Once Illuminated by Colored Clouds on Their Return

Once Illuminated by Colored Clouds on Their Return

In this era, darkness shrouded heaven and earth.

Luminous creatures were rare. Once one appeared, it likely meant something terrifying and deadly—a place that needed to be abandoned as soon as possible.

Across the boundless wilderness, no one knew how many dangerous creatures lay lurking.

To expose itself amid a Great Environment fraught with danger and recklessly radiate light was undoubtedly a display of confidence. It was most likely immensely powerful.

Qin Ming silently slid down beneath a tree and hid amid the shadows of the Dense Forest, unable to calm his heart.

That was no ordinary luminous creature. It had lit up this stretch of night sky.

In an age without sun, moon, or stars, such a spectacle had appeared in the pitch-black world.

"Moon Insect!" He had heard of it.

The elders often told later generations that, in the distant ancient past, there had once been a sun and a moon. Seeing the children's bewildered eyes, the adults would use the Moon Insect as an example.

"If one day you happen to glimpse a Moon Insect from afar, you'll know what the moon looked like."

If a Moon Insect appeared, no one needed to say anything. Everyone would know it was one, because it would be the sole presence in the night sky.

When that Ball of Light had first slowly risen, it had been relatively gentle. Qin Ming did not know whether it was because he had been influenced by preconceived notions, but he vaguely seemed to see the shadow of a blurred insect within it.

Now, however, it was far too dazzling. Where was there any insect-like shape? Its radiance interwove like a splendid round disk, as though blessed by a Divine Crown, illuminating the night sky.

A cicada knew neither spring nor autumn. Under normal circumstances, few insects could survive the winter and live into the following year.

According to the elders, the Moon Insect had migrated into this region more than fifty years ago. It dwelled deep within the vast mountain ranges and rarely showed itself in the outer regions.

By local custom, it had long been entered into the records as a "Famous Insect" that had stood firm in the mountains for fifty years.

People had reason to believe that its true reserves might not be inferior to those of ancient exotic beasts and mountain lords that had lived in the world for even longer.

Qin Ming was lost in thought. In that distant ancient age, had the moon looked like this?

In the night sky, it was as if a lamp from the celestial palace hung high above, gleaming brilliantly as it cast down pure light upon the black mountain forest and spread it across the shadowed wilderness ridges. In an instant, this entire region was dyed a faint silver.

This was completely different from what he had seen before. The mountains' dense ink-blackness had been utterly swept away.

The entire world had changed. Gazing upon such beauty, Qin Ming could not help yearning serenely for the ancient age of sun and moon. What kind of world had that been? He knew that the Moon Insect illuminated only the two nearby low hills, far inferior to a true bright moon. After all, legend said that moonlight shone across ten thousand miles, a vast sight hanging in the sky—the true great radiance.

At this moment, all was silent. Whether it was the Boar King, the mysterious creature pursuing and killing it, or the other birds and beasts, all quietly lay dormant.

Suddenly, a streak of light tore through the sky. The Moon Insect departed, and the nearby region rapidly lost its splendor. The mountains and forest sank once more into boundless darkness.

Qin Ming felt strangely empty. Then a powerful aspiration rose within him. When would he be able to move as freely as the Moon Insect, with Eternal Night unable to obscure the road ahead?

There was no time for more thought. While the various Fierce Beasts had been intimidated and still did not dare roam about recklessly, he sprang into action, dragging the Saberhorn Deer and the Donkey-Headed Wolf over the low hill and swiftly away.

Deep in the mountains, a miserable howl rang out, then abruptly stopped. Where the Moon Insect had dived, some powerful creature seemed to have been killed.

The mountain forest was silent. Whether extraordinary mutated beasts or repeatedly transformed "Famous Birds," none wished to make a sound.

Double Tree Village came into view, and Qin Ming returned safely with his prey.

As he neared the village entrance, he looked back. The four fields stretched endlessly behind him, blackness without bounds.

The dazzling sights from not long ago still floated in his mind. He felt somewhat dazed. The ancient bright moon had once illuminated Colored Clouds on their return—where was it now?

"Grrr!" His stomach rumbled. Intense hunger dragged him back to reality, and he gave a wry smile. Why think about such ethereal things? Right now, he needed to solve the problem of food and warmth.

In such cold weather, only a few children were chasing one another around at the village entrance, unwilling to stay indoors.

"Brother Qin, you went into the mountains... and hunted a Saberhorn Deer by yourself?" A skinny boy stared with widened eyes.

The children's little faces were red from the cold. They crowded forward together, and when they saw the black Donkey-Headed Wolf weighing several hundred jin, they all jumped in fright.

Staring at the two prey animals, they could not help secretly swallowing.

"Come to my house later and eat meat," Qin Ming said with a smile.

Like a gust of wind, he dragged the two prey animals home.

He had endured all the way back and had nearly wanted to experience a life of eating raw fur and drinking blood. He immediately set water to boil and called Lu Ze and Liang Wanqing over to help.

"Little Qin, you're injured?" Liang Wanqing was attentive and spotted the blood on his shoulder at once.

"Just a minor wound. It's nothing," Qin Ming said, shaking his head.

Lu Ze helped inspect him. Seeing that the wound was shallow and had already scabbed over, he was relieved.

Very soon, rich fragrance drifted through the small courtyard. Large chunks of meat boiled in an iron pot, while deer legs roasted over the fire, fat endlessly dripping from them.

Qin Ming's stomach thundered. He could no longer wait, so he sliced off a thin piece from the deer leg with a small knife and put it straight into his mouth without caring about the heat.

"It's cooked, and it tastes great! Wen Rui, Uncle fulfilled your wish today, didn't he?"

Wen Rui took a bite, and his eyes curved into crescents in bliss. Nodding like a chick pecking grain, he said, "It smells so good! I don't even remember how long it's been since I last ate meat. Uncle, you're amazing!"

Qin Ming called Lu Ze and Liang Wanqing over and told them to eat first; they could deal with the remaining meat afterward.

Wen Hui, barely over two years old, still could not bite through roasted deer leg. He could only eat boiled meat mashed into paste. He pouted miserably and stared longingly, making everyone laugh.

Qin Ming was at a crucial stage of New Life. His body had sent out intense signals again and again, craving meat beyond measure. Now he wolfed it down and was finally satisfied.

At that moment, several children peeked in through the Courtyard Gate. Their little faces were grimy, and as they smelled the meat in the courtyard, their eyes gleamed with longing, though they were too embarrassed to enter.

Qin Ming immediately waved them over. "Didn't I call out to you at the village entrance? Hurry in, all of you. Eat with us."

"Thank you, Brother Qin."

"Uncle, you're so nice..."

The children called him all sorts of things as they shyly entered the courtyard. Before long, their cheeks puffed out like little hamsters, and they mumbled indistinctly about how delicious it was.

"Slow down, there's plenty more." Afraid that the children would choke, Liang Wanqing ladled them some meat broth.

Qin Ming felt as though his flesh and blood were cheering. It was like sweet rain falling across land gripped by severe drought, countless New Sprouts breaking through the earth, all things newly born as boundless vitality surged forth.

He clearly felt his sinews and veins growing. His joints cracked now and then, while his hearing and sight sharpened and his spirit became exceptionally vigorous.

Acquired Fetal Transformation—his body was truly undergoing New Life!

Lu Ze and Liang Wanqing had long put down their bowls and chopsticks, but Qin Ming was still stuffing meat into his mouth. His appetite seemed bottomless. This way of eating was somewhat frightening, and sweat continuously poured from his body, steaming into white mist.

"His body is being reborn—it's undergoing drastic changes!" Lu Ze was astonished. He had not expected Qin Ming's transformation, which had continued from yesterday until now, to still be unfinished—and to be accelerating. What level was he about to reach? The children could not eat anymore, their bellies round and bulging, their little faces filled with utter satisfaction.

Qin Ming saw that they were somewhat restrained here and smiled. "Full already? Then go play."

Before long, news spread that he had hunted a Saberhorn Deer and a Mountain Ruffian.

The villagers were shocked. The wilderness was extremely dangerous at this stage, and many people no longer dared enter the mountains, yet he had returned with such a haul.

Especially since the mutated Donkey-Headed Wolf was notorious for its ferocity. Ordinary People who encountered one would find it difficult to survive.

Qin Ming was only a little over sixteen. How could he deal with a Fierce Beast weighing several hundred jin?

"Could it be that he underwent New Life during the Golden Age?"

For a time, many people came to Qin Ming's small courtyard to ask about the conditions in the mountains.

If it had become safe, they also planned to go hunting in the mountains.

"Mother, I'm hungry," a little girl wearing patched clothes said softly.

In this food-scarce winter, the roasted meat in the courtyard smelled especially rich. Some children hid behind the adults, staring longingly with eager eyes.

Qin Ming knew what hunger felt like. Looking at those little faces reddened by the cold and their pitiful appearance, he quickly waved them over. "Come eat together, all of you."

The children did not sit down immediately. Instead, they first looked at their parents, simple and reserved.

Qin Ming continued, "Uncles, I won't invite you to eat here. Later, each household can take five jin of meat home."

"Little Qin, how could we possibly accept that..."

"It's settled," Qin Ming said. There were only a few dozen households in the village, so there was enough to share.

"Little Qin is truly such a good person. Later, everyone should keep an eye out and quickly find him a pretty wife. He's about the right age too."

"No Hurry on that." Qin Ming hastily waved his hands.

Laughter filled the courtyard. A group of children were happiest of all, sitting around together and eating until their little faces shone with grease.

"Little Qin, tell Uncle the truth. Did you undergo New Life?" Yang Yongqing arrived.

Before Shallow Night fell, he had met Qin Ming. They had only been apart for a short while, yet the other party had already killed a mutated Donkey-Headed Wolf. It had truly given him quite a fright.

Qin Ming smiled and nodded. "Didn't Uncle Yang say that a noble young lady would be coming down, and tell me to work hard to improve myself and perform well? Then I encountered danger in the mountains and was stimulated. My body kept heating up, and suddenly I underwent New Life."

"You brat, you're not very down-to-earth," Yang Yongqing said with a smile, pointing at him.

Everyone present understood that it was all because Qin Ming's physical constitution was exceptional and his accumulated foundation deep enough.

"New Life during the Golden Age—this is the first such case in Double Tree Village in decades!" Old Man Liu, who lived at the village entrance, exclaimed.

Everyone knew what that meant. Looking across this entire region, he was exceptionally dazzling, with limitless possibilities ahead.

In weather so cold that one's breath could freeze into ice crystals, Qin Ming's body was like a furnace, and it was growing hotter and hotter. Huge amounts of sweat poured out, soaking him through, and white mist nearly wrapped around him.

"Such powerful vitality in his flesh and blood—it's far more intense than mine was back then." Yang Yongqing's thick beard trembled as he was stunned.

He knew clearly that Qin Ming was accelerating through New Life from head to toe, inside and out. First, like autumn and winter, he swept away all withered leaves; then, like spring and summer, he put forth branches and buds.

The sticky substance on his skin was him cutting away yellow leaves and expelling old impurities. Inside, meanwhile, vitality flourished. His blood glowed, and he seemed to have returned to the womb, nurturing vigorous New Life Power and reopening the limits of his body.

Qin Ming felt drowsiness wash over him. Full and satisfied, he seemed about to fall into a special kind of "hibernation," barely able to keep his eyes open.

He asked Lu Ze to distribute meat to every household while he followed his body's instinct and prepared to go inside for a deep sleep.

"Grandma Zhou is being buried today. Go in my place and send the Zhou Family some extra meat." Fighting off his drowsiness, Qin Ming washed himself with ice water, then lay down on the heated bed.

The others found this strange, but they did not feel it as deeply.

Yang Yongqing had seen much of the world. He noticed that Qin Ming seemed shrouded in white Immortal Mist, while his strong heartbeat sounded like war drums pounding. It shook Yang Yongqing to the core! Most crucially, Qin Ming was still undergoing "New Life"—it was far from over.

Could it be that after this New Life, Qin Ming might have a sliver of a chance to approach those several famous youths in the distant Bright City?

Soon, however, Yang Yongqing shook his head again. No matter how good one's Bone Structure was, how could it compare to the accumulation of three generations? Besides, those people themselves were already exceptionally outstanding.

As for the man and woman who had recently dazzled that city, who had Surpassed all New Life practitioners of the Golden Age from previous years, he felt there was no need even to think about them. They were not suitable for comparison.