Piercing the Night

For one brief instant, Qin Ming felt as if someone had peered straight into the depths of his heart. The inferno that had swallowed the entire village two years ago seemed to blaze from his memories into reality—the scorching heat, the choking stench of burning, the shattered walls and corpses strewn everywhere, and that otherworldly Feather Robe Youth all surfaced one by one.

Yet the moment he turned around, he had already regained his composure, his heart tranquil.

Although the woman before him had seen his wretched, bedraggled state when he had been near death two years ago, she could not possibly know what he had truly experienced. If they had shared more encounters or history, they could not have met again only today while both were near Silver Vine Town.

Qin Ming put on a sincere expression and said, "Please tell me what happened, Miss Xie. Who took care of me back then? You must have seen it—my head suffered a severe blow. Even now, I have no idea what happened during those days."

Xie Lingxi planted her more than three-meter-long greatsword into the ground, glanced back at him, and said, "Back then, a man and a woman in their early thirties were traveling with you. From what they said, you were not going to make it. In the end, they could only leave you to fend for yourself."

Qin Ming pondered this and murmured, "I was already at death's door, yet they still took me on a long journey. Why?"

Xie Lingxi's glossy hair was a full seven feet long. Her features were sharply sculpted, and her beautiful eyes shone like starlight. "I only overheard a few words from far away. They wanted to take you somewhere remote, far from the dazzling cities. If you survived, it would be best for you to put down roots here."

At that moment, a slender maid came to serve tea. The two teacups on the tray differed greatly in size. She said, "My young lady gave you a pill back then to replenish your qi and blood. It was not particularly precious, but it was still a gesture of kindness."

"Ah, thank you... Miss Xie." Qin Ming immediately bowed. She had shown him kindness without mentioning it; if this maid had not come to the rear courtyard, he would never have known.

"You may leave." Xie Lingxi waved her hand, not allowing the delicate and pretty maid to say more.

Qin Ming clasped his hands and said, "Could Miss Xie please think more carefully? Were there any other details that day? I would be endlessly grateful if you could tell me."

"At the time, your clothes were ragged and stained with blood. Even when they were new, they must have been quite ordinary."

Qin Ming nodded. During his Second New Life, he had seen his childhood self, dressed in small patched clothes. It was no surprise that his younger self had not lived well. What he could not understand was why it had brought about a deadly disaster that had engulfed the whole village in flames.

After recalling it, Xie Lingxi said, "The two people taking you along had mainly come to investigate the spiritual mountains in this region that had been activated by Heavenly Light. Since they discussed hoping that you could settle in some remote place while they were traveling, they probably brought you here along the way."

She told him that the two sides had only encountered each other twice on the road. Her current account was merely speculation based on a few simple words spoken while the pair had hurried onward.

Qin Ming could not help but fall into a daze. What exactly was his relationship with that man and woman? They did not seem especially close to him, yet they had saved him.

At the same time, what was the deal with those spiritual mountains activated by Heavenly Light? He very much wanted to ask, but felt that he had already asked too many questions and that it would be impolite.

"Hehehe." In the smaller reception room at the front courtyard, the Purple-Eyed Crow laughed as it looked at the woman draped in a black fur cloak. "Those two boys took you for a young lady of the Xie Family. Caw, caw, caw..."

"Your laugh is truly awful!" The woman extended a slender, delicate finger, sending hazy light toward the crow. It immediately took flight and nimbly dodged aside.

The Purple-Eyed Crow said, "Who would have thought that two decent seedlings would emerge in such a remote place? I feel that if that foul-mouthed, sickly boy's body completely recovered and returned to its origin, he would be quite remarkable as well."

The woman said, "That boy who cannot speak properly already has a master. It is obvious that someone is using extraordinary means to help him condition his body."

The crow said, "They say that when Heavenly Light tore through the night sky two years ago, among the dozens of regions blessed by it, this place was the dimmest. Very little spiritual radiance descended here. But perhaps that was not the case at all. To think that we found two passable youths in nearby villages one after another."

The woman took a shallow sip of tea and said, "Teacher's knowledge reaches heaven and earth; his premonition should be correct. The Heavenly Light from two hundred years ago likely never erupted here. It accumulated until now, and with two Heavenly Lights of different colors now mingling, the special products born here will most likely be astonishing!"

Then the woman pulled her hood lower, rose to her feet, and said, "We should go. Senior Brother Xie will be very busy today. Who would have thought that his daughter acted on her own initiative, cutting first and reporting later, and chose the path of the Giant Spirit God? It has given him an unbearable headache."

In the end, Qin Ming could not hold himself back and asked the noble young lady before him for guidance.

She had no obligation to clear up his confusion. If she refused because of it, he would simply leave with a thick skin. So long as he himself was not embarrassed, it was nothing.

Xie Lingxi said, "After the sun set, it never rose again. The moon and the stars filling the sky all vanished. Heavenly Light is the light that unexpectedly pierces through the night curtain. It appears once every few decades to more than a century, with no pattern at all. Whenever it appears, it is extraordinary, allowing rare products to arise near the place where it descends."

Qin Ming thanked her from the bottom of his heart. She did not put on airs and had actually told him directly.

"Miss Xie is beautiful, and her heart is even kinder. Unlike..." he began. He noticed that if Xie Lingxi were proportionally shrunk down, her face would only be the size of a palm. She possessed curves of golden proportion; it was only because she had taken the Giant Spirit God path that everything about her was now much larger than normal.

"Unlike what?" Xie Lingxi asked.

"Unlike some people, who glare back twice if you happen to look at her once," Qin Ming said casually.

"You are not talking about my little martial uncle in the front courtyard, are you?" Xie Lingxi revealed an odd expression.

The woman who had just walked out of the Old Noble's residence paused, while the Purple-Eyed Crow flying low in the air burst into laughter. "Caw, caw, caw..."

"Awful to the point of death!"

Qin Ming was too embarrassed to stay for a meal at the Old Noble's home. He felt that he had gained much today; those pieces of information alone had made the trip worthwhile.

As he neared Double Tree Village, he was still thinking over what Xie Lingxi had said, pondering it for a long time along the way.

"I think that as I undergo my Third New Life, those lost memories will eventually be recovered," he murmured, his gaze resolute.

Qin Ming realized that the Old Noble was far from simple. Her daughter was extremely powerful, nearly five meters tall despite her young age, which showed how far she had traveled on the path of the Giant Spirit God.

"The woman who traveled with me had a red mole in her right eyebrow, while the man's arms were unusually long. I wonder whether they will come into the mountains this time to gather the products within the Special Nodes." Qin Ming mulled it over.

At the same time, he had learned that Moonfall City was quite large and extremely far from here.

Before long, news arrived from Cao Long, Wei Zhirou, and Mu Qing: they would enter the mountains in two days!

There was now definite news. The upper echelons of Red Haze City had reached an agreement with the Higher Lifeforms in the mountains. The territory previously expanded by the nonhuman creatures would all be abandoned.

Places where people outside the mountains had once been able to hunt and gather medicinal herbs could now be entered freely again.

However, if they wished to venture deeper into the dangerous regions of the mountains to explore, they would have to rely on their own abilities.

Of course, the Higher Lifeforms promised that they would not hunt people in secret. But there were still no few dangerous creatures in the mountains, so those outside the mountains would have to watch out for themselves.

The upper echelons of Red Haze City made the same promise: they would not hunt in secret either.

Clearly, after both sides had driven away that group of invading advanced lifeforms, the mountains would still not become peaceful. Even if the upper echelons did not engage in bloody hunts, there were still the old monsters of the great Lineages and other terrifying nonhuman creatures in the mountains. They would clash in the areas where the night fog was thickest.

Once one ventured deep inside, bloody conflict would be unavoidable. No one would care what status or background one had.

"I can lead the way, but only through the outer areas. I will not set foot in those unknown regions!" Qin Ming immediately informed Mu Qing and the others.

"Alas, we do not dare venture too deep either. That is the territory of the old monsters—they will kill until they go mad," Mu Qing, Cao Long, Wei Zhirou, and the others said wistfully.

More importantly, quite a few people from other regions had also rushed over. Even the outer areas were no longer so safe.

That was because the news had spread: rare products had already been born in some Special Nodes and could be gathered.

Over the next two days, Qin Ming saw all manner of movements from every side.

Not to mention the outsiders crossing the river like fierce dragons—even local organizations were acting actively, such as the Three-Eyed Sect and Golden Chicken Ridge.

The Three-Eyed Sect was extremely mysterious. It was said to have members even in distant cities, while the branch developed in this region was only an outpost.

In ordinary times, the sect's local members loved borrowing the authority of their superiors to oppress others. Before any conflict, they would always take the initiative to tell people that they came from the Three-Eyed Sect, that top experts stood above them, and that others should weigh the matter carefully.

But today, they had changed their ways. Someone had come to speak with Xu Yueping, and it was no longer so simple and crude.

"We are all locals. If anyone makes a special discovery, we should exchange what we have. The rare products of this place should naturally remain in our own land. Look at those mountains—they stand there and will never move away, accompanying you and me for our entire lives. Even after death, we will sleep forever at their side. And the Three-Eyed Sect has taken root here too; like those mountains, it will endure eternally and remain forever..."

Old Man Liu looked at the scar-faced man and truly could not listen any longer. "Scarface the Second, you might as well be as straightforward as before. You should roll up your sleeves, plant your blade on the table, put one foot on the stool, and threaten us: if we find Special Nodes after entering the mountains, we must tell you. Otherwise, once the people from Red Haze City leave, you and the mountains will both remain here forever, and you will retaliate against us. Is that what you mean?"

"Yes, that was actually how I wanted to put it, but those above said not to be so crude this time. It is enough that you understand. I am leaving!" Scarface the Second of the Three-Eyed Sect turned and departed.

Not long afterward, people from Golden Chicken Ridge also came. They had once been great bandits. Though they had been recruited, they still made the nearby villages and towns wary.

That was because the Golden Chicken Knights cultivated by Golden Chicken Ridge were fierce and especially suited for assassination in mountain forests. The golden ground-running chickens were Second Mutation creatures, and together with the masters riding their backs, they were exceedingly dangerous.

"We will enter the mountains soon..." You Liangyun sat in the Quiet Room. On the table before him was a jade jar containing some kind of Spiritual Matter. After consuming it, he could undergo a Second New Life. There were still two days before entering the mountains, enough for his life level to undergo a complete elevation.

Originally, he had not wanted to do it so quickly because he had wanted to further temper the foundation of his New Life.

But now his expression shifted between light and shadow, sometimes revealing coldness and sometimes hesitation. If he could not travel with that woman to Flowing Light City, he would be truly unwilling to accept it.

"You have investigated everything, right?" You Liangyun asked the people outside the Quiet Room.

"Yes, we have checked everything. After entering the mountains, it would be best not to look for him during the first two days. He will most likely travel with Mu Qing, Cao Long, and the others. Once that group becomes familiar with the terrain, we can probably go find him."

"Good!"

Two days later, people from every faction began entering the mountains.

Qin Ming was left speechless by the sight of Old Man Liu wearing armor, carrying a Thick-backed Greatsword on his back, and sitting atop the yellowish-brown dog he kept.

He was not the only one. Yang Yongqing carried twin blades and rode atop the Black Mountain Goat, which stood taller than an adult's shoulder, transforming into a Black Goat Knight.

"Into the mountains!" Cao Long, Wei Zhirou, Mu Qing, and the others set out with their teams. They were only a small portion of Red Haze City's younger generation; there were still larger forces from the great organizations and Lineages.

"Careful! There are people here! Two-legged beasts have appeared!" Not long after entering the mountains, a Talking Finch began shrieking above Qin Ming and the others.

This was a type of bird that could speak human language. It was cunning as a thief and flew incredibly fast. Now, it was reporting their presence to the creatures in the mountains.

The key words were "people" and "two-legged beasts." The mutated nonhuman creatures in the mountains could understand these transliterated terms.

"Shoot it down!" Cao Long said.

"There is a huge lump of two-legged beasts here, bigger than a bear over three meters tall!" Without question, this Talking Finch had mutated. It was not only passing messages to the nonhuman creatures in the mountains, but also sending information to other human teams, hoping to provoke them into fighting one another.

Cao Long flew into a rage upon hearing this and personally drew his bow and nocked an arrow.

Rumble!

Suddenly, Five-Colored Haze soared into the sky from the depths of the mountains, instantly shocking everyone. They had only just entered the mountains, and the most mysterious product was already ripening and about to emerge?!

"My Mountain God, the Land of Four Illuminations by Five-Colored Haze has appeared directly! Charge!"