In an era when the sun had vanished, even in the shallow night, looking upon distant scenery was rather hazy; a little farther off, towering mountains were reduced to mere black silhouettes against the dark.
Now, everything had changed. Deep within the mountain range, ten pillars of light reached to the heavens, illuminating all directions with a brilliance far surpassing the five-colored haze. In a daze, one might think the age of daylight had returned.
Not only the looming mountains, but every plant and tree upon the cliffs was visible in crystalline detail. Even the colors and patterns on the strange birds flying low overhead could be clearly discerned, vibrant and vivid.
Everyone felt as if the dust had been swept from their hearts and a veil lifted from before their eyes. All they saw was glorious radiance; the mountains, rivers, and all myriad things filled their vision and reflected in their hearts. Even in this bitter winter when ice and snow sealed the mountains, it felt as though all living things were reviving, everything appearing wonderfully vibrant, natural, and inviting.
Mounted atop his big yellow dog, Old Man Liu was deeply moved. "I've lived over seventy years, yet this is the first time this old man has seen such a splendid world, such a magnificent heaven and earth. Is this what our splendid rivers and mountains were originally meant to be? What a pity... Even as Newborns, though we can see far into the distance, it always feels in ordinary times like a sheer veil is draped over our eyes."
Cao Long spoke up: "In medium-sized cities and above, it's actually..."
He did not finish his sentence. Speaking of such matters to an elder from an outlying region was inappropriate; the old man could never leave this place, and bringing it up would only leave him feeling dejected.
He corrected himself: "Actually, I haven't been to that many places either. This vast, pitch-black world is simply too huge, and those so-called splendid cities are really just like specks of fireflies."
Deep in the mountains, the experts from major organizations and the higher beings went completely mad, all hurtling toward the place where the ten pillars of light reached to the heavens.
Yet in the outer perimeter, Mu Qing, Wei Zhirou, Cao Long, and the others remained calm, merely watching from a distance and even conversing among themselves.
They were well aware that those things had nothing to do with them. Even higher-ups might perish if they charged over; that special node was destined to be stained with the blood of powerful experts.
Not everyone possessed such clear self-awareness. Too many people in the mountains were consumed by greed, though they were not blindly confident either—they did not rush toward the battleground where the higher beings contested.
Ten-colored light tearing through the night sky was already an anomaly beyond comprehension, unprecedented even among other famous mountains where heavenly light had descended in the past.
Perhaps such occurrences had happened, but were deliberately covered up, leaving no record in the various tomes.
Thus, the various factions who were covetous yet retained some restraint turned and lunged toward the site where the five-colored haze billowed, settling for the second-best option.
In truth, this too was an exceptionally rare anomaly, bound to correspond to an extraordinary, peerless bounty.
However, far too many people came with the exact same goal. At the very first encounter between the various factions, the mountain forest was stained with blood; the competition was savagely intense.
"Mountain God above, there's no reason to be had here! More people are dying here than at the ten sky-piercing pillars of light!"
"There are higher mutates here as well! They didn't go to fight over the ten-colored place—run!"
After enduring a baptism of blood and losing a batch of their number in mere moments, the remaining forces of the various factions turned and fled with decisive haste.
People saw a higher being shrouded in thick mist, colossal in size; with a single step, it crushed a cliff face, already drawing near that special node.
Almost instantly, a humanoid creature flapping broad wings and swirling with crimson glow descended from above, blocking the higher being's path.
...
"An earthquake?" The underground fissure shook violently, startling Qin Ming into dashing out immediately. He truly feared being crushed to death deep underground.
Promptly, he also saw the two grand, momentous spectacles. It was as though daylight had returned to the world, showering a downpour of light upon the earth, leaving the mountains, rivers, and all things plain to see.
He possessed self-awareness; the enigmatic bounties emerging at those two nodes had nothing to do with him. Daring to take a single step closer would mean dying without a burial place.
Standing outside the exit of the fissure, Qin Ming could only feel envy. For the experts sweeping through the deep mountains, the ultimate victor would reap unimaginable benefits.
Far away in this quiet area, he could still hear someone in the mountains shouting that a ten-colored node was unprecedented, likely to give birth to a bounty of immeasurable grade.
"I finally understand why this place is so defying of heaven! Heavenly light didn't just descend here two years ago—it also fell two hundred years ago! Back then, there was no decent bounty at all. That earlier heavenly light accumulated for two hundred years and fused with the one that descended two years ago, creating the astonishing spectacle before our eyes!"
An elder in the mountain forest spoke excitedly. He was a knowledgeable and well-read man who had thoroughly studied this region and consulted numerous records, and he now revealed the truth behind this place's anomaly.
"I've heard rumors too. Two hundred years ago, an exceptionally thick streak of heavenly light struck this place, even alarming the royal capital. They dispatched experts, only to find the area unbelievably barren. Every master who rushed over wished they could flatten these mountains out of spite."
Aside from the higher beings, everyone else in the mountain range could only watch and discuss in fervent agitation; no one dared risk approaching the two lands of fortune anymore.
Before long, numerous people cried out in shock, and even the higher beings and human experts in the center of the battlefield, their eyes bloodshot from slaughter, were stunned.
At the two special nodes, the sky-soaring glow shifted once again.
"Is there some kind of monster underground?" Even the old weasel, normally the most tranquil and composed, had a twitching face, utterly worn ragged by this ordeal.
This time, the five-colored haze and the ten sky-piercing pillars of light seemed to move in a circle within a confined area, traveling at high speed.
"They're moving swiftly along the spiritual ley lines forged by heavenly light! They're pulling at each other, the circle they trace shrinking constantly as they draw closer together!"
Not only did the experts on the field notice this, but the onlookers watching from afar saw it even more clearly.
"Are the two mysterious bounties going to fuse into one?" Everyone was bewildered; this completely exceeded the bounds of their understanding.
Ling Xu, Wei Mo, and the others, along with the other higher mutates, were driven past the point of fury. Chasing after the two spectacles, they simply couldn't make contact.
Even when they rushed right up to them, the moment they stepped into the special nodes, the phenomena vanished and shifted away again. In the end, some higher beings simply decided to wait by the stump for the hare.
Qin Ming watched with fascination. The node he was at fell outside that area, remarkably quiet, with no one coming over for the time being.
"Hm?" He noticed that the underground fissure beneath his feet was growing "restless" as well. It began gushing silver threads tinged with a faint golden sheen, occasionally mixed with purple mist, crimson light, and other hues.
His spirits lifted at once. Could some precious bounty be ripening here? When he had gone down earlier, he hadn't seen anything.
Could it be that because of the drastic upheaval deep in the mountains, this spot was basking in reflected glory?
He dashed inside without hesitation. That place where the myriad dazzling colors intertwined was doomed to have nothing to do with him, but if he could harvest one of the lesser bounties—even one far inferior—he would be thoroughly satisfied.
Underground, the interwoven silver beams of light were far thicker than before, and as he ventured deeper, he could sense a peculiar pulsation.
This sensation was much like when he practiced the Newborn method recorded in the silk book down here, soaked as if in a hot spring and baptized by the silver threads.
Now, without doing anything at all, he already sensed a warmth rippling before him. Tracing those distinct ripples all the way forward, he quickly reached the end.
Here, the path was blocked by a heap of rubble, leaving no way forward.
Without a second thought, Qin Ming immediately began clearing away the stones. Moving them all aside, he discovered a new crevice leading deeper underground.
Along the way, he used the long-handled dark-gold hammer in his hand multiple times to smash open a path, widening the fissure until he finally arrived at the source of the peculiar pulsation.
Colored mist of light gushing from even deeper within the fissure enveloped a black stone, roughly the size of half a human head.
"What is this?" Qin Ming believed this was definitely one of the special bounties that the various factions sought to claim, but he had no idea what purpose this black stone served.
In this special node, though the flowing, multicolored mist of light caused bouts of tightness in his chest and palpitations, his body could still endure it.
He saw the mist of light surging toward the black stone thin out and begin to recede. Did this mean it was about to fully "ripen"?
Qin Ming did not act rashly, waiting quietly. His body could hold out, and as the mist of light dissipated, all his discomfort faded away.
Moments later, the area fell silent. All the anomalies vanished completely. The stone, about half the size of a human head, looked utterly ordinary—cast aside, likely no one would bother picking it up.
Yet when he focused his senses, he could still catch a faint trace of pulsation. This was a special perception he had gained after undergoing the baptism of the silver light emerging from the fissure.
"I can faintly sense special bounties nurtured by heavenly light."
Qin Ming picked up the stone; it felt heavy in his hands. He strongly desired to peel away the stony outer layer to see what lay inside.
However, he suppressed the urge. He had to get out immediately; if someone trapped him down in the fissure, it would mean immense trouble.
When he quietly emerged from the exit onto the surface, the vicinity was peaceful. Deep in the mountains, however, things were in full commotion; figures stood atop many peaks, gazing out at the increasingly astonishing, magnificent spectacle.
The five-colored haze and the ten pillars of light had actually intertwined. Qin Ming moved silently through the dense forest, then buried himself inside a snow hollow.
Then he began to examine the stone. Circulating the Newborn method recorded in the silk book, his flesh rippled with flecks of gold as he started peeling the stone with his bare hands.
Although the outer stone layer was very hard, he crushed it silently and peeled it away with great efficiency.
Qin Ming worked steadily, feeling the stone shrink by two layers. At the same time, through his special perception, he found that its pulsation had grown slightly stronger.
He halted his movements. If he peeled it completely open, would some abnormal phenomenon occur?
After all, while this item could not compare to the two bounties drawing everyone's eyes, it was definitely nothing ordinary.
At this moment, Qin Ming felt as if a hundred claws were scratching at his heart. He longed to split the stone completely open, yet feared that a careless move might bring disaster upon him.
Chapter 35