Piercing the Night

For a moment, Qin Ming felt as if someone had seen through his heart. The fire that had engulfed the entire village two years ago seemed to burn from his memory into reality, with scorching heat and pungent burning smells, along with broken walls, corpses everywhere, and that ethereal, feathered-robed youth, all appearing one by one.

But by the time he turned around, he had regained his composure, his heart at peace.

Although the woman before him had seen his disheveled and embarrassed state near death two years ago, she couldn't possibly understand his true experiences. If they had had more interaction and history, it was impossible that they wouldn't have met again until today, despite being in the vicinity of Silver Vine Town.

Qin Ming wore a sincere expression and said, "Please tell me what happened, Miss Xie. Who took care of me back then? As you can see, my head was severely injured, and I still don't know what happened during those days."

Xie Lingxi thrust her three-meter-long greatsword into the ground, glanced back at him, and said, "A man and a woman were traveling with you. They looked to be in their early thirties. From what they said, you couldn't hold on any longer, and in the end, they could only leave you to fend for yourself."

Qin Ming pondered, muttering to himself, "I was already on the verge of death, yet they were still taking me on a long journey. Why?"

Xie Lingxi's long black hair was more than seven feet long, and her features were very three-dimensional. Her beautiful eyes were as bright as stars. She said, "I only heard a few words from a distance. They wanted to take you to a remote place, far away from the brilliant cities, and hoped that you could survive and settle down here."

At this moment, a slender maid came to serve tea. The two teacups on the tray were of noticeably different sizes. She said, "My lady once gave you a pill to replenish qi and blood. Although it wasn't very precious, it was a token of goodwill."

"Ah, thank you... Miss Xie." Qin Ming immediately bowed. The other party had shown kindness but hadn't mentioned it. If this maid hadn't come to the backyard, he wouldn't have known.

"You may leave," Xie Lingxi waved her hand, not letting the pretty maid say anything more.

Qin Ming cupped his hands and said, "Could you please ask Miss Xie to recall any other details from that day? I would be grateful if you could tell me."

"At that time, you were dressed in rags and covered in blood. It was obvious that even when your clothes were new, they were very ordinary."

Qin Ming nodded. During his Second New Life, he had seen himself as a child, wearing patched-up clothes. It wasn't surprising that his childhood hadn't been good. He just couldn't understand why he had attracted such a disaster, with the entire village being engulfed in flames.

After recalling, Xie Lingxi said, "The two people who were with you were mainly exploring the spiritual mountains in this area that had been activated by the Heavenly Light. Since they had discussed it on the road, hoping that you could settle down in a remote place, they probably brought you here along the way."

She explained that they had only met twice on the road, and now she was just making guesses based on the few simple words the two people had said while hurrying along.

Qin Ming couldn't help but be lost in thought upon hearing this. What was the relationship between that man and woman and himself? They didn't seem very close, but they had saved him.

At the same time, what was the significance of those spiritual mountains activated by the Heavenly Light? He really wanted to ask, but he felt that asking too much would be impolite.

"Hehehehe." In the front yard, in the smaller living room, the Purple-Eyed Crow was laughing, looking at the woman wearing a black fur cloak, and said, "Those two young men mistook you for the Xie Family's young lady, gaga gaga..."

"Your laughter is really unpleasant!" The woman stretched out her slender fingers, pointing towards the crow with a hazy light. It immediately flew up, nimbly dodging.

The Purple-Eyed Crow said, "I didn't expect that such a remote area would produce two good seedlings. I feel that if that other sick, foul-mouthed young man's body completely recovers and restores its origin, he will also be very remarkable."

The woman said, "That young man who is very bad at speaking already has a master. It can be seen that someone is using extraordinary means to help him regulate his body."

The crow said, "It is said that when the Heavenly Light pierced the night sky two years ago, among the dozens of areas that received its grace, this place was the dimmest, with very little spiritual light shining down. But it may not be the case. I actually saw two fairly decent young men in the nearby villages."

The woman took a sip of tea and said, "The teacher is learned and wise. His premonition should be accurate. The Heavenly Light from two hundred years ago probably never erupted here, but has accumulated until now. Now that two different colors of Heavenly Light have merged, the special products born here will probably be very amazing!"

Then the woman pulled down the brim of her cloak, stood up, and said, "We should go. Today, Senior Brother Xie will be very busy. I didn't expect that his daughter would act on her own initiative, reporting only after the event, and chose the path of the Giant Spirit God, which is now giving him a headache."

In the end, Qin Ming couldn't help but ask the noble lady before him for guidance.

The other party had no obligation to help him solve his doubts. If he was rejected because of this, he would just leave shamelessly. As long as he himself wasn't embarrassed, it wouldn't matter.

Xie Lingxi said, "After the sun sets, it never rises again. The moon and the stars all disappear. The Heavenly Light is the light that unexpectedly Pierces the Night, occurring irregularly every few decades to hundreds of years. It is very extraordinary and can allow rare products to be born near the place where it descends."

Qin Ming expressed his sincere gratitude, as the other party wasn't putting on airs and directly informed him.

"Miss Xie is beautiful, and her heart is even kinder, not like..." he began, realizing that if Xie Lingxi were scaled down proportionally, her face would be the size of a palm, possessing a golden ratio figure, only because she took the path of the Giant Spirit God, everything about her was now much larger than ordinary people.

"Not like what?" Xie Lingxi asked.

"Not like some people, who glare back twice as hard if you accidentally glance at them once," Qin Ming said casually.

"You're not talking about my little martial aunt in the front yard, are you?" Xie Lingxi revealed a strange expression.

The woman who had just walked out of the Old Noble's residence paused, and the Purple-Eyed Crow flying in the low sky laughed, "Caw, caw, caw..."

"Sounds awful!"

Qin Ming was too embarrassed to freeload a meal at the Old Noble's house, feeling that he had gained a lot today; the information alone made the trip worthwhile.

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

"I think, with my Third New Life, those lost memories will eventually be recovered," he murmured, his gaze firm.

Qin Ming realized that the Old Noble was quite extraordinary, and her daughter was very strong. Being not very old and already nearly five meters tall indicated that she had gone far on the path of the Giant Spirit God.

"The two people who brought me on the road, the woman has a red mole in her right eyebrow, and the man has particularly long arms. I wonder if they will come to the mountains this time to pick products from special Nodes," Qin Ming mused.

At the same time, he already knew that Moonfall City was not small in scale and was very far from here.

Soon, news came from Cao Long, Wei Zhirou, and Mu Qing that they would enter the mountains in two days! Now there was definite news that the higher-ups of Red Haze City had reached an agreement with the higher-level beings in the mountains, and they would abandon all the territories that the aliens had expanded earlier.

In the past, the places where people from outside the mountains could hunt and gather herbs were now open for anyone to enter.

However, if they wanted to go deeper and explore the dangerous areas of the mountains, they would have to rely on their own abilities.

Of course, the higher-level beings promised that they would not hunt in secret, but there were still many other dangerous creatures in the mountains, so people from outside the mountains had to fend for themselves.

The higher-ups of Red Haze City also made a promise that they would not secretly take action either.

Obviously, even after both sides drove away the group of advanced beings from outside, the mountains would still not be peaceful. Even if the higher-ups did not engage in bloody hunts, there were still old fogeys from various families and other terrifying aliens in the mountains who would clash in the areas with the thickest night fog.

As long as you went deep, you couldn't avoid bloody conflicts, regardless of your identity or background.

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

"Alas, we don't dare to venture deep either. That's the territory of the old guys; they'll go crazy and start killing," Mu Qing, Cao Long, Wei Zhirou, and the others said with disappointment.

The main thing was that many people from other regions had also rushed over, so even the outer areas were not that safe.

Because the news had spread that rare products had already been born in some special Nodes and could be harvested.

In the following two days, Qin Ming saw various actions from all sides.

Not to mention those foreign over-the-river dragons, even the local organizations were actively taking action, such as the Three-Eyed Sect and Golden Chicken Ridge.

The Three-Eyed Sect was very mysterious. It was said that it had members in distant cities, and the one that had developed in this area was just a stronghold.

On weekdays, the members of the sect in this area liked to use the power of the higher-ups to suppress people. Before conflicts arose, they would always proactively tell others that they were from the Three-Eyed Sect and that there were top experts sitting above them, so they should weigh their options.

But today, they changed their ways. Someone came to communicate with Xu Yueping, and they were no longer so simple and crude.

"We are all locals. After making special discoveries, we share information. The local rare products should naturally stay in our area. Look, the mountains are right there, never moving away, accompanying you and me throughout our lives. Even in death, we will be buried alongside them. And the Three-Eyed Sect is rooted here, as eternal as the mountains, and will continue to exist..."

Old Man Liu looked at the man with a scar on his face, unable to listen any longer, and said, "Scarface the Second, why don't you just be as straightforward as before? You should roll up your sleeves, stick your knife on the table, put your foot on the stool, and threaten us, telling us to inform you if we find special Nodes after entering the mountain. Otherwise, after the people from Red Haze City leave, you will still exist here as long as the mountains, and you will retaliate against us, isn't that what you mean?"

"Yes, I actually wanted to say it that way, but the higher-ups said not to be crude this time. Just understand the meaning. I'm leaving!" The Three-Eyed Sect's Scarface the Second turned and left.

Not long after, the people from Golden Chicken Ridge also arrived. They used to be bandits, and although they were recruited, they were still feared by the nearby villages and towns.

Because the Golden Chicken Ridge trained Golden Chicken Knights who were very fierce and suitable for assassinations in the mountains and forests. The golden Walking Chicken corresponded to Second New Life mutated creatures, and with the master on its back, they were quite dangerous.

"I'm about to enter the mountain soon..." You Liangyun sat in a quiet room. On the table in front of him was a jade jar containing some kind of spiritual substance. After consuming it, he could undergo Second New Life. There were still two days before entering the mountain, enough time for his life level to be fully elevated.

Originally, he didn't want to do it so quickly, because he wanted to temper the foundation of New Life further.

But now his expression was uncertain, sometimes revealing coldness, and sometimes hesitation. If he couldn't go to Flowing Light City with that woman, he would be truly unwilling.

"Have you all investigated everything?" You Liangyun asked the person outside the quiet room.

"Yes, we have investigated everything clearly. After entering the mountain, it's best not to look for him in the first two days. He will most likely be with Mu Qing, Cao Long, and the others. After that group becomes familiar with the terrain, you can probably go look for him."

"Good!"

Two days later, people from all walks of life began to enter the mountain.

To Qin Ming's speechless surprise, Old Man Liu wore armor, carried a thick-backed broadsword, and sat on the back of his yellow-brown dog.

Not only him, Yang Yongqing, carrying dual blades, rode on the back of a Black Mountain Goat that was taller than an adult's shoulder, transforming into a Black Goat Knight.

"Enter the mountain!" Cao Long, Wei Zhirou, Mu Qing, and others set off with their teams. They were only a small part of the young forces from Red Haze City. There were even larger groups from various organizations and families.

"Attention, there are people here, two-legged beasts are lurking!" Not long after entering the mountain, a Talking Finch shouted loudly in the sky above Qin Ming and the others.

This was a kind of bird that could speak human language, extremely cunning, and flew at an incredibly fast speed. Now it was sending messages to the creatures in the mountains.

The keywords were "people" and "two-legged beasts." The mutated aliens in the mountains could understand these transliterated words.

"Shoot it down!" Cao Long said.

"There is a large pile of two-legged beasts here, bigger than a three-meter-tall bear!" Without a doubt, this Talking Finch had mutated. It was not only sending messages to the aliens in the mountains but also sending information to other human teams, hoping they would fight among themselves.

Cao Long was furious when he heard this and personally drew his bow and arrow.

Rumble!

Suddenly, Five-Colored Haze soared into the sky from the depths of the mountain, shocking everyone. Had the most mysterious product matured and was about to be born so soon after just starting to enter the mountain?! "My Mountain God, the land illuminated by the Five-Colored Haze has actually appeared directly. Charge!"