Almost Rose as a Corpse

At this time of year, the Earth Haze, and the fields are sprinkled with sunlight and rain. The dark clouds in the sky are visible, and the first Spring Thunder rumbles, with faint flashes of lightning in the distance.

With a whoosh, a large group of people, both men and women, appeared around Qin Ming and rushed into the Thunderfire Alchemy Hall, all of them extremely nervous.

"What's the rush? The Spring Thunder has just begun; the real 'explosion' is still some time away. How the Heavenly Elephant evolve depends on the Earth Light." The seventy-two-year-old Old Zhao really came. He had said at Drunken Haze Tavern that he would risk his life in the Thunderfire Alchemy Hall this year, hoping that the withered tree would Withered Tree Meets Spring.

"You are still too young. You don't usually go into the Fire Field, observe the Earth Haze, or distinguish the seasons. Although the light and rain from the dormant underground Fire Spring rising to the surface have already stirred up Heavenly Elephant, it's still lacking in the right timing."

A group of old men walked in, all of them dressed in their burial clothes in advance, which made the group of young men in the Thunderfire Alchemy Hall feel very gloomy and unlucky.

"Don't rush, we'll definitely have to wait. Everyone still has time to write their wills, eat and drink something, and not skimp on themselves before they go. They can even think about whether they really want to die."

Led by Old Zhao, a dozen or so old men, dressed in funeral clothes and adorned with jade ornaments, also carried some of their favorite items, ready to "take them away."

"Are you planning to use the Thunderfire Alchemy Hall to cremate yourselves?" a burly man with a full beard asked, his temper not very good, feeling offended.

"Young man, are you getting impatient? I mean no harm, but based on past experience, it's good if one of us survives every few years. I reckon we're destined to be companions on the Road to the Underworld, so let's get to know each other beforehand and build a good relationship."

A group of young men were left speechless, because although his words were unpleasant to hear, they were indeed the truth.

"If only I had dressed up in gold and silver beforehand, even if I died here, I wouldn't have wasted my life," a young man sighed.

Just then, an old man with almost no teeth asked the people outside the hall, "Has my Golden Phoebe Coffin arrived yet?"

The group of young men in the Thunderfire Alchemy Hall remained silent; these old guys had probably even arranged their burial goods and gravesites.

"Don't be shy, everyone. Come, let's have some food and drinks. We're ' Death Friends,' we're all One of Us," another old man said, having already ordered someone to bring over plenty of fine wine and delicacies.

A group of young adults were silent, seemingly far less detached than the group of old men. They viewed life as a grand dream, ready to depart calmly and end their lives with equanimity.

"You've even prepared burial clothes and a coffin, knowing there's little hope, so why did you still come here to suffer? Wouldn't it be better to avoid being struck by lightning and keep your body intact?"

"How will you know if you don't try? What if it works? In this world, nothing is ever truly safe. Who doesn't want to be that 'one'?"

A group of people sat down, and after careful counting, there were sixty-nine people in total, roughly the same as in previous years. The group of Death Friends let loose, and regardless of age or gender, they started eating and drinking, with some even reminiscing about their past.

Qin Ming kept looking out of the Golden Hall. Where had the corpse collector Xu Sheng had found for him gone? He hoped he wouldn't mess things up; he felt something was off.

"Young man, you seem quite young. Why are you risking your life so early?" an old man asked.

At this moment, Qin Ming's long black hair was disheveled, covering most of his face, and his face was dirty, but the old man still felt that he was very young.

Qin Ming sighed, "There's no way around it. A colossal beast, thousands of years old, is coldly watching me from afar, and I don't know what it intends to do to me. If I don't raise my life level as soon as possible, I won't be able to control my own destiny."

Since we're all about to be separated by death, it doesn't matter what he says now.

"Young man, you're only fifteen or sixteen, or even younger. What brings you here?" Old Zhao asked a taciturn young man beside him.

The boy named Qian Cheng said blankly, "They say I'm stupid, they always bully and beat me, and force me to do things for them. I don't want to be kicked or slapped anymore. Anyway, Grandma is gone, and I'm all alone. I came here to try my luck."

"This... sigh! Child, you should leave here. You can come to my house, and I'll arrange a job feeding the horses for you," said Old Zhao.

"No, I won't let people pity me. Friendships will eventually fade with time," said the taciturn young man, Qian Cheng.

Qin Ming was surprised, realizing that he wasn't stupid.

"The Spring Thunder has already sounded, why hasn't it struck yet? It's so torturous!" said a fierce-looking man with tattoos on his face, who looked like a prisoner.

Sensing the strange looks from others, he said, "Stop looking. I'm just a death row inmate, sent here to take the fall. If I survive, I won't be executed."

"This is Medicine Man, Thunder Meat!" an old man muttered under his breath.

"What did you say?" the burly man asked.

"Nobles have done this every year, sending condemned prisoners here so that some Heavenly Light can still remain, only to feed the corpses to other creatures later."

"It's not necessarily because they're fed to alien species. Those with strong teeth and a fierce enough nature might eat them themselves."

When the burly man heard these words, he was horrified and collapsed to the ground. He thought it would be better to wait for execution!

Now look what's happened! First he's going to be struck by lightning, then he'll either be fed to some strange creature or end up in the belly of Old Noble. It's truly a miserable fate.

"No, I quit! I'm leaving the Thunderfire Alchemy Hall!" he shouted as he stood up.

"What are you shouting for? Your family has already accepted the money, and your son has already started school. Are you going to back out now?" Someone approached from a distance.

The burly man slumped down, remaining silent and motionless.

Clearly, he was not an isolated case. There were more than a dozen people in the Thunderfire Alchemy Hall who looked ashen-faced as he was, all of whom had been sent in by nobles or wealthy people.

After Qin Ming had eaten and drunk his fill, he went to search for treasures in the black sea of emotions. It didn't matter if he didn't find any, because he discovered that he could train his consciousness in this kind of "storm".

"Hmm?" When he stopped paying attention and started treating this resonance as a form of cultivation, an unexpected event occurred: he encountered a very strong fluctuation.

In this dark sea of emotions, a young man roared, his body radiating a faint silver light.

"I refuse to accept this! I survived two Spring Thunder, and I'm even stronger this third time, yet I'm destined to die here? Why is the Worldly Heavenly Light accompanying the Thunderfire and fire so intense this time?!"

In the scene ahead, a young man's hair stands on end as he circulates a strange, Thunder Force to resist the erosion of the Heavenly Light.

Around him, the ground was littered with corpses, some pitch black, some crimson, some even torn apart by the Heavenly Light, resembling a corner of Hell.

"It's a pity that I only mastered the Explosive Force, not the true Thunder Force. I hate it so much! My sect's Extraordinary Art was about to be opened to me, but I was too impatient and reckless in my pursuit of a breakthrough, ruining my bright future."

All of these were his thoughts in his last moments, when he was already immobilized and unable to escape.

The young man felt regret and self-pity, but in the final moment he cast aside his negative emotions, and every pore on his body erupted with Explosive Force like electric arcs as he fought against the Heavenly Light with all his might.

I will get through this!

Then he exploded and died a horrible death.

Qin Ming felt as if he were experiencing it firsthand; his hair stood on end. It was far too bloody and tragic.

Subsequently, he began practicing that Explosive Force in the Golden Hall. This force was very powerful and could evolve into the renowned Thunder Force.

Qin Ming was astonished. The Explosive Force was actually a composite force technique, incorporating several types of Heavenly Light Force. Its power was immense. Once it entered the giant beast's body and exploded, a large area of flesh and blood would be torn apart.

"Little Qin, it's not too late for you to back out now." Xu Sheng arrived, clearly disguised, looking completely different from his usual self, and brought along the corpse collector who had almost overslept.

Qin Ming shook his head and whispered that he was in better shape than ever before, and had begun to master the Sun Family's Hammer Force and Whip Force.

He had already been frank with Xu Sheng beforehand, after all, he had to instruct the corpse collector to drag him out of the Golden Palace as soon as possible, regardless of whether he was dead or alive, after he had received the four beams of Heavenly Light.

Spring Thunder rumbled in the distance.

Two more days passed before the real lightning began to appear in the sky above this area. A light rain was falling, and the fields were filled with the Earth Haze, making the world exceptionally beautiful, almost like daytime.

Many people came to Red Haze Mountain, all knowing that every year at this time, after the Spring Thunder erupts, people would line up here to die.

Many people came to see this "spectacle," mostly just to join in the fun, but some nobles were also waiting for their "Thunder Meat" to be carried out.

The Mountain God Temple was once again packed with people, all watching the lightning over Red Haze Mountain.

Finally, Spring Thunder struck, exploding above the Thunderfire Alchemy Hall. Arcs of electricity crisscrossed on the gleaming metal tiles, dazzlingly bright, and balls of Thunderfire rolled about, creating a terrifying sight.

The most terrifying thing is the Worldly Heavenly Light, which descends with lightning, extremely dazzling, and can penetrate buildings and disappear into mountains.

The Thunderfire Alchemy Hall is intricately constructed, capable of conducting electricity and weakening lightning, but it is difficult to withstand the Heavenly Light from the outside world.

The combination of Heavenly Light and Thunderfire gave birth to an incomparably rare Spiritual Matter, which was then carried into the golden palace.

Qin Ming witnessed firsthand that after the first Thunderfire Heavenly Light, half of the people collapsed. Some had blackened faces and remained motionless, while others had flushed skin, as if they were ripe.

Qin Ming was horrified. He could indeed feel the intensity of the Heavenly Light. After entering his body, it felt like boiling water was flowing, trying to cook him.

With a deafening roar, as the second wave of Heavenly Light descended, few people remained standing in the golden hall. Qin Ming saw that the seventy-two-year-old Old Zhao had exploded.

When the third wave of Heavenly Light arrived, Qin Ming was in excruciating pain all over his body. He lay down on the ground, not wanting to be too special, since everyone else had fallen down. In any case, the ground could also receive the Heavenly Light and Spiritual Matter.

Far away outside, people had already begun pulling on the ropes, and the sound of weeping could be heard, indicating that the loved ones inside the temple had not made it.

When the fourth wave of Heavenly Light descended, the golden palace was like a purgatory, and some corpses that hadn't been pulled out in time were torn apart by the Heavenly Light. In front of Qin Ming lay one of Old Zhao's thighs and another old man's arm, their tattered burial clothes burned beyond recognition.

The Worldly Heavenly Light was indeed terrifying, posing a threat to Qin Ming. At the same time, he sensed a dense concentration of Spiritual Matter entering his body.

He manipulated the magic on the Silk Scripture, regulated his physical condition, and harnessed the Heavenly Light for his own use. This otherworldly Heavenly Light could merge with the Heavenly Light he was born with.

Suddenly, Qin Ming sensed something was wrong. The fifth wave of Heavenly Light had already fallen, but why was the corpse collector still not moving? He saw that half of Old Man Liu's body, who was also Third New Life Being, had been pulled away, while he was still lying there.

What were those corpse collectors doing? Qin Ming wanted to curse!

Then, the sixth Thunderfire Heavenly Light, mixed with rare Spiritual Matter, descended. Qin Ming became furious. Did that guy really want to send him away?

He had reached his breaking point and was ready to jump up and run away.

He's a grown man; he can't be tortured to death by an unreliable corpse collector. At worst, he'll just stop being so low-key.

In the distance, someone spoke to Qin Ming's body collector, "Brother, we've pulled the employer out, whether he was whole or mutilated, we've done our best, why haven't you made a move yet?"

"He's going to die anyway, so it doesn't matter if he comes sooner or later. But let's drag him out anyway, to avoid him being completely smashed to pieces. If the deceased's family causes trouble, they'll pay me less." The body collector finally made his move.

Qin Ming was about to sit up; he had no choice but to come back to life. He was going to go out and chop up that corpse collector!

Just as he was about to get up, the special rope around his waist tightened, pulling him outwards. He gritted his teeth and endured it!

Then he wanted to Curse again: why was he pulling the rope so slowly? Had he not eaten? He really wanted to kill that corpse collector.

As the seventh Thunderfire Heavenly Light descended, Qin Ming was touched by some of the "tail light" and was finally dragged out of the main hall.

He immediately activated the Secret Method of blending Light Harmony with the world and began to feign death.

Qin Ming breathed a sigh of relief. With such a rich Spiritual Matter entering his body, his Fourth New Life should be no problem, and he would regain his lost memories.