Chapter 172: Walking a Tightrope in the Clouds
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation
“Don’t overdo it,” Zhao Yao Ting warned, concern evident in his voice. He suspected that Qin Ming might be forcing himself to appear strong after mistakenly consuming Celestial Light Liquid, unwilling to admit discomfort in front of the others.
Especially considering the presence of two renowned Near-Immortal Seeds, both peerless beauties from different regions of the Exotic Lands. It was normal for a young man to be self-conscious in such company.
But if Qin Ming was pretending to be fine and something went wrong, the consequences could be dire.
Zhao Yao Ting handed him a crystal vial containing a faint golden liquid. “This will strengthen your body and aid in healing.”
“I’m fine, really,” Qin Ming replied with a shake of his head.
“Stubborn as ever,” muttered a boy clad in red-gold armor. His name was Sun Jing Xiao, hailing from the Pure Land, and his tone carried a sharp edge.
Qin Ming glanced at him and smirked. “Brother, why don’t you hand me another bottle of Celestial Light Liquid so I can keep this ‘stubborn streak’ going?”
Without a word, Sun Jing Xiao pulled out a thumb-sized bottle filled with concentrated Celestial Light Liquid and handed it to him.
“Don’t let pride get in the way. This isn’t worth it!” Cai Jing Cheng tried to mediate.
But Qin Ming grabbed the bottle without hesitation, eager for more. He had several Celestial Light Forces waiting to fuse, so the more, the better.
Sun Jing Xiao’s expression shifted instantly. “You all saw that! If anything happens to him, it’s on him, not me.”
“Stop it!” Zhao Yao Ting shouted.
But before anyone could react, Qin Ming downed the entire bottle in one gulp. The fiery potency of the liquid was so intense that it caused him to expel a beam of light from his mouth. Then he let out a satisfied burp.
Sun Jing Xiao was dumbfounded. “What… what just happened? Is this guy even human?”
“Got any more?” Qin Ming asked, holding out his hand.
The gathered youths exchanged uneasy glances. Even the two Near-Immortal Seeds, known for their poise, were visibly intrigued.
“Well? Any left?” Qin Ming pressed, secretly hoping for another round of pride-driven generosity.
Sun Jing Xiao had no intention of indulging him further. It was clear now—Qin Ming could indeed handle the Celestial Light Liquid, likely due to some extraordinary cultivation technique.
“We have a mission to attend to,” Su Shi Yun, the Celestial Scholar, reminded the group. She wore a bronze mask, her Near-Immortal aura palpable even when standing still. Dressed in flowing azure robes, she looked ready to ascend to the heavens at any moment.
Qin Ming noted that her designation as a Near-Immortal Seed wasn’t mere flattery. She seemed deeply attuned to the mysterious forces of the universe.
“Brother, what’s your name? Are you also part of this mission?” Zhao Yao Ting inquired.
The high-class cabin had been fully reserved, so it was assumed everyone present was part of the operation. Still, Qin Ming’s late arrival and unorthodox actions made him an outlier, and Zhao Yao Ting was uneasy.
Before he could finish speaking, Qin Ming nodded abruptly. He had sensed excitement and anticipation radiating from one of the youths, though it was faint. Still, it was enough for him to deduce that this “mission” was not a bad opportunity.
Qin Ming quickly grasped that these youths, hailing from different doctrines, had been thrown together into a temporary team. With that, he decided to jump into the fray without hesitation.
“Do you know where we’re headed?” Sun Jing Xiao asked, his tone laced with suspicion. The others also turned to Qin Ming, some even employing mystical techniques to scrutinize him.
“Why so nosy?” Qin Ming retorted impatiently, clearly irking Sun Jing Xiao.
“Please answer,” Su Shi Yun said, her discerning gaze locked onto him. Her intuition suggested something was slightly off.
“The night sky,” Qin Ming replied calmly, exerting absolute control over his body to maintain an unshaken facade.
In truth, the revelation startled him. Through his emotional resonance with Sun Jing Xiao, he had picked up fragments of the mission’s destination—an expanse of the night sky.
He added, “Calling this a ‘mission’ is just a fancy way of saying we’re here to ‘harvest,’ isn’t it?”
“Watch your words,” someone warned.
“Don’t be so blunt!” another chimed in.
In reality, Qin Ming knew few details. He had pieced together only scraps of information before Sun Jing Xiao’s emotions became impenetrable. Nevertheless, his casual mention of this shady “harvesting” convinced the others he was aligned with their goals.
As expected, the team was loosely organized, with little communication among its members. From earlier interactions in the main cabin, Qin Ming had discerned the group’s affiliations: Zhao Yao Ting, Cai Jing Cheng, and Tang Yu Tian belonged to three distinct Secret Sects; Su Shi Yun hailed from the Celestial Lands; Leng Fei Yue from the Sun Lands; Xue Yun Zheng from the Calamitous Lands; and Sun Jing Xiao from the Pure Land.
It dawned on Qin Ming that most of these youths were likely cherished prodigies of their respective elders.
He couldn’t help but anticipate the upcoming action.
The cabin fell silent as each youth focused on their own treasures, from crystal vials to nearly transparent cauldrons, all imbued with extraordinary properties. They were actively channeling Celestial Radiance and mystical substances.
Qin Ming’s attention lingered on one individual, whose treasure seemed to resonate with his body. His Purple Core Thunderfire stirred, eager to react.
“Miss Su, would you trade me some of the purple mist in your jade cup?” Qin Ming asked boldly, curious about its potential benefits.
Su Shi Yun held a mystical jade cup, which had drawn a stream of purple mist from the air, almost solidifying into liquid. “Not for trade,” she replied curtly.
Qin Ming sighed, but before he could press further, Su Shi Yun flicked her fingers, sending a wisp of purple mist his way. “Consider it a gift.”
“Thank you,” Qin Ming said, absorbing the mist. As it merged into his body, earth fire rose from beneath him, and sky thunder descended from above. The two forces collided in his chest with a thunderous roar, releasing a faint medicinal aroma.
The others watched in astonishment as Qin Ming’s chest seemed to flash with lightning before calming down. A trace of incredulity lingered on their faces.
Qin Ming exhaled regretfully. The critical moment had passed, and the alchemical energies dissipated, yet his body felt invigorated, nourished by the active substances.
The Vermilion Bird Vessel lingered at its current location for some time before resuming its journey.
“Attention, passengers,” a woman’s voice rang out through a conscious transmission. “We will be passing through another special area shortly. The vessel will hover to allow you to capture Celestial Radiance.”
“Understood!” Several youths cheered enthusiastically.
The ship continued its intermittent voyage, stopping every thousand miles to allow the group to taste the Celestial Radiance. After covering nearly twenty thousand miles, they were only about fifteen hundred miles from Kun Lun Great City.
As the vessel stopped for the twentieth time, Su Shi Yun, Zhao Yao Ting, and others stood.
“It’s time for us to act,” Su Shi Yun declared.
Qin Ming felt a little like a thief as they moved quietly. Their group slipped through a secret passage from the high-class cabin and reached the edge of the large ship, where a small vessel was already prepared and waiting for them.
Without a word, they boarded the small vessel, which, to their surprise, was piloted by none other than the captain of the Vermilion Bird Vessel himself. He personally navigated to escort them to their destination.
The journey was short, only a few miles, and they arrived quickly. Black fog churned ominously around them, so dense it was impossible to see anything beyond their own hands. Yet, everyone could sense an oppressive presence looming ahead.
Soon, Qin Ming noticed several ships—spaceships—pierced and broken, suspended in the black clouds. Their damaged forms hung eerily, as though some immense force had driven spikes through them.
“I’ll wait for you here,” the captain said simply. He didn’t ask questions, only obeying his orders without hesitation or curiosity.
Qin Ming was the last to disembark, taking a parachute pack with him. The captain gave him a peculiar look. Qin Ming already had four parachutes strapped to him—why take another? The seven others in the group also stared at him, speechless.
Despite their silent reactions, Qin Ming remained uneasy. Back in the mountains, he had fought and killed aberrations without fear, but this was his first time venturing into the night sky. The thought of falling from these clouds made even his courage waver. He couldn’t afford any mistakes.
Who would have guessed there were “things” lurking in the night sky?
They leapt onto the pierced and broken ships. Qin Ming finally got a good look at what had skewered them—massive golden spikes that pierced through their hulls. These spikes were so long their ends vanished into the distance, their thickness comparable to water barrels. Though once bright gold, they were now tarnished and dulled, as if covered in decades of dust.
The spikes were countless, plunging into the abyss of the night sky without changing in width. No one could discern where they originated.
Leng Fei Yue, a Near-Immortal Seed from the Yang Earth lineage, broke the silence. “Since there are so many paths, let’s move separately. It’s better to avoid interfering with each other.” Her consciousness aura, vibrant like a miniature sun, belied her icy demeanor. She was a renowned “ice-cold fairy.”
Though their original plan had been to stay together, everyone nodded in agreement to split up.
Qin Ming advanced along one of the dull golden spikes, using his Adhesion Force technique to maintain his grip and prevent slipping. Yet, he knew nothing about this place—where these spikes led or what rewards might await. He couldn’t make sense of why these massive spikes didn’t simply fall from the sky.
Above, the sky was a black abyss, and fierce winds howled relentlessly. The thick fog churned like a turbulent ocean. The further Qin Ming walked, the more uncertain he felt. Even after traversing hundreds of meters, the spike remained unchanged, stretching endlessly into the distance.
He drew his White Jade Alloy Blade and tested it against the spike. Sparks flew, but the blade couldn’t leave a mark. Frowning, Qin Ming tried using his exotic metal pendant, shaped like a sword, to stab into the spike. It penetrated slightly but caused no visible reaction.
Walking amidst the oppressive black fog, Qin Ming muttered to himself, “This really feels like walking a tightrope in the clouds. Unbelievable. Who could’ve created such things in the sky?”
The gale whipped his hair wildly, and as he brushed a strand from his eyes, a shocking thought struck him. A chilling, absurd possibility crossed his mind. If it were true, it was too outrageous to believe.
“Can there really be fortunes hidden in a place like this?” he whispered, doubting it even as he pressed on.
After several hundred more meters, he reached a chaotic area where over a dozen of the golden spikes crossed and tangled. The area was an utter mess.
“What kind of experience is this?” Qin Ming muttered, stepping carefully. “Walking alone in the clouds… I just hope nothing goes wrong. Kun Lun City is still over fifteen hundred miles away. Maybe there’s a deadly pit waiting below me.”
Suddenly, his pupils contracted. Through the black fog, he saw an area where the spikes were even denser—and there was a nest!
This sight didn’t match his earlier assumptions. Some creature had actually built a nest in this place.
Panic rose in Qin Ming. The nest was enormous! But as he approached cautiously, he didn’t sense any signs of life. The nest appeared abandoned, its structure old and decayed.
Qin Ming climbed onto the edge of the giant nest, his heart pounding. It spanned nearly ten meters in diameter. What kind of creature would build a nest in the clouds?
At the edge, he found fragments of golden eggshells scattered about, their color dulled like the spikes.
“Where have I ended up?” Qin Ming muttered, his expression grave as he examined the remnants.