Chapter 34 Truth and Falsehood

After entering the crevice, Qin Ming’s fatigue vanished. His feeling outside was not an illusion; the place that had once brought him to the brink of death was now completely different.

He looked up and saw that he was only about four meters from the exit. Nearby, silver light, like spider silk, was connecting and spreading on the ground, and it felt slightly warm when he touched it.

Qin Ming held a short sword in one hand and a long-handled black gold hammer in the other, and walked forward. He hadn’t gone deep into the area since his accidental fall last time, but now he wanted to explore it.

The ground was very uneven, with stones of different sizes scattered around. It was very damp, and water droplets clung to the stone walls on both sides of the body, occasionally dripping down.

The road ahead was rugged and gradually narrowed; he was about to touch the stone walls on either side of him when he arrived at a narrow crevice that could only accommodate one person at a time.

Although it was underground, it wasn’t completely dark, because the silver threads crisscrossed and intertwined randomly, bringing a little light. Qin Ming was not harmed after coming into contact with the silver light.

He scraped against the stone wall slightly, picking up a bit of moisture, and entered an open area where even the pebbles on the ground had decreased and the surface was much smoother.

In this area, the silver threads thickened, spreading densely throughout the space, as if many large spiders had spun their webs here, intertwining with each other.

Moreover, some of the threads emerging from the stone walls were tinged with pale gold, and white mist was rising from the area.

After Qin Ming stood here, he felt it more clearly. His body felt light and agile, and his tense body relaxed on its own. It felt warm and comfortable, like soaking in a hot spring.

He frowned. Was this due to a sudden change at a special point in the mountain? Or had he adapted to this place after the ordeal he experienced last time?

Qin Ming vividly remembered the terrifying experience. His heart was pounding so hard it was like a loud drumbeat, his chest felt like it was about to explode, and his blood was flowing at an alarming rate. He could vaguely hear the sound of a waterfall.

He pondered the changes that had occurred since he left this place, and the most unusual one was the “unorthodox techniques” he had been practicing. For many years, there had been no “movement,” but after surviving a near-death experience, he suddenly had a special reaction when he practiced them again.

He now knows that the “wild method” is not wild at all; it is recorded in the silk book, and he has been practicing it diligently since childhood.

“Someone told me that the silk scroll couldn’t be made; most of it was torn off and burned…”

The remaining twenty or so pages of the silk manuscript can be practiced, but it requires guidance from someone who has practiced it before, and those people should all be long dead.

“I couldn’t find anyone like that, and no one helped me, yet I still managed to master it. Is it related to this place?” Qin Ming pondered, making various connections.

“Could it be that to practice the techniques on the silk scroll, one initially needs the protection of predecessors and to enter such an extremely dangerous special juncture…” Qin Ming pondered.

He then walked forward, observing this special place, and began to cautiously touch the thick silk threads with a pale golden hue.

Soon after, as he went deeper, he saw luminous threads of purple mist rising and running through the stone wall, a magnificent sight that did not harm the flesh.

…

In the dense forest outside the mountains, a purple-eyed crow was flying when suddenly a large cloud of black mist rose up ahead, blocking its path.

“Who?” It immediately became alert, its purple eyes flashing with mysterious symbols as it gradually made out the scene in the thick fog.

A large owl, taller than a person, stood on a tree, its wings as flexible as human hands, and was reading a book made of animal skin.

“Long time no see, shall we have a few drinks?” the owl said. The fog hadn’t lifted, and it tucked the book under one of its wings.

“I’m patrolling the mountains, I don’t have time,” the crow refused, showing some apprehension towards it.

“Who do you think you are now? This isn’t your territory. You’ve really made something of yourself, working as a gatekeeper for some old geezer.”

The owl stopped it, seemingly displeased with its behavior and wanting to lecture it. The black fog grew even thicker, covering the forest.

The purple-eyed crow said, “Old cat, I have something to do. I’ve recently taken a liking to a promising young talent and need to go check him out. Don’t block my way.”

If Qi Huaien knew, he would break out in a cold sweat. Like You Liangyun, he had not yet gained recognition and was being tested and observed.

The owl said, “You really aren’t going back to the Black Mist World in the wild? You come from a prestigious family, a great clan among birds. You have the blood of a superior being, a bird with a very solid foundation. How can you degenerate like this? Do you want to revert to your true form, transform into a two-legged beast, and live in the city forever?”

The purple-eyed crow nodded and said, “Well, it’s not impossible. I have a talent that allows me to change my true form. Aren’t there people who wander near the desolate places in the deep mountains and marshes, transforming into different beings? Why can’t we go against the grain and find a path that suits us?”

The owl scolded, “What kind of behavior is this? You’re neither human nor beast! You’re clearly a crow from a noble family, yet you want to be human! I’m telling you, I’ll pluck all your feathers and manually turn you into a bald, two-legged beast!”

The two started arguing.

“Mind your own business and don’t block my way. You might delay my important business. If they take that kid seriously beforehand and something happens, it’ll be terrible. If that kid is malleable, I’ll need him in the future to help me retrieve something from the bustling human world. It concerns my future path, and you know the ins and outs. Get out of my way!” the crow said.

You Liangyun had told it that it would test Qin Ming in about two days, but it might act earlier if the opportunity was right.

“Master Wu, have you returned from the depths of the mountains? Something terrible has happened! All those people are dead!” The mutated magpie flapped its wings and cried out.

The purple-eyed raven broke free of the thick black fog and appeared outside, asking, “What happened?”

“Master Wu, I carried out the task you assigned me diligently. However, during the process, a three-meter-tall bear led a large group of two-legged beasts to chase me. I was frightened and fled. A few moments later, a group of your people were found dead. When I returned, I could smell the blood they left behind, but I don’t know how they died.”

The purple-eyed crow followed it to the vicinity of the incident, carefully sensing its surroundings. It was exceptionally sensitive to the aura of life and death. After closing its eyes for a moment, it opened them again and muttered to itself, “Qi Huaien is dead. There’s no trace of that boy’s death aura here. Interesting. Was Qi Huaien killed by an outsider, or did he die in a fight with that boy?”

It flapped its wings, sending the magpie away.

“If that young man is truly that powerful, and he’s already come this far, it’s better if he doesn’t go to Liuxia City. There’s no need for me to get involved now.” The purple-eyed crow flew away.

You Liangyun was reporting to the woman in the snow: “Qi Huaien has weighed Qin Ming’s abilities and said that he is ultimately still lacking. The mountains are very chaotic. Before I left, a fierce conflict broke out in that dense forest…”

The purple-eyed crow flew back and landed on a low tree, saying, “Qi Huaien rushed over to save people, but died himself. It’s a pity.”

“You can stay here,” the woman in the black fur cloak said to You Liangyun.

“Huh?” You Liangyun was stunned, then immediately performed a deep bow, his expression extremely excited.

Deep in the mountains, the five-colored clouds that had soared into the sky gradually dimmed.

Ling Xu and Wei Mo both stood up, each dropping their wine cups and wine jars.

Ling Xu lightly tapped his foot with his longsword, and part of his animal-hide boot tore open, revealing a section of his toes. Then he lightly patted his chest, his white clothes were torn, and his slender body did not look very strong, but under the illumination of the distant sunset, the lines of his undulating muscles were very smooth, and under the sunset, they seemed to be outlined with gold.

He dressed himself in rags, and when he ran his fingers over his body, bloodstains immediately appeared, demonstrating his superb skill in faking it.

Wei Mo said, “The most sleek and well-groomed Lord Ling actually managed to make himself look like this. People outside will probably gossip about it.”

Although he said this, he was also making his own movements, removing some of the red armor plates from his armor and putting them into his bosom, making himself look extremely disheveled.

In another mountainous area, a tabby cat captured a large black lynx, disgustedly smeared some black cat blood on itself, and sprinkled some glowing spiritual substances on it.

Not far away, the mantis was doing the same thing.

Undoubtedly, the leaders of Crimson Cloud City and the outcasts in the mountains were unwilling to let other powerful individuals come and compete with them for the rare resources in the special nodes, so the two sides joined forces once again.

Simply ambushing those experts would not work; it would provoke public outrage and lead to retaliation from major organizations.

Earlier, when they joined forces to drive away the group of higher beings who were migrating and trying to take over their nests, they killed a very powerful alien and extracted its rich spiritual essence. They used this essence to detonate a special node, artificially creating a five-colored misty land, which attracted all parties to fight over it.

Meanwhile, Lingxu, the tabby cat, and other advanced alien beings in the mountains intercepted and killed each other, feigning battles to stall each other and stay outside the battlefield.

Of course, they couldn’t fake the whole thing. For example, the old weasel was intercepted by a real opponent, and the mysterious mountain lord even joined the battle in the center of the battlefield.

The results were quite good. Some experts had already died in battle near the Five-Colored Mist Land, and some high-level aliens and powerful members of large organizations from outside the region were seriously injured.

…

Deep within the crevice, Qin Ming began practicing the techniques on the silk scroll. He felt increasingly refreshed and comfortable, as if a mysterious warm current was washing over him from head to toe.

There are various glowing threads intertwined here, which are very harmful to people like Wang Nianzhu who have been reborn, and they urgently need the spiritual creature blood snake to nourish themselves.

Qin Ming has been staying here for a long time now, and not only is he unharmed, he also feels that his physical condition has subtly improved.

“Could it be that the methods recorded in the silk scroll are more suitable for practice in this kind of place?” he wondered.

However, no one can answer his question now. The people from back then are either dead, crippled, or have disappeared. The silk scrolls have all turned yellow, and it’s unknown how many years ago they were left behind.

The ground suddenly shook violently, and Qin Ming almost fell to the ground.

Outside, at the epicenter of the incident where the five-colored haze was gradually dimming, experts from advanced alien beings and mysterious organizations were locked in a standoff, all in dire straits, and none of them were able to enter that node.

At that very moment, all the radiance within the node suddenly vanished, and in the distance, a brand new five-colored haze burst forth violently, even more astonishing than the earlier display here.

“How come there’s another one?”

“No, the rare resources that were born there have been moved along the spiritual veins of the earth; they’ve been moved to a different place!”

Ling Xu, Old Yellow Weasel, and the others originally had a “sequel,” but now they were all stunned along with everyone else. There was no need for them to hide anything anymore; the true Five-Colored Smoke and Cloud Land had been born!

Boom!

Suddenly, the entire mountain range shook violently, even more astonishingly than before, accompanied by blinding light. The pitch-black night sky was torn apart and fully illuminated, revealing an even more magnificent and unusual spectacle.

“What I’m seeing! Ten colors! Those lights are like giant pillars, supporting the night sky. This is an unprecedented spectacle. What kind of rare treasure will appear?”

Even higher beings were dumbfounded; this was far beyond their imagination.

In an instant, no matter how badly injured they were, all the powerful figures vanished from their original spots. They didn’t even bother to look at the truly emerging Five-Colored Misty Cloud Land, but rushed straight towards the place with an even more magnificent and extraordinary landscape, where endless rain of light rose and fell, attracting everyone’s attention.