Chapter 20: Harmonizing with the Light, Becoming One with the Dust

In the Shallow Night, Qin Ming carried the long-handled dark gold hammer and the short sword. Wind seemed to be at his feet, as if he were about to lift off the ground. He rushed into the dense forest at an extremely fast speed.

He felt a sense of urgency. The nobles from Crimson Cloud City had arrived. Once they set foot in the great mountains, they would definitely search for all kinds of spiritual substances.

He did not want the Blood Bamboo Forest to be taken by someone else first. It was related to his second New Life.

The night fog dispersed. The forest was still somewhat dim, but with his eyesight, he could clearly see the scenery in the distance.

“The Blood Bamboo Forest is not that easy to enter. There must still be danger.”

Otherwise, Feng Yian and Shao Chengfeng would have already taken action. Why would they have waited until their deaths, leaving behind regrets?

“I’m a bit impetuous.”

Cold snowflakes fell on his body, some even entering his neck. This chill gradually calmed Qin Ming down.

Just now, his anxious manner of rushing was no different from Old Man Liu’s last night, wishing he could grow wings and fly into the Blood Bamboo Forest to pick up the frozen Blood Snakes.

“Calm the mind.” Qin Ming slowed his pace, adjusting his breathing in the mountain forest.

Wasn’t it just a second New Life? Even without obtaining spiritual substances, he could still break through smoothly with his own conditions.

“An unsettled mind is prone to mistakes.” Qin Ming stepped on the thick snow, advancing unhurriedly. He gradually became calm and composed.

The Blood Bamboo Forest was bound to be quite dangerous. With a second-time New Lifer like Fu Entao, the fact that the Mountain Patrolling Group had hesitated to act for so long was enough to prove the point.

Qin Ming moved silently through the dense forest. Finally, he dug out the blade manual from a certain place. The old leather pages were curled at the edges and quite worn, showing that someone had frequently read it in the past.

The whole book was not thick, carrying a sense of ancientness. He didn’t know where Fu Entao had gotten it.

“Reading the crystallization of a predecessor’s painstaking effort to calm my mind.” Qin Ming sat down in the forest.

A moment later, he was completely absorbed, wholeheartedly immersed in the book.

Unconsciously, he stood up from the snow. Holding the leather book in one hand and the long-handled dark gold hammer in the other, he began to swing it as if it were a long blade.

This was originally a heavy weapon, but in his hands, it was like a light wooden hammer, swung at will, and gradually had a kind of free and natural beauty.

To achieve New Life, one needed to practice the corresponding scriptures, such as the Night Meditation Technique, Qi-intent arts, and so on, which could improve physical qualities such as strength, flexibility, and speed.

Various combat methods were techniques that utilized the body’s strength, speed, and so on, to achieve the goal of efficient attack.

Qin Ming’s physical quality was very strong, surpassing a golden foundation, but his combat methods had not undergone systematic training. Most of them were practical, scattered forms.

Some came from the unorthodox New Life method he had practiced for years, quoted from those special movements, and some were learned from some old hunters in the village.

His actual combat ability was very strong, honed in the great mountains.

The forest at night was very dangerous. Hunting in such a vast environment, one had to face the attacks of various fierce birds and beasts. A half-beat slow reaction meant death.

Although what he practiced were mostly scattered forms, which could even be called unorthodox methods, their destructive power was indeed extremely strong. Fighting for his life with wild beasts did not follow any rules, relying on strength, speed, and on-the-spot adaptability.

It was precisely because of this that Fu Entao had felt it was abnormally tricky when facing him. He could not find any “fixed forms” in his attacks; there were no traces to follow.

Now, as Qin Ming read the blade manual, combined with his own experience of fighting with fierce beasts and his experiences between life and death, he was instantly mesmerized. Unconsciously, holding the book in one hand and the hammer in the other, he continuously changed his “blade forms” based on his comprehension.

Qin Ming comprehended the painstaking effort of the predecessors in the blade manual. When he was enjoying himself, he increased his force and began to swing. Although there was no blade light, a blade intent was pervading, causing the snow on the ground to fly into the air. The long-handled dark gold hammer turned into a flash of lightning, breaking the tranquility of the forest.

He “slashed” at a large tree. In an instant, the thick trunk exploded. This “slash” was truly too violent. Some anomalies that had been eyeing him covetously nearby, staring at him in the dark for a long time, were now all scared into fleeing with their tails between their legs.

Among them was a mutated black tiger, its body over four meters long. But now, it turned its head and ran.

“Still daring to spy here, not leaving, are you?” Qin Ming saw a Man-faced Vulture, its body far exceeding its peers, circling close to the trees, only about twenty meters from the ground, reluctant to leave.

He had just comprehended the “Throwing Blade Form” from the book and immediately executed it. The heavy “hammer-blade” in his hand instantly disappeared into the night, flying high into the sky.

“Pfft!”

Blood splattered in mid-air, and feathers flew everywhere.

The mutated Man-faced Vulture’s wingspan was several meters. It was originally quite ferocious, but now it was as fragile as porcelain, exploded by Qin Ming’s “Throwing Blade Form”!

His two arms had a thousand jin of strength. Such a blow was without suspense. The long-handled dark gold hammer smashed the huge fierce bird to pieces, a broken mess. A large amount of flesh, blood, and messy feathers fell to the ground.

Some anomalies in the distance saw this scene and immediately ran wildly, feeling that this two-legged man-beast was exceptionally savage and that they must stay away from him. They couldn’t stay in this area.

“Good blade technique!” Qin Ming praised, picking up the long-handled dark gold hammer and practicing again.

This blade manual was no different from a bright lamp in the night fog for him, illuminating the path ahead. It integrated his various practical combat experiences and his combat methods that leaned towards unorthodox ways, rapidly sublimating them.

Qin Ming was fascinated as he read, and in the end, he became somewhat lost in it, unable to extricate himself.

He practiced all the various blade forms from beginning to end. It couldn’t be said that he had a great enlightenment, but it indeed improved his combat skills, and his strength was significantly enhanced.

This blade manual was worth studying. It gave him deep comprehension and was extremely valuable!

“If Fu Entao had practiced this blade manual thoroughly, it would have been really troublesome,” Qin Ming muttered to himself. But if one could fully comprehend this book, Fu Entao would not have stopped at a second New Life.

This was not just a blade manual; it also had some research on the New Life method, which was very enlightening for him.

For example, the book mentioned “Heavenly Light.” It first appeared during the third New Life, but it would run through the entire New Life domain. Even after the New Life was complete, one could not do without in-depth research on the Heavenly Light.

Heavenly Light. In this era where the sun had disappeared, it embodied people’s beautiful wishes and carried infinite longing.

The Heavenly Light mentioned in the book was naturally not the light of the sky that people craved, but a kind of light within the body, given a beautiful name by people.

When a person underwent their third New Life, they would initially manifest this “Heavenly Light.” It was born in the body, a manifestation of the elevation of the level of life.

At this time, the strength of a New Lifer would be greatly improved. They could fight against various dangerous anomalies with their bare hands, and everything was naturally bestowed by the “Heavenly Light.”

This was because once the body gave birth to Heavenly Light, “Heavenly Light Force” would appear. This was a special kind of force, with extremely strong penetration and tearing ability.

Otherwise, compared to giant beasts, a New Lifer’s body was too delicate and small. How could they fight against such behemoths?

The appearance of Heavenly Light Force could allow a New Lifer to tear open the scales and armor of a mutated giant beast. That kind of force could penetrate its tough, solid flesh and blood.

However, in the New Life domain, the Heavenly Light Force could only be spread on the surface of the body, extending a little beyond the fists and feet, and could not be expanded to weapons.

In fact, Heavenly Light Force was just a general term. If subdivided, there would be many kinds. This book should have changed hands many times. There were various comprehensions, notes, and annotations on the pages, all from different people.

Among them, someone highly praised a kind of Heavenly Light Force, leaving behind a sigh: I regret that I cannot cultivate the Tathagata Force!

For a New Lifer from an unorthodox background like Qin Ming, the various records and descriptions in the book made him yearn for it.

Unfortunately, although this blade manual mentioned the names of some strange and powerful Heavenly Light Forces, it did not record how to cultivate them at all.

Qin Ming was lost in thought, pondering for a long time.

Flipping further into this blade manual, it became somewhat unsuitable for him to read. He had not yet reached that level.

However, in the comprehensions left by his predecessors, he discovered a very practical secret method called “Harmonizing with the Light, Becoming One with the Dust,” which could ensure his own safety.

After carefully studying it, he couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat. At the same time, he was somewhat glad to have discovered this record.

According to what the predecessors said, the gaze of a high-level being was terrifying. It could see through the strength of the life force within other beings at a glance. Even in the deep of night, it could “see” those strong or weak biological fields.

This was terrifying. A low-level being had no secrets from a high-level being.

Especially, when a New Lifer or an anomaly gave birth to Heavenly Light in their body, for a high-level being, it was simply like a ball of fire in the dark night.

“I must quickly master it!” He wiped away a cold sweat, suddenly feeling that the great mountains were very dangerous.

Fortunately, Harmonizing with the Light, Becoming One with the Dust was only a practical secret method, not some profound and difficult-to-practice, obscure classic.

“Visualize emptiness and stillness, the body like withered wood, the mind like cold ashes, concealing the life force, gradually weakening it, and also dimming the spirit and qi.” He slowly gained some comprehension, which could be considered as having entered the threshold.

Qin Ming sat quietly here for a long time, silently comprehending, pondering, and gradually figuring out more of the knack. Harmonizing with the Light, Becoming One with the Dust could conceal a part of his life force, allowing him to blend in with ordinary people.

Moreover, this “degree” could be controlled. After practicing to a certain extent, even if his body gave birth to Heavenly Light after the third New Life, he could still conceal it if needed.

At this point, Qin Ming let out a long breath.

But after thinking about it carefully, he couldn’t help but laugh at himself. Perhaps his sense of crisis was too strong. Even if a high-level being passed by here and could see the strength of his life force at a glance, they probably wouldn’t care, right? After all, he had only undergone one New Life. In the eyes of that kind of anomaly, he was still just one of the “myriad beings” in the great mountains.

Then he thought of the higher-ups of Crimson Cloud City. Since they could negotiate and confront the mysterious beings in the great mountains, they should also have equivalent abilities.

“Biting off more than I can chew is not good. I’ve learned so much today, it’s enough. I need to consolidate, master, and firmly grasp it all!” Qin Ming got up, found a secret place, and buried the blade manual again.

Without a doubt, his harvest today was huge. After carefully studying those blade forms and integrating his own comprehension, his strength had improved very significantly.

Qin Ming muttered to himself, “If I were to encounter Fu Entao, Feng Yian, and those people now and fight again, I think it would be much easier.”

Most importantly, this book had broadened his horizons and allowed him to understand many things he had no access to in the past.

“Fu Entao is actually not a bad person. He gave me a good book.”

After walking out of this dense forest, he headed towards the location of the Blood Bamboo Forest.

(End of a Chapter)