Chapter 52 It’s really here.

Qin Ming was taken aback. Was this sword manual really going to exceed his expectations and give him one surprise after another?

The old man’s swordsmanship was already amazing enough, allowing him to witness a very high level of swordsmanship. However, he had only just achieved some success in his Heavenly Light technique and was not yet able to fully display the power of his strongest strike.

Now, before he even practiced the old man’s Heavenly Light Force, this “Buddha Force” has already reacted?

Soon, Qin Ming shook his head again, thinking that he shouldn’t have such high expectations. If someone actually mastered the Tathagata Force, they probably wouldn’t even bother with this sword manual.

The “Sky-Supporting Force” and “Buddha’s Force” are even stronger than the “Giant Spirit Force,” belonging to legendary techniques. It should be noted that the latter type aims to become a god, which is already extremely powerful.

After considering all this, Qin Ming had already made a judgment: the legendary Heavenly Light Force could not possibly appear in this book.

His mind began to focus entirely on the book, immersing himself in the reading and resonating with its emotions.

The more focused he is, the clearer the sounds and images become.

Qin Ming first went to watch “Rulai Jin”. It was just a sentence, yet it caused such a strong emotional fluctuation, which shows how deep the obsession was of the person who left the notes back then.

Ahead of him appeared a burly man with a full beard, carrying a broadsword on his back, gazing up at the night sky and sighing in the midst of a thunderstorm.

Finally, he shouted, “If you’re so strong, I’ll train you like a nail!”

What’s going on? Qin Ming was taken aback, and almost lost focus again and exited the resonance state because of his words.

After a moment, he understood. Following the clues, the burly man with the bushy beard, after many twists and turns, finally discovered the secret treasure left by his predecessors and obtained a few pages of paper.

The opening is very intimidating; the very first paragraph tells newcomers that this secret method is related to the Tathagata’s Power!

However, when the big man read it carefully and excitedly turned to the last page, he almost tore the paper apart. The last line read, “This is a nail-like force with extremely strong penetrating power.”

The earliest owner of the paper earnestly told his descendants that the combination of Rulaijin (如来劲) definitely contains the strength of a nail.

Qin Ming was also speechless for a moment, understanding the feelings of the burly man with the bushy beard.

In fact, any unique martial art of a sect is composed of many different techniques combined together, eventually merging into the rare Heavenly Light Force.

Not to mention the legendary techniques and martial arts.

Everyone knows that the “true transmission on a single sheet of paper” of the Rulai Jin technique must be densely covered with various techniques.

Qin Ming sighed. No wonder the burly man with the beard left a message with the word “hatred.” He must have been stunned and bitter back then, after all, he had put in a lot of effort in his search for the paper.

After that, Qin Ming began to learn from him.

Despite his cursing, the big man still studied this technique and practiced it with a strong sense of indignation, because he felt he had been deceived.

When Qin Ming resonated with him, he was also affected by him and almost got angry.

At first, he tried to suppress it, but later he found that the more he got angry, the stronger the spiritual resonance became, and the clearer his insights became.

Immediately, he let go completely!

As he closed the book, he was still muttering, “I’ll teach you a lesson you won’t forget!”

Qin Ming closed his eyes and calmed himself for a full quarter of an hour before he could completely shake off that emotion.

He came to the courtyard and began to practice seriously. His movements were very smooth, without any hesitation, as if he had studied it for most of his life.

The celestial light within Qin Ming’s body flowed rapidly, gleaming sharply at his fingertips, and the nail-like strength gradually took shape.

He resonated with the emotions of his predecessors, as if he had personally experienced those events, and he had firmly grasped those insights and experiences, turning them into his own “resources.”

But this does not mean that his tenacity has been accumulated over decades.

Because he only witnessed those things and resonated with those insights and experiences, but he did not gain power; he still had to practice on his own.

In a sense, this emotional resonance is most valuable and effective when dealing with various “techniques,” such as reading sword manuals, spear techniques, and sword classics, which can help one quickly and efficiently master them, achieving enlightenment in a single moment as if one had practiced for decades.

As for the improvement of life level, such as Qin Ming’s transformation from a second rebirth to a third rebirth, as well as the accumulation of the total amount of Heavenly Light Force, he still needs to accumulate it himself.

In those later areas, he could not achieve success overnight.

“Even so, it’s enough! After all, some techniques are extremely difficult to master and not easy to fully comprehend.” Qin Ming was very satisfied. Holding the crystallization of the predecessors’ hard work, he gained immensely after achieving spiritual harmony with them.

He studied it carefully and concluded that this nail-like force was quite powerful. Despite its unpleasant name, it was extremely useful in actual combat.

With Qin Ming’s own comprehension, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to master the nail-like strength, but he was naturally willing to quickly get the hang of it based on his experience and insights, since it would save him a lot of valuable time.

Qin Ming didn’t exert much force; his finger simply pierced into the millstone with a light touch.

The Heavenly Light Force that he developed while practicing the silk scroll possesses multiple characteristics such as adhesion, tearing, and penetration. Undoubtedly, the Nail Classic can be integrated into it!

Suddenly, Qin Ming heard crying, so he pushed open the door and went out.

“The old man of the Li family just passed away.” He heard this news on the street.

Qin Ming’s heart skipped a beat. He looked up at the night sky and roughly estimated the location. The black mist that had appeared not long ago was probably near the Li family’s residence.

A chill ran down his spine. What was going on?

Could there really be all sorts of ghosts and monsters in this world that come to claim lives? He didn’t believe in such things; even the so-called mountain monsters were just high-level alien beings.

However, he did discover that the black mist, invisible to outsiders, was moving from afar like a serpent.

“Is that what Cao Long and Mu Qing were talking about—something that can’t be seen and that even major families fear?” Qin Ming’s heart tightened.

He observed the area discreetly, but did not see the black fog again.

Shuangshu Village is small, with only about forty households. Any slight disturbance will quickly become known throughout the village.

Xu Yueping arrived and sighed, “Now that food from the outside world has been brought in and the mutated creatures have retreated from the outside of the mountains, hunting is relatively safe. It seems that life is about to get better, but some old people are passing away at this time.”

Upon hearing this, Qin Ming immediately sensed something was amiss and asked, “Have many elderly people passed away recently?”

Xu Yueping nodded and said, “Yes, in the surrounding villages, elderly people are passing away every day recently.”

Then, as if remembering something, he said, “A few young people who were injured while hunting also couldn’t hold on recently.”

He lowered his voice: “Some people say that the young man who died may have been involved in going into the mountains to collect weapons, and no one has dared to go there recently. However, a group of people brought back weapons and nothing happened to them.”

Qin Ming frowned, suspecting that all of this was related to the black mist.

Moreover, he first encountered the black mist in the Great Rift Valley where weapons were scattered.

Qin Ming had mixed feelings; he couldn’t tell anyone about these things.

His elation at mastering the Silk Reeling Force and Nail Force was completely shattered. Would that unpredictable yet extremely dangerous black mist return?

Qin Ming felt uncertain and had a strong sense of urgency; he didn’t want to put his fate on uncertain factors.

He strode toward Old Liu’s house, intending to ask where there was a blacksmith’s shop.

“You want to forge a knife, and you even want to do it yourself?” Old Liu looked surprised.

Qin Ming nodded and said, “Yes, we need to find a reliable blacksmith shop. I urgently need a good knife.”

Old Liu shook his head and said, “So many things have happened recently, and we can go hunting in the mountains again. The blacksmith shop is doing incredibly well. They’re busy right now and definitely can’t make room for you. Why don’t you go early tomorrow, before they start work?”

Qin Ming thought for a moment and finally nodded. He figured that if he went now, they definitely wouldn’t be willing, and paying an exorbitant price would be too conspicuous at this sensitive time.

He figured the black mist had just been to Shuangshu Village and would probably move on to another place for a while. It would be strange if such a small village kept having dead people.

“Let’s set off at midnight. This is my first time forging a sword, and I don’t have much experience. I don’t know how long it will take.”

“Why are you doing this? Just find someone to forge it.” Old Liu was very familiar with the blacksmith, but he was undergoing his third rebirth and it was inconvenient for him to go out and greet them. He kicked the big yellow dog and said, “Dog, get up and deliver a letter for me.”

…

After returning home, Qin Ming carefully studied the sword manual to calm his mind.

He saw the old man again, wielding a knife.

The old man had mastered a kind of intercepting force, a very profound Heavenly Light Force method, which was formed by combining a variety of ordinary force methods.

Qin Ming didn’t know exactly how many types he had combined, because the emotions in that scene weren’t intense and the atmosphere was rather somber.

Qin Ming obtained the final intercepting force. As soon as he started practicing it, he knew that this Heavenly Light Force was extremely powerful and quite complex.

If he were to study and comprehend it on his own, it would likely take him a very long time, as this is no longer a single-attribute technique and is quite profound.

Qin Ming saw the old man’s memory, and his understanding of the Intercepting Force was actually in order to pursue the legendary Intercepting Heaven Force!

Unfortunately, although the old man was extremely talented and went far in the way of the sword, his life level could not keep up, and he could not acquire famous techniques. He could only study the intercepting force, which was already the limit.

“Just this one kind of intercepting force is worth consuming the three-colored flower!” Qin Ming already understood the value of the intercepting force.

“Severing a line from the sky, hoping to tear through the night…” He clearly discovered that even the sword manual was evolved from this kind of celestial energy, and the strongest sword strike was meant to sever the sky.

Qin Ming sat quietly, digesting the information for a long time. The intercepting force was indeed remarkable.

Soon after, he showed surprise. His Heavenly Light Force was indeed related to all aspects and could be combined with Intercepting Force!

Now he finally understood why there was that annotation on the silk manuscript; it was indeed a special reminder to future generations: “Fusion is just one word!”

“We must seek answers within ourselves, and also borrow from external sources.”

Clearly, seeking it internally is not enough. Without spiritual matter, how can one quickly elevate their life level by simply grinding it up slowly on their own?

Without other methods of fusion, how could he possibly integrate them?

After drinking the last of the spiritual substance, Qin Ming’s body became hot again that night, and he completely completed his third rebirth, even faster than his second.

He sensed the changes within himself; his strength was definitely over 3,000 jin, and his speed, physical resilience, and other attributes had also improved significantly, resulting in a substantial increase in his physical fitness.

In the middle of the night, Qin Ming opened his eyes, went out of his house, and met up with Old Man Liu.

The blacksmith shop is in Silvervine Town. It’s very quiet at this time of night. No matter how good business is, no one will be working in the middle of the night.

Old Liu was now full of energy and personally helped Qin Ming to blow air and raise the furnace temperature.

However, to Qin Ming’s astonishment, he was unable to melt the piece of mutton fat jade iron, and could only heat it until it was red-hot.

“What a rare treasure you have! You’re really something. It must be a mysterious product from the mountains, right?” Old Liu guessed immediately.

“Keep blowing the air!”

In the end, Qin Ming gave up hope of melting it. While the mutton fat jade iron was red-hot, he swung the sledgehammer and smashed it hard. Fortunately, this was underground, otherwise, the noise in the middle of the night would have been too loud.

Even with Qin Ming’s immense strength, he was exhausted in the end because he never stopped and used all his strength with every strike.

“I, an old man, have been reborn three times, only to become a blacksmith?”

Old Liu couldn’t stand it any longer, so he stepped in himself. His skills were better than Qin Ming’s, after all, he was very familiar with the blacksmiths and had forged knives there himself.

Qin Ming learned quickly, took the sledgehammer again, and with great effort, finally forged the knife.

After the final quenching, the two of them couldn’t sharpen it at all; it was impossible to grind it down.

Old Liu couldn’t take his eyes off it and sighed, “I think that once you get to a bigger place, you can reforge this knife. There’s really nothing we can do here; the materials are just too good.”

“Well, I’m still unsure what weapon I’ll use in the future, so I’ll just make do with what I have for now.” Qin Ming looked at the pure white, jade-like blade; the material was simply too striking.

He applied the mineral coating he had prepared in advance and then dried it with fire.

If you really want to peel off the coating, given the adhesive properties of his Heavenly Light Force, you can simply brush it off with your hand.

Due to limited materials, even including the handle, it’s shorter than an arm, but it’s enough for Qin Ming’s use, and he finds it quite handy.

As for the small, bluish-green jade iron, Qin Ming didn’t touch it; such delicate little objects couldn’t be forged here.

Qin Ming asked, “Isn’t it a bit early to go to that family’s house to borrow the secret book now?”

“It’s pitch black, and even the breakfast shops in town haven’t opened yet. It’s not appropriate to go so early.”

The two wandered around the town for a long time, but couldn’t even get breakfast.

Qin Ming’s pupils contracted. It was just that what he cared about most came to pass; he saw that patch of black mist again.

It appeared in the town, and just as it came out of a house, it seemed to spot the two of them and quickly came over.

“Uncle Liu, let’s go home first,” Qin Ming said, pulling him around and giving the old man a wink in the thick darkness.

After Old Liu’s third rebirth, even in the pitch-black night, his expression was clearly visible. He immediately nodded and said, “Good!”

The two slipped into a narrow alley and changed their route.

The black mist then changed direction and followed.

Qin Ming realized that they were being closely watched. It was probably because there was no one on the street late at night, and the two of them were too conspicuous.

Another possibility is that the two encountered the black mist in the Great Rift Valley before. This wasn’t their first meeting, and the black mist probably remembered them.

“There’s another possibility: did the black mist also notice me when I discovered it yesterday?”

In either case, things are unlikely to end well today!

“Let’s go back to the village, and hunt some game to take back with us!” Qin Ming said, naturally gripping the hilt of his knife, and left Yinteng Town with Old Man Liu.

The black mist seemed quite pleased with their entry into the deserted area, and followed them silently.

As the trees on both sides of the road grew thicker, the black mist could no longer contain itself and suddenly pounced on the two of them.

Qin Ming didn’t hesitate either. He had been on guard for a long time, and when it got close, he slashed with his knife!

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