Chapter 55 Another Life

“All things carry yin and embrace yang, and through the interaction of these energies, harmony is achieved.” Qin Ming pondered, and then he wrote the two characters “Qin Ming” on the table with tea.

In that blurry and fragmented memory, Cui Chonghe was his name.

“Why am I stranded here, and why is the name I remember Qin Ming?” He looked at the words on the table, wondering which part was true and which part was false.

Even in his tattered clothes and bloodstained state, when he was utterly destitute, he always remembered that his name was Qin Ming. But why is he now gradually recalling the hazy other side of his life?

Qin Ming pondered, took a deep breath, and felt the rich fragrance of the flowing mist from the tricolor flower. In this moment of flickering, hazy memories, the sweet scent made the scene feel even more familiar to him.

Soon, a memory surfaced in his mind: a group of people, all dressed in fine clothes and adorned with beautiful jade, were watching with concern a boy whose face still looked somewhat immature.

On the jade table in front of the boy, there was a tricolor flower and a jar of potent medicinal liquid.

Qin Ming pondered, who were these people, and who was that boy? They all looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn’t quite place them.

Initially, after waking up in this remote place, the first thing he remembered was that his name was Qin Ming. Later, with each rebirth, he recalled the silk scroll and his grandfather.

“I was also there, but from a distance, quietly watching the boy consume the tricolor flower and the potent medicinal liquid.”

Qin Ming watched those scenes unfold, noting that the men, women, and children around him were all paying close attention to the young man.

Those people were all of noble status, and some of the women had very special hair ornaments, like flowing purple mist feathers, or a bunch of delicate peach blossoms surrounded by crimson clouds.

“That boy looked to be only thirteen or fourteen years old. He was neither in his prime nor on the path of the Giant Spirit God. How could he dare to be reborn ahead of time? And how could he have reached this level?”

Qin Ming wondered, was this the true foundation of a top-tier family? The ability to do things that ordinary people couldn’t.

He looked down at the three-colored flower, about a foot tall, in the jade box. Nourished by the sunlight, it was already a top-quality plant. The other person’s plant was no less impressive, and their quality was surprisingly similar.

Qin Ming took out the tricolor flower from the jade box, plucked the crystal-clear petals one by one, and put them into his mouth.

Sure enough, this mysterious product, harvested from a special node, contained the essence of heavenly light, and its taste made him feel a burning sensation, like being burned by raging flames.

Although Qin Ming felt pain, he felt it was bearable. Then his abdomen started to burn, and intense sunlight shone inside him, as if it wanted to destroy his body.

He remained calm, continuing to pluck flower petals, put them in his mouth, and consume them.

Qin Ming was glowing, it was the collision of heavenly light, one was the otherworldly heavenly light that pierced the night and fell on Mount Ling, and the other was the inner heavenly light born from the human body itself.

“It really hurts.” He didn’t stop. After eating the whole tricolor flower, he chewed up the leaves, roots, and other parts and swallowed them.

In an instant, the two kinds of heavenly light within Qin Ming’s body seemed about to explode, but his flesh and blood were extremely tough, suppressing the riot. Apart from bringing waves of burning pain, it did not truly damage his vital energy.

On his abdomen, two kinds of celestial light intertwined, constantly rotating, chasing each other, combining into a circle, and finally merging into one.

With a boom, the two kinds of heavenly light within his body completely merged, and then suddenly burst forth, rushing towards his limbs and bones, purifying his entire body once again.

Qin Ming’s total amount of Heavenly Light is increasing and expanding rapidly.

This stimulated his flesh and blood, as well as his spirit. In his mind, it was as if a thunderbolt had burst forth, shining into his body. His internal organs, limbs, and other parts of his body responded in kind, and then his whole body was radiating a new light.

Qin Ming entered the courtyard and unleashed several different Heavenly Light Forces, almost emanating from his body, making him significantly stronger than before.

“melt!”

He stood there, gathering several kinds of heavenly light energy.

At the same time, some scenes flashed before Qin Ming’s eyes, and he saw the boy and those men and women in brocade clothes again.

“Wow, after three rebirths at Chongxuan, he has actually fused four kinds of Heavenly Light Force. That’s truly remarkable!” Even an elderly man with white hair and a youthful face exclaimed in admiration.

A woman in palace attire, who appeared to be in her early thirties, with her hair styled in a high bun and adorned with a flowing golden feather as a hairpin, nodded and said, “Although each type of Heavenly Light Force seems rather ordinary, this is the initial stage of ascending to the heavens. Only after these four are combined can one begin to transform the mundane into the miraculous.”

The young man’s name was Cui Chongxuan, a name taken from the classics of those outside the secular world.

He was covered in sweat and trembling slightly, but he did manage to pull through and successfully integrate the four types of Heavenly Light Force.

The old man said, “Although you have not yet stepped into the path beyond the mundane world, your amazing performance on this path after your three rebirths is enough to cause a great stir if word gets out. Very good!”

A dignified middle-aged man also spoke up: “Who can say that this path cannot lead to the highest point? I have already found you the priceless secret manual, the Six Imperial Heart Sutra. Do not let us down.”

Qin Ming watched quietly; he must have been an observer, far away from the crowd.

He snapped out of his thoughts. Why did it feel like he had an extra, fake life?

Is he Qin Ming or Cui Chonghe?

For some reason, he always felt that Cui Chonghe’s life was unreal.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have completely forgotten it, and it wouldn’t be as vivid as his memories from his innocent childhood.

At this moment, Qin Ming had integrated all the Heavenly Light Force into one, and felt better than ever before. The Heavenly Light in his body had increased dramatically. With such abundant Heavenly Light nourishing his body and spirit, perhaps he wouldn’t need to search for spiritual matter next time, and could be reborn directly, raising his level of life.

“Is it really that powerful to have gone through three rebirth stages and integrated four types of Heavenly Light Force?” Qin Ming muttered to himself, unconvinced.

He integrated five types of Heavenly Light Force, and among them, Intercepting Force and Radiant Force were no longer single-type force techniques.

Qin Ming stopped thinking about it. He believed that he would soon know about the past. Many blurry scenes were becoming clearer and clearer, and his rebirth might reveal everything to him.

He tested the stone millstone again, and without using his fingers, he easily tore apart and stuck off a palm-sized rough stone by simply circulating the Heavenly Light Force on the back of his hand.

“I’m sorry, Old Millstone.” In the past two days, although he had been suppressing his power, he still managed to make the millstone pitted and uneven.

“I seem to have become really strong,” Qin Ming muttered to himself.

But he quickly poured cold water on his own hopes. Just before nightfall, he had experienced a terrifying moment. The otherworldly beings could fly, turn into mist, and become invisible. If he hadn’t had the mutton-fat jade iron knife, he would have been in grave danger!

“I have already begun to integrate various Heavenly Light Forces according to the instructions of my predecessors, but can the methods in the silk scroll be used against those outside the secular world?”

Qin Ming was uncertain, but he had no choice but to continue becoming stronger.

Old Liu returned just as the night was drawing to a close. Having spent fifteen gold coins, he was determined not to leave early. He ate a meal with Old Wu and stayed until nightfall.

“Where in the mountains can one find spiritual substances that can grant a person a fourth rebirth?” Qin Ming asked casually.

Old Liu quickly waved his hand and said, “We can’t easily touch creatures that have mutated four times. They all have some history and are registered by the higher-level alien species in the mountains. Killing them will attract their attention.”

Qin Ming immediately understood; it seemed he really should leave this place.

In the mountains, near the Great Rift Valley, two bandits frowned deeply. The young man hadn’t returned; had something happened to him? They were uneasy.

After all, if the deeds of those otherworldly beings who can transform into mist were to be leaked, even they would be implicated.

They had already released birds of prey to deliver messages and consult with their elders.

Finally, as night fell, the raptor returned, and the two received a reply.

One of the bandits unfolded the letter and said, “The old master told us to wait another day. If he still hasn’t shown up by tomorrow, we should just ignore it and pretend nothing happened.”

Another bandit leader asked, “We suspect he’s imitating the mountain beasts crying at the grave, offering sacrifices here. Has the old man responded to this?”

His companion nodded and said, “The old man said he might be a beast from beyond the earth.”

“Wasn’t he a hermit? How did he turn into a beast?”

The two bandits huddled together and carefully read the reply. They were first surprised, then nodded in understanding.

Some venture into deep mountains and marshes, near desolate lands, and become extraordinary beings. Others choose to enter giant cities, experiencing the prosperity and splendor of the human world, and it’s not impossible for one to eventually become the ruler of a city. Still others transcend worldly affairs, becoming beasts beyond the realm of mortals—all of this is perfectly normal.

According to that old man, nothing is impossible in this world.

The old man reassured the two that the young man who could turn into mist, regardless of whether he was a beast from beyond the heavens or not, could not possibly succeed in the ritual, since the grave mound had long since disappeared into the ground beneath Black and White Mountain. He told them to let him kowtow as he pleased and not to worry about him.

The next day, the two bandits from Jinji Ridge left with their men.

Before leaving, the two Golden Rooster Knights personally went to and from the nearby villages and told the people that each household had to hand over one night silver coin, which they would collect in the middle of the month.

“As expected, these bandits want us to pay up,” an old man muttered under his breath.

In fact, people had a premonition that when Jinjiling forcibly recruited new recruits, the people of various villages had already guessed that they would suffer heavy losses this time and would definitely try to replenish their strength, eventually having the nearby villages support them.

But this winter, the villagers outside the mountains were already having a hard time, and now this has aroused the anger of many people, who are almost ready to fight them to the death.

Hearing the commotion outside, Qin Ming felt he needed to make arrangements for the people and things around him, because he had reached his limit and was preparing to take action against Jinji Ridge!