Chapter 37: Massive Blowout

Qin Ming was very familiar with this area. He immediately found a pile of loose rocks in the snow, picked up an elongated stone that looked highly similar, snapped it in half with force, threw it into the area where he had been just now, and quickly vanished into the dense forest.

He estimated that only young Reborn like him, acting out of curiosity, would rush over to take a look; the old-timers wouldn’t stop at all, because the Stone Crust of a mysterious resource was useless.

Most importantly, the item the woman in green had taken out was too brilliant to be hidden or concealed. It instantly illuminated the entire night sky, and all the high-level Heteromorphs and members of large organizations chased after her.

With rare treasures in sight, who would want worthless rocks?

Even though the woman in green had decisively absorbed that mysterious resource, her forehead was still glowing right now, acting practically like a guiding beacon.

After a while, as expected, people came looking for the discarded Stone Crust.

This was the outer region of the mountain, where there were no true experts. The old-timers and the young and strong were all hanging around areas with special Nodes.

A moment later, six or seven Reborn actually ended up fighting over that snapped elongated stone.

This time, although Qin Ming’s expression was calm, his heart was in turmoil. After all, the "scraps" he had picked up came from the most mysterious resource in the mountain.

A spectacle like a ten-colored pillar of light soaring into the heavens was completely unheard of—not even recorded in books—not to mention that it had merged into one with the five-colored haze.

He estimated that the large organizations and High-level Entities who hadn’t rushed over earlier would be green with regret.

There had been a consensus among all parties that the Sky Light that descended two years ago was at its dimmest here, so they believed it wouldn’t be a rich land and was destined to be barren in resources.

Yet now, the Black and White Mountain had actually experienced a "massive blowout"!

Especially since this likely involved another type of Sky Light accumulated from two hundred years ago; even the higher-ups in the royal capital would probably lose sleep if they found out.

Back then, they had mobilized massive forces to come here, only to gain very little in the end, leaving them so infuriated that they wanted to level the mountains here.

Obviously, within a few days, the name of the Black and White Mountain, which had been silent for many years, would once again spread throughout the many brilliant cities within the night fog.

Qin Ming stood in the dense forest and crushed the half of the stone that had no fluctuations. As expected, there was nothing inside.

Holding the other half of the stone, he hesitated slightly. Because the commotion caused by the "main material" was simply too terrifying, even though the scraps were far inferior, they likely wouldn’t be ordinary either.

Forget about some spectacle appearing; even if just a streak of "flowing fire" ignited here, it would probably set the entire dense forest ablaze with activity.

After all, the Shallow Night had already ended. In a darkness as deep as ink, even the slightest anomalous sign would appear extremely eye-catching.

Shortly after, Qin Ming walked out of the dense forest, still following his old rule of leaving that half of the stone in the mountain.

There was no rush. He calmed himself, planning to wait until the storm settled. The most mysterious resource of the Black and White Mountain was destined to be hotly debated by everyone, shaking all directions, while everything else would be not worth mentioning.

In fact, right now, that most mysterious resource had already ignited the night sky. All parties were intercepting the woman in green, and high-level Heteromorphs were already shedding blood.

"Faster!" urged a woman wearing a black fur cloak. She stood on the back of a massive black bird, her tall figure glowing to block the wind and snow.

The Purple-eyed Crow said, "Tang Jin, it's easy for you to talk. I'm flying so fast I'm about to lose my breath! That's a Golden Roc; almost no one can match it in speed. For me to keep closing the distance is already an anomaly among crows!"

"Hiss, that woman is so fierce! She's making a High-level Entity's blood rain across the night sky in no time!" the Purple-eyed Crow exclaimed, its speed slowing down slightly.

"Don't be afraid! While she's being held up, catch up immediately!" Tang Jin urged, a seemingly ordinary pale yellow hemp rope appearing in her hand.

"You didn't take down the rope from your teacher's rafters, did you? Isn't it tying up a..." the Purple-eyed Crow said in shock.

"Not that one!" Tang Jin urged it to speed up once more.

The crow flapped its wings, gradually drawing closer.

Ahead, although the fastest Scarlet Lightning Bird had caught up with the woman in green, it was heavily wounded in the blink of an eye.

Under the night sky, the woman in green on the Golden Roc used mysterious means to dye the falling goose-feather snow gold. It danced wildly across the sky, its speed thousands of times faster.

Standing on the roc's back, she didn't seem to make any movements, but the brilliant golden snowflakes had already traced numerous inexplicable trajectories, slashing at the Scarlet Lightning Bird from all angles. They tore through the light around its body, leaving it covered in blood in an instant.

The high-level Heteromorph Scarlet Lightning Bird was fierce. It gave a high-pitched cry, its body seemingly ablaze as a massive amount of scarlet light erupted and expanded in all directions. It stood there like a red sun, illuminating the night sky.

All the golden snowflakes melted in an instant, but terrifyingly, they were not completely evaporated. On the contrary, the golden light suddenly surged, turning into a continuous drizzle. Moreover, all the golden raindrops stretched infinitely, crisscrossing and weaving together in the air.

A shrill bird cry rang out. Under the dense, fine threads formed by the golden raindrops, the massive Scarlet Lightning Bird was actually sliced into dozens or even hundreds of pieces.

Both its flesh and its spiritually rich feathers were sliced open by the golden threads, leaving no part of it intact as it fell toward the pitch-black earth.

The Purple-eyed Crow grimaced, desperately wanting to turn around and flee, but Tang Jin on its back made her move. The ordinary-looking straw rope burst with brilliant light, extending outward as it rushed toward the woman in green ahead.

"Someone from Flowing Light City?!" The moment the woman in green on the Golden Roc saw the straw rope, she instantly recognized Tang Jin's origin.

"Will it work?" the Purple-eyed Crow asked, lacking confidence.

"Charge over right now and ram her head! No matter what, we must find a way to take half of that heaven-sent gift!" Tang Jin poured all her power into the straw rope, which was in full bloom with golden light.

...

That night, Qin Ming slept soundly. As the saying goes, contentment brings constant happiness. He felt perfectly satisfied with just a small harvest. The most mysterious resource was too far out of his reach; he didn't seek it, nor had he ever given it a second thought.

The next day, after entering the mountain with Mu Qing, Cao Long, and Wei Zhirou, Qin Ming heard a lot of incredibly explosive news.

"Terrifying! Last night, the distant night sky was burning. More than just one or two experts from large organizations and High-level Entities died, yet they still couldn't stop that woman in green."

"Mainly because there are too few flying Heteromorphs. If the true grand experts could fly, it would have been a completely different story."

"Supposedly, City Lord Ling slapped his thighs in regret, wishing he had bought a swift flying mount back then. He was so angry he flew right back to Crimson Cloud City."

People were abuzz with discussion, and all kinds of news spread, leaving everyone entering the mountain anxious, fearing they might draw the ire of the High-level Entities.

For someone had seen the old yellow weasel—usually as quiet and steady as an eminent monk—actually running wildly through the mountain while carrying its donkey, shattering a massive stretch of forest.

"Understandable. Anyone who got intercepted and robbed like that would probably cough up blood from anger," Cao Long said, sitting astride his giant ox.

"You're right. I don't even dare to go deep into the mountains now," a creature spoke up from a treetop.

Cao Long was stunned. Who was talking mid-air? He abruptly looked up and saw that Speech Sparrow. Instantly losing his composure, he threw the Great lance in his hand straight at the tree.

With a loud crack, the tree canopy above rumbled down as its main trunk was snapped.

The Speech Sparrow traced a graceful trajectory in the darkness, flying away with extreme agility.

Old Man Liu consoled him, "No need to be angry with it. Don't worry, once early spring comes and it starts breeding, this old man will help you vent your anger. If we can't do anything to it, can't we still catch its offspring?"

Cao Long immediately clapped his hands and said, "Great! I want to raise a few Speech Sparrows. It'd be best if we can catch that one from just now too."

For a moment, Cao Long and Old Man Liu chatted, getting along very well.

Shortly after, Old Man Liu casually mentioned, "The special Nodes in the mountains are limited, just that many, and they're hard to find. However, there are other opportunities in the mountains, though they're extremely dangerous. For example, some areas are inhabited by creatures that have mutated three times. Do you dare to mess with them?"

Cao Long said, "Are there still places like that left? Some of the old-timers already moved in advance and were sweeping the mountains yesterday. I'm afraid there's barely any Spiritual Matter left in the outer regions of the mountain."

As for the depths of the mountain, he would absolutely never set foot there. Even if he teamed up with Mu Qing and Wei Zhirou, it wouldn't do; that wasn't a place they could afford to risk.

Old Man Liu patted his chest and said, "Of course there are! I know these mountains like the back of my hand. There are places others could never find, but I know them inside out."

Hearing this, Cao Long's eyes lit up instantly, and he said, "No problem. If we get a decent harvest, there will definitely be a share for you, Elder."

Mu Qing and Wei Zhirou also nodded in agreement. Rather than searching for uncertain special Nodes, it was better to head straight for a secret area containing Spiritual Matter.

Qin Ming instantly knew where Old Man Liu wanted to take them. The old man had told him when they were drinking that night.

Fire Bat Cave. It was located in a cavern leading to the interior of the mountain, with a deep, dark path that required walking a long way inside. Inside was a Fire Spring, and a large colony of Fire Bats nested there, the strongest of which had already mutated three times.

There was no Spiritual Matter inside the Fire Bats' bodies, but their droppings fell nearby and helped a spiritual scarlet grass grow, which could aid people in achieving Second Rebirth.

Qin Ming had originally been pondering whether he should find an appropriate time to share the fire snakes—which were no longer of much use to him—with Old Man Liu and Lu Ze. He hadn't expected Old Man Liu to have his own means of obtaining resources.

The trip to the Fire Bat Cave had some minor setbacks and a few youngsters in the three teams were injured, but with Cao Long, Wei Zhirou, and Mu Qing holding the fort, there was little suspense. Aside from leaving behind some grass seeds, all the red grass there was pulled up.

Old Man Liu was delighted, cradling a cluster of glowing, fiery-red plants in his arms. The grass was only three inches tall, but it contained rich vitality and spirituality.

Before the Shallow Night arrived, Qin Ming hunted a wild bull, found an opportunity to stuff that half of the stone through its mouth and into its belly, and then merged back with Cao Long, Mu Qing, and the others.

He hadn't gone hunting in a long time. Bringing back a prey now was perfectly reasonable, and most importantly, his relationship with this group of people was exceptionally good now.

Even if there were people guarding the mountain exit, watching those leaving, they wouldn't come to inspect Qin Ming and Old Man Liu, who were walking alongside Mu Qing, Cao Long, and the others. They all smoothly left the mountain with their respective harvests.

That night, Qin Ming didn't even bother to eat dinner. Upon returning home, he immediately began studying the half of the stone.

"What's going on?" His heart sank slightly. When he retrieved the stone from the mountain today, he had already felt something was off; he hadn't sensed that faint fluctuation.

Now, holding it in both hands with a focused mind, he still didn't have any special feeling.

Ever since he was eroded by and adapted to the Fissure, Qin Ming had gained an extraordinary, special perception of mysterious resources nourished by Sky Light.

But now, he couldn't detect anything inside.

Taking a deep breath, he began to carefully peel away the Stone Crust. If he could feel the fluctuation again, he might stop and wait a few more days before cutting it open.

Yet, even after crushing most of the stone, there was still no abnormality, and not the slightest sign of activity.

Just as his heart was continuously sinking, he actually felt his fingers touch a certain mysterious resource. However, no anomalous omen appeared, and not even a trace of the Sky Light that should have remained leaked out.

"This is?!" Even someone as steady as Qin Ming was shocked to the point of almost leaping to his feet.