Qin Ming was genuinely startled. His fingertips were freezing, and the liquid had actually begun seeping into his hand. How could he possibly stay calm?
He immediately shook his hand violently, then tried to pinch and pull at it.
A day had passed, and the sunstones in the bronze basin were no longer as bright, leaving the room rather dim. Even so, Qin Ming felt he shouldn't have failed to notice a mysterious yield at the very first moment; he had only realized it through the sensation on his skin.
He stepped over to the bronze basin, took out a sunstone, and inspected it by the remaining glow of its fiery haze.
"A piece of ice melted?"
The icy liquid was colorless and odorless, exceedingly easy to overlook. When Qin Ming crushed the stone, it had shown no omen or abnormality whatsoever.
"Could this be rainwater that seeped into the rock, froze, and was later nurtured by heavenly light into a mysterious yield?" he wondered, feeling skeptical.
For this freezing liquid truly possessed no distinctive qualities.
The most precious yield had manifested a ten-colored pillar of light soaring into the heavens, drawing the gaze of all four quarters. It was destined to spread throughout many brilliant cities, spark fervent debate, and undoubtedly be recorded in the annals.
"You're its scrap leftover. Aside from being cold enough to sting, why don't you have anything wondrous about you?" Qin Ming scrutinized it with a furrowed brow.
After he shook his hand vigorously, the liquid stopped seeping further. Strangely enough, it hadn't splashed onto the floor either, though touching it revealed no apparent stickiness.
"What is it used for?" Qin Ming examined it closely. This liquid lacked any unique traits, making him frown, for he had no clue how to use it.
Just let it seep into his flesh and blood? That seemed fraught with uncertainty.
From Mu Qing and Cao Long, he already knew that the mysterious yields nurtured by heavenly light came in great variety; some were not merely unhelpful to the body, but actively harmful.
"Hm?" Qin Ming's expression shifted slightly. He had thought he had expelled that chill from his body earlier and that his violent shaking had kept the liquid from entering his flesh.
Now it seemed that wasn't the case. An odd sensation arose from his right hand: the very spot where the frigid cold had seeped in had now turned warm.
Furthermore, that warm current was spreading rapidly—or more precisely, slithering—moving along his fingers into his arm, then swiftly traveling from his shoulder to his neck.
Though it felt very comfortable, this unexpected development still put Qin Ming on high alert. He immediately circulated the Newborn method recorded on the silk book to resist it.
Yet it was useless. On the contrary, that warm current began rushing straight to his head!
Worst of all, the remaining icy liquid he hadn't shaken off also began seeping entirely into his fingers, turning from cold to warm as it traveled upward along his arm.
"I admit you're not stagnant water and that you've got something special, but can we stop for a second? Give me a breather!" Faced with this unknown, unpredictable situation, Qin Ming tried every method at his disposal, but nothing could alter the outcome.
"It all went in?" He swung his arms and rubbed his hands continuously. Ripples of broken gold surfaced across his body, yet they did no good at all; if anything, they accelerated the process.
The bone-chilling liquid rapidly transformed within his flesh, warmth billowing forth. Then, whether from his left hand or right, it all streamed upward like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, finally converging at the center of his forehead.
Qin Ming stared at himself in the mirror. Since he couldn't stop it, his only choice was to observe calmly.
At the center of his forehead, the warmth grew denser and denser until all the currents gathered together. His entire frontal bone began to shine, and the radiance then spread into the depths of his head.
He felt no discomfort; the rich warmth eventually dissipated and melted away.
Qin Ming examined his condition carefully. Apart from being brimming with energy, there seemed to be no abnormality whatsoever.
He carried his long-handled dark-gold hammer out to the courtyard and practiced a set of saber techniques. His strength hadn't grown noticeably, nor had his physical constitution undergone any obvious change.
Yet Qin Ming knew this liquid could not be so simple. It couldn't just vanish without a trace; the changes it caused had likely not yet been uncovered by him.
He looked up at the night sky. Things were slightly clearer, and the night fog seemed less dense. His eyesight had improved a bit, though not drastically so.
Qin Ming grabbed a bite to eat, then headed to the village entrance, standing by the Fire Spring beneath the twin black and white trees.
He stroked the rough bark with his hand. One great tree was pitch-black as ink, while the other seemed carved from white jade; their leaves never withered even in the dead of winter.
"The liquid came from Black-White Mountain, and you are seeds that drifted out from there..."
Evidently, Qin Ming was overthinking things. Even when he placed one black and one white leaf into his mouth, nothing unusual happened.
"Let's leave it at that for now," he comforted himself. In any case, his body felt no discomfort; on the contrary, he was full of vitality. There shouldn't be any calamity.
Suddenly, his senses stirred. Commotion came from Old Man Liu's house at the edge of the village, accompanied by the weeping of a child and a woman.
A distance of mere dozens of meters, Qin Ming reached the courtyard gate in the blink of an eye. His brows furrowed at once. He saw three massive ground fowl.
One among them was rather unusual: its plumage was pale yellow and faintly glowing, its two legs were exceptionally thick, and its talons were remarkably sharp, leaving faint scratches on the courtyard's bluestone pavement.
It was far sturdier than the other two ground fowl—likely the so-called twice-mutated golden rooster.
A grim-faced man stood in the courtyard. Though he kept his voice down, one could clearly sense his temper flaring.
Qin Ming realized this was a Golden Rooster knight from Golden Rooster Ridge. What was he doing at Old Man Liu's house?
Two companions flanked him, both murmuring low threats and entreaties to Old Man Liu.
Old Man Liu's family stood off to the side, at a loss, clearly intimidated by these men earlier.
With Qin Ming's sharp hearing, he naturally heard everything crystal clear. They were forcefully coercing the old man, seeking to "purchase" the crimson grass Old Man Liu had obtained from Fire Bat Cave.
During shallow night, people from Golden Rooster Ridge had seen Old Man Liu emerge from Fire Bat Cave and noticed a red glow flash across his chest. Knowing what it meant, they had followed the scent all the way to his home.
"Old Liu, you're at such an advanced age, and you suffered severe injuries in your early years. Your foundation was ruined long ago, making a second Newborn nearly impossible. Wouldn't it be better to sell it at a high price and leave some inheritance for your children and grandchildren?"
"Indeed. Consuming that red grass is like being roasted by raging fire. You're old and frail; you can't withstand it at all. If your second Newborn fails, the consequences would be catastrophic."
Old Man Liu looked utterly helpless, his face etched with unspeakable desolation and a trace of sorrow. He said, "This old man worked hard all his life, struggling for the better part of a lifetime, just for this single opportunity!"
Without question, this was his lifelong obsession. What was more, he had already prepared cold-natured supplementary medicines. By nursing his health slowly and consuming the red grass in portions, there would hardly be an issue; he had a strong chance of succeeding.
Substances capable of aiding a person's rebirth did so primarily because they contained rich vitality and spirituality; claims that the medicinal potency was excessively violent, burning like raging fire, were mere exaggerations.
...
Hearing this, Qin Ming grew furious. Wasn't this blatant bullying? An old man in his seventies had yearned for a second Newborn for decades, finally seeing the dawn through sheer perseverance, only for people to come and force a purchase on him!
He heard the price they offered. How was that any different from open robbery?
Dozens of night silver coins were indeed a substantial fortune to ordinary folk, but this was a spiritual substance that could facilitate a second Newborn. Their offer was an insult.
The crimson grass grew in a perilous cavern guarded by a thrice-mutated fire bat, exceedingly difficult to harvest. Even the Golden Rooster knight himself would never dare venture inside.
"Brothers..." Qin Ming spoke up, stepping forward.
"Who are you? Stay out of this!" one of them snapped without the slightest courtesy, not giving him a chance to speak.
The Golden Rooster knight merely cast a cool, indifferent glance his way. Though he said nothing, his gaze held a clear warning not to meddle.
"Little Qin, say no more. Let me go inside and think it over," Old Man Liu said, not wanting Qin Ming dragged into this. Golden Rooster Ridge was too dangerous to provoke; they were once a band of great bandits, and even after accepting pacification, their ways remained brutish.
Once targeted by them, the consequences were unpredictable.
"Brothers, Uncle Liu's crimson grass was given to him by Cao Long and Mu Qing of Chixia City..." Qin Ming spoke up again.
His implication was clear: he was bringing up the noble scions of Chixia City, who were on great terms with Old Man Liu, even willing to grant him spiritual substances to nourish his health. Tomorrow, Old Man Liu was set to wake early to guide them.
"Old Liu already mentioned that. Heh, when all is said and done, you're merely..." The Golden Rooster knight sneered. He didn't outright accuse Qin Ming of pulling a tiger's skin to serve as a banner, but that was clearly his meaning. He refused to believe people from Chixia City would form deep ties with a few hunters.
"Young man, you need some sense. Don't go sticking your nose where it doesn't belong," warned the man beside him.
Old Man Liu turned and walked into the house. From a hidden compartment in the wall, he retrieved a bundle of glowing red grass. Clenching his teeth, he scooped up a handful and shoved it into his mouth. Foregoing the gradual conditioning with supplementary herbs, he swallowed most of it directly.
He kept only a tiny bit and brought it back into the courtyard.
"Just this little bit? You didn't eat it beforehand, did you?" The Golden Rooster knight's face darkened instantly. His intuition was sharp.
"There really was only this much," Old Man Liu said.
"What use is this tiny scrap? Old Liu, very well then!" The Golden Rooster knight patted him on the shoulder and turned to leave.
Once the three vanished past the village entrance, Old Man Liu opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Uncle Liu, what happened to you?" Qin Ming was startled.
Old Man Liu said, "That Golden Rooster knight is vicious. He's practiced the Yellow Clay Palm. Suspecting I consumed the spiritual substance beforehand, he secretly tried to scatter my blood and qi to stop my second Newborn."
Qin Ming gazed out through the courtyard gate into the wind and snow outside the village, sorely tempted to chase them down and treat each of them to a strike of his hammer-saber.
Yet he knew he couldn't act so recklessly. Behind them was Golden Rooster Ridge with a den of fierce bandits. If he indulged in momentary satisfaction, he might bring catastrophe upon the entire village. It would have to wait until they reached the mountains to settle the score.
"Old man, are you all right?"
"Grandpa!"
Old Man Liu's family rushed over anxiously.
"How do you feel, elder?" Qin Ming asked.
Old Man Liu replied, "I knew how Golden Rooster Ridge operates and guarded against it in advance. While things aren't great, it's not that severe either. A few days of rest and care will set me right."
In truth, Golden Rooster Ridge wasn't the only party to come forcing a purchase; the local Three-Eyed Cult had sent someone as well, a second Newborn in person.
In the end, upon realizing a forced sale was out of the question, the Three-Eyed Cult people flicked their sleeves and stormed off as well. Before departing, they cast cold, menacing glares around, leaving on very unpleasant terms.
"Ordinary people struggle to survive in harsh conditions, yet life proves just as difficult after becoming a Newborn..." In the night, Qin Ming sighed in his courtyard.
Soon enough, he realized what change had occurred within him. His exuberant vitality showed no signs of waning; it was already late into the night, yet he felt entirely sleepless.
After lying down, he tossed and turned for a long time, discovering he couldn't fall asleep at all. The more he kept his eyes closed, the clearer his mind became.
Tossing and turning in the middle of the night—what kind of situation was this? He hadn't become an immortal, so how could he not sleep? Besides, if there truly were immortals and gods in this world, they would have hoisted the sun back up long ago; why would thick night fog persist and plunge the world into darkness?
In the latter half of the night, at his wits' end, Qin Ming got up to take a stroll. After pacing eighteen laps around the village, he was only more energized than before.
"What's wrong with me?" Returning to the courtyard, he practiced the Newborn method from the silk book, then trained in the combat techniques from the saber manual. He could feel physical fatigue, but sleepiness simply eluded him.
Roaming out into the deep night, he eventually found himself back at the village entrance. Having nothing better to do, he cleared away the snow burying a stone stele.
"The elders say this stele weighs one thousand one hundred jin. I estimated I possessed a thousand jin of strength in a single arm, but I've never tested it in practice. Let's see what happens now."
In the end, Qin Ming wrenched the stele clean out of the frozen soil and hoisted it overhead with a single hand.
"Though it took considerable effort, I managed it. That means both arms combined actually exert two thousand two hundred jin of strength—a bit higher than my estimate."
The next day, Xu Yueping saw Qin Ming and asked, "Little Qin, have you been crying?"
Qin Ming paused. "No, why?"
"Why are your eyes so red?" Xu Yueping asked.
"I didn't sleep well last night," Qin Ming replied.
Old Man Liu accompanied them into the mountains as usual, showing no outward sign of injury.
Upon meeting Cao Long, Mu Qing, Wei Zhirou, and the others, Qin Ming didn't hide anything. He told them straight out about Golden Rooster Ridge and the Three-Eyed Cult trying to force a purchase the previous night.
"That crosses the line," Mu Qing said.
Half an hour later, they tracked down the Golden Rooster knight from the previous day. Mu Qing struck him with a backhand slap that sent him flying six or seven meters through the air, knocking out several teeth.
"He is someone I hired who has been working for me. You dare rob the spiritual grass we gave him?" Mu Qing asked in an icy tone.
"No... it was a misunderstanding," the Golden Rooster knight stammered, voice trembling.
Clang! Cao Long's great lance grazed the knight's ear before shifting angle and cleaving down a nearby tree. He warned coldly, "Even after we leave, you are forbidden from seeking revenge. Cross that line, and a gruesome end awaits you."
"I understand!"
Moments later, the people from the Three-Eyed Cult received a warning as well.
However, Mu Qing and Wei Zhirou also told Qin Ming and the others in private that while the local outpost of the Three-Eyed Cult was negligible, their distant orthodox sect was formidable, with branches in numerous cities.
"Golden Rooster Ridge isn't simple either. It's a foothold established here by the Golden Bandits."
Old Man Liu was deeply grateful. That these nobles would stand up for him was truly beyond his expectations.
That day, Qin Ming found an opportunity to dig up that saber manual. Since Wang Nianzhu was now a wanted fugitive, Qin Ming no longer had to worry excessively and could bring the secret tome home to study.
When shallow night drew to a close, he returned to the village.
"I hope I can fall asleep tonight. I can't keep being this wide awake!"
After dinner, by the fiery glow of the sunstones, he began leafing through the leather-bound saber manual. The moment he opened it, he was stunned.
Qin Ming looked up out the window, then glanced back down at the aged ancient tome. What was going on? To him, the world suddenly seemed completely different!
Chapter 38