Chapter 40: Renowned Everywhere
"One can never have too many skills, and it's always good to learn more. It could save your life at a critical moment. Besides, you really do learn incredibly fast." Old Man Liu agreed, but then sighed. In such a remote area, families with a proper heritage were pitifully scarce.
More importantly, even if they had fallen from grace, they still adhered to their ancestral teachings and would not easily show their family's collection of books to outsiders.
"I'll find someone to ask around later and see," Old Man Liu promised.
Qin Ming was delighted. If he could find another old Secret Volume containing the crystallization of his predecessors' blood, sweat, and tears, his gains would undoubtedly be immense.
He felt there was a chance. Although fallen families had their principles, it was impossible for everyone to be so tradition-bound.
"Old Sir, how is your body?" Qin Ming asked with concern.
Old Man Liu had spent half his life trying to obtain the red grass rich in spiritual nature from the Fire Bat Cave, only to be targeted by the people of Golden Chicken Ridge, who had quietly hit him with a Yellow Clay Palm.
He sighed and said, "It won't kill me, and I can nurse the injuries back to health. But as for achieving Second Rebirth... I can no longer control it. I can only leave it to fate."
Qin Ming returned home, carved the meat from the fire snake, placed it on an iron plate, and picked up his Long-handled Darkgold Hammer to beat it into a pulp.
"There shouldn't be any smell of human blood, right? I washed the Darkgold hammer twice."
An hour later, Qin Ming arrived at Old Man Liu's house again with a jar of meat porridge. He said, "This is a small spiritual creature I hunted in the mountains. Although it can't help one achieve Rebirth, it is still a nourishing tonic. It has a cold nature, which happens to counteract the heat of the red grass."
Old Man Liu was suspicious, but he still took it and said, "You are very thoughtful, kid."
The next day, as soon as Shallow Night arrived, Old Man Liu came knocking at the courtyard gate. Upon seeing Qin Ming, he grabbed his hand and said, "Little Qin, what did you feed me?"
Compared to ordinary snakes, the fire snake seemed like a completely different creature. Its meat tasted entirely different. Even Old Man Liu had no idea what he had eaten, but his entire body had recovered, and he was no longer sickly.
"This old man feels that with this body, I could even have another child in my old age!"
On this day, everyone noticed that Old Man Liu was full of energy, and his voice was much louder when he spoke.
"The Black-and-White Mountain is renowned everywhere this time. Many magnificent cities are talking about it. The ten-colored pillar of light tore through the night sky, shocking the world."
While searching for special nodes in the mountains, Cao Long, Mu Qing, Wei Zhirou, and the others were talking. They were very well-informed, exchanging letters with the outside world using a type of bird of prey.
Qin Ming immediately perked up and listened carefully. He was extremely interested in mysterious products related to the leftovers, and he also wanted to learn about the outside world.
"Many large organizations are filled with regret for not paying enough attention to this place. After evaluating the most mysterious product this time, they believe it is a god-given divine object, worth a city. Even some ancient sects that were originally in seclusion have been alarmed. They are taking this very seriously and have sent people out to look into the details."
Overnight, the Black-and-White Mountain, which had been silent for many years, became the focus of heated discussions everywhere.
"Two hundred years ago, when Sky Light pierced through the Black-and-White Mountain, some of the experts who rushed over from the royal capital are actually still alive. It is said that an old fellow was so furious that he couldn't close his eyes for two days and two nights. In the end, with bloodshot eyes, he ran off into the deep mountains and marshes to hunt the legendary Six-tusked White Elephant."
"The Six-tusked White Elephant—isn't that the mount of a deity worshipped by some esoteric sect? Even if it exists in reality, it's probably in the deepest parts of the night fog world."
Qin Ming listened with relish. He yearned for the vast and boundless world outside. Just hearing a little about it made him feel it was incredibly vibrant, and he wanted to leave this remote place to go see it.
"Not to mention the royal capital, there are rumors that even high-level figures in the imperial city of the incredibly powerful Kingdom of Yu in the distance have been alarmed. The State Preceptor personally inquired about this matter. After all, the simultaneous appearance and fusion of the ten-colored pillar of light and the five-colored haze has never been recorded in any literature."
Although some were eyeing that mysterious product, they were ultimately unable to pursue it further due to powerful resistance; high-status Transcendentalists had intervened.
"Those blessed lands, as well as the spiritual mountains where Sky Light has accumulated, are considered this time to..."
Qin Ming really wanted to urge them to say more, but though their relationship was decent, they weren't that close yet. Knowing his place, he didn't say anything more.
After failing to find any special nodes today, Xu Yueping consulted with Old Man Liu, wanting to take the three teams to the nests of the Flying Sickle Birds.
Xu Yueping admitted that while he couldn't be sure if there was any spiritual matter there, it was indeed a good place to temper the newly Reborn.
He was very dedicated and responsible to the village, wanting to ask Cao Long, Wei Zhirou, and Mu Qing to rid them of the pests.
The reason food was scarce this winter had a lot to do with the Flying Sickle Birds. Before the autumn harvest, they would fly out of the mountains, sweeping across the Fire Fields. With their sickle-like beaks, a single snap would strip several clusters of grain bare.
Wei Zhirou nodded and said, "The original purpose of the Mountain Sweeping Operation was to clear out all kinds of pests and beasts. Since there is such an evil bird, let's go take a look."
Xu Yueping was instantly filled with gratitude. Everyone knew that sweeping the mountain was just a cover, and searching for the mountain's special products was the real goal.
Cao Long said, "This group of youth who just underwent Rebirth this year, aside from seeing a bit of blood in the Fire Bat Cave, haven't had any proper tempering yet. The Flying Sickle Birds are very suitable."
Shortly after, they arrived in front of a low cliff. There was a large amount of bird droppings on the snow, and many crevices in the cliff face where the Flying Sickle Birds nested.
Mu Qing, Cao Long, and the others were very professional and well-prepared. They actually brought casting nets woven from fine metal wire. Over a dozen large nets were thrown out, covering the area where the bird nests were densest.
Even so, a massive number of Flying Sickle Birds soared into the air, densely packed. At least a thousand of them escaped the nets; they were indeed a disastrous plague.
They were about a foot long, with exceptionally large and sharp beaks. They were highly aggressive. Once their nests were attacked and covered, they all swooped down, utterly fearless of death.
Fortunately, everyone was wearing armor. When the swarms of Flying Sickle Birds dived, even if a few managed to break through to the front, they could be blocked.
Qin Ming, Xu Yueping, and the others were no exception. Since they had been guiding the three teams through the mountains over the past few days, they had each been gifted a set of armor.
In the end, a massive number of Flying Sickle Birds were killed, especially in the nests covered by the large nets. After dealing with the ones on the cliff, a layer of bird carcasses accumulated on the ground.
Although many of the vicious birds managed to fly away, the majority had been dealt with. The flock had panicked, and they wouldn't dare return anytime soon. Furthermore, now that their numbers had dwindled, the villagers would dare to hunt them down.
The Black Goat Rider Yang Yongqing was responsible for notifying the villagers to bring sacks and collect the bird carcasses. It would be an absolute waste to throw away so much meat.
During these few days, Qin Ming had been keeping a close eye on the various factions in the mountains, but he had yet to find the people he was looking for.
"Those two are in their early thirties. The woman has a mole in her right eyebrow, and the man has exceptionally long arms. Unfortunately, there is no one who matches that description."
Back then, those two had rescued him from the hands of the young man in feather garments, taking him all the way away from the cities to this remote area. After leaving him in Silver Vine Town, they had once explored the Black-and-White Mountain, but they did not appear this time.
During this period, Qin Ming fulfilled his promise, contacting the old noble's people multiple times to inform them of what he had seen in the mountains and which organizations had obtained relatively special products.
The Old Noble Xie Jingrui sighed; what he needed had still not appeared.
Today, he had personally entered the mountains, and had unexpectedly gone straight into the deepest part of the range. This sent shockwaves through the hearts of many old men from Crimson Cloud City.
Ever since Ling Xu and the tabby cat left, no one dared to venture deep into the mountains anymore. Setting aside that mysterious Mountain Lord, even the foot-long old yellow weasel going mad was enough to terrify people. It had run all over the mountains carrying a donkey. Its state of mind was clearly unbalanced after being intercepted by the woman in green, so who would dare to provoke it?
Half a day later, the Old Noble Xie Jingrui walked out silently. Between his fingers, he held two very short plant roots, one black and one white.
He sighed softly, "Sure enough, the roots of the Black-and-White Trees remained in the depths of the mountains. After being nourished by Sky Light, they transformed into an extraordinary mysterious product!"
Qin Ming was acting alone, searching for special nodes. Seeing him walk over, he asked, "Did you find what you wanted?"
"I found something, but someone beat me to it." Standing in the forest, Xie Jingrui felt somewhat helpless. He sighed, "Unfortunately, I have lingering injuries and cannot sustain a battle in the chaos, or else I would have entered the mountains long ago."
"Are there no clues left behind?" Qin Ming realized that the roots of the Black-and-White Trees nourished by Sky Light were extremely important to the old noble. He had come here two years ago precisely to obtain them.
Xie Jingrui said, "I know who took them. I need to make a trip to Crimson Cloud City."
"It couldn't have been taken by City Lord Ling Xu, could it?" Qin Ming asked.
The Old Noble nodded. He had questioned Wei Mo, who walked the Giant Spirit Path, in the deep mountains, and was told by the latter that Ling Xu had lingered there for a long time.
Xie Jingrui said, "No wonder Ling Xu ran straight back to Crimson Cloud City after missing out on the strongest mysterious product. Everyone says he was so angry he almost broke his own thigh, regretting not buying a flying mount, but in reality, he was afraid others would find out he had made another massive gain. He used the opportunity to slip away. How sly. And they call him elegant in white? I think he should change into black clothes instead."
Qin Ming was also left speechless. At the same time, he found it strange that the old noble would say so much to him before leaving.
He soon got his answer. Xie Jingrui said, "That Purple-eyed Crow thinks very highly of you. Work hard. This place is too remote and isolated; leave as early as you can."
He was about to leave Silver Vine Town, and would set off immediately upon his return.
"Will Miss Xie be leaving with you as well?"
"Yes. Farewell, until fate brings us together again!" With a flash of his body, the Old Noble Xie Jingrui vanished from the forest, his speed unbelievably fast.
A great commotion resounded from afar. When Qin Ming rushed over, he found a group of ostentatious nobles confronting Cao Long, Wei Zhirou, and Mu Qing.
The various clans of Crimson Cloud City were not completely harmonious. Since the Cao, Wei, and Mu families had banded together, other major clans naturally grouped up to enter the mountains as well.
Just moments ago, someone had exchanged blows with Cao Long but had been defeated rather quickly, sent flying by a strike, which shocked everyone.
At this moment, a young man clad in gold armor, riding a mutated golden leopard, pressed forward with a powerful aura.
Cao Long said coldly, "Feng Xing, don't go looking for trouble. That old fellow from the Wang family tried to snatch my seventh uncle's Longevity Tree, and I drove him back. Is there a problem with that? Are you trying to stand up for the Wang family?"
Riding the golden leopard, the young man Feng Xing spoke calmly, "It's been two years. I heard your strength has skyrocketed. We've fought our way up together; let's have a sparring match now."
"You just want a battle, don't you? As if I'm afraid of you!"
The surrounding people also hailed from Crimson Cloud City and knew each other. Although they were mainly split into two factions, there were also neutral nobles, and someone stepped in to mediate.
"Brother Feng Xing, Brother Cao Long, you are both outstanding figures who made it from our Crimson Cloud City into the mega-cities. Don't ruin our harmony. With your current level of strength, if someone slips up, the consequences would be unpredictable."
Under such circumstances, anyone who dared to step forward and intervene naturally had a significant background.
The speaker was a youth riding on a white rhinoceros, approaching from afar into this dense forest. He was extremely handsome, clad in silver armor that lent him a dignified, extraordinary air.
Beside him was a young girl riding a black tiger. She had a graceful figure and was clad in purple-gold armor. Her eyebrows were curved, and her large eyes shone brightly. She was exceptionally stunning, and many young men couldn't help but steal several glances at her upon her arrival.
After this young pair appeared, many people greeted them warmly, treating them with great politeness despite being older than them.
Behind this exceptionally striking pair of youth followed a large crowd of people, crowding around them like stars revolving around the moon.
Qin Ming learned why the two of them were so eye-catching from the quiet whispers of the crowd.
When these two achieved Rebirth this year, it caused a sensation in Crimson Cloud City. They were the most dazzling geniuses in twenty years, stunning the entire region. Those who had built a Golden Foundation in recent years were far inferior to them.
Sure enough, after the youth spoke, Feng Xing showed him great respect, putting away his weapon and chatting with him with a smile.
"Who is Qin Ming?" asked the silver-armored youth, Nie Rui, as he sat on the white rhinoceros, his handsome face carrying a bright smile as his eyes scanned the crowd.
Qin Ming frowned. How did this person know about him?
Nie Rui laughed and said, "I went to visit Master Xu Kong and wanted to spar with his disciple during my stay. However, Zhou Wubing claimed he was unwell and that it wasn't convenient to fight. Instead, he highly recommended you, saying you're stronger than him. I was really curious—could there actually be a local youth more formidable than a disciple personally taught by Master Xu Kong? So, I came over to have a look."
Qin Ming was dumbfounded. Er Bingzi really was sick in the head!