Chapter 75 Sighing for the Past

As daylight faded and the hazy night enveloped Crimson Cloud City, Qin Ming sat quietly in his room, watching the fragmented scenes of the past gradually recombine and solidify from afar.

“So you are Li Qingxu.” Qin Ming looked at the boy in feathered robes in the picture and realized his name.

The two knew each other before, but they weren’t old friends; they were just nodding acquaintances.

“A direct descendant of the Li family, he possesses a very special talent. It is difficult for others to become disciples of a recluse, but he is perfectly suited to that path. He was noticed by a renowned senior figure in the entire world of darkness and was exceptionally accepted as a closed-door disciple.”

Qin Ming frowned. That senior from the secluded place seemed difficult to deal with; even ancient families had to treat him with respect.

The image of Li Qingxu reappeared before his eyes, dressed in feathered robes like an immortal, ethereal and otherworldly. Even the purple bamboo stick in his hand was exquisite, made from a rare bamboo from a blessed land, which had once received the light of the otherworld.

Soon, the person’s figure faded away, and more scenes appeared. All the fragmented images were reassembled and rushed towards him all at once.

Aside from a few minor details that were still somewhat hazy, the memories of the former main body returned, causing Qin Ming to rub his temples repeatedly to relieve his fatigue.

A multitude of images and scenes, from his childhood to adolescence, his past experiences crashed against him like waves.

Qin Ming quickly absorbed and digested the information, his feelings were very complicated. All sorts of emotions from the past affected him, like a sea of ​​fog that was about to drown him.

He activated the magic on the silk scroll, calmed his mind, broke free from the constraints of the scene, and looked down upon the past.

He wanted to look at his past self from a different perspective. There were some things he had doubts about, and he wanted to examine his past experiences with a critical mindset.

“I am Cui Chonghe, a direct descendant of a thousand-year-old family.” Qin Ming confirmed his identity by recalling his past memories.

The past seemed to have transformed into slightly yellowed books, which he found in his dusty old room, and now he reopened them.

Qin Ming turned to the first page, as if stepping through the mottled years and returning to more than ten years ago.

“Poor child, you’ve suffered a lot out there. Remember, I’m your seventh uncle.” A young man with thick eyebrows and bright eyes said, patting his head and revealing a kind smile. His teeth were so white they seemed to be shining.

Qin Ming was very familiar with him. This was Cui Hao, one of the people closest to him. He had been very close to this seventh uncle since childhood.

He gazed ahead, at his earliest childhood memory.

“Have you ever been lost?” Qin Ming whispered. In that scene, he was at most three or four years old, his little clothes were tattered. He hoped to remember more, but he couldn’t.

A normal person’s memories begin as early as three or four years old.

He was led to bathe, changed into clean clothes, and adorned with beautiful jade, as if he had become a different person. Although slightly uneasy, the stubborn young man seemed unwilling to be intimidated, his small figure standing straight and silent.

The scene quickly shifts to him moving into the Cui family’s house. Someone teaches him to read and explains various rules, which he carefully memorizes.

During that time, he cried secretly, but he didn’t want anyone to see it.

“Chonghe, remember your name, don’t forget it again. Come, I’ll teach you how to write these characters.” An elder personally taught him to write.

“Chonghe, come here. This is your younger brother, Cui Chongxuan. You must protect him in the future. He is one of your closest relatives.” Cui’s mother appeared.

She looked very young, elegant and graceful, with a delicate and beautiful face. A flowing golden feather was tucked into her hair as a hairpin, radiating a hazy glow, unlike anything ordinary.

The child she was holding in her right hand was very young, only a little over two years old, but he looked very intelligent, with bright, dark eyes that were curiously observing him.

“He is a year and a half younger than you. You two should love each other dearly in the future. You are the older brother, so you should take good care of him,” said Cui’s mother.

“Okay!” Qin Ming, who was nearly four years old, nodded.

He settled into the Cui family’s home and completely adapted to life there.

Mr. Cui was very strict and had great prestige in the household. When Qin Ming was young, he always remained quiet when he saw him.

Perhaps that’s why he was so close to Cui Hao. This seventh uncle didn’t act like an elder; he would sometimes take him to stroll through the bustling streets, ride strange beasts with him outside the city, and even take him on a painted boat on the Moyun River at night.

For this, Uncle Seven, Cui Hao, was even scolded by his father.

The dusty book of time turned a new page. Qin Ming looked back and saw his older brother, Cui Chongxiao, who was eight years older than him. Although his brother was still a teenager, he was already very mature and steady, much like their father.

Only when he saw the young Qin Ming did Cui Chongxiao’s eyes light up, revealing a hint of youthful innocence. He walked over with a smile and carefully examined him.

It is said that Cui Chongxiao became a disciple of a master, but his father forbade anyone to discuss or spread the word about his master’s exact location. All that was known was that this master could only return once every few years.

This also shows that Mr. and Mrs. Cui were cautious and did not want more people to know that their eldest son, Cui Chongxiao, had become the disciple of a remarkable master.

Qin Ming overheard their whispered conversation and learned that his elder brother should be worshipping in an ancient Taoist sect related to gods. It wasn’t about revering and contemplating the gods, but rather about the sect’s grand ambition to subdue special “phenomena” and “territories,” turning them into their own power and making themselves gods.

Every spring when the flowers bloom, my parents receive a special letter that requires them to consult several ancient books to decipher. They are very careful and it seems to be encrypted multiple times.

At this time, even the strictest father, Mr. Cui, would smile, appearing gentle and radiant.

Qin Ming and his younger brother Cui Chongxuan both suspected that it was a letter from their eldest brother that made them so happy.

Cui Chongxuan once tried to steal a letter to read its contents, but he couldn’t understand the coded language at all. He was severely beaten by his father and never dared to provoke him again.

The main branch of the Cui family has many elderly men with white hair, all of whom possess unfathomable strength. Some of them have ventured into other realms and are rarely seen within the clan. One of these elders, who has chosen the path of rebirth, once took a deep breath and, to amuse a younger generation, snatched a four-colored bird from a tree.

These elders, whether kind or strict with the younger generation, all placed great importance on nurturing their descendants.

Whenever these old men greeted him with smiles and asked Qin Ming to call them Fifth Master or Seventh Master, he would recall a blurry figure—a grandfather from his hazy childhood memories, whom Qin Ming had been clamoring to find.

“He has gone on a long journey to the capital of the Great Yu Kingdom. He used to go crazy practicing the methods in the silk book, but now he is ’emptying the void to subtract’ and going to find his own path.”

“I miss him, I miss that grandfather.” Although he had already adapted to life in the Cui family, Qin Ming couldn’t help but get teary-eyed. Then he wanted to get the scroll of silk back.

“No, the silk scroll is an antique and cannot be turned over casually, as it is easily damaged. You should practice the first few pages first before looking at it, but… this book is very difficult to master.”

From then on, Qin Ming took the methods in the silk scroll very seriously, became determined to practice them, and persisted in practicing them every day, rain or shine.

He had many cousins, but during this time, a few of them went far away and were chosen by people from outside the secular world, embarking on very different paths.

Some brothers and sisters entered esoteric Buddhism, some joined more famous sects, and others stayed at home to pursue physical regeneration.

“The silk scroll has a very impressive origin; it was once one of the most famous classic texts?” As Cui Chongxuan grew older, he wanted to follow his elder brother’s training after learning what he was practicing.

Mr. Cui scolded, “The silk scroll is very difficult to practice. You can choose other secret texts if you want to learn it on your own.”

As a result, Cui Chongxuan, who was growing taller, became jealous and complained, “Why can’t I practice?” He even showed hostility towards his elder brother.

“I want to know, is the silk scroll the most powerful method of rebirth?” Cui Chongxuan rarely contradicted his father, wanting to get to the bottom of it.

Father Cui’s expression softened considerably. He said, “Who dares to claim the best? There is more than just one silk scroll in the world. There are other equally powerful lineages, such as the Six Imperial Heart Sutra, the Tathagata Dharma, and the Book of Heaven. You should practice the family’s secret manuals diligently and lay a solid foundation. In the future, I may be able to obtain a copy of the Six Imperial Heart Sutra for you. If you are skilled enough, it is not impossible for you to truly become a disciple of that old man.”

Qin Ming said, “Father, I also want to see the Six Imperial Heart Sutra in the future and verify it with the silk manuscript. The new life method in the latter book is too difficult and seems impossible.”

“What, you’ve lost confidence in yourself?” Mr. Cui looked at him, his eyes seemingly able to see right through him.

“Yes!” Qin Ming was a little impatient and turned to leave. Afterwards, he asked his cousin for some secret manuals, wanting to see what the other new methods were like.

Fifth Master of the main lineage looked at him with a smile and said, “The choice of which new method to build a foundation has a significant impact, and the final achievement will vary greatly. If you practice those ordinary secret manuals and then go back to practice the methods in the silk book after stepping into the new realm, the effect will definitely not be as good as sticking to the original path.”

After hearing these words, Qin Ming went to ask Cui’s father and mother, and received similar answers. After reading his cousin’s visualization method and Qigong, he threw them away, without wavering in his determination to master the new method of the silk book.

The inn room was quiet. Qin Ming, like an outsider, looked back on his past and turned the page once more.

The entire Cui family highly regards him, praising him not only at home but also in front of outsiders. Everyone can see that he is a core member of the direct line.

It was known from the very beginning that Cui Chonghe was likely to be the future leader of the main lineage and was being groomed for leadership.

One night, the second master of the clan accidentally revealed that Cui Chonghe had a special talent, which made him very suitable for venturing into otherworldly realms. Whether or not he mastered the silk scroll was not important; he was destined to become a near-immortal.

Master Cui revealed that Cui Chonghe has not been sent away yet because he is waiting for a renowned senior figure in the entire Night Fog World to emerge from seclusion. They have already made an agreement for Cui Chonghe to become his disciple.

Afterwards, when Cui’s father learned that he had spoken nonsense while drunk, his face turned extremely ugly. The Second Master knew that he was in the wrong and was filled with shame, so he punished himself by going into seclusion.

Although Master Cui leaked the secret while drunk within the clan, some people outside still knew about it, which threatened Qin Ming’s safety. Several people tried to harm him, but the Cui family saw through their schemes each time.

Qin Ming was indeed treated very well by the Cui family. When he got a little older, his mount was upgraded to something quite extraordinary, a creature that had mutated four times.

Although four mutations were already the limit for that alien, it was still quite luxurious to let a person who had not yet been born ride on it; it could be considered top-of-the-line.

The Cui family protected him very well. Although there were repeated attempts to spy on him, nothing unexpected happened.

Moreover, when Qin Ming was still young, Cui’s father had already made an agreement with the Wang family of Qianxing City that one of the Wang family’s legitimate daughters would marry Cui Chonghe, thus forming a marriage alliance between the two families.

Qin Ming had even met the girl; she was extremely beautiful and loved to laugh.

However, as he grew older, when the two families met again, Mr. and Mrs. Cui began to warn him to be polite and avoid getting too close to each other.

Once, when he was traveling with the eldest daughter of the Wang family in Qinghe City, Cui’s father got angry and scolded him afterwards.

As Qin Ming grew up, the Cui family still valued him and praised their prodigy in front of distinguished guests, but they rarely let him see those people anymore, for fear that he would be distracted and let him focus on the methods in the silk scroll.

After he turned teens, he met many people, from important figures in various families to direct descendants of ancient clans, and even disciples of reclusive individuals.

It must be said that the ancient families have a profound heritage, and even those ancient Taoist traditions, powerful sects, and even people from other worldly realms are willing to befriend them.

For years, rumors circulated that some important figures in the secluded lands would be taking on disciples, and that several people would emerge from seclusion to enter the mortal world to select suitable disciples. The location was set in Qinghe City.

The rumors were true; everyone was taking action. Li Qingxu, Li Qingyue, the eldest daughter of the Wang family, and a group of others came to this giant city one after another, hoping to become disciples of those powerful figures.

It was at this moment that Qin Ming sensed Li Qingxu’s hostility.

Ultimately, some renowned recluses did indeed appear, and a small number of them were chosen.

A highly respected elder valued Li Qingxu greatly and presented him with a purple bamboo stick nourished by the sunlight upon their first meeting.

Afterwards, Qin Ming was puzzled. Wasn’t it said that a renowned senior figure in the Night Mist World was going to take him away? Why did they choose Li Qingxu instead?

“No rush, the senior who has taken a liking to you hasn’t finished his seclusion yet,” said Mr. Cui.

After that, Qin Ming survived several assassination attempts.

No one expected that the rising Li family would suddenly go to war with the Cui family.

Perhaps Qin Ming was unaware at the time, or perhaps the elders within the Cui family already knew and were prepared.

“An old fellow from the Li family has actually broken through and may be close to immortality in the future, while our Cui family’s ancestor has not appeared for two hundred years. The Li family wants to achieve a series of goals, demonstrate their strength, and advance to the ranks of true thousand-year-old families by clashing with the Cui family. They need such a battle.”

“The scariest thing is that they have people supporting them, and they may be being pushed forward.”

…

As the two families were about to clash, some members of the Cui family were discussing this, which made Qin Ming quite worried about his family.

“Our ancestor still hasn’t appeared. The situation is very bad. We may not be able to hold on any longer. We must preserve our foundation and retreat first. We must also go to our ancestor’s secluded place to search for him. I believe he is still alive. We must bring him back as soon as possible.”

Late one night, the Cui family secretly sent away a group of important members, while another group was to take a different route, where they would likely have to contend with a large number of experts from the Li family.

“Chonghe, you are my child. Our main branch must take responsibility. I also need to oversee the overall situation, so we cannot take that path for the time being. Your younger brother is still young and not mature or steady enough. You represent me and take the second path with those elders,” Father Cui said.

That night, Mr. Cui’s expression was somewhat complicated as he patted his second son on the shoulder.

Qin Ming looked at his parents. He knew that the path he was about to take was extremely dangerous, with a high probability of death, mainly to attract the attention of a large number of experts from the Li family. The people accompanying him were all very old men from the Cui family, who wouldn’t live for many more years.

“Father, Mother, Brother!” Qin Ming nodded with tears in his eyes, bidding them farewell. He boarded the bronze chariot and looked back in the darkness, only to see his parents’ departing figures.

Inside the inn, Qin Ming sighed.