, he quickly engaged in combat with the core disciples and did not pay attention to the arrow, which was stained with blood and left behind here.

In the past two years, Qin Ming had endured hunger and cold in Black and White Mountain, and had developed a habit of thrift, so naturally he wanted to retrieve such a precious arrow.

In the distance, Li Qingxu, who was engaged in a fierce battle, sensed something and glanced coldly in this direction with his eyes like two bolts of lightning, as if to remember him.

At the edge of the giant pit, many disciples from outside the sect looked down, all showing surprise. They were amazed that this outer saint was indeed a formidable person, daring to attempt to kill Li Qingxu and actually succeeding in injuring him.

Among the five core disciples, Jiang Shengyu is gradually losing his strength. He, Tang Xumi, Su Jingshu, and others had once attacked Li Qingyue together and suffered heavy injuries. Now he can’t hold on any longer.

He then coughed up blood, his consciousness dimming, and he was about to become the first of the five core disciples to be eliminated. Jiang Shengyu immediately fled; if he didn’t leave, he might be killed there.

There is no longer any close friendship or camaraderie among them. Even those who were once as close as brothers are now bloodthirsty, all for the sake of obtaining the Eight Trigrams Furnace and drinking “Heavenly Essence” daily to enhance their physical bodies and spiritual light, so that they can approach immortality in the future!

Li Qingxu coughed up blood, and his condition seemed to be problematic as well. He took the initiative to withdraw, but in doing so, he also blocked Su Jingshu, who was also injured.

“Hu Tingwen, you owe me a favor. I’ll stop one for you this time!” Li Qingxu said.

He indicated that he was no longer able to fight, but he could hold off Su Jingshu, who was also somewhat weakened.

“Alright, thank you very much, Brother Li!” Hu Tingwen nodded, then went all out to fight against Tang Xumi. The final contest would unfold between the two of them.

Tang Xumi’s lips twitched. He had previously chased after Li Qingxu with Li Qingyue, but they failed to completely drive him away, which ultimately had a negative impact.

In fact, although Li Qingxu was somewhat injured, he still had the strength to fight back, but he knew that there was still Li Qingyue hiding in the shadows.

He had always wanted Li Qingyue to fight Tang Xumi, Hu Tingwen and others, but he never found out where Li Qingyue’s true identity was.

He felt he had no obligation to warn others, mainly because he was worried that if Li Qingyue were provoked by him, she would deliberately try to kill him.

He felt it was better to keep Li Qingyue calm for now, because once he came into contact with something close to immortality, it would be too late even if Li Qingyue showed herself.

Li Qingxu also had something to rely on: a very mysterious escape technique taught to him by his teacher. As long as he was willing to expend his life force…

Even those who have just entered the first of the three major realms may not be able to catch up with him.

In that state, he could only run away, not fight.

What he wants most right now is to stay calm. As long as he gets his hands on the Eight Trigrams Furnace, everything will be settled!

He was secretly furious. He had two excellent opportunities to obtain the near-immortal item. Once, his palm was injured by an arrow. The second time, when Zeng Yuan threw it, Tang Xumi blocked it.

The Eight Trigrams Furnace is currently in the hands of Tang Xumi.

After Li Qingxu forced Su Jingshu to retreat, the two distanced themselves enough to temporarily cease their fight.

“Tang Xumi, I have high hopes for you. You should be able to defeat Hu Tingwen.” Li Qingxu whispered this as he gasped for breath, actually hoping for Hu Tingwen’s defeat.

At the same time, he was quite nervous, most afraid that Li Qingyue would “lose her composure” and come out now.

A moment later, the edge of the giant pit collapsed. It must be said that Tang Xumi and Hu Tingwen were both very strong. Their spiritual light was like a heavenly blade slicing through the air, and the divine light in their Yellow Court was boiling, as if it was about to distort space. A large number of millstone-sized rocks collapsed from the rock wall and fell to the bottom of the pit like a huge waterfall.

Hu Tingwen coughed up blood. He was no match for Tang Xumi and ran backward, his face full of bitterness. The near-immortal object was so close to him. He only needed to defeat one more person to obtain it.

He entered the Luofu Mountain ruins at the perfect time, avoiding some of his competitors, but he never expected that he still couldn’t get past Tang Xumi in the end.

“Would you all like to fight again?” Tang Xumi tilted his head back and drank a jar of golden liquid, a kind of elixir that quickly restored his tired body.

The main reason is that he hadn’t been seriously injured, so minor injuries and exhaustion were nothing to him.

His disciples and his golden-armored guards stepped forward, their backs to him, facing Li Qingxu, Hu Tingwen, and the others. “Since my fellow disciples are no longer challenging me, let’s end this here!” Tang Xumi said, preparing to leave surrounded by his entourage.

With a bang, a golden-armored guard behind Tang Xumi suddenly struck him with a palm, causing him to cough up blood.

This guard was extremely powerful. His left hand unleashed a terrifying dark light, while his right hand emitted a brilliant white celestial light. He not only injured Tang Xumi but also used the celestial light to sweep away the Eight Trigrams Furnace.

Moreover, he threw it out immediately without any delay.

“It’s the world-renowned Yin-Yang Black and White Force? You’re from the Yin-Yang Sect! I never imagined I’d have such a master by my side!” Tang Xumi’s face was icy cold.

Things happened so suddenly, beyond everyone’s expectations.

The master from the Yin-Yang Temple had cultivated an incredibly unique and powerful Heavenly Light Force. Just now, his left and right hands respectively emitted black and white light, wrapped around the Eight Trigrams Furnace, and he suddenly threw it at Li Qingxu!

No one expected this to happen, and there was no time to stop it.

Li Qingxu’s face showed joy as he began to consume his own energy, preparing to escape. He reached out to catch the Bagua Furnace that was falling and about to be in his hands.

Clang! Clang!

Two metallic clanging sounds rang out almost simultaneously. An iron arrow struck the Bagua Furnace, scattering sparks everywhere. A stone also hit the furnace with tremendous force, turning the stone into fresh powder.

Clearly, these two strikes completely altered the trajectory of the Bagua Furnace.

Li Qingxu was furious; he was just a hair’s breadth away from being caught in the Eight Trigrams Furnace!

But now it has gone astray and fallen into the hands of an elite disciple, who then casually tossed it to Tang Xumi.

Qin Ming sheathed his bow. He had been keeping a close eye on the battlefield, watching Li Qingxu, Tang Xumi, and the others. He possessed five unique skills: sword, spear, hammer, arrow, and lance, and had just demonstrated one of them.

The stone came from a graceful golden-armored guard, none other than Li Qingyue, who was now walking towards them from a distance, no longer concealing her true identity.