Chapter 25: A Den of Schemers?

The red-haired elder wore a faint smile. Subduing this Golden Immortal Ox had been a series of twists and turns, and the Yuntian Sect had suffered heavy losses in the process.

"Begin the refinement!"

He made a slight gripping motion toward the void in front of him. The long spear embedded in the forehead of the Golden Immortal Ox vibrated instantly, then zipped back into the elder's hand. The other Yuntian Sect elders watched with bated breath, terrified that something might go wrong. Fortunately, the Golden Immortal Ox was well and truly dead—it lay motionless on the ground, devoid of any aura.

"Fellow elders, let us join forces to refine this divine metal," the red-haired elder proposed. The remaining elders followed suit, manifesting their Bitter Seas. In an instant, the surroundings seemed to transform into a gray-green ocean, with the sound of endless waves crashing. This was the hallmark of a practitioner in the Bitter Sea Realm—manifesting the Bitter Sea to enhance one's combat power. Their mana surged forth, working in unison to refine the Golden Immortal Ox.

A quarter of an hour later, the Ox’s body shrank continuously as impurities were purged. Finally, it collapsed into a pool of liquid gold that retained a terrifying luster, though it no longer possessed a physical form.

Qin Ming, hiding behind a rock and acting like a spectator, was stunned. What was happening? Wasn't this divine metal supposed to be playing dead? How had it been refined? Had he guessed wrong?

On the other side, the red-haired elder heaved a sigh of relief. "Phew! Finally, the refinement is complete." Seeing the shimmering golden liquid, the elder laughed out loud. His body had transformed into metal—his facial features included—making his laughter sound stiff and harsh. This was the mystery and peculiarity of the Immortal Metal Grotto. There was no need to test its quality; merely standing there, one could sense an overwhelming, primordial metallic pressure.

"Haha, to think there is so much left even after the refinement."

"Indeed, it exceeds our expectations," the Yuntian Sect elders chuckled.

Just as they let their guard down, the refined liquid suddenly moved. In an instant, it engulfed several Bitter Sea Realm elders and many of the Yuntian Sect disciples.

"Ah!" The screams were cut short before they could even fully erupt. After devouring these elders and disciples, the golden liquid rapidly writhed and reconstructed itself back into the form of the Golden Immortal Ox!

"Moo!" A heavy, labored snort echoed. The air expelled from its nostrils transformed into golden blades that shot outward.

"Ah!" The remaining disciples were pierced through and killed on the spot.

The red-haired elder was dumbfounded. It wasn't dead? To think it could survive being refined into liquid—this vitality was, to say the least, stubborn! The elder’s body trembled; his eyes filled with indignation, shame, and complex emotions. Only now did he realize he had been played. After over a hundred years of cultivation, he had been outwitted by a piece of divine metal just like a green recruit.

Realizing the situation was lost, the red-haired elder made a decisive choice and turned to flee. The Golden Immortal Ox let out a long, low moo, Geng metal energy rushing from its nostrils as it gave chase. The elder’s face turned ghastly pale.

Along his escape route, he spotted Qin Ming, who was still relaxing behind a rock. A nameless rage flared in his heart. His sect had been nearly wiped out, leaving him to flee in disgrace, while this lowly rogue cultivator—who should have died at the very beginning—was just sitting there watching?

The red-haired elder, fueled by fury, reached out with his calloused hand to grab Qin Ming. "Use your body to block this calamity for me!" In his eyes, Qin Ming was nothing but an ant to be crushed at will. To his surprise, Qin Ming showed no fear at all as the palm, laden with the power of the Bitter Sea, descended. Was this the composure a low-level cultivator should have?

Indeed, in the next second, a golden light erupted from Qin Ming’s body, spreading out over a dozen yards. Vaguely, one could see golden ripples—though they looked like a small golden stream, they were terrifying enough. This was not even the full extent of Qin Ming's Golden Bitter Sea, as it was too vast to be fully manifested at once.

"You have a Golden Bitter Sea? You are a practitioner of the Bitter Sea Realm!" the red-haired elder shrieked. Such a young practitioner in the Bitter Sea Realm? Had he started cultivating in his mother's womb? This level of strength was enough to challenge them, yet he had been hiding behind a rock, playing the part of a spectator? And the Golden Immortal Ox was the same, pretending to be dead. These two were each stronger than the last, yet each acted weaker than the last. Only their Yuntian Sect had been kept in the dark—everyone else was playing the pig to eat the tiger, while only they were getting beaten.

"Zheng!" Qin Ming unleashed a sword technique—the Nine Heavens God-Slaying Sword Art, starting immediately with a powerful strike.

"Pfft!" The red-haired elder’s forehead was pierced through, his body falling limply into the Nine Dragons Heaven-Burial Cauldron.

"Moo!" The Golden Immortal Ox looked at Qin Ming with wariness. It had thought that by calculating the deaths of the Yuntian Sect’s old fools, it would be the final winner. It hadn't expected to encounter such a master.

"Whoosh!" Qin Ming summoned the Nine Dragons Heaven-Burial Cauldron, holding it in his hand. His Immortal Blood shone brilliantly, like a sun within his body. The power of the Calamity Root coursed through his veins, held in check but ready to be unleashed. He had integrated the power of the Great Calamity into his Bitter Sea as one of his manifestations. The Indestructible Emperor Scripture hummed, shrouding his body in an arcane, mysterious aura.

At this moment, he was operating at full power. This divine metal was essential for forging his own Dao sword, so he would not hold back; he had to go all out.

"Moo!" The Golden Immortal Ox called out, actively extending its spiritual sense, attempting to communicate with Qin Ming. Qin Ming accepted. The Ox offered gestures of goodwill, hoping to persuade Qin Ming to stand down and coexist peacefully, even promising to cut off a portion of its own metal as a gift.

After a moment of hesitation, Qin Ming accepted the offer. A flash of cunning appeared in the Golden Immortal Ox’s eyes. This promise was merely a delaying tactic; it was still gathering its strength. It wasn't at its peak yet, so it wasn't the time to fight. Fortunately, the human had been momentarily placated.

After a while, the Golden Immortal Ox felt it had reached its peak and prepared to strike down the human. However, the human struck first!

"Clang!" Qin Ming swung the Nine Dragons Heaven-Burial Cauldron with simple, brutal force. Under such raw impact, the Golden Immortal Ox's body shattered. It wasn't that the ox wasn't hard enough, but the Nine Dragons Heaven-Burial Cauldron was harder. Qin Ming, surging with the power of his Golden Bitter Sea, wielded the cauldron as if it were a brick.

"Bang!" The Golden Immortal Ox was battered, sent crashing to the ground in a shower of sparks. Qin Ming did not pause; he joined his fingers into a sword shape and unleashed a full-scale attack.

"Pfft!" The Golden Immortal Ox spat out mouthfuls of golden metallic blood, its vision swimming. It had calculated everything, except for the single variable of this "sacrificial" human.

Recognizing the danger, the Golden Immortal Ox, which possessed significant intelligence, begged for mercy. It claimed to know of a place deep within the Immortal Metal Grotto—a place of extreme mystery where a coffin was buried, holding the fortune of heaven and earth—and offered to lead Qin Ming there.

Qin Ming simply slammed the cauldron down, finishing off the Golden Immortal Ox and piercing its skull, causing its consciousness to collapse. There was nothing to discuss. He only coveted the Ox's physical form; as for anything else, he wanted no further entanglement. Killing it was the only way to avoid future complications.