How Much Do I Look Like My Former Self?

The Fire Spring flows along the ditches to the large Fire Field outside the village, like small streams of lava spreading out, and all the crops are growing very well.

The night fog was dyed red by the sunset, resembling a fiery sunset, and the houses at the village entrance were outlined with gold, their roof ridges and tiles glowing.

"It's almost at Tier-Two Fire Spring." Qin Ming was surprised. He had only been gone for about half a year, and there were already many more Fire Field outside the village than before.

Cao Qianqiu visited twice, and the quality of the Fire Spring was significantly improved.

Many villagers are praising the "Old Immortal."

Those few who saw the truth were unsure; the Old Immortal always left covered in blood, which meant he must have "paid a heavy price."

Shallow Night fell, the sounds of chickens and dogs filled the air, and wisps of smoke rose from the chimneys of each house, creating a vibrant atmosphere of life in this remote village.

Qin Ming returned quietly, not wanting it to become public knowledge.

He came to a hillside and looked out over Double Tree Village.

He felt that the Cui Household and some people in the Beyond the Mundane had very low moral standards, and if he became too entangled with this place, it might attract trouble.

A flash of red light appeared in the village and arrived at the village entrance in a flash. It turned out to be a Red Squirrel with fur as white as silk. It suddenly stood on one of the Black White Twin Trees.

Then it began to punch, swing its legs, and flick its tail, followed by a side somersault. Its movements were quite precise, showing that it had started practicing early in the morning.

"Hmph, ha, hey!" It actually made that sound.

"Second Mutation, that's impressive." Qin Ming nodded; this was a very inspiring squirrel.

It leaped and bounded on the Black White Tree, diligently practicing its martial arts Cultivation Method with remarkable skill.

Finally, it sat down cross-legged, as quiet as Old Monk, as if to meditate. Inadvertently, it glanced at the distant high ground, and its eyes suddenly became vacant.

The Red Squirrel left a trail of shadows on the tree before leaping down and charging towards Qin Ming.

"This little guy is so enthusiastic. He's quite affectionate towards me; he still remembers me even after half a year," Qin Ming said with a smile.

Suddenly, his smile froze. The Red Squirrel leaped up, reaching a height equivalent to a person's height, and punched him in the face.

At the same time, he sensed its emotional fluctuations.

The Red Squirrel possesses such a strong fighting spirit, practicing its boxing skills diligently every day, actually hoping to one day spar with him and give him a good beating. It vows to turn the tables and raid his burrow!

"Through wind and rain, I will rise again... Squeak." The Red Squirrel's body stiffened as it fell into the other's hands.

Qin Ming arrived first, pinching the fur on the back of its neck with two fingers and lifting it up.

"You're so ambitious just to challenge me?" Qin Ming found it absurd; this squirrel was very vengeful.

The Red Squirrel was dumbfounded. After its Second Mutation, it was powerful enough to take down all the adult men in the village, but it still couldn't do anything to the boy in front of it.

It immediately deflated and became somewhat listless.

Every morning after accompanying Xiao Wenrui to practice boxing, it would go to the Black White Tree at the village entrance for extra practice, but it was still no match for him.

Qin Ming smiled and said, "The Cultivation Method you're practicing isn't good enough; it's too ordinary. I'll leave Extraordinary Art in the village later, and you can learn it from it."

The Red Squirrel was incredibly clever. Upon hearing this, its eyes darted around, and its fighting spirit soared once more. It felt confident that it could do it again.

"Do you know where there are evil spirits in the mountains? If you don't understand, that's okay, I'll describe it again. It's that kind of dangerous place where your skin feels like it's being pricked by needles when you get close..."

A moment later, Qin Ming led the Red Squirrel into the deep mountains.

Black White Mountain seems different now; the dense forest is more vibrant, and the towering mountains seem to be breathing, as if they are gradually reviving.

Although Qin Ming's cultivation had greatly increased, reaching the Mid-Second Realm, he remained cautious and did not recklessly venture out.

Because he knew very well that the old demon in the mountain was exceptionally powerful. The White-Haired Mountain Master, the Old Weasel, and the Moon Insect were definitely in the Fourth Realm.

He searched all day but found no Evil Land.

Qin Ming frowned. That kind of place was extremely dangerous; it shouldn't have been occupied by an old demon deep in the mountains.

"Are there any Dragon Pool or Abyss abysses in the mountains?" he asked.

The Red Squirrel blinked its big eyes and shook its head, indicating that it didn't know. It was not very knowledgeable and used to only dare to move around in its own territory.

However, after thinking for a moment, it took Qin Ming to a place where there was a lake with a dark, murky surface and reeds growing all around.

The Red Squirrel's ancestors told it that the water here was dangerous.

Qin Ming perked up and took out his special fishing gear to fish here.

Finally, he actually "caught the catch"—he caught a giant turtle. It Fourth Mutation and was Spiritual Creature. As soon as it showed its head, it revealed its ferocious nature and lunged at Qin Ming.

"It'll be perfect to bring back to the village as a gift." Qin Ming had originally gone into the mountains to collect some Spiritual Matter.

The Red Squirrel drooled as it watched him collect the spiritual blood of the ferocious tortoise, and began to bow to him while squeaking incessantly.

"You're quite realistic, aren't you?"

As darkness fell, Qin Ming hunted down several more Spiritual Creature.

In the past, he and Old Man Liu had already used various means to break into the Silver-Headed Ant's nest in order to obtain the Spiritual Matter that could give people Third New Life.

These days, creatures that have mutated three or four times are nothing to him.

His only concern was that some of the Spirit Beast in the mountains were registered by the mountain lord.

Qin Ming returned at night.

The night fog was very thick; entering the village at this time wouldn't attract attention.

"Uncle!" Almost six-year-old Wen Rui opened his eyes wide, almost unable to believe that he had suddenly seen his uncle whom he had not seen for a long time.

"Uncle..." Almost three-year-old Wen Hui still had a lisp and hugged Qin Ming's leg.

"Little Qin!" Lu Ze and Liang Wanqing were overjoyed and quickly welcomed him into the house.

"Don't make a sound, I'll be leaving in a bit," Qin Ming said.

He's gained some fame now and doesn't want those around him to get involved in his feuds or become targets.

Qin Ming handed a jar of Spiritual Matter to Lu Ze, telling him that he would also leave behind a Extraordinary Art manual, which he could study together with Old Man Liu.

Finally, he patted the two children on the head and disappeared into the night.

"Uncle, I'm going to find you someday, and slowly catch up with you in the Night Mist World!" Xiao Wenrui whispered from behind.

In the dead of night, Qin Ming secretly transmitted his voice, calling out to Old Man Liu.

"Grandfather Liu!"

"My Mountain God, am I nearing the end of my life? I hear someone calling me, could it be the ghost messengers?" Old Man Liu stared wide-eyed, looking terrified.

Qin Ming pondered, could this person really be related to that high-ranking deity in Kunling? It didn't seem like it at all.

"Grandfather Liu, it's me!" Qin Ming poked his head out from outside the courtyard wall.

"Hiss, you kid, you're not dead, are you? How could you transmit your voice to my mind?" Old Man Liu came into the courtyard, looking as if he had just gasped in surprise.

Qin Ming, unsure of his situation, chuckled, "Don't curse me, old man. Is your mouth cursed? Quickly tell me something about immortality."

"It really is you!" Old Man Liu's eyes widened, then he picked up a jar of fine wine, grabbed two wine cups, and quickly walked out of the courtyard.

The mutated Big Yellow Dog behind him wagged its tail and tried to follow, but he kicked it back into its kennel.

Finally, the two arrived at the Fire Field outside the village.

"Don't you want anyone to know you're back?" Old Man Liu immediately understood what was going on when he saw his behavior.

Qin Ming said, "I'd better keep a low profile to avoid causing trouble for the village."

"Looks like you've made quite a splash out there," said Old Man Liu, whose hair was now jet black, his complexion ruddy, and all his former gray hairs were gone.

Qin Ming joked, "After the Third New Life, you didn't actually have another child late in life, did you?"

"You found out as soon as you got back?"

"Holy crap!" Qin Ming exclaimed in disbelief.

"Squeak squeak..." The red squirrel followed, clutching its belly and laughing.

Old Man Liu glared and said, "What are you laughing at? You're practically a spirit, and you still haven't managed to get a wife. Every night just as Shallow Night falls, you come to the tree in front of my house to practice your martial arts and shout. You bachelor rat!"

The Red Squirrel wanted to jump up and punch him in the face, but clearly knew he couldn't win; he'd learned his lesson before.

Eventually, it became a wine-pouring boy, carrying large wine jars and responsible for pouring wine for the two of them.

"Take it." Qin Ming gave it a jar of Spiritual Matter.

However, the Red Squirrel still wouldn't leave, eagerly waiting to learn the Extraordinary Art.

"Grandfather Liu, are you a god?" Qin Ming cut to the chase and asked abruptly.

"What did you say?" Old Man Liu was taken aback, not expecting him to ask that.

Then he stood up and said, "Wait a moment, let me think this through."

He straightened his clothes, took a deep breath, and said, "Alright, how much do I look like I used to?"

Qin Ming was startled, then, seeing the barely suppressed laughter on the old man's face, he knew that this old rascal was imitating the legend of the Yellow Weasel and making a fool of himself.

Old Man Liu asked himself the question and answered, "Am I a god? Yes!"

Qin Ming quickly corrected him, saying, "No, you don't. In this life, you want to start over. You can't rush to become a god and enter the Jade Capital."

As he spoke, he carefully observed the expression on Old Man Liu's face.

Its appearance was exactly the same as the Human-Skin Lamp seen in the thatched hut, especially since Old Liu now had a full head of black hair; there was really no difference between the two.

"What's wrong with you? You're talking so strangely, I'm completely baffled." Old Man Liu looked at him suspiciously.

Qin Ming felt that the owner of the thatched hut was not a malevolent spirit, otherwise he would not have received Great Opportunity from there.

Regardless of whether Old Man Liu had any special background or not, he decided to tell the truth.

Then, Qin Ming recounted everything he had seen in the Kunling Evil Land in one breath.

Old Man Liu was dumbfounded. Was this really so outrageous?

"My whole body was covered in goosebumps; it was absolutely terrifying for me!"

Old Man Liu's astonished expression seemed genuine; his whole body was covered in goosebumps. The thatched hut, with its Human-Skin Lantern and the escape from Jade Capital, was truly absurd and terrifying.

He quickly drank a large bowl of wine to dispel the chill from his back.

The Red Squirrel was also dumbfounded, and then jumped onto Old Man Liu's shoulder and began to massage it.

In the blink of an eye, the Motivational Mouse turned into a sycophant.

Old Man Liu said, "You're talking about things from five hundred years ago. I'm only in my seventies now, not that old!"

Qin Ming couldn't determine his true situation either. He looked like a simple old man from the countryside, very shrewd, but had nothing to do with Godlike creature.

Then, Old Man Liu frowned and said, "It was also five hundred years ago that the once-renowned Black White Mountain."

"Yes!" Qin Ming looked at him with bright eyes.

Old Man Liu said, "Don't look at me like that, it really has nothing to do with me."

Looking back, he lamented his bad luck, how even flying a kite resulted in bloodshed, how his entire hunting party was wiped out by Famous Beast, and how he was the only one who managed to escape by sheer luck. He had even gone to Red Haze City to study under a renowned master, only to have his master die suddenly in battle.

"Grandfather Liu, what's the situation up there?" Qin Ming pointed to the sky above the village.

"You ask me? Who am I supposed to ask?" Old Man Liu said, inevitably bringing up the Old Immortal Cao Qianqiu, "He's a good man. Every time he does something, our Fire Spring gets a little brighter."

"Is it feasible to train a bird to go up and take a look?" Qin Ming asked.

"I've never tried it. Why don't you toss it up and see?" Old Man Liu pointed to the Red Squirrel.

The Motivational Mouse immediately bristled. Although it didn't know what was going on up there, it certainly didn't want to fly.

"Why aren't you massaging my shoulders? You're getting all worked up over such a small thing?" Old Man Liu had been drinking to calm his nerves and was now a little drunk.

He hiccuped as he said, "If I were truly Heavenly God, and you did things for me, I'd give you a divine position later."

The Red Squirrel immediately widened its eyes, its fur stopped bristling, and it looked eager to try. Then it pointed to the night sky, indicating that it wanted to participate.

"Forget it, I'll try finding a bird next time." Qin Ming shook his head.

The Red Squirrel scribbled crookedly on the ground. "Fortune favors the bold; I'm begging the gods for blessings!"

Then it added, "Don't throw it in the center; right at the village entrance, toss it into the air carefully."

Qin Ming threw the wine jar up with all his might, and finally used the soft Heavenly Light to neutralize its falling momentum, catching it steadily.

Finally, the Red Squirrel took to the sky and disappeared into the dark night fog, far from the crucial location.

A sharp squeak echoed in the night sky, then silence. The squirrel... didn't it land?

Qin Ming was emitting a chill; was something really wrong?

"They're down," said Old Man Liu.

The Red Squirrel drifted and slid down like a falling leaf.

It was wrapped in thin lines, and above it was a kite that seemed to be dripping blood, which then fell downwards, with what appeared to be faintly glowing characters on it.