Chapter 164: The Gluttonous Feast
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation
“Who’s ringing that bell?” Even from a great distance, Qin Ming could hear the resonating chimes deep in the night, echoing as if they were hammering against his very heart.
He gazed into the horizon, where a surge of purple light burst forth, mingling with expanding halos of other hues. The intensity rivaled the earlier phenomenon of azure light splitting the clouds—a sight that sent shivers down his spine.
He murmured under his breath, “Brother Scrap, hurry up and absorb the divinity from the pool. This isn’t a place we can linger in for long!”
Looking up, Qin Ming spotted a colossal black rat at the end of the misty street. Behind it surged a crowd of shadowy entities—ghostly spirits moving in a dense mass, rapidly closing in.
Far from the Divine City, Li Qing Yun stared longingly at the gates. His patience stretched thin, he sighed and clenched his fists as a small group of demons entered the city. Frustration flashing in his eyes, he shot an accusatory glare at several elderly figures standing nearby.
“You lot have no sense of decency!” he exclaimed, his voice brimming with indignation.
He had been fortunate enough to witness the descent of the Divine City in this region, only for a group of sly old men to intercept him, preventing him from leading Qin Ming inside.
Those crafty elders had informed him that it wasn’t yet their turn. First came the “young ones,” followed by the middle generation, and only then would the elders be allowed to enter.
It didn’t take long for Li Qing Yun to figure out their scheme. The elders, representing various sects, had covertly gathered here, each having predicted the city’s possible location. All of them intended to flout the rules and sneak in ahead of their designated time.
But upon discovering one another, the situation grew awkward. None dared act recklessly, fearing someone might report their misconduct. Ultimately, their mutual distrust forced them to maintain the rules.
When Li Qing Yun descended from his mount in the skies, the elders immediately intercepted him.
In their minds, this old rascal was utterly brazen. To save time, he had traversed the night skies during the gods’ war, a reckless feat they couldn’t allow. Consequently, they detained him and even confiscated his mount, leaving him to seethe with resentment as he drooled over the Divine City from afar.
“You’re shameless!” he shouted at the masked elders, his voice dripping with disdain. “Two of you even know me personally. Who are you trying to fool with those disguises?”
Inside the city, near the luminous Fire Spring, Qin Ming stood amidst chaos. The ground was littered with remnants—black rat pelts, silver fox tails—trophies from his battles. Among the famed “Five Spirits” of folklore, he had slain representatives of four species, leaving only the Great Serpent untouched.
“Why couldn’t we just coexist peacefully?” he muttered to himself, gripping his White Jade Alloy Blade. “Did you really think sheer numbers would be enough to kill me?”
Despite his apparent confidence, Qin Ming remained vigilant. Even with the blade that suppressed ghostly entities, he dared not lower his guard. The influx of shadowy spirits into the city was unrelenting, their numbers swelling as the city’s commotion reverberated across the land.
After amassing a significant “war record,” the other creatures seemed to lose their will to confront him. For the moment, an uneasy truce prevailed.
“Why isn’t this divinity as potent as I expected?” a ghostly black tiger grumbled, its voice carrying across the mists from a distant mountain.
The physical forms of these entities weren’t barred from entering; it was simply that their disembodied spirits could traverse the night skies more swiftly, granting them an edge in claiming divine blessings.
Qin Ming feigned nonchalance, blending in among the crowd. He discreetly placed his bow, blade, and even a pendant into the divine spring for nourishment.
The Patterned Silver Bow, acquired from the silver hedgehog on the Shenzhang Plains, showed the most remarkable improvement, gleaming with a soft silver radiance. The White Jade Alloy Blade and arrows displayed modest changes; the runes inscribed by Meng Xing Hai using secret techniques provided a slight boost. However, the blade’s lack of regular refinement limited its full potential.
As for the snow-white pendant in the shape of a sword, it remained inert. Its exotic metallic composition was too unique for Meng Xing Hai to etch runes upon.
Suddenly, a group of giant avians appeared on the horizon, soaring across the sky toward the Divine City. Qin Ming’s pupils contracted as he recognized a familiar figure among them. Standing atop the leading bird was Li Qing Xu, clutching a glimmering purple bamboo rod.
Li Qing Xu’s master, Cao Qian Qiu, represented the Pure Land Beyond in this event. Naturally, Li Qing Xu was brought along, aiming to seize this significant opportunity and elevate himself to the status of a “Near-Immortal Seed” like Cui Chong He or Li Qing Yue.
“Wang Cai Wei, Zheng Mao Ze, Zeng Yuan, Lu Zhen Yi…” Qin Ming noted the familiar faces. He wondered whether Li Qing Yue might make an appearance.
With time running short, Qin Ming sighed. It was impossible to claim every benefit the city had to offer. Casting a glance at the Fire Spring, he noted its vibrant blue hues had significantly faded. At least sixty percent of its divinity had already been absorbed.
“It’s time to stop,” he muttered to himself. Having taken the lion’s share of the spoils, he decided to stand back and watch the chaos unfold.
What he witnessed next was startling. Dense black fog began to churn, threatening to obscure the city’s entire architecture.
This ominous development was unmistakably tied to that tattered cloth!
Qin Ming’s instincts screamed at him as the cloth underwent another transformation. Carefully withdrawing it from the Fire Spring, he observed its surface. The cloth, now divided into two hand-sized pieces, was no longer lifeless but held an enigmatic allure. One side bore the image of a fractured golden sun, more visible than before. On the reverse, a region of expanding black mist seemed to depict a shroud capable of veiling the heavens.
The sinister fog emanated from this very image, its presence inducing terror in the ghostly spirits.
“What’s happening?” one spirit stammered, trembling. “Could it be… that the god has not perished? Have we invoked divine wrath?”
Amid the panic, Qin Ming swiftly secured the cloth, its dormant appearance masking its extraordinary nature. For him, this unexpected boon was a delightful surprise.
The cloth’s material was no less remarkable than a near-immortal artifact like the Eight Trigrams Furnace. Its mysterious origins stirred Qin Ming’s imagination.
While he couldn’t yet test its abilities, he was certain of one thing—this cloth held immense potential.
Qin Ming reflected that when the tattered cloth was lifeless and dull, the mysterious youth capable of transforming into mist likely hadn’t understood its origins or uncovered its true value.
What remained unclear was whether the youth had brought the cloth from the Beyond’s Yang Lands or discovered it in the subterranean rift at Black and White Mountain. The youth had spent several days underground there, even setting up an altar.
Glancing at the Fire Spring, Qin Ming noticed its color had faded further, though it was not entirely depleted. Blue light still shimmered faintly within.
Quietly leaving the area, he entered a nearby building. There, he wrapped his bow and blade, strapping them onto his back, deciding not to use them for the time being.
With a sharp crack of his joints, Qin Ming altered his facial features. His appearance was now entirely different—enough to deceive a group of junior disciples.
As Li Qing Xu and his companions entered the city, they swiftly drove out groups of aberrant creatures, mercilessly killing those who resisted.
“Tang Xu Mi, Hu Ting Wen—you two showed up too! You still owe me a copy of the Divine Ape Force!” Qin Ming muttered. Instead of approaching them, he moved toward another group.
In the crowd from the Secret Sect, he spotted Yu Zhuo Han, the cousin of Zhuo Ya. Qin Ming remembered their duel outside Red Glow City, where they’d gained a grudging respect for each other. “Old Yu!” Qin Ming called out in greeting.
Yu Zhuo Han, easily recognizable by his muscular frame and shoulder-length silver hair that shimmered like crystal strands, had strikingly defined features.
Hearing the audacious call, Yu Zhuo Han turned sharply. Seeing the young man waving at him and using such an impudent nickname, he stormed over, intent on teaching him a lesson.
“You’re not even seventeen yet, and you dare call me ‘Old Yu’?” he barked, raising a hand as though to slap him.
“It’s me, brother,” Qin Ming said quickly through a private transmission, hoping to blend into Yu Zhuo Han’s group unnoticed.
In truth, Qin Ming sought to remain inconspicuous, preferring to “merge with the dust” rather than draw attention. Whatever storm—be it a fierce battle or a bloodbath—was to come, he planned to observe from the sidelines.
After a brief exchange, Yu Zhuo Han appeared surprised. “How is it you?”
Qin Ming soon learned the truth: everyone was hunting a single aberrant creature—a divine insect—seeking to halt its ascension to godhood.
This Divine City and the surrounding region had been constructed from the essence of the creature’s spirit and vitality. It had intended to merge with the original Red Glow City, but its plans had been thwarted.
Suddenly, the heavens trembled violently, the distant skies blazing with blue fire.
An enormous insect, battered and bleeding, emerged. Its luminous spiritual aura burst through the clouds as it roared, racing toward them from the horizon.
But its charge was intercepted. A blazing sun materialized in the sky, revealing within it a Six-Tusked Dragon Elephant. With a swing of its massive trunk, the beast shattered the clouds and struck the insect, forcing it back.
Qin Ming was awestruck. The sheer power of this creature was earth-shaking. Even an aberrant insect on the brink of godhood was no match for the dragon elephant’s might.
The elephant’s tusks were genuine, not prosthetics, and atop its head sprouted a pair of dragon horns—a sign it was no ordinary Six-Tusked Elephant but a Six-Tusked Dragon Elephant.
As Qin Ming listened to Yu Zhuo Han recount how four suns now dominated the heavens, he became even more cautious. Within one of the blazing suns was Li Qing Xu’s master, Cao Qian Qiu. The infamous elder from the Pure Land Beyond was a legend, notorious for his ruthlessness. Even unparalleled figures had met their end at his hands.
“You’ll join us if we need reinforcements,” Yu Zhuo Han said quietly. “Use techniques from the New Awakening Path.”
“I’ve dabbled in Secret Sect methods too,” Qin Ming replied. Water vapor swirled around him, followed by the crackling energy of Wind and Thunder Force as lightning flickered nearby.
“When did you learn that?” Yu Zhuo Han gaped, astonished. As a junior disciple, he couldn’t identify the exact lineage of Qin Ming’s techniques.
“Hey, that elder’s here too,” Qin Ming noted, spotting a towering figure within one of the blazing suns. It was none other than Meng Xing Hai’s great-uncle, who had spent a century fishing in the abyss. This discovery brought Qin Ming some reassurance.
“You know him?” Yu Zhuo Han asked.
“Yes, he taught me how to enhance Divine Wisdom,” Qin Ming said, not entirely lying.
Yu Zhuo Han explained that many of the Secret Sect disciples present were from the elder’s lineage.
Ahead, junior disciples clashed, their fights erupting in dazzling displays of power. Qin Ming observed the first skirmish between disciples of the Secret Sect and those from the Beyond. The combat was brilliant and visually captivating.
Soon, aberrant creatures joined the fray. Among them, Qin Ming recognized the Purple Lightning Beast and the Talking Sparrow from Black and White Mountain. The sparrow, cunning as ever, had infiltrated the aberrants’ ranks. Its eloquence and wit had earned it a surprising level of respect; even the parrots and sparrows serving the Purple Lightning Beast deferred to it.
A deafening trumpet sounded as a Four-Tusked White Elephant charged into the battlefield, vying for the divine energy within the Fire Spring. Chaos erupted as a melee ensued.
In the distant night sky, five blazing suns now dominated the heavens. One of them contained a massive centipede, the very creature that had nearly touched the divine threshold. Its emergence had torn the night sky apart and scattered the clouds.
Despite its strength, this creature, hailed as “great” by scarecrows and serpents alike, had become prey. Severely wounded, it no longer retained its physical form, appearing as a divine figure of spiritual light, radiant as the sun, illuminating the world below.
“You dare challenge the Red Glow City and its surroundings?” a bald elder, radiant and robust, demanded from within one of the blazing suns. His voice carried an undeniable authority.
“You’ve heard of the Great Pioneer Era, haven’t you? Aberrant creatures of near-divinity were said to roam these lands. Do you think you can surpass them?”
“An enmity that bars the path to ascension is irreconcilable!” the centipede roared, its azure brilliance blazing as it severed its connection to the Divine City. The searing blue flames of its spiritual light intensified, burning ferociously.
From another silver sun came the icy voice of a woman. “If we don’t stop you, would you consume Red Glow City and the surrounding villages?”
“In its fall, everyone feasts,” a red sun’s occupant—a white-haired elder—declared with domineering laughter, holding a bell encircled by purple mist.
This was Li Qing Xu’s master, Cao Qian Qiu, a towering figure in the Pure Land Beyond. With a flick of his wrist, the bell emitted an earth-shaking resonance, more terrifying than thunder. Its sonic waves rippled through the night sky like an immortal sword cleaving through darkness.
The centipede’s body rang with metallic reverberations, as though forged from blue exotic metal, enduring the bell’s assault. Yet cracks began to appear along its hundred legs, spilling radiant blue divine blood.
Unmistakably, the suns above were manifestations of spiritual light, their forms more powerful than any mortal weapon.
“Cao Qian Qiu, I’ll turn you into ‘Half-Qian Qiu!’” the centipede hissed. Its defiance unleashed a surge of blinding radiance, forcing every living being in the region to tremble and bow.
It streaked through the night like a bolt of blue lightning, detonating clouds in its wake.
But Cao Qian Qiu laughed, undeterred. Though aged and white-haired, he exuded unmatched arrogance and strength. With a casual throw, he sent his weapon—the bell—hurtling forward.
Engulfed in blazing purple light, the bell dispelled the night fog and illuminated the sky. Its ever-expanding form emitted a resonance that drowned out even thunder, hurtling toward the divine centipede. At the same time, the other three suns joined the assault, combining their might to subdue the brilliant blue centipede.