The purple lightning beast's body was trembling faintly. This was out of pure rage; it felt so humiliated to have run into the very same human and been ridden twice in a row!
"Don't be nervous. There's nothing to fear. I ran into a purple lightning beast before too, and it was much braver than you—wild and unyielding, baring its teeth, snarling, and wagging its tail at me," Qin Ming comforted it.
Yet he noticed that this temporarily conscripted mount was trembling even harder. Was it really that cowardly?
The purple lightning beast was so furious its fur bristled all over. It felt as if it were going to explode on the spot!
It was originally a good thing that this nemesis hadn't recognized it, but to think he was slandering its past self behind its back!
Wagging its tail? Baring its teeth and snarling? What kind of outrageous slander was this?! With its noble status, how could it ever do something so unseemly? The purple lightning beast wanted to scream at the top of its lungs: *This princess is going to die of rage!*
"Hurry, catch up to that man from earlier!" Qin Ming urged, telling it that it wouldn't feel nervous once it started running.
The purple lightning beast wasn't just about to explode—it was so furious it was practically ascending to heaven on the spot.
If it weren't painfully aware that this human possessed adhesive force and stuck like a dog-skin plaster that could never be shaken off, it would have bucked him off long ago and stomped his face into a bloody pulp.
It endured in silence, taking small, deliberate steps as it trotted forward.
The purple lightning beast knew this human was an absolute freak who had wiped out Golden Rooster Ridge all on his own.
It silently bided its time. After all, it had undergone four newborn transformations now and was no longer what it once was!
Carefully assessing their relative strength, it believed that as long as the other party got off its back, it should be able to kick him to pieces.
"Halt. Something's wrong." Qin Ming patted its back.
Goosebumps broke out over the purple lightning beast's skin. It cursed inwardly: *This guy is nothing but trouble—chase one second, stop the next.*
Qin Ming looked grave as he focused his mind, letting his instinctive perception spread outward.
Trees were sparse around this lake, making it easy for him to spot the unusual situation lurking in the dark.
He spotted a speech sparrow sitting motionless, nearly blending into a tree fork in the night, visibly watching him.
Qin Ming was instantly incensed. Which major faction had sent this one?
Could it be that even after changing his appearance into a fat man, he still hadn't escaped their eyes?
Keeping his composure, Qin Ming observed in silence and discovered a crow. Not only was it spying on him, but it also seemed extraordinarily tense.
He had merely entered the mountains, yet someone had already dispatched such cunning birds to tail him.
Qin Ming was no longer in the mood to pursue the man in gray; this hidden peril demanded far more of his attention.
This time, though he hadn't brought the conspicuous, heavy bow seized from Zhao Jingshuo, he was still carrying the bow and arrows he had purchased previously.
Without a doubt, both birds were spirits, extraordinarily vigilant. The moment they saw Qin Ming unlimber his bow, their wings flapped as they took to the air.
Unfortunately, they had run into Qin Ming, a master who integrated the four pinnacles of saber, spear, hammer, and archery. At this distance, his marksmanship never missed!
"Ah, mercy! Don't kill me!" A speech sparrow was of the slickest sort, which also meant it was spineless. With its wing pierced by an arrow, it plummeted to the ground and instantly began begging for its life.
The crow was of sturdier temperament; even with both wings struck by arrows, it did not utter a single sound as it crashed by the lakeshore.
The purple lightning beast inwardly cried that it was done for—even its lookouts had been shot down.
Ever since its last mishap, it made sure to have two little lackeys standing guard even when it bathed. Yet those two fools had failed completely, captured in a single sweep.
The two birds felt deeply wronged. Who could have imagined that human would be so fast? Even the purple lightning beast, with its extraordinarily sharp senses, hadn't reacted in time, so naturally neither had they.
Besides, seeing that Her Highness the Princess wasn't putting up a fight, they had been a bit bewildered and wanted to observe first to see if they needed to send word.
"You. Pull the iron arrow out of your wing yourself, then fly over here," Qin Ming called out.
The speech sparrow felt completely numb. What kind of ruthless monster was this, tormenting a bird like this?!
The speech sparrow was the length of a palm, pale blue all over with eyes like black gems, visibly a shrewd and thievish bird. Bearing the agonizing pain, it flapped its wings and wrenched itself free from the iron arrow.
"Go help that crow," Qin Ming instructed.
The black bird struck by two arrows wanted to roll its eyes. *Who's a crow?!*
"Milord, it's a myna, just unusually large. Crows have black beaks, which is why people often curse them as black-beaks. Mynas have yellow beaks—well, this one's is golden," the speech sparrow babbled fluently as it used its beak to help wrench out the myna's arrows.
Qin Ming hadn't distinguished between them and felt a little embarrassed. "Who asked for your explanation, blabbermouth?"
The glowing blue speech sparrow immediately clamped its beak shut. That flattery had kicked right into the donkey's hoof!
"Both of you, get over here," Qin Ming threatened, bow and arrow in hand.
In the end, flapping their wings, the two birds landed unsteadily on Qin Ming's shoulder.
They felt as though their entire bodies were glued down, unable to struggle at all—an extremely peculiar heavenly light force.
In just an instant, a suspicion struck the purple lightning beast's two sentries: could this be the person who had once infuriated Her Highness to the point of gnashing her teeth, the one who clung like a dog-skin plaster?
Did she... run into him again? Both birds found it utterly absurd and unbelievable. Just how terrible was their master's luck? She was probably about to die of rage!
The purple lightning beast and the two birds cursed inwardly, their moods foul beyond measure.
Qin Ming was equally sullen. His path had been fraught with setbacks, weighing heavily on him.
He sighed softly. "The enemy's desire to destroy me never dies."
Then, glaring menacingly at the two birds, he demanded, "Speak. Who sent you, and how long have you been stalking me?"
What was going on? The two birds were dumbfounded, completely bewildered.
"Look at those innocent little eyes of yours. Still playing dumb with me? Speak up quickly, or I'll slap the two of you into meat patties with one stroke each!" Qin Ming said.
Then he gave the purple lightning beast's back a slap. *Smack!* The sound was crisp and clear.
The effect was immediate. The two birds trembled in terror—their master had actually just been struck!
Rosy clouds puffed from the purple lightning beast's mouth, and purple mist rippled across its fur. It was truly pushed to its limit. When had it ever suffered such indignity?
Yet at the crucial moment, it detected with horror that the heavenly light force naturally emanating from this human was substantially stronger than last time. Had he... broken through as well?
Its urge to fight him to the death instantly withered. For now... it would endure!
"Crow, you first. If you dare utter a single wrong word, I'll pluck a hundred of your feathers on the spot!" Qin Ming threatened. Thinking speech sparrows were too crafty, he decided to start with the pitch-black one.
"Milord, I promise not to lie, though I cannot guarantee every word's meaning is exact. After all, I am no human and have no great gift for language. And... I am a myna." Toward the end, its voice grew faint as it saw the human glaring at it.
"What, you want me to call you elder brother? You're a crow right now, so spare me the nonsense."
"Very well, I am a crow, but this cannot count as me lying," the myna replied, serious and meticulous.
It then swore that it was truly not spying on Qin Ming, had never seen him before, and had never crossed paths with him.
"Milord, how could we provoke you for no reason? We belong to the mountains..." The speech sparrow swore as well, claiming it had never seen Qin Ming before, and vowed that if it lied, may its entire race be exterminated.
Qin Ming glanced at it. Did this cunning bird have to swear such a brutal oath?
He reflected for a moment; indeed, he hadn't seemed to be followed along the way.
"Then what are you doing here?" Qin Ming questioned sternly.
The speech sparrow said, "Milord, have you heard of the black market in the night mist? It appears once a month in the mountains. We wanted to follow behind the noble purple lightning beast to see if we could slip inside."
Qin Ming's heart stirred. He had heard Xu Sheng mention it before—a special domain where humans and strange beasts traded, requiring an invitation from an acquaintance to enter and held once a month.
It was said that the black markets in the night mist had tiers. The higher the tier, the deeper into the mountains one had to venture. Though there was no mountain lord here, many dangerous strange beasts still lurked, entrenching themselves in the mountain range's deepest parts.
"What level of night market is this?" Qin Ming asked. He was somewhat enticed, for if it only involved creatures in the mutation stage, he had nothing to fear.
Strange beasts were like humans: nine mutations were an anomaly, virtually impossible to encounter.
Qin Ming had already tested the power of his unified heavenly light forces against Ge Qianxun, who had undergone seven newborn transformations. He felt he could safely take a stroll through the black market in the night mist.
He truly didn't fear being targeted by monsters. If a mutated spiritual creature tailed him, it might even satisfy his current needs.
"Can I tag along with you to get in?" Qin Ming asked the purple lightning beast beneath him.
The purple lightning beast crushed the rock beneath its hooves into powder. If it carried this dog-skin plaster inside, what would become of its lifelong reputation? It would never be able to hold its head high again.
The speech sparrow said, "Milord, entering like this definitely won't do. If other creatures see you riding atop such a noble purple lightning beast, humans or strange beasts will surely target you in secret. It would be far too conspicuous—a crane among chickens; the tallest tree in the forest is the first to be felled by the wind."
Qin Ming readily complied and hopped down, agreeing that the speech sparrow made good sense.
Yet his hand never left the purple lightning beast, ready to exert adhesive force at a moment's notice.
He remarked, "Are you Brother Purple or Sister Purple? You won't hold a grudge over me riding you like this, will you? Surely not. I think your temper is quite good, a hundred times better than that irritable purple lightning beast from before. I'm just going to broaden my horizons—may I accompany you?"
Qin Ming had confidence now. His strength was sufficient for self-defense in such a place, and having altered his appearance, he feared nothing even if trouble arose.
"It's not your old den ahead, is it? Let me make this clear: if anything happens to me, you will certainly burst before I do." As Qin Ming spoke, his fully fused heavenly light force radiated brilliant splendor in his right hand. With a gentle brush of his palm, a boulder by the path shattered silently.
Silence was far more terrifying than a loud detonation.
The purple lightning beast's body tautened. It felt that this scoundrel had become vastly more terrifying than last time. But without the mask and armor, why was he so fat? It silently cursed: *Damn fatty!*
"Brother Purple, Sister Purple, the two birds said you're of noble blood. Where do you live? Which ridge do you inhabit?" Qin Ming sought to lighten the mood.
The purple lightning beast thought to itself that if it uttered the words "blessed land," it would scare him to death, though he might also silence the beast to prevent secrets from leaking.
"Earlier, you said Brother or Sister Purple was noble. In what way?" Qin Ming asked the two talking birds.
"Inborn divine patterns," the speech sparrow replied, wanting to heap praise yet not daring to reveal too much, settling for four words.
"Mm, let me see... It does look like there are subtle, mysterious patterns on its neck. Wait, are you wearing a fake mane? No way, you're faking even your fur? You don't have patchy alopecia, do you?" Qin Ming wondered in astonishment. There seemed to be an extra layer of skin beneath the purple lightning beast's neck.
*You're the one with patchy alopecia! That's this princess's clothes!* The purple lightning beast cursed inwardly, nearly speaking human tongue to curse him out.
"It's to keep a low profile. A full coat of divine patterns is far too eye-catching," the speech sparrow explained.
This edition of the black market in the night mist was set in a valley, cloaked in heavy fog and guarded at the entrance by a six-times-mutated mountain monster.
Before approaching, Qin Ming warned them, "All three of you, keep your expressions normal. If anyone shows the slightest anomaly that feels off to me, I guarantee you'll detonate on the spot—so keep smiling."
He reckoned they might run into beasts familiar with the purple lightning beast in the mountains.
Yet he didn't mind; he might even acquire the spiritual substance needed for his fifth newborn transformation because of it.
The valley was quite lively, filled with all manner of creatures: masked humans, lumbering one-horned giant bears, silver birds of prey, and numerous strange beasts whose names could not be called.
After wandering for just a while, Qin Ming felt something was amiss. The purple lightning beast was turning far too many heads, drawing stares from strange beasts of considerable background.
*This could go bad!* he realized. He had severely underestimated the purple lightning beast's status earlier.
*No matter, nothing to fear. The monsters here right now can all be dealt with. Let's quickly see if there are rare treasures; if not, I'll bolt immediately.* Qin Ming made a quick assessment.
Soon, he was startled. His heavenly light resonated with a yellowish-brown stone on a stall, as though yearning to... devour it.
What was this? He had never experienced anything like it.
Then he noticed another oddity: as he reached out to touch the palm-sized stone, Yellow Clay Palm threatened to unleash its power on its own.
"How much for this stone?" Qin Ming asked.
"It's not worth anything, just used as a weight for the cloth. If you like it, take it as a gift," replied the humanoid mountain monster. Covered in cyan beast fur, it bared its fangs in a grim smile, looking thoroughly terrifying.
Though speaking politely to Qin Ming, its eyes were eager as it gazed at the purple lightning beast.
Qin Ming guessed it had no idea what the stone really was, and was being so generous primarily to curry favor with the purple lightning beast.
"Here's one day gold for you." Qin Ming pocketed the stone immediately, already planning his exit. This purple lightning beast beside him was far too suspicious.
"Mm, how much for this book?" Before leaving, he spotted an ancient book on an adjacent stall that resonated with his spirit, causing him to stop at once.
"Ten day gold, I'd say. It's no high-grade technique," that mountain monster answered, equally enthusiastic.
The purple lightning beast was about to explode with rage, cursing inwardly: *You think he's my companion?! Giving things away at a loss—this princess has been kidnapped by him!*
It realized Qin Ming was using it to pick up bargains. It was both furious and indignant, yet dared not show it, terrified that terrifying palm resting against it would send it to the grave. Most importantly, there were no high-ranking strange beasts here.
Chapter 85