Chapter 123 Under the Spotlight

(Just to be honest, I went to get a tooth pulled this afternoon, and it hurt like hell.)

During her duel with Li Qingfang, she exuded a very strong and oppressive aura. Now that she has stopped fighting, she has regained her elegant and refined temperament. Her black hair is like a waterfall, her eyes are bright and her teeth are white. When she smiles, it is like a fairy flower blooming for the first time, flowing with brilliant light and rain, making people feel gentle and close.

She sent her elite disciples forward to help treat the wounded. Some of the core disciples had suffered severe damage to their spiritual energy, and most of their bodies were stained red with blood.

Jiang Shengyu, Su Jingshu, and Hu Tingwen fought to the death, refusing to retreat. Looking at the Bagua Furnace so close at hand, they used their strongest trump cards, wanting to make a desperate attempt, but were met with a strong counterattack from their opponents, and were even punched through their bodies.

Qin Ming watched Li Qingyue from afar, wondering when they would meet again.

Seeing that she was surrounded by elite disciples and busy there, unable to get away, Qin Ming turned and walked in another direction.

“Everyone, we’re all on the same path, we’re all on the same side. Especially now that the competition for near-immortal items has come to an end, we don’t need to fight anymore.” Qin Ming greeted some outer saints with a smile.

The group of people immediately became wary of him.

Because everyone knows he has a very important background and may be a descendant of the “Six Emperors” lineage.

Most importantly, he is actually Li Qingyue’s partner, and the Eight Trigrams Furnace is still in his hands!

Another small group of people, now realizing who he was, felt a chill run down their spines, because they had encountered him in the White Bamboo Forest and had once joined forces to attack him.

When Qin Ming released his Heavenly Light Force, it was only a very thin layer, but in the White Bamboo Forest area, it not only broke through their encirclement but also pierced through them, killing many golden-armored guards.

Qin Ming continued, “This competition at Fangwai Sect has left a deep impression on me. They used every means at their disposal. Regardless of victory or defeat, after recovering from their injuries, they will undoubtedly improve. We should exchange ideas.” A group of people retreated. Was this successor of the Six Imperial Lineage coming for revenge?

Qin Ming smiled and waved his hand, saying, “Please don’t misunderstand, everyone. I meant exchanging cultivation techniques and secret manuals. Let’s share what we have.” Everyone here is an Outer Saint, and their mastery of the Heavenly Light Force Technique should be quite good. He sincerely wanted to exchange ideas with them.

Unfortunately, many people didn’t believe him, and some even thought he was extorting money. Qin Ming was quite helpless; his sincerity was met with suspicion, and progress was very difficult.

Even when someone exchanges secret manuals with him, he is extremely nervous, and his recitation and martial arts demonstrations are filled with complex emotions, making it difficult to fully reveal the true meaning of the manuals.

A long time passed before Qin Ming finally obtained a complete movement technique, “The Art of Leaping and Jumping.” The sage sighed, saying that his ancestors had also produced great figures who had once mastered the “Art of Crossing the River with a Single Stroke,” but unfortunately, it had been lost.

Qin Ming immediately perked up and asked where he was from, saying he wanted to visit him someday. He thought that if any ancient artifacts remained, he might be able to recreate the “One Reed Crossing the River Technique,” which clearly transcended the scope of ordinary martial arts.

Afterwards, Qin Ming obtained another book called “Tiger’s Roar,” which didn’t sound particularly special, but it could cultivate a special kind of energy that could vibrate one’s body and strengthen the internal organs.

“Sigh, whose ancestors weren’t once wealthy? Above my family’s Tiger Roar Technique, there was once the Five Thunder Internal Organ Refining Technique, and above that, there was supposedly the Eight Scenery Divine Illumination Technique.”

Qin Ming earnestly asked him to explain in detail.

“The Eight Scenic Spots Divine Illumination Technique requires cultivating a visible but intangible lamp within the chest and abdomen to illuminate the entire body, refine the five internal organs, and even temper the consciousness. As for its effects… I don’t know, it has long been lost.”

Qin Ming sighed inwardly. There were indeed many extraordinary skills in this world. Just hearing about them was enough to make one yearn for them. If one could actually learn them, it would be truly exciting.

But he could only shake his head. This outsider had said that his great-grandfather’s generation had moved countless times and changed cities many times. They had long forgotten where their family’s roots were.

Li Qingyue walked over gracefully and saw Qin Ming exchanging Heavenly Light Force Techniques with someone. With a gentle smile, she said, “When we get back, I’ll help you find a cultivation technique. It should be very precious.”

Qin Ming handed her the Bagua Furnace, then walked to the side with her and began to talk in hushed tones.

“You’ve obtained something that’s close to immortality. Surely no old geezer will break the rules and take it away?” “No!” Li Qingyue shook her head.

“That’s good.” Qin Ming took the furnace lid out of his pocket, along with a handful of five or six different colored, crystal-clear “exotic golds,” all accompanied by strange sights. Some were filled with a misty purple fog, while others were covered with mysterious patterns, all of which could calm the mind.

Then, he handed her the sheet of metal paper with Ruixia’s image flowing through it, with only one corner remaining.

Li Qingyue looked surprised; these things all had a significant history.

She accepted them all without hesitation.

Because those senior figures had already entered the pit long ago, and all of them possessed pure Yang consciousness and spiritual light, so they must know what was at the bottom of the pit.

Now, the best option for both her and Qin Ming is to take all the items with them and not keep any for themselves. “This tattered piece of paper… what a pity,” Li Qingyue sighed softly.

Qin Ming didn’t say anything. He planned to wait until the storm had completely passed before finding an opportunity to pass on the two mysterious scriptures to her.

Because telling her now might carry unpredictable risks.

He was extremely wary of the methods used by outsiders, such as possession. If someone were to spy on Li Qingyue’s consciousness, he would naturally not be able to escape.

Those domineering seniors were all unfathomable, like ghosts and gods. Qin Ming didn’t want to face them, and he couldn’t take any risks right now. For now, he could only comfort her, saying, “Maybe we can complete it in the future. The true teachings on a single page aren’t so easily lost.”

“I hope so,” Li Qingyue nodded.

Before leaving, she sat quietly in the giant pit for a long time, refining her consciousness with the sunlight. “Those seniors probably had us compete here so that we could use this place to cultivate. In the end, a large group of people walked back along the original path.”

Li Qingxu gritted her teeth, using her spiritual power to support herself, and stood up on her own. “I’ll carry you back,” Zeng Yuan said, stepping forward.

“No need!” Li Qingxu shook his head in refusal, and then quickly walked away.

However, he returned not long after. He was cautious by nature and feared that someone might be secretly following him and killing him on the road while he was still seriously injured.

Zeng Yuan and Zheng Maoze supported each other. The two were like brothers in misfortune, having both touched the near-divine object and briefly possessed it, but were also seriously injured as a result.

“Junior sister, we ganged up on you earlier…sigh, I’m really sorry.” Tang Xumi grimaced, enduring the pain, wanting to explain to Li Qingyue, but ultimately said nothing more.

He greatly admired Li Qingyue and hoped to get closer to her, but now he feared he would never have the chance again, and he felt a deep sense of loss.

Li Qingyue said, “It’s alright for everyone to use their own methods to obtain items close to immortality. Once we leave this place, we will still be the same as before, fellow disciples.”

In fact, she knew that Tang Xumi had left her an opening at the last moment when she was surrounded, allowing her to break through and escape. However, she severely injured Ren Yiping from the other side and fought her way out.

Qin Ming dug out the Overlord Spear on the way.

“I’ll hold it for you.” Li Qingyue took it, to prevent any members of Li Qingxu’s lineage from being unable to accept defeat. “Wang Caiwei might have recognized me,” Qin Ming secretly informed her on the way.

Li Qingyue paused, and said only two simple words: “It’s nothing.”

“The results are in, they’re coming out.” Outside the Luofu Immortal Mountain Ruins, many people were waiting.

They already knew that this competition had been marred by various unexpected events, with the near-immortal item changing hands several times. Tang Xumi had twice managed to seize it, but unfortunately, he missed out on it.

In fact, those who truly know the inside story are quite clear that Li Qingxu almost succeeded. With the cooperation of the young man from the Yin-Yang Sect, plus his ability to secretly help Tang Xumi, and finally getting Lu Zhen to betray him, it was as if the three of them were working together. If Li Qingxu had just caught the Eight Trigrams Furnace once, he could have used a mysterious escape technique to travel far away at an extremely fast speed.

The Cui family members looked grim. They knew very well that Cui Chonghe’s spiritual energy had possessed the body, and if nothing unexpected had happened, he would probably have been able to stand out from the crowd. However, he was discovered twice in a row.

Clearly, the reason Cui Chonghe was besieged by the six core disciples for the second time was because Li Qingyue secretly had someone she trusted leak the information to Tang Xumi and the others.

“Indeed, Li Qingyue won the near-immortal item. She defeated all her competitors cleanly and beautifully. Such a result is well-deserved!” An elder nodded and smiled as he spoke.

This is a big shot, someone who dared to slam the table with Li Qingxu’s master. If he stood up to praise him like this, who would dare to disagree?

Immediately, outside the ruins, many people praised her, believing that Li Qingyue had near-immortal potential and needed to be given special resources and nurtured.

Some were happy and excited, while others were disappointed and indignant. Many disciples participated this time, and behind them were the traditions of the secluded lands and even ancient families with a history of thousands of years.

“Is Li Ye really Li Qingyue’s cousin? He seized the Overlord Spear and killed many people…” someone said with dissatisfaction.

“Shut up! When my Qingyue was besieged by many families, our Li family didn’t say anything. If you have nothing better to do, you can go to the reclusive Li family…” Only then did someone from the family behind Li Qingyue step forward. It turned out to be a reclusive great family. Although it didn’t have the large population or the vast size of the thousand-year-old family, they were all true masters!

Clearly, no one would actually cause trouble at this critical juncture, and those who were about to stir up trouble immediately shut up.

At this moment, Li Qingyue became the center of attention, and everyone’s eyes were on her. She had to pay her respects to some of her seniors and respond humbly and appropriately.

Then, a group of young people stepped forward and surrounded her in the center like stars around the moon.

Undoubtedly, the competition for this near-immortal artifact has had a very significant impact, drawing people from ancient lineages and powerful sects in the Pure Land of the Immortals.

Because, in a sense, those who obtain near-immortal items will inevitably rise rapidly and are destined to become great figures in the world beyond the mortal realm.

Now, some successors of the Daoist lineage, as well as some renowned geniuses from other places, have all come to the scene.

“Isn’t that Senior Brother Pei? He’s exceptionally talented, and at less than twenty-five years old, he’s already able to discuss Dao with some seniors. He’s a celestial being in our Pure Land!”

“Senior Brother Pei is as handsome as jade, refined and dashing, and he has such an ethereal air about him. He has never found a Daoist partner, and he and Junior Sister Li look so well-matched standing there!” a woman couldn’t help but exclaim.

“Hey, Senior Brother Zhuo has also appeared. Not only is his talent amazing, but he has also opened the divine eye between his eyebrows, which can see through the immortal essence. His future achievements are unimaginable. His divine eye is by no means inferior to Junior Sister Li’s spiritual pupil. The two can be said to complement each other.”

Qin Ming slowly retreated, as there was truly no place for him to stand, and he was gradually pushed out. Li Qingyue was surrounded by renowned talents from the outer realms, the weakest of whom were at least at the Yellow Court Realm.

Some people are destined to become the future leaders of the Pure Land, and they have already begun to show their talents and their status is already quite prominent.

Under the spotlight, Li Qingyue smiled and conversed with those people. It was clear that some of them had been deliberately arranged by their families and the lineages behind them. Li Qingyue had only recently embarked on the path of immortality, making it the perfect time to approach them, befriend them, and perhaps even take things further.

Meng Xinghai came to Qin Ming’s side and said, “You’ve been a great help, why did you back out?”

Qin Ming shook his head and said, “As a golden-armored guard, I would look out of place standing there. Qingyue is surrounded by heroes, who are either descendants of sect leaders or geniuses. The followers behind these people are all jade-armored guards, and even… divine-armored guards.”

He could only sigh. Before leaving, he wanted to say goodbye, but he couldn’t get close. He would be blocked by others. The difference in their status made the distance between them seem to widen suddenly.