Heartbeat

The tall old man rushed over with alarming speed, like a Black Tiger pouncing on its prey. His cold eyes would make ordinary people's legs go weak.

Qin Ming gripped the Long-handled Black Gold Hammer, like an agile cheetah. He first leaped forward swiftly, then quickly changed direction, not confronting him head-on. He swung the Long-handled Black Gold Hammer from the side, aiming at the opponent.

The old man frowned. The young man's speed was no less than his own. They were about to collide, yet the opponent could instantly change direction, passing him on the right and swinging a hammer at him! Qin Ming felt the intense vibration from the metal handle. The old man had actually struck the side of the Black Gold Hammer with his bare hand, which was quite terrifying.

His first hammer strike was just a test, to gauge how extraordinary the Heavenly Light Force of a Third New Life cultivator was. The result made his expression even more serious.

The old man rushed past, his body protected by white Heavenly Light. The footprints on the ground were full of cracks, showing how much force he exerted when running.

He was deeply surprised. If it were any other low-level New Life cultivator, their weapon would have been knocked out of their hands by his Heavenly Light Force long ago.

After the two passed each other, they essentially swapped positions.

The old man looked down at the Golden Chicken Knight's mashed face, a miserable sight, no longer resembling a human. He looked up, his eyes extremely cold.

Qin Ming sighed. He was just tidying up the Golden Chicken Knight's remains, not wanting anyone to discover the abnormal state of his death too soon, but this old man had barged in.

He had originally planned to observe the Third New Life cultivator in secret, probing cautiously, but now he was directly facing a tough battle.

The two silently moved their feet, slowly approaching each other, like two dangerous beasts gathering momentum, ready to pounce at any moment.

"I am from Red Haze City. Are you not afraid of retaliation for killing me?" Qin Ming suddenly said.

He was wearing the armor that Cao Long and Mu Qing had given him, which was indeed deceptive. Of course, he didn't think it could deter the opponent.

But it would make the opponent hesitate for a moment, to weigh the situation. After all, Red Haze City was the center of this region, and the powerful families there were not to be trifled with.

But such a seasoned character would ultimately not be soft-hearted.

As Qin Ming finished speaking, he suddenly launched an attack.

As expected, the opponent only paused slightly, but that was enough for Qin Ming. He seized the opportunity to strike first, bringing down the hammer.

The two were already very close, and now that Qin Ming suddenly attacked, the old man could only passively resist, as it was slightly too late to dodge.

"Dong!"

A muffled sound echoed in the empty cave, and the ground trembled slightly. The old man wrapped one palm around the hammer, and the other hand was already extended.

However, the force of this hammer strike was far greater than the earlier test. Qin Ming went all out, causing the white light on the old man's palm to surge and almost dissipate.

The old man wanted to wrap the hammer like wrapping a dumpling and knock it away, but the "dumpling skin" almost broke.

He quickly retreated. The strength of this young man who had not cultivated Heavenly Light was outrageously great, causing his palm to throb with pain and numbness.

Since Qin Ming had seized the initiative, he naturally wouldn't hesitate at all, one hammer after another, completely in a posture of a novice beating a master to death with random strikes.

Each hammer strike erupted with the sound of wind and thunder, fast and fierce, making the old man almost vomit blood. He moved horizontally like a ghost, retreating, but still couldn't shake him off. The opponent completely kept up with his speed.

Qin Ming was secretly shocked. The opponent had already taken seven of his hammer strikes, and had blocked them all with his bare hands. This was truly somewhat perverted.

In terms of pure strength, even if the opponent was a Third New Life cultivator, he was no match for him at all. But with the protection and blessing of Heavenly Light, the opponent could withstand such a heavy Black Gold Hammer.

Qin Ming was truly tempted, yearning for Heavenly Light to be born within his own body.

The old man's face turned red from the domineering force. He alternated his hands to strike the hammer, but he still couldn't bear it. Both hands were trembling.

At this moment, he no longer cared about face. He finally found a suitable terrain, with no rocks obstructing him. He pounced towards the ground on one side, rolling and tumbling, rushing out like a swimming snake.

Although battered, he had finally broken free from his opponent's rhythm.

He lowered his head to look at his hands. Even with the nourishment of Heavenly Light protecting his flesh, they were still red and swollen, and he felt like his bones might be injured.

"What a freak, and I still couldn't smash him?" Qin Ming's expression wasn't great as he quickly closed in.

The old man's eyes were cold and stern. He really wanted to say, who's the freak here? Someone who hasn't cultivated Heavenly Light actually has strength at this level.

He had already drawn the long saber from his back, secretly vowing that he would never carry a saber on his back again. In critical moments, he didn't even have time to draw it. Just now, his two hands were like windmills, continuously waving out, colliding with the Black Gold Hammer that was constantly smashing towards his face.

After the old man held the saber in his hand, he used Heavenly Light to clear the blocked blood, and the pain was temporarily relieved.

"It's a pity that this old man's Heavenly Light Force isn't well-practiced, otherwise, why would I need a weapon!" he said. Those who have undergone the Third New Life will give birth to Heavenly Light, but that mysterious Heavenly Light Force is very difficult to master.

Qin Ming knew that as his realm continued to improve, cultivating some rare and special Heavenly Light Force could tear weapons apart like paper.

But wanting to reach that level in the Third New Life stage was obviously impossible. Even if he had learned the so-called Giant Spirit God Force and Tathagata Force, it wouldn't work; it required the support of a corresponding high realm.

Qin Ming naturally wouldn't give him time to recover his hands. Wielding the Long-handled Black Gold Hammer and gripping the short sword, he chopped, smashed, slashed, and bombarded, hitting him fifty-eight times with the hammer and slashing him forty-two times with the sword in one breath, not giving him any time to breathe.

The old man was furious. When had he ever been so passive in this area, especially being suppressed and beaten by a teenager? Immediately, his entire body's Heavenly Light blazed fiercely, and he counterattacked valiantly.

Soon, he was shocked. The teenager opposite him had changed his previous frenzied stance. Although the Long-handled Black Gold Hammer was still powerful, there had been an astonishing change. This didn't look like hammer techniques anymore, but like saber techniques.

When Qin Ming swung the hammer at high speed, his wrist was still shaking violently, as if he were vibrating a saber. The hammer made a buzzing sound when it smashed down, carrying afterimages, and there was a terrifying tearing force when it hit the saber.

The long saber in the old man's hand was almost blown away, and his expression was solemn.

Qin Ming changed again. The hammer was like a falling thunder, one after another. The terrifying Black Gold luster crisscrossed in the underground space, all because his speed was too fast. The terrifying trajectory of the hammer was dense and intertwined, like a burst of lightning.

With a bang, the old man was blasted away, crashing into the stone wall. His right hand was trembling slightly. Even with the protection of Heavenly Light, he couldn't bear it.

His eyes were cold as he leaped from the stone wall and took the initiative to launch a fierce attack. This wave of counterattacks did make Qin Ming feel a little strenuous.

The old guy had gone mad, holding the long saber in one hand and using the other hand to directly confront his hammer again.

With a clang, sparks flew from Qin Ming's shoulder. The old man's left hand brushed against his armor, directly blowing away four or five pieces of armor. This scene made his pupils shrink, and he was very wary of the power of the Heavenly Light Force.

Qin Ming became cautious, always maintaining a certain distance from the old man, no longer giving him the opportunity to get close. The hammer in his hand was swung into a whirlwind, and dense hammer shadows continued to bombard forward.

The old man was certain that if he didn't have the Heavenly Light blessing, he would have been blown up by this kid long ago. What kind of monster was this? He hadn't even given birth to Heavenly Light yet, and he was already so outrageous.

A moment later, in the heavy hammer shadows, the hammer in Qin Ming's hand roared, like clouds breaking through the sun, erupting with the strongest hammer strike from the hammer shadows.

His speed was too fast, and the other hammer shadows hadn't dissipated yet, like electric light lingering. As the main hammer slammed down, this time the long saber in the old man's hand almost flew out. He mobilized Heavenly Light to resist, but he was exhausted as a result.

Qin Ming swung such nine heavy hammers in a row, and the old man couldn't bear it any longer. The Heavenly Light on his body dimmed, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Seeing this, Qin Ming swung his hammer again, sweeping across, this time with a fierce saber intent, like a bolt of lightning tearing through the night, causing the entire dark underground cave to be filled with flying sand and rocks and a violent wind in the roaring hammer sound.

The collision between the hammer and the long saber was deafening. The old man finally couldn't hold the saber anymore. His arm cramped, the long saber fell to the ground, and he coughed up blood.

Qin Ming swung his hammer continuously, forcibly shattering the old man's protective Heavenly Light!

With a puff, the old man's right hand instantly became a bloody mess. Without the blessing of Heavenly Light Force, he could no longer block the hammer's strike, and his finger bones were broken.

In the next moment, the old man's mouth was full of blood foam, and he felt a sharp pain in his chest. His entire chest had collapsed, and he was smashed seven or eight meters away by the hammer.

"Third New Life cultivators are really hard to kill!" Qin Ming gasped, feeling quite tired. The Heavenly Light Force was very tricky.

The old man wasn't completely dead yet, angered to the point of spitting out another mouthful of blood, feeling that he wasn't speaking human language. How could someone who hadn't cultivated the Heavenly Light Force believe they could kill a Third New Life cultivator? However, he felt a burst of frustration and resentment; he really was about to be defeated by such a person and die.

Qin Ming stepped forward, preparing to finish him off with the hammer, and said, "I'll send you off with a flat meat pie face too."

"I... damn you!" The old man coughed blood, struggling to curse, utterly unwilling to die in the hands of a youth like this.

"The people of Golden Chicken Ridge are too crude, cursing at every turn," Qin Ming shook his head, and the Long-handled Black Gold Hammer in his hand fell, smashing his face flat, his frontal bone collapsing.

He began to search the old man's body and tidy up his remains.

"If those mutated beasts rush in later, they should be able to take care of two corpses for me."

Qin Ming appeared in various parts of the underground cavern, his brow deeply furrowed. He had discovered at least three old men in other passages, likely all Third New Life cultivators.

"This is difficult!" He didn't want to take risks and be aggressive.

"Hmm?" He saw another acquaintance, the Golden Chicken Knight who had once berated them and whipped an old man, leaving a deep bloody gash on his face.

"Boy, where have all the villagers gone? Come here, I'm asking you!"

Qin Ming directly unleashed a Great Qin Flying Hammer, and with a bang, the area fell silent.

He dragged the man's corpse into the darkness.

The underground cave had various spiderweb-like passages, and a group of Heterogeneous Species charged in from one of the paths, throwing the place into complete chaos.

Qin Ming retreated into the distance, entering an area interwoven with Heavenly Light, he didn't need to hunt down the people from Golden Chicken Ridge and the Three-Eyed Sect for the time being, and began to seriously search for mysterious resources.

He continued to go deeper, walking far.

Strands of light mist flowed, preventing the underground world from being so dark.

"Could my luck really be turning around?" Qin Ming felt a faint fluctuation in a place where the Heavenly Light was relatively dense.

Soon after, he crushed a fist-sized rock, revealing a blue, glowing luster, seemingly another kind of Jade Iron, about the size of half a mountain walnut.

"It can only be made into an arrowhead," Qin Ming was still very happy, it was good to have something, and it was extremely precious.

"Heh, it's really a double blessing!" Two people walked out of another passage, looking at the Jade Iron in Qin Ming's hand, revealing joy.

Qin Ming recognized them at a glance as people from Red Haze City. Unknowingly, he had walked so far and run into another group.

"Oh, you're Qin Ming?" One of the young men revealed a strange expression.

Qin Ming carefully looked at him, he remembered this young man, he had been watching from the sidelines when he fought Nie Rui and Shen Jiayun.

"Oh, this is the young hunter you mentioned who has amazing spearmanship and defeated Nie Rui and Shen Jiayun?" Another middle-aged man spoke.

He looked to be in his thirties, wearing scarlet armor, revealing a faint smile, and said, "Qin Ming, right? Come over and let's talk."

Qin Ming didn't move, standing in place.

Earlier, his impression of the nobles of Red Haze City wasn't bad, from Cao Long, Mu Qing, Wei Zhirou to Nie Rui, Shen Jiayun, he thought they were all good.

But right now, he felt malice from the two nobles in front of him, probably because they had their eyes on the Blue Jade Iron in his hand.

Clearly, not everyone was kind, or perhaps some smiles and elegance were only suitable for showing in front of people. In a deserted place, like this underground world, those false masks could be torn off.

Qin Ming remembered the young noble in front of him, after he defeated the Gemini, he had even chatted with him warmly when they parted.

"Qin Ming, come over here and give us a hand." The young noble spoke, without the smile he had shown that day, his tone quite indifferent.

"Third New Life?" Qin Ming ignored him, looking at the middle-aged man in his thirties. When this man gently clenched his fist, Heavenly Light emerged.

"Yes, you should maintain due reverence for someone like me. In this dark underground world, those boasts about you are useless," the middle-aged man said.

Qin Ming didn't speak, walking towards them.

The two of them never worried about him escaping. After all, when Qin Ming fought Nie Rui and Shen Jiayun, his strength was close to seven hundred pounds, a young man who had only undergone New Life once.

Qin Ming wanted to approach the two, but the middle-aged man glanced at him, and he didn't get any closer, following them to a very open area.

"That is..." Qin Ming was shocked. The light and mist ahead were extremely dense, with a large amount of vapor rising. In the middle was a Three-Colored Flower, dazzling and about to bloom.

The middle-aged man smiled, "Little brother Qin, I see that after you were eroded by Heavenly Light, your body seems to be fine. Help us out. After this Three-Colored Flower is completely mature, help us pluck it from the Heavenly Light."

"What is it used for?" Qin Ming asked.

The middle-aged man said, "It's very useful. It can help people cultivate the Heavenly Light Force. After reaching the Third New Life, who wouldn't want to cultivate a few more Heavenly Light Forces? But it's difficult to cultivate just one. This flower is extraordinary!"

"It's really tempting!" Qin Ming exclaimed.