Another Life

"All things bear yin and embrace yang, harmonizing through the surging vital breath—Cui Chonghe." Qin Ming sank into thought, then used tea water to write the two characters for "Qin Ming" on the tabletop. In that blurred, fragmented memory, Cui Chonghe had been his name. "Why, when stranded in this place, was the name I remembered Qin Ming?" He stared at the characters on the table. Which was real, and which was false? When he had been clad in rags, drenched in blood, and reduced to utter destitution, he had always remembered that his name was Qin Ming. Yet why was he now gradually recalling another hazy life? Qin Ming pondered, taking a deep breath. The drifting, multicolored mist of the three-colored flower carried a rich fragrance. As the sweet aroma filled his nose during this flicker of blurred memory, it made the scene feel increasingly familiar. Soon, a fragment of the past surfaced in his mind. A group of people dressed in splendid silk robes and adorned with fine jade watched over a tender-faced youth with concerned gazes. On the jade stone table before the youth lay a three-colored flower and a jar of medicinal liquid teeming with vitality. Qin Ming wondered: Who were these people, and who was that youth? They all looked somewhat familiar, yet he could not recall them. Initially, after awakening in this remote land, he had remembered first of all that he was named Qin Ming. Later, with each successive Newborn transformation, he had remembered the silk book and his grandfather. "I was present too, but stood far away, quietly watching that youth ingest the three-colored flower and the medicinal liquid brimming with vitality." Qin Ming looked upon those scenes. The men and women, old and young alike, all cared deeply about the youth. Those people possessed extraordinary standing. Some of the women wore distinctive hair ornaments, such as a plume trailing purple mist or a branch of lush, dripping peach blossoms encircled by crimson dawn clouds. "That youth appeared only thirteen or fourteen years old. He had not yet reached the golden window, nor had he taken the Giant Spirit path. How did he dare undergo Newborn transformation early? And to have reached this level, no less." Qin Ming was perplexed. Was this the true foundation of a top-tier clan? They could achieve what ordinary people could not. He looked down at the foot-tall three-colored flower in the jade box. Nourished by heavenly light, it had already reached supreme quality. The youth's plant had not been inferior; their grades were actually comparable. Qin Ming took the three-colored flower from the jade box, plucked its translucent petals one by one, and brought them to his mouth. Sure enough, this mystical product harvested from a special node contained the essence of heavenly light. The moment it entered his mouth, he felt a scorching heat, like raging flames burning within. Although Qin Ming felt pain, he found it tolerable. Soon, a fire ignited in his belly as intense heavenly light bloomed inside him, threatening to tear his physical body apart. He remained calm, continuing to pluck the petals, stuff them into his mouth, and swallow them down. His entire body radiated light. It was a collision of heavenly lights: one was the otherworldly heavenly light that pierced through the veil of night to fall upon the spirit mountains, while the other was the intrinsic heavenly light born of the human body itself. "It truly is painful." He did not stop. After eating the entire blossom, he chewed up the leaves, stem, and root, swallowing them down as well. In an instant, the two heavenly lights within Qin Ming felt on the verge of exploding. But the flesh and blood of his body were exceptionally resilient, suppressing that violent commotion. Aside from waves of burning agony, his vital essence suffered no genuine harm. In his abdomen, the two heavenly lights intertwined and spun continuously, chasing one another, forming a circle, and finally converging into a unified whole. With a booming hum, the two heavenly lights inside him fused completely, then abruptly erupted outward, rushing into his limbs and bones to purify his entire body anew. Qin Ming's total reserve of heavenly light rose, expanding rapidly. This stimulated his flesh, blood, and spirit. In the sea of his heart, it was as if a streak of lightning burst forth, shining into his body, while his internal organs, limbs, and other parts resonated in harmony. Then, fresh heavenly light blossomed across his entire frame. Qin Ming stepped into the courtyard and manifested several varieties of heavenly light force in succession. They nearly projected beyond his body, far stronger than before. "Fuse!" He stood there, drawing the types of heavenly light force together. At the same time, scenes resurfaced before his eyes, and he saw the youth once more, along with those men and women dressed in fine robes. "Excellent! After his third Newborn transformation, Chongxuan has fused four kinds of heavenly light force. Truly remarkable!" An elderly man of high status with crane-white hair and a youthful complexion exclaimed in praise. A woman in court dress, appearing in her early thirties with her hair swept high into a cloud bun pinned by a plume shimmering with golden light, nodded and said, "Though each individual heavenly light force seems rather ordinary, this is the starting point for ascending the clouds. Merely fusing these four allows one to work wonders from the mundane." The youth was named Cui Chongxuan, his name likewise derived from characters taken from texts of the people beyond the mundane world. Drenched in sweat, he trembled slightly, but he had indeed endured and successfully fused four kinds of heavenly light force. The old man remarked, "Though you have not set foot on the path beyond the mundane world, to display such astonishing performance on this road after your third Newborn transformation would cause a tremendous uproar if word got out. Splendid!" A dignified middle-aged man also spoke: "Who can say this path cannot be walked to the very summit? I have already obtained the priceless secret scripture, the Six Imperial Scriptures, for you. Do not fail our expectations." Qin Ming watched quietly. At that time, he must have been a mere onlooker, standing far outside the crowd. He drew back his thoughts. Why did it feel as though an extra, false life had been thrust upon him? Was he ultimately Qin Ming, or Cui Chonghe? For some reason, he always felt that life as Cui Chonghe was illusory. Otherwise, he would not have forgotten it completely at one point, leaving it even less vivid than his hazy memories of early childhood. By now, Qin Ming had fused all his heavenly light forces into one. He felt better than ever before. The heavenly light in his body had surged by a wide margin; nourishing his body and spirit with such profound heavenly light, he might not even need to seek out spiritual substances for his next Newborn transformation to elevate his life stage. "Is fusing four kinds of heavenly light force at the third Newborn stage really that impressive?" Qin Ming murmured to himself, unimpressed. He had fused five kinds of heavenly light force, and among them, intercepting force and awn force were no longer simple, single force arts. Qin Ming dwelt on it no further. He believed he would soon uncover that past. The many blurred scenes were growing clearer by the day, and another Newborn transformation would likely reveal everything to him. He tested his strength against the stone mill once again. Without using his fingers, merely by circulating his heavenly light force across the back of his hand, he easily tore and peeled away a palm-sized chunk of coarse stone. "My apologies, old millstone." Over the past two days, although he had been holding back his strength, the millstone had still been left pitted and scarred by him. "I seem to have become truly powerful," Qin Ming muttered. Yet he quickly poured cold water on his own thoughts. Just before the shallow night arrived, he had experienced a perilous encounter: people beyond the mundane world could fly, disperse into mist, and turn invisible. This time, without the mutton-fat jade iron saber, he would have been in mortal danger! "I have already followed the predecessor's guidance and begun fusing various heavenly light forces. But can the methods from the silk book truly counter people beyond the mundane world?" Qin Ming could not be sure, yet he had no other choice right now; he could only continue to grow stronger. Only when the shallow night was nearly over did Old Man Liu return. Having spent fifteen pieces of day gold, he had refused to leave early, mooching a meal from Old Wu and staying until the night thickened. "Where in the great mountains are there spiritual substances that can allow one to undergo a fourth Newborn transformation?" Qin Ming asked casually. Old Man Liu waved his hands in a hurry. "Creatures that have mutated four times cannot be touched lightly. All of them have backgrounds and are registered by the higher-order anomalies in the mountains. Killing them would draw their attention." Qin Ming understood immediately. It seemed he truly ought to leave this place. Deep in the mountains, near the Grand Rift Valley, two bandit chiefs frowned deeply. That young man had not returned. Had something happened? They felt rather uneasy. After all, if the deeds of that person beyond the mundane world who could turn into mist were exposed, even they would be implicated. They had already released a bird of prey carrying a message to seek guidance from their senior predecessor. Finally, as night deepened, the raptor returned, and the two received a reply. One of the bandit chiefs unfolded the letter and said, "The senior predecessor says we should wait one more day. If he still hasn't appeared by tomorrow, we need not concern ourselves further. We are to act as though nothing happened." The other bandit chief asked, "We suspected he was imitating mountain beasts weeping over graves to offer sacrifices here. Did the elder respond to that?" His companion nodded. "The elder says he might be a beast beyond the mundane world." "Isn't he a person beyond the mundane world? How did he become a beast?" The two bandit chiefs leaned close together, reading the reply carefully. They were startled at first, then nodded in comprehension. Some humans entered deep mountains and vast swamps, living adjacent to forbidden zones, and transformed into anomalies. Naturally, there were also beasts that chose to enter great cities to experience the brilliance and splendor of the human world, and it was not impossible for one to eventually become the master of a city. There were even anomalies that transcended the secular world entirely to become beasts beyond the mundane world. All of this was normal. According to that senior predecessor, nothing in this world was impossible. The old man told them to rest easy. Whether that young man who could mistify was a beast beyond the mundane world or not, it was impossible for his sacrifice to succeed, because that grave mound had long since sunk into the subterranean depths of Black-White Mountain. Let him kowtow all he wanted; there was no need to pay him any heed. The next day, the two bandit chiefs of Golden Rooster Ridge departed with their men. Before leaving, two Golden Rooster knights personally visited the nearby villages, announcing that every household had to hand over one piece of night silver, which they would collect by the middle of the month. "Sure enough, those bandits want us to cough up money," an elderly villager muttered under his breath in resentment. In truth, people had anticipated this all along. When Golden Rooster Ridge had forcibly conscripted Newborn practitioners, the various villages had already guessed that after suffering such heavy losses, the bandits would surely find ways to replenish their strength and ultimately force the neighboring villages to sustain them. Yet this winter was already proving difficult for the villagers outside the mountains. Now, it incited fury in many, driving them to the brink of risking their lives to fight back. Qin Ming heard the commotion outside. He felt it was time to settle the affairs of those around him, for he could endure it no longer and was prepared to take action against Golden Rooster Ridge!