Chapter 86 Glory and disgrace fade with the wind

Without saying a word, Qin Ming took out ten gold coins and quickly put the ancient book into his pocket.

The mountain monster, covered in black fur, was quite discerning and not so easily fooled. It wasn’t just staring at the Purple Lightning Beast; it was also chatting with Qin Ming: “Sir, are you going to buy this book without even taking a closer look?”

Qin Ming stroked his thick beard on his chubby face and said, “I buy ancient books purely to show off my refined taste. When old objects with a sense of history are placed on the bookshelf, I realize that I don’t read much on a regular basis. This is to make up for what I lack. Putting them in the study makes me look sophisticated and gives me a sense of cultural depth.”

The mountain monster stall owner laughed and said, “You are too modest. All book lovers are refined people.”

Qin Ming laughed it off, but he felt like he had a thorn in his side. Staying in a place like this, he was constantly being watched by strange eyes, and he could easily run into trouble.

He wanted to leave immediately, but what did he see? There was a huge pile of books on a street stall some distance away!

He was a book lover, truly unable to look away or take a step back, experiencing immense inner turmoil and struggle.

“I’ll give it my all!” Qin Ming thought that since he was already here and had come across a bunch of ancient secret manuals, he would definitely regret it for years if he didn’t go and take a look.

Besides, what difference does a few more minutes make? This place is just full of mutated creatures after all. If anything unexpected happens, he can fight his way out by bathing in the alien blood.

Qin Ming felt a little nervous, and some of the other people also felt pressured. Could the person personally accompanied by the noble lady from the blessed land be simple?

Especially considering how close the Purple Lightning Beast was to him, and how incredibly serious it was, it was immediately clear that this human man was someone of great importance.

Many of the other creatures noticed that even the two henchmen of the Purple Lightning Beast were standing on the human man’s shoulders, grinning foolishly as if associating with this man would pave the way to heaven. They didn’t even care about their own master, laughing so hard they were practically unrecognizable!

In truth, the two birds were bitter inside. Who the hell wanted to laugh? They were forced into this situation. Sticking to their shoulders, they couldn’t escape. If they dared not cooperate, they would be beaten into a pulp!

Before they came in, they were asked to wash the bloodstains off their wings, since they can’t be seen now that they’re closed up.

Qin Ming looked at the books scattered on the ground, each one bearing the marks of time, and touched them one by one before casually flipping through a few pages.

He was somewhat suspicious; why wasn’t there a spiritual resonance?

He soon realized that this was a large-scale fraud!

Qin Ming looked up at the silly, grinning monster and sighed to himself, “Is the competition in the mountains this fierce? This bear-like mountain monster is no good; it’s clearly trying to trick humans.”

“These were all left by my father. I don’t know anything about them, and I can’t understand this writing.” The alien grinned, his blood-red mouth emitting a strong stench, trying to absolve himself of any responsibility.

Qin Ming didn’t want to waste time talking to it. Time was of the essence; he could be caught in a bloody battle with numerous mutated creatures at any moment, so he had to hurry and search the area.

He was obsessed with finding old objects, hoping to acquire rare heirlooms.

Qin Ming felt no guilt. The relationship between humans and other beings is complex. There are times when they can coexist peacefully, but they also often betray and kill each other. When they meet in the mountains, they will hunt each other whenever the opportunity arises.

The fact that some books ended up here must mean there’s a bloody story behind them.

Qin Ming finally made another discovery: a manual on leg techniques. This delighted him, as it was the first time he had received such a type of inheritance.

The Purple Lightning Beast was merely a background character, accompanying him the whole time. This fatso was clearly using it as a shield, relying on it to fleece people like crazy. It’s outrageous!

“Caw caw…” After Qin Ming made a new discovery, the sparrow and the myna bird laughed even more heartily.

They felt that their master’s expression was not well-controlled, being too serious. The two of them were terrified of death, worried about revealing any flaws, and were helping the Purple Lightning Beast fill in the gaps, not wanting to expose any problems immediately, fearing that the fat man would kill the beast to silence them, resulting in a lose-lose situation.

At first, Qin Ming was so nervous that his palms were sweating. After all, more and more mountain monsters were looking at him with burning eyes. But as time went on, he realized that these strange creatures had made a big misunderstanding!

Because he noticed that the way these mountain monsters were looking at him was also quite unusual.

“This lord is my master’s close friend!” Yu Que said firmly while grinning foolishly.

Some of the other creatures scorned it, thinking that the thieving bird had surely switched allegiance and was now following that human man.

Qin Ming quickened his pace. The feeling of taking advantage of others was quite good, and he felt very comfortable as he kept taking advantage of them.

“Boss, I saw a book here from far away, where did it go?” Qin Ming asked, stopping in front of a special stall.

This is no ordinary street stall, but a large, flowing, silver-shimmering animal-hide tent. Judging from this, the mountain monster must be quite wealthy, selling extraordinary items.

This is a third-generation beast with a distinguished background. He came out of the deep mountains to relax and occasionally exchanges special items with humans based on his preferences.

“You saw us coming and deliberately hid?” Qin Ming pointed it out directly, since even if there was a problem, all the blame would fall on the Purple Lightning Beast.

This humanoid creature had long, flowing silver hair and two jade horns on its head, one in front of the other, one long and one short, which looked exactly like rhinoceros horns.

The Purple Lightning Beast glanced sideways, somewhat displeased. Was it hiding and guarding against thieves as it saw it approaching?

It recognizes this white rhinoceros as the grandson of the spiritual jade rhinoceros deep in the mountains. Is it harboring prejudice against it?

When Bai Xi saw that look in its eyes, it immediately broke out in a cold sweat. Although it came from one of the strongest families in the area and was a descendant of an old rhinoceros that was famous throughout the region, it was still no match for this one that came from the blessed land.

“Here it is. I just saw it was dusty, so I took it and wiped it clean.” Bai Xi smiled as she took the book bound in gold animal hide from the silver tent.

Qin Ming accepted it with a slightly reserved air, displaying a very imposing presence that made the surrounding group of mountain monsters somewhat wary, because this man dared to put on airs even in front of Bai Xi.

Qin Ming is now fully immersed in his role. He is the close friend of the powerful Purple Lightning Beast, and he needs to show some “style” now.

He only focused on flipping through two pages before realizing that this book was extraordinary. No wonder the rhinoceros monster put it away immediately; he certainly wouldn’t give away such a book for free.

“How many gold coins?” Qin Ming asked calmly.

“Talking about gold is vulgar. I, Bai Xi, am willing to make friends with someone like you. Here you go!” Bai Xi said generously. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to get a high price for this person, so it’s better to make a good connection.

Qin Ming said, “My name is Zheng Maorong. I will definitely visit Brother Bai in the deep mountains when I have some free time.”

The Purple Lightning Beast then realized that its disapproving glare had indirectly helped this fatso!

Deep down, Qin Ming was indeed under pressure. Having encountered this situation and reached this point, it was already too big to turn back, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and take another chance.

At this moment, he arrived at another stall with a tent, but unfortunately there was no secret manual there.

“Boss, do you have any spiritual substances?” Qin Ming asked casually.

On a recliner in the tent, a woman with a figure as supple as a willow, dressed in a black dress, with a delicate, snow-white oval face, stiffened slightly upon hearing the words. Had they tried to fleece her? She thought that without the secret manual, nothing would happen.

Qin Ming then noticed that her lower body was not legs, but a black snake tail.

“Is there a spiritual substance that can allow a person to be reborn six or seven times?” Qin Ming felt that this must also be a third-generation beast from deep in the mountains.

Upon hearing this, Wu Yiyi wanted to slap him. This was outrageous! The worst part was that he wasn’t actually buying; he was trying to extort money from her.

She shook her head calmly and said, “No, there was only one level-five spiritual substance, which a friend ordered last month and picked up this morning.”

Qin Ming was very disappointed.

“Level 5 is out of the question, not high enough,” he said calmly. Although he didn’t get it, he couldn’t lower his standards, after all, he was now a friend of the Purple Lightning Beast.

“Then there’s nothing I can do. I only have level two spiritual matter left,” Wu Yiyi said with a smile.

Qin Ming remained calm and said, “Let me see the level two one. I just remembered, I need to enlighten some birds recently, so it might come in handy.”

Wu Yiyi’s face stiffened; her eating manners were simply too unsightly.

Where did your class go? Even the Purple Lightning Beast felt ashamed, forced to follow him around—it was too humiliating!

Qin Ming was satisfied with buying a jar of spiritual substance at cost price. Even a mosquito is still meat, no matter how small. What did style or face have to do with him? Let all honor and disgrace go with the wind. Let the storms fall on Zheng Maorong and the Purple Lightning Beast.

He knew he had completely offended the Purple Lightning Beast today, so he might as well let it make its last bit of use before running away!

“Something’s not right!” Qin Ming was very alert and noticed that some mountain monsters were quite perceptive, such as the snake woman Wu Yiyi, whose eyes were strange.

“Boss, give me a stack of waterproof paper.” Before leaving, Qin Ming wasn’t trying to take advantage of anyone; this kind of paper was indeed useful to him.

The mountain monster was dumbfounded.

The Purple Lightning Beast thought he was so poor he was even resorting to scavenging things like this.

“Let’s go, it’s so boring, there’s nothing of value here!” Qin Ming restrained his desires and decided he couldn’t wander around any longer.

He decisively walked out, taking the Purple Lightning Beast and two birds with him, and left the black market in the night fog.

“My lord, is it over so quickly?” Yuque asked.

“Haven’t you heard the old saying? ‘Contentment prevents disgrace, knowing when to stop prevents danger, and thus longevity is assured.'” After saying this, Qin Ming flipped over and sat on the back of the Purple Lightning Beast, urging, “Hurry up, give me a ride!”

The Purple Lightning Beast is about to explode on the spot; it has become a mount again!

“Hurry!” Qin Ming urged, sensing that something bad might be about to happen.

Sure enough, as he rode on the back of the Purple Lightning Beast, he had only galloped for a mile when a thick fog inexplicably rose in the mountains and forests, making it extremely dark and cold.

Qin Ming took a deep breath of the early spring air, which was filled with the fresh scent of tender grass and buds. What kind of monster had he encountered? It seemed to be the work of a hermit.

A white owl stood on a tall tree, looking very anxious. Its kind preferred to sleep during the day and be active at night. It had only taken a nap while its master was soaking in the hot springs, and this had happened!

If the guardian “Four-Tusked Elephant” were to return from drinking deep in the mountains and learn of this, he would surely place all the blame on it.

The owl’s eyes gleamed, and it opened its beak to exhale a thick fog, pressing towards the forest, eager to quickly capture the audacious human.

Qin Ming felt as if mountains were pressing down on him from all directions, making him feel suffocated. He knew he had encountered someone from beyond the mundane world.

The two birds had already rolled their eyes back and fainted.

Qin Ming didn’t make things difficult for them; he untied them and released them onto the ground.

He glanced down and saw that the Purple Lightning Beast was completely unaffected; the black mist was simply surging wildly toward his body.

With a loud slap, he gave the Purple Lightning Beast a slap on the back.

“If you don’t stop, I’ll kill it!” Qin Ming threatened, drawing his sword fiercely.

The unseen figure seemed unaffected, continuing to manipulate the black mist, which transformed into a black mountain range that pressed down on his flesh and blood.

Qin Ming’s bones cracked and popped as he endured immense pressure.

His entire body erupted with heavenly light, its dazzling brilliance tearing through the night. He originally intended to wield the mutton-fat jade iron knife, but now he discovered that the unified heavenly light energy had actually dispersed the black mist. He then unleashed a palm strike with all his might.

This place was as if struck by a thunderbolt!

The black mist was actually struck by his palm and surged like a raging wave, violently breaking many trees.

Seeing that it was effective, Qin Ming waved his palm repeatedly, shattering one black mountain after another in the vicinity!

Back then, when he encountered that young man who could turn into mist, his Heavenly Light Force was completely useless. He could only escape by relying on the unexpected attack of the mutton fat jade iron.

After integrating various energy techniques, his fully unleashed Heavenly Light Energy was able to counter certain methods used by those outside the secular world!

As the black mist dissipated, the silhouette of a white owl appeared on the ancient tree opposite.

It was surprised and said, “Whose Heavenly Light Force is this? It’s so domineering.”

“Let me go!” Qin Ming held the knife to the neck of the Purple Lightning Beast.

“Alright, as long as you don’t hurt it!” The white bald eagle readily agreed, not daring to take any more risks than it could capture the person immediately.

A moment later, Qin Ming appeared at the Red Mist Cave, which was only two miles away. Several days ago, he, Xu Sheng, and Sister Fenfang came here to fish for spirit eels and were “attacked” by a swarm of fire bats.

He stood there, patted the Purple Lightning Beast, and said, “As the saying goes, even if you send someone off for a thousand miles, you must eventually part ways. Go back now.”

The Purple Lightning Beast gritted its teeth, it was so infuriating, its eyes practically spitting fire.

Qin Ming asked suspiciously, “Why do you look so familiar? Your bared teeth and glaring eyes are exactly the same as the last Purple Lightning Beast. Could it be the same beast? Did you follow me all the way from Black and White Mountain to here?”

“Get out of here!” the Purple Lightning Beast roared, finally unable to bear it any longer, and even spoke in human language.

“You can actually speak human language!” Qin Ming was taken aback. He slapped it out of the red mist cave and then quickly detonated the place, attracting a swarm of fire bats.

He turned and ran towards the icy pool, wrapping several ancient books in waterproof oil paper along the way before diving into the frigid water.

Qin Ming emerged from a lake about twenty miles away. By this time, he had already ripped off his beard, taken off his loose clothes, and his body was no longer overweight, but had become thinner.

He was wearing a loose set of clothes underneath, which were now dried by the sunlight, making his sleeves flutter and transforming him back into a handsome young man.

Qin Ming didn’t rush back. He continued hunting in his hand. When it was almost time, he saw people emerging from the mountains and forests one after another, so he also began his journey home.

“You big fat guy with the beard, come here!”

“Hey you bald fat guy, stop right there. Did you shave your beard?”

At the only road leading to Crimson Cloud City, the overweight man was severely offended by words. He was repeatedly called “fat man” by a flock of birds and a terrifying mountain monster, and was stopped and questioned.

Qin Ming’s clothes fluttered, his long black hair was lifted by the spring breeze, and his handsome face and clear eyes were free of any worldly concerns. He entered the city with an elegant demeanor.