Chapter 163 Truth and Surprise

In the dead of night, a blue mist silently spread.

The entire city was deserted and silent.

Tai Ming’s forehead was covered in sweat, as if he had entered a dead city. Apart from him, there was no living creature. The fire spring was very abnormal; its intense blue color was so alluring that it seemed to draw one in.

It was like a will-o’-the-wisp in an old graveyard, eerily blue and silent. Qin Ming tensed up, becoming highly alert.

He couldn’t understand where everyone in the city had gone.

The entire city was lifeless and oppressive.

However, Qin Ming sensed something and looked back, only to find a dark figure in the thick fog heading towards him without any attempt at concealment. Faint footsteps echoed on the empty street; the figure moved swiftly, arriving in an instant.

He was only about 1.5 meters tall, extremely thin, wearing a straw hat, an old and tattered straw coat, and straw sandals. The moment he raised his head, his eyes turned dark red, seemingly filled with longing for the dark blue fire spring, but also with a sense of awe.

Only then did Qin Ming see its appearance clearly. He instantly gripped the hilt of his knife. The newcomer’s face was also covered with straw clothing; to be precise, it was actually a scarecrow.

The scarecrow looked at him, opened its mouth, and made a rustling sound.

“What are you talking about? What’s going on here?” Qin Ming asked. “A complete novice?” The scarecrow’s eyes blazed with red light, emanating a wave of consciousness.

Then, it suddenly rushed forward, having already drawn an iron knife from behind it, and drew a terrifying trajectory as it slashed towards Qin Ming’s neck.

This is truly a sudden and unexpected attack!

Qin Ming was completely bewildered. He had inexplicably encountered a scarecrow and had no idea why it had suddenly attacked him. Since it wanted to take his life, there was nothing more to say. He wielded the Abundant Jade Iron Force to launch a swift counterattack.

Facing an unknown opponent, he always went all out, and thus the entire sword erupted with an extremely dazzling light, like a blazing god.

Flames flickered. With a silent thud, the iron sword was severed in two. Moreover, the mutton-fat jade iron sword possessed extraordinary properties; the dazzling and sacred light it emitted burned the scarecrow even before it touched it, causing it to scream in agony. “Stop! It’s a misunderstanding!” it cried out in terror, retreating rapidly.

Qin Ming completely ignored it. The other side had launched a sudden attack, and now, seeing the situation was turning against them, they wanted him to back down? In the midst of the battle…

If one hesitates even for a moment, one is likely to find oneself in a desperate situation.

With a snap, he cut the scarecrow in half, sending straw fragments flying everywhere.

A ball of red light shot up, trying to escape, but was struck by Qin Ming’s powerful strike and exploded, accompanied by a shrill scream, like a large number of sparks scattering in mid-air before going out.

Qin Ming frowned slightly. This mutton-fat jade iron was a deadly threat to anomalous creatures. Was he now caught up in some inexplicable incident? Just then, there was movement again in the blue mist. A small beast floated in the air, riding an object. It didn’t seem to have a physical body; it was somewhat ethereal and hazy. What it stood on was a two-foot-long pine-tailed beast, flowing with a hazy glow. “A weasel spirit riding a tail?” Qin Ming stood with his sword in hand. Everything that had happened tonight was too strange.

Some people in the secluded realm believe that a certain stage of consciousness can be called the Yin Spirit. Of course, most masters in the secluded realm do not agree with this view.

Those outside this field often find it difficult to detect spirits, even when they are right in front of them, they feel nothing. Qin Ming, however, is extremely sensitive to them and treats them as ordinary objects.

The weasel’s spirit was quite composed. After glancing at the broken scarecrow on the ground, it immediately clasped its hands in a very polite gesture towards Qin Ming.

Anming pondered, unaware of the situation, and tried to entice the other party to continue.

“This place is both dangerous and full of great opportunities, worth risking your life for. It can also accommodate many like-minded people. Brother, we’ll keep to ourselves.” The weasel immediately stated, “You go first.” Qin Ming nodded calmly and said nothing more.

The weasel nodded, and it was clear that Guan was quite hesitant, but in the end, it rode off on its tail and plunged headfirst into the dark blue fire spring with a splash. “Ah!” A painful cry came from within the fire spring. It rolled and churned inside, creating large swathes of blue liquid, accompanied by a bewitching fire glow.

As you can see, it is not so faint; it is slightly more solid, and the fluffy broken tail, which has turned from withered yellow to glow with a pale golden hue, has acquired a certain spirituality.

Qin Ming was startled. What was going on? He was also a little envious. Should he throw the mutton-fat jade iron knife in and see?

However, the next moment he retreated warily, because the weasel’s spirit rushed out, riding on its pale golden real tail, its consciousness confused, charging around wildly, and roaring incessantly.

“Those who blaspheme against the gods shall die!” It went mad, baring its fangs and claws, roaring and howling, then its eyes flashed with ferocity as it charged toward Qin Ming.

Howl!

A flash of snow-white light swept across, like a red-hot iron falling into withered leaves. With a crackling sound, Qin Ming’s mutton-fat jade iron knife not only severed the weasel,

It was burned to ashes.

Then, he swung his sword again, and the only remaining object, the pale golden tail, was easily cut in two as it fell, unable to withstand the pure white blade.

“The blue fire spring is related to god-like creatures?” Qin Ming frowned deeply. If so, the problem had become serious.

He recalled that when he first discovered the blue light, it had shattered the clouds high in the sky, expanding in all directions, which was why he had fallen from his bird. A hissing sound came, and a large snake appeared in the night, also a ghostly spirit, riding a snake skin as it flew in, swirling with black mist in mid-air.

When it saw the scarecrow and severed tail at Qin Ming’s feet, it showed some fear and stopped a short distance away. “They provoked me, which is why they died so tragically,” Qin Ming said.

“I have no grudge against you, Your Excellency, and would never dare to offend you.” The great serpent spoke, its tone polite yet cautious.

Qin Ming nodded. With the real “battle record” on his feet as evidence, this kind of evil spirit was finally able to talk properly. He decided to ask about the situation directly.

“What’s going on here?” As he spoke, he kicked the broken scarecrow away.

This place is related to divine grace, containing a rich divine essence. It can be used to refine various spiritual artifacts and rapidly improve their quality. If one ventures here…

It is dangerous, but it can also enhance one’s divine nature, though it can easily lead to backlash. The realm of the gods contains great majesty and is extremely terrifying. “The great serpent patiently explained.”

It rode on its skin, landed by the fire spring, and put the snake skin inside. Instantly, the dull snake skin began to glow, its spirituality surging dramatically. Then it quickly withdrew.

“Why did you stop?” Qin Ming asked.

“My old skin can no longer bear too much divinity; it has reached its limit,” the great serpent said.

Even so, it was quite content and even excited. It wanted to leap into the pool several times, but it managed to restrain itself.

“What’s going on with this city, and where are its residents?” Qin Ming asked. “This is a divine city, inhabited by a great being, nearing the level of a god.”

“This is a divine city, inhabited by a great being who was about to reach the realm of divinity, but something seems to have gone wrong. As for the inhabitants, I know nothing about them.” The serpent looked bewildered; it hadn’t seen any people here.

Qin Ming’s expression turned solemn as he recalled the blue light he had discovered at the beginning. Even from such a distance, he could feel its power, which could even shatter the clouds in the sky. Could this be related to becoming a god?

Seeing his grim expression, the serpent quickly explained, “This divine city appeared suddenly. The great being probably encountered an accident. I haven’t seen his people, those inhabitants.”

Qin Ming asked, “You’ve never seen this city before. How did it suddenly appear in this area?” “Yes!” The giant snake nodded solemnly.

It, along with the scarecrow and the weasel, were the closest divine beings to this place, so it immediately sent its spirit out of its body and rushed over.

Qin Ming gently tapped the bluestone on the ground with his jade iron sword, producing a crisp, realistic sound. His expression was grave. Was it really that terrifying? “Can this sword of mine be nurtured with divine power?”

“You are a newcomer on the path of rebirth, and the weapons you use daily have not been refined, so their effectiveness is probably not very good,” the giant snake said tactfully.

Qin Ming learned that the Fire Spring was the core of the Divine City, and it was the rich “divinity” left behind after that “great being” met with misfortune! The giant serpent went far away, restraining its impulse and not leaping into the pool of divinity, disappearing in the night.

Qin Ming walked to the blue-green fire spring and inserted the mutton-fat jade iron knife into it, but there seemed to be little change.

He quickly took out a small piece of cloth, about the size of a palm, with metal threads woven into it and embroidered with cloud patterns. There should be other patterns as well, but the piece of cloth was too small to make out the main subject.

This was what he obtained after slaying the young man who could transform into mist at Black Sun Mountain. It was no ordinary item, as even the Abundant Jade Iron Blade couldn’t cut through it. Qin Ming placed it into the blue fire spring pool.

In an instant, the pool boiled, as if a bright sun had fallen into it, illuminating the area and causing a thick blue mist to rise. “This is too dazzling! Something bad is going to happen! What is this thing?!” Qin Ming was shocked. He never expected that an inconspicuous piece of rag would cause such a commotion.

However, this sacred sight lasted only a moment before quickly subsiding, and the great sun that the tattered cloth had transformed into seemed to have been extinguished.

Qin Ming’s instincts were exceptionally sharp. He noticed that although there were no more unusual phenomena, the intense blue color of the fire spring seemed to be fading very slowly.

He immediately bent down to look at the tattered cloth, which had actually grown slightly larger, with the portion protruding.

Moreover, it shimmers with a soft, flowing light; if it was once lifeless, now it seems to have been “resurrected.”

Qin Ming was shocked when he stared at it, because the metal wires woven into the rags were no longer dim, revealing their true appearance. Some were pure white, while others were shrouded in purple mist, just like various kinds of “exotic metals”!

He gasped, taking in the blue night mist. This was far beyond his expectations; this palm-sized rag seemed to have quite a history. Because Li Qingyue’s near-immortal artifact—the Eight Trigrams Furnace—was also forged from various exotic metals.

Qin Ming observed carefully and found that after the rag became larger, a tattered sun appeared on its edge.

He finally understood why the commotion had been so loud: as the tattered cloth amplified and repaired itself, the setting sun appeared, shining directly upon him.

The Great Sun is woven from golden threads, and its material is undoubtedly a different kind of gold.

Qin Ming carefully sensed the surroundings and discovered that the blue fire spring in the pool was indeed fading at a relatively slow pace, while the cloth seemed to be growing slightly larger.

This stirred up a storm within him, leaving him restless and filled with anticipation.

At this moment, a number of evil spirits began to appear outside the city, drawn by the divine city, all revealing expressions of intense longing.

In the distance, towards the Crimson Cloud Domain, several blazing suns seemed to stretch across the sky, so dazzling that they illuminated the pitch-black heavens and earth.

“A mere demonic insect dares to dream of devouring a city and becoming a god? I’ve been waiting for you for days!” A voice rang out from under the blazing sun, cold and ruthless, with an indescribable sense of oppression that made many creatures on the ground tremble.

Clearly, the “great being” mentioned by the giant snake met with an accident because some powerful beings were intercepting and specifically hunting him down.

The figures in the bright sun are not physical, but they are extremely dazzling, illuminating the night sky.

In the midst of the blazing sun, an old man with white hair, his eyes like two immortal swords, shouted, “Qingxu, go! The opportunities in the Divine City are immense, hurry!” “Yes, Master!” Li Qingxu replied.

A high-level exotic bird spread its huge wings and carried a group of disciples from the outer realms away quickly. Some of them were acquaintances of Qin Ming.

“This is a great opportunity; disciples of the Tantric sect, do not fall behind!” A voice rang out from beneath another blazing sun. Another enormous raptor appeared, carrying the Tantric disciples towards the divine city.

The third wave of attacks came from the great sun, accompanied by the sound of elephants bellowing, and someone shouting: “Hurry up and follow!” Clearly, the aliens had also arrived, including a young six-tusked white elephant and a purple lightning beast.

A “great being” wanted to approach the boundaries of the gods, but was blocked by all sides, resulting in a feast every meal.

(There’s more to come!)